The Elemental Wars: Jasper's Desire

Eight...

I walk back into the dining hall, finding Belle and Eliza still there while the room was largely empty.

"Hey, how'd it go, babe?" Belle asks me as soon as she notices I had returned.

"Pretty good, I think. She's going to talk to Brielle and Dana," I respond, sitting back down in my spot.

"Feeling better?" Belle then asks me.

"Yeah, but hungry," I respond with a laugh.

"Well, good thing I saved you some!" Belle laughs, passing her plate over to me.

As soon as I finish eating, I look around the dining hall for Blake. However, there's no sign of him. Mostly everyone who was here before had left, besides Belle and Eliza.

"Does Blake remember he's been ordered to watch us?" I ask. "He's disappeared without a trace."

"Yeah, he left with his friends," Eliza responds. "It's almost like he forgot, good thing I'm here. Not that I suspect either of you of doing anything, though," she adds with a small laugh. "Oh, and how's Maya doing? She's usually first in line for food, but I haven't seen her at all today. I'm a bit worried."

"She told me she had morning sickness, so she skipped out on lunch. I think Reece brought her food anyways though," I answer. "Otherwise, she seems to be doing well."

"Oh, that's good then, that's normal," Eliza responds with a nod.

"Wait, Maya's pregnant?" Belle asks. "I figured that their generation had stopped having children?"

"I thought so too," Eliza is quick to jump in. "Maya and Reece had a little fling and she was super surprised when she turned out pregnant," she sighs. "I was the first to notice. I got a lot of praise from Katie. But in actuality, I just remembered what it was like when Dana was pregnant and applied that to Maya. I noticed that she had a bump on her stomach and I was worried that it might be something serious like a tumor. But I was quick to realize that she was pregnant."

"I talked to Maya about Reece, but I cannot understand what she sees in that guy. They told me they aren't romantically interested in each other, and yet they hooked up? I'm just confused," I bring up.

"Reece is a nice guy normally," Eliza jumps in. "And sometimes when you're going through a really tough time... you grow closer to certain people," she says. "They were both so depressed after the battle that I worried for their lives, but they've been better since spending time with each other."

"I guess I can see that.." I mumble.

"Anyways, let's change the topic," Belle suggests, standing up from her seat. "I'm going to clean up and then we can figure out what to do next, alright? I'm not sure how much time we will have out of that hellhole."

After we all clean up after ourselves, we all turn to look at each other.

"Belle, I think we should go try to find Blake. I don't want him getting in trouble," I suggest to my girlfriend.

"Already getting attached, huh? You got a buddy now, Jasper?" Belle teases me. I let out a laugh. "Yeah, we should go."

We say out goodbyes to Eliza and head off. It felt so wrong for Belle and I to be walking alone when it was ordered we don't, but it's not like it's our fault. Blake was the one who went off with his buddies. It wasn't long before we came across Blake and his friends. We gazed out of the window and spotted the group of teenagers, all having a playful battle practice in the snowy valley. I let out a sigh at the sight.

"Of course, just kids doing kid things," I say, gazing out at them.

Belle and I headed down the stairs to the ground floor and went outside to check out the commotion. As we walked closer, we could hear them.

"Stop it right there, you airhead!" Lucia calls out and I just about cringe at the pun. "I am going to blast you with all of my might!"

It seems like some sort of roleplay game. They are acting as if they lived during the time of war their parents lived through. I heard all about it from Medea before she was killed, although some of it could've been twisted. From my understanding, there were twelve people, some of the last people alive, who were split into four elements. They had a rivalry until the whole thing turned into turf wars. That must be what they are acting out here. I wonder how their parents feel about it.

"Not if I stop you first!" Megan responds, preparing an attack.

"Oh yeah?! Well, bring it on!" Dylan responds, standing right by his twin sister.

A boy I know of as Asher sits and watches, seemingly just there in case someone accidentally gets injured.

"Water, you're outnumbered. Air has Earth on their side!" Blake jumps in, standing by Megan as a sign of alliance with Nathan by his side. "Your cruel motives will be stopped! Earth will always comes to Air's aid when they need it!"

"Water needs some land territory and Fire is here to help!" Lyana jumps in. Tinley stands by her side.

I am surprised once the group of teenagers start to use their powers, aiming at each other.

"Isn't this dangerous?!" I question as I watch from afar. "Someone could easily get hurt."

"Yeah... do the adults know about this?" Belle questions. Asher makes eye contact with us and gets up from his position, running over towards us.

Oh no.

"Hey, you two! You come to watch?" The teenage boy and recently appointed healer asks us.

Phew.

"Yeah, uh, is this normal? Or safe for that matter?" I ask curiously.

"Yeah!" Asher responds. "It's a game we've played since we were kids," he mentions, standing straight. "We know not to really aim for each other, but one time Megan caught on fire and Dylan had to use his powers to take it out! Thankfully that's all the injuries we've had though. But one time, Cameron got carried away and accidentally knocked Nessie out with a rock! Thankfully she was okay, my mom told me the story and she said Nessie just had a concussion after that."

Dang, this kid sure does talk a lot.

"Oh.. alright. I just wanted to make sure," I respond. "I think it's interesting, but I was a bit concerned so try to make sure everyone stays safe."

"That's my job!" The young man responds with enthuisiasm. "Anyways, catch you two around!" He gives us a wave and hurries back to the roleplay scene.

"Shall we head back to the base?" I ask Belle, turning to look at her.

"Mhm, there's not much to do," She answers. We then turned around and headed back up the stairs into the base. Not long after we re-entered, we were stopped by Dana.

"Your time is up. And where the hell is Blake? He's supposed to be looking after the two of you," Dana says sternly, putting her hands on her hips.

"He disappeared on us at lunch and then we found him playing a game with the other teenagers in the valley," I respond quickly, afraid that Belle and I would get into trouble. Dana lets out a deep sigh.

"Looks like I'll have to have a talk with him," she grumbles. "Thanks for behaving," she says, leading us back to the prison room. I felt sad as the door locked behind us once we entered. That little taste I had of freedom was now over.

I just hope we can go out tomorrow too. We need to prove ourselves, a little bit at a time.