I’ve spoken loudly enough for everyone to hear me. The others lower their gaze.

  “He’s right!” exclaims Hilarion.

  “Blame the rain,” Samuel suggests. “It could be a problem.”

  It’s fairly obvious now that we pay attention: the level of liquid soaking the corridor is a few centimetres higher than when we first arrived at the ruins.

  The dripping from the ceiling is becoming more insistent. Sisoes stands and goes to check the blocked entrance. There he bursts into a curse.

  “What is it?” asks Hilarion.

  “A sort of stream’s formed here!” the man snaps. “And I reckon it’s about to turn into a small torrent.”

  Kendeas raises his gaze.

  “Judging by the algae gathered around… this place has a tendency to flood completely,” he deduces. “Potentially, right up to the ceiling.”

  Dawn and I leap to our feet.

  “What do we do?” she asks. “If it goes on, could it…?”

  “Getting air will become difficult,” Antony declares. “No way around it. We need to try and dig our way—”

  He breaks off. A kind of creaking comes from above.

  “I don’t like this,” I say.

  “Hey!” the junior sergeant shouts, reaching the collapsed access. “Is anyone up there? We surrender, but let us out! It’s flooding down here!”

  Again, no reply. More curses rise from the group.

  “Do they mean to let us drown?” Sisoes roars. “After we’ve surrendered?”

  From the cracks between the rocks of the ceiling, thin trickles of water begin to spill.

  “The ground in this area slopes,” Kendeas states. “And it forms a hollow. Most likely, the rain falling over the whole area is concentrating above us. The debris seems to be slowing its descent down the stairs, but…”

  “But?” Hilarion prompts, seeing him hesitate.

  “I don’t know if, after the explosion, the structure can still bear the weight of the water collecting up there,” the philosopher concludes.

  “If the entrance area is completely flooded, perhaps the soldiers aren’t even close enough to hear us calling for help,” Samuel considers.

  I dash to the blocked entrance. A little stream gushes through the debris, which still seems utterly immovable. A shiver runs down my spine, like a signal of grave danger looming.

  We can’t stay here.

  The sudden sound of something breaking comes from several points above me. Then a rush of water crashes down from above: parts of the ceiling have given way!

  “Watch out for debris!” Antony shouts, as fragments of rock crash down around us.

  Several waterfalls pour onto us, and we cry out in shock. The water level begins to rise rapidly.

  “We’re in serious trouble,” Kendeas asserts. “This is the highest part of the underground. It’ll be the last to flood completely, but…”

  “Just tell us how to get out of here!” Sisoes bursts out.

  Not far from us a major collapse takes place. A powerful mass of water plunges down, sending a surge through the corridor. Caught off guard, I slip and am dragged several metres. I scramble back up quickly, trying to get my bearings.

  Chaos reigns. Dawn’s symbol of the universe has vanished, and we’re left in darkness.

  I feel the water reaching my waist.

  This isn’t good… this isn’t good…

  I start to lose my nerve. Drowning is one of the deaths I’d most like to avoid. The thought of no longer being able to breathe… I can’t bear it.

  “Let’s try to—” Antony begins to shout, but a second surge cuts him off.

  Another section of the ceiling has given way. The water rises still further. I try again to struggle towards the blocked exit. A little light makes the surroundings visible once more.

  Where’s it coming from?

  As I search for the source of the glow, I realise at some point that I have to start swimming: the water has reached my shoulders. I look up. The ceiling is very low, and the flooding has already covered three quarters of the distance to the vault of the corridor.

  Unbelievable! Is all this rain? Even considering it’s flowing here from the whole area, it must be falling in absurd amounts!

  “What do I do?” I mumble.

  Another surge hits me in the mouth, making me cough. I hear the screams of the others around me. My feet no longer touch the bottom, and the vault is only a few centimetres above my head.

  I spin around, desperately searching for a spot where the ceiling is higher. Then I find Dawn in front of me. Like me, she’s forced to swim to keep afloat. In the half-light I glimpse her terrified expression, but when her eyes meet mine she gives me a faint smile. Is it a trick of the dim light? No.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Why are you smiling? Why?

  “I’m sorry, Ethan,” the rebel says. “Maybe it’s partly my fault you’ve ended up in this situation.”

  “What are you talking about?” I reply, almost shouting.

  Her tone… the feeling behind it… it’s unsettling me. Perhaps even more than what’s happening to us.

  “I hope you won’t hate me,” Dawn goes on, as our heads finally touch the ceiling. “I am, in any case… glad to have met you.”

  An excruciating pain grips my heart. As if the awareness of what’s happening to us… of what’s happening to Dawn… of how she is experiencing all this… were flooding into me, merging with what I already feel.

  The water reaches my mouth, and I can’t answer. I look at the girl for a few more seconds, and then I find myself completely submerged. The corridor has flooded right up to the ceiling.

  Underwater there’s a whirl of currents, but soon the chaos settles. I open my eyes and make out the blurred shape of Dawn before me. She’s struggling. I stretch out my fingers as if to grasp her. Bit by bit, I see how the rebel stops fighting.

  No… it can’t end like this… it can’t…

  I raise my gaze to the ceiling and place a hand against it.

  If I can really do something… if I can truly use mayea… then I can… I must break this trap!

  I push with all my strength, but with no footing for my feet I only manage to drift away from the ceiling.

  Break… I think. I command you to break. This is an extreme situation! If these abilities surface when I’m in danger, there couldn’t be a better moment!

  I cast a glance at Dawn. By now she’s hardly moving at all. Despair seizes me, and I lose all control and reason.

  Break, damn you! Break! BREAK!

  And yet, nothing happens. The air in my lungs is running out, and I feel the growing urge to breathe. I know that soon a reflex will force me to inhale, but all I’ll achieve is filling my lungs with water.

