We'd barely caught our breath after the encounter with the creature, and yet Lyra was pressing on, walking with a determination I hadn't seen in her before. She'd been acting differently ever since she'd first mentioned that hum. Now, it was almost like she was chasing something only she could see. The rest of us kept close behind, glancing at one another with unspoken questions and a shared unease.

The forest around us felt darker here, denser, the trees growing closer together, their branches twisting like claws. I could feel my own anxiety simmering as we walked, like it was feeding off the silence and the shadowed shapes in the underbrush. I didn't want to be here, but the others were moving with purpose, and if they weren't backing down, neither would I.

Finally, I cleared my throat. "So... are we going to talk about what just happened?"

Lyra glanced over her shoulder at me, slowing just a bit. Finn and Kai looked over too, both of them quiet but clearly just as curious.

"I'm not even sure what happened," Lyra admitted. "But whatever it was... it was real. You all saw it, right?"

"Yeah," Finn said softly. "Kai, whatever you did back there with that creature... it listened to you. How?"

Kai shrugged, his expression guarded. "I didn't do anything, really. I just... I don't know, told it to stop, and it did." His tone was casual, but I could tell by the tension in his jaw that he was just as confused—and maybe a little rattled—as the rest of us.

"Guess you've got some kind of... influence over them," I said, trying to piece it together. "Maybe they can understand you?"

"I don't know," Kai muttered, his gaze focused on the ground ahead. "But if it works... it could be useful. Just didn't know I had it until I was yelling at that thing to leave us alone."

"And what about you, Finn?" Lyra asked, looking at him with a curious tilt of her head. "Back there, things slowed down for a moment. Like time itself was moving differently."

Finn shifted uncomfortably. "It wasn't something I did on purpose. It's like, when I got really stressed... everything just slowed. Like the world held its breath. I don't understand it either."

We walked in silence for a few moments, each of us trying to make sense of the strange abilities that had suddenly surfaced. I could see the tension in Finn's posture, in the way he kept glancing at Lyra, as if afraid that if he took his eyes off her, something else would happen.

Then Lyra stopped so suddenly I almost ran into her. In front of us was a river, wide and fast, cutting through the forest like a churning silver scar. The current was rough, crashing over rocks and tree roots, the sound almost deafening as it echoed between the trees. There was no way across.

"What do we do now?" I asked, looking at the rushing water. It seemed almost angry, like it was daring us to try to cross.

"We need to keep going," Lyra said, frowning as she studied the riverbank. "I can still hear the hum, but it's on the other side. There has to be a way across."

"Maybe we can find a narrow spot and jump," Finn suggested, though he didn't sound very convinced. "Or... I don't know, maybe there's a fallen tree somewhere?"

We fanned out along the riverbank, searching for any sign of a crossing, but the river was relentless, twisting and thrashing as if it were alive. My frustration grew with each step, and I felt a surge of helplessness as I stared at the river.

It's just water, I thought to myself, but as I looked closer, something strange started happening. The water near the edge of the river seemed to be calming down, slowing just a bit, like it was... responding to me.

"What... what's going on?" I whispered, more to myself than anyone else. The others turned to look, and their eyes widened as they saw the water at my feet growing still, forming a small, gentle pool in the middle of the raging river.

"Alex... are you doing that?" Lyra asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

I shook my head, not really understanding, but I didn't step back. Somehow, I knew that if I concentrated—if I willed it to happen—the water would continue to calm. I took a deep breath, focusing on that thought, and felt a strange warmth spread through my chest, like a quiet strength I hadn't realized I had.

The river continued to settle around us, a path slowly forming across the water as the currents softened and split, as if creating a bridge just for us.

I didn't fully understand what I was doing, but I kept my focus, guiding the water and willing it to stay still, to hold this pathway open. I felt a thrill of power, mixed with disbelief and a growing sense of responsibility. This wasn't something I had ever expected to do, but it felt... right.

"Let's go," I said, surprised at the steadiness in my own voice. The others nodded, each of them watching me with a mix of awe and caution as they carefully stepped onto the pathway I'd created. I concentrated even harder, trying to keep the water still as we crossed, one by one, until we reached the other side.

Once we were safe, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding, and the water instantly returned to its wild, furious state, crashing against the rocks once more.

Finn clapped me on the shoulder, his eyes wide with amazement. "You did it, Alex. That was... incredible."

I could only nod, still stunned by what I'd done. The power inside me was real, and it was stronger than I'd thought. As I looked at the others, I could tell they felt it too. Whatever was happening to us, it wasn't an accident. It was something we'd been given, something we had to figure out.

And as we moved forward, each step feeling heavier than the last, I couldn't shake the feeling that this power—my power—was going to change everything.