Elementals
Chapter 13

Rosalie and Leo were at Tyler’s house, Rosalie on a chair and Leo with Tyler on the couch. “Come on! It’ll be fun!” Leo pleaded. It was Friday, the day of the dance. School had just let out and the dance didn’t start until 7:00pm. Leo and Rosalie were trying desperately to try and convince Tyler to come to the dance that night, but it was no use.

“I don’t even have any fancy clothes,” Tyler argued. “You can borrow my old tux,” Evan chimed in as he walked by, heading upstairs, having caught a part of their conversation while in the kitchen to get a sandwich. “You’re not helping!” Tyler yelled. He could hear Evan laughing all the way up the stairs.

“Look, we’re only in high school for four years and we aren’t always going to have chances to do this stuff. We should have fun and make as many memories as possible while we can,” Rosalie explained hopefully. “Yeah, and we can dance and have fun,” Leo added.

Tyler jumped up, angry. “Listen!” he yelled, “I just don’t want to go! Alright?!” Rosalie and Leo were startled, exchanging looks of surprise at the fact that Tyler just yelled at them. Rosalie sighed. “Sorry, I understand. You’re probably under a lot of stress right now,” she said gently, “Are you sure you don’t want to come get your mind off of everything?”

Tyler slowly nodded and sat back down. Leo grabbed his hand and held it gently, rubbing the back of Tyler’s hand with his thumb. “Do you want to hang out alone?” Leo asked. Tyler shook his head. “Nah, if you want to go, then go. I just want a little time to myself,” Tyler explained.

Leo nodded and gave him a hug. Afterwards, Rosalie gave him a shorter hug and they left. “So, are you excited to see the new dress May has been bragging about?” Leo asked sarcastically. “Eh, sort of, I guess,” Rosalie answered.

“Well, I’ve got to get home and change,” Leo sighed. “Same here,” Rosalie replied. The two said their goodbyes and met back up later at the agreed upon area near the park.

Jane drove Rosalie, and when they got there, they stepped out of the car to see Leo was was already sitting on the bench. He stood up and waved when he saw them, revealing his outfit, which consisted of a T-shirt with a tux’s design printed on it, a loose, dark blue tie, and sparkly, indigo, glitter pants.

Rosalie and Jane burst into laughter. “That’s some outfit!” Jane blurted. “Isn’t it?” Leo asked proudly. Rosalie was wearing a black dress with jagged-cut hem, a formal, baby pink cape, red plaid tights, and knee high boots with laces that go all the way up and into bows and three-inch heels. Leo cringed just thinking about walking in those.

Jane was wearing an elegant, lavender ball gown with an asymmetrical hem going from her left thigh to her right ankle, paired with a leather jacket and combat boots. “So, are you ready to go?” she asked. “Nah, we’re waiting on May,” Rosalie explained. Jane sighed. Jane never really liked May all that much, thinking she was a bit self-absorbed and egocentric. Rosalie eventually got used to it.

Soon enough, they heard the awkward clicking of heels on the rough pavement. “Hey!” May yelled, stumbling towards them as she tried and failed to learn how to walk in open-toed shoes with six in pin-heels. Aside from the shoes, she was wearing a new, floral dress, with mint green being the most prominent color, clashing with her gold hair and dark, midnight blue eyeshadow.

Leo brushed the dust from his pants. “Well, shall we go?” he asked. The three girls quickly agreed and headed towards Jane’s car. While stumbling in the heels, May tripped. She fell, but was swiftly caught by Leo, who helped her into the car. Leo and May sat in the back, Rosalie rode shotgun, and Jane drove.

The gym had a moderately sized crowd in it, seeing as the night was early and not too many people had yet arrived. Lillian stood in the corner, against the wall. He said he’d be here, she thought as she checked her cell phone for messages.

“Hello, again,” chimed a sly, male voice. Lillian jumped and looked up to see none other that Dan. She sighed with relief. “Looks like you finally made it,” she smirked. “Relax. I’m two minutes late,” he said casually, rolling his eyes.

Lillian looked him up and down, surprised at how dressed up he was. His black, normally messy hair was slicked and combed back neatly, revealing small blood red roots in it. He was dressed in black slacks, a crimson shirt, black bow tie, and black tailcoat. The only thing that actually looked like the normal Dan was his black, leather combat boots with buckles going halfway up to his knee and fingerless leather gloves.

