Austin’s pace back to camp was slow as he dealt with the exhaustion of his use of Essence. His body felt more exhausted than it ever had before. He swore that he recovered from physical exertion faster than this. Not to mention, it seemed to affect his entire body.

  ?

  Austin even tried to take breaks and take in Aether. He thought maybe if he took it in and purified it, it would help with his exhaustion. Instead, he could tell that his Essence cap got larger, but his remaining Essence did not seem to grow at all. After several attempts, he gave up and accepted that there was no way to mitigate his exhaustion.

  ?

  As Austin reached the camp, he felt his body about to give up on him. He did not give himself a real chance to rest, and his body just about reached its limit. This caused him to stumble through the entryway as he tried to step over debris from the worn-down building.

  ?

  As Austin regained his footing, he saw Josh and Maya sitting by a small fire. Elliot had already fallen asleep for the night. They both turned, and their faces lit up. Tears streamed down Maya’s face as she ran towards Austin and embraced him.

  ?

  Austin placed his hand on the wall so he would not lose his balance from the embrace. Maya had charged into him so hard that it caught him off guard. “Careful, I’m not at one-hundred percent yet.”

  ?

  “I’m sorry,” Maya sniffled. “I’m just so happy you are alive.”

  ?

  Austin smiled softly. “I had to come back to you and Elliot.”

  ?

  “I was just so worried,” Maya said. “Josh told me about that guy, and he seemed really dangerous. You should have run away.”

  ?

  “Maybe, but I felt like I had to take the risk,” Austin said. “If I didn’t, then I don’t think we could have escaped with the fruits. Not to mention, I don’t know if Josh could escape.”

  ?

  “Just try not to do it again,” Maya demanded as she let go of Austin.

  ?

  “I’ll try my best,” Austin said before changing the subject. “Now, on a different subject, did you guys eat the fruits yet?”

  ?

  “No, we decided to wait until you got back,” Josh said.

  ?

  “See, you guys did have faith in me,” Austin smiled.

  ?

  “Shut up,” Maya playfully slapped Austin’s shoulder. “Just because we had faith didn’t mean we weren’t worried.”

  ?

  “Ow! Remember I’m fragile!” Austin whined as he rubbed his shoulder. “I know you were worried. I’m sorry.”

  ?

  Austin took a seat against the wall. His body seemed to thank him as he did. Relief washed over his body at the chance to finally sit down. He could even feel his eyes start to close, but he forced them open. He wanted to at least see what happened when Josh and Maya ate their fruits.

  ?

  “So are you guys gonna eat them or what?” Austin yawned.

  ?

  “You want us to do it now?” Josh asked. “Aren’t you tired?”

  ?

  “Yeah, but I want to see how it works,” Austin replied. “Maybe something cool will happen.”

  ?

  “Wait, seriously? You just want to see if something cool will happen?” Josh was in partial shock at Austin’s nonchalant answer.

  ?

  “He’s always been a bit of a dork,” Maya explained. “He’s probably too tired to act serious.”

  ?

  “Wait, the whole serious thing is an act?” Josh turned towards Maya in confusion.

  ?

  “He definitely can be serious and does take things seriously a lot of the time,” Maya said. “But underneath that is a dorky kid.”

  ?

  “I can hear you guys,” Austin chimed in.

  ?

  “Good, maybe this is your hint to not act so seriously all the time,” Maya said with a smile.

  ?

  “Sounds to me like you are ridiculing my dorkiness,” Austin said.

  ?

  “Not at all, just pointing out you are more than just this serious guy,” Maya said. “I like my dorky husband.”

  ?

  “Well, your dorky husband is tired,” Austin said. “So, can we get on with it so I can see what happens and go to sleep?”

  ?

  “Looks like someone gets feisty when he is tired,” Josh laughed.

  ?

  “That’s where Elliot gets it from,” Maya laughed.

  ?

  “Well, we probably should do what he wants,” Josh sighed. “Don’t want him getting too angry.”

  ?

  Josh reached into one of the packs and pulled out a fruit. The size and texture of the fruit made him want to handle it gently. He felt as if he was not careful, he would crush it. So he handed the fruit over to Maya before grabbing his own.

  ?

  The two held the large fruit in both of their hands before taking a bite. Blue juice splattered against their faces as they took a bite and then continued to take more bites. The two noticed the strange texture as they ate. The texture of the fruit was soft and creamy, almost custard-like. There was no core or seeds in the fruit, so when they finished, there was no sign of it left.

  ?

  Austin watched the two as they finished eating. After taking their last bite, their arms and legs extended out and tensed. Then, blinding blue light flashed from their bodies and radiated out of the building. The light seemed to flow into their bodies until it was no more. Once it was in their bodies, Austin saw pale blue running through them. Lines connected from their arms, legs, and head to their chest. Each line glowed from underneath their skin as light raced to their chest. Finally, the lines started to fade as the last of the light reached their chests.

  ?

  “Whoa,” Maya fell to her knees as her eyes opened wide. “That was intense.”

  ?

  Austin ran to Maya’s side and wrapped his arm around her. “Are you okay?”

  ?

  “Yeah, I think so, it was just kind of shocking,” Maya said. “Honestly, I feel good now. Just didn’t expect it to be so intense.”

  ?

  “I can’t blame you. It looked crazy,” Austin commented. “Completely different than when it just sort of happened for me. What did it feel like?”

  ?

  Maya and Austin stood up, his arm still around her. Then she said, “It was like a cold electricity was going through my entire body. Then after it settled, I felt warm, like a comfortable warmth.”

  ?

  “Oh yeah, I know that warm sensation,” Austin said. “You’ll continue to feel it when you channel your Essence.”

  ?

  “I’m fine too, by the way,” Josh chimed in as he stood up.

