Smoking Power

Chapter 20

Please read authors note at the end. Important announcement.

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I cautiously poke my head back out the rotting door. The fire in the station looks to of been put out. No one is being rushed over to the ambulance so I guess it was just there for safety measures. The firefighters are scattered around the place, most of them are packing up, but some are chatting to the police officers who look beyond annoyed at the moment.

My huge smile that I had pasted on my face falters slightly. If I were one of the police officers over there I would be annoyed. I mean, they're police officers who were in their very own police station, when some unknown person came along and randomly lit a fire in their station. Their station which is in the middle of Paris.

Maybe I underestimated how determined they actually are? They'll start their investigation straight away and knowing us, we'll take awhile to find the piece. The main question is, will we have enough time? There's no doubt in my mind that they'll be able to figure out who did it pretty quickly. Having an information leak in the middle of Paris would be counted as a disaster. If they manage to catch us then they'll know that we don't have any birth certificates, passports, country of origin, social security numbers, nothing. All our information is out of the system, back at the Homestead. We'll be practically aliens. Yep, if they catch us it would not be good.

I finally manage to tear my eyes away from all the action happening at the station and focus on the dark, spooky alley up ahead. The light coming from the station makes creepy shadows dance along the walls of the alley. The constant dripping sound of a leaky tap reminds me of all the horror movies that Amber made me watch with her.

"Okay, let's go." I'm surprised how much braver my voice sounds, to how I feel.

I don't wait for Amber or Declan to respond, instead I step into the cool night air and begin walking down the alley, towards the park. Still walking quickly, I don't stop until I'm at the base of the Eiffel Tower.

"I suggest we use a different plan than last time." Declan states.

"Plan?" Amber snorts at him, "I wouldn't classify whatever ya did last time as a plan of any sort."

"Guys, cops are gonna be here soon. Stop fighting and help me figure out a sensible plan that's going to work." I push Amber and Declan apart, desperate to get out of here soon.

Amber gives Declan a final glare before looking at me, "So the gifts are invisible yeah? Which means that someone must be creatin' an invisibility pocket somewhere 'round here."

"Alright, we just need to find whoever's making it and get them to stop." I nod at her.

"Well that's great and all, but can anyone actually see anyone else here?" Declan says to himself as much as us.

When I look around, I realise that Declan's right, there is nobody here. I think back to when we were at the Big Banana and how that Hogmer had created the invisibility pocket, but was inside it.

"Maybe their inside the invisibility pocket?" I wonder out loud.

"Laws of invisibility pockets, so you can't see or hear them, they take in their surroundings and disguise as something you would find here normally." Amber mutters, walking up to the nearest tree. She stops in front of its large, oak base, lifts her right foot, flinging it forward, she kicks it with everything in her, leaving the gentle thump to echo around the place.

"Tree!" Declan yells to Amber.

Amber shoots Declan a glare that would send the Boogie Man running the other way. "Thank you for that Einstein."