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New Friends, Same Enemies[]

THUNK.

A large boulder bounced off the wall of a cave, crumbling parts of it and sending a sound like thunder booming round the cave. It was a large cave, illuminated by green shards of crystal. Water dripped from the roof and pattered on the floor. Yellow stalactites hung from the roof, and the occasional bat fluttered around, like shifting shadows. A lone waterfall lay in the corner of the cave, spraying mist everywhere around it and delivering the majestic sound of crashing waves on the rocks.

THUNK.

A girl stomped the ground and made a boulder jump out. She then stepped forward and punched it, launching it into the wall again. Her hair was black and long, her eyes were blue and she wore a dirt covered green shirt with dirty blue jeans, a result of doing too many earth-angels. "Andra, could you be any louder?" A young man, in his late teens, was sitting on top of a boulder, holding a home-made bow and arrow. He placed an arrow upon the string and pulled it back to his chin. He took a deep breath in to steady his aim and then released his hold on the arrow. It went flying straight at a crystal on the wall and shattered it into pieces. The glow disappeared with the crystals destruction, like its life force was taken away.

"Come on Jake, it's not like I've been any louder. Besides, no one could hear us down hear anyway." She launched another rock at the wall, again shaking the cave and making a loud crunch.

"I'm just concerned that we will be found out. You're probably creating earthquakes right now." A small pebble hit the back of his head. He remained emotionless and turned to face Andra, who was stood with a smirk on her face whilst floating two pebbles in her hands. "Yeah, funny."

Andra dropped the pebbles in her hand. "You worry too much Jake."

Jake slid down the boulder he was sat on and walked over to Andra. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm just trying to protect my little sister."

This annoyed Andra, she wasn't so little any more, she was almost sixteen. He was always protecting her as well, and she was sick of it. She couldn't do anything without him holding her back. She could never go out with anybody, no they could have bad intentions. She threw off his hand. "Your always protecting me Jake." But she said it softer than it was intended and he took it as a compliment instead of a criticism.

"I will always protect you." His words were sincere, but they fell on the wrong ears. Andra let out a heavy sigh and stormed off towards a large circle at the edge of the cave. Jake followed briskly behind and stood next to her. He placed his hands behind his back and nodded at Andra.

She dropped into a low horse stance and thrusted her arms straight up. The earth shook around them and it began to rise. It scraped the walls, sending a loud screeching sound through their ears, something they had come quite accustomed to over the years. The large stone pillar reached the top of its climb and came to a sudden stop, knocking off Jake's balance and making him stumble.

"Was there any need for that?"

"Lets just get home." Andra stormed off again, leaving Jake in the pouring rain, standing next to a large oak tree.

About a twenty minute walk was all it took to get back to town. This town was relatively new compared to others in the area. It was large and spaced out, the buildings' bricks were their original colour, instead of being covered in green moss and damp from overexposure to the elements.

The area around the town was more flat as well, though it did bare a few hills. Most of it was grassland with a few lush trees scattered around here and there. It would be very susceptible to flooding if the rain came down hard enough.

Andra and Jake's home sat in the middle of town, surrounded by other residencies and shops. Jake walked up the porch and into his house. His mother was sitting in the front room going over some papers for work. "Mum, where's Andra?"

"She went upstairs, probably in her bedroom." His mother replied whilst still looking down at her papers. She was always so busy with work, she never paid any attention to Jake or Andra. She had missed so many things out of both of their lives, and she hated it. One time Jake had to take his mother's place at a parents evening because she was at work.

"Thanks mum." Jake walked upstairs and across the corridor to Andra's room. He knocked on the door.

"What do you want?" Andra's muffled voice carryed an annoyed tone.

"I just wanted to check up on you." No reply came through the door. "Can I come in?"

"No." Andra said sharply, but Jake entered anyway. Andra shot up from her bed. "What did I just say?" Her room was pretty bland for a teenagers room. Her walls were blank white, bar a couple of posters of boy bands. One of the posters hid holes in the wall where she flew pebbles into it once to see what would happen.

"For me not to come in." Andra grunted and Jake still stood near the door. "I just don't want you to be mad at me."

"Then listen to me!" She shouted. She was sick of him constantly ignoring her and doing everything opposite to what she said.

"Andra, stop!" Jake moved further into Andra's room, towards the window.

"Excuse me!?"

"Just wait a second." He reached the window and peeled back the curtain a bit more than it was before. Andra also looked out of her window to see what Jake was pointing out. "Do you see that."

Orange glows flashed off the walls of a distant shop, revealing shadows of men running. "Yeah I see it." All of a sudden a large wave of fire blasted out of the street and what looked like a dozen men flew into a house. A boy ran out onto the street, men in large jackets quickly following him. "He's being chased!" Andra went for her door.

"Whoa, what are you doing?"

"He needs help!"

Jake grabbed Andra's shoulder "Your not going out there. Did you just see the fire?" He motioned his free hand towards the window.

