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It was like an invisible wall had been thrust against me, shoving me back.
My body caught on the banister. My body hung there, suspended and broken. I attempted to shut myself off from the pain.
But I hadn’t endured anything yet.
I came in contact with the second element.
Fire.
The melting residue of plasma washed over me. My hair singed and caught fire, my skin bubbled and popped. My clothes instantly ignited and burned off my body.
I screamed at the pain. I was being cooked alive.
The balcony railing had been my saving grace. Now it would seal my doom if I couldn’t get free. I struggled to unhook my leg but it was no use.
I only got free after the banister snapped beneath the magma’s violent onslaught. I fell with it and descended one hundred feet into the icy waters below.
Water.
I barely managed to catch a breath before the water invaded my system.
As dangerous as it was, the icy water felt soothing to my newly-scorched skin.
But I couldn’t stay down there forever.
I kicked limply. One leg failed to respond to my command. Then I pulled through the water with both my working arms. The muscles screamed in protest but they did as I asked.
I breached the surface and threw my head back. I let out a mouthful of water. Most of it streaming through a hole in my cheek.
My body filled with air and I floated on the river’s surface. Its powerful current took me out.
I lay on my back and watched as my palace burned.
But it wasn’t going down without a fight. The defense turrets were doing their job, swatting the alien craft from the sky.
Only a handful escaped, but they had achieved their mission.
They had killed me.
If I didn’t get help soon, I would soon meet that fourth, final, and most terrifying element.
Earth.
My own grave.
I opened my eyes and was surprised I wasn’t already dead.
I had stopped drifting on the river’s current and found myself lodged on a bank of dirt and mud. I moved my arms and legs to crawl up it but my limbs were only capable of stuttering and sporadic movements.
I took stock of my situation.
My fingers and hands could move but they were charred black. My arms were red raw and my legs were smothered with bulging blisters. I caught the reeking scent of something rotting. It came as a shock when I realized it was coming from my own flesh.
I rolled onto my other shoulder. It sent a shudder up my back and between my shoulder blades. The pain almost knocked me unconscious. Stars danced before my eyes and I hurled what little food I had in my stomach.
I peered at my reflection in the still water’s surface, illuminated by the huge moon above. I didn’t recognize the face looking back at me.
His nose was bent and crooked. One cheek had been completely burnt off, his teeth visible through a wide gash. His forehead was dimpled with strange blisters and his hair was all but gone.
