by Dee Benson
She was pretty sure the consequences would be high if she was caught. Nevertheless, it was tempting.
Dynamo clapped her hands to get everyone's attention.
"This is not a place for frivolity," she said once everyone was quiet. "I would like to remind you that many, through their lack of reverence, have incurred the wrath of the forces. Most didn't live to tell the story." She paused for a moment, obviously to let that sink in. "You will all be silent as we make our way into the forest. Once we get to the conflux, you will remove your shoes and continue to remain silent, even if something happens."
"Something like what?" Gladys asked.
"I don't know," Dynamo replied. "Anything. We will stay for fifteen minutes only and then we will leave. Got that?"
Everybody nodded.
Dynamo told Voltaire to move to the back of the line and bring up the rear, while she led the way.
Axel looked around for Nigel. Had he stayed on the bus?
"Axel?" came Nigel's quiet voice from behind her.
She spun around. She hoped he couldn't tell that she'd been looking for him. How would he be able to tell, silly?
He was holding a rusty looking necklace. The gold was faded. The pendant was a turquoise star.
"It's an amulet," he whispered. "To protect you from harm."
Axel took it and immediately slipped it around her neck. She didn't know whether to be touched or offended at his lack of confidence in her.
Nigel walked away.
"Why'd only you get a protective amulet?" Trojan murmured as they entered the forest.
"Probably because I'm rubbish and he's worried that I'm going to die." It was intended as a joke, but Axel realized that could very well happen. Dynamo had just said so.
"Why doesn't he care if the rest of us die?" Trojan moaned.
Dynamo leaped over to them in a flash of yellow electricity. Her eyes were fierce. "Get back into the bus, you two. I won't have you causing problems for the rest of us here."
Nigel came over. "I will chaperone the two of them and make sure they are silent from now on."
Axel wished he hadn't said that. She would have gladly returned to the bus. She didn't want to go into a forest and remove her shoes at some pool where weird forces might kill her if she wasn't 'reverent' enough.
Dynamo exhaled. She glared at Axel and Trojan. "Quiet!" she snapped, before returning to the front of the line.
Axel's heart was beating fast as they entered the forest. Trojan took her hand. Maybe he wanted to come under the protection of the amulet.
They walked through the trees in silence, the only sound the clomping of their feet on the packed soil of the forest floor.
Soon, the lulling sound of rushing water reached Axel's ears. Dynamo led them through a cluster of trees. On the other side, a river rushed by.
That would be the Pisun River. Dynamo had told them about it in their last class with her as they prepared for this outing. At the center of the forest the Pisun would meet in a conflux with three other rivers: The Gyhon, Hiddek and Yufrats. The conflux was what they called the Merspool.
They walked alongside the Pisun. As they went, the sound of the river got quieter as the river currents became slower.
Dynamo stopped and climbed a little way up a tree so that everybody could see her. She pointed at a thick cluster of trees through which the river disappeared. Then she mimed zipping her lips. The Merspool must be on the other side of that cluster of trees.
Axel's heart began to pound as Dynamo climbed down the tree. Did they really have to do this? Was activation worth risking their lives? Everyone else already had powers now anyway. They should be content with what they had and focus on honing them rather than coming here.
She clutched Trojan's hand tighter as Dynamo led the way through the cluster of trees.
On the other side, Axel stopped dead.
The pool was huge. Much bigger than the word 'pool' suggested. In the middle of the pool was an island on which two shrubs grew. Around the shrubs were misty balls of different colors: purple, orange, blue, pink, gold. They looked like miniature clouds. Or giant cotton balls. They hovered in the air around the shrubs. Some lay in the grass, both on the island and at the edge of the pool.
Some of the balls on the edge of the pool rolled in their direction slightly. Everyone seemed to freeze.
Axel noticed some smaller balls. They were colored too but the colors were darker and and they weren't as misty and transparent as the bigger balls.
Dynamo removed her shoes. They all did likewise.
