The entire sea of people followed us – all five Anti’s, their acquaintances, and the Empress – out of the main square. The Empress had explained that we were headed to the harbor for the second of the three challenges (she also explained how many there were in total).
“I would’ve had four,” she said despondently, “but I must stick to tradition.”
I heard Ellie snort with disgust, but the Empress either ignored her or didn’t notice.
“What’s this next challenge gonna be?” I asked in a respective tone; it was a bit awkward because I had to look down at the short, ten-year-old ruler.
“Must I ruin all surprises?” She sighed dramatically. “If you must know,” she looked from side to side to see if anyone was listening. When she calculated that there weren’t any eavesdroppers in our presence, she whispered, “It has to do with the Nile’s current.”
I looked at her, trying to express my confusion. “What about –”
She hushed me and signaled with her hand for me to lower my voice.
I shrugged and murmured quietly, “What about the current?”
Ellie tapped me on the shoulder and I spun around. “Isn’t it obvious?” she hissed. “The Nile flows to the west, and, somehow, you’re gonna have to make it flow to the east.”
The sun had long since dipped far below the horizon and the moon appeared low in the sky, accompanying the flickering stars – something that couldn’t be seen in the bright city of New York.
Ellie looked like a ghost as the pale moonlight casted a glow over her pale skin. A beautiful ghost, that is. We had made it to the harbor, dozens of wide docks occupying the shoreline.
The mountain I had created was far off to my left; it resembled the silhouette of a lizard sitting atop of a rock.
All five of us Anti’s and our acquaintances stood at the end of a dock, staring down at the churning black water. The Empress stood at the front of the dock, addressing the crowd standing on the beach what the next challenge was with nothing to project her voice.
I looked to Ellie with a fierce determination. “I can do this.”
Ellie nodded in response. “I know.”
The sailboats that were anchored at either sides of the dock swayed gently in the flowing water, which flowed westward into the night.
How are the other Anti’s gonna attempt this one?
Ellie nodded towards me in silence. The other Anti-Lucids appeared to be attempting the method I had used to destroy that service bot back in the previous round. They were closing their eyes, standing absolutely still; Lonnie lifted her hands skyward, somehow trying to will the current of the Nile to reverse and flow east.
I shook my head in embarrassment; those guys looked like complete idiots.
How am I gonna do this? I wondered. Hoping that I could trigger something, I knelt down and put my hand into the water. It was icy cold – I could feel the nerves in my fingers begin to wither out, but I managed to leave my hand in the water. It felt like a knife were cutting into my flesh and someone were ripping off my skin. But I didn’t pull back my hand.
