Special 4: Reception

By Nova & Roach

The bus crawled down rocky roads; curved slits cutting through the wooded mountainside. While full, its passengers were quiet—only enveloped in the ceaseless hum of heavy wheels grinding against gravel. After about an hour, Camilo had grown so used to the constant scrunching that he didn’t notice it anymore—not even from their escorts; two humvees flanking the bus’ front and back. Apparently, the dirt road was safer than the paved one they had taken when first driving to the Extinction Refuge four days ago.

Funny, it hadn’t even been a week and it still felt like another life.

“Do you ever think about how things used to be?” Gabriel—who sat next to him—stared out the window. “How much simpler...” He trailed off.

Although Gabriel faced away from him, Camilo caught his gaze in the reflection of the window—faint against the blurred rush of green pines outside.

It had been a long time since things were simple. When Camilo really thought about it, he wasn't sure if there ever had been such a thing as simpler times. At least, he didn't remember them the same way as Gabriel seemed to…

Or, perhaps, hard times were more easily remembered.

And, after hard times, harder times had followed. So, in that sense, he could understand where Gabriel was coming from. That—between the seemingly never-ending powerfights at Chapel and the deadly excursion to the Extinction Refuge—a yearning for simplicity made perfect sense.

This semester had been different, to say the least.

***

Amber’s eyes traced up and down the shining lines that criss-crossed the air around her; the web of relationships that composed her world. Sure, she could see the airport, see what was left of Redding in the distance—but it was all just set dressing for the bonds. Her hand passed through one thread and it vibrated with warm energy, a tension demanding that she pluck it like a guitar string and pull it into the light of day. At any moment, she could reveal the bonds between people—reveal hidden relationships, secret yearnings, and expose the most personal feelings of those around her.

Of course, Amber would never do that. She managed her web from the shadows, pulling on threads at just the right time to make sure she stayed on top. Exposing people was just clumsy; a sign of poor craftsmanship.

And Amber was definitely better than that.

***

But—as these thoughts raced through Camilo's mind—he noticed Gabriel's eyes leaving the window. He turned toward the other side of the aisle, where Jay and Lucy sat. Lucy rested her head uncomfortably against the seat, altering between closing her eyes and staring into space. Meanwhile, Jay had turned their attention to a leather-bound notebook; the one that they usually carried with them, always ready to scribble something down.

Camilo suspected that Jay wrote stories or poetry in it, but Jay had always refused to disclose its contents. Of course, Camilo could easily find out—it would only take an illusion or two—but he wasn’t sure he even wanted to know. If he wanted to know Jay’s true thoughts, about him or anything else…

Jay had already made their resentment for Camilo's friendship with Florian—not to mention Amber—perfectly clear. After surviving three days and two nights together in a prehistoric wilderness, Camilo had hoped that maybe it was still possible to mend their friendship. But the distance between them only grew colder. Even after Jay had helped pull him out of the river, they hadn’t exchanged as much as a word…

Maybe that's what Gabriel meant by how things used to be. Maybe it wasn't all crisis-induced existential dread, although that certainly didn't help.

Camilo looked back at his friend again. “I think that…” His voice hung on the last word as a ringing tore through the air between them.

Gabriel nearly jumped out of his seat, his eyes widening as he patted his pockets. He pulled out his phone. “Reception,” he breathed without further explanation.

And there was no explanation needed; they had spent the last three days outside of any bandwidth. Camilo shared his relief—not only did this mean that they could reach the outside world again, but they were so much closer to home.

“It's my mom,” Gabriel added. Before Camilo had a chance to say anything in reply, he had already picked up the phone.

“H-hello?” His usually steady voice thickened as he spoke. Camilo could barely hear the frantic crackle of his mother’s voice responding from the other end of the line.

He would have tried to call his own family. But, just as quickly as the thought crossed his mind, Camilo realized that he didn't have his phone. It was still somewhere inside Hell Creek, washed away by the river with the rest of his belongings.

