The water struck harder than any blow she'd taken yet. Her entire body jolted. Every inch of her shell felt like it had splintered.

But it all came to a stop. Though her body stung. Her limbs had pins and needles from impacting both the rail and the water, but already her senses were returning. Ice cold water seeped into her as though she were made of cloth. Her body felt stiff and numb. Winnie had been so concerned about whether she could hold her breath during this trial, she'd never even considered she might freeze to death.

Lower and lower she sank. Pressure squeezed her eyes and ears. Both her skull and her shell felt as though they might implode. Death must be certain. Tortoises were never meant to dive to these depths.

Finally, her shell hit sand. She came to a rest. Winnie couldn't bear to open her eyes, but her mind showed she was about thirty feet deep. Surrounding her were long towers of seaweed. Small fish darted among the tendrils. It was like Porto Maná, she thought—skyscrapers with tiny hoppers drifting in between. With all of their technology, they still weren't much different from nature.

Winnie realized she was stalling. She wasn't sure how long she'd been resting here, but it was longer than just a few errant thoughts. Her mind had grown sluggish from the cold.

Placing her legs upon the sand, she checked the direction of the shore and started moving. With her bouyancy, each step had to be a gentle push. That made progress slow going as she waded through pillars of seaweed. It was pitch black down here. Thanks to Victoria's lessons, her power didn't rely on light, but she still couldn't see well. The murky water hindered her vision. She nearly missed a chasm up ahead. If she were to fall into that, she'd never get out. With all the circuitous navigation she'd already have to do, she would be lucky escape at all.

Winnie never would have been able to guide Helena down here. She'd have been blind and scared. Winnie would have had to push her along.

If Winnie hadn't left her behind, they'd both have died down here.

She visualized the citadel deck. Alex was checking his heel for damage. Christof had gotten Helena from him, and was now holding her securely. She could have gotten away. Even though she would never have made it to shore on her own, she would have escaped from Alexander, but instead she chose to bite the person who'd threatened to put a blowtorch to her feet. Maybe she did it to give Winnie a chance to escape. Or maybe it had been a glimmer of her stubborn spite.

Whatever reason, Helena sacrificed her own freedom for Winnie. Winnie wished she could get back on that deck and be with her, but Helena wouldn't want her to. This was Helena's parting gift.

The citadel deck was lit up. Soldiers caught up to Christof and Alex. "Is everything all right?"

"Oh, right," said Alex. "Of course, now you get here."

"Call off the hunt," Christof said. "The animals have been found."

"No," Alex shouted. "We're not done. One of them fell over."

The soldiers looked over the lip of the deck. From up there, it was a black void. The lights of the distant city were the only indication there was a world beyond the citadel. "You want people... to go down there?"

"No," answered Christof. "It's gone. Tell everyone to stand down."

"It's not gone," growled Alex. "It will come up on the shore."

One soldier winced in skepticism as he gazed over. "If the fall didn't kill it, the crocodiles will. It's lost."

Winnie's mind snapped right back to her own surroundings. Were there crocodiles down here? Her mind darted around the dark abyss around her. Even with her power, the murky water could be hiding something just paces away.

She stopped, paused, and thought. The murky water was obscuring her vision for the same reason the darkness was. It was just preventing photons from reaching her mind's eye, which it didn't need anyway. Just because sediment was in the water didn't mean her omniscient power should be hindered. She visualized her surrounding. What she did next wasn't quite peeling away the murk, but rather acknowledging it was there, and then acknowledging what was past it.

She succeeded after a few tries. It wasn't hard since it made sense; she could already read a closed book, yet she still felt a small resistance break away as her power evolved.

...Yay.

More importantly. No predators were near her. She walked on. But by now the thought was in her head. Maybe there weren't crocodiles, but what about sharks, or jellyfish, or barracudas? She was just a tortoise crawling along at a glacial pace. Apart from a few clusters of seaweed to hide in, she was defenseless. For the rest of her trek along the ocean floor, Winnie focused her mind around her surroundings. She'd look back on Helena once she was safe.

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The shore before the beach had many hidden features: rocks, tires, and an amazing number of bottles, both plastic and glass. Her mind showed no dangers, but the last stretch of her trek took the longest. She finally broke the surface of the water and gasped. Even for having reptile lungs, her chest had been clenching.

The air froze her scaled skin, but she was still alive, for now. Finally on the beach, she visualized the citadel. The deck was clear, but she didn't believe for a minute that Alexander had gone back to sleep. She navigated the beach. The tide had created a thick line of garbage and dead seaweed. Climbing past all those obstacles, she reached crab grass beside a paved road. Beyond that was a stretch of Terracotta houses with neglected yards. Mildewy stone walkways led to sliding glass doors. Laundry lines were draped with washcloths and towels.

