Powerless Revision 1 (33 page)

***.

Far to the left, Mira watched as the battle between Vern and Rowland unfolded. Concealed within a hanging branch, she peeked through the leaves and saw Vern drill his shoulder into Rowland’s stomach. The impact made her flinch. She tried to do a quick count of who was left on her fingers, but she couldn’t know exactly. There seemed to be so few, and yet she was somehow among them.

She came out from her hiding place to follow in Vern’s direction, but her ears caught something faint behind her. When she couldn’t hear it anymore, she turned around to see where it came from.

Slowly but surely, Roselyn became visible as she wound around the thick tree trunks. Her lips mouthed a beautiful song and the rest of her moved with a calm, relaxed air. Mira stood still, and Roselyn walked directly in front of her. They stood face to face and looked into each other’s eyes. A mesmerizing, enchanting sound emanated from her lungs.

“Aren’t you tired, Mira? Wouldn’t it be so nice to fall asleep right here on the ground?”

Mira watched her lips move, but she couldn’t hear anything. She responded by brushing her hair back over her ear, revealing an earplug that sat snuggly inside. The only surprise Roselyn displayed was a few rapid blinks, and then she understood completely. She nodded her head resolutely.

“You’ve been our leader all along,” she said.

Mira didn’t know what she would do next, if she would have to chase her, but Roselyn took a step back and settled herself down with her back to the ground. Mira took out her earplugs and put them back in her pocket. She wanted to say something to Roselyn, to apologize. She waited a moment for the right words to come, but she saw something in the forest and knew the opportunity had passed.

The smallest movement, maybe even just the swaying of a branch, startled her thoroughly. Without waiting another second, Mira took off running in a diagonal direction. While pumping the remote controls in her hands, she pressed one of the buttons. A second later, she heard rustling brush off to her right and saw Aoi running to intercept.

Cruising through the forest as fast as her legs could carry her, Mira begged and pleaded in her mind for a chance to make it. Chasing behind, Aoi seemed to cut through the forest like a knife. She reeled in her prey steadily.

They swept down a small hill. Mira turned to the left. They sprinted so fast that she couldn’t hear and could barely see. But Aoi still managed to gain on her. Mira knew looking back would only slow her down, so she kept her eyes forward, though she could feel Aoi closing in.

Aoi, moving closer with every step, prepared to make the catch. She reached out her hand for Mira, ready to pull her down in one move. She stared at her fingers as they inched nearer, her legs spinning underneath her. She stretched her arm out to grip her shoulder, and a blue bolt zapped her finger, shocking her into breaking her stride.

“Oww!” Aoi said.

“Actually, it’s pronounced “Mira!” she laughed, pulling away.

Aoi growled and rushed to catch up, but Mira could already see her destination. They sprinted onward toward a clearing. Aoi pulled closer to Mira again, determined to let nothing stop her from taking her down.

They approached the clearing, and Mira could see what she was running for. She spun around a tree and then passed over her trip wire. A moment later, Aoi’s foot landed squarely on it, snapping it. Mira ran into the clearing, her heart pounding. Arms outstretched, she dove forward. The magnets on the feet she held connected with those on her hawk’s legs, pulling her up into the air.

Aoi jumped but Mira’s dangling legs were just out of reach. This spectacular escape angered her, but she quickly found another way. She sprinted to the edge of the clearing and hopped up into the branches of a tall pine tree. Despite the prickly bark and the sap, she raced up the tree to catch up with Mira, who did not ascend with great speed.

High above the ground, Aoi could see Mira through the branches. She followed a thick, sturdy looking one out from the trunk. Holding onto another branch for support, she saw Mira and her mechanical contraption out in front of her. She could safely grab hold of her feet and pull her down without coming close to the spinning blades. Mira looked over her shoulder to see Aoi on the ledge. The terror that rushed into her eyes made Aoi smile.

