Walking Into Shadows

Chapter Fifteen

When I finally it to sleep, I dreamed about a lot of familiar faces. Each of them felt strangely like home, and I tried to remember their names.
I'm not sure how much time had passed by the time I finally got to sleep; not the it would have mattered. I was awakened by the creeking of the metal door opening.
"Annabeth, wake up." Brandon said in a soft voice.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes.
"What do you need so soon?" I yawned.
"I'm going to need you to practice using your magic with me today. We need to prepare to do this, soon." He explained.
I followed him, and again, kept track of where we were going at all times. Maybe there was a way for me to get Justin out of here and back up to the surface of the AOLS.
Brandon and I were walking up a steep slope at this point, and I knew it was a fresh tunnel that we'd been walking through. How long had they been planning this?
Finally, we reached the campus swimming pool. We were just below the surface, with the stairway to escape in sight. My heart raced.
"Get in." Brandon urged.
My cheeks and stomach grew hot.
"I... don't have anything to wear in there..." I protested weakly.
Brandon rolled his eyes.
"Relax, Annabeth, I've seen your panties before." He chuckled. "You'll need to be submerged in the water to really get a feel for your power over it."
I hate him.
I took a deep breath and swallowed my pride. I stripped down to my bra and underwear and quickly jumped into the pool. I wasn't even sure where to begin.
"Concentrate, okay? Don't think about anything else." Brandon's monotone voice soothed me in a strange sort of way. "You've done it before. Your power is exceptionally strong when you really try. I've seen it."
My eyes frantically moved around the pool. He wanted me to move all of it? I wasn't even sure if I could move a small amount. My eyes darted over to the stairs. The lights were off, and so I knew it was night time. Nobody was even in this building to hear me if I were to call out for help.
"I... I don't know how. " I whimpered.
Brandon still seemed confident in me. Had I really been so powerful before?
He took off his shirt and shoes, and climbed into the pool with me. He swam up close to me and held out his arms so that I could see his movement clearly.
He moved his fingers carefully. It was almost as if his hand was a set of muscles, flexing the water with their movement. He lifted a small amount of water as high as the ceiling.
"See? Cake." He smirked.
I mimicked his movements and nothing happened.
How was I ever supposed to save Justin at this rate? Tears stung my eyes.
Brandon took my hands in his.
"Take a deep breath." He commanded.  I did what I was told.
"Relax. You need to feel the calm of the water." He said slowly.
He lifted out hands up high until the water was floating upward, and emptying out of the pool until our feet touched the bottom. I stared up at the water in awe.
"Now, I'm going to let go of your hands, okay?" Brandon warned me. "Just concentrate on holding all the water up there."
I slowly nodded.
Brandon slowly took his hands from mine. A strange, weighted sensation took over me when he let go.
"Concentrate babe, or you'll lose it." He said cautiously.
I cleared my mind of everything except for keeping the water suspended in the air. Not only did it stay in the air, but I managed to lift it higher. All of the water that had been in the pool was now spreading out across the ceiling.
"Good to see you're coming along so nicely." A woman said, startling me.
I dropped the weight of the water and it all came crashing down into the pool.
Brandon and I were both pushed underneath the water's surface. I made the mistake of gasping after submerged, and began to choke. I swam as quickly as I could to the top of the water but it rocked forcefully for a long time before settling.
I'm not sure how exactly I did it, but in my mind, I commanded the water to stop choking me, and it listened.
My head broke the surface of the water and I gasped wildly as though I were tasting air for the first time in my life.
Brandon too, was now above the water and desperately trying to catch his breath.
"Not making too many mistakes, I hope." The woman said with a smug grin. She was breath taking. I immediately knew that she was the woman from my vision with Brandon. Amber Summers. It came as somewhat of a shock to me that someone so beautiful could be such an ugly person.
Brandon climbed out of the pool and leaned down to help me out as well.
"Of course not, baby." He said smoothly.
I hated that he called both of us that.
"Good. Another week is all we can spare. We'll need her ready by then." Amber sighed, running her fingers through her own, golden hair.
"We'll be ready before then." Brandon assured her confidently.
There was no denying the power I felt coursing through my veins when I was holding the water against the ceiling. Brandon was right, I could be ready by tomorrow for anything the two of them could have been planning.
I had to get Justin out before Brandon knew that. He had to warn the others.