(Authors Comment: I'm trying a new style for this chapter, let me know if you guy's like it. Single quotes are used for Adam's thoughts.)
**Panting**
'Whew, that was exhausting. I barely made it away from that bear alive, and I almost drowned.'
I lay flat on my stomach, panting, atop the riverbank. After I jumped, I swam for around 10 minutes to get across the river and find flat ground. It usually wouldn't have been too difficult, but holding the unconscious Lily made progress hard. Thankfully, I was on a competitive swim team in my previous world, when I was seven...
"Hahahaha"
I laugh, that was the craziest thing I ever did. I'm still feeling the aftereffects of the adrenaline rush.
'Hmmmm, well, I guess I should get Lily and head back to the village.'
I attempt to push against the ground and stand up, but my body doesn't move.
'Awwww snap! I overexerted my body too much. Guess I won't be moving for a while. Come to think of it, I don't know which direction the village is in anyway.'
**Sigh**
'There goes my chance to act like a cool savior, carrying Lily back to the village... I guess it wasn't meant to be.'
I roll over, thankfully I still have the strength for that. I can see the blue sky above and the river gushing past my feet. Everything's tranquil, it's hard to believe I was running for my life just a moment ago.
**Moan**
I hear Lily moaning beside me, she must be about to wake up. I should ask whether she knows where we are.
"Hey, Lily? You awake?" I angle my head toward Lily and ask.
"Uggg, what happened? Where am I?" Lily responds as she places a hand on her forehead.
"You got attacked by a monster, remember?" I answer, hoping that she hasn't received any mental damage.
"Oh, right. But, then why am I here?" Lily tilts her head and looks at me questioningly.
"It's a long story, basically, I saved you." I say matter-of-factly.
"You defeated the horned bear?!" Lily exclaims.
"Well, sort of, but, technically speaking, no... I ran away from it. But, I was very good at it and I also saved you. There's no way I could beat that thing in a fight. I think I did a pretty good job given the circumstances." I try to explain in the least lame sounding way possible.
As I describe the incidents that took place after the bear knocked Lily out, her expression changes many times. Shock, concern, confusion and surprise flash across her face.
"And then, I swam us across the river, so now we're here." I conclude my explanation of the previous couple hours.
"Ohhhh, so, you found me and tried to save me, that didn't work out. Tried to run, which was unsuccessful. Wanted to hide, it didn't work. Tried to surprise attack the horned bear, which failed. Then, jumped into a gorge to get away, and saved me?" Lily asks me in an innocent tone as her eyes sparkle.
**Cough**
'Is it just me, or did Lily sound similar to Samantha a moment ago?! Don't be corrupted Lily! The path of the sarcastic person is not for you! Seriously though, she's excellent at hurting a guy's pride! I need to teach her how to phrase her sentences politely.'
"Basically..." I scrunch my face up as I respond.
"You went through a lot! Thank you for helping me!" Lily exclaims as a blush flashes across her cheeks.
Lily hurriedly stands up and faces the other direction. Glancing back at me, she realizes I'm still lying on the ground.
"Are you all right?! Were you injured?! Do you need help getting up?! Or maybe, I should carry you back to the village!" Lily frantically stumbles over her words as she rushes over.
"I'm fine, I just used too much energy escaping. I'd appreciate it if you could help me up." I smile to reassure the concerned Lily.
Lily helps me up and supports my shoulder so I don't fall. I'm a lot weaker than I had expected.
"Thank you. By the way, do you know where we are?" I question Lily, hoping that she has a better sense of direction than myself.
"No, but this should be the river near the village. If we walk upstream, we should eventually find a bridge." Lily regains her composure and states.
"I see, in that case, let's get going." I say, and thus we embark upstream.
A long period of silence elapses while we trudge on. Numerous times Lily begins to say something, then stops. After a while, she completes a sentence.
"By the way, who's Newton? You mentioned him during your explanation earlier." Lily asks as she tilts her head in confusion.
"Oh, Newton. He was a great man from my home country. He helped reveal how the world works." I explain to Lily.
"How the world works? Was he perhaps a Sage? Someone who knows the secrets of this world?" Lily's eyebrows raise in surprise.
"No, he wasn't a Sage, but he understood the world. Earlier I mentioned Newton's second law of motion, but there are three. The first one say's that all objects that receive no external influence, will maintain a constant speed in a straight line. If they aren't moving, they will stay still, but if they are moving, they will go straight and neither speed up nor slow down." I began my explanation of Newton's three laws of motion.
"So, you're saying that anything moving will keep on moving straight? But, if I throw a rock, it doesn't go straight! It falls to the ground and stops!" Lily's surprize changes to puzzlement as her eyes cloud over in confusion.
"Ah, that's because of gravity. It only works if there's no external force. Gravity is a force that pulls everything together. All things are attracted to each other, the entire universe is always trying to reach an equilibrium, although that may be impossible. When you throw a rock, the rock and the earth are pulled toward each other, so the rock appears to fall to the ground." My smile widens, It's nice to talk about a familiar subject.
"But! If the earth and the rock are both being pulled toward one another, why don't I feel the earth moving?!" Lily's forehead wrinkles and she waves her free arm as she becomes more exasperated.
"Hahaha, that's what Newton's second law explains. The second law shows that force is equal to mass times acceleration. In simple words, the change in speed of an object multiplied by it's mass, that is the amount of stuff making up that object, is equal to a force. The more stuff that makes up the object, the more force you need to change it's speed. Since the earth is made of a lot more stuff than a rock, the force required to move it is much more. So, both objects cause the other's motion to change, but the rock's changes much more from the same force. Does that make sense?" I conclude my discussion of Newton's second law and await Lily's reaction.
"What?!! I don't get it! You're using way too many strange words! Well, I sort of get it, but I'm still confused." After a moment of thought Lily corrects herself.
We find the bridge and cross it. The scenery is becoming more familiar.
"Alright, Newton's third law should help fill in the gaps. It states that for every action there is an equal an opposite reaction. That force I was talking about is the same between any two objects. Although it might influence one more than another, it's the same force. For example, I'm leaning against you. I'm assuming you can feel my weight. Regardless of how much of my weight you hold up, it will be the same amount for me. It wouldn't make sense if you tried to support me, but it made no difference in the amount of weight I had to hold up. That's because the force remains equal between the two of us. Whatever force you exert against the gravity pulling down my body, I don't have to. Make sense?" I beam at Lily as I finish the last of my explanation.
"Forget I asked..." Lily sighs as she gives up.
As we conclude our conversation, we approach the village. The sun has already set and we're getting back later then usual, if you can call the last couple days usual.
'That conversation was a great way to spend our time! I feel energized by the discussion!'