As if I was falling up through the center of Earth to merge with my body, I sat up gasping for air. The enemy scout towered above me, but he was standing in a defensive position and slowly backing away. I jumped to my feet, the pain of the events in my vision still raw, and the desire to avenge my father still present. I ran to him, grabbing the front of his cloak in desperation.

“What did you do to me?” I yelled. But I knew that it was the events that led to me being in the camp, and what they lied to me about there as well. It was what I had been searching for when I went through Sergeant Michel’s files. What the scout showed me was the truth, and I knew it without a shadow of a doubt.

“I freed your mi-” His words were cut short as a metal spike impaled him through the chest and stopped inches away from my own.

The metal spike was covered in small bits of gore, and a stream of crimson dripped from its point. He spat out blood, flecks of which splattered my face. As the life drained from his eyes, his body went limp, and he fell to the ground. I stared, unable to move as blood pooled from his wound and was absorbed into the dirt. Slowly, my shock wore off, and I looked up to see Jace standing a short distance away.

I ran over to him, grabbed his elbow and spun him around. I tugged on his arm to get him to move so we can get away from the scene and further from the camp. He jerked his arm back.

“Jace, we have to go,” I pleaded. “He showed me the truth about what happened to my parents. My mind is clear, and I remember everything that happened. All that the cadre told us is a lie.” He looked in confusion. “Come on, the camp has been lying to us about our families, what we are, and how we got here. Who knows what else they’ve lied to us about?” I grabbed and pulled his arm again so we could run, but he once again yanked it back.

“Tsk. They lied to you, not me.”

“What?”

“They lied to you, idiot.” I’ve always known what I was, what I can do, and what I did. And now we know the type of person you are, a traitor.” He pulled one of his slivers of metal out from behind his back. Its point was sharp, it was bladed, and there was a definite handle that formed around his hand. He must have been making it as I was talking. “Don’t try to run, you’ll just make your death more painful.”

I hit him in the jaw. As my fist connected, I changed my vibration to match his. I only had a split second to change the color, but I managed to change it to one that all people have when asleep. He slumped to the ground and started snoring as I turned to run.

“Hey, stop,” I heard one of Jace’s goons yell.

I tried to run a little faster and activated my power. As I passed by trees, I ran my fingers across them. The branches moved down to conceal my body and perhaps provide some cover as I ran. I heard a couple of thunks to my right and glanced over to see shards of metal sticking from a tree. I continued running and covering my path with every tree I could.

As I broke through a line of trees, I saw an open plain of tall grass. I swiftly looked back and didn’t see any sign of close pursuit. I ran into the grass backwards and did my best to run my fingers across the stems that I trampled. The long stems of grass rose back up and hopefully helped to cover my tracks. I wasn’t sure how much time I had, but it wouldn’t matter if I left a trail for them. Just as I decided to quit and to run some more, my foot failed to touch solid ground, and I fell back.

I landed in what I thought was a puddle of frigid water and my back sunk into soft sand underneath. I looked around and noticed that I was actually in a river, but it might have been more accurate to call it a stream. The grass must have covered it from where I was standing before I waded into the grass. The ledge I fell from was only about two feet, and it was made of moist dirt, but that was the perfect height and material for me to hide. I quickly scrambled up and crawled to the small ledge. I mimicked the vibrations of the ground, a deep russet, and easily carved a hole into the side. I rolled into it and covered the hole I made, hoping that it would look natural on the other side.

“Do you see him?” I could hear someone yell in the distance, but it was probably closer than I thought with the dirt muffling the sound. I waited uncertainly, and shortly I could hear the thud of a boot somewhere close to my position.

“Over here, I think I found something.”

Just as I heard those words, I realized I forgot to cover my tracks in the grass after I fell and from the results of my fall. I braced for discovery and to fight, there was no escape from where I was at.

“He must have used the river for cover,” I heard someone say. It sounded like Jace, but I couldn’t be sure. “You two go that way, and I’ll go this way.”

I could hear boots stomp off, but I didn’t dare move. I stayed in that hole for as long as I could stand it. I didn’t know if or when they would return, but I didn’t want to find out what would happen if I ran into them again.

When I could no longer stand the hole, I poked a small opening in the wall. No light came in, so I assumed that it was dark outside. Hopeful that no one was around, I broke out of the hole and into the brisk night air.

I looked around and saw the stars for the first time in years. Looking at the sky in the middle of nowhere was more than I had ever seen. I didn’t realize that instead of a few sparkly diamonds, the stars were a slivery fleece blanketing the universe. I managed to pull my gaze away from the sky and took the time to smell the plants and water. The mixture of fragrant grass and clear water calmed and focused my mind.

I dried and quickly cleaned myself using my power, then contemplated which way to go. I decided on downstream since it should eventually reach the ocean. It was a good thing they gave us some type of education in the camp, even if it was primarily military-themed.

It seemed like I trudged along the stream’s bank for hours, and exhaustion was getting the better of me. Fortunately, I had the kit they gave us for the mission, and in it was an emergency blanket. I discovered it when I stopped to take a quick break. There was a line of trees a short distance away, so I made my way there. Once I was a dozen or so meters into the forest, I wrapped myself in the blanket and rested my back against a tree. I changed the tree a little bit for my comfort, and for protection from elements, then I went to sleep.