Elementals 25

    This time we decide to steer clear of the interstate. I'm relaxed behind the wheel now that I've rested. I look at Misha through the rear view mirror . We have matching French braids that run directly down the middle of our heads. 

Mine is neat and in place, curls are making their escapes as I look at her. She still hasn't said a word and sits silently looking out of the window. Tony has managed to stretch his long frame out as much as humanly possible in the sedan. 

    I attempt to sing along with Carrie Underwood as "blown away" plays on the radio. I try and pretend that this is a normal road trip. "If we were simply going on a family vacation right now where would we be going?" I ask Tony. He turns his head to face me and says "Florida. I would love to explore Disney world with Misha." He looks back at her and she smiles. I inhale and say "we'll plan that trip soon."

     When I pull my attention back to the road I have to lower my speed for the black SUV in front of me. I check my rear view mirror and see another  one behind me.  Not wanting to be paranoid I ask Tony. "Does it feel like we're surrounded?" He looks around and says "try to pass the one in front." I check the opposite lane and see that's it's free of traffic. I step on the accelerator and pass the first car. At first all is well. Then after about ten minutes the SUV I passed changes lanes as if to pass me. Once the SUV is next to me I look over and see that the driver is not attempting to pass me, but to run me off the road. I speed up and jerk the steering wheel to the right driving into the woods. The car bumps along before coming to a stop about half a mile in from the road. 

     I get out of the car and grab my backpack. Tony does the same while I help Misha out. The sound of on coming vehicles better equipped for off roading reaches my ears. I turn to Misha and say "remember where the car is. When I tell you, I want you to come here and hide in the car ok." She nods her head yes. The three of us head deeper into the woods. 

     We hike a little further in, but not so far that Misha won't be able to return to the car. When I think we're in well enough to hide I give Misha one of the car keys. She takes it from me and puts it into the pocket of her jeans. Tony taps me on the shoulder. When I turn around he points to our right and I see a rustling in the trees, then hear deep male voices moments later. This is it I think. I signal to

Misha to run back to the car which is in the opposite direction of where the voices are coming from. Misha runs so fast she is a blur. A light wind follows in her wake. Tony and I prepare ourselves to fight. I let the heat rise within me. 

Elementals 24

     Exhaustion finally takes us and we fall asleep. Tony on one bed and me with my body curved around Misha in the other. Once I'm deep in sleep a black veil lifts from my eyes and I'm in the woods. I'm hiding, crouching low behind a tree. I see the elders standing in a circle. They are all cloaked in white indicating they are performing some ritual I don't know. There is something in the middle of the circle. One of the elders moves and I realize it's not a thing but another person, wearing a blue cloak with the hood pulled up and over their head. I can not see who it is. 

      After a few minutes the elders kneel around the person in the center. The blue one reaches their arms out palms down. A light stream of water sprays the grass at their feet. When the water stops a beautiful blood red rose rises from the ground. The blue one closes one hand tight into a fist and when the hand is opened again a small ball of fire hovers above the palm. The blue one tosses the fireball at the rose and it turns to ash. The blue one now waves both hands and the wind picks up. It grows strong blowing the white cloaks of the elders and encircling the blue one until the hood of the blue cloak is knocked back by the force. Impossibly it reveals a teenage girl with long brown curls, tan skin and hazel eyes. It can't be I tell myself sucking in a breath of suprise. 

       The elders nod their heads approvingly at the display of power over all four elements. They rise tightening the circle around her. I hear a commotion coming from the right of the circle. Two new elders are pulling along someone cloaked in black. This person is struggling to get free but failing miserably. The black cloaked one is shoved into the circle so hard that the black hood falls off. I see a teenage boy with short black hair and olive skin. He looks terrified. He speaks directly to the girl. "I'm sorry Misha." He says confirming my fears. He reaches out and grabs both of her hands in his. Her eyes open wide before a blood curdling scream escapes her mouth and the elders tighten the circle so that I can no longer see her.

        "Roxie!" I open my eyes and see Tony looking down at me. His face is full of concern. I reach up and feel a warm towel on my forehead. "How long have I been asleep." I ask. "Its been over a day. You were burning up. Well more than usual. I think you had a fever. I sit up in the bed and lean my back against the headboard. My stomach growls. "I guess I could use something to eat." I say. "That we can help you with." He moves to the side and Misha brings me a plate of pancakes and bacon. "Thank you baby." I tell her as I tug on a curl and let go so that it recoils. She smiles and kisses me on the cheek; she still does not speak. 

