I land the blanket at a campsite that is about five miles north of our school. Jamal is a mess; his eyes are red and puffy from crying. He probably thinks that his cousin is dead, even though I've assured him that they're still here, scouting the area for us.
"Is Mark going to be okay?" Emma asks me. She looks scared, and I guess that in this case I probably would, too. "They're not going to... to..."
"No," I say, "not yet. He's the bait. They want us to come try to rescue him, so they can capture us, too."
"Are we going to save him?" Jamal sniffles. "I don't give a crap if you say that we can't go, because I'm going after my cousin!"
"We'll go after him," I assure him, "but right now, they're transporting him to Washington, D.C., so they can keep him under safe keeping."
"Why Washington?" Emma asks. "Wouldn't they take him straight to, like, I don't know, some science lab for testing?"
"Shut up!" Jamal yells. "I don't want to hear this! Agh!"
"Sorry!" Emma cries as Jamal stomps away and collapses on the grass, sobbing. "Oh, Gosh, Jamal, I didn't mean..."
"It's okay," I say, "he'll get better." I hope.
I look up at the sky and wonder what it would be like to be able to live up there. It would be so much more peaceful, with no evil men chasing me, and I think I would enjoy it. But I think about my friends, and Jamal, and Mark, who need me, so bad, right here, right now, and I decide that I'm better off down here.
"Washington D.C. is where the Lab is," I explain. "Laboratory Prison is what the people inside call it. The Lab for short. It's where the abnormal go. The mind readers, fortune tellers, kids who are us...and experiments..." I look over at Jamal. "It's disguised as a mental hospital, and many of the kids trapped there go mental. The adults... they usually die off... or disappear..."
Emma's face is full of horror. "They kill us off?" she whispers, clearly full of hatred for this place.
"Once you reach eighteen, you're no use to them," I explain. "They can't experiment on you unless you're dead. So...yeah, they kill us off. It's like a human animal shelter." I sigh and add, "They say that they're 'keeping the world safe from people like us.'"
"They're taking my cousin to that place?" Jamal hisses. "I won't let them! I'll kill them! I swear—!"
The poor boy doesn't finish before bursting into tears. He covers his face with his hands and collapses back onto the ground.
"Emma, leave him be," I say. "We need rest. Tomorrow will be a long day; we'll go searching for Mark around here. If we don't find him, we'll go to the Lab."
"We'll find him," Jamal sobs. "We have to find him! He's my cousin.... I can't just leave him..."
"We'll find him," I assure Jamal, "whether it's here or in Washington D.C."
Jamal nods with teary eyes and curls up into a ball. I worry that he's beginning to lose his grip on reality—whatever little bit of it that he has left, anyways—but quickly shove those thoughts to the back of my mind. That's the least of my worries right now.
"I can't sleep," Emma moans, "without a bed, or at least a sleeping bag or a tent. Do you really expect us to sleep out here, with no tent or anything? That's not possible!"
I laugh. "Sorry," I say, "I forget that you guys haven't ever done this before."
"'Before'?" Jamal hisses. "What do you mean, 'Before'? You've done this before? Ha, I find that hard to believe."
"Yes, I have done this before," I growl. "That's why I moved from my old home to Texas. The government men—Agent Ralph and two others who I didn't see today—kidnapped me in first grade! I learned my abilities all by myself, with a little help from Dae--, my friend. He helped me escape and I made my way to Texas. I enrolled in school in third grade, and my friend left to help the others escape and to bring your sorry butts here!"
"Sorry," Jamal mutters, "I didn't know."
I'm ticked at the kid, but I can't stay mad considering that his cousin just got kidnapped. So, instead of giving a rude remark, I say, "My friend saved my life. He was older than me, and he helped me escape from the agents before I was even at the Lab. It's a long story."
"Um, Robin?" Emma pipes up. "Who are those two kids that are watching us? It's really creeping me out. They've been there for, like, ten minutes now."
Emma points over to the clump of bushes that sits about five yards away from us. I squint my eyes and manage to make out the shapes of two boys, each about fifteen years old. They're crouched behind the bushes and peeking between the leaves to see us.
"Crap," I say. I turn to Emma. "Stay here, and make sure that Jamal stays here, too. I'm going to visit our unwanted company."
Emma nods; I stomp over to the bushes, and the two boys quickly stand up, trying to make a run for it. I push the taller one to the ground with an air current and slam the other into a tree. I have no use for his friend; the taller boy with the dark eyes, the badly cut black hair that every girl except me adores, and the stupid remarks—I only have use for him.
"Does the whole school know?" I demand. Alberto looks up at me, clearly freaked out, and shakes his head. "Good," I say. "Now, I want you to stop any rumors of us. Do you understand me?" Alberto nods again. "Good. Now go!"
