Awakening - The Last Science #1

Chapter 23 - Regrouping - IV

  "That's crazy. Are they doing anything to fix it?"

  "Well, we're a little busy. No one in town can really get it done."

  "What about the state? Aren't the roads theirs?"

  "We're so unimportant, I doubt they even know about it yet."

  "What, they haven't called for help or anything?"

  "No, Mom. We can't. We have to stay secret."

  "...You lost me."

  "Mom, there's going to be some stuff in the news soon. Stuff about our town. Things you aren't going to believe. I'll probably be in a lot of it." Rachel cleared her throat again. "You might want to get out of town for a while. Maybe go by another name too."

  "Rachel, what are you talking about?"

  "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me," Rachel said bitterly.

  "Try me."

  "...I'm going to call you on video, okay?"

  "Okay."

  Rachel set the phone on Jackie's desk, propped up by some folders and a coaster so that it faced her. Her mother appeared on screen. Andrea DuValle wasn't quite as tall as her daughter, but she shared the same long brown hair, though currently in a dirty blonde, and the same thin willowy build. At thirty-nine, she had long since left the peak age of an actress—at least in the eyes of Hollywood. She made her living on the small screen, taking whatever parts came to her up in Vancouver. Her eyes were full with concern and confusion for her daughter.

  "Oh Rachel..." she murmured on seeing Rachel's face. Rachel looked at the tiny box for herself in the corner. She hadn't realized how much her makeup had been screwed up—but to be fair, she'd been a little preoccupied. She dabbed at her face a bit, trying to look more presentable. She only barely managed to hold back the grief looming in the corners of her mind.

  "Mom, this is going to sound crazy, but here goes: Magic is real, it's only in Rallsburg, I'm kind of in charge, and there's an insane guy who thinks he's a god that's trying to kill us all."

  "You... you what?"

  Rachel lifted her hand, which held a little scrap of blank paper. With a bit of effort, she sent it levitating over her palm, in clear view of the phone camera. Her mother's mouth fell open. After a few moments, Rachel lit it on fire and let it burn into nothingness in midair. "Magic, mom. Real magic."

  Her mother didn't respond. She just stared blankly a little below the camera, where the screen on her side would be.

  "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I wasn't sure if it was safe, or what was going to happen, or anything. But now awful things are happening and I couldn't leave you in the dark anymore. Especially since it might spread."

  She finally found her voice again, stammering just a little. "I-isn't this stuff usually kept secret?"

  "There's not really a 'usually' to follow, Mom. It's all new to us. We've got the Internet, and phones with cameras on them everywhere. I think it's inevitable it's going to get out."

  "Is this why Will got hurt?"

  "...Yeah." Rachel looked down, not bearing to meet her mother's eyes.

  "Why aren't you leaving, then?" Her mother's voice was slightly unhinged. "If it's so dangerous there, come home."

  "Even if I could, Mom, I wouldn't. I have to help. They elected me to lead. I can't just abandon them."