 
### The Fire Journal

When He Found Her

Danielle Kazemi

Copyright 2012 Danielle Kazemi

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

### The Fire Journal

When He Found Her

Danielle Kazemi
Table of Contents:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19
Chapter 1

"Brothers, we've gathered here to prepare the world for his arrival. We are the only ones who recognize his impending plans for the world. We must ensure everything goes accordingly. Our sacrifices shall not be in vain," a young man dressed in dark robes said aloud to men surrounding him. His voice echoed throughout the enclosure; the hard cave walls a perfect conductor for his tone.

A covey of men stood around, all of them dressed alike in the dark robes as their leader; the cowl of each robe pulled tight around their face. No one raised their voice in response, all of them in silent agreement with their leader.

The only bright spot, if it could be consider as such, was an altar set in the middle of the room. It emitted a deep red from a source within providing the illumination. Upon the sides, odd symbols burned aglow. Each one burning into the darkness around it, growing brighter as the time passed. Flames licked the side as it waited in silence for the next victim to be laid upon it. Blood needed to be spilt upon it once more to satisfy an insatiable thirst of its creator.

The leader motioned with a dark gloved hand towards the side room. The door swung open, the hinges barely making a creak. Another darkly cloaked man stepped forward, his hands holding upon the nape of a young blonde woman clothes in a dark red dress. Her wrists remained bound to one another in an effort to keep her contained.

"Get your hands off me," she said, attempting to free herself from the man. Her hair splayed about her face as she desperately resisted being pushed forward. Her feet dug into the ground with no avail, slipping on the miry floor. She didn't discern who these people were or what they planned to happen – her sole thought was on freeing herself.

The man behind her continued pushing her forward; his strength vastly superior to her own. He pressed his hand against her back and sent her tumbling over her feet forward, her balance only regained at the last moment.

The leader walked towards her, extending his hand as he gently caressed her face. He moved it along her cheek, tenderly and stroked a lock of hair from above her eye, pushing it behind her ear. "Don't protest," he said in a reassuring voice, "You've been chosen." The soft tones barely carried above a whisper even in the silence of the cave. He knew what he had to happen. The sacrifice must be carried out.

"I don't know what you're doing here but you have to let me go. My father will come and he won't stand for this. He'll send the cops after you. He'll send everyone after you." Her voice broke on the last sentence. Even now she understood there existed little chance of them listening to anything she said. These were the sorts of people she had been warned about. The kinds who preyed upon young women like her.

She recognized going to the party was a bad idea especially with the recent spate of abductions. Still, it should've been a safe place she went to. Nothing like this should have happened. If she went back, she should stay inside and study or watch anything on TV. Anything at all would be better than this. She wanted to blink her eyes and realize this scenario existed only as a terrible nightmare.

His laugh echoed through the darkness. The others joined in; the sound reverberating off the dark chasm far beneath the ground. It sounded as though millions of people laughed at her, enjoying her moment of ignorance.

Her bottom lip quivered. She wanted to go anywhere else right now. She closed her eyes, desperate for some hero would dash inside and save her. She didn't even know where she was. When she opened them, everything remained the same as before.

The laughter died down as abruptly as it started. The entire cavern fell silent; the only noise being drops of water coming from above. Their pitiful splash let her know no one would be coming to her rescue.

"What do you want from me?" She glared at him, her eyes tearful and suppliant. If he wanted to use her for some physical purpose, she'd comply. The unknown aspect of being their prisoner weighed against her far more heavily. A number of scenarios she ran through her mind, all of their dark and sinister.

He paused, his chest rising heavily through his cloak.

The man from behind grabbed onto her arms roughly. Her own chest began beating faster. The time for finding out what they wanted her for drew near. "Please don't," she pleaded once more, "If you have any compassion, please let me go. I won't tell anyone." Tear rolled off her cheek and onto the floor, mixing with the murky water already on the ground.

He moved closer towards her. He raised his hand; she flinched. He passed his fingers underneath her eye, wiping away a tear clung to her cheek. "Don't cry. You're necessary to bring him back. Your sacrifice will ensure the world learns about his dark powers." He threw back his cowl.

She screamed, the sound echoing back upon her.

In place of his head, there existed the menacing face of a fish complete with luminous teeth seeming to come in rows of three or four. Each tooth appeared serrated, ready to cut through flesh quickly. The scales seemed to adsorb any extra light in their dark green texture. He blinked his eyes, a thin coating still showing his pupils visible through them and his gills worked to move air into his body. This wasn't the man she thought.

"Let me go, let me go, let me go," she pleaded rapidly, her captor leading her against her will towards the altar. Her feet resisted heavily once more, desperately attempting to cling to anything sticking out from the ground. They found nothing – the area completely devoid of loose materials. The flames spread allowing a clear passage to the inner lit altar. Her thrashing was in vain; the larger, stronger man behind her having no difficulty in bringing her to the destination.

He lifted her onto the altar forcefully, his hand lay upon her legs as he worked the shackles. She clawed at his arms with her still bound hands, the effect seeming to be useless. He continued on with his work and pinned her feet to the bottom section with the hard iron. He grabbed her wrists and drew them above her head, forcing her into a lying down position. As she tried wiggling them free, he completed his task. With one last look at her, he walked back through the flames and rejoined his kindred.

The leader walked up to her again, this time his expression far more serious. He passed his hands along the shackles, inspecting them to make sure they remained placed in position. A nod from his head ensured her they were. In a gargled voice, he explained, "You don't realize how important you are. Your sacrifice will be our gain. From all of us, I thank you." His hand reached towards her face once more.

She turned her head, shaking off his touch. This creature had no right to touch her. He planned on killing her and she didn't warrant any reason to. She would have given him whatever he wanted. All she wanted was another day. Her anger gave way, the only words coming to mind being, "Go to hell."

He laughed, the cavern once again booming with the sound of it. The other men remained silent and reposed. "Been there."

Her face fell, her heart beat increased.

He backed away from the altar, the flames rushing back into their previous position before she was brought forward. They filled the room with their heat; the water dripping down upon those in the crowd heavier than before. The men around her, all of whom she assumed were these fish creatures in disguise, started chanting. Their voices resounded throughout the dim room, seeming like everyone in the world wanted for her to be sacrificed.

"Stop it. Stop it!" She yelled, hoping someone would hear her. All she needed was one person to come save her from this. She wasn't asking too much. All she wanted was one person. She would never leave her house again if someone did. There had to be one person out there who could help her.

The chanting increased at an accelerated rate. The flames grew in intensity, reaching upwards until she was unable to see the men. She felt alone. No one could help her. She yelled out once more into the darkness – the last sound she ever made before the flames engulfed her.
Chapter 2

Evelyn Garroway sensed her life passing her in the same, repetitious pattern every day. From the moment she woke up, her alarm never changing even during the weekends, until the time she went to sleep everything remained the same thing every day. This thought occurred to her as she stood outside the bathroom door of her apartment, waiting for her turn. This was one of the worse drawbacks about sharing a house with two other people. The absolute worse being when the bills needed to be paid and one person decided to skip out. Thankfully that scenario hadn't happened in a while.

"Can you hurry?" She knocked on the door, letting her roommate Kitty know someone waited. If she didn't, the girl might spend all day in there. She considered herself a self-proclaimed diva and everyone understood it.

"In a few Evie," Kitty said through the door, using her nickname, "Calm down." The familiar sound of a blow dryer cranking up again started.

Evie leaned against the wall and folded her arms, letting her entire upper body conform against it. In a few meant anything but that. She might be inside attempting to fix her hair into the perfect position for hours. There was no telling when she would get inside.

She stared at the green numbered clock above the stove. Five minutes. If Kitty didn't get out in the five minutes, she would have to leave if she wanted to arrive at class on time. This always happened on a Friday. She hated Fridays for that reason. Nothing good ever happened.

Kitty opened the door and gave an exasperated sigh. Her blonde hair appeared perfectly dried, caught with a rhinestone clip. Or it might be a real gem clip. Her parents had enough money for the stones to be real. "I can never get my hair to look exactly how I want. No matter how many times I blow dry it, there's always still that one spot which never wants to cooperate. You're so lucky you don't worry about stuff like this, Evie. I envy you."

Anyone else would have taken her statement as an insult but unfortunately, Evie comprehended this was as close to a compliment as Kitty made. She became superficial at times, her blonde hair, blue eyes, and perfect complexion making her justified. In a perfect world, Evie wished she looked like her instead of raven haired and brown eyes. There existed only one way to get past this.

"You're right. I'm so lucky," Evie said pushing her way into the bathroom, "Let me work on looking better." She closed the door before Kitty offered any more advice.

Evie looked at herself in the mirror after closing the door. She didn't look too bad. Sure her hair needed a trim and she might afford to lose a few pounds. If she didn't rely on the snack machines near the library for dinner she might pull it off. She groaned, leaning her head back as her hands rested on the sink. She shouldn't let Kitty's comment get to her but something things remained hard to block out. Compared to her, she certainly was nothing worth looking at twice.

After taking a shower and changing, she took one final glance at herself in the mirror. She pushed back her hair behind her ear. Tomorrow she'd ask Kitty for some advice. A good make over might help her feel more confident.

Grabbing her backpack from the floor of her room, she tossed the strap over her shoulder and headed out the door. The good thing about her apartment was how close it existed to campus. At least she made it to her class most of the time on schedule.

She heard a car honk at her while crossing the street and rushed across the pathway. She rolled her eyes. This happened at least once every morning. People really should pay attention to the signals. They had petitioned long enough to get them installed around here, the least drivers could do was look at them. Instead of flipping off the driver as she felt entitled to, she simply waved. She learned early that annoyed them even more.

Her eyes remained lowered upon the ground as she walked across the quad. She didn't want to run into anyone she knew. A few minutes of conversation would cause her to be late and this professor was known for not being pleasant to anyone who showed up after the exact time.

She opened the door to the history lecture hall and bumped into someone. Or rather she bumped into a wall. He must have been a football player or something. She lost her footing and landed on the cement walk in front of everyone. She felt everyone's eyes drifting over to her. This already shaped into a great day. "Watch where you're going," she said rudely standing up. She mentally prepared for him to counter with some remark about her doing the same.

Instead his eyes seemed to drift over her and onto the quad. He brushed past her, continuing on his way. He totally ignored her. She expected nothing less. This was her life.

She walked into the room of her next lecture and sat down. Her professor cast a hard look towards her. She understood she was late by two minutes. If she hadn't ran into football guy, she would have been on time. Of course, she couldn't explain it to him. She would have to deal with being ostracized for today.

"I do plan on reading your assignments about the ancient Egyptians. Please refrain from using only one source. You can refer to the guidelines handed to you at the beginning of the semester," her professor droned, continuing on with his lecture. The rest of his words drowned out in her mind.

She groaned to herself as her head leaned back in the chair. She completely forgot about having her paper ready. She thought it was due in a month from now but it seemed she got her dates confused. Instead of relaxing tonight, she would be in the library, going over her notes and finding out everything about this long lost civilization. It served her right for forgetting to write everything. She needed to remind herself to start doing that more often.

Towards the end of her day, Evie wearily dragged herself into the library. The coffee she drank earlier already left her system. The familiar crash was about to happen. It would be okay though. She planned on taking a nap on the fourth floor. No one ever went up there and then she planned on doing her work once she woke up. At least the library stayed open twenty four hours a day. And on a Friday night, no one would be here.

As she expected, the library was devoid of people except for a few student helpers categorizing books. She doubted they wanted to be here anymore than her. She pressed the button on the elevator and waited. The light seemed to take forever coming down the first floor. When the doors opened, she stepped inside and hit four. She was ready for her nap.

She moved into one of the quiet cubicle set up for students to do private studying. She placed her bag on the desk and curled up her feet underneath herself. "Just a few minutes," she said to no one in particular, lowering her head onto her hands. She fell asleep in no time, her mind drifting off into blankness.

Hours later, she gave a slight yawn, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. Looking at her watch, the outline etched on her cheek, she saw her short power nap turned into a two hour one. "Ugh," she said looking around at the blank walls. More time she would be stuck here going through the dusty books. She stood up and opened the door heading out into the central area. Her muscles felt stiff from remaining in their camped position for long.

The fourth floor was, as she rightly suspected earlier, quiet. No one ever came up here. She strongly suspected the students only used the first floor for the computers. It didn't matter. She had work she needed to do.

Not wanting to be stuck studying late, she pressed the button for the carriage to come up. She sighed, leaning slightly more on one leg than the other. Her thoughts drifted back to her real reason for being here. She needed to go down and find something about the Egyptians her teacher would be interested in. Hopefully something about their culture she planned on spreading into a ten page report. She really hoped she didn't need to rely on tweaking the font and page properties to reach the goal. It was an option though.

Her eyes went to the numbers above the elevator. She didn't understand why it was taking this long for it to come up. By now, she was usually already on, waiting for the ride down. She took a few steps away from it, wanting to see if anyone else was nearby she could talk to. Someone might know if they were in need of maintenance. If she needed to take the stairs, she wanted to know before wasting her time.

The familiar ding sounded, letting her know the elevator reached her destination. "Finally," she said aloud walking towards the closed door as they began opening. A flash of green shot out at her. Her first instinct was to duck, pulling herself into as compact a position as possible. Her back faced towards the intruder. The creature released another blast, this one making contact with her backpack. In an instant, she sensed the weight leaving her. She looked at her shoulder where the strap should be yet nothing existed. The blast eradicated it.

She turned around, not sure what to expect. Part of her imagined some alien took control over the elevator, an implausible theory. What she saw was worse. The same one she saw earlier outside the history building was wrestling with what she could only describe as being a fish headed man. The rest of his body appeared normal albeit in competition with the other man's body. She froze, unsure what to do. This was something she never prepared for.

The man connected eyes with her, his expression one of surprise at seeing anyone nearby. "Go," he said as he continued wrestling with the creature. Another bolt of strange green headed out from the elevator, hitting a stack of books and disintegrating them as easily as it did her backpack. If she didn't watch out, that would be her disappearing.

Without the need to hear another word, she turned and ran into the stacks. She had no idea what was going on. Her heart started beating faster than before, knowing she needed to find a place to hide herself from these men. She hoped the stacks of books would protect her. No one else could.

Chapter 3

Evie leaned her back against the book rack, feeling the irregular shape behind her from the oddly stacked books. She couldn't find the perfect place to hide. Everywhere she thought of she soon found the two men attacking each other. She shook her head. She had no idea what was going on. There had to be someone she might get hold of who'd understand how to handle this situation. She wished she brought her phone with her.

The shelf teetered from a strong force, knocking some of the books onto the ground. There was no need to wonder what caused the sturdy fixture to move – the two men fought each other still. Or at least she assumed the fish creature was a man. She didn't discern how to refer to something like that.

"Don't dwell on petty things," she repeated to herself the saying her mother taught her years ago. The saying probably didn't refer to aquatic creatures attacking people but it was good advice for the moment. This was the only advice she thought of in her present state.

The top priority was to get her self somewhere safe. Once she accomplished that, she'd worry about everything else. She moved along the ground, her body pressed tightly onto her knees as she crept. The less space she took up, the harder she'd be for either to notice her. She didn't feel convinced the man was a good person either. Good people don't fight fish people. Another hit rocked the shelf, this time the force knocked down an entire shelf of books, triggering a cascade to occur.

She looked back and saw the fish man lying on his back atop the fallen stack of books. From this distance, the image terrified her. The creature's hatred appeared evident from the scowl across his face, sharp teeth jutting out in irregular patterns. She never witnessed anything like him before. Her mind blanked; her feet refusing to move as well. She hesitated, unsure what to do in this instance.

The man from before appeared in front of her; jumping onto the shelf and grabbing the fish man by his collar. He lifted the creature, bringing their faces close to one another. This wasn't somewhere she ever wanted to be. "Now, tell me what you're doing here." His tone was authoritative; his posture confident. A truth dawned on her –he dealt with something like this before. He was too familiar with this fish creature.

The fish man laughed, sounding more like a gargle rather than a true laugh. "You know well enough I'm not going to reveal the plans. You're too late anyway. There's nothing you can do about it. You were wrong in turning from us. End your petty crusade."

An audible sigh escaped the man's lips. His shoulders slumped for a moment. "I take it you're not going to talk. You mean I have to do this every time? Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Both Evie and the fish man seemed confused by his statement. She didn't know who this person was but he seemed to be in control of the situation. As long as he was there, she felt relaxed if only for a moment. She should use the time to escape but hesitated. She needed to see how this ended.

Another gargle escaped the fish man's mouth. "You know he's looking for you. We all are. If I take you in, I'll be rewarded greatly." His eyes bulged out from their sockets for a moment, receding back with a thin layer of skin covering them.

"Sounds like you have everything planned," the man said, reaching into his back pocket for something. Before he pulled out whatever he was searching for, the fish man raised his leg and kicked him against another shelf. His back solidly hit into the shelf, more books tumbling down onto him.

The fish man prepared himself to launch another attack, standing up with a fierce authority. His stance shifted. Instead of orientating himself towards the man, he made contact with Evie. Their eyes met for a moment – his seeming to glint as a smile crept across his face.

