Thirty Three Hours Earlier.

  “The City That Moves.” A rickety, wooden sign was planted with the following words just outside the Earth Kingdom’s busiest capital. The walls stood tall as its shadow loomed over the wavy dunes, as if casting unwanted visitors away from its territory. And yet, two youthful strangers still dared to approach, making their way towards the capital gates. Reaching the capital’s doorstep, one suddenly collapsed onto the sand.

  “Finally...we’re here...” the girl shouted at the top of her lungs as she laid her weight on the ground.

  “Sh-shut up...I, I can’t breathe...” the boy followed suit and dropped to his knees beside the girl. “I...I can’t...-uuurgHh--”

  The boy began to puke his guts out, forcing the girl to stand up immediately.

  “Hey, what the hell?! Why beside me?!” the girl brushed herself profusely. “Ewwww!! Some of it got on my hair!!-BleUghh--” she followed suit as well.

  The two continued to barf on and around each other without noticing the bystanders watching their back-and-forth. It came to a brief stop when one of the locals approached the two.

  “Umm, are you two okay? You need some water?” a young adult man wore a very concerned look on his face.

  “...Is it...fireproof...?” the boy asked while catching his breath. The girl continued to puke in the background.

  “...Huh?”

  “Is it fireproof...?” he repeated.

  The man couldn’t speak after being asked such a ridiculous question. Instead, he shook his head as a response.

  “Damn.”

  “It doesn’t matter if it’s not proofed, we just walked for I don’t know how fucking long. I need water Pleassseeeee!!!” the girl, finally regaining her composure, once again spoke her words in full volume.

  “Oh, uhhh, sorry let me just get you two a cup.” the man immediately ran back inside, and came back out a minute after.

  When he was about to give the two cups of water, he suddenly stepped back from the two before looking away from them.

  “Hey! What gives, man?” the girl started to walk towards the man.

  “Wait! S-stay there I’ll hand you the water f-from here!” the man winced after seeing the girl walk towards him at high speed.

  “What the hell?”

  “Here, I-I’ll place the cups of water on the ground. I don't want to get dirty too.” he placed the two cups on the ground and immediately pinched his nose.

  “Uhhh?” the girl gave herself a second look and saw her dress stained with puke and a bit of blood. “Oh. Oops.”

  “That’s why I kept telling you to roll on the sand. You’ll remove all the puke off you that way.” the boy, though cleaner, still had an odor sticking to him.

  “I don’t think that’s how that works...” the man shot back.

  “Damn.” the boy snapped his fingers, “Well, you didn’t have to be so overreacting. Now I feel ‘provoked.’ Right, Alyvia?” the boy gave the girl, Alyvia, a sly wink, which she picked up on very quickly.

  “Ohhhh, that’s right, Cole. I’m veeerryyy ‘provoked.’ And. Pissed. Off!!” she began to stretch her arms and rub her palms together, as the both of them stared at the man menacingly.

  “W-what are you doing? What’s gotten into y’all?” the man slowly stepped away from the two teenagers, but with every step back he took, the two took two steps forward.

  “I think it’s time to show this man what poor, little us had to go through, and why such condescending treatment is a big no-no.” Cole cracked his neck without breaking eye contact.

  “Oh, yes pleaseee. Heheheh.” the small giggle the girl gave said it all.

  The man turned and attempted to make a run for it, but was too late. The two teenagers then proceeded to jump the man, making it their duty to get as much puke and snot as they could give to the man, who was now wrestling with them in vain. The ruckus continued for some time, causing the water cups to spill onto the sand.

  ***

  The three stooges walked the streets of the busy capital, with puke and snot littered on their ragged clothing, and an odor that followed their every step. The man was walking ahead of the two teenagers, refusing to align himself with them, while Alyvia and Cole were having a jolly good time bullying the man.

  “Hey, man, we’re sorry we did that. But, to be fair, you looked at us like we were animals or something. We had to get you back some way.” Cole’s sorry attempt at an apology only rubbed the man the wrong way.

  “Hey, man, fair’s fair. We had to do what we had to do. In fact, we didn’t even get our water! You freaking spilled it, man.” Alyvia didn’t even attempt to apologize.

  “You know, who in their right mind would even act like that?! No person would jump another person just because they're feeling petty! And would please stop following me?! It's embarrassing enough walking on these streets while smelling and looking like this!!” the man hastened his steps, but the two teenagers just won’t leave him alone. “Damn it!!!”

