Catalyst

JULY 4, 3246

I was starting to doubt this plan.

"Shouldn't this ruddy train be here by now?" Quinn muttered. "Adeline?"

"I know. I know, give me a minute." I muttered. It was midnight, and the train was nowhere to be found. Pulling a sheet of paper out of my pocket, I unfolded and smoothed it, scanning the paper. My mouth fell into an 'o' shape. "It does come at eleven! In the morning!" I remembered. Quinn smacked my head.

"Idiot." She muttered. "I'm going to eat something."

"Yeah? Well, I'm going to sleep, because it's midnight." I replied, grabbing the small sleeping bag attached to my backpack. "Good night," I added, walking off to find an area with some smooth ground, maybe a grass clearing.

Finding a relatively flat area, I placed my bag down, before unrolling my sleeping bag. Using my bag as a headrest or pillow, I stared up at the sky, Jess's words of the Catalyst echoing through my head.

Change. One person who could spark the change we needed. It was too good to be true. But that little nagging thought remained in the back of my head as I closed my eyes.

What if?

◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

"Hey, Ads." Someone whispered quietly. I looked up to see a pale blue sky, with tinged with shades of pink.

Turning, I saw Quinn stepping over a rock to lay a sleeping bag a few feet away, on a nearby smooth area. "Quinn. I was just getting up, it's smoother here if you'd like." I offered, trying to be kind.

Quinn smiled slightly, nodding. "Thanks, Adeline."

I smiled warmly, lifting the bag from the ground. "Yeah. Sleep well." I walked back towards our makeshift camp.

Only Noah sat there, Jess had walked off, to rest or rinse off, probably. "Hey, Noah." I greeted, reaching for my water bottle.

"Hey. Jess filled everyone's water bottles and purified them before heading off." He smiled tiredly.

"You can go sleep. I can keep watch for a while." I offered, seeing the bags under his eyes.

He nodded gratefully. "Thanks, Ads." He stood, grabbing the sleeping bag off of his backpack, while I made myself comfortable on a rock.

I sat there for about an hour. Jess came back and told me she was going to sleep for a bit as well, and I was alone once more.

I heard footsteps, and turned around, expecting to greet Quinn.

"Found you." A voice whispered. I spun around, immediately on my guard.

"Evan Harper." I breathed, one foot stepping back.

He smiled a somewhat cat-like grin. "Adeline Venice." He replied. "You have no idea how much trouble you've stirred up."

I found a spark inside of me, and charged him, pinning his arms to a tree. I kicked Quinn's bag closer to me and slid off my shoe, using my bare foot to unzip the bag and fish out a line of rope. I quickly tossed it into my hand and wrapped it around his wrists before wrapping it around the tree multiple times, holding the ends of the rope in my hand. "What are you doing here? Are you alone?" I demanded, now more relaxed with the upper hand.

"I'm alone." He started, trying to loosen the ropes.

"Don't bother," I said, watching him struggle. "It's a hitching tie, you can't get out that easily."

He sighed in defeat. "I'm not lying. I came alone." He finally said. "I just-what do you think you're doing?"

I raised my head high. "And why would I tell you something like that, Harper?"