Trial 017 - 2019 Wattys Sci-Fi Winner

Chapter 9 - Bekka

As the troopers rappelled down, they started to fire away with their blasters, sending yellow energy charges crackling in Bekah's direction. Energy wasn't particularly lethal, except maybe when set to full power, but even the lowest setting would be enough to paralyze most creatures.

Charlie grabbed Bekah's arm and tugged in the direction of the thicker parts of the jungle, but she shook him off and stepped forward. These troopers had no idea who they were messing with. She put out a hand and reached for the air currents, calling to the wind as she'd done so often before.

Only this time, they didn't respond.

Bekah narrowed her eyes, focusing harder, but nothing happened. She could feel them calling back to her, but could barely do anything with them. The effects of cryosleep hadn't worn off yet.

"What the hell are you doing?" Charlie shouted, tugging insistently.

Bekah lowered her hand and spun back around, feeling slightly irritated and...worried?

"Trying to use my Elemental ability," she responded.

"Did it work?"

"No."

Bekah allowed herself to be towed into the jungle, and together, they scrambled over the thick, twisting tree limbs. Thankfully, energy blasts were easily stopped by just about any physical barrier, so as long as they kept moving, the thick jungle would do a good job of shielding them. The troopers behind them snarled and howled in guttural voices, making loud crashes as they tore through the undergrowth.

As Bekah ran, she could feel her survival instincts kick in, an old habit that had been drilled in through years of combat training. Her heartbeats felt like jackhammer blows, sounding in her ears as she dashed lightly over the treacherous forest floor, skipping over the roots and dodging brambles without a second thought. With each step, her thoughts became more and more mechanical, her mind racing as she tried thinking of a way out. She heard Charlie mutter under his breath, cursing the uneven floor, but she didn't slow down for him.

Branches and leaves whipped at her face, and she threw her arms up in front of her to shield herself. These trees weren't like anything she'd trained with before, twisting sideways as if to block her path. She found herself hurdling and ducking far more often than she would have liked and it made the going slow. Luckily, the troopers that chased them seemed to be having as difficult a time chasing as they were fleeing. The intergrown tree limbs were too tangled in most areas to run through and the humid air made her nose stuffy. Swarms of insects swirled everywhere, flashing by during their run so quickly that she didn't have time to see them before they were gone.

"Bekah!" Charlie called.

She spared a glance for him. Behind her, Charlie seemed to be flagging, the branches snagging his the edges of his navy windbreaker, a sure sign that they couldn't hold out like this forever. We need the high ground, Bekah thought. The troopers were only a dozen paces behind, the shadows of the forest obscuring their features.

"Come on!" she shouted, frantically waving to Charlie.

She grabbed the nearest tree limb and hoisted herself up, surprised by how heavy she turned out to be. Some of the best Air Elementals, such as herself, were able to make themselves as light as a feather, taking on the lightweight properties of the element they wielded. However, without her abilities, Bekah was about as heavy as a stone. Climbing this tree at her full weight was going to get exhausting real fast.

Underneath her, she heard Charlie start to climb too, but she was still much faster than he was and ended up a good meter or two higher than him. Without her powers, however, Bekah noticed herself wearing out quickly, unused to the extra weight her body typically ignored. Shooting a glance back down at Charlie, Bekah noticed he'd frozen up, staring at the ground with a familiar look: fear.