Andra planted her feet heavy into the ground and shoved Jake far back onto her bed. "Your not going to stop me." She ran out of her room, down the stairs and out of the house, barely catching the attention of her mother, and was ready to help the stranger on the street.

"Andra! Wait!" Jake ran after his sister desperately, ready to protect her if need be.

Earlier that morning[]

Flynn was stood up on a crowded tram, holding onto the rails as he was shook violently from side to side. It had been a two hour journey and the cabin was boiling hot and smelled of sweat due to all the people cramped inside. His arm was aching from being stuck in the same position for so long, and his legs were cramped from being locked in an awkward position he had been using to balance himself with.

He had been running for 4 days since his last encounter with the Colonel, and so far he had made no more contact with other Authority members. That's when he thought he'd risk a ride on public transportation instead of walking everywhere. The tram came to a screeching halt, whistling through the ears of everyone on board. It made Flynn grit his teeth together in pain.

The tram beeped and the doors slid open. A flood of people washed out all at once, Flynn wedged in the middle of one of the crowds to stay hidden. When he was a bit further away from the tram, and most people had split from the main crowd, Flynn went off in his own direction down a pathway. The tram station itself was far away from the town, mainly because of its poor aesthetic look and noise pollution. Dirt and dust rested between the tiles on the walls of the station and they were stained yellow from not being cleaned for so long. The town of Yent was far too new and posh to allow any sort of building like that to ruin its look.

As Flynn went down the path, two men who were leaning on a wall reading newspapers looked over at him and nodded to each other simultaneously. They threw their newspapers down and went in pursuit of Flynn. One wore a brown jacket, a white shirt and black pants. The other one wore a long-sleeved blue shirt and brown pants.

The path bordered a wall that blocked off access to the tram tracks and a small woods lay on the left. They walked cautiously behind Flynn, careful not to catch his attention. Unfortunately for them it was already too late, Flynn had seen them from the corner of his eye as they started to follow him. They weren't that smart to be honest, following Flynn down a pathway that only he was on and no one else. It made them stand out easily. The problem was, what were they waiting for? The Authorities usually pounce on benders the moment they see them. In that case they were waiting for him to go somewhere, maybe a trap.

Flynn kept walking, so they didn't know he had spotted them. He just had to wait a little longer...

Flynn quickly span around, swiping a horizontal arc of fire at the agents before they had time to react. He sped off into the woods whilst the agents were stumbled back to escape them. They however were in quick pursuit and ran after him. Flynn ducked and weaved round tree branches and fauna scattered around in the forest, small twigs and leaves crunching with every step. He took a quick look back to see the two agents quickly gaining on him.

Flynn couldn't out run them, but he knew he could face them. He had beat the Colonel by himself and that was just at sunrise. This time it was midday and the sun shone gloriously in the sky as a great source of power. Its heat feeding Flynn, he suddenly halted and turned to face his pursuers. They slowed down, but still kept a light pace. Flynn punched two fire blasts at them, followed through with a low sweeping fire wave. They dodged the two fire blasts and leapt over the low wave of fire.

The agent in the brown jacket was the first to challenge Flynn. Flynn went for a hook punch, but the agent ducked underneath it and went behind Flynn. The agent in the blue shirt went for a roundhouse kick to the stomach, Flynn caught the foot and shot a blast of fire into the agent's chest, knocking him down to the ground. Flynn quickly turned behind him to block a punch thrown by the other agent, he threw another punch and Flynn blocked that too. Using the break between the next attack as a counter, Flynn jabbed the agent's gut twice and pushed him away with both his hands.

The other agent had recovered and had picked up a thick stick with his right hand. He struck Flynn's back whilst he was turned and made him tumble fall to the ground on one knee. Flynn yelled in pain through gritted teeth. The agent went to strike the back of his head, but Flynn rolled forward, successfully evading the attack. He got up and turned to the agent with the stick in his hand and waited for his attack. The agent threw the stick into his other hand and swung it towards Flynn's ribs. Flynn kicked the hand the stick was in and it went flying into a bush. Flynn went for a kick to the stomach, which was easily blocked by the agent's forearm.

Deciding to turn up the heat, Flynn set his fists alight to add a little more power to his punches. He lunged towards the blue shirted agent, swinging punches with each step, fire trailing behind his fists. The agent kept stepping back, or jumping back if need be, to avoid Flynn's fiery punches. His retreat however was stopped by a branch protruding from a nearby tree. As his back cracked against the thick branch, Flynn punched him once across the face, knocking him out cold with a scorch mark on his face.

