Enchanted High Book I
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Flaming Pearl

‘So you’ve got all your supplies – hovercraft, weapons, tent ...’ Charlie was checking the backpack as James, Dominic, Nicole and June stared at their new outfits.

‘Not much of a difference in clothing, huh?’ Nicole said.

‘Not much of a difference in climate either.’ Charlie replied. ‘It’s going to be as hot as the desert.’

‘It’s good,’ said Dominic with a grin, ‘June can just flood the place again.’

‘There won’t be any of that nonsense,’ Charlie pointed out. ‘You weren’t even supposed to be flooding the village either.’

James laughed and put his cap on.

‘So here’s the picture.’ Charlie said, pointing a remote to the screen.

The picture looked nothing like June had imagined. Clouds were covering the surface of a rocky mountain top high above land. Lush green and yellow flowers bloomed and the sky was a blinding azure blue.

‘That’s the springs?’ James asked.

‘Yes, why?’ Charlie asked.

‘I dunno,’ James shrugged. ‘I just thought it would be spookier.’

‘Spookier.’ Charlie guffawed.

James didn’t reply, but June knew exactly what he meant.

‘Right, line up, over here ...’ Charlie shifted away bits of crumpled paper from the floor. ‘Concentrate on the picture. Switch your watches to transportation mode, on the count of three ...’

The four lined up and stared at the serene image.

‘One. Two.’ Charlie counted down. ‘Three!’

June was spinning so fast she could hardly feel her head. The colors of the office zoomed out of sight as she whirled into the air.

She wasn’t sure when to open her eyes; usually, she realized she had reached her destination when she felt the ground appear under her, and everything went still. This time, the stillness was not followed by the solid ground.

She opened her eyes, curious, and her heart leapt to her throat.

She was dangling at the side of a cliff, grabbing the vines desperately. The ground was miles below her.

‘Help!’ she called. She heard the others groan as they slammed onto the ground.

‘June?’ James called out. ‘Where are you?’

‘Over here – down!’

Nicole’s head appeared – her eyes widened in fear at the sight of June. She clutched the vines, hauling June upwards. With the help of James and Dominic, June reached the top in no time. She dug her nails into the loose soil. Then she stood, peering down the edge. She panted, resting her hands on her knees.

‘So,’ Dominic clasped his hands, ‘would you rather walk or use the hovercraft?’

‘We’ll walk,’ Nicole said; she gazed up at the sky. ‘The weather’s lovely.’

‘Yes, she’s right,’ they heard Charlie’s voice from the walkie-talkie, making the only unnatural sound. ‘Walk. You might even have to camp there; just like the desert.’

‘Oh, great,’ Nicole frowned. ‘Any monsters?’

Charlie laughed the question off. ‘Go north.’

Dominic held out his watch, tapping the glass. ‘There’s no ground at north.’

‘What do you mean no ground?’ Charlie asked.

‘We’re on a cliff, if we go north we’ll fall and die,’ James said abruptly. He crossed his arms. ‘Which is what June almost did.’

‘Oh right, a cliff,’ Charlie replied. ‘Go the opposite direction then.’

‘Remember this?’ James was holding up a flower in his hands, rapidly changing color from neon pink to yellow.

June glanced at it, stepping over a small stream. ‘The yellow is beautiful.’

They were in a canyon; rocks reached out high above them as they walked alongside the stream, trickling over pebbles. Through the cracks in the rocks, wild flowers grew abundantly – bunches of Iridescent, the color changing flower, bloomed everywhere. Clouds had taken over the blue sky now; June could see the grey between the large gap at the top, and, further in front of them, there was another opening, leading to a forest, where the rocks subsided.

‘Are you following the stream?’ Charlie’s digital voice rang out across the rocks.

‘Yes – we are –’ Dominic sounded impatient. ‘Here Nicole, you keep him.’ He tossed the walkie-talkie to Nicole.

‘Are you surrounded by trees or rocks?’ Charlie asked.

Nicole glanced around. ‘Uhh, both.’

‘What? What kind of plants are there? Any animals? How high are the rocks?’

‘Captain, this belongs to you.’ Nicole threw the device back to Dominic. He caught it as if it was a very hot piece of wood.

‘Hello? Hello?’ Charlie yelled.

‘Yes, Charlie.’ Dominic forced a calm tone.

