Droplet

Chapter 5 - 6 Years Later

"What are we going to do? We did as you asked--their camp is surrounded--so now what?"

"We wait." 

Six years had passed since Vic was taken from her home and thrown into a boot camp on the outskirts of her country. For four years, she trained. The other two were spent in action. Vic was taught how to handle more weapons than she had known existed; she learned strategy, patience, stealth. Hours a day were spent honing her magic. She could already move with incredible precision, but now she could move whole tons of water with ease. She had put on a lot of muscle, and grown more than six inches. Vic was completely unrecognizable. Her hair had grown out and the teal was chopped off. It was now her natural color, nearly white. The only thing that remained the same was her eyes. When you looked at her, you could still see that fire burning behind them--her stubbornness and independence had only grown since she left. 

"Once most of them are asleep, I'll go in and do my thing, then we leave without a trace. Got that?"

"Yes Ma'am." The soldier saluted her.

"You may leave."

"Yes Ma'am." He turned and walked out, leaving Vic alone in the small brown tent. Her camp was set five miles from the enemy camp. She had twenty 250 gallon containers filled with water placed around their camp. That night, she would sneak in, pull the water from the containers, and sweep it across the camp, drowning the soldiers. Then they would leave. If everything went as planned, there would be no signs that people were even there.

It was still more than ten hours until it would be dark enough to move, so Vic went back to her personal tent on the other side of the camp. She slid through the opening at the front of the tent and flopped down on her cot. She was exhausted, having been up all night to plan their next move. She pulled a small box out from under the cot, opened it, and pulled out a picture. It was of her, Josh, and Alyssa when they were kids. It was one of the last things she had packed when she left, and the only thing she kept. 

"I'll find you one day Josh," she whispered, stroking the picture, "I know it's been a long time, but I haven't given up, and I hope you haven't either."

Someone burst through the tent flap, "Vic, we have a slight problem. They found us!" 

"What do you mean?"

"I got word that someone saw an enemy soldier just outside our camp, watching us!"

Vic leapt up from her cot. "Have everyone grab their bags and move east into the mountains. Get weapons ready." She tucked the picture down in her pocket, picked up her backpack, and ran outside. Everything seemed calm for the moment, but she knew they were coming. Pretty soon the enemy soldiers would be there, but there wouldn't be any camp site left. 

"Listen up!" Vic shouted and all heads turned to her, "I've heard that an enemy soldier discovered us. For now, we're abandoning the mission, we'll resume ASAP. I want all of you to take your bags and head up that mountain," Vic pointed toward the tallest mountain in the area, "and we'll meet up there once I clean this up. Let's go!" 

All of the soldiers went to their tents and packed their bags. They lined up three by three and marched up the mountain, weapons ready. Vic watched as they all trekked away. She checked the area to make sure no one was around, then she sat down in the middle of the camp. She took a deep breath and focused on moving all the water she could reach from the air, the ground, and even the few plants in the area, and brought it all to the camp in the desert. Directly above her, a water tornado formed. If the enemy didn't know about them earlier, they sure did now. She released the water and it flooded the campsite, knocking down tents and washing them away, as well as the ash from the fires and anything that had been left behind. Suddenly, all of the water evaporated, and all that was left was Vic, sitting perfectly still, completely dry. She picked up her bag and sprinted away. She didn't follow the other soldiers though. She headed toward the enemy camp. The soldiers had only been sent away to keep them out of danger, Vic was determined to complete this mission. She felt guilty asking for all the men and materials she needed, and she wasn't about to waste them. She ducked behind a bush about a half mile from the camp. Most of the water containers were still camouflaged around the camp. They really haven't found these yet? I guess they are as dumb as Mr. Martin used to say they were.

There wasn't enough time to wait until dark, so Vic decided to use the last of her energy to wipe out the camp before the soldiers left or she was found. She pulled water from the containers and from the air, where there was extra from her clean up earlier. 

The radio on her shoulder buzzed, "Vic, dude, where are you? We're all here waiting for-"

Vic shut it off. No distractions. She'd report back after she was done. She continued to slowly pull the water into the ground and spread it out around the camp. 

It took a few minutes, but soon Vic had water under the entire camp. She let the water seep upwards and soften the ground. She heard startled voices in the distance and tent poles and boots began to sink into the mud. She opened her eyes and focused, a devilish smirk spreading across her face. Men's terrified screams shook the air, and  there was a crash like thunder. Then silence. The deed was done.