  “Hey, man, you won’t leave two children alone unattended in the middle of these heavily-populated streets, would you? That won’t look good on your conscience if you do.” Cole attempted to guilt trip the man.

  “Plus, we need a bath at your place. We stink!” Alyvia did not attempt anything at all.

  “Excuse me?!!” the man stopped in his tracks and turned towards the two teenagers. They both abruptly stopped as well. “My house?? What are you talking about ‘my house?!!’”

  “What? You don’t got a shower there?” Alyvia asked.

  “We do, but that’s not the point. When the hell did I ever say you could take a bath in MY HOUSE?? Hell, I never even said you can go to my house! I didn't invite you over! In fact, stop following me already!!” the man kept pressing his fingers on the two teenagers as he proceeded with his sermon, but Cole and Alyvia only looked at him bewildered.

  “Oh, don’t be such a hard-hat. It’s just one quick shower and we promise we’ll be out of your way. Pleaaasseee?” Alyvia pleaded with her palms clasped together while using her thumbs to keep her nostrils closed.

  “And that cup of water you still owe us.” Cole did the same.

  “Pleaaasseee?” the two teenagers pleaded in harmony, scrunching their faces in an attempt to be more persuasive. The man only looked back in disgust.

  “Damn it...” the man kept staring at the kids who still wore their ugly-ass faces, “...And you promise to leave me alone?” he started to tap his toes on the ground.

  “Yeapp!” the two simultaneously answered with a big thumbs up.

  “Ffffffiiineeeee...” the man scratched the back of his head and continued walking.

  “YIIPEEEE!!” the two hooked their elbows on the man’s neck, which almost made him tumble onto the ground.

  “Hey! Get off! You guys stink!!” he brushed the two teenagers off of him with an aggressive shake.

  “Where’s your house anyway?” Cole asked.

  “Just up ahead.” the man gave a tired response.

  “You can tell?”

  “Huh? What even is that question? Of course I can tell.”

  “Huh. Well, I’m not gonna lie, man, all these houses look the same to me-” the man suddenly put his palm on Cole’s mouth.

  “H-hey! Don’t say that too loud. Locals here get very defensive when tourists degrade our homes.” he took his palm off Cole’s face.

  “Why though?”

  “It’s because each Elemental here built their own home. The same goes for me. I built my home from these same sands we're stepping on. It's proof of the freedom we've fought so hard to achieve all these centuries, and it shows just how far we've gone as a society. It's a feat that's rarely accomplished in this world, so having a home they worked hard to build themselves be compared to someone else’s like it ain't nothing special must hit a nerve somewhere. And to be honest, I get where they’re coming from, but I also understand the outsiders’ comments.” the man frowned.

  “Oh, I’m very sorry then.” Cole gave a sincere apology, which surprised the man, “But wait, so everybody here built their own houses?”

  “Yeah. Who else is gonna build all this, but us? It’s our specialty after all. It's also our future...” the man cracked a little smile for the first time, which Cole quietly returned.

  “...I see...”

  As their conversation finished, the two guys then suddenly looked all over their surroundings to see Alyvia way ahead of them down the road.

  “Hey, you guys! Hurry up! They’re so many stalls to look at! One of them is even selling jewelry necklaces!” Alyvia waved ahead as the two guys shook their heads.

  “By the way, I’m really sorry for how much we troubled you earlier.” Cole continued to apologize to the man, which the man waved off.

  “Oh no, don’t worry. I understand it’s just kids being kids. Hahahah.” not knowing how to respond to the sudden apologies, the man just gave an awkward laugh.

  “Yeah...kids being kids.” Cole wore a smile that felt anything but. The man noticed something off but didn’t bother to pry.

  “Um, so, how do we tell her that my house is literally right here?” the man pointed and Cole soon aimed his eyes at the house to their left.

  “Ah shit.” Cole took a deep breath, and shouted at Alyvia the loudest he ever could, “COME BACK! THE HOUSE IS RIGHT HERE!!” he gestured toward the man’s house.

  “...WHAT?” Alyvia simply responded.

  “Damn, I’m no match to that loud mouth of hers.” Cole gave up after just one try.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll just pull her back here...permission to pull her back here?” the man gave Cole a little side-eye.

