Cassandra

Sewer search

About an hour later I was alone in a sewer with a flashlight. Alice gave me and Aurora earpieces too, since there was a terrible phone service underground. Alice couldn't find anything, that would make Aurora want to go into the sewer, so I ended up alone underground and she was above ground fallowing me around with a GPS, that was connected to my earpiece.

"You see anything interesting?" asked Aurora after I had been there for like five minutes and my flashlight wasn't working for three, because I couldn't figure out where the on-switch was – it was another one of Alice's strange inventions. She could have just given me a regular flashlight, but that one was supposed to be better somehow.

"You can come here and see for yourself."

"I trust you."

"It's really not so bad, there is a sidewalk, so you don't have to step into anything disgusting. I already got used to the smell and I don't see any rats or alligators either." I hadn't been in a sewer for a long time, so I wasn't used to the horrible smell anymore. To be honest, I didn't even remember it had smelled so bad.

"No, thanks. Tell me when you actually see something worth mentioning."

"It's kind of dark, so it's going to take me some time." I kept walking and just moving my flashlight around. I didn't want to admit it, but it was actually quite scary being alone in a dark sewer. I just kept reminding myself what Aurora said – nobody wants to wait in a sewer for someone to pass. At the same time, I knew my dad could have easily lade some traps there, that didn't really require someone actually waiting.

"Glow then, you are a star after all."

"Easy for you to say. Teleporting is pretty much the only thing I can control doing, everything else just happens... How long did it take you to learn how to use all your powers?"

"I don't know, about a month to get the basics, but I discover new things from time to time all the time."

"Maybe in a month I know how to glow then."

"When you were with Seth, how did you feel, what made you glow?"

"I was sleeping. Maybe I saw in a dream, that I used my powers." I felt safe, loved, but I wasn't going to admit that.

"Well did you?"

"I don't remember."

"What is it with you and Seth? I thought you guys loved each other or something. You stormed out of the hospital to go and save him and now you just hate him. It doesn't make any sense."

"Do we have to talk about this?"

"It's not like we have anything better to do. That is a long sewer, your father could have gone anywhere."

"I'd rather walk in silence."

"If you don't want to talk about it, it means that you still care about him, because thinking about him hurts you."

"Where did you read that from?"

"When my parents died, I was a mess. I spent a year going to a psychologist. Learned a lot about understanding people."

"If you want the honest answer, then all I can say is, that I don't know how I feel about Seth. You said yourself, that it was a good thing I wasn't with him anymore...

He looked after me, when I had no one. He would rather starve and freeze to death, than let that happen to me. He thought me self-defense and basically everything I needed for survival. He gave me a place where to be. he was a friend I never had - he gave me love and security, that I had never felt with anybody else. He looked after me. Everybody knew, that we were together, so they kept away from me as long as he was around. Little girl like I was, it meant a lot for me.

Now being older I understand, that everything wasn't as flowery as it seemed. He lied to me, he kept things from me. He went behind my back. Because of him I went to prison, Kendra died, he couldn't even tell me, that my mother was out of prison. He also took my money and even though he kept me alive, he treated me like shit."

"To be honest, what did you expect? He has grown up without parents. Did he even go to school? He does the best he can, with what he has. You can't expect him to be prince Charming. I'm pretty sure he lied to you, just to protect you or keep you away from harm, so that you wouldn't jump in front of a bullet for him, which you kind of did anyway.

No offence, but you deserved to go to prison and it worked out well for you. He didn't kill Kendra and it wasn't all his fault, he tried, not well, but at least he tried to help her. When it comes to your mother, then you weren't even thinking about her until Seth brought it up. You probably wouldn't have never even considered seeing her, if he hadn't given you the chance. Also, you gave him the money and you don't treat him very well either. Yes, he is a criminal and generally not a very good person, but you shouldn't hate him so much. Like you said, he has kept you alive all this time, where would you be without him?"

"It's not like I asked him to look after me. I thought you didn't like Seth? Why are you taking his side now?"

"I'm not taking any side. I'm just helping you see the positive and negative sides of the situation. You can decide yourself, what you are going to do with that knowledge."

"You didn't make me feel any better. You just made me feel even more confused."

"Maybe you should talk to your mother then, but after we find your dad... Wow, your life is just really messed up."

"You think?"

"No way! You are not going to believe this!" said Aurora suddenly.

"What is it?... Hallooo!" No answer. I kept trying, but nothing. I made it to a cross-road myself and I wasn't really sure which way to go. Maybe it would have been a good idea to go to Aurora. "Aurora, are you there!" I tried one last time.

"Yes, sorry, couldn't talk. I was in a crowded area. You are on the news."

"Seriously? Why?" That didn't sound good.

"The morning rescue you did was filmed and photographed. Your face is blurry, so I don't think anybody can understand, that it was you, but your glowing is very well captured."

"Okay, well that isn't so bad."

"I didn't say it was. Everybody is talking, that there is a new hero in town. But you better not become better than me."

"Don't worry, I won't, especially if I don't learn how to use my powers... Aside from that now, I have two roads here, which way should I go?"

"How should I know? He is your dad."

"Well what's above me?"

"Buildings mostly, we are still pretty much in the city center."

Those two roads were exactly the same. I had no idea, which way my dad would go. Finally, I just decided to go left, because my dad never did anything right. Then I kept walking.

"It's getting really late, maybe we should stop and continue tomorrow or come up with a better plan, because he could have just climbed out any time," said Aurora, when it was almost midnight.

"But then we would have seen him on camera. He must have used one of those roads to get out of the city."

"There are so many possibilities." She was right and I didn't know my dad as well as I thought I did. He was actually pretty clever, he couldn't be so easily followed.

"Fine." I teleported myself out of the sewer. "Let's get something to eat."