  I, too, begin to stop struggling.

  Perhaps it won’t hurt so much, I reflect, letting myself drift. Perhaps the lack of air will cloud my mind, and I won’t feel a thing.

  In the end, by agreeing to throw myself into dangerous situations, I’ve reached the moment of death. I wonder what it will be like… still, I’ve had a bit of fun in this brief adventure in such an absurd world.

  Yes, it was pleasant…

  What am I thinking? I cry inwardly. I can’t die! We can’t die!

  I search for Dawn again with my eyes.

  Fight! Fight, Dawn! Hold on!

  I thrash about in the water, reaching the girl. I seize her face, her hair floating around me. The young woman has her eyes shut, but at my touch she opens them a little.

  At that sight… knowing she’s alive, but still so close to slipping away… I feel myself boiling over. Inside me, a surge of emotions churns together… and with them, a great heat.

  Energy… energy… fire… electricity… heat…

  My vision turns red, and a sort of electric jolt courses through my muscles. I feel my body temperature rising despite the icy water surrounding me. I seem to see the surroundings more clearly, though everything is cast in scarlet hues.

  An incomprehensible phenomenon, which I might perhaps link to the lack of oxygen. And yet, swept away by emotion… I feel no need whatsoever to worry about it.

  What should I do… how do I break open this trap?

  I need more heat… more energy. My mind begins to play tricks on me, and that’s all I can think about: more heat, more energy.

  Then I feel someone’s touch. I turn, and make out a dark figure grabbing and pulling me. I don’t understand what’s happening, but I feel myself being dragged upwards, beyond the ceiling. The faint glow lighting the corridor grows brighter.

  A… fissure? One of those through which the water entered? Was the light coming from there?

  And suddenly I’m outside. I inhale with all the strength I have. Then I cough, and breathe again. As though the renewed supply of oxygen were feeding it, the heat seems to expand inside me, burning in my stomach and limbs.

  I look around. My sight is still red. Is it really from the lack of air? I don’t know… I can’t think straight.

  I see Antony holding me: he was the one who carried me out. Samuel, instead, has seized Dawn. All of us are leaning out of a hole in the ground, perhaps formed by the collapse of the underground structure.

  The others are here too: Kendeas, Hilarion and Sisoes are standing near the breach, their boots sunk into a mire formed by the rain still pouring onto the fragment. They look about in the gloom of a sky darkened by clouds. Not far away, just beyond the edge of the swamp, several soldiers of the Republic aim their weapons at us.

  I focus on the Republicans. The heat continues to seethe in my flesh. Freed from Antony’s grip, I haul myself out of the fissure, my head pounding, and a sensation of rage and confusion keeping every fibre of my body taut.

  I’ve had enough… it’s too much…

  I tense my muscles, arching back and arms. More and more agitated, I feel it roaring within me… an intense burning. I feel the need…

  Them…

  … to unleash it.

  … they’re a threat!

  And with great splashes of water I dash towards the nearest soldier.

  “Stop!” he shouts, aiming his rifle at me.

  In a flash I’m out of the flooded zone, and like a maddened beast I leap upon him. The soldier ends up sprawled on the ground, overwhelmed by my onslaught. I start hammering him with punches, and we roll in a frenzied struggle. Clinging to my enemy, I think of nothing but hitting, again and again. Otherwise I’ll die. Otherwise… I can’t remember anymore.

  “Uaaa!” I roar, raising my right fist and smashing it into the soldier’s face.

  I feel pain at the impact, but it doesn’t stop me continuing. Around me I sense cries and frantic movements, but I don’t pause to see what’s happening. I strike and strike, ignoring the blows I receive in return. I only stop when my opponent ceases to react.

  For a moment I stare at the soldier’s battered face. Then I get up and turn my gaze around. Antony, Samuel, and the other three… I can’t remember their names anymore… but all of them have engaged the gendarmes in close combat. Perhaps they threw themselves at the enemy, taking advantage of the confusion caused by my attack… but it doesn’t matter… I must… I must…

  More heat, I think.

  And again, I feel my body blaze. And I clench the muscles of my fingers, bending them like claws.

  A few metres ahead, a soldier is trying to take aim at the rebels with his rifle. He hesitates: he risks hitting his own comrades. But soon he’ll fire… he mustn’t… he mustn’t… he has to receive this heat, and then maybe he won’t shoot…

  With a growl, I wrench my hands slightly apart. There I feel the heat inside me concentrate… slipping beneath my skin, into every single pore… and then breaking out.

  Flames burst from my skin, forming spinning globes between my fingers. I scream as I feel my limbs burning, and I thrust my hands towards the Republican. And fire explodes, setting the air ablaze as it drives the spheres away from me. The soldier barely notices: the fireballs strike him, and he vanishes into the embrace of a scarlet cloud.

  Panting, I struggle to regain control. All at once, the pressure urging me to unleash my fury has vanished. My eyes turn away from the fiery cloud that quickly dissolves where I hurled the flames… as though unwilling to see what, if anything, of the struck soldier will re-emerge.

  When my mind clears a little, I look around for my companions. I see Samuel in trouble: disarmed of his rifle, a gendarme has drawn his sword and is pressing the pilot hard with a flurry of slashes. I take a step to intervene, when Dawn comes running, staff in hand, and engages the soldier in combat.

  I watch as she assails him with rapid chains of blows, giving him no chance to respond.

  I’ll help her, I think. Or at least… I want to… but…

  A sudden chill grips me. My consciousness wavers. All the heat I felt before is replaced by a vice of ice. I feel…

  Emptied.

  Within moments my vision goes black. My strength fails me, and helplessly, I collapse to the ground.

  As my hearing dulls, I catch Dawn shouting my name.

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