see?” I asked.
“I’ll know if the place is being watched,” Reaper said confidently.
“Alright. Are you ready?” I asked.
“Lead the way,” he said.
He followed me, as I hurried down the stairs and set my steps toward town. My pace was swift in my excitement. Reaper had to hurry to catch up to me.
“Can you tell me the name of this place where at? It’s obviously the western part of the state, the mountains, but I don’t think I’ve been here,” Reaper said when he caught up.
“You and everybody else in the world,” I said. “This is King’s Cross: home of hillbillies, hospitality, and winner of the regional Piggly Barbeque Contest four years in a row.”
“Oh…” he said.
He looked around with a mocking smile. It was the sort of smile that doubted such a place could afford anything good. It was the same sort of smile I had harbored about King’s Cross when I had first set foot here.
“It’s not so bad. I hated it at first…I’m used to cities like L.A, New York. But there’s privacy here; family. It’s peaceful,” I said.
“I can understand the attraction of privacy. The school is a bit removed from the city, about twenty miles north or so…not that I ever liked L.A. as a city, to begin with.”
“What’s wrong with L.A.?” I asked defensively.
“L.A. is a town where everyone seeks something they don't need and find what they don't want. The sunlight is a mask for the broken dreams of thousands all searching and hoping for that magic moment where everything works out. Nothing ever does work out…not the way they want. I hate the lie,” Reaper said.
“Why stay there?” I asked.
“In order to chop off the snake's head, you have to grab it by the tail first,” Reaper said. “Lorian and Darian both keep a base of operations there. It is the original city of angels, the place where our kind has flocked for centuries. You have to go where the war is, or you don’t fight the war at all.”
“Anyone ever tell you you’re kind of depressing to talk to?” I teased.
“Once. She’s dead now,” he said.
“Was that a threat?”
“Of course not,” he said with a small smile I wasn’t sure how to read.
The trees thinned out as we walked and the first sign of humanity appeared in the distance. The school, large and menacing, was the first thing I saw through the dark branches of the forest. It hummed with the thoughts of the September crowd inside it, school having let back in with the fall. It was weird to see it again. It was a marker of a different life. If things had worked out differently, I would be inside, the thoughts crushing me as I tried to go through my daily routine. I realized of all the things of my past life I didn’t miss school at all, not even a little…
“Let’s not cut through here,” I suggested. “There’s going to be people out back smoking and teachers trying to not notice them, so they can smoke, too. I’ll be recognized.”
“We can skirt the tree line,” Reaper suggested.
“Okay.”
We walked the edge of the forest, searching for a place to cut across without being noticed. As we passed the football field, I saw Coach, large and pig-eyed, trying to get the girls in his class to throw a football the proper way. He wasn’t having much luck.
I remembered taking archery classes on that same field not so long ago. With a shudder, I realized Gavin Nichols must have watched me from this very spot. He must have plotted my murder from behind these very trees…before he had attacked me and sent Daniel and me on a collision course with each other.
“I never got to go to a real school,” Reaper admitted as he also stared at the field.
“You’re not missing much,” I said.
“One still wonders about what one didn’t experience,” he said.
“If you say so…”
Beyond the school was a doctor’s office. We left the forest and crossed the parking lot. I pointed at the only car in the parking lot. It was a ridiculous-looking
“I’ll know if the place is being watched,” Reaper said confidently.
“Alright. Are you ready?” I asked.
“Lead the way,” he said.
He followed me, as I hurried down the stairs and set my steps toward town. My pace was swift in my excitement. Reaper had to hurry to catch up to me.
“Can you tell me the name of this place where at? It’s obviously the western part of the state, the mountains, but I don’t think I’ve been here,” Reaper said when he caught up.
“You and everybody else in the world,” I said. “This is King’s Cross: home of hillbillies, hospitality, and winner of the regional Piggly Barbeque Contest four years in a row.”
“Oh…” he said.
He looked around with a mocking smile. It was the sort of smile that doubted such a place could afford anything good. It was the same sort of smile I had harbored about King’s Cross when I had first set foot here.
“It’s not so bad. I hated it at first…I’m used to cities like L.A, New York. But there’s privacy here; family. It’s peaceful,” I said.
“I can understand the attraction of privacy. The school is a bit removed from the city, about twenty miles north or so…not that I ever liked L.A. as a city, to begin with.”
“What’s wrong with L.A.?” I asked defensively.
“L.A. is a town where everyone seeks something they don't need and find what they don't want. The sunlight is a mask for the broken dreams of thousands all searching and hoping for that magic moment where everything works out. Nothing ever does work out…not the way they want. I hate the lie,” Reaper said.
“Why stay there?” I asked.
“In order to chop off the snake's head, you have to grab it by the tail first,” Reaper said. “Lorian and Darian both keep a base of operations there. It is the original city of angels, the place where our kind has flocked for centuries. You have to go where the war is, or you don’t fight the war at all.”
“Anyone ever tell you you’re kind of depressing to talk to?” I teased.
“Once. She’s dead now,” he said.
“Was that a threat?”
“Of course not,” he said with a small smile I wasn’t sure how to read.
The trees thinned out as we walked and the first sign of humanity appeared in the distance. The school, large and menacing, was the first thing I saw through the dark branches of the forest. It hummed with the thoughts of the September crowd inside it, school having let back in with the fall. It was weird to see it again. It was a marker of a different life. If things had worked out differently, I would be inside, the thoughts crushing me as I tried to go through my daily routine. I realized of all the things of my past life I didn’t miss school at all, not even a little…
“Let’s not cut through here,” I suggested. “There’s going to be people out back smoking and teachers trying to not notice them, so they can smoke, too. I’ll be recognized.”
“We can skirt the tree line,” Reaper suggested.
“Okay.”
We walked the edge of the forest, searching for a place to cut across without being noticed. As we passed the football field, I saw Coach, large and pig-eyed, trying to get the girls in his class to throw a football the proper way. He wasn’t having much luck.
I remembered taking archery classes on that same field not so long ago. With a shudder, I realized Gavin Nichols must have watched me from this very spot. He must have plotted my murder from behind these very trees…before he had attacked me and sent Daniel and me on a collision course with each other.
“I never got to go to a real school,” Reaper admitted as he also stared at the field.
“You’re not missing much,” I said.
“One still wonders about what one didn’t experience,” he said.
“If you say so…”
Beyond the school was a doctor’s office. We left the forest and crossed the parking lot. I pointed at the only car in the parking lot. It was a ridiculous-looking
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