The Spirits

Note: I might come back and add chapter names later (instead of just who's point of view it is) Also there might be blood/violence
The Spirits
== Epigraph ==
Wind runs, and Water tricks. Fire fights, and Nature hides.
== Chapter One: Shining Rain ==
They want her. No. That is not right. They want her power. They do not care about her. She thinks she can hide, but she is wrong. She knows that they are smarter. Stronger. But they can not have her power. It is hers. So she runs. Like Mother told her to, before her death. They may be stronger and smarter, but she can run. Faster. and faster. They will never catch her. She is faster. She is the fastest. They can never catch her, not when she has the wind at her back, powering her along. But then something happens. She jumps, and the wind lifts her. She is flying. No. That is not right. She is riding the wind. It lifts her, carrying her away. They can never find her now. She has the Wind, and the Wind has her. But she does not remember her name. She does not know how she forgot. She will take a new name. Shining Rain. The name comes from nowhere, but she likes it. yes she thinks, I am Shining Rain. and I will win. Whatever it takes.
== Chapter Two: Gentle Pool ==
Gentle Pool knows. Even before they come. Gentle Pool knows. They will come. And her parents will die. Just because they try to protect her, and her power. Her power. that's what they want. When it happens, Gentle Pool knows. She doesn't know how she knows, just like she doesn't know who they are. But she does know one thing: she isn't going to fight. They are stronger than her. Faster. She needs to trick them. So when her mother cries out, and then is silent, Gentle Pool springs. She jumps on them, punching and kicking. But they are stronger. Faster. Just like Gentle pool knew they would be. Gentle Pool can't hide. They will find her. But she can trick them. So she does. She does not know what she does, exactly, but she tricks them. Gentle Pool tricks them, and then she dives into the river. And she swims. Underwater the whole way. She doesn't need to breathe. Gentle Pool just swims. Until she reaches the ocean. There she stays. For many, many years. Perhaps too many years. Gentle Pool doesn't know. All she knows is that she has Water. Water has her. And that someday, someday oh so far away, they will find her. There is no doubt of that. But this time Gentle Pool will be ready. 
== Chapter Three: Golden Ash ==
Golden Ash has Fire. Fire has her. This is all that is important. Memories didn't matter. All they did was make Golden Ash sad. It was better to not remember. Really, it was. Remembering made her cry. Tears were water. Water put out Fire. Even though there was mostly lava inside the volcano. Still, there is that little bit of fire. It was actually more fire than Golden Ash had been expecting. It was enough to train with. So that next time, Golden Ash could win. She had won last time, those many, many years ago, but they still got away. Golden Ash tried to push the memories away, but they were to strong. Her mother brushes her hair, before braiding it. The boy she likes tells her she's beautiful. She blurts out that she likes him. She hopes that he doesn't laugh. He doesn't. He just leans forward to kiss her. Right before their lips connect, they show up. They kill everyone at the party. The whole village. Only Golden Ash escapes. And it's her fault. Her fault because she should have used her power, but didn't. Her fault because she wasn't strong enough. Golden Ash feels the tears coming. No. She thinks. It's not my fault. It's their fault. They're the ones who attacked, not her. They're the ones who wanted her power. Who might still want it. She hopes they do. She wants revenge. Revenge is the only thing that Golden Ash wants, besides Fire. She wants revenge and she wants to win. So she trains. She trains because she will win. She will win, and she will make them pay. They will pay for what they did to her. To her mother. To the boy she loved, and still loves. They will pay for what they did to her village.
