Elias and the others walked for hours, blessedly the terrain wasn't particularly difficult. It was the unchanging scenery that was a problem. One part of the forest looked much the same as any other. The only difference was the movement of the sun, which marked the passing of time. Elias was silent for most of the walk while the rest discussed what had happened with the dryad. He would answer their questions to the best of their ability. But if they didn't ask him something he would rather remain silent. Turns out he was the only one of them who could feel the waves of magic.

  As they passed the six-hour mark even that excitement was dulled due to the monotony that was long travel. Hunger was becoming a problem for them. While the stress of their situation had distracted them for a time, biological needs could only be ignored for so long.

  The only relief was that his clothes were dry, and the sun provided enough warmth to stave off the chill of the morning air. He was getting tired though, his feet hurt, and he wanted to sit down and rest. Brent however kept them moving. He and Alicia were probably the most physically fit of their group. Elias’s long legs made it easier to keep up with them. He imagined Becca was having a bad go of it since she was the shortest and, as far as he knew, didn't do any kind of sport. Still, she hasn't complained once and if she didn’t bring it up, Elias wasn't going to ask. The only saving grace was that water wasn’t a problem.

  “I think we can go another half an hour. Then we should stop, the sun is starting to get low.” Brent announced. Elias breathed a sigh of relief.

  Half an hour later they stopped at a reasonably open clearing with had decent visibility and flat enough ground that they could lie down without issue.

  “Does anyone know how to start a fire?” Elias asked. As a city kid he didn't have a damn clue beyond tv shows. He was sure they made it look a lot easier than it actually was. Motivation was in short supply, so he wasn’t interested in trying.

  No one answered beyond shakes of the head and shrugs. “It's another dark knight then.” Elias said to himself, sounding dejected.

  “There’s no clouds, so maybe we’ll get some moon and starlight.” Becca said, sounding optimistic. How she managed that, Elias didn't know. He wanted to curl into a ball and sleep for days.

  Brent looked up and smiled, “There’s that at least. We’ll hoof it like last night. Everyone stays close and we wait it out. We don't have many options. I doubt we could get a fire going even if we tried.”

  Elias leaned against a tree and sunk to the ground, relieved to be off his feet for the time being. He was beyond famished and anything and everything felt like a possible meal. There were wild berries along the path, but everyone agreed to not try them unless things get really desperate. It would be a good way to make himself sick if he was unlucky. He was rather morose; the reality of their situation and their exhaustion was weighing on him. Brent and Alicia had walked off into the forest nearby and Becca was washing her hands in the stream. Becca looked around for a moment and noticed Elias watching her then decided to come over and join him.

  “Enjoying the great outdoors?” She asked, taking a seat next to him.

  “Yes, sights are amazing,” He replied sarcastically.

  She chucked and asked more sincerely, “You alright? You seem a bit…..down.”

  “I don't really like nature and my feet are killing me, but I'm mostly just hungry.” Elias complained.

  “Really? I thought the whole, my mouth being molested by some kind of ultra powerful plant monster woman would be the first thing on your list.” she said in jest.

  “Not gonna lie, that was pretty weird. But she’s miles away, probably. My stomach though, it feels like it's eating my spine.”

  “I know what you mean, I would kill for a burger, fries and a soda right now.”

  Elias’s stomach clenched at the thought, “Please don't, I'm in enough pain as it is.”

  “My bad,” Becca didn’t sound very guilty though.

  Elias chucked and stared up at the sky.

  “You said she used magic on you. What do you think she did?”

  Elias thought about it for some time and couldn't really find much of an answer, “I think she was just examining me. Maybe I overreacted because she was powerful. Either way I don't feel any different. My magic is the same. So, I'm going to assume everything is fine and put her out of my mind.”

  “That's fair I guess, still I would have loved to know what she really was.” Becca said.

  They were quiet for a few moments before Elias spoke again, “That does make me wonder though. What else is in this forest? Have you seen anything weird?”

  Becca did not respond. After a few moments Elias turned his gaze to her and noticed her stunned expression. His heart neatly leapt out of his chest when he spotted what she was looking at.

  The first thing Elias noticed was its massive size, though it walked on all fours, it stood over 10 feet tall with fur as black as night. It stomped out of the forest heading to the small stream, then Elias noticed its head and finally he realized what it reminded him of. It was a strange combination of bear and giant anteater with massive claws and a long snout. I had beady black eyes and relatively small ears. He could see powerful muscles beneath the dense fur. A giant bushy tail followed behind it.

