Chapter VIII: Cascade
Lori's room was filled with noise as the siblings talked to each other. The eleven children in the house had immediately gathered there once Lori gave the order for a "Sibling Meeting", as it was always the place where they went to discuss and debate what went under their roof. Such as their powers, besides Lincoln and Lily. Currently Lori was pacing around the front of her closet with a drawer in front along with one of her shoes acting as a gavel. She stopped pacing once she decided to talk, heading behind her dresser and smacked her shoe on the wooden surface to get her sister's attention. She wanted to give a supportive talk, but nothing came to mind, so she decided to wing it.
"Okay, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. We're in the middle of a crisis here. We need to learn how to reign in these powers we've got, otherwise we are literally going to be in serious trouble. I also don't want us accidentally knocking the house down," Lori said, scanning the room so she could see all of her younger siblings, "So I am opening the floor for anyone who might have a solution."
"Ooh! How about the backyard?" Lynn offered, raising her hand. "We can use my sporting equipment!"
"And have all our neighbors see us? Thanks, but no thanks." Lola immediately shot her down. She had a point. Their house was in the center of a massive urban sprawl, and their family had a reputation for attracting unwanted attention.
"Lola's right, Lynn. We literally can't be seen. You really think nobody's gonna notice us with the powers we have, especially mine?" Lori said to her sporty sister. Lynn gave it some thought. It would be kind of weird to see a forty-foot tall teenager in Royal Woods. And with all of the other fantastic and flashy powers her sisters had, it was practically begging for trouble.
"Fair point." Lynn shrugged.
"Well, if we can't use the house, where can we go?" Luan said. With their home ruled out, options were limited. The room became silent again as everyone began thinking about where they could go to test out their powers and not be seen by anyone. Nothing came to their heads just yet. After some time wondering, it was Lana who got an idea and raised her hand.
"Can we go to the park?" Lana said to Lori, abiding by what her sister had said earlier.
"Too close to the neighborhood. We'd be spotted almost immediately." Lisa responded, pushing up her glasses as she did, a nervous habit of her's.
"Darn." Lana growled. "Sounded good in my head."
"We can try the mall. Oh, wait. My bad, too many people. I was getting excited about the discounts tomorrow on used sunhats." Leni said, and then sheepishly waved away her point.
"Well it's obvious we can't go anywhere that's local. And besides, where can we go that isn't jam-packed with bystanders? We'll be spotted the moment we use our powers, dudes." Luna had a point. Even on a Sunday afternoon, Royal Woods was full of human traffic. Everyone had been thinking about places that they knew well, but not enough on where they could remain hidden. It was another roadblock as the sisters began to talk among themselves to find any sort of place that could be empty. In the midst of the arguments Lincoln was thinking deeply, remembering places that he knew where his sisters could practice and remain hidden from any prying eyes. Somewhere there was a lot of cover and open areas, where nobody would even think of going. He suddenly remembered that there was one place where he knew, and it was so obvious he almost facepalmed.
"Of course! Guys, hear me out a second! Who said anything about going local?" Lincoln raised his voice, standing on top of Lori's bed as he began talking. His sisters immediately turned their attention to him. "I know the perfect place for you all to practice your powers!"
"Oh yeah Stinkoln, and where might that be?" Lynn sarcastically asked, and the rest of the sisters watched as Lincoln pulled out his phone and showed everyone the place he was talking about.
"The old hiking trail! My friends and I sometimes go there after school to explore. It goes deep in the woods, there's a bunch of paths we can take, and since it's closed on Sundays we'll be the only ones there!" Lincoln said as his sisters stared at his phone's screen at the hiking area that Lincoln was talking about, the Royal Woods State Park. It displayed pictures of lush, packed woodland and plenty of trails to travel on, giving more incentive to listen to Lincoln. "It's the perfect area for you to learn how to control your powers! Plus it's not that far away, so we can get there, train a little bit and then get back home before it gets dark out!"
"That's... actually not a bad idea!" Lori responded, realizing that her brother was on to something. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. "Wow! Nice job, Lincoln!"
"Yeah, good save there little bro! I love hiking!" Lynn stood up and gave her brother a playful punch on the shoulder.
"Ugh, I don't." Lola mumbled, crossing her arms. The mere thought of going into creature-infested woodlands, filled with creepy crawlies and other animals, gave her goosebumps. Plus it would be dirty, and she was no fan of getting mud anywhere on her dresses. The ice-wielding princess already had to deal with Lana's hobbies of mud pies and other nasty habits, going off on a hike was only going to get her in the same place.
