The Elemental Trials

Ten

Skye
I paid almost no attention to Luke's shouting as it grew more and more distant. At first I slowed down to let him catch up, but the longer it took us to get to Ty Mawr the thinner my patience ran. He shouldn't have come anyway, I would've been able to search practically the entire city before he'd even made it there. Speaking of, as I ran I used my powers to feel out any section of the street that I couldn't see, slipping into every back alley and diverting path to search for the guys who stole Lilian's money. There wasn't a soul nearby - this side of town was usually quiet anyway, and the fact it was past midnight meant there was a very small chance anyone would be out. Luke had just turned onto the street - which was basically a narrow road crowded by buildings on either side - still shouting for me to wait and slow down as I kept a steady pace. Three alleys down was a cat crawling in amongst some trash and bins, and all the others were occupied by rats, or crows, or some other kind of lesser animal. Every time my search came back with a distinct lack of any humans my anger flared; until what sounded like a short laugh reached my ears from further up ahead. With newfound determination I sprinted on, leaving Luke far behind as my powers stretched out to find the source of the laughter. Right down an alley at the end of the street stood a group of six people, and that was more than enough for me to go on. The faint murmur of their voices drew nearer as I approached the alleyway, before I turned straight down it and took in the scene before me.

All six of the figures were guys, and I recognised their type right away. I'd been in this area of Wales for long enough to recognise thugs like them fairly easily. They were all donned in your classic hoodie and tracksuit get-up, though only a few had their hoods up. I didn't waste time examining their features, all I needed to know was whether or not these were the fuckers who stole Lilian's money. All six of them were in a sort of huddle, talking and laughing with each other as they lit the buds of their cigarettes from a lighter the middle guy was holding. I needed a thorough way to check them, so while I was still a decent distance away I reached out with my powers to feel inside of their pockets. I was trying to find a particularly large amount of money - or anything else that would incriminate them - but distinguishing between things like wallets, loose change, packets of cigarettes, and what definitely felt like a knife was proving more difficult than I'd anticipated. Eventually I gave up, silently cursing myself for not refining my powers better when I had the chance, before resorting to using plan B. "Hey fellas." I announced, gaining every one of the thugs' attention as I walked towards them down the alleyway "You guys wouldn't have happened to bump into a girl today; blonde, maybe about yey high-" I held my hand above my head roughly where Lilian would've stood on me, watching the group of guys closely "-and taken a shit load of cash from her...would you?" One of the guys laughed, one glowered silently straight at me, and the rest just looked confused as fuck. "What are you, her fucking hitman?" One quipped, eliciting a series of laughs from all but one of them. And just like that, they'd confirmed my suspicions. "Give me the money and I won't fucking kill you all right now." I stated without the slightest quiver in my voice. They all looked taken aback by this - again, all but one. The one that had been glaring hadn't changed their expression in the slightest. He held a cigarette between his sneering teeth, staring right at me like I was the ugliest thing he'd ever lain his eyes on. I stopped in place a short distance away, watching them all expectantly, only to see each of them slyly turn their eyes upon the glaring bastard - like they were waiting for him to react. He must've been their leader or something. How fucking sad. I silently dubbed him 'Grey' in accordance with the colour of his hoodie, watching as he slowly lifted his cigarette from his mouth, before flicking it towards me in what was supposed to be a threatening manner. "Grab her." "Skye!" Right as the big prick gave his order I heard Luke shout my name from the entrance of the alleyway. I was glad to know he could keep up, though it wasn't like I needed his help. The thugs didn't move for me right away - obviously pausing to figure out where the shout had come from, and that hesitation was all I needed to act. I felt the wind toss my hair back into a billowing sheet of white as I activated my powers and darted forward, aiming straight for the nearest thug. My fist collided with his chin before he even knew what was happening, the shock alone sending him stumbling onto his ass. I turned on the next just as fast, grabbing him by the hoodie before cracking my knee straight up in between his legs and sending him crumpling to the ground with no more than a measly whimper. If you ever get into a fight, hit fast and hard. As I attacked I was reminded of a short lesson Alex had given me about defending myself with my powers. Surprise plays an enormous part in any engagement. Take 'em by surprise and they have no hope of defending themselves. By now the others had realised what was happening, though, and they didn't take to it too kindly. I felt a rough hand grip my arm, dragging me towards them so they could swing a punch right towards my face. The prick was far too slow; I ducked with practiced ease before hitting him with an uppercut straight in the jaw. My mind was going too fast for me to give them a moment's respite - without even turning I felt one of them running at me from behind, and a second later my elbow was colliding violently with the side of his face. Face and nuts, go for the weak spots I heard my own voice telling myself. This was sort of thrilling, in a kind of sick way. I felt adrenaline coursing through my veins, but this time it wasn't like in training or spars. This time it