Everything picked up exactly where they left off.

Alexa was still sitting on the soily floor, incredibly confused and a little scared about what might have happened.

Christoper was kneeling in front of her. "I know you won't believe any of this at first. So, the only way to convince you is to show you."

"Show me what?" Alexa asked.

Christopher traced in the soil floor underneath them, looking up at Alexa. "There's no air conditioning, right?" Alexa shook her head. It was cooler than it was outside, but that was because they were in a huge underground basement with a platform that had a couch and computers with generators and a soil floor, and the sun had set. "No fan,  no windows..."

Alexa shook her head in confusion, looking around the dark underground basement that was the size of a small house around them. "No."

The platform was low, maybe a foot off of the soil floor, there was a gray, blue and red decorated couch. There was a desk with an elaborate computer setup, like from the inside of an office. There was one lamp next to the couch. There was a lamp on the desk. They were both on. 

Behind the platform, there was an opening in the cement wall, arched, tall enough for a person to walk through, stretching to the floor. A door corridor, having no actual door or hinges, for that matter. It was dark, unlit, and nothing came from it.

Alexa looked at Christopher nervously, unable to look away though she wanted to, not knowing what was going on, and desperate to find out, but not wanting to reveal any weakness of any kind.

Christopher looked over his shoulder up to Kyle, Andrew and Ivan, who were still standing behind him. He nodded to Kyle, sighing deeply, knowing they needed to show Alexa for her to believe them.

Kyle stepped aside, away from the twins, raising his arms, his palms facing the soil floor, smiling a sly smile, wiggling his fingers, clapping his hands together, angling his palms to the floor, seeping into more seriousness.

Alexa looked at the floor in confusion, wondering what was going on.

Sprinkles of soil floated up from the dirt. Only a few at first. Kyle lifted his hands further into the air. More sprinkles of soil followed the movement, gliding up from the floor, from the same spot he started, like a reverse waterfall with soil instead of water. Kyle separated his arms, raising them at his sides on either side of him. The soil separated into two paths, one to his left, the other to his right, bending to his will. Kyle raised his hands above his head. The soil raised above him magically, like wings surrounding him. Kyle lowered his arms to his sides, allowing it all to rain down to the floor.

Alexa was speechless, in shock, unable to move a sound.

Kyle, Andrew and Ivan looked at Christopher.

Christopher looked at Alexa. "Now..." Alexa looked at him. Christopher sighed, as if bracing himself to tell her the truth. "Will you listen?" Alexa still couldn't speak, nodding. "What you just saw there... is something only one person out of fifty in the world can do, and only ten of those people are on our side." Alexa couldn't find the words to say anything. "But..." Christopher shook his head, as if searching for words. "We've known about this our whole lives. We were raised with it." He sighed. "You're one of us. There's ten of us. One for each element."

Alexa recovered her voice. "There's only four elements." Christopher tilted his head. "Unless there's more than four elements."

Christopher nodded. "Air."

Christopher made a forced air blow through the room.

Kyle swirled around more soil. "Earth."

Ivan smirked, making a flame settle into the palms of his hands. "Fire."

"Metal," Andrew told her. His hands glowed with the metallic color. Kyle, Ivan and Christopher's eyes glowed the same metallic color. The soil fell to the floor. The fire in Ivan's hands disappeared. The air blowing around dissipated into nothing. "Metal stops our powers."

"There's water, health, sickness, electricity, blood and spirit," Christopher finished. "My sister Mindy is water. We still have to find four. And we have to find out which element you are. Blood or spirit."

"Why those two?" Alexa asked quietly.

"Blood users can channel another's element from... well, their blood, or if their close enough to use their element," Andrew explained. "Like you and Chris were outside."

Alexa started to realize. "What happened outside... the start of the windstorm... Did I do that?"

"And I stopped it," Andrew answered.

"Spirit's all of the elements combined," Christopher explained. "Earth, air, fire, water, metal, electricity, sickness, health and blood. Which is why it's hard to tell spirit and blood apart. And there are different aspects to spirit that we don't fully understand yet because we've never actually met anyone who could use spirit. But when you first learn of your powers, how to use them... it makes you weak. Takes your energy until you get stronger.'

"There's actually a phrase for what we are," Kyle told her. "Though, it's long, and it makes us sound like fairies."

"So... we changed it," Ivan told her, using one arm to jump up to the one-foot high platform, sitting down. "SONs."

"SONs?" Alexa repeated.

