Inferno : Elements Series Book One

Derek

Gwen’s nervous. She’s doing a pretty good job of hiding it from the others but I can see that she doesn’t want to do this. Talking to Andrew was fine enough, she was comfortable gaining his trust, but she hates the idea of crashing into his mind and rifling through his memories. Not that I can be sure of that, she’s been blocking me for weeks. Her mind is surrounded by an impenetrable wall and she only ever lets us in enough for her to hear what we’re saying. I haven’t figured out what made her do it and, I suppose, now isn’t really the time to try. I tune back in just in time to hear Gwen’s protests.

“I-I can’t!” she stutters. If that’s not a testament to how uncomfortable she feels, then I don’t know what is. Gwen never stutters. “I wouldn’t even know where to start! Jillian’s the one with the power to do that.”

She knows what she should do, she always knows. All of this is just instinctual for Gwen. I’ll never understand why she doubts herself all the time.

“You’re wrong,” replies Andrew confidently “This is why they want you. There is nothing you can’t do; it’s why you find your training to be so easy, even though you won’t tell your friends that. You just have to think about what you want and it happens, right? You’re the only person strong enough to do this, the only person I’d even let try.”

His faith in Gwen isn’t all that surprising to me. Gwen does that to people; she sets them at ease and inspires trust. She’s great like that.

“Is there any way you’d reconsider?” asks Jasper.

“No, if you want what’s in my head then Gwen is the only one who is allowed to go in and get it,” he says, turning to Jasper with a glare.

I think Gwen is completely lost for words. Her mouth is just opening and closing, kind of like a fish.

“There’s no changing his mind, Gwen,” says Hank, drawing her attention. “Are you up to this?”

Gwen pauses, her eyes wide, as she thinks.

“For what it’s worth,” says Andrew. “I have every faith that you can do it. I’ve seen how powerful you are.”

It feels like a decade before Gwen looks back up and pins Andrew with a steady, calculating gaze.

“Okay,” she says. “I will try, but on one condition.”

“Anything.”

“You don’t fight me while I’m in there. No matter where I go, no matter what I do. Especially if I’m trying to leave, I need you to just let me do what I have to,” she leaves no room for argument.

“I won’t fight you or try and block you,” agrees Andrew.

“Okay then,” she stands. “Everybody move back.”

She sounds confident again, I’m starting to think that there’s nothing more dangerous than Gwen with a mission. We do as we’re told. With a slight hand movement the chairs return to the ground and she sits on the floor. Andrew does the same and then she moves so close that she’s almost sitting in his lap. Their knees and shins are touching and even Andrew looks surprised. She turns to us and gives us a serious, assessing look.

“No matter what mine or Andrew’s bodies start doing out here; I need you to just let it happen. Don’t touch us, don’t try to separate us. I have to maintain physical contact with him at all times. This is very important, do you understand?”

Her voice is stern and brusque, more serious than I’ve seen her before. Clearly this is incredibly important and she’s looking at me in particular. I nod to her, telling her that I won’t interfere.

“Okay,” she takes a deep breath. “Okay, Andrew, are you ready for this?”

“Definitely,” he says.

She puts her index and middle fingers against his temples.

“Remember, try to stay calm and relaxed and do your best not fight me.”

Her fingertips begin to glow and we watch as a white, glowing orb seems to move down her neck, across her shoulders and down her left arm. Andrew’s eyes widen as Gwen’s head droops and it’s obvious that Gwen is no longer in her own body.

“What did we just watch?” asks Jasper. He looks a little white.

“We just watched Gwen leave her body and enter Andrew’s,” I say. He looks at me and his mouth pops open.

“You’re joking, she can do that?”

“She certainly can,” replies Hank.

“That’s fantastic!” exclaims Jasper. “Interrogations will be so easy from now on! Gwen can just go in there and get the infor-“

“No, she can’t,” my voice is more menacing than I thought it would be. “Gwen hates being able to do it, you saw how much convincing it took for her to do this. She won’t do it.”

“I’d pay good money to see what she did to you if you asked,” chuckles Hank.

“It’s a weird feeling, take it from me,” says Oliver. “I was the first body her head got into, remember?”

Anya laughs, snorts, and laughs harder. It breaks the tension and I laugh too.

“So,” says Elijah. I’d forgotten he was here. He’s been silent. “What are we going to do now?”

They all turn to me, why does everyone always turn to me?

“There’s nothing we can do but wait. It’s not like any of us will be able to help.”

“Well, how about I take Anya and Oliver over to the corner there and do some training?” says Elijah. He has a wicked smirk on his face and I get the feeling they’re going to be eating dirt again.

Anya and Oliver groan.

“Should I take that as a no?” laughs Elijah.

“That’s a no,” says Oliver. “But training does seem like a fun idea. How about it Anya, think you can take me?”

Anya’s response is simple. She sweeps her legs beneath Oliver’s and sends him flying to the ground. He lands in a heap on the floor and starts laughing.

