Searching For the Safe Haven with Her {Danger and punkukelele}

Cerina Sael

Not again. I had been trying to move the stupid rock out of my way for a while now, yet kept failing. The control I had over my powers wasn't strong, but I felt like it would be strong enough for this at least. Apparently not.

Taking a break, I sat back and looked up at the sky. Strange to imagine some air users were able to fly. If there were any left. After the world had been mostly destroyed by one all powerful elemental, there were only ruins and ashes. Even so, the armies that had served him still roamed to destroy those who had powers. Elementals had been rare when the world was at peace; they were almost non-existent now.

However according to some rumours, there was a safe haven somewhere in the world. I had been following the rumours for some days now, but with barely any luck. Most people wouldn't talk, as elementals were hunted and people didn't want to be on the wrong end of a stick. Instead they were on the wrong end of my gun. They usually talked then.

Standing up again, I decided to go around the rock instead of attempting to practice my powers. No point in wasting time where hunters could catch up to me. Not that I knew anyone was actually on my trail. It was highly unlikely but you couldn't be too careful, not in a world like this. I had been travelling on flat ground for the past few days however, and hadn't seen a single soul. Nor felt anything. Which was both a good and bad sign.

Gritting my teeth, I hoisted my backpack up and began to carefully tread north. The rumours pointed there, and there I would go.

 

Cerina Sael

Finally up ahead I could spot some hills to take cover in should the need come across. After days of walking on flat, dry land, seeing the green hills were a relief. It also meant nearby water, which was a good thing as I had almost run dry myself. A chance to take a break and relax would be a nice break to my usual routine. Stopping, I knelt down to press my fingertips firmly to the earth.

There was water a couple of kilometres to the east of me. It felt like a small creek or stream. Either way it would suffice, so I headed there. The hills were a bit of a climb but nothing too difficult. Besides, I had been out and about for most of my life and so climbing things were almost a second nature.

The water was close now, I could hear it. A bath was also in order, or something similar. Being dusty was not a good feeling, and I could feel the dirt sticking to my skin. Being clean was a luxury, and it was one I would take as soon as I was able to.

The water came into view, and I almost sagged in relief. It was clean, which was a rarity in these times. Perhaps there was a water elemental keeping it clean nearby. I wouldn't disturb them if I didn't have to, but water was important. Rushing down to the banks, I opened all of my water bottles and filled them eagerly before taking a nice long drink of one of them. It really was clean. Cleaner than a natural stream. Glancing around to check that no one was around, I stripped before wading out into the middle of the water. It wasn't as deep as I had hoped, but it would suffice.

 

Cerina Sael

When I finally felt clean, I waded back to the side of the river to dry off and put my clothes back on. My hair was going to be a bitch for sure. Wet hair was annoying to dry and I didn't want to catch a cold though I was likely going to anyway. Getting sick on the road really didn't help my plan for getting to the safe haven.

Putting my clothes back on, I sat on a rock while waiting for my hair to dry. Perfect time to practice my powers. There were plenty of rocks nearby, and I couldn't sense anyone. Turning to face the rock next to me, I began to concentrate. It was heavy, which meant I needed more concentration. More energy. More everything, basically.

My efforts were rewarded by the rock moving an inch upwards before falling back down. With a loud, angry sigh, I kicked the pebbles and shook my head. How was I so bad at this? I never had a tutor or anything even when the world hadn't gone to shit. I didn't even know I had elemental abilities until late however, so that could've been why. My brother had gotten his earlier, and so he was taught better. If he were here right now... I shook my head. He was probably dead. No point in thinking about it.

Standing up, I grabbed my stuff and began to trek north once again. No rest for the wicked.

 

Cerina Sael

Just how far north did the rumours say it was again? The green hills slowly gave way to more desert, however the stream had turned into a river. I followed it as it wound its way up towards my destination, and water was always a handy companion. I was surprised to see no water elementals around, as a place like this was bound to be a hotspot for them. With such clean waters, it was unlikely there wasn't one.

What if they had been killed? I shuddered at the thought. Hunters were still around, and they had no mercy for any elemental. If the water was this clean, and there were no water elementals around then... They could of course just be in hiding, but I didn't want to be too optimistic about it. Surely they would've recognised me to be one of them, right?

There was no point in thinking about it. Worrying about it would only make things worse for me, and I wanted a less stressful journey than it had so far been. However letting my guard down was one thing I was wary about. It was easy to do, and easy to get killed once you do. Sure, I hadn't seen any hunters so far, but it only took one.

The sun was beginning to set, so it was probably time to make camp. I began to scout the area for a good spot, being cautious of my time.

 

Cerina Sael

There was a loud noise up ahead. It sounded like water, yet nothing I could think of could compare to the sound. Waterfalls didn't have the kind of metallic screeching I could hear from it... Did I want to go near it? What if someone needed my help? Or what if they were hunters and it was all a trap? Gritting my teeth, I tried to make a decision. The sound was slowly getting louder, almost as if it was screaming. That made up my mind. If there was someone hurt, it'd be better to help them then leave them in the fear of them being hunters.