"C'mon Lola, it'll be fun!" Lana scooted over to Lola's side and gave her a doe-eyed face of cuteness, "We can go find a pond or something and test our powers there! Pretty please with a cherry on top?"
Lola didn't budge, so Lana brought out the big guns.
"I'll buy you ice cream tomorrow." She said, holding a five-dollar bill she had hidden in her overall's front pocket. "My treat."
"Will you promise me that you won't try to get me dirty?" Lola asked, as deadpan as could be.
"I promise!" Lana put a fist over her chest. Seeing that her sibling would at least try to not be a pest and with the promise of delicious ice cream, Lola relented.
"Alright, I'm in." She said, and her sisters and brother gave a cheer.
"Everyone on board with Lincoln's idea to head over to the woods?" Lori asked, and everyone raised their hands.
"Excellent. Now pack whatever you want to bring and let's head out!" Lori loudly said, and the Loud family gave a whoop as they raced back to their rooms to grab whatever they needed for the trip. Soon after some rummaging, they were ready to head out as Lori snatched the keys to the van from the kitchen table and bounded out the door with her siblings behind her right to the van, and peeled out into the street.
"Hey Lincoln, you mind plugging in the GPS on my phone?" Lori held her phone to where Lincoln was sitting behind her.
"Gotcha Lori," Lincoln typed in the coordinates and handed back her phone, "Here you are."
"Thanks Linc. Alright people, we're off!"
...
The drive to the hiking trail was quick thanks to it being a Sunday. With less traffic driving around it wasn't long before the Loud family arrived at the hiking trail. Everyone in the van was getting excited once they started to get closer. A huge wooden sign engraved with big bold words, "ROYAL WOODS HIKING AREA", greeted them as they pulled in to the empty parking lot, just as Lincoln predicted. Thankfully, even though it was considered closed, there were no gates blocking the roadway into the parking lot as they cruised on towards a parking spot.
"You were right Lincoln, this place is like totally empty." Leni observed the incredible lack of other cars and people.
"Told you." Lincoln proudly said, feeling a little smug.
"Ooh! Heh heh!" Lily giggled from her safety seat, pointing at the endless trees.
"That's right Lily, it's a big, spooky forest. And we're gonna go inside!" Lynn said to her baby sister. The moment the infant heard the word "spooky" she looked back to the forest with big, worried eyes, letting out a nervous coo.
"Lynn, don't scare Lily. It's literally the last thing we need now." Lori gave a stern look at her sporty sister through the review mirror as she put the van in park. The Loud siblings followed each other out of the vehicle and into their usual group with Lori leading them towards the trail. From what they could see there was a single moss-covered cobblestone path leading straight into the forest. To the left before the mouth where the trees lined up was a small wooden gazebo with a directory that gave directions and guidance to the rest of the park, lining up multiple trails in various colors. Upon seeing it, the Louds made their way over to the directory to look where each trail went in hopes for some good places to train.
"It says here that are several trails that we can venture forth towards," Lisa pushed up her glasses as she memorized the directions each trail went, "There's a blue, a red and a white trail. I'd recommend that we utilize each one and break off into groups. That way we can maximize our efforts. This map shows that the blue trail leads to an open field, perfect for those with bodily-oriented powers."
"Which means people like you and me, Lisa." Lori said, and Lily strapped in the harness around Lori's chest gave a gentle laugh. Going on an adventure with her older sister and roommate sounded like fun for the baby. Lori understood what Lisa meant by taking different routes to save time. Before she went on the blue trail with Lisa, Lori had more things to say. "Look, Lisa's literally got the right idea. We need to make sure we all have at least some control over our powers and keep an eye out so none of us does anything literally stupid on their own. Those with similar powers should travel with each other as a group. Also, we should all meet back here at least by seven PM. That'll give us about an hour to do some practicing before we head back home. Everyone good on that?"
"Yep!" Everyone responded.
"Excellent. C'mon Lisa, let's head out."
"Right behind you, my size-shifting sibling."
And with that said, Lori and Lisa walked on towards the stone path with Lori leading the way as she typed something on her phone. The rest of the Loud children stood around trying to think about what to do next. They heard Lori's orders, and with an hour to spare, the forest awaited them.
