Coughing is what shakes him into consciousness. His body is gasping and struggling for air. He sits up and regrets the decision. His head is swirling. He lays back down just to kill the dizziness. He closes his eyes and tries not to throw up. He controls his breathing first, thankful he has air to breath. He opens his eyes from the ground. The walls are dingy dark grey. The floor beneath him is tile. There is nothing in the room but him. He sits up again, slower this time, using the wall for support. He glances down at his body. His shirt is gone, and so is his pack of water, and his shoes. He grimaces and pulls his legs closer, trying to warm up his toes.

He sighs sadly when he looks at his hands. They are encased in metal like demented gloves. They are wielded together, connected to chains above him. He pushes up to stand. His legs disagree with him, but he makes them obey. He walks a few steps forward, making it halfway across the room before the chains restrict him from doing so. His mind is going into overload. He has no idea where he is. He has no idea where Francis is. He has no idea where anything is. He doesn't know what day it is. He's cold, which is almost an oddity for him. He staggers back to the wall, a few tears slip down his face. He can't wiggle his fingers to collect the water, so they just fall, making him cry more. He shakes his head. He can't cry now. Later he can all he wants, but now, he needs to find a way out of-

The door opens and the girl that chased him before enters. Matthew presses himself as far away as he can. Another man enters the room in a clean pressed suit. He smiles brightly to Matthew.

"Welcome," he says cheerfully. The girl next him snickers. Matthew gulps and tries his voice.

"Where's my friend?" He croaks out. He swallows again, trying to get his voice less dry. The man chuckles heartily.

"Your friend is safe," he says with a sinister smile. Doubt it, Matthew thinks to himself. Francis is probably in the same situation as him. Cold, alone, and surely frightened. Matthew inhales sharply when the man steps closer to him.

"Many of the elementals that show here are air types, to find two water, this is exciting," The man says happily, reaching out a hand. Matthew dodges it, nearly tripping over his chains to get away. The man gives another hearty laugh.

"Come now, don't be shy," he grins and a gust of air holds Matthew still. The man comes forward and drag a finger under his chin to lift his head. Matthew spits at him with what little he can spare. His actions cause him to be slapped and dropped to the ground in a heap. The man glowers at him, and kicks him hard in the chest for good measure.

"You will behave for me. I need you," the man says with a sneer and exits with the girl right behind him. The door is slammed shut. Matthew grits his teeth and slams his metal hands on the ground. He takes a few calming breaths. There's not an immediate way to get out of this situation. He will have to wait. He tries to hold himself as best he can with his restrictions. He's on edge, he can't calm down. The door opens again and he jerks harshly. A young girl enters the room. Her hair is short and cut close to her head. She comes over and kneels down next to him with a sympathetic smile.

"My name is Kat," She says. Matthew doesn't say anything. She smiles and shows him the tray in her hands. Food. He's almost glad to be captured. She helps him eat, putting cuts of meat and potatoes in his mouth for him since his hands are indisposed. Only when his food is finished does he talk.

"Matthew." He tells her. She smiles brightly at him and wipes his face for any crumbs. He feels like a child.

"It's not so bad here," she tells him. He flinches away from her. She sighs.

"I want to go home," He tells her. She smiles sadly and shakes her head in disbelief.

"You control water right?" She changes the subject. Matthew stays quiet, judging her actions. Her smiles falters.

"Yeah, you?" He manages to force out, hoping she won't leave. He needs a little human contact right now.

"Clouds," she says with a bashful smile. It makes Matthew smile too. She picks up the tray and waves to him before leaving. The door clicks shut. He wonders if it's even locked. It wouldn't matter, his hands are currently occupied. He clunks his head against the wall, and waits.

Maybe an hour passes, maybe more. He can't tell. He's almost relieved when the door opens again to reveal a person. It's not Kat. It's the one that tracked him down. She forces him to the sky. His chains unlock from the metal gloves. He's pulled along. He tries his hardest to remember where his room is. Rooms line the walls, each one holding a different child. He can see them, but he can't tell how old they are. He's pulled through the air to a small pool and wonders if these people are stupid. The water is turbulent to his emotions. He's dropped to the ground right next to Francis.

They give each other and awkward hug, clinging to each other with their hands encased in metal. Francis's hair is matted down, clinging to his head with the grim of the week. His shirt is gone as well, left only in his pants like Matthew. He doesn't bother to hide the small tears rolling down his cheeks on to Matthew's shoulder.

"Now to test you," say the man in the pressed suit from before. Matthew glares at him, not dignifying him with a response. He doesn't deserve It. The man laughs and kicks him into the pool. Instinct kicks in and he and Francis sink to the bottom, letting the water protect them. He can see the people up top watching. He can vaguely recognize one of them with stopwatch. They are testing them. Matthew wishes he could have gotten a decent amount of air first. He and Francis hold their metal hands together for some semblance of comfort. The water is warming his body, caressing it and making it feel better. It's healing his skin.

Francis is dying to go up after three hours. Matthew wants to stay hidden, but he will not let Francis go by himself. They slowly let the water pull them upwards. They break with a gasp each, feigning breathless. The others above them smile, impressed. Matthew kicks away from them when they try to pull him out. He sends a small whip of water up to hit one of them in the face. It makes the suit man laugh until Matthew hits him next. He growls and a gust of air pulls him out of the water, making him cold once more. He's dropped to his knees in front the man. He glares up.

"You are a naughty bird." The man growls, a thin line of blood dripping down his cheek from where Matthew cut him. The air is slowly leaving his headspace. Matthew slows his breathing, trying to fight for air and keep his glare at the slowly darkening smile on the man's face. Francis is crying out when Matthew starts to waver back and forth. His head hurts, like it might explode. His vision goes spotty once more.