by Tina Chan
“Want to go for a walk before we bed down for the night?” Chelsa asked.
Kristi wasn’t expecting this offer; Chelsa usually spent her free time with Jaiden.
“Sure, if that’s what you want to do,” Kristi said.
“Yes it is.”
“Alright then.” Kristi called to the two boys, “Jaiden, Troop, we’re going for a quick walk. Be back soon.”
“Okay, don’t get eaten by a bear,” Jaiden called back.
Kristi let Chelsa choose the path of their walk. They walked the first ten minutes in silence; Kristi absorbed the soothing sounds of nature all around her. The further south they journeyed, the warmer the temperature got. Back in the North Region, the ground would be covered by snow during this time of the year.
The girls reached a flat slab of rock poking out from the ground and Chelsa scaled it rapidly. Kristi scrambled after her, sitting cross-legged besides Chelsa at the top.
“Troop really likes you,” Chelsa said, breaking the quietness.
“Oh?”
“I don’t think you should keep on pushing him away. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he has been following you around like a lost puppy.”
“Is this what you wanted to talk about?” Kristi asked dubiously.
“Partly. Why do you keep on rejecting Troop?”
Kristi sighed. “First of all, he’s a jerk. Second of all…” She couldn’t think of another reason why she kept on distancing herself from Troop aside from him being a bully at school.
Chelsa acknowledged her lack of reasons and continued on speaking, “I understand that you didn’t get the best impression of him, but I truly believe that he has changed his character. Well, in the first place, I don’t think he had a nasty nature to begin with. I think you’ve been a good influence on Troop. He’s a different person from when you first met him. I guess all I am saying is that you should give him a chance to at least befriend you.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes,” Chelsa said. After a brief moment of hesitation, she asked, “Have I ever told you how Alex died?”
Once again, Kristi was unprepared for Chelsa’s erratic behavior tonight.
“Well, you told me you killed Alex,” she mumbled.
Chelsa looked off into the distance, “It all started when Alex started dating me. The other students couldn’t believe anyone could see any beauty in me—who would want to befriend a girl with no genetic tweaks when there are several other literally perfect girls to date? I was already used to getting hassled, but once Alex and I started going out, the bullying got a lot worse. I wouldn’t have minded except Alex was getting his fair share of harassment as well.”
Chelsa bit her lower lip, then continued on, “One day, some of the kids at the school decided to throw my backpack into a nearby river behind the school. It was during spring, and the snowmelt had caused the river to swell and increase its current. Nevertheless, I tried to retrieve my backpack because it contained my electro-slate and most important, a baby leopard. Alex had just given me Ghost a few days before and I had kept Ghost in my backpack. I used a fallen branch to snag my backpack and somebody decided to push me into the river.”
Chelsa took a shaky breath and then met Kristi’s eyes for a second. She rapidly blinked, as if holding tears back. Kristi laced her fingers through Chelsa’s hand and listened with rapt attention. She felt Chelsa tighten her grip.
“I was immediately pulled under the icy water. I’m not a bad swimmer, but the current was too fast and too strong. Several of the students began to worry that the prank had gone too far, but nobody tried to help me. Just then, Alex came by and saw the commotion. He jumped into the river to rescue me since he was an excellent swimmer.
“Together, we were able to stay afloat as the rapids carried us downstream. But Alex was holding onto my backpack since he knew Ghost was held within it, and that sapped a lot of his strength. By the time the rescue team arrived, my entire body was numb from the frigid water. The doctors told me I was extremely fortunate to have survived for such a long time in freezing water with only hypothermia.”
Chelsa lowered her eyelids, letting the events of the past wash over her. “But Alex wasn’t so lucky. He was dead by the time he arrived at the hospital. Somehow, Ghost managed to survive the whole ordeal; he’s one fortunate leopard.”
A moment of silence enveloped the space around them. The only sounds to be heard were the cicadas chirruping and the breeze teasing the foliage.
“Why did you tell me you killed Alex? You never did such a thing,” Kristi stated.
“If I hadn’t dated Alex in the first place, none of this would’ve happened. The other students would’ve left him alone.”
“But still,” Kristi argued, “you didn’t kill Alex. It was an accident.”
Chelsa shrugged. “There are several angles to look at this tragedy. Ever since Alex’s death, I’ve learned to stand up for myself. I can’t bear the thought of other people getting hurt because of me. Yeah—I’m still an outcast from society, but at least I’ve learned to deal with it.”
They sat in a silence. Kristi’s brain struggled to digest all that she just heard.
