Unfinished Beginnings

Chapter 8

"I loved to swim when I was younger. Believe it or not, I was on the varsity swim team back in power ed. I even got a scholarship to Arch University." Mark proudly stated.

"Wow," I said. "Is that why you chose water as your power?"

"Yeah. I thought I might be able to make water appear out of nowhere; that sounded like a cool thing to be able to do. Now I realize that yes, I can make water appear but I can also do something even cooler. I control it." He paused for a moment. "You wanna see? I know where there is a small pond around here." I nodded.

I turned to Fye who was getting a fire started. "Hey, Fye. Mark is going to show me what he can do with water. We'll be back soon." He nodded, a look of concern in his eye and turned back to the pile of sticks.

The pond was murky and dark. No life seemed to be anywhere. Not even the sound of crickets echoed through the trees. Mark bent down at the edge of the water. He placed his finger gently on the surface. The water rippled ever so slightly.

"Oil. There used to be life here but-" he paused for a moment, trying to decipher it all, "-someone deliberately put the oil here. I don't know why."

"You got that all from touching the water?" I asked, impressed.

"Yeah."

"Who would do such a thing?"

"I don't know. Though I don't think they did it just to harm the animals. They must be in the process, or tried, of doing something that I just know is bad."

"What do we do?" I said.

"I am going to heal the water and the plants surrounding it." Mark waded into the pond. The water reached up to his waist. He lifted his hands to the sky and the water rose with it. It swirled around him like a tornado. All around me plants began to heal. The water that was still floating around Mark began to become blue again and started to float back down where is lay peacefully as if nothing happened. Mark, still in the water, turned to me with a smile on his face.

"Wow!" I said. "That was amazing." He was still smiling as he pushed his way out of the water toward me. He motioned for me to turn around. Behind me were animals slowly, cautiously coming toward the pond. A swan gracefully leapt into the water and began swimming to the middle. With that, all the other animals began to swarm around, entering and rejoicing at the beautiful scenery that they can call home once again.

With a wave of his hand, Mark gave the crystal clear water some sparkles. He went into the water and motioned for me to come in.

"No, no," I laughed. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"It's, um, nothing," I said embarrassed.

"What is it?" Mark said with curiosity.

"I. Cant. Swim," I said hesitantly.

Mark held out his hand. "I will teach you." He began showing me the basics of how to stay afloat and how to do the breaststroke. I was swimming to him when I felt something graze my foot. Looking down I saw something that didn't look like a fish. It was silver like metal and shiny too. I gasped as I realized it was some kind of robot.

"Mark," I said. He looked up at me. His gaze steady and calm. "There is a robot swimming below us. Well, below me." His eyes turned down to the water beneath me. The was a glimmer of fear in his eyes.

"We need to get out of here. You need to get out of here. Now!" Fye said. Just as I began to swim away, a rumbling sound came from above our heads. Looking up I saw a huge helicopter, bigger than any I've ever seen, hovering above us. "Spirit!" Mark screamed. He tried to scramble toward me, urging me to swim to shore. I turned myself around but was caught by the machine. It had a large arm that gripped tightly onto my ankle.

"Help!" I yelled just as Fye came bursting through the trees. "Help!" He turned to look in my direction. When he saw what was happening, he screamed, "Spirit!" Fye jumped in the water and began swimming fiercely to me. I looked up and saw a huge net exploding out of a cannon and engulfing me in its tight bond.

"Help!" Fye was at my side in minutes, trying to cut the rope with a sharp rock that he found. I began to rise into the air. The water that once surrounded me, now dripping back into the pond. "Help! Don't let them take me! Please!"

"Spirit! I will find you," Fye said as I was closed off in the helicopter.