Selena Yesman, Human

  My first hangover is… well, it's a hangover. It's the worst headache I've ever had, and I seriously debate whether getting out of bed is even a good idea. I don't have class today, right? Is getting out of bed even necessary? Maybe I should just… lie here. The light of the morning peaks around the curtains of my room, seeming intent on disturbing my sleep. I groggily reach over to my nightstand and snatch up my nightstand, though not before knocking an empty glass cup onto the carpeted floor of my room. I think I heard a splash. Not as empty as I thought, I guess.

  A knock on my bedroom door makes me groan.

  “Go away.” I grumble, opening one eye and glaring at the door.

  “Selena, we need to talk.” I can hear Will's voice. It sounds urgent, which is the only reason I don't shout at the door for him to go away again. A girl needs her beauty sleep, dammit.

  With a sigh, I push myself up to a sitting position, glancing from side to side. The last thing I remember was ranting about kahoot or something back at the college. Did I pass out, or was trying to do the same amount of shots as Will a bad idea?

  “Come in.” I say after making sure I'm decent. Lillian or William must have brought me in here. That, or I'm a master of drunk movement or something. The door opens to admit Will and Lily, both looking… like absolute shit. Damn.

  “What happened to you?” I ask, pushing my hangover to the back of my mind as I look over the two of them. They're both still in their halloween costumes. Will's knight costume is burnt badly in multiple places, and there's a hole in the back of it, which I only see as the moment they get inside they strip them off to reveal their normal clothes underneath. Well, Lily has just her undergarments underneath, but she just wraps herself in my housecoat, which I don't object to. Her costume was covered in mud, dirt, and ash.

  “Don’t put those on my carpet.” I groan, pushing myself up. I then pause as Will slumps against the door of my bed.

  “I killed someone.” He says.

  “Eh?” My mind blanks out for a moment. The fuck does he mean, he killed someone? “The fuck do you mean you killed someone?”

  “The fire elemental.” Will explains, and immediately I understand.

  “Oh. He was here, wasn't he?” I push myself out of bed, shaking off what I can of my hangover and pushing a hand through the hole in the knight costume he'd put on the ground. “Are you ok?”

  “Physically? I'm fine.” He says. “Mentally? I'm fucking terrified.” He runs a hand through his hair, staring at nothing while Lily frowns to herself.

  “Terrified? What do you mean? what happened?” I crouch down beside him, looking into his eyes. He offers a nervous smile, but sighs.

  “Remember that message about the air elemental dying? Well, there was one about the fire elemental dying. But… it turns out that there's more. That's not all that happens when an elemental dies.” He raises a hand, palm up. “Step back a bit.” I comply, taking a step ayay from him. He sits up, and then… a lick of flame comes to life in the palm of his hand. I gasp.

  “But-… you-… you're the-... what?” I just stare at the little ball of orange flames licking his skin without burning. He sighs.

  “This is what happens when an elemental dies. I don't know if its only with elementals or not… but I think its with everyone.” He looks up at me. “Killing an elemental takes their powers. And if the whole world finds out about this… If even a small group of people find out about this.” He clenches his hand into a fist, the ball of fire vanishing into nothing.

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  “We'll be hunted.” Lily finishes for him. Will nods.

  “And Lily has something to tell us.” He says, pushing himself up to his feet.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I grip William and Lily's shoulders firmly, making them pause. “Start from the beginning, ok?”

  …

  They're both calmer now. That's good. I’d had a few questions throughout the story, and felt embarrassed when Lillian mentioned tucking me into bed, but I can only really feel grateful to her for it. I feel so useless, though. Two superhumans, one of them a superhuman twice over now, and I'm just… human.

  “So… Ascendance tier? That's that?” I ask, confused.

  “No idea.” Will shrugs. He's sitting on my desk chair while me and Lily, having gone and changed into something decent, sit on my bed together.

  “So you got her a hotel? Why couldn't she use her own money?” I ask. That lady, Alicia, sounded a bit untrustworthy, but I guess it's only fair to be nice to her and help her out until she can call someone to get her. “How'd you even get her to admit she's with the American government?”

  “I did that. I used some names and codes she'd recognize.” Lily explains, a self-depreciating smile gracing her lips.

  “And how did you know those codes?”

  “They were taught to me.” The smile leaves her face as she looks down at the floor. “What Will said before… about me admitting something… I told him last night already, since I felt it was wrong to keep it from you two. That, and I was just so… spooked.” She looks up at me. “I used to see the world pretty black and white. I was some things as good and some things as bad, and had a hard time seeing the grey. When all the elementals got their powers, across the world many countries demanded any “Elementals” come forth and turn themselves in. The united states of America was not an exception to this.” I could see where this story was going. I didn't like it.

  “I turned myself in too. They treated me fine, all things considered. Fed me well, trained me and helped me learn how to use my powers. There were some things they didn't tell me though. They didn't tell me the results of most of the tests they performed on my body. They even lied to me on one occasion. They said that I couldn’t control the iron and minerals inside of a person. Will proved that wrong for me.” She slumps a bit. “They put a chip in the back of my neck too. I suppose I couldn't blame them for that much at least. I’m basically a walking natural disaster. It's also the only reason they would let me go and do this on my own.”

  “Do… what on your own?” I ask her. Her story aligns pretty well with what I know of her thus far, if I'm being honest. Still, it's… I'm not sure how to put it.

  “They sent me hoping I could capture or kill the fire elemental to study him. They said it was to protect the world from threats like him. They wanted to cross-reference my results and his results to see what makes an elemental… an elemental.” She leans against the backboard of my bed with a sigh. “This is so definitely treason. I've barely just met you guys and I've already spilled secrets that would get me locked away for.”

  “No. I think you were right to tell us.” Will says firmly. “You know, you might not be the only one. Other countries might have elementals in their custody, whether willingly or not.”

  “They'd definitely want me to capture you if I had told them at the beginning. I'm instructed to make daily reports. The problem is that if I tell them I killed the fire elemental and they find out about what happens when you kill an elemental, they'll know I lied. And if I tell them someone else did it, they'll want to know who.”

  This is a complicated conundrum, I have to admit. I can’t blame her for keeping the secret. I'm actually a tiny bit dissapointed she cracked and spilled it this quick. I mean, be a bit more secretive with your state secrets, you know? But still, it's another point where I can only be grateful she told us. If we found out the wrong way or at the wrong time we might have been put in a bad situation. Or rather, Will and Lily would. I'd probably be fine if I played my cards right. Not like I'd ever want to abandon them though.

  “I say tell them.” I blurt out after a moment's thought. “Theres little to no chance they find out about this. I mean, think about it. The only reason they had you was because you chose to go with them willingly. Then when they tried to catch the fire elemental after he’d barely had time to practice with his powers? They were incinerated. Say you killed the fire elemental and would like to finish your year here at this college. If they say yes, then you're fine. if they say no, then we have 3 options. Either rip the chip out of your neck and make up a new identity for you, send you back with them and you keep in contact, or you try to convince them.” Theres silence for a moment at the end of my quick rant. Will nods.

  “I think it's a decent plan.” He says honestly. “But it's up to you, Lily.”

  “I-... yeah. I agree.” She nods. “And we probably wouldn't have to rip the chip out of my neck either way. I figured out how to do that transform thing that Tory did. I can just turn into earth and spit it out, then turn back”

  “I haven’t quite got it yet but I'm close.” Will admits. They both turn back to me. “Tonight we're gonna practice more. You wanna come?”

  “Of course!” I say immediately, nodding enthusiastically. I’m ashamed to admit that I find this kind of exciting.