The agent in the brown jacket wasn't finished though and he went to sweep Flynn from behind, his heavy footsteps however cracked the twigs beneath him, alerting Flynn to his presence. To avoid the sweep Flynn jumped over the leg, turned in the air, and punched a fire blast into the chest of the agent. He was sent to the ground, and when Flynn landed from his short jump he flipped the agent onto his back and rammed his knee into the agent's right shoulder blade. Flynn the grabbed the man's right wrist and pulled his arm up, and back towards himself. He could feel the tension of the tendons, desperately trying to cling onto the shoulder. Screams of pain were sent through the entire woods, scaring birds out of the trees and probably alerting whatever backup they had with them.

As Flynn pulled with all his might, and the agent resisted with all of his might, the gruesome pop of the man's shoulder finally came. It sickened Flynn, but it had to be done. The man was left screaming in pain on the ground, holding his arm and gritting his teeth when he tried to catch his breath.

"He's over here!" Flynn heard the shouts of distant Authority agents, and partially saw their silhouettes passing from tree to tree. The woods were dense, but as Flynn looked for places to hide he saw nothing big enough to fully conceal him. The trees were tall and thick, probably useful as a barricade. Flynn blasted the trunks of four trees, sending them toppling over. The leaves rustled as they were torn away from the intricate web they had made above and a loud thud rumbled the earth as they landed on the ground. It was a sad sight to see, the destruction of nature, but Flynn had to do it. He then set the toppled trees on fire, to cover his escape and slow them down even further.

He then set off running in the vague direction of where Yent was. If he was lucky, they wouldn't find him. Then again, luck hasn't been on Flynn's side for a while now.

***

It took Flynn around 30 minutes to get out of the woods, and luckily he had managed to evade the Authorities patrols, but that didn't mean he would stop running. The land around Flynn was bare now, just thick green grass over flat ground, baron of any other type of greenery. There was a small hill though with a giant oak tree placed on top of it, just like something you would see in a movie. It looked perfect, something the town of Yent would love to have in their scenery.

Flynn set off towards the hill in a light jog. His body begging for a break, but his mind forbidding it. Flynn had an increased stamina because of all the running he had been doing for the past week and the sun gave him more energy as well. He reached the top of the hill and, just as predicted, the town of Yent stood there in the middle of what was once an open field. A magnificent display of brand new buildings and shops, all perfectly spaced out to create the perfect living environment. It was fairly small for a town, but it was meant to be. A new compact town, with perfect houses, brand new shops and no crime.

"Too perfect to be true." He thought to himself. He took a break and sat down at the base of the tree. He let out a large sigh and leaned his head against the oak tree. It was then he felt a slight rumble underneath him. He felt it again and a look of curiosity went across his face. He went on all fours and placed his ear to the ground, the grass tickling it slightly. He heard rumbles in the earth below him, like a small earthquake. Whatever it was got him moving again, and what little energy he gained from his short break was quickly exhausted as he set off running for Yent.

***

When Flynn reached town he began walking calmly and coolly, so he wouldn't attract any unwanted attention from people. He was still in the same black shirt and blue jeans from the day this whole ordeal started. It was a permanent reminder of those he had lost, and what little he had left. He had no one any more, it was just him against this cruel world, and the conflict within himself. The only friend he truly had was the sun, a burning beacon of hope floating in the sky, but that wasn't there forever.

Flynn walked down the high-street with his hands in his pockets, scanning the area for any more people reading newspapers against a wall. Luckily there was none, but everyone did seem suspicious in their own right. Everyone was smiling constantly, greeting each other as they walked by. It was too creepy, their smiles stretched from one side of their face to the other, but they didn't look real, like they were hiding their true emotions behind a fake plastic smile. A man came out of nowhere and shoved past Flynn with his shoulder, pricking his skin slightly in the arm. "Watch it!" He shook his head and kept walking, not feeling the slight pin prick in his arm.

Flynn started to feel dizzy all of a sudden and he dropped onto a bench in the middles of a small grass patch. Something was strange. Suddenly Flynn's vision began to blur and everything started to swirl around him. He weakly reached out before toppling off the bench and onto the grass, unconscious.

***

He was running for his life down a tight alleyway, the Colonel quick on his tail. One stumble and it would be all over for him. His heart was racing and his pace was slowing down. That was when he saw a brightly lit door at the end of the alleyway, shining in all of its glory. He rammed through the door with his shoulder and was suddenly trapped within a glass box.

The door that was behind him had vanished and all that stood there was a wall. He rubbed his hands against it vigorously, ripping skin off the harder he tried. He turned around and another alleyway faded into view. Will was kneeling there on the floor, a tall authority agent holding a gun to his head. "NO!" Flynn banged desperately on the glass so he could help his friend. He saw himself on the roof of the building. "Don't just sit there, help him!" He desperately screamed to himself. But it was too late.

BANG.

Flynn closed his eyes and tears streamed from the corners of them. He was too late, he didn't help him, he could of, but he didn't. He just sat there and watched. Before the agents left the alleyway, he saw himself jump from the building and land with a thud. He saw himself bearing the ultimate look of hatred and anger. It was pure. Flynn didn't see himself there, he only saw a monster. It killed the tall agent in cold blood with such ferocity he couldn't even describe it.

