The Divine Truth

[Connor Kent]

Elias took Connor's words and stood looking back at him defiantly. His eyes flicked up and down and Connor could see the contempt in them.

Connor didn't care. The feeling was returned with interest. Damn emo-kids. Always walking about with a chip on their shoulder. Always assuming that adults were stupid or lived to oppress them. Well Connor had had a son and had just wanted him to be happy. He had never tried to keep him down or expected him to be what he was not. Sure, some parents were like that. Maybe his parents had been like that. But a lot were like Connor too. But this kid would never see it, would never stop painting adults with a broad brush. Not until the shoe was on his foot.

The subway opened and the passengers filed out while they waited on the platform. Then Elias chose to spoke to Connor's words.

"You're the one with the problem. Anger management issues? As a psychologist might say."
Elias shook his head. "You spend a lot of time cutting the heads off things? Connor?"


The question was so ludicrous that Connor barked laugh before he knew it. The tension he was feeling- perhaps residual from all that had happened- started to drain away. Still chuckling, Connor answered, "No."
A laugh. "No, not at all."
He took a deep breath, feeling more relaxed. He wasn't laughing anymore, but he did have a grin on his face. "I just happened to run into some folks who were fighting a creature just like it. That was how they killed it. Figured that was our only option."


He stepped back. "It's been a pretty tense experience for all of us. And Tehya does need rest. Trust me. I saw this before."
He paused and looked at Elias. He was a kid who distrusted adults. Maybe in his life, the adults hadn't really earned it. He didn't know. But he could do the right thing.

Eh, what the hell. "Listen, I'm sorry I accused you of not doing anything. I saw what you tried to do to that creature. Not sure what it was, but it was something at least. I hope your hand is ok."
And then he added, after a moment. "And I don't know that you would have just watched that woman get raped. That was an unfair thing for me to say. So, anyway..."


The doors chimed their readiness to close. "If we don't want to hang around here anymore, we'd better go."

[Tehya]

Connor's hand was offered in kindness, but Tehya didn't take it. Self-reliance shored up the need for human contact, and she had no use for the concern; even well meant as it was. She was not some fragile doll to need the protection, and while she did desperately wish to crumple and cradle her head in exhaustion, iron planted her feet instead, and her tired expression offered no smile. Such defeat would have seen her dead in the past, and she'd slip from consciousness entirely before she stopped fighting or admitted to the weakness. The isolation of her world was a stone fortress without a chink of light. She couldn't take his hand. It was for the same reason she never asked if he was okay himself. Nor Elias.

Her dark gaze instead caught on the abandoned fire extinguisher. Within the hollowness of her skull Connor's words buzzed, and she was struck numbly by his competence. The way he seemed to know what he was doing, confidently attacking a creature even she'd never seen before. It was impossible, and she almost wrapped her fingers about his wrist and dragged up his sleeve to see if he wore a tattoo, though she doubted she'd find one. Connor was too earnest to be Atharim. His heart was too good. His intentions too pure. Because although her people cast themselves the role of protector, the heart of them was warped; choked by religion and hate and dogma. His courage had not been forged in their fires.

Though it took her a painful moment, she would have at least spoken, but Elias stormed in to fill the breach, dark and pervasive as the Ijiraq. Vitriol dripped from his tongue. Accusations. Had she been more steady on her feet, she might have confronted his arrogance to speak for her - even if he only echoed words already armed on her tongue, she still had a tongue with which to speak them. She would have stamped out the childish waves of dispute, and she would have walked fiercely away from storm if it refused to calm. That, if she'd not felt so insufferably weak. Instead the feuding vortexed up around her, her brow only descended into a frown, and her gaze sought escape in the promise of the oncoming train.

If their agression pinched her expression like it pained her, listening silently also offered explanation. When Connor tried to name the creature, she knew it was not just a brushed encounter with darkness that had informed him, but one of her own people. It was dangerous knowledge. So many myths and folktales were born from the seed of fact, and countless civilians skimmed the supernatural world unknowing everyday. But knowing the truth slanted your perspective irreversibly. Tehya had never known the blindness of that innocence; she'd never had a veil to rip from her eyes, and she'd never known an existence that did not centre the Atharim. But she understood the burden.

