Death Dreams Dire Wolves: Part 4

Chapter Seven:The Fence

It's only a little way to walk until Manzer and his two new adverse companions finally reach their destination. The short journey- though short- was one that set Manzer off into an early check out of highschool altogether. The situation was one of the most awkward instances of living Manzer has ever been subject to. Jenny and Alexa definitely have a long awkward history with one another, have known each other for some time as schoolmates that have found themselves grown apart in a few directions, except for their desire to have every living thing worship the ground that they walk on. Manzer does not know whether to just assume that the both of them are crazy psychopaths or just teen girls in highschool.

The shots they take at one another while trying to explain the campus to Manzer are mostly personal ones. Things that have to do with relationships that one another had ruined, or the best places to ditch class, hand out and be irresponsible teenagers. These two have had their share of ditching class it seems, running off to be spontaneous or do secret things required to be a healthy teenager. All in all, these all seem like things that Manzer really does not have an interest in. Of course Alexa and Jenny are both very attractive girls, it seems like a better use of his time to just stay focused on what is ahead and not where others want to lead him.

At the small journey's end, they all come to a field of abandoned school equipment, old rusty pieces of relics long used in school days that had passed by some time ago. All of these things were all just taken and dumped onto a field of tall grass just on the other side of a tall fence.

Jenny and Alexa a fence gate and walk Manzer to the other side, the other trying to jump into the spot of the all knowing highschool girl trying to be a mentor to a young genius, and angle that Manzer still cannot figure out- ( in that; These girls have mostly everything they could ever want. Why spend time with someone like Manzer.)

Manzer looks around the field at what it is the two are trying to show him, and eventually, Manzer is shown a large section of wall locker laying on its back. A bunch of the lockers have locks on them, fresh new ones that seem very hard to cut with any sort of lock cutter. A Lot of kids seem to have a lot of things to hide, as who knows what is inside each of these lockers, and how illegal it might be. This is a bad part of the school, Manzer gets a sense of this pretty quickly with the degree of graffiti all over the abandoned pieces of an old and still aging school.

Jenny speaks up as she pulls a pack of cigarettes out of her purse. "You can put your skateboard in one of these lockers."

"Why can I just put one inside the lockers in the school?" Manzer asks.

"Silly, these are old school lockers. The new ones they have are too small to fit anything in other than books and gym shorts. Lockers are for learning. Not for storing your entire life story in." Jenny explains as she lights a cigarette and smokes it.

"Smoking? Jenny, really?" Alexa says as she tries to be a bigger adult. Although taking out a cigarette is a move that Alexa does not seem to be able to top.

"Hey, we aren't on school grounds."

"But he is just a kid."

"Yeah, a sophomore in highschool." Jenny says as she takes a drag. "How about it guy, do you mind?" Jenny says setting the tone as the cooler one of the two, the one more likely to be trusted.

Manzer says nothing. The time he has spent hanging around skate parks and avoiding going home has made him witness to a number of more terrible things. Not to mention what mess of alcohol and medication his mom was. Trying to be a cool kid was more like trying to be a crazy adult to Manzer, and crazy adults are never the things that kids want around when they need some type of referenced stability in their lives. "Just show me where I can put my skateboard. I don't want to be late for classes."

"A man of business I see." Alexa says with a sneer.

"To each his own kid. Just find a locker that is not locked, and put your stuff inside man."

"Right." Manzer begins looking around. Trying to find a locker that wasn't locked or rusted closed. The tall grass makes things a little difficult, but eventually Manzer gets around to almost finding one.

One odd thing he comes across is a locker that stands alone. It looks much older than the others and is covered almost completely in rust. The lock on it is old and rusty, but still intact. Something about this locker seems ominous, but Manzer cannot seem to put his finger on, at least not physically. Manzer walks up to touch the lock, but before he does someone stops him.

"Hey kid, are you lost?" Says the deeper voice of a male teenager.

Manzer turns and looks at whomever it is calling to him, and is met with a group of teenagers, who all make jokes and laugh at what they think is about to take place.

"Will! What are you doing here?!" Jenny says as she puts out her cigarette.

"What do you think? Here to show the freshman around." Will says, as he flexes his big muscular body underneath a sports shirt.

"This one is off limits Will." Alexa says as she too stands up for Manzer.

"Off limits? No freshman is off limits on freshman day. You know the rules." Wills says as he punches his hand into his palm and cracks his knuckles.

