POW: The Last Leap

They told us the pond would last forever.

Our home... it wasn’t just water. It was memory. It was rhythm. It was life. A sacred current that tied us together. We called it the Ripples—energy passed down through the croaklines.

Every jump, every splash, every breath—it all echoed back through the Ripples.

But the Ripples stopped.

The pond dried. The mud cracked. One by one, the others—our brothers, sisters—fell silent. In the end, there were only five of us left. Croktor. Grubbz. Crag. Eldrip… and me.

Tad.

We were friends once. Closer than kin. But when the last puddle faded beneath the sun, we had no choice—we split. Five directions. Five dying hopes. Five shots in the dark to find a New Pond... before extinction claimed us all.

We lost communication somewhere along the way. Static. Silence. Not even a ribbit. Are they still searching? Did they make it? Did any of us?

I don’t know if I’ll find what we’re looking for.

I don’t know if I’ll survive.

But if I do—if I find that place where the water still dances and the Ripples return—then maybe the others will hear this. Maybe they'll come.

And maybe we’ll be together again.

I am Tad.

Unit #5 of the last POW team.

And this... this is my leap.