Her eyes closed wearily. They suck the life out of you. It had not been life the Ijiraq had stolen, but something far more precious, and she was still reeling from the theft. Vaguely picking the important bits from Connor's vehement defence, the bulk of her apparent attention on remaining standing upright, she thought that he was wrong - or at least not entirely right; if the Ijiraq had intended their deaths, it would have happened the moment the mist coalesced before their eyes. And that begged the question of what it had truly wanted.

And maybe she could think if they'd shut up.

The malcontent offended her. The sharp words carved bloody marks against her brain. She was not even sure what had caused the argument, but she pined for the silent and harmonious company of family. For the earthy presence of her Dustu. The simplicity of black and white. If she'd dared, she would have wrapped herself in the comfort of light to block them both out, retreated to the closest thing to sanctuary she'd ever found. But she couldn't summon the strength to reach for it, lest she grasp only dead white ash. If the spirits left her, what would she have left in this bleak, cold winterland?

By now, she just stopped listening.

The train had roared to a gentle stop, and a few people spilled from its doors. She stared, hoping not to fall, hoping the strength wouldn't leave her legs when she willed them to move. Her conscience would not allow her to walk away silent, though for the grievousness of their arguing she grimly considered it. Obligation directed her in the end. If either of them sought answers, better they sought from her than the bleak unknown. She owed them nothing, but she offered them that freely. She'd shepherd them best as she was able, protect them how she could. "Ijiraq." Her gaze focused on the doors. "It was. An Ijiraq." She braced herself on the way in, but did not stumble. There was a lazy grace to her movements, a succinctness undiminished by the attack. Apparently she pooled dogged reserves from somewhere.

She did not wait. Once inside, Tehya pulled out her phone, briefly recalling Aria's message, though right now it was the police she dialled to wearily report the unconscious man on the other side of the track. She cut the line before they could harass her with questions, and sank into a seat, pressing her head back, eyes half lidded. Her bones dissolved to water, but she was in no hurry to meet a destination. She wasn't in a hurry for conversation either, but she probably had less choice in that. If nothing else, she expected Connor wasn't likely to leave her be, not until he was assured she wasn't about to collapse. Elias she was less sure of, but she suspected her utterance would provide a lure, and perhaps that wasn't entirely uncalculated. She wanted to know what he had done to it.

[Elias Donovan]

Connor's uneasy laugh did little to convince Eli of his new found cordiality. It also did little to disperse the so-called tension that built up between them; so-called as it was all one-sided. By Eli's flat expression, he cared less.

His diatribe continued, and Eli obliged to listen. There was an apology amid the condescension, and with the barbed offertory, Connor became the bigger man. Once more identifying for the black-clad child how real men behaved.

The train doors dinged their a warning to board, and Eli's glance during Connor's speech implied he was ready to walk away from the man mid-drivel, but Eli was waiting on Tehya to make a move. His initial curiosity about the woman still lapped the distant shores of his mind, but more prominently, he wanted to know what that specter did to her. She was stunned and her eyes dull, but she was responsive and upright. Connor's concern for her welfare extended to Eli only so much to make sure she stayed awake to answer his questions.

"My hand is fine."
He spoke clearly as his hand was obviously normal, now. Muttering was drilled out of him early in his schoolings, perhaps one of the few behaviors he was grateful to acquire from the LDS.

They finally moved, and Eli followed her on the train as the doors as the doors nipped at his billowing coat. Being aboard was a relief, if only to break the tedium of Connor's lecture.

Connor did bring up an interesting question, though. Would he have let a woman be raped? He would have called the police, of course, and he had his uncle's expensive Wallet in hand to do just so when Tehya beat him to it. But jump the tracks and plow headfirst toward a gun-wielding maniac? No, he concluded dryly. He would have done something far different.

He sat himself across from Tehya. His posture leaned toward her, forearms resting across his legs. His gaze was direct and expecting, on the verge of posing the first of several queries when she said the creature's full name.

The words triggered something strange. Similar to the sense of familiarity for the shapes the specter planted in his mind, but their significance, and that of an ijiraq, were a mirage on the horizon. It wrinkled his expression pensive, and Elias' gaze shifted downward near Tehya's feet, but he was staring much farther than the floor.

Nothing came of it, and Elias' suspicion returned. He felt as though he was working a puzzle he could not unravel, a dangerous one, and irritated him to the edge of his patience for dealing with Connor's immature showmanship.

The clarity of Ellias' directness returned to Tehya's gaze. "And what, exactly, is an ijiraq?"

