“Holy!”

Sparrow heard a voice echo through the air, soon accompanied by a distant crash. “Huh, I wonder what that was.” She whispered to herself. “And where are Ratio, Jerikai, Leroy, and Marina?”

They had been gone for some time now and the sun was starting to set.

I thought I saw them heading towards the warehouses. She thought to herself, pondering where they could have gone. Eh, they’ll probably come back soon.

Standing at the edge of the shore, Sparrow got a beautiful view of the sunset, a mirror image of it reflecting on the rippling ocean as she spun in her favorite marker in her fingers with her long, gold decorated blue skirt flapping in the wind around her legs.

“Man, I wish I had a hair tie.” She complained to herself, pulling her turquoise blue hair out of her face, turning back being the last to leave the beach but not the last to get back to camp.

Unzipping her tent, her face planted into her red sleeping bag made a sickly yellow color by the sunlight filtering through the leaf green tent. Tucking her arms under her golden shirt. She groaned, “Gaa, it’s sooo boring here.” She kicked her legs in annoyance, pulling out portable drawing book and whipped out a big black marker.

Nearly two intricate monochrome drawings later, Ratio unzipped the tent door, stepping in and zipping it back up after taking her shoes off outside. Smiling, she too face planted into her dark skull sleeping bag.

“Heeeey. Where’ve you beeeen?” Sparrow asked.

“Oh. Me, Jerikai, Leroy, and Marina just got a little caught up in exploring the docks near the warehouses.”

“Oh, realllly?” Sparrow asked skeptically, raising her eyebrow. “You sure you’re not lying?”

“Pssh, why would I lie? Besides, what else would we have been doing?” Snorted Ratio.

“What else would you four have been doing?” Sparrow asked teasingly, nudging Ratio with her elbow.

“What!? Ew! No! That’s gross!” Ratio shuddered in disgust, the ears of her hoodie flicking around as she shook her head. “Dude, why would you even think that!?”

“I usually don’t, it’s just funny.” She smiled, propping her head up with her hands. “But seriously, what were you doing? I know you couldn’t have just been exploring.” She stared at her friend expecting an answer, knowing if they had just been exploring they would have been careful about the time so they wouldn’t get caught.

“Pssh we were totally just exploring!” She snorted, whipping her head to the side to exaggerate the absurdity anything else but stopping mid movement, staring out the window with her face frozen mid expression almost like she saw something out the window.

“Hey are you okay?” Sparrow asked, nudging Ratio’s shoulder.

“Huh? Yeah I'm fine.” She replied hastily, averting her gaze from the window.

It was then Sparrow started to wonder, What really happened? Did something bad happen? It’s no use. Even if I ask her it’s not like she’s going to tell me. “Hey, are you okay? Did something bad happen?” she asked against her thoughts.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine. And nothing too bad happened but I kinda scraped my knee.” Ratio replied, attempting to explain the scrapes she had gotten from her fight with the robot. It didn’t help to explain her shoes which lay slightly charred and a little steamy outside the tent.

“If you say so!” Sparrow said skeptically just before their chaperon came around yelling “Lights Out!”

The next day, after packing up the tents and camping supplies, a soft thump hit the roof of the charter bus as it Pulled out of the camp parking lot talking about 50 kids along with it.

I wonder what that was. Sparrow thought. Maybe a really big squirrel. She sold it became aware that there was something much larger above their heads as she watched people gawking in their cars as they drove by. At one point she saw a large black figure crouching on the roof of the bus from the reflection on one of the windows. Just what is that thing? She asked herself as she drew a mustache and monocle Jerikai’s sleeping face and cat whiskers and eyes on Ratio’s.

After 3 long hours, and countless drawings on Sparrow’s part, The bus finally arrived at school with sluggish children waking up to find black scribbles on their friends' faces as well as their own. Along with the chattering voices of children, there was a soft Thu-thump, Almost like a dent in a metal sheet had been popped back into place.

Shocked, Sparrow spun around, the golden designs on her shirt catching the light as she gazed up at the roof of the charter bus, just barely watching her classmates from the edge of her vision. she started to turn away when she spotted a pale skin girl with her black hair up in a high ponytail Shield her eyes from the Sun and walk around the other side of the bus.

Huh, never seen her before. Sparrow thought to herself. Wonder what she was here for? maybe she's someone’s sister. Or maybe someone's brother.

The figure disappeared behind the bus before Sparrow could get a better look at them because of the glint of the Sun.

“ Hey, Sparrow, let's go!” A voice said. It was little brother Alexander, one of her seven younger siblings. The oldest actually, at ten years old.

“Coming,” She shouted back. “Just let me get my stuff.”