Next Up

Chapter 29

Zoe ran past her seconds later, ducking under the railing and sliding down the river bank next to Colson.

A whiteout of bubbles surrounded Ivy as she silently sank to the bottom, her bare feet finally touching the slimy concrete bottom, her cheeks puffed out, holding in as much air as she thought possible. Squeezing open her eyes just a bit to see a fish about twice the size of her jet past, its tail fin almost whipping her in the face. Looking up, she saw the sun-refracted rays and the head of Cahya from the bridge, the water so clear she could make out her distorted face.

Crouching down, using the bottom as a springboard, she attempted to push herself to the surface; the muscles in her arms and legs burned as she propelled herself upwards, the current holding her down as if it wanted to drown her.

The water surface broke as Ivy's head popped up, squinting at them, her vision blurry.

"Huh?" She could see their mouths move, but their voices were drowned out by the roar of the water. Swimming ashore, she flopped down on her back, shivering uncontrollably; her body slowly being heated by the rocky shoreline under her, staring up at the sky.

"Oh wow," Colson said, putting his hand over his eyes.

"What?" Ivy asked through chattering teeth, Zoe entered her line of sight, peering down at her with a concerned look.

"Why?" Was all she could think to say. There was a long pause as Zoe listened to Ivy's teeth clang together; behind them, Colson jogged to the tree to grab Ivy's clothes.

"T-training." Ivy stuttered through a clenched jaw.

"Hypothermia is training?"

Ivy struggled to her feet; turning to face the sun, Colson hopped over the railing and handed Ivy her white jacket while his other hand covered his eyes.

"Here, take this," he said, Zoe elbowing him in the ribs when she noticed him peeking through the gaps of his fingers. "Ow! Why'd you just hit me?"

"You know what you did."

"T-t-thanks," Ivy shivered as she wrapped the jacket around herself.

"There's easier ways to kill yourself if that's what you were trying to do," Colson said.

Ivy answered by sticking her tongue out at him.

"To be fair, it's not a bad way to try and unlock energy," Cahya said, sliding down the riverbank next to them. "Pushing your body to the brink through pure exhaustion and stress, then forcing it to unlock energy to save itself; pretty smart. Very dangerous, but smart."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Colson grumbled, "why didn't I just do that instead of meditating in a forest like some hippie."

"It worked, didn't it? So stop complaining," they glared at each other for a few seconds.

"What worked?" Ivy asked.

"Nah...I just- well, you guys have been working hard, and I don't wanna come off like I'm tryna brag or something," he said.

"Huh?" Ivy said, eyes widened with curiosity, standing on her tippy toes, leaning forward, looking straight into his eyes, "What? What? I wanna know! Come on, pleeeease!"

"Woah, Woah," Colson said, stepping back, "it's like—" he glanced at Cahya, who shrugged.

"Do what you want," she said.

"Well, alright then, stand back and behold!" He grinned, making a show of it, hands clasped, feet wide apart, a few seconds later, a hum barely audible over the roar of the river. A pale aura surrounded him.