She realized she spent too long watching this fight. She should have done what the man said earlier and gotten out of there. Now she was going to become the next target. Backing up hastily, she made her way into a standing position and started running. She heard the webbed feet hitting against the ground behind her, the pace quickening with every step they took. At this rate, he would overtake her before she reached the end of the row.

Books started crashing down around her. She raised her hands, using them as a weak shield to protect her head. The books continued tumbling, pouring out from every shelf. She saw the fish man continuing after her as they ran through the aisles. Returning her attention forward, she missed seeing one of the books lying on the ground, slipping and tumbling into the shelf as well. Her body hit against it and knocked the wind from her.

The fish man approached; his eyes wild as he looked at her. His gills moved fast, the run taking all the energy from him. "Pretty little girls should not be alone," he stated making his way closer. His serrated teeth loomed towards her.

She grabbed a book and hurled the heavy volume at him, barely causing the fish man to flinch. She believed her time was up. The only hope she had was the other man who seemed to have disappeared. He probably got out once he realized she was the new target. She wished she ran closer to a window. At least then she'd have the option to jump through it as a last resort. She turned her head, closing her eyes tightly, and prepared to become fish food.

The man jumped down from the top of the book shelf, landing upon the fish man and pinning him to the ground. He raised his fist and punched into the fish. He repeatedly bashed his fist into the creature's face, receiving a few blows of his own. Copious amounts of what she assumed was blood came from the creature, the dark green mixture puddling around the two of them on the floor. A few splashed across the distance and managed to get on her clothing. She could deal with this. This was nothing compared to the scenario she envisioned for herself only a few minutes before.

The man picked up the fish creature by the collar once more and held him to his face. He bashed his head into the creature, two of the fish teeth dropping upon the floor and disappearing into a puff of smoke. "Now tell me what you expect doing over here or I swear I'll send you right back to your plane."

The fish creature laughed, a trickle of green liquid dropping from the corner of his mouth. The noise sounded ominous this time. "It's too late now anyway. You showed up after the plan has already started. This world's doomed. There's nothing you can do about it." A few gargled words came out, none of them ones she recognized.

"Watch me." The man threw the fish creature back with a strong force and reached into his back pocket once more. The fish creature raised its hand, throwing the man with a violent push onto another shelf. He started talking in a rushed manner, garbling his words as he uttered them aloud. Evie wished she understood what they meant. It was possible he was attempting to pull off some supernatural curse upon them.

The fish man started emitting a bright yellow internal light. His chanting seemed to increase her own heart rate, her body becoming rigid. Whatever spell he recited seemed to work on her. Without missing a note, he popped something into his mouth. A loud explosion rocked the vicinity, books tumbling off the shelves and the shelves themselves falling. Both Evie and the man looked aside for a moment, shielding their eyes from the massive light. When she looked back, nothing but dark green liquid, entrails, and a few remnants of clothing existed.

Evie looked down at her own clothes. Dark green blood covered them, the splatters sinking in through the fabric. The odd color covered her arms as well. It wouldn't be much for her to envision the splatter attached to her hair as well. "Do you know if this comes out?" she asked the man, trying to pick at a few pieces of fish remaining on her. She tossed aside a piece of entrails, not wanting to know what the organ originally functioned as.

He cast an incredulous glance at her. "You just saw a creature, one you've probably never seen before, blow up in a puddle of green liquid in front of you and you're worried if the stain will come out your clothes?" Their eyes met with one another.

She opened her mouth to protest but stopped. What he said was true. "Well, I guess so. It's probably the only thing I can control right now. I'm trying really hard not to scream and faint on the floor." She meant it. She had no idea how her feet were supporting her at the moment. Her mind already took off, hiding away in some remote inner sanctum.

"Amazing," he said flinging some of the mess off himself. The entrails landed atop a book, both of them noticing but ignoring it. "Well I guess that means I'm finished. You take care." He walked over towards the creature and started messing with the remaining clothes. He rooted around the discarded clothing from the creature until he picked something off the shirt. His hand ripped at the article before tucking the small object into his pocket and walking away. He cast one last glance at her, her shocked expression remaining the same as before. He shook his head and turned back to his stride.

Evie had no idea if she should follow him or if she should get out there as soon as possible. Her cognitive reasoning existed in a state of shock and didn't provide her any help. The elevator dinged behind her. She turned around surprised. She forgot where she was for a moment. This reminder was all she needed as she entered and rode to the lobby. She checked herself in the metal door's reflection. There didn't seem to be any entrails hanging from her. She wiped a few splotches off her face. Hopefully no one would ask her what happened. She could always say a green pen exploded on her.

The doors opened and she stepped out cautiously. A few people looked at her briefly from the computers but no one asked what covered her body. Their eyes settled back upon the screens. She laughed to herself as she made her way home. This seemed like a good reason not to do her work. Best one she came across in a while.

Chapter 4

Once she made her way back to the apartment, she noticed no one else remained in their house. It was typical of a Friday night. She doubted either one of them would make an appearance, sleeping off their problems until tomorrow morning. She hadn't seen her roommate Ethan earlier. He must have started his weekend yesterday. Calmly heading into the bathroom, she stripped off her clothes and climbed into the shower.

Her hand adjusted the water temperature, letting the warm liquid flow down upon her. She yelled. She had no idea why she held it in so long but everything finally hit her. She witnessed a giant fish man fighting this other guy in the library. The fish guy then exploded and covered her with its liquid which she assumed was his blood after chasing her. She thought of nothing which even came close to describing what happened. She wished she remembered a movie she saw this in to discount it but nothing popped out at her.

As the water dropped onto her, she noticed the green liquid slowly heading towards the drain. Once the water started running clear, she exhaled in relief. It was over. She would never worry about encountering a fish man again. She planned on forgetting this ever happened. Everything would head back into her normal, routine, everyday life. This entire day was a figment of her imagination, brought about by stress and...something. She'd find something to blame it on. At the least, she could say she was going crazy. That would work too.

She changed into another set of clothes and exited the bathroom, throwing her clothes from earlier into the trash. She pressed them hard into the trash already in there, smashing them down as far as she could. She grabbed a few pieces of garbage and threw it atop them as well. She wanted to get rid of all the evidence linking her to the fish fight. She scrubbed her hands in the sink and wiped the memory out by humming the latest pop song to herself. The noise didn't work great but the constant melody kept her brain distracted.

The door to the apartment opened. Kitty stepped inside, her compact out and blush being applied. She smiled at herself in the small mirror before noticing Evie standing near the sink. A smile crossed her face. This particular look always meant she had a favor to ask. "I thought I'd find you here. Come on, get dressed."

Evie motioned with her hands downward. "I am dressed." She knew her jeans and T-shirt were likely the culprits Kitty referred to as not being dressed. Dressed, in Kitty's opinion, meant wearing clothes slightly formal with a more skin showing.

Kitty lowered her mirror, closing the compact with a snap. "You understand what I mean. Put on something nice." She walked over to the counter and poured herself a small glass of water. She quickly downed it in one gulp.

"Where are we going and what's wrong with what I have on?" If it was to go shopping, she'd pass. Going shopping with Kitty was horrible. They argued over every outfit. The excursion always ended the same way: Kitty having a fit and buying everything to end the problem. She never tried resolving anything.

"There's a party at the Sigma fraternity tonight. Apparently there's something huge going on down there. I'm not sure what – I just found out from one of my friends earlier today. Come on. This party will relax you. If anything will work, this is your best chance." Kitty pointed at Evie with her index finger, running it up and down her body. "As for your clothes, you're never going to find a guy dressed like that. Do you need something? Do we need to go check my closet?" Kitty's closet was the equivalent of three stores in the mall.

Evie sighed. She really didn't feel like going to a frat party tonight. They ended all the same: show up, drink, fight off guys, someone does something stupid, cops show up, party over. The script never changed. As much as she hated to admit the truth to herself, Kitty did have a point. She needed a break from everything especially the odd adventure she experienced earlier. Perhaps going through this monotony one more time would ease her back into her comfortable life. At the very least she might get some free drinks.

"Let me search through your closet," Evie said resigned to accept the help. Her closet lacked anything wearable. She headed off towards Kitty's room with her roommate following, a large grin plastered across her face. Evie grimaced. Her look didn't ease her worries any.

After what seemed like hours, Evie emerged, dressed in a short blue party dress Kitty completed with matching shoes and her hair arranged in light curls around her face. Kitty smiled, pleased at her progress. "You look great in that. I wouldn't be surprised if our little Evie doesn't come home tonight." She winked. Her own light pink outfit easily set her apart from almost everything else in the house.

"I'm not like that," Evie said, placing her hands on her hip. The closest thing she had to a romantic interest was the guy she flirted with at the coffee shop. Even then, her attention was only to get an extra shot of vanilla. She caught a glimpse of herself in one of the mirrors on the wall. She had to admit, Kitty was a master when it came to makeovers. Evie found things hard to believe she looked different only a few minutes ago.

"We'll see," Kitty said, grabbing a small purse and moving their conversation outdoors. They climbed into her car, carefully making sure not to get their clothes caught in the door, and drove off towards the party. The destination was only a short distance away but there was little chance of making the distance in their heels.

They heard the loud booming sound blasting from three blocks away. This party was going to be over before they arrived. At least the fraternity threw it on frat row. If they held the bash anywhere else in the city, the neighbors would've already called the cops and the party dispersed.

Once they stepped out, Evie and Kitty started making their way through the crowd. Most of the people she came across she never met before. It was possible she casually passed them on campus but for the most part she felt like an outsider. She attempted to listen to a few people talk, hoping to gain some insight into who they were. Her venture became futile. She'd have to start from scratch and make new acquaintances over here. Only having Kitty to talk with set the night up for being long.

Evie poured herself a drink and one for Kitty as they stood next to the counter. She passed the plastic cup to her friend. "Are we supposed to meet anyone here? I don't remember any of these people." She always felt uncomfortable not knowing anyone. The threat of being kicked out loomed over her.

Kitty shook her head, her short blonde hair barely moving. "Not that I know about. But there are dozens of cute guys over here. And you know what they say about frat guys." She bobbed her head to the music, raising her glass to her lips.

That was the real reason Kitty wanted her to come along – she needed a wing woman. Her entire presence was to basically help Kitty find a guy. She used the guise of helping Evie to relax to lure her here. Evie raised her glass to her lips as well, taking a long sip. At least while she stayed, she planned on getting some free booze out of it. The booze was probably the only thing she'd get tonight.

Kitty nudged to the right with her head. "See him? That's who I want tonight." She took another drink from her glass then placed the container on the counter next to the half dozen lying about.

Evie shrugged slightly as she sized up the object of her friend's attention. He looked cute enough but she learned early the cuter the guy, the more he knew it. No doubt he received multiple compliments how good he looked repeatedly and only talked about himself. He wasn't the kind of person she wanted to hang around with and definitely not the kind she wanted to date. She couldn't voice her opinions though and take away the optimism Kitty wanted her to share. "He seems okay." she lied, turning back and drinking once more.

"Think you can distract his friend?"

That was confirmation she was the wing woman. Evie looked back at the man. He had a rather chubby friend standing there, looking as though he drank since noon. His loud, rambunctious laughter sounded across the house. He also seemed pretty touchy, slapping his friends on the back and moving his arms around constantly. He would try touching her. She groaned.

"Please Evie. I really want to meet him. He looks so cute and I don't see any other girls around him. Please," she pleased, "I let you borrow my dress. You owe me." She smiled; her dazzling white teeth and sad puppy eyes making her a volatile combination of pity.

"That's low," Evie answered. If she knew she'd have to do this for borrowing a dress, she would've never taken Kitty up on her offer. She thought this should be her time for relaxing – not fighting off grubby little men. She sighed in frustration. "Fine." Anything to get her mind distracted. She'd deal for a few minutes but that was all the time she planned on devoting to this lost cause.

Without waiting any longer, Kitty grabbed Evie hand and dragged her towards the men. She casually walked up to her target and said in a sultry voice, "Hi. My name's Kitty. What's yours?" She batted her eyes at him, pretending to be coy.

The black haired man ran his eyes once over her body, taking in everything. A grin appeared on his face. Making a slight gurgling sound before answering, he said, "Pleasure to meet you Kitty. I'm Harry."

Evie paused, unable to think of how to behave in this situation. She heard that noise before. Her eyes connected with his. They seemed to pierce straight into her, drawing her closer towards him. She hoped he didn't notice the terror lurking beneath hers. He was one of those fish people. She only hoped he didn't know she realized his true nature.

Chapter 5

"That's so interesting," Kitty said for what seemed like the umpteenth time tonight. Almost everything Harry said appeared to be interesting. Evie fixated her eyes on him. She kept waiting for him to change into one of those fish headed creatures she witnessed in the library earlier. That would be her new definition of interesting with a mixture of terror.

As far as his companion went, he remained anything but that. His entire vocabulary seemed completely devoid of anything except for drinking, hunting, and of course, football. None of them had any bearing on Evie's interests. She kept her attention on him too, worried he might be a fish person in disguise. If he changed, that would make more sense than Harry.

He abruptly stood up mid-story and yelled, "Marco! What are you doing here?" He stumbled off to meet with his new friend. She felt impressed he made the walk without falling over his own feet. She discounted him as being a fish person. There appeared something about him that seemed to be lacking. She couldn't quite put her finger on what she sensed but he gave the impression of being too gawky.

She cast a glance at Kitty. Harry robbed his hand along her arm, seeming to listen to every word she said. Kitty ignored everyone else, her attention completely into him. She doubted either one of them noticed the other man leaving. They probably wouldn't even notice if Evie left. As far as being her wing woman went, Evie believed she did her duty. Now she'd return to wondering whether or not this man was actually a fish. Or, to be more precise, a fish headed guy who composed of dark green liquid instead of blood.

It seemed possible, she convinced herself, he drank so much the liquid stayed in his mouth until he needed to use his mouth for something. That might account for the gargling sound. It triggered the recent encounter because that thought remained fresh in her mind. Her subconscious felt like playing tricks on her. She took a heavy drink from her cup, fitting as much liquid as she could and then attempted to talk. She didn't gargle. In fact, she didn't even speak without the liquid dropping out onto the ground. She discounted the theory as she wiped herself clean.

Evie whirled her finger in the air after making eye contact with Kitty, letting her know she planned to walk off for a while. She covered her dress in beer and needed to clean the spot. Without a sign of true recognition, Kitty being completely enthralled with the new man, Evie moved off in search of finding out more about what happened around her. She hoped this place wasn't packed with fish men.

As she moved once more into the kitchen, the place where everyone seemed to gather, she kept her ears alert. Perhaps someone else would offer insight into these people. She couldn't be the only person who comprehended they were fish under their skin. Or was it under their clothes? She didn't know where the fish aspect ended and the human part began, if it began at all. They could be fish shape shifters for all she guessed.

Passing a group of women, she overheard one of them talking rather loud. "Did you see her clothes?" one girl asked talking with a pack of like dressed individuals, "I never believe a size twelve squeezed into a two was possible." Evie continued on. She recognized those types and they weren't going to be any help in this situation.

"I stood there when he made the pass. I was like, 'Whoa'," another guy said, mimicking the move with his hands. A few guys around him joined in, adding their own comments about whatever game they talked about. Another group not worried about fish people.

One couple seemed intent on locking lips until tomorrow, their bodies pressed against one another and knocking into the empty red plastic cups lining the counter. Neither one of them appeared to be talking in garbled tongue. No gills were present and everyone seemed normal. Perhaps she understood the man wrong. Today had been a long day.

Pouring herself another drink, she looked up through the window facing towards the pool of the house. The first thought through her mind was how large it was. The expanse seemed to encompass almost the entire backyard, only a few places left vacant but filled with people at the moment. She took a sip from her cup and scanned the people standing there before abruptly stopped. The man from the library stood out there, his clothes the same he wore earlier. He seemed to move through the crowd, not staying still for long. He appeared to be searching for something. She believed he could answer her concern about whether or not these people were the same as the creature she saw before.

She placed her cup down on the counter and maintained her gaze on him, following his moves as she made her way through the door outside. She didn't want to lose him. He was the only one who'd verify she wasn't going crazy. She mentally prepared the questions she wanted to ask him, each being more ridiculous than the one before.

Uriz looked up, catching a glimpse of Evie making her way towards him. He stopped, staring at her for a moment. She looked familiar but he couldn't place exactly where he remembered her from. He didn't have to wait long until she got close enough to where he became comfortable asking politely, "We met before haven't we?" He tried not forgetting faces but this became hard when dealing with so many people.

"We did," she said rather excitedly, louder than she wanted to. A few people turned towards her, all of them seeming to look critically at them. Both Evie and Uriz looked uncomfortably around. After a few seconds, the party goers turned back and resumed their previous activities.

She said in a low whisper, "We met in the library and that man thing came after me. You know the one with the..." She hesitated, unsure if she should bring up the fish aspect. Already she felt certain at least one person over here was one. There might be more, waiting to hear her out them and then attack.

"Ah yes, the Reacher. So you were today?" He looked off to the side in thought. If he barely remember someone from earlier today, he might be losing his edge. He needed to watch himself. She certainly did look different than the last time they met.

Her eyes scanned the crowd once more. "Who are you?" She understood he had to be somebody high up there to deal with these fish people – the Reachers she assumed. He might be CIA, FBI, or some other weird para-military branch of the government. She watched the television shows – she knew they existed.

