A Small Spark

Stephen

The Little Duck was a pub created by a man named Cassius. He had a dark look about him. He kept staring at Stephen like he despised him, or that Stephen reminded him of someone he hated. Probably knew this Amaris that everyone was talking about.

Stephen stayed with Adam, Kane, and Shane at the Little Duck for the night. They said that it was always good to split up after a job like this. They said they were headed to the mountains and there he would see his friends. Good.

The next morning, when Stephen walked down the stairs to the pub, Adam asked Stephen if he had a change of clothes. Nope. He did not even have his cell phone. King Ahab had taken everything from him. His parents were going to kill him.

Stephen glanced at his clothes. “What’s the symbol?”

“Superman,” he replied. Then, Stephen realized they probably did not even have Superman, or any of the classic superheroes. Atlantis was disappointing. Stephen asked him where he could find a change of clothes. He needed something warmer.

Adam took him to a nearby store. “I’ll pay, don’t worry,” he said. Atlantean clothes were not very different from the clothes that could be found in the stores in the states, only the clothes reminded Stephen vaguely of the fifties. Maybe they just did not know what year it was.

Stephen chose a pair of blueish pants, a lot like jeans, and a white shirt. A black jacket to tie it all together. After that, they headed towards the mountains. They left the carriages in Brutum City, and Adam bought horses, instead. And on horseback they made the trek up the mountain to his friends. He did not say much to Adam, Kane, and Shane on the way up.

They speculated they had to stay quiet for the majority of it, saying that loud noises set dragons on edge. At first, he thought they were joking, but it turned out they were not. Apparently, scientists here like to experiment with living things. Hence the colony of dragons living in the mountains.

Stephen really wanted to ask if they could stop to see the dragons, but he decided against that. Adam explained that he was the king’s son, but he was no longer associated with his father. He said that the Rising was moving to safe houses in the mountains.

He explained all about the Rising as well. He said that some guy named Matthias was in charge of the whole thing temporarily. Apparently, they lost the real leader, which seemed like a massive oversight to Stephen.

The mountains reminded Stephen of Colorado. His dad used to take them hiking all the time when they were kids. He had not been in years, though, because of his bad knees. Stephen remembered Rosie would always complain about having to hike with them when there was more fun stuff she could be doing. But she liked it deep down.

It took some time, but by late afternoon, they reached the top of one of the smaller mountains. It was named after some king called Asvor. There were six cabins and one large mess hall made from logs, ready-made for them. Stephen walked up to one and touched it. Fake. Shane walked by and Stephen asked her if everything in Atlantis was fake.

“Not the water,” she replied, almost cheerfully. Stephen frowned. It must have been a sad life living in a place where everything is fake. Except for the water, of course. The Rising was already there when they reached the cabins. Stephen spotted Mason and Julie over by the last cabin.

“Jules!” Stephen shouted. She turned and smiled when she saw him. She raced over to where Stephen was standing and leapt into his arms. He held her close to him. He had been told his friends were safe, but a part of him did not believe it, not until this direct moment. She clung to him, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. Absentmindedly, a smile appeared on Stephen’s face, he would never grow tired of her kisses.

“And what am I?” Mason muttered from behind them, his words dripping with sarcasm. “Chopped liver?”

Stephen ignored him and turned his attention back to the beautiful woman in his arms. He had been terrified something would happen to her, terrified that he would lose her. Stephen loved his family and friends, but there was no one in the world that he loved more than Julie Garcia. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I love you,” he whispered to her.

“I love you, too,” she answered. “We were really worried about you.”

“Not that worried,” interjected Mason.

With a soft chuckle, Stephen stepped away from Julie, removing himself from their embrace, but keeping her hand firmly in his. He noticed that his friends, like him, were now wearing different clothing for the cold weather. They must have been given new clothes from the other Atlanteans before they made their trek up the mountain.

Julie launched into an interesting and exaggerated story of how they had escaped from the prison. Stephen listened with rapt attention, not missing the details she had added about the woman called Amaris. Stephen had heard much about this woman, he was glad she had managed to live up to people’s expectations. He was glad she had saved Mason and Julie.

“We’ve claimed cabin six, room one,” Mason stated, showing Stephen to the cabin.

In total, there were about twenty-seven people living in the cabins that had come with Mason and Julie from the prison. It was nice, and really just comforting, to know that they would have the room to themselves.

“So, what else did I miss?” Stephen inquired as they walked.

“If we stay here, they’re going to make us work,” groaned Mason in reply. Stephen himself had rolled his eyes. Truly, he was not terribly surprised by this information. It really only seemed fair after the lengths that the Atlanteans had gone to in order to help Stephen, Mason, and Julie escape from the prison. Well, and everyone else they saved for some reason.

“What about that girl everyone keeps talking about?” Stephen asked with a light tone. He was trying to seem casual, but failing utterly. “The one that everyone thinks I look like?”

“She’s gone, Stephen,” Julie told him, sitting down on one of the beds. She yawned, exhibiting to everyone just how tired she really was. Their walk must have been as long as Stephen’s, no wonder she was tired.

“What do you mean?” Stephen wanted to know.

“She and one of the others left this morning.”

“Where did they go?” Stephen inquired. “Maybe she can explain everything to me. She might know something about my family.” Julie looked uncertain.

“I don’t know, Stephen. But I don’t trust her,” Julie continued, a look of superiority passed across her face. “I heard Matthias, the leader, talking on the way up here. Apparently, she was paidto save us last night.”

“So?” he returned. “We got out, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, but Stephen,” she took a deep breath, like he was exhausting her. “Everyone else in the Rising saved us because they wanted to. I just don’t trust her, okay?”

Stephen did not answer her.

Instead, he glanced out the window and noticed a light snowfall. Snow. It must have been fake, too. Like everything else in this entire world.

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside. The three of them huddled around the window, trying to discern what the noise was. As their faces were nearly pressed against the glass, a knock resounded on the door, causing all three of them to jump in surprise.

“This is spooky,” Stephen muttered, walking cautiously towards the door.

“Don’t answer it,” Mason warned him. “This is how horror films start. Everyone knows that.”

Stephen let Mason’s words roll off of his back and opened the door.