Element Fire (sneak-peak)

     Ok sooooo, I am a writer, a song writer, a story writer, a story writer. You get the idea. Well, I've been working on this book series called Element, and I'm almost done with the first book! Element fire! I know you guys have already seen the cover but here it is again... the reason? I am about to let you all read the first chapter of my book! I hope you all like it. Let's dive in!

1

Running the Other Way

I sit up, sweat drenching my head. The bed I’m in is cold but my body could not be more hot. I reach for the glass of water that’s always by my bed on my bedside table and take one gulp before it’s all gone and I set it back down. Both my bed and the table look exactly like the fourteen other beds and tables that surround me. All with brass bars that make up the bed frame, and thin, creaky, wooden boards that hold the thin, pokey, straw mattress from falling to the floor. And all the tables are made of the same oak (possibly the same tree) that always holds dust to it like a fly trap holds flies no matter how hard you scrub it. 

I hate being an orphan, but it’s not like I can help it. I’m not brave enough to run away, though my friend Paisley is. I’m smart, but I barely go to school. Well I’m smart for an orphan. I know I’d read more if I could, but I can’t. The Mistress keeps the key to the library tied to her belt.

“Nosy children do not deserve to read! You hardly know how any ways.” 

The Mistress, (who’s true name is Eleanor Margarete Bash) never wanted to work here, so she’s as mean as an old toad. Me and the other children call her Witch for fun when she’s not around. Of course that is a rare occasion for she is always watching us all the time. She has us do chores to earn our bread and water, which really is all we have to eat. 

I've been having the same dream over and over for about a month now. I’ve told my friend Paisley that I think it’s a sign, but she says there are other signs in our life that are more important to listen to, like the one where we bust out of here with our other friends, Della, Charly, and Amy. 

We had all been orphans as long as we could remember, Witch says that’s not very long at all, our memory, and that children don’t remember anything unless it has to do with misery or chocolate. She’s right of course about the chocolate part, I’ve only had one piece in my life and it’s a day I’ll never forget. 

In my dream I’m running, then I stop and fall. As soon as I’m done falling the strangest thing happens. I stand still doing nothing, and snakes come and surround me, climbing up my arms and legs, they get all in my hair too. Then lightning strikes and I can see a man in front of me, though his back is turned.

I hear hissing as lightning strikes lighting up the sky one more time before I find myself in a chair, snakes gone, and me again doing nothing. But then the snakes come again, I can’t see them though, the room I’m in is pitch black, but I hear them, hear them slithering towards me, up me. Then the snakes freeze, and red eyes appear five yards away, barely a glow in the distance. Then they disappear and the snakes start to move again. But then they reappear, closer this time. Again gone, and again the snakes start to move. Now this is the last time the eyes appear, barely inches from my face. The snakes do not stop moving, they're gone. I just sit there, still, doing nothing, and after what feels like hours of just staring into those red eyes, I scream. The loudest scream in the world as far as I know. The eyes hiss and I’m drowning. 

A snake swims by me in the water and it speaks.

“A storm is coming……” 

Then it’s gone and the storm comes. I swim as fast as I can, though in reality I can’t swim at all, and I thrust my head above the water. It doesn’t work and my head is merely forcing a bubble to appear where air should have been. I still can’t breath, I’m getting dizzy, then lightning strikes all around me at the same time. I cover my ears as the thunder comes. My ears are on fire as soon as I touch them. My hands are on fire now. I try to scream but all that comes out is a muffled sort of moan. Then those red eyes appear but this time a body comes with them, cloaked and unseen. Dry, wrinkled, gray hands, reach out for me and I pull away but not fast enough. The hands grab mine and an evil cackling fills the air. One of the hands holds my hand palm up and his other hand is laid on top of mine. Then it’s slowly raised upward, pulling out fire from my hands. It burns me and it scorches my brain. My head is on fire, and a pounding headache splits across my forehead. I try to yank away but I can’t. I can’t even talk. The red eyes do the same thing to my other hand and I pass out. 

I wake up standing then. A man is sitting down in front of me, wrapping my hands in bandages. We're in the middle of the forest but it’s strangely quiet. 

