I wake up, with Lena draped over top of me. I feel somewhat tired still from last night. My heart starts pounding from reflecting on someone trying to grab me. I lay still, trying to flush the thought from my mind.

A few minutes later, Lena stirs awake.

“You ok?” She asks. “Your heart is racing, even compared to normal.”

Thinking for a moment, staring off into space behind her, I respond. “Just a rough night, as you know. Thanks for being here.”

I grab her in a hug, squeeze tightly and then get up. No time to think about what happened. Grabbing my phone out of my pocket, I realize it is a little warm, flipping it over, I am again blinded by the light of the flashlight. Quickly shaking it, I dismiss the light and quickly unlock it to see how much power is left.

Upon unlocking, my hand start shaking. I begin to sweat, even in this fairly cool room. I am suddenly aware of the texture of the wood beneath my feet as I see on the phone “3% Enable Power Saving Mode?”

I quickly click “yes”, trying to save the most power I can.

Cleaning myself up at the washbasin, I quickly rush out the door to Eldrin’s.

“Mornin’ laddie. How ye be doin’ taday?” he says, as he puts down his hammer and comes towards me.

"Good heavens, Ethan! You appear most dreadful! Has some unfortunate soul dared to tamper with your treasured device?" He exclaims in shock, taking a step back from me.

“N-n-n-no. Not that bad. Close. Just. Had a rough night. And I left the light on my phone, nearly draining it.”

Eldrin stares at me for a few seconds, while I stand awkwardly trying to not blow that I did not say the entire truth.

“Fair ‘nough” Sorrae for th’ swi’ch ta me na’ive tongue. Say, I di’ ge’ th’ posts added ta th’ s’ator, so we can try ta power th’ device”

Perking up at hearing this, I quickly put on a facade of excitement and nod vigorously. “Yes, let’s go test this out”

Heading back to Thallion’s dining table with the fixed stator, Eldrin soon follows. I take some of the copper wire we have left and carefully wrap it around one of the posts of the stator, forming an electromagnet that will work in line with the weak magnets already in it. I then trail the wire over the top of the stator and continue winding it on the other post, this time ensuring that it is continuing the winding as if the motor body does not exist, so there is a north and south pole. Silvra enters, and I have her solder the two ends of the coils I made to the supports for the brushes of the generator.

Grabbing the light that was on the table from the previous test, I connect the wires from the now self exciting generator to it. Without hesitation, I grab the shaft of the generator, and spin it, hoping and praying that this will work.

The light lights up! Not only that, its is much brighter than before. Sure the generator shaft is more difficult to turn, but I have power now! Feeling relieved, I quickly crash into the overstuffed chair I was hiding under not that long ago, and raise my arms in celebration.

Eldrin and Silvra look up from some of the spare parts they were organizing and cleaning up, look at me and then back at the generator.

“Everything alright?” Silvra asks.

I take a deep breath, then heave myself out of the chair, hearing it creak as I stand up. “Yes, I am ok. It works.”

“What, the generator?”

“Yes.”

“You tested it, and didn’t tell us?”

“Well…yes. Look, it was a rough night and I need this to keep talk-.”

"Ahm… Le’i silaren te’na eilya."

Well shoot. I reach into my pocket and pull out the translator and my phone. As I do a familiar feeling against my leg occurs. The phone vibrates and just as I pull it out of my pocket, the phone screen goes dark. Frustrated, I place it and the translator on the desk.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Reaching towards the generator, I heave on the shaft and gesture towards the light, showing that it works. Eldrin’s and Silvra’s faces light up, both literally and with excitement as the light shines upon them.

I begin pacing, knowing that my phone is dead until I can power it, I point to Eldrin, then to the generator, and finally mimic turning a handle by it to hopefully convey that I need one.

He runs out, and brings me a pair of locking tongs. I quickly grab a hold of the shaft, and see if I can spin it. With the tongs, I can spin it faster, but not at my maximum. Focusing on spinning the shaft, I see how fast I can go. Soon the light is burning about as bright as an incandescent flashlight, drops of sweat are cascading down my face as I feel my muscles burn. Pumping all of my anger, frustration, and despair, I push through the burning pain in my arm and gutturally scream as I try to get the bulb even brighter.

