Inferno : Elements Series Book One

Gwen

This is a lot harder than I anticipated and that is saying something. Every time I go near his memory he starts screaming in pain. I need to find a way to block the pain so that I get a handle on this mind control. I need to create a barrier of my own. How do I do that? I step towards the storm cloud that is Andrew’s memories and stop almost immediately. There is a barrier around it. I reach out my hand and push it through the barrier, trying to get a read on it. I immediately regret my decision. The moment my hand touched the barrier I was hit by a wave of pain. I feel like I’ve wrapped my hand around a live powerline. I pull my hand back, feel my legs fall out from beneath me and land on my knees. The pain stopped the second I dropped my hand but I’ve been left with a migraine. I feel like my head is splitting in half. On the bright side, I now know how to make that pesky barrier. This one was made when the Recruiter who messed with Andrew’s head combined his mind and thoughts with Andrew’s memory and energy to block everyone out. I touch the barrier once more just make sure that I’m right, giving myself another migraine in the process. Oh how great today has turned out. There’s no time like the present to teach yourself some advanced mentalism techniques on the fly, right? I expand my mind and imagine that it has enveloped the dark cloud, imprisoning it. Once it’s trapped I throw my aura at it like a spear, piercing the Recruiters barrier. It’s takes a lot more power than I was expecting. I begin moulding Andrew’s mind to accommodate the extra energy that I’ve added and finish up, stepping back to catch my breath.

“What are you doing Gwen?!” Andrew’s voice sounds panicked and I can understand why. I just did a major remodel inside his head.

“Don’t panic, I’m not mind controlling you. I’ve made a barrier that should block any pain when you try to defy them and try to access what they’ve hidden,” I explain to try and get him to relax.

“Oh, um, thank you,” he replies. He sounds a little embarrassed.

I step back towards the cloud, right through my own barrier, and walk towards the second. This is going to hurt. I place my palms against the clouds exterior and push as hard as I can. To break it I should just have to force my way through. I get thrown back again. It’s too powerful to just try and walk through, I’ll have to try and shoot through it like an arrow. I back up several paces and get ready to run. I gather as much power as Andrew’s mind can handle and use it propel myself forward, diving head first into the cloud. There is a noise like the loudest of thunder claps and I have a split second before it starts. All at once I get rushed by every memory that is being hidden here.

I get flashes of memories; the Recruiters breaking into his mind and the pain of the torture it took to wear him down, the strenuous training he underwent and him having to watch as other kidnapping victims were killed if they didn’t meet their superiors expectations. His memories are full of pain but overlapping everything is a voice that I recognise. It’s a voice that sends chills down my spine and raises the hair at the back of my neck. It’s the man that broke into my mind while I was unconscious. I pay closer attention to his voice, trying to block out everything else. He sounds as though he’s telling a story:

“Many centuries ago, during a time of great change and revolution amongst our people, a powerful Elemental set off across the lands in an attempt to create the ultimate weapon against us. It was a weapon that would tip the scales in the war between those of us seeking the power that we deserve, and those of us who are too weak and afraid to search for it. His power was felt worldwide as the elements responded to his request. Earth was used to ground and strengthen the weapon. Fire was used to create that first spark of life and passion within the weapon. Air was asked to breathe life and the ability to change into the weapon and water was asked for its fluidity and clarity. The world’s flora and fauna was asked for guidance, that they may always remain connected to the weapon and nurture it. The Sorcerer then provided his very essence so that this weapon may take form and consciousness. For you see, he was not merely creating a weapon, he was creating a person. He was creating a Son or Daughter of the Elements, a being born not of man, but of magic. This being would have the ultimate power over the elements. They would have immense power in every affinity that we as a people have any access to. The elements granted the Sorcerer’s request, but it would take time. And so the Sorcerer fled those who would do him harm, promising to return again when the elements were finally ready to give this being life. It is said that only in a time of great peril, when the fate of our world hangs in the balance, would the elements allow this being to enter the world. They would tip the scales in favour of who so ever was able to win their heart and would decide whether we emerged once more to dance in the sunlight, or were once again plunged into the darkness.”

I barely have time to comprehend these words before I’m thrown into another memory.

I appear in a room lit by flaming torches. The heat is stifling and I’m standing next to Andrew, crammed into the middle of a sweaty crowd.

“Alright, listen up!” yells a large man standing on an old desk. A scar runs down the left side of his face and he has a large blond beard. “Here’s what we know. She was in Brisbane, Australia when she triggered and she was felt by our forces worldwide. Sources say she’s been taken to the U.S. and we have reports of her being sighted by the Canyon. We are assuming she’s being trained within the refuge but we don’t have confirmation. That’s your job, so get going!” They’re talking about me. Oh. My. God. This meeting was about me!

