Born of Fire, The Element Decendents: Book 1

Chapter 2

We arrive back at the 'penthouse' as the doctors call it, and I'm met with an angry Mike, and the "I could care less, as long as you're safe" of Jack. "Walk to your room with your food. Leave the half dozen plain with me, and some of the sauce. One of us will come to check on you in a bit. Watch TV or something." I sigh as Tay whispers the instructions in my ear. I nod and hand him one bag, then walk to my 'room'. I plop down on my bed and turn on my TV. I go to Netflix and turn on the last thing I was watching: Arrow. I lay my head back and turn the volume up. I look back at the TV, eating my pretzels. I'm allowed a computer, but I rarely use it except to talk to the guys after curfew. I write every once and a while, but very rarely.

After 3 hours of Arrow, I look up as my door opens. "Red, what were you thinking? You could have been hurt. What would you have done if your abilities had gotten out of hand? How would have handled being detained by the cops? You have no phone to contact us, and Doc would not have been happy to find out you were in jail. You have a gift that the world is not ready for. The military would jump on you and do tests. Poke and prod you, Liz! You don't need that!" I huff and sigh.

"I know that, Mikey. I just hate the confinement of this place. I just need some space to breathe every now and then and that's all."

After our talk, Mike sits on my bed next to me, and we begin watching T.V. I would never tell the others, but Mike is my favorite out of the three of them. Not for any reason that might cross your mind because I'm a girl living with three guys, but because he's the most caring. He's the one that always has to make sure I'm okay. He's the 'older brother' of the three, and Jack is the 'annoying boy next door who thinks we're friends because our moms are friends'. Tay, on the other hand, well... Let just say that there's a reason people are under the impression we're together.

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I open my eyes, unsure of when I had fallen asleep, to a brown-headed lump at my feet, a raven-haired boy next to me on my left, and a frowning face with shaggy blond-almost-white hair staring at me from my desk chair right to the right of me. "Jeezus, Jack. Why are you up so early?" I say as best as I can, but my throat is so scratchy it hurts to speak, and within that instant why all three of them were in there: I had been screaming in my sleep last night, which meant the night terrors were back, which meant I had pushed myself too far yesterday, and that it was time for a new dose of drugs from Doc to keep them under control.

By the look on his face, I could tell he had figured out why I was so alarmed, and his expression softened. "We were worried about you, Red. I- I mean, we, all rushed in here as soon as you started hollering last night, we thought you were hurt." I give a small half-smile and sit up, throwing my legs over the side of the bed. I place my elbow on my desk and look him right in the eye (his left eye, to be exact), trying to figure out what he was thinking, and he does the same with me. We stare at one another for what feels like hours, trying to read the other, just as we'd done since my first day here when he tried to read me, through my bloodshot and swollen eyes.

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"What is this place?" A woman's voice, cold and uncaring, asks loudly. She's tall (due to the 6' heels on her feet) with short brown hair, a stark contrast to the naturally tall red-headed teen next to her. "Well, Mrs. James-" "Ms. Allen. I'm not married to her father, haven't been for years." She snaps, causing the redhead to jump slightly. Off to the side sit three other figures: all tall, but with shockingly different appearances otherwise.

The first one to see the redhead is the tall, lanky boy with the messy head of blond hair. He elbows the other boys and gestures to her, cocking an eyebrow and standing, slowly walking closer to get a better look at the girl. "Now, Alexis-" "It-it's Liz, actually. Alexis is my middle name." This time it was the girl who spoke, shocking her mother. "Alexis, we talked about this! You were not to speak until after you got the job!" The girl glares at her mother through very swollen, bloodshot eyes and rubs her eyes, walking away from her mother and the guide. "Do you have a bathroom I could use?" She says softly from next to the blond boy, making him jump.

"Uh, yeah. Through that door to the right." She gives a small smile and for a split second, their eyes meet and they stare at one another for an extended period of time before she blinks, walking away. The boy watches as she walks away before making his way back the couches where the other boys were sitting. "Well?" The boys ask expectantly. "She's got fire in her eyes, that's for sure." He says, eyeing the door that the girl, Liz, had just walked through. "They burn with the power of a thousand suns."

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But this time, I don't look away. Instead, I lean closer, trying to read him through the small movements his hands make as I do so. "What aren't you telling me, Ice?" I ask, my nose barely 3 inches from his. He opens his mouth to respond, but is interrupted by the sound of Tay waking up. I lean back against the headboard and smile. "Good morning, Sunshine!" I tell him before nudging Mike with my foot. This action causes him to swat at my foot, thus falling off the edge of my bed. He groans and stands. "God, Liz, maybe warn me next time." He mumbles, walking out of the room to get coffee.

Tay wraps an arm around my shoulder and sighs, laying his cheek on top of my head. "We've gotta talk to Doc today, Liz," Jack says after a few minutes of silence. "You know what'll happen if you let those nigh terrors continue." And I did. I would end up setting my whole room on fire, and the only person who would be able to get me out would be Jack.

I nod and sigh, then shrug Tay's arm off of me. I then proceed to walk out of the room and into the kitchen, grabbing a coke from the fridge and a meal bar from the bowl on the counter labeled "Elizabeth" before walking to the office door with the word 'Elementararzt' painted on the frosted-glass door. I knock three times, and then open the door. "Hiya, Doc. We need to talk." He gestures me into his office, and I shut the door behind me, thus unknowingly solidifying my future to be horribly, life-threateningly awful for the ones I love most.