He laughed seeing how nervous she felt in this situation. This was probably her first time dealing with extraplaner creatures. "I'm someone you should forget about. Trust me. You really don't want to get involved." He started moving away from her, attempting to blend back into the crowd. Someone tagging along would only slow him down from accomplishing his mission.

She grabbed his arm. He wasn't leaving her in this situation all alone. "Not so fast. I think you need to know something."

Turning around, he smiled as his eyes settled on her. She certainly didn't seem to be going away as easily as he hoped. "And what would that be?" She probably called the cops on him or told the press about a monster roaming through the library. He'd handle that. After all, he wouldn't be around for much longer when they started asking questions. Someone else would do the clean-up.

She lowered her voice in a sound barely higher than a whisper. "I think there's one over here." If anyone understood what she talked about, it would be him. She didn't trust revealing this to anyone else. As far as she guessed, everyone over here she didn't remember was one of these fish creatures.

His posture stiffened. This is exactly what he hoped to find out. His eyes settled on her directly. "Are you sure about this?" He followed the trail from the man he fought in the library to this location. The only problem so far he appeared to be he didn't come across any of them yet. They seemed to be hiding.

"I'm positive," she said with a confident look on her face, "He had the same gargling talk as before; his words sounding like he tried talking underwater. I didn't see him pull off his face and become a fish but I'm fairly certain he's one. You can check for yourself. He's in there right now with my friend."

"Your friend?" He hoped he heard her wrong. His knowledge of women tended to lean towards the pack aspect with many of them traveling around with one another. There was still hope – maybe her friend was a guy.

She nodded. "I just saw them. She always picks the weird ones to hang out with." Kitty behavior tended to lean towards that side quite often.

"Oh come on," he said rolling his head in exasperation. The Reachers might at least change their behaviors every once in a while and make it challenging. It seemed every time he met them, he stopped them from sacrificing some young woman for one reason or another. Routine became boring for him as well.

"What?" She didn't know what she said wrong.

He hesitated for a few minutes. Now he definitely didn't want her to be around him. Just talking to him might land her next on their sacrificial altar. "Look, I need you to get out of here. Just," he explained reaching into his pocket and pulling out a few dollars, "Take this and go buy yourself something pretty." He smiled and tapped her on the shoulder as he made his way past without another word.

The last thing he needed to worry about was some human getting involved with a Reachers. Humans were always blind to the things happening around them. If they understood right now they remained in danger of being killed, none of them would have shown up to this party. Instead, he was dealing with over forty people hanging around and ignoring the signs. At least he got one person out of here. Saving her would be his good deed for the day.

"I don't understand," she said accepting the money as he walked away. She looked down at the bills, wondering whether this was some sort of bribe to keep her quiet or what he was trying to do. She believed she became as involved in this as him. Yet when they first spoke, he told her to leave and she didn't. Her defiance almost got her killed. He was telling her to leave again.

Chapter 6

Evie watched the man walk away from her, mentally running through her list of possibilities. She might stay here and pretend to enjoy herself at this party. She might leave and find somewhere to hang out until this passed. Or she might run to catch up with him and find out what he planned on doing here. In her opinion, only one option reigned supreme.

She ran towards him, hoping to catch up before he moved too far away. "Why do you want me to leave so bad?" There had to be a good reason. He understood what was going on and she wanted answers. These creatures appeared unlike anything she ever saw before. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to break out of her mundane life and spice it up with adventure. She didn't plan on missing her chance for anything.

He turned his face to the side, noticing her walking beside him. "Didn't you listen to what I said?" From the start he believed she planned on being trouble. No one hangs around during a fight with a supernatural creature and watches. Certainly nobody worries about their clothing afterwards either, preferring to scream or run away.

"I listened perfectly."

"And yet you're still here."

"It's what you didn't say that intrigues me." Her intuition told her there appeared more to the story and she wanted to learn everything. These creatures had to be dealt with and she wanted to see someone handle the problem. He seemed like the perfect candidate for their destruction.

He laughed. "I see. So when I say for you to get out of here, you took my words as meaning for you to stay around." He turned his head and looked at her skeptically. She should understand the look he gave. She should turn around right now and head off to anywhere else.

She caught his glimpse and smiled back. He wanted to get rid of her but she didn't plan on letting him intimidate her. "I think I deserve to know what's going on," she said confidently.

"Oh really?"

"Yes really."

He stopped abruptly in mid-step. She overtook him by two steps before stopping as well. They looked steadily at each other for a moment. She knew if she looked away, he'd declare himself the winner and run off. That wasn't happening.

He took a step closer towards her, noting her refusal to budge even with his authoritative action. Not many people stood up to him. He placed his face closer to her and said in a low tone, "Over here are creatures beyond your comprehension. The sole purpose of their existence is to create mayhem and destruction, killing all those who get in their way. You have no skills to save you. Once they catch you, and they will if you stay around, they'll sink their teeth into you and shred you before you utter your last word."

She stood in the same position as before, taking in his words. She maintained her stance. "I'm not scared."

"You should be terrified. The best thing, the only thing you need to do, is run from here. Hide somewhere and wait for everything to pass. I'm telling you for the final time to leave. If you chose to stay for some bizarre reason, I won't protect you. You'll be on your own against them."

His eyes stared into hers and for a moment she saw something flicker in them. Something that made her scared. The emotion lasted only for a fleeting moment and once it passed, she couldn't comprehend what she witnessed. But this confirmed one of her suspicions – he was one of them. He appeared human but existed far removed from normal. "Who are you?" He didn't seem like a Reacher but it was possible. The other man she saw didn't look like one either and he proved to be later.

"You'd do best to listen. I'm the only thing standing between them and the destruction of your world."

Their gaze remained fixed on one another. A portion of her mind, the one she refused to listen to earlier, screamed now. Her common sense wanted her to leave and forget all of this ever happened. Her feet refused to move. She sensed conflict within herself about what she should do in this situation. This wasn't something she planned on being in.

She leaned in closer to him. Her heart beat faster. If he was one of these creatures, he may kill her right now if he wanted to. She doubted she'd put up much of a resistance. "What makes you think I want to miss it?"

He pulled back. Without a word, he tilted his head to the side, sizing her up. He began liking her already. He'd never say this aloud. Most people, when he told them that, decided to hightail it out of his way or even to run off and let the proper authorities learn about it. Instead, this young girl, she couldn't be more than four decades old, stood up to him. Greater men failed. "Who are you?"

"I asked first."

"I'm," he paused for a moment, wondering the best phrase to use, "I'm really complicated. Let's start with you."

She took a step back, her body language becoming more relaxed. He didn't seem like he planned on killing her. That registered as a positive. She should remember never to do this again. She exhaled her caught breath and said, "Let me see. I'm a twenty-one year old who's almost gained her degree but I'm still not sure exactly what I'm doing." That summed her up nicely. It seemed sad in her opinion.

He smiled. "Twenty one's nothing." He was off by a few years but nothing serious.

"You know, the counselor told me the same thing but I didn't really believe him." And by extension, she didn't believe this strange man either. Most of her friends already had some clear idea about where their lives headed while she sat waiting for...something. She didn't know what. This seemed like the perfect adventure to shake things up a bit.

"Your name?" He realized she didn't use it yet. He couldn't keep calling her strange girl. It would be hard to differentiate her from all of the other strange girls he came across.

She laughed. "I'm so stupid."

He gave her a curious look once more.

"I mean I'm not really stupid but I should've told you before. Anyway, my name's Evie. Actually Evelyn but everyone called me Evie. Evelyn Garroway," she said rather nervously. Her hands fumbled as she extended one towards him out of habit.

He shook her hand. At least she got nervous over something. He began wondering if she was a professional, hired to track either him down or the elemental fiends and playing a game on him. "Pleasure to meet you. Now, let's hurry and track down these Reachers. I don't feel like staying here for long." He smiled at her and turned back on course towards the direction he headed earlier. His pace seemed to quicken.

"What about you? Who are you?" She tried as best as possible to keep up with him. Walking fast in heels proved to be a complicated task. She considered taking them off but that would only give her more trouble than it was worth. For now, she would have to keep up with his stride as best she could.

He shrugged. "Why don't you pick a name for me?" He had one of course – everyone did – but he doubted she'd understand it. There was even the chance, albeit a small one, that hearing his name might make her brain explode. He heard stories about elementals revealing their titles to good people and causing their destruction. He never witnessed someone dying firsthand from this knowledge so it was all speculation at this point. He didn't feel like taking the chance.

She looked at him carefully, taking in everything about his body. His jawline seemed determined, his dark hair slightly uneven, and his eyes seemed smoldering when she looked at them. "Eric?" It seemed like a good name. She hesitated thinking of a good one on the spot.

"Wow."

Guess he didn't like it. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing if you want to be ordinary." He hoped she would've taken the time to come up with some creative name. Instead she picked one probably millions of people had.

She sighed. "If you told me your name we wouldn't be doing this right now."

He cast a delighted look at her. "If I told you my name, it would take all the fun out of the adventure." It was all part of his plan to keep her distracted.

"I'll keep thinking of another one then. Something that won't make you go wow."

"Just make me go wow in the good way."

She laughed. "That's...anyway," she said, feeling her cheeks burning, "Where are we going?" They seemed to be walking around the frat house. The building didn't seem any different from all the others on the cul-de-sac. The music died down as they continued moving away. No one seemed to be around here and most likely they shouldn't be here either. Something strange happened, she just knew it.

"Do you always ask questions?" He tapped along the bricks of the building. He continued this motion with his ear pressed tightly against the wall. He shook his head after another tap, moving further down.

She nodded. "All the time. Especially when I know someone has the answers." Her eyes resorted back to the location they left. A few shadows of people moved around but no one seemed to be approaching them. She doubted any of the Reachers would be pleased to see them hitting the side of their building, searching for something.

He gave a quick glance at her, a mix between admiration and incredibility. She was something else. After tonight, it might take two days to forget her. He continued moving around the exterior of the building. His knuckles rapped the wall once more.

"Okay I give up. What are you listening for?" She leaned her head against the wall as well, hoping to hear whatever he wanted. Maybe she'd spot it before him. The wall sounded silent.

"For...," he explained tapping twice at one location, "For this." He pressed his hand against the wall hard. The bricks started sliding out from their mortar, an opening of sorts appearing. Instead of the interior of the house as she expected, the resulting view seemed to be some steps leading downward into a dark abyss.

Evie's eyes opened wide. She had a feeling they were headed down there. That was probably where the Reachers stayed, sitting in wait for them to show up. She felt her throat tightening.

"Guess that's our next stop. Are you coming?" He extended his hand, waiting to see if she took it. Maybe earlier she was only talking about wanting to stay with him. Now that she saw the darkness they planned on entering, she might want to leave. He certainly wouldn't hold it against her.

Without hesitation, she grabbed his hand.

Chapter 7

Kitty walked around the party, her eyes scanning through the crowd. She didn't think she talked with her guy for too long. Perhaps a few – she looked at her cell phone – well, okay, the time did appear to be a bit longer than she imagined. Still, Evie shouldn't be too far from here. She wouldn't have left without saying anything. That'd be rude and too spontaneous for her. Evie was the steady one – the one everyone counted on. She was probably in a corner, reading or talking with someone about something intellectual.

Kitty made her way through the crowd which seemed to be getting larger and larger as the night went on. She tried calling Evie's cell phone. "Come on," she said aloud to herself, hearing the fourth ring. She should have picked up by now.

"You've reached Evie. I'm -" the voice mail started before Kitty ended the call. She didn't pick up. This was great.

"Great," she complained aloud as she stopped walking and stood in one place looking around. With so many people here, she doubted she'd find her friend. She'd have to make the choice either to stay here like a loser, having everyone stare at her and no one to talk with, or leave and head home. She tapped her foot for a moment, thinking it over.

"What seems to be the problem?" Harry asked, walking up to her with an extra drink in his hand. He pressed the glass towards her, his smile seeming bright especially in the dark night.

"Oh nothing," she said accepting the drink. It felt nice seeing him again. Their previous meeting had been interrupted when someone needed to have his undivided attention. He must be somehow high in the fraternity. Power always appealed to Kitty.

He continued smiling and positioned himself closer towards her. She smelt the alluring cologne he wore and wanted to move closer to him. The smell seemed stronger than she remembered and more masculine than what normal men wore. He appealed to all senses. "I think something might be bothering you."

She raised her eyebrow slightly. "Why?"

"You're standing out here, alone, and your eyes are continually moving even as I'm talking to you. That's not someone who's free to experience life." He smirked as he finished his statement. He believed he described exactly how she thought in that moment. Now though, her eyes became completely affixed to him. That was the way he wanted her to be.

She sensed he caught her. The only remaining option seemed to play off her concern and hope everything ended in her favor. "You might be right. Maybe a big, strong, confident man like you can help me?" She ran her finger down his chest, making a small wavy line as it traveled to the upper portion of his abdomen.

"I might be able to." He looked at her with a twinkle in his eye. The trap was set and the bait taken.

"I hope you can help me find my friend. The black haired girl I came with in the blue dress. If you can find her, I would be free to relax a bit more." She coyly raised her eyes to his. "I might give you a great reward if you do."

He nodded, basking in her attention. It felt nice knowing the final plans were set. Nothing could stop them now. He sensed himself becoming invincible. "I know exactly the person you're talking about. I saw her only a few moments ago leave with another gentleman."

"Really?" That didn't sound too Evie like. That actually sounded more like her. It brought her out of her seduction mode. "What did he look like?" She didn't see anyone so far she thought who fit Evie profile style of date material. No one over here wore tweed or stood in the corner reading.

"I didn't get a clear view." He'd send someone out to find her. If she arrived at this party, it shouldn't be too easy to keep her distracted. These human women all thought the same.

Kitty didn't feel sure what she should do in this situation. On one hand, a handsome guy wanted to be with her. On the other, her friend already skipped out, presumably with someone else. This didn't seem like typical Evie behavior but she did appear a little unhinged earlier today. This might just be her way of getting things out her system.

If Evie left with someone, she doubted she'd be back until tomorrow. The poor girl hadn't gone out with anyone in a while and would probably want to have as much fun as possible. There was no use worrying about her – she was a big girl. "I'd be so much better if you told me just one, entsy, bitsy little thing about him." Kitty batted her eyes and gave the sad puppy face she practiced many times in the mirror. Her look usually worked.

This time proved no different. "I can tell you it was no one from our fraternity. That's all I know. I wish I knew more to help put you at ease." He held out his arm. "Why don't you come with me? We can find somewhere for you to wait until your friend gets back." He gave her a crooked smile.

Kitty took his arm, wrapping her hands around his strong muscles. Something about him drew her in no matter how hard she resisted. She felt unable to place the exact desire she experienced with him. It wasn't just his looks. She almost seemed drawn to him without a choice. All she imagined was being with him for the moment. "I think she might be out all night. I hope I don't inconvenience you."

"Even better for me," he said with a smirk, looking at her. She found herself falling even more enamored with him than before.

A small voice in the back of her mind yelled at her, telling her she should immediately let go of his hand and get out of there. He might be some kind of crazed guy, preparing to poison her food or drug her. She read all the campus news. The past few weeks, girls always seemed to go missing at these parties. But those were the bad girls – the ones who brought it upon themselves. She wasn't like that. She only planned on having a little bit of fun for the night.

Following him up the stairs, she waited as he opened the door to his room. Inside it looked nothing like any frat room she ever saw. The bed looked perfectly made, the corners folded tight. A stack of books sat on the nightstand arranged in size from largest to smallest. The only true sign of technology being used besides the light bulb was the laptop computer with its aquarium screensaver. He didn't own a TV. She never saw a room without one.

"Well, your room looks nice," she lied, "Why don't I get out of this stiff dress and into something - " Kitty started before Harry held up his finger to her lips.

"Shh," he said, "It's fine. You can stay here all night. There's no need to rush anything. Just enjoy yourself." He caressed the side of her face gently, pushing her hair behind her shoulder.

The voice in the back of her head started getting louder. "I really - "

"You're not going to notice a thing," he stated calmly with a slight laugh. He pushed a needle, hidden within his long sleeved shirt, into the side of her neck. It pierced through her skin, embedding itself into her vein. He compressed the end of it and sent the liquid directly into her system.

Her eyes fluttered for a moment, the drug taking over quick. She sensed her body becoming lighter, losing all her abilities to operate it. As everything started getting black, the last thing she heard was Harry saying, "And that makes five."

Chapter 8

Evie ran her hand along the wall, keeping her balance as she made her way through the dark tunnel. Her heels slipped along the murky ground, the sloshing noise letting her know below a layer of water covered the ground. She didn't want to fall in it. After biting back questions for the past few minutes, she couldn't stop herself and asked, "Where are we?" Blackness covered her entire field of vision. The only sound she heard sounded like water dripping. They might be anywhere – she didn't know where these creatures preferred building their hideouts.

"I'd have to say we're in a cave. Or a cavern. You know, I never learned the difference between the two. I'm not even sure there is a difference. I might need to look that up later. Or not. Do you know the difference?" Her companion continued leading the way, a small lighter being the only indication they had of seeing what lay ahead of them. Even then it barely gave off enough light for him to see two steps in front. Most of the time he guessed where they stepped and hoped for the best.