The glass box then shattered and the beast turned to see Flynn standing there, observing the scene of bloodshed. He let out a primal scream and ran towards Flynn with his hands set alight. Flynn tried to run away but the alleyway's exit was blocked by a gigantic brick wall, he just looked at it in shock and slowly turned to face his fate. The primal monster shot a blast of fire straight at Flynn's face.

The last thing he saw was the look of evil. The last thing he felt was fear. Then the orange flame engulfed him.

Flynn's eyes shot open and heat rushed through his body. He panted heavily and he was sweating from fright. He looked around himself, only to find out that he was encased in some sort of metal container with his hands bound behind his back with rope. Still in a panic, he stood straight up and kicked flames blindly around himself. Through the flashes of orange he saw what looked like a door and began blasting it with kicks of fire.

The heat in the container was rising, and on the outside the metal was starting to turn red from the pure heat that was being given off Flynn. He kicked again at the door, creating a massive dent. Five Authority agents who were playing cards on a table in the middle of an empty building heard the noise and quickly rose, scraping their chairs against the floor. They walked over to the front of the industrial container and got into fighting stances, ready to face the bender if he escaped. They were already sweating from the heat the container was giving off.

Another dent appeared in the front of the container and the agents all jumped back in shock. Another dent appeared, then another. There then was a break in the attacks. "Maybe he got tired?" One of the agents said and they all let out a nervous chuckle. The door then bust open and hit all five agents across the room followed by a wave of fire which travelled about 5 metres and then dissipated.

Flynn was left standing in the container, smoke and steam surrounding him. He set his hands alight and pulled them apart, disintegrating the rope into nothing but ash. He looked around for agents, but only saw five, unconscious underneath a metal door. Flynn dashed towards one of the windows and barged through it, hoping that he would be able to escape.

Yet again though, luck was not on his side. He was still in Yent, but was being held in a shop that was yet to be claimed by anybody and twenty agents surrounded it. Flynn just stood there as the agents began to slowly move in on him. He was on a main street thankfully, so he had a lot of space to move and a lot of light. On the other hand it was night time, and Flynn felt completely drained of energy. He punched two blasts of fire at different agents, taking them by surprise and knocking them down to the ground. The others then started to run at Flynn. He shot at two more agents, but they easily dodged the fire.

They were closing in and Flynn had nowhere to turn. He had to think of way way through this wall of men. "Wall of men..." he thought. He then smirked a little "Walls can be broken." Flynn pulled both his hands up to his chest and took a deep breath in. The men were getting closer and were just about in striking range when Flynn pushed him arms out rapidly and sent a gigantic wave of fire down one side of the street. The agents in its path were launched into houses at the end of the street. Some were even stuck inside the brickwork, others simply bounced off and landed with a sickening crunch, smoke rising from their bodies. The wave of fire curled at the edges and small cinders fell from it as it dissipated.

Flynn followed the wave out of the street and came to a crossroads. He was now on the outskirts of the main residencies and the shops. He looked back, and ten agents were left and quickly closing in on him. Flynn set off running again, but failed to see an agent running across a rooftop. the agent jumped off to intercept him. Flynn only noticed at the last second and he saw the man leaping through the air, only to be hit by a small boulder and sent flying back 20 feet.

Flynn looked forward again and saw a girl standing there with her fist out like she just punched something. He finally reached her, panting like a dog. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet." Andra said and pointed towards the agents running towards them. she stomped the ground and launched two rocks just out in front of her and punched them towards the men. Two were hit by one, and another agent was hit by the other one. They were all sent flying back to the ground unconscious. Flynn looked at the girl and smiled. "That was good. My turn." Flynn dropped into a boxing stance, he found firebending a lot easier in this stance, and jabbed two blasts of fire, followed by a roundhouse kick at the agents. One got hit, but Flynn was so weak, the other blasts deteriorated before they even reached them.

Andra looked in shock at Flynn. She finally found someone who was like her. He could move the elements too. This was probably one of the happiest moments of her life, finally someone who could understand her. In her daydream though she didn't realise a man approaching behind her with a metal bar. An arrow whistled through the air though and went straight through the man's wrist. His scream of pain brought Andra out of her daydream and she turned to face the man and sent him flying with a small earth pillar. She then realised Jake knelt down on a roof of a nearby house, bow in hand.

He used his bow to slide down the wall, sparks and dust flying behind it. When he landed he sprinted towards the agents, bow still in hand. Flynn looked at him as he passed by with a face of pure disbelief. This guy was like some sort of ninja. Jake charged into the five men and took them all on. he smacked one in the face with his bow, making him stumble back. He turned to one of the agents and elbowed him in the face, he then swung his bow into his stomach making him lean over before kneeing him in the face, sending him toppling to the ground. Another agent went to punch Jake in the stomach, but he caught his hand, pulled the man forward and kicked in his back shin, sending him down to the ground. Still keeping hold of the man's hand he pulled an arrow from his quiver and slammed it into the man's hand, pinning it to the floor.

