Chapter Two
First signs.
Tuesday morning comes far too fast. Still feeling a little tired I make my way downstairs to get some breakfast. Strangely enough my mother isn’t home. She usually doesn’t leave this early. Did she get called in early? It’s something I’ve heard her arguing about with her employers over the phone. I’ve only ever heard of them referred to as The Company. I’m not sure if that’s their name or not. I’m not sure what my parents do there but The Company seems a bit harder on my mother than my father. They won’t tell me but I think she’s in some kind of security. I base this on everything being so neat and organized almost obsessively so and on all our family camping and hiking trips she’s barely broken a sweat. Most obviously is the fact that she was in the military before I was born although I know almost nothing other then that she served. My father on the other hand is more of the nerdy type. He’s so carefree you’d almost miss how overly careful he actually is perhaps even more so then my mom. The sound of the bus stopping out front breaks me out of what now feels like a strange bit of an inner monologue. It’s as if I was talking to someone. “Fuck!” “School food it is.” I rush out the door barely noticing my mothers’ car keys and purse on the counter.
I take my seat on the bus putting in my headphones ready to block out the bus ride. I immediately stop when I hear Trish say. “Good morning sleepyhead!” She’s as energetic and joyful as ever obviously referring to my messy hair. “Good morning….” I trail off as I see her wearing a new outfit black from head to toe. It doesn’t leave much to be imagined. I must have been staring a bit too long as I see her face start to turn red. “Ah nice outfit it really suits you.” I say quickly trying to avoid the coming awkwardness. She smiles blushing a bit. “Yeah thanks I want to add a bit of red though.” “That would make it really beautiful.” Looking at her I accidentally speak out loud without realizing it. “It’s more then the outfit that’s beautiful.” It takes me a few seconds to process what I said. I look over to Trish to see her face bright red. “You don’t look so bad either.” She looks embarrassed yet she says so in a way that’s almost jokingly. I desperately search for a new topic only to fall on what’s probably the most boring one ever. “So, um did you get your science homework done?” She seems not to hear me for a few seconds. She has a strange smile on her face, but before I can think too much about it she shakes her head and turns to me. “Yeah only cost me twenty minutes off my night.” Damn that took me almost twice as long. “Wow your good it cost me a bit more than that.” There is still some awkward tension in the air so I try another tactic. “Would you like to listen to some music with me?” This usually works well since we both like the same music. She nods with that strange smile on her face. It’s impish and yet there’s something about I don’t get. We spend the rest of the ride listening to everything between rock and metal.
At school, we run into Lucius who had been sick the past few days. “Hey Lucius!” “It took you long enough to come back.” I beckon him across the parking lot. Lucius was an oddity at our school where everyone had darker hair. Lucius is an albino with pure white hair and those pinkish eyes that even as his friend seem a little unnerving. He’s my neighbor and oldest friend. “Hey Will!” “Hey Trish!” He greats us panting slightly. I chuckle a bit. “Why did you run?” He takes a second to catch his breath. “Just so happy to be back.” He gives us jovial smile. The school bell rings cutting off our reunion. “Well I’ll see you guys later.” Trish says as she hurries off to P.E. and we wave bye to her as we head inside. “It’s good to see you better Luc.” Lucius puts his hand on my shoulder. “Yeah but more importantly have you asked her out yet?” I shrug his hand off my shoulder. “Really is that what your going to start with as soon as you get back?” I swear he asks that every time he sees us together. “Dude seriously I’m telling you she likes you to.” He puts on a reassuring smile. “I don’t understand what’s holding you back.” I let out a sigh. “Yeah me neither.” “Come on let’s get to class.” He steps in front of me making sure I can’t just ignore what he says next. “William it’s been two years since I saw how you look at her.” I try to move my way past him, but he pushes me back so he can finish. “I’ll back you up, but you’ll need to do something soon.” He shakes his head sighing as he sees the apprehension on my face. “I’m going to set something up if you don’t make a move.” “I can’t keep watching this.” With that he walks to class signaling the end of the conversation.
