6.1
Blake, insisting we needed to get as far away from the town as possible, led us south, back towards Mt. Hood.
I rubbed my arms where I'd been scratched and bitten, but the wounds were completely gone. All that remained from my injuries were faint black marks, which Blake assured me would disappear with time.
My eyes were dead-set on the ground as I turned the battle over inside my mind. After witnessing Corvus versus that monster, I was once again put back in my place.
Not only had Corvus dealt with the most powerful being I had ever seen, but he'd simultaneously brought down an entire army of rogues, and even they were a cut above the norm.
Blake's words came back to me. "If you have to get involved, don't let them break your skin."
There was something unnatural about those creatures.
But the most fantastic part was the tree's collapse. In a matter of seconds, it had literally died. Leaves had withered and branches had cracked. One hundred years of aging had been condensed into seconds.
How did it happen?
As I puzzled over this, I felt a soft tap on my shoulder. I turned around, expecting to see Nikki's grinning face, but I got quite the surprise instead.
"Wanna walk with me?" Eve asked.
"Oh. Sure," I replied, masking my hesitation.
Have I been forgiven? I wondered.
Eve slowed down a little, and we fell out of earshot of the other three.
Finally, she spoke.
"Jelani."
I watched her curiously.
She swallowed and averted her eyes downwards. "I'm sorry. I yelled at you for no good reason. I don't want you to think… that I don't like you."
My face softened. "Don't worry about it."
Apparently, she wasn't done, and she inhaled deeply, chewing on her lower lip before saying, "I want to get along with you. Don't be afraid to ask me for help whenever you want it. Although…" she looked at me with a small smile. "At this rate, I won't have anything else to teach you."
I smiled in reply. "Thanks, but I think you're overestimating me. I totally brute-forced my way through that."
She gave a little snort of laughter and said, "Yeah, I guess your technique might have been a little off. But what about that throw? I was impressed."
It took a slight pause for me to realize what she was talking about.
"Ohh, when I threw the gun to you? Well, I've had some practice. It's helped me out in the past. I used to always keep at least three rocks in my pocket."
The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them, and it was all I could do to stop the emotion from showing on my face.
She giggled, as if I'd said something funny.
Gradually, we wound our way back into the familiar forests that surrounded the mountain, and it was well after sunset by the time we stopped to set up camp. Thanks to a single small flashlight, we were able to manage travelling by night.
Wondering where they got replacement batteries, I was reminded of our ammo situation.
After we'd all laid down in the tent, I asked, "Hey, Blake. Where do you guys get your ammo?"
"There are some rebels who sell it," he replied. "Many people gather to buy from them."
"But what about those rebels?" I continued. "How do they get it?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "If I had to guess, they probably have connections in society."
"How do you know where to find them?"
"Well, there are specified dates on which they sell. It's kind of like a festival. Of course, if you use your ammo too quickly, you could be in trouble."
Sick, I thought, grinning into the darkness above me. "Do you guys always meet at the same spot?"
"There are a few 'conventions' throughout the year that are in different locations," he answered, "but each specific event always happens at the same time and place, usually once every six months."
"Will we go to one soon?" I asked excitedly.
"There's one coming up that's not too far from here," he said, "but we still have just enough ammo left to go to Portland, I think. Besides, it's not for a little while, and it would hold us up if we decided to wait."
I closed my eyes, fantasizing about the world I'd been lucky enough to enter. "Do they get along? The rebels?"
"Heh. Occasionally."
– – – – –
When I woke up the next morning, I found myself alone.
After rubbing my tired eyes, I stretched, climbed to my feet, and walked outside.
I shielded my eyes from the rising sun, and, based on what I saw, felt like I'd just interrupted something very private.
Blake, Nikki, and Eve, who'd been standing in a tight group and facing each other, all turned towards me in unison as I stepped out of the tent.
I blinked at them.
Assuming that I wouldn't have much to contribute to whatever conversation was being had, I spied Corvus lying on his back nearby and decided to follow suit.
"Good morning," Blake told me.
It wasn't his usual "Good morning". This one felt very directed, like he had been waiting to see me or something.
I looked at him warily.
"We have a big decision to make," he continued. "We need to figure out what to do with this."
He held out an element.
It was smaller than any I'd seen, about the size of an almond, and it had a perfect black color. In fact, while every other element I'd known seemed to emit a soft glow, this one looked like it actually absorbed the light from the air around it.
Like the crooked face of a cliff, the sharpness of its jagged edges looked menacing.
"This is an element of death."
My squinting eyes opened wide. "What?! What do you mean 'death'?"
"It's essentially what it sounds like. The authority of death kills living cells. As you can imagine, it's quite a powerful weapon, but it's very difficult to harness."
He paused, then added, "This is the source of Corvus's powers."
As if my neck had frozen, I slowly swiveled my head and focused my eyes on the man stretched out on the ground behind me.
He too seemed to absorb the light, and once again, he felt no more familiar to me than an alien from outer space.
The tree, those black marks… Was it all a result of the authority of death?
Blake continued. "There are two options. We can either do nothing and just hang on to it, or we can have you consume it. Yes, you, Jelani."
