Courage || Carlos De Vil (Disney's Descendants)

Chapter 38

Auradon was like a ghost town when the VKs — now including Uma, Harry, and Gil — returned from their trip to the Isle to get Hades's ember. It was quiet and lifeless: there were no cars on the roads, no one strolling on the sidewalks or parks, and not even the chirping of birds or chatter of people could be heard. They all tried calling their friends — Meredith, Ben, Doug, Dizzy, Jane — to see if they could find out what had happened. But no one picked up.

At first, the group thought that perhaps Audrey had trapped everyone somewhere and prevented them from contacting anyone, but they were proven wrong when they finally arrived at Auradon Prep. Scattered in the lawn just across the school were students and teachers slumped on the garden chairs and tables or sprawled on the floor, fast asleep.

"They're asleep," Evie spoke up. "Everyone."

"I can't get Ben," Mal said defeatedly.

"Or Dizzy or Doug."

"Or Meredith," Carlos sighed, staring at his phone in disappointment. "The signal's out."

"Is that Auradon Prep?" Celia pointed at the building in awe. The original VKs almost forgot that they hadn't even had the time to tour her, Dizzy, and the Smee twins there yet, all because of their busy schedules and now, this whole Audrey situation.

"Yeah," Carlos confirmed. "When everybody wakes up, you're going to love it."

"Yes!" Celia cheered quietly to herself. She couldn't wait for this fiasco to be solved so that she could finally enter Auradon Prep.

Gil wasn't even interested in the school but his surroundings in general. Everywhere he turned looked completely different from how it was back in the Isle. It was full of grass and plants in the place of cracked cement and broken wood, clear rather than gloomy skies, and fresh air instead of a salty, pungent odor.

"Everything is so..." he began.

"Freaky," Jay said, only to be corrected by Gil.

"Green. You have leaves on your trees! And what are those colored things on the bushes?"

"Uh... flowers?"

"Flowers are pretty." Just as Gil stopped by a table with yet another group of sleeping students, he spotted a bow of fresh fruit and couldn't help but get excited. "Cantaloupe?"

He was already picking up the bowl and downing it before Jay could stop him, making noises of approval. Uma was the first to notice Jay's confused and slightly stressed expression, and she stepped forward to explain.

"We don't have any fresh fruit on the Isle, remember?" Uma cocked an eyebrow at him.

Jay's tense shoulders relaxed, and he even felt a bit ashamed. He'd been in Auradon for so long and gotten used to life here that he had momentarily forgotten how bad the living conditions were in the Isle of the Lost.

"Mm, thank you," Gil grinned, setting the bowl down once he'd had his fill.

"They're grapes," Jay informed him. He patted him on the back before setting off again when he saw Harry looking suspicious.

"Grapes?" Gil repeated. "I love grapes."

As Jay suspected, Harry was up to no good as he was eyeing the wallet of an innocent, sleeping student. He slipped it out of the boy's pocket, opening up to take out some cash.

"Oooh, well... I believe I deserve some compensation for my muscles, my wile, and my role in this endeavor," Harry chortled to himself.

Jay made his way over to him and snatched the wallet out of his hands.