The Carnival

[Kaden]

Suddenly on his own, Kaden stopped to take in his surroundings for the first time since finding Sophia. While maybe not an entire park, the courier was standing on a walking path of some kind lined with grass, flowers, the occasional tree, and even some water sculptures. It was actually quite peaceful. There was a fleeting thought of the kinds of beautiful things that could have been done with Gamer’s machine. Instead, he chose to go on a power trip. His loss.

Stepping off the white-concrete path, Kaden set himself down on a wooden bench and watched a fountain, set directly across the path. The relaxing sounds of the water flowing over it were almost enough to put the courier to sleep. Sophia had been right in pointing out how tired he was. In all honesty, he hadn’t even given his state-of-being a second thought. In spite of that, though, a wide smile was spread across his face. Regardless of his circumstances Kaden couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief. A sense of… well, if it wasn’t happiness, it was damned close.

“Looks like someone’s in a good mood.”

His eyes closed, and his head reclined as far as the bench would allow, Kaden let his head just barely nod in the direction of the voice. That he remembered it was something of a surprise to the courier. With his eyes still closed and mouth still smiling, Kaden replied.

“Hello, Mixie.”

“Now what could have possibly put that smile on your face?”

“Why, hearing your voice. What else?” Kaden’s eyes opened as he leveled his head at the leath-clad woman standing before him.

“Uh-uh. You were already in a grinning when I showed up. Nice try, though.”

“So how long have you been hanging around?”

“Long enough,” the brunette said with a knowing smile.

“Of course. Well, I guess I can’t blame you. I’m sure it’s not every day you get this many people hanging around… Kill Town, was it?”

“Definitely not,” she couldn’t restrain a giggle. “You guys are like my own personal soap opera.”

“Happy to help,” Kaden gave a mock bow from the bench. With Mixie obstructing his view of the fountain, Kaden’s mind began considering the woman. After a while, he pulled himself to his feet and approached her. “Y’know, Mixie, I feel like I should apologize in advance.”

“Ok,” the woman blinked. “What for?”

“All of the people here,” Kaden waved a hand to their surroundings. “We’re going to get out. I know a lot of the people Gamer’s captured, and I promise you, he’s bitten off more than he can chew.” There was a look of seriousness spread across the courier’s face. He neither bragged nor boasted. “I don’t know how we’ll do it, and I don’t know when we’ll do it, but it will happen. When it does, this place, your home, probably won’t be the same.” He shrugged. “Blowing up the place someone lives just seems like something you should apologize for.”

“Well isn’t the sweet,” the woman replied.

For just a second, there was no smile on her face. There was no light in her voice or bounce in her metaphorical step. It was gone as quickly as it came, but the courier caught it nonetheless. What it could possibly mean, though, he couldn’t guess. Maybe his initial assumption, that Gamer controlled her completely, wasn’t as accurate as he thought it was.

“You seem pretty confident there,” Mixie teased. Her demeanor rebounded almost instantly. “Think you’ll be able to live up to your word?”

Instead of answering, Kaden raised a hand, extending it past the brunette. The air between the two filled with energy as a soft glow gathered in the courier’s palm. In moments, a ball of brilliant cerulean energy burst to life from his extended appendage and exploded outward. His target, the fountain across the path, exploded into a cloud of debris and an eruption of water. As he lowered his hand, his crimson eyes swiveled from the ruined fountain to Mixie’s.

“Apparently I have too many people counting on me to do anything else, Mixie.”

Again, the woman’s happy demeanor gave way to something else, but, unless Kaden was completely misreading her, it seemed more thoughtful than anything else. Regardless, it had not been the reaction he expected. Whatever was going on in her artificial head, the courier could only make wild guesses.

“Then I look forward to seeing it. If you’ll excuse me.”

Giving the girl a nod, Kaden watched her walk away for a few moments before taking in a deep breath and planting himself back on his bench. Watching the walkway in front of him, Kaden’s eyes darted about as water drops landed here and there. The broken fountain was simply spewing water aimlessly into the air.

“What’s with all the property destruction lately?” the courier asked himself rhetorically. “Ah well, I guess it’s not real, anyway.”

With a smile still spread across his face, Kaden closed his eyes, spread his arms out across the back of the bench, and let the soft sounds of a very broken fountain rock him to sleep. It seemed like a nap was just the thing he needed.