He had almost forgotten about the loss until now; in the midst of survival, it hadn’t exactly been a top priority. While he doubted the phone was still functional even if he were able to retrieve it, he now faced a whole other problem. It would be a bitch to replace. He couldn’t afford a new phone, but, maybe…

He could take one. But, even if he did resort to theft, it wasn’t necessarily the way he wanted to use his powers. Sure, borrowing something—like keys or teacher’s answer sheets—and putting them back was one thing. But, taking something for himself—whether it was a phone or the money to buy one—was different. While stealing from some big corporation fell more into a morally gray area, it still didn’t sit right with him…

Maybe more so after these last days. He had pushed his powers beyond what he thought possible… Hell, he wasn’t even sure he could pull it off again. Typically, he fabricated his illusions with a certain care—but this was different. It had been all instinct, completely wrapped up in the moment.

It had been life or death.

But, if he could do it again—expand the scope of his invisibility, use his illusions to trick even something as huge and dangerous as a T-rex—what else could he accomplish? He almost felt light-headed, woozy—as something close to giddiness rushed through him. If he could fabricate multiple, more complex illusions at a time…

The world would be his stage.

***

The helicopter carrying the better-connected survivors out of the Extinction Refuge had landed maybe a half-hour ago. They had been shuffled between a few different groups, and were now walking with a gaggle of businessmen, scientists, and journalists towards a small, white, private jet which sat in the distance. Stenciled on the side, in big, bold letters, was IMAGO… Apparently a flight back to San Francisco was part of whatever deal Amber’s parents had cut with the company. It looked like a comfortable ride.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Though, hopefully, an uneventful one after three days in a prehistoric hell.

“Florry-worry,” Amber said, her voice a playful sing-song.

The golden-haired boy’s eyes darted to her, narrowed slightly. “What do you want?” Florian asked, an exhausted, annoyed edge to his voice.

While he locked eyes with Amber, his gaze still kept their habitual distraction—like there was always something distracting him. She wondered if it had something to do with that bizarre bond that looped into himself; a curving connection which terminated somewhere in his gut. Amber had never seen anything like it until she saw Florian when school started last year. She had no idea what it was back then, but now she was almost positive it had something to do with his powers.

Amber would have to update her notes on him when she got home.

“Just thinking about what we’re gonna do when we get back home…” Amber trailed off, leaving Florian to fill in the gap. He didn’t say anything at first, but Amber didn’t miss his eyes dart ahead, to the girl walking a few yards in front of them.

Hannah. She was walking with her supposed coach—“Xu-something” or whatever his name was—deep in hushed conversation. Amber didn’t get what Florian saw in her. She was rail thin, and not pretty enough to get away with being so bossy. She was definitely way too much for a soft guy like Florian to handle…

Yet… the bond between them shone with the sort of brilliance Florian only shared with Camilo. The two of them obviously deeply cared for each other… and an indecisive softie like Florian was gonna screw it all up if Amber didn’t intervene.

After all, he was pretty much hopeless without her.

***

The elation was short-lived. What Camilo at first thought was a woozy sort of thrill quickly began to resemble a headache. Gabriel’s conversation on the phone faded into the background as another wave of exhaustion rolled over him. He didn’t want to think about it anymore—about what came next. At least, not now. Not until…

A roar—first faint, then increasingly sharper—interrupted his thoughts. Through the window, he glimpsed a helicopter passing overhead. It whizzed above the forest canopy, branches momentarily wavering beneath it.

Camilo’s mind wandered to Florian and Amber, and he wondered where they were now. The helicopter probably moved a whole lot faster than the bus—but how far would it take them? For all he knew, they were halfway back to San Francisco…

Without him.

The same thought seemed to have occurred to someone else, as Jay turned to Lucy.

“They didn’t even say goodbye and good luck before getting on that helicopter,” Jay muttered—just a notch louder than their usual speaking voice, as if to ensure that Camilo would hear them.

“Yeah,” she scoffed back. “Must be nice to get special treatment.”

The helicopter disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. Obviously, it wasn’t the one carrying Florian and Amber—but it hurt all the same. It had all happened so quickly; the appearance of their parents, their departure… While Florian had vaguely alluded to his mother’s research in the past, he hadn’t really said much about her involvement with IMAGO. The appearance of Amber’s parents he found less surprising. They seemed like the kind of people who would use their wealth to roll over everyone else.

Yet, Camilo had to admit that he would have done the same, had it been his own mother bringing him on that helicopter. But the justification didn’t soothe the unease welling up inside of him.

Because Jay had been right. They could have said goodbye, at the very least. He would have, wouldn’t he?