  “Hm...permission granted.” and Cole nodded in accordance.

  “Nice. Welp, here goes.”

  The man took a deep breath before firmly planting his feet on the ground. He then proceeded to tap his feet twice before tapping once more after a short beat. The land gave a slight echo with each step, and on that last step, ripples formed on the ground as it grew larger and faster toward Alyvia.

  “EEPP!!” Seeing the ripples heading towards her, she braced herself, before the ripples disappeared into the ground at the last second, “Huh, what the hell was-GAAHHH!!!!” And then rising back up in an instant, hitting her square on the buttocks and propelling her towards the guys, “CATCH MEEEE!!!!”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Keeping his heel planted on the ground, the man raised his feet. Grains of sand soon started to rise in ridiculous amounts, catching Alyvia mid-air and dropping her off on her feet.

  “Oh, why thank you.” she bowed at the grains of sand before dissipating into the ground.

  “We were trying to tell you the house is this one. Why’d you run ahead without telling us?” Cole gave Alyvia a little flick on the forehead.

  “Eugh, well why didn’t you include me in your convo a while ago? You guys seemed to have a lot of fun talking, while we were walking.” Alyvia rubbed the part of her head that was flicked while she puffed her cheeks.

  “Hahahah. Sorry about that. I’ll make sure to include you in our next conversation.” the man patted Alyvia’s head before knocking on the door of his house.

  “Woah. The man smiled.” Alyvia was caught in disbelief after witnessing what just happened.

  “I know right. Man’s been smiling ever since you went ahead. Hahahah” Cole gave Alyvia a soft elbow.

  “Ackk-you saying I’m the reason the man was so mad a while ago?” Alyvia hard-elbowed back, making Cole wince.

  “I just realized right now that you guys have been calling me ‘man’ or ‘the man’ the entire walk here. Did I really not introduce myself?” the man scratched his head.

  “Nope.” Cole shook his head while still rubbing his elbowed side.

  “I just assumed you didn’t have a name and you were embarrassed.”

  “What is wrong with you? Actually, no, this is also my fault.” the man let out a big sigh. “Let me recap a bit. So you’re Cole?”

  “Yeap.”

  “And you’re Alyvia?”

  “Hello!”

  “Hmmmm, okay then. Well, I guess it's nice to meet you?” the man scratched the back of his head as he let out his hand for a handshake.

  “Why're you being so awkward, man? Hahahah” Cole fistbumped the man's open palm.

  “Well, thank you for keeping us company!” Alyvia aggressively squeezed and shook the man's hand before pulling it away.

  “Damn, quite a grip, miss aahahah...” the man massaged his hands to ease the pain a bit.

  “So, what's your name, the man?” Alyvia poked the man's cheek.

  “Oh, well you two can just call me-”

  “Honey! Welcome home!”

  The door to the man's house flung open and out came a tall, short-haired lady who was sweating profusely.

  “I'm home, Chee.”

  “Welcome back!. Oh, we got guests? Who're they?”

  “Some stray kids I found outside the gates.” the man leaned in and gave Chee a kiss.

  “Hmmm, that's kinda sketchy, don't you think?”

  “Yeahhhh, but at the same time they're just brats.”

  Chee wiped a sweat off her brow, “So why’d you bring them home?”

  “We accidentally puked on ourselves and your husband, so we need to use your bath ASAP!” Alyvia immediately gave an answer.

  “We're not very presentable at the moment. Hahahah” Cole added to the remark.

  But Chee didn't break eye contact with the two teenagers. Her eyes crumpled the more she gave the two a look-through, and when she was about to say something, the man patted her on the shoulders and gave her a warm smile.

  “Don't worry. They’ll definitely get on your skin, but it's quite endearing actually. Plus, they promised that they'll just take a bath and leave soon after.”

  “Yes ma'am! We won't go back on our word!” Alyvia gave a thumbs up to the lady.

  “Hmmmm. Well if you're okay with it, then why not. I'm still hitting the sandbags so you guys go on ahead. Come in!” she opened the front door wider and led the three into the house.

  “I call dibs!!” Alyvia raced to the house's bathroom only after mistakenly opening doors she thought was the bathroom.

  “Hey, this is my house! I get to take a shower first!” the man ran towards the bathroom but the door was already locked.

  “Ladies first!”