Jasper and Elijah pick him up and the four of them head to the back of the room where they start sparring. Hank and I sit down to keep an eye on Gwen.

“How’s she going?” he asks.

“With what?”

“With everything, the last few weeks have been far more eventful than we were expecting. She doesn’t talk to us, not really, so we never know how she is doing. She talks to you though,” he says.

Not lately she doesn’t.

“Something is bothering her. We’ve all been locked out of her head; she doesn’t even let us in to speak to her properly. She lets her guard down just enough for her to hear what we’re saying and immediately shuts herself off afterwards.”

“Do you have any guesses as to what’s made her do it?” he says, looking concerned.

“My only guess is that she got scared after the mind control that was used on her while she was unconscious. Not that she’d ever admit to being afraid, but that’s not the only problem. She’s barely looked at…” I cut myself off immediately. I was about to tell Hank that she hasn’t let herself be alone with me since that morning. Hank gives me a knowing look.

“You are aware that your feelings for her are painfully obvious to everyone?”

“I never knew I was so transparent,” I say bitterly.

“You aren’t…well not usually.”

“That’s reassuring,” I say sarcastically.

“She trusts you,” I don’t know what to say to that so I just sit and watch what Gwen’s doing. She hasn’t so much as blinked in nearly half an hour. She’s just sitting wide eyed and staring into space. It’s kind of eerie. Another twenty minutes pass before anything happens. Oliver and Anya are sparring with Jasper when they suddenly stop, dropping their weapons and I jump to my feet, rubbing my eyes. Something flashed through my mind, a bright flare of light and the sounds of laughter.

“What was that?” demands Jasper.

“You all saw it too?”

“Yes,” says Anya. “Do you know what it was?”

I look to Gwen, her posture has changed. She was tense, stiff-backed and rigid. Now she is relaxed, her shoulders slightly slumped and her head tilted to the side.

“It was Gwen. I think the guards around her mind might have slipped and projected what she’s seeing. She’s using a lot of power. I doubt any of us would have been able to fight against it.”

Another image flashes across my vision as I finish speaking. This one is clearer and lasts longer. We watch as Andrew gets kidnapped by a group of Recruiters. It’s over quickly and before it ends I get the feeling of emerging from beneath deep dark waters and into a dark and barren wasteland.

“Andrew?”

We turn in surprise as we hear Gwen call out.

“Andrew, can you hear me?”

It takes a moment before we hear Andrew speak too.

“I can hear you.”

“I need you to lead me to the memories they’ve locked away. If I have to wade through all this information myself then we’re going to be here for a very long time.”

Andrew looks fearful, his face draining of colour.

“I can’t, you’ll have to do it yourself. If I try to access those memories they’ll fry my brain.”

“I hope not. You said it would only do that if you told someone the information, hopefully you’re still perfectly capable of just thinking about it. Just try it, the sooner I get there the sooner you’re free from their control.”

They are calling to one another as if they are both on opposite sides of a football field.

Andrew screws his face up in concentration and immediately throws his head back, screaming. His screams sound so much more tortured than they did before. Anya steps towards him.

“No, you can’t touch him!” I say just as she goes to put her hand on his shoulder.

“He needs help,” she says.

“We can’t touch them,” interjects Hank. “Gwen made that very clear.”

Anya drops her hand and steps back.

“Good job Andrew!” calls Gwen when Andrews screaming finally stops. Unfortunately it doesn’t stop for long. He starts screaming again as Gwen calls out a frantic apology.

“What the bloody hell is going on in there?” says Oliver.

“I have no idea, but it doesn’t seem pleasant does it?” replies Elijah.

“It looks horrible,” Anya’s voice is small. She can’t stand to see people in pain.

It’s been nearly two hours since the screaming and neither Andrew nor Gwen has uttered a word since. There haven’t been any flashes of memory either. It’s just been silent.

All of a sudden Gwen gasps for air and stands up so quickly that she flies backwards. I catch her before she falls and as I stand her up she shrugs out from beneath my hands.

“I’m fine. I’m fine, okay?” she says as she moves away from me, still a little unsteady on her feet. A knot immediately forms in my stomach, something has completely thrown her and she doesn’t spook easily. This is going to be bad.

“You’re a free man Andrew,” she turns away from me. “Their hold over you is broken and I left my barrier in place so that any lingering effects from their power are stopped before they can hurt you.”

Andrew jumps up, ecstatic, and shouts his thanks. When he asks what he can do to repay Gwen I see her face fall.

“All I need is for you to tell these guys everything you know. They need to hear it all, every detail if that’s alright,” she turns back to us. “There is one hell of a story in there, believe me. I’m going to head back to my place. I need to sleep for about a decade and try to get rid of this migraine. I’ll see you all later.”

She rushes out the door before any of us have a chance to say anything to her.

“What happened?” I immediately demand of Andrew.

Everyone stares at me.

“What do you mean?” asks Elijah.

“You can’t tell me that none of you noticed that. Gwen is completely freaked out.”

