Elemental

Chapter 15

When I get to my room, Hailee is curled up on our beanbag , on her phone.
"Hey Zoe, ya got a note," she says as she hands a little white envelope. It says Zoey on the front.
"Thanks, from who?" I ask, intrigued.
"Uh, I don't know ,it was here when I got here," Hailee says without looking up. I open it up and there's a small piece of paper inside. It says:
Hi, this is Faith. I need to talk to you ASAP!! It's REALLY important. DON'T BRING ANYONE!!!!!Meet me in my room, room 365! NOW!!!!!
"Um, Hailee, I gotta go," I say as I slowly turn around to leave.
"Where?" Oh-no.
"Meeting a friend, she needs help with something," I say, technically that's not a lie...
"I can help," she says, finally looking up. Now she pays attention.
"No it's fine, she says it's private, sorry," I say, starting to escape the room.
"Ugh," she says, slumping back down. I let out a breath of relief and hurry out.
When I get to the third floor,it takes me a while to find her room. It's at the end of the hall, surrounded by cobwebs and dust. I knock and immediately she answers and pulls me in.
"It's a trap!" Faith says, panicky.
"Wha-what do you mean?" I ask her, now panicky myself.
"The Element Games. Ms.Collins is rigging it!" She says, urgently.
"What?" I manage.
"Let me explain," she says. "Collins is a Death elemental, so everyone is scared of her. Her daughter is Kelly Collins...do you know her?"  I nod. "Hm, well anyway she's scaring everyone into making Kelly, or any of the Death elementals win. That's why everyone, except them, has been injected by the green liquid. The green liquid is a power diluter. It weakens your powers," she explains.
"That's why they didn't inject her," I whisper. Faith nods. "How do you know?" I ask.
"Well, uh, she asked all of us to put less of the wires and stuff on you guys so the virtual emersion isn't as strong, and Kelly has the most power," she says. She thinks for a moment. "But I'm not gonna do that to you." I smile. She grins back at me.
"Thank you," I say. Faith looks at me.
"Yep, it's worth it," she says, nodding.
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I eventually go back to my room to study techniques, strategies, and power plays. Hailee, surprisingly, stays the whole time. She's actually being really suspicious.
"Why aren't you in the lounge or something?" I finally ask. Hailee perks up.
"Oh, uh no reason," she says, cautiously, slumping down.
"What'd you do?" I question.
"I'm, uh...I...uh, I'm scared," she stampers.
"Of what?" I ask.
"Three days, well what the three days lead up to..." she whispers.
"I...don't know how to respond to that. I mean I understand but you don't have to be. It's fake. Just think of it as a dream," I say. She shakes her head, then nods. And stays quiet for hours, until we're interrupted by an intercom announcement.
"Hello students. This announcement is for everyone competing in or helping with the Element Games. There are approximately 50 hours until the Element Games begin. Please prepare accordingly. Thank you and good night," says the voice.
Hailee and I look at each other. She sighs and I flash a reassuring smile.
I see the worry on her face. I don't know why. It's shouldn't be bad, right? Or she trying to tell me something? Does she know something? Something worse than Ms. Collins' plan?
Is it that bad?