The Elementals: Chapter 14 uncomfortable journey

It takes a while for them to pack up the car, but I have to remain in position so that things can strategically be placed around me to hide me. To say I’m uncomfortable is an understatement, I’m lying in a twisted position, with tent poles prodding me from most angles and feeling too warm and slightly smothered under the blanket.
As we drive off, after I finish grumbling about my seating arrangement, we agree that a the signal to shut up and hide is if anyone talks about the weather since apparently they were stopped on the way here and questioned.
“Where is Rain? Is she ok? What about Peggy has someone been looking after him?” I ask worried.
“They are fine, Rain wanted to come too, but she had an exam yesterday and we needed someone to stay and look after the dog and potentially report us all as missing if we didn’t come back.” Sky explains.
“Oh no, I missed the exam! And work and all my classes! How long was I gone?” I ask.
“Only a few days, I faked a doctors note to cover for you, but I think you have bigger things to worry about than Uni.” Sky says.
“Lily what do you remember from being kidnapped?” Mr Elm asks gently.
I look at Sky to gage my response, but he nods indicating I should explain everything.
“We saved Ember, I held off a bunch of men so that Sky could get her out. I would have made it out too, but one pulled a gun on me so I surrendered. The knocked me out with some kind of cloth and when I woke up I was here. I was held inside 2 storage containers tied to a chair. They took me into this sterile looking interrogation room, pricked my finger and hooked me up to a bunch of machines, I recognised one as a heart monitor and I know one was used to send electric shocks through me, but the others I’m not sure of. A pissy lady asked me stupid questions over the speakers and shocked me if I lied or didn’t answer. I think I managed to avoid most of them with sarcasm, but they did say they took a DNA sample. I was thrown back in my cell, I escaped and found you” I explain.
“How did you escape?” Sky asks, but before I can answer Mr Elm interrupts.
“It doesn’t matter, Lily could you identify any of your captors?” Mr Elm asks.
“Probably a few, there was an older man but his face was only barely lit and I didn’t see the woman, but I’d recognise her voice.” I say.
“What questions did she ask exactly and what did you tell her?” Mr Elm asks seriously and I recount the interaction as best I can remember.
“Hmm, we should be ok. Even with your DNA they won’t find you, your records were all changed when you came to the orphanage. I suggest you all change your appearance, dye your hair and keep a low profile for a while. Hunters are dangerous people” Mr Elm says.
“Hunters?” I ask.
“It’s time I explain. There is a reason you all ended up in the orphanage together. You were there to be protected. We didn’t tell you the truth to protect you and hide you, but now you need to know. Your parents they were … Dragons.” Mr Elm says.
“Thats ridiculous, I may not have many memories of them, but I have enough to know that they had arms and legs not wings and a tail!” I say.
“What you think you know about dragons is not true. Dragons can chose to take the form of a human or a dragon. They don’t all breath fire, though some can manipulate it. Some manipulate other elements, like Sky can manipulate air.” Mr Elm explains
“Wait! Your are saying Sky is a dragon?” I ask
“I’m saying you all are. Oh the weather was much better than we expected for this trip.” Mr Elm signals that there is a check ahead as I feel the car slow down. I’m actually grateful for the pause to collect my thoughts. Really I need longer than the 2 minutes I get to process everything, I don’t even know where to start with my questions.
“But none of us have ever turned into a dragon, we have some powers but surely we’d have known if we could change from completely.” I say when we speed up again.
“You were raised as human children, not dragons. There is a lot to learn still. That is why I followed you here, to keep watch and train you if necessary, although I’m sorry to say I let you down on that front. Had you known more about our kind, then you might have stood a better chance against the hunters” Mr Elm says sadly.
“Wait, so you didn’t have an affair?” I ask without thinking and then try to change the topic “We hid our powers, you couldn’t have known. What are hunters?” I ask.
“They are a secret organisation of humans who know of the existence of dragons, they are sworn to eliminate dragons, ruthlessly hunting down our kind.” I notice Mr Elm ignored my initial question, but then I guess this isn’t really time for gossip.
“Is that who killed our parents?” I ask gritting my teeth.
“In most cases, your father was killed by hunters, but your mother is still alive. She was banished. I can bring you to visit her now you know.”
I feel my own anger growing uncontrollable and the injustice, the secrets and the lie that has been my whole life. When I don’t respond, I feel sky’s hand reach around and find mine under the layers of camouflage. It helps anchor me.
“It’s a lot to take in, I know. Ember and I bombarded him with questions the other day and I still have more. We will stop to eat soon and you can think it over.” Sky says soothingly.
“You better find me an all you can eat place then cause I have a lot of thinking to do and I don’t know when I last ate so I’m starving.” I reply. Thinking back it was probably the pastries we had before we said goodbye to Rain and went to find Ember.
“Wait, is Rain a dragon too?” I ask.
“Her parents were, but she may not be. Not all children born to dragons carry the shifting gene, its recessive. She hasn’t shown any signs of powers. The powers come naturally, often defensively after the age of 20 when a dragon matures. The shifting requires a phrase, which I will teach you at an appropriate time. We hoped you would all end up powerless so that you could live a normal life, without being dragged into this world.” Mr Elm explains.
“Ok my brain has already formed at least a hundred questions, how long until we are home?” I ask.
“About 4 hours” Sky says
“4 hours! Where the hell are we?” I ask frustrated.
“From snippets of information Ember heard, we tracked you to an estate up north of the highlands, it’s a big estate though that is why you found us before we found you. It’s also why we needed the car.” Sky explains.
“Please tell me that I don’t have to stay in this position for 4 hours and more importantly that we are eating before then” I grumble.
“Don’t worry, we already past the last of the checks we faced on the way here and inverness isn’t too far away so we can stop there and eat and by then you and Ember should be safe to sit normally.” Sky says casually.