Elemental Girls: Chapter III

         Sam, in her electrical form, traveled from the underground radio back to the radio tower located just out of Pella. There, she went to a nearby house. Inside the radio there, she went into an outlet and into the whole electrical wiring of a house. Traveling from there, she went into the telephone connection, leaping from house to house until she reached the police station, where she started.
         There, she began to scan all of the computers, searching for one that was searching on information of her or Nikki or any other missing teens. Within the first few, she found one. Entering the computer, she read as if she were watching the screen. Something about the scientists coming down to Pella, Iowa in search for Nikki’s body. Or parts, as it stated, since she blew up. She read more. Nobody has found anything yet, and it’s estimated that the remains could be anywhere in the state of Iowa. Rewards were out, too, to anyone who located something that could be a remain.
         As she finished reading the report, she turned to leave. But, she was stuck. She was trapped, only facing the screen. No backing out or anything. Hastily, she scrambled to find out why. And she found her answer soon enough. Someone launched a virus scan. She wasn’t really a virus, but she wasn’t supposed to be on the computer. She was like ad-ware. And sure enough, she began to dissipate.
         In a vain attempt to save herself, she fled from the computer. Her only escape, through the computer screen. But she only made it halfway there. Part of her was stuck on the computer, and the other in the real world. Her mind went blank.

         Opening her eyes, Sam found herself laying the middle of a crowd of people. No just any people, cops. All holding guns aimed at her. “What the-“ She began to mutter but was cut off.
         “Don’t move!” A voice inside her shouted. “Just stay still. Now, I want you to focus on making yourself able to walk through objects. All it takes is thinking.”
         ‘But why?’ She asked the voice, frowning visibly as she did.
         “You think it’s a ghost?” A male officer asked.
         “No, it looks like the girl who was with that freak.” A female replied.
         “Then why can we see through her?” A man with bright red hair questioned.
         “Must be another freak. Let’s put her in a cell.” The woman replied again.
         A surge of anger raged through Sam as she heard their conversation. ‘So all I have to do is focus? Concentrate? And I’ll be able to walk through walls?’ She asked the voice.
         “Correct,” It replied.
         Clamping her eyes shut, Sam focused with all her strength on being able to walk through walls. When she opened them, she found all of the officers gone. Not only that, but she was on a different floor than she was on before. ‘What happened? Where did everyone go? Am I alone? I don’t want to be alone. Are you still there? Please help.’ She panicked, reaching out to the voice inside her head.
         “Don’t worry, you just feel through the floor. Isn’t that cool?” The voice replied to her. “Now don’t worry about being alone. I’ll always be here. Do you feel okay? Are you tired, hurt, hungry, anything?”
         ‘No, I’m fine. I just don’t want to be alone. And who are you? Who am I? And who were those people? Where am I? What happened? What’s going on?’ Sam began to panic again as a rush of what just happened returned to her.
         “Don’t worry. I’m S-…I’m Peach. You can call me Peach.” Anyone close to Sam would know that was her nickname. But Sam herself didn’t realize it. “And you are Samantha, Sam for short. Those people were cops; avoid them and everyone else at all costs. Don’t go near them or let them see you. And…well…It’s kinda confusing, but let’s just say I’m you. Your mind, anyway. We were in an accident. Somehow, you’re on the cops’ computer system, and in their station at the same time. If I’m correct from watching many movies, I’m the brains, you’re the brawn. But to make things simple, call me Peach. And we’ll just say I’m a different person. And, supposing you’re the brawn, you have immense static powers. Don’t worry about not being able to use them, I can help you with that.”

         ‘…Well nice to meet you Peach. And I’m Sam. That’s a nice title. Sam. And cops, those are bad people, right? I’ll run from them. Running sounds good. I like running. They say I’m a ghost. So, I’m Sam the ghost, and I can walk through walls. Sounds like fun. And you’re my friend, right Peach. You will be my only friend. I like you, you’re really nice. And what’s this about powers? What are powers? They sound as bad as cops. Cops are bad. Bad, bad cops. Must stay away from them.’ Sam began to talk as if she were a five year old meeting babysitting. She just rambled and rambled, not caring about what she said, and not even understanding what she said. The voice, if given any emotions or actions, would have sighed and shaken her head right then and there.
         “Yes, I’m your friend, Sam. And stay away from cops. Cops are bad. Powers are good. Now, I want you to walk through the wall in front of you. And outside, you’ll see a big blue building to your left. I want you to go in there. I have some more friends for you to meet.” Peach instructed, hoping they were simple enough for Sam to understand.
         ‘More friends?! Yeah! I love friends! I’ll go to the blue house right away!’ Sam ran straight through the wall in front of her, bursting out into a sidewalk. As she passed through, a tingling sensation rushed through her body. Taking a left, she ran through the random people on the sidewalk, not bothering to go around, just phasing through. Locating the blue house, she ignored the shouts of those around her and passed through the walls.
