Ships In The Night (by Mat Kearney)
"Like ships in the night. You keep passing me by. Just wasting time . . ."
Bethany used to be invisible.
Back in school, no one saw her. No one noticed her, and she preferred it that way. Better to just focus on finding her dad, not wasting time on making friends or getting too attached to other people. That made it easier to slip away unnoticed when she had to.
Even years later, when she'd lost her memories of her fictional life, she'd still been very much invisible. Even when she wasn't trying to be unnoticed, it came naturally. For her, that kind of thing always had. Social settings had just never seemed to work out, because she had such a history of getting things wrong and not fitting in. For Bethany, she wasn't sure if she'd ever "fit in" anywhere.
But all of the sudden, she didn't feel so transparent anymore. Being at the summer camp, getting caught up in the fun games and training, made her feel like she was apart of something. She didn't have those worries of not fitting in, because everyone seemed to include her in everything. Everyone was happy and carefree, and things seemed right.
In fact, she didn't worry about anything now! Spending time in a place like this was the most fun she'd had in a while. She was so caught up in it all, lost in a whirlwind of excitement and Girl Scout duties, that she quickly lost track of what was real.
But Bethany was having too much fun to care or even recognize what she should be worrying about. Worrying was a part of the past, something that used to stick to her like a shadow. Not that she was very focused on them, but she was starting to wonder where her friends were. Their whereabouts were very foggy to her, but she hoped they were having fun.
Before she knew it, it was nighttime. She'd spent the last few hours doing activities with the Boy Scouts, though something told her she should be with the Girl Scouts instead. Still, the fact that she was there didn't seem to bother the boys one bit. She wasn't bothered, either, since she'd always had an easier time talking to boys than girls her age.
They'd invited her to a bonfire in the woods, to roast marshmallows and sing campfire songs. Of course, Bethany didn't object. She loved the idea, and just being included made her feel all the better. She wasn't the type to sing campfire songs, but she could never turn down the opportunity for marshmallows. Never.
As she followed a group of boys out into the darkening forest, her eyes landed on the tall bonfire in the center of a clearing, sparks dancing high in the sky. The sight of it burned her eyes a little, causing them to water slightly. Wildflowers poked up between rocks in the soft green grass.
A huge grin exploded on Bethany's face. She was already running towards the flames, loving the heat that brushed against her skin. The bonfire rose up behind her, encasing her image with a bright golden glow. The intensity of the heat didn't bother her, nor did it stop her from spinning around, her arms tossed lazily in the air as singing and laughter echoed around her.
Something in the back of her mind quietly reminded her she'd never usually do this. Not in public, surrounded by strangers. Not even around her own friends sometimes, although she'd danced in front of them once or twice. But she was having too much fun to care, completely lost in the moment. She could care less about who saw.
A laugh rose up in her chest as she danced, her cheeks pink. Her long hair whipped across her face. She kept spinning, hypnotized by the orange sparks and thick smoke from the fire that blended with the green canopy of trees above her head. The night was warm and breezy, and excited chatter buzzed through the air. The sky lay out like a painting, dazzled with stars and a bright, full moon.
She felt nearly perfectly happy. Wonderful. Free. All the adjectives. Everything felt right and perfect. She just wanted to stay in this moment forever, with the glow of the blazing fire on her face. Life seemed more exciting than Bethany ever thought it could be.
And then, as she turned away from the fire with a delighted grin on her face, her eyes landed on a boy. Not because he was talking to her, or even because he'd walked up to her. He was standing at the edge of the canopy, one hand pressed against a tree while he stared at the bonfire. No, she realized, he wasn't staring at that. He was staring at her.
There was something so familiar about him that Bethany had to stop twirling. She felt a sensation of light-headedness. She blinked a few times, trying to get a good look at his face. And as she did, her heart thumped harder in her chest. Her grin started to fade, just a little. She couldn't see his face too well, with dark shadows being cast over his face.
But one thing she knew, was that way he looked at her was unlike the way anyone here looked at her. There was something about his expression that became frustratingly unreadable to Bethany. Later that night, by the time she was able to decipher it, she decided he'd almost looked . . . guilty. Then, confused. And then, awed, as if he were mesmerized by something.
But why was he looking at her?
And then, all at once, it dawned on Bethany. But by the time the realization fully set in, that Kiel had been the one standing there, he was already gone. She watched him disappear, walking towards the direction of the cabins. Bethany felt confused. She took a few steps away from the fire, maybe to follow him. But at this point, she wasn't sure what direction he'd gone.
Kiel's expression had been one Bethany had seen far too often on her own face. Before she came here, at least. But had she imagined him being there? She had to have imagined seeing him, or else he wouldn't have walked away. Kiel would never just walk away from her, not when they hadn't seen each other all day. That wasn't him.
She realized that she hadn't thought much about her friends all day. Actually, she'd barely thought about them at all since she spent time here. She was having so much fun that it was easy to forget all about them. She wondered why Owen, Kiel, and Orion hadn't come to see her. She was in the Boy Scouts camp, after all. And since they were also training as Boy Scouts, it was strange that they hadn't stopped by, now that she thought about it.
At the thought of Orion, images of buried memories filled her mind, of pure possibility and falling-off-cliffsides, and the feel of Orion's hands in her's before he went away forever. Instantly, the memory was pushed down again. That wasn't even real! Orion was obviously here, training to be a Boy Scout and being way too competitive as he did it. Wasn't he?
As Bethany at the spot in the woods that Kiel had retreated to, her heart filled with strange emotions, one of the boys grabbed her arm. "Come on! We're going to make s'mores!"
Bethany almost wanted to protest, but let herself be dragged back to the bonfire, anyway. After throwing another glance at the trees, she shook off the weird feeling and focused on more important things, like making s'mores. Just like that, her excitement was back. There was nowhere else in the world she'd rather be.
As she searched for a long stick to roast marshmallows with, the same boy from earlier nudged her, a smile on his face. "What was in the forest?"
Bethany looked at him, slightly breathless. "What?"
"What were you looking at?"
"Oh . . ." Again, she glanced at the trees. "I think I saw my friend over there, but he left."
"You should've invited him to make s'mores!"
She smiled. "I would've, but he'd probably set all the marshmallows on fire. And he would've eaten them all." She chuckled, stooping to pick up a stick. "While they're still on fire."