"I never learned either... Brad?" Evie tested out the new name on him. Even before it came out it sounded wrong. He didn't seem a Brad type. A Brad type wouldn't be tracking down creatures called Reachers who preyed on college students. Or maybe he would. The least obvious choice might be the right one.

He made a face hearing her choice of name. "Brad? Do I look like a Brad?" He only met one once before and he certainly didn't think he looked that way. At least the game continued. She'd keep coming up with names for him and he'd keep shooting them down. He doubted she would ever determine his true name.

"You're right. I had a feeling the moment it left my lips I was wrong." She needed to think clearer about finding a good name for him. She couldn't keep referring to him as the strange guy. "Agamemnon?" Perhaps that one would work.

"Getting closer."

"Really?"

He dropped the forced stoic look on his face and let a laugh escape. "No. Not even close. I can't believe you actually said that."

He stopped abruptly in his tracks and she missed the cue. She walked into him but caught herself before falling onto the ground. "What's wrong?" She regained her composure and tried looking further down into the darkness. Once again nothing seemed to be coming out at her.

"Listen," he said. His eyes appeared vacant as he stood there.

She stood perfectly still as well and listened to the sounds around them. She didn't hear anything in particular jumping out at her, letting her know something was wrong. The only sound she listened to was the dropping of water. It came down in the same drip fashion she heard ever since they started heading down this forsaken tunnel. "That's the same noise we've been hearing. It's only the water."

"It's louder. We're getting close," he said excitedly as he moved quicker down the tunnel. The Reachers loved water. Wherever they collected it would be the central location of this cave.

She attempted to keep up with him, her own feet slipping against the ground. She pulled off her heels, letting her bare feet hit against the moist, cold stone ground. At least now she might keep up with him. She'd worry about what they looked like later.

When they finally reached a clearing, they were rewarded with a viable source of light. A strange, soft glow seemed to fill the room, every corner being illuminated with a light green texture. If she knew where the light came from, she would turn it off.

What her mind described as pods clung against the wall, each of them filled with one of those fish men. They all seemed to be in some sort of suspended animation, none of them moving around much. Their arms and legs appeared tucked in, compacting their bodies into the proper size to fit inside their containers. "What's this?" She stayed close to him. This fell outside her comfort zone by far. It was odd what became normal for her so quickly. At this rate, she might assume these pods common by the next hour.

He walked over to one of the pods. He wiped his hand against the green slime and peered inside. "Travel capsules." He dropped his head lower and inspected the device holding them in place. Everything seemed typical from his vantage point. This would be a routine move.

"What? Travel from where?" The Reachers must be aliens. That explained everything. She was dealing with someone who tracked down aliens. It brought her some form of closure.

"You can't make the move from the plane of water to here in one shot. You have to travel through all sorts of different obstacles and of course, no one wants to do it without some sort of protection. If you tried, you'd burn up before you reached your destination. These capsules protect them from anything that might try killing them." He moved on to the next one suspended beside the first one. Once again, the pod was connected in the same manner. They must've all been part of a large shipment. He continued on, checking each pod he passed only for a brief moment to note their attachment.

"Wait," she said, "I think I'm missing something. I think I heard wrong. It's been a crazy day. Did you say travel from another plane?" She hoped she caught him wrong. Aliens seemed more plausible.

He nodded. "You heard right. Reachers control the watery aspect of it. It's not like fish creatures would want to live in fire." The next pod appeared connected differently. He looked back to the first one, counting to himself the various pods seeming to be part of a single shipment. This wasn't looking prospective.

Evie leaned against a nearby pod, quickly moving back when her hand touched the disgusting goo. She shook off the remnants and asked, "How many different planes are there? Is it just one big continuous one, broken into smaller pieces, or are there a million different ones."

"I don't think there are a million but there certainly are a few hundred."

"And the watery plane these creatures are from is one of these?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "I'm trying to understand how you're understanding it. There are so many different areas it would take forever to list them all. Yet as an elemental, most of them only live on one plane for their entire lives. That's what makes it even more tantalizing to escape – the chance to experience all of these different sensations."

"So these Reacher creatures – they're escaping? That's why they made these pods." She would try to escape if she was stuck living in one place for her entire life. She didn't blame them for trying.

Once again he nodded as he pushed into one of the pods. The thick skinned pod gave way slightly, letting his hand hit against the Reacher nestled inside. The creature inside ignored him and remained in the comatose state as before. "And it looks like this new shipment just came in. They aren't even aware of where they landed." His finger tapped against the creature once more with the same response.

"Is that good?" She smiled as she walked around the pod, inspecting it for herself. Knowing the creature inside didn't see her made her feel braver. They didn't look so creepy.

He turned towards her and smiled. "This is very good. The shock alone should kill them." His eyes began scanning the region, looking for something to bust open the capsule with. There had to be something in here with a sharp enough edge to pierce through the covering.

She held up her hands. "Okay, for some reason I can believe everything up to this point. I want to recap. If I missed something, tell me."

"Sounds fair." He picked up a stick nearby, weighing the wood in his hands. This might work. He tossed the object aside, hoping to find something else which wouldn't require as much energy. If not, at least he possessed something to attack them with.

"These creatures are from a water plane. They are over here doing something with college kids. Killing them probably. Everyone always does. And you're some kind of elemental killer right?" He didn't seem to fit into any small, neatly categorized compartment.

"In a sense, yes. I guess you could say that." He tried out another stick – this one breaking in his hands with one hit. Disgusted, he tossed the branch atop the other abandoned stick.

"Well what are you?" He certainly wasn't an accountant. She laughed to herself. That was a good one. If she knew him better, she might share it.

He grabbed another stick, tapping it against his hand hard as he remained fixed in his tracks. "I'm complicated." He turned around, shoving the end of the weapon into one of the pods. The liquid surrounding the Reacher started leaking onto the ground, the pale blue mixture running off in the direction of the cave slope. The Reacher inside burst through the now weakened exterior and dropped upon the ground as well, floundering about for a moment as the creature scrambled to regain its consciousness.

Without properly being awoken, a Reacher remained unable to control their abilities. It needed water to survive which appeared to be in short supply. The creature gave a few twitches before dissolving into a mixture of dark green liquid. With his foot, Uriz pushed some of the liquid towards the drainage zone.

"At least that time no liquid got on my dress," she said after watching the spectacle. Her thoughts remained clouded about what these creatures existed for and why they came here.

"Don't just stand there. Grab that stick and get busy." He pointed at another one lying on the ground. With her help, they should finish this much sooner than he expected. They could get all of the pods destroyed before anyone would notice.

She nodded and picked a stick out from the pile. The wood felt like a baseball bat in her hand, only slightly longer. She walked over to the first capsule and swung. The impact broke through the outer layer, the blue liquid and comatose creature tumbling out upon the ground. Once again, the creature dissolved into a puddle of green. This seemed this was the only way to get rid of them.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the man repeating the process over and over to all the different capsules in the room. He moved from one to another without waiting to see if the inhabitant died. She needed to hurry if she planned on keeping up with him. From now on, she would assume they died and move faster. She gave quick glance every now and again to help confirm her suspicions.

As she hit into the tenth or eleventh one, she felt his hand grab hers once more. "What's wrong?" He looked concerned; his eyes remained fixated on the portion of the cave he came from.

"We're a bit late," he stated taking off with her back towards the tunnel they used to come down here. His pace became rapid, barely giving her enough time to keep up with his stride. She turned around and saw a group of Reachers starting to chase after them. They did not look unconscious anymore.
Chapter 9

The tunnel seemed much longer than she remembered. It might also be the fact she wanted to get out as soon as possible. The twists seemed more profound, turning her around to the degree where she became unsure if they headed backwards at points. "How much further?" She didn't see clearly ahead of her. She had to rely upon him to bring her to safety. It was a big risk trusting this man she only met earlier today. She hoped she didn't make a mistake

"Not too much further," he said dragging her out as quick as he could. The entrance had to be near here. He felt his memory slipping from him once more. First he forgot this girl and now the tunnel. He once again felt himself getting old.

At least the Reachers remained predictable. They wouldn't allow for their capsules to be too far away from having some sort of rescue come help them. It was this rescue he worried about more than the ones chasing him. They had already became acclimated to the world and wouldn't be groggy from the re-entry.

Taking on an entire colony of Reachers was something he didn't look forward to. One at a time was easy – he did that without worry. Maybe even up to five if he really wanted to brag on himself. More than five already convened back inside of the cave. He needed to think of an effective way to combat them if he wanted to destroy their presence over here.

He heard movement coming from the entrance of the tunnel. Skidding to a stop, he muttered, "Damn." This was exactly what he feared. They must have stayed closer than he originally planned. Next time, he would make sure to destroy all of the pods before any gained a foothold.

"What?" Her eyes scanned the darkness ahead of them. She didn't understand why he stopped. They needed to get out of here before those fish men caught up to them. She wasn't certain but they'd probably rip her apart the moment they met. If she was lucky. Or they might try something worse. The prospect of being drowned crossed her mind.

He looked around, hoping to find somewhere they may use to hide for a few moments. Of course there was nowhere. Every time he needed a place to put someone, the room suddenly seemed to be vacant of everything. But if the elementals needed to hide – he pushed the thought out of his head. There was no use complaining about things he held no control over. "Do you see anywhere we can hide?" Maybe he missed something. A second pair of eyes might help.

Her hands went to the wall, passing over the slimy, smooth wall. Everything appeared solid as far as she determined. "Are you sure there's one?"

"There should be. Hopefully. Yeah, why not?" He scanned his hand along the edge of the tunnel. Any irregularity would help him. A small crease in the tunnel might allow for the Reachers to pass over them without notice. He planned to hide them until the threat passed. The Reachers weren't the sharpest. They tended to only follow one order blindly and rarely went beyond their duty. The ones coming to help were likely told to rescue the new brethren from a terrible disaster. They would pass straight ahead without seeking any intruders along the way. Unless someone ran into them, they tended to miss attackers.

She looked at the ground, her toes covered in the thick muck. "I think everywhere's covered with slime. I doubt we're going to find anywhere to hide." They might need to fight all of these creatures. Besides the movies she saw on TV, she had no idea how to fight. This would be another first for her.

He cast another glance down the hall. The sounds of approaching footsteps seemed louder than before. They would be here in a few seconds unless something drastic happened. Instead of taking chances, he needed to be proactive. A small crack revealed itself tucked away in the tunnel.

"Come on." He led her into a small crack in the tunnel. It would have to do. He pressed her into the tunnel first, making sure she became completely hidden. He slipped in next, contorting his body tightly around her. There appeared barely enough space for either one of them to breath.

In this situation he was probably the best person for her to listen to. She backed herself against the wall in an attempt to give him more space. His big frame took up most of the crack. "Ugh," she complained, realizing the back of the dress rubbed against the slime encrusted tunnel wall. Now she ruined it.

He shot her a hard look.

"Fine," she mouthed back. He should have told her earlier he wanted her to be quiet. She wasn't a mind reader.

The Reachers approached them, the sound of their gargling coming through first. Their feet hit against the slimy ground, adding more wet noise into the mix. Both of them held their breaths, waiting to see if this gamble paid off. He hoped it would. Otherwise, they might have to deal with the serrated teeth of these creatures. One bite could rip through a human arm. It might not take a complete bit to rip through hers.

The creatures continued past the two, stopping once they reconnected with the ones coming from the capsule area further down. He was right in thinking they became preoccupied with their orders. No one noticed them. They remained safe for now. "Why are you out?" one of the Reachers asked, his voice garbling and seeming agitated.

With hesitation in his voice, a second one answered, "We were attacked by some intruder. He managed to destroy multiple units before we fully regained our senses."

Uriz listened intently. The second group never knew about the attack. They must be planning something to happen tonight. He showed up just in time. For once, he wanted to have more than a few hours to pull off saving the world. It wasn't happening tonight.

"There's an intruder. How quaint. I figured one would come soon enough." The garbled voice gave a small grunt after finishing its interpretation.

"What should we do?"

The first one stalled for a moment. He must be their leader or at least higher ranking than any of the others. Uriz was doubtful if the actual mastermind behind this plan would sully himself by coming down into the tunnels. "Tell everyone we're moving up the ceremony to tonight. We've found a more than willing host, the final one needed."

"In the meantime?"

"In the meantime, I'm sorely disappointed in you. This pathetic world has no one to defend it right now and you can't handle some college students coming in to have fun after a party. I advise you to remember why we're here. Otherwise, you'll return – in pieces." He brushed past the other group. His dark robe billowed as he moved along with those of the others who followed closely behind him. The darkness swallowed them as they marched into the tunnel system.

The second group stalled for a moment, wondering what their course of action should be. It all came down to what they were told. Their orders became their life. With one last look down the hall, they too turned and headed back to where the main Reacher walked.

"Seven, eight," Uriz counted softly once the Reachers left.

Evie looked at him puzzled.

"Nine, and ten." He squeezed himself out from the crack, taking her along with him. He hated being in enclosed, small areas. They always made him feel trapped. That was the one thing he couldn't stand.

"What just happened?" She heard the conversation but it made no sense to her. "Does host mean what I think it means?"

"I think it does. It sounds like we don't have a lot of time to stall. Seems like we need to find out more about what their plan is. You look like you might help me." His eyes scanned her body for a moment. She certainly seemed the part. If she refused to speak, no one would know she could think for herself. She appeared to be exactly the kind of victim the Reachers sought after.

She backed away slightly. "Don't look at me like that." She raised her hands to cover her chest. His eyes felt weird scanning her.

"Slur your words a little and we'll be perfect." He smiled.

She groaned. She had a feeling she knew what he thought about doing. "I can't believe I'm going to do this."

Chapter 10

"I can't believe you drank that much," Uriz said, helping Evie to her feet. He became impressed by how good she was at doing the drunk girl walk. If his suspicions proved correct, she probably did this more than once in the past. He certainly didn't plan on asking her at this point or any point in the future. He weighed the second notion in his mind. This was the only time. There wouldn't be another. He shrugged it off.

She looked up at him, slapping the side of his face slightly rough. She did it twice. It felt nice to touch him and see him flinch a bit. He was the one who stuck her in this position after all. He could handle it. "And you're just so cute. Look at you. I want to take you home and eat you with a spoon."

He looked at her oddly for a moment. A few other people started taking notice of them, all of them starting to smile at him. Shows how much he knew. She used the right words any drunk girl would use. Place and time differences always threw him.

Making their way to the house, he stopped one of the men he saw wearing the same pin as the creature he killed earlier in the library. They were all members of the same frat so he'd probably be a Reacher as well. It was hard to tell immediately without the easily identifiable fish face. He could pull this off. He faked his way through worse situations.

"Hey, I have a willing host right here. I doubt anyone will miss her. Look at this dress – she probably slept in it last night under a bench," he teased. He saw Evie glare at him briefly but ignored it.

The other man looked at him. It was evident he tried to place Uriz's face but had difficulty doing so. Thankfully a lot of people showed up tonight and it became easy to blend into a crowd. "Did you talk to Harry about this?"

At least now he knew who was the real leader. "Yeah, he said having a backup was good. If not, we can work on bringing over the next one." He felt braver now. If this man didn't report him already, there was a good chance he had no idea who he was. There were more Reachers over here than they could keep track of. After tonight, he doubted there would be any left in the world – all of them sent back into the depths of their murky domain.

With a laugh, the man said, "That sounds good. They all want to come play over here. Bring her upstairs. Make sure she doesn't throw up on anything. I don't feel like cleaning it." He moved aside, letting the two continue up the stairs. His eyes took in every aspect of Evie as she passed.

Making their way up the stairs, Evie tripping a few times to make it believable, they eventually reached the top landing without incident. Walking a few more drunken miss-steps, they disappeared from downstairs view. She immediately straightened herself out, standing up normally. "I think I should add acting drunk to my list of skills. Maybe it might come in handy. How would you grade my performance?" She felt a sudden jolt of invincibility. She outwitted these creatures easily.

He rolled his eyes. "Worry about that later. For now, we need to find this host and get it out of here. Or if you happen to stumble upon an altar of some sort, let me know."

"Altar?"

"Yep. Probably with flames around it. Maybe a few blood stains. You know, the typical altar fashion. Just imagine every one you've ever seen in a grapgram."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"No? Wrong time. Let's see...early twentieth...movie. That's it. Imagine the ones you saw from the movies." She'd learn about grapgrams before the end of the century.

"Ah." He was going crazy. She wasn't searching for an altar. If they happened to find it, she'd let him know. She didn't want to become the next person forced onto it to be killed. That's another thing she learned from watching these movies as he said. The first one to spot it usually became the one killed.

They headed into the first room. "This looks so boring," she remarked at first glance. Everything seemed bare – the room lacked any signs of someone living in it. She never saw a room this clean before.

"No one ever said the Reachers were much for creativity." He started rooting through one of the drawers, searching for any sign of papers or other items of note he might use. There were still so many unknowns in his equation of why they came here, everything became important.

"Speaking of that," she asked opening the closet to reveal it being devoid of everything, "How did you get into this business anyway?" She closed it shut carefully, holding the knob until she released it carefully back in its cradle.

"You can say I chose it." He picked up the mattress, checking underneath it. Nothing was under there as well.

