Elementals: Hades' Corruption

Chapter 1: The Four

  The air was crisp with a newfound cold to express the season’s change. October had just begun so when the sun began to fall, the woods were chillier than they had been the days before. Of course, it wasn’t a bright idea to enter the wooded area just as it was getting dark but that wasn’t on Faye’s mind at the time. 

  A voice that had grown annoying from the night’s events was sounding behind her, “Where are we going?”

  Fortunately, there was a small path to follow so they weren’t completely wandering without direction. Even still, branches and plants reached for the dirt road to grab any passing feet. So, Faye kept her brilliant blue eyes down to watch where her feet were being placed. As she maneuvered around rocks and debris, she finally glanced up to look at the guy she was with - Roy. His short brown hair was brushed back and out of his face while his auburn eyes were busy scanning the woods around him. The guy kept his hands in his tan weatherbreaker to make himself look tough but the way that his eyes darted around the environment suggested otherwise. 

  “Deep into the woods,” Faye said in a sing-songy voice as if to make it sound spooky. 

  The sarcasm got a scoff from the guy she was with, “That’s not funny. Can we go back now?”

  With an unnoticeable roll of her eyes, Faye disagreed, “I’m good. I didn’t come out tonight to hang with your buddies.”

  As the conversation continued, so did the walking. Even though Roy didn’t want to journey into the middle of the woods, he was also too curious to see where the night could take him. Maybe there could be something for this relationship. All he had to do was convince her back to civilization. 

  “I didn’t know they would show up at the diner. It’s a popular place,” Roy pointed out with a nonchalant shrug of his broad shoulders. 

  A nip of irritation bit at her because she didn’t believe it but instead of focusing on that she stated, “Well, we’re almost there anyway.”

  “And what do you mean by ‘there’?” the guy tested suspiciously. 

  Which made Faye wonder if she should try to spook him or give him a straight answer. It wasn’t a hard choice for her as she whispered creepily, “Your doom.” 

  “Very funny,” Roy tried to mock but his voice broke with uneasiness. 

  It got a giggle from Faye so she began to bounce on her feet happily. She didn’t like how the night was going with Roy so teasing him definitely made up for it. As her stride turned more into a bound, her short slightly curled chestnut hair bounced with her. Since her legs were long enough, she was able to keep in front of the guy to lead the way further down the path. 

  A bright light caught the two young adults' attention. When they peered up, the light shot over the trees above them which gave them a better glimpse at it. The light seemed like one bundle of brightness but after focusing on it, then it was easier to see that there were small orbs of light that morphed into a large radiant ball. It was so close to them that when it landed, it shook the ground near them. In fact, Faye could even tell where it landed. The first thing that popped into her head was that it was a dysfunctional firework.

  Roy was the first to speak up, “What was that?”

  Her interest peaked as Faye exclaimed, “Let’s go check it out!”

  Instead of waiting for him to answer, she picked up her pace until it turned into a sprint. However, Roy was an athlete so it was easy for him to catch up with her and keep on Faye’s heels. Faye had been in these woods often enough to be able to navigate toward the crash of the mysterious orb. To help her with the investigation, the crash had also created an opening in the trees to make the view easier. 

  When the two had come up to the clearing where the light had vanished, they peeked from behind the trees to stay hidden. Upon hearing voices, Roy immediately became uncomfortable.

  “Alright, I’m out of here. This is too weird,” then he turned around and raced back to civilization and his friends. 

  Except Faye was too intrigued with the crash to leave so she leaned to see around a tree. The scene in front of her wasn’t exactly what she was expecting. There wasn’t any fire or giant meteor in the middle of the clearing. All there appeared to be was a slight dent in the earth below and people hanging around it. Although, it was clear that something had crashed into the ground judging by the debris spread about the dip in the earth. 

  Finally, she turned her attention to the people that were messing around in the darkening woods. There were four of them. Even from the distance where Faye was, she noticed that these people were wearing some odd choice of clothing. Most of their clothes were long and flowy almost like a gown. 