There were now 3 agents left, one of which had a busted nose from Jake's elbow to the face. They were struck with fear, wondering whether or not to attack. Jake just stood there, his face emotionless, waiting for the right moment. A boulder hit one and then a blast of fire hit the other, leaving the agent in the middle standing alone. Jake just strolled up to him and punched him in the face, knocking him out instantly. Noticing the other two were only stunned by Andra's and Flynn's attacks he hit them both hard on the head with his bow, knocking them unconscious.

"Who are you?" Andra asked.

Flynn grabbed her arm and Jake went to attack before Andra stopped him with a cold stare. Snapping his head around he said. "It's not safe here, we need a place to hide." He let go of Andra's arm. "Then we can talk."

Andra looked over at Jake. "No way." He whispered. "We are not taking him there."

"But come on. Look at him." She motioned towards Flynn, who was a few feet away looking down alleyways. "He needs our help, and he clearly knows more than we do."

"Why do you want to help him Andra? He's not safe."

"Because..." Andra looked into her brothers eyes. "Because he's like me." She saw something in them, something that she never thought she'd see. Understanding.

"Fine. We'll bring him back to the cave. Go get him."

A massive smile went across Andra's face and she ran for Flynn. Her smile still beaming, she looked at Flynn, who was still inspecting alleyways. She gently nudged him to get his attention. he turned around and that was when she got a good look at him. His skin was pale and his eyes bore dark circles underneath them, but they did have an amber iris. It made her feel warm just looking at them, a small sign of life in his pale face.

"What?"

"We know a place where we can hide."

"Good can you take me there?"

"Certainly." The whole time she didn't stop looking into his eyes. "Follow me." She waved her arm to get Jake over and the trio took off for the old oak tree, and the cavern that lay far beneath it.

***

Andra slid open the ground beneath the tree by motioning her arms outwards. the moonlight shone down on all three of them, any other time this would have been suspicious, but as far as the night was concerned, they were just more shadows in the darkness. "Alright, hop on board." Flynn dropped down the small hole Andra just revealed and looked around. Jake quickly followed, keeping a close eye on him.

"Hold on tight." Flynn readied himself for whatever was about to happen. Andra dropped into a horse stance and pushed her palms down. The earth shook and began to descend, making Flynn wobble slightly. Jake just remained perfectly still with his hands behind his back, still looking at Flynn. Flynn looked up to see the full moon's circle perfectly fit the circumference of the hole, casting down a beam of moonlight which gently illuminated the descent into darkness, only for it to be blocked by the earth slamming shut again above him.

The elevator was now pitch black. Not even a soul could find it's way. Flynn began to panic, but remained perfectly still. The darkness was encroaching on his mind, teasing the primal instincts within. The need for the flame returned and egged on the back of his mind. He had no choice but to give in, the darkness was drowning him like a black sea and his memories began returning again. A massive flame erupted from his hands, reaching ten feet into the air, illuminating Jake, Andra and the entire area around them in a creepy orange glow before dying back down into nothingness.

In that split second he saw fascination from Andra and a cold and worried look from Jake. That guy was not to be trifled with. The darkness was ended shortly after though when they were slowly greeted by the glow of green crystals scattered around a large cave. He looked over at Andra. "Nice place."

"Thank you." the earth elevator stopped and Andra walked into the cave's mighty entrance. She motioned towards the rest of the cave. "Make yourself at home."

Flynn walked up to the side of Andra and Jake hovered closely behind. Flynn heard something. It sounded like running water. Then he realised a water fall in the corner of the cave, its plunge pool green from the crystals that shone underneath it. Flynn's eyes widened and a look of pure delight replaced the once scared one. "WATER!" He shouted as he ran across the cave floor, dodging stalagmites on the way. he threw off his shirt and dove straight into the plunge pool. It was freezing but it was amazing. A hundred worries and stresses were washed away as Flynn floated still in the water. His memories, his fears, all gone for just a second, but that was enough to escape this mad world and vision something far greater. A world where he was at peace, where he and his family were all back together. A time that made sense.

He was interrupted however when Andra sat by a nearby rock next to the pool. "So can we talk now?"

"Sure." Flynn got out of the water, his bare chest showing. he reached a hand out for Andra to shake. "Name's Flynn." He smirked. Andra blushed and shook his hand. "I'm Andra." Flynn picked up his shirt from the ground, put it on and went over to Jake. He reached his hand out like he did with Andra but Jake just stood there with his arms folded. After a few seconds of Flynn keeping his hand out, he awkwardly put it into his pocket. "Flynn, nice to meet you." Flynn's voice was nice and sincere.

"Jake." The way he said his name said it all about him. it was quick and to the point, emotionless. This man obviously was a cold person, one who didn't trust easy.

