Chapter 26: Whispers in the Dark

“Camp Eclipse!” Ms Reina boomed. It was finally time for our camp briefing. “I’m sure many of you are excited about this so listen up!”

About a week had passed since the incident. We had gone back to our normal ways, putting the events of the fight behind us. Well, as normally as we could.

While Scarlette had emphasised the importance of trust within the group, the reality was more complicated. No matter who you were, you still had secrets that you wouldn’t reveal to anyone, even your closest friends. A faint thread of distrust lingered among us, but it was insignificant enough that it didn’t disrupt our usual group dynamics.

I wasn’t too concerned with Kaede and Jonah, but Mira and Scarlette exuded hints of suspicion. Mira was acting normally with us, but she seemed to be avoiding Scarlette. Scarlette, meanwhile, interacted normally with the others, but I couldn't shake the feeling that she was behaving weirdly around me. I could tell that something was weighing heavily on her mind.

“Save it, that’s a problem for later,” a voice spoke in my mind. Right, I had to pay attention to the camp briefing. It would be our first ever camp as students at this school. The teachers had quickly touched on it during our initial days, but it was finally time to delve into the details.

“The camp starts right at the start of your second month of school. It will last for 5 days and 4 nights. We will be heading to Covecreek Forest. Please make sure you have all your essential items. I will be distributing a packing list later.”

Huh, so the forest at the uppermost region of the Island. The northern areas of the forest bordered the sea, so perhaps there would be some aquatic activities? Or maybe the school might host a surprise beach party? My excitement caused me to daydream about the various possibilities the camp offered.

“Since we have over 1,500 first-year students from the Combat Division and over forty classes, not all of them will be joining us. Instead, some will be heading off to the other areas around the District. While there are group activities, there may also be inter-class activities. This will test the bonds you have with your classmates as well.”

Spencer raised his hand. “Excuse me, Ms Reina, but what type of group activities are there?”

“I’ll leave Dr Connor to explain those to you when we get there.”

I nearly forgot Spencer existed. He had been pretty quiet recently. Was he still hung up over getting harassed by Ignar? Or maybe he really didn’t like his group? If I were him, I would be quite uncomfortable sharing a group with Kazen, Daxston and Raven. Especially if I had a 1-Star Ability like his. Who knows though, maybe changing the colours of objects may turn out to be useful. I could think of a couple of activities where that could be effective.

As for Kazen, his recovery was impressive. Despite being impaled in the gut, he looked as if nothing had ever happened to him. He had, as always, kept to himself. Since the fight, he and Scarlette had yet to acknowledge each other. I could still sense the tension between the two of them.

Daxston was unremarkable, but Raven was the one who I was most interested about. I was curious to see if there was more to her than just “magic tricks”.

“While we are not allowed to divulge the specific details of the activities, you may ask if you have any further queries,” Ms Reina continued.

A boy with a buzz cut—I think his name was Eric—raised his hand this time. He was a sly figure, usually seen with a bunch of other guys who liked to hang out after school. Still, I recalled him getting impressive scores for our Maths practice quiz the other day, even earning a shout-out from Ms Reina.

“Will there be any rewards?” he posed.

“I’m glad you asked. Classes or groups that perform well will be rewarded accordingly in the form of credits or vouchers that you can use around campus, alongside other benefits.”

“…!’ That got my attention. Since credits weren’t actual cash, I couldn’t use them to apply for or sustain a life in District 1. However, what was allowed was the conversion of credits back to paper money should we withdraw from the Institution. This training camp probably wouldn’t offer as much prize money as the major tournaments, but I wasn’t going to shy away from any money-making opportunities.

I saw Kaede wink at me from the corner of my eye. I had revealed my financial situation to her some time back, and now she seemed to have realised how excitedly I had reacted to Ms Reina’s response. It was a little embarrassing if I was being honest.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Our teacher wasn’t done. “There may be some activities that will require you to change into Abizium suits. Please compile your sizes as a class and submit the list to me by the end of today. You will each be issued two sets: one to bring with you and another as a spare in case something happens to the first. The school will handle the second set, so you won’t have to carry excess items. As Combat students, you’ll need to get used to outdoor life. It will be tough, but it's essential for your training.”

“If there aren’t any more questions, please take a copy of the packing list. Ensure that you have all the items that you need. Your camping bags will be provided together with the suits on Thursday. Please collect them from Foyer A, Block 22. Oh, and one more thing. If your group has members of both genders, you will not be sleeping in the same tent as the other gender. Each group will be issued a maximum of two tents.”