"I guess he likes danger?"
Bethany laughed. "You don't know the half of it."
"So, if he's your friend, why did he leave?" the boy asked. "I'm always with my friends here. We're never apart."
She shrugged. "I have no idea! But just so you know, I couldn't be less interested in my friend's decisions. He can go anywhere! He has a free will, so I'm not stopping him. Really, I'm not." With a wide smile, Bethany grabbed a marshmallow and placed it on the tip of her stick. "I'd rather hang out here and make marshmallows!"
The boy smiled. "Me too! The only thing that would make this better was if I'd brought candy. Don't get me wrong, I love Hershey's." He sighed happily. "Isn't this place just the best? Even the cabin I live in is bigger than wherever I used to live."
"Yeah, it's great!" She chuckled. "I can't . . . really remember where I used to live, either. It's like I don't even care to think about it!"
"That's weird, because I don't care about my home, either!"
They exchanged confused looks for a moment, before they both laughed. Still smiling, Bethany said, "Sorry, what's your name? I never asked."
"Oh, my name is Owen."
Her heart skipped a beat. "What? Your name is Owen?"
The boy looked at her strangely. "No, I said Jason!" He gave her a grin, showing uneven teeth.
"Oh, sorry. I misheard you!" Returning the smile, Bethany carelessly broke one of her own rules, replying, "I'm Bethany."
"Nice to meet you!"
"You too."
"Want some graham cracker?" Jason offered her halves of a graham cracker, which she hadn't realized had been sitting in his palm.
Bethany grinned, taking it gratefully. All she needed was the chocolate, and her s'more would be complete. "Thanks!"
"Time for campfire songs!" someone announced, clapping their hands. Everyone whooped loudly at that, Bethany included. Their delighted cheers echoed through the air, mixing with the warm breeze. From every fiber of her being, she felt elated.
This night just kept getting better and better.
Again, she glanced at the spot Kiel had vanished, remembering she should probably follow him. But that urge was quickly diminished, and thinking about him suddenly seemed way less important. Less important than enjoying herself, than spending her first night as a Girl Scout.
Wherever he was going, it was away from her. But he'd seen her, she knew that for a fact. A stranger wouldn't just stare at a person for a full minute, watching them dance. Not unless that person was a friend, like Kiel was to Bethany. Something told her he meant more than that, but she instantly brushed it off.
As much as she tried, she couldn't get the memory out of her head. It was confusing. Why had he stared at her, only to walk away? Something about the way he'd turned away from her reminded her of something else, a different memory, filled with snow and confessions laced with silent tears. But the memory didn't come to her, so she assumed it was just a false sense of deja vu.
If Bethany had realized it was Kiel sooner, she would've talked to him. She assumed he was having a blast here — because it was impossible not to — but from the lack of a smile on his face, she wasn't sure. Still, this was Kiel, someone she knew for a fact smiled very often. So it was strange for her to see him frowning, especially since he'd been looking at her while doing it.
She'd watched him walk away, and in her delusional state, she wrongly assumed that he'd be coming back. If that really had been Kiel, he had to be coming back soon! Unless he had somewhere more exciting to be, which he probably did. Though, she had to admit that having him around would make this night even more fun.
He could join them, making s'mores and dancing by the fire. What could be better than that? Maybe he was going to get their friends, and he'd bring them here so they could all share in the fun. Now that sounded like something Kiel would do. That sounded like a good reason for him to leave! He'd be back soon with the others.
So, expecting this, Bethany turned back to the fire and roasted her marshmallow until it caught on fire. Like leaves scattering in the wind, the idea of friends quickly vanished from her mind, replaced by exciting thoughts of the future.
A future as a Girl Scout.
Owen sat in a dimly-lit jail cell, his head in his hands and a queasy feeling in his stomach. He'd woken up about an hour ago to see that the Scouts had, in fact, been serious about the whole brainwashing thing. He was locked inside a jail cell with no way of getting out. And unlike the last time he'd been in a cell, he didn't have Kara with him.
On the wall behind him was a tiny window, a link to the outside world. It was far above his head, however, and even when standing he couldn't reach it. It was covered with bars, which cast a silhouette against the moonlight. The wind howled through the bars, sending a warm rush of air every so often.
Even if the window was at Owen's level, he knew he wouldn't be able to crawl through. Not only was it too small, but moving the bars was practically impossible. On the opposite end of the cell, he'd tried several times to pull at the much longer bars, trying to get the door open. But it never budged.
His heart hadn't stopped racing since he'd gotten thrown in here. Really, it hadn't stopped since he'd seen the pure possibility in the field, so startlingly big that it stretched all the way across the horizon. The image ran through his mind over and over — of it coming closer and closer to him, ready to dissolve the entire world in an instant.
He imagined it wiping out his favorite books . . . Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, the Kiel Gnomenfoot series . . . and of course, this book. The one that he — along with every single friend he'd ever had — was in. The idea made him sick. Even the evil camp counselors didn't deserve this. No one did.
If he didn't stop this in time, the fictional world would get erased. All of his friends, and everyone he'd ever read about, would never come back. They'd be gone forever. No matter what, he needed to get out of this mess. If he got brainwashed, he'd definitely never get the chance to defeat Nobody.
He wasn't sure which was worse: getting brainwashed or the pure possibility reaching them first. If he had to choose, probably getting brainwashed would be better, since he didn't want the worlds to disappear. But the fact that it was nighttime made him realize he might only have a few hours left before either thing happened.
Another thing he'd screwed up. This whole mess? Definitely his fault.
At least, a part of it was. Listening to Fowen had led to taking the stone, and taking to stone had led to them needing to destroy it. It none of that had happened . . . who knows, maybe they already would've defeated Nobody by now! But as much as Owen wanted to imagine better possibilities — the what if's — he knew there was no use for it now.
First, he had to focus on how to get out of here. And also, how to hold a non-awkward conversation with the half-robotic girl in the cell with him.
The second thing he'd realized when he'd woken up was that Charm was there, too. At first, he hadn't realized it. She'd been so quiet that he hadn't known there was anyone else in there with him. And from the guarded, almost angry look on her face, it didn't seem that she wanted to talk. Someone had taken her ray guns away, too — another reason she must've been angry for.