Dan told Lillian he planned to sneak in through the back door near the cafeteria which was usually unlocked. It appeared that he was successful. He had a bit of a baby face which - when cleanly shaven like it was now - made him look young enough to be a high school Junior, despite being nineteen years old.

Dan’s eyes fixed to the entrance to the gym. “Heads up,” he whispered, nodding in that direction. Lillian carefully glanced over at the door to see Rosalie, Jane, Leo, and May arriving. Lillian looked back and smiled at Dan, who looked rather pleased with their plan’s results so far.

“Want me to check?” Lillian asked. Dan paused for a moment, before realizing what she meant. He nodded. Lillian drooped her head down and closed her eyes. She stayed like this for a minute before looking back up.

“There’s only one more coming,” Lillian said simply. Dan seemed a bit disappointed, then shrugged. “That’s probably for the best,” he said, “Jack is ridiculously strong. Facing the ones here now will be hard enough without him. Also, I’d rather not Tyler be here. I took away his family. I don’t want him to watch his friends die. Besides, that one has a darkness inside him, similar to you, and he may end up being useful to us instead of a problem.”

Lillian nodded, then coughed a bit. The coughing didn’t stop, and she doubled over, holding her stomach and choking with her hands over her mouth and her face turning red. “Lily! Are you okay?” Dan asked, patting her on the back. She waved him off and stood back up, her breathing returning to normal as she glanced at the bit of blood on her hand. “I’m fine,” she said in a raspy voice as she cleared her throat.

It was about a half hour into the night. The music jumped straight from hip hop to a slow song as the dj got up and went to the bathroom. Rosalie sighed. Jane was dancing with some Junior. Leo was helping May learn to dance in heels. That left Rosalie alone.

“May I have this dance?” came a voice behind her. Rosalie turned on a dime and saw Nathaniel standing there, extending a hand out to her. He was dressed in a full tuxedo with a bowtie, though his hair was still messy. Rosalie blushed a bit and took his hand.

Nathaniel smiled and pulled her onto the dance floor. Rosalie stumbled a bit, nearly falling, but Nathaniel’s hand on her arm lifted her carefully back on her feet. “Just follow me,” he said softly, guiding her movements.

Left, then up, then right, then back, turning a bit and flowing with the music. It was a rather simple pattern, yet it became entrancing. “This is nice,” Rosalie smiled, “I didn’t know you could dance.” “Yeah, my mother taught me when I was young,” he explained, his cheeks a bit pink.

“Well, you’re very good at it,” Rosalie said happily as they moved in time with the slow and calming beat. Nathaniel looked down shyly and bit his lip, before looking back up with a smirk. “I’ll show you good,” he said as he threw her away from him, spinning her, and pulled her close again with her back to him, swaying. He then spun her again, only this time brought her back under his arm and, knowing she wouldn’t do this willingly, tripped her so she fell backwards into his arms.

Nathaniel smiled cooly at Rosalie. Her face turned bright red. Realizing he had just dipped her while dancing to a romantic song, Nathaniel blushed all the way back to his ears. Their gazes remained fixed on each other, and he didn’t pull her up. He began to lean down a bit further, when…

“Attention, everyone!” came Lillian’s voice over the speakers. She had hopped up on stage and stolen the microphone. Nathaniel and Rosalie stood up straight, staring at her in shock. “I hope you’ve been having a good time…” she said mischievously. Rosalie heard a muffled noise, and turned towards it to see May being held by a boy in a red tailcoat, who she soon recognized as Dan.

“...but I’m afraid the fun is over,” Lillian continued, drawing Rosalie’s attention back to her, “Now, it’s time for the wicked to get what they deserve!” Murmurs and laughter swept the crowd, coming from the students who took her less than seriously.

Lillian noticed the response and smirked darkly. She lifted her hand and bright green bolts of electricity chot forth, shitting three people, who screamed and fell to the ground, sparking and twitching. People began to panic and run to the doors. Dan focused on them and a large rush of air came and slammed them closed. Seeing as the doors lock from the outside, the only way out was the emergency exit, which - as those smart enough to head to it soon realized - was busted and impossible to open.

When the three people on the floor (two girls and a boy) stopped writhing on the ground, their skin was charred and burnt. They weren’t moving. Rosalie looked back at May to Dan throw her into the locker room. “May!” Rosalie yelled, unsure whether to help May or deal with Lillian. “Just go! We’ll handle this,” Nathaniel yelled, seemingly reading her mind.

