United We Stand

7. Fire

I jog through the woods. Josh was right, it is bigger than I expected. Soon I find myself looking around, finding nothing but trees.

I know I'm in a room but I can't even see the ceiling. The dirt on the ground looks pretty real. So do the tree roots. I squat down and take a better look at the dirt. Little critters appear in the dirt, moving around.

I hug the towel tighter around me. I shriek in pain as something pricks my hand. I drop the towel, looking at my right hand. Roots. Vines. Little tree roots are sprouting out of my hands. I stare in shock. Whatever the little tree roots touch, they curl around it. They grow long enough to touch my ankle, they curl around it.

Vines. The tree roots zap back into me and vines start to grow instead. I grin. Stop. The vines zap back into me. Make a way, I think. The trees suddenly snap and crack.

All the trees lean out of my way. The trees make a clear path for me. I can see the end of the room, and Josh. He looks up, shocked. I start running, forgetting about the towel. An idea pops into my head.

Attack. I pull back my arm and thrust it in front of me. Vines, tree roots, leaves, and even grass shoot forward from all around me. I keep running, the lines of vines and roots follow my arm movement. I flick my wrist to the right and they fly forward harder, attacking a oak tree. I skid to a stop.

The roots and vines wrap themselves around the tree, until I can't see it. I lower my arm. Down, I think. And everything dies down.

The vines and roots fall limp to the ground. Incredible. Josh is still pretty far away. I turn to a nice thick tree. I put my foot up, as if there is a stair there. A tree root slithers under my foot, creating a step. I step on it and put other foot in front of me. Another step. I run up, full of adrenaline.

Steps are appearing for me. I get to the top of the tree, the branches boost me up. The leaves tickle my neck. Some branches that are on my way lean away.

I get to the very top of the tree, the leaves bunch up, supporting my weight. Branches arch themselves to balance me. My head almost touches the ceiling. I look down and see Josh.

His face tells me he's never seen this before. I leap into the next tree, the branches rising themselves to catch me. I do this until I reach the tree right in front of him.

I step down, the roots making steps for me again. When I reach the ground, the roots and branches slowly make their way back to how they were.

Grass curls around my ankles. Vines emerge from my hands and slowly snake their way up to my wrist. I'm still grinning. "How'd I do?" I ask. Josh blinks rapidly. He rubs his eyes and looks at me.

"Three minutes. Wow." He says breathlessly. The grin on my fave only deepens. "This is amazing! Awesome!" I say. My clothes stick to me, still wet. Stop. The grass at my ankles and the vines slowly stop, obeying my orders.

Soon, the vines that were at my wrist have vanished. Josh recovers from his shock. "Next phase." He says. We leave the room and walk to another door.

I look down at my hands. Little grass erupts from my finger tips. I let them grow, seeing where they go. The entwine into each other, making a little ball of grass. With one thought, they zap back into me. So cool. I go into the room, not expecting Josh to be in there with me.

I look around. It's the original room. With the ring. The two guys aren't at the ring anymore. Dakota is fighting a guy. And she is kicking his butt. She doesn't notice us. Josh motions me to follow.

We walk into the ring. An uneasy feeling settles in my stomach. Josh grabs a sword and stands in a fighting stance. "Come at me. Let's see how good you are." Josh says with a devilish grin that nearly melts me.