The Origin

Chapter 3

Elixir had adrenaline pumping through her veins even after she had defended herself. She was stunned. She didn't mean to. Of course she didn't. But it was a weird sensation, almost as if it was not her. Like someone else had done it.

"I don't understand." She said weakly. "What's happening to me?" 

Chase smiled calmly.

"We can all do it Elixir, the gems make sure of that. They train our brains in some way, undetected by us. Calm down, it's fine! You do have the Storm Amulet after all." He pointed to her necklace.

Crystalline glided over to them, her voice as smooth as silk.

"But the X are tracking us down. They have already captured three pieces of data. They are now cornering us. There are only five of us left, four of which are staying here...the fifth..." Crystalline glanced at Chase in either a soothing way, or an unsure way, Elixir couldn't tell. She could see a sudden tension in Chase as Crystalline mentioned the fifth, but he smoothed it over quickly.

"The fifth doesn't seem to be our ally at the moment." He finished the sentence abruptly, eager to change subject. Crystalline turned her mesmerising eyes back to Elixir. Elixir envied her, with her slender figure, stylish clothes and perfect voice.

"We are planning to break in to the X's headquarters. Steal the data. Get back out again. Safe and sound." Crystalline explained, counting the points on her fingers as she listed them.

"But now." Chase said, trying to break the doom and gloom of the subject. "House tour." 

The house had many rooms. More than you would expect, from looking at the outside. It had a grand dining room, four bathrooms, a combat room, a weapons room, and four luxurious bedrooms. Elixir grinned when she saw Chase's, with an immature "No entry" pinned on the front. It was a boyish room, with an X box, a wardrobe, random t-shirts strewn everywhere. When they moved onto Crystalline's room, Elixir was awe-struck. The first thing that hit her, was the smell of flowerbomb perfume. Then it was the appearance. The walls were bubblegum pink, with a luxurious fluffy white carpet. There was a glitter stereo, playing electronic sounding music, a white wardrobe and shoes scattered over the carpet. The bed was a bubblegum pink duvet, with white fluffed pillows. It was a girly girl's dream room. Elixir was taken by surprise as she saw the next room. It was light pink, with lots of toys strewn around. And in the middle of the room, sat an eight year old girl. She turned her head to face the door, and a cute grin lit up her face. She had ruby red hair and freckles dusted across her nose. She bounced up, sprinting to Chase and hugging him. She only came up to his waist, but it was cute to watch.

"Hey Lizzie." He laughed, stroking her hair in a brotherly manner.

"Who are you?" The girl's sky blue eyes sparkled with curiosity as she shifted her vision over to where Elixir was standing. "Do you have the Storm Amulet? Can I see it?" The girl shot a million questions at Elixir. 

Elixir smiled.

"Yes, I have the Storm Amulet, or so I have been told. It's here." Elixir pointed to where the necklace sat. It had stopped glowing. She gasped, picking the gem up into her hands and studying it closely.

"But...but..." She squeaked. "Is it broken?" She burst out, immediately regretting sounding so stupid. There was a five second awkward silence, before Chase and Crystalline both burst out laughing. Elixir flushed red.

Later that night, the four of them sat at the table, picking at a spaghetti bolognaise that Crystalline had cooked. After forcing down a few mouthfuls of watery pasta, and tasteless meat, Elixir raised her head.

"You know earlier, how you mentioned the fifth data holder..." She started, before Chase coughed awkwardly, stood up, thanked Crystalline for a "delicious" dinner, and vanished to his bedroom. That was the end of that conversation...

Later that night, Elixir lay on her bed in her room, staring at the perfect white painted ceiling. She thought of all of the new things that she had learnt, but the one question that was killing her was:

Who was the fifth data holder, and why did Chase not want to talk about them?

She couldn't get to sleep. She lay, restless, until she decided to go outside to get some fresh air. She slipped on her jumper and quietly made her way out of her room. She reached the door, grabbed the door handle, and slowly and silently eased the door open. 

As quick as a cat, she squeazed throug the small door gap, before closing it.

Suddenly, she froze. There was someone standing just behind her. Her veins turned to ice. They chuckled dryly.

"May I ask why you are wandering down the alleyways alone?"