Sky's The Limit

Dashing through the streets while pushing people out of her way, Aura cursed under her breath. The test was to get a token from their teacher and return to class without the use of their powers. Getting the token itself had been simple, but she'd noticed quite a few of her peers following close behind her. If she could simply fly back to school, it would have been over in minutes.

She had seen quite a few of her classmates were getting off a bus shortly after she'd started her way back. If they waited for another bus, it would take at least another half hour before they reached the final destination. The wind whipping at her face annoyed her, as much as she loved the air. It reminded her that she couldn't slip above the crowd and fly to school on the wind.

Her mind wanted to wander as she ran on, Aura forced herself to only think of the task at hand. Get back to school and into her classroom before anyone else. Air elementals had been chosen to go first for the test, and she always liked a challenge. She wanted to set the record for the fastest time.

Pushing her hair out of her eyes for the hundredth time, she saw the school getting closer. Aura checked again to make sure who was near. Two people were close to her, the main worry being Hugh. Blocking him from her thoughts, she turned her gaze back to the school.

As soon as she set foot on the school grounds, she felt victory in her grasp. Rounding the corner of the hallway that led straight to their classroom, she felt someone gaining on her. "Not this time." Hugh always had a way of pulling ahead at the worst of times.

Panting for breath, she pushed herself hard and ran into the classroom. Aura managed to stop herself before hitting the wall opposite the door. Turning to look behind her as soon as she hit the wall, she saw Hugh had come in just after her.

Grinning ear to ear, she looked to the teacher waiting who marked their names off. "Good job Aura, Hugh."

Attempting to catch her breath, she put the small bird token on the teacher's desk. It wasn't the first test she'd been able to get first place for. With each passing day the competition slimmed, she knew she had to try harder. The test was to show who could do their best even without the assistance of their power.

Taking her seat, she panted and looked up to the ceiling. Her short brown hair was matted with sweat, but she'd made it into first place. Hugh took the seat beside her. It wasn't his normal seat, but she could tell it was him from the strong cologne he wore.

"You did well back there." He sounded as if he hadn't just run a marathon, but instead had a stroll around a park.

"Yeah, you did too." Aura tried her best to sound calm, but she was still tired. "Wonder how many they're gonna cut this time."

"I heard this is one of the last tests, so I'm guessing at least half."

"Half?" Her eyes went wide as she looked at him. "That's at least ten people."

"I know it's a lot, but that's what I heard." He shrugged, not elaborating on his assumptions, as usual.

She'd long since stopped rising up to the bait of continued conversation. Aura looked to the front of the classroom and watched as more air elementals streamed back into the classroom.

Too many people were being born with elemental powers. Ninety percent of the world's population had started being born with powers. Only a select few could keep them, the best of the best. With so many people born with elemental powers, the balance of the world crumbled. One scientist had managed to find a way to strip people of their powers. The technology was kept under lock and key to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.