"He isn't a freshman you jerk. This one is a skipper. Jumped the gun all the way up to sophomore."

"What? No way this little dude."

"Who told you he was a freshman Will?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

Another girl walks up from behind Will, putting her hands around his waist and hugging him. Her crimson red hair is a major offset against the sports blue and green of his shirt.

The moment between them all is tense but eventually things come to light.

"Vicky.... I thought you were still in juvie."

"Yeah well everyone knows a place like that couldn't hold me down." She says through a sinister white smile.

If Jenny and Alexa were not too great at doing makeup, you could watch the blood drain from their faces. This Vicky girl obviously has some sort of history with the both of them that seems rather dark. But then again, it's almost only likely that there is a reason that most of them know where to go to smoke cigarettes, as this vicky girl pulls out a black clove cigarette.

"So, I heard that I must be the new freshman everyone is talking about. Plucked right out of the ground by you two hags and still yet to be rinsed off."

"No, Vicky. This one isn't a freshman. He is a skipper. Sophomore." Will says as he pulls a lighter out of his pocket and lights Vicky's cigarette.

"What? This little runt is a sophomore?!" Vicky says as she comes off surprised. Coughing a little as she catches her breath.

"Off limits?!.." Says one of the kids in the group.

Manzer rubs his eyes. These tropes being presented in this circumstance are giving him a slight headache. Not to mention the rules of this highschool are nothing short of a load of complete crap in his mind. Nicknames and freshmen, highschool kids addicted to nicotine, highschool so far was panning out to whatever after school special made it look like, a big mess of tragic goofballs all fighting for titles and places that are still just a bunch of excuses to be more lame than you seem. The next thing that Manzer hears makes him slap his forehead.

"Still I've never seen this kid around here before. How do you know he isn't some sort of creep or narc?" Will says, staring down Manzer.

"Trust me dude, I have no interest in digging up your roid collection. But judging by the testosterone levels of the squirrels around here you might want to do a better job of hiding it." Manzee says out loud.

A good number of people laugh at what Manzer says. So do Jenny and Alexa.

"What did you just say twerp?"

"Are you gonna take that from some skipper?" Vicky says as she smokes her cigarette.

Wills reaction is a typical of his type. He hardly walks over to Manzer who doesn't budge. (As nothing hurts worse than falling on solid concrete, and Will has no idea what shape Manzer is actually in.) Will is big that is for sure, but Manzer has stood down in a worse situation at inner city skate parks. Will's feelings are hurt and his integrity is damaged, but as one of the top school jocks with so many eyes on him. Beating up a thirteen year old kid isn't gonna help him climb any ladders. Like everyone says. So long as other people are watching, manzer is untouchable.

Will does his best to scare Manzer. Getting into face. "You might think you are smart, but trust me kid. You are nowhere near ready for this.

"Yeah you're right. Your breath caught me off guard, and now I can see you acne." Manzer says standing tough.

Will whispers. "You know, if i were not trying to impress my girlfriend so much. You and I could be good friends. You're a pretty funny kid." Wills says as he smiles. This catches Manzer off guard. "I'm just going to put on a show."

He says as he winks.

Will then grabs Manzers Skateboard. Trying to hold it above his head.

"What now loudmouth. Guess your huuu....." Will says as Manzer punches him in the stomach, right into the center of his solar plexus, something she learned from anatomy class.

Even if Will was putting on a show, Manzer does not screw around. It's almost a knee jerk reaction to what he does, as a rule of dealing with the drug people at skateparks. And even if Will was just playing around Manzer knows to set the record straight in that he isn't someone to be messed with.

The punch is so hard that it causes will to double over. Manzer grabs his skateboard and runs into the tall grass, putting on the rest of the show.

"Hey you little!" Will says as he tries to get back to his feet, but the air has been knocked out of him. "Get him!"

Will says as he still recovers. Everyone kinda stands around for a second not knowing what is going on. But then people catch on after Vicky stairs them down, sending them into tall grass after Manzer.

Manzer ducks through the grass as he hides in the metal structures of the abandoned highschool accessories. Not knowing how serious this just became. Will is obviously a nice guy, but Vicky might be some type of criminal mastermind. -Who else gets a group together to confront one lone new kid?- Is something Manzer thinks as he wades through grass. He comes across a locker almost completely hidden and covered by dirt. Knowing that he might have to make a run for things and needed to lighten his load. Manzer Places his skateboard inside the hidden locker. Then continues to crawl through the grass.

