It was hard to take it all in at once.

The first thing I noticed were the stone beds everywhere I looked—in the clearing, scattered among the trees, filling the mountain road, packed tightly together. And they were all occupied, the people still in their comas. There had to be some kind of magic associated with those stupid blocks of rock—something that helped keep those people asleep and fed and undisturbed.

My heart soared when I saw them, however, because it meant that at least they were still alive. The Ice had come through in a way I'd never imagined, answering my last desperate prayer before I'd lost consciousness. Once again, the power of my Gifts staggered my mind.

I continued to take in the bizarre scene that surrounded me.

Four people were tied up and hanging from nearby trees. They hung upside down, their feet attached to the trees by a rough-looking rope. Although the rising sun was shining right in my eyes, I could tell who three of them were. The fourth one was a mystery.

I ran down the slope of the open clearing and headed for the trees where they were captive. As I got closer, I realized they were also blindfolded and gagged, and I could only hope they were still alive. Before I had even reached the trees, I used the Ice to freeze and break apart their ropes. Then I let them down slowly with another rope made of Ice. A couple of grunts from someone let me know they were indeed alive.

Tanaka. Miyoko. Rayna. Some stranger.

But Hood was gone.

I quickly helped them up and broke off their gags and blindfolds before they could even try. Rayna doubled over and puked, the sudden transition from being upside down to right side up too much for her. Tanaka ran over and hugged Miyoko tight, and I joined them. It was especially good to see Miyoko and Rayna alive and well, since they were the whole point of us going there in the first place. The stranger stood to the side, quiet and reserved.

“What happened?” I asked.

Tanaka pointed to Rayna. “You tell, please.” Then he resumed hugging his daughter, making sure she was okay.

Rayna came up to me. It had been a while since I'd seen her black hair and her scarred face and her green leather outfit. She was an odd duck, but she meant the world to me.

“The four okisaru brought us here,” she said, “and soon after that the Icy stone blocks came flying out of the mountain. How did you do that?”

“I have no idea. It was the Ice—that's all I know.”

Rayna shook her head. “You are an amazing creature, Jimmy Fincher.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. So what else happened?”

“Hundreds of Shadow Ka came flying out of the cave, screaming and yelling like they were extremely upset, which I'm sure they were. They attacked us, and we were helpless. But the rest of the okisaru showed up, turned into some kind of freaky flying lions or something, and started beating the Ka back. They chased them away and we haven't seen them or the okisaru since.”

“Then how in the heck did you end up in the tree? And where's Hood?”

“Hood escaped with his Bender Ring. As for the tree, you can thank him for that,” she replied, pointing to the stranger.

He walked up to me. He was a young man, not much older than I, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. His hair was blond and scraggly, and his face was covered in the beginnings of a beard. He looked like any normal kid you'd see on his way to high school, late for class because he'd slept in.

“Who are you?” I asked, realizing too late that I'd been was kind of rude.

He held out his hand. I took it, and he gave me a firm handshake.

“My name is Justin.” He turned to the others, gave a mocking smile, and then motioned to them.

“But they call me The Half.”