== Chapter Four: Silver Branch ==
Branch watched, hidden among the branches of a birch tree, the silver tree, as her sister leaned forward and kissed the boy. Branch watched as the boy kissed her back. And then they came. They killed her sister and the boy, demanding to know where she was. They wanted her power. But they never found her. Branch hid, leaping from one tree branch to another. When she was a safe distance away, she slipped down from the tree and darted into the undergrowth. There Branch stopped and waited. She didn't know how long she waited. Minutes. Hours. Days. Weeks could have gone by. And still, Branch waited. Until they were gone. They wouldn't return here. And somehow, Branch knew that the village was gone. Everybody was dead. The buildings destroyed, set on fire. And still, Branch hid. She darted away, hiding among the branches of trees. Until Branch ran out of forest. Then she hid elsewhere. Until she reached the forest. Bigger than the one by the village. This forest was ancient. In this forest, Branch knew, she would be safe. So she went in. And Branch needed a new name. She wasn't the same girl that she was before. She wanted to keep her name as Branch though. Suddenly Branch knew. She would be Silver Branch. Silver Branch is my name now. Silver Branch knew that she had Nature, and Nature had her. This might have been all that mattered. Silver Branch thought that they could never find her, and she was wrong. But she would always have Nature, and Nature would always have her.
== Chapter Five: Shining Rain ==
Shining Rain doesn't know how, but they find her. Somehow. She is riding the wind when they come. From all angles. She can not fight. She can not hide. She can not trick them. She can't even run. They take her. But they seem different now. They still want Shining Rain's power though. She is determined not to let them have it. So when they are least expecting it, Shining Rain attacks. She sends a gust of wind. They fall back. Shining Rain lets the Wind take control. It lifts her up, up ,up to safety. It wreaks havoc on them. Shining Rain watches, and then she lets the Wind carry her away. But she is no longer riding the Wind. She is the wind. She can run faster than everybody else. They can never steal her power. After all, she is the wind. They can't catch her. And they can't steal from something they can't catch. Shining Rain is free. And tired. Does the win ever get tired? She wondered. Shining Rain realizes that even though she is the Wind, she can still get tired. She and the Wind are different, but the same. And they will always have each other. So there is nothing to worry about. And with that thought, Shining Rain sleeps.
== Chapter Six: Gentle Pool ==
Gentle Pool knew what would happen. They would come for her. But this time, she couldn't trick them. They would be smarter. But Gentle Pool didn't know what would happen before that. One morning she woke up, and she was no longer in the water. She was Water. She was smarter. Faster. Stronger. She was Water, and Water was her. They were different, but the same. And Gentle Pool knew. Tomorrow. That was when they would come. She had one day to prepare. But somehow, she didn't prepare. She fell asleep. And when she woke, they were waiting for her. They took her. They chained her. They could control her. And Water. For she was Water, and Water was her. But only one of them could control her. Just one. Only one person that Gentle Pool had to take down. And she couldn't keep up the control forever. She had to take breaks. But when she had to take breaks, they caged Gentle Pool. Trapped her. She couldn't use her power. But she had time to think. And thinking can be a powerful weapon. And when Gentle Pool was thinking, she came to know things. Gentle Pool didn't know how she knew those things, but she did. Gentle Pool knew that she wasn't Water. But she also wasn't human. She was a Spirit. There were other Spirits. Four was a powerful number. Things happened in sets of four. Gentle Pool knew this. Gentle Pool knew that she couldn't free herself. But somebody would free her. Someday. And then they came. They came, and they had other Spirits. One for Wind. One for Fire. And one for Nature. They were caged, and chained. And the same girl took control of the other Spirits. But they made one mistake. They caged all four of them, Gentle Pool and the three new Spirits together. But it wasn't a mistake. Not really. They had to. Gentle Pool knew this, but she didn't know why. She shared this, and the other things she knew, with the others. And so, to fill the lonely days in the cage, the four of talked. Shinning Rain, who was the Wind Spirit. Golden Ash, the Fire Spirit. Silver Branch, the Nature Spirit. And her. Gentle Pool, the Water Spirit. The four of talked, and dreamed, and dared to hope, knowing that soon, they would be free.