Just then, Jay shot a glance toward Camilo—as if to make sure he had heard them. They immediately turned back to their notebook, but their aura of indifference crumbled at the twitch in the corner of their lips.

Camilo knew that almost-smirk, and it sent a cold fury through him. His teeth clenched together, and he pursed his lips as he glanced at Gabriel.

“Low battery,” his friend mumbled, still speaking into the phone. “I love you, too. Talk to you soon.”

He hung up, and turned to Camilo with a huge smile. While on the phone, he appeared to have missed Jay’s remark. Maybe that was for the best. But, even so, he must have detected that something was off, because his smile disappeared and he said, “Everything okay?”

Camilo shrugged. “Just lost my phone.”

“Oh, shit,” Gabriel said. “Wanna borrow mine? You can call home, if you want.”

“Yeah, but… Not yet,” Camilo said, the feeling of unease still prickling through him like teeth. “Maybe in a minute. Do you have any tunes?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes, but smiled as he did. “You can have one. But, after that, I have to conserve my battery.” He tapped his phone screen with one hand while retrieving a set of earbuds with the other. “What do you wanna listen to?”

“You choose,” Camilo murmured.

Gabriel took one earbud for himself before attempting to plug the other into Camilo’s ear—giggling as Camilo clumsily shoved his hand away.

Then, as Gabriel’s chuckle subsided and he tapped the phone screen—scrolling through playlists—Camilo readjusted the earbud, and his eyes closed.

He inhaled, and waited for the music.

***

“I think…” Florian said carefully, “we’ll have to keep studying for the homework we have coming up…”

Amber looked at him, bewildered for a moment, before she realized that he was speaking in code. She rolled her eyes. She was pretty sure “homework” meant Dragon’s Teeth—Florian’s little obsession since their fight with Bōsō and the Yakuza. Amber was 90% sure the villain was lying to distract them, but Florian seemed convinced that Reticle was lurking somewhere around the school. “If you say so,” Amber said. “I think we need to get you, like, some new clothes or something. What you usually wear is hideous.”

She shot Florian a playful grin but he looked away. “Well, anyways, we have a lot of time to figure it out…” Amber quickly added.

“I guess,” Florian said.

Amber bit her lip, looking around as she searched for a change of topic. “Wait…” she muttered, and her voice fell to a whisper. “Where’s Hannah’s coach going?”

“Huh?” Florian asked, turning to look. The little, bald man had turned to walk between two hangers, his expression totally unreadable. Hannah continued on ahead, toward the IMAGO airplane they were taking back to San Francisco. Amber couldn’t see her face, but—by the way she held her shoulders—she didn’t seem happy about whatever they had been talking about. Amber carefully watched the bond between them trace into the hanger as the coach disappeared… off to wherever the hell he was going.

“He’s not heading toward the plane…” Amber muttered.

“Maybe he’s going to… wherever my mom is,” Florian sighed.

“No, she’s off over there,” Amber jerked her thumb behind them. “I can see your bond,” she whispered.

Florian didn’t even turn to look back. “She’s probably in a meeting with some ‘very important’ IMAGO person…” he said. “Is that where your parents are, too?”

Amber paused for a moment. “I don’t know,” she finally said, quietly. “They disappeared as soon as the helicopter landed. Like they always do.”

“Are you always taking helicopter rides or something?”

“Fuck you,” Amber snapped. “But, no… it’s just how it always is. Once they know I’m not in trouble… Well, it’s back to business as usual or whatever.”

Florian nodded. “I know what you mean.”

They finally came to a stop next to the airplane, shivering in the cold, smoke-tinged air. Amber and Florian stood together in silence and, while Hannah cast a few glances back at Florian, she didn’t seem in the mood to interrupt it.

Florian took Amber by surprise when he spoke first. “How many people were hurt?” he asked.

Amber followed his gaze toward the ruins of Redding. Even from the airport, she could see burnt out shells of buildings in the far distance. The hills to the west were almost entirely blackened from fire. She remembered looking at the city from above as the helicopter landed… seeing the craters along city streets, the line of burnt cars on the highway. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “Probably a lot.”

“Are we…” Florian started, but he didn’t finish. Amber didn’t know what he was going to say. ‘Are we cut out for this?’ maybe. Or perhaps ‘real heroes?’

Amber, for once, didn’t have an answer.