Better Kept Than Told | The Elements of the Eternal Book 1

Chapter 1: "The Dream"

This chapter is dedicated to my editor Arctic_Hedwig. Thank you so much!

Celeste rolled over restless. The house was quiet as always, but it was too quiet. An eerie stillness settled over her as she remembered. He's gone. He was there and then not. It made no sense. Celeste had said that for over a year now. Life doesn't make sense, it isn't fair, and people make it too complicated. She finally drifted off repeating these words silently.

...

Celeste dreamed "The Dream" again that night. She was alone, but she wanted light to stop the endless darkness. It came almost instantly. She looked around curiously, only to find the same three people lying there on musty, grey cots surrounded by hooded figures. She wanted to move, to take a closer look, but she was frozen in place. As if her hearing were enhanced she heard every word they said.

"How did this one find out?" said the one to the far right in the same feminine voice.

"The fat mouth blabbed," snipped someone with a gruff voice. At this point Celeste Caimbridge couldn't make out who had said that.

"Shut it, you imbecile." he said calmly. "This one found out because he saw it happen. Stop making assumptions and listen to the story for once," said the tall hooded figure, who she assumed was the leader. Everytime he told them to do something, they did it with no complaints, except for the gruff man, who seemed to listen to only himself.

"I don't get it," piped a squeaky voice.

"You don't get anything," muttered the gruff man.

The leader looked at him with what Celeste assumed was a death glare. The man immediately quieted, but tensed as if waiting for something. She didn't have to wait long to find out.

Celeste blinked as the man screamed with agony. She looked at him, but couldn't figure out what was happening. She hated watching people suffer. She lurched forward, but she didn't budge.

She watched as the leader's cloak slipped from his head, revealing a young male, no older than 17. He had raven brown hair and pale skin. His eyes were a stunning grey, serene and warm, yet cold and grieving. After examining them a second longer, Celeste looked at the ground, wishing for the shrieks to end.

Finally, the agonizing screams stopped. The gruff man withered on the floor in pain. He whimpered and the others just laughed at him.

"Get up," the leader said as if he shouldn't have to say it in the first place. "I am giving you one more chance, Vector. I have given you too many chances already. I am only keeping you for one reason. Once you can no longer do that there will be no need for you, if you can't keep your attitude under control. Do you understand?" he said calmly.

"Yes," muttered a barely audible Vector.

"What?" the man said.

"Hmm?" Vector asked, looking confused. Celeste couldn't figure out why, but she felt bad for him. Maybe because every time she looked at their leader she felt a sudden surge of hatred, but that word didn't quite fit.

"What did you say," the man said with no note of question in his voice.

"Yes," Vector said not much louder than the first time around.

The leader raised an eyebrow in a mocking way as the other figures around him snickered happily at someone else's pain.

"Yes," Vector shouted, his voice cracking.

The man smirked. "Okay, let me explain now," the leader said looking over at the person, the one with the squeaky voice.

"These people all found out in different ways," he motioned to the cots before he continued, "This one saw." He shot a glance at Vector. "These two happened to be told."