== Chapter Seven: Golden Ash ==
Golden Ash still had nightmares. Of them. When they killed everyone and destroyed the village. When they came for her. Of when she wasn't strong enough, even after practicing for many, many years. Of when they chained her. And caged her. Even now, when she had friends again, friends, after being alone for so long, and they were like Golden Ash. She still had nightmares. But unlike before, now she held onto the past, clinging to it, not letting herself forget. Remembering hurt. But forgetting made it worse. Also unlike before, Golden Ash knew stuff. She knew from gentle Pool that they were Spirits. She was the fire Spirit. And, it turned out, there were other Spirits, somewhere. She knew, also from Gentle Pool, that somebody would free them. She knew from Shining Rain, who Golden Ash was closest to, that they had been alive for hundreds, maybe thousands of years, but that the world hadn't changed very much. She knew, from Silver Branch, that nobody else had powers, except the other Spirits, and that there powers were different. And Golden Ash knew, from herself, that she couldn't let go of the past. She had to hold on. She couldn't forget. Not again. It hurt for her to remember. But constantly fighting that battle, not letting herself remember, hurt worse. It was better fo Golden Ash to remember. So she did. Letting herself remember all the hurt they made her feel, so that one day, she can make them pay. 
== Chapter Eight: Silver Branch ==
She is here. She is here. The whisper. Every day. Every night. Every hour. Every minute. Every second, the whisper was there. She is here, she is here. Who is here? Sliver Branch wondered. That night, in her dreams. She is here. She is here. There was an image of a girl. Long, wavy jet black hair. Dark, green-blue-gray eyes, like a stormy sea. She is here. She is here. She is here. That morning, Silver Branch shares with the others. her dream. the whispers. She is here. Gentle Pool knows what it means. The girl. The one that will save them. She is here. She is the girl that Silver Branch saw in her dream. But Gentle Pool knew something else to. The girl might fail. She might not save them. Silver Branch will help the girl anyway she can. She hopes the girl will succeed. It isn't much, but hope is all Silver Branch had left. She didn't even have freedom. They stole it. She could hardly even use her power. They weakened her. They thought they won. But Silver Branch still had hope. They would never take hope from her. Never. No matter how hard they tried.
== Chapter Nine: Raven ==
Normal day. Today is a normal day. It didn't matter what Raven had dreamed about the night before. Even if the dream was so... lifelike. The images of the four girls. The whisper in her ear, you must save them, the scream that Raven heard before everything splattered red. Raven was trying really, really hard not to think about the blood. The blood that splattered everywhere, covering everything. It was in her eyes. In her ears. In her mouth. Raven could still taste it. But she forced herself not to think about it. Forced herself to help her mother make breakfast. Forced herself to feed the chickens. Forced herself to help her brothers water the garden well their mother washed dishes. Raven forced herself to milk cows and start making stew for dinner. She forced herself to pack lunch for her brothers, and they left for school. And then Raven had some time to herself, while her mother weeded the garden watered and weeded the herbs, fed the cows and cleaned the house, before doing the mending. Raven's father was at work already, so that gave Raven time to herself. She brushed her hair until it was shiny, then weaved it into a complex braid. She grabbed her sketchbook and a pencil, and, sliding them into a waterproof bag, told her mother she was going outside to sketch. Raven started drawing the things she had seen in her dream. Nobody looked in her sketchbook, so Raven drew whatever she wanted in it. Her father and brothers weren't interested, and her mother never had time to see. Raven drew the images of all four of the girls, and then she started drawing more images as they came to her. A mountain peak, high above the ground. An underwater cave. The inside of a volcano. A clearing in a forest filled with giant trees. Each of these on their own page. And then on another page, Raven split it into four sections. On the top left corner, she drew clouds with rain falling from them. She made the rain look shiny as best as she could. In the section next to that one Raven drew a pool of water. In the bottom left she drew a fire with ash drifting down. Raven knew that if she added color to the drawing, the ash would be golden. In the bottom right she drew a branch. It would be silver, if it had color. Raven slid her sketch book and pencil into her bag, and was about to go in, when she decided to watch the river behind her house. Raven sat down in front of the river. Suddenly, the wind started blowing. Hard. Rain pelted down. Raven jumped to her feet and ran towards the house, glad that her sketch book was in a waterproof bag. Raven ran straight towards the house, but the wind and rain slowed her progress. Raven slipped on a rock, and slid in the muddy ground. She got up again and ran towards the house, but with the muddy ground slowing her progress, and having fallen backwards when she slipped, she wasn't far enough from the river when the wave came. The wind had made the water choppy, and soon waves started coming on shore. The first ones were small, but they kept getting bigger and bigger. Soon one of them hit Raven, and she fell, sliding on the mud. Into the river. 
