Another day, the teams were taken out into the forest, and the day was shaping up to be good.
Green Alpha was up a ways ahead of them, most likely Ashton's doing in an attempt to keep Blue Alpha away from Red Alpha.
Mason shoved Mia, "I'm smarter than you!"
Mia pushed her brother back, "Nuh-uh! I got a better grade than you on the last test!"
"No, you didn't!"
"Shut up you two," James snapped impatiently, "You got the same grade."
Mia opened her mouth to protest but quickly silenced herself when James shot her a glare.
Green Alpha was silent after that.
"The river is so fast," Kaze said obliviously.
"You don't say?" Kai replied sarcastically.
Kaze looked confused for a moment, before laughing along with the rest.
"Well, the currents are very quick," said Aayan.
"I kinda wanna swim in it," Kira remarked.
"Same," Colleen said.
"You shouldn't do that," Kahsbi said, "I heard somewhere that currents are stronger than they look. Right Aayan?"
Aayan nodded, "Agreed. Currents appear far slower than they actually are."
"There you go with that fancy phrasing," Jay laughed.
"That wasn't fancy?" Kamlyn said confusedly.
Jay shrugged, "You get my point."
Kira stared into the river as they walked along the bank, mesmerized by the swirling water. They wondered what it would be like to he inside. Would it drown them quickly, would Kira even know what was happening?
"Keep up," Diaz called to the team that had trailed behind, though he stopped just the next moment.
Robinson was also with them, and once the teams had gathered into a contained group she stood before them and began to speak.
"As I'm sure you have been learning, currents can be very strong," Robinson began, "Mind your step. Even at this point, one of the weakest in the river, it would be all too easy for one of you to fall in and be swept away."
Diaz stepped up beside his sister, "Does anyone want to explain why currents are so dangerous? 780?"
Ace cleared his throat, an air of cool confidence practically dripping off him.
"Water is far more powerful than some give it credit for. It can easily drag even the strongest swimmers down, and drown them," Ace explained, "That and fighting against the current is nearly impossible. Especially a stronger one like this."
Diaz nodded, "Very good 780."
That was one thing Kaze hated about Ace. He was an asshole, but when it came down to it, Ace was still very smart.
Ace got perfect scores on nearly every test, every assignment, as he would often point out.
It seemed as though Ace had everyone wrapped around his finger. He was cunning, a smooth talker, cold, and calculating. Ace could even be called manipulative.
Kaze had to admit it was impressive how seamlessly Ace had turned nearly everyone in the base against them. One day everyone was just...suddenly on them, burning hatred into them.
"Mememe," Jay mocked quietly, being sure to keep his voice down as to not be caught.
Kai stifled a laugh, covering his mouth quickly.
Colleen joined in, making her voice higher pitched to mock him, "Ohhh look I'm so smart."
"Stupid idiot," Kira whispered.
"Aren't those kinda the same thing?" Kaze asked.
Jay shrugged, "Eh, who cares."
"Don't be rude, guys," Aayan said reluctantly.
"He was way ruder to us first," Kamlyn challenged, and the others voiced their approval.
Kahsbi, who had been previously silent, "He's so annoying. I hate him!"
"Let's move along now," Diaz called, making their way up the river.
They walked for a few minutes, Kira watching carefully as the river slowly became faster and faster.
Aayan grabbed them gently by the arm, and Kira flinched at the sudden contact.
Aayan frowned, "Sorry. You shouldn't get so close. You were wandering off."
Kira averted her gaze, "Oh, sorry."
Aayan smiled, "It's alright. Just don't get swept away or anything."
"Kimani!"
Everyone's eyes snapped back to Blue Alpha, just in time to see Ace diving into the rushing water after his teammate. Kimani was already a few feet down the river, and Ace hadn't even thought twice before throwing himself in after her.
Addison was about to join him, before Omar grabbed her, preventing her from going after her brother even as she struggled to get out of his grip.
"Fuck!" Diaz could be heard yelling, panic flooding his voice almost as much as the cold river water was flooded Ace's mouth.
Ace, even with all the swimming lessons they were given, had never been a strong swimmer.
What the hell was he thinking!? This was so stupid of him, Ace could hardly swim and here he was jumping into a river after his sister.
Ace would've already drowned if it weren't for the water and air-tight suits. Especially with Kimani scrambling and pushing him down.
Ace tightened his arms around Kimani's waist, feeling her nails digging into his neck and back. He could feel himself being dragged downwards, disappearing under the water.
Ace held his breath, pushed upwards, trying to kick himself to the surface as Kimani clung to him.
His head broke the surface of the water, drawing in a long gasp and leaving Ace blinded by the sun for a moment.
His head flung to the side for a second, but bared it and looked around despite his still burning eyes.
Ace could see everyone else through a blurry filter.
Diaz, Robinson, Ashton, Amara, him- No! Don't look at those three. You can not afford for this to happen. Not here, not now! Kimani needs you.
Ace took a deep breath of air, pulling his arm tighter around the girl as he used the other to reach out towards the shore in a blind grab.
Ace's hand touched nothing, only raking through water and causing him to loosen his grip around Kimani.
Kimani screamed in return, Ace cringing at the loud noise. "I got you," Ace whispered, this seemingly enough to calm Kimani as she tightened her arms around her brother again.
Ace's vision cleared, and he could see Diaz's terrified face a few meters away.
He looked at the shore, and now that he was reasonably steady he began to think.
