The Elements | Book 1 | Under the Sea

Strange Beings

I was mad at Rose. Why did she have to be so mean to Auntie Sarah? And why did she hate us? Even though Uncle Alex said he was going to take care of it, I needed to take things into my own hands. Later that night, right when everyone was about to go to their bedrooms. I asked Alex if I could text Rose. Here's how our chat went:

Hello, it's, Lynn, one of the kids Sarah adopted.

Oh. Hello.

Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something.

What..?

Why were you mad at Sarah? And why did you make her cry?!

Look..I always wanted a sister, but mom never got me one. So, as I got older, I got used to being an only child, and when I found out she adopted some kids..it made me mad, because I thought that I was special, being an only child.

Oh..

And I didn't even know I made her cry! I..I just was too mad to think about the consequences.

Hey..I just wanted to know what you guys were talking about..I didn't want to make you feel bad

No, it's ok. You wanted to know what we were talking about...?

Yeah.

..

Hello?

Oh, yeah sorry..um..it's kind of..a secret..?

Oh..

Well..I'll see you on Saturday!

Ok!

I sighed. Something was wrong. My 'parents' were definitely keeping a secret. But what?

Thursday

As I walked home from school (I didn't really like the bus), I kept thinking about that secret. It was all I could think about other than homework and Rose. Hazel, who also didn't like the bus, asked me, "Are you ok?" Usually Phoenix would walk with us, but she had science club on Thursdays. "Uh..I guess," I said in reply to Hazel's question, which probably wasn't a valid reply. 

"C'mon, you can trust me," Hazel said encouragingly. "Well..I asked our 'dad' if I could text Rose, and I wanted to know what they were talking about, but Rose wouldn't tell me anything.." Hazel looked up at the sky. "Hmm, interesting." Then she turned to me. "Hey, was there supposed to be any storms or anything?" she asked. 

"Uh..I don't know."

                                                                                     ***

Me and Hazel ran home as fast as we could. The wind ripped through the trees, nearly sweeping us off our feet. We kept going. The sky was covered in inky black clouds. They were..so unnatural, nothing like I've ever seen. The neighborhood was dotted with shadows. We dove into the protection of our house, slamming the door behind us. 

"Are you ok?!" Uncle Alex asked us. "Yeah.." we answered. Holly and Carey were sitting on the couch, watching the storm, and Dawn was on the floor, brushing her hair. "Is Phoenix here yet?" I asked, afraid. "No," Auntie Sarah said, "But she said she's halfway there."

After running to my room to get some of my favorite books, my stuffed dolphin, and a blanket, I rushed back to the living room. We all agreed to sleep in the living room together. I dropped my stuff on the floor and picked up a book. Suddenly, I heard the door swing open. "I'm here!!" the person yelled. "Phoenix!!"

"Are you ok honey?" Auntie Sarah asked. "Yeah, I got here as fast as I could," Phoenix told her. We sat there in silence for a while, and I had a vision. 

In it, I saw people running for their lives, and a black cloud hovering above the city, with a mysterious figure inside. It definitely looked like a woman, and it was wearing a mask. Before the vision could continue, Auntie Sarah shook me out of my daze. "Huh?!" I exclaimed, and realized that mostly everyone was asleep. "H-how long was I sitting here?" I asked.

"Um, 15 minutes," Sarah told me. "Oh.." "Get some sleep dear, Rose is coming over this weekend," she said. "Al-alright," I said, yawning. I collapsed on my blanket and fell asleep.

The next afternoon..

"Lynn?" "Hmm?" I asked. I was sitting in class, but everyone had left. "Lynn, I hope you were paying attention to the lesson, you looked like you weren't. And then you dozed off during the last five minutes," Mrs. Sandra told me. She was my geography teacher, and she took her job very seriously. But her class was interesting, and she was my second favorite teacher. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! Uh, what time is it?" I said. "Uh..it's 12:01. You woke up just in time for lunch!" she said. "Oh, thank you! I promise I'll pay more attention next time!" "I hope you will as well."

I rushed through the hall for lunch. I was lucky that Mrs. Sandra's class was the period right before lunch, and even better, her room was only a few rooms away from the lunchroom. 

I sighed with relief as I sat my tray on the table. "S-sorry I'm late.." I managed to say. "It's fine! There really was no need to rush like that!" Brianna assured me. "I know.." I said. "So, I just told them that Rose is coming tomorrow!" Phoenix said. "Oh! I almost forgot!" I exclaimed. 

When school was over..

"See ya next week!" Brianna said as she and Sophia boarded the bus. "Hey, don't you wanna ride the bus at least once..?" Phoenix asked me. "Uh..I don't know," I replied. "It's fine! You guys can go on without me!" Hazel said. "Oh..alright," I said, finally giving in. We hopped on  just before the driver closed the door. "So..crowded.." I muttered. It didn't bother me much, but I was worried we couldn't get a seat.

"Hey!! Lynn!" someone called. "Huh?" I turned to see Holly sitting in a seat. "You can sit next to me!" "Oh..ok," I said. I looked at Phoenix. "It's fine, there's an empty seat on the other side of the aisle." She pointed to another seat near Holly's, where a boy was sitting, listening to music. 

"So..how many friends did you make?" I asked, "I have two." "Oh, that's cool. I have one." "Oh, what's her name?" "Well..he's a he..and his name's Len," Holly told me. "Oh, ok. Mine are girls, and their names are Brianna and Sophia," I said. "That's cool," she said. 

The bus screeched to a stop. "Huh? Why isn't it moving?" I asked. "I dunno. This isn't a bus stop, and there isn't any traffic," Holly replied. 

Then I saw it. A gray aura, surrounding the bus. Something with...magic powers was holding the bus in place. As if they didn't want it to leave it's grasp. 

Hello humans. Yes, I did end this chapter with a cliffhanger, and i dont care. >:3