"Servants of Nature," Andrew explained, hopping up next to his brother, standing, walking toward the computers, sitting down, typing away like he was looking for something. "There's a reason for it, and... we still have to find the other four people."

Alexa took a deep breath, about to deny everything they had just said, then stopped. How could she? They had just given her all the proof that she needed.

Christopher saw the distrust and disbelief, being patient and understanding. "What did you fell when you first saw me? I mean, the feeling you got when you could tell one of us was near."

Alexa shook her head, sliding further back. "I don't know what--"

Christopher brushed his hand against the back of Alexa's neck.

Alexa cringed back.

"You felt like you were in danger, right?" Christopher asked. "The tingling on the back of your neck telling you to run?" Alexa didn't answer. Christopher took his hand away, looking at Rodger's dead body. Alexa followed his gaze. "That was because of him." Christopher looked at Alexa. "He did something to mess around with the balance. He was a blood user. He could track you just by your blood, and make you feel anything he wanted you to." He slowly shook his head, willing her to understand. "He's not one of us." Alexa didn't answer. She didn't know what to think, still in shock. "Compare what you felt for us to feeling for him. Was it worse?" Alexa slowly nodded. "It was the same tingling, except all over your body and painful and screaming for you to run, right?" Alexa nodded. "Now, tell me how you feel right now." Christopher brushed Alexa's hair back to touch the back of her neck. Alexa was confused, because she didn't feel that feeling anymore, and her whole body was starting to relax under his touch. "How do you feel?"

Alexa slowly sighed. "Safe."

Christopher took his hand away. "Mm-hmm." He looked toward Rodger. "He was the one trying to hurt you. He sent others to try to kill you. To kill both me and Kyle, and Andrew and Ivan."

"The people in black," Alexa told him. Christopher nodded. "Who were they?"

"Well, they like to call themselves N.O.," Christopher told her.

Alexa frowned in confusion. "No?"

Christopher shook his head, hiding a smirk. "New Order. Like us, they have gifts, but unlike us, they kill. They used the elements we can influence for harm instead of healing."

"They're the ones that cause the 'natural disasters'," Kyle explained. "Earthquakes, floods, wildfires."

Ivan nodded. "Hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes." He looked at Alexa, smiling. "Windstorms."

Alexa rolled her eyes.

Andrew was still typing away at the computer, looking deep in research. "They also cause sickness instead of taking them away."

"So, they're not natural causes?" Alexa asked. Christopher shook his head. "They cause them."

"The people of the New Order used to be like us," Christopher told her. "They just like being..."

"Evil," Alexa finished. Christopher nodded. Alexa was still in shock, her head spinning. "Oh, my God. What? How--how is any of this even possible?"

Christopher shook his head. "I don't even know."

"There's always a way for New Order to find us," Kyle told her. "Or, find the newbies, anyway. Whenever we get close to one person in our own household, they make them die."

Alexa looked down, shaking her head in denial, very distant now, not wanting to talk about everyone she had lost. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"It's okay," Christopher told her. "We've all gone through it."

"My mother, my brother, my foster parents, a few different foster siblings," Kyle told her.

"Our parents, several different foster care homes with several different deaths," Andrew told her.

"Nearly everyone me and my sister have cared about," Christopher told her.

Alexa shook her head slowly, still looking down, refusing to look up.

Ivan stood, walking toward the computer, grabbing a stack of papers, reading the first one. "'Adriana and Ari Martin, twins.'" Alexa looked up instantly. "'Age 7, in the homestate of South Dakota, were victims of a violent flash flood while outside. Parents say their foster-homed daughter was trying to open the door when the metallic lock jammed, unable to get the victims inside'." He flipped to another article. "'14-year-old Tory Donovan of Little Rock, Arkansas was found in her room after a fire burned through, taking her life'." He flipped to another one. "'Luke Thompson had a fatal asthma attack at 15 years old.'" He flipped to another one. "'Olivia Smith and her daughter Alexa, victims of car crash due to metal brakes failing, only survivor standing behind Alexa'." He flipped to another one. "'Four months after losing her mother in an accident, Alexa Smith loses her father, taken by deadly disease'."

Ivan flipped to another article.

"Ivan, shut up," Christopher told him.

Ivan ignored him. "'In the state of Oklahoma, Cristian Hunter was killed by an underground burial during a field trip tour with foster sister Alexa, the latter being the only one able to be saved.'" He flipped to another article. "'Caitlin Harris, 17, died of blood disease'." He flipped to another one. "'Tara Hale, died of electrocution from an unknown source.'" He looked at Alexa. "Damn. Nine losses, nine different elements used. Then again, health can't kill anyone." He put the articles down on the desk. "Still don't know what we're talking about?"

