The Elementalists Read online

  She didn’t have to run as fast as she did; she had clearly won. But she had been running from the pond to her door almost every evening for three months now and wondered just how fast she could go. She rounded the last bend toward the finish line and caught sight of the ecstatic look on Ms. Barnes’s face.

  “Come on, McClellan! Five minutes: fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen!” cried Ms. Barnes with a giddy hop as Chloe lunged across the line.

  She gradually slowed with a series of hard exhales and her hands on her hips. Her legs felt like Silly Putty, and she ran in place for a moment as the endorphin glaze started to clear. Her heartbeat was pounding in her temples, and she cleared her throat and spit a foamy glob to the grass.

  Only then did she turn around and become aware that all the boys had started clapping for her. She made eye contact with Paul Markson as he and the boy next to him bowed with big grins. Chloe was glad that she was already beet red from the run.

  She looked back to see Kendra bent over and dry heaving on the other side of the track. Her run had disintegrated into a disjointed hobble as she tried to hide her face from the waiting spectators. Other girls passed her as she added an overdone limp to her finish, stumbling across the line with mock heroics at a still respectable six minutes, twenty seconds. She all but fell into the arms of Ms. Barnes as Chloe approached, hoping to do some damage control.

  “Chloe McClellan!” Ms. Barnes shouted unnecessarily while still holding on to Kendra. “You absolutely must join the cross-country team!”

  Kendra was a sweaty, overheated mess, looking like she might dry heave again.

  “With some coaching and practice, you could win a state championship before you graduate.” She turned back to mark the times of the others.

  “Wow, okay. Thanks,” Chloe said, feeling neither aloof nor mysterious. Kendra glared at her with open disdain as she hobbled to a rough seat in the grass. “Hey, Kendra, that was a really good race,” she offered.

  “It wasn’t supposed to be a race, you brownnosing freak,” Kendra hissed in response as some of her underlings came to rest beside her.

  That stung, but Chloe couldn’t think of a pithy response. “I was just going as fast as I could, I didn’t mean to—”

  “Whatever, you’re probably just a twelve-year-old boy anyway,” she interrupted, having gained strength in numbers. “They should probably do a DNA test just to make sure you’re the real thing.”

  Chloe had nothing left to fight them. Luckily she didn’t have the water left for tears either as she turned away from their chorus of cruel laughter.

  Chapter 3

  Freak Storm

  So there it was, in just under seven hours of high school, Chloe had already solidified her identity as a “brownnosing freak.” There would be no shaking it now, not after she’d run a mile faster than the boys. Not after she’d run Kendra into a quivering husk of her former beauty—dry heaving and drenched before a bleacher full of potential suitors. This was not “aloof and mysterious;” this was social suicide!

  She stormed through the back door, tossed her backpack toward the living room, and charged the kitchen. “Mom!” she yelled to announce her arrival. “You lied! High school is almost completely terrible!”

  “Your mom’s not here,” interrupted Officer Brent Meeks from the kitchen table. He sat in front of a laptop with his hands on the keys. Its bluish glow glinted off his badge. “She got called in last minute to cover Loraine’s shift, ’cause of an emergency situation. She asked me to stick around and make sure you’re okay.”

  Chloe just stood there, glaring at his freshly trimmed crew cut and self-important brow, trying to contain her scream. Clearly Brent was not on duty, but of course he was still wearing his uniform. It was as if he didn’t want anyone to forget that he was a cop. What a jackass!

  There was something about him that Chloe didn’t trust. And he sure as hell wasn’t good enough for her mom.

  “Anything you want to talk about?” he asked, trying too hard.

  “What was the emergency situation?” she asked, ice water in her veins.

  “What?”

  “Loraine—what was the situation?”

  “Why would I know what the situation was?” he challenged with an oddly defensive edge.

  “Well, because you’re a cop, right? Don’t people call you when they have an emergency?” she knew she was baiting him, but couldn’t stop herself.

  He chuckled without humor and straightened in the chair. “I guess this was one of those situations where they called an ambulance, not the police.”

