{SHORTLIST OpenNovellaContest 2021}
{ONC 2021 Round One Ambassador Picks}
Aithne Pan, a Chinese-Irish girl living in the futuristic city of Venice has to decide between what her heart tells her is correct, and what she has always been taught is righ...
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Although I hate seeing all these masterpieces being torn to pieces by my waters, I keep pulling waves in, my sole focus on drowning the prison underneath us. A broken parchment floats next to my head and at the same moment, a spear of stone breaks through my shields, scratching my arm.
I'm surrounded by blood - my own blood - coming from all the cuts I am receiving from all the Lorem police officers who are firing at me. I never knew so many of us existed, and I especially didn't know that so many members of the Imperium Police Force knew about this prison and are willing to protect it with their lives.
How could I never have realised what horrible people they are? How have they never realised how wrong they are?
All the power that is sizzling under my skin is going towards the water I am sucking from the canal and throwing down the pathway into the underground prison, which leaves me with a tiny amount to protect myself - not enough to keep all the electrical arrows, fire spears, rock bullets and whatever else is fired towards me to get me to stop me from drowning their facility. I'm not willing to lose the flow of water rushing into the building, so the only other option I have is to go underground and wait for the whole thing to collapse or for it to be filled with enough water that I am sure nobody will bother restoring it. I hope for the latter option, because if I am stuck down there I know I will probably never see the light of day again.
Picking up my feet, I let the water take me, the currents whizzing me past the Aqua Lorem officers who are trying to stop my river - they won't be able to. There is a limit one has with their power, but training and daily exercises can make you become much better, and much more powerful. My father had made me train from the moment my powers appeared, telling me that he didn't want me to be defenceless like he was, and so I have become better, stronger - so strong I rival some of the best Lorem's in the world. Unlike the Lorem who are naturally very powerful though, when I use all my power my body gives out, and it takes me much longer to recuperate, my fall from a few days ago is a good example of what can happen.
Once the Aqua Lorems realise I have gone down underground, I can feel them following me, ice appearing in front of me as they try to stop me and my currents. Spiralling, I twist around, breaking the frozen water and melting it back into the water.
I need to decide where I am going to stop, especially if I am being followed.
The broken door appears before me, it's splinters almost grazing my skin due to my lack of concentration as I look back at the men - four in total - and try to decide what to do. I can either stay here until the whole prison is flooded or float down to the bottom of the facility. The first option will mean I have to fight the four police officers, whereas the second option means I will be able to get away from them, at least for a while. The problem is that if there are any problems it will be harder to get out. Plus, the further away I am from the canal the harder it will be for me to keep the river moving, emptying the canals above us.