  “Good job, hothead. I told you not to go after Hades directly,” one of the guys spoke with a stern and stark tone. The guy had electric blue eyes that seemed to be moving with long, coffee-black hair. The clothes he was wearing were a navy blue and tighter against his skin to show how in shape the guy seemed. He was even wearing black gloves that were cut off at the knuckles to show the rest of his fingers.

  These people sure had a weird style. 

  The guy he was talking to rebuked back with, “Well, Gabriel wasn’t going to help. How else was I supposed to stop him?” He spoke with an anger that made his amber eyes flicker and even his red hair seemed to sway like fire. His tunic-like gown was a golden color to complement his theme. 

  “Both of you calm down,” a feminine voice chimed in. She was the only girl in the group but her style was about the same. The lady’s hair was long but it was pulled back into a single, beautiful braid. Strands of loose hair brushed against her fair cheeks which outlined her dazzlingly, dark green eyes. Her figure was perfectly sculpted to show her body’s grace and her dress was short and tight enough to show it off. This girl’s style seemed to veer around dark greens.

  “How are we going to stop him without our wings?” the guy in the dark blue challenged.

  Before the “hothead” could argue - because he seemed to be getting pretty agitated - the girl interrupted, “We don’t have our wings but we still have our powers. Do you know what that means?”

  This is where the redhead guessed, “He’s trying to embarrass us.” 

  The woman gave a slight nod in agreement, “It’s a punishment. This means he’s trying to prove a point and we’ll get our wings back eventually.”

  Although, the guy with the piercing blue eyes disputed, “We don’t have time for ‘eventually’. We need to prove to the council that Hades is up to something.”

  It was only now that the fourth person in the group decided to chime in with a weary request, “We need to get on our feet first.” His voice was the deeper one of them all and when he stood from the patch of grass that he was sitting on then he towered above the rest. The guy’s hair was platinum blonde - almost a silver color - but messy as if he had just gotten out of a fight. Along with his white clothes, this made his simple hazel eyes pop. 

  Each person in this group had their own style and even seemed to have their own theme going on. Except, it did make it easier to tell all of them apart. 

  Unfortunately, it wasn’t until the silver guy stood up and stumbled on his feet that they noticed how beaten up he was. There was blood trickling from his forehead that began to stain his simply colored hair.

  “Adriel, you’re hurt,” the woman immediately stepped forward to keep the man steady on his feet.

  When Faye realized that this wasn’t a part of their act, she stepped out from her hiding place and began to wave at the strangers, “Hey! I have a first aid kit in my purse if you guys need help.”

  The girl’s sudden appearance startled the group so they stared at her with distrust and confusion. Because of this suspicion, no one decided to speak up and say anything.

  So, Faye continued to explain herself, “Sorry, I just saw like a ball a light so I followed it over to you guys. I couldn’t help but watch y’all LARP. Really cool outfits by the way.” When the four stayed quiet, her extroverted self introduced herself, “I’m Faye. Who are you guys?”

  At first, no one wanted to talk but then the female of the group thought it best to answer, “My name is Terra.”

  After giving one of the guys a look, another finally answered, “I’m Sachael.”

  The next one wasn’t thrilled at all to speak up but he still grumbled, “Nathaniel.” 

  Instead of making the taller one answer - because he was hurt - the lady added, “And this is Adriel.” Luckily, he still raised his hand in a weak wave.

  “Wow, okay. You guys are really good at staying in character,” Faye scoffed with a joking smirk. “So, wings and powers? What are you guys? Fairies?” she tried to guess. Alas, no one decided to answer so she brought it upon herself to put the pieces together. “Wait, Gabriel? Are you guys supposed to be angels?” 

  Hothead irritably jabbed, “Where is your stupid kit?”

  Faye ignored Nathaniel’s tone with a smile when she replied, “My purse is back with civilization. Follow me.” With that, she twisted on her heels and began her return to the way she came. She soon noticed the path so she knew exactly where to go.

  The rest of them were hesitant to follow the new girl but she wasn’t waiting for them. So Terra was the first to lead Adriel - the wounded - beside her. This forced the rest of the guys to follow after them in silence. 