‘How high are the rocks?’

‘Very high.’

‘Where’s the stream leading?’

Dominic turned, his gaze landing on an opening in the rocks. ‘There’s a cave here, in the side ...’ he crossed the stream and pointed a torch into the darkness. The others stood beside him. They were about to step in, when Charlie’s worried voice stopped them.

‘No!’ he screamed. ‘Follow the stream!’

‘But – why?’ Dominic asked. ‘The tree could be in here...’ He took another step into the darkness.

‘No – listen!’ Charlie shouted again. ‘Follow the stream. The cave leads to a dead end. I can see it here on the monitor.’

‘But the last time there was dead end it was just a wall blocking the rest of the tunnel.’ Nicole argued.

‘Yes, but I could see the rest!’ Charlie protested.

‘Alright,’ June interrupted. They were wasting time arguing. ‘We’ll just follow the stream.’

‘Thank you, June.’ Charlie sounded relieved.

They walked further, June looking one last time into the cave over her shoulder. They could come back, she thought, when Charlie didn’t know. They walked to the end, all the rocks that caved around them were gone, and they were now following a wide river instead of a narrow stream, through a forest. The sun blazing over them.

‘What does the surroundings look like now?’ Charlie asked.

‘Green,’ Dominic replied, stepping into a pile of mud next to the river.

‘Green? As in green plants?’

‘Yes.’

‘Great! We’re close to your campsite!’ Charlie said.

‘But why are we camping?’ Nicole asked. ‘I think we’d rather search more at night too, take breaks maybe. That way we won’t be wasting any time. We have a deadline, in case any of you have forgotten.’

‘No – you can’t wander around there at night.’ Charlie said.

Dominic frowned. ‘Why not?’ sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FɪndNøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

‘Because.’

Everyone stopped walking, gathering around the walkie-talkie in Dominic’s hands. They waited for his answer.

‘Because?’ Nicole asked.

No reply.

‘Charlie,’ said June patiently, ‘is there something you’re not telling us?’

‘No.’

‘Don’t lie.’

Silence. As if he was weighing his words. ‘You can’t go searching at night because – because ... because the place is haunted!’

There was a moment of silence before Dominic burst into laughter.

‘Like ghosts? Are you kidding me? Ooooo – that’s soooooo scary –’

‘Hey,’ Nicole shoved him by the shoulder. ‘Don’t you know that the Dark Woods is haunted too? Didn’t you here all those incidents?’ She shivered, thinking about it. ‘That’s it – I’m coming back.’ She switched her watch to teleportation mode.

‘No don’t, you can’t – please.’ Charlie begged. ‘If you do then we’ll only have one remainder place to search and if it’s not there then how can we prove your innocence to Salvatore?’

Nicole held her head in her hands, pacing back and forth. ‘This is not what I signed up for when I enrolled into Enchanted High.’

June sighed, looking at James. He looked back at her, his eyebrows creased. Charlie knew the legend, and he’s hiding it from them. Why? No idea. She decided to surface the topic, then and there. ‘Charlie – has it got to do with the legend?’

Static filled the air. Then, ‘You know?’ Charlie whispered.

‘Yes,’ said James.

Nicole and Dominic frowned at June and James.

‘Both of you?’ Dominic asked.

‘Yes,’ James repeated.

‘And you couldn’t tell us?’

June stepped in. ‘Well there wasn’t any time –’

‘And how do you know about this legend?’ Charlie interrupted.

‘We were in the garden this morning –’ said June, but she was interrupted again.

′You were in the school gardens too?′ Dominic asked. He neared June, pointing an accusing finger at her. June stared into his eyes; they were light brown, similar to his tanned skin. His expression was somewhat ... jealous. No, that was wrong, it had to be.

‘Yes,’ James placed himself in between them, facing Dominic. ‘She was with me.’

There was a moments of stiff silence in which Nicole shot a look at June. James and Dominic were facing each other; each had their fists curled up in a fighting stance. They stared into each other’s blazing eyes as if threatening the other to make a move. James clenched his teeth and his jaw clenched.

‘Okay – everyone calm down,’ Charlie spoke through the walkie-talkie that Dominic still held. ‘All you need is a little rest. I think the height there is getting to your heads.’

James stepped back without saying a word and began walking again, ahead of the others.

