Suspended In You (Part Two)

"I don't think so," I say to Kylo, putting my light saber away. "I need to be ready. I don't want to be blasted into the air when I don't expect it."

Kylo considers this for a moment. "We'll use hand signals," he says, turning his palm up and raising it. "Up..." he demonstrates the hand movement, then puts his palm forward. "Stop..." He curls his fingers towards himself. "Forward."

"Forward? That doesn't work-"

Kylo locks onto me and I'm pulled forward, his hand on my throat. I grab his arm.

"That's forward," he says, letting go of me.

I push him but he doesn't even budge. "I think we need to work on 'forward'," I say, rubbing at my neck.  Would I be able to pull him forward like that if it was necessary for some reason? I can't imagine when it would ever be necessary, or even imagine Kylo ever needing my help in battle. And yet, he thinks that together we could take down Snoke. If he's right, I could be a hero. We could rid the Galaxy of an evil oppressor. There's no one else that would stand a chance at going up against Snoke. Yet I can see Kylo doing it.

"You're weaker than I imagined," he says, looking me over.

I glare at him. "My throat's fine. Thanks for your concern." I decide to let him off easy this time. "Just give me a boost. But for my signal."

Kylo crosses his arms and gives me a bored look. He's seriously the most impatient teacher ever. I jog over to the ship, then stop far back enough to give myself room to do a running jump. I turn and look back to Kylo. He's still got his arms crossed, with that bored expression on his face. I roll my eyes, then concentrate. Squaring my shoulders I prepare to run and jump. My stomach tingles. Will I get tossed into the wing and get sliced in half at the waist? The wing is quite thin at the edges.

I have the Force too, I remind myself. I can help control what I slam into, if I know when the boost is coming. I glance back at Kylo again. His arms are uncrossed now, his hands outstretched and ready. I start to run, then give the 'up' signal with my hand at the moment I want to jump. The Force blast comes faster than I expect and I'm thrown high, much higher than I need to get on top of the small ship. My stomach flutters as I look down at the treetops below me, then I look up. The forest stretches out to a horizon of blue misty mountains in the far distance. A laugh escapes me as the wind blows over my face and I bend my knees, arching my back and doing a little twirl in the air. There is a moment of zero gravity, then I start to fall and my stomach drops.

I look down and panic, seeing how high I am. There's not enough time to focus on using the Force, it takes concentration and is hard to control. I fall towards a tree, the branches crack as I tumble down. I manage to grab a large branch and stop from falling to the ground, still high up in the tree.

I look down. It's too high to jump.

BB-8 is rolling all around on the ground, beeping all kinds of things I can't figure out. Then Kylo appears, a smile on his face.

"Not funny!" I yell.

He raises his arms up. "Jump."

"No way! You'll let me hit the ground."

"Jump, Rey," he says again.

My hands begin to sweat and my grip loosens on the thick branch. I don't really have a choice but to jump.

"Kylo Ren you'd better catch me!"

I let go and try to use the Force to slow my fall but I can't, but Kylo can. He slows my fall, lowering me into his arms.

"Why couldn't I use it?" I say, pushing myself out of his arms the moment I'm in them.

Kylo sets me down. "You were scared."

"So? Shouldn't I be stronger in the Force when I'm scared?"

He shakes his head. "You have to be confident. You have to believe. Fear is the opposite."

Suddenly I don't want to train anymore. I wipe my scratched up palms on my pants. "Well, we'll figure it out I'm sure," I say. But I don't mean it. I can't do this. I don't want to. I don't have the power, or the desire, to go up against Snoke. I need to get home, back to Jakku.

"You've lost your confidence," Kylo says to me.

I shake my head, turning away from him. "I've got a lot on my mind." I start to walk away but he grabs my arm.

"Let's try again."

He's close now and I can hear his breathing. He's been using a lot of energy tossing me and controlling me, then tossing me again.

I sigh. "I don't really have any other plans for today, I suppose."