[Tehya]

Tehya's mind reeled, but it was beginning to sink in.

Nothing she had ever read about Ijiraq suggested that they either drew out or consumed the spirits - indeed they had once been vassals of the gods, and presumably subject to the very power this one had sucked from her. If it were evolution, it was one she viewed grimly; and if not, it was something the Atharim unsurprisingly had little knowledge of. Bound by the very oaths that marked her an abomination, it was not even a question she could openly pursue. To do so would lay bare the very secret that would end her. But to not do so left her as prey.

Her gaze followed Elias as he sat opposite. It was easy to look at him and see the belligerence of a teenager, then end that judgement without ever looking beyond the black paint, pale skin and acerbic manner. His words were stabs, as though he was accustom to biting before being bitten. Or perhaps it was just plain bluntness, unfortunately wrapped in a package many found disagreeable. He certainly did himself no favours, but Tehya took no offence at the intensity of his demand. These were unusual circumstances; roles reversed, she would also require answers.

Her attention flickered up as Connor joined them, her features solemn, her gaze searching. She both respected and despaired the reckless courage that had propelled him across the tracks in front of an oncoming train, but she did not condemn Elias for his inaction - if it could even be called such. More importantly, she was not up to acting as mediator to their spat. Adrenaline born of danger pumped fire through men's veins. Passion was a powerful stimulus, and some carried the mantle of Protector with zealous heart. Tehya was one of them. So she didn't blame the heat of his anger, if she considered it misplaced, and he had reigned himself in when common sense had caught up with his mouth. She considered that an end to it.

"Exactly?"
Her shoulders rose and fell in a minimal shrug, though there was nothing casual or offhand in the movement; she was not brushing off Elias' question. "My people say they inhabit a place between two worlds; not quite inside this one, nor quite outside of it. You will not see one unless it wishes to be seen, and then usually only moments before it takes your life. But I have heard Elders say they can also appear to offer messages to travelers."

She deliberately conflated the issue of her people, of course, just as she deliberately conflated the myth with the harder truth. To make it palatable. Assassins once directed by gods who walked among men were harder to swallow.

Her gaze landed square on Elias, unblinking, when she spoke of messages. It had spoken to him. And left its mark. Leaned forward like that, his elbow on his knees, she could see his hand had returned to normal. No trace of the Ijiraq's influence remained; still, she pressed herself forward, the heel of one hand pushed into the pad of the seat for balance, the other grabbing his to inspect curiously. Her grip was gentle, but it was firm, rotating his wrist, sweeping a thumb across his palm. Nothing. But she had seen the withered curl of his fingers, the red flare of his skin. She let go. "Why did you touch it?"



Edited by Tehya, May 11 2014, 02:09 PM.

[Elias Donovan]

The tilt of Tehya's eyes wandered someplace distant. Elias felt as though he was witnessing something extra-corporeal, but soulful in the way the Ijiraq was not. There was a depth to Tehya that Eli appreciated. She radiated age despite the smoothness of her skin. Elder was an appropriate word for her, though she used it to describe the lineage of her people. Her connection with humanity dwarfed his, and seasoned by the teachings of his family's religion, she left a bitter taste in Eli's mouth.

He mulled in silence for some time following her description. The final of which lingered warmest in Eli's recent memory. Messages, indeed? The specter had called to him, lulling him into seizing it, he recalled. The last of the creature's words baffled, however.

Eli did not intend to explain as such to Tehya, but the direct question she posed halted his previous line of thought. He answered without delay. "Because I wanted to,"
his words as unprovoking of an answer as admitting he wanted a drink of water.

[Connor Kent]

Connor followed Elias and Tehya onto the train. Connor watched Tehya carefully, looking to make sure that she didn't need his help. Perhaps the creature hadn't...done whatever it had done to her as long as the other had to Jensen. Or perhaps she was just determined not to need any help. Either way, Tehya walked calmly and steadily onto the train and sat down, the only sign of her fatigue being the tired way her head leaned back onto the rest of the seat.

Elias loomed behind her, a shadow. He hadn't warmed to Connor's attempt at peace-making. Oh well, he thought. That guy's gonna have a pretty lonely life, living that way. But it wasn't his problem or concern. He sat across from Tehya.

Connor decided not to sit, still physically amped from what had happened. Elias leaned forward and asked his question about the creature. Ijiraq. How did she know that?, he though silently.

