[CT] Most people didn't like bird-watching

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Most people didn't like bird-watching, especially teenage peoples. it mostly involved wandering quietly through the woods, looking up at the various trees. In fact, to really watch, you had to sometimes sit still and quiet for several long minutes on end. You'd sit, stare at the trees, and wait for signs of life. The slightest flicker could mean a bird that you'd only see once in your lifetime. Truly, it took a lot of skill to manage, and Zoe had developed all the skills necessary to do just that.

Except for missing traps, since that wasn't generally something she needed to worry about.

Someone had made a halfway decent pit trap and left it near this open glade, where the birds had decided to gather. Zoe had been heading that way to watch the birds, and she hadn't seen the trap until the ground gave way underneath her feet. She reflexively threw her arms around her camera, shielding it from the worst of things, as she felt her body hitting the sides of the hole on the way down. Soon she was sitting on a lump of dirt, dazed, slightly scraped and battered, and looking up into the sky, wondering what had just happened. As if to taunt her, she saw a bird fluttering overhead.

Zoe seriously just thought about laying there for a few minutes. She could see a few birds, after all, and, well, she needed to catch her breath and her bearings, neither of which she could manage well. At least she wasn't lost, and she could probably get out of there. She pushed herself up, looking at the sides of the pit. They were smooth.

Groaning, Zoe leaned back on the dirt, putting an arm over her head, "I'm doomed," she mumbled. Well, at least she had her camera to document her dooming.

[Kyle Walker]

The Walker family had always been the “outdoorsy “kind, which was a bit strange, since they lived in one of the biggest and most populated cities in the world, but they always found a way. Kyle and his mom tried to have a picnic in Central Park at least twice a week when he was little, that was his favorite place in the whole city, and they had a special spot close to “The Pond “ where they would sit and watch the ducks. Ducks, those birds have the worst attitude; Kyle got chased around by one for at least 10 minutes when he was 7 years old, until it eventually got tired. Fun times.

He was wearing a gray T-shirt that said “Someone is reading my shirt “ in white letters and jeans that were a bit darker and more worn out than the ones he usually wore. He had a green backpack that had been with him since he was 11, it had many pins on it, and each symbolized a place or country he had visited.

After setting up his things and looking around the camping site, he had decided to take a little hike around the woods. He loved it out here, the fresh air, the birds singing above him, the peace and quiet, everything. The backpack carried all sorts of things he considered important, better safe than sorry; a map of the general area, some food, a couple of bottles of water and a first aid kit. Sadly, he had forgotten his camera back at the Academy, so his cellphone would have to suffice.

He was walking along a path, whistling a happy tune while admiring his peaceful surroundings.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe sighed, shifting her arm to take a look at the side of the dirt wall, half-hoping that someone would just poke their head through. Nothing greeted her but a few bugs, squirming in the dirt. Zoe sighed again, moving to rub at her eyes. This sort of thing would happen to her. She'd come out to avoid everything, to just enjoy herself, and here she was, stuck in a hole.

Apparently hearing things too. Zoe lowered her hands for a moment, her brow furrowing. Was someone... whistling? She couldn't be sure. Zoe tried covering an ear with a gloved hand, holding it for a bit and releasing. Did the sound lessen? She just didn't know. Sighing, Zoe leaned back down. Yes, she was doomed, definitely, completely doomed.

[Kyle Walker]

Kyle continued walking for a little while until he stopped for some rest. He knelt on the floor while taking off his backpack and putting it in front of him. After drinking some water from the one of the bottles he brought with him, he took the map out of backpack and unfolded it. He nodded slowly while analyzing it, trying to make an approximation of how much he had moved. He hadn’t brought a compass, but then again, why would the guy that controls magnetism need one of those, right?

He slowly stood up, and cleaned the dirt from his pants. He checked the time on his anti-magnetic watch, he didn’t thought something like that actually existed when his father told him, then again, he did live in a school full of people with superpowers, so his definition of “impossible” had changed a lot over the last years. Regular watches didn’t last more than a week with Kyle before they started to malfunction, and the fact that they would stick to him if they were metallic meant that he had to wear only plastic ones. But this kind of watches solved those problems, well, more like delayed it. His personal magnetic field was a lot more than what those puppies were made to resist, so they eventually stopped working too. Stupid powers.