Suddenly, I hear rapidly approaching footsteps from the school room, and see the door leading there burst open with Thallion staring at the scene.

I stop turning the shaft, and the light stops shining.

Breathing heavily, I collapse on the chair again, closing my eyes in slight pain, but having vented some frustration. I sob and cough, thinking about how much work is still needed before I trust that near my phone.

After a few moments of silence, I hear some feet shuffling, and then a voice.

“WELP, YOU DID IT! please YOU don’t MADE hurt POWER! me. THAT… THAT WAS BRIGHTER THAN ANY PERSON. ANYONE AT THE ACADEMY, AND YOU DID IT!” Silvra states, clinging to the modified translator I made. There is a slight echo and it is quite garbled and static ridden as her power is being fed into the translator directly, as well as the terminal for the microphone. It seems like I can get her underlying feelings as it translates the audio as well.

Realizing that I probably looked like an ape that was going apeshit on a crank with no way to communicate with me, I am surprised none tried to stop me. Then I remember that they couldn’t even if they tried. Stuns do not work on me, and I have not seen anything more powerful nearby.

At this, I tear up, I look around and see fear on Eldrin’s and Silvra’s faces. Thallion seems concerned and a little frightened as well. Some kids from the back room are peering around him trying to see anything after hearing me scream.

I bury my face in my hands, and curl up on the chair. Why did I do that, why did I let myself loose on the generator. I have been pent up with anger and rage, but why. My hands tremble and I feel the chest tightness of a strong emotion coming. Probably despair and crying. I try to hold back, taking deep breaths.

And fail.

Curling up smaller, I try to hide myself from everyone’s sight, wishing I could ooze away and not be seen again. Peeking through my tear soaked hands and blurry vision, I see that everyone is still staring at me. I suddenly have the strong need to be outside, and alone. I bolt upright, sobbing, grab my coat and run out the door.

“Arup! Selah!”

I continue to run towards the river, seeing the bridge, I run across it, and then lift it out of place to my side. I continue to charge upstream, to the fall, and follow the cliff, in a similar path to where I found Lena and the kid. Out here, the air has warmed considerably, with snow melting and crunching underfoot as it thaws. I run to the pines, tears streaming behind me, and curl up under one of them. Stripping some of the green branches, I place them on the ground near the trunk so I have something to sit on.

Just what am I doing here? Not just under this tree, but here. Why am I trying to help these people? It’s not going to get me back home. Why am I letting myself fall for Lena, and become friends with the others? Why? Why? “WHY?” I shout, my voice echoing off the cliff and the forest around me.

Suddenly, I hear crunching footsteps approaching. With nowhere to run, I go up the tree, hoping they are as vertically blind as I am.

As I climb up the tree, I feel its cool bark and sticky sap on my hands. The tree groans under my weight, but I continue to climb, ever forwards, ever onwards. Maybe to see, maybe to find salvation. I don’t know, but up is all I think about.

CRACK

The branch below my left foot gives out as I begin to push off to climb to the next limb. Time slows, as my right foot, which was not well anchored, slips off the branch.

Flailing my hands, I try and grasp the nearest bough to me, grabbing nothing but needles as I start to plummet.

Falling, I look down for the first time while climbing. I am quite high up, the cliff is below me, more of a small ridge. The top of the tree, not that far above my head. I see branches rushing towards me and aim towards them, hoping they’ll break my fall and not break me.

I plow through the next 12 layers of branches and come to rest. Looking down, I am still half way up the tree.

“Good enough I suppose”

Calming back down, I notice that my ankle aches a bit.

“Great. Ethan. Survivor of tower crashing, giver of knowledge, twists ankle halfway up a tree”

Moving as close to the trunk as possible, I try and rest and hide.

“Efan! Efan! Nabliouse outag”

I remain silent

“Ethan where are you?!”

“Oub’ Esta’?!”

I remain silent, and doze off, with thoughts of why am I here and what can I do now rattling around in my head, as the tree slowly rocks back and forth.