Half the Power

The First Night

I was convinced that I wouldn't be able to sleep that night, considering what happened earlier in the day. Especially with Ava sleeping in the same tent, I didn't feel safe. How could I know that she wouldn't turn on me, attack me as soon as I was asleep. Don't be stupid, I told myself. She wouldn't have shown you her power if she was planning to turn on me. Still, I was uneasy.

We had worked together to pitch our tent, while Ryan set up his own. Apparently, he went camping often, but Ava preferred to stay home.

I glanced at Ava. She had a faint smile on her lips, like she was having a delightful dream. For some reason, the sight filled me with warmth. I loved to see her happy.

My bag was laying beside me. When I saw it, my stomach rumbled. I realized that I hadn't eaten since Mary's house. I sat up and pulled open the largest section, and pulled out an apple. I bit into it, my mouth filling with the sweet juice.

As I crunched contently, Ava stirred, the peaceful expression gone from her face. I notice how loud I was eating, and tried to slow down, but a thought struck me. How long had it been since she had eaten? I waited, and she woke to my noises. (I had failed to quiet down.)

She eyed they apple, too polite to ask for food. Her hair was now in a messy bun, and she had changed into a sweatshirt and sweatpants. She obviously wasn't trying, but she had the natural beauty that made her look great in any outfit. 

I smiled and tossed her an apple. She seemed to catch it more out of instinct rather than conscious thought. I was glad that she was on my side.

We both ate in silence for a few minutes, until we were done. We tossed the cores out of the tent and into the grass, figuring some animal would eat it. Or we might have just given away out location to monsters that would have been more interested in us, rather than the apple cores. 

We both drank to wash down the apple, and then we could avoid the matter no longer. Ava was first to break the silence. "So... what do you think we have to do tomorrow?"

"Well, from what I've done so far, I'm guessing it's some impossible task where we have to risk our lives every two seconds, and get attacked almost as often." Hey, I only told her the truth.

"Yeah, probably," she sighed. We were lost in thought and possibilities about the future, until it was time for me to ask.

"How did you learn about your power? With the gems, I mean."

"Well, Ryan and I were outside, relaxing on our porch. We had just moved there, and we were trying to avoid unpacking the moving truck. I was thinking about the ground, and how different it was from our old home. We used to live in the city, where it was all paved. Then we moved to a farm, because my dad got a job there." She hesitated, but I nodded encouragingly. "I... I noticed how different it felt, even though I wasn't touching the ground. Like I said, I was sitting on the porch, not in the grass or anything. I could just... sense all of the jewels under the ground. I stepped into the grass, and little emeralds popped up everywhere. I tried to hide them, but Ryan was watching me. My parents were inside, and we both decided not to worry them with what happened. We decided that we were just tired from the drive, and left it alone. But it kept on happening. I would feel all kinds of gems underground, but I learned to control it. I had to remind myself that I was in charge of them, not the other way around."

I realized that I was staring, and she had to shake my shoulder before I heard her sentence. Her power amazed me. 

"Sorry, what?" I asked.

"How did you find out that you could control the air?"

I told her the story, and she seemed more impressed than I was. "But, you're like, twelve! How did you do that? I'm sixteen, and it took me a while to learn!"

We laughed, because we were both being modest, and we knew it. We talked for a long time: how we got ourselves to wake up this morning; what our normal lives would be like today; our pasts. When we finally kept losing our train of thought, and we were too tired to keep talking, we finally laid down for sleep. The thought of betrayal didn't cross my mind again. I felt like I had made a new friend, and now I felt safer sleeping around her, like I would be more vulnerable on my own. The last thing I remember thinking was that, should we ever wake from this nightmare, Ava and I would be spending a lot of time together.