Novel & Cerita Season 4 H2o: Just Add Water

I couldn't believe that the young man who once refused to let me shed a single tear was now breaking my heart and making me cry over and over again. The last bit of my love for him completely faded away. I went back inside my room. Just as I'd lie down, I suddenly saw that Jasper had just received a message on his communication device. "Dr. Curran, another base camp has already located the person who first invented the water detection device. They're on their way to bring the inventor back. Please find the new water source and return before they bring the inventor to their base."

Soon, I would be able to go out and celebrate my birthday with my boyfriend, Daniel. Or so I thought. “Oops!” I didn’t have a chance to react before it happened. Sophie and her two friends had just come barreling down the stairs like a typhoon. In their carelessness, one of them violently kicked the bucket I was using, sending soapy water flying everywhere. For a moment, I just stared at the fresh mess. The carpet was soaked with dirty water. The wallpaper was already stained with soap suds. Even my clothes and hair were destroyed. And I had been so close to finishing my chores.

"I used to pay a lot of money for hot yoga. I think I’d like a refund now." He didn't even turn his head. "Energy conservation, Intern. That means stop talking." "Sarcasm is how I conserve energy," I muttered. "It keeps my spirits up while my organs are shriveling." He finally looked at me, his eyes narrowing. "Your organs are not shriveling. We have three and a half bottles of water. We are ahead of the curve." "Three and a half bottles for two people," I pointed out. "In this heat, that’s about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. We need a win, Mr. Coop. A big, watery win."

Ice burst from his palms, racing across the glass of the giant tank in jagged, branching veins. The aquarium groaned under the sudden freeze, cracks snapping through it sharp enough to slice through the noise. His chest cinched tight. Heat and cold warred beneath his skin until they fused into one blinding pressure. Mist surged outward, swallowing the stage, the crowd, the entire world in a white haze. When it thinned, the water lay still. Frozen solid. Empty. And Orion was gone.

“The sound of this is off too.” Zachary drinks the vile to everyone’s shock. “POP,” Terry tries to stop him. “We try again,” Zachary nods, starting again. The doctors show Terry that the measurement only change slightly each time. But each time Zachary throws the batch away. “The wizard had a calm I cannot find,” Zachary smashes the vile. “We need the final calm. CAT Water 2. Where is Cat Water 2?” Everyone looks at Terry. “That sounds like a chemical name,” Terry looks at the doctors in the room.

“Sit. Eat. Hydrate.” Nora smiled, all soft sunlight and patience. “You okay?” “Define okay,” I muttered, dropping onto the bench. I studied my tray—steaming moonseed bread, roasted venison, spiced root salad sparkling with enchanted salt—like it might attack. “I’m surviving. Barely.” “Mhm,” Bree said clinically. “That’s the ‘I’m pretending carbs solve trauma’ voice.” I opened my mouth to argue and froze when a large hand slid a fizzing glass of starlit water in front of me—tiny lights popping inside like broken constellations.

She walked back to the kitchen to get a glass of water, her throat dry as sandpaper. She poured water into a glass and drank it greedily. It was the first thing she had put in her mouth since last night. “What are you doing?!” Tiffany suddenly appeared and slapped the glass out of her hand. CLASH! The glass shattered on the floor, water spilling everywhere. “Who gave you permission to drink water? You just finished working! Are you that weak? You waste everything! Water, glass, food! You are just a walking disaster!” “I was thirsty…” Hazel whispered, looking at the broken pieces.

The irony was a bitter pill to swallow. ​“The atmospheric moisture collectors,” I whispered after a long silence, my mind shifting into the familiar gear of problem solving. “If I can bypass the central command and reroute the power from the defense turrets in Sector Four, I can double the output of the clean water basins in the lower sectors. It is not much, but it is life. It is a gesture.” ​“Do it,” Thorne said, heading for the door. “And Silas? Try to do it without making them feel like they are receiving charity from a king. Just give them the water because they are thirsty. For once, let the math be a gift, not a tax.”

He crossed his arms over his bare chest, looking down for a moment before lifting his gaze back to hers. “I should have told you sooner,” he admitted. She tilted her head, watching him carefully. "Told me what?" His jaw tightened, as if he were choosing his words carefully. “The prototype.” Maria frowned slightly. The weight behind that word alone sent unease crawling up her spine. Luca ran a hand over his face before finally speaking. "It's called Prototype H²O. A highly advanced engine designed to run on water instead of gas." Maria blinked. "Water?"

She collects a small glass, a jar of dried leaves, and a vial of amber liquid, ingredients for a plan. Then she sets the glass in front of me. “Drink,” she says. I stare at it suspiciously. “Is it going to burn through my throat?” Her mouth twitches. “It’s water, Abby.” “Just checking,” I mutter, but I drink anyway. The water is cool and clean and most importantly, it doesn’t feel like punishment. It shouldn’t be emotional to drink water. It is. My eyes sting, and I blink hard, angry at myself for being soft. But being soft is unavoidable when your dead sister is alive and your mother is possibly, your executioner with a gentle smile.