As Gracie's breathing deepened, the comforting crackle of the campfire shifted to the burner of a stove. Her mother stood above a cast-iron pan, cooking eggs and bacon. Her father sat at the table, reading his newspaper and enjoying his coffee. Her childhood. Her face, a gentle smile, the Gracie deep in the recesses of her mind enjoyed the escape from her new reality. The memories of normalcy allowed to be her entire world for the moment, the battle for survival a distant problem.

Her night was filled with gentle rest, but her subconscious couldn’t be merciful forever. The crackles of the familiar soothing campfire in the night shifted, to the ravaging fires through the city. Buildings crackled as the fires consumed the livelihoods of countless families. Screams of horror and loss echoed the turmoil of lives lost. Gunshots rang out, mercy killings under the devastation of the elements. Buildings collapsing were another insignificant heartbeat in the loss of so many.

The sounds of her quiet sobs an undertone to the cacophony of turmoil surrounding her. She was running, but not moving. Her clamoring feet were useless in moving her away from the devastation. Stuck on a city block of rubble, no building left standing. Corpses littered her expanse, cushioning her desperate attempts to escape.

Her mother, another body in the pile of the dead, looked up at Gracie in despair.

“Why didn’t you help me?”

Gracie was frozen solid under her mother’s lifeless gaze, her body urging her to run but never moving an inch. Her wails did not affect her once caring, compassionate mother.

“You should be the corpse, not me.” Her melted face twisted into a rage.

“I’m sorry! There was nothing I could do! You burned alive before I could do anything!” She dropped to her knees nauseous, dry heaving. Her mother slowly marched closer, her rage-filled face melting off, dripping onto her.

Gracie’s tear-filled eyes registered her father beneath her, encased in stone amidst the bodies, gazing up at her in disappointment.

“I always knew you were weak. Look at you, crying your eyes out. So useless you can’t even run away!” His laughs drowned out the once-prevailing chaos.

James groaned as he awoke, the fading campfire bringing a shiver as the wind entered through the gaps in the blanket as he stretched. Soft whimpers registered over the chirps of distant birds and the soft, graceful wind.

James sat up and looked over at Gracie, she was tossing and turning, her eyes stained with tears. James felt like he was punched in the gut, his face filled with sympathy. She was having a nightmare. He could only imagine what she’s been through. An explanation of your experience only does so much to make someone else understand.

He looked up at the sun just barely peeking over the horizon. He hoped she had enough sleep, he wouldn’t let her keep experiencing her nightmares and relived traumas.

“Grace,” he said softly. Her whimpers grew more intense as she lightly tossed and turned, tears welling in the corners of her tightly closed eyes. James’ expression dropped more.

“This poor girl,” he said softly, debating whether he should shake her or not. She barely trusted him, waking up to him touching her may not be a good idea, but neither would shouting at her. He sighed, realizing no solution was a perfect one. Maybe touch would be a better idea, more tender than a shout at least.

He ran his fingers over her freckled forehead and through her soft brown hair, hoping to remind her of parental nurturance as he woke her up. Her eyes bolted open, her hand pointed at his throat, water gathered from the atmosphere forming in a spiral at her palm. James' eyes spread wide, knowing he had to move, quickly.

On instinct he opened all of his pores to his extremities ever so slightly, fueling his channels, ready to shroud himself in a flame to defend himself. Throwing himself to the side he landed directly on his wound, wincing. A spear of ice raced where his neck was moments before. Their eyes met, both wide in shared shock. Her face became distant with a horrified expression in her eyes. Tears streaked down her unmoving face.

He shut his pores, but James was left with a problem. What did he do with the energy in his channels? If he released it as flames he would terrify her in this state. The pressure wasn’t at a point where it would turn into flame yet, at least. He willed the energy that raced to his palms and soles of his feet to be still. The crimson specks obeyed, barely moving. Bursting into flame was no longer an issue, the buzzing at his soles and feet uncomfortable, but he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

His sigh snapped her out of her daze, realizing that she nearly stabbed him in the throat. “I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t know it was you!” Gracie’s desperate wails were being muffled by her palms.

