Ashes

Part Eight

Harry threw his metallic gloves against one of the walls and took his stands, prepared for anything, well almost anything.

With the gust of wind that brought chills to us all, came a cloud of smoke that completely covered us all. "Cassie?" yelled Harry before he screamed as the sound of someone getting dragged in the dirt around repeated itself, "Rubie, where are you?" I yelled in the cloud of smoke, just before two other people started screaming.

"Sam!" I yelled as I realized whatever that might attack us, was going to attack him as well.

I looked around me in the cloud of smoke, when a clearing had opened where Sam stood completely still and didn't move at all. "Sam!" I yelled once more and ran to help him, but as I was running, I slowly watched the smoke mysteriously disappear again? As the smoke disappeared it revealing a group of masked people holding knifes to everybody's throat.

I looked around and saw James, Harry and Rubie on their knees with a knife to their throat. Janice however stood with two small swords pointed to the men that had initially tried to capture her, while little Sam almost cried his eyes out as a girl pushed almost pushed a knife up to his throat.

"Cassie, fry them" said Janice just as she was about to strike both of the men she had at the end of her two swords. "Wait!" said a female voice from around the corner and commanded both us and her soldiers to stop what we were about to do.

"These kids are changelings like us! Can't you see that?" said the only female solider who seemed smart out of the group and no longer stayed hidden behind one of the biggest guys the group had.

"Wait, you are changelings as well?" asked James, but quickly got his head pulled back by one of the rough soldiers. "Careful with him!" yelled Harry defensively, but he also got his head pulled back, giving the soldiers a big enough area to slit both of their throats.

The female soldier removed her mask, revealing her partially tattooed face and the scars she had as well. The girl looked intimidating and scary, not because of her tattoos, but because it seemed like she had dealt with people like us before? She was experienced with all of thisl.

"Soldiers, down with your weapons now!" the intimidating girl said as a smaller group of solider arrived from behind her. "These are the only ones" said another female soldier from the smaller group and they both commanded the men around us to help us get up from the ground.

The soldier was masked and many of them wore heavy body armor, but some of them just simply wore some kneepads and kept their clothes dark?

"Where are you guys taking us?" asked Harry as he was lifted by a soldier and pushed to walk with them, but he didn't get an answer at first. The group of soldiers gathered us all and often pushed us in the direction we were going in, but I felt more guilt as Sam was one of the ones that got picked on more than all the rest of us.

"Where are you taking us?" asked Rubie angrily and quenched her fists, ready to fight whoever that would try to stop her from her escape. "You haven't heard anything about us, have you?" asked the overhead leader of the two groups, "No?" replied James and tried to join in on the conversation, but failed to get any attention from the soldiers.

"We're the ones that rebel against Prune, we are the ones that don't follow the rules made by man. We are the ones that will truly change the world" said the female soldier and knew exactly what she was going to say and what time to say it. "We are..." said the female soldier, but got interrupted by James, who finished her sentence for her. "The rebellion?" said James astonished as he looked down the hill we were on and admired the rebellion camping grounds.

"There's a rebellion against Prune?" asked Rubie in shock and looked to see that Harry was pleased to hear the information the girl had given, "You knew about them?" asked Rubie enraged and shocked as I guessed she hadn't heard that part of the plan?

"This was your plan all along?" asked James in shock as well and clearly hadn't heard what Harry's original plan was.

The rest of us kept quiet though, we were all shocked and stunned at the amount of kids and teens that there were at the camping ground. Rows and rows of tents and make-shift shelters filled with kids and teens working together to keep each other safe.

"What is this?" asked Janice as we arrived at one of the biggest- and most open areas of the camp, where most of the teens hung out. "You'll meet our leader now" said the female soldier with a tattoo across her eye and knocked on the make-shift door the building had.

The female solider knocked three times on the steel plate with a door handle glued to it and out of the door walked a lightly dressed girl, who seemed more confident than what she was. Her hair was completely shaven off and she had more piercings than I could count, I was sure that Janice and she would be a completely perfect match for each other.

"What is it Johanna?" asked the bald girl annoyed and took her stance as a queen over her servants. "Sorry, but we found some newbies. Strolling down the abandoned part of town" said Johanna and pushed us to get down on our knees, but Rubie and James refused to bow.

"Are they like us?" asked the bald girl and checked her nails, "Are they changelings?" she asked as she sat down on her throne, made from an old wooden tree trunk. "I don't know?" replied Johanna and looked at us like we were something inhuman? "You, afro. Do you have any abilities? If so- what are your abilities?" asked Johanna and stared us all up and down, but ultimately gave more attention to Rubie.

"Crystallization, telekinesis, technopath, can control ice, animate her tattoo's and lastly Fire" explained Rubie and went in our order as we stood in front of the bald girl. "Johanna, get them some shelter and inform them about our camp" commanded the bald girl, "I want to talk with the one that can control fire!" she added right before we were about to leave.

"What do you want with Cassie?" asked Harry and stepped in front of me, "What power do you even have over us?" asked Harry angrily and started pushing me away from her? "I want to talk with Cassie, move out of the way" commanded the bald girl and as if Harry was a pet. I watched as he stood his ground, but ultimately moved. "What are you doing?" asked Harry in shock as he clearly couldn't control his body and what he did.

Harry walked out of the bald girl's way and even let her walk right up to me! "Do I need to use my ability on you as well or can we talk privately?" asked the bald girl with a smile as she gracefully pushed me aside to a more secluded area.

"Do you want anything to drink?" asked the bald girl and opened up a small container with water bottles and what looked like an old bottle of coke, "No thank you" I replied with a straight face.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions as do your group, but I'm afraid that I don't have all the answers you need." Explained the bald girl, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Crystal, but many call me by the codename; The Commander" further explained Crystal and grabbed a water bottle from the small container beside her.

"The Commander?" I asked, curious to know why they called her that?

"Ha-ha, yes. It's my ability or curse at sometimes" chuckled Crystal and took a sip of water, "I got the curse of being able to command people to do my bidding, but I never use it unless I have to" explained Crystal. "Now enough about me, what about you?" said Crystal and for some reason wanted me to introduce myself, when she already knew too much about me?

"Your friend said you had the ability of fire?" asked Crystal. "I just discovered I had this ability, so I don't have the answers you seek" I explained and was about to leave the table, when Crystal grabbed my arm and said; "Please don't go, sit down and talk with me".

I stood still for a while, just figuring out if I was commanded or not? After a while I eventually sat down, but I did need a conformation from Crystal that she didn't use her powers on me.

"From what I know, they call you guys 'Elementals'?" said Crystal and looked out on the view of teens living together. "What are 'Elementals'?" I asked and grabbed a nearby stick to fiddle with as Crystal began explaining what we were.