The neighborhood stretched on for miles. This was a district on the outskirts of Porto Maná. There was no forest or jungle to hide in, just urban sprawl.

Her hopes of escape had been so slim she hadn't thought about what to do if it worked. Now what? Blend in? Live under a house? She wasn't even sure what tortoises in the wild ate. Plants? Bugs?

It seemed pointless now. Alexander still had Helena. Whatever twisted plans he had would still happen, only now Winnie wasn't there to help her anymore. Helena was on her own.

Then a sick thought occurred to her. What if Alex not only tortures her anyway, but does so knowing that Winnie will be keeping an eye on her? He could force Winnie to come back.

It was just another way this whole escape was a failure. Her friend was still captive, and Winnie had no idea how to survive.

With lack of anywhere better to go, she crossed the road to the yard of a duplex house. As soon as she reached the crabgrass on the other side, lights shined from behind her. A shuttle just landed on the beach. It's lights and markings denoted it as military. Two exemplars got out and hurried toward the shore. One male. One female. Both had plaques.

They were close. Winnie might already have been within range of their empathy, yet their attention remained on the river.

She hurried along a pathway which took her between two connected houses. Her mind was so fixed on the exemplars behind her that she nearly missed the girl in the shadowed alley before her. The girl was young, maybe late teens, and Brazilian judging from her look. Her many tattoos clashed with her conservative summer dress. Already the girl spotted Winnie. She walked over, knelt, and scrutinized her. Winnie didn't have time for this, so she tried to walk around. The girl merely moved to put herself in Winnie's way. Hopefully, this girl, who reeked of cigarette smoke, didn't see Winnie as a potential pet. When the girl got in her way again, Winnie charged with her mouth ready to clamp.

The girl batted Winnie on the nose. "Stop that."

While Winnie was startled, the girl lifted her up. Once again, Winnie found herself struggling in vain to scrape with her legs, but this girl knew the correct way to hold a tortoise.

"Hey, kid," came a gruff voice.

The exemplars had approached to the edge of the yard, looking right at the girl, and Winnie. After all this effort. She was going back. It's not as though she ever had a chance. Exemplars were up and down the coast looking for her. If they hadn't caught her tonight, they'd probably come into the city looking for her. Maybe they'd put up signs. Have you seen this tortoise? Big reward. Call the empire.

Winnie probably should have let herself get hit by a car. It would have been it's own kind of freedom.

"You want to hand over that turtle?" the exemplar said. He holstered his plaque and held his hands out guardedly as though dealing with feral animal. The female exemplar circled to get behind the girl.

"It's a tortoise," the girl replied.

"Whatever. It belongs to the queen."

"I know. Here, you can have it back." The girl held Winnie out to the approaching female exemplar, who reached to take her.

"Wait." The male exemplar squinted at the girl. "Kid. Look at me."

The girl didn't stop approaching the female exemplar.

"I said stop. Girl, are you... shielded?"

Suddenly everything moved quickly. The girl tossed Winnie to the exemplar, who startled and grabbed her. In turn, the girl grabbed the exemplar, sandwiching Winnie between them.

Winnie's senses yanked away. There was nothing for a second, then she was falling. The world seemed to pull her down like it never had before. She bumped her head on the earth. Her limbs flailed. They had far more freedom of movement, because her shell was gone. Her skin was hot. Her senses were once again telling different stories and none of them agreed.

"What the fuck?" someone yelled. Then came two loud cracks that seemed to shake her brain. Someone gurgled.

Her eyes showed her a night sky glowing with stars. Everything was far brighter, and much more crisp.

She was human again. She would have recognized it sooner if it hadn't taken her by surprise. She sat up. The male exemplar was laying paces from her. His chest was soaked red with blood. The girl was past him, carrying a tortoise toward the road. It was her tortoise body she'd just been inside.

With one great heave, the girl chucked the tortoise toward the street.

"No!" Winnie yelled, but it was too late. It struck the pavement with a watermelon crack. The poor thing's limbs waggled helplessly. It's insides now painted the asphalt. The girl walked back.

"You killed them," Winnie said.

"I saw their minds, Winnie. There was nothing worth saving. Now get up. Others will know they're dead." She pulled a plaque from a holster on Winnie's thigh and yanked the battery clip out of it. Something inside popped, and the girl tossed it aside. Winnie was still splayed out on the grass, so the girl grabbed her by the chin and looked her in the eye. "Focus, Winnie."

Winnie recognized the girl's demeanor. She was someone who expected you to do as she wanted and would tolerate nothing less.

"Your Majesty?" she asked. "Victoria? You're alive?" That was obvious. Better question: "Where have you been?"

Victoria eyed her as though Winnie had just confessed to neglecting her lessons. "Do not waste our time with questions, Winnie. Get up. It's time to go now."