The Moonlit Path

 

Lexa stuffed her phone back into her pocket and broke into a light jog. She turned down the fork she saw Clarke follow. The moon was bright that night and shown through the breaks in the canopy. It was almost a beautiful sight if it weren’t for the general feeling of unease and dread that hung in the air.

 

Lexa slowed her pace the deeper she trekked down the path. The worn dirt trail became increasingly overgrown as she twisted her way into the woods. Her eyes constantly scanned the nearby foliage, desperate for a glimpse of Clarke. The path split into a fork when Lexa finally heard something. She quickly turned left, down a path she had never seen before, walking slowly and carefully. She came to an abrupt stop as her eyes finally caught sight of Clarke.

 

She was standing in the middle of a clearing in front of a giant fallen tree, the moon shining brightly down on her, illuminating her hair in a magnificent glow. Her palms were turned towards the sky; her head tilted up. All that was strange, but it wasn’t the most curious thing Lexa saw. No. The strangest thing she saw was the fallen tree in front of Clarke twist and turn. Its roots took hold in the ground, its straight trunk stood right, and the branches turned from dead and bare to lively and full of green.

 

Lexa was mildly aware of her quick breaths becoming louder as she realized that Clarke was making the tree grow.

 

Clarke.

 

Was making a tree grow.

 

With her bare hands.

 

Lexa gasped as the reality of her thoughts came crashing down with acute realization. The rapid healing, the ethereal glow, the flowers that suddenly had new life after Clarke touched them. Clarke wasn’t human.

 

She slapped her hand to her mouth, but it was too late. Clarke turned towards the noise; her hands fell to her side, and the tree immediately stalled in its growth. “Lexa?”

 

Lexa snapped out of her stupor and took a tentative step backwards. It wasn’t that she was afraid of Clarke. She just couldn’t wrap her logical mind around the totally supernatural in front of her, and her body’s default response was to remove itself from the unexplainable. But Clarke raced towards her, faster than she’d ever seen her move, and hands were suddenly on her shoulders, warm and strong and soothing.

 

“Lexa, what are you doing here?”

 

“I saw you walk into the woods alone. I followed you to make sure you were all right,” Lexa heard herself answer.

 

“Did you see?”

 

“Did I see you grow a dead tree with your hands? Yeah, I saw that,” she deadpanned.

 

“How…” Clarke mumbled to herself. “Fuck. The veil.” Clarke pressed her eyes together in a tight grimace, and Lexa’s gaze darted from Clarke to the half-grown tree and back again. A deafening crash had both their heads turning to the side. Lexa squinted into the darkness trying to find the source of the commotion, but Clarke just kept a firm grasp on her shoulders.

 

“Lexa,” she stated her voice firm and commanding. “I need you to listen to me. You need to leave. Follow the path back to campus. I will explain everything when I get back. I promise.”

 

Another crash tore Lexa’s gaze away from Clarke’s intense blue eyes. “Lexa,” she pleaded again. “You must go. Now.” Clarke’s tone and eyes radiated power, and Lexa knew deep down that whatever was coming was dangerous.