  ?

  “Sorry, man,” Austin said. “Just wanted to make sure Maya was okay.”

  ?

  “Nah, I’m just messing,” Josh laughed. “I get it, she’s your wife.”

  ?

  Austin noticed in the corner of his eye, Elliot started to roll around. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands and yawned. “Mommy? Daddy? What are you doing?”

  ?

  Austin was not shocked that Elliot woke up. The light was probably more than enough to do so. He walked over to Elliot and rubbed his hand through Elliot’s orange curls gently. Then he said, “We are just getting ready for bed. Like you should be.”

  ?

  “Okay, daddy,” Elliot must have been extremely tired because he did not argue with Austin. He just turned back around and brought his covers close.

  ?

  “I guess this brings up a topic of discussion,” Maya said. “I don’t know how I feel about giving Elliot the fruit.”

  ?

  “I get where you are coming from,” Austin tried to stifle a yawn. “But can we talk about it in the morning? I’m beat.”

  ?

  “Yeah, we can wait until then,” Maya nodded.

  ?

  “Good, I can barely keep my eyes open,” Austin replied.

  ****

  Austin could barely even remember falling asleep. Most of the time, it took him forever to but he must have been truly exhausted. He remembered lying down and that was it. He did feel incredibly rested as he awoke to the next morning. Most of the time, his mind kept him up with stressful thoughts, and he never felt fully rested because of it.

  ?

  Immediately as Austin woke up, he saw Maya and Elliot playing together. Maya seemed to be filled with energy as she played with Elliot. She was even lifting him and swinging him around. Elliot seemed to uncontrollably giggle as Maya swung him around. As she took notice of Austin, she spun all the way around before she set Elliot down.

  ?

  “Looks like the sleepy head is finally awake,” Maya said to Elliot in a cheerful tone.

  ?

  “Daddy is a sleepy head!” Elliot giggled.

  ?

  “Give me a break,” Austin yawned. “I had an exhausting day yesterday. How long was I sleeping?”

  ?

  “A long time!” Elliot laughed. “Sleepy lion!”

  ?

  “A pretty long time,” Maya answered. “It’s probably about midday right now.”

  ?

  “You let me sleep that long?!” Austin’s voice was filled with shock. “What about all the work I need to do?”

  ?

  “Calm down,” Maya said as she placed a hand on Austin. “I figured after yesterday that you needed some rest. Josh is out foraging for food right now. So you can take a break today.”

  ?

  “It’s dangerous out there. I’m sure he needs my help,” Austin insisted. “I’ll get my stuff and catch up with him.”

  ?

  As Austin tried to stand up, Maya moved a firm hand to his chest and pushed him back down. “I’m not letting you. He is aware of his Essence now, he should be safe. You need to believe that.”

  ?

  “But-“ Austin started before Maya cut him off.

  ?

  “No buts. He will be okay. The whole point of you getting the fruits was to secure our safety,” Maya explained. “He can handle some foraging.”

  ?

  “Fine,” Austin sighed. “I’ll just spend time with you two today.”’

  ?

  “Good,” Maya smiled. “You’ve been out and about the entire time since we got here.”

  ?

  “Yeah, I guess so,” Austin relented. “It just feels necessary.”

  ?

  “I understand. You want to make sure we are as secure as possible, but that also means taking a break so you aren’t at full strength,” Maya said. “And if it makes you feel better, it won’t be just a break. This will give us a chance to talk about Elliot, study, and for you to show me some things about Essence.”

  ?

  “I guess that’s true,” Austin said.

  ?

  “Yep, there is more to do than just run around the forest,” Maya smiled. “There is still a lot to learn from these books.”

  ?

  “Yeah, I think the little knowledge I got from them was the only reason I got away yesterday,” Austin said.

  ?

  “You haven’t told me anything about yesterday,” Maya pointed out. “What exactly happened?”

  ?

  “This guy, Chet, approached us and wanted everything we gathered. When we refused, he got aggressive,” Austin explained. “It sounds to me like he wants to get as much power as possible. So he will definitely continue to be a problem for us.”

  ?

  “Josh mentioned that he seemed really powerful. It really worried me. How did you manage to get away?” Maya asked.

  ?

  “He definitely had more Essence than me,” Austin confirmed. “But he had very little control of it. I think once he discovered that he could gather Aether, he just did it without thought. His Essence just freely raged, which made his attacks strong, but he ran out of it quickly, even though he had more than I.”

  ?

  “So he tried to brute force it,” Maya said. “That’s strange that he would know about Essence but not how to properly control it.”

  ?

  “I’m sure he just felt invigorated by the strength it gave him and did not think more on it,” Austin suggested. “Which means that he probably will try to control and purify his Essence now that I encountered him.”

  ?

  “So you think he will be more of a threat?” Maya asked.

  ?

  “I do, which is why I’m worried about just sitting around,” Austin said.

  ?

  Maya gently rubbed Austin’s back. As she did, he felt tension leave his muscles. Then she said, “You don’t have to worry about that. We can work on a routine. There is a lot we still have to learn, and you won’t get stronger just by running around the forest.”

  ?

  “You’re right,” Austin said. “I mean, I’ll need to meditate and everything.”

  ?

  “Exactly,” Maya nodded. “So take it easy today, and the three of us will come up with a plan. We’ll get a routine down that will make it so we don’t have to worry about that guy and his minions.”

  ?

  “Okay, let’s do that,” Austin smiled. “But first, I’m gonna get this little guy!”

  ?

  Austin turned from Maya and jumped towards Elliot. Austin playfully roared at his son as he leaned over and started to tickle him. Elliot tried to kick away, but the uncontrollable laughter made it hard for him to do anything. As the two played, Maya smiled gently before she opened one of the books to start further study.