“Looks like he got you,” the man says looking up at me. 

I nod my head. Then the snakes come. The sky goes dark and again lightning strikes all at once around me. Then the man’s eyes go red, his body is cloaked in a dark robe, and his skin is dried up, gray, and wrinkled. 

That’s when I always wake up. I hate that dream. I always wake up early and can never get back to sleep.

I look up at the clock above the door to the room that me and fourteen other girls share. Luckily Paisley is in this room or I wouldn’t survive. Fifteen years here and still I don’t want to be without her. 

It’s 5:30 in the morning. Great, I still could have got another thirty minutes sleep.

I get up, careful not to wake the other girls, (this is a girls only room) and walk to the library doors. 

I’ve only ever once seen the inside of the library, but I wish I could go in again. I would learn so much from just one day there. 

The doors to the great room are rich oak doors. They're carved with pictures of books and dragons, music notes I can’t read but I long to be able to, and many other pictures and symbols I wish to understand. 

“What are you doing up Kat?” 

I turn around slowly, I hadn’t even heard him coming up behind me.

“I couldn’t sleep,” I say. 

“Ahh, and why is that? Did a cat come and claw your eyes out?”

Micah Club is one of the only boys I get along with, but he is a pain in many other ways. His hair is short and brown as are his eyes. But his eyes are dark brown. I feel as if he’s searching me with them, like I could fall into them. The boys' clothes are better than ours. Micah wears a loose white shirt under a no-sleeved black one and black jeans. Best part, they fit.  He calls me Kat but my true name is Leona Whisp, my friends call me Leo, ok well he’s the exception. He only calls me Kat because when I was little, I used to say that if I got a cat I would run away from the orphanage. You see, Paisley would always talk about leaving, one day I finally got fed up with it and said, 

“If I get a cat, I’ll run away with you.” 

Of course I never did, but that’s what I said. But ever since, Micah has called me Kat in mockery of that day and that stupid dream. I really did want a cat. 

“No,” I remark sarcastically.

“Fine then Kat. What are you doing up then?”

“I feel I should be asking you that same question.”

“Ahh but you see, I asked it first!” he teases. 

“Fine,” I breathe. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Was it that same dream?”

I nod. 

“Maybe you should talk to Witch about that.”

“Ha! I’d just as soon be cursed! And that might happen if I go to her about it.”

“Fine! I was just trying to help.”

“Last time you tried to help, Sophia’s hair looked like a bat’s nest.”

“What can I say, pony tails are hard!”

We both laugh for a while before remembering we can’t be out of bed this early. 

“Do you know what time it is?” I ask.

“No, time enough to get back to bed though. It was about 5:30 when I got out.”

I nod. “Same here.”

I take one last longing look at the library doors before turning to follow Micah back to our dorms. 

The male dorms are right across from the female dorms so we can walk the way back together. It feels kinda weird though, I mean, walking alone in a hall at night with a boy? We're just friends but still, it’s awkward. 

“See ya,” I say, turning into the dark room where my identical bed waits for me. 

“See ya,” he softly replies. We both know our silence is a necessity at this hour. 

This isn’t the first time me and Micah have been out walking at night though. We often slip into the paper room and look at the giant map of Purpose memorizing the forests and lakes wishing we were out there ourselves. 

I slowly tiptoe back into my bed and pull the blanket over my body. A sudden wave of tiredness confronts me and I begin to close my eyes. But just as I do so the door is flung open and Witch walks in dragging Micah by one ear. 

She flips the switch turning the lights on and shouts at the rest of us. 

“Up, up! I have news. By God, I said up children, UP!” 

I get up and Paisley does the same right next to me. The moment she sees Micah at the hands of Witch she gasps.

“Oh Leo look! She’s got Micah! What did he do now?”

Before I have time to answer, Witch shouts again, “UP GIRLS! Get dressed and meet me in the dining room!”

I get out of bed again and walk towards the big dresser that lines the west wall of the room. Paisley follows me there and we both pull out our shirts which are white with black seams, and plaid red and black skirts. Both me and Paisley’s clothes are too small by now, so our shirts are skin tight when they should be loose and baggy, and our skirts instead of going past our knees go right above them. The clothes used to be too big and that’s the only reason they still fit, sort of. 

