Quintus Crossings - Story IV: The Journal - Whispers Arc

Chapter 4: The Stream

"Really?" Bianca's face intermingled disbelief and excitement. "What do we do?"

"I said I think I know." Omar rose, brushing off dust. "I'm not sure if we can do it."

"Don't be annoying. What are you thinking?"

"When you pushed on your walls, there were bits of green light. But you can't control the green, can you?"

"Not really."

Omar took a deep breath and reached. A small green light enveloped him. What were once whispers became distinct. The ground wishing for him to give it life, the air calling for him to move it. I've heard them, so I know what I'm looking for now.

"I can control the green, because I went into it," Omar said. "We have different powers."

"Duh," Bianca said. "I can, like –" a small storm surged around her, lightning crackling, and blue spheres tugged at Omar while his vision grew fuzzy and his head pounded, yet underneath the sudden chaos of blue lay a small sense of green – "do all that, and you can like, fly and talk to plants and stuff."

Fly and talk to plants and stuff. So she knew what he could do – likely better than he did – and hadn't said anything about it before. That wasn't out of her character, but it was interesting. He could ask her what she knew, but she wasn't good with explanations, and would probably find it boring. If he got her to reveal her knowledge through time, then it was like they were playing a game.

He smirked. Control. He'd felt powerful, hopeful these past two weeks. Even classes couldn't dampen his spirits. He'd gain control of his new powers and change the course of his life.

But he'd start to lose that if he couldn't help Bianca. If he remained here, useless, while Jason and Michael went about being heroes again, then it would've been like nothing ever changed. Powers or no, he'd do nothing. So focus!

"You can control the blue stuff, I can control the green," Omar said. "Maybe we can push these walls together if I focus on the green and you on the blue."

Bianca cocked her head. "How'd that work?"

"I don't know. But I have a theory about why you're always appearing in the same place."

"It's where I hear and see things. And it glows."

Omar stared. "Sure. But I think that stream your body's in has only one place on each world that it connects to. Why? Maybe the stream is random, but maybe there's something special about that part of the world. Like, there could be a high concentration of green, so that's why the blue comes here."

Bianca frowned. "I'm not sure..."

"I just thought of this theory, bro."

"So whatcha wanna do?"

"I wanna control the green when you push the wall. If this is where blue and green meet, then maybe we need both to expand your field."

"Weird, but okay! Nothing else is working."

Omar nodded, but that raised another thought. Why would the green – which was likely physical – be beneath Bianca's blue – which had to be metaphysical? That would mean one of two things: one, the physical reacted to the metaphysical; or two, the metaphysical used the physical. If it was the latter, then that would mean the metaphysical needed the physical to work. That didn't sound right. Why would the divine need the mortal?

Omar slapped himself before his mind got philosophical. Work now, contemplate trippy shit later.

"Why did you –?" Bianca began.