The room is filled with the sounds of people teleporting and the image shifts, a new memory taking its place.

I emerge in a similar scene to the previous memory, just in a different room. The same man is addressing a smaller crowd.

“We have confirmation now so this is your new assignment. We have her training schedule and I want eyes on her at all times. I want to know what she’s doing, where she’s doing it and who she’s doing it with. Be thorough, I want every detail. Our guy on the inside has made contact several times and has managed to develop a relationship with her so you are to watch from a distance. I will make this clear: DO NOT MAKE CONTACT!” He yells at the group, causing several people to jump or cringe. He hands out identical files to everyone and dismisses the group, the image changing as he does.

Andrew is in his room. It looks like a hole in the ground and there are another five beds in here. I say beds, but really it’s just some scratchy looking blankets on the floor. He’s sitting on his pile of blankets reading through the file that the other guy gave him. I read over his shoulder. It’s a file on me. It contains information from all parts of my life. Personal information from my life back home and, even more disturbingly, information from my time here at the refuge. There is information in here that only my friends could know. One of the few people I’ve let myself trust is a Recruiter and has been reporting on me since the second I set foot in this damned place.

I emerge on the other side of the black cloud and watch as it disintegrates. Glowing orbs light up the empty space, Andrew’s mind is starting to become his own again and I begin walking back the way I came, looking for the place where I first entered his mind. In an instant my trust in everything that I’ve tried to build here has been shattered. No one can be trusted anymore because now I know that someone here is trying to hurt me. The only good thing is that no one has been able to get inside my head whilst I’ve been inside Andrew’s mind. Not even Andrew because I made sure to shield myself from him. No one could know that I’ve discovered their betrayal. I finally make my way to my entry point and leave Andrew’s mind. My consciousness flows through my fingers, up my arms and finally settles back into my brain. I’m immediately seized by a wave of nausea and dizziness as my body flops to the floor and begins to shake. I try to force it back down and stand as the outside world begins invading my senses. People are trying to speak to me and I feel hands on my shoulders trying to steady me. I can’t let anyone keep touching me, they may just be trying to help but I have a very different view of these people thanks to Andrew’s memories and I just don’t trust them. I shrug out from beneath someone’s hands and focus, forcing myself to stop swaying as the dizziness recedes at an agonisingly slow pace.

“I’m fine,” I say, moving away from Derek as he reaches out to steady me again. “I’m fine, okay? I’m just exhausted.”

I ignore Derek’s flinching as my words come out more forcefully than I intended and turn my attention back to Andrew. I school my expression, forcing a kind smile to appear on my face.

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

He jumps to his feet, his face lit up with joy, and yells out in excitement.

“Thank you, Gwen! Thank you so much!” he exclaims. “What can I do to repay you, I’ll do anything!”

I don’t want his thanks. I didn’t do any of this so that I could get his gratitude or earn a favour in return. I do, however, want to leave. The dizziness is fighting back and I can’t stand to be around these people right now.

“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,” he nods as I turn to my ‘friends.’ “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.”

I turn and nearly run out the door, ignoring the looks of confusion and concern on everyone’s faces.

I don’t have a chance of being able to sleep. How could I? My mind is racing at a million miles an hour trying to figure out who the traitor is. I have my list narrowed down to four people. Much to my horror, they’re the four people I trust most:

Hank- He’s our leader. He’s the one who set up my schedule. He has the power and leadership skills to do something like this and all of my instructors report to him in regards to my progress. There’s nothing he doesn’t know about my training.

Oliver- He knows me as well as Hank. He knows my schedule and accompanies me to most of my training sessions. He has more than enough juicy information to pass on to Recruiters.

Anya- Mostly for the same reasons that I suspect Oliver. The only difference being that she’s been in my mind. Just to talk but who knows? She may have seen more.

Most painfully of all however, is suspect number four.

Derek- He’s constantly in my mind, I don’t even know how much he’s seen. I trust him the most. He’s been inside the minds of all of my family members, friends and co-workers. He followed me around for three weeks just learning everything he could about me before he spoke to me at all. He’s with me everywhere I go in the refuge, all of my training sessions, even just staying over with Anya and Oliver when we stay too late at my apartment. There is no one here who knows me better than Derek and I haven’t even mentioned our, uh, extra curricula activities.

I’m going to have to be so careful until I figure this out. I’ll have to guard my mind, not even letting Jillian in during our Mentalism sessions. Most importantly, I’m going to have to gather my own information. I have to spy on the spies, I think to myself as I finally drift off.

And to think this was supposed to be a safe place for me to be.