The Elementum

“I guess this is goodnight,” Tristen said softly when they had arrived at the small space at the foot of the stairs.

“I believe we’re supposed to say something incredibly cliché at this point,” Jane joked. Tristen faked a pensive look.

“Hmm, well my dear, parting is such sweet sorrow,” Tristen said with a small chuckle at the end. Jane laughed playfully at his silly antics.

“Alright, well goodnight my dear. I’ll see you in the morning,” Jane replied.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Tristen replied smoothly. Jane blushed a little as she gave him a sweet smile.

Tristen leaned down and gave her a short sweet kiss on the lips. He loved the fact that he could now lavish her with his affection. He felt as though someone had removed a set of shackles that had once held him captive. Now, however, it was his heart that was held captive by Jane. The only difference being that this time he didn’t wish to be set free.

Love is a bittersweet game.

Jane slowly pulled her lips away from his, and smiled. She looked at him one last time before turning around and opening the door to her room. Once she was inside she leaned against the door and absorbed in everything that had happened.

“Oh my god Jane! What happened?” Shana asked in a rushed whisper. Instead of replying Jane gave Shana an excited shriek.

Jane rushed to Shana’s bed and dropped backwards unto it. Shana hovered over her with an anxious expression.

“So?” Shana asked impatiently.

Jane smiled before recounting the events of what she deemed as the best night of her life.

Shana and Jane lost track of time as they went over the details over and over again. Shana kept repeating to Jane the fact that she had known all along that they were meant for each other, and that they in fact did make a very cute couple.

The two friends talked until neither of them could keep their eyes open any longer.

“I guess this is going to be a more exciting adventure than I had thought,” Jane whispered before dosing off.

That morning John’s whistle could do nothing to dampen neither Jane or Tristen’s mood.

“Good Morning John!” Jane said cheerily as she walked out of her cabin and rushed up the stairs.

“Well, Good morning Miss Sunshine!” John replied with his usual good mood. “Wake up everyone! This is the last day on board! Better make good use of it.”

“Morning John! Has Jane woken up yet?” Tristen asked as he exited the guy’s cabin.

“Morning Tristen, and yes she just went upstairs,” John replied before blowing his whistle for the remaining youth that were still sleeping.

“Thanks!” Tristen said before running up the stairs.

As Tristen entered the kitchen he noticed that Jane was already taking a shower inside the bathroom.

He yawned and decided to get a cup of coffee.

“Hello Mr…I’m sorry I’m afraid I don’t know your last name,” Lucy confessed as she walked inside the kitchen.

“Rockview, Tristen Rockview, and good morning to you too captain. May I interest you in a cup of coffee?” Tristen offered.

“Oh yes, please. You seem to be in a good mood today,” Lucy observed.

“Well, there’s no use going through life with a frown on your face is it?” Tristen replied as he poured water into the coffee maker.

“Maybe not through life, but I think mornings force a frown on everyone,” Jason answered when he came into the room. He walked towards a chair and sat down grumpily.

“Not a morning person?” Lucy guessed.

Jason only grunted his reply. Lucy and Tristen laughed at his behavior. Tristen turned away from the coffeemaker which was now busy doing its job, and sat down on a chair opposite of Jason. Lucy remained standing as she contemplated what to make for breakfast.

“Would you guys fancy some flapjacks?” Lucy asked.

“Sure, that sounds good,” Tristen answered. Jason didn’t bother replying. Lucy smiled and got to work.

“Did someone say flapjacks?” Jane asked as she walked out of the bathroom. Tristen’s face instantly lit up with a feeling that only new love could bring. Jane gave him a flirty smile and walked to the chair next to his.

Each of them were still unsure as to how they would act in public, but they both new that for the sake of their friends they should keep the lovey dovey behavior to a minimum.

Tristen realized that he probably looked a mess and decided to go take a shower.

“Are Shana and Sean still sleeping?” Jane asked once Tristen was inside the bathroom.

