What happened in Storm by Brigid Kemmerer - Recaptains

The basics

Title: Storm

Author: Brigid Kemmerer

Series: Elemental #1

- Storm (April, 2012)
- Spark (August, 2012)
- Spirit (May, 2013)
- Secret (January, 2014)

Add it: Goodreads

Goodreads Summary:

Earth, Fire, Air, Water – they have more power than you dream.

Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her, Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys—all the ones she doesn't want. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water—just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They’re powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death.

And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca.

Secrets are hard to keep when your life’s at stake. When Hunter, the mysterious new kid around school, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who’s hiding the most dangerous truth of all.

The storm is coming . . .

Read a full summary of Storm by Brigid Kemmerer below. If you can’t remember what happened in Storm and you need a refresher, then you’re in the right place.

In short

There are five elements in the world – Air, Water, Fire, Earth and Spirit (life). Everyone on earth has some affinity to one or more of the elements. But there are a few, who have very strong connections to one element, and can control that element. They are called Elementals.

The Merrick brothers – Michael, Gabriel & Nick (twins), and Chris, are full Elementals. Michael’s element is Earth, Gabriel’s Fire, Nick’s Air, and Chris’s Water. Full Elementals are supposed to be killed, But the boys’ parents made a deal with the community that they’re sons wouldn’t make any trouble, so there wasn’t any need to call the Guides. However, ever since a girl, Emily Morgan died when she was with Michael, they’ve been threatening to call the Guides. The Merrick parents were killed in a struggle involving the boys’ defense five years ago.

The rest of the Elemental community, led by Seth and Tyler (Emily’s brother), start ragging Chris. When Becca comes to his rescue, she gets pulled into all the drama. The Guides are called, and the Merricks and Becca are both targets. A new boy in school, Hunter, seems to know much more than the average layman, but he likes Becca and comes to her rescue several times.

The Guide kidnaps Chris and Nick, and Becca, Gabriel, Michael and Hunter find them together. Becca finds out from Hunter, a Fifth, that she’s also an Elemental, and has power over Spirit. It turns out that her father is the Guide.

What went down

• On her way home from school, Becca sees two guys, Seth & Tyler beating Chris up and scares them off.
• Chris and Gabriel (one of the twins) decide to teach Seth & Tyler a lesson. They stack bags of fertilizer around Seth’s car, planning to strike it with lightning and make it explode. But before they can, they get caught by the police. Michael gets them off without a charge, but is super angry about it, and Gabriel and he have a huge fight, with their powers involved.
• Chris tries to become friends with Becca, but because of the lewd propositions she’s received from almost every guy in class, she doesn’t trust him. She drives him away.
• Seth & Tyler come to Becca’s workplace and threaten her. Hunter, the new kid in school sets his German Shepherd, Casper, on them, scaring them away. But not before they give Becca a message to deliver to Chris – if Chris and his brothers mess with them again, the deal’s off.
• Hunter asks Becca out to a party at Drew McKay’s beach house. Becca hesitates, because Drew’s her ex boyfriend, who spread lies about her in school, and is the reason behind her nonexistent social status at the moment. But Quinn, her best friend, convinces her, and they agree.
• Becca feels suffocated when she gets to the party, and looks for some liquid courage. When Hunter finds her, she’s about to fall over. He gives her a few of the stone bracelets he wears around his wrist: amethyst, hematite and quartz, claiming that they’d lessen the effects of the alcohol.
• They’re just leaving, when they spot Seth, Tyler and five other guys coming towards the house. Becca goes back to the party, finds Nick and warns him about them. She starts following him, only to get caught between Seth and another girl, Lilah. Seth recognises her and catches her.
• Chris and his brothers tell him to let her go, saying she’s not one of them, but Seth holds fast. Chris punches him and suddenly, all hell breaks loose. The fire from the grill and the torches on the beaches seem to grow and whip around in the sudden wind. Chris pulls Becca into the water, saying Seth and Tyler wont pursue them there. Tyler shoots at them. Chris tells Becca to take a breath and hold it, just before they get engulfed in a huge wave, pulling them underwater. Becca faints.
• When Chris brings her around, they’re down the beach, away from Drew’s house. She demands to know what’s happening. Chris shows her his abilities and tells her about the five elements, Water, Fire, Air, Earth, and Spirit. He and his brothers are full Elementals, which is dangerous, as it gives them immense power over one particular element. Since such power often gave them an unfair advantage, full Elementals are usually put to death. The Guides are Fifths, and trained to kill full Elementals.
• The next day, Becca wakes up to find her father, who left them when she was little, home again, and painting over their door, over which someone has  spray painted a pentagram. Becca’s father worked at the Department of Natural Resources and Wildlife Control Division, and says he’s come on business, and would like to get to know her better while he’s there.
• To escape her father’s presence, Becca goes to the Merrick’s house, and sees that the same pentagram on her door is now painted on the Merrick’s garage door too. They tell her it means that the Guides are coming, and whoever has the pentagram on their door is a target.
• On her way home from school, a severe storm hits with no warning, and Becca’s car hits another, catching fire immediately. Chris, Nick and Gabriel realise that the storm is the Guide’s doing, to call them out. They save Becca, but she’s not breathing. Chris infuses her with his power, begging the rain to save her, and it does. The brothers put their powers together and fight back, causing the Guide to retreat.
• During the Homecoming dance, Drew and his friends ambush Becca with the intention of raping her. Chris saves her. He also finds out that Hunter is a Fifth, and Hunter knows about the Merricks too. Chris thinks he may be the Guide.
• The Guide stirs up a storm again, in hopes of capturing the brothers. Chris and Nick are captured, but Gabriel escapes. The next morning, Michael and Becca find Gabriel in the woods, completely spent and weak.
• Michael notices the rocks on Becca’s wrist, and says that Hunter’s been using a few of them to track her. They lure Hunter to them, thinking he’s the Guide, but he’s not. His father was a guide sent to investigate the Merricks, but died on the way in a rock slide. But another Guide’s been sent in his place instead.
• Hunter agrees to help them. Using Casper, his dog, they track Chris and Nick to a walk in freezer in an abandoned restaurant, where they find the Guide, who happens to be Becca’s father.

How did it end?

Becca’s father tries to explain himself to Becca, saying that he left his family only for her protection, because the Chris’s parents had threatened to expose Becca if he tried to do anything to their sons. He’s returned again to met out justice once and for all, after being assigned to take care of the Merricks again. Becca refuses to listen to him and leaves.

Chris and Nick are rescued.

After everthing’s settled, Chris and Becca talk about going to the authorities about what Drew and his friends tried to do. Becca’s no longer dating Hunter, so Chris gets together with Becca.

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