  “Right,” she said, fetching the Brita from the fridge. “Do you know when she’ll be back?” She reached for a glass from a high counter. She could feel him watching her from across the room.

  “Who? Loraine?”

  “No, my mom.” She poured and gulped, hiding her burning glare behind water and glass. He looked like a distorted pink-and-blue blob.

  “Oh. I think she was going to try and get a replacement to cover her shift later, but I haven’t heard anything more on it. I’ll let you know if she calls.”

  “Gee, thanks, Officer Meeks,” she said, refilling the glass with an empty smile.

  “I’m off duty, you can call me Brent.”

  “Okay, thanks, Officer Brent,” she said, returning the Brita to the fridge.

  “No problem, Chloe,” he responded with disingenuous cool. He gave her a quick toe-to-head appraisal, the way Kendra had, before returning his attention to the screen. The hint of a smirk crept across his face.

  Chloe stood there for a little too long, just staring at him in disbelief. After this day of full-blown adolescent hell, all she really needed was to vent… Something told her Liz wouldn’t be accepting her calls. Mom was, once again, MIA. Opening up to Brent would be about as rewarding as talking to the STOP sign on the corner. She held her breath, feeling her face turning red and shaky, and forced herself out of the kitchen before she voiced something she’d regret.

  Now what? Assigned reading? Homework? Was she really going to sink back into her old routine of hiding behind the quest for good grades? For Chloe, sacrificing her social life on the altar of study came a little too easily. She snatched her backpack from the sofa and began the sluggish retreat to her room—mopey and defeated.

  Luckily her pocket started ringing just as she rounded the banister to the stairs.

  She tossed the backpack again and yanked the cell phone from her shorts with a shower of loose change. The screen said “MOM CELL” above a picture of her mom’s face with cheeks filled to capacity and a smile that spilled half-chewed Cheerios down her chin. About time! With a victorious glance toward the kitchen, she barreled out of the screen door before answering.

  “Mom, can you please come home?” she implored.

  “Honey, I’m on my break; I’m sorry I can’t be there. Loraine’s husband was in a car accident and she had to go to the hospital. I’d planned on the three of us having a nice dinner, but it looks like I’m going to be stuck here until ten,” Audrey replied with the sounds of a busy kitchen behind her.

  “Ten?” Another night of reheated food and only a cat to talk to.

  “I’m really sorry. Believe me; I’m not happy about it either.”

  Chloe could hear the sound of an opening door and then the clatter of the kitchen was replaced by the whir of street traffic.

  “Are you home now?” Audrey asked.

  “Yep, just me and Brent, getting some good quality time in.” Chloe rounded the house, glancing through the open windows to see if Brent was still at the kitchen table. She didn’t see him. “Mom, did you ask him to babysit me?” she whispered.

  “I asked him to stick around and make sure you got home okay. What’s wrong with that, Chloe?”

  “Well, I’m home, so you can call him and tell him to leave now. I don’t want him here.”

  Audrey sighed heavily. “If that’s really what you want?”

  “It is,�
� Chloe cut in. “I’m telling you, Mom, there’s something off about him.”

  “Chloe, can we please not do this right now?” Audrey pleaded. “Let’s not make this about Brent… Tell me about your day. What happened at school?”

  “Oh yeah, school; I lived big all right.” She kicked an acorn as hard as she could. It sailed into the unkempt grass at the edge of the yard. “Let’s see, I managed to piss off Liz, dump my lunch on the cafeteria floor, make a cute senior sad, and publicly embarrass the most popular girl in my class.” She felt tears welling up and fought to swallow the impulse. “I’d say it was a banner first day.”

  “Honey, I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

  “No, I’m pretty sure it was. I might as well transfer now, or maybe we should consider homeschooling?”

  “Chloe, don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic?”

  “Mom, Kendra Roberts said I was a freak and a boy!”

  “So what? Kendra Roberts is a mean-hearted jerk with mean-hearted jerk parents. She’ll have to live with that the rest of her mean-hearted, jerk life. Why don’t you focus on the positive things; didn’t anything good happen today?”

