Chapter 4
As we walked outside, I got really nervous. I had a feeling that I would be able to manipulate fire, too, because I had done it before. I just hadn’t realized it at the time.
I was about nine years old when my parents and I went camping in Badlands National Park. The weather turned extremely cold one night after the sun went down. Dad started a fire, but it was so small that it wasn’t helping much. He left to go get more wood while my mom prepped for dinner. I sat alone by the campfire, holding my hands as close as I could to try to warm up. It was freezing. I was shivering and wishing the fire was larger to help warm me up faster. All of a sudden, the fire shot up in the air. I stood and backed away from it. The blaze was taller than I was. As I stepped back, the fire started to dwindle back down to a more normal size. It scared me so bad that I’d avoided fires ever since.
That had been my first encounter with fire. I knew that whatever Harrison asked me to do, I would be able to do it. I just hoped it was not like with the water. You can’t just wipe fire off of someone with a dish towel. Once we were outside, Harrison lit a candle. “Let’s start small, just in case.”
He held the candle in front of him and with glowing eyes, made it grow several inches taller and then made it dance around. It was mesmerizing. After a few minutes of that, he controlled it back to its regular size. “Now you try it,” he said. He handed me the still-lit candle. “Just like you did with the water, focus on the flame and will it to do what you want. Start small and just try to get it to move back and forth.”
I focused on the candle’s flame, watching it flicker in the slight breeze. I thought about how it was slowly swaying from side to side when Harrison did it. I thought about how magical the slow dance he made the flame perform was. Suddenly, the flame started to move back and forth. I thought maybe it was the wind, but it was moving in the direction I was thinking. This is so exciting! I can control fire! Next thing I know, the fire is shooting up into the air about 3 feet. I dropped the candle and the flame caught the lawn on fire. Harrison stepped forward and started to get the fire to die down when out of nowhere, a large bubble of water came splashing down on top of it, dousing the flames.
“I figured you might need it, so I was ready,” Mason said smiling.
“Well, she is definitely a Fire Elemental, but her eyes glowed white again,” stated Harrison. Just then, Chase walked up, looking grumpy as ever. Maybe I should call him Oscar instead of Chase. Oscar the Grouchy Elemental. That fits!
“Show me your air gift,” Chase, aka Oscar, said.
“I’m not sure how,” I replied.
“You knew how to do it the other night when you were throwing those guys into a tree. Do what you did then,” Chase barked.
“I don’t know what I did! All I know is that there were two men dragging me into the woods and I started shaking and felt a pressure build up inside me and then I felt like I just exploded. I don’t know how I did it, it just happened. Just like everything else around me. It always just happens!” I was screaming at him at this point. He stepped toward me with that menacing look on his face and I was frightened. He grabbed both of my arms tightly and I freaked. This time I didn’t feel any build up, he just went flying backwards and landed on his ass. The other four guys burst out laughing.
“She gave you what you asked for!” Harrison said between laughs.
“Yeah, she did exactly what she did the other night, just like you told her!” Bryce said at the same time, while bending over from laughing so hard. Tears were streaming down his face. “Bre, please don’t ever leave. I have not had this much fun in a long time!”
“I’m glad I can be your entertainment,” I said, and smiled a little at Chase still sitting on the ground with a dumbfounded look on his face.
“Her gifts become larger and more out of control when her emotions are high,” Carter said as he looked sheepishly at me. “When those men were attacking her, she was scared and her air gift came forward, like with Chase just now. When she was trying to move the water, she got excited and that was when the water flew all over Harrison.”
“Sorry I missed that. At least I’m not the only one she is taking it out on,” Chase grumbled.
“Again when she got excited about the flame, it shot up in the air. Her gifts are affected by her emotions. Ours are, too, but we have been working with them our entire lives and can control them better,” Carter said. “Remember when you were young and your gift was out of control sometimes? It’s the same with Bre. She has never had anyone teach her how to control her powers or her emotions, so they go haywire when she is excited or scared.”
“I almost burned my house down when I was five years old,” Harrison said. “My mother wouldn’t let me play with my toys until I cleaned my room. I was so mad that I caught the carpet in the living room on fire. Luckily she was also a Fire Elemental and put it out quickly, but I understand exactly what Bre is going through.”
“We need to work with her, teach her to control her gifts. We also need to figure out how in the world she has more than one,” Bryce stated. “Bre, would you like to try Earth? It should be less destructive than fire.”
“Ha ha, very funny. Maybe I will create a huge hole in the earth to swallow you up!” I said, laughing at Bryce.