That was understandable. At our age, hormones were high, and I wouldn’t put it past anyone to try something if we had to share the same tent. Of course, not that I would attempt anything of that sort. I doubted anyone in my group would either.

I took a copy of the packing list and looked at it. It looked rather standard—all the things you would need for a camping trip. The bags and tents would be provided, together with the Abizium suits.

Kaede leaned over, her voice low. “I hope the tents are decent. I’m not exactly excited about sleeping on the ground for four nights straight.”

Jonah joined the discussion. “I do have camping experience, actually! Sleeping on the ground is fine, just pray it doesn't rain! Especially in the middle of the night!”

It was great that at least one of us had camping experience. Personally, while I had browsed several camping vlogs and outdoor survival guides on the Net, I had never actually slept overnight in a forest.

As class was dismissed and we made our way down the hallway, I decided to ask the group. “Do you guys have everything you need for the trip?”

“Nope! I wanna get some sunscreen, mosquito repellent and a pair of sunglasses!” Scarlette announced, grinning at me.

“I agree!” Jonah spoke up. “Let’s go to the mall. Also, they said we could bring our own snacks. I think some energy bars would be great!”

There was a faint hint of something forced in Scarlette’s smile, but it was clear she was just trying to keep things normal. I decided that I’d finally ask her later, in private, if anything was bothering her. It was best to clear up any misunderstandings before the camp started. I considered approaching Mira as well, but I figured Kaede would be better suited for that. She was closer to Mira, after all.

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As evening rolled around, we were all back in our rooms. Well, most of us.

“So, you noticed something’s up with Mira and Scarlette too, huh?” Kaede asked. “I was about to message them myself to check if things were okay.”

The two of us were once again sitting on my bed. I had texted her earlier to come over so we could discuss how we would approach the situation.

“Yeah, so I was thinking, I’d approach Scarlette, since I think she has an issue with me, and you approach Mira since you’re closer to her. I’d prefer if we do it in person so it’s harder for them to hide anything,” I replied.

Kaede frowned. “I mean, I hope they aren’t hiding anything… but I don’t know…”

“It’s fine, we’re just checking on them, as friends should,” I said, giving her an encouraging smile.

She returned it. “Yeah, there’s nothing wrong with that! Okay, here’s Scarlette’s room number. I’ll update you in a bit.”

As she departed for Mira’s apartment, I made my way to Scarlette’s. It was pretty rare for a guy to cross over to the female dormitories, so I wanted to make this quick. I soon arrived at Scarlette’s room and knocked on her door.

“Hey Scarlette, it’s me. I was wondering if we could perhaps talk for a bit?”

There was a few seconds of no response. Eventually, the door opened.

“Hey, uh… what brings you over?” she smiled.

“I wanna know what Dr Connor said to you after the fight.”

It was the only conclusion that I came up with. Scarlette's strange behaviour had started right after the duel with Kazen. The professor had led her away once the match was called off, and since then, she had only acted oddly around me. If she was feeling guilty about her behaviour during the match, that wouldn’t be the case. I doubted my training session with her had anything to do with it either.

Scarlette looked stunned. “Uh… HUH? What makes you say that?”

I explained my reasoning to her.

She looked a little hesitant, but she invited me inside. “Umm, you can come in… don’t judge my room though! I wasn’t expecting you, so I didn’t have time to clean up…”

Her room was more vibrant than mine, with plenty of colours all over. Her table was stacked with accessories and perfumes. But other than that, there wasn’t anything particularly worth mentioning. She offered her study chair to me as she sat on her bed.

“So… I’m not really sure what to say,” she began.

“You could begin by telling me what Dr Connor told you.”

“He didn’t tell me anything…” she muttered, looking away.

“Is that so? Then why are you acting so weirdly?”

Scarlette continued to sit in an uncomfortable silence.

I didn’t know why she was being so secretive about it, and simply prodding her would probably be ineffective, so I got up and started heading for the door, intending to observe her reaction.

She was caught off guard. “Woah, hey! Where are you going?!”

“Maybe you can tell me once you’re ready,” I replied, opening her door. Obviously, this was all an act to get her to spill the beans. If she didn’t stop me, I would’ve just gone back in. However she responded, I'd adjust accordingly.

Just as I was about to feign stepping out, I felt a tug on my sleeve.

“Don’t! Don’t… go…” she whispered.

I turned around to see her looking a bit distraught. A twinge of guilt hit me, but my curiosity overpowered it. She certainly wasn’t faking her emotions here. What had prompted this reaction? Why stop me from leaving if she didn’t want to say anything anyway?