  As Chloe rounded the house, Shipwreck emerged from the forsythia bushes and took a lazy, playful swipe at her passing heel. It seemed that even he was conspiring against her.

  Audrey sensed something in her daughter’s silence and pushed deeper. “This cute senior sounds promising.”

  “Yeah, until I brought up his missing grandmother.” Chloe peered through the bay windows into the kitchen nook, but Brent had left his seat. The computer still sat on the table, facing her. It was open to his e-mail.

  Shipwreck slinked by, rubbing against Chloe’s shin. She knelt and kneaded his battered ear as he purred in ecstasy.

  “He sounds sensitive, and he loves his grandmother, what’s wrong with that?” asked Audrey. “Just give him a little time and talk to him again.”

  “Mom, he hates Charlottesville, is two years older than me, and he runs away every time I’m near him.”

  “So, do you like him?” Audrey asked with a smile in her voice.

  “What? I don’t know him.” Chloe couldn’t help but glance back to the e-mail. “I mean, yeah, he was pretty interesting, but there’s just no way.” She leaned in closer toward the open window. Her eyes squinted through the screen and worked fast.

  The car is totaled, but Andy isn’t hurt too bad. They say he’s got a broken leg, some bruises, and a minor concussion. Still, they’re gonna keep him in the hospital overnight for observations and tests and things.

  So, it looks like I’m alone at the house tonight. I’ll be there at around 8:30, and I definitely think I’ll need some protective custody, don’t you, Officer Meeks?

  You want to wait all night for Mama Bear to get home or come do your duty and help a poor woman in distress?

  Hmmmmmmmm?

  L.

  Chloe wasn’t sure at first what she’d read. She read it again. “Mom, what’s Loraine’s husband’s name?”

  “What? Don’t change the subject.”

  “No, really Mom, is it Andy?”

  “Yes, it’s Andy. But Loraine just called to let us know he’s okay. He’s got a broken leg and was pretty banged up, but he’ll be all right. She’s staying with him at the hospital until visiting hours are over at ten, so she can’t switch shifts with me and none of the other girls are available.” A loud truck rattled by and she sighed, “I’m stuck here until closing.”

  That bastard! I knew he was a sleaze! “Mom, I think that Brent is having an affair with Loraine!” she whispered.

  “What? Why would you say that, Chloe?” Her mom sounded hurt.

  “I’m reading it in his e-mail. He’s going to meet her tonight at 8:30.”

  “Chloe McClellan! You read Brent’s e-mail?” Now she was angry.

  “No, it’s just, I’m looking at it right now through the window and there’s a message from Loraine—”

  “Chloe, you are unbelievable! Why do you insist on trying to sabotage any chance I might have to like a guy?” Her mom was getting to that upset place of no return.

  “No, Mom, I’m not making this up—”

  “I’m really trying to hold everything together right now, and you know what, I’m doing a pretty damn good job of it! But I deserve a little ME time, too, once in a while, don’t you think? I need to be allowed to have relationships, whether you approve of them or not, and you need to be okay with that!”

  “Mom, you’re doing a great job. But I’m really sorry, I know what I read. He’s cheating on you with Loraine!”

  “Chloe!” She was shouting now. “I don’t want to hear it!”

  Shipwreck cocked his ears and stiffened, hearing the familiar tone and heavy breathing through the phone. He skittered into the bushes.

  Now her mom was cold and final: “There’s a pot of potato-leek soup in the fridge and some frozen French bread in the freezer. Heat some up for dinner and do your homework before I get back.” There was an unspoken threat there.

  “Mom—”

  “Not another word, Chloe. I mean it…I have to go back to work.”

  Chloe’s hand was shaking and the tears were on the way. “Mom,” she pleaded.

  “I’m very upset with you right now,” Audrey’s voice quivered. “We’ll talk when I get home.”

  “Mom?” she begged again with no response. She looked at the phone, reading the word “Disconnected” on the little screen. This day can’t be happening!