"Hey Leni," the fashionista turned to see Lucy and the twins standing behind her, with the goth doing the talking, "The four of us have powers that can manipulate our environments. You want to come train with us?"
"Sure thing!" Leni took Lucy's hand and lead them into the forest with Lana and Lola trailing behind them.
"I don't know if I can do anything in here, dudes." Luna scratched the back of her head as she worried about what she could actually do here. She might be able to run extremely fast and generate lightning, but in the middle of a forest trail those abilities were asking for trouble. Wood and lighting didn't exactly mix very well unless she wanted to start a forest fire, and running at the speeds she was able to on a hiking trail would only lead to broken legs and busted feet on rocks and trees. Luna wasn't exactly in the mood to spend time in the hospital. It was Luan who came to her sister's proverbial rescue when the rockstar announced her hesitance.
"Don't you worry, Luna!" Luan wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulders. "I'll help you out, no problem! You and me, we've got the strange powers so we gotta stick together. So let's boogie on over towards a trail and find out what shocking things we can do! Hahaha! Get it?"
"Sure do, sis." Luna replied, feeling relieved that Luan was there to help.
"Hey, do you mind if I teleport us both somewhere?" Luan asked. Luna looked at her with wide, horrified eyes and a slightly gaping mouth. "It's kinda been on my mind for a while, seems like the perfect time to try it out?."
"Um Luan I don't really think that's a good idea-!" Luna immediately tried to protest, but her comedian sister wasn't listening.
"Nonsense!" Luan said, still holding on to Luna's shoulders, and the rockstar let out a cry as they teleported, both of them vanishing in a glow of yellow light. It was down to two, the only ones who were still standing around.
"I guess that means I've got dibs on you, Lincoln." Lynn humorously said with her arms crossed, seeing how they were now partners for the time being. The others had gone on with their own adventures leaving their sporty sister and sole brother to be a pair. For Lynn, being stuck with Lincoln in the wilderness was for once a very good scenario. Since he had all the comic book knowledge about their powers and what they could do, she was getting the best advice. He was pretty much her coach for the evening. That and hanging with her little bro was always fun, and he didn't have a superpower like everyone else had.
"Guess so," Lincoln shrugged as the two of them began walking. Deeper in the forest they went, and soon it was just the two of them before Lincoln began to ask questions.
"Say Lynn, what does your heat feel like when you use it?"
"When I what?" The sporty sister responded. She realized what he meant after bounding over a log. "Oh, my powers you mean. Well, I guess whenever I decide to heat up I begin to feel... warm. Like I'm standing in front of the sun, but it's not hurting me. You get what I'm saying?"
It was the best explanation she could give as of right now. Describing what her power felt like was an odd question for Lynn to give an honest answer. Granted, she was never really good at talking about how she was feeling or anything else regarding emotions, and this was no different. If Lincoln wanted a deep, spiritual talk about what it felt like when she used her power he was better off with someone like Lucy or even Luna.
"I think so," he said back, following her through the trail as it climbed higher and higher, "I don't have a power yet so I'm still wondering what it'll be like."
"Yet?" Lynn wondered, pausing to give Lincoln a inquisitive gaze, "You think you'll have one?" She asked.
"Oh, I'm very certain of it. Everyone else in the family other than Lily has one, so really all I have to do is wait. It's bound to happen sooner or later." Lincoln said, sticking a thumb to his puffed-out chest. He was feeling good about himself getting a superpower thanks to his sisters one by one attaining such bizarre abilities. The boy knew that he was bound to get his one of these days. He continued on with a growing sense of excitement, "And, honestly, the suspense is getting me pumped up! What do you think I might get? Super strength? I know you wanted that one. Maybe I can clone myself, o-or transform into a robot! That'll be so cool!"
Meanwhile as Lincoln continued to prattle on, Lynn simply huffed and droned out her brother as they kept on walking. Looks like sticking to her brother was only giving her an endless earful of his fantasies.
So much for getting the best advice, she mentally groaned, I wonder how everyone else is getting along.
...
Meanwhile with Lori and Lisa, their hike had been short. It had only taken about a couple minutes of walking along the trail before they found the open clearing devoid of trees. There were wooden picnic tables and a rusted grill underneath an old oak tree, and thankfully no other people around as well. Lori had been worried that they weren't the only ones sneaking in. The forest they had strolled through surrounded them on all sides, keeping the three sisters out of sight.