Owen had tried talking to her, but Charm remained unusually silent. Her tenseness, though, was something he was used to. But it made him all the more uncomfortable, knowing he was probably the reason that she was being so quiet. Owen could hardly count the number of times he tried apologizing her over the last few days, and Charm had shot him down every single time. Really, she hadn't been nice to him at all since their talk at the fountain.
She seemed just as uncomfortable being around him. Not that Owen blamed her, even if it sent a dull pain to his heart. Not too long ago, he'd dreamed about her so often, imagining scenarios that were much better than reality. Was this how it would be between them forever — Charm never wanting to be his friend again?
From across the cell, Owen stared at her. No matter hard this would be, he had to have some kind of conversation with her. If he didn't, he'd feel even more awkward than he already did. Every recent conversation with her hadn't been great, and it'd always left Owen feeling more insecure than before.
But despite that, he still needed to say something.
Because no matter how many times Charm had pushed him away, Owen would never stop trying to gain her trust again. He just wanted to go back to how things used to be. Well, not how they used to be, back when he'd had a huge crush on her. But he wanted to go back to when things were easier, when she thought he was Kiel.
When they were friends.
Back then, she'd really been there for him. Especially when they'd had their talk before he'd gotten his heart taken out by Dr. Verity. No one had ever been there for him like that. Owen wanted things to be that way again. He just wanted her to stop hating him. He wasn't sure if that would ever be possible, but maybe if he tried showing he cared, it'd be a step in the right direction.
Nervously, Owen cleared his throat. "So . . . it looks like we're not getting out of here anytime soon."
If possible, Charm wrapped her arms tighter around her knees. She was staring hard at the bars of the jail cell. "Nope. Not until one of those Scouts get down here and I force them to let us out. And then I'll force them to give me my ray guns back."
"Right! That sounds like something we should do."
"Something I should do," she said, still not looking at him. "You wouldn't be very good at threatening them."
Owen was glad it was dark in the cell, because his cheeks had started to heat up. "Yeah, I probably wouldn't be. I'm glad you're here. To do that, I mean. You're really good at scaring people." She said nothing, so Owen quickly thought of something else to say. "So, how is you? I mean — I mean, how is you are doing?"
He grimaced at his choice of words. How come every time he wanted to talk normally, he couldn't? This always seemed to happen, especially in front of Charm, when embarrassing himself was as effortless as breathing.
Charm glanced over at him before sighing in annoyance. "I'm fine."
He swallowed, tentatively adding, "Uh . . . are you sure?"
She opened her mouth, looking about ready to say something. But whatever she'd been about to say, she seemed to change her mind. "Well, we're about to be brainwashed, so . . . how do you think I feel?"
". . . Not great?"
"Nice guess," Charm said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Can you stop bothering me now?"
"Oh. Um, sure thing."
"Good, because I don't feel like talking right now. I need to hear myself think."
Owen imagined that she could think pretty well even while he was talking to her, but he didn't say that aloud. He waited a few minutes in silence, before blurting out, "Look, I know you don't care to hear what I have to say—"
"I don't."
"—but if we wanna get out of this, we'll have to work together."
"Okay, fine." She turned to him, her robotic eye shining in the darkness. "You got a plan for how we'll get out of here?"
His face reddened. "I'm still working on it, actually. I was just thinking we could escape once they let us out."
"And if they don't?" Charm pointed out. "They could keep us in here for as long as they want." She groaned. "And by the time they do let us out, the pure possibility could already be here."
"It can't move that fast."
"Of course it can," she said, as if it were obvious. "Did you see how fast it was moving in the field?" She shook her head, almost wearing a look of fascination. "I've never seen anything like it. And . . . I'd estimate that at the rate it was traveling, it would reach us in about . . . twenty-one hours."
Owen winced. "I'm hoping they'll let us out a lot sooner than that. We still need to find Bethany, Gwen, and Orion! And Kiel and Kara now, too!"
He sighed. First, he'd lost three of his friends, and now two more were missing. What was next, he'd get separated from Charm, too?
It just seemed that every event led to their group being split up, leaving Owen to wonder where they were. Now that he thought about it, he remembered Kiel saying Bethany had been in the Boy Scouts camp. That gave Owen a little hope. So she, Gwen, and Orion had to be close! By chance, if they escaped getting brainwashed, Owen could finally find them!
When he first got here, he noticed that their cell was the only one occupied. Maybe five other cells lined each side of the hallway, which led to a closed door at the end. That was another reason he was worried. If Kiel and Kara weren't here, the counselors might've taken them already. By now, they could be brainwashed.
"One thing at a time," Charm muttered, her eyes on the bars again.
Owen hugged his knees to his chest. "Last time I was in a jail cell, there were dinosaurs outside my window." He let out a breath. "I thought that was scary, but I guess brainwashing might be worse. Kara was with me, back then. She helped me escape."
"No kidding," Charm said. "I'm assuming you don't have any experience escaping jails?"
"Not on my own," he said, blushing. "This would definitely be a lot easier if Kiel or Kara were here."
"Anything Kiel can do, I can do better. I would've had no problem getting out of here if I had my ray guns. The lasers could've cut through the bars."
Owen's eyes widened. "Lasers can do that?!"
Charm rolled her eyes. "Yes. Don't you— oh, right. You don't seem to know much about science. Even though you know everything about Quanterium." She looked uncomfortable. "Haven't you . . . seen . . . ugh, read . . . what ray guns can do?"
"I just know what it said in the book. But I probably paid more attention to the magic because that was—" He caught her glaring at him and looked away, quietly finishing his sentence. "Cooler . . ."
"'Cooler'?" Charm raised her eyebrows, as if offended. "That's your reason?"
Owen gave her a hesitant smile. "I just like magic better."
"Why am I surprised?" When she turned away, it almost looked like a wisp of a smile was on her face. But knowing the things his imagination could conjure up sometimes, he figured the smile had never been there.
Again, they lapsed into silence. It was slightly less tense than before, giving Owen a sudden spark of hope. He noticed that she didn't seem to be treating him as harshly as she usually did. Instead she seemed more willing to hear what he had to say. Maybe . . . maybe that was a sign of something good. A new, better start.
"Okay, I know I said I didn't want to do the whole talking thing," Charm said abruptly, turning to face him. "And I really know I will regret asking this, but . . . are you actually sorry about lying to me?"