“Grace, it’s okay. I know you were having a nightmare. You were whimpering and crying, I’m sorry I woke you up.” James spoke softly as he slowly approached her to hug her, keeping an eye on his channels to make sure he couldn’t possibly burn her. Wrapping his arms around her, he felt her soaked hands from her uncontrollable sobs press against his chest. He didn’t like showing this much affection, but it did her a lot of good last night. He wouldn’t tell her or let it show but he was getting sick of the crying.

He just hoped she didn’t take his affection the wrong way, he cared for her, but he wouldn’t let things develop romantically for the time being. She was a gorgeous woman to James. Her light blue eyes and rounded features gave her a distinct look of attractive, innocent femininity.

He had a vision of rebuilding humanity. Bringing order back to this nation and beyond. He didn’t know how he’d do it, but Dahlonega was his first step. He would lead a rebuild and reformation of society. He couldn’t let the thrills of romance distract him, and she was in too much distress to build a healthy relationship. It wouldn’t be fair to her either, he would be too busy.

Her sobs transitioned into sniffles, James smiled as he quietly caressed her hair. They had a lot to do, he hoped she would be functional. He wouldn’t pressure her into anything, though.

“Do you want to talk about your nightmare?” James asked, hoping to allow her an opportunity to vent. She gently shook her head, her voice too shaky to respond.

Gracie’s gentle crying was more about the guilt than the nightmare. She could’ve killed him, the thought making her tears fall faster. She didn’t even know she could form those ice spears, it was an instinctual response. That awareness brought her no relief, though. He was the only person who showed her any kindness and she nearly killed him.

Her mind was chaotic, dealing with the aftermath of her nightmare and her guilt. She was glad James knew the context of everything and didn’t take it as an attack. Her appreciation for him grew as he allowed her the time to process it while gently comforting her. Why is he so kind to me?

Pulling away from his hug and wiping her tears, she looked him in the eye. Concerned eyes met hers, the determination to make her feel better was obvious to her. She was so confused by him. What motivated him to protect her?

“Don’t take this the wrong way, why do you care so much about me? I’ve done nothing but cry and burden you.” Her face was solemn, she felt like such a huge screw-up. The memory of her father calling her weak in her dreams replayed, bringing another tear to her eye. She was so sick of crying but she couldn’t help it. Her bottled-up emotions came flooding out as soon as it felt safe too.

James didn’t know the answer. He broke eye contact and looked down thoughtfully. He just knew he cared for her. Her story resonated with him, she lost everything and kept going, all the while healing others when she could, taking unnecessary risks to her life. He felt a sense of duty to repay her and a feeling that he needed to protect the weak and vulnerable. Looking back up at her tears tracing her face, he felt more than that and he knew it. Shaking his head, he answered her question.

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“I meant it when I said you taking care of me when you didn’t need to had a large effect on me. I feel the need to repay you. Your story of resilience, whether you see it that way or not, was very inspiring. I respect you I guess, and I have a duty to you. My father would’ve skinned me alive if I had done anything else.”

James laughed remembering his father, he wondered what his father would’ve done if he was in his situation. James realized he would’ve done pretty much exactly what he did, trained his ass off until he could do something with it. Except, wouldn’t have made the same mistakes as James did. This brought a small frown to James’ face.

Looking up at Gracie, he saw her analyzing him and his frown. James didn’t want to explain his disappointment in himself to her but also didn’t want her to feel it was her fault he was feeling how he was.

“Besides, you didn’t seem so defenseless like you said you were! If that had been anybody else, you would’ve skewered them alive. Way to go!” He said in an attempt to boost her confidence, but it was the truth. James trained his body and mind extensively in boxing, someone untrained probably wouldn’t have reacted in time.

Gracie’s frown turned to a conflicted smile, she didn’t want to hurt anybody. James’ recognition made her feel good, though. She felt less vulnerable. How casual he was to her nearly killing him was a bit unsettling, it showed his nature to her a great deal. He’s a brute after all, recalling how she thought he was the complete opposite of the brute who would devastate a forest.

