STATIC; JR [2]

3.5

"But, it was right here!" Felix whined, standing in the exact spot where the old bins used to be. Another road block stopped us from moving forward in our plans to find Andy, but we couldn't let it break our resolve. As I walked up to stand beside the Goth, he sighed. "This is not happening."

I thought about Sam and what he would say if he was here; he had decided to stay back at the school to try and catch up with his girlfriend, Mia. For his sake, I hope everything went well between them.

A few meters behind us, Jake stood with Oscar. I watched him as he touched the bricks of the building, lightly tapping his fingers across the old walls. He took them away after a few seconds and then turned to face us, spinning around in his wheelchair. I waited for him to appear hopeful, but his face was emotionless. "I'm not getting anything." He said, verbally disappointed. Felix and I approached him, a sluggish hint to our walk. Oscar, now suddenly optimistic with the thought of a new idea, widened his eyes. "Maybe if I got close to Alice and I made a connection, maybe I could sense where her book is?"

Jake looked sceptical, and it showed when he raised his left eyebrow. "Like a magical sniffer dog?" He questioned, leaning up against a pole.

Oscar nodded, smiling at the fact that Jake understood what he meant. "Yeah, sort of!" He exclaimed, then looking up to Felix for some kind of approval.

When he shook his head, Oscar slumped back against his chair. "We don't know for sure if that's how your power works." He said, trying to soften the blow of denying him the opportunity to possibly help even further. "Alice is dangerous, okay? You need to stay away from her." Oscar opened his mouth to protest, but Felix interrupted his chance. "Promise me!" He cried, a strong demand to his words.

He nodded. "Fine."

Guilt flashed across Felix's features, and he dropped his gaze from his brother. There was an unspoken apology between the two of them, and as Oscar gave Felix a small smile, I knew all was well. "You should get back to school." Felix mumbled, gesturing in the general direction of the high school.

"But, I can help!" Oscar objected, clearly unimpressed with his older brother's suggestion.

Felix sighed again, sadness lining his words. "You've done heaps already, Oscar." He told the boy, feeling bad about asking him to leave. When Oscar didn't say anything, he continued. "There's no point in you getting in trouble as well."

Oscar began to roll away with slight irritation clouding his eyes. "Sure." He murmured, not bothering to glance up at any of us. "Let me know if you find anything."

After he was gone, Jake stood up straight and took a few steps closer to an emotionally wounded Felix. "Any ideas?" He asked, having none himself. Felix said nothing, which meant he also had no suggestions.

In the same second, Jake's eyes lit up with an abrupt joy, and he tapped the other boy on the shoulder in order to get his attention. He didn't speak, he only pointed out into the distance. Behind Felix, hidden beneath some trees, were all the old bins we were seeking out.

"You have got to be kidding me." Felix mumbled after his orbs had settled on the sight in front of us. Now all smiles, we each ran over to the large pile.

I sent a message through to Sam, letting him know what we had found and telling him to get down here as fast as possible.