The awkward moment was broken when Andra shouted from near the pool. "So why were you running from those guys?"

Flynn turned to her. "The same reason you'll be running from them."

"What!?" jake said through gritted teeth. This Flynn was trouble.

"How old are you Jake?"

"Eighteen, why?"

"Doesn't matter." He walked over to Andra, Jake still following him. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"When is your sixteenth birthday?" He asked with urgency.

"Tomorrow." He winced and looked down at the floor. If only they had more time to prepare. "Why does it matter?" She asked, confused at Flynn's reaction.

Flynn grabbed Andra's shoulders. "Because tomorrow they're going to find out about your bending."

Andra raised an eyebrow. "My what now?"

"Your earthbending. Your ability to move rocks. They will find out about it."

Jake grabbed Flynn's shoulder firmly and turned him around, he was clearly worried at this point. "How?"

"They have this little device thingy. If the needle goes up to a certain level you can bend."

"The what do they do?" Andra asked, even she was concerned at this point.

Flynn shrugged off Jake's hand and turned to face Andra again. "When they find out..." Flynn looked down at the floor again. He had to tell her the truth, but that would only make her feel worse than she already is. He hand to put it lightly. "When they find out they will chase you, and a lot of people you care about will be hurt."

"How do we know your telling the truth?" Jake said.

"Because that is what happened to me, I've been on the run for almost a week now. And they won't give up."

"So what are you saying?"

Before Flynn could even speak, Jake walked from behind Flynn to look him in the eye. "He's trying to say that if we run now, we won't get hurt. Is that right?" Flynn slowly nodded his head. "Andra I'll be back in a second." Jake took off into one of the only dark parts in the cave.

"Why would they chase us?" Andra asked.

"I don't know exactly, but I do know it is a long story. All you need to know is that they call themselves the Authorities and they have been doing this for a looong time."

Andra's head was rushing. This was all so fast. One minute she was fine and happy and the next she was being told she would be hunted for having a special talent. If this was true, her whole life would be turned upside down so quickly. lost in her thoughts the room suddenly became black and she paid attention to nothing around her.

Flynn noticed that blank stare. He did it himself all the time. He put his hand on one of her shoulders gently "Hey, it's gonna be okay. I know what it feels like, to have all this pressure just dropped on you all at once. Just think how I felt when this happened to me." She looked up into his amber eyes. "least you've got somebody."

"Back." Jake returned into the green light from the darkness, holding a backpack in his hand.

"What's that?" Andra asked.

"Small survival kit. It's got food, water, fir-"

"Wait, what?" Andra cut him off. "How long has that been here?"

"Since we first found the place. I was worried we would get trapped in some freaky cave in. I've been keeping this thing restocked for ages now."

"Are you sure it was for cave-ins, and not just for a situation like this?" Jake didn't reply, that was his answer. "I can't believe you..." She turned away from her brother in disgust. "So we are just leaving then?"

"Yes."

That one word was just too much in itself. Jake was being protective again, making sure that she wouldn't be hurt, but at the same time taking away her freedom of choice. she knew she couldn't persuade him to think any different and sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll just throw away everything I love, just like that! It's that simple!" She flung her hands up in the air and the entire cave shook, sending stalactites down from the ceiling and shattering some of the crystals I the cave.

"No one said it would be easy." Jake said to try and calm her down before they were buried beneath the earth.

"No no one did. No one said anything at all!" She threw her arms down and the floor cracked slightly. Flynn was just stood there with a look of worry on his face, not sure what to do.

"Andra we need to go. If what he says is true then not only will you be hurt, so will mum."

That one hurt, but it was true. She wouldn't want anything bad happen to her mother, even if she never paid any attention to her. That point was when it all boiled down to one decision. "Okay..." She said weakly. An idea then occurred to her and she looked over at Flynn. "We're going with you."

"You are?" Flynn said in shock

"We are?" Jake asked in the same level of bewilderment. he pulled andra in close and whispered in her ear. "I don't think that is a good idea. We should make our own way."

"Jake, he knows what he is doing. He probably has a place to go where he will be safe."

"Absolutely not, we aren't going anywhere with him." He protested.

Andra's voice then took on a sly tone. "Then I won't go at all." She smirked and pulled away from Jake, who just stood there in disbelief. He had never seen her act like this, ever. She skipped over to Flynn. "So where are we going?"

"Honestly I had no idea I was going to pick up anybody else, I have no plan at all for where I'm gonna go." This was terrible, he never had a plan. Now the lives of two people, maybe even more rested in his decision. Then he remembered.

"The south Pole is a safe haven for all benders. there you can live a peaceful life, free from the authorities."

Khana's voice of wisdom echoed in the back of his mind, then it hit him. Now that others were in his hands he had a responsibility, just like Khana did, to guide people to the right path of survival. It was the least he could do for her memory. "I do have a thought though."

"Yeah?" Andra asked.

