Like a hypnotized foot soldier, she slowly sat up in a heightened state. She stared incessantly at the story's picture, holding it still with a finger.
She dissected every inch in hopes to find clues as to where he was. This place was vibrant with neon lights, and almost all of them were red.
She queried to herself what that meant. Red lights could be anywhere. She had to discern exactly where.
That was when it hit her. Perhaps it was a fire district?
No, this didn't feel to her like a fire district. All the buildings were too general; none of them were fire, water, earth or air specific. It felt like a generic district, but vibrant in red lights.
That was when a sign in frame caught her attention...
RLD Fire Sale!
"RLD... what could that be?"
She quickly exited the app and headed to her search engine, typing in 'Elementopia RLD'. To her surprise...
"Red Light District..."
She cross-referenced the area name with Wade's story once more. The bright red lights made perfect sense. He had to be there.
Diving into detective Ember mode, she quickly opened up her maps app and typed in the Red Light District. Lo and behold...
"20-minute drive from here."
She bruxed her teeth, looking up from the phone for a moment.
"How in eternal flame am I gonna get a car?"
She looked out the huge window in her room and down at the street. Her eyes quickly came across a cab rank.
"Bingo."
With her mission laid out clearly, she packed her things and made for the district with haste. She grabbed her PPE suit and put it on to get through the house, heading out the bedroom door.
She pitter-pattered downstairs, where the Sea-Nears were sitting in the lounge watching a movie. Seeing that they were distracted, she snuck her way through the house, though her frenzied swimming through didn't help.
"Ember?" Uncle Sea-Near perked up.
Just as she arrived at the front door to leave, she stopped like a deer in headlights. Uncle Sea-Near - with almost inhuman-like reflexes - approached her while the wife and kids were still distracted.
"What are you doing?" he quietly queried.
Ember sharply hid her bag behind her, standing straight like a guiltless soldier.
"Heheh... sorry. Getting a bit- snacky." Ember excused.
A bit taken off-guard by her general demeanour - especially considering what happened over dinner - Uncle Sea-Near stood in slight shock and worry.
"I'm just heading out to the convenience store down the street. Be back soon!" Ember promised.
Uncle Sea-Near folded his arms with an untrusting expression abroad his face.
"Really?" he asked.
Ember quickly nodded, forcing a fake smile out as best she could.
Deciding that time alone could benefit her, Uncle Sea-Near graciously stepped aside, returning to his family's side.
"Well, stay safe. Call us if you get into trouble." Uncle Sea-Near wished.
"Oh, I'm not the one who's in trouble," Ember muttered.
Swearing he heard things, Uncle Sea-Near stopped in his spot, turning back toward her momentarily.
"Sorry?" Uncle Sea-Near asked.
"Huh? Oh! I'm just- a bit hangry." she excused herself.
A bit exasperated by the ordeal, Uncle Sea-Near shrugged, returning to his family in the other room.
Ember let an exhale of relief escape her mouth, resuming her march in pursuit of Wade. She left the house with fiery rage read all over her face. She sharply closed the front door, got out the suit and shoved it into her backpack.
Now that the damned thing was off, she could resume her mission.
With bag and anger in tow, Ember stormed out of the apartment complex's lobby. The receptionist watched as Ember stormed out. The little flame lady made it clear she was furious.
Ember marched outside and stopped at the footpath, hailing a fast-incoming taxi. It came to a sharp halt right in front of her.
She slid into the back seat and threw her bag next to her. The driver leaned over to face her.
"Where to-" he began.
As he looked over, he saw a clearly displeased camper staring out the window with arms folded.
"The Red Light District." Ember brooded.
The driver let out a bit of a concerned groan, pursing his lips.
"RLD? Meetin' a friend there?" he pressed.
Ember slowly turned her head away from the window and toward him in an offensive manner.
"Why does it concern you?" she retorted.
"I'm just sayin'! The place ain't too friendly to the ladies flyin' solo." he notified.
She lit up in anger, sharply bruxing her teeth. She slithered her way forward, causing the cab driver to lean back a bit.
"I don't pay you to warn me. Drive." Ember scowled.
A bit thrown off, the driver refocused back to the road, screeching off in a magnificent fashion.
As they went on their way, Ember looked out the window once more, taking it all in. The further time went on, the more of the Elementopia CBD she got to see.
She knew this place was busy, but she never realized how busy. The place was roughly 5 times the size of Element City's CBD - a bit daunting for a small-town girl.
Perhaps the busyness was a result of it being a Thursday night; meaning late-night shopping. Unknowing of such, her mouth fell agape at all the people.
"What's with all the people out?" she queried.
"Them? Oh, a few things. Thursday night's late-night shopping, but there's also a few touristy things on." the cab driver notified.
Ember looked at him in query, her anger put on hold.
"Touristy things?" she asked.
"Yeah. Airballs on, photo tours, sales. You name it." the cab driver answered.