"Here little piggy!!" Says one of the other kids looking through the tall grass after Manzer.

As manzer Crawls he suddenly comes face to face with the image of a rotten worm ridden human corpse lying in an area of tall grass. Its sunken eyes staring manzer right into his soul.

Manzer holds back a scream as he tries to keep things under wraps. Then suddenly something grabs Manzer by the shoulder. "This way." Says a girl about Manzers age as she pulls him towards an open mouth of a nearby creek tunnel, and the two escape into the dark. Manzer can barely see anything, but he just keeps trusting the soft dove like voice that continues to pull him along.

"Who are you? What was that? What is going on?" Manzer says trying to recover from the cold shock of the gruesome sight. The image burned into his mind.

Manzer can see the light at the end of the tunnel after a few moments of walking. But now no one is in front of him. Only a voice that keeps whispering for Manzer, to help.

At the end of the tunnel Manzer Comes out of, he finds himself now emerging next to the school gym onto school grounds. Manzer takes a deep breath, then off into the distance, he can hear them start to scream.

Chapter Eight: Basket Case

The day was long drawn out of furious uncertainty as the most would imagine. A dead body being discovered not too far from school grounds would put the entire parent teacher association into an uproar with so many speculations as to what happened. Needless to say the police were called, an investigation was launched and tensions rose like flood waters at the mouth of a dam too short to hold to the edge of the Masonic priority of its making, in making sure that blame and speculation were held off from becoming destructive.

The school would be closed down for a few more days as the teachers and the principles where informed of the impending investigation, the school bell seemingly sending everyone into a shell shock as they tried to harbinger the news of one of the greatest shocks to ever be dealt to this school's history and most assuredly not the last.

Manzer was the first to come face to face with the corpse, and had told no one that he too had seen it so a good number of the teachers who met with him in trying to tell him the news mostly danced around the subject, careful not to let out too much information while letting out just enough.

Manzer could still see the body in his head, something he would not soon forget as his memory would not allow him too. For a moment he thought it was just another glimpse into his tortured past coming after him in a moment his adrenaline spiked. But the screaming echoed even through the old creek tunnel he was led through by a mysterious stranger who disappeared right in front of him, and did not stick around to confirm anything. She just vanished, and let the screams do all of the explaining.

The body Manzer saw was of a young woman. Someone pretty, someone who seemed like she would be easily missed. Her face or what was left of it, seemed well made up for someone who would be found out in the middle of the field, but considering for the most part that that was the only part of her that was still recognizable it haunted Manzers thoughts every time he closed his eyes. That empty expression of lifelessness dissolves, echoing into the back of his mind, and back to the front of his eyes.

Manzer had to hide his shaking as he tried to walk into class, he did not want anyone to know that he had seen it too and did not want to get involved in any police investigations, considering who he was and how his sociopathic tendencies might come off to some people. A dead body is found right after a mysterious new kid shows up is how someone gets popular and in all of the wrong ways.

The teacher was rather surprised to see Manzer walk into her class after all the hustle and bustle of teachers and police trying to get the kids to keep away from the sight of the corps. And with the announcement already made, any teacher would just assume that any kid would jump at the chance to get a few more extra weeks of summer before school finally took over their lives, but Manzer was still determined to get a jump on things regardless. That is just the type of person he is.

"Excuse me?" the teacher would say sitting from her desk. "Did you not hear the news young man, the school is closed."

"Oh," Manzer replied out of a certain aptitude in lying to adults. Something he learned to do with his mom when she was at her craziest. "Why?"

"If you do not know it is probably best not to tell you."

"Best not to tell me, or best not to tell me lies." He says putting the teacher on the spot to throw her off.

"Best just to let your imagination fill in the gaps. I mean, you are too young to be concerning yourself with things like this." She says looking Manzer over with her cold blue eyes. "Are you sure you are at the right school?"

"Yeah I'm sure. Getting a little sick of people asking me to be honest."

"Right, you must be one of the skippers I was told to expect. Let me guess, Mr. Oblight, correct?"

"Yep, that's me. Here on time and ready for class, but I guess that's been canceled. Still though, I figured this would be a better time to meet my homeroom teacher Mrs. Byron right?"

"Correct, I am she?" She says with a slight roll of her R's as she tries to hide an accent. "But this is not the best time for introductions I am afraid. I have to do a lot of rescheduling, you see."

"I am she?" Manzer says making an adolescent comment on her odd phrasing.