  By now, the sun had disappeared to make it harder to see. Faye’s eyes were already adjusted so she could still make out the path pretty well. Normally walking around in the woods at night would make a person uneasy but Faye loved being adventurous so she was used to doing things that seemed particularly dumb and scary to inexperienced people. Nighttime was her favorite time of day because it was quiet and peaceful. The earth seemed more alive when you couldn’t see it. Another plus was that there weren’t any people to bug her. 

  The trek was only about half a mile until a parking lot came into view. They were finally back to civilization. Faye scanned the area for the familiar car so when it came into her view she tred to the dulled army green colored vehicle. It wasn’t hers, rather her date’s car. Although this is where she left her purse so she figured it was fine for her to scour through the car. Surprisingly, the passenger’s side door swung open freely to show that it wasn’t locked. It only made the task easier to pull out her gray purse and rummage through until she found the first aid kit. 

  Before Faye could offer to fix up the taller guy - who had to be something like six foot five - the girl oddly named Terra volunteered first, “I’ll take care of him, thank you.” So the stranger grabbed the kit from her and began to fix up her friend. As Faye leaned against the car, she watched the woman treat the other - noticing her motherly touch. 

  Faye figured it was going to be pretty much silence with the group which was fine with her. She didn’t need to talk to anyone and it never felt awkward to her when there was silence. Instead, it was more of a peaceful presence. This allowed her to feel the breeze touch her skin and comb through her light hair.

  Although, one of the guys finally decided for it to be okay to speak to the girl they just met. It was the one that was called Sachael who had dark hair and beautiful eyes that were shining instead of being distant. “So you were just wandering the woods, huh?” he interrogated while showing a slight interest in her. 

  “I was with a date,” Faye admitted.

  This caused a quick demeanor change from Sachael. His eyebrows narrowed in confusion and his sharp jaw dropped in slight concern, “He just left you in the woods?”

  To show that it didn’t really get to her, she lifted her shoulders in an uncaring shrug, “Yeah, the big bad baseball player got scared.”

  “If you weren’t really interested in him, then why are you out together?” the man questioned, appearing to make conversation while Terra worked on the bigger guy. 

  Since he asked, Faye figured she’d give him the whole story, “Well, there’s this Halloween party coming up at one of the sorority houses and my best friend - her name is Chloe - found a date to go to the party. But we usually go together so she felt bad that I had to go alone so now she’s trying to find a date for me to go with at the party. That way we both have dates and don’t look like total loners.”

  “Mm-hm,” Sachael hummed to show he was going along with the story.

  “What she doesn’t realize is that I don’t want to go with a date. I’m happy enough with myself that I’m fine going alone,” Faye continued. Normally people would be hesitant about sharing so much with strangers that you just met but Faye was an open book. She knew what information to keep to herself and what was worth sharing. When she glanced back at the man she was talking to, his eyes were far away and glazed to show him in thought. Figuring it was her turn to question the new guy, Faye wondered, “So where are you nerds headed to now?”

  The stranger that called himself Sachael focused back in on the conversation by turning his bright blue eyes toward the curious girl. After peering at her innocent gaze, he glanced over to look at his buddies as if they could help him out with the question but they seemed to be pondering the answer as well. So he was honest when he admitted, “We don’t know yet.”

  Not finding the answer odd, Faye lifted her shoulders in a shrug, “Well the night is still young. I’m sure y’all will figure it out.” 

  “What about you?” Sachael inquired while Terra finished patching up Adriel. 

  “I’ll probably head back to my dorm,” Faye confessed with her gaze on the concrete below her. Her eyes were attached to the rock that was near her foot as she kicked it around. The action allowed her mind to drift into her own thoughts of what her night should consist of.

  Instead of Sachael replying to her answer, the girl fixing up her friend gave an obvious sigh before admitting, “Alright, you should be good Adriel. We need to head out.”

  With a disruptive scoff, the hothead - named Nathaniel - grumbled, “It’s about time.” 

