Chasing Nature

5| Where We Explore A Forest Six Feet Under

I was excited to see the training room. It was where we got to practice fighting, according to Nathan. We took the lift to the minus-5th floor and when it opened, I gasped in surprise.

I had imagined a wide, large room with different stations for each kind of bearer, with all sorts of equipment lying around, sort of like a gym. However, what I was seeing now could not be any more different.

'Room' wasn't a good word for it. It was literally an underground forest. There were no walls, no tiled floors, and I couldn't even see a ceiling. Instead, there were trees, bushes, grass, caves, and flowers, scattered everywhere in no particular fashion. I saw a clear blue sky with fluffy white clouds when I looked up. I heard the pleasant calming flow of a nearby river. I walked closer to one of the trees and felt the rough bark on my hand. Even when I touched the tree, I couldn't believe it.

"How is this possible?" I wondered aloud.

Mr. Green smiled. "Nature bearers can be more powerful than you think."

"I knew you'd like it," Nathan said. "I had the literal same reaction when I saw it for the first time."

I shook my head in disbelief. "But this is underground," I muttered.

I then saw James near a tree a few yards away. He was doing something to it with his power.

I walked over to him, Nathan and Mr. Green following. "James!" I exclaimed. "Can you believe this?"

He looked almost as mystified as I was. "I really can't, and I came here twenty minutes ago. I was trying to make the tree's branches move the way I want them to. Have a look!"

We stepped back. James closed his eyes, held out his palm toward the nearest branch, and moved his hand in a circular gesture. The branch moved the same way his hand did, however, it stopped halfway through. James gave up and relaxed. "It takes a lot of effort, though."

"I'll help you," said Mr. Green. He moved his own hand in the same circular gesture. This time, the branch didn't stop and went back to its original form.

James nodded in approval. "You're pretty good, Mr. Green." He turned to Nathan. "You're Nathan, right?"

Nathan nodded. "Hey, James." He held out his fist and James awkwardly bumped it. I smiled, pleased that they were becoming friends.

"This room has been designed so that any kind of nature bearer can practice and explore their power," Mr. Green explained. "Nature is all around us, and all together, so we have brought all forms of nature together in the form of a forest. Every form, that is, except for fire." He pointed to a faraway hill, where the trees looked black and charred. "That's the area for fire bearers to practice. We can't allow them to practice in the main part of the forest, obviously."

"But can't the fire bearers control their fire, and, like, stop it when it starts to spread?" I asked.

Mr. Green replied, "The training room is supposed to test your boundaries, to see how far you can go. You can't test the limits of your power if you're going to be focused on controlling it."

I nodded, understanding.

"Why don't you guys have a go?" he asked. "I'll be, well, literally anywhere, but you can meet me here in about an hour."

"Ok, Mr. Green, we'll see you then," Nathan replied. He led me and James even deeper into the forest. I noticed that it was getting darker and darker. Nathan shivered. He was a sun bearer, so I realized he really must not be a fan of this. As we walked, I noticed my shoes were gradually getting caked with dirt and mud. The ground was becoming slippery and I kept tripping on the small roots spread out.

"Nat, you're a sun bearer, can't you make sunlight?" I asked. Nathan shook his head. "Nature bearers can't make nature, Eve. We can only manipulate it. The thing is, there isn't any sunlight here for me to manipulate. It's okay though, we're almost there."

"Where are we even going?" inquired James.

"To see my sister," Nathan replied.

Sure enough, after a few steps, we found a girl sitting on a log and staring at the dark sky. She held her hands up towards the sky and made a sweeping gesture. Suddenly, the clouds evaporated, revealing a night sky filled with thousands of stars. At this point, I didn't even bother to wonder how this could happen underground. I told myself just to go with the flow.

"Hey!" Nathan called. The girl looked up and smiled. "Nathan! About time!"

She walked over to us and she gasped in surprise. "Eve! How are you here?"

I hugged her. "I haven't seen you in ages! I'm a wind bearer. My friend James here is an earth bearer."

Naomi smiled at James to acknowledge him. "You're a wind bearer, Eve? How? You're like the last person I'd ever expect to be a nature bearer!"

"That's exactly what I said!" Nathan piped up.

"This place is so cool," said James, wanting to participate in the conversation.

Naomi nodded. "It is, right? Hey, after this we should catch up at the cafe. James, you can come as well."

I cleared my throat. "You don't mean Avery's cafe, do you?" I wasn't in the mood for any more lectures about business and success from my sister.

We chatted and walked towards the sunnier part of the forest. I noticed Nathan now walking with a bounce in each step, but Naomi looked worn out and tired. I figured it was because they had contradictory powers, so they couldn't be comfortable in the same environment together.

I was lost in thought when Naomi nudged me. "Evie!"

"Don't call me that."

"You should show us what you can do with your wind bearer abilities!"

"Erm, right now? Like, here?"

"Where else?"

"But-"

Naomi brushed me off. "Come on, Eve! Show us!"

Nathan nodded. "She's fantastic. You should've seen her at the library this morning. She's got more agility than anyone I know."

I beamed at them. James looked mildly miffed.

"Ok, fine, I'll show you, Naomi." I gave in. We were at a clearing, with a creek right in front of us. The steady flow of the water calmed me and helped me concentrate as I closed my eyes, imagining a large pair of hands gathering the air around us into a ball. The hands then threw the air toward us, creating a gust of wind. The gust ruffled our hair and clothes and some leaves from a nearby tree fell.

 Despite seeing my ability before, Nathan's eyes widened. "You did the gust? You know, wind bearers could be really, really good in combat. Like, from evildoers. You can just create a gust and knock them off their feet." "That would be so cool!" I agreed. Apparently, I wasn't the only one obsessed with combat and action.

Naomi and James, however, weren't so excited. "Guys, combat is a dire circumstance," James said. "I don't think we should positively wait for it like you two are." Naomi nodded.

Nathan scowled at his sister. 

A thought popped into my head. "If this is a forest, shouldn't there be animals in here? I haven't seen any so far."

Naomi replied. "Yup, there are many creatures in here. Only Earth creatures, sadly. You can find them in the deeper parts of the forest, like in that dark thicket where you found me."

"What do you mean, 'Earth creatures?'" James asked curiously.

Naomi ignored him. "We're in an underground forest, don't you guys want to explore and use your powers freely?"