It's nearly impossible to fight against the current, Ace repeated in his mind, Then I wonder if I can use it to my advantage?
Ace pushed himself forward, using the current to propell himself further towards the shore.
Ace's breath was still coming in short, heaving puffs of air as he barley managed to grip a loose rock.
His nails dug into the rock, nearly breaking them as he desperately tried to hold on.
Robinson was there in a split second, pulling the two trainees onto the ground.
Ace laid on his back, chest heaving as he gasped and coughed up water.
Kimani was keeled over, arms wrapped around her stomach as she also spat out the water.
Amara landed on her knees beside Ace, a hand on his back, as was Addison in just a moments notice.
Aryan skidded and sat down next to Kimani, wrapping her in his arm as she continued to hack.
Omar dropped down between all of them, frazzled by the incident.
"Are you all alright!?" Diaz all but yelled, standing over the terrified group.
Robinson put her hands on his shoulders, "Don't overwhelm them. Give them a moment."
After a minute, Robinson carefully knelt down, closely followed by Diaz.
"Is everyone okay?" Diaz repeated himself, settling on placing his hand on Ace's shoulder.
Ace swallowed, "I'm fine. Is Kimani?"
"I'm okay," Kimani squeaked, tears in her eyes.
Aryan, Omar, Addison and Amara were all terrified, refusing to let go of their siblings.
Diaz took a deep breath, collecting himself.
"We need to keep going. This was a too big of a commotion for comfort, and we need to get you two back so we can be sure you're both completely okay."
Shocked, exhausted and scared, the group makes their way back home.
----------
Kaze glared at the ring, thoughts restling in his mind.
Ezra was on his mind once again, but his brother wasn't the only thing at the forefront of his mind.
Ace, the same boy who had always been so cruel and callus towards them, had tossed his own well being aside in just one moment, and thrown himself into the mouth of a rushing river to save his teammate.
Blue Alpha had always appeared so closed off and even acted cruel to one another at times. Kaze had assumed they hated one another, but today proved him wrong.
The sheer amount of raw concern they'd shown one another left Kaze confused. He yawned, and tucked the ring back under his mattress.
Kaze rolled over onto his side, closing his eyes. He was too tired to think.
----------
Blue Alpha was all tired. Ace had refused to let go of Kimani nearly the entire night, and Addison had done the same with Ace.
"Are you okay?" Aryan kept asking.
"You keep asking that," Omar said in an annoyed, but light tone.
"I know," Aryan replied, "But I'm still worried."
"We all are," said Amara.
The entire group was curled up against one another on Ace's bed, as they had all refused to be separated the entire time.
"Yes, we're both fine," Ace sighed, holding the asleep Kimani close, "We all need to rest right now."
The group curled up close to one another, falling asleep before they could make their way back to their beds.
----------
"I'm taking Amber, mom is taking Alexander," their father said, his voice wavering.
"No!" The twins cried in unison, backing away from their parents.
Mom sighed, "I'm sorry you two. I'm so sorry, but I and dad are separating whether you like it or not, and this is the only fair way we could split custody, with my moving back up North and all."
"Why can't we both stay here!?" Alexander demanded, standing in front of his sister protectively.
Their parents shared a look before dad shook his head.
"That's enough, Alexander. You'll be leaving with mom in a week."
Alexander opened his mouth to argue but chose not to fight back, knowing it was futile.
Alexander took Amber's hand, tugging her to their room.
"I hate you!" Alexander yelled as he slammed the door.
Amber sobbed and collapsed against her brother, tears rolling down her cheeks freely.
"I don't wanna leave you," she cried, clinging to Alexander like a lifeline.
Alexander was silent for a moment, listening to his sister's heart-wrenching sobs.
"I don't wanna-"
"We won't," Alexander interrupted, pulling her away and holding Amber's face, "We're not gonna be separated."
Amber's silver eyes bored into Alexander's grey-blue ones.
"W-what..."
"We're gonna run away, and we're never gonna be alone," Alexander said with a determined voice.
Amber sobbed and flung her arms around Alexander again. It seemed impossible, but her brother had never let her down.
Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance. Amber and Alexander felt the slightest bit of hope.
"We'll never be alone," Alexander promised once more.
----------
Amber's breath stuttered as he sat bolt upright in bed.
He sobbed, stomach and throat aching as tears rolled from his stinging, red eyes. He must've been crying in his sleep. It wouldn't be the first time.
Isabella stirred next to him, rubbing at her eyes.
Isabella looked at him with worried eyes the moment she realized what had woken her.
"Dandelion, did you have another nightmare?"
Amber couldn't respond, just nodded, and began to cling to Isabella.
Isabella wrapped her arms around Amber, holding him close and stroking his hair as he sobbed into her chest.
"I miss him," Amber whisper-cried after about ten minutes.
Isabella swallowed the lump in her throat, pulling Amber closer, "I know. We all do."
After a while, Amber was calmer, though still sobbing and red-eyed.
"Go back to sleep, love," Isabella said with a false calm, "We have work to do in the morning. You can't work well if you're sleep-deprived."
Amber's stomach lurched unpleasantly once more but sniffled and nodded.
"I know," he whispered.
Isabella lay awake for an hour or so, even after she'd confirmed that Amber had fallen back into a deep sleep.
She tilted her head upwards, beginning to let her previously concealed tears slip.
"I miss you," Isabella mumbled, laying back, holding Amber close, and letting herself sob freely.