Tehya answered Elias' question and Connor's unanswered one at the same time. Connor thought about what she said. He had already come to terms with there being more magic in the world than most people knew. And, of course, there was that secret MIB group, the Atharim, that was devoted to keeping that knowledge and those creatures hidden. But it made sense that indigenous peoples, telling their stories and lore over the many centuries, would contain knowledge about them. He found the revelation fascinating.

Perhaps it was the belief that all that could be learned was being learned through science and technology. And he loved science and the advances that had been made. But there was a romanticism that had always appealed to him about ancient cultures containing sacred wisdom that turned out to be true. He was reminded of that series of movies he'd seen as a kid with his dad about that archaeologist who found lost treasures. Indiana Jones! That was it! He'd really enjoyed those, not just because it was yet another memory he had of his father who'd died not much later, but also because the whole premise was just fun and novel. It had made him- along with many others, he was sure- briefly want to be an archaeologist and find stuff like that. Until he'd learned that archaeology mostly meant sifting through garbage piles and cataloging pottery shards and a lot less speaking to native shaman, reading lost ancient texts, and following clues to ancient treasure and power.

Either way, he found Tehya's story fascinating and listened quietly. And then Tehya asked Elias a question of her own. What had he been trying to do to the creature?

Connor watched Elias. The kid seemed to wake up to her question and then quickly answered, "Because I wanted to."
Connor almost laughed out loud, a memory of Hayden as a teenager and in one of his more defiant moods, answering the same way. Typical kids, he thought wistfully. It made him miss the interplay with his son, that innocence and naivete of youth. And he had had it to, he knew. A memory of his own defiance with his mom came back to him. He smiled to himself again at the thought. But the only thing that kept him from actually laughing out loud was that he was sure Elias would get all huffy again, not understanding how it was meant. So Connor just kept his small smile and his thoughts to himself.

Suddenly, Connor's phone chimed an incoming text, a message from his aunt. She needed to see him. Her wording made it sound important. Connor looked at Tehya and Elias. The train continued on, rumbling and rocking, the next stop not too much further, he thought. He was torn. He wanted to make sure Tehya was ok. But from the way she acted- indeed during this entire encounter, she was nothing but self-possessed and self-reliant, up to and including her run in with that Ijiraq- he knew she'd brush off any attempt to make sure she made it home. Still, he was torn.

And then he remembered that she had used magic. Another concern came to mind, dwarfing the first.

To Tehya, he finally said. "So I may have to get off at the next stop. But I need to warn you about something. You may be in danger. I saw what you did. That you can use magic."
He watched her for any reaction, but if she had one, it was lost on him. He went on. "There is a group of people out there called the Atharim. I met one of them- a woman name Ari-"
, he stopped himself- "It doesnt matter what her name was. Anyway. They feel it is their mission to hunt down and kill people who use magic. It has something to do with their fear about these people- they call them gods- and what they could do with their power."
He grimaced at their assumptions and their mission and what might have happened to Hayden. The familiar anger began to rise, but he tamped it down. Then he went on. "If these people know what you can do, they will hunt you down and kill you. You need to be careful."
He looked at her carefully, wanting make sure the point sunk it. After it looked like it did, he relaxed a little.

The train was now slowing down as it got closer to the next stop. He looked at her again, tried to assess her state. "I'm pretty sure if I offered to stay and help you make it home safely, you'd say no anyway. But I guess I still want to be sure. Can I help you get home?"



Edited by Connor Kent, May 14 2014, 10:29 AM.

[Tehya]

Because he wanted to. The answer offered little in the way of insight, or at least none she was of a mind to unravel while exhaustion nipped at her heels. Perhaps it really had been curiosity, but the Ijiraq's words lingered and the mystery of it connected to the teenager sat opposite. Elias had clutched the creature's chest, and it had shrieked and writhed, unable to detach. It had promised to come back for him. Whatever silent contemplations passed behind Tehya's dark gaze, though, she didn't share them - if it was clear she was thinking something. In fact she said nothing at all, content with the silence.

Her expression remained level when Connor spoke; as much as she could keep it at least, considering the layers of shock it shuddered to her core. Aria? The name completed itself in her mind, perhaps because the very same woman had contacted her back on the platform. It seemed she'd revealed far more to an innocent than she should have, no matter what he had seen of the world's shadows. He spoke of magic. He spoke of gods. He warned her.

