—
Time slowed to an almost complete stop everywhere around me as Maddox lunged, fury etched all over his face. Soldiers in black surrounded me and my friends, some with fire or ice or lightning slowly breathing to life on their slick uniforms. My friends were stuck in time as well. Adara and Wren stood back to back, sparks dangling above them. Ragan was covered in ash and sweat as her hand was outstretched toward a group of soldiers. Calix was in the middle of a jump, blurry and transparent against the dark scenery. Even Maddox seemed frozen in time, hanging in the air at mid-lung with the same expression on his pale face. It was only me. I was the only one moving as though everything was normal. What was happening? What did I do?
I struggled to sit up, not knowing what parts of me he had broken. Was this what it was like to mimic someone who was already mimicking? I watched as everyone's movements seemed to backtrack and rewind then start again. It was like I was in some sort of time loop.
It was at this point where I assessed the situation: I was wet, I was seriously injured, and I definitely hated Maddox. But some part of me began to wonder if he really was "evil". He didn't necessarily look evil. Just...conflicted. I could see it in his wild eyes. There was something greater behind them, something almost controlling him.
It became obvious to me that I could kill him at this moment. But did I really want to? It seemed wrong, yet it would be so easy. No. He was Ragan's brother, and no matter how much she hated him, I wasn't going to take that away. Who knew the truth behind his crazy eyes?
It was the only thing stopping me from killing him as I shakily lifted my palm to his face, a tear slipping down mine.
—
Something was wrong. What did I do? Why was this happening? I couldn't feel, hear, or see anything except for a blinding white light. I tried to squint as it got brighter, but my body was out of my control. I felt nothing. There was no surface beneath me, around me, anywhere. It was as though I was suspended in the sky.
My first thought was that I was dead. Maddox killed me, and now I was dead. Perhaps the gods were sending me to wherever it was these people went when they died. Maybe I actually was in the sky, and this bright light was the sun. What did I do to cause this?
The light was suddenly gone in a flash, shoving me back into reality. Literally. My senses came rushing back to me. The loud drum of an eruption made my heart jump to my throat. The chaotic world spun around me as my aching body smashed into the sand.
My vision blurred. Ringing filled my ears while I lay sprawled out in the sand, unable to move. Dark blobs filled my view of the dark grey sky, and for a moment, I thought I would pass out and never return. But then, the blobs started to become more defined. They began to look like people. I counted four.
One of the blobs leaned toward me, and I could faintly see his bright blue eyes filled with concern. I felt my skin peel away from the gritty sand as he lifted me into his strong arms. The contact made small bursts of pain run up my back and across my shoulders. My head limply fell against his chest.
The fact that I had no control over my body made me feel weak, and I was sure I looked like the equivalent of an old rag doll. I was so emotionally conflicted that I couldn't decide whether I wanted to cry or punch a wall. In all honesty, I probably wasn't able to do either. It was like a dream where you can't move or speak or control anything happening around you.
"We have to get out of here," I heard Wren rasp to the others around him.
Instead of saying some snide comment like I expected, Ragan scrunched her brow. "Where are we supposed to go?"
That seemed to be the question of the day, along with 'What next?'. None of us knew the answer. We all stood in silence. Well, I slumped in Wren's arms. I attempted to speak, wondering why they were all just standing there instead of fighting off Maddox and the Guard, but it only resulted in a gurgling moan.
Adara frowned down at me. "As long as it's somewhere Ember will be safe, I don't think it matters."
I wanted to scream at them to turn around before we were all killed. They didn't seem like they were in any hurry to get off this bloody beach. I was faced towards the water, unable to see the damage of the battle behind me. I tried to turn my head in hopes of understanding why we weren't running for our lives, but I couldn't move a muscle. My cries only came out as a wretched noise that I couldn't begin to describe.
"I could try to jump us to the other end of Winham, but I'm afraid I can't get us farther than that," I heard Calix's voice call.
"Whatever we do, it needs to happen quickly. We need to get the hell out of here," Ragan huffed, eyes darting past me to the wreckage of the ceased battle.
Wren's thumb gently rubbed against my waist. "I think it's best that we get off the mainland."
"How are we supposed to do that?" countered Calix.
Wren rolled his eyes. "The ocean is my domain, dude. I can get us to one of the islands without a problem."
