Next Up

Chapter 36

"Ivy, I'm so sorry," Zoe said. Ever since she saw what happened to Ivy, a deep pain had rooted in her stomach. It felt as if she had ingested molten lead, and it was slowly burning a hole through the lining of her abdomen. "My plan was what caused this," she said through dry heaves.

Ivy shook her head. "Not at all. I meant for this to happen," she beamed with pride, holding up her destroyed arm. There was a long pause, "What?" Ivy asked, looking at Zoe's face. She stared at Ivy with a look of bewilderment.

"You meant for him to blow up your hand?"

"Mhm," Ivy said, taking a big gulp of water given to her by Cahya.

"Oh..." Zoe said, her eyebrows furrowed. "You aren't just telling me this to make me feel better?"

Behind them, Cahya looked down on the three who were tied up. Her face was twisted with disgust. "You guys actually did it. I'm kinda proud, to be honest."

"Just kinda?" Colson scoffed, "You really didn't think we'd do it? C'mon now." He held an ice pack to his face, pressing hard over his broken cheekbone, feeling a tear in one of his eyes form as he did so. Rolling down his freezing cheek.

Cahya looked back and smiled. 'I taught them the wrong method to learn energy, and they still won. Well, maybe not a wrong method, but a horribly inefficient way. They were still able to learn it in that short of time. Nothing less than incredible.' She turned to Colson, 'I was wondering why I did that...But I think I know now. I honestly believed they would die fighting. Maybe that's why I did it. If they never were able to learn energy, then they wouldn't bother fighting them, so he wouldn't have to die.'

Ivy walked over next to Cahya, looking down at the people tied up below her; a curious look crossed her face. "So, what're you gonna do with them?" She asked. Her voice was back to normal, fixed by the healing products Cahya had brought.

"I'm not sure. That's up to the leaders of the village. I'm not sure who that would be at this point. If one dies, the leadership role goes down the line to the next person. They'll probably be put to death if I had to guess." Cahya said. "Probably get strung up in the town square for everyone to laugh at!" She said pointedly, glaring down at them.

"Really?" Zoe asked quietly, looking down at Geier. "Does it have to be like that?"

A shadow crossed over Cahya's face, "Idris, my brother. Jashin... Who knows how many others. That can't be forgiven. Or have you forgotten about that?"

Zoe was silent.

"Besides. You guys have beaten all the odds. You should be happy."

"I'm just hungry, honestly," Ivy said.

Kiari lifted his head up and stared right at Ivy. Her wide stance. 'It's all symmetrical. Like poetry. It rhymes,' he thought.

Later that day. Zoe and Colson sat outside the doctor's office. It was a long, low-hanging metal building about a quarter-mile to the north on a slight incline overlooking Cassius. Ivy had been inside for almost thirty minutes.

"Hey, did you hear what Ivy said earlier? How she lost her arm?" Zoe asked.

"I think so? She said something about how she wanted to lose it?"

"Yea...that's weird, right?"

"Yeah, that is pretty out there."

Zoe wiped her eyes, "I doubt it could be fixed. We couldn't even find her arm or anything, so it can't be reattached. It was probably completely disintegrated," her voice was hollow as she spoke, her eyes fixated on the wooden floor of the windowless hallway.