“Don’t joke, you probably can! But let’s try something a little easier,” Bryce said as he picked up a potted plant. “Like I told you, one of the ways I can use my gift is to grow things.” As he spoke, the plant started to get bigger and his eyes glowed green. It grew from a foot tall to three feet tall.
“Wow, Bryce! Can you do that with all plants? What about vegetables? You could end world hunger! Just grow lots of food and give it to the homeless and those in poverty. No one would be hungry again! That is amazing!” I exclaimed.
With a downtrodden look, Bryce said, “We can’t show our gifts to the humans. If they found out about us, they would want to perform tests on us. What they found would scare them and they would see us as a threat. Eventually, they would try to control us. We are a lot stronger than humans and it would not end well for them if they tried.”
“Oh, that sucks! I do agree that human nature can be destructive. I understand what you are saying, but what a shame it is. The good you guys could do with your gifts is limitless,” I said with a sadness in my voice. “Maybe one day.” I looked up and saw Chase was staring at me. He didn’t have his usual scowl, which confused me. “Do you have something else mean to say Oscar?” I said, looking at Chase.
“Oscar?” he questioned.
“Yes, Oscar the Grouchy Elemental. That is my nickname for you!” I replied.
For the third time today, all four of the others burst out laughing. “Bre, seriously, please stay with us. I have laughed more today than I have in months. You can have my room. I’ll sleep in the basement if it means you’ll stay,” Bryce proclaimed.
I blushed again from Bryce’s statement and when I looked at Chase, I saw he was grinning. It made his beautiful face even more beautiful. It took my breath away at how a smile could light up his whole face. If he would just keep his mouth shut, I could deal with being around him. Fat chance of that happening!
Bryce came over to me, still holding the plant. “Same as before with the others. Concentrate on what you want the plant to do and will it to do that.” I concentrated on the plant before me and felt a small connection to it. I softly coaxed it to grow. It grew its leaves even bigger and stretched its stalk even higher. I could feel the plant thriving. It was one of the most extraordinary feelings I had ever felt.
“I did it! Oh my God, I could feel the plant growing. It felt wonderful! Thank you, Bryce!” I exclaimed.
“You are welcome. That was amazing.” As he stepped back to put the plant down, I looked over at Carter. He seemed to be the quietest of them all.
“Carter, can you tell me how you use your gift? What does it mean to be an Animal Elemental?” I asked.
Carter took my hand and walked me toward the forest lining their huge back yard. “Come with me. I will introduce you to some of my friends,” he said hesitantly.
I didn’t understand why he seemed so shy about showing me his gift. Everyone else was thrilled to show me what they could do. Maybe he was not as skilled as the others. I couldn’t imagine what was going to happen. Slowly, creatures of all kinds arrived the edge of the woods. There were a deer, a wolf, a squirrel, several birds, and a chipmunk. I took a step back when I saw the wolf. “Don’t be scared. I am communicating with him and he will not hurt you. Relax and let the connection happen.” I trusted him and closed my eyes and thought about all of the beautiful animals before me. Faintly, I started hearing voices. The more I concentrated on them, the more I could hear.
“She is beautiful, Carter.”
“Is she your girlfriend?”
“He he he he. Carter has a girlfriend.” Different voices were starting to come into focus.
“Hello.” I said in my head as I opened my eyes. Suddenly, each of the animals and Carter looked at me in astonishment. “Can you hear me?”
“Yes.” I heard in Carter’s voice, but his lips didn’t move.
“Yes!”
“I can hear you.”
“Clear as day!”
Each answer was in a different voice. The animals were speaking to me! I thought the connection I had with the plant was wonderful, but this, this was beyond my wildest dreams. I had always loved animals and now I could speak to them! If I did nothing else in my life, I could die happy after experiencing this. “Hello, everyone. My name is Breanna Hunter. But please, call me Bre. That’s what my friends call me. I am delighted to meet all of you!” I said to them in my head.
The deer stepped forward and bowed its massive head, “Greetings, Bre Hunter. My name is Sebastian. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Thank you,” I thought to him.
The birds chirped out loud and I understood them, “Bre, it is an honor to meet you. Any friend of Carter’s is a friend of ours.”
Again, I said, “Thank you.”
The squirrel and chipmunk scurried closer to me. When they were right below me, I knelt down. “Bre, is Carter your boyfriend?” the chipmunk asked in a cute little voice that sounded like a toddler.