I shoot a small bolt of lightning at his feet and he cries out, even though it has only singed the ground. He and his friend dash off in the direction of the school and I allow myself a smile. That was easier than I expected with that dork.
I walk back to our blanket and find Emma and Jamal curled up next to each other. I look around the campsite and see a backpack sitting by an empty tent, only a few feet away.
I run over to it and empty it out. On the ground lies a wallet, a sleeping bag, a compass, a water bottle, some snacks, a bag of marshmallows, another sleeping bag, and some rope. I stuff one of the sleeping bags and the rope into the backpack, then run to another backpack on the opposite side of the campsite.
This backpack contains a few bags of trail mix, two compasses, three reusable water containers (all filled), a blanket, a couple ropes, some duct tape, and a few bags of marshmallows. I take one bag of marshmallows, a bag of trail mix, some duct tape, one rope, and two of the water bottles. I shove them inside the backpack that I took from the other tent, and then I run off toward my friends.
"Lie down," I instruct them. They immediately do so, and I have them wiggle into the giant sleeping bag. I'll easily fit, too, I can already tell that much, so I take one of the ropes and tie the sleeping bag to the blanket horizontally. I use the other rope to secure it diagonally (both ways), and then I duct tape it multiple times to the blanket, just to be safe. I have my friends get out of the sleeping bag, and I stuff the backpack into the foot of it.
"Did you steal all of that?" Emma asks me. I nod. "Oh, Gosh, Robin, that's not right! We have to return all of this!"
"No, I only took what we needed," I tell her. "And what isn't right is the government hunting down kids! Now climb your butt in the sleeping bag so we can go to sleep."
Emma hesitates, but does what I say. I climb in next to her and so does Jamal. I raise the blanket off of the ground a good fifty feet, and then stare up at the sky. I watch the setting sun, and then I watch as the moon begins to make its way up into the sky. I hear Emma's soft snores; I listen to Jamal's slow breathing and small sobs.
It all feels so peaceful, up here in the sky. I try to sleep, but I can't; I'm not tired in the least. I sit up and decide to look for Mark. Jamal's right—if we wait, then the chance of finding him will only get smaller.
I take a piece of paper and write: Went to find Mark. I'll be back by noon—no later, I promise. –Robin
I put a piece of duct tape on the note and stick it on the sleeping bag. I look at my friends' sleeping faces—they look so peaceful, as if nothing life-threatening has happened to them today. I look away, walk to the edge of the blanket, and jump.
I love the feeling of free-falling through the air. It fills me with joy and excitement inside. And then I'm on the ground, unharmed even though I just fell from fifty feet in the air. Air will always be my favorite element—if I could only choose one of the six elements, I would definitely choose air. That's why I chose to master it first.
I begin to walk around the campsite, but I soon realize that Mark is not here. In fact, I would have a better chance of spotting the black government vehicle from the air.
I decide to go back to the school. I push myself a few inches off of the ground and "air-jet" myself in the direction of Kings and Queens Middle School. I'm there in a couple of minutes, staring at what should be a now-empty school. But there are cars driving up to drop students off, and I realize that today must be a day to finish your final exams, for those who didn't yesterday due to the "interruption".
I begin to walk toward the office door when I step on a piece of paper. Curiosity gets the best of me and I bend down to pick it up. Written on it are seven names and I gasp.
Find and Retrieve:
Robin Green—Air, force fields & electricity, earth & its metals, plants, water, and fire
Jamal Harris—Unknown
Emma May—Unknown
Peter McCray—Unknown
John Prince—Unknown
Cooper Smith—Unknown
Mark Wedge—Unknown
"I know these kids," I whisper. Peter, John, and Cooper were in some of my classes. In fact, John is Emma's boyfriend. Or was, depending on if he comes with us or not. I feel guilty about that fact and decide that I need to go in and get these kids right now. I have to save them from the government.
I take a pencil from my pocket and erase the word Unknown from Mark's name. I pencil in the word Fire instead, and erase all of the other Unknowns. I don't write anything else, though; I fold the piece of paper and stick it in my pocket.
I turn around to see Agent Ralph and Agent Joshua walking out of the front office of the school. Peter, John, and Cooper walk behind them with fearful looks on their faces.
I can't let them end up like Mark. I won't allow it! Those two thoughts are running through my mind repeatedly as I run straight at the agents and their captives. Just as I reach them I bolt to the side and grab John's wrist. He cries out as he is yanked away from the agents and I shove him to the ground.
"Stay here," I demand, and then I turn to face the agents. I push my right hand out and send Agent Joshua flying smack into a tree. He's knocked unconscious and I feel a surge of satisfaction. I turn to Agent Ralph, who's fumbling around in his jacket pocket for something. I decide that I can't let him get whatever he's looking for, so I shoot a jet of air right at him and he lands right next to Agent Joshua, also unconscious.
