Chapter 185 - 185. Pricey

"Fi-fif- FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS." Art finally got it out of his mouth. The summer training camp here cost a massive sum of money. "I could pay it if I was allowed to use my family's fund but my parents would need me to justify this investment. They are well paid researchers and it is by far not a small sum." 

Asher heard what Art had said and picked up his phone for him. He too looked at the outrageous number and tried to think of a way to argue it. Unfortunately, there were so many good things about the camp that exceeded the price that he didn't even think he could speak a word against it. 

"I would say my parents would pay that but I would be lying." Asher knew his father made good money as a lawyer but it was not in their family's lifestyle to throw this kind of money around. They would more likely go on a family vacation or look to better all of their lives than use this much one person. Not to mention they needed to save money for Cara and Sher to go to university.

"Asher, give me that." Jane grabbed Art's phone and scrolled farther down the website. "It says the advanced camp cost seventy thousand…" they were all on the floor after this. 

"That's so much. I think my university savings are that much!" Asher couldn't handle it anymore. 

"My family would never afford this. We need to get serious here and learn what we can." Jane was already looking for the things she might not get to use outside of this moment.

"I'm closing the website. It hurts to see it any longer. Let's just say that Asher won the lottery getting to come here a little early." Art was right, Asher had basically won a lottery coming here a few days early.

The three took their time to accept this and move one but were still full of shock at the price. "We should really take advantage of this training tonight," Asher said this as they walked toward the dining cabin. They could already see Jackson, Laura, Sammy, and Louis waiting for them. 

"I thought we would be meeting you here not the other way around." Laura stuck her tongue out at the three since they were the last there.

"It's a miracle we all made it. I got caught up in the sparring field for so long." The others were all surprised at why Jackson had said. He was not a fighter but he spent a long time at the training field?

"I don't see any injuries so you weren't there because you go hurt…don't tell me you somehow beat all challengers without any resistance?!" Art reacted full of drama, Sammy and Laura mirroring him.

"Huh? No, I did first aid and was given a bunch of points. Not that I really need the points that much." Jackson quickly dashed their hopes that their new friend was a hidden martial arts prodigy. 

"Not sure if that's better or worse than helping with a new obstacle for the obstacle course. We did get to try it first so we probably had it better." Laura was trying to compare the two. Art and Sammy both held their arms for the fear of soreness, they had been scarred.

"I went to the woods and relaxed. Much more peaceful without anyone around." Louis was the most out there of all of them. He was just looking about calmly with perfectly cleaned and wrapped bandages. 

"You just sat in the woods? Alone?" Jane was the first to question him out loud. She was trying to figure out if Louis had some hidden talent for plants like Jackson.

"Exactly. I can really reflect and focus on myself there. No one to hurt or distract while I figured out my super power a little. I can't say I made a lot of progress, but." He unwrapped one of his hands and reached out to grab the unsuspecting hand of Laura next to him. "No zapping when I grab people at my current state." 

"And you just needed to demonstrate that by holding Lauras' hand? How suave." Sammy immediately teased Louise since she saw it as her job. The reaction of Louis pulling his hand away and sending up a small spark of lightning made her laugh. Laura on the other hand seemed to fidget a bit more than usual but continued to snack on some sliced apples with the other hand. 

"Not that I didn't find improvement in my super power too. We kinda fell from a little high up and I used a lot more wind than I meant to. Now I have a feeling I can do more with it. One step closer to flying." Sammy nearly sang the last part out of excitement. 

"They might have done cooler things than us...oh wait, none of them met a former hero, never mind." Asher had been saving this card to brag about and this was his only chance to use it. 

Jackson and Louis reacted much like Art had when he was told. They wanted all the details on who it was and what their super power could do. This conversation was able to last them until Garnet finally showed herself at the front of the group. 

"First thing's first. Have your tickets at the ready so we can make sure that you are not sneaking in to the training." There were staff members that rushed through and checked every camper not finding a single thing out of place. 

"Looks good. Now tonight we are going to be doing one of our set summer training programs. This is a night course that we will run every night that can only be taken once per camper. You will be challenged and pushed but remember that it will make you better overall." Garnet turned and started to walk away with a few staff members at her side. 

"I guess we follow her?" Someone in the group said this and prompted everyone to start to follow her. In minutes they were all moving through the forest trying to keep up with Garnet. There was no path anywhere to be found. 

The group tried to follow her and the staff members as best as they could, but they were not fast enough. The group of campers appeared to be getting smaller and smaller as they ran through the trees. The visibility became less and less since the bushes and trees closed in on them. 

Asher turned and realized that the staff members along with Garnet were nowhere to be found. "Guys, where is Garnet?" He looked to where Jane had been just a moment ago. "Jane? Art?" He turned around finding that he was completely alone. There wasn't even the sound of other campers. 

"Anyone!" Asher yelled agon and was realizing that he was totally alone in the dark forest. HGe fiddled through his pockets bringing out the glasses he had gotten from the storage area. He was sure that he would be much more relaxed if he could see where he was going. 

As they slid on to his face he was able to make out the tree roots he was sure that he would have tripped on if he was not wearing them. He was also able to see that there were plenty of scuff marks from the other campers that had tried to run through the area. 

'Time to learn how to track.' Asher was self motivating as he looked closely at the scuff marks on the ground. He knew that he had the minimal experience from Onyx and also what he had overheard in camp so far. The lack of knowledge did not deter him however, it was slightly motivating since he was able to learn as he went. 

With his eyes on the ground, he slowly stepped toward the nearest scuff marks. He had hopes that he would eventually find himself face to face with another camper or staff member but knew that they would all be rushing around lost. The only other person that had the night vision glasses was Jane.

While Asher tracked the scuff marks he realized that this must have been what Jim was about to accidentally tell them earlier. This was the reason he asked if they thought that they would be together the entire time. They were meant to get separated by the first run. 

"Attention all campers in the night training. You have become lost within the wilderness! There is a prison break nearby and the low level criminals are out to capture you as a hostage! Escape back to camp as soon as possible!" 

Asher stopped in his tracks. This wasn't because of the crazy scenario the camp had come up with for the night time training. Instead, it was because he could make out a figure in front of him. More specifically it was a figure that had a set of handcuffs broken and hanging off of their wrists.