Element, Part 1 (18 page)

“I hope you feel better,” Sean
said.

“Let us know if you need
anything, Ryan,” Paul added.

“Thanks guys.” Ryan guided Natalie
through the crowd to the nearest bathroom.  Luckily, a waitress directed them
to a single bathroom where she could have some privacy.

He tried to follow her into the
bathroom but she turned and said, “Please, I need to be by myself.”

He stepped back hesitantly.
“Okay. I’ll be right outside if ya need me.”

She nodded and shut the door.
Immediately, she fell down to her knees, shaking and sweating profusely. She
burned with fever and couldn’t seem to catch her breath. She wanted to rip the
tapestry dress off of her body. She reached up behind her and managed to loosen
up the lacing. She took a deep breath and lay face down on the cold marble
floor, praying for the nausea to stop.

“Oh my God,” she shrieked when a
piercing pain struck her entire body. She curled up into a fetal position.
Every part of her hurt and ached to the point it felt like she was dying. She
moaned and cried out in desperation for the pain to stop.

“Natalie, are you okay?” Ryan
asked through the heavy wood door.

She managed to speak. “Yeah,
I’ll be okay. I need to lie here for a while. Please… go away.”

“Are you sure?”

“Go away,” she moaned.

“I’m going to stay right here,
in case you need me.”

“No, I’ll be okay.” She cried
out, unable to hide the tears of pain.

“Alright, I’ll be back to check
on you.”

The pain, like nothing she had
ever felt before, penetrated through every muscle and joint in her body. She
bit down on her lip to keep from moaning out loud, but the intense pain made it
impossible to keep silent.

Heat rose from her feet and
traveled up her body to her lungs. Thick and hot, it extinguished all her air
until she gasped for her breath. Her body jerked and shook, convulsing out of
control. Sweat poured out of her pores in puddles and her eyes burned with
fever.

Slowly, she raised her hand up
to wipe the mascara and sweat burning her eyes.  She blinked a few times,
struggling to focus on her hand quivering in front of her face. It glowed red
and orange with fire.

“Natalie, are you okay?” Lise tapped
on the door. 

It took a second for Natalie to
comprehend what her eyes were seeing.

“Natalie?” Lise continued to call
for her.

“Natalie, can Lise come in and
check on you?” Ryan spoke through the door.

She tried to talk but nothing
came out. She tried again. “I’m okay,” she croaked.

That was far from the truth. She
wasn’t okay. Something was definitely wrong with her.

“Are you sure? Can I come in?” Lise
tried to open the door.

When Natalie heard the doorknob
turn, she rushed to the door. She couldn’t remember if she locked it. She turned
the knob slowly and sighed when it refused to move.

“Damn, that’s hot!” Lise shrieked.

“What? What’s wrong?” Natalie
could hear Ryan asking Lise.

Immediately, Natalie let go of
the doorknob. She turned and rotated her hand, studying both sides. Had she
caused the knob to turn hot?  She looked into the mirror. Flames spread
underneath her transparent skin, igniting her entire body into a burning
inferno. 

On my God, I’m on fire! My
body’s on freakin’ fire!
Her eyes
gravitated down, checking out the rest of her body. Her clothes had disappeared
along with her shoes
.
Where had they gone? She ran her hands up and down
her body. It felt like her body except her skin had turned into an energy field
with a fiery blaze brewing underneath. Her female anatomy resembled that of a
Barbie doll; curves and mounds with no other distinct physical features. Even
the hair on her head had turned a deep bright red, billowing all around her.

“Natalie, open up,” Ryan
demanded, pounding on the door.

The beating grabbed her
attention. “Ummmm…everything’s fine.” She tried to clear her throat but her
voice crackled like burning embers. She looked back at the heavy brass
doorknob, now a few shades lighter orange than before.  Her instincts told her
to cool it down before Ryan tried to open it. She didn’t want him to burn his
hand too.

Grabbing the doorknob with both
hands, she watched in awe as water flowed from her hands and surrounded the
knob. The original worn dark color resurfaced, telling her the knob had cooled
down.

“Oh my God, how did I do that?”
she whispered under her breath.  She had the ability to contain water within
the palms of her hands. How was that possible? Before she could come to terms
with what she had done, her entire body transformed into a body of water.

“Natalie, are you sure you’re
okay?” Lise sounded worried and scared.  “Why won’t she open the door?” She
heard Lise ask Ryan.

“I don’t know, but I’m about to
break down this damn door.” Ryan jiggled the doorknob. 

She didn’t know what to do. Her
heart drummed in her ears and it felt like the walls were closing in around
her. She turned around in a circle, searching for an escape. There was no
window or second door.  They couldn’t see her this way. They’d freak out. She
had to convince them she was okay so they would leave her alone.

“I’m okay. I just need to be
alone. Ryan, I’ll uhhmmm… text you when I’m ready to leave,” she stammered out.

The doorknob stopped turning.
“Okay sorry, we’ll leave you alone. I’ll be waiting at the table and take you
home whenever you’re ready.”

“You poor thing. Let us know if we
can help you,” Lise said.

“Okay, thanks.” Natalie sighed
in relief as she heard them leave. She turned back to the mirror, stunned at
her pristine blue transformation. Waves of water flowed freely all over her
body. She touched her brilliant blue hair. It looked exactly like ocean water from
the Caribbean. How was this possible?

Then reality hit and she went
into complete hysteria. “Oh my God! Oh my God! What is wrong with me?” She
backed away from the mirror until she hit the wall. She slumped down to the
floor. What was she going to do?

