Final draft time! It's been a lovely journey. Thanks again to my CPs, and thanks to my editor. Their feedback not only made the story better but will also affect my future writing. I don't usually go for picture prompts, which was the first hurdle in this activity. I finally settled on using characters from a previous sort story and the second hurdle became finding a way to incorporate the image in their story/world. The third hurdle was essentially making the world "smaller" so that the story was bogged down by unanswered questions (the hardest thing). This is the hurdle that caused me to trip. I tumbled over and rolled straight into the fourth hurdle: deciding which questions to answer, which to remove, and which to leave as-is, all in 1000 words. Hopefully this draft flows better and is more comprehensive.
Samira didn?t have a solid plan for confronting the boy she?d almost killed, but a malleable plan was a plan, nonetheless. Negotiate, intimidate, evacuate. The supposed victim had spent the last two weeks inundating her inbox with what looked like security camera stills of the incident. With no electricity in the abandoned building, it could only mean that he?d had an accomplice―which neither she nor Enya had anticipated when they?d lured him there. They?d assumed he worked alone. Now there was another person they needed to keep quiet. If those images leaked, they?d either face four months of magical probation in Elemental court or be punished for their mere existence in Ordinary court.
The brown-bricked library came into view. Ordinary students leaned lazily on the white stone columns that framed the front of the building. The summer heat beat down on her back and she resisted the urge to stir up a little wind to cool herself and Enya. Since elemental interference was forbidden off school grounds, it would only draw more attention to themselves. They were already being given curious looks just by being new faces in this part of town so Enya?s idea to change out of their uniforms was paying off to some degree. Had they done it Samira?s way, they?d probably be stoned before even setting foot on the pavement. Samira tossed a few braids over her shoulder defiantly, mentally cursing herself for agreeing to meet so far away from campus.
They navigated through the looks and headed straight for the study rooms along a quiet corridor in the basement. The silence brought flashbacks of the wretched day Enya had gone along with Samira?s plan of starting an elemental fire in one of their school?s abandoned training buildings hoping the braggadocious, self-proclaimed vigilante would turn up. Samira had nearly suffocated him out of anger when he?d refused to give up the names of other vigilantes. Now she would face the prick again. She flexed her fingers and released a breath.
They found him in the fifth room sitting at a table with someone wearing a black hoodie. No doubt the accomplice.
Samira pushed open the door and strode in, while Enya entered behind her like a mouse, the door closing with a soft click. When Samira plopped down next to the accomplice, he stood immediately and moved to a cushioned chair in the corner, jaw clenched as he glared at her.
?Welcome,? their host said, a bemused smile on his face, his dark eyes twinkling mischievously under his thick eyebrows.
Samira rolled her eyes. ?Spare me. Let?s get straight to it: stop trying to blackmail me and I won?t tell the police what really happened.?
His brow furrowed and he took a sip of his bottled water. ?What really happened is you attacked me, so---?
?You came after us,? she retorted. ?And you entered a Neelstem Academy building, so―?
?Well, now you?re on our turf, so I?d cool it with the attitude,? his friend chimed in, glowering.
?Or what?? she challenged, raising an eyebrow. Adrenaline shot through her veins as her irritation built. Enya, standing behind her, rested a calming hand on her shoulder. ?And you people have no turf.?
?You people?? the accomplice seethed, balling his fists. ?Rams, handle her before I do.?
?Handle me???
?Alright, guys! Chill out. Ash, we?re just here for a deal,? Rams interrupted. He turned back to Samira, leaning back in his chair and running a hand through his black hair. The shaved sides made him even more irritating. ?What?ve you got.?
?I told you. Stop blackmailing me, I won?t turn you in.?
He narrowed his eyes, and a wry smile played at his lips. ?You tried to kill me, and you think I?m the one in the wrong.?
?Yes! Your whole vigilante act is illegal. And I wasn?t trying to kill you??
?Oh, so murder just comes naturally??
?That?s all their people know how to do,? the friend cut in, his words searing through Samira like elemental flames. Samira sprang from the chair, which clattered to the floor behind her. Ash rose and moved toward her, and Rams scrambled to stand between them, begging his friend to calm down.
?You think because you?re an Elemental you?re untouchable??
?Come at me and find out!? she taunted. Enya prodded her to leave, but Samira refused. ?I?m not leaving because this weak Ordinary,? she soaked the word in all the disdain of generations past, ?has a superiority complex.?
Ash shoved past Rams and lunged at her.
Samira had only seen Enya?s hand rise for a fraction of a second. A burst of flames erupted on the left side of Ash?s face. He staggered back, letting out an agonized bray as he clutched his face. Rams grabbed Enya?s arm and with a scream, she bucked and convulsed as if electrocuted.
Ash?s skin bubbled sickeningly from the elemental heat, and finally, Samira?s brain clicked into action. Damage control. She stepped toward him; palms upturned. She breathed deeply and concentrated. Pulling on the air as hard as she could, she watched the flame flicker into nothingness as it lost its fuel, and his eyes drooped as his body, too, suffered a loss of oxygen. Once the last of the flames went out, she forced the energy back toward him, a cooling wind that saw a thick white curtain of smoke wisping between his fingers.
Ash whimpered. Rams stared at him wide-eyed.
Enya gawped apprehensively at the back of Rams? head; a thin black bruise striped up her arm.
Samira dropped her hand at her side.
What had they done?
The silence that followed indicated that no one upstairs was aware of what had just happened. Yet the face of the boy standing across from her, which could barely qualify as such anymore, was a blatant sign of disaster. It was clearly an elemental injury.
They were strange faces, outnumbered by Ordinaries, and would need to leave.
And no one was on their side.
Topic: The Confrontation Draft 4 (Editor Edit) (Read 650 times)