It’s been a week since the celebration, life is slowly getting back to normal. It’s hard to believe that everything’s been at such an even level, surely by now they’d be some kind of reaction. Vukosava couldn’t dismiss the evidence entirely, not even John could sway her from the notion entirely. But there’s nothing she can do about it now.

  “I’m happy that you’re finally deciding to take a break from all these dramatic events, honey.”

  Vukosava is back at home, from a busy day at work in the library. “I have to live life, don’t I?”

  “So, are you going to be hanging out with those friends of yours?”

  “They’re my friends, I can’t exactly ditch them.” Vukosava remarks firmly.

  “I just want you to understand that we’re concerned about you.” Her mum says gently. “All of these things happening at once, it’s hard to believe.”

  Vukosava keeps her lips shut. If she starts going off about her theory of a greater reaction in the future, she won’t live to see it. Her mum will keep her in the house and not let her out of sight.

  “I know that look. You have a theory, don’t you?”

  “Look, mum, it’s nothing to worry about. I’ve just been busy and my mind wanders.”

  “I understand. I hope things get back to normal, but I know better than that.” Mum walks off.

  There are other thoughts that flood her mind – Kingsgrove and her wild moments, being able to dodge and sense things far quicker than a human should be able to. Vukosava pauses for a moment, asking dad is not going to end favorably.

  “Hey, mum, I just wanted to ask you something.”

  “Is this real life reted or something else?” Mum is hovering near the television. “I don’t deal in the fictional.”

  Vukosava wishes that she didn’t need to – but the fictional is becoming realer with each passing moment. At night, she experiments with the local neighborhood, testing the influence she has over the dogs in the region. Of course, keeping this under lock and key is hard, her mum and dad have naturally sharp senses – must be a parent thing or something else.

  “I know dad doesn’t believe in the hocus-pocus of Svic folklore, but I have a serious question.”

  “This is going to be good.” Mum grumbles. “Very well, ask away.”

  “Did one of my ancestors disgrace themselves?” Vukosava asks bluntly. “Did they sacrifice one of the ancestral guardians of the forest?”

  “You ask questions very bluntly, dear.” Mum says wearily.

  “I just want a yes or no.”

  “At one point, I’d say yes.” Mum didn’t like these kinds of topics. But she could see that Vukosava isn’t going to give up on it. She wants an answer. “Our family has a long history as you know, your father’s line goes back to just after the Illyrians. At least that’s what they believe.”

  “I see.”

  “Are you satisfied with that answer, or do you want more?”

  “It’s just one time when I was younger I went missing, is that right?” Vukosava asks, trying to map out the possible timeline in her own head. “I lost something, I think.”

  “Indeed, you did, your favorite hairbrush. It had great sentimental value to you.” Mum smiles fondly, as if remembering the troublesome young girl running about with her head full of stories and adventure. “You’ve always been a daring dy – I suppose some things don’t change.”

  “Yeah, I was just thinking that there might be more to the story. My memory of those events are hazy and seem to stay hazy.” Vukosava admits in annoyance. “I’m trying to understand why.”

  “There’s a lot of growing to do during those days. I’d say that your mind was developing.”

  Vukosava sighs heavily. “I guess you’re right. I was thinking of going out with the others again – we’re going to do a proper colb this time.”

  Mum nods sagely. “I figured that you’d want to jump back into it again – considering the fact that it’s getting colder, I’ve brought you a good jumper.”

  It’s a woolly thing, cozy and cumbersome. It’s got enough on it that it could keep three people warm. But Vukosava accepts it with a smile. “The gang will have a hard time missing me with this on.”

  -

  “So, the gang is back together. I know it’s only been a week, but man it’s already felt too long.” John is leading the charge, but this time there’s more consideration and care in his approach, the lessons he’s taken on are already bearing fruit. He’s still fshy and got a bit of showmanship about him, but wisdom also goes along with it. “I don’t think we’ll struggle in the cold, not with the woolly mammoth over there.”

  This gets him a pyful smack from Vukosava. “Throw all the insults you have, you’ll be eating those words soon enough.”

  Amber is wearing a combination of garments, honoring Marcus and turning over a new leaf for herself. “Where are we heading to?”

  James snorts derisively. “If it’s another castle I’m lynching you myself, Johnny.”

  “Don’t worry, brother, we’re not going back to one of those in a long, long time.” John waves it off quickly. “You wouldn’t have to worry about dirtying your hands, I’d do it myself.”

  Harley and Nathen pull up in the rear, both of them talking with each other. They’ve been doing more of that as of te, some things do change. Vukosava looks around with a lighter dose of suspicion – there’s no dead giveaways.

  “You’re keeping your cards close to your chest, is there a meaning for this?”

  “I want things to be a surprise – I’ve been cooking up something really good. You guys will love it.” John promises. “I’ve already made bookings at a local hotel in the region. We’ll be camping out in the skylights.”

  “So, we’re in the city this time?” James rexes with a sigh. “Good.”

  “Don’t worry, bro, I’m not making another mistake.”

