Empire of Fire and Ice

Eight

"This is a mandatory public service announcement..."

Oh, god. Adara looked around for something, anything, to cover herself in. She decided that the blanket on the couch would be enough.

"Beck!" she called frantically. "Come here."

Adara stared eagerly at the television, waiting for it to say something else. The static crackled, and the words started to pour out. 

"Beck, now!" she screamed. For fear of her neighbors hearing her, she quieted her voice. "Please hurry." She heard his light footfall, and then he was right next to her. 

He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he heard what was happening.

"This is a special message from the government," it said. "At this time, all Elementals are hereby required to report to the head office of their district immediately. Failure to comply will result in dire consequences and, quite possibly, death. You have just one week to come forward. The previously hidden reward is now to become public. Two and a half million dollars will go out to anyone who personally turns in an Elemental. This is a matter of national security and is of the utmost importance. That is all for now."

Then, almost as if by magic, the television switched off.

Neither of them spoke or even moved a muscle for a long while. It was as if they were afraid that there were cameras in the room watching their every move. Like the very walls knew their every secret.

A week. The same amount of time she had until Gabe killed Maia. Next week was going to suck.

Adara was so stunned that she almost let her blanket fall. She was beginning to slip back into reality and said "Beck?" slowly. In lieu of an answer, she got silence. She repeated herself, seemingly unable to move her head from where it was facing the blank television.

She clenched her teeth and took a forced step back. As a result of more focused energy, she looked at Beck. She was expecting him to be in action, already forming a plan inside his brilliant head. 

Needless to say, he was not.

Beck's ocean eyes were looking at the same spot that they were when she had turned away from him. He was unfocused, and his head was clearly elsewhere. His expression was frozen into that of fear. Adara knew it wasn't just from the announcement.

A solitary drop of water slid from his hairline, down his broad forehead, just barely missing the corner of his almond shaped eyes, and to his sharp cheekbones. It paused on top, then fell over the edge, down his slightly hollow cheeks, angling in toward the sides of his thin lips, curving down his sharp jaw, and down his tan throat that was bobbing as a testament to his fear. Adara shook out of her trance when she lost the drop beneath his burned shirt.

What was she doing? They had actual problems that needed to be taken care of.

As she remembered what the television had said, her body began to heat up, preparing for a fight. Little did it know, the battle was only mental at the moment.

She took steadying deep breaths. She couldn't get beyond herself.

Using one hand to keep a hold on her blanket, she pushed Beck to the couch- they always came back to it, didn't they? Leaving him there, she walked to the kitchen for the first aid kit, though she had no idea why it was there. She moved back to the living room and kneeled in front of where she had sat him down. Beck had, concerningly, not moved a muscle. 

Adara sighed and gently grabbed his right arm, beginning at the shoulder. She took some burn cream and smeared it on his whole arm. She then wrapped his arm, quite painstakingly. The bandages themselves were hardly a yard each.

As she was wrapping his bicep, her fingers paused on some unburnt patches of skin. It was still uneven. To anyone not paying attention, it probably just looked like an uneven skin tone. But Adara, up close and personal, could tell that that was not the case. She checked his left arm- same thing. 

There were tiny, thin scars marring both of his arms from the elbow up.

She decided to ask him about them when she felt comfortable. He certainly wouldn't want to tell her the whole story after they had just met. Hell, she barely wanted to be around him at all, let alone share sob stories. She was just curious.

Adara finished wrapping his arms, decided that she couldn't do much of anything about his burned chest, and moved her hand to the side of his head. She applied minimal pressure, trying to say through her fingers that she wanted him to lay down. Somehow, even in his weird state, Beck understood and complied.

With a small frown on her face, Adara went to her bedroom, barely keeping the blanket up on the way there. She quickly dressed herself in a thin nightgown and brushed her hair.

The tired girl looked toward the blanket she had discarded and thought of Beck out there on the couch. Adara grimaced. She heaved a reluctant sigh and padded back out to the living room. Beck's eyes had finally closed, at least. If nothing else, that could be considered a small victory.

