ELEMENT

Chapter Five: Outlier

As the sun rose, Experiment 193 ran from the sleeping teenagers. And, as it disappeared into the brush once more, the two began to stir, awakening at the sudden noise.

Sage woke up, rubbing her eyes. "Ethan?" They yawned. "Was that you?"

"noooooo." He was still very asleep.

"Alright." Sage wasn't normally a morning person, but she had a job to do, so she'd better do it right. She brought her hand up to her neck, feeling the absence of the Light Emblem. "Wait. Fuck." They looked down, their heart skipping a beat. "Ethan! It's gone!"

"Wha-?" Ethan arose this time, groggily rubbing his eyes. "What's gone?"

"The Light Emblem!"

"What?!" Ethan was snapped out of his sluggishness. "How do you lose a fucking glowing necklace?!"

"Just help me!" Sage shot up, eyes shooting in every direction.

"Fine!" Ethan got up just as frantically.

Sage dug through bushes and piles of leaves, as Ethan threw his hand up and shot a small yellow beam at the fire, extinguishing it with a refraction of light. Sage dashed to the bush next to where she slept, seeing the Light Emblem under it. "Oh, thank God. I'm so fucking stupid."

"You found it?" Ethan ran to her side. "...It changed color?"

"It's light green." Sage held it up, the gem no longer purple. "Does that mean anything?"

"Not sure." Ethan shrugged. "Must mean we're close."

"Or maybe the kid's already been here and we missed it," Sage said, putting it safely around their neck again.

"Imagine our luck," Ethan snorted.

There.

A rustling in the bush snapped Sage and Ethan's attention.

You know what to do.

The two stepped away. Prepared for something. Anything. Ethan passed his dagger to Sage, who was unable to protect herself yet.

Strike.

A burning burst of darkness hit both Sage and Ethan like bowling pins, leaving scalding abrasions on their face and some exposed skin as they hit the ground, rolling into the grass and almost hitting the embers of the fire they'd made last night.

"Are you okay?" Ethan put a hand over Sage, who was breathing heavily and in some stinging pain.

"What was that?!"

A boy with dark hair and a long, oversized, brown jacket ran towards them, holding his hands out and summoning spikes of black magic from the ground around them, nearly trapping them. Other people emerged as well, surrounding themselves around the boy and the barrier of spikes.

"Hand it over!" The boy yelled.

Sage snapped her hands over the Light Emblem's pendant, keeping it safely in her grip. "No!"

A moment of silence dangled in the air, then another voice continued. "Please?" And then the voice was swiftly jabbed in the stomach.

"I said, hand it over! I might not kill you if you do!"

Ethan turned to Sage. "They're obviously lying. Don't hand it over."

"Do you think I'm that goddamn stupid?!" Sage whisper-yelled.