June took the walkie-talkie from Dominic’s hands; surprisingly, he let go easily. She spoke into it, ‘How far is the campsite?’

‘You’re very close.’

‘Right,’ said June. She switched the device off and began walking with Nicole. They kept a close eye on James and Dominic up ahead, the distance between them charged like electricity.

‘You know I can never imagine those two arguing. They’re best buddies.’ Nicole looked down at the grass; she smoothed an entire path down, just to channel her attention. ‘What could’ve brought that up?’

‘I don’t know,’ June replied.

Nicole breathed deeply. ‘You know, I’m kind of mad at you for not telling me the legend before.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘It doesn’t matter now,’ said Nicole. ‘It’s a small deal. At least there are no lies about the big stuff. Like say, your parents, for example?’

June’s heart momentarily froze. ‘How did you know that?’

Nicole bit her lip. ’Enchanted High’s student catalogue. There’s a new one each year at the back of the guide. They give a brief background on each student. I came across yours. It mentions the detail.

‘Oh.’ June gulped. Perhaps it was wrong to lie about her parents; why was she ashamed that she was an orphan? She wasn’t ashamed; she just didn’t like roaming around and announcing it. But Nicole felt that it was fine to tell her about her mother; which meant that she trusted June. And June realized that she should too.

‘Now,’ Nicole continued, ‘Mind if I ask you to tell me this legend?’

June described it to her without hesitation. The mountain top, the two fire manipulators, the woman and her father’s preserved life in the pearl, the fight ... Nicole remained quiet, even after she had stopped speaking, just like June and James had after the story was told to them.

Then, ‘Yikes.’ She pursed her lips. ‘What were their names?’

‘Spinnet never mentioned any names.’

‘Oh,’ Nicole said. She kicked another pebble. ‘Imagine having red hair. How do you think I would look?’

June laughed. ‘Pretty good, I’m sure.’

‘Yeah ... but I bet that lady looked pretty.’

‘Yeah, I bet she was,’ June agreed. She knew what she was trying to do; trying to focus on the small, unnecessary detail in attempt to overlook everything else.

They looked straight ahead; James and Dominic walked briskly, a great distance apart, their bodies silhouetted against the ancient red of the setting sun.

Nicole sighed. ‘Another spectacular sunset.’

‘The day went fast, huh?’

‘Tell me about it, we’ve been walking all day.’ Nicole said. ‘I’m exhausted. Check on Charlie again.’

‘Charlie?’ June spoke into the walkie-talkie. ‘How far is the campsite now?’

Seconds after, he replied. ‘You’ll be there at any second.’

The sky had turned a turquoise-violet as the sun sank below the mountains brightly illuminating them. Dominic and Nicole unfolded the tent in silence.

After the near fight, nobody seemed to want to talk to each other; especially James and Dominic. The only sounds made was the shuffling of the tent being set up, the rustling of the wind and pebbles hitting the ground as James threw them one by one; so as to give him something to do.

As Dominic straightened the final bits of tent and went inside, the sun was completely gone. The four were once again experiencing another night in a foreign place. They assembled themselves in their separate sleeping bags; in the same order as they slept in at the desert; it seemed to become an unconscious reflex. A breeze shook the tent a little, June had just dipped into dreamland, when Charlie’s static voice brought her back.

‘Is the tent up?’

The walkie-talkie lay in the center of the tent far from the reach of anyone. June, Nicole, James and Dominic stared at it lazily for a few moments before Nicole decided, mumbling something about stubbornness, to wake up from her sleeping bag to answer.

‘Yes, the tent is up,’ she said, yawning. ‘We’re preparing to sleep.’

‘Oh,’ Charlie said. ‘Good, good,’ he sighed. ‘Alright, sleep tight.’

Switching it off, Nicole returned to her sleeping bag beside June, shutting her eyes tightly. June saw her, with the faint moonlight, twitching at every sound that nature made outside the tent, and smiled. Nicole was brave, and responsible and a truly great leader, but not fearless.

Quietly, June reached out from her sleeping bag, and held Nicole’s hand, squeezing softly to reassure her.

Tonight she played the tune again. The house is very quiet, so it’s incredibly easy to hear a grand piano being played. I get the chills - I’m not sure if it’s the result of the haunting tune, or the fact that I’m curious, so curious, to find out just who it is she’s devoting this melody to.

Love from all my curiosities,

--THUG.

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