“Of course, you know how they are,” Jason replied. Jane smiled to herself because she knew that the reason Shana was sleeping in was because they had stayed up talking last night.

“I’m guessing John’s going to work us to the bone today since we’re better rested than we were yesterday,” Jane commented.

“Probably, but first he’ll have to drag Sean out of bed,” Jason said in a lighter tone. Jane laughed in return.

“Hello everyone!” Shana said in her usual cheeriness. “Where’s Tristen?”

Jane smiled at Shana for her obvious attempt to reveal her new relationship with Tristen.

“He’s in the shower,” Jane replied.

“Oh, well, I guess I’ll just have to wait until he gets out to witness this new occurrence,” Shana said playfully.

“What are you talking about?” Jason asked with suspicion as he looked from Jane to Shana.

“She’s just crazy,” Jane replied quickly. Shana gave her a questioning look. Jane just smiled nervously.

“You’re a thing now, aren’t you?” Lucy asked without looking away from the ingredients before her. Jason looked at Jane in confusion.

“Yeah, I guess,” Jane answered shyly. Jason pieced everything together and instantly understood.

Shana looked at Jason and swore she could see a tinge of disappointment fill his face for a split second.

“Oh, well I can’t say I’m surprised. Frankly, it did take you guys quite a while to get here,” Jason stated before getting up to go get a cup of coffee.

Shana looked at him curiously wondering if her intuition was correct.

“Well, someone’s suddenly a lot more chatty,” Lucy teased. Jason pretended to ignore her comment and walked outside.

As Jason walked outside a sleepy Sean and a cheery John walked inside.

“I need coffee,” Sean stated as he walked groggily to the hot pot of coffee.

“Good morning boys!” Lucy greeted as she flipped a pancake.

“Who you calling a boy?!” John responded playfully.

“My apologies, John,” Lucy replied cheerfully.

“Alright, Jason the shower’s all yours,” Tristen announced as he walked out of the bathroom.

“He’s outside; I’ll go tell him his turn’s up,” said Shana.

“How can he be outside? It’s freaking freezing!” Sean complained before taking a sip of his coffee. Just then Jason walked in the door, and without another word went into the bathroom.

“How are we going to take showers once we’re wandering around Scindo?” Shana asked without really wanting to hear the answer. The others just grimaced at the fact that they probably wouldn’t have the luxury of a hot shower for a while.

“You know, there are villages with real people and actual houses and stuff in Scindo,” said John. The teens looked at him with confused faces.

“But I thought that-” Jane began.

“That there were only beasts and monsters?” John finished. The others nodded. “No, there are a lot of people that decided to stay when The Council decided to close the continent down. Of course, they don’t exactly live a life of luxury, but many are pretty well off.”

“Oh, well it’ll be interesting to see the people of Scindo,” said Jane with an optimistic tone.

“I’m looking forward to that too,” Shana chimed in. Sean and Tristen only nodded in agreement.

They spent the remainder of their morning in happy chatter over the delicious pancakes that Lucy made for them. Everyone’s spirits seemed a little livelier than usual. It just seemed like there was something special in the air.

“Alright, let’s begin the training,” John announced once the teens had lined up on their corresponding sticker. “Today we’ll be practicing using your powers.” Jane instantly became nervous at the thought of having to use her powers.

“Do you think it’s safe? I mean we’re on board a ship, and something could go wrong,” Jane asked with worry.

“We’ll be fine; don’t worry,” John replied with confidence in his voice. “Okay, let’s see…Sean, I want you in the back deck. Jane, you’ll be working in the same space as Sean, just in case we need a little extinguishing. Tristen, we don’t have a lot of boulders and dirt on board, but I’ve put a few rocks you’ll be practicing with on the left side of this deck. Shana, the wind seems to be coming from the left side of the ship, so you’ll be practicing facing the wind. Jason, I want you near the front of this deck. Alright, what are you waiting for? Go, go, go!”

The friends went to the place John had commanded them to, and waited for John to give each of them special instructions.

