Alex sighed and sat at the table, the silence of the cabin closing in on him. After all that has happened it feels strange to be alone, Alex thought. Alex made himself some breakfast and cleaned up. “Well I guess I can work on my yeoclisea and kulsom. I can do that from here at least,” Alex said walking to the living room.

  “Kulsom first,” he said to himself. Closing his eyes he focused on pushing his kulsom out. I should try to push my kulsom just beyond the border of the triggers and traps, with Kelile gone I need to be able to protect myself, he thought. With that in mind he concentrated harder and pushed his limit out. This is the furthest I have done so far, he thought, now to maintain a good boundary.

  “Okay, let me see. What do I feel around here?” Alex said. “Squirrel. Chipmunk. Groundhog. Oooo snake. Man this is so cool. Like I can practically see them when I focus on them like this. What was that?” Alex tilted his head and focused his attention more towards the trail side of his kulsom.

  “Oh, a person with a cart or something,” he said after a moment of focus. “Alright, let me move this.” Alex stood and moved the coffee table to the side of the living room. “Okay, deep breath in through the nose, out through the mouth.”

  As the sun began to set Alex let out a deep breath, “Whew, I think I have that down. Tomorrow I will work on using it to move the earth. And I was able to maintain my kulsom at a hundred and fifty meters all day too!” Smiling at his achievement Alex moved the table back to where it belonged and made his way to the kitchen.

  Hmmm, what do we have to eat, he thought as he looked through the fridge and cabinets. “Sandwich it is,” he sighed out loud. Making his sandwich he took his plate and sat in the living room turning on the television. Putting on a comedy show Alex watched it without watching as his mind went drifting through the woods. This is actually the coolest thing, he thought as he continued to check his surroundings.

  Everything feels clear. Guess I should go to sleep for today. I wonder how long Kelile will be gone for, Alex thought, as he yawned and got up from the couch. Alex went to the room and laid down on the bed. Closing his eyes he brought his hands up to his chest palms together. Pointing one hand towards his head and the other towards his feet he summoned his power and pushed his Kulsom out. Scanning the surrounding area a mile and a half around him he sensed nothing.

  “Should be alright to sleep,” he yawned to himself, releasing his power. He held his kulsom to the border of the triggers and rolled over. The glow of his hands slowly faded as he fell asleep.

  Alex jumped awake, his heart thumping in his throat. What the heck, he thought to himself as he swung his feet around and placed them on the floor. Huh? He thought to himself as he realized his kulsom was out already. It really is becoming passive. I wonder if this is because I know I am alone. Closing his eyes he pushed his kulsom out further. I wonder if I can maintain two hundred meters today, Alex thought, as he closed his eyes and pushed his boundary.

  Yawning, Alex went to the kitchen and started some coffee, then went to take a shower. Once he was dressed he poured himself a mug and sat down. “I think today I will go to the clearing to practice,” he said. “I don't know why I am talking out loud.” Sighing he put his shoes on and left the cabin making his way to the clearing.

  “Ah, here it is,” Alex said with a huff. Stepping into the middle of the clearing Alex began the movements that Kelile had taught him flowing through them effortlessly. “Alright, let's add some power and move some earth,” Alex said.

  Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Alex focused his energy on picking up the earth. Opening his eyes he looked to where the mass of earth floated in the air. “Wow,” he said softly to himself. Pushing his right arm forwards he focused his energy and motioned it towards the other side of the clearing. Opening his hand the floating mass dropped to the ground shaking the nearby trees.

  “That was so much easier than last time,” he said, smiling to himself. Closing his eyes he recentered himself and moved the mass back to its original place. Alex continued to move bigger and bigger masses back and forth until the sun was high in the sky. Sweating and slightly out of breath Alex laid down in the middle of the field.

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  Sighing deeply, he closed his eyes and focused on pushing his kulsom out further. I should check my surroundings, he thought, as he dug his fingers into the ground beside him. His hands began to glow as he pushed out past his two hundred meters. Searching the area he forced his kulsom outwards. Nothing, that's good.