Kyle kept going on his previous path, and then a bizarre sight greeted him. Is that a hole? He wondered.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe curled in on herself a little more, sighing again. This sort of thing always happened to her, and she didn't know why she would expect anything to be different this time around. She should've gone walking with a buddy or something. The girl sighed and raised her head a little, looking at the walls. Smooth, as expected. She could no more climb up them without help then she could fly.

Should she maybe try yelling again? Or throwing something? What was the point? Zoe sighed and curled up a little tighter. Wait, her phone. Wasn't that around here somewhere? But would she have service in a hole? She began looking for it, digging into the pockets of her skirt.

[Kyle Walker]

It looked like a trap, damn, that reminded him of General Ackbar, you know, from Star Wars? Oh forget it. He often got distracted easily, creating trains of thought that could be miles long, but he always came back to planet Earth, eventually. It seemed something had fallen into it, probably an animal, poor thing. Is it even legal to hunt here? He asked himself, he would have to check later, but that rarely made a difference with those guys. He approached the hole slowly, crushing several fallen leaves and branches as he got closer.

Kyle knelt and looked over its edge. That was probably the last thing one expected to find, hell, even a pirate treasure was before that on his list of what to find in random holes. A girl, he had probably seen her before, around the Academy. He imagined that if he was ever stuck in a hole like that, he would be yelling and calling out for help, not just sitting there, but maybe she had been there for a long time, nobody had come, and she had given up. He rubbed the back of his neck while looking down at her –“ ...Hi “- He couldn’t come up with something better, well he could, but he was also willing to bet that any jokes wouldn’t be taken with a positive attitude in this situation.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

The sound of footsteps caught Zoe's attention, strange as it was. She'd thought that perhaps she'd just been hearing things, like the whistling or whatever. Sometimes Zoe got bits and pieces, likely echoed from the various other students that didn't need to remain quiet, not here, not in the wilderness. This sound kept getting closer though.

Then someone leaned over. Zoe looked up, her brown eyes shimmering with barely suppressed tears. she sniffed, not quite sure if she was imagining someone or not. She raised a hand up to work at one of her eyes, hoping that would help. It mostly smeared the tears around, making her vision, and the boy, watery. Zoe lowered the hand, and thought she heard him speak.

"Hi," she managed, her voice barely audible. Zoe rubbed her eye again before looking around, feeling very much like a lost little girl. Well, at least two thirds of that was unarguably accurate. "I'm stuck," she managed, looking back up at him. She opened her mouth again, but found her throat closing up. Instead she opted to swallow, hoping at least not to start bawling, or at the very least, not yet.

[Kyle Walker]

"I'm stuck,"

It sure seemed like it. He didn’t notice any blood, and she didn’t appear to be in pain, which was a relief –“Are you hurt? “- He asked. If that was the case, then he had a first aid kit in his trusty backpack that would do the trick. Like Batman’s utility belt, convenient. He analyzed the hole and touched the surface of the walls, while taking precautions so he didn’t fall inside too. That would be awkward. No cracks or bumps, completely smooth, no wonder she hadn’t been able to get out. –“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine “- Said Kyle, trying to comfort her, and it was true, at least she wasn’t lost anymore.

-“Wait a sec" –His head disappeared from the opening as he searched for a water bottle in his backpack. He came back shortly after, with the bottle in one hand –“Here”- He stretched his arm to the limit to lower the bottle all he could. –“I also have food, if you want any “- Said Kyle offering a smile. At least with water and food she would be able to hold out until he came up with something.


Kyle crawled backwards a bit and stood up. He searched for a signal, holding his cellphone as high up as his height allowed him. The boy walked around the surroundings of the hole, but had no luck –“ This…might take a little while “- He tried not to sound too discouraged when he said that. He was sure there would be signal on higher ground, or maybe closer to the camp. Why didn't I bring the rope ?

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

"Um, no, I'm okay, mostly," said Zoe, shuffling again. She smoothed her skirt, before looking back up, flushing slightly as she continued: "besides the whole falling in a hole thing." Which struck her as definitely a not fine situation. She looked around at the edges of the pit as Kyle did, sighing, realizing that it just meant she was all the more locked in place. He sounded confident though.