I make my way to first period deep in thought. Lucius has always been straightforward and blunt. There’s nothing wrong with that it’s actually one of the reasons we get along so well. Lucius comes from a rich family not owning a business big, but more like they own a few cities rich. May parents are middleclass and I still don’t understand how they know each other. The teacher placing a paper on my desk brings me back to reality and I get to work. School crawls by until lunch. I make my way to our usual spot in the corner of the cafeteria. I’m waiting on Trish and Lucius when a wooden box is sat in front of me. It wasn’t slammed, but it was placed hard enough to startle me. “Jesus Christ!” I begin to look for who placed it there when Trish plops down beside me. “Nope just me.” She smiles and after a few seconds looks at me expectantly. “Well hurry I want to know what you think.” Her eyes motion towards the box as she says this. As I turn my attention back to it I realize it’s like one of those Japanese bento lunchboxes. I begin to open it when I notice the edges aren’t entirely smooth like they weren’t filed or treated. “Did you make this?” She nodes her head proud of her work. “Yup.” I trace my fingers over the intricate design. It must have taken some time. “It’s yours now.” I look up to her but she turns her head to her own. “Anyway, open it already the best parts inside.” I do so opening it to see curry with a few sides. “Wow thanks this looks amazing!” She smiles again even more proud of what she’s done. “Yeah, but you got to eat some it was my first try.” I don’t hesitate digging in I find it to be spicy yet fulfilling. “This is fantastic, but how did you know I wouldn’t bring my own lunch?” She pumps her fists up and down at her sides in victory. “Yes, and I didn’t I just figured you’d choose mine if you did.” We both share a smile and right on que Lucius joins us. “Hello I’m not interrupting anything am I?” He gives us well me specifically a wry smile. “Just lunch.” I say as I give him a look that tells him I know what he’s doing and he should stop. He chuckles a bit. “Well where’s my lunch Trish?” We all know he’s joking as he always makes his own lunch. “Trying to start another cook off, are we?” She shakes her with a slight laugh. “No way last time we did that we were sore and bloated for a week.” We all physically groan remembering the infamous Curry Cookoff. “Well let’s eat before you completely ruin my appetite.” They both nod at me and dig in.
Trish got another ride from her father and with it being the weekend I figure its finally time to revisit the crypt. My mother still isn’t back when I get home and my father isn’t there either. I’m a bit concerned, but I figure this is my best chance after all I’d rather not go there at night. Packing up a few things I head into the woods. As I go. I go back over what I have just in case I need something else. Some protein bars and other snacks and a few bottles of water. A flashlight with backup batteries, rope, and one of my mothers hunting knives with that hook for skinning on the back of the blade. I think I have what I need so out of curiosity I try to mentally track how far into the woods I am. The woods are surrounded by the town I’m not sure why they didn’t build on it. It’s nearly two hours before I reach the crypt. Even in the mid afternoon light it’s still haunting like its sucking in the light around it. For a second it almost seems like its growing before shrinking back down to its original size, but that’s impossible. It was only a few inches. I must have imagined it. I step just one foot into the clearing and everything goes quiet. I hear no animals, no insects, and even the wind has no sound though I can still feel it against my skin. I can still hear my own breathing so I step forward assured I’ve not gone deaf. In this silence, I realize the crypt is in the dead center of the clearing and although I’m not sure I think it’s near the center of the forest as well. I walk forward and after a few minuets I stop and look back. I’m barely thirty feet from the tree line. I start to hyperventilate and kneel down. I don’t understand this makes no sense. It takes me some time but I eventually calm down. Wait how did I get to it the first time and how did I run away so quickly? I must have sleepwalked here the first time that would explain not remembering this strangeness. I was scared, but I’m fairly sure it took me only a few seconds to reach the tree line. Which still doesn’t make sense given the size of the clearing. It looks like the distance of a football field in every direction from the crypt. If I can still leave as fast as last time I can make it back before ten. With a bit of self-assurance, I keep gong despite knowing it’s probably a bad idea
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