New Place to Begin

Denver

To say that Yunjin was anxious throughout the entire bus ride wouldn't be an exaggeration. Through the night, trying to catch a few hours of sleep, the unease churning in her gut wouldn't fade. Even her brief moments of sleep were plagued with unsettling dreams and unpleasant memories.

At one point, after Yunjin had startled awake, eyes wild and heart racing, Sakura rested a hand on her arm, whispering, "Yunjin, hey, it's okay."

Yunjin had swallowed her fear, fighting to not flinch away from Sakura's gentle touch. Forcing herself to nod and shooting her friend a tense smile, she'd turned away to face the window.

She'd dreamt of Chaewon, of Jimin and Eunchae and Eunbi and Ryujin. They'd been fighting for their lives, weary and injured.

And then, an explosion.

Yunjin's heart wouldn't stop racing.

The rest of the ride passed without incident, but Yunjin was exhausted by the time they arrived in Denver. She'd had barely any sleep in the past three days, and the nightmares that had been haunting her didn't help.

Stumbling off the bus with the others following close behind, she could barely find the energy to stay standing.

The bus station was crowded, despite the late hour. The sun had set only a few hours ago, and Yunjin squinted at the harsh street lights that illuminated the sidewalk they walked on.

The four of them soundlessly made their way to the nearest bench, taking a seat with a collective sigh.

"What do we do now?" Yeji asked quietly, running a hand through her hair.

No one answered for a beat.

"Let's Iris message the others," Sakura said finally, sounding as exhausted as Yunjin felt. "We'll decide what to do once we've spoken with them."

Finding a car wash or something similar was harder this time. It was dark, and the streets were empty and creepy. Almost everyone had a hand on the hilt of their weapon as they walked along the Denver streets.

Eventually, though, they got lucky, spotting a relatively large fountain across the street, located at the center of a courtyard. A large sign told them they were entering a neighborhood park, but Yunjin paid it little mind as they made their way to the fountain.

Luckily, the spout was still spraying a consistent stream of water, and the light breeze made it so that a mist blew from the fountain. The light from the nearby streetlamp was enough to create a meager rainbow, just barely visible among the mist of water.

"It'll have to do, I guess," Yeji sighed, fishing into her pockets to retrieve another golden drachma. "This is my last one so we better make it count."

Without another word, she tossed the coin into the faint rainbow, glancing at the others before turning to face the fountain once again.

"Oh, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering."

Silence consumed the empty space, and everyone watched with bated breath as the coin promptly faded out of existence and the rainbow flickered.

Almost anticlimactically, Chaewon's face took form in the mist, and Yunjin ignored the way her heart stuttered as Chaewon's eyes turned towards them. She couldn't withhold a relieved sigh, however, not as Chaewon's lips quirked upward into a familiar smile and the others rushed over to stand beside her.

"Guys!" Eunbi cried, eyes wide. "Where are you, where should we meet?"

"We're in Denver," Sakura began, exhaustion creeping into her voice. "How soon do you guys think -"