"Looks like we're here, and it looks like we're the only ones." Lori walked on over to one of the tables and put her baby sister down from the harness. Lily let out a coo as she shook her rattle, and giggled as Lori scratched the top of her head. With Lily safe and sound nearby, Lori turned to her scientist sister. "Alright Lisa, how should we do this? Got an idea?"
Lisa scratched her chin as the thought of something that her elder sister could try out. Something rather simple, quick and would get the job done. One idea came to mind.
"I do believe I have a ideal plan for our mutual benefit. Lori, could you increase your height to, let's say, twenty-one feet?" Lisa asked, and noticed that Lori was giving her a look, "Oh please, the acer saccharum around us will shield us from any prying eyes. They are tall enough to hide you."
"Okay then, if you say so." Lori shrugged, and then activated her power. The faint blue shimmer returned, covering her body as she grew taller by the second. Lisa and Lily watched as their sister suddenly became the world's tallest teenager, both of them in awe at the sight of her looming over them. She stopped once she believed herself to be at Lisa's asked height.
"Ori beeg!" Lily cheerfully pointed with her rattle.
"You're right Lily, I am big," She leaned down to her knee and gently as to not spook the baby asked, "Is this tall enough?"
"That is sufficient my dear sister," Lisa responded and then began the second part of her plan, "Now if you could please lower your hand for me to climb on?"
Lori did so, opening a foot-wide palm for Lisa to climb on.
"Thank you, Lori. Raise me as high as you can." Lisa said, and Lori did so, raising her over her head. Lisa stumbled slightly, but righted herself by gripping Lori's enlarged thumb for support. There was a faint wind in the air once she was at Lori's farthest reach. Lisa couldn't help but let out a whistle once she saw how high she was. The forest below her seemed so short, and the shining lights of buildings further away. "Now that is a sight to see."
"How's the view from up there?" Lori asked, "Is this what you wanted from me? To literally be human watchtower?"
"I merely wished to experiment on how far I can see using my empowered oculuses. Using your ability has given me an optimal view of our surroundings. And so far," Lisa squinted, leaning forward as she did, viewing all the little details and events that she normally would have needed a pair of binoculars for or even a telescope, "I can clearly make out the borders of our town several miles away. Mr. Grouse is heading towards the public library to drop off his copy of National Geographic. Several of my classmates are enjoying their recreational playing at the local park. And the mall has just closed for the night." She finished, leaning down to look at Lori after sharing.
"Wow, you've got some eyes Lisa." Lori admitted, slightly impressed that Lisa could see all those things from so far away. It was beginning to turn to sunset, and Lori's shadow cast over Lily as the sun started to lower itself. Lori shielded her own eyes from the glare, but Lisa did no such thing. "Ugh, jeez. Does the sun literally not do anything to you?"
"It appears I am immune to our home star's luminosity." Lisa said. "And the image I am seeing is quite photogenic."
"Well, can I shrink now? My arm is cramping and the sun is literally in my face."
"Go ahead, eldest sibling." And with that said, Lori knelt down and dropped Lisa back to ground level and shrunk herself right after, returning to her normal mass.
"Well colored me surprised, but that was kinda fun." Lori said, taking a quick excited breath as she started walking back to Lily with Lisa beside her. "I didn't think I could get that big. I must have literally been planet Earth's tallest blonde right then."
"And I am newly astonished by my empowered eyes. Truly a blessing to gaze upon the horizon and see every minute detail with the naked eye." Lisa added on. The two of them, however, were not expecting there to be any more surprises, but they were about to have another.
"That sounds awesome Lisa!"
"Why thank you, my eldest sibling." Lisa graciously said, but Lori turned to her with a face of confusion.
"I didn't say anything." To Lori, Lisa had just spouted out some random thanks for no reason.
"Didn't you just say that my ability, and I repeat, 'sounds awesome'?" The little scientist asked, now sounding a little perturbed. While the voice she heard did sound quite young, it stood to reason that it must have been her elder sister talking. But Lori apparently hadn't spoken a word, and now Lisa was getting a little freaked out.
"Um, pretty sure I literally didn't. I mean it honestly is, don't get me wrong, but I didn't say that." Lori responded.
"But I think your power's cool, Lori! Just as awesome as Lisa's!"
"Okay now I definitely heard someone talk." Lori said, both of their eyes wide as they both heard the voice pop in their ears. It couldn't have been either of them since they weren't speaking at all when they heard it, again for Lisa.
