The Cardboard Box's Unsolved Mystery

10. No Such Thing as Magic

Recap -

Ammon knew Ruby was wondering who Delionia was and why she was there, but he quickly cut in before anyone else could speak. "Are you ok? What the hell where you doing?" Ruby looked at Ammon with a quizzed look. Seconds ticked by, and Ammon felt anticipation rising. She tilted her head and gave him a hard stare.

"Who are you?'

End of Recap-

Ammon felt sick. There were no words to describe the sudden emptiness he felt. That moment was when he realised how much he actually liked Ruby as a friend. He didn't just talk to the girl because she would kidnap him if he didn't. He loved her enthusiasm, the way her eyes sparkled...

"I'm just kidding you know," Ruby said, trying to compress her giggles, but to no avail. Delionia also burst out in laughter, her face shining in glee. Ammon felt dumbstruck as both girls held their stomachs in pain. "The look on your face," Ruby barely managed to choke out, "was absolutely priceless. Your eyes were so full of terror and your jaw literally dropped." She bent over, inhaling heavily to catch her breath, only to start laughing all over again. Ammon felt utterly embarrassed and tried to cover his emotions. "What are you guys talking about," he calmly stated. There was no way he was going to admit how he felt when Ruby had said that. Delionia wiped away an imaginary tear with a happy sigh. "Ah, I've had my laughter for the day." Feeling slightly grumpy at the joke Ammon didn't find humorous, he cleared his throat and spoke with a serious voice. "Ruby, what happened before? How did you wound up unconscious?"
"That is, if you remember," Delionia added. She crossed her arms and leaned against a pole with an intent look on her face. Her sudden switch in mood surprised Ammon, but it was nothing compared to what he had experienced in the past two days. Two days! Ammon struggled to believe this whirlwind of mindboggling events started less than 48 hours ago. It feels like it's been ages since that history lesson.

"Well..." Ruby paused and thought for a few seconds, her lips pressed together in concentration. "After we reached the crowd of people, you started talking to Kyle," she began, her voice slow and uncertain. Ruby quickly piped up. "Ah yes, I remember now. As soon as you got distracted, I ran off to find the book I dropped." She stopped and gave Ammon a quick glare, obviously annoyed about him dragging her away from it before. "I can't believe you went back for the dumb book," Ammon mumbled to himself. Ruby ignored his comment and twisted her hair to drain away the water. "I had a feeling that book would help us heaps. When I dropped it at first it would've been easier to get it straight away. Anyway, I was searching, even though I couldn't see a single thing, when this really weird thing happened." Ammon watched Ruby's blue eyes as they suddenly go distant, gazing into nowhere, her mind rewinding the events of before. "I felt like I was being guided towards the book. There was a feeling, deep in my gut that was pulling me through the rain."

"Like a magnet?" Ammon asked. Inside his head, clogs were turning, groaning in agony. They tried to make things click, but the weight of so much scattered information was clogging up his mind. Nothing was fitting together, only making everything more confusing.
"Yes, actually. I think I must've slipped or something, cause next thing I know, I'm sleeping peacefully when a revolting smell slithers up my nose and pulls me from my sleep." Ruby's eyes squint accusingly at Delionia, who snorts. "I saved your life. You should be thankful." Ammon stared into the distance, unaware of surroundings anymore. Ruby and I both had that magnet feeling, that instinct that lead us somewhere. But what does that mean? What was it? I finally make a small connection, but then it raises more questions than the ones answered. Ruby shrugged. "Where did you find me? And, um, I don't know your name." Ruby looks at Delionia questioningly. "Delionia," she says with a smile, flicking back some deep red hair. "Pleasure to meet you. And no, Ammon found you, not me." At the mention of his name, Ammon suddenly woke up from his daydream and became absorbed in his surroundings once again. Growing tired of standing up, Ammon sits down next to Ruby. After running his hands through tangled brown hair, he continues. "I found you near a bin. Delionia came after me to help. She wants to..." Ammon dragged the sentence, unsure of how to place the words.
"I want to find out what is going on," Delionia said boldly, her arms still crossed over her chest, "and by sitting here chit-chatting, it's doing nothing."
"You're right," Ammon added. "We should to head back to the hall before a teacher comes looking for us."
"What?" Delionia looks at Ammon with scrunched eyebrows. "We're not going back there. No point. Who cares of the teachers come looking, let them get soaked for nothing. We need plans."