Gear: New World

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      Waking up one might expect the smell of breakfast or even the sound of birds chirping from out your window. Normally the sound of frying bacon and pancakes fills my room as my mom cooks breakfast. God bless her. Somehow she manages to juggle late night work, partying, and me all without needing a break. Half of it thanks to her ADHD, the other half is just her strong will. Orange juice and the bacon would've smelled great, but when I opened my eyes what filled my brain wasn't breakfast but instead fear. Instant shock filled my body as the feeling of cold water stunned my nerves.

     I couldn't see where I was, let alone past my arm length, but what I did know is I was submerged underwater, knowing I went to sleep in my bed. My first actions were to panic, thrashing around the darkness which was stopped short when a dark object headed towards me. My first thought was my bed heading towards me, but as it came into the picture, the figure slowly turned into a large oak tree. Panic steadily grew as I try moving away, but as anyone who's been underwater knows that water has a way of holding onto you, making it seem like you're trying to run in molasses. The tree coming closer into view, I knew dodging wasn't an option.

     Come on Ethan, you're smarter than this. I look down at my hands, realizing I have my Gear. That idea leaves as quick as it came, realizing I'm surrounded by water and using electricity is a death wish. Soon, I could see the details of the tree and braced for impact. I shielded myself and at the moment the tree should've collided with me, a chilling sound went off and as I looked, Chris floated in front of me, hands extended out, the water in front of us freezing with ice. For once, I've never been happier to see the arrogant kid. As the water freezes, the tree slows to a stop.

     He turns back towards me, points downwards, and swims down till the dark water envelopes him. Realizing I have no better choice, I swim down towards him, my sight limited to the few feet I could make out in the dark. My muscles ached and my arms felt as if they were going to burst if I took any more strokes. At several points in my swim, I stopped so I could float to relax, but couldn't do it for long as I would float upwards, losing the essential progress I had made. After what seemed like hours, on the verge of giving up my head pushes against a soft surface, getting repelled back. I feel out in front of me and realize that there is a membrane-like surface blocking my exit. I push against it but barely get anywhere, my muscles crying out for a break. I can feel my arms hanging on my sides, only being able to move thanks to the lightness created by water. I knew that I couldn't stay in this water forever though. Unlike normal water, my oxygen levels weren't so low, as I've made it to this point. Still though, even with the increased oxygen levels, I could feel my air slipping away, black spots appearing every so often when I blink.

     With one desperate attempt, swimming as fast as I could, my shoulder makes contact with the membrane stretching it outward with no sign of breaking. I keep kicking, using all remaining strength to push through the blockage. With the first sign of freedom coming from a slight tear in the layer, I pry open that tear, pushing and tearing like never before. I'm too busy to notice the water isn't pouring through the increasingly larger hole as I manage to make a space large enough for me. With one last push, my body breaks free and I'm outside in the normal world once more. My excitement and relief are quickly turned to desperation and fear as I feel the rushing wind blowing on my face and as I look around, I find myself falling through the sky.

     The world came into focus revealing that the usually filled streets with houses and trees were replaced with tall buildings and bright lights as nighttime filled the sky. Panicking, I tried to activate my Gear soon realizing that electricity wouldn't do me any good. I needed my second Gear, but if you haven't realized, falling thousands of feet mid-air makes it hard to concentrate. Besides, even if I could somehow activate it and even control it to make me stop falling, my arms wouldn't be doing any moving. Fully depleted of energy, I was falling like a raindrop in the sky. No control of where to move or even stop myself, only the inevitable splat. Or so I thought as in the passing of what seemed like an office building, I was whisked away by someone, only to tumble down as they threw me atop of a building.