The Sun and the Shadow
"Breathe in. Breathe out. Try to get up on your feet. Look around. Find a path. Then follow where it leads," chanted the Second Rank class. Lilsy sneaked quick glances at those around her as she recited the words that had been taught since they first started their training at the School of Lake Tears. Their faces, set in stone, looked bravely forward. If any of the rising shakiness that Lilsy was falling prey to was showing itself in them, they hid it well.
The mantra continued from the remaining students as one by one the class began to jump from their perches on the school's dock. Lily counted the number of students until she would have to leap off the safe dock and soar into Lake Tears. The flutters of her stomach didn't come from the sickening height or the thundering crash of the waves against the wooden planks. No, instead it was what she would have to do once she was under the surface.
The bricks she held in her arms, which were tied with rope to her ankles, juddered as she prepared herself. Before Lilsy could take one last look at the blue sky, it was her turn. "Breathe in." Lilsy whispered to herself. The air whizzed past her and she gracefully fell through the atmosphere. The chilly waves sent shivers up her back as her feet sliced the surface tension of the lake. The stones she held allowed her to quickly reach the grimy sand of the lake's depths.
"Breathe out." Lilsy commanded herself. Although the weights helped her to get to the bottom, keeping her feet on the ground was nearly impossible with any air in her lungs. Try to get up on your feet. The reminder didn't seem necessary to Lilsy, but her thoughts still went to it. Look around. Find a path. Then follow where it leads. As she spoke it in her mind, she squeezed her elbows into her sides and clenched her teeth. This part was the worst.
Her eyes popped open just long enough to see where the rest of her class was heading. Her eyes stung with only the touch of the harsh water. Dropping the bricks, Lilsy hobbled as quickly as she could towards where the path must have been. The stampede of students almost trampled each other in their hurry. The flashes of light and darkness with each blink only added to the confusion.
Lilsy tried to grab the arm of the student in front of her, but the rushing person yanked her arm away. I guess I just have to do this on my own. Lilsy silently recoiled. The water pulled her back as she tried to advance.
Thankfully, this path had been paved with sharp gravel. Although it was painful to step on, it was much more excruciating for Lilsy to have to hold her breath while trying to find the path at all. She pushed forward, into the current. Certainly the teachers had chosen this route in order to test their strength against the powerful waves of Lake Tears.
"What? That's all?" Lilsy said aloud when she felt a tug on her body. The clear, malleable vacuum tube pulled her into its shelter. With a loud Zzzippp, the tube spit her out on another dock of the School. The warm air was a relief to her drained lungs.
Lilsy put her feet in a miniature tube that rapidly removed the stones. She scanned the dock. The mechanical tube moved about on its line, still rescuing the dripping wet students and placing them securely above the lake.
Lilsy looked over the spray of Lake Tears at the colorful clouds above the mountains. The gradient colors meant that soon the sky would grow dark. It didn't take long, however, for Lilsy to notice a strange occurrence in the clouds. A bright spot, which was shining spectacularly more brilliantly than the rest of the sky, made Lilsy squint her eyes. A section of the sky appeared to break away into a dazzling orange flame. "How weird. It almost looks as if-" Lilsy's quiet mumbling trailed off with the shrill whistle of a teacher.
All the students, including those who had just gotten thrown on the dock, stood and lined up facing their teacher. "Anyone not on the dock at this time is to be thrown away." As the teacher mindlessly said this, the tube slowed then stilled. Lilsy could only guess what horrid thing would happen to everyone who had not gotten to the tube fast enough. "Now, since all of you have completed the test, go to your rooms." Once the teacher finished her customary speech, the students began the walk across the interconnecting bridges and docks back to their housings.
