Andy leads Chen into the portal, and back into her dorm, where Emily is sitting on her bed, thankfully dressed, watching YouTube. She turns around as they step out and Andy closes the portal,
“Wow, how long were you two in there?” she asks, looking at her clock.
“I showed Chen the Codex. She was quite intrigued with it.”
Chen shrugs, “What can I say? Once I get researching, I just kind of get into the zone, especially if it’s something interesting.”
“Nerd.” Emily rolls her eyes, “Anyway, it’s already night time, the Supernatural meeting starts in half an hour.”
“Oh yeah...that thing.” Chen remembers.
“It’ll be good for you to meet other Supernaturals. You’ll gain a wide variety of charms faster that way.”
“And you’ll actually, you know, make some friends?” Emily adds, “Although, to tell you the truth, I’ve never been there either, so they might be, you know, crazy.”
“What? I thought you’d been before.” Andy confronts.
“Yeah, I mean, I got the invitation at the beginning of the year, but I didn’t have a reason to go. I prefer humans to be honest, easier for us Lynxes to manipulate.” she pouts, “I still know where it is though. C’mon, it’ll be a first time thing for the both of us, please?”
Andy crosses his arms, “I don’t know if I want Chen to go now…”
“Oh my gosh, you sound like a protective father! That is so cute!” Emily shouts out in joy, running up to him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
Chen takes a heavy sigh, “You know what? Maybe I should go.”
Emily turns to her and a bright smile appears on her already vibrant face, “Yes!” she jumps off of Andy and races for the door, “Ahem...ladies first.”
Andy places a hand on Chen’s shoulder, “I really don’t like this.”
Chen twists her lip, unsure of how to vocalize her words, “Look...you’ve only known me for a couple of days, so I’m sure it’s hard for you to understand but to put it simply: I don’t have a life. I never go out, meet people, take risks. Basically my whole life has revolved around school until now. But now, I have an opportunity to do all those things.” she smirks, “And also, you’re not my father. I can take care of myself.”
“I still don’t like this.” he grunts.
“Hey, if anything does go wrong, I’ll call you, okay?” she reassures him.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, c’mon, we’re going to be late!” Emily grabs Chen’s arm and begins pulling her out the door.
Chen follows Emily out of the dormitory and through the courtyard. They cross the street close to the campus where she begins going off the path to a small enclave of trees. She begins weaving her way through these trees, and Chen follows suit, but she soon realizes that this grove is a lot larger than she'd thought. It thickens the further in they go, until its almost as if they're trouncing through a forest.
"What is this place?" Chen asks, as she begins to hear the sounds of various birds and crickets.
"Its an enchantment, a permanently placed portal. But only Supernaturals can enter."
The trees part to reveal a small campsite in the middle of a forest clearing. The clearing is surrounded by woodlands that seem to stretch on forever. At the campfire, three other people are huddled around, sitting on wooden log benches, laughing and joking. There doesn’t seem to be anything unusual or strange about them, but maybe they’re just not in their Supernatural forms. When they spot Chen and Emily approaching, they all fall silent.
YOU ARE READING
The Collectors
FantasíaChen has never felt like she's belonged anywhere. She can't make friends, even with those closest to her. But then, a long-lost cousin appears bearing strange news, she's a Collector, and there's a whole other world full of supernatural creatures, a...