She quietly whipped the edge of the blanket out and let it settle over him. That's should help a bit, she thought.

Though Beck's eyes were closed, Adara knew that he wasn't asleep. His breathing was too heavy, too uneven. 

Leaving him to his own devices, she headed back to her own small room and collapsed into her cheap twin bed. It was all she could afford when she moved in, and she hadn't had the energy or motivation to get a new one since.

In the brief seconds before her lids closed over her tired eyes, she wondered what Beck was thinking out there, all alone. He had told her his past, but she knew that wasn't all there was to the story. Whatever. He'd be gone soon anyway, she knew.

Then, without a single thought to Beck, she closed her eyes and feel into the world of dreams.

The gunshot was still ringing in her was when she woke up covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Like she really had been running to Gabe.

What was she still doing in this stupid dorm room? She needed to be out there, finding Maia. Now. She needed to go. 

Adara hopped out of her bed and took of her nightgown. She haphazardly dug into her dresser and threw on a sports b*a and over it, a loose shirt. She paired it with some yoga pants and a pair of trainers and she was ready to go. 

She needed to be able to move easily for this. Adara threw open her bedroom door that she didn't remember shutting and ran on the balls of her feet to her front door. She couldn't have the people beneath her call anyone with a noise complaint.

Right as she was about to unlock her door, she remembered Beck. God damn him.

She jogged back to the living room and kneeled next to him on the couch. She pushed one his stomach gently, avoiding his burns. When that didn't work, she pushed harder. 

Soon, his eyes fluttered open and she said "Beck."

He groaned tiredly. "What is it?"

"Wake up," she said. "We need to get Maia." That prompted him to open his eyes completely.

He stared at her in disbelief, almost fully awake. "What are you talking about?"

"We're going to find Gabe and we're going to save Maia," she clarified.

Beck seemed incredulous. He looked at the clock on the microwave and said, "We're not leaving the house right now."

"Why not?"

"Adara, it is two in the morning. The world is asleep. Gabe is probably sleeping, and so is Maia-"

"So its a perfect time to go after them!" she interjected. "There's plenty of time before he wakes up; trust me, I'd know. We should take our chance while we still have it."

"We should focus on saving ourselves before we even try to go after some random friend of yours," Beck argued.

Adara gritted her teeth. Random friend? Did he know who he was talking about? Maia was her best friend, and she was always there for her. Now, when it counts, all Adara is doing is sitting here and arguing. "Beck, we're being asked to come in. That's all. Maia probably has a g*n to her head as we speak." Adara turned her back to him and began muttering to herself. "I shouldn't have gone to sleep."

"Adara."

"I should have been trying to figure out how to find her."

"Adara, listen to yourself."

"No, you listen!" she yelled, pivoting back around to point her finger in his face. "She's going to die! And it's going to be my damn fault because I couldn't control my stupid Fire!"

Beck took a step closer, steering his eye away from her prodding finger. "You need to calm down."

Adara dropped her arm back to her side and felt the first of many tears drip down her cheek. She faced the floor, ashamed.

Adara heard Beck's feet shuffle against the carpet and then all of a sudden his hand was on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" she said loudly, scared. Gabe had touched her there. She lifted her head to see his shocked face and was surprised to see that he looked slightly hurt. "So...so you don't ruin you bandages," she amended.

Beck moved his hand. They stayed like that for a while- silent, only a few feet apart. Eventually, he raised his hand again, silently asking if it was okay this time. She barely nodded.

He gently held her shoulder and guided her to the couch, just like she had a few hours ago. She sat down quite ungracefully, hearing the couch groan in response. Beck followed suit and sat down, more quiet and mindful than she had been.

Adara felt herself begin to drift off again and leaned her head against the back of the couch. Just before she fell back asleep, she heard Beck speak.

"We'll find your friend, okay?" he was saying. "We just have to make sure that we stay alive, too."