  As they hop into an uber, they make their way across the residential area, with the houses and backyards falling behind them in a blur. The city is a captivating pce to go to; there’s high-rises and apartments that dominate the horizon. Bars and pubs pouring their golden liquor, with music and dance to get the heart racing. There’s plenty of thrills to go around – where one night ends, another begins.

  John spreads his arms wide. “As you can see, this is the limelight. This is where the real parties go down.”

  “Are we going to discover the horror of going into debt?” James asks dryly.

  “We can afford to loosen our purse strings a little bit, surely?”

  “So, is everyone going to py it safe?” Nathen scans each of them carefully. “I’m setting one hundred as my limit.”

  “No going big?” Harley snorts. “You got to be more daring than that.”

  “Yeah, that’d go over well with my folks.” Nathen leans back into his seat. “I decided to lose two hundred instead of one hundred.”

  “Oh, please, I pn to go home big. I’m all in.” Harley starts cpping like a seal. “I’m ready to lose cash.”

  “That’s the mentality of a gambler right there.” Amber sighs. “You want to get a high.”

  -

  For all there talk of a joyous night on the town, Vukosava is busy in her own mind. She is struggling to focus on anything and everything, her mind is juggling knowledge and facts around. As if trying to keep each of them in the air – it’s exhausting. The howling at the dogs thing is a weird occurrence, she can’t express her thoughts on it. John understands, but the rest of them, no, she can’t do that to them.

  They’ve been through so much already. As they get their stuff into their rooms, they’ll be bunking to save money. They have time to chill on their own. She cannot compartmentalize everything away, into boxes that she can open ter. Those moments in the prison where she reacted instinctively, almost completely without thought. It was freeing.

  “Are you doing okay, Vics?” Amber asks gently.

  There’s a possibility that Amber gets it. Her power is different; it compliments her artistic ability. It doesn’t contradict what she stands for – painting and drawing the nobility of the living.

  Vukosava puts on a brave smile. “I’m doing great, you don’t have to worry.”

  Amber’s brow creases a little. “Okay. There’s a lot that’s happened.”

  “Isn’t that the truth?” Vukosava says. “John’s floating so high on euphoria, I’m surprised he hasn’t gone through the roof.”

  “This is the first video we’ve done in a long time; I was putting it off for a while.” Amber sits down next to Vukosava on the bed. “I didn’t want to revisit old ground, but running away from something isn’t strength. I guess we need to face things we don’t want to.”

  “When did you get so wise?”

  “Everything that we’ve faced together as a group – that forces you to grow up.” Amber gives a small smile. “I also wanted to talk about our YouTube channel; I want it to grow into something that we can be proud of. That Marcus will be proud of.”

  “We’ve got a long way to go.” Vukosava reflects on the viewership numbers and the gap between the st upload and now. It’s been a long time – interest will naturally go down and subscribers will follow suit. But the situation isn’t unsalvageable. There’s been a lot of YouTube channels that have gone on a hiatus and come back with a passion. “We’ll need something fresh and eye-catching, I’d say with John and his buddies we’ll have something good.”

  “That’s what I’ve been counting on. When he mentioned the spot we’re going to, I couldn’t help but be excited.”

  “So, he’s a schemer? He knew that we’d follow suit if you said yes.”

  “John’s done his homework on this one. Promise.”

  “If everyone’s settled in – why don’t we get familiar with the Party Square?” John rounds the corner snappishly. He’s not going to waste the nightlife by just slumming around a television, watching the world go by on a screen. “We got to enjoy the time that we’re here.”

  The others get into the living room, done up in their partying attire. Harley adjust his high heels.

  “Wow, where did you get those height extenders?” Nathen remarks in jest.

  “I got them from Quality Footwear, thank you very much.” She rolls her eyes heavily at him. “You need some new shoes.”

  “They don’t need anything more than two – sandshoes and formal shoes, that’s it.”

  “If the shoe hoarders are done debating, we should get going.” James is looking fresh.

  They jog down the stairs to the bottom floor; they head down to the Square. The night markets are out in force – a special gathering of stores offering a variety of goods and services. Every state in America got its own spin – with explosive food, hip music, dazzling cultures and spectacur street performers to go around. They’re all competing for the attention of the locals.

  There’s a bit of everything for the food lovers, traditional Ramen noodles with chicken and spice, hotdogs, corn-on-the-cob, burritos and tacos, even fish and chips. The food vendors are calling out and doing their best sale pitches.

  “Wow, I might be trying to stick on a diet, but this stuff looks really good.” Harley sighs in annoyance, stealing a gnce at her midriff.

  “What is one night of partying going to do – turn you into a whale?” James earns a middle finger from Harley. He snorts in response.

  “They got a full roster of performers. They’re all going at the same time.” John flicks his hand north, east and south. “The question is – what do we want to sink our teeth into?”

  There are lion dancers. Musical tunes and dances. In a north-eastern direction is the exhibition center, there’s the Outer Realms Expo. A small stadium full of stalls and bizarre, weird vendors that love the strange and unusual. Perfectly normal. Suddenly, a tingling sensation runs down Vukosava’s spine, something is off. It could just be the dress and performances of the vendors in the expo, but it feels like they’re pcing special focus on her.