was personal. These people hurt Lilian, and for that I was going to hurt them worse than they've ever been hurt before. I was so caught up in the excitement of fighting that I almost forgot about the reason I was here. My eyes quickly darted about before locking on Grey, the bastard who I was pretty damn sure had Lilian's money. He was standing not too far down the alley, next to the only thug who hadn't ran in to attack me yet, and by the looks of things he wasn't planning on trying to run. I watched as he roughly shoved his friend towards me, pointing silently to signal that he should come and take me on. A faint smile appeared on my face at the notion of that, but just as he came running towards me with his fists raised I felt a set of arms wrap under mine, holding me in a lock so I couldn't move. I struggled feebly for a second, though in a battle of raw strength I knew I stood no chance against this brute. The guy running at me obviously saw his chance to attack, cause he came sprinting straight for me ready to crack his fist into my face. I held my breath for a split second, before suddenly lunging back with all my strength and causing the man behind me to take a step back. That was all I needed, as with my momentum I raised my legs up and slammed them straight into the running guy's gut before he even had the chance to slow down. He let out a gargled scream, his body practically folding around my feet before he hit the ground with a heavy thud. The second my feet dropped back down I swung my head back with all my might, hoping to catch my captor right on the nose - which judging by the sickening crack and cry of pain, I succeeded in. His grip loosened but he still held onto me; until I sent a blast of air straight into his chest and knocked him all the way down the alley. I caught a glimpse of Luke running towards me as I watched the thug go flying, but I didn't have time to worry about him. I turned back to Grey, attempting to shoot off towards him only for my legs to suddenly go out from under me, bringing me down to the floor. I turned to see one of the thugs I'd thought had been incapacitated with his arms around my ankles, stopping me from getting to Grey. I let out a snarl of anger, hurriedly yanking one of my feet free and smashing it into his face - however, before I managed to get up, a thug appeared beside me and suddenly stomped with all his strength right on top of my ribs. I let out a cry of pain, thinking for a split second that something had shattered on impact, but that thought quickly left my mind as another boot cracked cleanly into my chin. My head jolted at the impact, causing my teeth to clamp down hard on my tongue and result in a waterfall of blood spilling from my mouth. My face went numb, but the rest of me hadn't. I hurriedly curled into a ball and formed a barrier of wind around me as a rain of kicks and stomps now fell upon it, my mind trying to figure out some way to regain the upper hand. If the thugs noticed they weren't actually landing any hits they certainly didn't show it, keeping up there barrage of violence while I did my best to work some feeling back into my tongue. I was laying on an arm - which was soon covered with blood - and my face no doubt looked like I'd straight up taken a bite out of someone. I was so focused on myself that it took me a good second or two to realise my barrier was no longer being assaulted, and when I spared a peek at the thugs around me I found them engaged in a brawl with none other than Luke himself. Relief was the first thing to fill me, followed quickly by panic when I saw him take a punch straight in the face. I scrambled to my feet, feeling finally beginning to return to my mouth as Luke's heroism re-energised me. Four of the guys had their attention on him - Grey still hadn't moved and the one I'd kicked in the gut was rolling around in agony - and Luke could only back up against the wall with his arms shielding his head. Three of them were pummelling him, while the fourth turned around to face me now that I was back on my feet. My focus wasn't even on him, instead I watched Luke with concern, about to dart towards him when I suddenly watched him spring into action. So far he'd simply been letting the thugs wail on him, but for a single second it seemed he found an opening. The thug's fists were hammering him, going for his head but seemingly unable to get a good strike at it - that is until Luke lowered his arms. One thug clearly saw an opportunity, sending a crack right at the centre of Luke's face, only for Luke's head to dart to the side suddenly. The fist narrowly passed him, and as soon as it did Luke sent his own solid dirt-covered fist straight up into the thug's chin. The sheer force of the hit lifted the poor guy bodily into the air, before he came crashing back down - eye's a clear white. And that's when shit got real. The two remaining thugs instantly starting beating up Luke again, though this time they were far more cautious. He tried take them while they were surprised, throwing a punch at the next nearest one, however the target managed to step back out of the way before swinging at Luke with one of his own. The third guy was glaring right at me, waiting to see if I was going to make a move or not. I was, but I watched him for just a second longer. And thank god I did, 'cause if I hadn't seen his eyes flicker to a spot behind me I never would've ducked in time to avoid the metal pipe that had just come swinging for my head. I pivoted, turning and coming face-to-face with Grey as he rapidly swung his crude little weapon at me. I leaned back just out of reach, before darting to his side and sending a sharp crack into his chin - which seemed to do no more than tickle him. He was a buff guy, but I didn't think he was going to be that tough. No matter how fast I hit, it made no different to the miniscule damage my punches actually did. Still, he had weaknesses - and I had strengths. I sent a kick to his kneecap - again, practically doing nothing - before trying to clip him across the face again. He moved a lot quicker than I anticipated, snatching my wrist right after I had jabbed him and making his grip iron tight. The metal pipe came swinging at me again, but I almost laughed as I merely threw my other hand towards it and hit it with a blast of air - sending it spinning away down the alleyway. The big bastard barely took the time to register what happened; instead of being shocked he just yanked me straight towards his face before colliding his forehead with my nose. My eyes filled with tears immediately as my nose exploded with pain, blurring my vision as I clumsily stumbled back and fought to stay on my feet. I didn't even process that Grey had let go of my arm until I was hit across the face with a heavy fist, which actually sent me to the floor this time. I could barely see my own hands in front of me, and my head was ringing, but the fact this ugly bastard had the audacity to hit me like that really pissed me off. I saw his big, looming form come towards me, and for a second my vision was as clear as day - which is why I fired a beam of sharp air straight up at his shoulder. It cut him good; not deep enough to kill him or anything, but more than enough to send him running. His shout of agony echoed down the alley, before he gritted his teeth tight and looked at me with the most hateful expression I've ever seen. "FUCKING BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU!" He ran at me, but despite the way my vision swayed I was still in enough of a fighting mindset to put up a wall of air in front of him. Whether he understood what was happening or not, as soon as he collided with the wall he began ramming himself against it - using all his might to try and shatter something he couldn't even see. I dragged myself to my feet, catching a glimpse of Luke as he traded blows with the only thug left standing - the other laying slumped against the wall with an innumerable number of bruises on his face. I turned to the thug who'd been facing me, my eyes glowering as every inch of my face ached, stung, or bled "Where. THE FUCK. IS MY MONEY!" "He has it!" The thug said immediately, practically pissing himself in fright now that he realised he was facing Luke and I alone. His finger pointed right at Grey, still battering against the invisible wall as he cursed me to all hell. "Great. Now fuck off!" The thug took off running without a second thought, not even glancing at the one fighting Luke as he ran past him. Luke however watched the man take off down the alley, and as a result backed away from his opponent and nodded towards him. "Best follow your friend." He said calmly, his breath only slightly heavy despite how long he'd been fighting and the hits he'd taken. The last guy stood where he was for a second, one eye badly swollen and the rest of his face bleeding badly, his gaze locked on Luke but occasionally drifting to where one of his friends lay either beaten to all hell or completely unconscious. It was obvious he was weighing up his options, and after a few seconds of silence he spun on his heel and took off sprinting after his friend without looking back – like he was expecting Luke to be on his heels anyway. Of course, the boy hadn't moved, instead turning around with a heavy sigh to allow me to see the extent of the beating he took. It was nowhere near as bad as the thugs, but his lip was cracked and bleeding, his eye was starting to bruise, and he'd somehow earned a cut across his forehead. "He has the money, right?" He asked, either ignorant of or unbothered by his injuries as he looked towards Grey. The big bastard had finally stopped hammering against the wall, but he paced up and down the width of the alleyway visibly seething as he clutched his shoulder wound. "Yeah. Doesn't look like he's gonna go down easy." I grumbled, before secretly lowering the wall "Alright prick. Leave the money on the ground and I'll let you leave with your dick still attached." "You're a cocky little bitch, you know that?" He practically snarled, still pacing like the wall was still between them. "I've had enough of your shit tonight. Drop. The. Money." I stood side by side with Luke, watching Grey with a hateful expression – although mine seemed to waver in comparison to his. He said nothing, tightening his jaw heavily, before he took a step towards us and reached both hands into separate pockets. "Fine." He said, slowly removing one hand to reveal a wad of notes clutched in it "Here's yer fuckin' money." I hardly even saw his hand move, but in a flash my vision was being obscured by a shower of flittering, crisp twenty-pound notes - and I was only partially aware of Grey running towards me. I instinctively put up a barrier to shield myself, but as the money fell to the floor I realised Grey had gone for Luke instead of me. I watched his fist fire straight for Luke's head, and Luke raise his own arms to block, but even then I knew the attack was a feint for something much, much worse. There was only the faintest shimmer of metal glistening from Grey's other hand, but before I could even shout out a warning to Luke the metal had disappeared – plunging straight into his stomach. The world froze. I inhaled sharply, Luke seemed to stare in blank disbelief, but it was Grey who moved first out of the three of us. His hand pulled back, the knife re-emerging now bloodied to the hilt, before plunging back in. Once, twice, each stab as rough as the next. Luke let out small grunts each time the blade stuck him, and it wasn't until the fourth blow where the shock left my body and I screamed, incoherently, with all my fear. A great gust of wind hit Grey full on, tossing him meagrely down the alleyway where he cursed, before pushing to his feet and turning to run away. I don't know why I wasn't looking at Luke. My eyes were locked straight on Grey, watching his form grow further and further away. And then, he jolted. His body twisted, like he'd been struck, and a second later he fell to the floor.