Uncontrollable

Chapter Fourteen

"A slave town? What is it that you guys are fighting for?" I asked, surprised by our location.

"Slaves rights, and fair treatment of 'em," she answered. That was a piece of information the people at the base for war strategies forgot to give me.

"Oh," I said, taken aback. Not even one peep of this had come up.

"They didn't tell you what this war was 'bout did they?" Vanessa questioned, raising her eyebrows.

"No," I whispered, trying desperately to figure out why they wouldn't tell me. If they were campaigning for me to join the war, why wouldn't they use the most compelling piece of evidence to try to sway me?

Something was not right, but I didn't say anything. Instead, I exhaled for a long time.

"You ready to head on in?"

"Yes," I answered. "Where is this town anyway?"

"It's just over the hills," Vanessa stated, turning around and pointing. I nodded, and we began walking up the grassy hills. 

The grass was tall; it almost reached my knees despite it being October. And summer seemed to be giving one, final push, because as the sunlight shone onto my bare arms, heat enveloped me.

The natural heat mixed with the heat my body was producing from hiking up the hill had me fairly hot when I reached the top.

"It's there," Vanessa said pointing in the distance. I could barely make out what looked like a cluster of gray buildings surrounded by high, concrete walls. Around it, the landscape continued hilly and unaffected.

"Don't worry, it's mostly downhill from 'ere on," Vanessa uttered, noticing my heavy breathing, and clutching of my abdomen.

"You really don't exercise too much." Vanessa was laughing as my face flushed red.

"Lets just go," I shot back, and started down the hill I just climbed. Vanessa ran up next to me, still laughing.

"Learn to take a joke!" she exclaimed playfully punching my arm.

I smiled, not able to hold it in.

"I am pretty out of shape." I hadn't worked out in months. I suppose I'd gotten too wrapped up in stopping mass murderers with my magic that I had stopped worrying about my physical appearance.

"I'm glad you found it funny; it's hard around there with no other kids. It's all adults and all work. It makes it almost impossible to have a good time," Vanessa said with a sigh.

I'd never thought about that. If you spent all of your time at the base of war strategies, there would be no kids to fool around with, and no chances for a good time; just work and stiff magicians. I supposed that was why Vanessa and Grey jumped at the chance to play a prank on me. And suddenly the underlying resentment that I felt against them for that suddenly switched to compassion.

"So, do you permanently live there?" I asked, trying to switch the subject to lighter things.

"Yeah, I guess so," she answered, her voice growing distant and her eyes averting towards the town again.

"You guess so?" I prodded, wishing desperately to find out more about that bizarre answer. 

"Y'know what? No questions about me. No what's, no why's, no how's, no if's, nothing." Her voice grew a bit exasperated, but she still sounded as distant as the slave town felt.

I shifted my gaze upwards to avoid eye contact with Vanessa, and my mind quickly shifted subjects. 

"Is it gonna rain?" I asked, pointing towards the ominous sky.