== Chapter Ten: Raven ==
Raven couldn't breathe. Couldn't swim. All she knew was the water, and that she had to get out of it. But when she tried to swim, the water would be there, Pushing her back down. Tossing her around. Keeping her from reaching the surface. Raven was going to die. She knew it. She was going to drown in this river, this river that her brothers fished in on weekends, that Raven had swam in and sketched by countless times. Raven gave one more attempt to reach the surface, and when it failed, she opened her mouth. And found not the water she had been expecting, but fresh air. Raven was still underwater, but somehow, there was fresh air. The river had calmed too. Raven swam towards the surface. It felt like forever before she finally reached the surface, but it was only a few minutes. Raven was in woods. It was dark. She was alone. And there weren't woods anywhere near her house. How did I get here? Raven wondered. She had walked down the river before, on both sides, and on one it fed into a lake, and on the other it eventually turned into a stream and dried up. Raven knew that there weren't any other rivers leading out of the lake, not even underground. Which meant there was no way she could be here. Pain sped up Raven's arm as she pinched herself. Ow. She hadn't meant to pinch herself so hard. At least she knew she was awake and not asleep. What do I do now? Raven wondered. When you were lost you were supposed to stay in one place and wait for rescuers. But no one would know where Raven was. She didn't even know where she was. Raven decided to try and find a town or village. Raven stood up, and pain shot through her leg. Ow. Ow. Ow. Raven could still walk, but it hurt. A lot. Raven nearly passed out from the pain. Raven collapsed back down, with her back pressed against a tree. I'll just rest here for a minute or two. But two minutes melted into five. Five minutes melted into ten. And then Raven's breathing slowed as she drifted into sleep. 
They are trapped. All four of them share a cage, but they are not there. Instead, there is wind and water and fire and nature. Out of the wind is the shape of a girl. She melts away, and one by one, the other elements show the shape of a girl. One by one. There's not enough time to get a look at them. Time is precious, and there is only so much of it. They need to freed. They are enslaved. By them. By those who do evil to try and do good.
Raven woke, her heart pounding. It was just a dream. Raven tried to tell herself that. But she couldn't convince herself that it was true. It didn't feel true. And at the end of the dream.. that had felt different. It wasn't quite like the rest of the dream. It had felt true. the entire dream had felt true, but that part had felt true in a different way. Like it was a truth that somebody was trying to hide. But it was just a dream. How could it be true? Raven sighed. I shouldn't be in these woods. I can't be in these woods. I shouldn't even be alive. But Raven was alive. She had found fresh air underwater. And she was in woods that she couldn't possibly be in. So.. she had to believe that anything was possible. Even magic. Which was the only way that Raven could be alive. I can't go home. Raven realized. No one would believe me, if I told them what happened. And there aren't to many places that I could have ended up after falling in the river. It was morning. Earlier in the morning than it had been when Raven fell asleep. at least a full day had passed. Raven had no idea how long it would take her to find her way home. Probably longer than it would take people to look for her. So.. I'm on my own. Great.
== Chapter Eleven: Raven ==
Raven fought back a sob. She could never go back home. It wasn't even home. Not anymore. What do I do know? Raven wondered. I should probably find food. I need to stay within sight of the river though. Raven looked towards the river. There was no more river. Not even the place where the river should have been. The river was completely gone, and there wasn't a single sign that it had been there. Maybe this all a dream. Raven thought frantically. But falling asleep in a dream..? No, that's not possible. Maybe I'm going mad then. Raven growled in frustration. Didn't I read somewhere that if you're going crazy, you don't know you're going crazy? Raven wondered. She had no idea if that was true though. 
Category:Stories