False Hope

He took a step forward and slipped on the strange fluid, he fell to his knees, and proceeded to crawl to the entrance, his head was pulsating as he walked into the neighboring room.

He found some stairs and deliberately crept up to them, feeling unbalanced. After going up he noticed an old man strolling to a separate room muttering about the power going out.

He proceeded outside, realizing that the power outage must have released him from the tube. He tried using his element to throw something towards the old man, but he couldn't use any elements. Cole felt as though his element was gone. He didn't give it another thought as he opened the back door, sneaking out.

Once outside he realized the building was an old church since abandoned. The trail to the parking lot was gone and covered with branches and fallen trees. He made his way through the trees and soon heard a loud yell from the building.

"He knows I'm gone..." Cole murmured to himself, realizing he had to go faster. As he ran, he dove to the forest floor after hearing the back door creak open. The old man looked around quickly and then closed the back door.

After lying still for a couple of minutes his eyes finally adjusted to the dark.

He soon could see a flashlight beam fly over his head. He lay still for a while longer and the old man turned the flashlight in another direction. Cole slowly crouched and moved further away, stopping only when the beam came close.

Once he was out of the flashlight's range, he began running through the forest at full speed.

He continued to get caught on branches and got scraped by sharp bushes.

He slipped and fell into the mud, he stood back up and ran once again.

Cole realized that he wasn't dirty before slipping, but was covered in the same strange liquid as the kind on the floor of the basement where he was held.

He tripped once again after feeling a sharp pain in his left heel.

He didn't think of trying to find his shoes in the church building, so he was only in socks. Cole had noticed the left white sock started turning red with blood, so he knew that whatever he stepped on had cut him. He tried stepping on the hurt foot, only to collapse.

He stood back up while sweating profusely. Cole limped and moved mainly on his right leg, making the left rest by being dragged lightly.

He soon became tired and noticed a house nearby, he saw a window and clung to it, he couldn't think clearly as he knocked on the window. He knew he couldn't trust the people inside, but it was too late, because he had just woken a girl up, and she opened the window, he asked for food, and she let him. Cole apologizes and tries to explain his situation, but she seems too scared to understand him.

He then proceeded to step out of the window and quickly ran off, he hid behind a tree as the girl headed outside, she looked around and climbed back inside.

Cole sighed, knowing she probably was working with the old man.

He started moving even further. Pain started setting in almost everywhere, and he feels tears welling up in his eyes.

He stepped into a bush and felt sharp branches cutting him.

He heard a phone ringing nearby and turned in the opposing direction, heading up a small incline. Cole hid behind another tree as the footsteps grew near, the person didn't speak and Cole assumed it to be the old man. He heard the footsteps get quiet, and he peeked out, he could see a dark figure and it quickly pushed him to the ground, he screamed and stood back up, running away as fast as possible from the figure and seemingly managed to escape into a cabin.

***

Inside the cabin, it was worse than the outside, the floor was damaged in many places, especially upstairs, where there was a huge hole in the ground, seemingly from someone falling through. Cole hopped into the hole and landed on some wood boards, hurting his feet a bit.

He suddenly got hit with a realization. His feet weren't healing, he was an Elemental, so they should have healed by now. He looked at the wound only to notice they were still injured as badly as when he got them not too long ago.

He heard the cabin door open quickly and footsteps starting moving around above him.

Cole realized that the blood off of his foot must be giving him away, so he grabbed a board and held it to the only foot still bleeding, which was his right leg.

He limped to a corner and waited for the bleeding to stop, he then walked over to the opening in the ceiling again and started letting the blood drip from the board, and lead it into a cabinet. He then returned to the corner as a man fell from above.

The figure landed on his feet safely and slowly followed the blood trail. Just as Cole suspected.

The man opened the cabinet and Cole snuck up behind him and lifted his hand, he tried to use his element only to remember he couldn't, the man turned and grabbed Cole's hands. Throwing Cole backward by his hands and staring at him.

