Asylum

Reflection Pool

Kya Carter

Ren left me more than a jacket. He left me millions of questions that pooled around me and seemed to drown my thoughts, dousing them to the point of over-saturation. For someone who is a descendant of the sun, Ren seems to be hot and cold. One moment, he's barreling at you with jugular questions and showing no mercy, and the next, he's leaving you in peace with his jacket.

I'm not scared of myself, but of what I can do. There's a distinct difference that I don't think Ren understands. He might have his own struggles, and if that's true then they must differ very much from mine.

Sitting in my watchtower, I stare at the all-knowing moon. It's icy chill paints over my body and I pull the jacket over my shoulders. It's a half-moon. How fitting.

"Kya, your shift is terminated," Leo says in an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice.

"Yeah, thanks," I respond, feeling odd with knowing Leo's plans.

"Ren talk to you?"

"How can you tell?" I inquire, wondering if I look that distraught.

"His jacket, for one. For two, you look upset, so..."

Deeply, I sigh. "You're right. Take it easy, Leo. And..." As I climb down the ladder, I pause. "...be smart, okay?"

Understandingly, he nods his curly headed hair, picking up on my underlying message. "I will. Thanks, Kya."

Once I get to the bottom, I look up at the moon again. It's completely split down the middle, a limbo between light and dark. I remember what I said earlier about losing my top and spiraling out of control with my power. Perhaps if I practiced the light side, I can silence the call to the dark. I haven't done it intentionally for a couple of years, and stopping the spit-water was the first time I'd tapped into my power.

On a whim, I decide to head down to the pool. It's in its own building and it doesn't have a heater. Considering the temperatures have been dropping, I doubt anyone will be there, which is exactly what I want. I navigate my way through a web of hallways and corridors and large rooms for REC activities until I find the pool. The ceiling is made of glass and when I look up, I see the gathering of clouds: a storm is on its way.

The pool itself is a crystalized blue and around the same size as the one they use for the Olympics. The lifeguard chair is empty and there's a sign that tells us not to swim past midnight. It's around three in the morning, but I won't be doing any swimming...not on purpose, at least.

I slide my shoes off and stand at the edge of the pool, toes curling over the edge of the cement wall. I take of my kicks because I learned that I can bend the water to my will using even my feet. The connection between water and my energy greatens without any coverage. For a second, I remember Ren's gloves and how powerful he was even with them on. I wonder what kind of damage he could cause with them off.

Taking a deep breath, I push my thoughts to the side and focus on the pool. Because the water if flat and unmoving, I put my palms over it to grasp onto its chi. If it was a raging sea, I would have to do a lot more than just this.

I should start small; make a water whip, a strand of liquid that is extremely bendable and oddly useful. Keeping my left hand frozen, I use my right to effortlessly pull up the water. I create the banner and move it around. I guide its energy like a rail road; it's its own vehicle, but I have to give it a path. The action is silent and the pool remains still with my extraction.

Now that I know I can take and move water, it's time to try something else. I push my hands out in front of me and send the whip flying across the pool, it's circumference thin. My fingers splay open, but when I link them side by side and bring my arms away from each other, I split the whip into two and turn them into ice as if they were freezing daggers. They shatter against the wall opposite of me.