2nd Element

Nathan finds himself in a bit of a pickle.... (still need names for the boss and his crew)

The wave was fast approaching the carriage me and my friends were in. As it passed other carriages, the people that were not unconscious suddenly dropped to the ground. They didn’t get up again. Although, I noted with relief, their chests rose up and down. They’re still alive. I moved away intending to get out, then froze, torn between trying to move my friends out of the way, or avoiding the wave by myself. Who knows what side effects that wave has! Then again, it seems the wave just puts people to sleep, I reasoned. Practicality won. I ran to the back of the carriage and quickly opened the door to get to the next carriage. Above it, the sign Don’t use when the train is moving. Danger of death, flashed out at me.

            “So much for that” I smiled grimly, then ripped open the door. Instantly, I was driven back by the force of the wind and I had to blink several times to get the tears out of my eyes. I looked behind me to check where the wave was. It had just entered my carriage. Realising I only had one shot at this, I breathed in deeply.

            “Well....here goes” And I leaped forward, hands outstretched. As they connected with the top of the roof the next carriage, I hauled myself up, narrowly avoiding the wave as it passed by.

            “Phew....” I wiped the sweat off my forehead, then tried to stand up. The wind drove me down into a crouch and I had to squint my eyes to see. The wind whistled in my ears and the scenery passed by in a blur at the speed of the train. We passed through a station and the looks of shock at the waiting passenger’s faces on the platforms flashed briefly. I would’ve laughed, but for the situation I was in. I looked forward to gauge how far I was from the front carriage. Maybe I can stop the train myself, or at least alert somebody.... That thought was driven out of my head as I realised how far I was. I was on the second last carriage.

            “Better get going then” I muttered to myself. Tentatively, I lifted one step forward. Instead the wind picked me up and blew me back. I was nearly blown off the train.

“Well that failed miserably” So I tried a different approach. Crawling. It was painfully slow, but it did the trick. As I approached the next carriage, I got up into a crouch, then sprang forward with all my strength and landed flat forward. As I moved along, I had to watch out for bends in the tracks and any jolts in case I was thrown sideways. It took me nearly 10 minutes to reach the front carriage. I found the carriage door open and threw myself in, rolling. Quickly I got up and looked to see 10 very surprised men in black (no not like the movie). They were like that guy from splinter cell, with their goggled masks and black suit. Except they were real. We stayed like that for a second, then they swiftly raised their guns at me and fired. I closed my eyes and held my hands out like a shield, expecting bullets to pepper my body soon. When I realised they weren’t coming, I opened my eyes again. Looking down, I saw why. They weren’t guns at all. They were tasers. I looked up again and saw one of the men gin evilly, then pull the trigger. I screamed as over 50,000 volts of electricity were sent through me. It lasted for about 20seconds, but to me it felt like forever. When the ordeal stopped, I collapsed to the ground, near unconsciousness. One man came over to check me.

“He’s unconscious boss” the man said.

“Good...we wouldn’t want anyone knowing what’s going on here” A man with a gruff voice said, who must be the boss they were referring to. I could barely lift my eyelids, so I could only really hear their voices.

“So they decided to appear here huh?” The man continued.

“Yes sir. I’m getting readings way above normal. And they’ve been getting stronger the closer we got here. I would surmise they’re in the front carriage” Another man spoke, his voice nasal and whiny.

“Good thing we sent everyone on this damned train to sleep. Now open the door” I heard movement and the opening of a door. There was a clunk and the dragging of something heavy, and then the click and a creaking sound of something old being opened. The men’s breathing seemed to get heavier.

“At last...the 10 elemental orbs are here. In our grasps. Soon...soon we will be powerful beyond measure!” The boss whispered reverentially. Elemental Orbs!? During this whole time, I had slowly regained more control of my body and I had been thinking rapidly and formulated a plan. I opened my eyes properly, and saw the men had clustered around some old chest. The men’s tasers, strangely, had been left lying around me. Slowly, so as not to attract attention, I got up into a crouch and grabbed them, lining them up with each man. Luckily, no one had noticed and I could see what was inside the chest. There were 10 orbs in the glass case, each of a different colour with symbols that I couldn’t make out on them. Strangely, three of them were glowing.

“Ummm...boss! Should they be glowing like that?” The man who had checked me spoke nervously.

“I have no idea” The man with the whiny voice replied.

“Well, enough chitchat. Let’s take ‘em” the boss said. The boss moved forward and grasped one of the orbs. He heaved and trembled, as if trying to lift a great weight.

“Hey! They won’t budge” he exclaimed. It was at that moment I chose to put my plan into action. Swiftly and as silently as I could, I fired all the tasers as fast as I could. They landed on their targets backs. One man turned at that point and noticed what I was doing.

“Hey! The ki-!” I pulled the triggers on the guns, sending the same 50,000 volts at them. I held it on for about a minute or two, then let go. The men were left twitching and jerking, unable to control their own movements.

“That’s for my friends” I said to the grimacing faces of the men. Gingerly, I stepped over them and walked over to the chest. The insides of them seemed to swirl and twist with a flowing energy, holding one shape then another. I looked over the orbs and one held my eye. One of the glowing ones. I lifted it up; this one was green and it barely fit my hand. It seemed pretty light and was pulsing softly under my hand, giving me a warm felling.

“Don’t see how they’re heavy at all” I muttered to myself. Suddenly, there was an urgent beeping sound coming from the train driver’s control room. Running in, I saw the train driver slumped unconscious over the control panel.

“If he’s not driving the train then who....?” I gulped at the thought. This is bad....

“Come in! Come in driver 100101! You must stop the train immediately! You are on a collision course with freight train 501010!” This is really bad....

“How much worse can it get!?” I moaned.

“This much worse” I turned around and saw the boss and his crew standing and glaring at me in the doorway. I stared in shock at them.

“Get him boys!” And all 10 of them leapt at me.

 

Author's Note

Chapter 2! I know it's a bit quick to be released, but I had already done chapter 1 ages ago and forgot to post that up. Review and rate pplz!

Reviews

[cquig]

I sure hope you're working on Element 3. I'll try to be patient. This is great. The description of the box holding the orbs was great, vivid. I could see it clearly in my mind. Very well written just like the first. I can't wait to see what happens next. Will the green orb save Nathan? I'll be there to find out!!
Thanks for sharing your work.