“Spill,” Paisley articulates.

“W-what?” I stutter back. 

“About Micah, you know what happened so spill.”

“I don’t know-really not really.”

“Oh that’s crap, come on tell me!” 

“I don’t know exactly what happened, just. I couldn’t sleep!”

“Was it that dream?” Paisley inquires 

“Yes! Yeah it was.”

“So what about it? It kept you up so what?”

“I went out to look at the library, Micah was there too. Now that’s all I know!”

“So he was out of bed before six? Well he got caught. There’s our answer!”

I fidget with my skirt before putting it on. Then I pull off my nightgown and put my shirt on.

After me and Paisley are dressed, we start to head for the dining room. 

“Hey wait up!” 

I turn around to see both Amy and Della running to catch up with us from the dorms. 

Amy is the tallest of us all at five foot eight. She has long blond hair and glasses like me. Her clothes have been small for a while now, so she’s been borrowing the boys for about a year. 

Della is the opposite of Amy in many ways except height. She’s five foot six. Her hair is dirty blond and comes down just past her shoulders and is straight and thin. She’s gorgeous. Her face is round and cheerful looking even when she herself is not. Her clothes fit her just fine because they nearly fell off of her two years ago. 

Paisley is the strongest of us, and the shortest. But she has a temper. She won’t let anyone mess with her friends, that consists of me, Della, Amy, Micah, Rowan, and Charly. Her hair goes down to about her elbows and is blond and curly. She also wears glasses which are navy blue. 

I myself have wolf bangs that droop down my face and my hair nearly reaches my elbows. I wear black glasses that surround my eyes in perfect circles. My hair is usually curly but is sometimes straight. 

“We need to catch up!” Amy calls again.

Me and Pais wait for them to reach us and as soon as they do, Charly comes running out of the boys dorm, hair messy all over his face. He skids on the wooden floors, his shoes not yet on, and smashes into a very unsuspecting girl who is just now leaving our dorms. Well now she has a Charly in her face.

Charly is a hot mess in ways. His socks never match and his shirt is always untucked and remains that way. His hair is longer and red, his bangs nearly match mine in a cute way. His face is covered in freckles and his ears poke out almost like an elve’s.

“Woah! Sorry! Hey wait!” he shouts at us as we start to walk again, laughing at what just happened. 

“Not a chance!” Paisley calls back at him. “I don’t want you all up in my face!” 

We all start laughing except for Charly who just kinda pouts. 

He finally catches up to us right as we’re about to enter the dining room. 

“Did you all see? Witch has Micah.” 

“I saw,” Della breaths. She’s always kinda quiet. “She had him by the ear.”

“Yeah, and I bet she still does! An iron grip she has there.” Charly comments.

“And how would you know?” Amy asks. 

“I had her on me once! It didn’t feel good either.”

We all start laughing again, but stop when we enter the dining room.

Witch has Micah sit in a chair by her as she stands to count heads as we file into the room. 

The dining room has two large and long wooden tables in it. French doors lead into the kitchen and no ones aloud in except chefs and Witch. 

“Good,” Witch exclaims. “Everyone's here. Now we are not here to eat as we usually are at this hour, though eating will be included in the morning. We are here at the moment to discuss this boy!” She gabs one grubby finger at Micah who smiles like he’s famous or something. I try to signal to him not to do that, it will only get him into more trouble but he doesn’t seem to see me, and if he did, he didn’t listen. 

Micah has always been like that. Disobedient, and I’ll kill myself for this one day but I can’t help but like him for it. He’s not an ugly boy really. Well now he’s in trouble and it’s killing me to see. But he just smiles, like he always does through everything. 

“This boy was caught for the fifth time this week out at night around the library! And tonight was no different!”

Maybe I had lied in bed longer than I thought after I said goodbye to Micah. There's no way he could have gotten back to the library where Witch says she found him in the amount of time I thought I was back in bed. I had seen him go into his dorm, hadn’t I?