I exhaled the breath that I'd been holding.
I opened my mouth to say something, but then I closed it.
I'd made up my mind: I was going to take risks out here. I was done living the sheltered, lukewarm life. I wanted to gain power and become someone who actually mattered.
I swallowed. "I'd be happy to try."
"Stop," Nikki interrupted immediately, before Blake could continue. "Jelani, you don't know what you're saying. That element isn't normal. It's way too dangerous. Besides, this isn't a rite of passage like the first element you had. You don't have to do this."
There it was again. Blake's smirk that always seemed to appear at times like this.
"Nikki is right," he agreed. "This element is no joke. But Jelani, that's no reason not to consider the option. I think I'm right in saying that you want to take the initiative to get stronger, and if you were to successfully tolerate this element, it would be a huge step in the right direction. Additionally, I sense that our time of peace will come to an end soon, so being overly patient could be a grave mistake."
As Blake spoke, Nikki, who was standing a few feet behind him, watched the man with an ice-cold stare, one that I'd never seen before.
She resumed her argument.
"He's not telling you everything, Jelani. Sure, there's a chance–a tiny chance–that you'll tolerate it, but if you don't, you'll probably die."
She took a deep breath.
"And, from what I know, that element is more risky than any other. Really, the chance that you die isn't low at all. Right, Blake?"
This time, her glaring eyes were full of a fiery light.
Blake replied coolly.
"I can't say for certain if it's more dangerous than any other, but it is indeed dangerous. If it were almost anyone else, I wouldn't even consider giving the option as they would face inevitable death. However, I believe you have a talent for tolerating elements, Jelani. And as you know, I've done my research, so it's not as if I'm saying that on a whim."
His smile became warm, and he finished by saying, "Now, with all that said, it's up to you. Just don't make a decision you'll regret."
"...give me a minute," I said.
This complicated things. Although I knew consuming elements was risky, I'd always assumed that the chance of death was one in a million–the sort of thing that never actually happened to people.
But "inevitable death" was what Blake had said.
I stepped away from the others and sat down.
What was there to gain, and what was there to lose?
I wanted to get stronger, the question was whether I was willing to go so far. Of course, I was more than happy with the exhilarating life I was living, and I wouldn't have traded it for anything. Considering that, I shouldn't take such a big risk and throw my newfound joy away so easily.
However, our current situation wouldn't last forever. In fact, any one of us could be dead as soon as tomorrow. The only way I could increase the odds of keeping both myself and those around me alive was to get stronger. There was no other way.
I stood, having made up my mind. In the end, I would only regret wimping out. Even if what I was about to do was incredibly stupid, how else would I find peace of mind?
I could feel Nikki's eyes boring into me as I approached Blake, but I stared straight ahead. This was something I'd decided for myself.
"Let me ask first," I said to Blake, "why are you choosing me over Corvus? He's already tolerated one of these, so doesn't he have a better chance?"
"As I told you the other day," he responded, "the likelihood of tolerating any given element decreases exponentially as the number you've consumed increases. The fact that Corvus tolerated that first element of death was a miracle, so it would be far-fetched to imagine it happening again. And, more importantly, we can't afford to lose Corvus."
It was the answer I'd expected.
"I'll do it," I stated firmly. There was no longer any decision for me to make.
Blake looked satisfied. "Great. Why don't we get it over with now?"
He reached out, holding the element between his fingertips.
However, just as it was about to exchange from his hand to mine, Nikki leapt forward and snatched it away. She took a few running steps backward, clutching the element tightly to her chest.
"I kn-know what's g-g-going to hap-pen," she choked as tears rolled down her cheeks. "You d-don't know, Je-Jelani, b-b-but you're g-going to d–..."
She gasped a few rapid breaths.
"YOU'RE GONNA DIE" she shrieked.
We all stared at her as her head drooped and she sobbed. Chest heaving with every sharp inhalation, she collapsed to her knees, never letting her tightly clasped hands come apart.
I walked over to her.
"Nikki," I said, looking down at the top of her head. "I'm willing to take the risk."
"NO!" She blindly swatted a hand at me. "NO! NO! NO!"
I knelt down beside her.
"NO!"
I felt bad for doing it, but this was my decision, not hers.
"NO!"
In one swift motion, I grabbed her hand that was still clenched against her chest and pried it open. She let loose a scream like no other, but the element, and my fate, was in my own hands.
Naturally, I was nervous.
Grasping the element tightly between my forefinger and thumb to keep it safe from Nikki, who clawed away at it frantically, I gazed into its form.
It looked like it could have been the source of some infectious disease. Like a black hole, the deep, deep darkness within it drew my eyes in, and, although it was tiny, the stone occupied my entire visual field.
I slowly lifted my hand and placed the hideous thing into my mouth. It was cold against the surface of my tongue, and I could distinctly feel every one of its sharp edges and corners.
I decided to take one last look at the world around me, but I found myself staring into Eve's blank, gray eyes. She was standing there, looking down at me with her mouth just slightly open.
Sorry, but if I die now, at least I'll have gone out on a high note.
That's right. I wasn't afraid to die.