"Hey, what's that?"
Jason hardly had a moment to turn when Andrea raced ahead of him to the fence she had noticed. The forest they travelled through ended, and beyond the wooden stakes laid a desert of red sand.
Andrea stopped before a sign and gazed at the letters. "Warning," it said in five different languages. Jason wondered how many she could read.
Jumping the fence with ease, he said, "Welcome to the Burns. Watch your step. I don't need you to burn your other foot."
"You're a real comedian," Andrea retorted, following after him.
Jason held up his arm and stopped her. She glanced at him bewilderedly and was about to question him when a burst of fire erupted from the ground some feet before them. "I wasn't making a joke," he said. "Let's go."
Andrea took a moment before catching her breath and overcoming the startle of nearly being roasted alive. "So that's why they call it the Burns."
"No, actually."
"No?! What could possibly be worse than fire randomly bursting from the ground?"
"Lots of things." In the distance, a loud shriek echoed across the red sand dunes. "Like that."
"And what exactly is that?"
"Something you'd best pray never hunts you. We need to keep moving. There's some hills ahead. We can shelter there for the night."
They continued. The sun blazed down upon the sand in a hopelessly repressive heat. A normal human would have fainted from dehydration long ago. But these two were not normal humans. They were gifted—or rather, cursed, as Jason always said—with the Fire. The sun only fueled them as food and rest fueled a man.
Jason glanced at his companion. Her face and eyes were alert and unfocused. She had probably never before felt so energized. Grabbing her hand, he said, "If you hope to survive as a Flame, you need to learn how to release the energy without creating fire."
Andrea blinked at him. "What?"
"The primary cause of death to a Flame is hypothermia. The Fire element consumes their body heat faster than it can be replenished. That is why Flames live in the Burns. Because the air here helps fuel the Fire. But then, the Fire collects within a Flame's body. If left unchecked, it will grow too strong and eventually the Flame with suffer from spontaneous combustion."
"You—you're kidding! Right?"
"I wish I was."
"How am I supposed to... release the energy? Is that what you said?"
"Right, I forget you've never seen a Flame before." Jason rummaged through his pack and pulled out a small purple stone. "You're still too young to withstand your Fire. That, naturally, is the easiest and quickest way to burn—literally—all the excess energy. But there are other, safer ways to release energy. Take this. Even just holding it, it has already turned blue. This will absorb any heat you emit so long as its not fire. Make it red."
Andrea looked at the rock, twisting it in her fingers as she processed all that Jason had said. Cupping the orb in her hands, she stared intently as it slowly shifted from blue to teal. As it became green, she yelped and dropped the stone, fire dancing across her palms. Jason snuffed the flames and pressed his ice cold hands against her injured skin. Then he picked up the orb and commanded her to try again.
"But don't focus so hard. Let the energy flow naturally from your core and into your fingers. That's the hardest place to release it, so if you can figure that out, you can learn to release the energy subconsciously."
"The hardest? Shouldn't I start with, oh I don't know, the easiest?"
"Do you want to survive or not?"
Andrea grumbled and held the stone tightly. Jason tapped her knuckles, so she loosened her grip. The orb again turned from purple to blue, blue to teal. As it neared green, Jason placed his hand against her stomach. She started from his touch before realizing that he was suppressing the Fire. Understanding how it was supposed to feel, Andrea focused on her fingertips, mimicing the sensation from her core. The orb continued to change color: green to yellow to orange to, finally, red.
Jason took the stone and shook it, returned it to the original purple. "Again. I won't help you this time."
Andrea obeyed. It took longer for her to change its color. Whenever she felt the Fire creep towards her fingers, she panicked and suppressed all the energy rather than just the element. Eventually, she did manage to briefly make the stone bright red. Again, Jason snatched away the orb and returned it purple.
"Faster," he said.
The rest of their walk that day was focused on this exercise. Andrea struggled to find the proper balance of suppressing her power while still releasing the energy it stored. By the time they found a cave for shelter, she had hardly progressed, and what little improvement she could claim was far from satisfactory.
"You're lucky I'm here," Jason grumbled as he set down his pack and aimlessly rummaged through its contents. "Anyone else, you won't make it. I can at least take the excess energy from you. You'll be cold for the night, but its better than burning yourself alive."
"You sure don't mince your words."
"I told you from the start. The Elements are not something to be trifled with. I warned that all they have to offer is pain and suffering."
"And beauty! I've read about what Elementals can do with their powers. I've seen what you can do with your powers. If the Elements are so bad, why do you still use them?"
Jason frowned and looked away. He was different. And not in some self-conceited manner either. He had searched high and low for another such as himself, yet still only he could wield the Elements with little consequence. How could he explain this to her? He couldn't. He didn't know himself how or why he was different. His fingers explored the scars that lay hidden beneath his clothes. If only he could remember...
"Okay, fine! I get it. You don't want to talk about it. I'll stop asking already. No need to give me the silent treatment." Andrea hugged her knees and glared at the ground. Sweat dripped from her face and hands.
"Lay down so I can help you a little."
She obeyed. Jason hovered a hand over her body, starting at her ankles and working his way to her brow. A faint glow radiated in the space between them as he relieved the pressure the Fire element exerted upon her. Gathering the energy into a ball, he carried it back to his pack and carefully stored it within several small vials.
"I'm cold," Andrea shivered.
He tossed her a blanket. She mumbled a thanks, which he hardly acknowledged as he set to reorganizing his pack.
"I can feel you staring," he said after a few minutes. "Go to sleep. You'll need whatever rest your body can still get."
"What about you?"
"Don't worry about me."
Andrea rolled over and her breathing slowed. Jason grunted, amused, and pulled out a book. He examined the black leather cover for a moment before putting it away. It wasn't time for that quite yet.
