Chapter 355 - 355. Shadows Attack

"No way!" Asher tossed the on board computer to Art and kicked up while bending backward to dodge the shadow covered fist. He felt the rush of wind on his face as the shadow extended in to an even larger fist narrowly missing him. However, his kick landed a solid blow, and Tamara was sent sprawling to the ground. 

The fight was far from over. Tamara sank in to the shadows and they grew in to a pool of darkness below her. Asher and Art fell in and there was silence. The only thing that anyone else could see was the strange ripples and movements of the shadows while the three fought on the inside. 

"Asher!" Art screamed but felt that there was no sound around him. He couldn't see either. But he could feel himself floating in what could only be described as thicker water. He knew he was holding the on board computer that Asher had thrown to him but he had no idea where he was or what was going on. 

Asher was in the same position. The only difference was that he felt a movement around him along with a fist coming toward him. The strange part was that there was no feeling of wind or shadows as the previous hit. He was easily able to react and grapple the arm that was hitting him in the face. His body had learned the movement so he did not even need to think to automatically fall in to the move. 

The slight squeal as he pulled the arm away from the body it was attached to was the only sound that he could hear. Suddenly he felt as if a cannon had shot him out and he was back on the grass. "Ugh," Art was next to Asher coughing and wheezing. " What in the world was that?!" 

Asher grabbed the on board computer from Arts' hand and jumped to his feet ready to fight. His eyes fell on to Tamara who was using shadows to wrap her arm. Asher had managed to pull her shoulder from its' socket but in a sickening crack, Tamara had used the shadows to pop it back in with another squeal of pain. 

James rose from the ground behind Tamara ready to land a sneak attack before he realized that this was not right. "Oh no...you pissed Tamara off." Asher had not thought that James was a coward by any means. But at that moment he flew much farther from Tamara and did not dare to even take a breath. 

"What does he mean b-" Art was slammed away by a shadowy whip at high speed. He was not terribly injured by the force that had knocked him all the way to the now awake and shouting students. They were preparing themselves until they saw that it was one of the strongest members of the advanced class they were in. This break may be a time for them to grow stronger, but they were not willing to go head to head with one of the top students.

"Asher, When Tamara is angry she uses full force." Cara threw her voice from across the clearing. She had already mobilized the rest of the group to calm everyone down and keep them in order. Laura was trying to avoid the shifting shadows but soon, like Art, she had been whipped away.

"You are getting serious? You know that in this drill you are my enemy right? My enemies tend to have poor luck in a battle against me…" Asher lowered his stance and let his arms fall. He was not planning to play this game any longer. In this situation, Tamara was the villain and he was protecting a group of plane crash victims. He was supposed to rise and represent the groups' safety. He could only guess at what the next order on Tamaras' card would be after destroying or taking the on board computer. 

The shadows zeroed in on Asher and whipped out. He jumped side to side dodging them while moving in a dance like spin. His arms were flung to the side as a shadow whip came at his side. The contact it made tried to wrap around but in the force used, Asher was at an advantage. His body spun and the kick he let loose broke the shadow in to. 

The remain of the shadow whip melted in to the night as if it had never been there. Tamara stumbled slightly before standing up. The shadows wrapping around her were similar to a villain's evil cloak. Not that she had time to show off the edgy look she was rocking. Asher had already jumped over the next shadow whip and was about to punch Tamar. 

With Asher right in her face, Tamara had no choice but to melt in to the shadows. Unfortunately for her, she was right next to a bonfire now. Her shadows were being pushed away by the light and the shadow was only big enough for one foot. Her last resort was to force all the shadows around her body to converge and shield her temple. 

When Ashers' first hit the condensed shadows, Tamara felt her mind exploding with a headache. Asher had managed to dig a deep chunk from the shadows that Tamara was controlling with her mental fortitude. The recoil of this was enough to dislocate three of Ashers' fingers while Tamara knelt to her knees gasping for breath through the pain. 

Jackson saw the chance and dashed forward in a massive leap. He landed next to Tamara and bear hugger her next to the fire where the light was strongest. "Someone check Ashers' wounds. I will trap the villain!" 

Asher had not expected the frozen and stunned Jackson to suddenly regain his senses and jump in to finish the battle completely. Tamara wasn't able to manipulate her shadows at the moment due to the damage. The shadows she had left slowly wrapped her body as if they were clothing. They stopped moving and sat still. It was like a sleeping beast. 

"Asher, are you alright?" Jane rushed to his side and helped him up. 

"I should be fine. Jackson taught me how to pop my knuckles back in place. That first aid lesson was well worth it." Asher ground his teeth with every pop as his knuckles realigned. He knew that he would need ice but he was in the woods she would just need to deal with the swollen hand he would have the next morning. "Hello Tamara, my name is Asher and you are one hell of a fighter." 

There was no way Asher couldn't say a greeting and a compliment. In the moments fighting Tamara, he felt that he had faced a nearly impossible force. She had expertly used her mental strength to manipulate the shadows. She had come up with a night strategy to get her task done. And even more, she had caused chaos in the camp which gave her a better chance. It was extremely impressive. 

"Asher, that was a very good battle. I did not expect you would beat her before she made the shadow bubble…" Asher could only imagine that the shadow bubble was similar to when he and Art had fallen in to a pool of shadow. It must take away the senses that James relied on to use his super power and move. That would explain why he was so fearful of Tamara. She was his bane. 

"She was too much." Art limped over. He had obviously sprained an ankle and bruised some ribs. Otherwise, he was fine and healthy. 

"You need to stop moving and lay down!" Cara came over and shouted at Art. She was not having any of this. "You are going to hurt yourself worse. What if you have a broken rib? I swear if you try anything more than resting until we are rescued I will make you wish you only had a limp!" No one dared interrupt Cara's lecture. Naturally, Art just had a goofy grin as he followed the instructions. "Billy, snap out of your daze and get something to hold up Arts' leg. Act like the friend I need and not a tree in the forest." Billy jumped to it without even a question. He knew too well that Cara was taking the lead here. Art's goofy smile just grew more even when Cara glared at him. 

"I'm Tamara. My super power is shadow manipulation. Nice to meet the lucky boy." Tamara was soft spoken but Asher heard it clearly. He looked back at her to see she had a tear in her eyes. She had just been defeated and in a fairly painful way. It made Asher feel bad that Jackson was crushing her in front of the light which was her opposite, but she was a dangerous opponent that could not be taken lightly. 

"I hope that we can train together after this Tamara. I think my group could learn a lot from you." Tamara just nodded her head while her black hair fell to cover her face.. Asher had gained a very strong respect for her after seeing her fight.