Next To Die pt. 1

I ran fast, and I ran hard. We were still so close to where we escaped, yet so far from where we needed to be. Eventually, we stopped running, and I looked up to him. Green eyes met my blue ones. "We can't jump over this trench," I told him, panic covering my voice. Looking back down, I remembered again why we had to stop. The cabin was only reachable by the other side of this cannon, a 300-foot drop, 20 feet across, and no matter how strong or fast we were, it was unlikely we could make it. I brushed my long white hair out of my eyes, exhausted from how far we had run.  Kyle, the boy I was with, thought about it for a few moments.
"Back there," he said, running behind me, "there's a small drop back here, a hill almost, we can go down there." My step fell easily into his, and only a minute later, I saw what he was talking about. It was a rocky and steep decline, but much better than our other option.
"Lets go then!" I shouted, surely we didn't have much time.
Bruised and beaten up, we reached the bottom. Standing up, I realized pain was acute in my left arm. Gasping, a held my arm tight, trying to stop some blood. "Are you alright?" he asked, worried. "I-I'll be fine," I told him, toning down how much it hurt. A smile lit upon his face, and a hand ran through his sandy brown hair. "Always so strong," he commented, before leaning in to kiss me. As always, emotion flooded through me, but this time was stronger than the last. It could've been the adrenaline. Breaking away, I smiled and blushed, looking away. "O-okay. Time to get going again," I said sheepishly. Teeth shining, he sprinted off ahead of me, and I followed behind. The path was mostly clear, trees to our left, the big drop to our right. But our path itself was grassy and more or less smooth. It was only when we reached the cabin did we stop. "I can't believe we made it, Cathy," Kyle said in awe.
"I know, I thought it was only in story books," I replied, equally astonished. Stepping close we knocked on the door.
You see, the two of us were refugees from an experiment process – one that took the offspring of ninjas to try to enhance them and their connection to nature. It worked on most kids, including me. I was a water elementist, and have been for the past 5 years. I was only 14 when my powers came in. Sadly, Kyle's didn't go to well – he's still a normal ninja offspring. They constantly had us hook up to machine, poking and probing, pushing us to our physical and mental limits. That places was truly hell. Now, don't get me wrong, we aren't your normal ninjas. We could get assigned to do killings, or simply take note of a person or place. This group, this cabin, was a rumor at the facility we were kept at. It was said to be a place for ninja refugees, and were constantly accepting. Right now, three people ran the group, but one man was always their leading. They said his name was William, but I don't know if that's true. I guess I'll find out soon enough.
A tall slender woman answered the door, with an oval face and brown eyes. "We've been expecting you," she said, long black hair swaying as she spoke. I exchanged a questioning look with Kyle. Expecting us? We were refugees, not even sure if this cabin itself was real. Showing us in, the cabin was small. It had one main floor, only the size of an average family room that doubled as sleeping arrangements. It was connected to a kitchen, and above the kitchen was a second area for sleeping. The bathroom was an outhouse outside. After taking in my surroundings, my eyes went to the people. There were roughly 10 of them, plus us. Eventually my eyes locked on to one man, and I knew it. This man was William.
"I-I'm Kyle," stammered Kyle nervously, "this is Cathy. We're from the elemental experiments."
"As are we," spoke the woman who greeted us. "At least, most of us. Some join us to run away from their parents. Either way we are not prejudice. Oh, and I am Silvia."
"I'm William," introduced the tall dark haired man. My assumptions were right. "I'm the founder of this group, and a fire controller. Silvia is a fortune teller." His voice was deep and majestic, easy to get lost in.
Slowly everyone introduced himself or herself, and Kyle and I were polite and shook everyone's hand. Kyle explained that I was a water elementist, but he was not specialized. He told them that we had came from the facility only a few miles back and had just escaped today on a field trip. I, on the other hand, held my gaze with William throughout most of the meeting.
"So when were you drafted into the experiments?" William asked, his voice a mixture of curiosity and business.
"I was sent there when I was 6, and Kyle had already been there a year, starting at 5," I explained.
"We instantly became friends," he continued, grabbing hold of my hand. Looking up to his face, I noticed that he was shooting daggers at William. I squeezed his hand caringly, though he squeezed mine back protectively.
"Well, seeing as it's almost nightfall, I suppose we should give you sleeping arrangements," said Silvia. She wasn't one of the leaders, thought she seemed to handle everything evolving Kyle and me. Recalling to the conversations Kyle kept with the other members, the leaders under William were an air user and another water user. Both of which were male. "Kyle," started Silvia, breaking me out of my thoughts, "you will be sleeping down here, in the room we are in now. Cathy, on the other hand," she said, eyes turning to me expectantly, "will be sleeping upstairs with the leaders." Blood rushed to my cheeks, it was an honor to sleep in the same area as the founders, especially on my first day. I just wish Kyle would share it with me.