Owen was so surprised that he didn't say anything for a moment. He stared at her, not quite trusting where this conversation was going. "Yeah! Yeah, of course! I'm really, really sorry about that."
"Can you not say that word?"
"What word? 'Sorry'?"
"That's the one." Charm grimaced. "I don't like it when people apologize to me."
"Okay, sorr— I mean, uh, I'm not sorry?" Owen could already tell this conversation was going to be an absolute trainwreck.
She looked uncomfortable. "But, uh, we're on the same side, so . . . I guess we'll have to make a truce."
Owen started to smile, feeling like all the weight was lifting from his shoulders. "What? You're forgiving me?"
"Just call it a truce, okay?" Charm said. "For now, it's temporary. I'm not sure if I'm ready to forgive . . . all of what you did, but I took a while to think things through, and . . . I might be ready to move towards that." She gritted her teeth. "Please stop smiling at me. You're not making this any easier."
"Sorry," Owen said, biting on the inside of his cheek to hold back his grin. "But why do you even want to forgive me?"
Charm went silent for a bit, contemplating his words. "I guess maybe I'm . . . tired of holding grudges. And I realize that you might actually not be as big of a liar as you used to be."
"I'm not — I mean, thank you!" he said, smiling at such high praise. "That was really the only time I ever . . . lied that much. And I feel horrible about that, by the way. I usually never lie, unless I'm trying to sneak out for a book club or something. But that was completely different. I-I'm just really glad you're considering this. You have no idea how much I've hoped you'd forgive me."
"Not forgiving you, remember?"
"Right, not yet!" he said, then forced down some of his excitement, out of fear that Charm would take everything she'd said back. He took a shaky breath. "Look, I . . . I've thought about what happened a lot, too." He looked down in shame. "I'm sorry for what I did. I really am. I hurt you, and that's something I never wanted to do. I pretended to be your friend when I really wasn't. I was just being selfish."
He frowned, suddenly thinking of Fowen. Before everything bad had gone down, Owen had trusted Fowen fully. Fowen was, well, him — so Owen had believed his fictional self had good intentions. But he'd been very, very wrong. Fowen had betrayed him, and as painful as it was, it'd given Owen an idea of what Charm had felt.
It hurt when people lied to you, betrayed you and disregarded your feelings. But while Fowen hadn't cared when he'd betrayed Owen, Owen had never wanted to hurt Charm. That was the difference.
"Anyway, I know how much it hurts to have someone you trust let you down," Owen continued.
She looked surprised. "You do?"
"Yeah! I mean . . . after you go through something like that, how can you ever trust anyone again?"
"I don't know," Charm said quietly. She didn't meet his eyes, sighing. "I don't really have much luck getting close to people or . . . trusting them."
"That's okay." Owen managed a smile, shrugging a bit. "I-I don't have much luck getting close to people, either. Before I met Bethany, I only had a few online friends but we only talked about books and stuff."
"I don't really want to know what that is, but what's an 'online friend'?"
"Someone you meet on the Internet," he said, sitting up straighter. "The internet — it's kind of like your Nalwork. But where I'm from, everyone uses it. It makes it easier to communicate with people online."
"I see," Charm said, her gaze intense. "But I'm sure the Nalwork is much better, with your world having worse technology, and all. Unfortunately, the best you've got is a cell phone."
Owen laughed a little too loudly. He quickly went silent, hoping she didn't go back to thinking he was a weirdo or a freak. Granted, she probably did think those things but now that there was the possibility of her forgiving him, he didn't care so much anymore. He hadn't realized how relieved he felt, like a thousand boulders had been lifted from his shoulders.
Things were looking a lot better. Better than he'd hoped, because he figured it'd be years before she even talked to him again. He'd forgotten how much he'd missed this — him and Charm being friends. Even if she didn't think of him as a friend, he was just happy they weren't fighting anymore.
After a few more seconds of not talking, he spoke up. "Oh, um, I kinda owe you a thank you, actually."
She stared at him. "For what?"
He took a deep breath. "Remember that time we were sitting in your space ship, right after I found out I needed to get my heart taken out?"
"You mean right before you found out Kiel needed his heart taken out?" Charm corrected, raising her eyebrows. "But yes, I remember. Being the smartest person in the universe, I never forget anything."
"Oh." She never forgot anything? Owen inwardly cringed as various embarrassing memories flooded his mind, but he pushed them aside. "Well, I . . . I wasn't feeling so great about getting my heart taken out. I-It was a big deal for me, and suddenly the idea of being a hero didn't seem so nice. All I wanted to do was go home. And then, you talked to me about it. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had the courage to go through with it. So thanks."
Charm nodded awkwardly. "I had no choice. You looked pretty scared. I wasn't used to it."
Owen smiled. "Kiel wouldn't have been scared, right?"
"If he was, he wouldn't have shown it. Or talked about it."
"Yeah, he never talks about that stuff." He paused. "By the way, do you . . . do you really think you're ready to forgive me? It's okay if you're not." His voice faltered, his confidence waning. "Really, it is."
"I only said it was a truce. I never said I was ready to forgive you."
"Truce. Okay!"
Charm smiled for real. "Don't make me regret this, Conners."
He laughed. "Trust me, I won't. All I've ever wanted was to be your friend."
"I still wouldn't call you a friend."
"Well . . . someday I hope I can be. I . . . I think you could always use more people to count on."
She snorted. "Other than Kiel, you mean. Who I can never count on for anything."
"He's not that bad," Owen said with a grin. "But yeah. And about what I said earlier?" He shook his head. "Y-You're not that scary. Not to me, anyway."
There was a strange expression on Charm's face. She was watching him carefully, her eyes glinting in the dark room. "Do you really think that?"
He only smiled in response, and even without responding, he knew she'd gotten the message.
Kiel had no idea how he'd gotten so lost.
One moment, he'd been in the jail cell with Kara, ready to look for their friends. And the next, he'd sprinted to the Boy Scouts camp. While some things that he did surprised even him sometimes, this topped all of it.
It only left him with a number of questions. Why did he come here in the first place? Why wasn't he helping Kara look for their friends right now? And why, most of all, did he run five miles for no apparent reason?
Well, maybe he had been looking for their friends. Despite being pretty sure that Owen and Charm were locked up in the same jail that he and Kara were, he wasn't sure about Gwen and Orion. Where could they be, since they were here? A part of Kiel was hopeful that they'd be in the jail, too.
