That Happened

"They went this way!" I heard a distant male voice say. They weren't that near yet but it made me realize there was more than one person out to kidnap Paige.

We crouched down under a table in the gazebo. Thank the gods the stone benches rounded the whole gazebo and gave us some place to hide for a while.

"So what's your plan?" Paige asked behind me, her voice laced with panic and fear.

I gulped, nervous. "Can you perform a telepathy spell?" I asked her.

She gave me an incredulous look. "No, I can't. Alchemy student, remember? Wait— THAT'S your plan???"

"Well? Got any better ideas?" I asked sarcastically.

"Well, you're the magician! And the apprentice of Professor Axel at that," she said. "You're supposed to be the one with the badass magic spells and powers. I'm just an alchemy student. I mix chemicals, not conjure up magic!"

"Fine, I'll do it," I said.

But what I never told Paige in the weeks since we've met was that I was absolutely and terribly...

"Uh, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Concentrating??" I said as I shut my eyes tight and 'concentrated'.

"You look like you're about to take a shit," she said in a deadpanned voice. Then a look of horrifying realization dawned on her face. "Wait, are you... are you actually BAD at magic?!"

...bad at magic.

I looked away in shame. "...Yes," I muttered. "But I won't give up! I have to try! I've been training for five years after all."

"Yeah, but you told me you were only doing cleaning, exercises and combat practice as your training," she said then gasped. "You never mentioned magic! How could you be bad at magic, Shiro? You're Professor Axel's relative AND apprentice. You should be—"

She suddenly stopped, her eyes turning wide with fear as she looked at something behind me. I turned around to see the four boys we saw a while ago. They were panting but grinning with a malicious glint in their eyes.

"You..!" I said as I realized they were the ones after Paige. I stood up and in front of my friend. "Stay away. Don't you dare..!"

But before I could even finish, a gust of wind picked me up and slammed me onto one of the gazebo's stone pillars. I gasped in shock, pain erupting all around my whole back and spine. I fell to the ground in a heap of limbs, my head buzzing yet numb and my back hurting as hell.

"Don't get in the way, witch," one of them said. I looked up to see his outstretched hand. He was the one who used wind magic on me. "We only want the rich girl."

"No!!" I heard Paige cry as two of the boy grabbed a hold of her arms. "Let me go! Let me go!!"

"Shut her up, will you?" the boy who used wind magic told his accomplices. He had orange hair and bright yellow eyes while the rest of his accomplices had dark colored hairs. "A loud hostage is a good-for-nothing hostage. Let's go."

"Don't you... dare!" I yelled to them as I stood up. Behind my cloak, I conjured up a dagger that was strapped to my thigh. "Let her go!"

I move forward at a fast speed and struck at the orange haired boy with my dagger. He winced and roared as I sliced the skin on his face. I backed up on the bridge, his accomplices and Paige still at the entrance of the gazebo. If I can't beat them, then I might as well prevent them from leaving too early before help arrives.

"You bitch!" he yelled in anger as he swiped in the air. Before the wind could slam at me, I moved towards the boy and sliced at him again but this time on his arm. "Argh!" Blood gushed out of his wound.

While he was distracted, I charged and delivered a flying kick to his face. He dodged but it gave me an opportunity to lock my leg around his neck. Once I did, I bent back and stretched out my arms until my palms touched the ground and the world looked upside down. I pulled and he went flying downward as I flipped him over, slamming him to the ground. I quickly stood up and charged at the two boys holding onto Paige but then the fourth boy got in my way, his palms ablaze with fire.

He punched at me with his fire lit fists but I dodged them albeit that some of my hair was now burnt. I delivered an uppercut to his stomach and he doubled. I quickly kicked him in the shins and he fell down, no longer able to move.

Then I turned to the two. They had fearful expressions on their faces as they looked at me. Paige took that distraction as a chance and bit one of them in the arm. That boy yelped in pain and let go.

I took the opportunity and knocked him out with a punch. "Paige, duck!" I yelled and she obeyed before I delivered a swift kick to the other boy's face, knocking him out.

"I may not be a powerful magician, but I didn't train in combat for nothing," I said in between tired pants. "Come on." I turned to Paige and pulled her, running off again, towards the forest.

"That. Was. Awesome, Shiro!!" she yelled in delight as we ran. "But this time I'm leading us back."

She figured out my weakness and I could almost laugh if not for the situation we were just in. I looked back and found the wind user struggling to stand up.

We just reached the edge of the bridge when he and the fire user stood next to each other. I felt the air turn tense.

Then something horrible happened.