Curious, Ember looked out the window in wonder at all the people.
After not too long, the taxi passed by a bustling street mall parallel to the road. There were food stalls, little retailers, op shop stalls, street performances, and an abundance of photography. She looked in growing wonder, a smile almost abroad her face. Moments from putting her fingers on the glass in wonder, she quickly withdrew them in embarrassment, realising that she'd melt the thing.
As if the street mall wasn't big enough, the two passed by a busy shopping mall roughly 10 times the size. A large amount of sales signs coated the place, as well as a bunch of haggled shoppers departing with at least 5 bags each. Ember stared at the signs, including a rather quippy one that read 'Fire Sale!'.
She let out a guffaw at it, folding her arms and shaking her head with a smirk.
Continuing onward, the taxi passed by another busy attraction; this time, a movie studio lot. Having never seen one before, Ember stared in marvel at it. Though the studio wasn't the main draw; it was the large crowd in front of it, holding up signs in protest.
"Dang. What's with all those people?" Ember queried.
"That? Oh, there's a big actor and writer's strike going on at the moment. Plenty of 'em ain't having ends meet 'cuz of greedy 'ol Big Brother." the cab driver said.
Ember shot him a blank, confused look. The driver quickly looked at her in his rearview mirror.
"That means the studios are takin' all the money from them." the cab driver clarified.
Still a bit clueless, Ember nodded in passive agreement.
"Gotcha."
Following the fruitful drive, the two arrived in the bustling Red Light District of Elementopia. The driver pulled over in a cab rank, unlocked the doors and leaned over to face Ember. Before she could react, the driver handed her a large wooden log from under his seat. She shot him an aptly confused expression.
"What's with the bat?" she asked.
"It's a torch. You get in trouble, you light that thing up, and no one touches you. RLD can get dangerous, so don't go makin' friends. Chances are, them 'friends' are gonna do some horrible things if you let 'em." the cab driver said.
Hesitantly, Ember took it with both hands - it was a bit heavier than she anticipated.
"Thanks. What do I owe you?" she asked.
"200 Shell$." the driver notified.
Caught off-guard and in shock, she lit up, offended.
"What?!" she barked.
"The bat torch costs ya." the driver said.
She looked back over at the torch, hesitant at whether or not she should take it. She took a quick breath, deciding to take it. Carelessly, she threw the driver 250 Coal$ from her bag.
"Sorry, lady. We don't accept-" the driver began.
"That's worth roughly 210 Shell$. Trust me, I looked it up," she said, knowing full well she didn't at all.
Without a care in the world other than hunting Wade down, she got out of the cab. The driver, a bit perplexed, shrugged and took the payment.
Ember shoved the bat torch into her bag, slinging it on her back as the taxi drove off.
What lay in front of her now was simply breathtaking. She looked up in marvel at the red lights everywhere. The place was bright - brighter than the very flames that swirled about her.
The district was predominately bars and suspicious-looking joints. Not a host for illegal activities at all, she thought. With that, she let down a heaping gulp, stroking her flames in worry.
She refocused on the mission, referring to Wade's Elementstagram story once again. She scrolled through it, coming across a recently-added post with a 5-minute timestamp. It became apparent to her that Wade was after a good time alright.
"What the hell's he doing in a place like this?" she thought.
She stared down the daunting length of the district road, beginning to stroll slowly along. She hadn't a clue where Wade was precisely, but she thought that with enough ingenuity, she'd find him eventually.
She looked on either side in reserved wonder, witnessing an abundance of drunks in the aforementioned bars. She stared them down, subtly judgmental of them. Somehow sensing her judging eyes, they returned her stare with more of a forceful one. She went on, averting her gaze.
"And here we have our lovely bar scene-" a loud voice-over said.
Suddenly, Ember looked up and down the road at the projected voice - perhaps through a megaphone. She caught on to where the voice came from as she saw a double-decker bus in the distance. Strange.
She squinted her eyes to get a better look, barely able to see a bunch of tourists on board the top with cameras. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity, slowly walking toward it.
As she did, she overheard a litany of barflies scoffing at it in disgust.
"That bloody tour's on again." one said.
"It's like they do it every week." another replied.
"I oughta gouge my eardrums out so I don't have to listen to this tripe." a third chimed in.
As they babbled on, Ember remained staring at the bus with locked vision. She scanned the top deck, coming across a rather familiar water guy with a bucket hat. Though he had his back turned, Ember was close enough to discern that he had a satchel just like Wade's. She was sure it was him. It had to be.
With that, she lit up in fury.
"Wade..." she scowled to herself.
She marched over to the bus in anger, arms straight by her sides and fists clenched. The bus began to slowly depart in tandem with her walking, causing her to step up her pace. Before long, she was no match for the bus as she fell behind. It was moving far too quickly for her now. Her pace slowed in hesitation, unsure of what to do. She had to think on her feet.
DING