Static Touch

Chapter Two: Failed Lesson

Eva grabbed an exposed root to steady herself and looked up to see a wall of water come roaring down the path, straight towards her.

She barely had time to gasp before it hit-like the frozen waters in spring. It was white and it roared when it crashed into her, slapping her face and arms as hard as if she'd walked into a brick wall.

Ice cold water surged up her nose and her mouth flew open, and then the water was in her mouth and choking her, water thick with rocks and sticks that cut against her bare skin like knives.

Her hand was torn away from the root and her feet went out from under her and she was flying, tumbling, unable to control any movement. The water picked her up and slammed her down again, picked her up and dropped her hard.

Her felt her shoulder bounce painfully off a rock she couldn't see-she couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything.

She fought, desperately, to at least keep her head above the water even as the currents underneath sucked at her and tried to pull her down.

And then she stopped, with a jerk that made her bones pop and her head roll. But the water continued to pour over and around her and then she was underwater, unable to breathe.

Something was holding her down and she was drowning. Her hands reached around her, desperately trying to find what was holding her down, even as the water rose and she heard bubbles popping in her ears. Her skin burned with the cold and she knew she would be dead in seconds, that she had lost.

Then, as quick as the water had came, it pulled back -flowing in the opposite direction at a much calmer speed- leaving Eve gasping for air, hungry for it. Mud stuck to her back and legs, it squelched in her ears and painted her face as she tried to remove debris from her eyes.

Heavy footsteps stomped down the puddled path. Eva rolled her stiff neck to the side and looked down the path she had just been swimming in. Her professor, Mr. Opal, didn't seem to mind the mud that caked his boots or splashed his pants.

"So," Mr. Opal began, crossing the distance left  between them, "You were caught by the current."

Eva frowned at his words. He always had to point out the obvious. His delight in her failure was almost palpable.

"Yes," Eva droned, pushing her cold hands into the mud around her, "Obviously."

Mr. Opal nodded and looked around to survey the area, Eva took the time to do the same. The path she started at was in shambles and cluttered with broken branches and muddy puddles. The smell of silt and decayed leaves flew through the air like fog, coating each watered bloated tree and slick, damp rock.

"Bubbles is greatly improving, don't you think?" Mr. Opal grinned, flashing his eyebrows up and down. Eva snorted as she pushed herself up from the mud, but she didn't deny it.

"I don't know where Bubble gets off, but she needs to tone it down a notch. The temperature," Eva lectured, standing up and picking more leaves and twigs off her body. She found one inside her shirt. "Totally not necessary. I could have gone hypothermic!"

Mr. Opal laughed and spread his arms wide. "Oh, but look at how powerful she's become!" Eva noted full grown trees broken in half and boulders uprooted and pushed half a mile down where they used to be. Maybe it was a bit impressive.

"Powerful or not, Bubbles is a psycho." Mr. Opal scowled at her words against Bubbles, she was a known favorite of his. Eva crossed her arms, she wasn't going to take it back.

With the air now tense, Mr. Opal became serious once again. He faced Eva, clearing his throats for a speech she's heard at least a dozen times before.

"Miss. Eva," he began. "Because you could not dodge the water - or escape from it - you fail. You'll have one week to rest, recover, and prepare for it again. Until then, you are dismissed."