The Elements Trilogy: The Secondaries

Chapter 44: Ice

The room erupted in a ball of white flame and white noise. The icy fortress we were hiding behind began to melt and crack; no matter what I did, I couldn't stop it.

To cool down and to keep things from hitting me, I encased myself in a thin frosting of ice, just as the ice wall shattered completely. Panic suddenly appeared out of nowhere, making my chest tight as I made a grab for Skylar but she was thrown out of my reach by the shockwaves.

She slammed into Derek, who in turn was slammed into the steel wall, ashes coating their skin. They both collapsed against the ground. I couldn't hear anything, due to the loud explosion and ice covering my ears.

David had a piece of shrapnel stuck in his leg, but didn't seem to notice it; he was to busy trying to wake up Evalynn. Panic forced it's way up my throat, and I wanted to scream. How many were dead? How many died because of my incapability to hold the ice wall together?

I spun around, trying to calm my racing heart, telling myself to calm down, but I couldn't. Skylar and Derek lay motionless. Diamond was attempting to find Tony under the piles of ice and steel wall. Jamie and Thomas were nowhere to be found, and David's leg was bleeding profusely as he tried to wake up Evalynn, who's head was bleeding.

I walked over to Diamond, who was limping, and had a severe burn on her arm. I saw her mouth move, but I could barely hear anything she was saying. She gestured rapidly to a pile of metal and ice, and I glanced down.

Tony's sneakered foot was sticking out of it. Bile rose in my throat, and I sank to my knees shaking, but not from the cold. Diamond roughly shook my shoulder, and I managed to hear two words. "Save him!"

But I was frozen. I was terrified. This was all my fault. I hadn't been strong enough. I hadn't been able to keep the wall together, and now some of my friends were probably dead.

**Skylar's POV

Pain flared up in my head and went all the way down to my feet. Something was crushing me, and the air was smoky and foul. I opened my eyes, wincing. I was greeted by a cloudy sky instead of the steel ceiling I had been expecting. Evie had vaporized the room and probably half the building.

I glanced at the person sprawled on top of me. Derek lay unconscious, blood trickling from his forehead. Dark circles lined his eyes, and his skin was even paler than usual. We were lying right next to the steel wall, with a considerable dent in it. No wonder I felt like I had gotten hit by a truck.

I was certain I had no broken bones, but considering Derek had taken most of the hit, I didn't know how bad he was off, and I didn't want to move him incase I made things worse. Plus, I even doubted I could move him by myself. My entire body ached, and I couldn't move with out my muscles screaming in protest.

"David?" I called out, my voice cracking. "Harry? Diamond?" I called out louder. "Anybody?"

Above me, Derek stirred slightly. "Der?" I whispered. "Wake up, Der. David?!"

"Be there in a minute, Sky!" David's voice was racked with grief and fear.

Above me, Derek moaned, and his eyelids slowly fluttered open.

"Der?" I asked, my heart pounding. "Derek, you okay? You hit the wall pretty hard."

Derek lifted his head, his blue eyes looking unfocused as he stared down at me. "Skylar?" he asked, finally focusing his eyes on mine.

I simply nodded.

"Well. Waking up on top of you certainly brings back old memories, doesn't it?"

I let out a little gasp of laughter, then a real gasp of pain and shock as it caused my chest to hurt as if David had shocked me.

Derek rolled off me, and looked at me alarmingly. "Skylar, are you alright?"

"I don't know." I admitted. "Everything hurts. What about you?"

"Foot's broke, but it's mending now. Isn't your accelerated healing kicking in yet?"

"Not really hurt, just sore." I sat up wincing, as Harry rushed over to my side.

"Derek, go help Tony. Go!" He shouted when Derek didn't move from my side.

Derek hobbled over to Tony as Harry inspected me closely. "You okay? You're okay, right?" Harry was trembling as he helped me sit up.

I nodded. "Just very sore."

"Oh thank God." Harry swept me up into a hug and held me tight against him, burying his head in my neck. "Thank God." He repeated.

His shoulders were tense, his back stiff. He was shaking slightly, his fist knotted in the back of my shirt. His entire body was cold, and I realized her was covered in ice, probably to protect himself. I knew exactly what he was thinking; he felt guilty.

"How is everyone?" I asked, trying to sound calm for his sake while on the inside I was terrified.

He released me, and grabbed my hand, squeezing it.

"Diamond's okay, just worried about Tony. He has a heartbeat, but a weak one. Derek seems fine, just a little banged up. David has metal stuck in his leg, but he won't let anyone take it out till he wakes Evalynn. She-" Harry broke off and looked down at the ground.

My breath caught in my throat. "She what? Harry, she what?!"

"She's not breathing. Hasn't been for 3 minutes."

**David's POV

One. Two. Three. Four. Open mouth, hold nostrils close, breathe in mouth. Repeat.

Evalynn was alive when I found her. And now she wasn't. But I wasn't going to lose both Parker twins. Not today. Not ever.

Ignoring my best friend's cries for help, the intense stabbing pain in my leg and the tears rolling down my face I continued to administer CPR to Evalynn.

Skylar and Harry suddenly appeared by my side, Skylar looked beat up, with dark circles under her eyes. Bruises lined her arms and her cheeks seemed sunken in. Her cheekbones stuck out, her disheveled hair casting dark shadows on her face.

"You truly are an idiot!" she seethed at me, as I was halfway down to breathing in Evalynn's mouth again.

I was so shocked I straightened up. "Excuse me! I'm trying to save her life!"

"The wrong way!"

"I'll have you know, I know exactly how to give CPR."

"David!" Skylar's mouth was a thin, hard line. "Think!" Her blue eyes glittered dangerously, and her hands tensed at her side. "How do doctors revive patients at a hospital?"

"Using a defibrillator, sending electronic pulses into the patients heart, why? We don't have one of those here!" I snapped angrily. Skylar was wasting my time.

I went to start pounding on Evalynn's chest again, but Skylar grabbed my hands.

"No, David. But we do have you!"