Chapter 5

See the post below as well please


All of the ideas and characters mentioned in this text are protected by copyright law and belong to me. This may not be duplicated without my written consent. Hallow's City and all related ideas are (c) me. Do not steal. I will find you if you do.




Jeff helped me up, handing me my things as I put my shoes on. I was still baffled as the bell rang; how had Salex moved so quickly? Maybe he was moving at normal speed, and my brain just hadn’t registered it because I was so sure I was going to win. I followed Jeff to the center of the school, to the grassy area where I had dashed through earlier trying to get to class. We sat down on the grass, sunlight pouring in from the skylight, the entire area seeming vast. Our group began to surround us, talking excitedly.
“What’s so exciting?” I asked. “Did I miss something?”
“No, no, you didn’t miss anything, you just haven’t lived here for very long,” Jackie laughed, her fingers entwined with Max’s. “Next week is Halloween, as you know,” she said. “For one, it’s the Halloween Carnival, which is even bigger than Christmas here, and for two, Halloween is my birthday, so I’m inviting all of you to come with me to the carnival for my birthday party!”
“What about Salex?” Jeff asked. I had been wondering about him as well, but I tried to act like I hadn’t been. Jackie turned away from us, still on her knees.
“Salex!” She called. “You’re invited to my birthday party!”
“Call me when and where,” he replied from a tree close by, where a pretty blonde wearing a red and white striped apron seemed to be taking his order. She finished and walked over to our group next.
“What can I get y’all?” she asked with a heavy Texan twang. She looked like she was just out of high school. Everyone ordered except me, and her eyes turned from her small notepad to look at me. Jeff put his hand up with two fingers making a peace sign.
“Two of mine,” he said. “One for her and one for me.”
“What did you even get?”
“You’ll see,” he said with a smile. I stuck my tongue out at him, trying not to smile and failing. Chatter filled the silence, and when they returned, a plate of honey-barbeque chicken pizza was placed in front of me. My mouth dropped open- it was my absolute favorite pizza, hot and right in front of me.
“How did you know this was my favorite pizza?” I asked, astounded.
“You should keep your diary hidden better,” he said, taking a bite of his. I glared, shocked.
“You don’t even know where my diary is,” I said, not believing him.
“It’s at your house, in your room, under your mattress on the side you sleep.” He said accurately, making me look at him in shock.
“I’m kidding. Is that really where it is, though?”
“Even if it was, I wouldn’t tell you.”
“So that’s a yes!”
“No it’s not!”
“I’m only teasing. Eat your pizza, before it gets cold.” I rolled my eyes.
“You sound like my mother,”
“Alright, then, I’ll eat it,” he said, reaching for it. I grabbed it and took a bite, watching him and trying not to laugh. I ended up giggling anyway.
“Okay then,” he smiled. “Enjoy your pizza,” I swallowed, sitting the pizza down but keeping my hand on it.
“So what’s the Halloween carnival about?”
“Obviously, Halloween,” Jeff replied. I gave him a look.
“Besides that,” I said.
“It’s the biggest party in town, it outshines Christmas, even,” Max answered, his own slice of pepperoni pizza in front of him. I was shocked.
“Wow. That’s pretty big,”
“You bet,” Jackie said. “It’s huge, and everybody goes- no exceptions.” She smiled, her perfect teeth almost gleaming in the light.
"Alright," I said. "Sounds cool,"
The rest of the day passed relatively quickly; Salex was in all of my classes, except biology, and in every one of them, he would glare at me or ignore me. I didn't even see him after school.
I left for home and walked with Jackie's group, trying to put thoughts of Salex out of my head. It was difficult; I couldn't figure it out. Why had he glared at me like that, every time he saw me?
"Jeff, does Salex usually eat lunch with you guys?" I asked before everyone had dispersed. We were the last to leave, everyone had gone home.
"He usually does, yes." Jeff replied.
"So what he did today wasn't normal?"
"Not at all," he said. "Maybe he was feeling sick." I just nodded, not wanting to reveal my suspicions that Salex may have avoided his group because I was there.
"Did he do this yesterday?"
"No," Jeff asked. "You think he sat somewhere different because you came?" I tried to hide my shock, though in all reality I wasn't very shocked that he had figured it out. He was smart, and it wasn't difficult.
"Yes," I sighed. "I think he might have."
"hat's not like him," Jeff said.
"It's also not like him to come into class angry, is it?" Jeff paused.
"Well, come to think of it, no,"
"Okay. Thanks, Jeff." I said, turning and walking away.
"Don't look too much into it," Jeff seemed to be warning me. It sounded almost ominous.
"Why not?" I asked, turning around to face him.
"You would be better off not to, that's all," My eyes narrowed. He knew something, and he wasn't going to tell me. I could tell that.
"What do you know about him?" I asked. Jeff had turned around and was walking home, his back to me.
"Jeff, please tell me," I said, beginning to follow him. He just shook his head. I was confused and a bit angry, frustrated that he knew that I knew that he knew something. Finding things out about Salex was going to be harder than I thought. I sent a quick text message to my parents, saying I was going to go for a walk in the woods. I walked the extra block to the edge of the woods, following a deer trail through the trees and roots. It began to get dark; I hadn't realized how think the canopy was. I climbed a simple tree with a low hanging branch, swinging one leg off the side of the branch. Here I could let my thoughts go without being interrupted.
First off: Why had he been glaring at me? I couldn't find a valid reason. It didn't make sense to me. I hadn't done anything to him, and I had only known him for a day, or less than that. He couldn't possibly have a grudge against me.
Second: Why had he not sat with his group at lunch? Instead, he chose to sit in a tree further away from them. Or was it further away from me?
Third: Where had he been after school? I knew it was none of my business, but I couldn't help but wonder.
Fourth: What was Jeff not telling me about Salex? He seemed like him and Salex were close friends, or at least hung out every once in a while. He would know and be able to tell me some things about Salex, I was sure, but he wouldn't, for some reason. Maybe it was the friends-dont't-tell-other-friends-secrets rule that went unspoken; I could understand that.
