Over the next couple of weeks, Pippen and I found each other hanging out quite a lot. We did our training together. He also helped me learn how to hone my element, which turned out to be exactly what Alysia had said. Aerokenisis, the power to control air, and wind, and gas. I was getting super fast at being able to use my element, but I would still got super tired very quickly, and Pippen said that training physically, and training with the element itself helped me have more stamina.

Xavier, he slowly got better. He felt fine after his seizure, but his element was off balance. His power was not quite as strong and he kept trying to show that he was stronger than he was, but he always needed to stop and take a break.

I honestly felt like I was the one responsible for making him have this off balance. He even told me it could've happened. I felt horrible.

But it has been several weeks, and he was slowly- slowly- recovering and his former self, and element, was starting to build. It was about two months later and Xavier was finally strong enough to lead us on a training exercise.

Me, and a couple of other people my age were in the room with me as well. I saw that Xavier, Pippen, Alysia, and Rosalva entered in last. With William in tow, and when he saw me he came and stood by me.

"So I guess Xavier is feeling better."

"Yeah, he is." I answered, waiting for Pippen and Xavier to give the rundown.

"Good, good."

I nodded as well, it was super awkward standing here with him without Alysia. "Okay guys, listen up!" Began Pippen, clasping his hands together with a loud clap.

We- all eight of us I think- turned to look at him.

"Here is what is going to happen." Started Xavier, "We are going to start by trekking to the base of the volcano, once there we are going to split into two teams randomly. There will be two stations at the base of the volcano with exercises and thinking problems all of the works. As well as directions to get to the top. And of course, this exercise is a race.

"Once we reach the top there will be exercises you will have to do using only your elemental power. After you complete it, you will all race back down- safely- and the first team to stamp the pad of paper on the station wins ten minutes shaved off of each exercise for a week." He added, smiling at the last part.

I smiled, looking forward for that.

"Okay, let's grab a backpack over here. The water bottles are already filled with water, so you should be good." Xavier ordered. "Come on people, let's move!" He clapped his hands loudly to get us 'motivated.'

We all grabbed a backpack and threw it on and we started our trek to the base of the volcano. It was about a mile or so trek to the base of the volcano, fortunately it was nice and cool and overcast and no one was sweating too bad.

Reaching the base, we saw two-white-stations. How they weren't dirty, I have no idea. Xavier separated us all into teams at random.

Pippen and Rosalva were the leaders of one group and Xavier and Alysia were the leaders of another. So it looked sort of like this:

Pippen and Rosalva: William, and this random other girl.

Xavier and Alysia, This random dude- who was not too bad on the eyes if I do say so myself- and me.

We took our directions and our instructions, and read them, then separated ways with the other team as we began our climb to the top.

It was a pretty easy climb for the first part of it, then it became hard once we reached the rock climbing part. For me, who had rock climbed maybe once at one of those playground plastic things that, maybe, got taller than seven feet. I was not too thrilled. We were soon hooked up and climbing, this was when I started to feel tired and not to good about myself. Plus it was starting to get farther along in the day, which equals hotness and humidity. Especially if you are stuck on an island in the middle of a freaking ocean.

Once we made it to the top, we took a quick- very much needed- five minute break. After that was over we continued climbing! It was very rapidly getting steeper and steeper and I was starting to get really hot as we climbed in altitude and the middle of the day came, and the air became thinner. So let's just say that everyone was beginning to become cranky. As well as hungry... Yay...

In the next hour or so of slowly, yet surely, climbing to the top, we made it. It felt like such an accomplishment. But then I remembered that I just climbed a freaking mountain.

"Okay, now is for the exercises." Xavier said as Alysia wiped her brow with her shirt and stared at Xavier with a very bored I-am-going-to-kill-the-person-who-came-up-with-this-plan look.

Xavier opened up the instruction piece of paper thingy and started giving us our orders. We were supposed to work together as a team and make one of the many boulders float for thirty whole seconds in the air, do the same thing but one at a time, then together again, and then doing some sort of 'zen' thing where we sit in a spot on the ground and focus on the element surrounding us.

So I am going to tell you know, these sound stupid and pointless and easy. But just try and think back to when you were trying to learn how to walk- or even stand- without completely busting your face? Just keep remembering, learning something completely new is extremely hard.

