Dex

Dex's eyes blinked open, staring up at the dim ceiling above them. Beside him, lay Linh. Coughing in her sleep. Frowning, Dex strained to reach for her. Shifting slowly to avoid the pull of the chains. It worked, and he managed to grab her hand, clutching it with all the strength he had-- which wasn't much. 

"Linh," he croaked, and Linh stirred. A little.

"Linh," he tried again, his voice scratching against his throat. This time, Linh turned onto her back and groaned.

"Purryfins..." she muttered in her sleep, a smile hinting in the corners of her mouth. And Dex gave her hand one last squeeze before pulling away. 

Dex needed to let her sleep. She was no longer sedated, but getting a restful sleep. And from the looks of it, she was having a good dream. He had no place to ruin that for her. It may be the only happiness she had left. 

"Dex?" called a voice. Marella. And by the strength in her voice, he knew she'd been awake longer.

"Marella?" Dex called back, and he could hear her give a light chuckle of relief, "How long have you been awake?" Shifting could be heard in the next cell over, and Dex imagined she was struggling to get closer to his side of the wall. 

"About... two hours," she said, coughing. 

"Dust?" Dex guessed.

"Yep." A long silence filled the air, hanging over them. Taunting them. Until finally, Dex spoke. 

"We need to get out of here. It's too risky to sit around and wait for help. And even if someone does come, it'll be too risky for them." 

"How?" Marella asked, "My fire is useless. Without fuel, it only lasts a couple minutes. The air is too dry for Linh. Stina's ability is, well... almost always useless, anyway so... And Tam's ability can only do so much."

Dex nodded his agreement, but remembering Marella couldn't see him, he forced himself to speak.

"Yeah," he muttered, shifting uncomfortably on the concrete floor. 

"Ow!" he yelped as a pain shot through him. He reached into his butt pocket, reaching for the sharp object that had poked him.

"Marella?" Dex said as he held the object up to his face.

"Yeah?" she asked, her chains rattling. Dex pictured her moving closer towards him, but not making much progress, "What is it?" 

"I think I found us a way out of here," he said, twisting his lips into a smile. 

Marella's chains rattled again, the sound of her straightening her posture with curiosity. 

"What? Really?" 

Dex nodded, again, remembering she couldn't see him.

"Yeah, really. I'm going to wake everyone else up, alright?" 

"We're getting out of here," Marella said, and Dex heard the relief in her voice. 

//

"What?" Linh moaned as Dex woke her. 

"I found us an escape," Dex told her, and groggily, she nodded.

"Okay, whatever. I'm going back to bed." Three... two... one... and the words processed themselves into Linh's head.

"What!?" she shrieked, sitting upright. Dex and Marella, from her cell, laughed. 

"Wake your brother up," Marella told Linh after the laughing had quieted. 

"Oh, okay," she said, pulling as much water as she could from the air. Just enough to form a small handful. Any more, and the air would be too dry to breathe. 

Linh curled her fingers, unraveled them, and repeated the process until she had the water moving in a circular motion. Once moving, she moved her arms to direct the water out the cell's bars and into the next, where Dex heard a small splash! hit a surface and a girly shriek followed soon after. 

"What the-- Linh!" Tam snapped, and all Linh, Dex, and Marella burst into laughter. 

"Shut up!" another voice snapped. Stina. 

"Stina!" Marella called out, "Wake up."

"Is it lunch?" she moaned, groggily. 

"No. It's better," Dex answered, and Stina groaned from her cell. 

"What do you guys want?" Tam added, a sharp edge to his voice. 

"Dex found a way out," Marella informed, and everyone seemed to hold their breath in disbelief.

"It's true," Dex promised, showing Linh the contraption he'd found in his pocket.

"Where'd you get that?" she asked, reaching to touch it. Dex handed it to her, and she smiled as she twirled it between our fingers.

"It was from our battle with Illusion," Dex answered. Linh's smile widened.  

"We can escape," she breathed, answering the question the entire group had been wondering. 

"You guys realize we can't see you, right?" Stina asked, "What are you guys talking about?" 

"Dex has a weapon. A bomb." Linh answered. 

"And how will that break the metal? I mean-- without hurting us." Stina asked. 

"What was it that prevented us from escaping before?" Dex quizzed, and everyone took a moment to think. 

"We're too weak against the Neverseen right now," Linh answered, raising her hand as if in class. Dex nodded. 

"Right. With this bomb, we can create a diversion and escape without risking our lives."

Tam scoffed from the next cell over, "Just being here, we're risking our lives. And anyway, we're still stuck in these rusty, old cells." 

"Exactly," Dex said, and everyone seemed to hold their breaths once again as they awaited an explanation, "'Rusty'. What creates rust?"

"Water!" Linh cheered, raising her hand again. 

"We'll wait till lunch when we get our water. Linh will rust the bars enough to breaking point, and we'll go from there, got it?" 

