Elemental Souls Read online

  GG ANDERSON

  Copyright © 2020 by Crazy Ink

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Book Layout © Crazy Ink

  Chapter 1

  “Mom, I don’t know why you have to pack my lunch. I’m in high school now!” Kai yelled from the hall. His long-sleeved t-shirt[Erin Wolf1] hung wrinkled enough to appear he didn’t care about his appearance. He ran his long fingers through his hair one last time, making sure it stood up just right.

  “You’re going to be late.” His mom met him in the hallway, handing him a paper sack and the brand-new backpack. “Now, have fun and make some friends.” She kissed him lightly on the cheek, pushing her hand through his hair.

  “Mom, now it’s messed up.” He rolled his eyes and walked out the door. “See ya after school.”

  “Call me if you need me!” As he shut the door, Kai knew she wished nothing but the best for her son. He deserved that at least. A new school, a new house, everything seemed to be causing him serious stress these days.

  He reached the front of the high school. The stately brick front towered down over him.

  He pulled on the wrong door.

  Of course, he chose the locked one.

  Rolling his eyes, he entered, then went through the second set, wondering what this one would be like. It was his third school since going public, as he called it. His mom kept him in private school as long as possible, but with job changes and school tuitions going up, it was inevitable to mainstream to public education.

  Since then, she had been lucky enough to earn promotions in her company, resulting in two moves for them as well. The money was nice, not having to shop thrift stores for everything.

  After all, they had no one except each other. No grandparents, no aunts, no uncles. His dad died before he was born so as far as he remembered, it had always been just the two of them.

  Kai checked into the office, watching the secretary sum him up in a judging glance. “It never changed,” he thought with a low sigh. He leaned casually against the tall filing cabinet, resting his elbow on top. Everyone assessed him on his appearance. She started with his messy hair, examining his high, sharp cheekbones. Her eyes appraised his wide shoulders, carrying his long, lanky arms. His ashy pale skin laminated Kai’s heavily veined hands. All covered in a black t-shirt with dark jeans- must be trouble. No one realized it had more to do with his incredibly sensitive skin. The doctors said light colors were better for people with hypersensitivity, but he disagreed. His blond hair fell carefully over his eyes, covering the mark embedded in his brow he carried since birth. The only birthmark he hated.

  He had several of those however - birthmarks. The one on his brow was most apparent because it caused the hair to change to a coppery bronze color. The blue grey eyes he inherited from his mother drew more attention to his different colored brows than he preferred, so the punk, messy hairstyle served him well.

  He looked at the secretary and smiled with his full lips, trying to change her opinion. It didn’t seem to matter. Her mind already decided, she handed him his course schedule without even the slightest smile in return. At least the secretary at the last school tried to be nice.

  Kai entered his first class, unbelievably on time, and took a seat as close to the door as possible. The first day entering ninth grade, he’d made the rookie mistake of taking a seat in the back, which left ample opportunity for people to corner him as he tried to make his way out the door. He wouldn’t do that again. Public attention was the farthest thing from his list of desires.

  He pulled his notebook out, doodling miscellaneous figures in the margins as he waited patiently for the class to start. Kai hated being early but being late sucked even more.

  “Hey, what’s your name?” the blonde girl a row over asked flirtatiously.

  He ignored her, retracing his last geometric figure.

  “I said, what is your name?”

  He glanced quickly. His voice barely audible replied, “Kai.”

  “So, you’re new this year?”

  Oh, how he hated that question. As if he’d been in this school his entire life and she hadn’t noticed until now. As if. “Yeah.” His eyes stayed glued to his notebook, directing all of his energy to will the teacher to appear.

  As if on cue, she walked in. “Ok, class, I am Ms. Goodman. Please take a book and pass it back.”

  One class ended, running into another, then into another. Lunch finally came and, to his surprise, Kai found himself starving. Avoiding the lunchroom, he took his brown bag outside to find solace under a tree. Alone time would be nice after a day spent trying to be normal. Kai had never been normal.

  He found a tree which called to him across the grassy area. Sitting against the stable trunk, he felt his strength returning. He always felt that way when he communed with nature. His psyche fed off the sound of leaves rustling overhead. He sighed peacefully, eyes closed, chewing mindlessly on his lunch. So far, the day had gone pretty well, nothing too difficult, no one too challenging. Maybe this would be a nice place to graduate from. After all, he could look forward to two years here. His mom’s job had contracts she would be handling for at least that long. He didn’t think about college much- it didn’t matter. He would get in almost anywhere he wanted. Tests were too easy for Kai. He didn’t have to study; he knew the answers before he finished reading the questions. It was other knowledge that scared Kai.

  “So, do you own this tree, or can others sit here as well?” The short stocky girl stood in sunlight directly in front of him.

  “You can sit down if you want.” He shrugged his shoulders, looking intentionally uninterested.

  “So, you’re new here right?” She gave him a sideways glance.

  “Yeah.” Kai silently rolled his eyes.

  “I bet you hate that question.”

  "Pretty much.” He smiled.

  “Have you met anyone yet?” She pulled out a small apple from her pocket and took a bite.