"That seems weird. Why would anyone choose to do this?" She remembered going into the large hall to see what professions were available to them when they graduated. Elemental hunter seemed to be missing.

"The alternative wasn't pleasant. Next room." He opened the door and ushered her out. Doing a quick check to make sure they remained alone, they crept along the wall and into the next room. He carefully opened the door and shut it without making a sound.

"What – so your family did it and you decided to do it too?" She once again opened the closet. It was the same as the one before save for a pair of slacks hanging from a coat wire.

He closed the desk empty handed. "I don't have one so I'll have to say no."

"How can you not have a family? Oh are they dead?" She hoped she didn't step across any boundaries.

"Nope. Just never had one." He couldn't understand why this was suddenly becoming a priority of hers. If she wanted an in-depth analysis of his background, she would be waiting a long time. He lifted the mattress, passing his hand to make sure it was completely clean.

"I think you must've. Otherwise you wouldn't be here."

He sighed. She wasn't going to ease up. "Fine. I'll tell you. But you have to keep an open mind and stop asking me questions once I tell you. Do we have a deal?" He didn't want to spend their entire time going over ridiculous questions about his past when there were more pressing issues.

She looked upwards for a moment, wondering if she could keep her end of the bargain. There remained so many questions she wanted to ask him. Most of them dealt with his elemental hunting but those might probably be answered later. In the end, she believed she could. Or at least until they got out of this house. "I'll do it."

"I'm an elemental myself. One whose primary domain is reign over the plane of fire but I'm here now to track down these creatures before they bring about the end of the world. And I'm doing all of this because I'm sentenced to it." It was the simplest, most concise way of putting who he was into terms she'd understand.

She laughed.

He looked at her hurt. "What was that for? This is a deep secret not many people know about." He never revealed this to another person about his punishment.

"Oh come on. First off, people made of fire aren't real. Everyone knows that. They're something people made up thousands of years ago to keep people in line or to offer an explanation for something beyond their comprehension. Second, you're just trying to make yourself sound cooler than you are. You don't need to. And as for these fish creatures – the Reachers – they-"

He walked over to her with fire blazing in his eyes. She caught a quick glimpse into the eternal fires. Dark shadows hovered in the recesses of the red flames, twisted into otherworldly shapes. A few oddly shaped creatures wandered into her field of vision. Each one of them set ablaze. It appeared wonderful and terrifying at the same time. "Is that - ?"

He looked away, his eyes returning to their normal color once more. He shook his head, regaining his focus. It was always difficult switching back to his modified vision for this plane. "Yeah. That's exactly where you think it is. Now do you believe me or do I need to show you further proof?"

"I believe you. And these creatures want to bring that here?" She didn't know if she could stop them. It increased her resolve certainly.

"Well," he said looking off to the side as he brought her into another sparsely filled room, "Not that one exactly. Theirs is more of watery depths of blackness from which one can never seem to gain air. Every moment feels like you're drowning over and over unless you're a water elemental." He only went to that particular area ten times in his travels. It wasn't a place he liked visiting. In fact, there were very few watery places he enjoyed staying.

"Do you always come after these Reacher creatures?" Maybe he constantly fought against them. That could be why he knew how to handle them.

He laughed. "Trust me when I say there are far worse elementals out there. I wish most of them were as easy as these." He feared what they wanted to bring over. Reachers never sacrificed people for fun. They also never worked alone.

"Like giant, evil water elementals?"

He laughed again, this one having a nervous overtone to it. "No. No. There's some nice water ones. Some evil fire ones as well. It all depends on what their motives are. I've seen evil fire elementals want to destroy entire world and then you have me, stuck here trying to save some people from death." His hand hit against one of the boards in the room as he stood up from inspecting the desk. He hit it again, the same echo as before. Lifting the board, he saw a girl lying on the ground. "Looks like we found our host."

Evie moved in closer. "Kitty?"

Chapter 11

Evie and the man helped lift Kitty to her feet, dragging her out from the underground holding cell. They carried her onto the bed; Evie helping her remain in the sitting position. Kitty groaned slightly, her leg lolling to the side from lack of support.

"What's wrong with her?" Evie hoped no one tried drugging her. She heard stories about this sort of thing happening on campus lately where girls were taken without anyone knowing about it. Luckily they found her before she ended up in any real harm. The Reachers must be the ones behind the rash of kidnappings. When she got back home, she planned on alerting the authorities about it. They could arrest all of these fish creatures.

He tilted Kitty's head to the side, pointing out a small prick left in her skin. "They put something in here. I'm not entirely sure. If I had to guess, it was probably just a relaxer. They don't want her dead."

"How can you be sure?"

"You can't sacrifice something dead. It doesn't work that way." He figured this must be Harry's room. He dropped to the ground, his ear pressed against the wooden floor. Besides the beat of the music, he didn't hear much else. Another hiding spot, or even the altar, wasn't in here. There must be another location.

"We need to get out of here." Evie stood up, helping her friend to her feet. She didn't feel like seeing any of them being sacrificed tonight. By tomorrow, all of this would be over.

"I'm going to agree with you on this one," he said helping her adjust her friend's hand over his shoulder. It would be hard sneaking her past the guards downstairs but there had to be a way. After all, they made it up here. He could lead them down, pretending to bring them somewhere. He grimaced. They weren't likely to fall for the same excuse twice. He needed to think of something clever.

As they started down the stairs, he saw the two guys from before hanging around. They must be the ones assigned to guard the host. He'd have to remember telling them they did an excellent job. "Wait right here," he said leaving the two girls alone.

He headed down the stairs, draping his arms over the two men. "Isn't it a great time to be here?" His face broke out into a goofy smile. He needed them to believe he was one of them – just having fun for the night.

"Are you okay?" The Reacher who asked him gave an incredulous look. They certainly didn't seem to be enjoying themselves.

"I'm perfect. Tonight, everything's going to work out and we're going to rule this place. Screw all that water crap. Let's make this," he said tapping his fingers into their shoulders, "the place to be. They're all going to want to come up." He knew the Reachers hated being stuck in the watery abyss. More than once other elementals had to intervene in an effort to stop them from taking over a world. It never seemed to end.

The two men exchanged looks with one another. They didn't seem pleased with the way Uriz led the conversation. For a moment, he wondered if he did something wrong. "Did he give you your partition already?"

So that's what the lesser minions were after. They all wanted to make sure everyone got the exact portions of the world they felt entitled to. It was a win game for everyone. "Not yet but I got an extra host. I think that puts me ahead of the game." He smiled smugly at them. Dashing their hopes would cause them doubt. He could work with it.

"You slarinaak," one of the men said cursing him jokingly.

"You're welcome. You guys want to take a break right now?"

"We really shouldn't. We're supposed to be guarding the host upstairs." One of the Reachers made a motion upwards halfheartedly. They must've been standing there for hours if they were this lax.

"That's such a shame. The pool's perfect. Some chicks jumped in and now everyone's in there. Can get a little close if you know what I mean." He elbowed one of the men, giving him a knowing glance.

The two men exchanged a look between themselves. From the way they seemed assimilated into the culture of the university, they must've been here long. Far longer than they figured without the touch of anyone remotely coming close to physical with them. The lure was overwhelming. All they needed was one final push.

He nudged his head in the direction of the pool. "Why don't you two take off? I got this. Besides, not like anything can happen. We have two of them."

The men cast a longing glance in the direction of the water. He saw them imagining the wet women, undoubtedly wanting to swim next to them. The water was the only way to feel at home. His bluff worked. "Fine. Stay here and if anything happens, tell us."

"Reachers stick together," he said with a twinkle in his eye. The two men already headed out through the back door before he finished his statement. Their minds had been out there since he brought it up. It was easy when he knew how to manipulate them.

He guffawed to himself as he saw them walking off. "And with that, I stop the apocalypse," he mused to himself. He raced back upstairs and reached Evie and Kitty. Evie had placed Kitty leaning against the wall, unable to hold her alone. "Okay, we have to go now. Move quick and whatever happens, don't stop."

They made their way down the stairs, carefully checking to make sure the guards remained preoccupied. The sound of water coming from outside let them know they were in the clear. Stealthily, they moved out of the front door and headed to Kitty's car. Opening the door, they laid her across the back seat and climbed in the two front ones.

Evie started the car, heading down the street back to their residence. The entire time she kept thinking about what happened. It seemed no matter how much she wanted to believe the incident from the library was brought about by stress, she doubted she could discount anything that just happened. She saved it – putting it aside to deal with it later when she had the time. For now, she needed to maintain her concentration. She checked the rear view mirror. No one followed them at the moment but that didn't mean they were alone.

When they reached the girl's apartment, Evie said, "Let's put her on her bed. She should be okay there." She helped the man bring her friend onto the bedroom. They lifted her onto the made bed, dropping her once she was in place. Walking out, Evie closed the door behind her with a sigh. At least that was over.

"Wow," she said dropping onto the faded couch, "Can you believe that? I just saw water fiends and rescued my friend from one. I think that makes me awesome." She looked to the strange man and smiled. "What do you think Zunnu?" She was making up names now.

He laughed. "I actually know someone named that. You were a good help. Good – not excellent. You asked far too many questions," he teased. Looking around nervously for a moment, he said, "Well then, I guess this is the part where we say good-bye. Again."

"Are you serious? That's it? You're going to leave me here with those creatures running around, abducting women, and attempting to bring over more creatures like that into this world?"

"Well no. I plan on destroying the altar and sending them all back to where they came from. Maybe grabbing something to eat as well. Then I'll be out of here."

She tossed her head to the side. "I have no idea what to think about you. How can you possibly, willingly, want to go down there? Do you have some sort of death wish?"

"Just the opposite."

Standing up from the couch, she walked over to him and said, "I want to help." Her mind couldn't keep up with her impulsive behavior.

He figured she might try saying something like this. She seemed to always want to get in the middle of things. This was one excursion she'd have to sit out. "No you don't."

"Um yes I do."

This might not be as easy as he planned. "Why would want to help me?" No one ever tried helping before. They left him the moment a chance arose to run.

"Why not? I mean if these creatures aren't stopped, and I'm not saying you can't stop them yourself, then everyone's basically screwed. I don't feel like obeying some sort of fish man for the rest of my life."

"I'm perfectly capable of stopping these creatures. Maybe not that many but I can stop them. I do have skills." He only listened to the first part of her argument.

"I said that. I want to tilt the odds even more in our favor though. There's nothing wrong with that. Let me go with you. I promise I'll be good." The alternative to helping him was staying in this house and falling back into the same routine as always. She didn't want it. She saw there were other things out there and it excited her. If all she had was one more chance at adventure, she wasn't passing on it.

"Were you not with me about an hour ago? Didn't you see the creatures living down there? We're not going against a force of two or three. That would be easy. That I might let you come with me. This is at least a dozen if not two. The chances of coming back without being hurt are pretty slim."

"You'll be fine."

"I meant you. I know I'll be okay."

"Are you sure you're actually here to save us? You talk pretty cocky." She grinned at him. He was breaking down. She already saw herself leaving with him and having some fun chasing down these creatures. No boring reruns for her tonight.

He could play along if she wanted. "It's something I picked up from humans. You always need to brag about your talents. Me – just pure excellence."

"Ooo, big talk."

He liked her. She was interesting to have around. At least he wouldn't be bored tracking them down – that was always the longest part. "Fine. You can come with me. You have to stay close, listen to everything I say, and for the love of everything, call me Uriz." He stopped playing the name game with her now. Maybe later they might pick up something else.

She looked confused. "Uriz what?"

"That's it. That's actually my name. Well," he started before backing up a few steps, "That's part of it. The rest isn't important." The rest would kill her. A fire elemental had a complicated name only used in the most sacred of rituals. He only heard his actual name used twice in his lifetime.

"Alright then," she said with a little smile, "What are we doing first Uriz?" It was a different name. She doubted she would have guessed it.

"We could - " he started before being interrupted by a crash coming from Kitty's room. It seemed someone else chose what they were doing next. He hated when that happened.

Chapter 12

Opening the door, Uriz saw the man from earlier who identified himself as Harry holding Kitty in his hands. His hand seemed to be embedded in her, his clasp using some otherworldly magic. It was created to drag people into the depths of the planer where they were to be held for all eternity. It seemed this elemental decided to use it for his own purpose. Perhaps he was slightly craftier than the other Reachers he dealt with.

"Uriz," Harry said, "Why am I not surprised to see you here?" He smiled devilishly, jerking Kitty more towards him. Her eyes remained shut – the drug he gave earlier enduring in effect.

"Drop her. You know I'm not letting you bring Kelsak here." He took a wild guess at who they would be working for. There were so many under rulers of the plane any one of them was fair game. He had to choose based on location and hope he chose right.

Harry laughed. Uriz realized he chose wrong. "Kelsak's a fool. He barely understands how to run a proper world anymore. It's the same thing over and over. Predictability kills. We've become the laughing stock of the lesser elementals. No one takes us seriously. But after tonight – oh after tonight – everyone will respect us." His eyes flashed red.

Uriz moved closer, carefully watching his steps move ever closer. He didn't want Harry to notice this happening. The closer he got, the better chance he had of grabbing Kitty out of his claws. When Harry twitched, Uriz stopped. "I see. So who are you bringing then? Mirt? Inzariv?"

Harry laughed once more. "Throwing out names of your former allies will do you no good. We all know how you turned on us. You chose to help people instead of taking over your own world. What happened? You used to be strong. Now you're nothing more than a pathetic shell of a creature."

"Better to be a 'used to be' than a 'never was'." Uriz bit his tongue. He was supposed to be calming down the situation – not agitating it further.

"That's the kind of talk that gets you in trouble."

"Already there. What else you got?" He hoped he could buy himself enough time to get closer. He needed to get Kitty out of his grips. If he did, then there was a chance he could kill Harry in the process. Knocking out the Reachers' leader would likely stop their plans if only momentarily. They would be disoriented for a while and unable to properly reform.

Harry knew what was happening. He took a step back, shaking his head. "If you come any closer, her death will be blamed on you. I'm sure that's exactly what you want."

"One more won't tip me over."

"Exactly." The two men glared at each other, hatred evident in both.

A loud roar started coming from outside; the entire house began shaking. Evie and Uriz grabbed onto the walls to maintain their balance. Pictures toppled from the wall, crashing into the ground with broken glass littering the floor.

Harry seemed content with his stance, barely moving at all. This must be something he did. His stance gave off the impression of confidence. Undeserved confidence. "You see Uriz, you can't do this alone. We outnumber you. You may have stopped us at some point but we're persistent. You took too long coming to this world's rescue. These poor, pathetic creatures shall bow before us before dawn's light. Isn't it exciting. Too bad you won't be around to see it."

"I plan on being around for long afterwards. After all, I destroyed some of your people today. I'd love to get my hands on a few more." His eyes flashed red towards Harry. He wanted to slay him especially.

"I figured that was you once I heard about it. A cowardly act to run away and hide. I guess we can't all be heroes. Well I'd love to stay and chat but someone's waiting. You'll just have to catch the show." He jumped through the opened window behind him.

Uriz and Evie rushed to the window, anxious to see where he went. Beneath them, they saw what appeared to be a river of water gushing past the house. Only it was much smaller and compact as compared to a normal one. Otherworldly magic was at work here. The water remained only in one spot, allowing Harry and Kitty to land on it before continuing to whisk away down the road. It disappeared down a side street, no one else seeming to notice the mysterious occurrence.

"He's going to use her to bring his friend over here," Evie stated, her attention drawn back to Uriz, "We need to move." She couldn't let her roommate become sacrificed to bring an elemental lord over to their world.

"I couldn't agree more." Uriz rushed out of the house, followed at the heels by Evie. There wasn't much he saw left behind from the strange occurrence. He knew there must be something. He stooped down to the ground, crouching his way around the area for a moment.

"Looking for something?" Evie asked. Her eyes already scanned the area. This was the street they saw the water vanish down but nothing seemed to be left behind.

Uriz lowered his head closer towards the ground. "I'm looking for a trail. If you find anything, let me know. Wait." He touched the street, bringing his fingers to his mouth and tasting. "Never mind. Found it." He stood up and started walking down the street in the direction of the droplets.

Evie kept up with him, scanning as they walked in case one of those Reachers appeared and wanted to attack them. The way seemed to snake through the multiple streets surrounding them, heading off in one direction and then another. More than once they found themselves backtracking to a previous location.

The trail wasn't to the fraternity. No doubt that location was just a cover – somewhere to drop off the capsules without drawing a large amount of attention to them. No one would notice a place where people seemed to show up all the time. They needed somewhere better to bring one of the greater elementals down. Being brought back in the midst of partying college kids was not somewhere any of them wanted to be.

Uriz noticed Evie being quiet. Likely she was dealing with the fact her friend remained serious danger. He decided it was time for him to start asking the questions. "Do you know anything about elemental lore?" He figured they had some time before reaching the destination and now might be the best to find out what she knew. Who knew – maybe she trained to be a professional elemental slayer when she was younger. Stranger things happened.

She laughed. This was the oddest question she ever got asked. Given the current predicament they were in though, she expected it to eventually come up. "I think I told you everything I knew. I can tell you with absolute certainty you're the first one I ever met." The Reachers would be the second. Or maybe it was a tie. Either way, he was the first one she talked to.

