Divinity: The Gathering: Book One (51 page)

Soon after; every single star had fallen from the sky leaving the entire world in pitch darkness
with nothing left but the burning anger of the blood red moon casting shadows and bathing the earth in a hellish, waning fury. The world’s life blood, the mighty power grid had been destroyed leaving us infantile, helpless and sitting ducks. Chaos, violence, panic and ultimately terror had begun to settle in as the dark ones had come out of the huge break in the earth to wreak havoc, to kill, to torture and enslave.’

“Hey do you have change for a dollar?”

I nearly sprang backwards out of the chair, as I snapped my head up to see the lanky guy that had been sitting on the other side, now standing in front of me, with a crinkled dollar held up in between his fingers. He was wearing sunglasses, and his nails had been painted black. He was pale, dyed dark purple and black straw-like hair peeped from beneath his hoodie and his cheeks were pock-marked.

Damn, since when had I become so freaking pa
ranoid?

Need I answer that even for myself?

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” He then smiled.

“That’s okay, I think I do,” I said reaching down for my purse
, and pulling out my coin purse.

I dug for and counted out four quarters
, and then handed them to him.

He traded them for his dollar and nodded, looking me over for a moment.

“Thanks.” He smiled jingling the change in his hand as he walked back over to his machine.

I glanced back at him for a second. He didn’t seem out of the ordinary, more like those emo types I guessed
, but I’d never seen him before around campus either.

This is what paranoia does to you I guess.

              The door swung open and someone else had entered the Laundromat. I turned to face the door way, it was a girl carrying a laundry basket of clothes on her hip. She was sinewy lean but fit, and looked taller than China I estimated, like maybe around five eleven or something. I hadn’t seen before either and she looked at me as if she knew me, but with a look of — surprise or some kind of awe?

She was gorgeous. Her long, sleek black hair was pulled up into a high pon
ytail and she was evenly tanned. I immediately thought that she was may be full-blooded Italian, Spanish or Greek. She smiled at me briefly as she set her basket down on the counter, and proceeded to sort through her laundry.

             
I instantly began to feel that familiar sense of static in the air, heavy and warm against my skin. I didn’t mean to stare at her, but well — she was staring at me too.

I wondered if that other guy was staring at her as well; what with her being so defined and go
rgeous. I turned to glance in the other direction, only to find that he was gone, though his clothes still tumbled in a dryer on the other side.

             
Suddenly, I felt the tickle and prickling of something walking up my wrist and forearm.

I looked down to see the biggest, ugliest, hairiest tarantula moving in a macabre like gait up my arm. There was no sign of the dollar that guy gave me in my hand either.

Bloody murder could only describe the shrill scream that came out of my throat, as I flung my arm away from me to shake the tarantula off, and nearly busted my forehead leaping out of the chair, and darting clear across the other side towards the doorway.

             
The girl remained calm and passive, and she gave me with a quizzical look and then appeared as if she were trying to keep herself from laughing. I felt like puking, as I trembled at the thought of that spider being on me at all.

“You’ve got some lungs on you. Are you okay?” She asked me
, suppressing a smirk.

I swallowed and caught my breath
, pointing a shaking finger in the direction I thought I had flung the spider.

“Big fricking tarantula…on my arm…I don’t know where it came from!” I spat out.

“Where?” She asked as she furrowed her brows and began to walk in the direction I pointed, stooping down and looking in between the other chairs as she went from aisle to aisle.

I watched her as she searched for it. Ho
ping it hadn’t landed in my purse or bag.

“I think it’s gone,” She then said as she moved back towards where I cowered in the doorway.

She seemed almost amused by me, and she studied me up and down, as if she were sizing me up or assessing me in some way.

“Not that fast. It might have fallen into my purse or my duffel bag.” I then said and shook my head.

“You want me to check?” She asked.

I really felt like a silly three year old now, “Could you?” I then asked.

She hid her smiled and then proceeded to look through my things. I almost regretted asking her to do it, seeing my journal laid out and open for her to see and read.

             
She glanced at it for a moment, though not long enough to read anything I think as she looked through my things, shaking out my sweatshirt, socks, jogging pants, and all the rest of my things and so far, nothing. She did the same with the contents of my purse and again, no tarantula.

Was the spider another figment of my imagin
ation?

“All clear. You’re sure it
was a spider?” She asked, as if she were humoring a scared little girl. She put back the items that she had shaken out, and picked up my purse, duffle bag and journal and then placed them in the chair I had been sitting in.

I pushed a few stray curls behind my ear and nodded
, but then again I wasn’t so sure of myself after all as I rubbed my wrist where it had been crawling as if I could almost feel its gross hairy legs again.

“Pretty damn sure,” I said still feeling the shiver of the creepy crawlies running up the length of my arm.

“Well, it’s gone now,” She held out her arms.

“Did you see a tall, skinny guy with a black hoo
die and purple and black hair just leave? He was just in here with me.” I then asked.

“He just walked out a few moments ago.” She smiled.

“I gave him change for a dollar, and…I don’t have that dollar anymore it…” I trailed off before I started sounding like an insane idiot.

There was no way to explain, tell or make it so
she would understand or believe what I was getting at, so it was best to quit while I had already made a fool of myself in front of someone, yet again.