So trying to lift a stupid boulder that is about 50 pounds, was no walk in the park, by yourself. And if you think doing it with others works, you are sorely mistaken.

Imagine trying to build something with another person who had a completely different way of doing this, and did not even know how to build 'said' thing. This was my situation. The guy- has the power of freaking water. We are on top of a volcano, a volcano spits lava not water. How is his developing water skills going to help me, who has the ability to control air, going to help me?

I gave Logan a side glance and he looks at the boulder and takes his water bottle, unscrews it and starts to make it float towards the boulder. I squint, thinking. Well, he just wasted his water...

Just wait, help him. Alysia said into my head like I was a total idiot.

Fine... I replied reluctantly.

I focused and started to control the air around the boulder and try and lift it by attempting to push it upwards. Apparently Logan had almost the same idea and started pushing up from the bottom. But the reason I was doing most of the work, was because I had more push then he did. He literally had half a water bottle of water and I did not want to give him any of mine.

"Celeste, help him." Xavier said.

"Why don't you come on in and try to lift this thing yourself, mister." I grunted. "Bring out your ice magic stuff." I snapped, feeling tired, hungry, tired, hot, and did I mention tired?

"I would if I was allowed, but doctors orders." he said. "No working out and then element."

"Excuses, excuses." I said, rolling my eyes as I started to push the boulder high off of the ground and once it was free of the ground it was beginning to get pretty easy to keep it up. But thirty seconds was almost too much. Once Xavier shouted. "Done!" I collapsed and gulped at my water bottle.

Logan simply brought over the rest of his water and coaxed it into his water bottle.

Ew... I thought.

After we spent the next forty-five minutes, to maybe an hour of trying to complete the exercises. We began to head down.

We had just reached the rock climbing part when everything went wrong. Logan was already more than halfway down the cliff face and I was getting hooked up. I had just gotten the bit of run down on how to go down from the instructor guy who oversaw the whole rock climbing part of the exercise and I had already started going down when a huge thunder clap sounded.

I looked around, there were no clouds in the sky.

Why the heck would thunder be sounding if there is no clouds in the sky? I thought to Alysia.

I don't know...

I thought you would know 'Master of the Element of Electricity.'

Yeah, Electricity. Not thunder.

I rolled my eyes and slowly made it back down by small jumps.

Another thunderclap sounded and a huge shadow appeared over us. I looked up and saw the hull of a ship.

A ship in the sky.

Just when I thought nothing could get any weirder, it got weirder. I heard smaller thunder claps from at the top of the cliff face and I began to climb up when I heard yelling and what sounded like fighting.

I was up there in way faster than I was the first time around. Probably because I had an adrenaline rush. Once I got over the cliff I saw Xavier weakly trying to use his elemental power against three grown men with red masks over their faces. And Alysia was trying to get to Xavier, but five other men with red masks covering their faces were blocking her.

Alysia was strongly using her element, but one of the masked men was combating her very skillfully with his element.

I stood up and was just about as successful as Xavier's fighting, if not worse. I did somehow knock a guy out though, so not too shabby. But as soon as the guy was out cold, one grabbed me from behind and remembered the familiar feeling of the sleep hold.

Everything started to go blurry and red around the edges, everything from my self defense training almost completely forgotten.

Then I did one thing in a sorry attempt to get some freaking air, I rammed my head into the man's nose that was holding me. I heard a strangled scream and I was grabbed by another man and pushed almost to the ledge.

I fought stubbornly, but I felt so weak from the training exercise. I didn't have any energy left to fight back.

Next thing I knew, I had weakly pushed at the man and he pushed me back and I was falling over the edge.

I felt a scream, rip at my throat as I fell down the side of the cliff face. Everything went was in slow motion. And you know that thing where when in a life or death situation, you see your life flash in front of your eyes? Well, I saw that... But it was so fast, I don't even remember it except for me, sitting in an old nursing home. Eating breakfast with my best friend Becca and her grandma. Laughing about old times.

Next thing I knew, I felt all the wind rush out of my body as I slammed into the ground, and everything was black. 

And there we go! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to tell me what you think about it in the comments and vote! And you know, if you feel like helping a girl out. Share?  

-Olivia Koepp