She chuckled at that. James smiled in return, unaware of her thinking of him as a brute, he was happy she felt better. Taking it as a good time to get started, he tied the two corners of the blanket covering him around his neck, standing up. The wind blew revealing him a bit, he shifted the blanket so the opening would be at his side, not the front.

Feeling embarrassed, James filled the awkward silence with conversation.

“Let's refill the water bottle before we head to the bear. Do you know where the closest stream is around here? Otherwise, I know where one is.”

As Gracie turned bright red, she decided to play along in his attempt to change the subject. “Yeah. You can follow me.”

James quickly stood up, wincing at the reinjured wound from dodging her attack earlier. Gracie’s eyes went wide when she saw the blood through the bandages.

“Sit back down for a second, I’m going to finish healing you. My reservoir is full again.” James sat down carefully, intrigued to see how the healing worked. He shifted the opening of the blanket to his back, allowing her good access without revealing himself again.

She moved the bandages out of the way, the wound was ripped back open. It looked worse than when she had healed him the day before.

“I did this didn’t I?” She asked softly, feeling even more regret about her actions.

“Well, really I did it, could’ve dodged your attack in the other direction. No hard feelings. I’m sure you’ll heal it good as new.”

Gracie recalled her healing ability she discovered on the first night. When the survivors came out of the ash frenzied in a panic, their was a rush for supplies. The quick witted realized their newfound abilities and used it for their upperhand, attacking others or using it to protect themselves and their families. The others scavenged what they could get, fled from the chaos, or hid amongst the rubble.

Gracie was one of the ones hiding in the rubble, hidden in an alley behind a cluster of destroyed dumpsters, lying on destroyed concrete, singed by the explosions of individuals who combusted under the sudden weight of the arrival of their powers they weren’t able to control.

She was surrounded by water from busted pipes, she felt a distant connection as she sat in her misery, an attachment that gently spoke through her suffering. She felt the energy in her reservoir thrashing, responding to it’s simple presence around her. It was like it wanted out, to return to its home. It was then she discovered the existence of the powers inside of her.

Unlike most others, she never had a spontaneous manifestation of her powers that got the majority killed. It was a subtle response to the water around her. Her pores opened, gently leaving to unite with the puddles around her. Her shock was quickly replaced by it’s soothing embrace as it healed her scrapes and burns she accumulated in the chaos. The water moved under it’s own will, it’s gentle energy seeking to bring it’s gentleness to her. Her powers were her friend, that aimed to protect and heal her, that responded eagerly to her emotions.

She softly nodded, her eyes narrowing in determination. It would help her again, to heal a friend. She had no reason to doubt she couldn’t. Before she was done, he would be completely healed, she vowed to herself. Opening her pores blue radiant energy gently flowed into her channel, moving like an elegant river to the end of her channel. She was going to put her all into this.

She concentrated as energy left her hand, dispersing into the air around her. Crystal clear water condensed out of the air that spiraled into her open palm. She held her hand a short distance from the wound, the bright blue ball of water sitting directly on the wound. The water filling the deep gash tracing along his back to his side acted as a vessel for the energy to integrate with James’ cells, emitting a soft blue glow. Deep concentration formed on her face as she kept meticulous control over the ball.

James had never felt this much peace in his entire experience in the forest. The blue glow was enchanting and mesmerizing, the water in his wound sending waves of soothing pulses through his body. He was being lulled to sleep, but he refused to take his eyes off the beautiful process. He felt his wound closing up, the pain from before vanishing. She’s amazing, he thought as he watched sweat bead on her face in her concentrated effort.

After a few minutes, his deep wound was completely healed, a long scar replacing it. He stretched, testing if he felt any pain. When there was none, he looked at Gracie, she was panting, out of breath.

“Gracie, that was really amazing. I can’t thank you more,” James spoke slowly, lulled with a relaxed laidback expression. Gracie’s smile beamed with at compliment, feeling accomplished.

James wished he could take a nap, but he had a vision for humanity to work towards and somebody to take care of. He didn’t have the luxury of being lazy and sleeping in. Standing up, he fixed his blanket and dusted himself off.