Cooper's mouth is hanging open, and John is staring up at me with wide eyes. Peter just stands there, his arms hanging at his sides, looking surprised and impressed.
"How..." Peter can't seem to find the right words so he stops. He clears his throat and says instead, "What did those men want? Why did you attack them?"
"They wanted to kidnap you," I say, "and that's why I attacked them. The end, let's go."
I grab Peter's wrist with one hand and Cooper's with another, then I turn to John. "Get your butt up and come on!" I yell. John clumsily climbs to his feet and follows me as I pull the other two boys toward an open clearing. "Grab onto John's wrist, Peter," I instruct, and Peter does as I say. "Good, now whatever you do, don't let go of my arm," I say. "Unless you enjoy going splat."
"I'll hold onto your arm," Peter gulps.
I grin. "Good, now hold on tight," I say as I begin to raise myself off of the ground. Naturally, the three boys are dragged upward with me, so, to make it easier on them, I use a jet of air to take us to the campsite.
We're there in about a minute, which is record time for me. I lower the blanket to the ground and tell the boys to be quiet so they won't wake Ella and/or Jamal. They nod and climb onto the blanket. I raise it a good seventy feet above the ground before I sit down.
"It's a good thing this blanket is huge," I say with a laugh. Peter and John smile, and Cooper chuckles, but I can sense their uneasiness. "So you guys probably want explanations. Okay, well, I guess now would be a good time..."
I explain everything to them; even the things about Mark being kidnapped. They looked shocked when I tell them that they can control an element, too, and they also look excited. I remember my reaction when I learned of my abilities, and that thought makes me smile.
When I'm finished explaining, Cooper looks up at me and asks, "So, if Mark can do fire and you can do all six, what can I do?"
"I don't know yet," I say truthfully. "Mark's abilities were summoned by surprise. Most people's are, actually. Mine were summoned by surprise and sneezing."
"Heh," John says, "sneezing."
"Don't laugh," Peter snaps, "if it's true."
"It's alright," I say, surprised by Peter's sudden remark. "It is kind of funny. Sneezing and then learning to master air—I would've laughed, too, probably."
Peter frowns. He quickly changes subjects and asks, "So, you'll teach us how to use our abilities? Well, after we discover what they are, I mean..."
"Ah!" John cries. I turn around to see him hanging over the edge of the blanket, holding onto it with one hand and trying to regain his grip with the other hand. "Help me! Ah...ah!"
He loses his grip and plummets through the air. I jump after him and reach the ground way before him—I'm watching him fall from the ground, and I know this is mean, but it's kind of funny. I begin to put a force field around him but quickly stop; streams of water—all from different directions but heading in the same direction—are coalescing into a giant water bubble.
I take the piece of paper out of my pocket and write Water next to John's name. I've just folded it and slipped it back into my pocket when John hits the water bubble with a giant Ker-splash!
"Well," I say, "your element is water. Congrats."
"You don't say!" John hisses through clenched teeth. He's soaking wet and I have to hold back my laughter so I won't hurt his feelings.
"I might need you to teach me how to do water," I say. "All I've managed to do is freeze a glass of water and unfreeze it. Like I'll be able to do much damage with that ability."
John chuckles. "Yeah, my water bubble was pretty cool, wasn't it?" he says with a grin.
"Yeah, it definitely was," I reply, "seeing as it kept you from going splat when you hit the ground."
John's expression changes to realization of this fact. "Oh," he says, as if he's just now realizing this fact, "you're right. I saved my own life." He grins. "Cool, I saved my own life!"
"Not many people can say that," I agree. "Now let's get back up onto the blanket. Tomorrow we'll look for Mark and do some training."
John nods, and I grab his wrist and shoot us into the air. In a few seconds we're both back on the blanket, and I hear Peter say, "Man, I wish I could."
"You wish you could what?" I ask when I see how both he and Cooper have these sad expressions on their faces. They look up at me and then at each other before responding.
"Nothing," they say in unison.
Even though I know that it most definitely is not nothing, I ignore them and just say, "Oh, okay. Well, I'm going to start looking for Mark. Anyone else want to come?" All three boys' hands shoot into the air and I add, "By 'anyone else', I mean one of you."
Cooper exchanges a look with Peter, and then Peter steps forward. "I'm going with you," he says, as if it's final. "I don't care if you say no; I'll follow you and get killed when I hit the ground. I'm coming."
"Okay, then," I say, a little bit confused. "Get something to fly on and we'll go."
Peter picks up the backpack and holds one of its straps with both of his hands. He motions for me to do the same with the other strap, and I do so. Then we're flying with the magic of air, holding onto a backpack and grinning with joy.
"This awesome," Peter says. "Does this ever get old?"
"Nope," I say, "I never get tired of it. Sometimes I just wish that I could live up here, in the sky..."