"Not really the same thing." He felt disrespected being compared to one of the Reachers. There was a vast difference.

"Fire elemental. Water elemental. Same thing. You're both just...," she looked upwards for the right word but failed to find it, "Elementals."

"Absolutely not."

"What's the difference?"

"These are lesser elementals which means they're supposed to work for us."

"Us?" She wondered if she heard that correctly. 'Us' usually meant more than one.

"Eons ago, if I have the date correct," he joked but caught it slipping past her, "Anyway, a bunch of us decided there were too many elementals running around. You never knew who could do what and it would result in a lot of running around. Nothing was ever accomplished. We decided we needed some kind of system so the more important elementals, yours truly, wouldn't be stuck doing the routine and tiring work."

Evie nodded. "I think I get what you're talking about. These Reachers are supposed to be working for you, doing all the routine and tiring underling stuff." She hoped she understood him correctly.

He pointed at her cheerfully. "Ding ding. But one drawback was that now we had all kinds of free time. One thing led to another and...well, this is the bad part about me." He hesitated mentioning it.

"You're certainly not making me want to hear about it," she said sarcastically. She grinned at him.

He grinned at her as well. "Alright then. I decided to join with some of the other elementals and attempt to take over a few worlds. We did. At least fifty worlds fell to us before it starting becoming tiring once more."

Evie exhaled deeply. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to have fifty worlds under her control. She couldn't even control an entire apartment with her roommates. "That's pretty good. And you stopped doing all of this because you were bored?"

"Tiring – not boring. Big difference. Boring will make you go crazy. Anyway, we decided it would be better to leave and maybe spice things up. So we did."

"What did you do on your planet I guess?"

"I don't think you need to know right now. Just know there's not much that scares me anymore." He looked off into the distance for a moment, remembering a few incidents from his past. He couldn't understand himself from then. Things changed drastically over the past few decades.

She felt a sudden chill go through her spine. The way he closed up when talking about his past made her nervous. In her mind, there was only one thing she could imagine which would cause him not to be scared anymore. She had to know if she was right. "Are you going to kill me?"

He laughed for a minute. Her expression when she asked was priceless. There was genuine fear in her eyes – something he rarely saw humans have when interacting with him lately. "Worried?"

She cast him a hard glance.

"I'll take that as a yes. And no. I've been working hard at being nice. Remember? It's much more difficult than when I trying to be bad. People tend to be more demanding. Besides, I have another solid reason not to kill anyone."

"That's why you kill elementals. That's your punishment." Things started making sense.

"Right again."

"Well that kind of makes sense. In a really weird way." She could see it in her mind how he might want to do it. After all, killing people wasn't particularly something she'd like to do. "What made you change your mind?"

His eyes shaded over. "I don't think I know you well enough to tell you. I don't think you want to hear anyway. Maybe some other time." He preferred keeping the story to himself. It was convoluted and she might think the worse of him. He thought the worse of himself when he recalled it. It took time to push the thoughts back into the deep recesses of his mind. For now, he needed her to believe in his abilities and they would come out of this unscathed.

She nodded to herself. She could tell when it was time to stop prying into someone's business. "Look – the tracks. They end right here," Evie said pointing at the drops. They headed into the nearby river, dropping off the edge and into the murky depths below. The only sign of movement was the ripples bouncing from the edge of the embankment. They both looked at each other. "Can you swim?" He was from the plane of fire after all. Maybe he never learned.

He laughed. "I know how to swim. I can do it pretty good too."

"Let's go. You can show me some of your moves." She jumped into the water without hesitation. He followed soon afterwards, splashing in the water beside her.

Chapter 13

Evie brushed the water out from her eyes. Her hair and clothes were soaked, clinging to her tightly. She couldn't believe she jumped into the river. After all the things she heard about, she figured she probably contracted some kind of water related disease already. He was bringing out the adventurous side to her. It felt exhilarating. "Okay, so what now?"

"You're the one who jumped in."

"And you're the one who kills these things for a living."

She had a point. "Hold on to my hand and take a deep breath." If these Reachers were anything like the ones he knew in his past, they already built an underground cavern to hold their ceremony. It would be located pretty deep underwater and he doubted she could hold her breath for that long and swim. He had the advantage.

She grabbed his hand. He intertwined his fingers with hers, locking her into place. She closed her eyes, calming herself down. Her heart raced with excitement. With his attention on her, she took a deep breath. He dove down, pulling her along into the deep, cold water.

The water rushed past them as they made their way towards what he hoped was the cavern entrance. He hoped he hadn't dragged her down here in vain. Maybe he should've checked it out himself before dragging her. His hand hit against a large archway underground. It was there. He felt thankful they were predictable. Any other one of the fiends would have at least tried covering it up, maybe having someone stand guard. He couldn't imagine who would be behind this. Someone desperate to escape, he thought. That made it more dangerous.

When they reached the interior of the cave, he exhaled deeply when he hit the air. The air felt like a welcomed friend. It was deeper than he thought. He looked over at Evie. Her head rested on the water, her mouth slightly opened. Some of the water leaked from the corner back into the pool around them.

"No, no, no," he said dragging her onto the land, "Not yet. I've been working too hard for this happen now." He laid her on the ground, pressing his head to her chest. He could hear a heartbeat. She wasn't dead yet. There was still time.

He pressed his hands to her chest and pounded, tilting her to the side. He patted her back, hoping to push some of the water out of her lungs. He didn't need an innocent death on his hands again.

As Harry put it, one wouldn't tilt him over either way. But it would put him in debt. The more deaths directly caused by him, as this one would be, the more he needed to work them off. He already had a long list and he could use with one small break right now. He should have left her back at her place when he had the chance. He hated himself for allowing his emotions to dictate what he wanted. It was human thing – something he shouldn't be experiencing.

He pounded onto her back once more, hoping that dislodged the water. "Come on Evie," he said laying her on the ground. He'd need to do mouth to mouth on her. He never did it before. It couldn't be too hard. It was worth a shot.

Before he placed his lips on hers, she coughed water out of her mouth onto his face. He smiled, helping tilt her to the side as it emptied out of her lungs and mouth. Being spit on was the best feeling in the world.

"Good girl. Glad to know you're still with me," he said patting her back as he helped get all of it out of her. He was incredibly thankful for avoiding her death. He would need to be more careful with her tagging along.

She steadied herself on her hands. Her breathing remained ragged, taking in as much as she could. There was still water in her. "I didn't know it was going to be that deep. I didn't take enough air." She thought it was maybe ten feet under the water. They went much deeper.

"You're okay now," he said helping her get back onto her feet. There was nothing else they could do in the moment but continue moving. Staying in place would make them an easy target.

"Yeah. Yeah," she said shaking off the memory of what she saw. She could only remember darkness when she drowned. She worried she was headed towards the world these creatures came from. She would never take swimming for granted again.

Uriz moved away from her a few steps, checking out the extent of the visible cavern. He saw where the Reachers used their teeth to gnaw away at the rock. They were resourceful.

Evie felt slightly better. She still wasn't as perfect as before but it would do. "Where are we?" She figured they were in the lair of these creatures but she didn't remember this cavern always being under the river. Maybe it was but she assumed someone would've talked about it. No one she knew ever mentioned it. The entire place was lined with torches, seeming to give the place an eerie glow. The water didn't reflect the light back. That was disturbing and unnatural.

He saw the concern on her face. She didn't know how far they traveled, having been blacked out for a portion of the trip. "We're not dead if that's what you're worried about."

"A little. Thanks for that."

"They built some kind of underground cave, very typical of them. Whoever wants to come over is certainly making this easy. Nothing extravagant, nothing overly complex. I doubt they worked on this more than a few days." Someone was incredibly desperate.

"Who do you think is coming over?" She hesitated at the notion. Earlier he stated clearly these Reachers were intent on bringing over someone else.

He scanned the room, moving slowly against the side of the cavern with his hand continually touching the cool stone. "There's a lot of lords over there who would want to come. Each one of them needing somewhere new to be the ruler."

She nodded and kept looking around as well. "Did you ever get summoned like this?"

He abruptly stopped walking. There it was – one of his dark little secrets. "A few times. It's the best way to take over a world. You get some underlings to summon you over and you don't have to waste time with using your own energy." Now was another one of those points in time where people ran away, screaming, threatening to kill him. He braced himself for her reaction.

"I see. Thanks for clarifying that." She took a few steps around, looking at the rocks around her. The cavern certainly did seem odd.

She didn't run. He always expecting it and it never happened. He worried about that. "Now I have to ask – why aren't you running?"

"Are they here?" She hadn't heard any other noises except for their voices and the occasional drip of water.

He rolled his eyes. "No. But I just told I'm basically one of the big bad guys and you're standing here still. Why?" His suspicions about her were beginning to grow. She might be something beyond human.

She shrugged. "Really, I don't know. It's been so crazy today I'm worried I'm still dreaming. I might wake up and find myself back in the library. I think it's because you told me you want to change. I really believe people can. I mean – look at me. I woke up this morning, did the same thing I've done every day of my life, and now I'm in an underground world about to fight some demons. That's a huge change for me."

He nodded. He understood that thinking. It was the same one he had when he left the infernal plane initially. Instead of dwelling on her statement, he continued back to their original topic. "And I sincerely doubt any of the upper lords want to come over here. Enzarri's busy with Iol, a planet that used to be peaceful and now there are wars every other week. He loves it there. He calls it his pet. As for the others, they don't like to come up too often. It's not fun without having people mortified of you."

"What about a bigger fiend I guess? You said these were lower so maybe just one of the big guys wants to come up." She was beginning to get the hang of this. If she was right, there was probably a caste system of elementals below.

"Astute guess and the same as mine. Now the only problem is determining who would be so desperate as to use these creatures to bring him up."

Even knowing it would take a desperate elemental to seek help from the Reachers, it still didn't narrow down the choices. Most of them wanted to come to a planet at one point or another. It was easy wreaking havoc up here especially since humans were barely able to put up any sort of resistance. It was impossible – just more of a last ditch effort than a planned intervention. He hadn't been to a true elemental plane in a while and it was possible things changed. The ones who wanted to leave when he was there might be comfortable in their surroundings now. This became a tough one to crack without any evidence.

The water started rippling behind them, seeming to crest at certain places. "Hide again," he said grabbing onto her hand and ducking behind a rock. As they hid in the shadows, a group of Reachers emerged from the water, their robes soaked around their body with the fish head visible. Their gills worked hard providing oxygen; the trip no doubt exhausting their reserves.

"Seems like the party's about to start," he muttered to her. They arrived with barely any time to spare.

Chapter 14

Uriz waited until the Reachers traveled past him before moving at all. They were getting ready for the arrival of their new host. Undoubtedly Harry was already down here, placing last minute touches to the sacrificial altar. "We have to move fast," he said helping Evie to her feet. His eyes remained on the entrance towards the back of the cavern system.

The sound of low chanting sounded throughout the cave, echoing off the solid walls and making it sound like thousands of Reachers were present. Evie felt herself freeze up. "What are they saying? It sounds like something I should know." They were talking in some strange language but it seemed so familiar.

He nudged his head from side to side. "Is this one of those questions you really want to know the answer to or would a general explanation work?"

"How about I just say it's not something good. I can leave it at that." She feared if she learned more things about elementals and everything tonight she was never going back to sleep. Already she seriously contemplated never going to a party for the rest of her life. Traveling through caverns and swimming in the river were definite cross-offs.

They continued moving through the cave, using the irregularities to hide themselves and move through the shadows. Their feet passed along the slimy ground, skidding every once in a while on a slick patch. The drone of their chanting masked any sounds the duo made. For that, both Evie and Uriz were grateful. The sound continued growing louder as they followed the Reachers through the cave.

Water began dripping onto Evie's head. "They're singing too loud. I think the cave might collapse," she confessed to Uriz. She hoped it didn't. She didn't want to swim once again or, even worse, die buried underneath the pile of rubble dropping upon her. The vision of the darkness she had earlier was enough to keep her content with living.

"I doubt it. They might have hastily built it but it can withstand the pressure from above." The cavern system was made completely from stone. There was little chance it would collapse. He hoped. He could bluff his way for a while.

"Water's dripping down," she pointed out.

"All part of the design."

"Because they're fish?"

"That sounds a little speciesist."

She slouched her shoulder and looked at him skeptically.

He smiled at her. It was nice teasing her. "But you're right again. They need the water."

"This entire place is built underwater. How could they possibly –" She was silenced once she saw the large flame leap in front of them. They had reached the central, interior room where all of the Reachers were gathered. Luckily, no one spotted them. They dropped back, hiding behind a pillar carved near the edge. In the middle of the room sat a giant altar, already aglow with what seemed like an inner flame. The rest of the room remained in darkness, ebbing with the light being given off.

He gave her a knowing glance. "Fire."

"Yeah. Yeah, I can see that." This was pretty much what she pictured in her mind. All she needed now was to see her friend lying on the altar about to be killed and it would be compete.

"We need to figure out a way to get to the altar and destroy it." The faint wording he read from here was atypical. He needed to get closer to read better. The blast of fire interfered.

"They seem pretty intent on keeping it." All of the Reachers gathered in the room; their hooded figures facing the altar. Their heads bowed as though in solemn prayer, the sound of their chanting continuing to filter through the room. She could almost recite a few of the words by now. The strange music embedded itself in her mind.

"The thing is figuring out how to get to it before they can use it for the sacrifice."

"You mean Kitty."

"Yes, Kitty." He had forgotten her friend's name. Names weren't sticking with him tonight.

"Well that's not going to happen. She's not going to be sacrificed."

"Oh really?" This young human was surely determined in herself right now. Even he had a few hesitations about how he planned on pulling off such a task. It would be a gamble to reach the center before something happened.

She tapped at the rock with her nail, keeping it as quiet as possible. She couldn't move around much or else someone would spot her. Her nervousness had to come out some way. "You said they're like fish right?"

"With fish heads, yes. I'm following you so far."

"If they're fish, then all we need is some bait."

He paused and stared at her for a moment. That was brilliant. He should have thought about it hours ago. He could have already moved on to his next task.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Maybe the Reachers weren't like normal fish. It was worth a try in her opinion.

"How are you figuring out things before me? That's bothering me. Are you sure you're not someone else, pretending to come with me to stop them so your real master can come through?" He looked at her in the eyes. She seemed normal. In his line of work, those were often the ones who were the deadliest.

She paused. "Are you asking me if I'm an elemental?"

"I was trying to be subtle, but yeah."

"I can guarantee you I'm not."

He shrugged. "I'll take your word on it." He would keep his attention on her. She might be one and not know it. It would be a first.

She returned her attention to the scene in front of her, casting a glance at him to state something else but biting her tongue. Right now was not the time to argue. "So what kind of bait can we use against them?" He might have something on him they could use.

He shrugged to himself. "Pretty hard to determine that. They seem intent on carrying about this ritual so it would need to be something good." He looked at her.

"Not this time." She pointed at him.

"I can't be sacrificed. Not human." He could be but she didn't need to know that. She needed to think she was the only hope. She wanted adventure and now was her chance.

Shaking her head, she said, "You won't be. All you'll need to do is keep their attention for a few moments. It's not that hard. Just run around and be your normal self." At least what she saw so far. They would want to come after him.

He nodded. "Well that sounds - " and he pushed her forward, causing her to trip over the rocks in front of her. He hid himself carefully behind the pillar further.

"I'm going to kill him," she muttered to herself when she noticed the eyes of the Reachers upon her. She couldn't believe he would do this to her. She smiled, hoping it would keep them from chewing through her flesh. He definitely was no angel.

Chapter 15

Opening her eyes wearily, Kitty saw she wasn't inside of the frat room she remembered earlier. "Oh," she moaned. She couldn't believe she let herself party that much. All she wanted was a few moments to hang out and get the stress out of the day. There was no telling what she did before ending up in this position.

She sat up, prepared to raise her hand to her face. Instead, she found her wrist shackled to the wall. She tugged on the metal and. finding it stuck, traced upwards with her eyes. The linked chain seemed to be connected to a ring protruding from the wall. It looked like she was being held prisoner. This was some weird situation to be in. "What's going on?" She tugged on it once more with the same result. Someone needed to help her out.

"Everything's okay," Harry said, his back turned towards her.

"Harry? What am I doing here?" He wore a dark robe, something she didn't remember seeing him in earlier. The room looked like a cave. This was not at all where she thought she was.

"It won't be long."

"What are you talking about? Where am I? What are you doing?" She saw him staring at what appeared to be some sort of strange writing on the wall. Perhaps it was a trick of the light but the wording appeared to glow, pulsing with energy. She couldn't understand what it said. All she knew was she should be afraid of it.

"You should be thanking me."

"For what? Shackling me? I don't know who you think I am but this is not my definition of fun." She pulled once more on the chains, desperate for them to break away from the wall. She needed to free herself from this. While she may not know what he planned on doing, she knew enough to realize when things appeared abnormal. In her present state, her thoughts flashed to those of murderers who kept their prisoners chained below. She prayed she was wrong.

Harry turned around slowly. His fish face was out already; the gills moving along the side as he breathed. His cold eyes settled on her, bulging from their sockets. "I would stop resisting if I were you."