The tension between them was strange. Calix seemed like he was trying to act as though he was better than Wren. Was he jealous of Wren for some reason? I also still didn't understand why we weren't making an effort to get off the beach as soon as possible. Why were they just standing around talking like we hadn't just fought off a battalion?
"Let's get to it then," Ragan snapped, breaking the silence.
We scrambled to the edge of the water, the movement stabbing more pain through my body. The waves rushed to greet Wren, small bubbles and foam curling around his ankles. He held me close as we waded into the deep blue of the ocean.
When the water began to soak my hair, Wren turned on his side and rested my head on his shoulder. One of his arms wrapped around my waist, keeping my back against his chest. He began to swim away from the beach. I saw Ragan and Adara treading to my left, Calix not far behind. He shrugged my backpack on his shoulders with a straight face.
"What's the plan, Wren? I'm not sure how long I'll be able to swim," called Adara. She motioned to her injured arm.
"Everyone dive under. I'll take care of it from there," he responded.
Wren led us beneath the waves, and I held my breath out of instinct. When the water rose past my face, I had to stop myself from gasping. Everything was clear. It was like I was wearing a pair of goggles. I could see the vivid grains of sand that swirled like a ribbon from the current. I saw my hand, all limp and pale-looking from the beating I had taken. I wondered if I would be able to wiggle my fingers again.
I heard a soft voice whisper in my ear. "Ember, you can let go of that breath you're holding in." Wren almost seemed to chuckle as I released the air in my lungs.
It was a strange feeling, being able to breathe underwater. Looking to my side, I noticed my friends having similar reactions. Ragan was staring at her hands and arms with confusion on her face. Calix spun in circles and laughed. Adara seemed to be the only one who thought the situation was normal. She was gliding on her back, letting the current do all the work for her. Ada smiled at me and waved. The gesture made me giggle, which the pain in my ribs made me instantly regret.
A sudden burst of the current made us glide through the water at a quicker pace. Wren's arm loosened around me. The next thing I knew, I was resting on my back in a similar position as Adara with the current moving swiftly below me. Wren grinned from a few feet above me.
After a while, I could no longer see where the sand and the shore met. We had finally escaped. Hopefully, it would be the last time we encountered Maddox and the Guard. I wanted it to be true. I wasn't sure we would be able to wiggle our way out of another fight. We had barely made it out of this one. Who knew what Maddox had in store for us next? I surely didn't want to find out.
I closed my eyes and tried to take my mind off of the last twenty-four hours. I focused on the peacefulness of the cold water that swirled around me and how gentle it was. I focused on the sound of water rippling past my ear and the quietness of the world around me.
Unfortunately, the quiet and calm was disturbed by Wren's muffled voice.
"Uh, guys. We've got company up ahead."
There goes avoiding another fight. When would it ever stop?
I opened my eyes and felt the current swirl around me so that I was upright. Far out near the horizon, I saw the outline of the bottom of a boat. It was growing in size at the same rate my fear did. Rapidly.
"Do you think it could be the Guard?" Ada asked, biting her bottom lip.
Ragan shook her head. "The boat is coming from the opposite direction of the mainland. It can't be."
"Maybe they're fishermen?" Calix suggested.
"Not likely," Wren mumbled, running a hand along his jaw.
Calix began to swim forward. "What if it's the rebels? Don't you think we should check it out just in case?"
Adara scrunched her forehead. "Calix, I don't think that's a good idea."
"Let's wait and see if it passes," Ragan advised, grabbing Calix's arm and pulling him back. We all watched in anticipation from the seabed as the boat surged towards us. I could hear the roaring of the engine grow louder and louder. Now that it was closer to us, I saw that the boat was about the size of a fishing vessel. Maybe Calix was right about it just being a bunch of fishermen.
The boat glided through the waves above us. For a moment, I thought it was going to continue along its course, but it didn't. The boat stopped directly above us, casting a dark shadow. I felt my heart beating in my ears as we waited. It stayed still, only the force of the waves jolting it from side to side. The engine cut off, leaving us in the dead of silence.
I heard the faint, muffled sound of someone shouting, and then I saw two silhouettes looking down at us. This was the deciding moment. We had been seen. Whether they attacked us or not would decipher who they were. When one of the silhouettes leaned forward and motioned us up with its hand, I let out a breath of relief. It seemed as though we would survive another day.
Ragan nodded her head, and we all began to swim toward the surface. On our way up, Wren wrapped his arm back around my waist.
"Almost there, Ember. Almost there."