It was such a beautiful sight, but Axel was trembling with fear.
Once she had her shoes off, she removed her mom's pendant from her pocket discreetly and focused on the family photo in it. Maybe that way she'd be able to forget where she was, and not do anything to anger the forces.
There was a twist in her heart as she looked at the photo. The four of them would never be together again. She was beginning to doubt that even she and Zanda would ever be reunited.
If she was one of the rare Supers who couldn't activate, maybe she would just tell Serloyd that she'd stay here forever and keep trying to activate if they freed Zanda and allowed her to return to Netherium. Axel couldn't imagine living here, in this strange Super Land, all her life, but she might have to.
An ache stirred to life in her heart. The drugs were wearing off.
She closed the pendant and tucked it back into her pocket.
Heat seared the skin around her neck. Axel's heart stopped. Was some powerful force gripping her?
The heat intensified. She slowly lifted a hand to her neck. She almost yelped as her fingers brushed the chain of the amulet that Nigel had given her. It was hot!
She unhooked the clasp, moving as slowly as she could, so as not to attract Dynamo's attention, or the attention of any forces that might be present.
As soon as she removed the amulet, there was a flicker of blue light on her hand. Axel's heart lurched as her whole hand began to glow blue.
Then she noticed that her other hand was glowing pale green. She looked around for Dynamo and realized that everybody was looking at her, including Dynamo, Nigel, and Voltaire.
What was happening?
Intense fear gripped her. She began to tremble. I'm sorry, she thought, for anything I may have done to displease you.
A gold ball floated from the water and glided over to her. It hit her in the chest, but she felt nothing. She looked down and watched the gold spread from the center of her chest to the rest of her body. Then, it faded away, as did the colors on her hands.
Axel stood stock still, waiting for death to claim her.
At some point, Dynamo began to put on her shoes. Everyone else followed suit. It took Axel three attempts with her trembling hands.
Dynamo led the way out of the forest. Axel wondered what to make of what had happened. Were the colored balls good or bad? She couldn't wait to get back onto the bus and ask Dynamo.
Axel stepped over a fallen branch. Trojan let out a tiny squeak as he tripped on it. He tumbled to the ground, landing with a loud thud.
The people behind them stepped over him and continued—even Voltaire, who was supposed to be bringing up the rear of the line. Once they'd all gotten past, Axel tried to help Trojan up, but he was too heavy. And he'd gotten a hand stuck in a thorny bush. Axel grimaced. Getting that hand out was going to hurt.
"Get up," she whispered to Trojan. "Quick. Before Dynamo sees you."
Trojan tugged the hand stuck in the bush. He winced.
"Just pull it out fast and get the pain over with," Axel suggested.
He grimaced and then yanked his hand out from among the thorns. Axel almost gagged at all the blood.
They stood and jogged to catch up with the others. Voltaire looked at Trojan's hand and rolled his eyes. "There's a first aid kit on the bus."
Once Voltaire turned his back, Trojan lifted his bloody hand towards Axel, threatening to touch her.
&n
bsp; "Don't you dare!" Axel whispered. She dug in her book bag to see if she had any tissues. She didn't.
He wiggled his hand in her face. Axel grabbed him by a clean part of his arm. "Stop it!" She hissed.
Suddenly, a roaring sound filled her ears. Something warm and tingly raced through her arms.
Then it stopped, and Axel blinked. What was that?
Trojan was looking at her oddly.
She released his hand. "What?" she whispered.
"I just felt something from your hand."
Axel started walking. They'd fallen behind again, and everyone had stopped and was watching them. "Great. We're in trouble."
"Seriously, I just got this weird feeling from your hand," Trojan said. He sounded slightly freaked out.
"Like what?"
"Like something warm and tingly." He stopped walking and lifted his hand. He stared at it for a moment, and then waved it before her face.
All the blood and scrapes were gone. That must be the wrong hand. She looked at his other hand. That was fine too. She frowned in confusion.