        Once I've finished eating and had a shower I feel refreshed. "I'm not sick" I tell Tony. "I feel good as new. It was probably just from going non stop." I decide not to share my dream. It could have been the result of a fever and not a premonition of what is to become of Misha if we don't make it to the safe house. "Since you're feeling better, we should hit the road." Tony says. "We've been here too long." I agree and start gathering our belongings. We're efficient and precise thanks to Alexis. Our backpacks are packed and the room is wiped clean of fingerprints in 15 minutes. The three of us are back in the rental car and heading towards the border. 

Elementals 23

     When we reach Lyndonville in Vermont I decide we need to get a motel room for the night. Misha has continued to be silent and I want to talk to her. Tony pulls into the lot of the first motel we see with a vacancy sign flashing in neon red. I dig out the credit card and drivers license for Derrick Peterson and give them to Tony. I wait in the car with Misha while he goes inside to rent a room. When he returns Misha and I are standing outside the car with our backpacks. 

     The room is in a corner on the bottom floor. It's at an angle that gives us a full view of the parking lot and office from the window. After locking up the room and making sure the curtains are closed tight I take Misha into the bathroom. "You're so quiet today." I observe as I run warm water in the bathtub. Misha shrugs her shoulders. "Come here." I say on my knees with my arms open. Misha complies and I give her a bear hug. When I let go she undresses and slips into the tub. As I help her bathe I sing "Love Story " to her. She hums along but does not say a word. The water in the tub moves as if a breeze has come through an open window and touched it. I look around and confirm what I already knew. There is no window in the bathroom. "Misha" I say tentatively, she looks up at me and the water stills. "Are you doing that?" I ask pointing to the water. She looks at me quizzically. I try again "have you tried to see if you have wind magic?" She shakes her head no. I help her out of the tub and into a clean T-shirt and underwear. 

       I carry Misha back into the room and lay her down in one of the double beds. Tony stands at the window looking out. "I'm going to get ice, maybe something from the vending machine." He tells me before stepping outside. I make sure the door is locked firmly behind him before I return to the bathroom. I undress and step into the stream of warm water coming from the shower head. In the shower I close my eyes and attempt to wash off the pain and sadness from the last few days. Tears start to escape my eyes and I allow them to fall. I give myself permission to break down alone in the shower. I cry for My mother, Jayson, Alexis, Misha and Tony. I cry until I think Arden himself can feel my sorrow. When I'm out of tears. I turn the water off and rebuild the tough exterior that has helped me get this far.

       Tony is sitting on the double bed across from where Misha is sleeping. His back is to me as I exit the bathroom. His head is down and I can make out a slight shaking of his shoulders. I sit on the bed next to him and put my hand on his. He squeezes it and says in a thin voice "when this is done, when you two are safe I'm going back for her. I can't leave her like that. It's not what she would want," He wipes away tears with his free hand. I've been so focused on my own life that I failed to see that not only did Tony love Alexis, but that he was in love with her. I lean my head on his shoulder and say "it's the right thing to do. I want you to be true to yourself. We'll be ok when the time comes." He squeezes my hand again and we sit like that in silence watching Misha sleep. 

Elementals 22

    After what feels like endless hours on the bus. We pull into the town I've chosen. Bethelham, New Hampshire. I stand up and signal to Tony that we're getting off here. He and Misha stand and pull their backpacks on. We move to the front of the bus past the few other passengers who have boarded the bus at various stops. When I step off the bus I take a deep breathe of the fresh air. The three of us don't smell very fresh after these few days on the run. 

     I head towards the bus station wanting to use a real bathroom after hours on the bus. Misha waits in the lobby with Tony while I attempt to freshen up. I take a small hand towel out of my backpack and wet it with warm water. I scrub my face, then give myself a makeshift sponge bath. It's time to get rid of my shirt. So I pull out a solid gray T-shirt to put on. I toss the one I'd been wearing in the trash. I twist my hair once again into two French braids. After I've finished freshening up I go into the lobby and get Misha. As I was her face I tell her " mommy is sorry for scaring you." She stands silently watching me. " I love you so much that I was really scared when you disappeared." I pause, but she says nothing. "I wasn't mad at you. Do you forgive me?" Misha gives me a hug. I take it as a good sign. I give Misha a makeshift bath and change her clothes as well. Once I've pulled her curls into a tight bun we exit the bathroom. 