One good thing about that would mean they weren't brainwashed yet, which was a crazy concept in itself. Kiel almost laughed at the idea of Orion being brainwashed. Despite the danger of it, it'd be amusing to see Orion act happy and carefree for once. He was even more uptight than Charm, sometimes.
As quickly as he could, Kiel headed back over to the Girl Scouts camp, unable to help feeling annoyed at himself. As naturally athletic as he was, his legs still ached painfully from his run. That was another reason he chose to walk the way back. If he ran any more, he might not look as impressive.
The bright moon glimmered down as he made his way up the red dirt trail, to the identical camp next door. Boy Scouts smiled as Kiel passed, so he returned it with the occasional wink or grin, trying to seem like he was enjoying himself. It wasn't too hard to pretend he was, anyway. His concern for his friends was what pulled his worries to the surface, but he'd always been good at hiding it.
For whatever reason, the sound of a bell chiming echoed loudly across the campsite, making Kiel jump. As it did, he noticed that all of the Scouts seemed to move towards a certain direction — back in the direction of the cabins. As someone who broke the rules constantly, it was a little weird to see how they all listened to that bell. He wasn't sure why they were going that way, but at least he had a better chance of not getting caught with fewer people around.
Kiel had just arrived at the camp's exit — a tall, ten-foot gate, and moved to climb up it. But he hadn't made it one step before a voice called out, "What do you think you're doing?"
He froze. Slowly looking over his shoulder, he saw a camp counselor — a woman wearing an adult version of the Scouts uniform. The expression on her face was a contrast to two days ago, and the woman did not look happy. Then again, most adults tended to look at Kiel with some level of disapproval. This was nothing new.
Instead of taking his foot away from the fence, Kiel left it there. He glanced at the woman behind him, tightening his grip on the fence. "Oh, you know, just climbing a fence!"
"Why are you doing that?"
"Uh . . ." He forced a smile. "For fun?"
"Well, the time to have fun is not now! Didn't you hear the bell? Everyone is supposed to be in their cabins."
Kiel's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, that's what that bell was for? And why do they— I have to go to my cabin?"
"To go to sleep."
"Sleep?" he remarked. "Who needs that when I could be doing something better? Like — hopping fences, for instance?"
The woman didn't look amused. "I'm not sure why you didn't listen to the bell, but you need to get down from there and go to your cabin! I don't want to ask again."
Carefully, Kiel removed his foot from the fence, trying to make it look like he was listening. If he climbed the fence with the woman watching, she'd know he wasn't brainwashed. And Kiel wasn't planning on getting caught. Being as talented as he was, he could easily pretend he was brainwashed — at least until the woman left.
"Sorry about that!" Kiel told the woman, forcing a wink. "Won't happen ever again. I promise I'll go straight to my cabin."
Good thing she didn't seem to understand sarcasm.
He started to walk as casually as he could away from the fence, back in the direction of the cabins. He stuffed his hands deep in his pockets, feigning a relaxed attitude. Just to make it more believable, he even started to hum a cheerful tune under his breath. Kiel had lots of experience with pretending, so he was confident he must've looked convincing.
All the while, the woman kept a watchful eye on him. She didn't walk away like Kiel had hoped she did. She didn't even look away. And worse, she'd slowly started to follow him, meaning he didn't have a choice but to go where she'd told him to. He needed a new plan.
Kiel reached for his wand-knives, only to realize that they weren't there. He bit back a groan. Someone must've taken his wand-knives when he was knocked out! But why would they do that? To anyone who didn't know what magic wands looked like, they'd probably looked like sticks. How could the people here know his wand-knives were dangerous?
Obviously, they couldn't have known. So they shouldn't have just taken them from him! Without his wand-knives, coming up with a solution was less easy for Kiel. He'd be able to remake them with magic, though he didn't want to do it out in the open, with the woman watching him like a hawk. And once he remade the wand-knives, he'd still have to relearn a spell before actually casting magic.
The good news was, he still had his belt, which had some magical properties inside. His spell book was among the items in his belt — shrunk down to a size where he could store it easily. This meant he could still cast a spell . . . once he got the chance to relearn whatever spell he was casting.
An idea occurred to him, one he surprisingly hadn't thought of before. What if he just teleported to the other camp? That would make escaping a lot easier — and quicker. He searched through his belt some more, his fingers reaching for the small button— but it wasn't there. Just like his wand-knives, they were gone.
Kiel frowned. Okay, that was weird. And concerning. His wand-knives being gone made sense, but his teleportation button, too? How could that be missing, when everything else in his belt was still there?
Charm, he thought. She must've had it! Kiel figured she did, because how else would they have gotten from the meadow to the parking lot earlier? Only his teleportation button could've gotten them there so fast, and he wouldn't be surprised if Charm or even Owen had come up with the idea of using it. Now, though, he really could've used it. They could've at least given his teleportation button back.
The other option, one that would take a lot faster, would be to make a distraction and hop over the fence as quickly as he could. The idea sent an exciting thrill down Kiel's spine, as a part of him really craved the danger. But, he reminded himself, he couldn't get caught. So if he jumped the fence now, he'd have to make sure this woman wouldn't come after him.
A distraction. That's what he needed. And he might not have a spell ready, so he did the next best thing.
"Hey," Kiel said, glancing back at the woman. "Do you smell that?"
The counselor furrowed her brows. "Smell what?"
"That smoke!" he said, pointing at the sky. Sure enough, the remnants of smoke from the bonfire were still there. If he was lucky, the party would still be going on. "I think I saw kids having a bonfire over there!"
"What?"
"Yeah!" Kiel pretended to be flabbergasted. "I-I saw them earlier. They were having a party. It looks like they're still having it now! Can you believe they were doing that, when they should've been in their cabins? Didn't they hear the bell?" He scoffed. "Oh, and I should probably tell you — there was a girl there too. Wouldn't that mean she's in trouble for not being in her own camp?"
It was better to throw someone else under the bus, after all. Though he felt a small twinge of guilt about placing the distraction on the only other rule-breaker in this camp. He had to admit — now that he remembered Girl Scouts weren't allowed inside the Boy Scouts camp, he admired that girl for breaking the rules. At least one person here knew how to do it, despite being brainwashed.
For a split second — a weird, fleeting moment — Kiel found himself wondering if he'd ever see her again.
