I felt a chill run down my spine. We'd driven till a point, after which we'd gone hiking for around thirty minutes. It didn't seem like much; just more forest and trees. It was only when we passed through the illusionary barrier that I realized what it was.
"An illusion," I said, looking at Circe. "You made it?"
She pursed her lips and stared at me as if wondering whether or not my question was worth answering.
"Nope."
"Who did?"
"Someone better at magic than I ever will be."
Well, points for vagueness I guess. Less so for actually giving me something useful. Circe lead us through the rest of the forest, with me in the middle and Sam at my back. I wasn't sure what to think. Only one question really mattered though, now that I was out of danger.
I fingered the necklace on my chest. Why hadn't it worked?
Maybe the magic in the herbs had faded? But if so, why didn't mom tell me that before? Didn't she know what would happen? She'd taught me everything I knew about this world; its evils, its dangers, and its mysteries.
"We're here," Circe announced, coming to a halt in front of a huge, wooden gate. On it, in golden text, were the words:
"Welcome to Camp Chaos! If you are not a Child of Chaos, please leave before the gate disintegrates you."
"Is it enchanted?" I asked.
Circe snorted and tossed a rock into an area outside the gate. One second later, and I became the proud new owner of a smoldering piece of rubble. I noticed small growths protruding from the earth. Red flowers the color of blood with that cold iron scent to boot.
The same also lined the gates, surrounded by an elliptical border of red tiny silver mushrooms.
"The red flowers burn away anything that comes to the camp, while the moonshrooms are designed to release silver gas everytime someone walks in through the gate."
"And what if a human walks in?"
"They'll have to get past the barrier first," Sam explained. "It creates a sense of unease in humans that makes them stay away. Same with animals too."
"And what if we want to walk in?"
Circe didn't respond. She just knelt, whispering words I couldn't understand.
The air seemed to shimmer around us.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Shh," was Sam's reply.
The wind seemed to speed up around us. Trees danced like a corpses hanging from frayed rope. I felt my blood turn to ice. My hands felt tight and clammy. The world seemed to be turning darker.
I closed my eyes...and all dropped dead.
I opened them, and the world was born anew.
"Welcome to Camp Chaos!" Circe announced, smiling genuinely (perhaps for the first time since I'd met her) as she skipped into the campgrounds. I didn't trust myself to speak. I was too worried I'd faint.
It was beautiful.
"Everyone at camp gets a password," Sam explained. "To get inside."
I counted thirty cabins, each with their own strange patterns and oddities. Some were shaped in a manner that reminded me of melted metal; others were literally glowing with joy. Some seemed to be shifting in and out of the visible spectrum without even batting a metaphorical eyelash.
Nearby, the sound of riverwater pleased my ears. A nice, cold wind whistled through the trees, and I found myself whistling along with it. Flowers blossomed wherever I stepped. Circe laughed.
I know. I'm shocked too.
Even Sam smiled. Well, maybe that's less surprising, but still, you get the point, right?
Even in the darkness of night, the moon bathed the camp in a calm, soft glow.
It's magic, Wanda. Don't talk to it. Don't use it. Above all, never believe it is good. Even for a second.
The words used to roll off her tongue so smoothly when she said it. It was only now that I saw how bitter they really were. Magic wasn't just destruction. It was a gift. At least their magic was.
I shook my head. No point in sullying an image like this with those thoughts
It really was perfect...
"Where are the others?" Sam asked.
Almost perfect.
Circe's smile began to fade (Sad. It actually made her look approachable) as she finally broke from her reverie.
"They're probably at the bonfire," she said, though I could hear the doubt in her voice. I took a closer look at the cabins. Some had holes in them. Others looked like they'd been clawed at by wild animals.
Arrows stuck out from the walls.
Circe must have seen them too, because then she started running.
"Circe!" I called out, but she was already gone.
"Should we-"
"Go." Sam ordered. "I need to stay back and see if I can figure out what happened."
I didn't question him further. I just kept running. Everywhere I went, more arrows and claw marks greeted my eyes. What'd happened here? My fear tripled when I remembered what Sam had said.
Alright. We'll take her to camp then. Her dad's already been taken care of.
Had they brought him here?
I kept running, not daring to consider the possibilities until, finally, I heard her. Her screams of pain and misery. I stopped running, ducking behind a cabin as I considered the possibilities. The sounds of sobbing didn't stop.
Child...the shadows began.
No.
Child, the shadows insisted.
GO AWAY! I screamed. GO AWAY AND NEVER COME BACK!
I was done with the shadows. Done with causing nothing but pain and misery. My magic wasn't a gift. It was a curse.
Circe needs you, they said. And that was what got me back up. They were right. She needed me.
You must.
I repeated it to myself as many times as I had to.
I must. I must. I must.
I took a deep breath, forcing the numbness through my blood. I didn't cry when I saw them. A single blue eyeball that rolled towards my feet. I didn't have the energy to cry anymore. I didn't have the strength to weep.
Circe sat in the center, her head in her hands and tears on the ground. Around us, children and teenagers of varying ages lay dead. Strange, intricate markings ran up the hands of some. Others had eyes that I couldn't help but shiver at.
I stumbled over a skeleton of a small child. Two horns protruded from their skull, and threw claw marks had been carved into their forehead.
"It's all gone," she whispered, as if still trying to believe it. "Everything."
I didn't say anything. I just walked up to her, and hugged her. To my surprise, she didn't pull away. She just hugged me tighter, her nails clawing into my back. Cold, salty tears ran down my shoulders.
We didn't let each other go until the sun rose.
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