The Search for Light

04: Faith

The Search for Light

Part 1: Chapter 4

I expected the geyser to blow us high into the sky, but instead, we gently landed on a large block of ice. Coldness seeped into my bones and I murmured a curse aimed at myself. Why did I take my leggings off? Without them and the boots, my feet reddened and my legs froze.

"Meme!"

Tessa.

I forgot she was here.

I looked her way but hot tears obscured my vision. They raced down my face, heating up my cheeks and causing the ice they landed on to melt. Every breath I took caused a thin layer of water to appear on the ice.

Suddenly, I was overheating. The ice beneath my legs melted quickly. I felt like an old laptop being forced to run both Minecraft and Roblox at the same time.

A pair of arms snuck wrapped around my waist and suddenly I was hoisted up and tossed into the water. Coldness hit my skin and left as steam. I felt my body returning to a normal temperature,

"Meme! Are you okay?" Tessa yelled from the ice.

"Yeah." I blinked, trying to get water out of my eyes. "Oh my god," a breath of relief fled out of my mouth, "that was weird. Did you throw me in?"

She nodded. "Sorry."

"I's okay. Help me out?"

Tessa went to take a step forward but her foot slipped and she landed on her back. "OW!"

I couldn't see her anymore. "Are you okay!"

"No," she replied with a groan. For a moment, it was quiet. "I have an idea."

The tips of her finger came into view. The sky above, dark and gray, allowed tiny specks of white to escape but I don't think that was Tessa's doing.

The water underneath me swayed until I was shot into the air. Again.

I landed in the snow, from what felt like far away from Tessa. No longer did I feel cold but there was some sort of exhaustion that heaved my mind. I wanted to sleep. I wanted to sleep bad.

Cloudy darkness swirled above and landed on me, melting as quickly as it came. It looked so peaceful. It felt so peaceful.

Slowly, my eyes began to close. I could faintly hear Jack's voice in the back of my mind telling me we needed to be in Elysia by sundown. I could hear my mom's voice too, telling me not to fall asleep because if I did, my eyes wouldn't tire at night.

But even with these warnings and red flags in my brain, my eyes shut. A second nap couldn't hurt, could it?

***

Coldwater splashed on me and I jolted awake. I was lying in a little crater made of my own body heat and filled with water. Tessa was laughing in the distance.

"Not funny," I said, sitting up.

"Maybe not to you," she said with a light giggle. "Anyways, did you know I'm apparently engaged?"

I moved my hair in front of my face as I answered her, "No. Did you know I'm engaged too?" I grabbed the hair at the roots and pushed down, releasing a large amount of water. Then, I shook my head like a dog.

Tessa's back straightened. "What? Why? You're literally a baby."

I glare at her through my hair, "I'll be fifteen next month."

"Only fifteen! I remember when I was fifteen."

"Okay, Grandma," I pushed my hair back and shook my head again. "Why bring up the topic?"