  “I don't think I've met a lady this obnoxious.” the man whispered underneath his breath so no one would hear.

  But Cole heard it. Although he couldn’t have agreed more, “I don't even think she counts as a lady. That loud mouth is a great example. Bwaahahahah”

  “Who are you calling loud and obnoxious?! I better come out there and beat your asses!” Alyvia shouted inside, prompting the two guys to shut up.

  Not before long, a splash and a very audible sigh of relief echoed inside the bathroom.

  “Mmmmmmm hoootttt. Home sweet home. I can stay here for hours.“

  “You better not!” Cole and the man shouted in unison.

  “Heheheh”

  “Damn. Your little sister is quite a handful.” the man took a seat on one of his wooden chairs.

  “Huh? She's not my little sister. What gave that idea?”

  “Oh, well I guess she is taller than you. But for an older sister, you seem to act ages older than her.” the man tried to cough out a dry laugh.

  “Nah. We're not related at all.”

  “Oh really? Well how'd you two meet?”

  “Hmmmm...we're neighbours back in our hometown.” Cole took a while to answer the man's question.

  “Where's your hometown? I might've passed it during one of my jobs.” taking a break from her workout session, Chee entered the conversation by asking the question she's been meaning to ask as soon as the kids arrived on her doorstep.

  “Ah yeah maybe she has. My wife is one hell of a courie–ow!!” the man's sentence was cut short as Chee punched the back of his head.

  “My work is supposed to be classified! How many times do I have to tell you not to share that information so openly??” she bonked the man one more time on top of his head, to which he started apologizing profusely.

  “Ow!!–sorry, I'm sorry!”

  Cole started laughing at their cute quarreling as he pulled out a wooden chair and sat down. Coupled with the couple's bickering, Alyvia was singing at the top of her lungs inside the bathroom, barely hitting any of the notes.

  “Ack, all that panic got my throat hurting again. Babe, could you get me a glass of water, please?” the man rubbed his throat after saying sorry so many times.

  “Ah, sure thing. Would you like a glass, too, uhhh...just realized I never caught your name.”

  “Oh, hahahah, I'm sorry. It's Cole, Ms. Chee, and yes I need a glass too, heheh.”

  “Ayt, give me a minute.” Chee left the room to fetch water, but then the ringing of the sandbag echoed throughout the house.

  Five minutes later, Chee still hadn't returned with their glasses of water and Cole and the man looked at each in desperation.

  “Rock, paper, scissors on who calls her back with our water?” Cole proposed a simple game to get the attention of the distracted housewife.

  “Bet.” with one sway, the man hit scissors and Cole hit paper.

  “Damn it.”

  “Heheheh. You can do this...I think.”

  “Mmm-Mmmm.” warming up his dry throat, Cole prepared to shout for Chee when he was hit with an awful voice crack.

  “GAAHAHAHAHHA!” the man couldn't hold back his laughter, after all this was what he was expecting to happen.

  “Shut up! This wasn't supposed to happen! Hell, you should be the one screaming for his wife, not me!!”

  “GAAHAHAHAHHA–AACKKK!” the man choked on his own spit.

  Cole wanted to laugh out loud as well, but he was so out of breath, he couldn't produce any noise.

  After a while, Chee came back to the living room after finishing her workout, and handed the two guys a cup of water. “Here you go. Glass of water for two. Your lips must've gotten so dry from all that talking. Hihih” Chee poked the man on the nape before giving him a teasing laugh.

  “Thanks, babe.” the man gave Chee a kiss on her palm

  “Thank you, ma'am.” Cole bowed his head, almost making the water spill.

  “No problem. Anyway, you never ended up answering my question. Where are you from?”

  “Hmmm? Oh, somewhere west of here.” Cole took a sip from his water.

  “Oh, like Gybhle? Or nearer to Cazaikk?”

  “Gybhle.” Cole answered with no hesitation, taking another sip from his cup.

  “Hmmmm, really? What's it like there? I've only gone twice, and they weren't really overnight stays.”

  “Why are you asking so many questions?” the man, sensing that Chee is being quite hostile towards Cole.

  “Shush.” ...but was completely shut down. “So, how is it there?”

