Difficult Life: Elemental on the Run

By Abby Nield

Tilda thinks she is just a normal girl, however she is the strongest Elemental to ever exist, but only one person knows this fact, and it is not her! Her father is evil and has terrible plans for the world, but to make his plan a reality, he needs the extraordinary powers of his daughter. Tilda has no intention of helping in his wicked plans, so she runs away. Moving from place to place to avoid being caught by her fathers squads, she is not able to settle in a real home or make any real friends.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Sep 10, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483693774

Abby Nield

Abby Nield is a 15-year-old school student from a country town on the Eyre Peninsula. She lives on a farm where she enjoys the open spaces and the chance to help her Dad with sheep work. Abby attends church regularly, enjoys going on Christian youth camps and loves her sport. This ambitious young author is an avid reader of fiction filled with a wild imagination and an insatiable desire to write.

Book preview

Be True to Yourself

Abby Nield

Note to Readers:

POV at the beginning of each chapter indicates whose point of view the story is written from. This will alternate between Tilda and Chase.

PROLOGUE

My Childhood

Tilda’s point of view (POV)

My heart pounded as Dad slammed the door, indicating his return. The memories of his victimisation just for his enjoyment-the whips slashed on our skins, the metal bars bashed on our legs and the punches and kicks he served—were meant to instil fear. He belted us until we were unconscious and blood leaked all over the floor. Whips, rulers, and batons were the more mild weapons he used.

When he walked into the kitchen that fateful night, Dad seemed agitated. I felt something horrible was about to happen. My mother was first to approach him. She rarely got more than a punch or two, unlike us kids that received most of his beatings. I wasn’t too worried about her when she went to talk to him.

I continued reading my book until an ear-splitting scream tore through the air. My heart pumped as I raced into the kitchen. When I rounded the corner, I felt like screaming, but found no voice. Dad stood over Mum’s lifeless, fallen body, which was covered in blood. He held a knife and had a large evil grin plastered on his face.

I felt my older brother, Tim’s, body next to mine. Dad lunged at us without hesitation. Tim pushed my smaller brother, Tyson, and me behind his back so he’d be the next target. Fear overwhelmed me. I just wanted everything to stop. I was really close to Tim and loved him dearly. I screamed and closed my eyes to block out the sight of them wrestling. I heard a thud as Tim’s body hit the ground. Tears streamed down my face as I started to shake with fear.

Dad strode towards us with a crooked grin spread across his face. My legs collapsed under me, so I just lay there waiting. Tyson was hysterical. My heart ached as I heard the high-pitched screaming stop almost instantly.

I could hear his footsteps coming up behind me. A strong hand crushed my shoulder and swung me around on to a chair. He stared at me intensely and hissed, ‘Do you know why I’m going to spare you?’ He looked evil with blood splattered across his face.

‘I don’t care. You’re evil, and I never want to see you again,’ I spat back.

His smile dropped, and he ripped me out of the chair and threw me on to the blood stained floor. Kicking me in the stomach and belting me with the whip, the dreaded crack echoed through my head. Lifting the knife, the cold blade slashed down my back, opening up my skin. A searing pain followed the line of my wound as blood trickled to the floor. I whimpered a little before curling up into a ball to protect myself from any further damage.

‘I’ll keep you alive because I know you can help me take over the country, and then the world. You can control all the elements, and you can control them well. The most gifted child and a very strong one, but don’t let that get to your head, you’re still useless.’

The sound of sirens was music to my ears. Dad cursed under his breath. As I passed in and out of consciousness, Dad crouched close to my face and whispered, ‘No matter how much you run and hide, I will find you, and you will help me win.’

After that dreaded night, he disappeared. Ever since that day, I’d been running from the squads of armed men he would send after me to try to bring me back. Although there had been many close encounters, thankfully none had succeeded, but I couldn’t rest until he stopped the chase.

Welcome to my life…

INTRODUCTION

What’s Going On?

Need to Know

Elementals display a special skill in controlling any element of the earth, such as fire, water, air or nature. A few are lucky enough to control more than one element. Some of them have to train continuously to get total control over their gift while others only need a little practise.

A shifter is someone that has a tattoo or scar shape on their arm that represents a certain animal. The logo is etched into the skin of a child by their parents, and this allows that person to shift into that particular animal at any time.

Most of the elementals have a logo, and rarely do they have two. The most common logos are the wolf and the tiger. Over the years, they have formed groups called the Wolves and the Tigers, and they’ve become sworn enemies. Every now and then, they clash, and there is a battle between them. Both groups live in the forest just on the edge of town.

Most people know about the legend of the White Tiger or White Wolf. This White Tiger/White Wolf, which is actually the same creature, contains the logo of both a wolf and a tiger. This legend hasn’t yet been fulfilled, but it is known that the White creature is enemies with no animal. All animals will bow to the White beast except for the shifters, who have a choice to be friends or enemies. But the best part is that this White animal is also a shifter…

CHAPTER 1

Knowing Your Way Around

Tilda’s POV

New school. New life. New secrets. Great . . . more hiding.

These were the things that went through my mind as I stood in front of my new school. It was a huge building made of old cream bricks with a huge stadium out the back. Down the side there were double glass doors leading from the cafeteria out to a large lawn area with chairs and trees scattered around.