"What is the matter Mr. Oblight? You find my grammar to be amusing?" She says, raising an eyebrow that is covered by her locks of red hair.

"No it's just, usually only people in old novels talk like that."

"Yes indeed. This is proper English I believe and I am an English teacher after all. Did you expect me to talk like a rapper from a rap music video or something?"

"No. But now that you explain it, it's less ironic."

"And what would a young man like you know of Irony Mr. Oblight?" Mrs. Byron says standing up from her desk. She is wearing a strictly business school teachers uniform, that leaves so much to the imagination but not the fact that she is of average height and in very good shape. The jock is a good foot taller than she is, but even so she still stands a few good inches above Manzer. She walks over to where he stands. Folding her pale arms in front of her chest.

"Is this a test?" Manzer asks?

"It could very well be. You did show up for class even though school has been canceled until further notice. Might as well not waste any time."

"Well, Irony is used in three ways. To express the exact opposite meaning of what someone says. To entail the opposing outcome of something expected, or to present a detail known to the person in the audience but to a character in a play. So, the way you phrased your words is now less Ironic because I know what it might convey."

"Very good Mr. Oblight, it looks like you might live up to your reputation."

"What reputation?"

"Now now Mr. Oblight. Irony is for the amusement of the story, not for the advantage of the actor." She says as she smiles in a sly sort of smirk. "But as I understand it you are one of Sister Therins children, are you not?"

"Oh, well yeah."

"Indeed, that is a troubling detail. I am glad we were able to meet alone. So i could determine for myself if you would do well in my class."

"And what have you determined?" Manzer asks, looking into Mrs. Byron's eyes.

"That, so far- you are the only student in class with an A for attendance."

"Only for attendance?"

"Yes. Or do you want me to change that?"

"An A is fine." Manzer says, trying to figure out what Mrs. Byrons angle is, her mention of Sister Theron being something of an ominous intrusion that sends a chill up Manzers spine.

"So, you know sister Theron?"

"Yes quite well in fact. The Children in her care are not known to do too well in school. Most of them end up dropping out as I recall. Family troubles and things of that sort."

"Oh right."

"Just because you showed up to my class during such a terrible time does not mean I am going to take it easy on you. Some teachers may see you as a basket case, but a proper education is not about taking things easy on anyone, do you understand?" Mrs. Byron says then turns to a nearby bookshelf. She grabs a book from the shelf and hands it to Manzer. "I expect a report from Mr. Oblight. Due in a few weeks."

Manzer looks at the book; it is an odd one that he has never heard of before. The title is "The Last Sound of a Fallen Forest" and the title is gilded in gold leaves. The book is fairly old, but still held together well with its thick cloth binding.

"I've never heard of this book?" Manzer says.

"It wouldn't be learning if you have." Mrs. Byron says back.

"This is like five hundred pages long?" Manzer voices as he deals with the sheer heft of the book's weight.

"Then I suggest you read quickly." Mrs. Byron states. "Oh and I have received word that Sister Theron has been looking for you. Seems she has gotten word about the school's little incident and is here to pick you up and take you back to your housing situation." Mrs. Byron says as she directs Manzer out of the door.

"Can I ask you something Mrs. Byron, in confidence?"

"What Mr. Oblight."

"Who is Sister Therin, really?"

"Someone you never keep waiting for. It's bad luck to test the patience of a saint, Mr. Oblight." She says plainly. "Now run along Before the police question us both." She says with a grimm smile.

Another chill runs up Manzers Spin and with that he begins to walk away.

Manzer doesn't like this. Not one bit. One detail Manzer knows is that the class room she sits in looks out over the field that Manzer and the other kids found the body in. You could see the yellow tape from where Manzer was standing, despite it being some distance away. Manzer tries to think about what Ms. Byron might know. She might speculate about a kid who sees a dead body and says nothing about it. He is unable to determine if Mrs. Byron was being sadistically Ironic or just professional. She is Definitely smarter than she looks, and deadly as a poison if looks could kill, and just as tight lipped about Sister Therin as you would expect a closed coffin to be.

Manzer begins to suspect that maybe then two might know more than they are letting on. That maybe this isn't the first time Mrs. Byron has ever seen a dead body, same as sister Therin.

Manzer knows one thing for sure, he is not going back to that foster home. Not until he was sure he would be safe from whatever is going on.

The dead face of that girl looks back at him in the gold of the book Mrs. Byron gave him. Manzer shakes it off and moves through the halls avoiding passing by the front office where sister Therin might be.