Scrambling over rocks, I hurried over to the commotion before stopping in my tracks. What the fuck was that? Some weird kind of metallic thing was in a whirlpool of water. The screeching had stopped, and the water was slowly dissipating. The metal humanoid lay in the stream, seemingly offline. What the hell was this? Did I want to go closer? Probably not, but curiosity got the better of me.

Carefully making my way over rocks and other stuff, I hesitated once I was near the machine. It could be a hunter for all I knew, and it sure seemed like one. Who else would have this kind of technology in this day and age? Thinking that, I wanted to back away. Then the light from the fading sun struck the machine and I stopped.

There was a girl in there. She didn't look too much older than I did. And her eyes were closed and it didn't look like she was breathing. I couldn't just let her die.

Being extremely cautious, I headed over and knelt down next to it. For a few moments I fought with the helmet as I tried to get it off, eventually succeeding. Brushing her hair away from her face, I held my palm out in front of her nose. No air. Panicking, I ran a hand through my hair as I tried to figure out what to do. What if I woke her up and she tried to kill me? Did I want to take the risk?

 

Cerina Sael

Oh she was awake. I leaned back, allowing her to get out of the suit. She seemed fine... If not a bit angry. Had I done something wrong? As if. I'd only tried to help her. Quite suddenly, a rock lifted into the air and smashed down onto suit. What the fuck, was she an earth user?

Standing up, I began backing away. I had heard about him using other elementals to track down and kill members of their own kind. And that suit... It was simply way too high tech to be for a normal person. The obvious conclusion? The girl in front of me was a hunter. And a powerful one at that.

"You're a hunter," I said accusingly. I didn't know what to expect after saying that, all I hoped for was a reaction that wasn't violent. If she used her powers against me, there wasn't much I could do. Better off trying to negotiate her not killing me. Though that probably wasn't the best start.

However the other girl didn't appear to want anything to do with me. It was both a good and bad thing. Good, she wasn't going to kill me. Bad, she was simply going to find the rest of her group and then kill me. Speaking of which, what had happened here? A quick glance around revealed the surrounding area was very wet. Perhaps the water elemental residing near the river had done something? Wouldn't have been surprising. I was glad though, it separated the pack.

Speaking of which, I should probably get going. Seeing as there was already one hunter here, there were bound to be others that wanted to kill me. Glancing down at the other female, I frowned. Should I just leave her here? She seemed capable enough to fend for herself, plus she probably didn't want my help. Shouldering my backpack, I turned to leave.

 

Cerina Sael

"What the fuck are you doing?" I shouted as I felt a hand grab the backpack and pull me away from my guide. "Get the fuck off me!" I tried to pull away but the other girl was a lot stronger than I thought. I let myself be pulled away from the river before violently pulling away from her.

"The fuck is your problem?" I snarled, glaring at her despite the fact she could probably crush me where I stood. The look on her face probably wasn't helping my case either. But she had grabbed me first, and so she had some explaining to do.

What the hell did she want? It wasn't like I'd done anything to her. Perhaps annoyed her a little, but she could deal with that. Unless her mission was to kill me, but wouldn't she have done that already? She obviously had the power to, what with crushing her suit and everything. Putting my hands on my hips, I waited for a response.

 

Cerina Sael

I hadn't been expecting her to punch me. Obviously I thought she was more civilised than that. Doubling over in pain, I stumbled back. It hurt a lot more than I thought and had knocked the wind out of me. What the hell had she done that for? Was she insane or something? Went crazy from working for him? Seemed to be the most likely answer for having punched someone out of the blue.

A groan slipped from my lips as I tried to get my breath back. My hands were resting on my knees, trying to find strength somehow. She sure punched hard, for a girl anyway. I could feel the bruise forming at the spot already, and knew it would be sore for a while after. She better have an explanation for the punch. "What the fuck?!" I managed, shooting a glare at her from my position.

 

Cerina Sael

With a shriek, I was hoisted onto the other girl's shoulders. How fucking strong was she to just do that with ease? I wasn't that light. And I sure as hell wasn't going to put up with it.

Beginning to hammer my fists into her back, I swore at her. "Let me down you stupid fucking cow! Let me down! I swear to god I will smash your face to a pulp! You bitch! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" I started kicking, trying to do some kind of injury though it probably wouldn't work very well. That and she could probably kill me with a thought.

Staring intently at the ground, I tried to send some pebbles up at her. One worked, and smashed not very hard into the back of her head. Hopefully that would get her attention and would make her put me down. I had more pebbles at my disposal after all.

 

Cerina Sael

"You fucking bitch," I spat, picking myself up off the ground. The throw had hurt more than I cared to admit, but it didn't make me any less angry. Who the hell was she to think that she could just pick me up and do shit whenever she wanted?

"I'm not your damn kid to tell when to behave. Maybe if you had actually talked like a normal human being then I might've actually listened to you? But no, you decide to just throw me over your shoulder and go for a walk! Piece of shit. Leave me alone and don't bother me again." I brushed off imaginary dirt (maybe not so imaginary) and turned away from her. I had places to be, and none of them was anywhere near her.