         Opening her eyes, Sam found the whole room lit up by a light in the center of the ceiling. The windows around were caked with dust, as was the floor and the few pieces of furniture in the area. Again, when she passed through the wall she felt the tingling sensation.
         ‘Where are my friends? I want more friends. And where are you, Peach? I can hear you, but I can’t see you.' Sam asked the voice.
         “The others will be here soon. Very soon. And me, well, I’m still in the police station. But I think I’ve managed to be able to travel places. But very slowly. So I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Peach replied. “But tell a girl with red hair to turn to channel 21.5. Then she can talk to me.”
         ‘Why don’t you tell her?’ For once, Sam made sense in talking to Peach.
         “I can’t, I can only talk to you until I get into a communication system. That’s why.” Peach replied, sounding startled at the sudden question.
         Sam nodded, thinking Peach could see her. And, in a way, she could. Well, not really see. But just know what Sam was doing, and where she was.
         The floor beneath Sam’s feet gave a sudden lurch. The floorboards creaked and groaned as a mound was building from under. With a snap, the boards shattered to reveal a protruding rock. Sticking up six feet above the ground, a split shot down the side. The two ends fall apart to show two girls standing.
         Both tall, but one was fairly bigger than the other. Khakis topped with a lavender t-shirt followed by plain flip-flops fitted the taller one. The second was clad with simple blue jeans and leather jacket. Her shoes were dark brown boots covered by the jeans. The taller one had her strawberry blonde hair piled up into a bun. The second’s was falling down to her chest in thick, brunette waves.
         “Sam!” The redhead squealed and ran towards Samantha with her hands outstretched for a hug. Sam shied away, holding her hands to her chest.
         “Who are you? How do you know me?” She asked, her voice quavering. “No! Those are your friends! Red hair and two brunettes, right? That’s them!”
         ‘One with light red and another with dark brown. Just two friends, not three, silly.’ Sam spoke to Peach as she was embraced in a big bear hug.
         “What do you mean ‘who are you’? It’s Maddi, duh. Who else would I be?” The redhead spoke as she set Sam down from the bear hug. “And that’s Lydia, remember? Don’t play stupid on us, now.” The brunette waved her hand and gave Sam a smile.
         “Two? Hm…Maddi and Lydia, I heard, I know. Just tell Maddi about station 21.5 on the radio.” Peach spoke, hearing all what Sam heard.
         “Station 21.5,” Sam said, thinking Maddi would understand.
         “What? The radio?” Lydia asked. She received no reply. “Well Summer has the radio. She should be here in any second.” As if it were some kind of cue, a gust of wind suddenly burst in from nowhere. Dust was picked up and swirled in a mini tornado next to the protruding rock from the ground. Another girl materialized from nowhere. In her hand was radio. Her hair was straight, messy, and brown. Her clothes consisted of a white, long sleeved shirt, which was rolled up to her elbows, and dark blue sweat pants completed with tennis shoes.
         “Sorry I’m late,” She set down the radio and gave everyone a warm smile. As if everything was normal, she also gave Sam a hug, though not as big as Maddi’s.
         Lydia shrugged as she walked over to the radio. Holding the power button, the radio beeped in response to being on. She then clicked other buttons to change the channel to 21.5. “There, happy now?” Lydia sounded confused as she handed the radio to Sam.
         ‘I have the radio. Now what? Where are you?’ Sam asked Peach, ignoring Lydia.
         “I’m almost there, hold on. I’ll be in the radio in a second.” Peach replied.
         “Wait, Peach is almost here. “ Sam took the radio and lifted it up. “She’s coming.” That’s when Maddi, Summer, and Lydia all realized something was wrong.
         “Is there something I’m missing?” Summer asked, looking at Maddi.
         “Sam, are you okay? Who is ‘Peach’? What do you mean?” Lydia asked. All three of them knew Peach was Samantha’s nickname. But not that Sam had literally lost her mind.
         “My friend, of course. She’s in my head.” Sam replied as if it were common sense.
         “Are you okay? Did those guys get you?” Summer asked, thinking of the two men talking on the radio after Sam had left.
         “What guys?” Sam was now confused, too.
         “Here!” A static voice burst over the radio. Sam yelped and dropped the radio in surprise. Maddi grabbed it before it hit the ground.
         “Sam?! Is that you, in the radio?” She asked, recognizing the voice. “How in the world are you in there and standing right in front of us at the same time?” She rushed on the questions, giving Peach no time to answer.
         “I’m Sam, that’s Peach.” Sam was the one who answered.
         “She’s right,” The voice on the radio confirmed. “I’m now known as Peach, she is Sam.”
         “Wait, I’m lost, what happened?” Summer asked.
