The Final Elemental

The throbbing in my head is the first thing I notice as my aching eyes flutter. The dryness of my eyes and sticky liquid dripping down my face is the second. Groaning, I let my head drop back, the motion aggravating the incessant pounding in my brain. I wait a moment before attempting any further motion, hoping in vain that the angry gnome in my skull tires of pounding on his war drum.

The sound of shuffling behind me has me forcing my eyes open. It takes a moment for my blurry vision to focus, and when it finally does, I have to fight back the bile threatening to escape me. The shuffling sounds again, drawing my attention. Slowly, in an attempt to avoid further aggravating my pounding head, I twist around.

The sights around me make no sense. There are rows of plush chairs lining an aisle. They're all empty. I carefully glance down, noting that, no, not all of them are empty. I'm sitting in one. Slowly, sounds filter into my awareness. The shuffling is behind me, though I can't seem to find the source while seated, and am not yet certain that I could stand without vomiting. There are windows by each set of seats, blinds pulled shut to cover them. A frown tugs at my face, causing a crackling feeling. It feels like I have one of those mud masks on, but that doesn't make any sense.

In a daze, I reach up, running my hand along my face. It's sticky in places, and dry and cracked in others. My frown deepens as I pull my hand back to see the crimson color of the sticky substance staining my skin.

Blood. But why? Where am I? How did I get here?

These questions and more race through my mind as my heart picks up speed, adrenaline pumping through my system. The shuffling sounds again, and this time I'm able to ignore the roiling in my stomach and pounding in my brain long enough to kneel in my seat and glance down.

There, curled into a ball and sucking on her thumb, is a small girl. She whimpers when she sees me looking down, covering her head in fear.

Another jolt of adrenaline rushes through me at the sight of her tiny, terrified figure. I clear my throat as I sink back down in my seat, bracing my hands on the arm rests and preparing for the inevitable vertigo as I force myself to my feet.

Once the faintness passes, I slowly circle around the back of my seat and approach the little girl, holding my hands out in an attempt to calm her. She whimpers and sinks further back, pushing herself slightly under the seat that I just vacated.

“Sshhh, shh, shh, it's ok. I won't hurt you, you're ok.”

She whimpers, a tear leaking out of her eye as she watches me cautiously.

“You're ok sweetheart, I'm here…”

She sniffles and slowly inches out of her corner, glancing at the window.

“What's wrong? Are you ok?”

She nods and cautiously reaches out a tiny hand to grasp two fingers on my right hand. Something tight in my chest unclenches at her touch.

“That's it, you're alright now…”

“I thought they killed you, Mister Cooper.”

Cooper. Huh, guess that's my name… why can't I remember my name? I slowly reach with my free hand and touch the back of my head, wincing at the shooting pain caused by the contact.

Ok… I guess I have a concussion… that can't be good. Who is this kid? Why does she know me?

“Are you ok? The bad man hit you really hard…”

“Yea, I'll be fine sweetie… I'm just having a little trouble… remembering.”

She nods solemnly and steps closer to me, fully exiting her terrified crouch. The glazed fear that had coated her eyes when I first saw her clears, leaving behind a surprisingly intelligent light for such a small child.

“I'm scared, Mister Cooper… why won't the bad men just leave me alone? They already hurt mommy and daddy…”

“I don't know, princess, I'm sorry… let's look out the window.”

She nods, clutching my hand as we approach a window and lift the blind. As I thought, we appear to be on a train. We're hurtling through the countryside at a clip, moving faster than I would expect a train to go. I glance at the little girl, mind whirling.

Bad men… who are the bad men? Why did they hurt the girl’s parents? Why does she seem to know me? Who am I? Who is she?

“I don't think they're going to stop at the next station to let us off, Mister Cooper…” she says sadly.

Glancing out the window once more, I can't help but agree. Despite the visible fear racing through her tiny body, her eyes show wisdom well beyond her years as she squares her shoulders and faces me.

“We can't stay here, they'll find us…” she says in a determined voice.

While I agree with her assessment, I first need to find out who they are… and who I am.

“Sweetheart, my head hurts pretty bad, and I can't remember much… could you help me out?”

“Of course, Mister Cooper… what do you need to know?”

“Well, for starters, what's your name?”

“Avira… but you've always called me Avi… like mama and papa did.”

“Ok, Avi… and who am I to you?”

She looks puzzled.

“You're Mister Cooper…”

“No, I mean, how do we know each other?”

“Oh! You're a friend of mommy and daddy… or you were, before they died… you promised to take care of me if anything happened to them…”

“Ok… and why are we on this train?”