"Well, if it isn't you, and it most certainly isn't me, who else-?" Lisa stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing that wasn't just her and Lori. They were a party of three. Lori seemed to share the same startling idea as the two of them slowly turned to face their infant sister, still rattling her toy but looking right at them.
"Lily?" Lori whispered.
"Hi Lori!" Lily waved her tiny hand, confirming what they had been thinking. They could hear Lily's voice from inside their heads.
"What the heck is that?" Lori exasperatedly asked. She approached the baby and scooped her up in her arms. "How are you even talking?"
"Telepathy. Absolutely astonishing! To think that Lily was granted such an ability!" Lisa couldn't help but gush over her little sister's power. She reached up to scratch the top of Lily's head, and the baby let out a gleeful giggle. Lori didn't seem to share their mood, but wasn't as stunned as she had been with her other sisters. By now it seemed that she was just accepting it as a new normal.
"Well at least we know now that Lily's also one of us," Lori said, "Which makes me wonder how everyone else is doing."
"I'm sure our siblings are making the most of their time here, probably uncovering other new methods that their powers beheld them." Lisa triumphantly said, optimistic that her siblings wouldn't be so foolish to waste what time they had.
...
"You done puking, Luna?"
"F-Fu-UAAAAUGH!"
"Guess that's a no, then."
...
"Woohoo! Look at me, Lola!" Lana whooped, crying out to her twin.
Lola, however, did not share her mood. "At least she's having fun," she grumbled.
The group of four that consisted of Leni, Lucy, Lola and Lana had found their way towards the large pond hidden in the forest near the trail. Lana had gone and thrown herself into the water the moment she spied it behind a large cluster of boulders, and was using her hydrokinesis to propel her under the water's surface, breaching in and out like a dolphin. Lola had taken a seat on a rock near the shore, watching as her sister launched herself in and out of the water. The pageant girl wasn't feeling too enthralled about being in the woods as evidence with her crossed arms and the frown on her face.
While the twins were busy playing, Leni and Lucy were taking a stroll nearby in the woods. Lucy had brought along a book she had borrowed from the school library called Wizardology, featuring a large blue cover and a strange circlet in the center. She had been interested to see how the world of wizardry worked since she was a believer of the arcane, but now that she had been gifted with the powers of magic it was serving as her guidebook. Lucy had been reading it beforehand during the car ride and thought it would be a good idea to try something interesting in the book, and for that she asked Leni to help her out on her personal quest.
"A staff?" Leni asked, revealing what Lucy wanted, "I'm not sure I understand. We're not in the mall."
"Not that kind of staff Leni, this one." Lucy pointed to a page in the book where Leni saw a wizard holding a long wooden stick with a circular crystal embedded at the top casting a fiery spell. "I think it would help me learn how to control my magical prowess even further than simple summons. Plus staffs are wicked cool. I've always wanted one." Hearing how excited the normally monotone Lucy was, Leni swelled with joy, more than ready to assist her sibling.
"Say no more, Lucy! I'd be glad to help you out!" Leni gave a salute to her goth sister who smiled back at her.
"Sweet. Now the book says that are certain types of trees that are more magically adept than others." Lucy said.
"Really? How so?"
"Hmm," Lucy flipped through some pages and stopped at one that detailed how to make a specialized staff for the burgeoning wizardess. "It says that the older the tree is, the better the wood. So keep an eye out for any tree that looks aged."
"Alright, an old tree. Now where could one be?" Leni asked herself, putting a hand up on a tree nearby as she scratched her chin, thinking about where an old tree that would be perfect for Lucy might be. Lucy, in the meantime, had sat down to read more about what the book had on familiars and magical creatures, and after a while she looked up to see her older sister still in the same spot thinking hard, but not looking where she was.
"Leni."
"Yes, Lucy?"
The goth pointed at the tree that she was leaning against. Leni turned to see that it was, in fact, a massive oak tree, the truck covered in moss and mushrooms growing at the base near the exposed roots. It must have been very old in order to grow that large.
"Oh," Leni blinked, "Oh! This ought to work!"
The fashionista reached up to grab a thick, gnarled branch and used her fabrication to cleanly sever it from the mighty trunk. The momentum she made shook off plenty of dead twigs and leaves from the canopy, some of which landed in her hair. Leni quickly wiped them off her head.
"Sorry about that!" She apologized to the tree as she went back to Lucy. "How's this? Is it good enough for your magic stick?"
