The Powered People

Prologue

Only the slightest of movement could be seen within the forest. The rest of the trees and overgrowth stood stationary in the Summer air. The heat waves caused bits of condensation on the leaves and grass. The mass quantity of leaves on each tree blocked out half the light blue sky, letting only select rays of sunlight escape and illuminate the space. Bushes and ivy climbed sky high up the trees and shrouded the whole woods in green. And every factor stood in its assigned position, never flinching or gesturing, for centuries on end.

But then something stirred.

It was a very subtle gesture, but one dearly noted. In a place where the brush was crammed between trees, a single leave was removed. One bit of green in the top left corner was there...and then it was not. One could only spot it if they watched the spot keenly, never glancing away from that particular spot for a few minutes at least. But it indeed occurred.

Not only that, the swift notion triggered a gentle trembling in the neighboring bush. The tiny little leaves shook for a second, excited at the touch. However, within seconds, they had shaken themselves out and stood as still as before.

Then came a soft crunch of dried leaves under crushing weight. It was preceded by a minute or two of silence. But then, the sound of something hitting a tree trunk rang in the air. Then a few more light pounds on the ground. And finally, the loudest noise yet (though it didn't say much). A whole wave of pointy bush leaves was swept aside, shaking and brushing up against each other. But with the bush aside, one could see the most picturesque part of these woods.

A small lake was located at the southern section of the woods. It got rather deep only a few feet in and was not home to many organisms. The clear water would perfectly reflect its surroundings at the right time of day, even if parts of the sky were blocked out. The trees almost kissed the water's edge. The lake was a completely quiet place unless something came around to disturb it. Something with the power slightly stirs up the woods just on the way there.

A head of straight brown hair was the first thing emerging. It was followed by a body that had to take a few steps forwards before blending with the forest. The person wore a coat of green and brown leaves, strategically placed on the fabric. They also had on brown stretch pants with the same color texture as the soil. Long hair covered the face, but the dirt was smudged around the blue eyes for good measure. At first glance, the person blends right in.

But the coat was removed, revealing a girl of about 5 foot 3 or 4. She stretched out her arms after setting the coat down over the brush. Underneath, she wore a tank top and pants that were as blue as the sky, and the same color as the water. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a long blue ribbon. With a grin on her face, she clipped it to her hair.

Her fingers trembled with excitement. She hopped to the right side of the lake and grabbed onto a low-hanging branch. She pulled herself up a foot of the ground and stomped her foot onto a higher branch. She got her bearing on that one, she swung to a thick, sturdy branch close to the trunk of the tree. Hanging on to the branches above her, she walked across the branch to where it let off: right above the deep water.

Smirking, she slowly turned around so she was facing the tree. Fluttering feelings filled her stomach. She could feel the water below her staying stationary. She pressed her eyes shut as her smile widened. Her bare feet were a little unsteady on the branch, but they wouldn't be for long. She slowly tilted her head backward. She bent her back in the same direction. Her fingers squeezed the thin branch she held onto. She loosened her grip a little...then suddenly let go.

She fell right down into the water, back first. At that second, she'd never felt so free. She was in the air for a second before she felt her back crash into the water. The second she went under, her falling slowed, and she started to sink to the bottom. Thousands of tiny bubbles flew up to the surface. The bright smile remained plastered on her face as she started feeling one with the water. Her eyelids softened. Her muscles all relaxed at once. She felt the steady swaying with her fingers.

She stared up at the surface from underwater. It was blurry, but the water didn't exactly hurt her eyes. She exhaled out her nose so it wouldn't fill with water. The sun bent through the water's surface and illuminated the underwater. Swaying versions of the surrounding trees could be seen. It was a nice, new perspective of that part of the forest One not everyone got to achieve.

She stayed under for just about a minute, half her back against the lake's squishy ground. After that time, she started to feel the need to go back up. She rolled her eyes but decided to get a breath of air anyway. Her feet pushed off the ground, shooting herself up to the surface. She took one gasp of oxygen and laughed to herself. She swam around and did a backflip underwater, bending her back instead of tucking in her knees. She circled around herself and splashed herself in the face. Exactly what she needed.

Suddenly, a boisterous buzzing sound filled the air. The girl paused and glanced upwards. As the sound got louder and louder, she flinched and jumped into the water. The noise was all too familiar, but the girl still tightened each muscle in her body. She hugged her knees and watched the sky with a solemn expression.

She kept her eyes on the surface as the helicopter passed over her. Very unclearly, and but not briefly, she spotted a white arm sticking out of the window, waving downwards. She squinted her eyes as it flew by. The girl briefly popped her head out of the water and heard a scream. Her eyebrows peaked at the shout, and her eyes grew worried. As soon as the helicopter was out of view of the lake, she swam right out. She scurried over to grab her coat, breathing heavily. 

Right before she left, she reached back into the water, closing her eyes. Slowly, water gathered in her palm until she held a ball of water. When she stood back up, the water was suspended in air. She proudly smiled for a second. She threw on the leaves-coat and dashed off into the woods, disappearing right in.