Elementary

Chapter Thirteen

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Everyone is quiet. Nobody speaks after we pull Meliza out. She doesn't thank me, or even acknowledge that I helped her after she abandoned me to die twice. 

We are all shivering. Especially me. Suddenly the silence is broken, surprising my ears.

"We have to keep going- Elementary might not have much time." Hunter says. Right. I haven't thought of Elementary at all since we left.

"What's happening to them?" I ask. They all look at each other.

"By now, they're probably in lock-down. In the cellars. But it's only a matter of time until the minions find them." Meliza says. She is surprisingly not sarcastic. "Are you able to warm us up with fire?"

I feel anger rise inside of me. Meliza... A water elementeer. A perfect girl, except for the fact that she is heartless. I saved her, and she left me to die in return. I left the camp steam off, and she got everyone to leave without me. She doesn't thank me for saving her life. Now, she wants me to warm her perfect little toes with fire- the one thing I have that she doesn't? No.

I ignore the question. I don't answer, and I don't acknowledge her. I think she does one of those things that teenagers do to their parents- where she holds her arms out, holds her shoulder up, and furrows her eyebrows.

"Okay. You know what? We were just frozen inside of ice, I could hardly breathe, and you won't offer the one single thing you can do to help? There must be something completely wrong about your brain, or whatever, because that is absolutely horrible." She says.

With my head held low, I quietly talk.

"Says the person who abandoned me twice and doesn't thank me for saving her life."

"I heard that, and you are the most rude person I have ever met."

I stop talking, and as we walk, I start to kick rocks again. I'm freezing, but I'm not about to start a fire any time soon. 

Hunter begins to frequently look back to where I am- a couple of feet behind everyone else in a straight line next to each other. I try not to look at him- he's been kind of ignoring me recently. But eventually, he steps back, and walks next to me.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

"I'm fine." I say gruffly.

"I know that it feels like you're giving in if you light a fire, but on a scale, I think that staying alive is more important than, I'm sorry, but your pride." Hunter says.

He makes a good point. I lighten up a little bit.

"How am I supposed to tell them? I mean, I kind of just dissed Meliza, and I really don't want to say sorry after doing nothing wrong." I whisper, hoping that Abdalla and Meliza won't hear me.

"You don't have to say sorry. Just tell them that we should camp out, or something, and just tell them that you'll start a fire to warm up."

When he says it like that, it seems much easier. I look over at him, try to give him a look of 'thank you', and then walk forward to Abdalla. 

"Hey guys, let's stop and camp out. I'll start a fire." 

They seem a bit offended.

"So, you're willing to start a fire for Abdalla, but not for the person who was frozen in place under the ice... Without air?" Meliza says, her eye twitching.

"That's not what I meant- I was talking to both of you." I say defensively.

"I'm sure you were." She says underneath her throat.

"Whatever. Here." I put my arms out, try my best not to think of anything else but the fire, and a spark comes out from my fingernails. "Don't wanna thank me? Fine." I plop down, my fingernails out, and the warmth pulses on my skin, digging deeper into my body until I'm almost warm again. We all huddle close, and if everyone seemed this relieved last night, I would have been so much happier. But I know that it's just because of the stupid fire. 

Meliza's a jerk, but everyone likes her. Why? Because she was born that way. Everybody loves water.

Next thing I know, Hunter gets up, and comes back with a few pieces of wood. Confused, I watch him as he drops it in the middle of the circle.

"Do you want me to..." I say.

"Yeah. I guess it's for the greater good." He answers, interrupting me.

Shrugging, I lower my fingers onto the wood, and the small trails of fire inch forward onto the wood, occasionally creating sparks, and burning dimly, yet brighter on the wood than on my hands. Soon, it begins to become dimmer, until it's almost out. But then, each flame leans the same direction, and burns larger and brighter. I look the opposite direction from where they leaned, and there is Abdalla, holding his hands out right next to him.

"Thanks." I say quietly.

After sitting in silence forever, a voice begins to speak.

"Anyway, I'm completely starving. Soon we'll have to hunt." 

An image of a dead deer plays over and over like a broken vinyl record.

Am I going to have to kill?