  Fortunately, Faye didn’t take it personally as she gave the group a friendly smile then announced, “It was great meeting you guys. Hope I’ll see y’all again soon.” 

  The only one to actually acknowledge her was Sachael because he stepped up to her and gave her a soft handshake before affirming, “It was good meeting you too.” 

  Then the man waved at the amiable girl as he followed after his friends. This got a grin and wave back from Faye while the group began their journey off to civilization. When they disappeared from her sight, she glanced down at her purse to double-check that she had everything. Deciding she was ready to go back to her dorm room and relax from this nightmare of a date, Faye began her trek by following the sidewalk. The diner was close to her building - which is why she chose it in case she had to ditch - so she only had to walk a mile or so. Of course, it was dark and that usually freaked people - especially college girls like herself - out. However, Faye knew the right streets to walk down and she also felt that she could handle herself well. Even if she was being cocky.

  After about a twenty-minute stroll, campus came into view. As she was making her way up the concrete towards the doors, a loud but bubbly tune rang from her phone. It was an impulse to her for Faye to slip her iPhone into her hand and glance down at the name. Except it wasn’t a surprise when she read her best friend’s name; Chloe. The name decorated in her phone with a kissy face. 

  “Hello?” Faye answered as routine. Instead of continuing to her building, she determined to have the conversation outside so she wouldn’t be interrupted. Faye hung out by the light post so it was still bright enough around her. 

  Her friend’s voice perked up and out of the phone, “Hey! How’d the date go?”

  Even though her friend couldn’t see her, the girl rolled her sapphire blue eyes, “His friends showed up in the middle of the date. You need to stop setting me up with people.”

  Except she innocently disputed, “But wouldn’t it be so cool if we went on double dates?”

  “Chloe.” Faye snapped to show she was serious.

  “Alright fine,” a sigh came from the other line. “So your whole night was ruined?”

  The question caught Faye by surprise as she actually had to think about it. Already knowing her answer, she elucidated, “Actually, no. I met this group of cosplayers but they were really cool! So I hung out with them for a little bit.” 

  “Were any of them cute?” she could hear the smirk in her friend’s voice so it caused her to roll her eyes again. 

  Deciding not to answer, Faye laughed and snipped playfully, “Would you stop?”

  “Alright, I’m sorry! I’ll drop it,” Chloe insisted but Faye highly doubted that. 

  “Good because I’ve got to go melt in my bed. I’m exhausted!” the young adult declared while spastically throwing up her free hand - probably looking like a loon to anyone that saw her talking on the phone. 

  After letting out a giggle, Chloe agreed, “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow girlie.” 

  With that, the two best friends hung up to end the conversation. Taking a deep breath, Faye slipped the phone into the back pocket of her skinny jeans. She gave one last glance at her surroundings before heading back toward the building. Faye’s tennis shoes were quiet and soft against the concrete so the only noise around her was the swaying of trees from the slight breeze. As peaceful as it was outside, the hardworking student was worn out. This made the thought of her warm bed melt her shoulders.

  Faye reached out and grabbed the door that led to the dorm rooms. Alas, before she could step inside of the building, a noise abruptly captured her attention. From where she was, Faye could’ve sworn that it sounded like the growl of an animal.

  At first, her body wanted to freeze up so the threat wouldn’t see her. But she snapped out of her reflex and slowly moved her head to follow the noise. Any sudden movements seemed like a bad idea which meant she had to stay steady in her motions. Until her gaze stopped on a dark figure that was only a few meters away. 

  It took a moment for her to process what she was looking at and even then she wasn’t sure. The creature definitely looked like a wolf-dog mixed. It was too small to be a wolf but it still had the features of the wild animal. Except there were some characteristics that appeared to be off or abnormal. It had dark fur that fluffed up into a wispy bit of air and even swayed almost as fire does. Then there were the dangerous traits of its eyes. The animal’s eyes were a crimson red as if to show danger which was definitely not normal. 

