Chapter 19: Searching

    Cameron and Abraham spent the next day pouring over the books in the restricted section.  They looked through titles such as, "How to Hunt a Beast" and "A Beast's Favorite Places".  

    Cameron finally came across a book titled, "The Rituals of the Beasts".  He opened it quickly and scanned the Table of Contents.  At the bottom he found, "The Separation" and flipped to that page quickly.

    "What's the Separation?" Abraham asked, looking over Cameron's shoulder. "Sounds kooky."

    "It is what your mother used to save herself.  She separated herself from 

her human body.  It is almost like a back-up plan if you're too big to slip out of a burning building."

    "Unless, of course, your animal if huge and then you make it worse," Abraham pointed out.

    Cameron rolled his eyes and bent back over the paper. "The people who perform these rituals are making a permanent sacrifice and can never return back to their human bodies as long as they live," Cameron read.

    "Wait," interjected Abraham again. "Can this work the other way around?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "Can a Beast separate themselves from their animal body and never come back?"

    "I suppose they could.  But, to the Beasts, their powers are a gift.  I don't think that any of them would purposefully give them up."

    Abraham sighed. "Just what I said . . . kooky."

    "Aghh!  This book isn't giving me any clues on where to find Faye's mom!"

    "Well, there must be somewhere she went."

    "But the rest of this chapter just talks about how 'this makes the Beasts  ten times more dangerous because now they have an easier way to escape' and 'we need to develop stronger technology to hold them'."

    "Then, just think . . . hmm . . . wait, if this ritual is important enough to be in an Anoterian book then it must be very important to the Beasts."

    "So?  Of course it's important to the Beasts."

    "So . . . argh, great!  You made me loose my thought!"

    "You think?"

    "Shut up."

    They sat there in silence for a couple seconds.  Then Abraham's face lit up again and he raised his hand, "I regained my thought.  If is that important to the Beasts then they must have some sort of place, a  sanctuary, where they care for the Beasts that go through the ritual."

    "Hmm, that's actually a brilliant deduction.  Maybe my smartness is starting to rub off on you," Cameron chuckled.

    "Hey!  I was the one who figured it out!  All you did was read and get angry at me!"

    "Calm down, I was being funny."

    "Well, it wasn't very funny," Abraham said resolutely.

    "But, your thinking does have a flaw.  Well, many," Cameron pointed out.

    "Really?"

    "Yep.  Because, your mother might have gone to such a sanctuary, but it has been so many years since the accident.  Also, we have no way of finding the sanctuary."

    "So we can't find her and even if we find the place she might be at she might not be there because she moved on years ago," Abraham concluded.

    "Exactly," said Cameron, shutting the book in front of him.

    Abraham got up and left the room.  He came back a minute later carrying a piece of paper and pencil.

    He sat next to Cameron and placed the paper, which turned out to be a map of the area around New Skielie City, in front of them.  He drew a dot

near the far right end of the map and drew another near the far left end. He  explained, "These places are the closests cities to New Skielie and this area here," he circled the leftover forest space, "is where the sanctuary could be."

    "It isn't here," Cameron said, taking the pencil and crossing off the spot where the village was.

    "Why not?"

    "It . . . Me and faye passed it once Denarius was taking us to the village, it is all deserted forest and no one goes there."

    "Well then, what a great place to put a sanctuary, I say we check there first!"

    "No!  I mean, we can't, because I know a better place to check."

    Cameron stared at the map and thought about if Denarius or Queen Thalia had ever mentioned a sanctuary.  Come to think of it, they hadn't.  Maybe he and Abraham were completely wrong.  Or Thalia and Denarius didn't know about it. 

    He circled the part the farthest away from the village and said, "This place is shrouded in even more mystery."

    "Fine.  But we go to the other place if yours isn't it."

    "Deal." Cameron secretly prayed inside that he somehow got lucky with his decision.

    "We will meet near my house, around the same spot you got taken into the forest for the first time."

    "What time?"

    "Well, we will need to leave under the cover of night because the Chasers have begun patrolling the borders in the morning.  But they might also have a night guard.  Anyway, we'll wait until the sun is set and the coast is clear."

    "Okay."

     Cameron walked back to his home and was surprised to see his mother standing on the porch waiting for him.

    "Oh, Cam, there you are," she said, running to him and looking him over.  Ever since he had gotten kidnapped she had been weary of him going out anywhere and now always ordered him home before sunset.  "Uh, ever since that Beast broke your phone I have no way of communicating with you.  So I just spend the whole day worried sick.  Now, come inside, there

is someone special here to talk with you."

    Mrs. Simon smiled slyly and winked, pulling her son inside the house.  Cameron's five-year-old sister, Liliana giggled once he entered and ran up to him.

    "Cammi!" she yelled. "Your girlfriend here!"

    Cameron looked at his mother who chuckled and called, "Abby, he's in here!"

    At the name "Abby" Cameron knew why his mother had made that face.  Abby Salazar had been his old girlfriend at his old school.  But they had to break-up after his family moved to New Skielie.  He couldn't believe she was here.  But how?

    A teenage girl Cameron's age walked into the room and, upon seeing him,

squealed and ran and hugged him. "Cammmm!  I've missed you so much!" Abby said as she threw her long dark-brown hair tipped with blue out of her face.  Her skin tone was much darker than Cameron's and matched her eyes.  "Don't worry, I haven't dated anyone since you left.  I've just been so depressed because we were so great together.  But now my family just moved here and everything is going to be great again!"

    Cameron smiled and said, "Wow, that's wonderful.  I am so happy, Abby."

