Elements

Chapter 48

The sun was setting by the time we left the apartment building. After a less than appetizing dinner of scrambled eggs, Anita and I set out to the address in Tiffany's note. We would get the notebook, bring it back to the apartment, then write a note of our own thanking Tiff and saying goodbye. Immediately after, we would book it to Iowa and attempt to hunt down the fake Puppeteer to expose him.

And hopefully tip off Ben and Ms. Wren in the process.

We headed down the damp streets in the faint lift of flickering street lamps. The air was misty, and cold enough that we could see our breath in the air as we walked. A late April chill was seeping into the usually temperate coastal air, and I couldn't help but shudder- though whether it was the cold air or anticipation, I didn't know. I hoped for the first.

By the time we reached the school, the sky was dark, and a thin smattering of stars was beginning to poke through the blackness. The streetlights were broken here, depriving the area of just enough light to let the stars through. A high chain link fence separated the sidewalk from the school, which lay just beyond a football field. I didn't see any cameras, or any indication of security. And why would there be? It was a public school, not a Swiss bank.

"Okay," Anita began, "The locker is on the bottom floor of the main building. We cross the football field, grab the notebook, and come back the way we went in? It seems too easy."

I internally agreed. Maybe it was my hyped up suspicions from the showcase or the ominous settings, but every bone and drop of power in my body was urging me to get out of there. My gut told me something wasn't right. And yet, my head persisted to tell me that moving forward was only logical. We owed Tiffany a favor, and it was just a high school. Granted, they suck, but I wouldn't call them evil.

Just a quick tip to anyone out there whose like me, who has powers: always trust your gut over your head. In our world, logic isn't always correct.

"Its supposed to be easy. We're after a notebook, not a criminal," I replied, swallowing my doubts- which, by the way, was a mistake.

Getting over the fence was easy. A quick wind and the twofold us were lifted into the air and set back down on the other side. "Can you cover us? I would hate to get spotted by some random pedestrian out for a walk in the cold." Anita nodded, and again I swallowed my doubts. No cameras, no pedestrians. Nothing could go wrong, I thought as we stepped onto the football field.

Of course, whenever someone thinks that, something goes wrong. This rule held true as two giant... somethings... fell out of the sky and on to the field.

Instantly, we stopped in our tracks. The two mounds of ...whatever they were... were laying on the 40 yard lines on either side of the field. In the center of the field was a circle with a running horse painted onto the field- probably the mascot- big enough to touch either of the two things at the center of the field. We waited for a minute. Then two. The things didn't move, and in the dark it was impossible to make out what they were.

First pressing a finger to her lips, Anita motioned me forward. We creeped along the field, carful to remain silent and to give the two somethings a wide berth. As we passed the first object, I almost sighed in relief. It didn't move as we passed. They were still possibly dangerous- but maybe not to us.

Then we hit the 50 yard line and it all went to hell.

Instantly, the two piles sprung up into the air, showing their full size. Each had to be at least fifteen feet tall, and they appeared to be people. They were shaped like a human body, with two arms, two legs, a torso and a head. However, there was no way they could be people. The heads were too large, the limbs too long, and the things were obviously too tall. Maybe it was the dark, but I also would've sworn they were made of wood.