"I think you just healed me!"
"I doubt that. Come on."
"I saw that!" Dynamo called. "Get over here right now, you two."
Trojan broke into a run. Axel hurried after him.
"I just got my hand all scraped up and now it's fine," he told Dynamo. He looked at Axel.
Axel felt uncomfortable under everybody's gaze. Dynamo's stare was particularly intent. "I know, Trojan," she said quietly. "We all saw what happened."
Axel shrugged. "Maybe there are forces in this part of the forest too, that…do things…like that."
Dynamo grabbed Voltaire by the arm and pulled him before Axel. "Do it again."
"Do what again?" Axel asked.
She pointed to the bruise on his head. "Touch it."
Touch that nasty looking bruise? Eww!
Before Axel knew what was happening, Dynamo had grabbed her hand and placed it on Voltaire's head.
Axel felt heat pulse through her once again. Heard the roar in her ears.
She snatched her hand away from Voltaire's head. Everyone gasped.
The bruise was gone.
Dynamo let out a squeal. She grabbed Axel by her shoulders, her eyes shining with tears. "Do you have any idea how huge this is? There hasn't been a healing Super in two centuries."
Voltaire took out his cell phone. "We'd better inform Serloyd at once."
Chapter 17
AXEL LOOKED AT NIGEL as Voltaire called Serloyd. He was standing on the edge of the group, quiet, just watching her.
She looked away quickly. Had he done something to help her activate a power?
A flash before her, like the reflection of the sun on glass, drew her from her thoughts. A thick orange mist plumed from thin air, billowing before her.
The Firemaster stepped out from the midst of it. Everyone bowed their heads immediately.
Axel remembered how she'd felt the last time she'd bowed. It had been a horrible feeling. She remained upright.
Serloyd and Desmond stepped out of the portal a moment later, and then the orange mist began to fade.
The Firemaster made a gesture with his hands and everybody straightened. His pale blue gaze settled on Axel. "Please demonstrate your healing power."
Axel sighed silently. He must not have noticed that she hadn't bowed.
The Firemaster nodded at Nigel.
Nigel stepped forward, removing a knife from his pocket.
Axel remembered how he'd cut his arm yesterday. She looked at his arms. Neither had any cut or scar.
He drew the knife through his forearm.
Axel clenched her teeth. How could he do that?
"Proceed," Serloyd snapped.
Axel touched Nigel's arm, careful not to get any blood on her hand.
She felt the rush, heard the roaring. Then Nigel's skin instantly healed.
Everyone was silent.
The Firemaster, Desmond, and Serloyd were staring at her.
"Lady McPherson," The Firemaster said eventually. "1817."
Dynamo nodded. "Yes. She was the last healing Super. There have been Supers who can heal and regenerate themselves, but not others. What a breakthrough."
The Firemaster looked at Desmond.
Desmond bowed his head. "I will perform the necessary tests and see to it that she is prepared for the battle."
THE TESTS DESMOND WAS referring to took the next three days. Axel no longer had to attend classes. She didn't see her classmates anymore except at mealtimes.
Instead of classes, she had to heal. Constantly. Desmond brought scores of people with a variety of ailments in order to test the limitations of her healing power. How frequently could she heal? What kinds of things could she heal? How long could she heal before she got tired? Did she need to pace herself when healing?
The results were interesting. Or at least Desmond said so. She could heal injuries, but she couldn't heal diseases. She didn't tire when healing, which seemed to surprise Desmond. And she seemed able to heal any number of people without needing to take a break.
The battle was just two days away now, and she'd been given her role. She was to heal any of The Firemaster's people who got hurt.
"It's a huge responsibility," Serloyd had told her when he broke the news to her about her role. "You will heal any of our fighters who get injured, so that they may return to the battle at once. We're already at a number disadvantage so we don't want to lose anybody to injury. We certainly don't want any deaths."