“Kristi?”
“Yeah?”
“I really think you should give Troop a chance. I know he likes you and I think you have feelings for him as well,” Chelsa said.
Do I like Troop? Kristi wondered. I suppose I am a bit attracted to him. His personality does seem to have changed, now that I think about it. I guess I have been so occupied trying to distance myself from getting to know him that I am missing the big picture.
“You never know when you’ll lose someone you care about,” Chelsa said, interrupting her thoughts.
“I’ll try to be more amicable towards Troop.”
Chelsa flashed her the first smile she had seen on her face in a while. Then she checked her watch.
“Goodness—we better start walking back. It’s been almost an hour.”
Kristi woke up relatively early the next day, though Troop was already starting a fire by the time she ducked out from the tent after pulling her hair into a messy bun.
“Morning,” she yawned.
Troop looked up in surprise. “Jaiden and Chelsa still asleep?”
“Yep.”
He handed her a bowl of oatmeal topped with brown sugar.
“Thanks. Did you eat yet?” Kristi said.
“Yeah.”
She warmed her cold hands against the warm bowl and spooned a large bite of gooey oatmeal into her mouth. She felt the warmth of the oatmeal travel down her throat and into her stomach. Even though the temperature was reasonably warm during the day, the air was still crisp in the morning.
“Something bothering you?” Troop asked.
“Just thinking how I should say something.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t tell me to mind my own business.”
“Troop,” Kristi said, fighting to find the right words to convey her thoughts. “I’m sorry if I acted rude to you. I know I kept on refusing your help when I could’ve used it.”
“Well,” Troop said, “I wasn’t expecting to hear that from you.”
“What I’m trying to say is that I’ll try to stop acting so unfriendly towards you,” she finished awkwardly.
Troop ran his fingers through his dark hair the way he did when he was trying to think of something to say. “Does that mean you’re willing to befriend me?”
“I guess. I judged you harshly because you didn’t exactly make a good first-impression.”
“I’m actually a nice person once you get to know me, believe it or not,” Troop said.
Kristi flashed him a half-convinced look.
“Is there anything I can do to convince you I’m not a jerk?”
Kristi thought for a moment than cracked a smile. “As a matter of fact, yes. There is something you could do.”
“What is it? I’ll do it right now.”
&
nbsp; “I want you to send an instafication to every person you have harassed and apologize to them.”
Troop faltered for a split second, and then pasted a determined expression on his face. “If that’s what it takes to gain your trust, so be it.”
Kristi expected him to have a huge list of kids to apologize to, but a little part of her hoped Troop wasn’t the jerk she thought he was. She looked over Troop’s shoulder and onto his electro-slate where he was typing the names of the people he was going to call. In total, there were eight names.
Troop activated the instafication app on his electro-slate and walked away from the camp for some privacy. Kristi followed him.
“I’m coming with you to make sure you’re not instaficating your friends,” she said.
“You don’t trust me? I always keep my words.”
“Tough luck.”
“Fine. Don’t interrupt me though.”
“Don’t worry, it’ll be like I’m not even here.”
She sat cross-legged on the grass. Troop dropped down beside her and connected to Lilly Trusk, the first name on his list.
“Hello?” asked a girl’s voice.
“This is Troop.”
Lilly’s voice immediately took on a defensive tone when she replied, “What do you want? Is this a prank call?”
“No, it’s not. I just wanted to apologize for hiding your electro-slate on the school roof a few months ago.”
There was an awkward stretch of silence, and then Lilly said, “Are you serious? Is this some sort of sick joke?”
“No, I really regret throwing your slate onto the school roof.”
“You do realize I had to get a new slate after you threw my old electro-slate, right? The screen got cracked when it landed on the roof.”
“I didn’t know that,” Troop said. He sounded distraught. “You should’ve let me know that I broke your slate—I could’ve bought you a replacement.”
Lilly let out a nervous laugh. “No, you would’ve laughed in my face and told me to suck it up. At least that’s what the old Troop would’ve done. I don’t recognize the Troop who is talking to me right now.”
Troop caught Kristi’s eye and shot her a quick smile.
“I’ve changed a lot, Lilly. I really want to offer my sincerest apology for my immature actions. Do accept my apology?”
“If you really mean it, then yes.”
“So are we cool?”
“We’re cool. Where are you anyways? Your mom said you were away on some family business.”
“I suppose you could say that.”
“Alright, I have to go. Bye.”
“Bye.” Troop ended the instafication.
“See, that didn’t go so bad,” Kristi said.
