A family road trip goes horribly wrong after a young woman, her best friends and her parents are kidnapped by a soul-sucking carnival and its terrifying owner.
I glanced at Sebastian and headed outside. I walked around to the back of his boxcar and suddenly, saw this wooded path leading further into the forest surrounding the carnival.
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Does anyone else see this? I looked around to be sure, but no one was paying me or the path any attention. Okay...then. I turned back to the path and started following it. As I got further and further from the carnival, I realized the sounds were dying out. Wherever the path was taking me, it was somewhere I wouldn't be disturbed. I came to a clearing where I saw someone facing away from me.
"Hello?" The figure turned and I saw it was Jasmine. She smiled at me warmly.
"It seems the carnival is eager to rid itself of Pierre as well. It led me here, though now I understand why."
"You do?"
"Yes. It wants me to teach you how to control your abilities. It believes you can be very powerful if you only know how to use the gifts you were born with." I nodded, not sure what else to say to that.
"Okay. Well, then, where do we start? I just tried to levitate a toaster and nearly dropped it on the floor because I forgot to unplug it." Jasmine smiled a little harder.
"Something a little simpler. Close your eyes and feel the power within you. Search for the power around you and use it to fuel your abilities."
I nodded again and closed my eyes, looking for the source of my abilities inside myself. When I found it, it visualized in my mind as a piece of glowing golden rope intertwined with a regular piece of rope. I gave the two pieces a small tug and my eyes shot open. I suddenly felt empowered, electrified. Jasmine had a proud smile on her face.
"Wow...that was..."
"An interesting experience to feel for the power inside you?" I chuckled.
"I was going to say incredible, but yeah. I never knew I could feel this...powerful...like I could stand up to anyone." Jasmine grinned.
"That was the easy part. The hard part is to feel for the power around you and not let it overwhelm or corrupt you." I swallowed, nervously.
"Right. I have no idea if I can even do that."
"Trust yourself. I am certain you can do it." I took a deep breath.
"Okay. So, what is the power around me gonna feel like? What's it gonna look like?"
"I do not know what it will look like, but it will feel like nature. You will be able to feel the grass beneath your shoes, the trees surrounding us, the birds in the trees. You will be able to feel it all. Think of the power around you like an ocean. You are the boat floating through its waves. Some of the waves will wash over you. It is up to you to let the waves capsize you or to let them keep you going."
That's always comforting, I thought, sarcastically. I closed my eyes and felt for the power in nature around me. All I could hear were the sounds of birds chirping, trees swaying in the wind and the crunching of the grass as Jasmine shifted her position. Then, I felt it. This overwhelming amount of power that almost knocked me over. For several long moments, I couldn't breathe. It felt like I was drowning. I could feel myself getting lost in the natural power around me until I found my own power and held onto it in my mind. Suddenly, the crushing feeling was gone and I felt like my body was floating on air. Is this what it feels like to channel the nature around me? I let out a whoosh of air as I opened my eyes. Jasmine was staring at me, worriedly. I gave her a gentle smile.
"I'm okay. A little drained, but okay." Jasmine smiled warmly.
"Good. Now, you had better go find Sebastian. He's about to get himself into some sticky situation with Pierre." I nodded and turned, sprinting out of the clearing.
Sebastian:
When I awoke from my nap, Annamarie was nowhere to be found. I shot up in bed, looking around. Where the bloody hell could that girl have gone? I know Pierre could not have taken her, since he cannot get into my boxcar. A pit formed in my stomach. He could trick her into coming out, though. I rubbed a hand over my face. She is not that bloody stupid, is she? She better not be. Otherwise, I have lost my one chance at getting rid of Pierre for good. I headed out of my boxcar to go look for her.
"Annamarie! Annamarie! Where the bloody hell are you?"
"Good afternoon, Sebastian." I whirled around to see Pierre striding out from between two of the game booths near my boxcar. I flashed him a cocky smirk.
"Is it afternoon already, Pierre? I had not realized I had taken a nap for so long." Pierre sneered.
"I am sure there are a great many things you do not know, including that I know you have Annamarie stashed away somewhere." I barked out a laugh.
"Yes, here I am, looking for her, yet I have her stashed away somewhere." He did not seem to believe me. Pierre's sneer turned cold.
"Fine. When you find her, bring her to me." I internally laughed. Yeah, right. Like I would give up my one shot to get rid of you forever. I nodded.
"Of course, Pierre. When I find her, I will let you know." Pierre sneered and waved his hand. Suddenly, I was hanging several feet in the air and I couldn't breathe. I scratched at my throat as if there was something there to rip at.
"If you are lying, then you know what will happen I find out." He waved his hand again and I dropped to the ground, coughing. Then, he disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. I sat up, rubbing my throat. What a bloody dick.
"Well, looks like you weren't in as sticky a situation as Jasmine thought you were." I whirled my head towards the voice and realized it was Annamarie. She was grinning. I rolled my eyes. Of course she thinks this is hilarious. I stood up and turned to face her, glaring in her direction.
"You think this is bloody hilarious, don't you?" Annamarie grinned harder.
"Of course I do. I only came here because Jasmine was worried about you. Also, I still need you to help take down Pierre and save the people I care about." I scoffed.
"And here I was, thinking you actually cared about me," I joked. Annamarie snorted.
"What gave you that impression? We've known each other for...wait, how does time work here?" I chuckled.
"A couple of hours. We have known each other for a couple of hours. Time works the same way it does out there. It just moves faster here than it does there." Annamarie stared at me, looking horrified.
"So, how long has it been out there? How long have my parents, my friends and I been missing out there?" I sneered at Annamarie.
"The only place whose time you need to worry about is here."