    "You two kids should go talk alone," said Mrs. Simon. "I'm sure you both have so much to catch up on."

                             Chapter 20: Friend Problems

    Cameron and Abby spent the whole afternoon catching up.  They talked about their friends and experiences in school.

    "I am so excited to start school with you!" Abby said gleefully.  "I mean, us, together again!  That's so exciting!  When you moved I thought that I would never see you again.  But you sound like you had a fine time here."

    "I did.  But, of course, it is so great to have you here now," Cameron said.  But his words didn't match how he felt in his heart.  It was great that Abby was back, but he had honestly forgotten about her in the mix of all his new friends, and Faye.

    And now he felt terrible.  Abby was asking if they could be boyfriend and girlfriend again.  How was he supposed to explain that he didn't like her anymore, at least, not as much as he had once he was fourteen?  And how was he supposed to tell her about Faye without making her super angry?

    "One sec', I gotta call Miranda and tell her that I got to talk to you.  You remember her, right?"

    Cameron nodded and turned his head to look out the window.  The sun was almost gone and he realized that he had to meet Abraham very soon so they could sneak into the forest.  Then he realized, with a pang of guilt, that he would have to shoo Abby away and then not meet her at school the next day.  He didn't know how long it would take him and Abraham to find 

 Faye's mother.  But Abby couldn't know about their mission.  

    "Maybe you can show me around the school tomorrow," Abby said as she got off her phone with her friend.

    "Umm, I would love to, Abby, but . . . but I forgot to tell you that I have to be somewhere for the next couple of days."

    "What?  Where?"

    "It's um, an assignment that the Chasers have me doing where I search for . . . Beasts."

    "Oh, okay.  Then I guess you can show me around another time."

    Abby smiled and Cameron mirrored the look.  "But, now I have to go meet at the training school so I can receive my gear for the mission.  So, I don't know where you're staying . . ."

    "Cameron, is everything okay?"

    Cameron knew that Abby knew something was up, or at least she suspected something.  She only said his full name if she was suspicious.

    "Yes, of course.  You're back and everything's fine!"

    "No, you are not a good liar, Cam.  You are pushing me away so you can do something.  I don't think you have a job by the Chasers!  I think you have a girlfriend!"

    "What?  No, Abby no!  I promise, I swear, I do not have a girlfriend!  See, cross my heart."

    Abby crossed her arms and tossed her hair. "Well, then what are you doing?"

    "Listen, I can't tell you."

    Abby looked taken aback. "But, I thought we never kept secrets from each other?"

    "Abby, that was three years ago.  We haven't seen each other in three years.  You can't expect everything to not change.  And you can't expect that we are going to be as close as we were once I left."

    Abby sighed. "I know, I'm sorry.  I was just so excited to see you I forgot how much we've both changed.  But we can work it out and then be closer than ever, right, Cam?"

    "Of course, Abby.  But, I have to go now."

    "Yeah.  Ok.  I'll see you soon then."  Abby leaned forward and gave Cameron a hug.  Then she got up and left the room.

    Cameron got up immediately and waited to hear the front door close.

    Once it did, there was a knock at his bedroom door and Mrs. Simon entered. "How was your talk?" she asked.

    "It was fine.  But I have to go meet Abraham now."

    "I thought you two weren't friends anymore?"

    "We aren't, but he's helping me with a project."

    "A project for whom?  Is it for school?  Because the school usually tells me if you're doing a project."

    "It's a project for Faye.  For her birthday."

    "Oh, okay.  But be back before nine."

    His mother swayed out of the room and Cameron breathed a sigh of relief.  He grabbed a backpack, determined to be ready for anything that might happen in the forest.  He packed water bottles and snacks just in 

case he and Abraham were gone for multiple days.

    He slung the backpack over his shoulder and walked to the front door.  He opened it and found Abraham sitting on the front step.  He was facing the road and didn't noticed Cameron.

    Cameron strode forward and kicked him in the back asking, "What are you doing?"

    "First of all: OW!  Second: I am here for you know what.  Or did you already forget?"

    "Let's just go."

    Abraham got up and they began walking in the direction of the fence bordering the forest.  As they walked, Cameron felt Abraham eyeing him.

    "What is it?" he asked, stopping and turning to face Abraham.

    "Well, while I was waiting for you.  A girl walked out of your house.  She had dark skin and dark hair with blue-"

    "Yes, that's Abby.  She's a friend," Cameron said quickly.

    "Oh.  Oh, okay.  She told me she was your girlfriend who had moved from her home to live here so that she could be with you again."

    Cameron turned and started walking toward the fence again.  

    "Hey!  Does she know about how much you like Faye?"

    "For the last time, I don't like Faye!" Cameron lied.

    Abraham began jogging to catch up to Cameron.  "Come on, I know you like her.  And I know she likes you."

    "Who likes who?" came a voice from near them.

    Cameron froze, praying that it wasn't who he feared it was.  They turned

and saw a shadowy person standing behind them.

    Abby walked into the light looking very curious.  "Cam, why are you and this guy walking away from the city?  I thought you needed to get to your training?"

    "Training?" Abraham asked, his face turning from stressed to amused. "Oh, Cam, did you lie to your girlfriend?"

    "Cameron?" Abby faced him.

    Cameron placed his hands on his head and realized that he would have to tell Abby the truth.  Well, maybe the part truth.

    "Fine.  I didn't have an assignment."

    "Are you going into the forest?" Abby's eyes widened.

    Cameron sighed. "Yes.  Me and Abraham, who is this guy with me, are