Chapter 166

Ivan

You can. But only if you want to. You don’t have to Ivan. Ariya told me.

We’ll need to be able to communicate eventually. It’s not like they’ll be in my mind constantly. How do I reach out to him? I asked her.

Just try to think of pushing a thought to who you want. He’ll have to accept the connection but once he does it will be a familiar push, like the way you scent people. Ariya explained.

Stay with me, princess? I asked her.

Of course. I’m not going anywhere. She said and I could feel her grinning.

I looked at Caleb and thought about reaching him. I thought the easiest way would be to just call his name so I did.

Caleb. I pushed.

Caleb straightened up and snorted out of his nose.

Ivan? He asked.

Yup, Ari’s here with me too. I told him.

It’s kinda weird hearing you in my head now. It’s been so long and you’ve always been silent. Caleb laughed.

It’s weird for Ivan too. Ariya laughed.

Can we pull the others so we’re all connected? I asked her.

Yes, you might want to let me do that though. If you pull them and they’re not in front of us it might alarm them. They have to get used to your mind connecting them. Ariya giggled.

Ariya was able to have Drake and Keo join the conversation.

Is everything ok? Drake asked, worried.

Yeah, sorry. You guys are still a little ways away from us. I just wanted to see if you guys noticed anything and figured it was easier if we all talked about it at the same time instead of repeating. I explained.

Caleb laughed, You’re freaking fast. Ariya gave me a tip and said it was like you were driving through the ground when you were running and that helped me out but it takes a lot more energy to do that. I was gassed after 5 minutes of trying to catch up.

True but you’re even faster than I am when you do that. However you’re doing it is more effective than the way that I do it. I didn’t change my speed until you started catching up. I told him.

There’s more to it. Keo and I talked about it and shared our memories with each other already. Ivan, your center of gravity is lower than Caleb’s. Even though you’re a lot bigger than he is. Drake explained.

What does that mean? Ariya asked.

It means that Ivan’s running lower to the ground. So he’s able to go faster because there’s not as much distance that he has to cover to continue pushing off the ground. Drake explained.

That’s how Ivan started running after Caleb began to catch up! Ariya exclaimed.

Yeah, it speeds me up even more but it’s hard to keep that going. I only realized I could do it the night of the attack. I explained.

I thought back to the night of the attack and how I dove under Ariya to pick her and Keo up and get away from Boss.

That’s what you were trying? Caleb asked.

Yeah. It was something that I did instinctually that night but it was more to get out of there. I didn’t realize it made me so much faster. I just figured I would try something different when you were catching up. I told him.

It’s probably not sustainable for a long time though. Would it be better to continue just working on endurance and gaining speed by continuing the way you’re going? Keo asked.

We could put weight on them. That would slow them down. As they get back to the pace they were at, taking the weight off should make them feel lighter and able to go faster. Ariya suggested.

The weight would be better if it was on our feet. On our back it’s like we’re carrying someone. Which we should also do. But if we’re trying to increase our speed then it needs to be on our feet. I added.

I’m sure there’s something we can find and use to make some weights. It would help with speed. Is speed going to be an issue though? Drake asked.

It will for Ariya and I. We’re going to have to be fast enough to either catch Boss off guard before he can use his ability, or be fast enough that his ability can’t catch us. Besides, Boss has a gravity ability that makes it harder to move and can pin you to the ground. I mentioned.

I think there’s a limit to it. Remember when you had me lose control. Boss was trying to hold me in place and said that he could only do it for so long, remember? Ariya added.

Do you remember the amount of pressure he was putting on you? If we can recreate that pressure and you can still get up and move, that would make a big difference in fighting part of his ability. Drake asked.

If I felt it again I would be able to tell you. It was enough pressure that I think he cracked my ribs. Ariya said.

I growled, That’s a lot of pressure.