Fifth: Why wouldn't he tell me? It bothered me. When people wouldn't tell you something, they had something to hide. A skeleton in the closet. I knew I shouldn't be so curious about what it was, it was really none of my business, but I couldn't help but wonder.
I considered confronting him the next day, asking him why he was angry with me, why he was avoiding me when I had done nothing to him. He barely knew my name. Then it hit me. Maybe he knew more than my name. I couldn't imagine how, but it was possible.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
Are you coming home? from Mom, the message read. I texted yes back quickly, seeing the time on the screen once the message was sent. It was almost nine o'clock! I was thankful I didn't have any homework.
I jumped down from my limb, landing on my feet and falling forward to catch myself on my hands. I stood up to see a man walking down the path, dressed in all black. His hair was blonde, and his eyes glowed a strange amber color.
"Thanatos?" I asked, unsure. I wouldn't be as frightened if it was him. The man seemed to smile slightly. He looked like he was maybe a year older than me, but he was tall, over six and a half feet.
"So you know Thanatos," the man said, coming closer. I felt my pocket, wishing I had my knife. I always carried my knife during the summer breaks, just by force of habit. New towns, new types of people. Anything could happen, and I knew it. I swore in my mind, wishing I could take my knife to school, just for self defense on the way home. This man wasn't Thanatos.
"Yes," I said, looking for a way around him as I backed up. "Why are you here? What do you want?"
"I only came here to ditch school," The man said, his fingers looking longer than normal. There was about six feet between us now, but it was diminishing every second. His stride was longer than mine. His fingers looked more like claws now, almost eight inches long, I estimated. I didn't know how he was doing it, or if he just had something attatched to his fingers, or it this was some sort of joke, but I was scared. I was terrified. He licked his lips, still smiling at me.
"I was on my way home," I said. "I'd just like to get there,"
"No one told you to stay inside after dark, did they?" he said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
"No," I stuttered. He grinned, charging at me with his right hand, claws and all, poised to strike and slash across my face and neck. I closed my eyes and put my arms up to block him, turning away reflexively and letting out a scream. Someone grabbed my arm in that instant, pulling me back. There was a crushing sound, like two boulders crashing together, and when I opened my eyes, Salex was standing in front of me, fingers between the claws of my attacker. The amber-eyed man looked furious; Salex let my arm go, his focus on the man. Those amber eyes flicked to me and back to Salex angrily.
"You were going to finish her off yourself?" the man said. Salex increased his grip on the man's knuckles. There was a loud sound like large branches breaking, and the man's fingers were no longer bent normally, his knuckles crushed. Salex pulled out a gun with a silencer on it. The man's eyes went wide as he fell to his knees, cursing. He sounded like he was in a lot of pain, and I didn't blame him. I was astounded. How had Salex broken the man's hand so easily? I was just as frightened of Salex as I had been of the man.
"Thanatos sent me, I'm on orders!" The man said.
"You live with their lot. You have no family. Who will miss you?" Salex said coldly.
"I was ordered to find her!"
"But you were not sent with a message. Therefore, this action is not killing the messenger out of anger for the message delivered. This is to protect the newcomers." He pulled the trigger, and the gun went off. There was a mere click as the firing pin struck the bullet; right before my eyes, the amber-eyed man turned to dust. Salex placed the gun inside of his jacket, grabbing my arm lightly and pulling me with him as he walked away. I pulled against him, his hand falling from my arm easily.
"What just happened?" I asked.
"There's no time to explain. We should get you home." Salex said, turning and walking away. When I didn't follow, he turned to look over his shoulder.
"Fine, I'll leave you here then," he said. "He wasn't the only one." I looked around quickly, sprinting to catch up with him.
"Tell me what happened," I said. "Please."
"No," he said. "That's the second time I have saved yor life in the last 48 hours. It requires no explanation since I owe you no favors." I turned to glare at him, completely confused.
"How can that," I said, using my hands to point back at the dark forest. "Not merit an explanation? You just murdered someone!"
"He isn't dead." Salex said. "It's just hard for him to regain a body now."
"Then would you like to explain that last bit, at least?"
"Not really," He said as we came to the edge of the forest, walking across the deserted street.
"Then tell me something I'll understand,"
"Stay out of the forest at night. I think you can understand that."
"But-"
"I know that doesn't tell you anything. That's the idea." I fell silent, trying to commit every detail to memory as we walked down the street to my house. I misstepped and almost fell into the street, my ankle rolling into the gutter painfully. Salex caught me, pulling me back onto the sidewalk.
"And again," he said.
"You didn't save my life that time," I protested.
"No, but I did save you from falling and scraping your hands."
"Well-" I couldn't come back with a quick retort to that. It was like he had frozen my brain. "Thank you, I guess,"
"You're welcome," He said, stopping at my driveway. "Goodbye, Adrianna," He said.
"You know, you can call me Adri," I said, catching his shoulder as he walked away.
"Alright then," He said, continuing to walk away. I let my hand fall. He was so cryptic and confusing, I didn't know what to make of it. I watched him until I couldn't see him anymore, hoping he would turn around and explain everything, even though I knew he wouldn't. Fallen leaves were caught in a gust of wind, blowing across the sidewalk in the air and sweeping the ground. I turned and ran inside, closing the door and locking it.
The rest of the night was normal; I recorded the night's events, not wanting to forget any details that might help me further along in the future.