  “A few people,” he said, unfolding his long arms. “Everyone seems really nice.”

  She laughed. “That was the most pathetic lie I have ever heard.”

  “No, really everyone’s cool.”

  She grew serious for a minute. “Don’t you realize things are not always what they seem?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been told that.” He looked off into the distance, refolding his arms atop his knees.

  “If you knew what was good for you, you would make sure you don’t forget it.” Her smile returned, but not to the extent he expected. “I have to go, thank you for letting me sit with you.” She stood and turned. “Remember what I said.” With that, she walked away, her brown hair drifting silently behind her.

  Kai looked down at his hands. “Don’t worry. I know all too well things aren’t what they seem.” He focused to see where the girl had walked to, but she had faded into the crowd. The bell rang, pulling him back to his incredibly mundane day.

  Finally, classes ended, and Kai made it to his locker, avoiding most conversations, as well as confrontations. Overall, it ranked as a very successful first day. In truth, he almost liked it here, simply because he appeared invisible to a great number of the students. He blended better at this school than he had in the last two. Maybe things would be good here. Not that they were bad at his last schools; it wasn’t like he
hated his life or anything. It was just a bit blasé. He made a few friends at each school, got along with most of the teachers, but never felt they understood him. Then again, it was difficult to understand Kai.

  Reaching the front door of home, he turned the key, smiling silently at the immediate comfort and safety the interior held.

  Reaching his room, he changed into his sweats, tossing his jeans on the floor for tomorrow. He entered the basement of their little house, happily breathing in the musty smell. Something about a basement made his whole being settle. He walked over to the grass mat already on the floor. Yoga had been part of his daily ritual since he was old enough to walk. His mother insisted it be his after school scheduled activity and he found it easier to give in rather than to battle her on it. She would win. She always did, and if he admitted the truth, he had begun to enjoy it. The simple stretches and meditation kept his anxious thoughts to a minimum.

  He finished, heading upstairs to take in a little of his other private pleasure - Wii. His mom found him lounging on the sofa when she arrived home.

  “How was your day?” she asked while putting a bag of groceries away.

  “Good.”

  “Really?” She rinsed off the broccoli for dinner.

  “Actually, it was better than good.” He stopped the game, heading to the kitchen to help.

  “Serious? What was better than good about it?” She left him to finish putting the rest of the bag away.

  “I met a really nice girl.”

  “Uh oh,” she said, reappearing after slipping out of her work clothes. “And what is this girl’s name?”

  Kai paused over the frying pan, “You know I don’t remember her telling me.” He dumped the chicken in. “Anyway, she seemed pretty cool.”

  His mother eyed him cautiously. He could tell Greta had never really thought about her son getting involved with a girl. Although the few grey hairs streaked through her blonde tresses proved that time had marched on, her eyes told him he had remained five years old in her mind for the last twelve years.

  “I am glad you’re making friends here.” She began setting the table. “I really like my new department, so maybe this is a place we can land for a while.”

  “I think so too.” Kai smiled, thinking of the girl biting her apple. If lunch every day was spent with her, it would be an okay year.

  The next few days went much the same, with the exception of lunch. The girl didn’t show, and Kai hadn’t been able spot her in any of his classes. Assuming she must be an underclassman, he decided to leave his comfortable tree and scout around. To no avail, he followed the masses back into the building.

  The last class of the day was journalism. Not exactly what Kai had asked for, but since they didn’t have a photography class, it was the next best thing. So far, he found he could sit back and let the more experienced shutterbugs snap the shots the paper needed. He hadn’t been given any newspaper assignments yet, so it left him to do the brainless homework his other classes required.

  “So, how bad does this school suck compared to your last one?” The boy stood almost as tall as Kai but was twice as wide and wore a school football jersey.

  Kai looked up with surprise and finally answered, “Not so bad.” His smile tried to pull off the ultra-cool –has-everything-together look.

  The boy grinned, “Yeah it could be worse.” He sat on the desk next to Kai. “Name’s Ethan.”

  “Kai,” he smiled back.

  “Hey, you oughta come out to the game tonight.” Ethan sat up a bit taller. “I’m the tight end.” His cheeks revealed large dimples to match his dark purple lips. “We really suck, but hey, football is still fun no matter what, right?”

  Kai laughed. He never played football- again the super sensitive skin. “Yeah that’d be cool.”

  “Right on. Then I’ll see you there, or afterwards. I gotta bounce; coach hates it when we’re not in the locker room right after school.” Ethan literally bounced off the desk and headed out of the door. “Hey, Kai?” He yelled across the entire room. Kai looked up, noting every pair of eyes now rested upon him. “Bring your camera.”

  Kai nodded and resumed his homework, immersing himself in the text.

  The game didn’t seem to be that big of a deal. It wasn’t like he hadn’t watched football; he just wasn’t able to play himself. This game made him a bit nervous however, because he had been invited. A guy had said he should come and to bring his camera. What exactly was that supposed to mean? What kind of guy says that to another guy?