Troop rolled his shoulders and replied, “One down, seven more to go.”
“Go get ’em.”
Troop finished all of his calls before Jaiden and Chelsa joined them outside. Some of his instafications went smoothly, like with Lilly. Others didn’t go so well. Some students heard Troop out and left on good terms. Some students disconnected as soon as they heard his voice; at least he tried.
With all his instafications completed, there was really nothing Kristi could hold against Troop. In a way, she felt like she’d grown closer to Troop just by listening to him make all those calls.
“That took a lot more effort than I anticipated,” Troop said.
“Not many people have the courage to do what you just did,” she replied.
“Thanks. A compliment from you means a lot to me.”
“Did I just hear Kristi say something nice about you?” Jaiden asked.
Chelsa gave Kristi a look that read: Did you take my advice?
Kristi nodded.
“One more day until we reach Oppidum,” Jaiden announced.
Chelsa frowned a bit, but brightened up when Jaiden gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
“What do you think Finn looks like?” Kristi wondered out loud.
“I think he’ll be tall,” Chelsa said. “Finn sounds like a tall-person name.”
“Really? You’re judging a person by his name?” Jaiden shook his head slowly.
“And Jaiden sounds like a short and ugly-person name,” Chelsa joked.
“Hey!” Jaiden protested and put on a scowl.
Kristi rolled her eyes at their affection for each other. Troop mimicked her when he saw her doing so, earning himself a punch to the shoulders.
“I’m worried about Chelsa,” Kristi told Troop later that day.
They only had a few hours left of riding until reaching Oppidum.
“She seems fine to me.”
As usual, Chelsa and Jaiden were riding side by side ahead of them and out of earshot.
“She’s way too quiet,” Kristi said. “She hasn’t been talking a lot lately and Ghost seems to be frustrated with Chelsa as well.”
As she spoke, Kristi realized Ghost was no longer hitching a ride on Chelsa’s horse; he had mysteriously disappeared again.
“Maybe Chelsa isn’t a talkative person. Granted, I haven’t known her as long as you have though,” Troop said.
“I guess I might be over reacting,” she admitted. “But I still feel like something’s nagging Chelsa more than she lets on. Hopefully she’ll be back to normal by the time we find Finn.”
“Have you been to Oppidum before?”
“I’ve never left the that city where I grew up in until a month and half ago.”
“I wonder what unlocking your electro-slate will reveal.” Troop changed the subject.
“No clue. Whatever my parents left me on the slate better be good.”
They tossed ideas back and forth about what could possibly be so important that the fingerprints of all four Naturals were required to unlock it. Their ideas ranged from a hidden vault of gold, to the secret elixir of immortality, to a cache of dinosaur DNA. The more they hypothesized, the more ridiculous their ideas got. Both of them eventually concluded that it was highly unlikely the electro-slate contained directions to the cave of a troll, after half an hour of debating.
“That’s Oppidum?” Jaiden’s exclamation brought Troop and Kristi out of their discussion. “How are we supposed to find Finn in that architectural jungle?”
Oppidum sprawled before their sights, a pulsing mass of fiberglass, steel and bricks. A lazy river plowed its way through the city. The center of Oppidum could be seen a mile away. A huge dome nestled in the heart of Oppidum, casting off a glow under the sun’s rays.
The city was arranged in a circular pattern, much like a bull’s eyes. On the outskirts were the less wealthy parts of the city; the houses were smaller and crammed together. Moving inwards, the houses started to space out and there was the occasional patch of green from a garden to be seen; last but not least, a mixture of mansions and skyscrapers dominated the center of Oppidum. Arches graced the skylines and spires reached towards the heavens.
“This might take a while,” Troop said.
“Agreed.” Chelsa said the word forcibly.
They approached the fringes of Oppidum. Kristi drank in the sights all around her; the hustle of people doing their errands, the hawkers calling out their wares and the constant babble of news being updated on the public news-screens.
“In which part of Oppidum do you think Finn is most likely to be found?” she asked to no one in particular.
Not one person responded, which only made her more aware of how clueless and unprepared they were.
Three hours later, they had made absolutely no progress. They had asked people on the streets if they knew a kid named Finn. The answers they received were all the same: “No.”
“Do you want to call it quits for the day?” Chelsa asked.
They were all tired, hungry and feeling hopeless.
“I’m not sure what curfew time is in Oppidum, but it’s a bit past seven,” Chelsa continued on.
“Excuse me, sir,” Kristi called out to a st
ranger passing by.
