The Knowledge of the Hidden

Chapter 11

We hang around camp for a few hours after dinner, most of the others playing games which I can't really be a part of without powers. We head back to the shelters when we can no longer see our hands in front of us, and sit around talking, nobody bothering to get ready for bed. I sit on the edge with Sienna, cross-legged facing the opening, catching glimpses of the night sky as the breeze rustles the leaves hanging over it. We don't say anything, but the silence isn't uncomfortable. I realize that it's the first time since I got to the camp that I've felt comfortable doing nothing.

Maddie sits at the other edge of the shelter, moving the leaves to peer out every few minutes. What she is looking for, I'm not sure, but after what is probably about a half an hour, she seems to see it, standing and motioning us out of the tent.

I crawl from the tent with the other girls and squint into the darkness around us. I see people emerging from tents up and down the row and soon I am surrounded by people from teenagers to young adults. I figure those older aren't interested in such events and the younger probably aren't allowed out. Well, we technically aren't either, but no one appears to stop us.

Josh finds me and comes to stand next to me, while Sienna stands on my other side. Maddie stands in front of the group, and waves her hand so that a ball of fire grows in her palm. I don't jump this time.

"Ready?" she whispers. Most of the group nods. Maddie takes off running, her glowing ball of fire lighting the path in front of her feet.

It feels good, running full out, and I am almost able to believe that I could belong here. I find Josh's eyes beside me, mostly cloaked by the intense darkness of the camp. He grins, and the moonlight catches off his white teeth.

We run until we reach the top of a tall hill, panting as we stop behind Maddie. She grins and points up to the sky, yelling loudly now that we are far enough from camp to avoid detection.

"It'll be right up here! Any minute!"

There's the quiet murmur of voices between people for a minute before there's a whistling sound and everyone goes silent, turning their eyes to the sky. I look up too, just in time to see a bright purple flame burst across the sky with a bang.

I look at Josh, and find him looking back at me, an amazed smile lighting up his features. I laugh loudly, unable to keep it in, as the others around us burst into a chorus of "oohs" and "ahhs".

I've heard about these things before, these bright colors illuminating our hill. "Fireworks," Josh whispers, and suddenly I remember. I remember reading about them in Intelligence, hearing about how they used to be used to celebrate special occasions before they had the projections they use today. The new projections are much safer, they told us, and much cheaper. But watching the projections don't fill me with joy. They don't make me want to run down the hill like a child, scream into the night, and smile like this forever.

There were whispers around Eximius that someone had a stash of them. Every once in a while there would be loud bangs in the night, and though no one could see them from their homes nestled among the tall buildings, the next day rumors flew that they'd been launched. The officials searched for the source of the noise, but never found it, and once a year the story repeated itself. Out here, with nothing to block the sky, the sparks are clear against the dark night.

There is another noise then, not sharp like the firework crack, but softer and deeper. I realize then that it's thunder, noticing for the first time that the gentle breeze has become slightly stronger, and the moon is slowly becoming covered by thick gray clouds. I look up at the sky and big, fat raindrops hit my face. The others begin to look up too, laughing and holding out their hands as if to catch the falling rain.