She screamed. Tugging harder on the chains, she dug her feet into the ground, hoping to gain some leverage. After feeling her wrist ache from the pressure, she turned back and in a quivering voice asked, "Harry, what are you?" He wasn't normal.

"Don't you know who I am?" He flashed a toothy smile at her, the serrated teeth seeming interlocked into one another. His expression was wild.

"I don't know who you are. I don't even know what you are. Let me out of here. Let me go now." She began pulling more, this time intent on breaking her wrist if need be to escape. Anything was better than being forced to stay into this small, confined area with this creature.

He moved closer towards her, his rows of teeth only inches from her face. The strong odor of mildew traveled from him to her nostrils. She felt sick breathing in the fetid smell. "You cannot escape. By all means, try as much as you want. They all did. Your kind never seems to learn."

"What?" The thought flashed through her mind of the recent news stories. "You're the one who has been killing all of the other girls around here?" She knew she would be next. No one would know to look for her – they all thought she was back at the party.

"They were all preparing the way. You're much luckier. You're going to be the final one needed to open the barrier. You should take comfort in that." He sneered at her.

"Let me go," she said, "Let me go, let me go, let me go." She struggled to free herself. She was not going to be sacrificed without a fight. Even if it took chewing through her arm, she was getting out of here.

His gloved hand touched the side of her face. "Just accept what's happening to you. After all, this is a once in a lifetime experience. People will remember you forever."

His depraved way of thinking only pushed her anger more. He couldn't possibly believe the words coming from his mouth. He must be insane. There was no reasoning with him. "I hate you."

"Get in line." He slapped her cheek twice and calmly walked out of the room to begin preparing for the ceremony. He closed the creaking wooden door behind him. Even though he felt certain no one could follow him here, the brush with Uriz was too close. The ceremony would continue without a hitch and as quickly as possible.

One of the other cloaked Reachers pushed Evie forward towards him. She stumbled, regaining her footing as best she could. "We found this one hanging around. What do you want us to do with her?" The Reachers smacked his lips, drool coming from the corner.

Harry paused. He remembered her. "It seems we're not alone. You're quite brave to come down here. Although I doubt you're alone. Where is he?" His eyes scanned the room.

Evie decided she could pretend to be dumb. "Who? I'm not sure who you're talking about."

He glowered. His hand shot out, grabbing her under the chin and lifting her eyes towards his. "I'm not in the mood to be trifled with. You know exactly who I'm talking about. Where is Uriz?" He punctuated the last words carefully, knowing his patience was being test sorely. If she refused to answer, it would be the last time she spoke.

"You mean me?" Uriz asked moving out from behind a nearby pillar. "It seems things didn't go as I planned. Oh well. Live and learn I guess. Let her go." He shaded his eyes, looking over at the rest of the group. They all took a few steps back, the chanting abruptly dying.

"Well, well. I must admit I'm not surprised to see you here. And sending a woman first. Very typical move of yours." Harry maintained his grip on Evie.

"Well, if we're going by typical moves then you know I'm going to destroy you and this entire place in about five minutes. You could give up right now and save us the time. I'm sure there are other things you want to do. Have you tried golf? Some people find it really relaxing."

Harry wasn't amused. "There you go once more, spouting away at the mouth to attempt at seeming intelligent. You claim you can defeat us easily. I sincerely doubt it you know what you're getting into."

"I guess you're right." He walked forward slowly. The crowd of Reachers backed up, giving him a wide berth. They saw his eyes flashing with the fires deep within. None of them wanted to be in his direct path.

Making his way to Harry, who slightly tripped over his feet to back up, he said, "In this whole thing, the only missing piece is who are you trying to bring over? Who could possibly want you lowlife creatures to attempt to bring him over? They must be desperate to seek your help."

Harry backed up a few more paces. "It seems there's something the great Uriz hates – not knowing what the outcome is. It's almost poetic. You'll die never knowing who came. Such a pity. Your gift's most appreciated though."

Uriz stared him down. Harry's hand rested firmly under Evie's neck. It didn't take much to know what he planned on doing. "You don't want to."

"Oh but I do. You just gave us the final host." Harry sprinted through the flames with his grip firmly on Evie. A few flames rose up, burning slightly upon her clothes. Had they not been soaked from the swim over, she doubted she would have anything left on. Harry threw her upon the altar, the flames already seeming to come towards her. She became surrounded by them.

"Uriz!" She needed his help. This wasn't part of their plan. She felt the heat radiating and coming at her once more. It wouldn't be long until the flames completely covered her.

Harry quickly began reciting the ancient words once more, the flames growing larger and larger. Lettering against the side of the altar glowed.

Evie felt herself being zapped of all her energy. All she wanted was to lie down on the soon to be burned altar. Slowly swaying, she cast one futile look at Uriz before dropping.

He scouted out his options carefully. If he went after Evie, there was a chance Harry and the others escaped. If he didn't, he would allow for the elemental lord to cross over. There weren't too many options and clearly, there was only one right choice. He jumped through the fire, his clothes catching on fire.

She looked at him, her face nearly expressionless. "You're burning," she said watching him. Wearily, she raised her hand.

"And you're not." He grabbed her, throwing her over his shoulder and forcing his way through the fiery barrier. Once on the other side, he placed her on her feet, helping her regain her balance. He was convinced she would be okay.

"How pathetic. Still not able to let one person die. Noble but foolish. You're never going to escape from here. Get him," Harry commanded the other Reachers. They all charged towards Uriz and Evie, their teeth bared and staves in hand.

Chapter 16

Uriz grabbed the first Reacher rushing towards him, using his make shift staff as a handle to turn him around. He shoved the end into the creature's chest, pushing him backwards with a strong enough force to knock into the oncoming attackers. The staff remained firmly in Uriz's hands. At least now he had something to work with. He whirled the staff for a moment and turned to face the next opponent.

He knocked the next one across the head with the weapon. The Reacher lolled its head to the side, some of the dark blood dropping upon the ground in varying splatters. Satisfied, Uriz turned in the direction of a scream.

Evie was being dragged by one of the creatures; a tug of war playing out on her arms. Her feet dug desperately into the ground and slid further towards the entrenched altar with each step.

Knocking a stray Reacher across the face, he pushed his way forward. What they lacked for in brain power, they certainly made up in numbers. Another Reacher charged at him. The two locked staffs with one another, blocking moves as best he could. One of them hit against the side of his rib cage. He felt the blow land and retaliated by jabbing his own weapon into the exposed gill of the creature. Without ample breathing, the Reacher began choking upon its own internal water system and dropped to the ground, staff still embedded.

He charged across the gap separating him and Evie until he successfully grabbed hold of the creature. The Reacher reared its head towards him, the sharp teeth coming dangerously close to his face. Uriz threw him across the room and onto another group of approaching Reachers.

Turning to Evie, he said, "Go." He motioned with his head in the direction of the door. If her friend was being held here, that was the best spot to start looking.

"What about you?" The Reachers began rising to their feet once more. They didn't seem pleased with the way things were turning out on their own turf.

"I'll be fine. Go now." He nudged her away from him, pushing her towards the door. She looked at him once more before hurrying in the opposite direction. If he wanted her to help, she needed to follow his instructions. Besides, she was more of a liability with these creatures roaming around.

A Reacher charged into him, taking him off guard for a moment. His thoughts centered on whether or not Evie made it to the door safely. When he heard the door closing, he knew he bought her enough time. He grabbed onto the two closest Reachers, knocking their heads against one another. The bony plate offered much resistance for the creature and only caused Uriz to feel the pain. He took a few steps back.

Shaking it off, he swung and landed a punch in the center mass of the creature. His eyes glowed with an intensity mimicking that of the inferno forges. He knew he entered into dangerous ground now. While they were evil, if he enjoyed the kill too much it didn't count. The extra surge of power felt wonderful. He needed to control himself before he destroyed everything he worked for.

As the next Reacher rushed at him, he grabbed him by the arm and brought him closer. He stared at the creature, feeling it writhe underneath his grasp as it tried freeing itself. "You thought everything was planned for." He thrust his hand into the creature's chest forcefully. Removing it, he held on to the small shard from inside, the life force of these creatures. It was a piece of the elemental plane all of them possessed. Squeezing tight, he shattered it into pieces.

"Next," he said tossing aside the corpse. It dissolved the moment it touched the ground, green liquid bubbling away. He laughed. No one was coming after him now.

Grabbing a nearby Reacher, he tossed him easily into more oncoming contenders. They toppled over easily, the initial creature becoming destroyed from the sheer force of impact. Uriz laughed. "This is becoming fun."

The other Reachers exchanged worried looks with one another. A few began backing out of the room, their feet tripping over the smooth stone as they sought any refuge from him.

Uriz calmed himself down. He knew he sufficiently scared them away from him. He didn't plan on using this ability again. He always felt drained after it not to mention, it looked bad when someone reviewed the incident.

"What are you doing?" Harry stormed, "He's one person. Get him." His finger thrust out, pointing directly at Uriz. His hatred was evident in his voice.

They all looked at him for a moment, considering for a moment the gravity of his words. Failing to follow through on an order from Harry, their leader, was against their protocol. However, they witnessed his power. None of them ever went against one of the elder elemental lords. It seemed they might not survive another attack against him.

"He's one person but he's Uriz," one of the Reachers remarked in his garbled language, "One of the Fire Lords." His views were shared by the others who nodded in agreement.

Harry narrowed his eyes, his face twisting in a grimace of sorts. Between gritted teeth, he uttered, "I don't care if he's Uriz the ruler of every plane, get him." He pointed at Uriz once more. The Reachers were to follow his command. On this planet, he was their leader if only for now.

Uriz prepared himself for their attack. A direct order given by their superior was always followed through. If they all decided to attack him now, he would be in a tough position. He had to hope his recent outbursts were enough to keep them away. The remaining Reachers stepped further away from him. He softened his stance. That was luck.

"We've been here for months now without any of the rewards you promised us," another Reacher remarked, "We don't want to bring Nitror here. He'll do the same as you."

That answered one of Uriz's questions. Nitror was one of the medium elementals, if that could be used as a classification. He roamed the upper regions comprised of water elementals which strongly resembled vapor. He must be tired of dealing with the problems in his realm. It explained his use of the Reachers as opposed to one of the more intelligent species. They were the only ones he could probably control. Everyone else knew it would be futile to attempt to bring a water elemental to the surface of a planet not completely enveloped in vapor.

"Do not speak his name in front of him," Harry said between clenched teeth. He didn't need to get his benefactor in trouble. He was promised greatness beyond measure if Nitror was successfully able to obtain a stronghold upon Earth. With his goals within grasp, Harry wasn't going to let it pass.

"You take him then," a Reacher said.

Uriz was a bit impressed. He must be getting more famous than he remembered. Either that or they really were tired of being here. Regardless, it worked in his favor. He might make them leave without having to kill another one. He doubted that. He shifted his eyes back to Harry. That was the one he had to kill and end all of this.

Harry's anger grew. He knew he was losing his grip on these creatures. His brethren turned on him all because of fear. If they wanted fear, he'd show it to them. He threw his staff, impaling the Reacher who spoke. The others stiffened. They knew at any moment, they may be next.

Seeing he captivated their attention, Harry turned his anger towards them. "If you don't go after him, the same fate will befall you all." He meant it. He would slaughter all of them to fulfill his objective.

So much for diplomacy. Uriz saw the crowd of Reachers advancing upon him, the fear they previous experienced replaced by the wrath of Harry. It was his turn to take a few steps back. Taking one at a time was easy but when all twelve of them attacked, he couldn't fight them off. They sensed this and descended upon him in an almost state of madness.

One of the Reachers bit into Uriz's arm; the skin being ripped by the teeth. He grabbed the creature's face in an attempt to dislodge him but was besieged by another from the side. His arms were being held against his will; his struggles to free them in vain. Four Reachers grabbed his legs, hoisting him into the air. This was definitely not where he wanted to be.

"Place him on the altar," Harry commanded, "I'm sure this sacrifice will be better than the one we previously had. Maybe we'll even gain the attention of one of the upper lords. They'd love to see their old friend." He cast a wicked glance at Uriz, one filled with pride of his accomplishments tonight.

Uriz felt himself being dragged to the altar, his body landing hard upon the warm stone. He struggled to free himself onto to receive another blunt hit upon his head from the bony plate of a Reacher. "That hurts," he muttered to himself, unable to raise his hand to check for damage. His hands and legs were shackled into place; all resistance being lost. "You better hope I never get out of this," he warned. He yanked against the chains. If he was back in his previous state, he could free himself before he thought it. Now though, he was forced into remaining here for whatever elemental arose. Then he'd have to fight that one as well. It never ended.

"I know you won't," Harry said with a smile. The night was going perfect. He began reciting the ancient text, the words burning into the air around them. The Reachers fell back into position, crowding around the altar as they raised their voices to join in the chanting. The ritual began once more.

Chapter 17

"Kitty?" Evie hissed as she entered into the side room. She figured her friend must be hidden in one of these side rooms. The first two she tried yielded nothing save for a few cloaks. If there was more light, she would be able to see without worry.

"Evie? Is that you?" Kitty asked from a dark corner. She couldn't see too far either – relying on her ears not to play tricks upon her. Maybe someone tipped her off into coming here.

Evie moved closer. She was fairly certain her friend stayed nearby. The closer she moved, the more light she seemed to get from more of the strange words scrawled upon the wall. "I'm here. Hang on." She continued moving until she reached the dim silhouette of her friend. Her eyes visually checked out the shackles. They seemed to be on rather tight. She wasn't sure how she planned on getting them off.

"I need to get out of here. Harry's talking about me being the final one or something. I think he's the one who's been killing all the girls around campus." Kitty panicked, pulling on her chains once more.

"He has."

Kitty's face dropped. "You knew all along?" She couldn't imagine her roommate let her get close to someone who was a murderer. It showed how much she knew about her.

"Not all along. I just found out a short while ago. It's a long story. Do you know where the key is?" That would be the only way to get her out without breaking bones.

Kitty shook her head. "I saw him standing over there though so maybe he hid it close." She didn't know much more than Evie at this point.

"That's fine. Let me look for it," Evie said moving off around the room. Anything to bash in the shackles to weaken them would also work. The room was rather sparse, only the essentials around. No one came in here often she surmised. This was only a holding chamber for the host. It chilled her to think of how many people must've been held here before Kitty.

"I don't think I'm ever going to a party again after this." Kitty gave a halfhearted chuckle as she tugged once more on the chains. All of her faith was being placed in Evie.

Evie laughed. "I'm going to agree with you on this one. I think we should stay home and watch TV. Maybe once in a while we can leave the house."

There was a pause as both girls remained focused on their own endeavors. Evie ran her hand along the table top without nudging against anything. She hoped the key stayed nearby. She could use Uriz's help right now – he seemed to know what he was doing.

"Do you know what Harry was talking about?" Kitty hung her wrists slightly. She gave up on breaking the chains herself. It was no use.

Evie turned towards her friend, opening her mouth to respond then closed it. In a situation like this, the first thing they needed to do was get Kitty out of here. Without her, there wouldn't be a sacrifice and no strange elemental lord would roam the world. Everyone won. "We can talk about this later."

Kitty sighed. "That's never a good sign." She knew her friend understood what happened around them. No one ever wanted to speak when it was something negative.

"It's a little complicated." Her hand reached under the table. Maybe if she was lucky – yes. Her hand hit against a small object which felt like a wooden box. She tugged on it, breaking it from the table briefly. Opening the box, she spied the small brass key. That was it. As Uriz said, at least they were predictable. She raced over to her friend and began unhooking the shackles.

"We have to get out of here right now," Kitty said, "Do you know how?" She didn't know they were and it greatly limited her options on how they should escape. All she thought of was making a mad dash and heading towards the police station.

"It's a long swim." She didn't know if they'd make it. The first time almost cost her life. She hesitated jumping back into the water, especially with the Reachers able to swim around easily.

"Let's get out of here," Kitty said taking Evie's hand. They ran out of the room and headed back towards the main chamber. Remaining close to the edge, they could see the Reachers congregated once more in chanting at the center of the room. Their attention remained focused on the altar which seemed to glow brighter than she remembered.

A terrible thought raced through her head. "Wait," Evie said, slowing down for a moment. Her eyes scanned the room but couldn't spot Uriz. Something was off. He wouldn't leave without waiting for them.

"What's wrong? They're all distracted. Let's get out of here before they spot us," Kitty repeated, tugging on her friend's hand. These creatures would kill them if they stayed around any longer.

"I...," Evie stated unsure how to word it, "I have someone I need to check on." She wasn't sure if she should explain who he truly was. It might be too much for Kitty to take in one evening.

"Who?" Kitty couldn't understand who else would possibly be down here. She couldn't see anyone carrying a gun. That was the only kind of person who could save them against these things.

"He's this guy."

"A guy?" No one appeared to be different in the room aside from those strange fish creatures. She wanted to get out of here right now.

"Well, more like a fire elemental but still." She worried if he could take care of himself in this situation. Based upon the amount of Reachers she could see, he was outnumbered by quite a few. The lack of detecting him also bothered her. He wasn't one, she noticed from their brief interactions, to remain silent.

"Don't worry about him," Kitty said, "We have to get ourselves out of here. I'm sure if he is an elemental he can take care of himself."

"An elemental lord," Evie corrected. She didn't know why but she felt the lord part was needed. He certainly wasn't one of these creatures.