The man stopped and said, “Yes?”
“Do you know what time is curfew?”
“8:30 sharp,” he replied, then walked away after she thanked him.
“Yeah, let’s call it quits,” Troop said. “Does anyone have a place in mind where we ought to stay for the night?”
“We walked by a decent hotel called Wayland Hotel a few blocks from here.” Kristi pointed vaguely to the direction of the hotel. “Want to spend the night there?”
“Sounds good.”
They walked past shops that were preparing to close up for the night: an empty learning center, Urban Clothes and a droid-repair shop. Kristi led the way, as she was the person to suggest staying at Wayland Hotel. After another ten minutes of walking, she began to suspect she had somehow gotten lost in the maze-like streets of Oppidum.
“Didn’t we pass by this restaurant already?” Jaiden asked. “I’m pretty sure I remember seeing Moon’s Eatery at least three times already.”
“Yeah, I think I might be a little lost,” Kristi admitted. “I’m terrible with navigation in general. But I could’ve sworn I was walking in the right direction of Wayland Hotel though…” Kristi paused midsentence, noticing a kid coming their way on crutches. He was moving surprisingly fast with an injured leg or foot (she couldn’t tell).
Troop took a half step towards the kid while Jaiden and Chelsa studied a map. “Hey there, do you live around here?”
The kid was more or less Kristi’s age. He cocked his head like a bird, observing them with mild interest. “Yeah.”
“Can you give us the directions to Wayland Hotel?”
“Sure. Continue down this street then take a right at the first intersection you see. A few buildings down Crescent Street you should be able to find Wayland Hotel.”
Something about the kid on crutches bothered Kristi—not necessarily in a bad way—but she couldn’t place her finger on what about him that was throwing her off.
“Thanks,” Troop said.
“No problem.”
The kid turned his neck to scratch an itch and Kristi noticed what had been bothering her: one of his eyes was hazel while the other was a stormy gray. This was something she had never seen before with any Perfect, which must meant—
“Are you Finn?” she asked.
“That would be me.”
“Who’s Finn?” Jaiden asked, looking up from the map.
“Him,” Kristi said, gesturing towards Finn who had straightened up his posture.
“Well, finding you didn’t take as long as I feared,” Troop said.
“You guys were looking for me?” Finn looked perplexed.
“Yeah,” said Kristi. “And it took long enough.”
A patrol officer strolled down the street and called out, “Curfew will be enforced in ten minutes!”
“You’re a Natural,” Kristi told Finn. “Just like us. Well, just like Troop, Chelsa and me. Jaiden’s not one.”
“I’m a what? Who are Troop, Chelsa and Jaiden? And where did that leopard come from?”
Ghost had slunk back to them in the meantime and was checking out Finn’s crutches.
“You’re a Natural,” Kristi said hurriedly, not wanting to be caught on the streets past curfew in an unfamiliar city. “A surviving Accident. I’m Kristi; this is Troop, Chelsa and Jaiden.” She pointed out each person. “The leopard belongs to Chelsa and is named Ghost.”
“Alright, that makes sense so far,” said Finn. “But why the heck are you looking for me?”
“We’re looking for the four Naturals to unlock a slate that my parents left—“
“Wait, did you say your name was Kristi and you have a brother named Jaiden?” Finn cut her off.
“Yeah.”
“Aren’t you, like, a wanted person?”
“I guess.”
“She’s really not that scary,” Troop inputted.
“But that’s beside the point,” Kristi said, waving off the interruption. “We’re trying to complete this quest and need the fingerprints of the four Naturals to unlock the electro-slate my parents left behind.”
“You’ve lost me,” Finn said. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Curfew in five minutes!” the same guard barked, doubling back past them. “You kids better get going.”
“Why don’t you guys come over to my house for the night?” Finn offered. “My parents are constantly having random people stay over, so they shouldn’t mind if you want to stay in the guest rooms tonight. You can keep your droid-horses in our spare garage.”
They set off after Finn on his crutches, winding deeper and deeper into Oppidum until they arrived at a decent sized house made up of tinted glass panels.
A woman in her mid-thirties came out of the houses and said, “Finn, why are you home so late? And who are these people with you?”
“I lost of track of time,” Finn replied, taking his last minute guests up to the front door. “And these people say I’m a Natural like them.”The word “Natural” must’ve made sense to Finn’s mom because she jolted her head up and looked at them.
“Well,” she said, “do come in. I think there is someone who is very interested in meeting you three in the house.”
chapter thirty
[ Kristi ]
