Life Light by R.J. Ross Page A

machines that tower high into the air. Instead of punching bags, they’ve got an entire wall of steel that has several fist imprints in it. The wall on the left side of the room is covered with television screens, showing news from all over the world. The entire room is lit by the sun coming through the clear ceiling. Liz and Grandma are standing by another wall, talking quietly.
    “Are you sure this is the best way?” Liz asks. “We won’t hurt her, will we?”
    “As a healer, she will be fine,” Grandma says. “I have met healers in the past--they are tougher than they believe. It is a matter of pushing her--which, from what my son has said, has not happened yet.” They both turn and look at me expectantly. “Will you try this, kitten?” Grandma asks, motioning to the wall. Looking closer, I realize there are handholds built into the ice.
    “You mean, like rock climbing?” I ask. “But--“
    “We need to get you to your limits,” Liz says. “Tatiana thinks that by pushing you past your comfort zone, you should be able to access your fight or flight reflexes,” she explains. “You don’t have to worry about falling, we’ll be sure to catch you--we just need to see how much it takes to get you past your threshold. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to--“
    I look at my gloves, tapping the button she had pushed on Emily’s. Spikes come out. I repeat the process with my boots. “I think it’ll be fun,” I admit. “I’ve always wanted to try rock climbing walls!”
    “See? It will be fine!” Grandma tells Liz. “It will also help with her upper body strength--it is very important in a healer,” she declares. “There are very heavy supers that must be lifted at times.”
    “Yeah, there are,” I say as I head to the wall, looking at all the handholds. They cover the wall at various heights and distances from each other. I really think Grandma or Grandpa just stuck their hands into the ice, creating them. I can imagine what it looked like, I think as a grin crosses my face. Can’t you just picture them debating on whether I’ll be able to reach this spot or that?
    I feel really loved right now. Obviously this wall would be completely useless to them, right? It was all for me. I start climbing, making my way up the wall slowly. “Do you think we could add one of these to my obstacle course at school?” I ask, reaching gingerly for the next handhold. “This is a lot more entertaining than running a mile.”
    “Talk to Nico, I’m sure he can get one,” Liz says.
    “Keep climbing, kitten! We need you out of breath,” Grandma says.
    I look up, seeing the handholds go all the way to the ceiling, probably a mile above my head.
    “I’m sure I’ll get there,” I say dryly. Handhold by handhold, foothold by foothold, I slowly make my way up higher and higher. It becomes instinctive after a while, and my mind starts to wander. Jack had been about to tell me something about the healer girl, right? What was it? Maybe she was still paranoid, even after we proved that we were with the Hall. I can see that, I mean, she reacted so harshly to--
    I blink as I bump my head on the ceiling. I almost fall off the wall in shock. “See? She is much tougher than she believes,” Grandma says from right behind me. I look over as Liz moves into view.
    “You did it, Aub!” she says excitedly.
    “How?” I ask blankly, looking at the ceiling in shock.
    “One step after another, kitten,” Grandma says. I dare to look down--feeling slightly light-headed as I see how far up I am. “You are not exhausted enough. I am afraid you will have to go down, as well,” she says.
    I turn and stare at her. She gives me a beautiful smile. She looks so proud of that fact, I think as I start searching with my foot. There, I think as I bump into a foothold. Climbing down is a LOT harder, I realize as I slowly start going down.
    “You see, I have known a healer,” Grandma explains as they float down alongside me.