Jane wished that she had been placed alongside Tristen instead of Sean, but she decided that she’d have plenty of time to spend with him throughout their adventure.

“I hope we don’t tear this boat to pieces,” joked Sean. Jane laughed a little bit, but inside she was truly worried about not burning down the ship.

On the other side of the ship Tristen thought about the wonderful night, or moments, he had spent with Jane the previous evening. He hoped he could repeat it again tonight. He was pulled away from these thoughts when John came up to him.

“Alright boy, let’s see here…” John began. “I want you to try practicing lifting these rocks. Try lifting up one first and making it move in a circle in front of you. Once you’ve accomplished that, I want you to try to lift another rock up in the air and make the second float in a circle while the first one stays in place. Then you will continue lifting the rest one by one and repeating the process from the start. Got it?” John instructed.

“Yup, I got it,” Tristen replied. He looked down at the fist sized grey rocks lying in the floor and extended his hands out above them. He furrowed his brow in concentration and soon a rock was floating slowly up in the air.

He concentrated all his energy and made it move in a circle in the air. John nodded and smiled in praise. Tristen then lifted another rock up in midair and tried to make it move. This time, however, the first rock fell sharply to the floor.

Tristen sighed in disappointment.

“Keep at it Tristen, you’ll get it soon enough,” John said as he patted Tristen’s shoulder. “I’ll leave you to it.”

John started walking to a serious Jason waiting at the front of the deck.

“Alright Jason, seeing as how I forgot to bring the chest of materials over here, your first task will be to drag it over here using your powers,” John instructed playfully.

Jason looked solemnly towards the chest lying near the kitchen door. He concentrated his thoughts on the chest and space around it. He extended both of his hands towards the chest and looked intensely at the chest for a few seconds. Suddenly, he pulled his arms in toward his body and with that movement the chest move a few feet towards them.

Jason smiled at his accomplishments and John gave him a thumbs up.

“Alright Jason, I’ll be back in a few. When the chest gets here try opening it with your powers as well,” John said before walking towards Shana who was resting against the rails.

“Hey there Mr. John, so what’ll it be?” asked Shana ready to get to work.

“Well Miss Shana, I’m going to have you create a few gusts of wind,” John replied. “I want you to face towards the water and blow the air forward. Once you’ve gotten used to that, I want you to try moving the air in circular motions. Sound easy enough?”

“Yes, but I’m sure it’s far more difficult than it sounds,” replied Shana with the same willingness to practice as before.

John just winked at her before walking off towards Sean and Jane.

“Here he comes,” announced Sean. Jane turned to see John walking towards them.

“Okay, I’ll begin with you Sean. Your task will be to lift some of the water up from the ocean. After you can do that successfully you’ll have to form them into near perfect spheres,” instructed John. Sean nodded and turned towards the water.

He lifted his hands up and made them rise up in an attempt to lift some water up. The first attempts were unsuccessful, but after a lot more concentration he was able to bring a few drops up into the air.

“Good Job, Sean. Now just keep trying. Okay, hello Jane,” John said.

“Hello, John,” replied Jane with worry and anxiety in her tone.

“Now, now, don’t worry. The exercises you have to do are simple. I just want you to try heating up this baseball.” John retrieved a baseball from his short’s pockets and handed it to Jane.

“Just heat it up?” Jane asked relieved that she would have to form any fires just yet.

“Yes, that’s all, and if for some reason there’s an accident then Sean can toss some water unto it,” reassured John. Jane smiled and sat down on the deck floor with the baseball in her hands.

John smiled and began his rounds again.

When he reached Tristen he saw that he already had two rocks in the air and was managing to get the third one moving in and arch motion. Sadly, just as the third pebble was about to complete the circle, the others fell to the floor.

“Wow, great improvement in just a few minutes,” John said amazed at how quickly he was learning. Tristen smiled his thanks and lifted the first rock back up into the air.

John walked towards Jason and saw that he was sitting against the railing with an open chest before him.

