Exposing Elements

Chapter 2

A long car ride later, the divider between us and the guards came down. I looked up in surprise and gently woke Aria up.

"We need to lay a few ground rules before we arrive."

"Arrive where?" I asked.

" Rule one. No questions." Andy said. I had been really bored for the past few hours so I had given them names. The mean guard was Andy because he looked like an Andy. And the other guard was David because he reminded me of my friends dad.

"Rule number two. No talking unless you are spoken to." Andy smirked,"Trust me, this one is for your own good. And rule number three," He looked me straight in the eye,"Do exactly as your told."

I rolled my eyes,"Got it."

"No talking!" Andy yelled. Aria flinched into me and Andy began to roll the divider back up.

"Wait." David said as he pressed the divider back down,"You guys can talk now. But once we get there you must be silent." He looked at me in his mirror,"Make sure the kid knows that." Thankfully Aria didn't protest the kid comment, it unsettled me though. For our own good? Even David was becoming more strict.

———

A long while later the scenery began to change. Instead of the rocky terrain I was used to grasses and forests started to show. We were now in the North. The landscape was beautiful, it was why the royals had chose it. Lots of the nobles lived in the North. It was a place of royalty. I had been here a few times with papa  to sell silks and fine fabric.

Eventually we turned off of the main road and headed down a roughly paved path that definitely didn't lead to the royal palace. I don't know why I had thought we were going there, why would they take us to the royal palace?

Eventually the bumps got so big I thought that the car was going to break. At that point, the divider came down for the last time. Andy's face slowly appeared, he seemed to love giving us orders.

"Don't protest and don't look them in the eye. They are much more strict then us." My eyes widened, more strict than Andy? It didn't seem possible. But I wasn't used to strict, my family didn't roll that way.

The car screeched to a stop and Andy and David came around and opened our door. Apparently it wasn't an act of courtesy because as soon as we stepped out they snapped our hands into handcuffs.

I glanced past our guards and saw some very very scary men. They were like guards, but times ten.

"These are the testers, they will be conducting your Testing." David said. They began to prod us toward the circle of scary men. They were standing in a half burned down valley with a lake near a cliff.

I struggled against Andy's grip. I had to get out of here. I had to get Aria out of here. I knew this wasn't going to end well. The Testing never did. We would be lucky if we ever saw our family again. The thought brought tears to my eyes, but I hurriedly forced them down. I couldn't show them anymore weaknesses. It was time that I found a way out of here.

As we slowly approached the group of burly men in front of us, a man with a scar through his left eyebrow approached. His face was twisted into a scowl as he looked us over. Cold blue eyes had never been scarier. I could see Aria shaking with fright. We stood there like that for a while. No one moving. No one daring to speak. Apparently we were not the only ones afraid of the man.

All of the sudden he smiled. Not a nice smile though, it was like a grimace he thought was a smile. He had took the word smile and given it devil horns. I didn't want to see that "smile" ever again. He skipped the introductions and went straight to the point, "Bring the little one." My eyes widened at that

*************

As soon as I heard those words my world came crashing down. They were supposed to take me first. Not Aria! I lurched forward against my captors' grips and clawed at their arms. I had to get to Aria. It was like a mantra in my head as I watched them carry her kicking and screaming body towards the water. She kept looking back at me, expecting me to come rescue her and whisper to her that it was ok. Fat tears rolled down my face as I realized I couldn't. I couldn't save her.

They began to push me after the group holding Aria captive. We walked down a steep incline to a beautiful lake. The sun reflected off the surface and burned my eyes, but we kept walking.

Eventually we came to a halt. I looked ahead and saw that Aria's group had paused to. The man said a few words to her and the guards began to drag her into the water. I squinted into the sunlight, wondering what they were doing. I wasn't as worried, Aria was a great swimmer. We used to swim in the lake by our house for hours in the summer.They waded deeper into the water, deep enough that they could stand but Aria was swimming to stay afloat.

All of the sudden they grabbed her shoulders and pushed her under. I stared waiting for her to come up. When she didnt, I began to panic. I yanked against the cold metal on my wrists but the guards almost ripped my arms out of my sockets pulling me back. I watched the water, waiting for ripples to appear as Aria swam to the surface. But she didn't.

"Let me go!" I screamed. My voice was getting hoarse as I yelled and kicked at the guards. "Please!" I sobbed desperately,"She is my sister! I have to..I hav...I have to save her!" I turned to the guards, hoping to see a shred of sympathy in their eyes. But there was none. They showed me no emotion as I flailed helplessly in their arms.

I looked back towards the water, Aria came up once, gasping for air, but then they pushed her down  again. I could see ripples in the lake as she struggled against their grip. My sight was blurring with tears as I leaned all of my weight against the guards.

Than something happened. I felt a stirring inside of me, like someone was pouring sugar into me. My body tensed up and then spasmed. A rushing sound filled my ears as I stared towards my drowning sister. I kept fighting, but I didn't feel like I was fighting against the guards anymore. My mind was not working and everything was foggy. A pleasant tingling began in my chest and spread outwards slowly towards my limbs. A sort of euphoria filled me. What was happening? I felt a rise in my chest, like an ocean tide, and my fingers felt electrocuted. My fingers began to move on their own accord towards the lake, towards my sister. Suddenly, I became hyper aware of my surroundings, the beads of sweat on the guards, the snow on the mountains in the distance, the soggy mud near the lake. I felt a feeling like pins and needles in my body and and sensed a disruption at the lake.

Then, as soon as everything happened, it stopped. The dull rushing in my ears was replaced by crying sound coming from the lake. I opened my eyes and saw my sister, alive, near the shore. She was surrounded by a large puddle of water and was coughing violently. I wanted to stare forever, but my body started to sway with fatigue. I didn't know why I was so tired. I saw my sister mouth something but my ears weren't picking up what she was saying. Her face looked concerned as she crawled towards me. I was shocked when the guards didn't stop her. I wanted to ask her what happened, but my body seemed to be defying me. Everything was out of focus and black was lurking at the edge of my vision. Nothing made sense. After a moment of struggle, I sunk into a much needed slumber.

Okay so I probably should have elaborated more but I really want to get to more chapters sorry!!!!! Please comment and vote I would love to hear others opinions and polite critics.

-Maya❤️