Free Minds

Chapter 70.

"You're seeing the same thing I am, right?" Camila asked.

"Yes." I sighed.

"So just to be clear, this means that I've not gone blind, right?"

"No, Camila." Saying those words through gritted teeth was the only way I could stop myself from yelling as I gazed up at the hologram. "You have not, no."

   The sixth hologram from the now connected Camera Six was up in the air, suspended above us, as clear as day.

   Except that what its screen portrayed was as dark as night.

   No, seriously. It really was.

   Camila and I had had no trouble in activating the connection between Camera Six and Rav's laptop. Even before the camera's final steps for its connection to Rav's device occurred, our hopeful selves reflected the laptop screen into hologram form for Camera Six in advance.

   The default black screen of the hologram, however, didn't change even after the laptop sent the notification that the connection of the camera was successful. Thinking that it was probably due to a connectivity issue between the laptop and hologram, we resorted back to the laptop screen, expecting to get a glimpse of what Camera Six truly had to show us.

   And that's when all hope went down the toilet.

   The screen shared the same feature of the hologram: black.

"I don't understand," I muttered, tending to the laptop once more. "It says here that the connection has been successfully activated, so why can't we see anything?"

"Maybe the Yunies got to it first," Camila, who was currently fidgeting with the items scattered on the table, paused as some form of realisation hit her. "But if that was the case, we shouldn't have been able to even establish the connection at all. The camera would have been utterly destroyed."

   She was right. The connection had no problems whatsoever. If the Yunies got a hold of the camera first, it wouldn't have been possible. Any person–or alien–in their right would've destroyed it.

   But then again, how was this state different from the Yunies destroying it? The camera, despite its ability to connect to Rav's device, was clearly defective in every other area.

   This is what happens when you choose to be optimistic.

"Beth?"

   Escaping my thoughts, I looked up at Camila. For some reason, in her hand was the one of the cameras' remote.

"Why are you—"

"Didn't you hear that?" She cut me off by holding up her hand.

"Hear what?"

"My fingers pushed one of the buttons of the camera remote on the table by mistake," Camila's already wide stare appeared to grow larger. "and I heard something."

"Are you sure?" I queried, glancing up at the still dark hologram.

   I flinched as she suddenly held out the remote toward me with a suggestive look. The hesitation rising within made me take my time in collecting the remote from Cami's outstretched hand.

   Forcing my trembling fingers to remain stable, I pushed one of the buttons.

   The light, grazing sound that erupted from the laptop's speakers due to my actions was nothing short of music to my ears.

   I turned back to Camila and saw a huge grin already spread across her face. "Told you. The camera isn't completely useless."

"But if the camera and its audio system are working," I remarked, pushing another button on the remote that should have led the camera to a different direction. Then another, "why are the laptop and holograms showing us nothing?!"