by Jason Letts
The feverish running continued, but twisting deeper into the forest brought them no relief. Whenever one of the pair would pull ahead, the other would muster a burst of speed to catch up, and in that way they maintained their lockstep flight down the trail. Their clothes were even the same as they had been before, bright white Dustfalls Academy uniforms. They wouldn’t be able to run forever though, and Mira could tell Chucky was starting to feel the fatigue when he looked over his shoulder and huffed.
Mira watched him, trying to get a sense of their danger from his face. Sounds of swaying brush trailed them, but Chucky’s eyes never fixed on anything. She found herself looking into them and the oily beads of sweat trickling down from his eyebrows. He was working hard, struggling to hold onto his composure.
Just as he brought his eyes back to her, Mira’s next step hit against an exposed root, and she collapsed onto her side, catching herself with one arm and landing on her hip. It happened so quickly that she didn’t even manage a yelp. Looking back at her feet, she tried to test her ankle and watch for their pursuer. Chucky ground to a halt and snapped back to help her.
“Are you OK? I could carry you,” he suggested, bending down to her.
“Oh no, that wouldn’t be smart. You go on without me,” she demurred, holding out her hand so he could lift her up.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” said Chucky, standing up and starting away. In another moment he was gone, and Mira sighed when she lowered her arm.
Thrashing in the bushes shocked her back to her surroundings. Mira could barely turn her head in time to see Mary spill onto the path. Twigs snagged within her straight brown hair, she hastened closer to Mira, looming over her.
“Oh, Mary, it’s only you,” Mira said, deeply relieved.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mary snarled. She took a step closer and prepared to pounce. Wide-eyed, Mira glanced behind Mary into the forest, the color gone from her face.
“Mary, look out!” she yelled, pointing. But Mary chuckled, shaking her head.
“Who do you think you’re talking to, Mira? I can tell no one’s there.”
Her ploy thwarted, Mira scrunched up her face in dismay. Mary extended her arms and motioned to dive at her, but Mira knocked her legs out from under her. Mary tumbled flat onto the ground, groaning and this time chuckling at herself.
“Well, that’s not going to help me look tough,” Mary lamented.
“What do you have to impress anybody for?” Mira asked, puzzled. Pushing against her arm, she rose to her feet.
“I just don’t want people thinking I’m the same ditsy weakling is all. I’m here to make a difference.”
“Good to know,” Mira said, already starting off. “Well, I’ve got to beat the others.” She disappeared into the forest, leaving Mary alone to pull the twigs out of her hair.
Elsewhere, Will chased Roselyn down another forest path. It swooped down and to the right, leading to a clearing at the bottom. They were both giggling and smiling, and it was impossible to tell who was toying with whom. Reaching out and stretching his arm as far as he could, Will couldn’t get his hands on Roselyn. He stomped his feet against the ground, making all sorts of intimidating noises to scare her.
Zooming down the hill, Roselyn ducked off the path and started weaving between the trees. Will had no choice but to follow, struggling to match her agile maneuvering. Her blonde curls always vanished from sight just as soon as they’d appeared.
“I’m going to get you!” he howled, following her back onto the path. Roselyn glanced over her shoulder, flashing him a smile and batting her eyelashes. Taking a deep breath, Will blew a gust that rustled her curls and made the white fabric flush against her back.
It boosted her into a small clearing where the sunshine poured down onto soft grass. Butterflies fluttered back and forth, avoiding the pair as they cruised through to the other side. Roselyn and Will put out their hands to feel the grain graze their fingertips.
When they reached the other side of the clearing, Roselyn ducked behind one of the trees. It had a heart carved into it, and Roselyn peeked out from the side to see what effect her handiwork would have. Bashfully, Will lowered his head and scratched at his hair.
“But I already feel that,” he said, causing Roselyn to cover her mouth in amazement. She quickly leapt behind the next tree over, which had a teardrop carved into it.