  He wasn't sure what to do. He could try to leave but he didn't doubt that the creature could outrun him. While he was confident in his abilities that monster did give him pause. He and Becca met eyes and hers were equally unsure. He scanned the surrounding forest for Brent and Alicia but found no one.

  The wind picked up and the beast sniffed the air. It turned toward them, its massive claws causally tore up the gravel and it sniffed again, paused for half a second before its stance became threatening. A low, almost wheezing growl came from its throat as it slowly stalked towards Elias and Becca. Dread ran through him, but not as severe as he had expected the dryad was an orders of magnitude more terrifying. He flicked a glance at Becca. She was frozen standing completely still as if that would stop the beast from approaching.

  Its growl became louder, and its paws tore rents into the earth.

  ‘It preparing to charge,’ Elias screamed in his mind.

  Elias had no choice but to act. As quickly as he could, he pulled water from the stream faster than ever before. In a fraction of a second a foot wide sphere of water floated above his hand. The sudden magic gave the creature some pause, and it watched wearily.

  Elias turned the entire orb into an over two-foot-long spike of ice, he had one shot. The creature was as still as a lake then it charged, crossing the 50-foot distance between them in a fraction of a second. The act of freezing and releasing such a large amount of water drained him to half.

  The spike flew through the air missing its head, which was what Elias was aiming for, and buried itself almost halfway into its shoulder. It screamed in pain and flattered in its step. It lost its balance and skidded to a halt. Elias shook Becca’s shoulder and screamed, “Lets run,” He grabbed her hand and dragged her off toward where he saw Brent and Alicia enter the forest. Becca finally got her head together and ran alongside him.

  It didn't take the creature long before it ripped the spike out of its shoulder and charged after them. Elias ran, his breathing was heavy as he pushed himself. While he didn’t kill the creature it was just enough of an injury to hamper its movement. Giving him and Becca enough leeway to stay ahead of it. Though he could tell it was close behind. He could hear the stomps of its feet and the sound of it bashing through trees that got in its way. He looked over at Becca who was running next to him. She was slowing down, and Elias wasn't very far behind.

  A part of his mind whispered that he didn't need to outrun the creature, just Becca. He banished it and kept up the pace. His energy was recovering slowly but not nearly fast enough to do anything that could kill it in a single blow. He cursed himself for not bringing some of the stream’s water with him. Gathering water from the air took too long. He would be dead before he could do anything. Before all hope was lost there was a rush of power from came behind him and the creature whined in pain. He turned around just in time to see Brent connect a fist with the creature's flank so powerful was the strike that it sent it tumbling into a tree, completely knocking it over in the process.

  Elias and Becca slowed and watched as the creature stood and shook its head. It roared at Brent. He took a boxing stance and the creature charged him. Brent threw himself to the right dodging a swipe from its massive claws. He reacted quickly, sending a charged fist into the side of its head, with a meaty thud. The long head whipped to the left and the creature tumbled and lost balance.

  By this point Elias and Becca had made their way to the area where Brent and the monster were squaring off with Brent.

  “Becca, do you think you can take out an eye or something,” Elias asked.

  “Y-yeah I think so.” She stammered.

  The creature lunged and Brent once more each time Brent would narrowly dodge out of the way and retaliate with a charge fist. The power of each strike was doing damage, but not enough. The creature was relentless. Rage was pushing through the pain of Brent's onslaught.

  “Wait for your moment.” Elias said to her. And started gathering water.

  Just as the creature was about to strike Becca acted, she channeled power as she dared into the knife and threw it. It sailed through the air in a low whine. It flew so fast that Elias couldn't even track it. All that informed him that it connected was a loud wail from the creature and blood spurting out of its right eye. Roared in pain, swinging wildly, Brent dove out of the way as it smashed trees and tore up the ground in fury. Then power began to ripple off of the creature.

  He didn't have enough time to warn Brent before a long tongue snaked out of its mouth and whipped across the distance towards Brent. It caught him in the right arm and shoulder and sent him flying.

  Fear gripped Elias as he suspected he just watched Brent die. The creature ran towards prone form before Alicia sprinted out of a bush faster as an Olympic sprinter. She leapt through the air and panted a foot into the damaged eye. Immediately it roared and swiped at her but she was gone before it could even react. The bear anteater thing had a new annoyance to deal with and ignored Brent.

  Magic rippled off its body again, this time Elias was ready. “Watch out for the tongue.” He yelled.

