INSIGNIAS: THE ABECEDARIANS

Her body smashed on a large tree when a force so powerful rocketed towards her and almost knocked the life out of her. She let go of her bag as she untangled herself from the branch of the tree. God. It hurts so much. She hissed out of pain and saw the bruises on her arms. The impact ripped her jacket. She started coughing but managed to jump off the tree.

She landed on her feet but felt them turning jelly. She let out another hiss as she grabbed her bag on the ground and slowly placed it on her shoulder. If that attack did not kill me, what will?

The four men emerged in front of her. Their glare made her want to crawl below the surface of the earth. She placed her hands around her throbbing stomach as her eyes looked for a safe exit.

“You’ve got balls, Morgan.” She decided to call the man she saw walked out of the forest as Curly. He had dirty blond curly hair.

“That smoke messed with my eyes.” The man who stood behind her earlier had the same dirty blond hair but styled it so it appeared spiky. They might be twins.

She saw Ash, the quietest one, covered a long cut on his left arm with a white cloth. His eyes looked murderous. He had ash brown cropped hair.

“Okay. Let’s finish it with one blow!” Redhead exclaimed and gripped his brass knuckles. He brushed his auburn bangs across his eyes and stepped forward.

I’m gonna die here huh.

An image of her dad flashed before her eyes. It was before he ran out of her room after he told her that he loves her.

She was not aware when Redhead ran towards her and punched her on the stomach. The force swept her and her back smashed on the hard tree trunk. She started coughing blood. Her breath ragged. Her whole body numbed of pain.

Another image flashed before her eyes. This time, Steve bowed slightly, smiled at her and ran outside her room. Her cheeks wet with tears. Her body was still trapped in the trunk. She looked down at the four men on the ground. If Steve was telling the truth, if Concordians protected its people, these men, she realized, were not them.

“Don’t glare at us, Morgan. It cannot kill us.” Curly smirked as he said this. Tessa wanted to wipe his smirk off his ugly face. He swung his battle-ax and a blinding light rushed towards her. The force smacked the trunk below her feet, separating the tree from its roots, and sent the tree flying.

She closed her eyes and waited for the impact. She heard the splash as the trunk hit the water. Her wet body swayed with the tree as it glided the water. Water.

Her mother’s Elemental was Water. What if...

But she had no idea how to use her power. She slowly removed her body from the shattered trunk. Every movement increased the pain she felt. She stood up, her hands clasping her stomach. Sunlight and white clouds reflected on clear water of the river soothe her. Pain pulsed together with her heartbeat.

She felt them before she saw them. The trunk swayed violently as the intruders jumped one by one from the bank.

“How are you still alive?” Ash said for the first time.

“Finish it.” Curly nodded towards Spikey.

“This one is weak compared to Margarette.” Tessa darted her eyes to Spikey. Mom?

“Yes, we know your mother.” Redhead clenched his fist around the knuckles as he smirked.

“We were with her before she died.” Curly laughed as if it was the funniest thing he ever heard in his life.

“We had a great time because of your mother,” Ash commented.

“We gave her the best torture ever,” Redhead chuckled.

Tessa was angry. No, she was furious. These men killed her mother. They were monsters. She closed her eyes and saw her mother’s smiling face. She was unable to control her tears.

This was her last chance of surviving.

“I’m right here,” a soft feminine voice whispered near her ear as her tears kept flowing.

Yes, you’re here with me, mom.

She concentrated on the flow of the water beneath her feet. The sound of the rushing water seemed music to her ears. The texture of it against her body felt familiar. The water seemed to acknowledge her as it followed her will.

“Do it, Tessa, my daughter.”

The water whirled around them as it soars high like a tower. The trunk shook as the water violently splashed against it. Another barrier reeled around Tessa. Curly and Spikey screamed as the fist made of water knocked them outside the water barrier. She felt the burning of the insignia on her chest. She was one with the water.

“Who is doing this?” Redhead exclaimed as he tried to punch the water. But as he smacked the fist, it only returned to its original shape. Ash kept firing his musket towards Tessa but the bullets never reached her. They were not strong enough to infiltrate the water barrier around her.