“I certainly noticed,” agrees Hank and Anya nods.

“I just assumed she was exhausted,” says Jasper.

“That’s because you don’t know her as well as we do,” replies Oliver.

“So?” I turn back to Andrew who is looking nervous.

“She found out who they think she is,” he says.

“Who?!” Hank, Oliver, Anya and I say at the same time.

Andrew sighs heavily and sits back down on the floor.

“Centuries ago there was a powerful Elemental, the most powerful Elemental that has ever lived according to Recruiter records. Well, he was the most powerful before Gwen. He used his power to create a weapon that would one day pick a side, and decimate those who opposed them. This person would be born of magic. There is nothing they wouldn’t be capable of doing and they would end the war.”

“So…” starts Anya.

“So they think Gwen is this weapon?” I finish.

“That’s exactly what they think, and it makes sense. I’ve been watching her for almost two weeks now and it’s been pretty clear that she hasn’t struggled with anything at all.”

I flash back to that night outside her house a few weeks ago, after she’d killed those Recruiters, and she accused me of wanting to turn her into a weapon. According to these guys, she literally is a weapon. I can see how that may have shaken her, but that’s not the reason she was so freaked out. She would already have expected that, what with Recruiters all over her.

“What else?” I ask.

“Isn’t that enough?” says Anya. I shake my head.

“That wouldn’t have upset her so much; she already knew that Recruiters wanted her as a weapon. She must have come across something else. So,” I pin Andrew with what I hope is a blood curdling glare. “What else did she see?”

He looks down at his hands and picks at his fingers as he responds.

“She found out that there is someone here who is keeping an eye on her and reporting back.”

“Well obviously,” says Jasper. “We’ve already got you and your partner.”

The knot tightens in my stomach as I realise what he means.

“You meant someone in the refuge, didn’t you?”

Hank whips his head around to stare at me.

“In the refuge? That’s impossible, we would know,” he says.

“You wouldn’t, he was never trained as a Recruiter and hasn’t been mind-controlled so his energy is that of an Elemental. You won’t be able to sense a Recruiter because you aren’t looking for one,” explains Andrew.

“Who is it?” demands Jasper. “You tell me now or so help me I will bury you down here!”

Andrew’s face pales.

“Shut up, Jasper,” says Hank and Jasper looks suitably chastened. “Do you know who it is?”

“N-no, I s-swear. I’ve never heard a name or seen a face. I j-just know that they’re here,” he stutters out his terrified response, doing anything he can to avoid looking at Jasper.

“What sort of things have they been relaying to your bosses?” asks Anya.

“Her schedule, things she’s been doing during all of her training sessions, even things that her trainers have said about her in regards to her progress. They know all about you three,” he indicates Anya, Oliver and I. “They know pretty much everything that Gwen has done since she’s been here.”

And it hits me. That’s why she ran out of here as fast as she could. It’s why she stepped away from me when I tried to help her stand. She couldn’t look any of us in the eye and she’d fortified the walls around her mind.

“She suspects us,” I say to myself.

“That’s ridiculous!” shouts Jasper.

“No, it really isn’t,” supports Hank.

“We are the closest people to her, think about it. We go everywhere with her, most nights we stay in her apartment, we are at all of her training sessions and we go with her pretty much everywhere. We’re the people she trusts most here and the people who are most capable of gathering information about her. We are the most likely suspects,” I explain and look into shocked faces as everyone realises that I’m correct.

“We have to go and talk to her,” says Anya, sounding hurt. “She can’t really think it’s us, we’d never do that to her.”

“It’s not personal An,” consoles Oliver. “She doesn’t have a choice but to suspect us. This is a matter of life or death for her and she can’t afford to overlook anyone. She’s probably hurting much more than us, thinking that people she cares about could betray her like this.”

“Oh, I didn’t even think about that, poor Gwen! This must have hurt her so bad,” she looks even sadder. She’s such an adorable person, seeing her so hurt is like looking at a sad puppy.

“We should go to her, convince her that it isn’t us,” says Hank.

“That won’t work,” I shake my head. “She’s too stubborn and if I know her at all then I can be fairly confident that right now she’s in her room trying to figure this all out. We’ll need to prove that it’s not us before we talk to her, she’ll need proof.”

“Alright then,” says Oliver confidently. “Where do we start?”

“We start by trying to find the actual traitor,” says Hank. “Jasper, go and find Jillian. We need to interview her and if she’s cleared then we’re going to need her to help us out.”

Jasper leaves without hesitation and Hank turns back to us.

“Andrew, we will need you to return to your cell for now.”

“I understand,” replies Andrew, and he really doesn’t look upset at all.

“I’ll need Oliver and Anya to help me shut the door,” says Elijah.

Andrew walks over and steps willingly into the cell. We hear grunts and groans as Oliver, Anya and Elijah struggle to shut the cell door. They join us again, a little red in the face, when they’ve finished.

“I wish Gwen had stayed long enough to shut the doors,” huffs Elijah.