SPECTRA“Hey, Spectra! Over here!” Familiar voices yelled the moment I got on the bus. Kalidor, Ai Fei, Silyn, and Benjamin were seated at the extreme, waving me over. I smiled and scanned through the sea of faces, faintly recognizing some; others, not so much. “I was just telling Kalidor how much of an exciting game he missed on Tuesday,” Ai Fei said with a cheerful smile. She tapped the empty seat beside her, motioning for me to come sit down. Kalidor and the others exchanged knowing glances amongst themselves but said nothing.“What?” Ai Fei asked, laughing. “Oh, nothing!” Silyn responded with a cheeky smile plastered on her face. “Did we say anything was up?” Kalidor chimed in with a smirk. I smiled and shook my head. Sure, they could think of anything they wanted. Who cared? Mira would. Maybe smoke too, that annoying, persistent voice I'd come to hate whispered. I shook my head and turned my thoughts to the conversation they were having. “So, away from the games. Who has see
SPECTRASmoke looked at me incredulously, in a disturbing manner. I went over to her seat, and even as I made my move, she didn't seem to see or notice me coming towards her. “Smoke? Are you alright?” I asked, searching for any sign of bodily harm. She jerked then as if she was in a coma all this while. “Smoke?” I pestered. She shook her head frantically. “Yes? What were you saying?”“I was asking if you're okay,” I responded. “Okay? Of course not! Nobody on this bus is okay,” she forced a laugh. I laughed too, but I didn't believe that was all. Something was wrong about her disposition, but I couldn't quite wrap my hands around it.“you’re sure?” I pestered. “Jesus, Spectra!” Smoke rolled her eyes at me. “I said I'm fine. You don't need to be my knight in shining armor. Not this time, at least.”I chuckled at her witty remarks, but still raised my eyebrows in askance. She scowled and opened her mouth to speak, but I stopped her from saying anything more. I raised my hands in moc
SPECTRAI stood there dumbfounded, staring at her. She looked at me with her eyes widened like she'd just seen a ghost. “Spectra?” Smoke pestered, wearing a curious look on her face. “Oh, it's um, it's just a talk show I'm listening to,” I managed to say. She didn't look like she believed a word I said.“Hello? Eva Marcel on tonight's show?” I spluttered, turning my ears to reveal an earpiece situated in my ear. Nothing was playing in it, but I hoped she would buy it.She looked disbelievingly at me for a second, and then she took the earpod from me and put it in her ears. I closed my eyes tight because I knew any moment from now she'd uncover the lie to its very root. But when I opened it, she was listening to something. I tapped the other piece on my left ear and crazily enough, an actual talk show was going on. It took me only a second to recognize the voice speaking. It was Eva, my machine assistant. It had split its voice to sound like three distinct speakers and it seemed lik
SPECTRAYou've got to be kidding me.All four boys from the safe that night sat there whispering something to themselves. Slowly, Rick’s eyes looked up and found mine. He tapped his friends and pointed in my direction. They looked at me with a devilish glee in their eyes and mischief written on their faces. I sighed and rubbed my temples wearily. Not again, I sighed again.“Spectra?” Smoke’s voice called from across the circle where we sat. “Are you okay?” She had a concerned, desperate-to-please look in her eyes. She probably thought I was still upset with her. Kalidor, Silyn, Ai Fei, Benjamin, and Brucy also turned to me at the moment.“Yeah,” I said with a casual wave. “My head just hurts a little from the spinning on the bus,” I muttered. They gave understanding nods, and Kalidor gave me some water to take my own medicine with. I took it and smiled graciously, allowing them to slowly turn away from their scrutiny of me and back to the discussion. I turned back to them and they sti
Rick looked at the others. With trepidation, he picked up the phone. “Have you found him?” The hoarse voice called from the other end. “Yes,” Rick responded swiftly, eager to please. “Very good,” The Man responded. “But you know the plan right?”“Yes Sir!” Rick replied instantly. “Good. Find out if it's here. I don't want no stories,” he warned. Rick and the boys nodded amongst themselves. They had to find it and find him. They couldn't afford to fail.—— ——SPECTRA“Where exactly is Treasure Ridge?” Kalidor muttered beside me. I scanned the houses for any sign of the name labeled at the door. “There!” Brucy pointed to a house at the far right. Kalidor, Benjamin, Brucy, and I trudged with our luggage to the cabin. The night had fallen, but the whole place still looked lit due to the lights provided by the camp. We got into the cabin. The lights were on and two boys were there already. Why did I not find it surprising that Daniel, the randy boy from the bus was part of our cabin? H
SPECTRAIt beeped again rapidly. I looked around to see if anyone was watching, but everybody was occupied with finding the common room. The dashboard popped up and it read:“New system task, due tomorrow. Location: Emerald Lake.”Some mischief was bound to happen in camp, but I didn't expect it to happen this soon. Everyone started clearing out of the dining hall. I was made to join them in leaving, but someone called me back.“Spectra!” It was Daphne, she was holding the edge of a sink and beckoned on me to come help her level it on a table. “You know my name?” I asked in surprise. She chuckled. “I handed everyone their camp charter and their name tag remember?” She explained. “Besides, your name is not very common and is memorizable,” she added with a wink. I laughed then, letting myself calm down. I thought in panic for a moment, that she was somebody from the old spectra's memory that I couldn't recognize. I didn't want any suspicion that would lead to my cover being blown. I h
SPECTRAI shook my head. Would these guys ever be a thing of the past for me? I wondered. They turned as soon as they noticed our presence. He looked surprised to see me, which meant he wasn't expressly here for me. He looked at me and then, at my friends with me. He exchanged glances with his boys and they filed out of the room, careful to not come in contact with me. I wanted to shut the door and beat the living hell out of them, but I refrained. I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle the questions afterward. When they'd all gone, we turned to Daniel who stood, dusting his pants and shirts. “What happened here?” Brucy asked. He shrugged. I detested his attitude so much that I found myself questioning why they had to bunk him with us, and I wished they'd touched him a little before our arrival. “They followed me from the common room,” he spoke up as he sat on his bed. “Why?” Kalidor asked, resting his arm against the door. “They wanted me to give them a silver piece I'd thrown while
SPECTRAI turned. It was the camp director. Daphne jogged up to where we were. She was dressed in a black tracksuit and an equally black pair of sneakers. She had her hair wrapped into a bun and tied it with a scarf in an ancient dojo style.“You should do it since you're playing devil's advocate,” she shrugged. I looked around, everyone stared at me to see if I would take up the challenge or chicken out. 100 pushups? Could I manage that? “Come on, spectra,” Brucy egged me on. The students around started chanting for me to take it on. I shot Brucy a playful glare as I took my stance on the floor. Eva came alive in my ears immediately. “Do you think you could manage it?” It asked. I could pull fifty at a stretch, but I didn't know if I could go a hundred times without breaking. “Well, I'll help you,” Eva said, reading my thoughts. The dashboard appeared while I was about to take my prostrate stance. It read:“Agility points: 250”I tapped on it casually, so it wouldn't seem weird to