  An instant later it whipped out aiming to take off her head. Alicia bent backwards nearly 90 degrees. The tongue missed and destroyed the bark of a tree behind her. Roaring with anger the creature attacked. It varied its strikes sometimes using its tongue and claws in a whirlwind of violence. Elias could feel the power emanating from Alicia in waves, she was using her ability to its full potential in order not to be killed instantly. Alica was smart; she was staying in its blind spot and the injury to its left shoulder meant that it couldn't attack her as effectively. Still the creature was a whirlwind of violence and anger.

  Elias wracked his mind about what to do. He couldn't help her because the tongue was too fast, and he would be killed in an instant. His magic was only a 75%, not nearly powerful enough to do anything useful, but it was enough to give Alicia another weapon.

  “Alright Alica, I can make a throwing star you ready again?” Elias asked.

  Alice nodded, she had found her steel and looked determined. Elias drained his energy to make another throwing star and after a few seconds dropped it into her hand. Alicia raised her hand each time she looked like she was about to throw before she stopped.

  “It's moving too much, I might miss or hit Alicia. All I need is a fraction of a second.”

  Elias understood her doubts. Alicia was jumping and twisting all over the place. The creature's attacks against her were more like a rabid animal, wild, angry and random. He couldn't dream of hitting something vital, so he had to depend on Becca.

  He checked his energy reserve. Probably another minute or two until it was full. He just managed to catch Brent slowly getting to his feet. Relief washed over him since he didn't look like anything was broken.

  “Alicia, can you distract it for a few minutes.” Elias yelled at her.

  “You got three at best.” she replied as she dove under the beast as it dove through the air to tear her to pieces.

  “Lead it to the stream I can bind it with water. Becca used that opportunity to dump everything into it. I'll signal.”

  Immediately Alicia sprinted off towards the stream with the creature chasing her. Elias followed and he could hear Becca right behind him. It took them a few minutes to reach the stream since Alica and the creature were much faster. They were still in the middle of their game of cat and mouse when he arrived. Elias had recovered just enough energy to do what he planned. He took a deep breath and gathered an orb of water a little over three feet across. He didn't trust himself enough to not accidentally hit Alicia if he used an ice spike.

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  He ran towards the creature carrying the massive orb of water in front of him. Once he was within a few feet eight tentacles snaked out of the orb and wrapped itself around the creature limbs and head. Then instantly he shouted, “Now,” The tentacles constricted themselves. Binding any movement, almost in the same instant his control broke as he was drained of all energy. But it was just enough time for Becca to act. With a scream she threw the throwing star. To Elia’s shock the creature jolted and instead of taking out its other eye it cut a deep furrow on the back of its neck nearly two feet long and a few inches deep. Blood gushed from the wound and spattered the ground as it wailed in pain.

  Still, it wasn’t enough to kill it. Fortunately, it was too distracted by the new pain to notice Brent running towards it. Elias could tell that he was putting almost everything he had into this strike. He came up to the right side and drove a fist into the same leg that Elias had wounded. He could hear the loud crack of bone, and it slumped to the side. Sensing its death was near it thrashed wildly with its tongue. But the broken leg and rapidly bleeding wound on its neck was slowing it down. Elias’s fear slowly ramped down as he was confident that the creature was close to dying.

  It took another few minutes and one final strike before it finally went down. Brent cracked it in its head a few more times to make sure it was dead. All four of them stood around the creature staring at it as it drew its final breath.

  ~

  They gathered around the creature examining the monster that had nearly killed them.

  “What the hell is it?” Brent asked no one in particular.

  “It had some kind of magic in its tongue.” Elias said, then Elias looked at Brent who looked battered and bruised but otherwise ok.

  “Not that I'm not pleased. But how are you ok? I saw the tongue send you flying.” Elias asked.

  “Oh, that. I was surprised too. Turns out so long as I have energy built up in my arms, they won’t get damaged. It's sorta the same reason why I can punch with the force of a jackhammer and not destroy my hands. Does sting like a bitch though. I'm basically numb to my elbows right now.”

  “Looks like Becca was right, this is why we have these powers,” Alicia said. She walked over to the head of the creature whose long tongue was sticking out of its mouth. She reached pass the blood and viscera to pull out Elias’s knife.

  “This is enough proof. I'm almost certain now,” Alicia mumbled to herself, the others weren't paying attention, but Elias heard her. She turned around and we met eyes. She looked mildly surprised at how intensely he was staring at her. Her eyes were confused at first, then tightened. Elias read the unasked question in her eyes. He gave her a minute nod. Those brown orbs finally widened into shock, before she calmed down. Her eyes looked towards the forest then to him. The message was clear.