Aoi leapt from the branch, sailed through the air, and caught hold of Mira’s foot. The bird continued to rise, however, and the pair soon became visible to the masses assembled on the lawn. A roar of gasps and chatter rumbled through the crowd.

Aoi hung on just below with the ground far below them, forcing Mira to kick at her free rider, trying to knock her off.

“Let go of my shoe!”

“You’re coming down with me!”

Mira kicked at the hands around her ankle with the toe of her other shoe. Her fingers wouldn’t budge. She tried to lift Aoi up with the leg she held and began kicking at her arms. She swung back and forth as Aoi desperately tried to hold on. Mira stomped on the top of her head, and soon her hands came loose. She slipped down until she lost touch with the tip of her shoe. Gravity pulled her back down, while she spiraled and spun.

Aoi’s open hand met the ground first and then the rest of her capsized. The only things that kept her body from touching the ground were her extended arm and the tips of her toes. She got to her feet and looked up at Mira, who flew out of range of any possible approach. It was unbelievable though, and Aoi couldn’t help but take a moment to stare up and wonder at it.

Mira stared down at the ground below her in disbelief that Aoi had overcome the fall both without injury and without losing the competition. It was incredible. Her mind raced for a new strategy, but nothing came. She couldn’t imagine a scenario in which she beat Aoi.

Staring down, Mira saw something curious streak across the ground. It swept through the grass at blinding speeds. In a second, it slid under Aoi, continued, and disappeared out of sight. Aoi, her legs completely knocked out from under her, felt herself falling onto her back. There was only one thing she could do before she hit the ground—scream.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

She smacked into the ground, covered her face, and curled into a ball. Mira couldn’t hold back a broad smile.

“Chucky! Yes!” she shouted, cheering and hollering for him. She didn’t know where he went or who could hear her, but she took deep satisfaction and found a great deal of courage in Chucky’s long-lasting survival. More than that, Aoi had tormented him all year, and she knew how much it meant to him to get back at her.

Then she heard a loud clink from overhead, and the chick rocked violently back and forth. Along with the smile on her face, she saw a rock dropping through the air. By the time she stabilized herself, another rock struck the spinning propeller. She looked down from her perch among the treetops to see Dot down on the ground below.

Just when Mira thought the rocks wouldn’t be able to damage the spinning blades, one hit the knuckles of her left hand, forcing her to let go and dangle from only one arm. She tried to grab hold of the other handle again, but she missed and looked down at the distance she would fall. She doubted she could handle it as gracefully as Aoi.

“Please don’t! I’ll fall!” she shouted down to Dot.

“That’s the point,” Dot shouted back.

She reached into her bag and pulled out one of the few remaining stones. She felt its smooth surface and oval shape with her fingers while she waited for Mira to twist and give her a clear shot at the other hand.

Dot leaned back and brought her hand behind her head for the throw. As she snapped it forward, Dot floated off of her feet and into the air. She released the stone and it flew straight up. In another second, Dot dropped onto her back while she watched the rising stone. It rocketed upward, and Mira watched it climb up in front of her. It hung in the air, right at eye level, and then gravity pulled it back down. Mira took a deep, relieved breath before swinging her arm up and catching the other handle.

“I couldn’t let you do that,” Vern said to Dot as he stepped into the clearing. “I’ll send her home myself. It has to be me.”

Dot saw the hungry look in his eyes and heard his tense heaving. There was nothing for her to be disappointed about; she had surpassed her wildest expectations. Without a word, she walked back to the forest’s edge.

Vern took a few steps out into the clearing. He gazed up at Mira, hanging in the air above him. He had to laugh at himself for being fooled earlier. But right now she looked like an apple waiting to be plucked.

“You delayed the inevitable as long as you could. But there’s nowhere to run and no way to talk yourself out of it this time. You’ve got to go through me. Now are you going to come down here so we can finish this or what?”

“Make me!” she shouted.