Tessa knew nothing where her power came from but it robbed her body of energy. She felt light headed. She knew this power will come to an end once she used all the strength in her body. She saw Redhead and Ash thrown outside the barrier. But they were still alive.

She concentrated on the four men in the water. She could feel them trying to swim ashore. She clenched her fist and shouted. She poured all her feelings - pain, sadness, rage - into the shout. Pain for losing her family, sadness for being alone, rage for enemies who took away countless of lives.

Cannon made of water emerged and shot out the men. The men screamed as they rocketed towards nowhere.

“That is for my mom,” she breathed as she passed out.

Her first thought as she gained consciousness was the unbearable pain that escalated in every part of her body. Her trouble in breathing made her gasped every time she inhaled. She flinched from the blinding light above as she opened her eyes. She now lay on the bank. She grabbed a fistful of the sand and released them slowly. She moved her head to the left and saw the shattered disassembled trunk.

So it wasn’t a dream. How am I still alive?

With the little strength left in her, she turned to her side, kneeled and stood up slowly. Every movement was torture. She used up all her strength earlier.

“I need to get treated or I’m done”, she muttered. She grabbed her bag on a rock and started to walk without a destination. The inside of the forest felt warm. She broke a small branch of a tree and rested her weight on the stick as she walked. She looked down on her clothes. Her white t-shirt was covered with mud. Her jacket was ripped that she could see the bruises on her shoulder and arms. Her blue jeans turned into brown tattered pants. It was a good thing her black sneakers did not fall off.

She exited the forest and saw the vast rice field ahead. Maybe there is a village and farmers nearby. As she continued to walk, she remembered the battle earlier. There were many what ifs on her mind but she felt her body weakens. It was not long before her body gave up due to her bruises and exhaustion. She was lucky enough to be found by Lois.

Now, as she sat on the rock and eyes still closed, she concentrated on controlling her strength. If she used too much in a battle, she won’t be able to do it again in the next one. She breathed out and placed her hands in front of her.

As she opened her eyes, a tornado emerged in the middle of the river. It got bigger and taller when she raised her hands overhead. Sometimes, Tessa felt that everything seemed familiar as if she used her power before. But she had no memory of using them.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she sensed a presence behind her. She waited for the person to approach her as the water returned to the river.

“That was fast”, Olive exclaimed. She sat beside her holding a jug. “You were able to know that it’s me.” She smiled. Tessa hoped her mom was like Olive.

“You taught me well.” Tessa smiled back. Olive giggled and looked at the river.

“It was less than a week. You’re just smart, Tessa.” No. She wanted not intelligence, but the ability to belong. Ever since she was a child, she was an outcast. She was deemed different. This was her weakness.

“Olive?” Tessa fixed her eyes at the reflection of the sky in the water.

“Yes?”

“I think it’s time.” To look for the place where I belong.

It was a week after Lois found her unconscious. She folded the shirts Olive gave to her and placed them inside her backpack. She placed her dagger inside the breast pocket of her jacket. Her mother’s picture was safe inside the diary. Aside from the entries written in unknown language, she learned her mother’s life story through her diary.

“Do you need an umbrella?” She did not hear Lois enter the room. Tessa turned and looked at him carefully. What if I had a brother?

“Don’t tell me you like me.” She blinked a few times. She laughed at his statement. Olive and Lois were close to her, even though she just met them a week ago.

“I’d rather have you as a brother.” She turned around to finish packing. He heard Lois chuckled.

She ate lunch with Olive and Lois for the last time. She looked around the room she stayed in for a week. She would have died if it she was not rescued by Lois and cared by Olive. After adjusting the straps of her bag on her shoulders, she walked out of the room and closed the door.

Olive and Lois stood outside their home when she bid them goodbye.

“Thank you for everything,” Tessa told them as she hugged Olive.

“I hope I can see you again.” Olive smiled but her eyes were wet of tears.

“Here.” Lois placed a white cap on her head though it’s too large for her. “You didn’t bring the umbrella.” Tessa whispered a thank you and Lois nodded.

Tessa slightly bowed and turned around. She looked at the vast rice field ahead of her as the sun loomed overhead.

She started to walk. Towards the start of a real adventure.