  “I'm gonna go pee.” Elias announced.

  “Really? Now? After all that?” Becca asked bemused.

  “Yeah, that was terrifying and all, but I really need to go. I won't go far, seriously this time.” Elias said as he walked off in the forest.

  Alicia sighed and said to Brent, “I'll watch his back, we don't need him running into another plant monster.”

  “I can't, with that guy sometimes,” Brent mumbled.

  After a minute of waking Elias spun around to face Alicia, “How long have you known?” He asked not even bothering to wait.

  “I suspected Since we left the cave, the dryad, and the bear-anteater thing just confirmed it.” Alicia said.

  “How?”

  “When I left the cave I spotted a strange butterfly-wasp……thing. Every time it landed on a tree it disappeared. Not camouflage, literal invisibility. That was strange but ok we can do magic. Then you mentioned the dryad, even more proof, the moment you said that the bear used magic I knew.”

  Elias nodded for her to continue, “Those species had to evolve to use magic. Which suggests that magic is a natural occurring phenomenon. Furthermore, I know a lot about forest flora and fauna. A couple plants I couldn't recognize are expected but I've seen dozens. Lastly, I climbed a tree when Brent and I were in the forest and spotted a bird with four wings, a hexapod vertebrate? impossible. This can't be an isolated ecosystem on earth, we must be somewhere else. Either that or the entirety of evolutionary science is wrong. I chose the former.”

  Elias raised an eyebrow at her succinct analysis,

  “I was going to major in biology,” She clarified.

  Elias nodded his head accepting her analysis, “For me it was just a constant feeling of wrongness. But there were a few thinks like a weird blue moth, the sun being too large and the color being too orange for this time of day. The dryad, it screamed otherworldly. Our abilities do seem to obey some kind of conversation of energy. I think magic could be some exotic subatomic particle. Unique to this reality? Universe? I don’t know.”

  Alicia slumped against a tree, “Damn, a part of me was hoping that I was wrong. How do we break it to them.”

  “We don’t. Not yet anyways,” Elias said.

  “What? Why?” Elicia asked confused.

  He sighed, “Becca’s a bit too delicate for the revelation. I don’t know if it would break her, but we shouldn’t risk it. Though she’s tougher than I expected.”

  “With a father like hers she has to be,” Alicia mumbled. Elias wanted to ask more but now was not the time.

  Elias continued, “Brent is doing fine as our leader of sorts, we don't need him filled with doubts.”

  Alicia shook her head, “This isn't right, we can't just keep this from them.”

  “We can and we will, this isn't about right or wrong, we need to survive. What will you do if Becca gives up or Brent starts doubting himself. Who takes the blame if we can't make it to some kind of safety before we’re too weak from hunger?” Elias said. He knew he was right. In any other situation, Alicia wouldn’t hesitate to refute him, but now his reasoning was too sound.

  “So, we’re agreed then? We wait until we're safe, then we drop the bomb?” Elias asked.

  “Agreed,” she said, clearly not liking it. Her liking it didn't matter to Elias, his own safety was paramount.

  ‘Find safety and figure it out from there, there has to be a way’ Elias repeated in his head.

  “Ok, now are you going to stay and watch? Cause I really need to pee.”

  Alicia scoffed and walked away.

  The four teens stood around the creature one last time. The once rampaging monster laid still partially diverting the small stream. Brent gave Elias a curious glance once he and Alicia returned from the forest, but nothing came of it. Once more Brent took up the mantle of leadership and announced.

  “We should stay close from now on. No wondering off. No exploring. We can’t be separated like that again if something else attacks. Still though we survived and that was through everyone’s contribution. I know we’re hungry and lost, but if we stick together, I think we can make it out of this ok. Now is everyone ready to move out.”

  Elias wanted to roll his eyes at Brent’s attempt at an inspirational speech.

  “I wish we could eat it” Elias mumbled, but butchering this thing with a pocketknife was a waste of time. They didn't even have a fire to cook the meat.

  He looked at Becca and Alicia, askance and examined their faces. What he found was hope and determination; mostly from Becca. Again, she had surprised Elias, he didn't follow politics and had had no clue about her family. While she was certainly as terrified as everyone else there was a strong spine behind that aristocratic face. Elias banished his vestigial feelings and refocused on the task ahead, getting to safety.

  Three days later.