"It's dark, old and hideous. It's perfect." Lucy smiled as she took the piece of wood from Leni's hands. "Thank you Leni."
Back at the pond, Lana had finally decided to leave the water, shaking her soaked clothes to air them out. The tomboy squeezed her hat, and spied Lola sitting on the same rock as before still looking as dour as ever. Concerned about her twin, Lana flipped her cap on and made her way over to Lola.
"What's the matter Lola? Don't you want to see what you can do with your powers?" Lana asked, sitting down next to Lola.
"I do, I do. It's just..." Lola trailed off, her scowl slowly being replaced with a dismal frown. "I just feel like I don't know how. Besides, I'll never be able to have that level of control like you. I can't do anything here. My ice will just melt away the moment I try." Lola had been feeling this way ever since the four of them had arrived at the pond. It seemed that everyone else was in their element except for her, and it had been eating at the pageant girl from the inside. Seeing her twin frolic in the water so readily discouraged her, and the ice-wielder felt apprehension bubbling in her gut which only nulled her motivation.
"Never say never Lola. I'll help you out." Lana said, taking her sister's hand and leading her to the muddy shore of the pond. "Here. Let's do something easy. Try to freeze some of the water."
Lola hesitantly stuck her open palms out, aiming right at the shoreline that Lana pointed at to see if she could freeze it. Before she did anything she looked back at her twin for assurance, who gave a double thumbs up.
"You got this!" She whispered at her.
And so, with Lana's blessing, Lola took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"I can do this. I can do this. I can do this." She said to herself like a mantra, and in her moment of calm unleashed a soft, steady stream of subzero energy from her hands, turning the once-liquid shore into a frozen still. And Lana, in her moment of joy at watching her twin accomplish something, let out a happy cheer.
"You did it Lola!" Lola immediately opened her eyes, and saw that she had not only frozen the small part of the pond, but nearly half of the pond's surface was covered in ice. She had done that with her own power, and despite being something that the princess would consider mundane, Lola felt like she was on top of the world.
"I-I did it! Yes! Oh thank you thank you thank you Lana!" She ran back and hugged her twin as tight as she could.
"Wow, nice job with your power Lola! It's so pretty!" Leni and Lucy emerged from the woods just in time to see their pageant princess sister use her freezing power after so much time doing nothing. Both of them felt glad that Lola had finally decided to test out her power with such good results. Lola playfully rolled her eyes from her older sister's praise and hooked an arm around Lana's shoulder as she faced the fashionista and the goth.
"Yes, well, I couldn't have done it without Lana. Right Lana?" Lola said, but there was no response from her twin. "Lana?"
"Brrrr..." Lana sputtered out, shaking like a leaf, and Lola let out a gasp. The skin around where she was hugged had turned a light blue and parts of her body were smothered in ice. "M-M-Might want to l-l-let up o-on the ice t-there, sis."
Lola sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.
"Oh, hehe... my bad."
...
"...and then Muscle Fish went all I'll see you in Hell and then he shot him right out of the fuselage and into the space station! It was the coolest thing I've ever seen in theaters!" Lincoln shouted as he told Lynn about him and his friends seeing the Muscle Fish v. Ace Savvy movie that came out days ago. And he was certainly getting excited about it, but Lynn had droned his chatter out until he finally decided to stop one day. Right now, she just focused on finding somewhere to stop and train and maybe get her brother to shut up for once.
"Uh huh, yeah that's cool Lincoln. Real awesome stuff," She monotonously replied, and decided to stop him by snapping at him with, "Say, you got anything about helping me out? Y'know, the one that has superpowers? The reason we're here?" She hoped that it would ground him back to reality.
"Huh? Oh, of course!" Lincoln heard the edge in Lynn's voice and suddenly felt a slight sense of guilt, "I'm sorry about that Lynn, I couldn't help it. Everything's just so crazy now and I'm just thrilled to see what'll happen."
"Whatever Lincoln," she waved it off, but was internally happy that she was getting Lincoln focused back on her, "Let's just find someplace to practice so you can help me out."
"Right." Lincoln nodded, and as the two of them ascended up a rocky path through the ever-endless forest, he spied something from the corner of his eye. He tapped Lynn on the shoulder to get her attention and pointed at what he saw.