Rosalie nodded and ran off towards the locker room, hoping it wasn’t the boys’, but not taking the time to look. When she ran in, she saw May being pinned to the wall, held with her feet off the ground, by Dan. His hand was on her throat, the other was looking for something in his pocket.

“May!” Rosalie yelled. Dan looked up at her, more annoyed than anything else. He lifted his free hand and flicked his wrist. A large gust of air came and blew one of the rows of lockers across the room, right at Rosalie. She made a forcefield around herself to protect her, but it still knocked her back into a corner of the room.

Rosalie let the forcefield down, now trapped between two walls and a row of lockers. “May!” she yelled, trying to push the lockers away. It was no use. Rosalie conjured her sword and tried to cut through them, but the blade wasn’t sharp enough to slice metal.

Just then, May screamed. It sounded painful; a gut-wrenching sound that made Rosalie’s ears hurt and her stomach drop. Now, she was pissed. Rosalie felt anger and desperation boil within her. The entire space she was in turned bright red, then the lockers flew away. The lockers were dented and the tiles of the walls were cracked.

Rosalie didn’t know where that sort of power came from, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was May. However, when the lockers fell, she saw May slide down the wall to the floor, leaving streaks of blood as she did. Dan dropped her and turned to Rosalie, a bloody dagger clenched in his hand. Rosalie froze, shaking.

Dan sighed and put the dagger in his coat pocket before walking over to her casually. “Listen, Rosalie. I did what I had to. Don’t hate me,” he said blankly, a sad, puppy-dog sort of glaze to his eyes.

Rosalie found the energy to move, immediately trying to punch Dan in the face. “You sick psychopath! I’ll kill you!” Rosalie screamed, trying again and again to hit and kick Dan, who took the slightest steps and movements to dodge the attacks. Why isn’t he fighting back? If he wants to hurt me, he can. So, I guess he’s not going to, she thought, abandoning her current goal and running over to check on May.

Before she reached her friend, arms ran around Rosalie’s stomach and lifted her up. Tears streamed down Rosalie’s face as she screamed and cried, hitting and scratching at Dan’s arms with no real technique, all her training disappearing from her mind, until she tired herself out. She wondered, in the back of her mind, why he wouldn’t let her go to her friend. She thought maybe it was because helping May would undermine his goal to kill her.

Her thoughts were quickly put to rest when she say May’s eyes, frozen open in fear like a porcelain doll, blank and empty, having lost whatever life was once behind them. Her lips were perched, just slightly opened, as a scream for help just too quiet to hear. Rosalie’s heart felt as though it had fallen to her stomach, and she could practically feel vomit rising in her throat, yet it was the hand covering her eyes, trying to hide the scene before her from her sight, that finally made her ask herself a question that slowly made it all fall inline. Is he… trying to protect me?!

“Why?!” Rosalie said through gritted teeth, her voice hoarse and cracking, barely there at all, but quickly gaining more solidity and volume in response to Dan letting her go and a confused stare on his face “Why did you kill Tyler’s parents?! Why do you do this, yet give me water on a hot summer day and ask that I don’t hate you after you killed someone I care about?! WHY?!”

Dan sighed as Rosalie dropped to her knees, silent tears streaming down her face. He knelt down beside her, a surprising lack of hostility about him. Rosalie reluctantly looked up to make eye contact, shooting him a glare like knives. “You wanna know the reason?” he asked, with the only response being a quiet yet deadly stare from the young girl. “My name,” he said slowly, “is Daniel McCart. I’m your brother.”

Lillian struggled against the vines that held her still. She, Nathaniel, and Rosalie were behind the school. Samuel was inside, having used some sort of spell to erase the students’ memories of that night. Jack and Jane were helping him clean up the mess. Dan had disappeared. All that was left was dealing with Lillian.

Rapid footsteps approached as Tyler ran up. “What’s… going on?” he panted. Nathaniel and Rosalie glanced at each other. Rosalie knew him better, so they had already decided she would tell him. She took a deep breath, holding back tears.

“Tyler…” Rosalie said hesitantly, forcing herself to make eye contact with him, “It’s May.” Tyler’s eyes widened. “May? What happened? Is she okay?” he asked, worried. Rosalie sniffled. “She’s… She’s dead,” Rosalie blurted out. Tyler froze. “Lillian worked with a boy named Dan, who stabbed her in the stomach with the dagger that kills Elementals. He’s the one who killed your parents, as well,” Nathaniel explained as Rosalie melted back into tears.