“Oh, I see where this is going,” Will snickered. “You’ve led me into a trap. Well it’s not going to work on me!”
Making as much of a gesture of it as one possibly could, Will emphatically closed his eyes and kept them shut. He stuck his arms out and started to wander closer to the trees while Roselyn looked around. She had carved other symbols of emotions on other trees, but none of them would grab hold of his feelings if Will couldn’t see them.
As quietly as she could, Roselyn tiptoed away to the next tree over. Wrapping her hands around a low branch, she pulled herself up.
“Where are you?” Will called, meandering around the edge of the clearing. Some noise drifted along the air to them from a distance, but it was nothing that would disrupt their time together. Will continued to call, circling around closer to Roselyn’s branch. It looked as though he would manage to just skim underneath it.
When he was a few feet away, Roselyn jumped onto him. But pushing against the branch alerted Will, who turned around in time to catch her in his arms. They toppled over together, landing on their sides against the grass. Finally, Will opened his eyes.
“Great job, Roselyn. Now it looks like we’re both out!” he teased.
But that seemed fine by Roselyn, who removed the hair from her eyes. One of her curls trailed across her neck, right near the scars from when her voice and almost her life were taken. The pleasant warmth of the sun shone down on them, and for the moment there wasn’t a reason in the world to get up.
“Roselyn, I just,” Will began, taking a stilted breath, “you turn my life inside out. I’ve had some bad luck with things, but all the bad luck in the world couldn’t balance out how wonderful you are.”
Roselyn nodded and opened her mouth, but then she shut it, biting her lip and squeezing her eyes closed.
“You don’t have to say anything. Your words are written all over your face,” he comforted her, brushing a finger down her cheek.
Aoi saw a tree rustle in the distance, its branches shuttering and shaking away the birds. Moments later the grunts and strains of struggling competitors came to her, making the direction she needed to go in all too clear. Taking off without hesitation, Aoi pressed down the winding path as if she floated across the surface. She ran evenly, steadily, and calmly, so much so that the sharp strands of black hair curving around her face seemed hardly to move.
Through the trees, she caught glimpses of the ensuing struggle between Vern and Chucky. They held each other, grappling and pulling on the other while trying to maintain their balance. It wasn’t hard to see Chucky had the better of the exchange. Vern had trouble keeping his hands on him, not to mention Chucky looked a fair bit stronger because of all that muscle he retained from working on the farm.
Bursting onto the scene, Aoi tapered her run until her movement was no faster than a crawl. Both of the young men had their hands full, and she was content to put her hands on her hips and watch. Vern noticed her first, and his eyes conveyed the peril and desperation of his current plight.
“Aoi, help!” he called from over Chucky’s shoulder, caught against the trunk of a tree. Chucky turned to look at her while trying to force Vern onto the ground. Aoi neglected to respond right away, choosing instead to cover her mouth for a yawn and then stretch her arms.
“What’s that Vern, you want me to save you? I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. I seem to recall it being a mighty unpleasant problem the last time I did such a thing. If I save you, am I going to be hearing all kinds of flack about it?” she asked.
“No!” Vern yelped, bent over backwards as Chucky’s arm press
ed flat against his chest. Aoi took another deep breath and started toward them.
“Alright then. I should hope not,” she said.
They were struggling vigorously, and Aoi cautiously crept up behind them. There was nothing for her to be afraid of, but she still treated them as though they were wild animals tearing apart their dinner. Vern held Chucky’s arms tight, and that made it easy for Aoi to wrap her arms around the shaggy-haired oaf and pluck him off his feet. She lifted him over her head, holding him tight by the sides while he wriggled and squirmed.
“Come on, Aoi! Don’t do it,” Chucky begged.
“You should’ve known better than to pick on my boyfriend,” she said, dropping him on his back.
Chucky made a thud when he hit the ground, but Aoi didn’t see it. She had already turned to Vern, who was brushing himself off and wiping the oil onto his uniform. He sighed and looked at Aoi.
“Thanks,” he said, taking a moment to check his hair.