“He has been trying to sneak his way into that room I swear! And now he will pay for what he has done. Micah, will you get out of that seat?”

“Of course ma’am.” He gets up. So far so good.

Oh please don’t make any stupid mistakes Micah. Please

That’s all I can think as this trial continues. 

“Micah Club, you are being discarded from the orphanage! I don’t care where you go. It could be the forest, the alleyways! I don’t care! I’m through with you! Go, get out of here at once!”

I don’t think anyone was expecting that because even Micah’s smile fades. 

“You may go say your goodbyes but then you must go. No breakfast if you're wondering. Now hurry, I don’t want to see you again!” and Witch (who I really thought must be one by now) turns her back on Micah and marches into the kitchen where she must not look at him again.

As soon as we’re all sure Witch is gone, a group of boys surround Micah before me or any of the girls can get to him. 

As soon as there all done slapping his back and wishing him good luck or exchanging words like,

“Wish I was in your place right now. What I wouldn't do to leave this place!” 

“Good luck out there Micah. Why, you're gonna need it!”

“Bye old friend, say you wouldn’t mind bringing me back some chocolate would you?”

At that, all of us wanted to hear the answer, but Micah seemed distracted. The only home he’d ever known and he had to leave. 

But goodbyes can’t last forever, and eventually Witch comes back out and starts to yell at us again.

“Out Micah Club out! You’ve had your time now go! GO!” And she drags him by the ear out of the dining room, out of the greeting room, and into the entry hall out the front door.

“You’ll need this!” one of the boys yells, throwing his own jacket out for Micah to catch. He nods his thanks putting the jacket on, then turns his back on the orphanage and starts to walk away.

Witch nods one nod of approval and walks back into the dining room where she calls for the rest of us to join her. I almost do before I make up my mind on something. 

I pull the front door open and run outside.

“What are you doing? Leo, come back!” Paisley calls after me. But I don’t come back. I can still see Micah, I can run and catch up. Say goodbye. 

My legs are cold from only wearing a skirt, and my shirt is short sleeved so my arms are cold too. It’s mid February and the snow has only just melted. But I keep running until he’s within earshot, then I yell, “Micah! Micah wait!

He hears me and turns around, shock written all over his face. He stops to wait for me and when we are arms distance from each other, I stop too. 

“Hey,” I say.

“Hey.” 

“Look, I couldn’t not say goodbye. I had to come see you-”

“Just don’t. I have to tell you…”

My body freezes. This is what I feared might happen. That I would run all the way out here and Micah would think it’s because I liked him. I mean maybe I do, but we’re just friends really. 

“What?” I can’t help but push him to finish his sentence. 

“I have to say, I like you. I like like you. I big woppin crush kind of like you!” 

I laugh. You can count on Micah to make an uncomfortable situation feel normal.

“What? It’s true.” 

“I know it’s true.” I reply, knowing I have to be serious.

“I’ve known you for fifteen years Kat, I didn’t like you for all of them.”

“I know that too.” 

“Well say something about it! What do you think?”
“I think you're about to leave and you should have told me sooner.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because then I might have said I like you too.”

“And why can’t you now?”

“You know why!” I proclaim. 

“No, I don’t! Why?” 

“Because I can’t say I like you only to miss you every day like that! I’m already going to miss you everyday as a friend Micah. I can’t miss you like, like that!” 

“I understand, it was stupid of me to say.”

“Promise you’ll miss me as a friend right back?” I clarify.

“I promise. I promise I’ll miss you.” 

I know what that kinda promise means. 

I take one step closer. So does he. I run up to him and wrap my arms around him. He hugs me back. 

Then I let go.

“I have to go before I get kicked out too, you know.”

“Yeah. Bye Kat.”

“Bye,” I whisper back. But by the time I do that, he’s already started running away. Away from me, away from the orphanage, and away from his past. The only past he’d ever known. Then I run. Away from Micah, back to the orphanage, back to the past. The only past I’ll ever know. And suddenly, I know why that one boy told Micah he wanted to switch places with him. Because what I’m feeling, I’d give anything to be running the other way. 

The End...

For Now