      Misha and I meet up with Tony coming out of the men's room also in fresh clothes. "Let's find an inexpensive place to eat." I suggest. We find what may be the only Denny's in Bethelham and sit down for a late breakfast. Pancakes are ordered all around. A silent tribute to our fallen friend. As we chew I pull out a small black case and unzip it. I shift through the doctored identification cards, passports and birth certificates. I take out a driver's license for Ericka Reynolds and put it in my pocket. "I think we should get a rental." I say. " It'll be easier to get across the border if we're driving ourselves." Tony nods and replies through a mouthful of pancakes "I think you're right. This trip is not going nearly as smooth as we'd hoped." Misha sits sipping her hot cocoa and watching us. Her silence worries me. 

  An hour later I slide the credit card and driver's license for Ericka Reynolds to a cashier at the car rental lot. She looks like she's barely 18, easily fooled by them. I get the keys to a four door Ford and head to the car with Misha and Tony following. Misha gets into the back without a word. I take the wheel and Tony rides shotgun. I burn rubber as I head back to the 93. Tony tells me to take it easy a few times as we fly up the highway and I change lanes. I'm on edge and feel that every car is following us. When I decide that taking the main highway is not safe for us I exit and start taking the back roads. Misha has been silently staring out her window. Occasionally rubbing her arms in the place where I grabbed her so tightly. I pull over and tell Tony to take over driving. A cool breeze wraps itself around me and blows passed as I move to the passenger side. I twist the key that still hangs around my neck and remind myself to ask Misha if she's felt powers developing. Tony eases the Ford back onto the road. 

Elementals 21

      I sat across from Eric in the little Italian restaurant. His smile was gorgeous he recommended fettuccine for me. The conversation was easy between us. "If you had to choose between the zoo, library or a museum to live for the rest of your life which would you choose?" Eric had been asking creative questions to get to know me all night. "That's easy. I'd choose the zoo. I need to be close to nature and well that's the closest of the three." I replied. "That's an interesting choice. I do love the great outdoors myself. What's your favorite part of nature?" "Sometimes I just love to be outside and feel the wind other times I just like to enjoy the scenery. Nature can be so beautiful." I had felt that the date was going well. Our waiter interrupted us then bringing dessert. I happily dug into my slice of lemon cake as we continued our conversation. The time had flown by. 

     "You know not all parts of nature are beautiful." Eric mentioned as if we hadn't been interrupted by the waiter. "Like what?" I asked. "Well nature can be destructive too. For example tornandos , or earthquakes and definitely fire." I instantly became alert at those words. I felt something was strange about him saying them. "Are you afraid of a little fire?" I asked testing his response. "Me? Never I always found it interesting. Wondered how it worked." His words were a bit too serious for my tastes. "I should get back. This is the first time I've gone out with anyone since..." I trailed off trying to sound like a nervous mother. He gave me that gleaming smile and stood up.

     As we drove back to the house I tried to keep the conversation short. I didn't want Eric to see that I was nervous. He continued to make small talk. "Ever been burned?" He asked. "No" I replied not wanting to elaborate. The drive seemed to be taking an extra long time. "I have" he continued. "That's why I don't care for fire. I still carry the scars from being burned as a kid." "Sorry" I told him sympathetically.  Just when I was trying to figure out how to jump out of his car we pulled up to the house. He got out of the car, walked around and opened the passenger door for me. He leaned over and gave me a tight hug. I let go and headed towards the the house. Before I opened  the door Eric called to me "Hey Roxie, I enjoyed our time together. See you soon." Then he sped away. 

      I couldn't get inside fast enough. He'd just confirmed it. They'd found us. No one here ever called me Roxie. They all knew me as Anne. I had difficulty getting the story out when Tony met me at the door. "We need to leave now" he'd said. "We will go" had been my reply. 

      The bus hits a bump and I jerk awake. "Sorry about that." The driver calls. Tony is asleep with his head leaning against the window and Misha has buried herself in his back and begun snoring lightly. I check the map again. A few more stops and we'll need to get off. 