“You’re welcome,” Aoi said, drifting still closer to him. Chucky had stopped moaning and everything was quiet.
She set her hand on his chest and they locked eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“For what?” Vern asked, but he couldn’t get the words out before she pushed him over her leg and onto his back. Now he gazed at her from the ground in shock as she struggled to restrain a smile. Chucky’s laughter piped through the grove.
“I couldn’t help myself. The last time we were here I just wanted to do that so badly. You can give me all the grief about it you want,” she said.
Holding out her hand, she helped Vern to his feet. Chucky came over then, and the three of them cast their eyes about the area. Vern pointed, and the other two turned to see Will, Roselyn, and Mary walking over through the woods.
“Who else is left?” Aoi called to them, getting only shrugs for a response.
“I guess there’s only one more of us out there. Good luck,” Chucky grinned.
Taking a step out from their group, Aoi continued to scan the surrounding forest. Itching to take off, all she needed was the faintest glimpse.
“Mira Ipswich!” she hollered. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!”
The others started to mumble that Mira was probably hiding somewhere or had made some kind of trap, but then Aoi caught sight of her standing on top of a small incline as plain as day. Aoi sprinted toward her, while everyone else followed along behind. Mira descended the other side of the hill toward the forest’s edge.
When Aoi got to the top, she was surprised to see how little ground her last remaining opponent had covered. The ponytail floated away, bobbing this way and that, with no more urgency than a morning jog. Aoi quickly caught up to her, and together their chase slowed to nothing more than a walk.
“What are you going to do, Mira?” Aoi asked. “You’ve got no flying contraption, no pollen shoes, no static charger. It’s just me and you.”
Her target turned near the base of a large tree, leaning against it and offering a thoughtful and sharp expression. Wearing their old uniforms and being back in the same woods brought back so many memories.
“Can you imagine how differently things would’ve turned out if it’d been like this? I would’ve won the Final Trial easily, maybe even beating Neeko to win The Shadowing. We never would’ve been sent out on that first mission where we met your sister. We would’ve fought alongside the rest of the Shade army and died, or lived to be trapped in the slave camps until our enemies escaped with the diamond carafe forever. But I didn’t, and now we’re right back here doing it all over again.”
Aoi put her hands out in a ready position, mirroring the movements of her opponent, who remained perfectly silent.
“You can do some amazing things, Mira, but you’ll never be able to outfight me,” Aoi said.
Lunging forward, Aoi attempted to push Mira over. That’s all it would take. But her arms passed through as though they’d touched nothing more than air, leaving her off balance. Then a shove met her back and knocked her flat onto the ground. Roars came from the observers, and Aoi rolled over in astonishment to see an almost identical copy standing next to the girl she had pursued. They both had bright smiles, and only now their minute differences became clear.
“I love having a sister,” Mira gloated.
The two girls put their hands up to give each other a high five, Mira’s solid hand passing right through her sister Clara’s mental projection. A ways off in the glade, an old man in a chair started to cheer. It was Mert Bogger, the only remaining resident of Corey Outpost, who had the baby Knoll on his lap.
“That’s not fair!” Aoi complained, chiding herself even as Mira helped her get to her feet.
“Is it now? I’ll have to keep in mind what a disadvantage your power to absorb and expel energy is compared to the plans I make,” Mira said.
Aoi wasn’t mad, of course, but being outwitted did carry its own particular kind of sting. Together, the group left the edge of the forest to join Mr. Bogger, who continued to clap for his entertainers.
“Did you expect anything different?” Will asked him when they’d gotten close enough.
“I should say not,” Mert said. “Not after seeing you all back here again so unexpectedly. I was sure you’d been wiped out or brainwashed like the rest of them. But then to hear you’d toppled their whole scheme right from under their noses, it shocked me in ways I can’t even imagine.”
