“Maybe more than just a bit,” said Katie, watching the ball-like bugs float up and down. They reminded her of Christmas ornaments. “Ours are also yellow.”
Koran looked at her for a second. “Well, ours are also yellow, sometimes,” he said, noticing Katie’s puzzled look. “They change color with the temperature, weather, and time of year.”
“Would the time of year and temperature match most of the time?” Katie asked. “It’s hot in summer, cold in winter.”
“True, but I mean mating season,” said Koran. “During that time, the males will glow white while any females ready to mate will glow blue. Not all females are chosen to mate each year.”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s just how their life cycle works,” Koran said.
“Huh,” said Katie. “So are these all females here, ready to mate?”
Koran shook his head. “I don’t think so. All of the fireflies here are blue. I don’t think mating season is for another few months.”
“I see what you mean,” said Katie, nodding her head slowly.
They went along their dirt and mulch path, looking back and forth at the glowing orbs that were fireflies. Though they had been walking all day, Katie didn’t feel remotely tired.
Katie then thought of Tyson. She looked back at him and their eyes met momentarily, his stare unmoving and void of emotion. Katie let out a breath and looked away. Katie hoped that jealousy was the only thing wrong with him. If it was, she would know how to fix that. But it seemed like there was more, and the tension between them was new to Katie. Losing him wouldn’t just be a breakup that she would get over at some point. They had known each other for long enough that losing him meant losing half of herself.
The sound of a low humming broke her thoughts apart. Katie looked around. The humming was eerie yet pleasant. She wasn’t sure where it came from. For all Katie knew, she could just be hearing the wind.
Katie put her attention off it as much as she could, but the farther they walked, the louder it got.
“Where is that noise coming from?” Tyson asked.
“I’ve been hearing it too,” Katie said. “What is it?”
Koran didn’t answer right away. He walked silently, barely breathing, listening. “I’m not sure what it is. It sounds like some sort of song. I feel like I’ve heard it before, but I can’t remember from where.”
“Maybe it’s coming from the fireflies,” Katie said, pointing out to the bushes.
“I think you’re right,” said Koran. “I just don’t understand why it is getting louder. The fireflies have been here for some time.”
As he said it, the fireflies faded into a light gray color.
“Did you see that?” Katie asked.
Koran nodded. “I did. I’ve never seen them do that. I’ve also never heard of the fireflies turning gray. Maybe orange or green, just not gray.”
Katie looked back and forth at the fireflies in case they did something different. After a few minutes, the music stopped, and the fireflies vanished, leaving behind a brief moment of a blinding fog until it slowly cleared away.
About twenty-five feet ahead of them stood quite an unremarkable fountain. It was made of a cement-like material and was just a wide basin placed on a gray pillar ten feet off the ground.
As they got closer, Katie noticed a cylinder spout stood in the middle of the basin. It had a design to it, unlike the rest of the fountain. When they stopped in front of it, Katie could see that the spout was shaped like a bird, an eagle, with its wings tucked in and its head facing them. Though she knew it was only a sculpture carved out of cement, she almost felt its eyes pierce hers with its gaze.
Katie and Tyson exchanged a curious glance with each other before looking up at the eagle sculpture again.
A soft, subtle screeching cry came from the bird. The eagle spread its wings and raised its head so that its beak faced up towards the night sky. Then a crystal blue water spouted from it.
The basin filled quickly. When the water reached its rim, the eagle stopped spouting water and lowered its head to face them again. The bird gave another soft cry and its wings fluttered, almost as if it were a shadow.
Another spell of thick fog clouded their vision. The fog was a light gray, but so intense that Katie couldn’t even see her own hands. The fog lasted a while. A loud crunching and rumble filled the air, followed by a thunderclap but with no lightning that could be seen. Katie thought that the sound was large boulders, or even mountains, moving. The ground shook violently with the noise, but the three of them were able to hold themselves up. An intense, ear-splitting screech filled the air next as if a large rusty door that hadn’t been touched in half a century was being pried open.
After what seemed like ages, the ground stood still and the noises ceased leaving only a slight sound of wind which could be heard only by Koran. Then the fog faded.
Nothing had changed about the fountain and the eagle that stood on it was still, resuming its inanimate figure. Katie looked past the fountain and her eyes widened.
Where there was nothing but a narrow path previously, a large city now toward over her. They walked beyond the fountain to get a better look, the three of them with their heads up, taking in the sheer size of it. Stone walls surrounded the city, covered in ivy. They were over seventy feet high. A large iron-wrought gate was shut tight in the center. It was the only way in.
Some of the stone was cracked, but Katie knew that the walls held