  The small stream eventually connected to a wider river. Fortunately for the students the terrain became flatter. While this eased the burden of travel, three days and nights without food slowed progress. Rest stops became more frequent, and conversation became sparse. The trees never ended. Even the wonder of magic wasn't enough to stave off the monotony of it. Elias eventually had to commend Brent for his persistence. Even though half the time he wanted to throttle the guy for constantly waking them up at the crack of dawn. Elias really hated mornings.

  Brent was in the front with Alicia taking up the rear as usual. Even though they had been walking for well over three hours, not a word had passed between any of them.

  “Something is up ahead.” Brent said.

  Elias’s head snapped up in hopes that the damned forest was finally at an end. He would even be ok with another monster attack, anything but the boredom of walking. Elias looked ahead to see the forest was ending.

  It wasn't like what he was expecting, instead of the trees slowly decreasing in density; it just ended.

  “That’s weird.” Becca said.

  “Not really, this means that the trees were cut down, which means people.” Brent said with hope in his voice.

  Elias glanced back at Alica, she gave him a shrug then mouth to him, ‘Wait until, we’re sure.’ He nodded back and followed Brent's lead. It took another ten minutes before they exited the forest. The ground was bare earth, still slightly moist from the rain with small patches of grass. To the left and right Elias could see the distinct line where the forest ended. It was almost straight, and it stretched on for miles. The river they were following curved to the north but based on what they could see in the distance they weren't going to follow it anymore.

  “What is that?” Becca asked.

  “I think it's a stone wall.” Elias answered. It was a few miles ahead of them, which means it had to be pretty tall.

  “Like the great wall? We're not in China, are we?” Becca asked no one.

  “No, the great wall wouldn't be tall enough at this distance and the terrain is different. I don't know what I'm looking at.” Brent answered.

  “Ok, it's time now.” Alicia whispered to me.

  “I suppose I should enlighten you guys now.” Elias announced.

  Bren and Becca looked at him with a combination of confusion and suspicion. “Enlighten us about what?” Brent asked, taking a step towards him.

  “I’m almost completely certain that we’re not on earth anymore. So, you wouldn't be able to recognize that structure.”

  He was met with blank stares. “WHAT?” Becca practically shouted.

  “Alicia and I realized a few days ago. For me it was mostly a feeling Alicia was more concrete.” Elias nodded to Alicia who now bore the brunt of the disbelieving stares.

  “Yes, there are many hints if you look at the flora and fauna, none of which matches earth. Hexapod vertebrates, magical animals, plant humanoids and most of all, magic. This can't exist on earth even if the environment was isolated, life simply can't evolve along these paths. The only conclusion is that we are not on earth.”

  Brent just shook his head trying to deny it, but Elias could see it in his eyes, Alicia was making sense.

  “Why did fuck didn’t you tell us? How are we gonna get home? Are we going to see our families again? Who would do this?” Becca was rambling and Elias could see the beginning of tears in the corner of her eyes.

  “I convinced Alicia we should wait until we find some kind of safety before telling you. That wall could mean safety, so here we are.” Elias said.

  Brent’s emotionless state was starting to simmer, he walked closer to Elias and said, “So, what's your excuse, so we don't lose our resolve.”

  Elias firmly believed it was the best choice and replied, “Yes, we couldn't be sure how you would react, maybe you or Becca would give up. It's a risk we couldn't take.”

  Brent scoffed, “It's a risk you couldn't take. Don't lie Elias, you used us and convinced Alicia to do the same.”

  Brent stepped in closer, his face, only a few inches from Elias. The threat was clear, but Elias wasn't the type to back down. He didn't take intimidation well and his cynical side came out.

  “What does it matter, we’re here now aren't we. You should be grateful that I put our safety above your petty feelings.”

  A fist connected with Elias’s left cheek. And pain blossomed across his face. It wasn't a particularly powerful strike, but it was enough to open a cut in his cheek. The unexpected nature was enough to make him lose his balance. He fell back to the ground landing on his rear. Brent loomed over him anger clear on his face. Elias knew he was being an ass, but he would be damned let Brent intimidate him.

  “Brent no, it wasn't just Elias I agreed to hide it.” Alicia tried to calm Brent down, but the guy was irate.

  “No, this gutter trash runs his mouth too much and you let him get into your head. Look me in the eye and tell me if he wouldn't have told us first if he didn't convince you otherwise,” Brent said half in a shout.

  Alicia hesitated, which was essentially admitting to it.