“We were going to my grandfather… he's supposed to meet us in Versailles…”

“I see… what do you know about the bad men?”

She shivers and shrinks in on herself, clearly trying to make herself a smaller target.

“The bad men came to take me… they said I had to go to ‘the school,’ but mommy and daddy said they couldn't have me… they fought… daddy called you when they showed up…”

As she speaks, I recall a flash of conversation.

“Coop, they're here… they found us. Please, you need to get Avi. Don't let them take her. Follow the plan.”

“What do you mean they're there?! How did they find you, I'm on my way, hold on!”

“We'll hold them off as long as we can, get Avi out… Johannas knows the plan, he'll be waiting.”

I remember yelling frantically into the phone as the line went dead. I hurried over to their house, begging the powers that be to let me get there in time… I arrived in time to get Avi out, but not her parents.

The feel of a small hand touching my cheek snaps me out of the recollection.

“Do you remember now, Mister Cooper?”

“Some… do you know where the bad men went after they hit me?”

She shakes her head vigorously.

“I was hiding… they came onto the train and ordered everyone off… they just went, nobody said anything… it was so scary. We tried to get off too, but they stopped us, and grabbed me…”

Her words have the memory surfacing. There were about ten men in military uniforms… they boarded the train in the middle of nowhere and ordered everyone off. They got up and walked like zombies off the train, nobody speaking, or even blinking. I recall the shuffling of feet being the only sound outside the men’s voices. Avi and I shuffled alongside them, trying to escape the sight of our would-be jailers.

It didn't work. One of them grinned as he stopped us.

“Not you two.”

My heart was racing as they reached for Avi. They grabbed her and another tried to restrain me, but as he came close, I tackled him, knocking the large man into the one who has Avi.

“Run!” I shouted as they fumbled to their feet.

Avi took off and hid while I tried to fight off the men, but they overpowered me, knocking me over the head with something hard. Everything after that is blank.

My mind is still fuzzy. So much is missing from my memory. All I know is that I have to protect this little girl from these people. I don't understand why. I don't remember who her parents were to me. I just know that I can’t let them have her.

The sound of voices heading our way startles me out of my thoughts. I look around frantically, hoping to find a place for Avi to hide. She’s shaking as I usher her back under one of the seats. My heart’s beating wildly as I slump back into the seat I woke up in.

“There’s no way the girl got off this train, find her! I don’t care if you have to use the bodyguard as bait.”

“But sir… He’s one of the Risen…”

“Well, he’s obviously not a very good one if you were able to get the drop on him… look, the fool’s still passed out… Risen, my ass.”

Risen… the word resonates within my mind, a truth hidden in whatever the meaning is.

“Sir… why are we after this girl… you never did say.”

The first voice grunts in annoyance as the voices move closer. I fight the urge to stiffen as they stop beside me. Information… I need information.

“We need her simply because she’ll complete the circle…”

“Wait, she’s the fifth?”

“Mhm… Once we train the little shits up, we’ll be unstoppable.”

“Ok… but how are we getting them to obey?”

“They’re kids… it’s not that hard…” the voice sends angry chills racing through my body as one set of steps fades.

“Can you believe him, Cam?”

“Ignore him, Oscar’s always been a POS… he’s just letting it show better now that he’s been promoted…”

“Is he right, though, is she really the final elemental?”

“Beats me… I just do what I’m told, and if you know what’s good for you, you will too…”

“How does he plan to control her… I mean, if kids really were easy to control, we wouldn’t be looking for the tike right now…”

“Like I said, I just do what I’m told… I’m not paid to question the big boss.”

“Yea, yea… I hear ya…” I feel a kick against my shin and fight the urge to wince. “So how are we going to use this guy to find her?”

“Let’s save that as a last resort… look around, check under the chairs… she was pretty small, might be curled into a ball somewhere.”

“And if we find her?”

“Thrall.”

“Will it work?”

“Won’t know till you try. Take that side, I’ll look over here.”

The sound of grunts and shuffling feet is like a siren in my ears. They move away before coming close again. Carefully, I crack an eye open, praying that they don’t see. Thankfully, they’re too occupied with their search to notice me, so I look down at Avi, who is biting her lip to keep in her whimper.

By the time they reach my row, my heart is pounding in my chest, fear for Avi consuming me. I wait, praying they don’t hear me. Closer… closer… closer.

The man searching my side of the train has to lean down, crossing my body, in order to check under the chairs. Once he’s off balance, I reach out, grabbing him and covering his mouth in hopes of getting a couple of extra seconds. He struggles in my arms as I cut off his air supply. By the time the other man notices, the one in my arms is falling limp. With a shout, the second man launches himself at me.