“Oh, I will. Don’t worry, I will. It’s funny how it all came down to this, the same as the Tournament Trial at the beginning of the year. Do you remember that? You ran home crying and I went on to win it all. Maybe you’ll handle yourself a little better, but the result will be the same. Nothing’s changed, Mira. Nothing.”

Vern reached his hand up into the sky at the sun. Mira felt a tug downward, as if she had Aoi attached her legs. She felt the weight tire her screaming arms and her heart pounded through her chest. Her body flushed with emotion, making it feel like she couldn’t breathe. She held down a button with her forefinger, but the bird’s wings spun as fast as they could. Still, she saw the trees rise as she slowly descended.

Mira searched through the woods with her eyes. Her head jerked back and forth until she spotted a streak sliding down a hill. It approached Vern from behind at break-neck speeds, and the hope that it would all be over soon sprung up inside her.

The weight pulling her down suddenly disappeared. Though Vern’s arm remained raised high, she began to climb back up to the treetops. Something was wrong, and she wanted to shout to Chucky, but it was too late. He careened into the clearing, hurtling at Vern’s legs. But Vern jumped out of the way in time and brought that hand down quickly enough to tap Chucky on the back.

Vern laughed as Chucky sailed out of sight. He wiped his hand on his pants and looked back up at Mira.

“Guess you’re not the only one who knows how to trick someone,” he said.

“Congratulations,” Mira replied. “I think second place will suit you.”

Vern laughed.

“Second place? You can’t touch me. And you are thirty feet away from hitting rock bottom. There’s nothing you can do!”

Chucky continued skimming along the forest floor until he reached the edge of the forest and the waiting crowd. As soon as they saw him, and they knew that the battle had come down to the final two, all of his classmates, the other students, the teachers, and the parents raced into the forest to watch with Chucky leading the way.

Only Corey remained on the glade by the forest edge. He held a curious expression and an attentive ear, waiting to hear if the impossible could be done. The crowd swept along the edges of the clearing, entranced by the miraculous spectacle before them.

Rays of sunlight shone down through the clouds on the two remaining combatants. Vern, straining his arms in the air, looked to be holding up a colossal weight. Mira, dangling high above, held on for dear life as she slowly sank down. One could almost see the invisible rope, pulled as taut as can be, linking them together.

“Come to me,” Vern repeated, desiring that moment when he could put an end to this.

Mira kept her eyes on the ground, judging the distance, though she looked pained and depleted. He stood directly beneath her, dragging her down. The ground became clearer and the tree branches around her became thicker. The crowd knew they were witnessing the end, and they couldn’t look away.

Scrunching the muscles in her face, Mira banged her feet together. She smashed the heels of her shoes against each other as hard as she could. She cracked them, and a cloud of yellow pollen spilled out below. It sank quickly, blanketing Vern’s hands, face, and body. Shock and concern took to Vern’s face, but his heavy breathing continued.

While Mira hung above him, just out of reach, he inhaled deeply and unleashed a massive sneeze, doubling him over. In that instant, Mira twisted her arms to unlock the magnets and dropped feet first onto Vern’s back, knocking him flat against the ground as she hopped off.

“WHAT?” she screamed, collapsing to her knees in disbelief. Her hands shook before her eyes. The entire crowd erupted and sprang forth in an instant. The chick still flying high overhead, they surrounded her and lifted her up, cheering and hollering.

“It’s a Mira-cle!” Kevin said.

“Oh, how could you say that?” Jeana said, hitting her husband on the arm.

They scrambled to get closer to Mira, and she scrambled to get closer to them, barely able to touch their outstretched hands for all the people. But they were there for her.

Though he couldn’t be heard, Corey clapped solemnly in his solitude. The crowd carried Mira through the woods and deposited her at his feet. She got up, catching eyes with her classmates who had assembled around her. Like herself, Vern too had burst into tears. But he composed himself as best he could. Mira didn’t know how to look at them or how they were looking at her. But she turned to Corey, taking comfort knowing how she looked would play no part at all with him.