“Wow, you kids are good,” John said even more amazed than before. “Okay, in here I have a couple of objects that I want you to lift into the air in the same manner that Tristen is lifting the rocks. Start with one, make it rotate, and do the same with the next one while keeping the previous ones in the air.”

John took out an assortment of similarly sized items from a doll to a small box and placed them in front of Jason. Jason lifted the doll in the air and made it rotate. Then he lifted a ball and tried do the same thing.

John reached Shana’s spot and was amazed to see that she was able to stop the flow of air coming at her from the ocean then she pushed it back out towards the ocean again.

“Very nice Shana; I think you kids will have a handle on this in no time,” said John with encouragement.

Sean too had managed to bring up a large amount of water into the air within a short amount of time. Jane had surprisingly found it quite easy to heat up the ball, but even at the end of the training day she still wasn’t confident enough in her skills to start a small fire.

By the time that Lucy called them for lunch they were a lot better at controlling their powers than they had been that morning.

“Come on now, I don’t need malnourished kids on my ship,” she commanded with her usual air of authority. Everyone walked into the kitchen and sat down around the table.

“Are we almost there?” Sean asked Lucy once he was finished eating.

“Just a couple of hours left. We’ll be there after sundown, but at least we won’t be as noticeable in the night,” Lucy replied.

“Are we going in the same way Pavus and his army do?” Shana asked curiously.

“We will use the same method, but not the same entrance. Legatus and the council made sure to make a secret entrance just for this occasion. We’ll be taking the back door, if you will,” Lucy answered.

“I’m kind of getting nervous jitters now,” Shana confessed.

“Yeah, me too,” shared Jane.

“I’m just ready to go up against a monster,” Tristen said with enthusiasm.

“This ain’t no video game, son. This will be life or death, no resetting and starting over from the last save point,” John warned.

“That just makes it that much more interesting,” Tristen added. Jane looked at him with slight admiration. She loved his boyish enthusiasm, and his immense courage.

“Just make sure that “courage” of yours doesn’t get us in trouble, or killed,” Jason said roughly. Tristen looked at him confused at his tone of voice.

“Of course not Jason,” Tristen replied. Jason looked at him then back towards the wall.

“Oh! Before I forget I’d like to ask our new lovebirds to please not engage in too much PDA while we are there for the sake of everyone else in the team,” Sean stated in a teasing voice.

Jane blushed and looked down at the floor. Tristen laughed and threw a piece of bread at him.

“Sean, you seriously embarrass me sometimes,” Shana said seriously. John laughed at her remark and gave Sean a pat on the head as he walked behind his chair.

“I guess these are our last few hours on board. After this everything will change,” Jane said in an attempt to change the conversation.

“Hasn’t everything changed already,” Tristen asked.

“Well, I guess so, but after this there will really be no turning back,” Jane replied.

“I’m going to go back up to the cockpit. I’ll tell you when we’re almost there,” Lucy stated before walking out the door.

Everyone considered what Jane had said in silence. There really was no turning back after they land on Scindo. They were afraid of what was ahead of them. The thought of never coming back home crossed their minds, but each pushed it away as quickly as it came.

One thing they knew for certain: dying would not be an option for them. They were going to survive through this, but even more than that they were going to go back winners.

“Guys! Come see this!” Lucy yelled from the cockpit. As they rushed out of the kitchen their eyes met with a mysterious and intimidating scene. A lonely shore could be seen a couple of miles away.

“So that’s Scindo,” Jane stated softly.

“We’ll reach it in about half an hour!” Lucy announced.

Slowly, the faraway shore grew and grew before them. They stood against the railing facing their future head on.

Jane hugged Tristen sideways and leaned her head against his chest. He wrapped his hand around her shoulders as he gazed forward.

The island was just within their reach now. Nervous sensations possessed their beings. They were about to enter a new life; one which they might not return from.

“Ready, guys?” Tristen asked his friends.

“Ready.”