"How does a peaceful colony in the South Pole sound to you?"

"Great! But wait, it's in the South Pole. How do we even get there?"

"Easy." Jake said. "If we can make it to Spain we should be able to catch a boat there."

"It's that easy." Andra said sarcastically.

"He could be right." Flynn said. "There is no chance we are getting there from here. If you think about it, Spain is the easiest way."

"You have to be joking."

"Nope, I'll think about it more in my sleep."

"In your sleep?"

"We should get some rest, we have a long journey tomorrow." Jake said and her walked off to one of the most comfy stones in the cave.

Andra stomped the ground, and two rectangles about six feet long stuck up from the earth, covered in dust. "That should do as a bed."

"Thanks." Flynn said with a smile.

"No problem."

"And Andra. I'm sorry."

I'm sorry the words echoed in her mind as Andra slipped off into a deep slumber.

***

Andra's eyes fluttered open, her vision blurred by sleep in her eyes. "Ugh..." She felt groggy and her eyes stung.

"Happy birthday!" Flynn shoved a sausage roll in front of her face, steam rising from the top of it. Andra slowly sat up, still in a half-conscious state.

"Thank you..." She said weakly and put it at the edge of the stone bed. She let out a long yawn and stretched her arms up high. "How did you cook this?" Flynn just created a small flame in the palm of his hand and smirked. "Oh yeah..." She picked up the sausage roll and began nibbling away at it, Flynn sat next to her on the bed. She looked at him with a mouth full of pastry crumbs and smiled. "This is delicious."

Flynn chuckled. "Glad you enjoy it."

"What are you having for breakfast?" Andra asked.

Flynn got up off the bed and walked over to his. "Oh, I'm not having anything." It was then Andra saw the empty packet in his back pocket. She looked down at her hands, not even realising she had ate the whole thing just seconds ago. A wave of guilt washed over her and she went over to Flynn.

"I'm sorry, I should of offered you some. I didn't realise tha-"

He put a hand on her shoulder and laughed "Andra, it's okay. Its your birthday and I didn't have anything else to get you."

"But you won't be able to eat now."

Flynn smirked. "I've gone longer without food, trust me."

Andra looked around the cavern. "Where's Jake?"

"I dunno, he was over by that shady corner when I woke up." Flynn stretched his arms up and yawned. "I don't know what that guys problem is, but he has one hell of an obsession with suspicious things."

Andra giggled slightly. "Don't worry, I'll check for him." She stomped her foot hard on the ground and a pulse of vibrations waved out, bouncing off the features of the cave. She managed to feel the figure of her brother near the waterfall. "He's actually over there." She pointed towards the waterfall with her eyes closed.

Flynn looked over and saw the silhouette of Jake behind a green mist of water. "How did you do that?"

"Oh it's nothing really. I can just sense the vibrations in the earth, from your footsteps..." She motioned to a nearby puddle "To the water dripping on the ground"

"That's pretty cool."

"Andra!" Jake shouted from behind his cover of mist. He walked through it, making it dance in different directions as it parted ways for him. "You ready to go?" Andra didn't answer, she just looked at him with excitement in her face. He returned that with a strange look as if to say are you feeling okay?.

Andra read his face and her whole up-beat mood was dropped instantly. "You don't know?" She said quietly.

"Don't know what?"

"Nothing, doesn't matter." Andra hung her head low, tears welling up in her eyes. Flynn moved a little closer behind her to offer some sort of comfort, for what it was worth.

"Okay." Jake ignored Andra's dismal expression and looked at his watch. "It is exactly eight-thirty. If we set off now we can make it to the next town south of here by lunch time." He looked over at Andra. "Can you get the door?"

Her face twisted into anger. "Fine." She said through gritted teeth and stormed off to the entrance of the elevator. "Get on." Flynn cautiously got on, trying not to set off the time bomb of emotion that was brewing in Andra. Jake just strolled on like nothing was wrong and Flynn cast him a dirty look from the corner of his eye.

Andra thrusted her arms up, more aggressively than before though, and the elevator shot up at an extreme speed. The force pushed Flynn and Jake down onto their stomachs as the wind pushed down on them like a hurricane, whistling in their ears in a ghostly scream. Andra stood perfectly still, her feet buried in the ground to keep herself steady. Flynn managed to push his neck upwards to see the panel of earth, quickly approaching. He closed his eyes, preparing for the worst. The elevator then stopped instantly and Jake and Flynn were flung upwards into the panel above. Their backs cracked as they hit it, and they landed down on the floor with a thud, dust flying everywhere.

Andra put her hands together and separated them rapidly, opening up the panel. "We are here." She said in a dark voice. Flynn and Jake just remained speechless and looked at each other with concerned looks. They all climbed out of the hole and Andra slammed the earth together, shaking the ground and making leaves fall off the oak tree. they all looked towards the grassy hills. It was beautiful. The Sun reflected off the morning due and the grass glittered like stars in the night sky. Andra was about to speak, but a short whistle, followed by a piece of bark splintering off the oak tree interrupted her.