“Thanks for looking after Knoll while we had our fun,” Mira said, lifting the small child into her arms. He wore a big hat to keep the sun away, and the broken shard of the diamond carafe hung from his neck by a string. There were a few logs and stones arranged in a circle, and everyone except for Clara sat down. It took some effort, but Mert was finally able to swing his chair around to face everyone.
“We’d better not waste much more time. We’ve got a long way to go to make this shiny rock whole again,” Vern noted.
“So the carafe shard gives access to everyone’s secrets and bad memories, but did you ever figure out what it’ll do once we put it back together?” Mary asked him.
“That’s the great mystery,” Mira answered. “What is the one power above all others that could create peace everlasting? I think the only way we’ll figure it out is to make it whole. That’s how we’ll ever be safe from slipping back into the abomination of life we escaped from.”
Most eyes drifted to Knoll and the shard in front of him. Because he could find like things, only Knoll could direct them to where the rest of the carafe was buried far to the northwest.
“Don’t forget how it strengthens your own power too!” Will chimed in to break the silence. “If it allowed Arent to find a way to stop the Earth from spinning, I wonder what it could mean for our powers. Really though, why aren’t we just passing the thing around to see what it does for us?”
It was an interesting idea, and varying degrees of curiosity appeared on the faces in the circle. Mert Bogger started to chuckle, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head.
“I don’t know if we should do that because we don’t know what would happen. It might be dangerous,” Mira warned, but Will only seemed more compelled.
“Oh, so you’re the only one who gets to use it? What’s the difference between you and Arent then? I thought we were trying to make something better,” he accused, making Mira become defensive.
“I don’t want to use it. It was an accident when I did. You want to give it a try? Here, be my guest,” she conceded.
Lifting the hat from Knoll’s head, she took the string from his neck and held the wrapped carafe shard out into the circle to him. One corner produced a brilliant glimmer from the sun’s reflection.
“Wait, maybe Mira’s right,” Mary spoke up urgently. “We don’t really want to be seeing inside of each other’s heads, do we? Think of all the problems that could cause.”
“Come on, we spent months together and it looks like we’ll only be seeing each o
ther from here on out. What is there to hide?” Will scoffed, grabbing the carafe despite her objection. There was some other murmuring around the circle, but no one else voiced any problems.
“Wait! Why do you get to be the one to try it? Maybe we should let Roselyn. She can’t even speak!”
“Oh, it’s not that big a deal. She can try next,” he said. Roselyn sat next to him, appearing both curious and embarrassed. Will started to mumble something about how his own power might finally be competitive, but it came to an end when he held the carafe’s bare, slick surface in his hands.
He flinched like something hit him in the head, and Mary recoiled, using her hands to cover her forehead and her heart. A sudden gusty blast of wind blew through the air, and it continued to grow into a cyclone around Will until it became difficult for the others to keep themselves upright. A few shouts were lost to the torrent of wind. Clara faded into lines and vanished, Mert Bogger tipped over onto his side, and Mary screamed and convulsed. Finally, it all came to an end when the carafe left Will’s hand and tumbled onto the ground in front of him.
“What’d you go and do that for?” Chucky snapped, helping old Mr. Bogger get up.
“I didn’t have any control over it,” Will replied, his voice disappointed and forlorn. Something had hit him though, and he kept his eyes on Mary, who couldn’t even open hers.
“Are you OK?” Aoi asked Mary, who continued to tremble.
“I’ll be alright now,” Mary said, still squinting. “The carafe just makes the feeling so loud. I’d forgotten how awful it was the last time I’d felt it.”
“Yeah, that’s enough of that,” Mira concluded. “I told you it was dangerous. Let’s only use it as a compass, not as a weapon.”
She scooped up the string and wrapped the carafe in a rag. Soon it was right back around Knoll’s neck, and everyone had recovered from the windstorm. Though ruffled, Mert hadn’t come to any serious harm.
“Speaking of weapons,” Chucky spoke up, “why aren’t you building any, Mira? I figured by now you’d have tons of rockets or what have you ready to blow up anything that got in our way.”