  Recalling his kulsom back to his original hold he continued to lay in grass as he gathered his energy. Probably should have brought a snack or something, he thought, as his stomach growled. Guess I can head back for lunch. Getting up he made his way back to the cabin.

  After he finished eating he cleaned up and went back to the clearing. “Alright, back to it.” he said to himself, as he walked to the center of the clearing. Alex spent the rest of the afternoon moving massive amounts of earth and changing it to solid form and softening it. After he put the last amount back in place he let out a deep breath.

  Looking around Alex made sure that everything was back in place before heading back to the cabin. As he walked slowly back he paused as he felt something unfamiliar. What is that? he thought to himself. Focusing his kulsom in that direction he felt a tiny heartbeat. That feels like a person. Maybe a child? What are they doing out here? Alex thought. Making his way slowly towards the child he continued to focus his kulsom in that direction and beyond. Hmm, it’s outside of the triggers Kelile set up, he noted as he passed one of them.

  The sun was getting low in the sky when he heard the tiny cry.

  “Halp pwease!” the voice cried.

  “Hello? Are you hurt?” Alex called out.

  “Yes! My weg is stuck! It hurts, pwease halp!” cried the little voice.

  “I’m coming, hold on,” Alex said. He made his way to where he felt the child coming upon a hole in the ground. Peering inside he saw a little face dirt and tear streaked staring back up at him. “Hi, I'm

  Al.. My name is Al. I am going to help you okay. What’s your name?”

  “M- M- M- Mikah,” the little boy said. “I can't get out of here. My weg is hurt and I fell too far down.”

  “How did you get in here?” Alex asked as he assessed the area.

  “I was pwaying and I saw a bunny and I was chasing it but then I got lost and fell in here,” he replied between sobs.

  “Where are your parents?” Alex grunted as he climbed into the hole.

  “I don't know. They pwobabwe weft me,” he cried.

  “Oh, I doubt that. They are probably looking for you right now. You are just a very long way from the trail pal,” Alex said as he looked at his leg. “Well it doesn't look broken but you definitely scrapped it up pretty good.”

  “Yeah,” he sniffled.

  “Alright, let's get out of here and get you back to the trail,” Alex said, picking the boy up in his arms. “Hmmm, how to do this,” he said looking up. “This was a pretty big hole huh? I'm glad you weren't hurt too badly, bud.”

  “How are we going to get out?” he asked looking up.

  “Close your eyes pal,” Alex said, summoning his power he willed the earth to lift him and the little boy out of the hole. “Okay, you can open them,” Alex said with a smile looking down at the little boy.

  “Wow, how did you do dat?” Mikah said with wide eyes as he looked at the solid ground beneath them.

  Alex winked and smiled at him, “Magic.”

  “Kewl,” he squealed, his injuries forgotten.

  Alex continued to smile as he made his way carefully towards the trail with Mikah chatting the whole time. Alex froze when he felt multiple people and dogs on the other side of the trail. “Hey pal, this is where we part. People are looking for you, okay?”

  “No, don’t weave me awone!” Mikah cried out.

  “Hey you are big and brave and your mommy and daddy are going to find you in no time I promise,” Alex said.

  “Okay,” he sniffled.

  Alex put him down gingerly and closed his eyes. He searched for one of the dogs and used his power to try and lure the dog towards Mikah. Come on, he thought, as he moved the ground near it slowly, having it chase the movements towards them. “Alright, be brave,” he said as he turned and took off in the opposite direction. He could feel the movement towards where he had left Mikah and once he was far enough away he refocused on where he left him, and was relieved that there were people nearing him. Letting out a deep breath he started to make his way back to his cabin still focused on where Mikah was, he didn't feel the beast charging at him until it was almost too late.

  “Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr,” rumbled through the trees as Alex spun towards it.