Out of everyone at the bonfire, she'd been the only one that stood out to him. Not that he had a clue why. He didn't even know that girl, so why was he thinking of her? He'd already forgotten what her face looked like, but he remembered the feeling he'd gotten when he'd looked at her. It'd been unusual, yet somehow, strangely familiar.
But the thought quickly passed, going to the back of his mind. It really wasn't important. Not in the slightest.
The woman tensed up. "Yes, she's definitely in trouble. And so are all those other boys, if that bonfire is still going on!"
"Good!" Kiel said, nodding. "Great."
He watched as she started storming off in the direction of the bonfire, momentarily forgetting Kiel. He waited until she got far enough away, then turned and bolted for the fence. He was unable to hold back the smug smile that appeared on his face once he heard the woman's surprised shouts behind him — quickly turning into anger.
Then, at the bottom of the fence, he heard, "You will suffer serious consequences if you keep disobeying me! Get down from there now!"
Already more than halfway up the fence, Kiel glanced down to see the woman running over, a glare in her eyes. He bit his tongue to hold back the pun he'd just thought of. Although he really wanted to say it, now didn't seem like the right time. Or was it?
"I might. Might not." He winked. "I'm kind of on the fence about it."
He went back to climbing, just reaching the top of the fence when he heard the woman speak again. "I need backup!" Her voice was an angry hiss. "There's a boy here who's trying to escape! He must've not been washed yet!"
He glanced over his shoulder to see that the woman was talking into some sort of black box. It didn't look like the cell phone that Owen had, so Kiel wasn't exactly sure what it was. But it seemed that somehow, the woman was able to communicate with the other counselors there.
The good part? It was dark. And Kiel Gnomenfoot, magic thief and savior to Magisteria, was very good at hiding. He was an expert at it, in fact! Of course, it'd be easier to hide when he was wearing black, like he usually did, but he could make it work.
So, with a tone that indicated confidence, he replied, "Good luck catching me!" and leaped from the fence. He kept his arms outstretched, trying not to lose his balance as he hit the ground. Throwing one last glance at the furious camp counselor behind him, he headed down the path that'd lead him to the Girl Scouts camp.
The hill of the crossroads rose up, revealing two paths: one that led straight to the parking lot and an empty cabin, which was where he and his friends had first registered into the camp. The other was off to the left, snaking through the thick forest and eventually leading to the Girl Scouts camp.
His heart pounded fast. Kiel darted past the parking lot, veering off towards the pathway to his left. Then he paused, quickly backpedaling as an idea came to mind. Since the camp counselors thought he was escaping, they'd probably come to the parking lot first to look for him. And just to give himself more time, it'd be best if they where he wouldn't be.
So, swooping down to pick up a large rock, Kiel threw it. The rock sailed through the air, smashing one of the car's windows. Immediately, the car's alarm went off, sounding like a wailing siren. It was so loud that it made Kiel jump a little. Then, he smiled at his handiwork. That should keep them busy for a while.
With that, he turned on his heel and continued down the path. Trees were on either side, their branches so close together above his head that they almost formed a canopy. They rustled in the wind, making crackling noises as the branches brushed against each other. The bright moon shone through the cracks in the branches, bathing the ground in silver moonlight.
It didn't take long before he saw the gate of the Girl Scouts camp — identical to the one he'd just climbed. Now that he knew how this might go down, a part of him had no desire to go in there. But finding his friends was far more important. And who cared about the danger? Kiel certainly didn't! The danger was thrilling, and he was too awesome to be brainwashed.
This would be a lot easier if I didn't have to climb so many fences, Kiel thought, wishing he had a spell that could just take him to his friends. Or if he had Gwen's jet pack (which he'd always kind of wanted to use) he could easily fly over the fence. Not that Kiel was doubting his own abilities. He was amazing at climbing fences and looked great doing it.
But, he had to admit that he was getting tired. He'd been running around all day, especially in the last hour. And now that it was nighttime, his energy was fading. Kiel hoped that once he got his friends and got out of here, he'd at least have some time to sleep. Would could he say? Being this heroic was exhausting!
It didn't take long for him to get to the other side of the fence. Once he did, he booked it for the Girl Scout's jail. In his haste to leave earlier, he didn't really remember the way to it. But he did remember that it'd been miles away from the entrance, a small building that hid behind what looked to be an amphitheater.
He assumed none of the campers knew there was a jail here, because no one had ever mentioned it to him. Either that, or they didn't care, since they were brainwashed.
As he walked, Kiel held his palms up in front of him. A spark of light burst from his hands, growing bigger and bigger. When it quickly faded, two identical wand-knives were in his hands, resembling his old ones exactly. He stuffed his wand-knives back into their sheaths. All he had to do now was learn some spells, though he wasn't sure when he'd get the time to.
He glanced up. From what he could tell, the camp was completely deserted. Not a single person was around; everyone must've been in their cabins. Even so, he made his footsteps as quiet as possible, trying not to drawl too much attention to himself. From what the woman had said, he expected people would be looking for him soon enough.
Being a boy in a camp full of girls suddenly didn't make blending in feel so easy. Too bad the jail wasn't in the Boy Scouts camp. If it was, he'd have fewer concerns about standing out . . . even if all the brainwashed kids were in their cabins.
Kiel had only made it a few feet, however, before he heard the sound of a door swinging open, it's wooden hinges creaking loudly. He turned, eyes widening, to see a camp counselor step out of the cabin closest to Kiel. Shoot.
Opening the door, the camp counselor's narrowed eyes immediately landing on him. Kiel swallowed hard. Since when did everything turn so serious? During the day, when the Scouts were out, the atmosphere was filled with excitement. But whatever excitement the camp counselors showed during the day was gone. He had a feeling their good moods were just for show, a mask they wore in front of the campers.
The man picked up the same black box that the woman had, unhooking it from his belt and lifting it to his mouth. It had some kind of antenna sticking out of the top. "I found the boy. He's in section 'A' of the Girl Scouts camp, in front of the 'Tumbleweed' cabin."
"Isn't that a little much?" Kiel asked, crossing his arms.
The man looked at him with a grim smile. "Not when we have business to do."
"Business," Kiel repeated, nodding along. "So that's what you're calling brainwashing! Good to know. But if you'll excuse me, I have some of my own business to do. You know, things like breaking my friends out of summer camp jail, saving them from being brainwashed . . . that kind of thing."
