Triple Point

Chapter 44: Taking a Chance

True to her word, filming finished almost two hours earlier than scheduled, and the set and equipment were packed up and on the way to the airport shortly after, under the protection of the local guardians. With the unexpected hours of downtime, the cast and crew were all in high spirits and itching to explore the area before they had to leave the next day.

After overhearing several groups secretly plotting how they could sneak out of the hotel past their guardian protection, Lee allowed everyone to leave the hotel under the condition that they traveled in groups of three or more and that they stayed within a half mile radius of the hotel. And since the local guardians only had orders to protect the hotel, she allowed her squad to join the groups that left, with strict orders for Camilla and Pala to continuously monitor the atmosphere around them for any indication of an attack.

"I don't know if my abilities are good enough for that," Pala worried once Lee and Perez were out of earshot. Even as a trainee, at least Pala had enough sense to know that Lee would never take weakness as an acceptable excuse, and Perez would just be a jerk about it.

"You can stick with us if you like," Mack said, gesturing to himself, Camilla, and Elsie. "Camilla was going to show us this pizza place she likes."

Pala hesitated at the offer, just as a large group arrived in the lobby and called them over.

"Is that the sound crew?" Elsie asked.

Pala nodded meekly. "Thanks for the offer, Olomana, but..."

"Don't sweat it," Mack said with a grin. "Just have fun, and don't get too crazy."

"Especially with the sound crew," Elsie warned. "Those kids are wild."

"Y-yes, ma'am," Pala said, then turned to leave.

"Wait, Pala," Camilla suddenly said, surprising even herself.

For a moment, Camilla was tempted to simply brush off what she was about to say as inconsequential. But something about Pala's curious and hopeful expression convinced her otherwise, and Camilla continued.

"Wherever you end up going, try to find places with open air, or at least by windows," Camilla advised. "And when you're trying to look for threats, don't try to monitor everything at once—that takes too much energy. Think less like a bubble around you and more of a spotlight that keeps moving around. It has a greater range and is more efficient, especially if these people stick with fire-based attacks since those disturb a large volume of air around them. Use your abilities to watch for long-range attacks; use your eyes for short and mid-range."

After a beat, Camilla added, "And trust your instincts. They're good, so put them to work."

Pala's eyes were wide at Camilla's words; they probably hadn't heard Camilla say so much so seriously at one time. Belatedly, Pala nodded in acknowledgement and thanked Camilla before rushing off to join the others.

Mack whistled in approval. "Wow, Wyatt, that's captain material right there."

Camilla glared at him. "It's a lot better than your advice. 'Don't get too crazy'? Seriously?"

"And I stand by my words," Mack said proudly, and the three of them made their way out of the lobby.

Their dinner ended up being exactly what Camilla needed after a rough few weeks and an even worse day. With good food and better company, Camilla almost forgot about her worries and frustrations in favor of listening to Elsie and Mack ramble about everything that they could think of.

When they stopped at a neighboring cafe for dessert, they were joined by Pala and the boisterous sound crew, and the expanded group spent the rest of the night playing a variety of board games from the cafe's vast collection. At first, Camilla was worried they were going to be kicked out for causing such a ruckus, but the cafe didn't seem to mind once their presence began drawing in even more customers. It was just after midnight by the time they all headed back to the hotel and parted ways as they went to their individual rooms.