I stood there imagining the students moving around the place like a swarm of bees. Gossip and bitching would be on top of most people’s lists of things to do, except for the love-struck girls, who only care about hooking up with the hot guys from the football team. Lucky for them, there were two teams. From the looks of the posters around the school, these teams were total enemies.

I wandered around the school, looking at the classrooms, the stadium, the eating area and even the toilets. I liked the look of the place. It felt friendly and welcoming-not that I was going to make any friends. If I did, then it would be even harder to leave. Never in my whole life have I had someone to call a friend. It would just cause me more pain than necessary.

After having a final look while the yard was empty, I decided I’d spent enough time getting to know the place, so I strolled off towards the house I’d found to stay in. I would be renovating it at the same time I’d be living there. It was hard work, and it felt like the billionth house I’d lived in due to my life on the run.

I stopped in my tracks when I heard the sound of rustling in a bush behind me. I could feel my heart race. I was barely breathing when I decided it was too small a sound for a human. Letting out a sigh of relief, I strode away from the school quickly, keeping very alert all the way.

As soon as I got off the bitumen and into the dense forest, I snatched up my full-body black cape that was hanging on the tree and slung it over my shoulders. Doing it up, I pulled the hood over my head. As I trudged through the forest, not making a sound above a breath, I never let my guard down. Just to make sure I wasn’t defenceless, I picked up a long, thick stick and broke off all the little twigs so it would be smooth.

Plonk!

I stopped and looked back at the colourful book lying among the sticks. Blue, green, and purple brightened up the cover with gold sequins outlining each colour. I smiled at the book as if it had feelings. Slowly bending down and picking up my ‘life story’, I opened to the back page where there was a sunken handprint. I placed my hand into the shape, and the handprint turned a bright blue. I waited for a few seconds so it could finish scanning my thoughts and feelings. I lifted my hand out and turned to the blank page where writing was forming right in front of my eyes. I smiled when it had finished, knowing that I never had to write a diary. All I had to do was this hand-scanning process and it would be written for me. Ever since I was born, every single little detail about my life was stored in this book.

Standing up and slipping it back into my jacket pocket, I continued on to my new home.

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I walked to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. The icy water slid down my throat, and not too long after, it was all gone. Sighing, I threw the empty bottle into the rubbish bin and went back outside. I analysed the condition of the house and from my experience, there would be a lot of work to be done although most would say it didn’t look that bad. None of the water pipes worked, so I would have to unclog and fix the pipes, which should only take an afternoon. Then there was the roof. The whole thing would have to be replaced because there were holes everywhere. The inside was covered in dust. Every nook and cranny had dirt in it, so plenty of cleaning to do. But I was going to start on the plumbing.

Two hours later, the plumbing was almost done. I was glad there were a few perks from being a shifter-one of them was having the extra strength and stamina. Without that, I think the plumbing would’ve taken a lot longer. I smiled as I rolled in and out from under the sink to gather up different tools that I needed for the job.

Pssssshhhh.

Putting my hands in front of my face, I quickly shoved the last pipe in so I wouldn’t get saturated with water any more. Slowly rolling out, spluttering, I picked up a towel and wiped up the water. Why did this always happen? Every time, it was the plumbing that got me.

Just as I was standing up, I heard a stick snap from outside. My blood ran cold, and my heart slammed against my chest. Not now! My hands automatically grabbed the stick I collected earlier, and I threw on my hood. Why did they always have to come at the worst times? Grabbing my bag on the way past, I was out of there faster than lightning.

CHAPTER 2

Everyone Loves School

Tilda’s POV

Riinngg.

Yup. I was right. It is like a hive in here.

Students are rushing everywhere in all directions, so it was hard to even take a step into the building. Suddenly, I got a rough shove into my back, sending me stumbling forward. If it had been anyone else, they would have fallen to the ground with a very sore backside. Laughter erupted from behind me. I could feel my cheeks flush, even though there was probably nothing to be ashamed of.

‘I am so sorry. I didn’t see you there. Are you okay?’

I could feel the boys approach with a little hesitation, which made me smile. I turned to see who it was and my mouth almost fell open. One had hair that was a rich brown with a few lighter brown streaks, which looked natural. His tanned skin made his blue eyes sparkle as though they were diamonds. He wasn’t smiling, but I could tell it was going to be a killer one.

‘Don’t worry about it. No harm done,’ I replied weakly. Just as I got those last few words out, a huge squeal cut through the air. I jumped a little when a huge swarm of girls came tearing through the crowd. My eyes widened when I realised I was right in the way of their stampede.

‘Run,’ yelled one of the other boys.

My heart jumped a little when my wrist was grabbed and I was dragged out the door into the huge eating area. When I finally worked out what was going on, I moved up next to the boy who still hadn’t let go of me. The roaring stampede was getting quieter behind us. We slowed down to a jog and then the boy turned to me, his eyes a little too playful for my liking.

‘Look, I have to go. I need to get my timetable-’

‘Ahhhhh!’ Screams from the girls rang through my ears.

A painful tug on my wrist got me running again. Lucky for him, I was used to pain. The screaming crowd flooded out of the double doors of the cafeteria and spotted us again. My heart pumped as we picked up speed. I couldn’t help but think this was just a short run compared to the ones I faced regularly.

We took a sharp turn and entered the football stadium. I remembered how big this stadium was and how many exits there were, but I knew they were all locked. Why would exits be locked?

My breath caught in my throat when the boys in front of us entered the boys’ changing rooms. I came to