“Is this the dollar you had?” She then said as she bent to reach under the chair I had been sitting in
, and picked up something off of the floor.

She
held it up for me to see the crumpled bill.

It was.

I felt a headache of confusion coming on. I didn’t even know what to say past looking like a complete boob right now.

She had the prettiest shade of amethyst, purplish colored eyes. I figured they were probably co
ntacts though.

“Yeah thanks,” I said softly as I took the dollar from her.  The overwhelming emanation of hot static that had to be coming from her was all I needed to feel and recognize
, before quickly moving back over to the chair, and gathering my things together.

In that next instant, tall, dark and purple had returned, and walked through the door holding a coke. I could hear his music blaring through his ear buds and he moved past us to begin taking his clothes out of the dryer.

I am definitely losing it…but I guess that’s what the demons want to happen. To make people cr
azy or to make them feel as if they were and in the meantime, other people locked them up, gossiped about or stayed completely away from them, while labeling them as insane and mental.

             
She watched me as I felt inside my hoodie for the feather. It was still tucked safely in the inner pocket. Her eyes briefly flicked down to where I had the feather hidden, almost as if she knew what I had or something.

I didn’t care if my clothes and sheets were dry yet or not. I opened the door to stop the cycle
, and began pulling them all out to cram into my basket and laundry bag. There was a hint of dampness to them, but nothing that wouldn’t dry in the next hour or so, if left to hang dry in my closet.

“Hey, do you go to the University?” the girl then asked.

I paused for a moment and looked over at her.

“Yeah,” I said softly eyeing tall dark and purple
, who was the only one that actually seemed normal in here right now.

I didn’t like the way she just kept observing me, not really staring or watc
hing, and I was certain it wasn’t because I was attempting to lift and carry all of my things at once for one trip either.

“Need some help?” She then asked.

“No, I got it thanks,” I said quickly, but she moved in next to me before I could even make it to the door to help me anyway.

             
I shuffled past her, struggling to hold onto all of my stuff, but determined to fit through the doorway too, seeing her smirk in an attempt to keep from laughing out loud at my efforts in my periphery.

I didn’t care; I just wanted to get out of here. There was a dark presence
in here somewhere, and hot static energy in the air suddenly flared up when she arrived. I was all hip to it now, and now I know where that spider may have come from after all. They were playing with me, trying to drive me crazy.

She obliged to hold the door open for me at least
, and I hurried through and headed straight to my car without looking back.

I refused to make eye contact with her again
, and I still felt her eyes on me the entire time until I backed out, and finally left the small parking lot of the Laundromat with relief.

             
I stopped off to pick up a snack and a latte, deciding to make two trips by just taking my laundry bag in first. I didn’t mind taking my time, just in case Steve and China were still going at it.

As I opened the heavy wooden door to my floor
, I grumbled under my breath. There was a flurry of girls in the hallway with a long white banner spread down the length of the hallway with paints and other decorations for Halloween, all along the sides. Part of that mess and banner was directly in front of our apartment door.

             
Logan popped her head up and spied me immediately, and then stood, brushing off her jeans as if she had been waiting for me.

I took my time walking down the hall and eyeing what the girls had been designing on the banners. It was some fall festival carnival going on next weekend that several sororities and fraternities were throwing.

“Hey Star. Wow, oh my god your face…it’s gone! I thought you busted your lip pretty good the other night? How’s your ankle?” She then quizzed with confusion as she gaped at my mouth, and then at my foot.

“It wasn’t as bad as it looked,” I lied as I fingered my key ring to sort out my apartment key.

“Oh, well that’s good. Don’t worry, we’ll be done soon here, but I can move it if you want.”

She nodded to the banner.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s cool.” I said.

I was suspicious at her sudden chatty approach.

She smiled, “So, are you interested in helping out with the carnival?” She finally asked with a Barbie smile.

I knew it had been coming.

“I would but I really don’t have time. I can donate funds if you need it though.” I told her.

She feigned a nod of understanding.

“Oh, ok well yeah that will work and I totally understand. So, have you seen that officer Black around campus lately since that night?” She then asked.

How did I know that was coming too?

“No.” I shook my head.

“Neither have I. I mean, he said
he was working the campus part-time I think, but I haven’t seen him around. He gave you his card right?” She then asked.

She didn’t miss a beat.

“Yeah, but I think I lost it.” I told her.

“Oh. So, you two aren’t like dating or going out or anything
, are you?” She then asked me.

“Why Logan?” I asked her.

She laughed and flashed her beauty pageant smile, “I was just wondering. He seemed like he was flirting with you. I mean how many officers carry you to your doorstep like that without worry or concern of a sexual harassment suit, seriously? Damn, he was hot as hell too, and he was huge and muscular and…God, he was so incredibly tall, dark and gorgeous.” Logan then went on animatedly as if she were about to orgasm at the mere thought of him — which, I couldn’t completely say wasn’t understandable.

She looked different too
, in some way that I couldn’t quite pinpoint…more buxom and more — pornstar-ish, strange.

“You liked the tattoos too?” I then asked her.

She wrinkled her brows in puzzlement, “Tattoos? Ooh he has tattoos too?” She asked with an even bigger grin.