Journal,
Salex was strange today. He's strange anyway, but he avoided me all day. He couldn't during class, but he did during lunch. Jeff said that he normally sat with them; that confirms that it was me that drove him away, in my mind. I didn't see him after school, which is when I asked Jeff all those questions about Salex. I went into the forest that's by our house now, and I stayed there and thought about the days events. I guess more time must have gone by than I thought, because Mom had to text me to remind me to come home. I started walking and this man... he was dressed all in black, like the night class, and his skin was a pale white. He had blonde hair and his eyes were a strange color- I've never seen it before. It was a golden brown or amber color, and his eyes glowed. As if he wasn't scary enough already- his fingers turned into claws, and he tried to attack me. Salex came and pulled me out of the way, stopping the man's hand. It was scary- the man said something, and then Salex crushed his knuckles. I mean literally crushed the man's knuckles. It brought the man to his knees. That was when Salex pulled out a gun. The man said he was on orders, as if he was in some sort of organization, like a military of some sort. I didn't think Salex was actually going to shoot him, but he did. He shot the man, and the man turned to dust. I mean, literally, to dust, right before my eyes. Salex walked me home and wouldn't give me any answers. It's so frustrating, how all of this jumbles together- Jeff's whole warning about how I shouldn't look into it and then Salex acting that way, well, it's all so confusing. I don't understand, and I want to find out, but I'm slightly afraid. What if I find something out that I can't take back or ever forget? It's frightening. I want to know, but I don't know if I want to know that badly. No, that's a lie. I want to know really bad. I want to know what they're hiding.

I looked up from my journal to the clock beside my bed. It was nearly eleven! I fell asleep, my hair wet from the shower. Even the hot water hadn't helped calm me down. My muscles were still tight and I was still nervous. I had put my knife on my dresser, where it was easy to get to if I needed it. I was paranoid for the moment- I was scared. I knew that the probability of anyone actually breaking in was low, but just in case, I had it at quick access. I didn't like being defensless like I had been earlier that night.
It took me hours to fall asleep. Even then, I didn't sleep well. The man had frightened me, and Salex with his gun even more. It was surprising- I had been raised with guns, but I had never seen anyone shot, only in movies, let alone turn to dust right in front of me. It was all so complicated and out of the ordinary that I didn't know what to think.
I fell asleep very early the next morning, waking with a start to my buzzer alarm. My dream hadn't had anything to do with the previous night- instead, it was completely random. Just before my alarm had gone off, I was in a taxi cab with Salex. The roads had been snow plowed, and there were drifts on either side. A phone as in one of the snow drifts; our cab was stopped at a red light anyway, and I stepped out to get it. What I didn't know was that there was a cliff just beyond the snow drift. When I reached out to grab the phone, it broke off, sending me plummeting fown the thousand foot cliff. I could remember screaming in my dream; Salex was watching me fall as I grabbed at the frozen ice wall that was racing past me, his face written with horror. That was the last thing I saw before my buzzer went off. That morning, while I was getting ready, I couldn't get his face out of my head. When I left home, whiskers drawn on my face with black eyeliner and my cat ears on, I met up with the group. I immediately noticed that Salex wasn't there. I couldn't confront him. I couldn't ask all the questions I had, and I knew that Jeff wouldn't answer them, either. He was almost as elusive with his answers as Salex was. I decided not to ask and see if Salex came to first period. I could corner him there.

All of the ideas and characters mentioned in this text are protected by copyright law and belong to me. This may not be duplicated without my written consent. Hallow's City and all related ideas are (c) me. Do not steal. I will find you if you do.