  Picking up on the nature of the conversation, Cole fired back with an answer that would destroy any doubt. “I mean, you know, the usual tourist spots. The Mud Slide, the Quicksand Lake at the center of the village, and you can't forget the Apex Plateau. But growing up and having these landmarks part of my daily life, I never understood the appeal, and why people keep coming back, you know? So we left to discover more from the world. To see if all we have in our small village is all this world has to offer.” Cole one more sip on his glass of water.

  The couple were silenced from Cole's description of the village. Alyvia's singing still echoed in the background, but it didn't take long for Chee to break the silence.

  “So that's what your village is like. But, how should I put this...you see, it's strange how you can proclaim such vivid landmarks when Gybhle is just a name I made up. There's no such village called ‘Gybhle.’” Chee stepped forward to shield the man from “Cole.”

  Cole, himself, also froze up from the situation. He was caught in a checkmate by an unsuspecting citizen, or so he thought. “Shit.” he whispered underneath his breath.

  “Where are you really from? You are definitely not from here. But seeing how you know so much of our country...are you a spy?! Is “Cole” a codename? Who are you?!” Chee then formed the peace sign on her left hand, and floating between the space of the two fingers were pebbles ready to fly off towards “Cole.”

  “Woah, Chee, calm the hell down. He's just a kid. You can't threaten him like this. I'm sure there's an explanation for this.” the man stood up and got between the two in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.

  “That doesn't matter. If he's an outsider, we can't risk him getting out of the capital, and escaping to the open country.” Chee and Cole stared at each other intensively, neither one breaking eye contact, as she tried pushing the man out of her line of sight, but he kept his ground steady.

  “I don't want you to hurt a kid. Let's just talk about this. If you're right, then we hand them to the Crusaders. We don't have to lay a finger on them.” the man rubbed a sweat off Chees's cheek and hugged her gently as Chee proceeded to lower her arm down.

  But before anything could de-escalate further, Alyviaa walked out the bathroom, drying her long crimson-red hair, looking satisfied from her hot and steamy bath.

  “It's been so long since I had a nice, long bath. Thank you, once again, ‘the man’ ‘the man's woman.’” Alyvia turned to see the scene that was happening in the living room.

  “Red...hair...” Chee's voice whimpered. And in an instant, tiny pebbles were sent rocketing off towards Cole.

  “CHEE! NO!!” the man grabbed her arm and pointed it away from the kid, but he was too late.

  “COLE!!” Alyvia tried to run towards her friend.

  Cole extended both his arms and caught two of the flying pebbles. The third one, though, hit him straight through his left shoulder. “-ghk!”

  “FIRE ELEMENTALS!!” seeing his quick reaction against her ambush, Chee immediately clenched her fist tightly, and with a pivot of her heel, raised her fist up to erect an Earth shield from the ground. She pulled the man towards her and used the shield as cover, never averting her gaze on the target. On the other hand, Cole simply gave a long sigh. He clenched his injured shoulder tightly as faint lights sparked beneath the cover of his palm.

  “Wait, why are we fighting?? What happened while I was gone??” unable to process the situation, Alyvia stumbled upon her words, trying to make sense of it all.

  “...We'll get out of your hair. I'm very sorry for troubling you two. I didn't mean to upset you guys or make you feel threatened.” Cole lowered his head, unable to look the couple in their eyes. He pulled Alyvia to his side and started walking towards the door.

  “Huh? W-wait, I haven't even dried up yet! What the hell is going on?!” Alyvia pulled her arm away as she demanded answers.

  “Isn't it fucking obvious? We're not from here. You literally have the proof staring right at them.” Cole pointed at her damp hair, its crimson streaks seemingly glowing red.

  “Oh...” Alyvia slowly lowered her head as well, and started walking towards the door with Cole. Passing by the couple, she made eye contact with the man whose shaken eyes cannot even hide how he's feeling. She tried to reach out and give him a hug to make him feel better, but Chee pulled her husband away from the two kids.

  But, the man suddenly spoke up, his voice still trembling. “Y-you still haven't t-taken that bat-hhhkk.” he bit his tongue at the end, but it was clear what he was referring to and who he was referring to.

  “We appreciate it, but you’ve done us enough favors. I'll make do with this get-up. It might actually work as a camouflage, hahah.” as he let out a half-assed laugh, he continued to walk towards the door with each heavy step. But...

  “Why are you lying to yourself?” with these words from the man, Cole was stopped dead in his tracks.

