Cirque Periculum

Chapter 23

           

"Are you sure about this?" Kirklane whispered over his shoulder to Adam.

"It'll be fine. I'm sure we can make it," Adam replied, determined not to let a waver in his voice betray his doubts. They had snuck onto the dock and into the closest ship, planning on stealing away one of the lifeboats and teleporting over the water until they reached the barrier, in which case Adam hoped he could pulse them through. Unfortunately, there was a lot of uncertainty to this plan.

The uncertainty merely continued to build when they were spotted.

"What do you think you're doing?" a voice shouted from the dock just as they boarded the ship. "Get off of there!"

"We're just borrowing it!" Adam shouted back, pushing Kirk up the rest of the ramp into the boat. Looking back to find the performer running up the ramp, Adam shot a small pulse at him, just enough to knock him off his feet. Turning back, he saw Kirk had vanished, probably teleported up to the lifeboat.

Sure enough, after a short sprint up the stairs, Adam found Kirk with a bright orange, inflated raft.

"Not exactly what I had in mind, but it'll do," Adam said.

"As long as we don't get hit," Kirk replied. "It's not the most durable thing we could be riding in."

"Well, it'll have to do, we gotta go."

The two crawled onto the life raft, glancing back at the shouting coming from the dock behind them. Performers swarmed onto the boat.

"Hold onto me!" Kirk shouted. Adam wrapped his arms around Kirk's waist and POP! Adam blinked, and they were in the ocean, a hundred feet from the boat they were just on. Adam could see heads poking over the railing, searching for them. Unfortunately, they weren't difficult to spot.

"Saskia is up there," Kirklane said. "She'll start firing on us any second now."

"Then keep teleporting!" Adam shouted.

"I can't, it takes a few seconds to build up the energy again," Kirk said, panic apparent in his voice.

Adam glanced back at the boat to see a light growing in brightness, undoubtedly Saskia charging a deadly beam.

"Can you block it?" Kirk asked.

"No, but what if you just teleported us? Would you be able to do it faster?" Adam responded, calculating.

"Yeah, a lot faster," Kirk said, "but what would we-"

"Just do it! Head toward the barrier."

POP! Adam blinked, and they were both falling into the ocean. The water devoured them both, and Adam clutched Kirk's shirt for dear life. They kicked to the surface, gulping air down hungrily and releasing each other to tread water. All the while, Adam began to gather his magic. He felt it build, deep inside him in a way that he wished he could explain scientifically yet felt completely natural, as if it had always been a part of him.

It probably has, he thought, channeling more and more.

A blast of light flashed behind them, sharp and powerful. The orange raft a couple hundred feet away was incinerated.

"How much longer until you can blink again?" Adam asked, still channeling.

"Few seconds," Kirk said.

"Okay, I'll grab onto and tell you when. Do it quickly though, we'll be extremely visible."

Adam wrapped his arms around Kirk's neck, hoping his plan would work. If he remembered right, the pulse would not only propel them forward, but give Kirk more power.

He released it, bright yellow energy exploded from his body in all directions, launching both of them into the air. Adam immediately began channeling again.

At the peak of their ascent, Adam shouted, "NOW!"

POP! They began to fall. A few feet from the water, Adam sent a steady green pulse, keeping the both of them above the water.

"Blink again now!" Adam yelled.

"What? It's not ready yet," Kirk said.

"Trust me! Blink now!"

POP! They fell into chaos. Large waves devoured them into the ocean's depths. Adam gasped upon hitting the water stomach-first. Pain. Muffled explosions rang in his ears. Looking around, he found Kirk below him, unmoving. Adam swam to him, took him by the wrist and pulled him upward. He was too heavy.

Frantically and with lungs burning for air, Adam gathered energy and pulsed upward. Kirk dragged behind him, and Adam's head broke the surface. He inhaled hungrily and pulled Kirk's head above water.

Explosions buffeted his ears, and Adam looked up to see them at the edge of the border. Right in front of Camp Caute's ships.

"Oh crap," Adam said. He grabbed Kirk by the front of his shirt and shook him. "Kirk! Wake up! C'mon buddy, snap out of it!"

Kirk didn't respond. Holding Kirk afloat, Adam struggled to keep himself above water.

"Please Kirk, you gotta wake up! I need to let go of you if I want to try to open a hole in this barrier."

Adam sent a small pulse toward the attacking ships. It was absorbed by the barrier, revealing briefly it's pale white energy.

Another explosion. Adam looked up to see the barrier shimmer a dull gray above them.

They've almost broken through.

He watched as the ship closest to them launched another ginormous ball of fire at the barrier. Hitting with earsplitting force, the barrier shattered, falling to crystalline pieces that dissolved after only a couple feel of descent. The barrier had broken, and Camp Caute was moving in.

Now we're in so much trouble.

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