"Hey Lynn, check that out!" Lincoln said, aiming Lynn's vision towards what he was looking at; a long simple suspension bridge made out of rope and wood suspended between two sides of the cliff right next to a roaring waterfall. It must have been at least fifty feet long. The two of them rushed over to get a closer look, revealing that it was quite some height up, and the cascading river next to them shrouded most of the descent in a thick mist that hid away the bottom of the ravine. On the other side from where the bridge met the trail was a clearing filled with boulders, the perfect spot for her to do some old-fashioned target practice.
"Well what're we waiting for? Let's go." Lynn asked and was about to start walking before she felt Lincoln pull her back just before she put her foot on the bridge. "Oh what is it now Stinkoln?"
"That, Lynn." Lincoln gestured to the DO NOT CROSS: SLIPPERY SURFACE warning sign that hung right next to the front of the bridge, complete with a falling hiker.
"Oh please, they put those things there just to be a bunch of ballbusters." Lynn said with a wave of her hand. "Besides, it's not like anyone will know."
"Look Lynn, I'm very sure that sign is there for a good reason." Lincoln said to his sister, who crossed her arms and glared at him. Normally she'd listen, but after having to put up with her brother talking nonstop during the walk here, she wasn't really in the mood. "We don't know if the bridge is broken or not. Let's just find another way around."
"Alright Linc, whatever you say." Lynn slowly drawled, feigning acceptance in a totally half-sarcastic response that went over her brother's head. Just as she wanted it to.
"Good. Now, I think we should head this way-" Lincoln said as he turned around to check the forest, and that was all Lynn needed.
"WOOHOO! Race ya there, Lincoln!" She yelled out, and Lincoln watched to his complete horror as she ran across the soaked bridge, laughing as she did without a care in the world.
"LYNN!" Lincoln shrieked, fearing for his sister's safety. She made it about halfway before she turned around and looked back at her brother. "What are you doing?! We're not supposed to cross the bridge! It could be really dangerous!"
"Well it looks like I'm doing just fine, aren't I Lincoln?" She asked loudly over the raging waterfall while leaning on one of the support ropes. She felt pretty smug by proving Lincoln that the bridge wasn't busted, only closed off to stop people having some fun. "Didn't I tell you that there was nothing to be scared of? It looks stable enough to me! Now c'mon, get your lazy butt over here so we can start practicing!"
Lincoln knew in his mind, body and soul that this was a very, very stupid thing to do. He'd seen enough action movies to know better. Lynn was being a stubborn idiot risking her life for some thrills, and she should have listened to her in the first place. But after seeing her cross to the middle of the bridge without any problems Lincoln slowly felt the mental nudge of peer pressure egging him on to follow her over. Getting bossed around by his sisters for years made him more susceptible. Though if Lynn could make it that far, considering she was bigger and stronger than him, then he might be able to get across too. He was certainly lighter than his sister. That and the endless mockery he'd face from his sporty sister for being a so-called wimp. With a hefty, reluctant sigh, Lincoln made his choice.
It would almost cost him dearly.
"Ooh, damn you Lynn," Lincoln quietly cursed his easily persuaded self and begrudgingly followed his sister over the bridge. "Okay, I'm coming over!"
"Hah! Knew it!" Lynn barked out, once again feeling good over proving her nerdy brother wrong.
Unlike his sister's brazen run, Lincoln slowly took one step at a time, putting a foot in front of the other in a steady, controlled pace over each plank of wood. The bridge creaked and groaned beneath him, making the hair on the back of his head stand up. He kept his eyes on his sister and the other side of the bridge, not once looking down, and his grip on the rope was as tight as possible.
"Don't look down. Don't look down." He whispered to himself as each plank he crossed felt like a mile. It didn't help that the waterfall next to him had drenched the bridge in water. A slippery plank made his foot slide and Lincoln almost squealed in terror, but he regained his footing and kept moving. However, as he inched closer to his sister, Lynn's patience was beginning to draw thin. By the time they'd get to the other side they would have to go back home. The sun was getting low. Leave it to her worrywart brother to be such a ninny over something like this.
"Do you want me to carry you?" She called over.
"No!" He shouted back.
"Then hurry up! God, you're being so lame!" Lynn yelled, waiting for her brother at the center of the bridge. She watched with an annoyed look in her eyes as Lincoln slowly made his way over to her, taking each step like it was made of glass. Thankfully he hadn't looked down as much as his survival instincts were telling him to. Lincoln finally managed to reach Lynn's position at the bridge's center, both of them causing it to slightly dip down.
