A Hero In The Dark

Chapter 155: The Test

I didn't want to waste much time. I'm sure there are plenty of other preparations to be made before the journey to Lorien.

Besides, this is something I need to do on my own.

I need to make sure I can do this before the real thing. If not, well, I need to find a way to do it before the real thing.

I just need to find the right spot.

The area that I live in isn't exactly helpful. It's good, I suppose, but not helpful; not what I am looking for.

I've been flying over green and field for almost an hour. I don't want to have to travel so far; I'd like to say goodbye to my friends if I can, no matter how late it is.

There. Right there.

Straight ahead, that's what I need.

Barren land. Dead trees. Dead bush. No sign of green no sign of life. No animals no water no forests of fruits or berries. Even the night feels quieter and dead. 

I lower my altitude.

I let my energy dissipate and the light from my palms fade gradually until my feet come into contact with grey ash. Pixie lands at my side and morphs back into a bunny. She hops forward once then twice, sniffs the air, and looks up at me as if in confusion.

I smile; explain to her green curious eyes, "This is the test girl. If this works, Lorien lives. If not, well..."

I decide not to finish the thought. I decide to stay hopeful.

I take a deep breath of what smells like malnourished air and nearly gag at the action. Then continue, waving the lack of luster to the air away and focusing instead on what I planned to do.

I close my eyes and remember.

Remember the vision I had of Pittacus Lore on Lorien while I was in the depths of that parasite's feeding. My feet in contact with the planet's grounds. My bare feet.

Knowing what to do, I remove my shoes and socks and leave them aside. I let my heel and my toes dig into the loose and dry grey ash.

I breathe in another deep breath despite the lack of sufficient fresh air and let my energy flow through my body.

Through my blood through my veins. To my palms to my feet. Into the ground below my weight.

And as the energy of my primary legacy meets the grey ground of this part of Earth, the grass begins to grow.

First under my feet then slowly outward. I try to emit more energy to speed up the reviving process, but it only continues its slow work.

I take a single step like I did in that vision and only then does the energy within me spread vigorously and vividly.

It nearly takes my breath away, but I be sure to keep my breathing even, my lungs moving steadily.

I walk and walk until the entire forest comes back to life with reborn liveliness. The forest the water the flowers. All bloom and grow. More lush and fruitful than ever I've seen before. It surprises me and it is beautiful.

It is beautiful.

Pixie hops up and runs around my legs excitedly and I smile at her playfulness.

When I notice a flock of pigeons fly over our heads and into a revitalized apple tree, it is then that Pixie stops at the base of my feet. I reach down to pick her up in my arms, and, suddenly overjoyed despite the night's hardships, I spin her in the air with a large smile on my face.

"I did it Pixie," I say with a new glee in my eyes. "Lorien will rise again!"

The bunny in my hold bobbles her white cotton-bun of a tail with an eagerness that I've never seen in her stunning green eyes and I have to assume she understands.

When I set her down again, I put my socks and shoes back on and walk through the forest in the cool night air. It is already beginning to smell fresher than it did, the air carrying an aroma of countryside and nature. I can hear the sounds of crickets return from a silence that was just here minutes ago. As well as feel the energy of newly populated ants and insects make the forest their home once again.

Satisfied and proud of what I accomplished; my smile slowly fades when my phone buzzes its ringtone in my back pocket. The instances of the recent night flood back to my mind as fast as a bolt of lightning and the grief hits me just as bad as it did the first time.

Regardless, I check the phone and answer the call when I see the caller ID.

"Hey, Jacob," I start. "It's late. Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing wrong really," he answers gruffly. I can tell he is tired. "It's just that I noticed my wilted houseplant rise back to life. Did you have anything to do with that?"

At that, I am speechless, freezing in my tracks.

"Emily? Emily, are you there?"

"Y- Yes, I'm here," I say once I snap to. "Sorry. That, uh, might've been me. I was going to come over to your house in an hour or so. Is it alright if we talk for a bit? I'll fill you in and you can explain what happened at your place."

"Sounds like a good idea. See you later then," he says before we hang up the phone.

And that is what I do.

I fly over with Pixie back home to his house and we walk to the park for a half hour or so. Talking about what happened at my home after school, why I need to go away for a bit, and what happened at his house.

If I didn't develop legacies, I'd probably have a hard time believing it. But I've gotten used to abnormal occurrences happening when you don't expect it to.

I had to have been hundreds of miles away when I restored that forest. Little did I know that restoring that small forest over there also restored other life back home. Like Jacob's houseplant for instance. It must have been from my legacy. My Eneration; my range is improving.

Once we have about finished talking and walking back to his place, Jacob wishes me good luck on my destiny and I smile and say thank you and we hug and part ways.

I message a few of my other friends – the ones that haven't judged me too harshly for the change that I've undergone since the years that I've last been here – and meet them outside their houses.

Alexandra. Katelyn. Katrina. Eva. I spend the next hour flying around the neighborhood using my Eneration to their homes to explain to them why I am leaving and say my goodbyes. They say their own goodbyes as well and hug me tight before I depart.

And that is that.

That is the end of my old life returning to my new life. It is time to focus on one objective and one objective only.

It is time to face my fear.