  He took his seat in the stands, happy he could hide behind the lens. The action began and he started snapping photos downs, tackles, passes, all the typical sports shots. Then, out of nowhere, the sky started to change. Winds began to blow, and the rain let loose. The grass became a mud puddle and it was difficult for Kai to tell which team had control of the ball. Finally, it ended with a drizzly loss of 36-13.

  He pulled open his jacket, stashing his camera in the pocket. He made his way down the bleachers and out to the parking lot.

  Finally reaching the solace of his room at home, he clicked on his computer and began looking at the pictures from the game.

  Surprisingly enough, they were incredibly good. Kai always enjoyed photos but hadn’t really perfected excellence at timing on action shots. This time, it was as if the game had stopped and posed just for him.

  “I am heading to bed.” Greta poked her head in her son’s room. “Hey, those are really good.”

  “Thanks. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

  “You get it from your father. He was always the lucky one. Good night honey.” She kissed him lightly on the top of the head.

  Kai coughed at her comment. She’d said that for years, and for years he had wondered if his dad was so lucky, why had he died without meeting his son?

  He saved the best pictures to a flash drive and then decided on checking his email before shutting down the system. Checking his spam folder, a return address caught his attention. It simply read, ‘Treegirl’.

  He clicked on it and saw it contained a simple message. ‘Remember things are not always what they seem – Treegirl”. He read the message again, making sure he hadn’t missed anything.

  Kai saved the email, making a special folder entitled ‘stuff.’ He shut off his system and headed to bed. This would be a long weekend.

  For some reason, the email made him think she would be around at lunch on Monday.

  “Hey, Kai!” The voice came from behind him. He turned to Ethan standing with a few other guys all wearing the signature letterman’s jackets. “Did you like the game? That weather was wild!” Kai closed the gap between them cautiously. He had never been included in the jock group, simply because he wasn’t one. “This is Eric and Will.”

  Kai nodded to both. “The weather definitely was a bit out there. I did get some great shots, though.”

  “Yeah, I told you we suck.” The guys all laughed. “Hey, we’re headed out to listen to some music, come along.” Ethan started to move with the others down the hall opposite from Kai’s tree.

  “I don’t mean to be rude, but maybe I can catch ya next time?” He took a step away from the group and they stopped immediately.

  “Ok, that’s cool. See ya in class.” Eric and Will turned toward the hall, but Ethan looked disappointed.

  Kai made it out the end door to the tree. He hoped he would see her. He ate slowly, waiting for her to show herself, but to his disappointment, nothing. Her elusiveness felt annoying. He ran his thin fingers through his hair and scratched the round birthmark at the base of his throat. Where was she and how did she have his email address? He stood slowly, stretching his thin legs out. He adjusted his shirt to keep the thin fall sunlight off his skin and headed towards the school.

  Journalism brought attention Kai wasn’t sure he wanted. It so happened that the usual sports photographer's camera erased the photos, so it left them needing new shots for the paper. Ethan spoke up saying he was sure Kai captur
ed everything they needed.

  Indeed, the perfect shot of the team battling it out bogged down by mud appeared crystal clear on the computer screen.

  “I said ya needed to bring your camera.” Ethan smacked Kai on the shoulder. This whole guy bonding thing was new to Kai. It felt strange and awkward.

  He smiled lightly at Ethan. “You’re right, this whole thing was pretty lucky.” Not that Kai bought it. More was at work than simply dumb luck.

  Kai finished school for the day, finally making it down to his basement yoga studio. He found himself thinking about the luck conversation with Ethan earlier. Something about the situation made his arms tingle at his birthmark above his elbow. Kai knew to listen to the sensations surrounding that mark. It was a warning system of sorts. He couldn’t quite pinpoint what the danger was exactly but decided keeping his distance from Ethan and the other guys felt like the right decision.

  It had been this way since he could remember. His birthmarks were more than just marks. They reacted to things around him, even people. Most of them he hadn’t identified yet, but the one above his elbow definitely made him listen. It proved correct on too many occasions to think it was just coincidence. He had a built-in warning system against danger. No, Kai wasn’t normal, his mother insisted he was special. He wasn’t completely convinced of that yet; still pretty sure he was simply a freak.

  His sensitive skin had kept him covered up almost his entire life. Unlike most children, his skin would blister at the slightest sun exposure. The doctors called it photosensitivity. He didn’t care what it they called it; it still kept him from playing outside without long sleeves. Not that Kai took his clothes off in front of anyone anyway, even the doctor if he could help it. The birthmarks on his elbow and the one above his eye were just two of them. He had eleven others, each one slightly different on various places on his body. There were a couple that could easily be camouflaged by simple undergarments, one in the shape of the letter M rested right at the waistband of his boxer shorts. Another one hovered over his lower back. Both of them he ignored, knowing the possibilities of needing to dawn a Speedo in front of other people wouldn’t happen in his lifetime. The marks on his chest, over his heart as well as one centered over his breastbone[Erin Wolf2] made summer swimming with friends a challenge. In all honesty, the others on his legs he could usually ignore and pretend they were scars from a bike crash or falling down when he was young. Overall, he pretended to be as normal as possible around others. If activities involved changing in a locker room, he simply opted out, blaming an overprotective mother to save face.