  She looked back to the e-mail, but the computer was closed. Brent stood at the window, watching her. The window was open. She met his gaze.

  “Chloe, I think you’re a little confused. Could you please come inside so we can talk about it?” he asked through the screen.

  Chloe wanted to tear him apart for hurting her mom, but she was too upset to find the words. What if she gets depressed again? What if it all comes apart? I don’t have the strength for this, now… She just shook her head, terrified, disbelieving, and mute. All at once, the dam came crashing down and the old flood of anxiety washed over her. She gasped like a barking seal, and the first wave of sobs spilled out. Before she knew it, she was sprinting away, trailing tears through the back yard, across the street, and into the woods.

  • • •

  Her legs were clunky and sore from the timed run earlier that day, but Chloe dug deep, still covering the distance from house to pond at a pace that would have sent Ms. Barnes into a giggling spasm of joy. She did not stop as she came out of the woods to the clearing, but continued to barrel down the hill toward the glassy sheen of the water.

  The fish had stopped jumping and the birds had gone. Only Chloe broke the utter stillness of the scene with flailing arms and a stumbling stride that brought her toward the bank without slowing. She launched herself from the rocks and arched into a sloppy dive, destroying the tranquil surface with a belly flop. She kicked furiously toward the center of the pond, releasing the last reserve of frustrated energy before succumbing to total physical and emotional fatigue.

  For good measure, Chloe let out one last furious shriek, and the sound of it traveled through the surrounding woods and echoed back with primal rage. She treaded water, and her body ached. A part of her wondered if it wouldn’t be better just to stop fighting and let herself sink beneath the surface. Just to be dramatic, she stopped kicking for a moment, shut her eyes, and dropped below. She waved her arms to propel herself down through the darkness, expecting to touch the bottom, but she had to turn back with burning lungs before she did.

  She surfaced with a loud inhale and a lot of sputtering, and bitter laughter spilled out of her where the crying had been. It echoed back.

  “My life is a joke!” she announced, to test the echo again. She wondered how she’d never noticed the reverberating sounds here before.

  “What do you want from me?” she asked the universe, wondering if the echo might actually contain an answer. It only repeate
d again, and again.

  Chloe flipped to her back with gentle waves of her arms to keep afloat. Eyes closed, she listened to the silence and tried to settle the fury in her veins. At first, the quiet was marred only by her strokes of the water and steadying breaths, but then a current gathered in the air. Before long, a breeze arrived, drifting along the tops of the trees and rustling the canopy around the clearing. Then a wind whistled through the upper limbs, and the branches began to sway and creak with vigor…

  Chloe opened her eyes to dark clouds gathering overhead. The billowing grey cover seemed to swirl above the clearing, ominous and angry. Thunder sounded from a few miles off. This isn’t possible. What, am I cursed?

  Then she felt the whole pond lurch below her as a massive, mud-filled bubble gurgled up to toss her into the air with a burst of thick, brown water. She sucked in a dirty mouthful and splashed back to the riled surface with a yelp. Earthen grit was in her mouth and eyes as she struggled to reclaim her bearings. But as lightning struck nearby, lighting her blurry vision with a blinding flash and leaving her ears ringing, she lunged desperately toward the shore.

  She reached the bank and pulled her way up, coughing and blind, onto the rocks just as the pond shifted again. A wave rushed past her, dumping her further onto the grass in a flopping heap before sucking her, clawing and frantic, back into the pond. Panic set in with a pounding rain and howling wind.

  Chloe climbed frantically, scraping her knees and palms as she escaped over the pond’s edge again. She crawled over wet earth as fast as she could, her body wracked and constricting as her lungs fought to expel the layer of silt. Somehow she found her feet and ran, rubbing her eyes and stumbling as lightning cracked into the woods somewhere behind her—too close.

  She slipped on the wet grass and found herself on hands and knees once more. Climbing the hill as fast as she could, she was terrifyingly aware that she was now the tallest point for a hundred feet in every direction. All she could think of was the relative safety of the dense woods ahead. She worked her arms and legs with borrowed strength, fueled by adrenaline.