A Lumen Ripple | An Elemental Story

Chapter 24 - Seeing Red in the District

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.