  “What...do you mean...” he wasn't even able to complete his question, because he already knew the answer. He wondered how a stranger he only met today saw right through him so clearly. He didn't want to be looked at. He didn't want to look at him. No, he couldn't. And that's why...

  Cole darted towards the door and opened it with such force. But it was instantly slammed shut by a moving rock on the ground. He turned and met the gaze of the man who wouldn't let him run away.

  “Please, we insist.” the man opened up a melancholic smile towards Cole.

  “But––!” Chee began to retaliate but the man gave her one glance. His once unshaken eyes, now having the resolve to do the kids good.

  Cole, still gathering his thoughts, but unable to come up with an appropriate response, simply swallowed his pride, “You're weird. It's just a bath, no need to get so serious.” he scratched his cheek as his eyes glanced all over the room.

  Everyone in the room was shocked by his response. Alyvia who was feeling so blue gradually got her shine back. Chee started to chew her nails, doubting if maybe she jumped the gun with her hostility. And the man's smile grew wider as he felt the mood of the room lightened.

  “What do you mean ‘it's just a bath?’ Bathing is literally the number one most important thing to do for personal hygiene! It's been around since the Ancient Times.”

  “Woah, no need for a history lesson, the man. Just let me take that bath and we'll be out of your hair.” Cole, passing by the couple once again, now walked towards the bathroom instead.

  “Oh, shut up, brat. And I have a name!” the man chuckled and gave Cole a push as he passed by.

  “By the way, I can't promise that this'll be a quick bath, so don't complain if I take too long.”

  “Looking at your current state right now, a long bath will do you more good than us.”

  “It'll do you just the same amount of good.” Cole pointed at the man who still reeked of the two kids’ vomit.

  “Hey! This is both of y'alls fault, not mine!” he covered up his shirt as he turned to see Alyvia squeezing her nose shut while doing a little “pee-yew.”

  “Arghh!! You better not take long!”

  “No promises.” he turned his back and entered the bathroom before stopping midway, “Got a towel?”

  “We'll bring it to you, just hurry up with the damn shower.”

  “Okey doke.” with that said, Cole closed the door of the bathroom and a shower echoed inside.

  The man then sat back down on his chair, and Chee dissolved the wall she made from the Earth. Alyvia let out a big sigh and found her way to the seat Cole was previously sitting on.

  “Well, that couldn't have ended better. Feels like a weight off my shoulders, oof.” she relaxed her entire body and let gravity do its thing with her limbs and muscles.

  “Hey, no, you're not getting away that easily.” the man's entire demeanor then suddenly changed, matching the same hostility Chee had minutes ago.

  “Wha?–uhgh” before Alyvia could react, she was pinned down on her chair by Chee, who was leaning her arms on Alyvia's shoulders. W-whats's going on?! I thought we had no more problems!” no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't lift Chee's weight off her shoulders.

  “You tell us. Do we have a problem?” Chee leaned in further, making Alyvia groan from the pressure.

  “You, girl, are going to tell me everything about the two of you. Why you are here. What you're planning to do. And who it is that sent you.” his laser dart eyes stared deeply into the girl with no intentions of letting her go. “Do I make myself clear?”

  ***

  As the shower poured down on him, he stood there quietly still wrapping his thoughts around what the man had told him. Cole proceeded to plug both his ears, but no matter how hard he tried to tune it out, the man's words wouldn't stop echoing in his mind. Turning off the shower, he then jumped into the bathtub, fully submerging himself under the water. The water started to bubble up as he heats it up.

  “Heheh, bubbles...” he plays around the water, but another echo of the man's words crosses his mind. The more he contemplated the more aggressive the bubbles in the bath got.

  What does he know? Nothing, that's what. He doesn't know anything.

  In his mind, he was denying what the man said about him. The tough act he put on outside was only to mask out what he was truly feeling. But what if the man was right? What if this journey he went on, pulling along Alyvia, was only in vain? He couldn't wrap his head around any of it because deep down, he knew–

  NO!!! I'M RIGHT!! There's nothing wrong with me. I didn't do anything wrong. We had no choice. I had no choice. They're wrong, I am right.

  He repeated these words in his mind to convince himself that his beliefs are correct, unaware of the hypocrisy of his shielding words. As the water bubbles continued to pop in an increasing rate, Cole closed his eyes and slowly sank once more under the water, sheltering himself in a bubble of his own.