Though Connor believed he was doing the right thing, his warnings fisted round her heart. Her misgivings were grave; good intentions paved short roads to hell, and this man was full of well meaning foolishness. He held her secret in his palm. He held her life in his palm, particularly if he knew Aria. She fought to remember what he had said back on the platform, while he and Elias had rattled at each other, but the words slipped through her fingers like sand. She regretted the inattention now. He had recognised the Ijiraq - but how did he know of gods? What had Aria done?

"I'm Native American, Connor. Not a magician."
Dryness touched her words, and though her tone was gently chiding she did not appear offended. "Such a... group. I doubt they would take kindly to your intereference. You might wish to be careful yourself; anyone could be listening."
Though her words held gravity, she shrugged a little, dispelling the lingering of her own tenseness. It concerned her to let him walk away - armed with knowledge of the Atharim, and more with suspicion of her own secret - but there was precious little she could do. If she pursued the topic, if she accepted his offer of escort, she would only be miring him deeper in Atharim affairs. Better he forgot Tehya all together. Better the oddities he had seen faded to the normalcy of his everyday life, and he moved on. It was the best protection she could offer him.

"You're a gentleman, but I really am okay."
She had no plans to return home anyway; nothing waited there but emptiness and shadows, and she was fairly sure she could push through this fatigue. Her lips pressed into a reserved smile. "And thank you, for what you did."
She inclined her head courteously, stoic in her gratitude, but sincere.

[Connor Kent]

Tehya listened to his words, but her dark eyes were unfathomable. No change in her expression flashed across her face. Connor looked at her searchingly. He'd wanted...what? What did he want from this woman? He wasn't sure. But her wall stayed up. It seemed like she lived in tower, behind a castle wall, surrounded by a moat and the gateway was never let down. Again, he felt that sadness he had felt when they first met earlier just....wow. It hadn't been that long at all. It seemed ages since he had first made his way to the platform. But it had only been a short time. She didn't know him and she owed him nothing. He was foolish to have wanted to make a connection with her, especially in view of the chaos that had ensued.

When she did respond, she seemed to deflect his words. Dryly, she said, "I'm Native American, Connor. Not a magician."
Well, it wasn't his place to judge the truth of her statement. If native wisdom knew of the Ijiraq, then it could also have traditions that harnessed some unknown power. He was reminded forcefully how little he knew of what was going on. It didn't have to be the same kind of power as Jensen and Giovanni had. But he had given her the warning. It was all he knew and he could do no more.

And then, as if slightly chiding him, she added, "Such a... group. I doubt they would take kindly to your intereference. You might wish to be careful yourself; anyone could be listening."
It was an odd response. She didn't ask for details, which, though he had none, would have seemed logical. Nor did she express doubt at his information. Instead she warned him off. Curious. Probably doesn't want to give too much away of herself. It made sense. She was closed, Tehya was. Admitting concern for such a group would indicate she had something to fear. He didn't know her, but she exuded competence and a complete self-sufficiency. Whatever she was about, he knew she excelled at it. And that she needed nothing from anyone. Again, he felt that sadness.

But her warning made him think. I doubt they would take kindly to your intereference. You might wish to be careful yourself. The idea of the Atharim and their treatment of people born with gifts angered him. I might be careful indeed. He was grimly thankful that Hayden had not come up on their radar. The thought of that made him bitterly glad.

"My son is gone and those Atharim never got to him."
He smiled tightly, knowing that he had been able to protect his son. "He's safe from them now."
He looked her in the eye. "I'm not afraid of them. I don't imagine I'll be seeing them again anyway. I have nothing they want. Not anymore."
He reigned in his sense of bitter triumph. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you know. Not trying to pry. Your business is your business. Just wanted you to know."


And then her walls came down a little and she seemed to soften a bit. "You're a gentleman, but I really am okay."
And then that beautiful smile- this time more muted then when she had first said her lovely name- showed itself. "And thank you, for what you did,"
head inclined reservedly.

The car rolled to a stop and the doors opened. He stood there. Why didn't he just leave? He felt some pull like he wanted to stay. But...she had made it clear. From beginning to end, she was an enigma. His wish to know her would go unfulfilled.

"I was happy to do it,"
was all he could think to say. "Please be careful going home. I'm still tempted to escort you but...,"
he let the words die. He knew what she'd say.