"Sniper!" Jake shouted and he got into cover behind the tree. Andra stomped the ground and raised up a small earth wall for her and Flynn to hide behind. Flynn tried to look where the sniper was, but he flinched back when a bullet hit the top of the wall.

"I can't see him!" He shouted to Jake.

"Don't worry." Jake saw the glint that was given off by the snipers telescopic sight. "I see him." He said coldly. He unclipped a small object from the side of the backpack and pressed a button. It clicked and instantly snapped out into a fully extended bow. He unclipped a box from the other side, and in it were arrows, each in halves to save space. Jake set the bow don by his side, calmly ignoring the bullets whistling pass the tree. he screwed together and arrow and stoked it from one side to the other like it was some sort of ritual. He picked up the bow and placed the arrow in the string. Jake stood up and leant against the tree to make sure he had good balance.

He took a deep breath in and drew the string back to his chin. The world then went silent for him. All he could hear was the wind, not the whistling of bullets, not Flynn shouting at the top of his voice. It was just him in his own little world. His eyes narrowed on the target and he closed his eyes. he breathed out as he released hi grip on the arrow. The string cracked like a whip, but the arrow flew gracefully into the sky, not making a noise. It flew through the air like a metastatic eagle, glinting as the sun reflected off it. But, like any other bird of prey, it had its target and started its deadly decent.

as it rocketed down the sniper looked out of his scope to see a black speck on the sun. It grew bigger and bigger until, from its silhouette, broke through the arrow head. The sniper closed his eyes and the arrow went right through his head. Jake lowered his bow and clicked the button again, folding it back into its compact form. He clipped it, and the arrow box, back onto the backpack and looked at Flynn and Andra, who were still behind the rock wall looking at Jake in amazement.

"What?" Jake asked calmly.

Flynn stood up, his voice full of enthusiasm. "You just hit a sniper in the head from a thousand metres away! With an arrow!"

"I did what I had to. Now lets get going, before more show up." He motioned them to follow. Flynn got up and quickly followed Jake, who set off walking down the hill. Andra though, stood still for a while. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

Flynn noticed and went back to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Hey, there's nothing to worry about."

"It's not just leaving everything behind Flynn." She started to cry gently, making sure her brother didn't hear. "He forgot my birthday."

"Listen, Andra, you have more than you could ever wish for." She sniffed and looked into his eyes again. Those fiery eyes gave her hope, but more than that, they showed understanding. "You have a loving brother and mother. He may of not got you anything, but he still loves you. And that's worth more than any present in the world." He smirked and walked off. He waved her over. "Come on, we don't want your brother to actually miss us now, would we?"

Andra wiped away her tears and smiled. "No we wouldn't." She walked over to Flynn and stood next to him. "Lets go." And they walked off to catch up to Jake with only one thing on their mind.

Get to the South Pole.

Authority Command Centre[]

The room was pitch black, besides from the soft blue glow of a holographic keyboard. Three glass panes were being held in the air by small metal poles. On each screen a man was covered in darkness, but there was just enough light to see the outline of their heads. the Colonel stood at the keyboard with his arms behind his back.

"Do you know why we have called you here Colonel?" The middle man said, his voice masked by a voice changer

"Yes sir."

"Then you know of your spectacular failure at the hands of the child." the one on the right said.

"Yes sir."

"Then you must also know that we are taking you off the case. our agents have reported they have captured the child, and he will be delivered here in two days for processing."

"Sir, with all due respect, I would like to remain on the case."

The man on the right lent closer to the camera. "We know of your connection with the boy. And we can't let that interfere with your work."

The Colonel raised his fist up. "The boy will escape, and I'm the best man for the job."

"Your concious may of been driven to revenge. You know a field agent can't be compromised."

The man in the middle remained speechless, until someone passed him a file. he opened it for a brief moment before setting it aside out of screen. "We may not have a choice gentlemen."

"What!?" the man on the right snapped.

"I have received an updated report that the boy has escaped."

"Impossible..." The man on the left sounded dumbstruck. "How could a boy defeat all those agents?"

"He has backup now apparently. An earthbender and a young man have joined him."

The Colonel's face lit up with opportunity. "Send me in! I'll deal with them."

"Fine..." The two on the right and left admitted defeat and put their votes in.

The man in the middle stood up, his white outline slowly fading. "Then it is agreed. The council gives you permission to resume the case of Flynn Grant."

"Thank you sir."

The man in the middle raised his index finger up. "But if you fail to bring him down, you will be stripped of your rank, your house, your money and dishonourably discharged from the Authorities. Do you understand?"

The Colonel dropped his head slightly. "Yes sir." He hissed. The monitors then shut off and the keyboard disappeared, getting rid of the blue glow and leaving the Colonel in complete darkness. The last words of the council echoing in his mind.


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