Tyler’s face flushed white and tears welled in his eyes. His gaze fell on Lillian, and his face twisted in rage. He stepped forward, conjuring his gun and pressed it to her forehead with gritted teeth and eyes that meant to kill.

Rosalie and Nathaniel stared at Tyler, afraid that saying or doing anything would make him shoot. Lillian’s eyes were wide with terror. Tyler was incredibly still, aside from his shaking arm. “P-Please…” Lillian whispered. Tyler gripped the gun tighter. The trigger began to move.

The gun vanished and Tyler turned away from Lillian, refusing to look at her. “Where’s Leo?” he asked. Nathaniel and Rosalie exchanged glances of confusion, realizing they had no idea where he was.

Panicked, Tyler and Rosalie ran back into the school while Nathaniel kept watch over Lillian. Rosalie looked through the classrooms on the West hallway. Tyler checked the offices. There was no sign of Leo.

The cafeteria was empty, as was the gym, auditorium, and theatre. Rosalie was looking in classrooms while Tyler looked in all of the other places. He couldn’t replace Leo, and was beginning to panic. I’ve lost a lot of people. I can’t lose him, he thought.

As Tyler ran down the hallway, heading towards the kitchen, he heard a thumping noise. He stopped running and retraced his steps, until he heard the noise again. It was coming from a small closet. Tyler hesitantly opened the door, and something large and heavy fell on top of him. It was a person.

Tyler felt the person lift up, but before he could see them clearly, they latched onto him like a clingy child with a death-grip. Tyler jumped and pushed them off, squirming out of their way. Outraged, he was about to start yelling at them, when he saw that it was Leo. Tyler jumped and wrapped his arms around Leo, hugging him tightly.

When Tyler hugged Leo, he felt something wet and squishy. Taking another look at him, Tyler realized that Leo was covered in wet noodles. “Leo… what happened?” he asked, confused and curious. “I saw a guy running by here, but when I said something to him, he tried to stab me,” Leo explained, “I fought him and didn’t get hurt, but he shoved me and I fell into this pantry and he shut the door. I tried to get out, but it was locked. I bumped a shelf, and a box of spaghetti fell on me. When I tried to escape with my water powers, it softened the spaghetti.”

Tyler hugged Leo tightly. He started out laughing at Leo’s randomness, then went to crying about everything that had happened. Leo held him, hugging him, rocking slightly. Tyler laughed and cried at the same time like a crazy person, feeling like he was going to break, and he might have, but Leo managed to keep him together.

Rosalie saw them from the corner, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she decided to go back and keep Nathaniel company. When she stepped outside, though, she saw Nathaniel fighting with none other than Dan. He’s back, she thought.

Nathaniel made a wall of vines between him and Dan, but they wilted as quickly as they were formed. Nathaniel tried to punch Dan. Dan threw him. Nathaniel landed on the ground, and Dan came at him with the dagger, but Rosalie stepped in, standing in front of Nathaniel with her arms out, guarding him.

Dan froze, staring at Rosalie with an enraged glare, holding the dagger at the ready. Lillian stood behind him. Nathaniel was looking at Rosalie like she was crazy. She probably was. Dan sighed and put the dagger back in his coat. “Let’s go,” he said to Lillian as he walked away. She followed him, and they left.

It was raining, and most people had black umbrellas to match their black clothing as the coffin was lowered into its grave. May’s parents had a crowd around them for comfort, but they were still falling apart. Jane, Jack, Rosalie, Nathaniel, Tyler, Leo, and even Samuel were there. Some knew May a lot longer than others, and some were more fond of her than others, yet they all shared the pain. Through the pain, a few things were abundantly clear. First, the next few years would be hectic, full of love and lost and fighting. Second, with people like Dan and Lillian out there, the world would need the Elementals. Last, although tough and far from kind, Dan was not the evil they would be facing. They didn’t know what was, but it would be far worse than the angsty teen. Samuel believed it may either be or be related to the child of the witch coven that the last generation of Elementals had to face, though he wasn’t sure. He didn’t tell the others, but he feared it would be much worse. That being said, the one thing that knew above all else, is that this was only the beginning.