He looked at her for a moment more, unsure what else to do. Then he looked at Elias. "Well, good to meet you Elias. Sorry about what I said earlier."
He doubted there'd be any love lost between the two of them. "I guess I'll see you around."
like that would ever happen.

One more look at Tehya. The door chimed that it was going to close.


Edited by Connor Kent, May 18 2014, 09:28 AM.

[Elias Donovan]

Connor and Tehya's interlude was largely ignored by the shadowed figure opposite. Most such things passed without his acknowledgement of their presence, but Connor sounded like a broken record. Yes, Kenab was likely the only place in the western world where records could still be found.

Eli's neck went limp, and he flopped his head back against the window. He stared at the ceiling, bumping and swaying along on their rails. He tried to focus on the mysteries of the moment, but it was hard to tune them out. Tehya was interesting. Her voice was soothing, too. Like water trickling from the bowl of a fountain. But their conversation was dribble.

He was content to give neither additional thought, but then Connor said something that pinched Eli's brows together.

"There is a group of people out there called the Atharim. If these people know what you can do, they will hunt you down and kill you."


He sat up slowly, but did not interrupt. He was the silent witness in the shadows, absorbing details that he could not interpret, yet deep within, knew was vitally important.

Could such a clandestine group have been involved in his uncle's disappearance? Connor's implications suggested magic-users. The allegation struck Eli too close for comfort. Whatever it was Elias could manipulate, he did not understand, but neither was he disturbingly bothered by it. More unnerving was the thought that his uncle might have had the same powers, and was destroyed for them.

Elias put little stock in great conspiracy theories, but the seed was planted.

The doors chimed, but Elias was a impenetrable gaze, still as the surface of a mountain lake mirroring the sky above. Was the man waiting on his permission to disembark?

"Good to meet you, Connor. Goodbye."
His answer was dismissive in the fact that he turned swiftly back to Tehya. "Do your people have legends to explain the origin of assholes?"
The humor twisted drier than a dead branch in the desert sun. He didn't even check to see if Connor was out of earshot before mouthing the quip.

He crossed his arms and leaned into his seat, studying Tehya. Their impromptu interrogation of one another continued. "So. What did it feel like when it passed through?"

[Connor Kent]

Connor had turned and walked out the door, but heard Elias' comment just before the doors closed. He rolled his eyes in amused contempt.

What a pathetic little bitch, he thought shaking his head. Here he went out of his way to be friendly to the guy, even apologizing for his heated words, and he continued being a prick. The kid was a pitiful cliche, a walking temper-tantrum. Look at me! I'm mad a the world! You hear that world!?!?

It amused him that kids that supposedly wanted to reject society and show how "non-conformist" they were all ended up dressing and acting and thinking in exactly the same way. Goth, emo, it was all the same, all the same uniform and club that somehow deluded itself into thinking that they were showing society how they really felt, imagining how cool they looked as they walked into a room and shocked the conformists. How original could he be, with his long flowing black hair, leather jeans, and long billowy jacket? That uniform had been around since...hell long before he was born. And they probably still sat around writing bad poetry, drinking coffee and smoking clove cigarettes while listening to whatever trendy emo-band was the latest craze. Pathetic, he thought again.

The train sped away, leaving the warm air swirling. Why was he wasting his time thinking about Elias anyway? It was Tehya that he wanted to think about. She seemed alright after whatever had happened to her with the Ijiraq. But still....he would have liked to make sure, to be sure that she got home safe. Maybe it was more than that. Probably. All kinds of things had been stirred up in the last few weeks. His entire world had changed. It surprised him that that encounter with the Ijiraq didn't surprise him. The universe was different....or rather it was just his understanding of it. It was definitely a bigger place than he'd realized, much darker. But that darkness also afforded there to be more light in contrast. Perhaps that was why he had sought some connection with Tehya. She was pretty, sure. But it seemed that he had been looking for a way to share the "strangeness". No. That wasn't it exactly. Just that it would be nice to be with someone and experience this new world with them.

That's dumb, he thought. Oh well. He walked up the stairs and out onto the street. It had gotten even colder. Definitely not New Mexico. But for some reason, the thought of going home didn't appeal to him. He pulled out his phone to call his aunt and see if she was ok.

Continued in Little Boxes


Edited by Connor Kent, Jun 20 2014, 08:30 AM.