Her mind lingered on the edge of
a full panic attack.
I will be okay. Just stay calm.
She hugged herself,
rocking back and forth trying to soothe the fear within her. Her mind raced
with a million thoughts. She closed her eyes and buried her head against her
knees. Maybe she was dreaming and this really wasn’t happening. She rocked
herself for several minutes, willing the ordeal to end.

She lifted her head and opened
her eyes, praying she would wake up in her bed. When she opened her eyes,
nothing had changed. She was still a small body of flowing water sitting on the
floor in the bathroom at the mansion. Why was this happening? When she raised
her hands to cover her face she noticed her composition changing once again. 

She watched her arms, legs, and
feet turn darker, transforming into a vibrant evergreen color. Her hands shook
and her entire body shuttered. How was this possible? She rose to her feet and
paced back and forth, telling herself it was her imagination.
She held
her hands up in front of her, completely awestruck at what she had become. Why
was she green? She looked like a toxic waste dump. What was she going to do?
How would she get home?

She continued pacing around the
bathroom, trying to figure out what to do
.
She clinched her fist and
gritted her teeth. She would get out of there. It took a few seconds for her to
calm down. She focused on her breathing, concentrating on the wheezing and
rattling sound of the air as it entered her nose and filled her lungs. Inch by
inch, the air consumed her to the point it rose up through her throat and moved
over her face. Her body became lighter and lighter until she lifted up off the
floor.

“What in the world? Help!
Somebody help me!” She moved her arms and legs as though struggling to stay
afloat in water. After a few seconds she stopped moving, realizing her body
hovered just beneath the ceiling. She glanced over at the mirror. She was as
clear as the air she breathed. Her nearly invisible body floated effortlessly. How
had she turned into a body of air?

This by far had to be the most
insane, delirious, and freakish thing she had ever experienced. One thing was
for certain, she had to get out of there. She thought hard, analyzing every
possible solution. She had to escape without being seen. A thought emerged and
she imagined herself flying through the air and out of the mansion. It was
possible, right? She repeated the words over and over in her head. 
I can
fly.
To her disappointment, it didn’t work. She hadn’t moved an inch.

She sighed; feeling frustrated
but determined to get out. The small bathroom made it nearly impossible to
move. Once more, she closed her eyes and focused on making her body fly. She
felt her body gradually drifting through the air.

Her eyes popped open when she
touched the mirror. “Yes! I can do this!”

She reached down and picked up
her purse off the counter and inched her way to the door. Before she opened it,
she listened carefully, making sure she didn’t hear anyone coming.

Slowly, she cracked the door
open and peeked outside.  Her eyes narrowed and she took a deep breath,
concentrating on what she wanted her body to do. All of sudden something deep
inside of her emerged; a forceful, yet instinctive power coming from the pit of
her stomach. She darted forward,
gliding down the long dark hallway. 
She had done it. She was flying!

She stopped before the common area, hovering behind a
pillar, determining which way to go. The main area and front doors were too
risky. Her eyes scoped out a path right next to the library leading out to the
veranda. Even though people filled the room, this was her only hope of
escaping.

She waited for the right moment and sprang forward, zipping
through the room and out a set of double doors into the night. She had escaped
and now she was flying! She couldn’t believe she was actually flying like a
bird.  It had to be the most exhilarating thing she had ever felt before in her
life. It was m
ind-blowing and scary at the same
time.  She soared through the hot, muggy air and past the Austin skyline. She knew
she was born to fly.

Chapter 8:  Inevitable

In the faint distance, Natalie
heard people chattering. The indistinct voices told her it had to be the
television or the radio. She woke gradually, the black behind her eyes lids
turning lighter, to the point that she had to squint from the sun’s bright rays.

“Is she okay?” a male voice
asked.

“I don’t know. I think she’s
breathing,” a female voice replied.

“Hey, wake up.” Natalie felt a
nudge on her arm. When she moved, every muscle and joint ached. Sleep and
tiredness weighed her down. It felt like her eyes were coated with lead.

“Maybe we should get a cop. She
probably partied too hard last night.  I mean look at the way she’s dressed,”
the female commented.

Partied too hard…what?

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Are
you okay?”

Natalie felt someone touch her
face and shake her head.  Her eyes popped open and instinctively she grabbed
the hand in front of her face and twisted it, pulling it away.

“Hey, let go,” the guy yelled. A
dog next to her barked several times and he ordered it to stop.

She released the guy’s hand and
jumped to her feet. “Leave me alone. What do you want?” Her vision blurred and
her eyes burned from the light.

The dog barked a few more times
and then sniffed her, licking her foot. The wet, sandpaper stroke from the
dog’s tongue caught her attention. Why did she only have one shoe on?

“Hey, take it easy.” The guy
backed up, pulling his dog with him.

“Yeah, we’re trying to help
you.” The woman got up quickly and took a few steps back.

Natalie looked around for a
moment, blinking her eyes rapidly. Where in the world was she?

“Do you need us to call someone
for you?” The woman pulled out her cell phone from the band around her arm.

She stared at her for a second.
Did she know her? The woman had to be a few years older than her, say early-twenties.
She wore a tank top, shorts, and running shoes. Maybe she knew her from the
gym.

Natalie took a deep breath and
ran her hand across her forehead. She had the most excruciating headache ever.
Once her vision stabilized she recognized her surroundings. She was on The
Drag, the main strip along the edge of the UT campus, in front of an empty
building. How did she end up here?

“Do you need our help or not?”
the guy probed one more time.

“Oh, ummm…. I think I’m fine. I
fell asleep, that’s all.” She brushed the hair away from her face and noticed
her wristlet, dangling from her hand. “I’ve got my phone.” She opened her purse
and took it out.