Elementals 20

       The bus rumbles north on the 93. We're heading out of Massachusetts and into New Hampshire. Misha is cuddled next to Tony nibbling on trail mix and I sit alone a few seats back and across from them. I pull out the map and look for a place to stop. I know now that we'll have to get off the bus before I planned too. I try to find a random stop as close to the border as possible. After I pick one I put the map away and lean back iny seat. I'm exhausted and need to rest.

        When my eyes close I see myself opening the door to the house in Harverhill Misha toddles in behind me and Tony follows. I feel a sense of relief. After a few months in the cabin with Alexis she helped us find this place. No one had come for us. We felt that we could be ourselves here or at least a version of them. 

      We used altered versions of our real names. I got a job teaching pre-school and became Ms. Anne to my students. Tony found work on the docks and I enrolled Misha in daycare. We didn't pretend to be married. The few people who became as close to friends as I would allow them knew that I was a widow and the Tony was just looking out for us. I even tried to play match maker and got Tony to go on a blind date with one of them. In the end he just wasn't interested. Me on the other hand after a few years of settling in was ready to give it a try.

    A tall dark and handsome single father asked me out for dinner. He had spent the weeks prior dropping his son off at the preschool and making small talk in the mornings. When I came home excited and little scared Tony offered to babysit and prepared me for my first date in years. when Eric arrived at the door I made him wait a few minutes while I talked myself out of calling the date off. Tony and Misha interrogated my new friend. When I heard him charm them both I came out of the bathroom and left with Eric. We got into his E350 and headed toward the restaurant. 

Elementals 19

      I'm frantic only seconds later as I open the door to the bathroom. Misha is standing just outside the door. I'm so full of anger, fear and love that I lose it. I reach out and grab her by the arms tightly. "What were you doing?" I hiss. "I... I thought I heard someone so I came out to check." I give her a shake without meaning to. Tony comes over to us and places a cool have on my arm. "Let go." He whispers in a serious tone. I release Misha and see that my hands are ever so slightly smoking and that there are very light hand shaped prints on the sleeves of Misha's shirt. I don't try to explain. Instead I go into the bathroom and retrieve the back packs leaving my trusted suitcase behind.

      We're silent as we make our way across this little town that I have decided can't have a population of more than 500. I trail a little behind Misha and Tony. I'm racked with guilt over having been so harsh with my baby and I'm worried. I have a feeling, that someone has been following us. 

     When we enter the bus station "Through the Fire" is playing on the intercom. I can't help but smile. "My theme song." I say to Tony who cracks a smile too. As a teen I would play this song while I practiced with my fire. I reach out for Misha wanting to share this moment with her but she pulls away and moves closer to Tony. I go to the ticket counter and look through the list of busses heading out within the hour. There's only one heading north so I purchase three tickets for the bus leaving in 30 minutes. 

     I inform Tony of my purchase and the three of us sit down on one of the three benches in the station. I unzip my backpack and pull out my MP3 player. I look around the station. It's almost empty besides us and the cashier there is buxom woman at the snack machine, and to young men that look like college students on a camping trip. I don't sense a threat so I put my earbuds in and press play. "Truly, madly, deeply" starts to play. I  sigh and close my eyes. I'm dancing on the wind with Jayson. It's our wedding day and this song plays as we have our first dance. 

   I feel a tug and one of the earbuds is yanked out of my ear. Tony leans over and whispers "I don't like the way those guys are looking at us." I look over subtlety and confirm that they are watching us. I don't recognize them, but that doesn't mean anything. Tony gets Misha up off the bench and  slips her backpack on. We get up and head outside to wait for the bus. The college boys start towards the door as well. I start to heat up. Just as I'm ready to create fireballs the bus pulls up. The college boys are moving faster and coming through the doors. I pass the tickets to Tony and he hands them over to the driver. He rushes Misha onto the bus and as I start up the first steps I see that the college boys are arguing with the driver because they don't have tickets but are trying to board. I walk to the back of the bus and open a window. As the driver gets on the bus I throw a fireball that lands between the bus and the boys.   They don't look surprised and as the bus pulls away I see one of them putting the flames out with water coming from the palm of one of his hands.