"I don't trust that plan," Stina huffed, and Tam murmured his agreement.

"Do you have a better plan?" Marella countered, and both fell silent. 

Now in agreement, they waited. 

//

Linh POV

Linh played with two little pebbles as she waited for lunch. It kept her mind off the pressure she knew she'd have to face once the time finally came for their escape. Dex sat in the corner, examining his contraption for any kinks or problems that needed fixing. Luckily, he hadn't spotted any. His build was flawless. Amazing. Perfect.

"How's it going?" Dex asked her, squinting at his project. Linh shrugged.

"Just bored," she answered. She decided to leave out the fact that the her arms were covered in  goosebumps and her hands were frozen stiff from the cold. He nodded, and Linh watched as he cradled his creation. Her gaze drawn in by the way smoke emitted from his mouth as he breathed. Maybe she had enough water from the cold? Maybe there was snow outside that she could call in?

An idea began to take form in Linh's mind, and she decided to act on it. It was better than sitting around and waiting, after all. So, she stretched out her consciousness in search of the "water's voice", as she called it. It was one of the things no one would ever understand without the ability. She could feel a connection with the water. A bond. And if she tried hard enough, she could feel for its presence. 

A calming sensation passed through her--the water's voice. Her lips curled into a smile as it beckoned her. Called for her. Linh extended her arms, curling her fingers before un- curling them. She repeated the motion multiple times, pulling the water's essence closer, imagining small snowflakes following the frigid breeze into the cave and all the way into her cell.

The water obeyed, and a small stream of water flowed in her direction and tickled her knees. Snowflakes sprinkled her hair and nose. Until soon, she was covered in snow and drenched with water at her knees. She let the water soak into her clothes, and then her skin; naturally absorbing the liquid and fueling her strength. 

She took a deep breath, a wave of rejuvenation and peace coursing through her veins. The water singing it's songs of calming streams and rivers. Strong and independent rapids and waterfalls. Telling the story of its journey. And Linh listened. The songs calling to her. Inviting her to follow them on their journey through the cycle of water. 

The songs tugged at her heart, calling to her. But she resisted, remembering her friends. They needed her help. So instead of them calling her, she called them. Asking them for their help. For their strength and peace. Their hope and assistance. 

//Dex POV

"Woah," Dex gasped from his corner, just noticing Linh as the water reached his pants. He flinched as the cool liquid soaked his pants and socks. But Linh was too invested in her water to notice. 

He watched as she muttered words under her breath, and the water changed its course. Instead of flowing to Dex, it returned to her and disappeared as it was absorbed... into Linh? She straightened as the water entered through her skin, strengthening her enough to the point where she could stand probably with ease. Whereas Dex could barely stand without wobbling like a newborn baby. 

"Linh?" he asked, stepping closer. The remaining puddles of water parted as he walked towards her, "Linh!" 

But she was too lost in thought to hear him.

"Dex?" Marella asked from the next cell over, "What's going on?"

"She's just..." he racked his brain for an accurate explanation, "In a trance of some sort. It looks like she's calling on the water. It's making her stronger, but it looks like she's too lost in thought. Too far from reality to come back." 

Chains scraped against each other as Marella scrambling closer. 

"I can try and vaporize the water?" Marella suggested. 

"Uh... try. But be careful."

"I need something to let the fire catch onto. Like, fabric or wood or something. So it can travel to the water." 

Dex nodded, ripping the ends of his cape and straining to pass it over to Marella's cell. Seconds later, she passed the flaming fabric back to Dex, who took it carefully before placing it at the water's edge. 

It burned, and a cloudy smoke hissed into the air. Linh shrieked as she was knocked back to reality, and Dex caught her as she fell back. 

"What the-- Marella!?"

"It's fine," Dex calmed her, "You just looked like you were on the verge of drifting away. We needed something to bring you back. Marella may have just saved your life." Linh pushed away from him, gathering what was left of her puddles and twisting them into an orb that hovered above her delicate fingers.

"I was fine," she assured him. "I was asking the water for their help."

"Help?" Marella asked.

"Their strength. And it was working. But now," she sent Dex a scowl, "I have to coax them back into agreement. They don't want to help murderers." 

"Murderers?" Dex asked, and Linh nodded.

"You just turned my water into steam!" she snapped, and Dex sighed. He really didn't understand this hydrokinetic stuff. 

Before anyone could step in, a door slammed shut and footsteps came bounding down the hall. Dex straightened, and Linh rushed to hide the very last of the snowflakes and puddles, though, leaving a few snowflakes at the tips of her hair for style. 

"Get up," the men snapped. Dex straightened, but obeyed. Linh gave Dex a worried glance as the men opened each cell and bound each prisoners' arms and legs with chain. This was not how things were supposed to go. But Dex quickly scooped the weapon back into his pocket before the Neverseen members chained them up and marched them down the hall towards the doors. 

But going opposite of where the Collective still waited. If they were even alive anymore, Dex added, grimly.