Elemental

Chapter 10

Christine continued training and was improving but she was getting sick of the routine: wake up, eat, train with Raquel, eat, train with Damien, eat then sleep. There wasn't much else for her to do so when she heard that Damien was going on a supply run, she jumped at the opportunity. Damien didn't like the idea but she wasn't going to take no for an answer. She had survived this long without getting caught and she would continue doing so. Two others came with them, Sigurd and Claudia. Luckily, they didn't seem to have an issue with Christine like most of the others. They were quiet and kept to themselves. From their similar red hair and features, she guessed they were either siblings or twins.

The town was far away, it was going to take them two days on foot. Had she been alone with Bane, it would have taken a day but Damien refused to let her go alone. She felt like a prized goat sometimes. Something that had to be protected. She wasn't a child and she was more than capable of taking care of herself.

It felt good to sleep under the stars again. She enjoyed the safety that came with the underground hideouts (as safe as one could be given her situation) but she missed tracing the constellations when sleep eluded her. She didn't actually know any constellations but she traced the shapes that she saw and gave them names of her own. Eventually, it lulled her to sleep.

When they made it into town, Christine wrapped a scarf around her nose and mouth and pulled her hood up. They were to split up and get supplies for Ned. Food and clothes were supplied by the locals that aided the resistance but the materials that Ned needed were harder to come by. If someone was found buying an excess amount of metal, tech, and tools it would raise red flags for the Raiders. Solar technology was all most had, other technology like computers and cell phones had turned into a luxury, reserved mostly for doctors and scientists. That's why they had to split up and each get a portion of the supplies.

Christine was parting ways with Damien when she suddenly froze. Rage flared inside her as she watched a Raider roughly grab a young boy. She felt her hands start to heat up and she had to clench them to keep them from producing any flames. She took a step toward the two but Damien put a hand on her shoulder.

"We can't draw any attention to ourselves." He whispered.

"He's just a kid. We can't not do anything."

"Chris—"

"Just get the supplies and I'll meet you at the meeting spot."

Before he could protest further, she took off towards the Raider. The Raider had dragged the boy down one of the streets and when she turned down it, she saw the Raider push the boy against the wall of the town's jail. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at the boy who was looking back at him, trying to put on a brave face but she could see in his eyes that he was scared. In the back of her mind, she thought that he'd make a great addition to their cause but she had more pressing things to think about. Like the fact that Christine knew that she wasn't going to make it to them before he shot him.

She thrust her hands out and willed the roots in the ground to wrap around the Raider's wrist. He struggled as the gun turned on him instead. The boy looked shocked and he looked around the street before seeing her. She nodded and he bolted the other direction just before she let the gun go off in the Raider's face. His body slumped to the ground and she let the roots recede back into the ground before running after the kid.