The other girl looked quizzically at Jody. "Are you serious? Unnatural rock color? Last time I checked, every kind of color in the world, even organic ones, come from some mineral or other."
Jody rolled her eyes. "I know that, Dana. I meant the colored glow coming off that rock when that boy first appeared. I just didn't want to have to use so many words to say it. Sheesh!"
Dana nodded. "Alright, but how did you come to the conclusion of magic so quickly? Isn't that a bit far-fetched?"
Jody smiled enigmatically. "It's not as far-fetched as you may think."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing you need to be concerned about. Just play the video again." Jody peered closely into the screen. She noticed that the girl exiting the other door in the machine came out empty-handed. "Keep playing that video and see if we missed anything else. I'm going to take another look at the machine."
Jody exited the control room and made her way back to the Enhancement room. With most of the excitement over, the guards had left, leaving just one at the door . She stood aside to let Jody pass.
Entering the room, Jody strode up to the machine. It had been powered down, so she had to open the door manually. There, on the floor, lay the rock. No longer glowing, it seemed like a normal rock now, but Jody knew what she had seen in the video footage. Carefully, she bent down, making sure to keep what she was doing out of sight of the security cameras. Scooping up the rock, she slipped it into her pocket.
After that, she made a show of inspecting the machine's interior. Once she determined she had stayed long enough, she left the room, keeping the glint of satisfaction out of her eyes. She would have plenty of time to explore her discovery later.
