The Elementists- Part 4

Chapter Four

The four girls march at a steady pace through the ankle deep water.There's no conversation between them. Just a tense silence. One of the girls falls into step with Jillian. She has dark blue eyes and short, wispy hair. "I'm Samantha,"she introduces herself. "Don't worry if you're confused. I was too, at first. Things will be explained to you really soon." Her tone is friendly.

Jillian just nods in reply.

The cavern is far behind them now, as is the man. Jill can't help but wonder who he was and why these three girls seemed to have saved her from him. What exactly were they saving her from?

She suddenly notices the water is over her knees. "Is the water still rising?" she questions.

Spark frowns. "Yes. Yes it is."

She says nothing more than that.

There's occasionally a distant gurgling sound. Every time she hears it she tenses and looks around. The lights occasionally flicker, and every time they do the blonde mutters something under her breath, sounding irritated.

"What's your name?"Jillian asks, since she hasn't said yet.

"Julia," she sighs.She looks a little miserable, sloshing through dark water in a tunnel.

And then it happens.There's a particularly loud rumble and the water rises fast.Jillian sees a swift exchange between Samantha and the other two.Fear flashes in her eyes. Spark stops walking, and the others to too. She turns to Jillian. "We need your power here."

"Huh?"

"Your power," Spark repeats, looking a little annoyed. "You know, water?" She gestures at the tunnel ahead of them. "It's filling up. You have to control it."

"What in the world are you talking about?" Jill huffs.

Their eyes widen in unison.

Julia plants her hands on her hips. "Please don't tell me you don't know how to use your powers." She glares at Spark. "She was supposed to know!They said she would know!" She sounds on the verge of panic.

Spark holds up a finger,silencing her. "I know. Don't panic, not yet." She stands before Jillian and grabs her shoulders, shaking her. "Focus! You must have some instinct! It's natural for you. You breathe water, for crying out loud!"

"I control water?"Jill murmurs, half to herself. "If you say so." As she thinks about it,she realizes there is some dim instinct. Slowly, she extends one hand towards the rising water. The area she thinks towards trembles a little bit. She glances at the others. Their expressions are different. Spark's is one of almost frightening anticipation. Julia's face is that of impatience,probably to get out of here. And Samantha's is one of relief.

They're counting on her.

She takes a big breath and raises her hand up. A droplet rises up and hovers in the air.Jillian smiles. Once she starts, it is instinctive!

"Well, this is lovely," Julia snaps. "She can lift a drop. Fat lot of good that'll do us when the tunnel floods!"

Her concentration breaks and the drop falls. "Floods?"

Samantha nods. "That guy... he's not dead. It's so weird. He sort of doesn't die. No matter how many times they thought he was done for, he always came back." She's not talking about right now. Whoever that guy is he's been a troublemaker for a while, apparently. "He's going to flood the tunnel to kill us and take you captive." She shrugs like it's not too big a deal. "He wants to study your power."

Jillian's quiet for a few moments, thinking. Finally, she lifts her chin and meets their gazes. "I can do it. I know it."

Spark nods. "I know."

They roll their eyes ather. She doesn't seem to notice.

The water's at their waists now.

"Samantha?" Jill Asks, looking at her. "You can't swim, can you?"

She shakes her head. "I didn't exactly grow up around water."

Jillian nods firmly. Shecan't mess this up. She knows that for sure now.

The water's pushing them backwards. They have to fight a current now. Jillian realizes what's happening. A rush of water is going to come towards them and push them back the way they came, right into the man's palm.

A soft breeze fills the tunnel, making waves in the water. It's a little past their waists.Jill notices Julia's fists clenched in concentration.

"Are you doing that?"she asks her.

Julia nods stiffly. The breeze grows stronger, lifting strands of their hair and drying their clothes that aren't submerged in the water.

The current is neutralizing! Julia's wind grows strong enough to shift the water.It seems to take an immense amount of concentration. Her gaze flickers to Jillian. "This would be easier for you to do than me.I'm wind, not water."

The water starts rising along the walls of the tunnel. It gets shallower in the middle, where they walk. The lever is just under their waists now. They move at a slightly faster pace.

The sound of wind roars in their ears, and mist fills the air. Suddenly there's a sound that can be heard over the wind. A sort of rushing sound.

They all come to a halt.Spark pulls a mask and small tank out of a small satchel on her hip."I've only got one, for Samantha. Jillian, this is where we need your help. There's going to be one massive wave coming towards us and you have to take care of it in whatever way works for you. Got it?"

"Uh, not really,"she says tightly. "This is a little unreasonable."

"Hello?" Julia says over them. "I can't hold this water much longer. There's hardly any air to work with in here."

"We can't see,"Samantha points out. "Spark, you'd be helpful right about now."

She nods. The lights stop flickering and grow brighter. A strange hum fills the air:electricity.

Jill's mind is racing.She can almost sense the big wave getting closer. How is she going to stop it? She has no idea what she's able to do. It really isn't fair, but she guesses there's nothing she can do about that.

The air starts to die down, slowly. The water level's past their stomachs. Spark hands Samantha the mask and tank. They move forward, a whole lot slower than before.

Spark walks beside Jillian for a moment. "Got a plan?"

"Not really," she admits. Her mind files through possibilities, disposing of each one.

Spark sighs heavily. "I wish I could help, but I hardly know a thing about you." She gives her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "You'll think of something."

Their hands  touch the water as they walk, unless they hold them in the air. They're forced to half-swim, half-walk.

Jillian wilts more with every step. How is she supposed to save these girls?