Elementals

Chapter 34

Earth: Year 3205
The Military Academy on the moon

Senior Pool:
The silence roams the training-center when I walk through the entrance. There’s not a single person, not a single sound in the entire room. It feels weird. This is a big and popular room. It’s hardly ever empty. I take a few silent steps into the room as I experience flashbacks to the time when I was going through each and every one of these stations as a young and inexperienced Elemental. It seems like an eternity ago if I’m honest. Everything was so different. My brother and I were just brothers that cared for each other, protected each other. These days however, one is out to kill the other just to keep his war going and to keep his seat as the highest-ranking Elemental on Earth. How times have a changed in just over twenty years.

I stand in the middle of the room when I hear footsteps behind me. At first I think it’s that very person that I was just thinking about, but when I turn around, I see it’s Aqú. He’s looking around the place before keeping his eyes on me with a light grin. “Walking down memory-lane, brother?” He asks before he walks over and stands next to me. “I can barely walk it…I hardly remember it.” I let out after a while as I start making my way to the sealed off area. “Always so philosophical. I’m actually going to miss that.” He lets out and I actually crack a smile at that as we walk past the barriers and I get a look around the room. Everything here is turned to ashes.

“There’s hardly anything left in here…” I let out as I walk to the middle of the room and have a look at every corner, watching my steps. “The heat was immense, like a never-ending heat-wave. I think your Wind-Elemental thought something like that.” Aqú lets out as I immediately turn my head towards him. “You’ve entered his mind?!” I’m rather abrupt and surprised at the same time. “I was behind the barricades watching him walk around and I got curious about what he was thinking.” He responds. I sigh deeply as I come to realize once more that Aqú has a thing or two to learn about forging a trusting bond, first.

“You shouldn’t have done that, Aqú. You should’ve gained his trust first.” I let out as he simply lifts on his shoulder. “I’m not the patient type, brother, you know that. Besides, I was curious to get to know him and how he thinks. I needed a topic for when catching him breaking the rules.” He answers. I sigh even deeper to myself as I take a few more steps to myself. Of course, Aqú isn’t going to listen to me, even less when I’m no longer around go figure. I’ll hate to admit it, but sometimes his rather direct approach has had successful results in the past. I just hope that it has the same effect now.

I’m just being sensitive I guess. I’ve been spending the last year training them and bonding with them. Already it feels like I’ve lost one of them before whatever fate has planned, comes and kills me. The worst part is I can’t do anything about it. I take a deep breath as I turn back towards him. “What did he say?” I ask as I keep on exploring, looking for the starting point. “I didn’t get much out of him verbally. He just told me he was curious about the state of this place.” He answers at first as I look over at him, raising an eyebrow. “Of course, entering his head a few more times let me know that he has theories of what happened here, of what’s really going on.” I turn my head up towards him. “He’s starting to worry about his partner…and about you.” My eyes widens.

“Me?” I let out surprised. “From where I stood he seemed to be putting a lot of the pieces together. That was all before I interrupted him. He shut down his mind after that.” Aqú answers as I nod to myself and contemplate on something to say in response. “He’s a smart kid, that’s for sure. I’ve underestimated his character at every turn since I met him just over a year ago. I guess a part of me still thinks he’s that boy who stills needs guidance, but…he’s been progressing a lot more than I ever dared to imagine.” I finally realize as I look back at Aqú for a moment. “You’ve done a great job with him, brother. In the future he will honor you with his actions I’m sure.” He answers as I then turn to think about the other half of that partnership.