Chapter 6: A Whole New World
DANIEL STOPPED AT A DOORWAY, having almost sprinted up three flights of stairs with Amber running at his heels. "Okay, before I open this door, tell me where you think Camp is."
She thought for a moment before saying, "America, or something." Her statement came out more like a question, though.
"That was such a lame answer." He rolled his eyes and pushed the door open. "Look."
She followed him out the door, where she found the outside world, bathed in shades of orange and crimson as the setting sun had begun to disappear behind towering metal structures. "W-what...?" She looked around and glanced back at Daniel. "How is this possible?"
"When you have Earth Adepts and sponsors as generous as the Delegates, you can do anything," he said proudly, making a sweeping gesture as if to encompass all of their surroundings. "And it had to be up to standard, or the Demons would find us and all my kouhais would be at their mercy. But here, under the scents of hundreds of non-Adepts, they’ll never sense us."
He and the entire Camp had reason to be proud, she supposed. Above Camp, above the training grounds and the cabins and the cafeteria, neon lights flashed on signs placed everywhere, blinking white, red, blue and yellow, in the darkening evening. She followed the sound of children's laughter with her eyes, watching them wave light sticks to the cheerful tunes of carnival music, and stream out with their families under a brightly lit-up arch.
Amber started to walk out of the shadow of the building they had emerged from, but Daniel held her back. "Camp is a secret, remember? We can't be seen, even if the Mind Delegates never let non-Adepts realise who we are." She looked back at him and he must have seen something in her gaze because he whispered, "Just wait. It's already closing time." He drew her back into the gloom at the building’s side.
One by one the lights dimmed and switched off completely, like tendrils of shadow were running over the signs and snuffing them out. The music ceased mid-tune and the rides spinning around them slowed to a stop. They watched as workers left their stations, having shut down the attractions, and headed towards the exit, talking and laughing and chatting.
Finally, no other sounds of merriment filled the silence of the evening and Amber could wander around the place, touching stands that looked like they sold cotton candy, and the rides scattered about the area. “I’ve never been to an amusement park before,” she mused to herself.
What would it have been like, to come here on a weekend with her parents? To hear the sounds of clear laughter that could wrap around her like an embrace, instead of the screaming that came with the memories? To touch soft auburn hair instead of having her hands sink into something sticky and red, and smell a father’s morning coffee instead of metallic tang of iron.
She didn’t have any answers, though. So she ran a fingertip across the windowpane of a souvenier shop and tried to remember what her parents’ smiles had looked like.
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Fantasy((Originally, Phoenix)) “Leave me alone!” Her form flickered in the dim light. The brothers shared a look. “All right,” one started. “Just let us say something first. We know you have powers; we can sense them on you. We can do this because we have...
