From the Darkness

22. The Orb

Seonghwa rarely left the safety of his room, but for their testing purposes, he got to come out. Jongho made sure every other entrance was tightly sealed, and no one needed to leave in the next few hours. Then, Mingi held the door for him as Jongho carried the laptop in ceremonious hands. Wooyoung lugged his battery along. Apparently, the device would die if it spent a prolonged period without it, and while that wouldn't delete Seonghwa, he hated not knowing how much time passed while he was plunged into darkness.

Everyone gathered in the enormous cavern that trapped the water orb below the earth. They placed Seonghwa safely on a crate against a wall and waited for his commands. Earlier, they retrieved every rope and chain they could find inside the shelter and piled them together. Now, as soon as Seonghwa worked his magic, they would try to pull the water from the air. Once it was far enough down, the gravitational pull of the earth should reverse it to its original state.

Though Wooyoung couldn't fathom the physics behind all that, he was thrilled to be part of this. He cheered Seonghwa on whenever insecurity overcame him. As if he were a youngster on his first raid, his voice was meek with his instructions as Jongho positioned him.

Jongho's leg had mostly recovered. He walked almost fine now, getting rid of the crutches, though he avoided any strain on that leg. The wounds scabbed over and he diligently slathered ointment on them twice a day.

Wooyoung waited, leaning against the wall. He was ready for this adventure. Since he didn't need it, he left his trusty new gun in his room and his eyes mindlessly followed San through the cave as he inspected the water orb from all sides. They rarely got so close since water gatherers were best avoided during their work, but up close, the orbs looked most peculiar. They constantly shifted and morphed with water so dark it seemed gray. The surface was almost smooth to look at, but if touched, it rippled like any other liquid. Its constant flow was mesmerizing under the bright lights Wooyoung set up in the corners.

"Do we need to do anything?" Jongho asked once Seonghwa was happy with his angle. His screen faced the floating ball, seizing it up.

"The ball's gravity should be weakened by my force field. I will uphold it, so you can start pulling. Physically, it should fall apart by itself once it's close enough to Earth's gravity core."

Rolling his shoulders, Wooyoung got to his feet. He didn't understand the science, but he understood the order to pull. When he threw San the other end of the rope, the same thought reflected on the other raider's face.

It took them a few tries, but they managed to throw two ropes across the ball and weighed them with the iron chains. Because of the tension within its core, the chains didn't weigh enough to cut through the spheres. They couldn't wedge against a proper surface, but it was enough balance.

San and Wooyoung held one chain, Mingi and Jongho the other. In each corner of the room, they awaited Seonghwa's signal.

No visible change occurred, but the laptop hummed in satisfaction.

"Everyone pull at once," he ordered them and Wooyoung wasted no time. He stemmed his feet into the ground and yanked with all his might. His weight hauled him along.

The other three did the same. San's bare arm bulged under his vest as he slung the chain over his shoulder and drew with all his might. A tremble went through his body, and his hair hung in his distorted face.

Jongho and Mingi struggled similarly. Everyone groaned with the exertion, but they didn't let up. They stubbornly burrowed into the chains.

Seonghwa had spoken the truth. Though slowly, the sphere lost its spot tucked against the ceiling. It trembled, the water rushing even wilder when Seonghwa's field disrupted its molecules. The laptop didn't seem strained, so Wooyoung tugged harder, using every muscle in his body to force the chain toward the ground.