“So where’s that stream you talked about?” James asked, nearly slurring in his sleepiness.

She smiled at the effect her healing had on him and and grabbed her bag, heading in the direction of the steam. James followed, fighting his grogginess.

As they walked Gracie spent the time mainly reflecting on her experiences and remembering where she needed to go. James was watching for any sign of danger as they traversed, his heightened nerves dispelling his prior stupor. He was deeply aware of the dangers that now exist in the forest, the bear still fresh on his mind and the consequences of their fight.

He noted how the energy at his palms and soles of his feet was no longer uncomfortable but still potently there, waiting for his command. He’d be able to quickly react to a threat. He would keep watching to see if there were any harm to his channels for keeping it there, but as it stands he would keep energy in his channels on standby, removing the time it takes to form an attack or defense.

He looked up at the birds chirping overhead, looking for any signs of the use of elements. If he couldn’t penetrate the bear's fur with the knife, he would hunt the prevalent birds. It wouldn’t be hard, the only issue would be not charring them to the point they’re rendered inedible. James thought of ideas to better hunt. He needed a precision attack.

The earth element had darts and the water element seemed to have ice spears, why couldn’t he have a fire dart? His fireball already had penetrive properties, remembering how it dug into the tree when he first used it before he learned he could will the explosion. It should be possible.

“Hey Grace, heads up I’m going to be practicing a new attack.” Gracie snapped out of her thoughts, turning around, intrigued. She was deeply curious about what somebody's powers who directly incinerated entire sections of the forest looked like.

“You should go up front, then. I don’t want to get caught in the crossfire. The stream is a straight shot from here.” That was a lie, though. She knew James wouldn’t do something that would endanger her. She wanted to watch without making it obvious.

James nodded and went up front, still contemplating how to do it. His fireball’s spin prevented his attacks from dissipating as it flew through the air. It also created penetrative properties as he saw with his initial test when it dug into the tree. He decided to use the same idea but make the dart narrower.

James decided to use the energy already in his right hand. He willed the energy to come out of his pointer finger, first starting as his regular small crimson fire barely bigger than a candle. He then willed the energy to spin around his finger, using it to keep the cylindrical dart shape. As it sped up, he saw the shape form, satisfied it would be a good test of his concept despite its lack of energy. He aimed at a thin tree fifty yards away in case there was shrapnel formed like last time even though it was way less energetic than his fireballs.

Deciding it was ready, he willed the energy to fly towards the tree. It left his finger and race towards the tree slightly slower than an arrow, using his retained control to adjust its flight path toward the tree. It landed smack dab in the middle, multiple thunks echoing through the forest. With a smile at his success, he ran to check out the damage.

Gracie followed behind instinctively as she was still processing what happened with wide eyes, and her mouth opening in her shock. She was standing a little bit to the side of him when he released the attack, the angle allowed her to see it penetrate the entire tree and then hit the tree behind it.

He took maybe four seconds to do that entire process, and it was that powerful? He could easily kill anybody that hit! It took just seconds! She felt lucky to have found him, as long as she was near James she would be untouchable. She wouldn’t have to hide any longer looking for petty scraps.

When they arrived at the tree Gracie was out of breath. She never ran much. To James, they might as well have been walking from his years of training. Analyzing the damage, he saw a hole about double the size of his pointer finger that went through the tree and traced it to the tree a short distance behind it. Walking over, the hole went deep inside the other tree but didn’t come out the other end. He was satisfied, it was a weakly charged attack yet it was still very lethal, a bit too lethal.

He would have to worry about things behind his target until he intuitively understood how much power and spin led to certain degrees of damage and penetration. With a slight nod, he continued. No continued practice is needed for the time being. Gracie’s eyebrows furrowed with apprehension, how could he be so nonchalant about it? Has it always come that quickly to him?

“You’re a brute, you know that right?” She chuckled out to James, shaking her head in consternation.

He turned around with mock offense on his face. “No I’m not, you’re just jealous,” he joked back.

“Yeah, I dream of destroying forests and putting holes in trees,” She said sarcastically.