"What do you think you are doing here?" The man says, only for Cole to realize he didn't sound like a man, but like a teenage boy.

Cole started shaking and managed to say, "I-You aren't with that man... are you?"

The boy asked who he is talking about and asks Cole his name.

"M-my name? Oh. It's... Cole Jameson. I think."

Cole started feeling calmer knowing that the boy wasn't with the old man.

"My name is Andrew. I saw you running here, you looked like you were limping, are you okay?"

Cole sat in silence trying to think if he should explain, "I-Well, I was kidnapped by this old guy and well... I don't remember much about what happened in my life before that... everything is blurry... until recent."

Cole felt his fear suddenly grow as he couldn't even remember his parents or hometown.

He sat in silence trying to remember, The boy was silent for a bit and then suddenly asked,

"So how did you escape?"

Cole thought he knew the answer and announced,

"Well, I think the power went out. After that, the tube I was in turned off and opened up."

Cole couldn't think of any other reason. No one would have found him to open it after all.

"You know, you are all over, your face is on missing posters. I also saw that you visited my friend, Amora."

Cole started getting strange vibes from the guy.

"What? That girl?"

Andrew smirked and then hit Cole across the face. "She isn't just a girl. She means everything to the cause I work for."

Cole started crawling backward, his look became one of fear as Andrew started creating a paper sword. "What're you... I'm sorry! I didn't mean that!" He pleaded to Andrew.

Andrew started laughing as he sliced into Cole's leg. The cut wasn't too deep, but the paper was so tight together that it was sharp.

Cole screamed in pain, and someone grabbed him from behind. Andrew stopped laughing and asked,

"Who?! Who are you?"

The old man who had taken Cole began talking,

"Stay away from this, child."

Andrew started yelling at the old man, Cole's eyes grew heavy after the old man pricked him with a needle. Cole tried his best to keep them open, but he blinked and was now being carried outside, upon blinking again he was next to the tube he was once held in, it was now filled again, and he was lowered inside by a machine, just as he fell unconscious.

***

Amora awoke to hear birds chirping outside, she yawned and looked at the plate.

"So it was real."

She took some time to remember what had happened the night before and after piecing together the events she got out of bed.

She headed into the kitchen and saw Andrew washing a bowl in the sink.

"Hey, Amora." He said casually.

"Hey, I need to tell you something I saw last night."

Andrew went silent as she explained that she saw Cole.

"Must have been a dream, they found him, he was reported dead, they say he died a week ago."

Amora gasped and exclaimed, "S-so I saw a ghost?"

Andrew sighed, seeming disappointed.

"You were dreaming." He said, seemingly very persistent.

Amora felt a little tempestuous, he was dismissing what she saw.

"Even the cake was gone." She had thought as she walked away. "Why does he act so suspicious? There was no way I had eaten that cake, I don't like chocolate cake."

Amora suddenly thought of something. She ran to the room and saw muddy footprints by the window.

"I knew it."

She rushed to get Andrew, and he followed her back to the room.

"Come on Amora! That was me! I planned to scare you, but you were asleep!" Andrew yelled, giving Amora pure anger,

'Shut up!" She yelled, it being the first time she yelled at one of her classmates.

"I don't care what you say! You told me your phone was broken, but I've seen you using one! You've been acting suspicious, and you've been lying!"

Amora ran out of the room as Andrew followed, now calmly trying to fix his mistake,

"I lied about the phone because I was afraid you would miss yours!"

Amora turned promptly, yelling in his face,

"Don't lie to me! That's bullshit!" The feeling of betrayal and anger grew too much, and she fell to her knees weeping.

He slowly walked up and started consoling her.

"I'm sorry. I'll stop lying. I promise. No more lies, from now on, I'll tell you the truth." He said reassuringly.

Unfortunately, she foolishly believed him once again.