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.

"His aura is already stronger in this short of a time. Maybe there's hope after all," Cahya thought, a fond look crossing her face.

Ivy's jaw hit the floor, "Whoa! You did this just now?"

"Yup, pretty cool, huh?"

Cahya scoffed, "Where was this against those thugs you guys let go a few days ago?"

"I dunno; where were you, period?" Colson snapped back.

Cahya turned her nose to the sky, "I told you, I'm not a battle type! I'm smart and don't need to degrade myself by being a brute."

"Oh please, you just seem mad. It's okay, I can protect you if you're scared," Colson had a sly smile.

"Ha. Ha. I ain't scared; I just don't fight cause I don't have to."

"Whatever you say, but if you get scared again, just grab on to me. Big strong Colson will protect you."

"Ugh, why did I bother teaching you anything, Colson?" Stomping away up the riverbank, Colson watched her go with a satisfied grin.

"Hey, I know we aren't in school, but I think there's chemistry coming up."

A day later. The ropes chaffed Ivy's shoulders and torso, grunting with exertion, "How far have I gone?" she gasped. Cahya, who sat on top of the boulder, looked back. There was a large groove in the dirt spanning several feet.

"About two or three yards, give or take."

Again, Ivy strained as hard as she could, the ropes feeling as if they were choking her. Taking a few steps before falling backward in exhaustion, barely able to catch her breath.

"Take a thirty-second break, and try again."

Ivy nodded, wiping the sweat from her eyes. After removing the rope harness, she walked over to see what her friend was doing. Zoe glanced up from her breathing control meditation and sat several meters away, looking down at the book in her lap—Cahya had recommended it to her. Earlier that day, Cahya had Ivy give Zoe a piggyback ride as she sprinted around the perimeter of Cassius. Flipping the pages and reading through different technical explanations of bringing out energy seemed to lead nowhere. She reached to her right, grabbing onto a large tree leaf that floated down. After closing her fingers around it, she opened her palm, and it disappeared. She made a fist with her hand once again. When she released it, the leaf appeared again in perfect condition. Zoe smiled internally.

"What are you reading?"

"An old book on meditative energy."

"Does it work?"

"You can read it if you wish. The prose, well, it's a bit King James-y, but from what I understand, getting into a state of meditation is the easiest way to reach energy enlightenment. As of chapter one."

"Are there books like this back in Crater?"

"Maybe. They'd probably be vaulted somewhere though."

Ivy hopped to her feet, seemingly re-energized, ready to go again, dragging the rock another few feet with every slow step. Cahya fidgeted, glancing back in the direction of the waterfall.

She stepped off the boulder, "alright, new plan. We're gonna go back to your original idea, but we're going to up the ante, alright? We're gonna go to the forest and then to that river."

Zoe looked up, her brow furrowed, "are you sure that's safe? I mean, there is such a thing as training too much…." Thinking back to earlier in the day when Ivy mentioned she had been drooling blood during a particularly grueling workout. "Shouldn't she rest more?"

Cahya gave a passing glance to Ivy, her eyes quickly flitting to the waterfall, "Ehh, she'll be fine. If anything happens, I'll be there to save her, alright. You just focus on yourself, alright? You think you almost have it done, or?"

"I don't know; I feel like I'm close. Just on the precipice of something, but I just need a small thing to get to where I need. I just don't know what that is yet. The book you gave was helpful, but…I don't know."

"Hmm, well, I can tell you what I told Colson, even though you're using a different process than him, but at this point, it won't hurt to try. Try connecting it with a strong emotion—like something or someone, an event that affected you positively or negatively; the same goes with people—someone who had a positive impact or a negative; maybe you'll bring out your energy if you have a burning hatred for someone, and you imagine smashing their face in or something, I dunno," she shrugged.

"Well, I don't really hate anyone," Zoe said, thinking.

"You're smart; I'm sure you'll think of something!"

"Okay," she said reluctantly, as both Ivy and Cahya jogged off into the distance.

Ivy balanced on the rail of the southern bridge, her bare feet curled around the iron rods, staring down at the crystal clear river below, wheeling her arms for balance; Cahya grabbed her jacket tail, holding her in place.

"Make sure to stay within one hundred yards, or I can't get you. Alright, now jump!" Cahya said gleefully, shoving her off the railing while still holding her jacket so it wouldn't get in the way of her swimming.

"Wait whaAAAAAAAA," there was a big splash below. Cahya glanced over the side, briefly seeing Ivy before she disappeared under the water. She thought back to all she had Ivy do over the past few days; Cahya knew she wasn't a training expert by any means, but was told to help them, so she was doing what she thought was best.

A whiteout of bubbles surrounding Ivy as she flipped through the icy river, nearly cracking her head on the concrete bottom, feeling the water's power spin and maneuver her through the canal. Ivy was able to steady herself after her fingers caught the edge of a brick along the riverbed. Her vision blurred as her retinas began to freeze; her muscles tightened as she propelled herself forward, the current keeping her in place as if a million hands were pushing against her.

Her head broke the water's surface, taking in a large gasp of air, starting her swim back towards the bridge, which was now about one hundred yards away. Prior to her descent, Ivy's legs felt almost too heavy to move, her arms filled with lead, and even muscles that she'd never known existed felt fatigued. Noticing her arms kept making clicking sounds every time she extended her arms. The freezing cold water contrasted with her burning muscles.

She looked up towards the bridge, a familiar figure standing on it, seeing as she was about a quarter of the way there.

A glowing yellow light around the figure, as if it were standing in front of the sun.

Ivy's eyes widened in disbelief—realizing it wasn't Cahya, but she didn't feel as if she were in any danger either; she swam harder, her throat and lungs raw from her sharp inhales. As she got closer, the details became more distinct, and the colors around the silhouette became more vibrant, "is that…." The person on the bridge was female, Ivy couldn't see it very well, but she felt the figure's eyes were on her, willing her forward. The closer she got, the more sure she was. As if she were looking at an oil painting of her.

A giant wave submerged her head briefly; when she fought her way to the surface again, the light and her mother were gone. She paused, looking around wildly, letting herself be swept back by the water in her desperate search. She gritted her teeth, realizing she passed her starting point, the current moving her back over thirty meters. Usually, her distance now to the bridge would've been relatively easy for her, but Ivy had put a whole day's worth of heavy, high-intensity training for hours on end, pushing her body farther than she thought possible. For days she had done that. Her body got stronger, but she felt no closer to where she needed to be. But at that moment, it took everything she had and more. Another current pushed her under the water, slamming her against the concrete wall of the river. The taste of iron in her mouth. It was like something had rotted and died inside her body, something snapping, an oddly calm sensation, her ears ringing with a buzzing hum. She paddled forward, almost effortlessly gliding through the water, the drone in her ears seeming to vibrate the surrounding water. Glancing at her arms as she swam, Ivy saw tiny white bubbles coming from them as if they were escaping through her pores. She sprung off the bottom of the river, breaking its surface, and treading water, looking for Cahya. Cahya stood on the bridge, which was now behind Ivy. She leaned over the back railing, a proud smile on her face, flashing a thumbs up.