"Too bad. You're coming with us."
Kiel's heart jumped in his throat, but puffed out his chest to appear more confident. "Us?"
The man only nodded, then raised his voice. "Girl Scouts! Take this boy to the medbay! And don't let him get away!"
Girl Scouts? Kiel thought, confused. He'd thought everyone had been asleep! But his questions were answered once the door behind the camp counselor opened again, and about ten girls walked out. They all walked over to Kiel, their eyes unfocused. Before he knew it, he was surrounded. Ten against one, plus the camp counselor.
Kiel felt a small jolt of fear, but quickly pushed it down. He could handle this! He might not have access to magic at the moment, but fighting a bunch of girls should be easy— not to say that girls weren't as strong and capable as he was. In general, he just believed he could win any fight he came across. This would be easy.
And either way, he had to win. He didn't know what'd happened to his friends yet. Last time he'd talked to Kara, she'd gone off to search for Owen and Charm. Hopefully, she'd found them by now. But if she'd gotten caught, she'd need Kiel's help. And there was always the chance that his friends were being brainwashed at this very moment, so he really had to get back to them.
"Do you really want to embarrass yourselves fighting me?" Kiel asked, surprised when tiredness seeped into his voice. He forced his eyes open wider, determined to keep his energy up.
One of the girls laughed, as if Kiel had said a joke. "Who says we'll be the ones embarrassed? You're the one who's going to lose!"
They thought he was going to lose? Kiel narrowed his eyes. "Bring it on!"
With that same dazed look in their eyes, the Girl Scouts moved forward to grab him. A hand latched around his wrist, and Kiel pushed the person hard, sending them sprawling backward. A second later, someone grabbed him from behind, harshly pulling his arms behind him.
For a moment, Kiel was unable to get his arms free. The sensation of his arms being yanked back hurt a little, but he ignored the pain, fighting back against the girl holding him. Grunting, Kiel lifted his knee and kicked the person's legs several times, causing them to let go and slip to the ground.
Returning his arms to his sides, Kiel looked up to see two more girls coming for him, their arms outstretched. Quickly, he ducked, rolling in a way that he hoped looked impressive. He jumped back to his feet, loving the adrenaline that the fight gave him. Even without magic, he was still great in a fight!
And then, just as he thought he had everything handled (as he usually did), something slammed into his knees from behind.
Kiel hit the ground with a gasp. Shockwaves rippled down his spine. For a second, he felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. Hands grabbed his shoulders, holding him down forcibly. Blinking, Kiel looked up to see about six girls and one camp counselor looking down at him. The camp counselor had been the one to knock him down, and the one holding Kiel by the shoulders.
"Hey!" Kiel exclaimed. "Let go of me! I haven't won yet!"
"That's funny!" a girl said. "He thinks he can still win!"
All of them giggled. All except Kiel, who for once, was finding something very much not funny.
"It's time to stop fighting," the camp counselor assured him. "There is no need to try leaving again. In a few minutes, you'll only care about one thing."
"Punching you?" Kiel suggested. "Saving my friends? Not getting brainwashed?"
"Nope. None of those."
"Oh. Okay. I can keep going. The list is endless, really. How about my well-being? Or my good looks? Or defeating this guy named Nobody? I'm sure you don't know him, but I kinda have to help my friends defeat him and being brainwashed really won't bode well with that. There's also—"
"Do you ever shut up?" the man cut him off, looking much more annoyed.
"No, thanks for asking!" Kiel forced a grin. "It's all part of my charm."
The girls around him laughed loudly, and he noticed that the sound made the man distracted. His grip on Kiel loosened. Taking advantage of this, Kiel used all his strength to sit up, pushing the man's arms away. He rolled to the side and scrambled to his feet in the process, shoving a Girl Scout out of the way.
"Gotta go!" Kiel shouted as he sprinted away, the wind blowing his hair off his forehead.
In seconds, the group was hot on his heels. He would've thought that after being chased several times today already, the next time would at least be tomorrow. But, as fate decided, Kiel wouldn't have a moment to breathe. And his legs might've been tired, but being a fast runner, Kiel knew he could outrun them.
Still, a part of him just hoped he could lose the Scouts on the way to the jail. That would make things a lot easier, so Kiel could find a better way to sneak in the jail, as well as to avoid getting brainwashed. Or if he could run while he simultaneously learned spells, that'd be helpful, too.
Kiel considered this, but with how gigantic and heavy the spell book was, he doubted that would be a very good idea. So his best bet was to lose them somehow, which would be a lot easier if the cabins were less spread out. He needed some way to get them off his trail.
And then, as he neared the amphitheater, he scrambled to a stop. Because yet another, much larger group of Girl Scouts were right there waiting for him. They all smiled as he stared at them, his breath catching in his throat. Really? As flattering as it was that they seemed to want Kiel to join them so badly, this was getting out of hand. Was the whole camp going to look for him now?
"We've been waiting for you," they said in unison.
"How thoughtful," Kiel said, unable to keep the annoyance from his voice. It wasn't very often that he got annoyed, but this? This was the worst. Couldn't he at least have time to learn some spells, first? It'd only be fair.
A few seconds later, he heard footsteps coming up behind him. Whipping around, he saw the camp counselor, as well as the Girl Scouts who'd tried grabbing him earlier. They moved in on him, smiles on their faces. He was trapped, and it was about thirty against one this time.
Something came to mind. What if there was a way to un-brainwash all of them? Clearly, they weren't themselves. They were blindly following the camp counselors' orders, trying to capture other people to brainwash. And during all of it, they acted completely happy, as if nothing was wrong. If Kiel could snap them out of it . . .
His eyes lit up. Magic. Now was the perfect time to learn a new spell. It was now or never.
"There's nowhere else for you to run," the camp counselor said, slowly walking closer to Kiel.
"You're right." Kiel sighed heavily, trying to sound like he'd given up. "I should've realized that from the beginning. Can I . . . have a moment before you brainwash me?"
"To do what?"
"Well, I'm a really big reader. I want to read one page of my book before I . . . stop caring about it."
The man stared at him for a moment, looking surprised. Then, he guffawed. "You — you want to read before—"
Kiel just sighed again. "Yes! I have to. It's my favorite book."