         “I’m with her,” Lydia shook her head slowly as she tried to sort through things.
         “Sit down and let me explain.” Peach spoke. Not waiting for anyone to interrupt or to sit down on the dusty floor, she began. “Okay, I guess you three know about the guys trying to stop me. Well, I was browsing through searching for some new information and I found something on Nikki. So I was reading when this program trapped me and attempted to delete me. So, to escape, I tried to exit the computer via the screen. And, I guess I kind of did. Well, Sam did. But, anyway. I should be gone now, but I guess the ‘virus protection’ or whatever you want to call it followed after Sam, and left me alone. So I fled. And now, for some reason, I can still travel through electrical systems, but at a very slow speed. Well, slow as in Internet slow, which is still fast. But for now, I think I’ll stay here, in my little radio.
         “Now, if you wanted, you can switch to any station and I’ll still be here. I just needed it on 21.5 to enter. And I’ll be able to talk to Sam any time. Another thing, call me Peach, not Sam. She’s Sam.
         “Back to the story, my body was the only thing that left the computer, my mind’s still here, which is me. Sam’s the body. My voice, my looks, my powers, everything but the personality. She’s as dumb as a rock. And, for some reason, I’ve become smarter. But I’m the mind, the brains. So, it’s kind of like we’re two different people, yet we’re one. Like conjoined twins.”
         “Wait a second.” Summer spoke up after Peach had finished. “What do you mean you’re the mind and she’s the body? How do you know all of this?”
         “And Sam has all of your powers? How does she have them if you can still travel in wirings?” Lydia asked, growing more confused every moment.
         “And shouldn’t you be called Sam? I mean, you’re really her, and she’s just a mindless body. So she should be called Peach.” Maddi added.
         “Guys, guys, one at a time. “ Peach replied, hearing them all even though the ‘talk’ button on the radio was never pressed. “Okay, first. I’m the mind of Samantha, she is the body of Samantha. We are split up. And it’s just an educated guess. If you could call watching too many movies education. And Sam has all of my powers because she’s the body. I can’t have powers without a body to use them. And I know them all, too. Oddly enough. Like she can’t travel through wiring, but she can walk through walls. And lastly, since she’s the body, she gets the name. Plus it’s easier for those who know her.”
         “Hey, you guys. Look.” Summer pointed towards Sam. “I can see through her.” A ray of light passed through the teen.
         “Oh, that’s another thing. Since she just barely made it from the computer, she’s not solid.”
         “Then how did I give her that big bear hug earlier?” Maddi asked, growing pale.
“I didn’t concentrate.” Sam gave a goofy grin with her reply.
         “Ah, yes. She has to focus on going through walls. I guess she stopped focusing. But then, she also has to focus to be solid. And she knew you were going to hug her, so she absentmindedly made herself solid.” Peach replied. A confused filled silence followed. “It’s just hard to explain.”
         “First Nikki, now this!” Summer burst into tears suddenly. It was so random it took Maddi and Lydia a moment to get up and hug her.
         “Summer, it’s okay. Everything’s okay. We’ll find a way to get Sam back together. And Nikki’s in a better place now.” Maddi spoke gently.
         “It’s just so horrible,” Summer choked out. The tears broke away the dirt at her face and her pale skin showed through.
         “Why must you cry? Everything is okay.” Sam queried at Summer, looking confused as to why to girl was so emotional at the time.
         “Nothing’s okay! Nikki’s dead! You stole Samantha from us. Because of you she’s stuck with no way out! She probably doesn’t even have a soul, or can’t die. And if she does she can’t go to heaven to be where she belongs with God! It’s all of your fault! Your fault!” Summer was on her feet, screaming at the translucent Sam.
         “Summer! Stop!” Unknown to Samantha, Summer was accessing the winds. Lydia wouldn’t have known, either, until Summer began to hover and the wind began to flood in through the cracks in the wall.
         Summer ignored Lydia’s plea and began to form the air around Samantha, fitting it to her form. She then began to slowly shrink it in an attempt to crush Sam.
         But nothing happened, Sam just stood there, perfecting fine. “What are you doing?” She wasn’t solid, of course, she wasn’t focusing on it.
         Summer became frustrated very quickly. “Why won’t you die?!” She hurled a ball of air at Sam with her mind.
         “Summer! You can’t kill Sam! You can’t!” Maddi called out. She looked over to find Lydia on her feet and running at Summer.
         “Don’t interfere!” Summer scowled and threw up an air barrier to barrier to stop Lydia.
         “Summer? Why are you acting like this? This isn’t you? You are sweet and innocent, not some killer trying to destroy her first best friend.” Peach came over the radio, speaking calmly and firmly to settle Summer down.
         Apparently it worked. The shield came down and the crushing air dispersed. Summer fell to her hands and knees, sobbing once again. She buried her face in her hands and cried more. All was silent except for her weeping.