I asked, noticing it was
white sand.
Jacoby didn’t answer, but Dorian did.
“ He loves the beach.” I
could clearly sense Dorian smiling.
“ I like the beach, too,”
said Katie.
“ Yeah, we all should go
together sometime,” I proposed.
“ The cross,” continued
Jacoby, answering Katie’s question about where we would meet up.
“Have you been there?”
“ Yeah,” said Katie.
“That’ll work.”
“ Alright, then,” he
finished. “The north domain – where we’ll be heading – is piling up
at the moment. Many are coming from outside America. Understand
you’ll be sent home immediatly if any kind of violence unfolds.
These graves aren’t for you. Understood? . . . You’ll need to hurry
back. Night and death tread together. When the sun dies, so does
the good.”
We nodded, too excited to ponder what he had
said.
“ I’m serious when I say
you need to hurry,” Jacoby stressed. “If you're late, you will have
to wait till next year.”
“ How late is too late?”
asked Katie.
“ You'll figure it out.
Judging by Jesse’s expression, he already knows. You can ask
him.”
I did know. I drew my eyes away from the
setting sun beaming through the trees, knowing we had a good hour
before it was dark. We waved goodbye, then ran out of the
graveyard.
CHAPTER SEVEN
KATIE GOES MAD
Katie and I sprinted up Beverly Street, just
realizing that Oz was probably going mad looking for us. We ran up
Lisa’s porch and knocked on the door. The inside was totally
dark.
“ I don’t think she’s
home,” I said, giving one last knock. I checked Katie’s
watch.
5:03 PM
I wasn’t even sure why we were looking for
Oz when I wasn’t going to ask her about the trip. She would
definitely say no. But I could ask her if I could stay at Katie’s
house.
I pulled out a notepad and wrote a note for
Oz.
“ Let me skim through it,”
said Katie after I was done.
“ Why?”
“ For grammatical errors,
duh.”
I handed it over. “I think it’s fine. . . .
Katie, what are you doing? Don’t add anything!”
There was nothing I could do. She was
stronger than me. She turned her back to me and continued
writing.
To Oz, the greatest mother
in the vastness of space,
Katie and I are fine and
healthy. We’re looking for you.
We ran into some kids and
lost track of time. I’m going
to stay at Katie’s for a
little while.
With love and more love,
your great son, Jesse
Jesse drew the heart.
He likes doing things
like that. He is a liar.
Don’t listen to him. We met
some strangers who want to
take us somewhere. Katie
Katie was so stupid! I tried ripping it out
of her hands, but she pushed me away, giving her just enough time
to slip the note under Lisa’s door.
“ But I didn’t draw the
heart,” I complained as we jumped off the porch and started jogging
away from the house. “Now she’s going to think I’m
crazy.”
"She already thinks that."
"No, she doesn't."
Katie and I slowed down as we reached my
small front gate. My house was also dark. We ran right in. We could
both tell that Oz wasn’t there; we didn’t have to search every
room.
“ She’s probably at the
police station,” guessed Katie, staring at the leftovers on the
kitchen table.
“ You can have mine. I’m
not that hungry. Do you want to call the police?” I suggested,
watching her already fork her way through a bowl of
salad.
“ I’m not calling them,”
mumbled Katie with her mouth full, chewing on lettuce as if it was
candy. Yuck.
“ So what are we going to
do after we show her we’re okay? Are we asking her if we can
go?”
“ Yeah. I’m not going to
lie to her.”
“ Fine. But she’ll say no.
Let’s check your house next.”
“ Fine.”
We each downed a glass of water and ran out
of the house. We jogged the whole way there. Her living room was
kind of scary at night. All the furniture was dark, the striped
wallpaper was bleak, and it was colder in here than outside.
white sand.
Jacoby didn’t answer, but Dorian did.
“ He loves the beach.” I
could clearly sense Dorian smiling.
“ I like the beach, too,”
said Katie.
“ Yeah, we all should go
together sometime,” I proposed.
“ The cross,” continued
Jacoby, answering Katie’s question about where we would meet up.
“Have you been there?”
“ Yeah,” said Katie.
“That’ll work.”
“ Alright, then,” he
finished. “The north domain – where we’ll be heading – is piling up
at the moment. Many are coming from outside America. Understand
you’ll be sent home immediatly if any kind of violence unfolds.
These graves aren’t for you. Understood? . . . You’ll need to hurry
back. Night and death tread together. When the sun dies, so does
the good.”
We nodded, too excited to ponder what he had
said.
“ I’m serious when I say
you need to hurry,” Jacoby stressed. “If you're late, you will have
to wait till next year.”
“ How late is too late?”
asked Katie.
“ You'll figure it out.
Judging by Jesse’s expression, he already knows. You can ask
him.”
I did know. I drew my eyes away from the
setting sun beaming through the trees, knowing we had a good hour
before it was dark. We waved goodbye, then ran out of the
graveyard.
CHAPTER SEVEN
KATIE GOES MAD
Katie and I sprinted up Beverly Street, just
realizing that Oz was probably going mad looking for us. We ran up
Lisa’s porch and knocked on the door. The inside was totally
dark.
“ I don’t think she’s
home,” I said, giving one last knock. I checked Katie’s
watch.
5:03 PM
I wasn’t even sure why we were looking for
Oz when I wasn’t going to ask her about the trip. She would
definitely say no. But I could ask her if I could stay at Katie’s
house.
I pulled out a notepad and wrote a note for
Oz.
“ Let me skim through it,”
said Katie after I was done.
“ Why?”
“ For grammatical errors,
duh.”
I handed it over. “I think it’s fine. . . .
Katie, what are you doing? Don’t add anything!”
There was nothing I could do. She was
stronger than me. She turned her back to me and continued
writing.
To Oz, the greatest mother
in the vastness of space,
Katie and I are fine and
healthy. We’re looking for you.
We ran into some kids and
lost track of time. I’m going
to stay at Katie’s for a
little while.
With love and more love,
your great son, Jesse
Jesse drew the heart.
He likes doing things
like that. He is a liar.
Don’t listen to him. We met
some strangers who want to
take us somewhere. Katie
Katie was so stupid! I tried ripping it out
of her hands, but she pushed me away, giving her just enough time
to slip the note under Lisa’s door.
“ But I didn’t draw the
heart,” I complained as we jumped off the porch and started jogging
away from the house. “Now she’s going to think I’m
crazy.”
"She already thinks that."
"No, she doesn't."
Katie and I slowed down as we reached my
small front gate. My house was also dark. We ran right in. We could
both tell that Oz wasn’t there; we didn’t have to search every
room.
“ She’s probably at the
police station,” guessed Katie, staring at the leftovers on the
kitchen table.
“ You can have mine. I’m
not that hungry. Do you want to call the police?” I suggested,
watching her already fork her way through a bowl of
salad.
“ I’m not calling them,”
mumbled Katie with her mouth full, chewing on lettuce as if it was
candy. Yuck.
“ So what are we going to
do after we show her we’re okay? Are we asking her if we can
go?”
“ Yeah. I’m not going to
lie to her.”
“ Fine. But she’ll say no.
Let’s check your house next.”
“ Fine.”
We each downed a glass of water and ran out
of the house. We jogged the whole way there. Her living room was
kind of scary at night. All the furniture was dark, the striped
wallpaper was bleak, and it was colder in here than outside.
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