  “While I understand your anger,” Elias mumbled and took this opportunity to draw back his foot and extend it as fast as he could into a kick that caught Brent in the abdomen. He grunted as air left his lungs and fell back a few feet after losing his balance. Elias didn't give a damn whether or not Brent's anger was justified; he didn’t take shit lying down.

  Brent did a kip-up to get back to his feet while Elias stood up awkwardly. Elias felt the warmth of power flowing from Brent. He acted, ripping as much water as he could from the surrounding air and earth gathering it in a foot wide orb. Brent's power increased while eight tentacles sank out of the orb, they coiled in the air like vipers preparing to strike. Elias didn’t even realize he was simultaneously gathering water and wielding the tentacles.

  “I've been waiting to put you in your place.” Brent mumbled.

  “I'd like to see you try.” Elias challenged.

  Elias and Brent were so focused on each other that they failed to noticed that first sized projectiles of mud that were sailing through the air. The first connected with Elias, it was so unexpected he lost control of the water, and the entire mass splashed to the ground. The next connected with Brent, to rock his head to the side, though that wasn't enough to break his concentration. He turned to the left, furious then saw that it was Becca. Her eyes were red, but no tears left them.

  “Enough,” She said, with authority Elias had never heard from her.

  “Elias pulled a dick move, and as much as I hate the idea. He wasn't completely wrong, maybe I would have given up I don't know. But fighting isn't going to solve our problems.” Becca finished her eyes flicking between Brent and Elias.

  Alicia in a calm voice said, “Brent, I'm my own person. Elias made sense at the time, and I agreed…I’m sorry.”

  Brent’s deep breathing lessened and after a handful of moments, he released his power.

  “Fine, but you better not be holding anything back Elias,” Brent threatened. Elias took a moment to examine three of them. Alicia was trying to calm Brent down. Becca flitted from despairing at her situation to anger at him, not Alicia, even though she kept the secret as well. He could feel a divide forming, but the pain in his cheek from his sucker punch still stoked his anger. Gutter trash, Brent called him. He would remember that. Brent was usually cordial and didn't really voice anything other than annoyance.

  Elias, for the time, saw beneath his mask to his real feelings towards him. Elias gathered the small amount of blood in his cheek and spat it to the ground. He still needed them and at the same time couldn't trust himself to say something to spark another fight. He turned on his heel and walked towards the forest.

  “Where the hell are you going?” Brent asked.

  “To piss.” Elias said, not even glancing back. He heard some shuffling before Alicia’s voice broke through. “Just let him go.”

  Elias half expected someone to tell him to stop, that the forest was too dangerous, but to his disappointment no one did.

  After a minute of walking Elias stopped, not knowing what to do with his anger, Elias gathered as much water as he could within reason and tentacles sprouted out of the three-foot sphere. They wrapped around a tree that looked like a pine. Elias poured as much power into the water as possible trying to rip the tree out of the ground. After a few seconds he ran out of energy only accomplishing small cracks in its bark. As the water splashed and dispersed, he felt warmth on his feet. Looking closely, he realized that the water was steaming.

  “What?” Elias asked no one. After a few minutes he recovered some of his power. Thought back to that moment. He was angry he wanted to destroy something. Elias hated being looked down on, judged or ridiculed. Anger and violence were usually his responses. ‘Is that the key, just project my hatred into it.’

  Elias summoned a palm sized orb and while filling it with energy tried to project his hate and anger into it. The orb slowly became warm, then small bubbles of steam began to emerge drifting into the air. After a minute Elias ran out of power, and he lost control of the orb. It fell and the steaming water splashed into his hand. It wasn’t any more energy that freezing.

  “Fuck,” he screamed as he shook his hand. Fortunately, it wasn’t hot enough to burn him. Elias smiled as he finally figured out how to increase the temperature.

  That was enough to calm him down for the moment. His thoughts drifted back to the confrontation with Brent and the rest.

  “Why am I getting all the blame here?” Elias asked no one. “It's not like Alicia didn't agree.”

  “Gutter trash huh. That's one I haven't heard in a while.” The mocking started in freshman year but stopped rather quickly since he put on over a foot of height in a year. Not to mention the faculty at Stalwart loved him. Everyone likes an underdog story after all. And it made the school look good.

  “Gotta love that everyone just ignored that he struck first.” Resentment welled up in him. He was tempted to just abandon them at the first opportunity. Elias shook his head and allowed calm reason to take over. He wouldn't apologize, but there was no need to continually antagonize. He still needed them. Who knows what kind of civilization exists in this world.

  ‘Find safety and figure it out from there, there has to be a way.’ Elias steeled himself and headed back to the group.