Wrongfully Exiled

Chapter 1, Part 3: Preparation

Jonathan sat in the power-resistant cell at the county police station, terrified.

He was always the one to put up an act and to hide his true emotions. That day, though, he didn't know how to. He didn't know how to react. All that he could feel was fear.

The rest of the group were worried, too. It was one in the morning, and they sat together around three cold, small benches. They were tired and terrified, their minds running too fast to sleep. 

Did their parents know where they were? What would the punishment be for this crime? Would they actually have a charge laid against them? They didn't commit the crime, but it seemed like all of the evidence was set up against them. After all, one of them had to be the one to make the light disappear, and all fingers pointed to Matthew.

"Matthew, if you got us into this situation," Mya accused with a cold, monotone voice as she sat on the cold, hard bench, knees rolled up to her chest. This was something that she did when she was over-stressed.

"No," Matthew replied sternly, "you guys have to trust me. I have no idea what happened back there. I was just as curious as you guys were. I've never even seen any magic happen in real life before, so how would I know how to actually use it? And even if I, for some reason, knew how to summon any forces whatsoever, why would I drag you into this? I don't even know you!" Matthew rambled, becoming more and more frantic as he spoke.

He looked around the room at the four other teens, glancing at their faces, looking for any sign of sympathy. Lila looked concerned but mainly worried. He could tell that a part of her believed him, which gave him a small sense of relief. The rest of them, though? George looked at him with pure disappointment, a look that could break someone's heart. Mya looked at him as if she may cry, her head resting in her hands. He could tell that she was still skeptical about him. Jonathan had a terrified look on his face, back standing up stiffly. He was a momma's boy, and he was concerned about what she'd say - his mind was running circles, and Matthew could tell that Jonathan wasn't paying attention. He hadn't even heard the rant that Matthew had gone on.

"I understand why you'd be skeptical," Matthew continued, beginning to hang his head from tiredness, "but you have to trust me," he begged as his voice began to crack and break. Tears were coming to his eyes and he sniffled.

No one was going to believe him. He was going to be blamed, and he would be the one locked in jail forever.

Or worse.

Suddenly, Lila spoke up. "I trust him," she said quietly but confidently, as the others turned to look at her to hear her reasoning. "I don't know him very well, but we all know that he was the one who started that 'Social Change Club' at school, right? And none of us has even ever been out of the Moderate Climate, so how would he know how to do something as big as sourcing light without any of the rest of us knowing it? We come from a small town. If he knew how to do it, surely we would have heard of it by now," Lila looked at Matthew, and she smiled weakly and sympathetically at him. He gave a small smile of thankfulness back.

Lila didn't know Matthew well, but something about her trusted his word. He was kind to her in school - even though he sometimes acted like a jerk in class, he never acted out in a way that affected her or her teachers or her peers. He would make annoying or cringe-like comments that didn't fit the room, but he wasn't the only one to do that, either. She just had an odd feeling that he was trustworthy.