And soon he had a bottle extended. Zoe reached up, stretching on her toes. She actually managed to just touch the bottom of the bottle, taking it in hand. She took a soft sip of it, feeling the refreshing liquid on her throat. She lowered it and shook her head as he continued. She didn't need food. She moved back slightly, looking up at him, getting a decent view.

When she saw him digging out his phone, she reached into her skirt, pulling her own out. It might have been the hole or something, but she didn't appear to have any service. She pushed it back inside her pocket, looking back up at him. He didn't seem to have any ideas, which didn't strike her as all that reassuring. "Um, is, there, um, maybe something up there you could, um, extend to me or something?"

She fidgeted again, looking up and hoping there was at least a branch or something. She didn't have to worry too much about damaging her hands or anything, what with her gloves. If nothing else, the guy could probably go get help from someone with a more useful power than what they apparently had.

[Kyle Walker]

"Um, is, there, um, maybe something up there you could, um, extend to me or something?"

Kyle pondered about the possibility. Sure, a branch strong and long enough could help her come out, but if it cracked she could be seriously hurt depending on how she fell. And it would also probably cause some damage to both their hands. He wasn’t sure if he preferred that, or going to the camp for help. She would already be out of there if he had just brought his dammed rope, but there’s nothing he can do about that now. If she was made out of metal he would have gotten her out of there is a jiffy, or if she had a piece of metal big enough she could hold onto, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Kyle looked around, there wasn’t a branch or another object that fit what he was looking for, but this was a forest, so finding it shouldn’t be rocket science. He put the cellphone back on his pocket and approached the hole again. His head peeked over the trap –“I can’t see anything strong enough, but I am sure I will find it if I look around the woods for a few minutes “- He said, examining the hole again –“I can also bring you stuff for you to stand on and reduce the depth of this things. It might help “- He checked his watch for a second –“I’ll be right back. Oh! Quick question. How much do you weigh? “- I know, I know, that isn’t the kind of thing girls liked to be asked, but it seemed important at the moment. Kyle noticed she was wearing gloves, one less problem.  He had been very close to making the “Don’t go anywhere “ joke, but since he didn’t know her, he couldn’t tell the effect it would have.

He entered the woods, watching his step and on alert for something that he could use. He also pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and held it up, it was a long shot, but he didn’t lose anything by trying. He inspected branches and sticks that seemed long and solid enough, but they all cracked partially or completely. It had been around 5 minutes when he spotted something on the floor. This might just work

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe couldn't help but whimper slightly as the boy said that he couldn't see anything. They were in the woods: shouldn't there be a branch or some roots or something? Then again, maybe whoever had set this trap had cleared the area, made certain that nobody could climb up.

"That might work," said Zoe, though she sounded extremely doubtful, looking down at the ground. "I don't... I'm not very, um, strong or coordinated or anything," she flushed and looked toward the side. She ended up nearly jumping moments later though, at the question. It made her wrap her arms around herself. She was downright tiny in most respects, and she almost flushed at the question. "Not much.... I'm, um, really underweight..." though she didn't have some kind of disease or something. She just didn't care much for eating.

It seemed like that was enough for him: he left after getting his answers. Zoe took a deep breath, fighting against the initial panic at looking up and not seeing him. She moved, figuring out the breadth of the hole, taking her bearings a little better. Now that someone had shown up to help, Zoe found herself a lot calmer. Because if nothing else, he could always go and get some help, and someone would likely have a power that would make this easy.

Actually, as Zoe ran her hand along the smooth wall, she was willing to bet that someone used a power to make this...

[Kyle Walker]

Like King Arthur and his mighty sword, Kyle raised his newfound “perfect” branch from the ground. It was quite heavy, but then again, that was the sort of thing he needed, since it indicated it was solid and strong. He tested it several times, and it seemed to do pretty well. It was also long which would undoubtedly help. The boy was about to make his way back to Zoe when he got an idea. He turned backwards to look at a small cliff and rubbed the back of his neck while deciding if it was worth the shot of going up there in his desperate search for cellphone reception. It would probably take him another five minutes to reach the top, and he had told her he’d be back in a “little while”, he hated to break a promise, but she would understand. He left the branch in place as a plan B and departed to his new objective.

