12 Months

Chapter 4

A couple of months pass by. Nothing much happens. It's just training. I'm close to mastering earth. So close. I can feel it. This last power that I'm working on is the hardest and most powerful of all of earth's powers.

It's also the deadliest. It's these little spikes, sort of like rose thorns, that you conjure out of thin air to fire at the enemy. They're poisonous, and you're dead within half an hour if they get through your skin. The more spikes, the faster you die. The only good thing is it's painless, but I don't think that's for the comfort of the enemy, but for our stealth. It’s cruel.

Ryan is teaching me this one, and I'm glad he's not as strict as Alyssa. We have a good time working on it, and it's way more fun with him as a teacher. He doesn't snap at me when I mess up, or talk in a bored tone all the time that makes me feel bored as well. He has way more fun with it than Alyssa.

I like it way better.

He brings out a dummy, places it away from everyone else, and gets me to shoot at it from different angles. I'm getting better at it, and by the end of the day, I can hit it from any angle, even if I'm upside down, or if it's moving, if I'm moving, or both at the same time. Ryan smiles proudly.

"I think you're ready to get your full mark." He says.

I smile to myself. I've seen other people get their full marks. Milo got his full air mark about three days ago. It's like when you first get your specialty mark when you join, except it's more of a celebration. It has more honour, because you're no longer new. You've proven to everyone else you can do it.

You're finally worthy of the title: Protector Of Humanity.

To say I'm happy is an understatement. Since I have a few hours until I get my full mark, I wander around, not sure which element to learn next. With only minutes until I have to have my mind made up, I settle for fire. I can turn my poison spikes into explosive ones with fire, and I can do some pretty cool things with it.

As the bell rings, and we run over, I can sense something is wrong. Miyako had explained this feeling to me earlier. The sixth sense for danger. It's that feeling I had the last time I walked into school, and phase one of Banks's plan was complete. I've come a long way since then, but I still feel just as nervous as on that day. By is out of his cabin early as well, and stands up in front of everyone.

I get called up, and By gives me the full mark, and hugs me. 

"Good job, Little Aria." He says, patting my back, then he lets me sit down, and we start eating, pretending that it's just a normal day.

And then it happens, and instead of keeping calm, everybody goes nuts. People invade the camp.

Running. Screaming. People everywhere. In the air and on the ground. We’re outnumbered. It’s hard to tell who’s on our side. Milo is fighting off someone who looks around By's age, and Alyssa runs around with her younger sister, Rosie, shooting ice at everyone they know is against us.

Fire rains down on our beautiful camp.  The lone tree in the meadow comes crashing down. It brings tears to my eyes. My favourite place in the whole world is being destroyed and I can’t stop it.