Kitty shook her head. "Whatever. I'm sure he can help himself. Now let's go." She tugged once more on her friend's hand. She felt Evie pull her hand out of her grasp.

"You go ahead." Evie didn't take her eyes off of the cluster. She knew Uriz was in the middle of it. That was the only place in the room she couldn't see. She wasn't leaving him. He helped them so far and it was her duty to help him if she could.

"Are you serious?"

"Just go. Remember to take a really deep breath. It's a long way to swim." That was her mistake the first time. No one would be there to help Kitty if she almost drowned. Evie bit back from explaining to her the watery abyss where these creatures came from. It wasn't necessary to add more pressure to the situation.

Kitty hesitated for a moment. "Fine. But you better make it out of here. If not, I'm sending everything to come find you." Her first stop when she got out would be the police. No doubt they wanted to know about these strange creatures living down here. She might make the ten o'clock news tomorrow.

"Of course."

Kitty continued moving towards the entrance, using the shadows to mask her exit. After a few futile glances back in Evie's direction, she disappeared completely.

Either what Evie was about to do would be incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. At this point tonight, either seemed like a viable option. 'At least it's something', she told herself.

She saw all of the Reachers lower their heads, the chanting reaching an almost fever pitch. The flames continued rising higher than she saw them before. They were going to use Uriz as a sacrifice. She guessed the part about needing only a human for the part was wrong. They would use anything. She made her way around the room, using the wall to help hide herself. It was up to her to save the day.

Harry stood above them all on a raised stone platform, his hand outspread as he continued chanting in a cryptic language. She didn't understand what he said but she saw the flames beginning to dance and rise almost to the ceiling of the underground cave. She barely saw Uriz struggling to free himself from the shackles he was in. His face twisted as he pulled harder, more vigor than Kitty when she tried freeing herself.

She moved closer and closer, unsure how she planned to stop him. A good rock would be nice to bash him against the head. Then she would at least stop the chanting from going on. No, she needed something better. Her glance fell upon a broken stick, the end of which was jagged, having broken apart probably during a fight. She picked it up. It would have to do.

She crept closer towards Harry, her feet moving as silent as possible. Everyone continued chanting around her, their pace increasing. She thought for one moment she saw a face appear in the flames. It gave a hollow laugh. Had she not seen everything else today, she would have lost her composure. Instead, without thinking, she jabbed the stick into Harry and pushed as hard as she could.

He abruptly stopped chanting, the green liquid eking out of him onto the ground. He looked down to see the protrusion sticking from his middle. Turning around, he saw Evie standing there. "What?" One little girl, one little human girl, managed to kill him.

She looked at him, her eyes wide. He would probably try some retaliation on her. The others were going to come. She braced herself. Maybe she could throw them into the fire.

Instead, he took two steps forward uneasily. Dropping onto the ground, he dissolved into a puddle of liquid goo before uttering another word.

The other Reachers looked at her, their expressions stony. The face appearing in the flames screamed out, the stones from above beginning to topple upon them. With an exchanged look between the remaining creatures, dark water began coming over them, whisking them away. Before she knew it, she was alone in the cavern with only Uriz. Even the flames left them alone.

She rushed to him and began taking the bonds off. Compared to the earlier ones, these were weakened from the lack of otherworldly magic which bound him before.

"You need to get out of here," he told her as she released his arms, "This entire place is going to drop on you." He sat up and unhooked his legs easily.

"You too. Go." She grabbed his hand and rushed towards the entrance. The water started coming towards them, the rushing sound filling the hollow chambers. The entire cave was being destroyed as they spoke.
Chapter 18

Evie and Uriz ran as fast as they could, the water seeming to make considerable ground. It would be a close call to see if they could make it to the entrance before it completely engulfed them. He wasn't too worried about himself – he was worried about her. The strong force may knock her against something or she could lose her breath once more.

"Think you can hold your breath again?" He didn't want a repeat of what happened earlier.

"I'll have to," she answered hearing the thunderous roar behind her. A few splashes of water crashed against the walls, sending drops upon her skin. This wasn't perfect and certainly not something she planned on. She continued running as fast as she could, her feet slipping every once in a while against the moist ground beneath her.

Before reaching the entrance, the water overtook them, crashing hard. Evie reached out, grabbing onto Uriz's hand. She couldn't see him in the darkness. Her second hand reached out, gripping onto his arm harder. The force continued pushing her through the system, its intensity seeming to increase. His hand slipped through hers. Desperately reaching out once more, all she grabbed onto was the flowing water.

She felt herself being pushed out into the middle of the river. With every ounce she had, she started swimming upwards but her body could not handle everything it recently endured. She was exhausted. She opened her mouth, hoping to use whatever little bit of air she could possibly find to bring her to the top. It was no use. She knew she couldn't make it. Reaching upwards, she hoped to feel the air to give her one last bit of push.

She felt her arm being grabbed. Uriz found her hand by accident and took hold of her tight. He kicked hard against the water, lifting her up to the surface. She couldn't help him much, only looking at him as he pushed her ahead of him into the night air.

The breaking of her face against the surface water was refreshing. She took a deep breath, feeling her lungs once again fill with air. She coughed, whatever water being in them leaving. She officially hated swimming. "Thank you," she said regaining her voice, "I thought I was going to die down there. Again. I'm never swimming again."

He smiled. "Never say never." He took a few deep breaths himself. He hadn't expected the water to catch up with them that quickly. "Are you okay?" She seemed to be but he might not be certain.

She patted herself for a moment. Nothing seemed out of place. "I'm fine. Could be better but I'm fine."

They moved towards the edge of the river, fighting their way through whatever rubble rose to the top along with them. Reaching the edge, she clambered out and sat on the ground. This was definitely a night to remember forever.

Kitty came rushing towards her, her face filled with concern. "Are you all right Evie?" She cast a glance at Uriz, puzzled to see him as well. "Who are you?" He didn't look too bad. Then again, she thought the same of Harry. He could be one of these fish people.

"I'm fine. Nothing's broken. And he's good too," Evie said glancing over at Uriz with a smile, "He's the one I was telling you about." At the moment, he was busy tapping the side of his head, trying to get all of the water out his ear.

"Ah I see. He's the fire elemental you were talking about." A smile appeared on her face. She needed to thank her hero.

Uriz looked up, his attention on Evie. She gave a slight shrug, looking down when she noticed his expression. He shook his head. "Wow. So I guess no one really keeps secrets anymore," Uriz said with a weak smile, "I need to remember that." He was disappointed in Evie.

"Don't worry about it. Your secret's beyond safe with me." Kitty smiled at him. She was already thinking about how interesting it would be to kiss him. It would be a new experience.

"I know." He moved himself closer to her.

Evie looked off to the side. It made sense he wanted to be with Kitty after everything that happened. She was in the friend zone. She knew her exciting night had to end at some point.

"Then let me thank you." Kitty closed her eyes, moving her lips closer to his.

He touched the side of Kitty's head. She dropped onto the ground, her eyes remaining shut. He shook his head once more. Girls like her were always being taken by the evil elements. They should learn how to behave after a while.

"What did you do?" Evie crawled over and touched her friend. She still had a pulse. At least she wasn't dead. There was some comfort in knowing that.

"She's fine. She's only sleeping right now. In a few hours she'll wake up and completely forget any of this happened. If she does remember any of it, it'll just be like a bad dream. You're not supposed to remember who I am," he said looking at Evie. He mentally prepped himself to do the same to her. It almost seemed a waste.

Evie knew where this was headed. "Are you going to do that to me too?"

He shrugged his head, moving it from side to side. "I have to." He would follow the standard protocol he always used. So far it managed to keep him from being bogged down by people who wanted thrills in their life. She should go on and continue with her life, living in the same manner she did before meeting him. That was fair – to both of them.

She looked down at the ground and nodded to herself. He seemed determined to do it. After all, if she tried fighting him, she knew she wouldn't win. It didn't take a genius to know that. The only thing she could do was agree. So what if she didn't remember everything that happened. Maybe it was for the best. She could finish school, get a cubicle job, and do everything normal people did. She felt herself choking up. "Yeah sure. I guess it makes sense. Why not, you know? The best night I ever had, the most fun I ever had, and I won't remember it tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it."

He felt uncomfortable now. She had valid reasons to be upset. If he was in her position, he would feel the same. The risks were too great. Her being a human, she would be in far more considerable danger than him. He would constantly be keeping watch over her, protecting her from creatures. It wouldn't be safe. "I'm glad you see it my way. Can you help me bring her back before I clear yours?"

She looked at him incredulously.

"It's a long walk and I don't feel like hailing a taxi covered in water." He expected a slap from her.

"You do know this is like asking someone to dig their own grave before shooting them."

"This nothing like that."

"Another thing you have experience with?" She glowered at him.

He crossed his arms. "That hurt." She felt angry with him – that was obvious. He wished she'd attack him so he could feel better. It always felt easier to wipe someone's memories of him when the last thing they did was lash out physically.

She shrugged. "I won't remember saying it tomorrow." She knew she hurt him. It didn't matter. She felt braver knowing there was little he could do at this point.

"Just help me. If not, it's two bodies I have to bring back. One I can pass off as being drunk but two causes too much suspicion."

They looked at each other in silence for a while, neither one of them saying what they wanted to. The little partnership they had tonight was over. He knew he needed to clear her mind. Otherwise she was liable to tell everyone about him being an elemental. That was the last thing he needed. Everyone would come to him with their questions about what happens in the other planes and he would have to tell them some of the gruesome truths. No one was ready for it.

"This is the last thing I'll do for you," she said, meaning it. If he wanted anything else, she would refuse.

"That seems fair." He reached over and helped position Kitty between the two of them. He kept his eyes facing forward, unable to look at her. This was not how he expected things to go when he first arrived.

Making it back to the house, they placed Kitty's body on her bed. Her clothes, along with the others, seemed to dry enough during the walk. Moaning slightly, Kitty rolled over once and continued sleeping. This was a normal night for her.

Heading back into the living room, Evie stood there uneasily and said, "Okay. Let's get this over with." The longer she remained aware of what was going to happen, the longer she wanted to avoid it. She couldn't fight it – having a humdrum life was her lot. She had to accept it.

"Yep." He scanned the room nervously. Maybe one of the Reachers or another elemental could show up and force him not to clear her mind. It didn't look like that possibility was happening.

"Well, it was nice meeting you."

He bowed forward slightly. "And you too."

"If you're ever back over here -"

"Doubt it," he interrupted. He laughed nervously. He knew he shouldn't have said it so brash.

"Well, if you ever are, feel free to drop by. I won't remember but then again I don't remember all my relatives. Just say you're one of them." She smiled at him weakly. She didn't want to go back to normal. She hated having the same, monotonous life. Her hopes were being dashed once more.

"Sure." He raised his hands and touched the side of her face lightly.

"Wait. Just..," She started, choking on the words. She looked up, hoping to at least keep some of her dignity which seemed to be diminishing at a rapid rate. "Just don't forget me."

He grinned at her. "I won't."

She smiled back.

Closing his eyes, he concentrated once more, absorbing the memories she had of the night. She dropped in his arms, her eyes closed tight as she slumbered. He carefully carried her to the bed and laid her down. With one last look, he reaffirmed to himself the course he chose and left the house.

Chapter 19

Evie woke up in the morning, her neck slightly sore. "This hurts," she complained aloud to herself as she climbed out of bed. Her hand rubbed against the back. Pulling her hand back, she noticed it too seemed slightly different. Maybe she burned herself cooking last night. She couldn't remember what happened.

Looking over at the clock and noticing the time, she groaned to herself. She was supposed to meet with her study group in an hour. It was going to be another boring Saturday. She shook her head. It was time to face the day once again.

After she changed and fixed her hair into a ponytail, she walked into the kitchen and saw Kitty sitting at the table. Her head was being supported by her arms, her face sunken forward. "What's wrong?" She walked past her and grabbed a glass of juice. She had a feeling it was the same thing she was experiencing.

Kitty leaned back and groaned. Her hair fell across her face before being pushed back. "Nothing much. I think I drank so much last night I blacked out. I can't remember what happened."

Evie shrugged. "I think we both did. That was ridiculous." She couldn't remember going out to drink last night. She must have really hit the bottle hard if her memory was that fuzzy.

"Tell me about it," Kitty said standing up and fixing herself another glass of orange juice. She downed it before heading back into her room.

At least she didn't slam the door. Evie wasn't sure her head could take it. She didn't feel too drunk though. Maybe she slept off most of it.

Grabbing her backpack, Evie headed out the door with a slight frown on her face. The sooner she got through with the study group, the more time she would have to come back and do nothing. She wanted something more. There had to be something else she could instead of the same thing once again. Her life was never interesting.

As she headed outside, Uriz walked up to her. He smiled first, catching her attention. He seemed like a nice guy. She didn't know why but he looked a little familiar. "Excuse me, do you know how to get to the student union from here? I seem to be rather lost."

She couldn't place him. He might be from one of the classes she had last semester. It was hard remembering everyone. "I was kind of headed towards the library." The union was on the other side of campus. If she took him there, she would be late meeting with the others. They were all counting on her for notes.

"I see. Well I was new and just wondering if you could help me," he stated, starting to move away from her disappointed.

She sighed. She remembered how hard it was when she first started. She didn't have a clue where everything was. A few minutes of her time could be spared. "Alright," she said. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to be late for her study group.

He turned around, slightly stunned. "What?"

"Come on. I'll show you where it is." It could be worse. He could have asked rudely. At least he asked nicely. Niceness deserved to be paid off.

He moved closer towards her, viewing her intently. "Are you sure? You said you needed to head towards the library." He wanted to make sure he heard her right. She needed to know everything had a cost associated with it.

She shrugged. "I can be a little late. Besides, you look like you need my help." She smiled. He seemed amazed someone wanted to help him.

"I think I do."

They started heading off towards the student union, Evie explaining a few other things about the campus he might want to know about. They were all pointers she wished she heard when she started. After staying here for four years, she knew a lot of things he might have missed out on.

When they reached the front of the union, she turned to him and said, "This is it. If you have any problems, just let me know. I'm around campus all the time."

He laughed. He made the right choice in coming back. "No you're not." He thrust out his hands and placed one on either side of her head before she could object.

All of the images from last night came streaming back into her mind. It was as though she was viewing a slide show – one made from dark underground caverns, fish creatures, and a flame entrenched altar. She opened her mouth to say something but found everything going blank. When things finally settled down in there, she looked at him and asked, "Uriz?" She blinked hard, making sure she saw the right person in front of her.

"Absolutely."

"Why did you want to come to the union?" She couldn't understand why he chose to remain around here. She would have gotten out of here before any more creatures showed up. Already she worried a few might be watching them at this very moment.

He shrugged, grinning slightly. "I thought about it last night, after I took everything away from you. You're a very complicated person. More complicated than most people I've come across."

"And you're excellent at giving compliments."

"See – that. No one else talks to me like that. They run away, they curse me out, but you – you aren't scared. That's something new."

She laughed. "Do you want me to start cursing you out?"

"No, please. You'd probably think of creative ways to do it and actually make me cry. Imagine – a fire elemental crying. I'm sure that would be great for my image."

"Anyway," she said, drawing them back on subject, "You were saying?"

"Right, getting back to it. You did save me. I probably could have eventually saved myself but, in all fairness, that's rare. And by rare I mean it never happened before. It also carries a lot of problems for you."

"Oh really? Like hanging around with you for all eternity?" She missed him in the short while he was gone. He felt like an old friend by now.

"Other fiends are going to come after you and I really don't want to have to keep coming back here. I mean, well, this might be stretching it, but once you see other places you're going to want to leave here forever too." He scanned the surrounding areas. The few trees nearby looked weathered and beaten from years of abuse, cars polluted the air, and no one seemed to smile when they walked. He saw worse but there were many greater places to be.

"Are you asking me to come with you?" She hoped he was. She didn't want to stay here anymore. She wanted some adventure. He was the one to give it to her.

He nodded. "I guess I am. So the only question is whether or not you want to. I mean, if you have some kind of prior engagements you can stay here and I'll just pop in once in a while to check on you but otherwise..." He waited patiently to hear her response.

She smiled. This was great. "Where are we going first?"

"That's the beauty of it." He reached over and touched a small device seemingly melded into his skin. A bright light started glowing from it, seeming to stretch out towards them.

"What's that?" Her eyes remained focused on the soft glow. She didn't know if it was something she should be scared about or enthralled with.

"Our next destination."

"Which is?"

He leaned his head closer to her ear and whispered, "That's the fun part. I don't know. They just send me places." He raised his eyebrows in anticipation.

Her eyes remained fixated on the glowing light as it descended upon them. Tilting her head slightly towards him, she asked, "Evil creatures?"

He nodded. "Probably."

"Adventure?" She hoped so.

"Definitely."

A smile crossed both of their faces. She grabbed his hand firmly. "Let's go." The light cascaded around them, whisking them away. Evie never felt freer.
About the Author:

Danielle Kazemi is an author from southern Louisiana, living within walking distance of a bayou with alligators. She spends most of her free time either coming up with new story ideas or goofing off online. You can find her on Facebook at <http://www.facebook.com/DaniWrites> or connect on Twitter with @DaniKazemi

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