Infinite

Chart Another Path

𝄆 ♫♪ 𝄇
I've been charting a path on the sea
Been listening to the waves calling me
Out into the unknown
But I don't know where to go
Another call into the abyss
But I don't know if I will miss
Everything I have
If I chart another, chart another path
If I chart another, chart another path
𝄆 ♫♪ 𝄇

Mari felt more magic in her than she had in a long time. After everything that had gone down, she was surprised she had any left. As she lived with Laura, Mari knew the magic inside her was slowly dying, but she always had just enough to make music and be a happy child like her parents intended. Laura, at this point, was only doing things to make herself survive and have money, nothing more.

The only problem with moving in with Flynn was that she hadn't told anyone else yet. Including the guys.

So, when Luke showed up to ask Marietta to the club where they were performing, he couldn't believe she wasn't there, but didn't know where else to look. He knew she was grounded and wouldn't leave her stepmother. She was too good to leave. But, with how little there was on her desk versus the other times he'd been there, he knew something was up. Her desk was completely empty and her bed didn't have any of the blankets she usually wrapped around herself. It was like she'd left only a shell of herself behind when she left her childhood home.

"You're gone." Luke spoke to the empty room, just as Mari's little sister opened the door. He was almost sure the other girl couldn't see him, and when she walked past him to where the CD player used to be, it was confirmed.

"I miss you, Mare. Your music always made my day." Sofia was upset—Luke could tell that much—and it was clear she wanted to be alone. He left, not curious to figure out where Mari ended up.

"So, did you ask Mari if she could come?" Reggie asked, with a kind of giddiness a puppy had.

"She wasn't at home. So, if Julie reaches out, then she'll know." Luke shrugged, but didn't know what had happened to her. He wanted to, desperately, because he cared so deeply about her. If he could, he would've saved her from her step-mother and held her tight against him as she cried. It killed him to watch her go through it alone.

"Okay. I just thought since you were so ga-ga over her that you might want to tell her yourself." Reggie seemed to think that his comment was normal, but not even Luke had realized his own feelings towards her.

"I'm not ga-ga for her. And don't use that term. It's weird." Reggie believed him for all of zero seconds.

"Mm-hmm." Reggie looked at him sideways, then grabbed his bass guitar. They didn't have much time before their gig, and most of it was going to be spent practicing their songs. With two songs and being last, any time they could spare was necessary to use to practice.

Julie, however, was technically grounded for the stunt she pulled the morning after the dance. She wasn't supposed to go anywhere, much less a club late at night to play with her ghost band. But, she didn't care about it; the music was too important and she knew her father would understand. Plus, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. And he'd never know she was gone if she did it right.

"Boys, we only have a few more minutes to practice, then Flynn and Mari will be here." Luke was surprised to hear that Mari and Flynn would be coming together, but not because of their history. Mari and Flynn lived in opposite directions from Julie's neighborhood. He was, at least, observant, even if it was only because he wanted to watch Mari as she walked home. "I'm stumped, too."

"Huh?" Luke was confused why Julie would say that.

"It's just that Flynn and Mari live on opposite sides of my neighborhood. And they can barely stand each other." Julie could only shrug, but she made sure to remind herself to ask when they did show up. "Well, let's practice one more time, then we can rest until they come." Julie suggested.

At Flynn's house, Mari was composing a new song inspired by one that she had been listening to on repeat since she left her childhood behind. It wasn't just a home—it was her entire childhood—but now all she had were memories. But, life was all about change, and she had to accept that. Change was inevitable. And she wrote a song about having no idea what to do next, no idea what her future held.

"Mari, come on. We've got to get going. We don't want to be late to Julie's gig." Mari nodded, snapping her songwriting book shut and heading to the front door. She had yet to see Flynn's parents once, but that wasn't atypical given their professions. "That was a pretty song though. You know, you and Julie would make a hell of a duet for that song if you wanted."

"Maybe. I don't know yet, though. I'm not sure it works as a duet, at least not the way I'm writing it." Mari admitted. And she headed out the door, Flynn right on her heels. They were at Julie's within fifteen minutes, and out her door in another five. How her aunt hadn't caught her or her friends was a mystery, but one she didn't want to ponder on for too long. She had a gig to play.

Just as the girls left the unattached garage, the boys started to talk about what it would be like to live in that age. Living in the new century was still mind-boggling to them, and they surely didn't know everything there was to know about what happened after they died. They didn't even know about the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers on September eleventh. But, before they could peruse the internet and, maybe, learn some new things that had made the history books in recent years, another blue flash erupted on their chests. Another round of pain shot through their bodies. They were on the floor, clutching their stomachs and hoping it would dissipate soon.

"That felt worse than the last one. Why is this happening to us?" Alex groaned, but was still the first to sit up after the jolt ran its course.

"I don't know. But, I do know that it's not from the food we ate at the club." Luke's conviction only managed to convince Alex, not his friend with the wilder imagination.

"How do you know that? It was only last night. Food takes twenty-four hours to digest. At best, it's been twenty." The words that spilled from Reggie's lips were so full of things that Luke and Alex had no idea he knew. Neither of them paid all that much attention in science, or math, or any other subject outside of music for that matter.

"If it's gone by tomorrow, then we'll have our answer." Luke shrugged, then they all poofed to the club, where a mediocre cover artist was playing her guitar and singing slightly flat. It could've been worse, but it also could've been better. The performance, anyhow, was far superior to the jolts of electricity that they'd been feeling since the night before. Pretty much anything was a step up from that, since it literally felt like death (not that they truly knew what that felt like since they weren't conscious for the experience of feeling the life slip out of their lungs and being captured in a single, final breath).

"I guess so." Reggie shrugged, listening to the cover singer. They didn't mind her voice or the way she played, but they didn't know the original song since it came out a decade after they died.

The three ladies were inside soon after the three ghosts arrived, all in different outfits than they left the music room in. And it left the two guys who found girls attractive stunned. Alex just thought their outfits were cute and that they cleaned up well.

Author's Note: This is definitely more of a filler chapter, so I'll keep this short. Caleb stresses me out. Always. And the jolts... I hate those. Make sure to vote and let me know what you think in the comments. All the best, MistyRider921.