After a few minutes, he had reached the top. He looked around him while panting, to admire the view. He raised the cellphone up as high as he could –“Come on….come on ...”- A lonely bar appeared on the screen, which made the teenager jump in the spot –“Hell yeah!! “- He shouted at the height of his lungs. The call to the camp took a short while, since the signal sucked and he had to repeat himself several times. He gave whoever was on the phone an approximate position of the hole, since he had checked his own shortly before finding Zoe. The call dropped dead after a few minutes, but it had been enough. He sighed in relief before going back down and retrieving his “special” branch, just in case.

He returned to the hole and sat close to the edge, looking down at the girl –“ Hey “- He said while waving his hand –“ Sorry I took so long, but I did manage to make the call. They’ll be here in about 20 minutes or so, I think “- He looked around –“I’m Kyle by the way. Good to meet you “-

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe heard the boy moving around up there, and she held her breath. Surely he'd find something up there, a branch, something that could help. Maybe they'd even get lucky and someone else would come along who happened to have gravity manipulation powers or earth-kinesis or something like that. Zoe thought she heard the boy saying something, talking to someone, and her heart leaped, her body rising up as she stood on her toes.

When he returned, Zoe let out a soft squeak and stepped back, looking up at him with wide eyes. Took a while, made a call, and help was coming. Was she that far away though? It felt like a long time, but, well, who knew how long she'd been down there. The boy introduced himself too, acting calm, as if he found people in holes all the time. He probably did that to make her feel better.

So Zoe took a deep breath, forcing a nervous smile. she reached up to brush off some dirt too, as if being presentable suddenly mattered. "I'm Zoe," she said, her voice wavering. "I, um, was bird-watching and, well, I didn't look and--" she paused, not sure if she'd mentioned that. She fidgeted, her hands going back to the wall. She felt her camera too and her hands went to it. Pictures; she could do pictures.

"I have my camera too," she said, lifting it, feeling rather dumb for it. She wondered if she should ask to take his picture, if he'd like that, what it meant...

[Kyle Walker]

Zoe? She was certainly familiar, he had seen her before around school, maybe they were in some clubs together? He couldn’t remember, even though he usually had good memory. It was unlikely they had ever spoken to each other before this time. He sat far enough from the hole not to fall inside, to stay on the safe side, and the upper side too I guess. He used his hands as support, but the only visible part of him from inside the hole was his friendly face. He looked to his side to see his “chosen one”. The branch was lying idly on the hard ground, it seemed it wouldn’t be used today. It was for the best, better to lose a couple of minutes in your life, than to lose your life in a couple of minutes. Everything should be fine now, and his expression and attitude reflected his positive thinking. All they had to do now was to wait for help to come. He opened his backpack and drank some refreshing water. Kyle took out a chocolate bar out of it as well and showed it to her as an offering, in case she wanted it he would drop it down to her, if not, he would just put it back in.

She mentioned bird-watching, though it wasn’t exactly up his alley, he had to admit a skilled enough photographer could pull a masterpiece in these woods. Shame she was stuck down there and couldn’t see it. Nice camera, he thought, it was even similar to his own. –“Good to meet you, Zoe “- He said after she was done talking –“Did you manage to take any good pictures, you know, before all this happened? “- He tried to make conversation, pretty much all they could do as they waited. He made small drawings on the dirt as he waited for the answer, he had never been any good at it, but found it fun nonetheless.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe laughed nervously as Kyle returned her greeting. He just said it so casually, as if he met people in holes everyday. It almost made the situation feel more bearable, or at least more normal. He asked her about her photos next, and she fingered the camera again, taking another deep breath, fighting back the residual feelings of panic and fear, pushing up her love of photography.

"I managed a few," she said, her voice warbling only slightly. "There are quite a few lovely birds wandering around in this area," she gestured toward the trees, where a few birds still twittered away quite merrily, unaware and uncaring about what happened to the humans below.

"Hopefully I'll be able to develop them," Zoe continued, looking at the side of the wall and swallowing hard. She had to remind herself to be strong. Kyle had called for help; help would come. He was there too, and surely he wouldn't abandon her, at least not totally. She swallowed again before looking up, trying to project up to him as she asked: "What were you doing out in the woods? Enjoying nature?" her voice still warbled, but that didn't stop her from pushing forward regardless.