"My power is healing, not resurrection," Axel had replied.
That had earned her a cold look and a higher dose of drugs the next morning.
The drugging didn't affect her ability to heal so they'd continued. Axel was almost getting used to needle pricks now.
However, he needn't have increased the dosage, as Axel had a vested interest in performing well at the battle. Zanda's release depended on it.
She didn't see Nigel until dinnertime, two days before the battle. He was heading out of the cafeteria when Axel arrived with Trojan and Angelo, a dark look on his face that made her think twice about speaking to him although she'd been hoping to do so since she activated in the forest.
She followed Trojan and Angelo into cafeteria, and then stopped. Was she really going to let the stony look on Nigel's face stop her when she had questions that needed answering?
"Um, I'll catch you guys later," she told Trojan and Angelo.
Angelo wasn't listening. He was already heading over to a table of girls who were waving him over.
"Where are you going?" Trojan asked.
"I…need to go do something."
Trojan rolled his eyes. "You have a secret rendezvous with Nigel? It's against the rules to have, uh, secret rendezvous with teachers. Do we need to report him?"
Axel's frowned. "No. Why would you even think that?"
He gave a knowing smirk. "I might have noticed the sparkle you get in your eyes whenever you catch sight of him."
"Are you kidding me? He drives me nuts. Any sparkle in my eyes must just be the result of them watering from catching sight of an irritant like him."
"Irritant? Right." Trojan rolled his eyes. "Want me to bring some food back to the dorm for you?"
"That'd be nice." Axel grinned at him. "Thanks."
Trojan just rolled his eyes again and swaggered off.
Axel left the cafeteria. Nigel was nowhere to be found. Where would he have gone? She didn't know if he had an office. If he did, he probably wouldn't go there at this time. He'd probably be heading home.
As she left the building, she tried to imagine Nigel's home. It would probably have an 'unlived in' feel to it. Probably sparsely furnished. And it'd be dark. Like him.
In fact, she could imagine him living in a cave, like a wild animal.
Weird that Trojan had picked up on her pathetic crush.
I don't have a crush on him.
Outside the building, she looked a
round, contemplating which way to go. She decided the parking lot was her best bet. It was only a few blocks away. She broke into a run.
Night was falling. Birds and insects had begun their nightly chorus. The heat wasn't as oppressive, but it was definitely still warm. By the time she reached the girls' dorms, across the road from the parking lot, she was wheezing and sweating.
She hurried across the road. Her heart lurched when a motorcycle came careening around a corner and almost slammed right into her.
She didn't know whether to keep running or to stop and let the motorcyclist swerve to avoid her. He was wearing a helmet so he could afford to swerve.
She heard the tires squealing on the asphalt and the grinding of the engine. She squeezed her eyes shut.
Nothing.
There was silence for a moment and then a pair of hands grabbed her.
She opened her eyes. It was the motorcyclist.
He dragged her off the road and onto the sidewalk. "Do you have a death wish?"
That voice.
"Nigel?" she asked.
He removed his helmet. His gray eyes were blazing. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be having dinner."
"I wanted to talk to you."
Nigel stared at her for a moment, as though lost for words, and then went to wheel his bike off the road. He folded his arms across his chest. His dark brows lowered. "What do you want to talk to me about?"
"Did you help me to activate? When you looked into my mind, did you tweak anything?"
"No."
"You would tell me if you did, right?"
"Of course. And I'd tell The Firemaster so that I'd get all the glory that Dynamo is currently getting." He let out a soft snort.
"Do you think the amulet might have helped me?"
"No. It's for protection only. And I saw you remove it."
"Yeah. It heated up and was burning my skin."
Nigel frowned slightly.
Axel removed it from her pocket. "You can have it back if you want."
"Take it to battle with you. I'll be happier knowing you've got it."
Axel tucked it back into her pocket. "Um, thanks."
He didn't respond.
A moment of silence passed between them. Two.