  Her first instinct was to try and open the door so she can bolt into the security of the building. Unfortunately, Faye couldn’t get the door open quickly enough before the rabid animal lunged at her as if she was prey. A screech shot out of her lips while she bolted away from the wolf-like creature. Faye knew that she couldn’t outrun the beast so she just had to outsmart the thing until someone could come to her aid or the creature gets bored. 

  When the monster lept towards the girl, she swung her purse to protect herself. Luckily, the blow landed but it only blocked the creature from its attack. As the monster charged after the girl again, this time it grabbed the accessory and yanked it from her with ease. It wasn’t hard to tell that this creature was not only swift but vigorous as well.

  Now that Faye was defenseless, the only thing she could think to do was yell and scream for help. It wasn’t likely to work but she had to try. So - without turning her back to the beast - Faye tried to sprint backward while shouting to get someone’s attention.

  The wolf-like monster didn’t approve of the ruckus that she was making so it pounced. Faye tried to jump back but the creature managed to catch her shoe and trip her. This caused the startled girl to fall until she landed on her back. Which meant that Faye was in an even more exposed position. 

  As Faye continued to scream bloody murder, she began to kick the monster in the face with her free foot while trying to wiggle her other shoe free from the beast’s powerful grasp. All of the current events led Faye to believe that she was greatly screwed. No way could she get out of this mess alone.

  Almost as if to answer her prayers, a whip made from bright and hot flames wrapped around the creature’s tail. Since the monster was caught off guard, it let go of Faye’s shoe just in time for it to get ripped away from the vulnerable girl. Faye followed the flaming whip until her eyes locked on to a familiar face. It was one of the guys that she had met earlier - Nathaniel.

  Just as quickly as the whip appeared, it vanished before her eyes. The monster turned toward the guy and snapped at him. Nathaniel didn’t have the slightest bit of fear in his alive eyes. Instead, it was filled with wrath and determination. It may even be that Nathaniel was scarier than the beast itself. 

  Then the wolf-like creature charged at the guy. It caught Faye by surprise when he lifted his hands and flames followed his motions. Soon, a shield of fire protected the stranger. When the monster jumped into the flames, its flickering fur caught fire. Alas, the creature merely shook its body until the blaze had left its skin. This didn’t faze Nathaniel at all.

  His next attack was much like his earlier one where he formed a whip from fire and lashed the weapon toward the fiend. He managed to get it wrapped around the beast’s sturdy neck so he yanked until the wolf launched past them and slammed into a nearby tree. Fortunately, this stunned the monster enough that it wouldn’t immediately get back up on its feet. It shook its head to snap back into the battle until it stood back up. Once it was back on its feet, the wolf-creature glared at Nathaniel as a deep growl rumbled in its throat. To Faye, it was a clear warning that he should be careful but Nathaniel took a step closer to the beast as if he was threatening it.

  This got a swift reaction from the creature when it rushed at the man. When it got close enough, the monster lept toward Nathaniel in an attack. It was only inches from him but Nathaniel moved nimbly to avoid the creature that it merely brushed past him. Before the enemy could turn back around, Nathaniel dropped his hands to his waist and - out of nowhere - pulled out a sword that flickered with fire. He charged forward while the wolf bolted around only to watch the weapon slice into the body of the monster. 

  The fight was over just as fast as it had started. The beast’s body went limp and it ceased its movement when the sword stabbed into the enemy. However, when Nathaniel slid the flaming weapon out of the monster - instead of falling to the ground - it combusted into smoke then disappeared entirely. With the enemy gone, the atmosphere calmed.

  “Faye!” a somewhat familiar voice called out. When she turned her head, she saw Sachael sprinting to her. Since the girl was still sitting on the ground from the earlier attack of the wolf, he had to kneel down to be eye-level with her. “Are you okay?” he inquired with concern in his focused eyes. 

  There were so many questions ricocheting through Faye’s head. Like what attacked her? She was confused about what happened and didn’t even understand how she was alive. It felt like her head was filled with so many thoughts and questions that it was hard to focus on one. Except there was one question that was more important to her.

  “What are you?”