Alexa looked away.

Kyle changed the subject. "The point is, these deaths start on the 14th birthday of a SON. The only others that don't die is another SON, like the twins." He gestured to Andrew and Ivan. "Or like Christopher and his sister, Mindy."

"You say it like it has an end," Alexa told them bitterly. Kyle smiled. "There's an end."

Christopher nodded. "Your sixteenth birthday."

Alexa was in shock. "Mine's a week from now." Andrew was still typing. Alexa gave up to curiosity. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for three of the SONs," Andrew answered. "Mindy's looking for the other one."

"Alone?" Alexa asked.

"She likes to do things alone," Christopher explained.

"Who're the last ones?" Alexa asked.

"That's the hard part," Kyle told her. "One of the girls either knows or someone close to her does, because they can hide very well. We know that they're somewhere in Phoenix, just not where." He turned to look at Alexa. "Actually, we should be asking you."

"Why?" Alexa asked suspiciously.

"Because SONs are drawn to each other," Kyle answered. "Friends, more than friends..."

"Well, you're out of luck there," Alexa told them. "I don't have many friends."

"Clearly, not with that attitude," Ivan told her.

"I got something," Andrew told them.

The computer beeping.

"Well, it sure ain't a brain, my brother," Ivan told him teasingly.

Kyle ignored him. "Did you find them?"

"One, maybe," Andrew answered.

Christopher and Alexa stood.

"How?" Alexa asked.

"Seeing if there's anymore death count in the city involving 'natural causes/disasters', and one consistent survivor," Andrew answered. "That's how we found you, red."

"So, I'm guessing you're the computer nerd of this operation," Alexa told him.

Andrew scoffed. "Please. I'm the research expert."

"What's the difference?" Alexa asked.

"I'm not a nerd," Andrew told her.

Alexa nodded, unconvinced. "Oh, okay."

Ivan laughed. "Sarcasm." He looked at Alexa, returning serious, smirking. "I like."

Alexa and Christopher walked closer.

Andrew read aloud from the computer screen. "'This story posted November 28th, Charles Barclay was killed by a tornado when his daughter had been with her mother, Amanda'." Alexa closed her eyes knowingly. "'Charles and Amanda's daughter now lives with the latter. The mother says, 'I sacrifice my one room apartment for my baby girl. It's the least I can do. I'm now staying at the Ramada for my Nicole'."

"Obviously, the mother knows," Kyle told them. "Staying at Ramada instead of living in her own house."

"Or it's just coincidence," Alexa told them.

Kyle, Ivan and Andrew looked at Alexa.

"We don't believe in coincidences," Kyle told her.

Alexa didn't answer, sighing.

"Alexa?" Christopher asked. "You know something about this?" Alexa looked at him. Christopher took a few steps closer. "If you know something and don't tell us, we won't be able to stop the New Order from getting to her first."

Alexa sighed, knowing just how much danger she could be in right now. "I know her. Nicole Barclay. She's my best friend. My only friend."

   ✴ 

Nicole was in the apartment, in the kitchen, getting something to drink. "Mom? It's getting late. Shouldn't you be getting to the hotel?" She turned around, leaning against the counter, using one of her arms to prop herself up, biting her lower lip, taking a drink. She seemed to be in shock, processing. There still wasn't a reply. "Mom?" She sighed, walking toward the living room. "Mom, you know I believe you. I do. It's just..." She stopped walking, smelling smoke. She looked at the walls, seeing an orange glow on the walls. The fire alarm started to blare. Nicole ran toward the living room, reaching the doorway. "Mom!" Amanda was lying on the couch, the flames covering her entirely, burning her. She was already gone. Nicole started to cry in horrified denial, completely in shock and not knowing what to do, frozen for a moment in devastation. "Mom!" 

The fire blocked her way to the door. 

Nicole couldn't get past. Her body started to tense and seemed to be in extreme pain, falling to her knees on the floor, gasping in pain.

The door burst open.

The fire dissipated into nothing.

Five people in black walked inside, one of them a girl, the rest of them men. 

The four men grabbed Nicole, covering her mouth to muffle her screams, pulling her out of the apartment while all the way she was struggling, leaving.

The girl looked at a flower vase, focusing. The water started to freeze, turning into ice. The girl seemed guilty, walking toward the door, walking out of the apartment, closing the door behind her.