Shattering Crystals

"And... how is this gonna work out?"

"Relax, Cody," Lorraine says. "We'll find a way."

"I just want to get out of this heat," he moans. "It's rare that anything is hotter than me, but I admit that the weather beats me this time."

"Oh please," Lorraine retorts, "Alaska's hotter than you."

"Really, guys," I say, cutting in. "We have to get this straight. Are we looking for the person first, or a place to stay?"

"I'd rather find somewhere to stay..." Lorraine admits. "But there's no place I can think of."

"So that means we're gonna go looking for the person?"

She sighs. "I guess."

"Then... everyone, hold out your arms and see if you can feel anything," I command. "Oh, and Connor, you really can't help. Sorry..."

"Whatever," he mutters.

My friends start spinning, and I think about how weird this must look. We probably stand out, but no one’s going to confront us about it or anything. I start to do the same.

“Hey,” Lorraine says as she ‘accidentally’ bumps into Cody. “I wonder why the spark is gone?”

“Yeah,” Dean says. “I noticed that too. And how come it wasn’t there for us three?”

“I don’t really know.”

“Ask Marigold,” Cody suggests. “If you’re gonna be fucked up in the head hearing voices, at least get some info out of it.”

“Haha, funny.” I close my eyes to concentrate while my friends resume searching for magic.

Marigold? I feel stupid, talking to myself like this. Even if it happens to be in my own head. I wait for a response.

Yes? She replies after a few seconds.

The glow with Cody... why did it fade? And why didn't it happen with Lorraine or Dean?

I'm not quite sure... there has never been a situation like this before.

Can you guess?

Well, you, Lorraine, and Dean all lived near each other, so your magic probably adjusted to each other. Cody's must have been the same after you spent so much time near him.

Ah, okay. Thanks... mom.

I open my eyes then, ready to share the news.

“Well?”

“Marigold said that we adjusted each other, so there aren’t any more sparks.”

“Kind of like a middle school relationship,” Lorraine mutters in response.

Cody laughs at this. “So true. Isn’t that right, Connor?”

“Shut up!” Connor says, his eyes flaring. I’m curious as to what this could mean, but I don’t ask.

“Enough about this,” Lorraine says. “I feel something.”

“Which way?”

“This way.” She points towards a shopping center. “Can you feel it?” We all stick out our arms, with the exception of Connor, his hands buried in his pockets.

“Yeah,” we all reply.

“Let’s go then.”

----

“A supermarket? Really?” I say, looking around for the person. There are too many people here for my liking at this moment. I search, but no one brings the magic feeling.

“Well, we can get some food,” Cody says, plucking a bag of potato chips off its shelf.

“I like these better,” Lorraine says, grabbing a box of fruit snacks.

“Ew, that’s healthier.”

“At least I’m not gonna be a fatass.”

“Whatever.” It’s clear that he can’t think of a good comeback.

We wander through aisle stocked with everything we would really need – especially food. We prefer to eat out, though it is more expensive and there’s a greater chance of getting caught. But none of us can really cook, unless burning pieces of bread counts. We still have to order the cheapest things, and remember to bring Connor some food. Being on the run has really let me see that money should be valued, however lame that sounds.

“Hmm. It feels stronger by the checkouts,” Dean says. I hold my fingers out and can sense the tingling in them getting stronger.

“Okay,” I say, nodding. “Let’s go see.”

Our group walks by all of the registers at a casual pace, trying to blend in with all of the other shoppers. Only when we reach register three – a self-checkout – does the tingling really get stronger.

“Is – is that her?” Lorraine whispers.

Standing at the checkout is a super-thin girl. Her jet-black bob cut contrasts with her skin, making her appear even paler. Overall, it doesn't make for a very healthy looking effect.

"Sure feels like it," Dean mumbles. "She looks kind of... sickly."

"Yeah. How are we gonna tell her?" I ask.

"Tell her you like her shoes?" Cody suggests. Our eyes automatically move to her feet.

"Not likely she'll believe me," I say. On her feet are beat-up, extremely dirty sneakers. I can barely tell what color they're supposed to be. (white?) "And why do I have to talk to her?"

"'Cause you're kinda the leader," Connor blurts out. Then his face hardens, as if angry for speaking to me.

"He's right," Lorraine says, with a slight look of envy in her eyes. "Why don't you ask her where she got her hair done? It's nice. A bit messy, but nice."

"Uh... okay. But let's wait for her to leave the store. She looks like she's alone and we don't want anymore eavesdropping.” My argument makes a point, but I’m really just stalling for time. Yet my friends nod anyways and Connor leaves to pay for the snacks.

It seems to take forever for her to scan the items, insert the bills into the cash acceptor, and bag her purchase. She finally finishes as Connor returns and we follow her closely out of the store. I walk a bit ahead while the others stay in a group being me. We're about to step into the parking lot when she abruptly turns around.

"Are you following me?" she asks suspiciously.

"Um, yes," I say, at a loss for words. "I uh, want to talk to you about something." I know that we had a plan, but it seems to have disappeared completely from my mind.

"About..." she narrows her eyes.

“I, uh, like your hair,” I say, following our plan. At least, I think that was the plan.

“Uh, thanks.”

“No, really,” I say. I hold out my hand. “I’m Dana.”

She doesn’t shake it, but instead flinches and grips her plastic grocery bags tighter. Her eyes move up from my hand to my eyes. Then she opens her mouth to speak.

“I know who you are.”