The man was still snickering. "You won't stop caring about reading. You'll just focus more on being a Boy Scout!"
"Exactly. I know that once I care more about that, I won't have any time for my book!" He gestured at the Girl Scouts around him. "Any of you have time to read while you're busy being Girl Scouts?"
The girls glanced at each other. Some of them shook their heads, so Kiel exclaimed, "See? They don't! How will I?"
Slowly, the man's laughter faded. Finally, he nodded, giving in. "Fine. Read your page. But after that, you're coming with us. Got that?"
"Yeah."
Kiel had to bite his lip to keep from grinning. He sat down on the ground, hunching over as he muttered some words under his breath. Instead of allowing the book to magically float out of his belt (which would definitely raise suspicion) he dug his hands into his belt.
His fingers found the spell book, curling around the hard edges. He pulled it out, adjusting it in his arms as he struggled slightly with its heavy weight. Letting it slip onto the ground, he took a deep breath. It was a good thing it was dark out, or else they might've questioned just how gigantic the book was.
Closing his eyes, Kiel gently placed his fingers on the spine, willing the book to give him the perfect spell. The pages began flipping on their own, slowly at first, then faster and faster. A few seconds later, they rolled to a stop. Kiel leaned forward to see the words. Under the light of the moon, the words at the top were, "Spell of Remembrance."
A remembering spell? That made no sense. Why would that be the first thing to come up? That wasn't even the spell he needed!
"Come on, book," Kiel whispered firmly. "I don't need that spell! Give me something that'll get rid of these Scouts!"
With extreme reluctance, the spell book flipped forward a few more pages. Once he saw the spell it'd landed on, Kiel found himself smiling. Perfect. With this spell, he actually had a shot of getting out of here. He placed his hands on the book, trying to ignore how clammy they felt. A warm glow seeped up his arms, washing over his body like a comforting summer breeze.
Closing his eyes, Kiel made sure he had the spell. The words were there in his mind, ready to be used. He felt a spark of hope, as well as a rush of newfound confidence. Oh, he was so ready to take these Scouts down. Kiel slammed the book shut, placing it back inside his magical belt.
"You ready now?" the camp counselor asked. Kiel looked up to see that he, along with all of the Girl Scouts, were still standing in a circle around him, their eyes never leaving him.
He nodded. Climbing to his feet, he allowed two of the girls to grab his arms. This time, he didn't try to escape. He stumbled as they pulled him along, their grips surprisingly strong. They surrounded him at all sides, blocking him if he were to try to escape again. Even though he had a great plan up his sleeve, being escorted like this didn't sit well with Kiel.
It reminded him of all the times he'd been almost been arrested by Science Police. He'd always been afraid of them, even though he refused to show it. Once they arrested a person, that was it. There was no seeing them again. In general, Kiel had never been a fan of the police. Even the idea of being arrested by nonfictional police wouldn't make him feel better.
And while the Scouts weren't police, Kiel couldn't help but see the similarities. In a way, getting brainwashed was like never being seen again. Under the rare circumstances that he got brainwashed, he'd never want to leave this place. And as fun as this place was during the day, never wanting to leave was kind of a buzzkill.
Kiel was a free spirit; someone who needed to do what he wanted, to have adventures and travel. He wouldn't be able to stand staying in one place forever. Also, he just couldn't imagine himself not breaking the rules. Even a brainwashed version of him would be rebellious.
They led him some distance away, only to stop once they'd reached a cabin. From there, they pulled him up the steps and opened the door. Letting go of his arms, they pushed him inside. The first thing that Kiel noticed was how dark the inside of the cabin was. Instead of lights hanging overhead, only a few lit candles were positioned around the room.
"So, this is where all the brainwashing happens?" Kiel asked.
The camp counselor, who'd followed him inside, nodded. "Here, in the Girl Scouts camp. There's another cabin in the Boy Scouts camp. But traditionally, we go in here to do it."
Locking the door behind him, he moved past Kiel. The man leaned down, pulling at a string that was connected to the floor. Kiel hadn't noticed it before. Surprise filled him when he saw a square piece of the floor lift up, revealing a ladder that led into darkness. It was a trap door!
"You'll stay down there until we grab your friends and take them here, too. It's easier to brainwash many people at once. Saves time."
While the man wasn't looking, Kiel made a face. "Yep. Totally."
"You go first," the man said, pushing Kiel hard between his shoulder blades.
Kiel crinkled his brows. "If you say so!"
A plan forming his head, he walked over to the trap door. He dropped to the floor next to it, turning himself around as he put one foot on the ladder. Slowly, he started to climb down. But before he could get too far — far enough for the camp counselor to follow him — Kiel reached down, grabbing one of his wand-knives. Pointing it up at the man, he quietly recited the spell.
An instant later, a sparkling mist soared out from the tip of Kiel's wand-knife. It flew towards the camp counselor, spreading all around the cabin and seeping through the cracks in the door. A dazed look appeared in the camp counselor's eyes as he stared at Kiel, only for his eyelids to flutter closed. He fell to the ground, asleep.
Kiel beamed. Yes! If his spell worked right, everyone within miles should be asleep by now. They'd wake up in a few hours, but by that time, Kiel hoped he and his friends would be gone. He started back up the ladder, only to pause. He should just leave now. No one would be chasing him, so he should escape while he still had time.
But right below him was where people got brainwashed. Even if this wasn't his story at all, he couldn't sit back and let the camp counselors brainwash more people. It wasn't right. He needed to find a way to destroy this place before he went back to his friends. And an explosion sounded like a pretty awesome idea to Kiel.
First, though, he'd better climb down the rest of the way. Just to make sure no one was there. As excited as Kiel was to set off an explosion, he didn't want anyone to get hurt in the process. Only the brainwashing equipment, or whatever it was that the camp counselors used.
So, he shimmied down the ladder. Darkness enveloped him on all sides, which made it slightly harder to see where the ladder rungs were. It wasn't for about five minutes before his foot touched down on the smooth floor. Releasing his grip on the ladder, he stepped off. Time to destroy this so-called "medbay." And also, it'd feel good to save a community again, to be the hero of a world other than just his own.
But when he turned around, feeling considerably uplifted, it was to see a fist aiming for his face.
"I'm gonna find my way back to your side. Like ships in the night, you keep passing me by . . ."
