24 Hour Writing Contest: The Tetrad

Fall writing contest by WritersWeekly. One prompt, less than 875 words, 24 hrs. 

The Tetrad

By Aspen Hite

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO, she’d stood in front of this cabin by the lake for the first time. She’d been terrified, even though she’d known it was right where she was supposed to be.

It had been a bright sunny day, and she’d squinted at the dark yellow leaves blowing into the broken windows. The cabin had been a disgrace. It’d stunk like old and mildew, but she’d entered anyway. The others were already there when she’d arrived.

Thanks to her translucent white skin and weird pink eyes, she’d never attended school and found herself completely socially inept. Yet, on that day, she’d huddled on the freezing floor of that abandoned hunting shack, surrounded by the girls she'd only recently met.

The loud mean one, had leaned forward and spat, "Truth or Dare?!"

Startled, she’d flinched, but the pretty girl with the long brown braid had swatted the mean one away. “Be nice, Fire. This is her introduction, remember yours?”

The mean one scoffed.

The braided girl turned back to her, “I’m Earth, you’ve met Fire. This is Air.”

“Hi! Welcome!” A small creature waved as her voice squeaked warmth.

“Now, please have a cookie,” Earth pulled out a plate and took off the tin foil, “We have a lot to talk about.”

A century ago, in this cabin, she’d learned she was an Elemental. From that moment on she would be a representative of one of the four major elements. Water.

In the beginning of time, the elements found balance either by raw battle or peaceful co-existence. But when humans arrived, everything changed. And as they grew in sheer numbers, the balance became more and more unbalanced. So for more than a millennia a tetrad of women, always women, meets every Fall Equinox to decide the fate of Earth. After all, her survival is paramount to the existence of all else. And if humans endanger that, Earth must be reset. Every year, this is the decision of the tetrad.

Each tetrad serves for a century, then passes the reins to the next generation. Today was the last meeting, the last Equinox, for this tetrad. The last time this group of women would decide the fate of Earth.

Brought back to the present, Water walked up the cabin steps. She was the last to arrive, as usual. Before she pushed the door open, the smell of fresh baked cinnamon rolls and coffee wafted through the air. She smiled upon entry. Their cabin really was a lovely peaceful place, and they’d fixed it up quite nicely over the years.

The air in the room was an odd mixture of relief and anxiousness. For they all had different feelings about the outcome of their last meeting.

“Well, well, Water…it’s about time.” Fire spat, still loud and confrontational, “Don’t you just live in the lake below?”

“Oh hush,” Air chimed, ever the peacekeeper. “It’s our last meeting.”

Water, able to hold her own, dashed Fire with a few wet droplets letting her sizzle for a minute.

“Hey!” Fire spat.

“Ladies?” Earth questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Silence hung in the air until they burst into laughter and all hugged in greeting.  

With a smile, Earth called the room to order. “We have a lot to discuss, and less than 12 hours to make our decision. Sit, please. We have snacks.”

The ladies sat for hours, discussing the current strain on Earth now that billions of humans lived on her, yet not enough of them truly respected her. Was there still time for them to change? For without them, the four elements could live in uninterrupted peace. Total harmony.

Fire, never really a fan of the human race, was a constant voice for destruction, “They are self-centered little fleas. Let me burn them to the ground.”

Air, a constant advocate, always spoke on their behalf, “There are good ones. They will bring about positive change. Have faith.”

Earth, always on the fence, had a difficult time deciding. She was the one who took the brunt of the abuse and a reset would be most painful for her, but she waited to hear Water’s plea before speaking.

“You know, at the moment, they aren’t bothering me, too much, except for that nasty plastic they leave around everywhere. And those ice caps…if they melt…” Water shrugged and leaned back, “This is our last go round, ladies, so I say let’s give them another year. We’re old and tired. Maybe the upcoming generation can see a solution we can’t.”

“Or maybe, they’ll be so angry, they’ll burn everything to the ground,” Fire rubbed her hands together in excitement.

“Oh I’m not going to lie, I’m going to teach them a lesson or two before hurricane season ends, ‘cause frankly that plastic really does piss me off,” Water insisted, “But for now, I say we leave destruction to humans and the next tetrad.”

“I’m content with that decision, as well.” Earth smiled, getting up to refill coffee cups. She had another year. For now.

With a nod, Water moved on to her favorite topic: fish.