"I told you the bridge was fine," Lynn said, and turned around to start running again, "Now c'mon, let's get moving!"
"Lynn, wait!" Lincoln yelled in a panic, hearing the rope strain against her weight as she stopped herself, "You shouldn't run across the bridge like that!"
"Lincoln, how many times do I have to say it!" She shouted at him, now completely fed up with her brother's incessant worrying. She had held it off long enough between his endless blabbering and non-stop caution, and now it was coming out in full steam. Had she noticed in her anger her irises had changed color from brown to lava orange. Her temper, coupled with her pride and her emotionally-controlled superheat, was only straining the already weak bridge that they were currently standing on. "Quit being such a damn wimp! I'm tired of it! All you've been doing is harking off on that stupid movie and ignoring me when I need your help and now all you wanna do is boss me around!"
"Boss you-?" Lincoln sputtered, "Lynn, I'm trying to stop you from doing something stupid!"
"Oh really? Because it looks like the only thing stupid here is you and your damn need to be a complete buzzkill! We could've been over the bridge by now, but no! You just had to make everything about you again!" Lynn jabbed a finger at her brother's chest.
"I'm trying to keep you safe!" Lincoln said back, a lump growing in his throat.
"Well screw your safe! If this is how you're gonna be, then I don't need your help! How about you just piss off! You're useless!" Lynn screamed at him, her words echoing around the waterfall. She'd thought she got her point across, but the moment she was finished yelling at him and began to cool down, she saw the hurt in her younger brother's eyes. She realized that she said too much, and the two of them stood there in silence. Slowly she felt the sensation of guilt eat its way into her soul as Lincoln shied himself away from her after her tirade.
Lynn realized something else as her temper dwindled. Her brother was right. She shouldn't have yelled at him like that. He said it himself, he only wanted for the both of them to be safe as any responsible sibling would want. It was her that was in the wrong. Crossing the bridge that he tried to warn her not too, mocking him for being cautious, and insulting his new favorite movie. Lynn felt ashamed of herself for losing her cool like that at her little brother.
"Lincoln," she softly said and went to comfort him, "I didn't-"
That was as far as she got before the bridge suddenly shuddered, and the two siblings cried out in terror as it lurched downwards, stopping just as abruptly as it happened. They turned their eyes to the front of the bridge where they heard the sound of something straining, and to their horror they found where it was coming from.
One of the support ropes was snapping loose. Years of torrential waterfall had wore it down, and with the two kids running along and adding more weight, there was only so much it could take. Lynn's running had accelerated its ultimate fate, which they were trapped in.
"The bridge is gonna fall!" Lincoln screamed in terror as they both watched with wide open eyes. There was no time to run as fibers began to snap, creating a tear in the rope that was growing in size. Lynn shouted one last thing right before it cut loose.
"Hang on to something!" She yelled as the rope finally snapped and the bridge collapsed. A loud crack followed as the bridge hung sideways over the misty crossing with only one support rope still keeping it up, swaying with newfound inertia. Lynn and Lincoln managed clung on for dear life, the both of them dangling over the ravine as it continued to sway. The two children cried out in terror as they felt the bridge finally start to stop, settling down to a still. Lynn managed to catch herself from plummeting down into the ravine by clinging on to the other rope, but Lincoln wasn't so lucky. The young boy had grabbed a plank of wood instead, but his fingers couldn't grip hard enough on the wet plank, and his hand began to slide.
"Lynn!" He cried out, and Lynn saw Lincoln slowly sliding down the plank towards certain doom.
"Grab my hand!" Lynn shouted, thrusting an open palm towards her brother. He took it just as plank cracked in half, and the sole brother of the Loud family was now dangling in the open air with only his sister keeping him from dropping towards a misty doom. He stared up to his older sister with a look of sheer terror.
"Hang on, little bro!" She yelled at him, keeping her hand as tight as possible. "Don't you let go!"
"Wasn't planning on it!" Lincoln nervously shouted back. "What do we do?!"
"HELP!" Lynn yelled as loud as she could over the waterfall, praying that one of her siblings would be nearby. "SOMEBODY HELP US!"
"LORI! LUAN! LUNA! ANYBODY HELP!" Lincoln joined in, both of them shouting as they dangled over the misty ravine.
But alas, they were alone. And with time running out for them, it looked like there was no hope for Lincoln and Lynn...