“Run,” I whisper urgently at Avi as the second man collides with me while I’m still sitting, crushing the first man between us. Growling, I leverage the first man’s weight to knock the second off and scramble to my feet, mind spinning. From the corner of my eye, I see Avi sneaking out of her hiding place and racing down the aisle.

The remaining man is unsteady on his feet as I kick out, but manages to dodge the blow with disturbing accuracy. We go back and forth, exchanging blows in the aisle while Avi finds a new hiding place. Finally, I manage to get the upper hand and knock my opponent into the backs of some of the chairs with surprising force. He groans and drops to the floor. I feel bad about kicking someone when they’re down, but I’m certain that if I don’t take him out of the equation, I’ll regret it. Having decided that little Avira is more important than my sensibilities, I stomp on the man’s head, knocking him out.

I race towards the door she was heading towards, searching frantically for the little girl.

“Pst, Mister Cooper… Over here.”

The sound of her tiny voice brings me immense relief, until I see the hulking figure sneaking up behind her.

“Avi! Look out!”

The dark-clad arms of one of our pursuers close around her, making her screech in fear.

“Mister Cooper!” She wails as the man drags her flailing form into the next car.

I chase after them, fear lodged in my throat. No, no, no. I’m coming, Avi, hang on!

I race through car after seemingly endless car, always one set of doors behind them. Finally, we make it to the end of the train. They stop on the final balcony, the man grinning maniacally. I hold out my hands as if calming a frightened animal, mind begging him not to do anything stupid.

“There’s nowhere else to run… just give me the girl, please… nobody has to get hurt.”

The icy laughter that bursts out of the man has chills racing down my spine… this is not a nice person… I can’t let him take Avi.

“Don’t worry, I have plenty of places to go… you don’t, though!” he says, face breaking into a disturbing grin.

Too late, I hear the footsteps behind me. The feel of something crashing into the back of my head has me wobbling as I struggle to stay standing. I lurch around to face the new threat, holding my arm up in time to block another earth-shattering blow. My new opponent decides to toss the club he brained me with to the side and grapple me to the ground. The ringing in my ears and piercing pain in my brain has me too weak to put up much of a fight.

I watch through blurry eyes as the man holding Avi marches back into the car, a wide grin on his face. He dips his head toward someone else, who steps out of the shadows holding a gun, which they point at Avi.

“No, please… leave her alone.”

“Oh, I don’t think so…” he jerks his head toward the side while looking at the man holding me pinned.

I’m released but am too unsteady to do more than drag myself to my knees and puke at the man’s feet. He sneers at me and steps back, grip tightening on Avi, who winces in pain.

“She’ll be here soon, get ready, boys…”

“What about the Risen?”

“Shoot him.”

“No!” shouts Avi, resuming her struggle.

The man squeezes her neck until she stops, gasping for air.

“Why… pray tell… are you harming the girl?” demands a sonorous voice which fills me with dread.

My mind is even more addled than before. I don’t know who the voice belongs to, but I know I can’t let Avi go with her… I can’t let her touch the girl, or it’s all over. With that thought repeating in my mind like a mantra, I drag myself to my feet, intent on getting Avi away from her captors.

The reverberations of the gun going off sound, seemingly in another time and place to my addled mind. But the pain as the bullets enter my body is all here and now. No. No, Avi. My mind screams as I fall, no longer able to fight the debilitating damage done to my body today.

“Shooting a Risen… how… original.” Says the woman as she reaches towards Avi.

My vision begins to fade as I reach out, hoping against hope to save her.

“Come here, beautiful girl.”

The woman taking as struggling Avira into her arms and stroking her face is the last thing I see. I know in my heart that any hope I had left is a waste at this point. There’s no struggling against a Siren.

“Even if the Risen will rise again, at least it puts him out of commission for a few hours.” Says the gruff voice of the man who held Avi.

I try to blink my eyes open, but only blackness greets me.

“Whatever. Your payment will be transferred… we’re off. I expect to see you back at the compound within a fortnight.”

The car is silent for a moment before the big man grunts and stomps off.

“Damn Sirens…”

“Did she just… what, teleport, boss?”

“Something like that, c’mon, let’s get outta here… have the conductor stop the train.

“What about the Risen?”

“Is he dead yet?”

“Nah.”

“Then throw him off the balcony… let’s see if a Risen can go splat.”

My stomach lurches as I’m rolled to the edge of the train. I’m kicked and then I’m flying, body limp as I roll over and over, colliding with whatever obstacles the train passed by.

Avi. I’m so sorry. I’ll find you.

Those are my last thoughts as everything fades.