To Turn Back Time

Mistakes and Consequences

Coco's eyes shot open as a hand landed on her shoulder and vigorously shook her. She sat straight up, rewarded with a violent strike of agony through her temple. In the chaos, her bad knee twisted just slightly too far and anguish tore through her weak appendage. Groaning, she collapsed back onto the couch reaching up to press a hand to her head.

She cracked her eyes open, rewarded with nothing more than the soft light of a pale lantern. Ronia held the light source aloft, kneeling beside the couch with one hand raised. Her eyes were wide with mouth half-open.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Coco just moaned, rubbing her eyes as she gently pushed herself onto her elbow. "What time is it?"

"A little after eleven," Ronia sat back on her heels, picking up a plate from the floor to hand to her. Coco finished her ascent and accepted it, setting it on her lap to examine. "Sorry, I would've woken you up sooner, but I had to run to the store to get groceries. It was an absolute disaster, I could barely get there and back in two hours."

Coco nodded slowly, only half paying attention to what Ronia was saying. On her plate was a mixture of rice, eggs, and vegetables with sausage thrown in. There was some chicken and nuts off to one side, along with a tiny bowl of chocolate pudding.

"Wait," Coco paused, spoon halfway to her mouth as she pondered what Ronia had said, "eleven PM?"

"...Yeah?"

Coco's eyes widened and her heart leapt in her chest. She cursed, "I have to get started!" She shoved a spoonful of food into her mouth as she jumped up. Stumbling forward, she nearly ran into one of the plant stands. "Why are all the lights out?"

"Power went out a few hours ago."

"That's just fantastic." Coco groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Of all days, just had to be today. Do you have two lanterns that run on the same battery? And two of the same plant? Oh, I need a quiet room too."

"Yes and yes and okay, why?"

"I need them for practice...also you should probably make sure you don't really like anything I just listed."

Ronia nodded before disappearing into the darkness. "Anything for my sister's...I don't know what you are."

"Unenthusiastic host."

"Okay, anything for my sister's host. Come on, I have an empty guest room you can use to practice in."

Coco snatched the black bag and scurried after Ronia, mentally kicking herself for her oversight. "This better work." She breathed, entering the bare guest room. The moon peaked in through a single window on the far wall, but that was it.

"Perfect." She muttered, plopping herself in the middle of the room. "Let's hope I still know how to do this."

Coco rubbed her hands together, sighing. Ronia placed two, nearly identical, plants in front of her before slowly backing away. "Should I...?" She pointed to the door.

"You might want to get as far away as you can from here." Coco replied, gaze narrowing in on the two lanterns. "I haven't used this ability in a while. It might be a little, well, volatile."

Ronia nodded, "Well, good luck, I guess. I'll...see you when this is over." Then, she turned around and headed out the door.

Coco nodded and reached out to place a hand on each lantern. The tips of her fingers tingled as she ran them across the handle. She tipped them on their sides, cupping a hand right over the light source. "From one to the other," she murmured, "from one to the other."

Her heart began to beat faster and faster as adrenaline rushed through her body. The lights flickered, Coco kept her gaze right between them. The veins in her arms began to glow a faint blue color and the lantern on the right grew dimmer while the other grew brighter.

The lantern on the right grew steadily brighter while the left flickered and melted away. Coco exhaled slowly and twisted her wrists just so and the left was revived. The light on her wrists faded away as she let them slip down into her lap. Once it was completely gone, she collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily.

"Coco...what was that?" Aisha took a sharp breath, "Is that, your ability?"

"Yeah," Coco wheezed, clapping a hand over her chest.

"You just...manipulate energy?"

"S' a little more complicated than that, but sure, close enough."

"Wow...are you okay?"

"Fine, just need a second to breathe." She laid there for a while, staring at the ceiling and let her muscles soften. The sound of her heartbeat faded into the background. Her fingers began to prinkle as the numbness faded away. She clenched her fists then released them, repeating the motion several times to be sure she could feel again.

With a final sigh, Coco dragged herself back up into a sitting position. She snatched a bottle of water and a granola bar Ronia had left for her. Downing the water and scarfing the bar, she threw the packaging behind her.

"Round two." She grunted, dragging the plants closer. Squeezing her eyes shut, she blinked several times to banish the fog from her head.

"Are you sure you're going to have enough energy to do this?"

"I don't know." Coco settled both hands on the plants and grit her teeth. She pushed her fingers into the dirt, brushing them against the roots. She pinched them between two fingers and exhaled slowly.

Back and forth she passed the life, wilting one plant to grow the other. She felt the soil around her fingers moisten and then dry. The leaves drooped down across her arms, wiping their decomposing slime on them. Her arms began to shake and sweat dripped down her head and back. She huffed and puffed, heart pounding.

She swayed back and forth, shoulders falling forward and she pressed her fingers deeper into the earth. An unknown force pulled her toward the earth. A soft humming noise filled her ears. Her fists closed around the plant's roots, choking them. The energy sizzled up and down her arms, scorching her skin and slowly curling around her neck. Her lungs and heart stuttered, and she gasped, choking on her own saliva.

"Coco...Coco!"

Out of nowhere, Aisha's voice broke through her trance, rocketing her forward. She heaved, wheezed for air, and yanked her arms out of the dirt. Tears ran down her face as her blood pounded in her ears.

Coco collapsed to the floor, twitching and writhing on the floor. "Coco, Courtney! Please, be okay, Courtney."

Coco's eyelids fluttered shut, and she went limp, exhaling one final time.