“I just met him today, but I am hoping he is my friend. He seems really nice. Do you think he will be my friend?” I asked.
“Oh yes! Carter is a wonderful friend. He comes and talks with us all the time. He even brings us treats! Isn’t that right, Roco?” the little chipmunk replied.
“Chip is right. Carter is the nicest person I know. He truly cares for the animals, unlike others that only care that we can help them,” Roco said.
“You guys are just the cutest creatures I have ever seen. Thank you for speaking with me and maybe you can put in a good word for me with Carter, Chip,” I whispered.
“You got it!” Chip answered.
As they walked back to the woods, I noticed the wolf was pacing back and forth anxiously. “Are you okay? Is there something I can do?” I asked him.
“No, there is just another predator heading this way and I prefer to be the only one in the area. I do not recognize the smell and it has me worried,” the wolf said. When a two-hundred-pound wolf is worried about another predator, I tended to get a little anxious.
“Can you tell what it is? What should we do?” I asked, looking at Carter. Just then, a huge, and I mean huge, black cat jumped in front of me. The wolf started toward the cat, growling louder than I thought possible. The panther, I had figured out now that it was all but standing on my feet, turned to the wolf and let out a cat roar. It was deafening.
“Whoa, everyone calm down. Panther, can you hear me?” I asked.
“Yes, I can hear you. No need to get your hackles up, wolf. My name is Mea and I am Breanna’s spirit animal,” the panther turned to me and said.
“My apologies Mea. I was merely trying to protect her; I did not realize. Please accept my sincere apology. My name is Brutus and I am at your service,” The massive wolf said while bowing to Mea.
I looked over at Carter’s astonished face. His eyes were glowing gold and his hands had turned into thin claws and he looked ready to attack. I guess that is what they meant by him taking on some traits of his spirit animal. The others had just gotten to us after running from the house.
“What is going on?” Chase asked.
“Apparently, Bre’s spirit animal is a panther. I have never heard of someone with a panther spirit animal. This is extraordinary. I guess she is definitely an Elemental, just with all five gifts,” Carter stated as his hands went back to normal.
“Thank you, Brutus. I accept your apology and appreciate you keeping watch over Breanna. You are a noble and honorable wolf,” Mea said as she bowed her head slightly. “Breanna, I thought it was time to introduce myself. I have watched over you since you were a child. I have been waiting for the day that you would be able to comprehend our connection. Luckily, you met these men and they were able to explain our world to you."
“You have been watching over me?”
“Yes, you are my chosen Elemental. I wasn’t sure how to approach you and explain any of this to you. I’m not exactly small and unnoticeable. You meeting these men was fortunate for us. Because you seem to be handling all of this so well, I decided you were ready.”
“Trust me, if you knew what was going on in my head, you wouldn’t think that. I am freaked out, scared, excited, nervous, and a little nauseous,” I said with a little smirk.
“Once you have had time to come to terms with your new reality, I will come back and we will discuss what it really means to be an Animal Elemental,” Mea said before she circled me a couple of times and then walked back into the woods, followed by the rest of the creatures we spoke with today.
“Goodbye, everyone. It was wonderful meeting you. Thank you!” I said as they left.
After they disappeared into the woods, I ran to Carter and jumped on him, hugging his neck. He spun me around. “Thank you! That was the most extraordinary thing I have ever done. I can’t believe I spoke to animals. I can’t thank you enough for that. I will never forget what you did for me. Thank you, Carter!” I said breathlessly.
As Carter put me back down, he said, “You are welcome, but I didn’t do anything. You did it all yourself.”
“No, I would never have been able to connect with them without you. You are remarkable. This is by far my favorite gift; if I had to pick one, this would be it. You are so lucky to have had this ability your entire life. I can’t wait for you to show me more. Would you do that?” I asked quickly. I was out of breath. Today was a lot to take in and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss a second of it.
“Of course I will. It would be my honor,” Carter said, blushing. I looked over to the others and noticed each of them had a thoughtful look on their faces. They seemed like they were really pleased with something. Guess they think it is cool that my spirit animal is a panther, because it is!
As we started back toward the house, my stomach started growling. I blushed as everyone looked at me. “I didn’t eat much today with everything that was going on. Bryce, can you take me back to campus?” I asked.
“Let’s order pizzas!” Mason said. “What kind do you like, Bre?”
“Mmm, pizza sounds great! I like hamburger and extra cheese, but will eat pepperoni and bacon, too,” I replied.
“Great! I will call it in,” Bryce said.