"I hope that my element's air," Peter whispers in awe. "I could do this all day. It's so... peaceful up here."
"Yeah, it is," I agree. "Well, until a bird flies straight into you or the government people try to kidnap you using a helicopter. Oh, or if you run into a plane. Then it just hurts a lot."
Peter laughs, and I do, too, even though I was telling the truth. I've had all of those things happen to me, and they aren't fun. But I love it up here too much to let them get in my way and stop my "flying".
"Down there!" Peter suddenly says. I look over at him and see that he's pointing at a large black van that's parked in the school's parking lot. I see Agent Ralph standing next to the van with and unconscious Mark in his arms. I gasp and let go of the backpack, safely landing on the ground. But when I stand up, the worst pain that I've ever felt rips through my shoulder.
"Robin!" I hear Peter yell. He lands next to me, and I realize that I must have subconsciously descended the backpack. "Robin! Oh my Gosh, are you okay? Robin—"
"Get back to the others," I hiss. I use my last bit of energy to send a jet of air strong enough to take him back to the campsite. I watch him rocket away and wonder how much damage a bullet can do to a shoulder.
And then I black out.
"Robin?" Mark's voice surfaces me from the deep pond of sleep that I was in. I open my eyes and watch him repeat my name again. "Robin?"
"What happened?" I ask, and I wince as pain once more rips through my shoulder. "Gah! Ow, did I get shot.... Ow..."
"Don't move," Mark says. "You've lost a lot of blood. It finally stopped bleeding about an hour ago, but if you move then it'll start bleeding again."
"How long...was I out...?" I choke out. The pain is so intense that I feel as if my shoulder is on fire. I squeeze my eyes shut and try not to cry.
"A few hours," Mark says. "They're taking us to some kind of prison."
"The Lab," I say sadly. I look up at Mark and explain everything to him, minus the crush part. He listens intently and asks questions at just the right time. I answer them quickly and happily; this takes my mind off of my shoulder wound. But after I've explained everything, tears begin to fall. The pain is so, so bad...
"I haven't been shot before," Mark says, "but I know that it hurts. If those government jerks don't get you something for it soon, and it gets infected..."
"I know," I say. "It'll be unbearable." But I'm not a crier, so if I start crying, then those government jerks will do something about it, I think. But I don't want to cry; not in front of Mark, anyways. Plus, I can't make myself cry—I can only look sad and pitiful at times.
Mark nods. He looks at the small, bulletproof panel that separates us from Agent Ralph and the other agents. "There has to be a way to open it..." he mutters to himself, trailing off in thought. He walks over to it and looks over it. "Ah ha!" he suddenly cries, and I look over at him to watch him pull on a small lever. The panel slides open and he sticks his hand through it.
"What are you doing?" I ask him. He's pushing his hand through and yanking it back repeatedly, and it looks really weird. He does it again and laughs, then turns to me.
"I'm poking them," he chuckles. "That should get their attention."
The idea makes me laugh, especially when I here Agent Ralph's voice hiss in annoyance, "Stop it, kid. You're going to get on my nerves."
"That's kind of the point," Mark snaps. "You got on my nerves when you kidnapped me, and then shot Robin!" He pokes the agent again, and Agent Ralph growls. Mark laughs and comes down to sit by me. "It's fun," he says. "You should try it."
I ponder the idea, and a smile forms on my lips. "I think I will," I say, "but in a different way." Mark looks at me quizzically as I bend down and pick up a random object off of the ground. I walk over to the open panel and throw the object through as hard as I can with my good arm/shoulder.
Crack!
I hear all three of the agents cursing as the object cracks their windshield. I grin and thrown another object and hear the satisfying shatter of glass.
"Whoever did that is dead!" I hear Agent Ralph yell. The van jerks to a stop and I hear a car door slam. Agent Ralph yanks open the back doors of the van and points at me. "You," he hisses, "you did this!"
"Don't play the blame game," I say. "You have no proof." I stick my tongue out at him and he glares at me, slamming the back doors of the van closed. I hear him get back in the van, cursing and swearing like a sailor. I smile once more despite my situation.
"You could have escaped," Mark says as he closes and locks the soundproof panel. "Even with your hurt arm, you could have easily gotten away. Why didn't you?"
I shrug. I hadn't really thought of escaping then, because I knew that Mark would have had a less chance of survival. "I can't leave you to get kidnapped again," I say. "It wouldn't be right. Plus, Jamal would kill me."
Mark laughs. "Yeah, he probably would," he agrees. "He has anger problems."
I look at the back doors of the van, as if it can tell me where my friends are and what they're doing. "Yeah," I agree, "he does."
I wonder how my friends are managing without me. I wonder if Jamal is still crying his eyes out and if Peter made it back to the campsite.
There's no way to know, I think sadly. But the fact that they aren't in this van with you is a good sign.
Unless they're dead, of course.