Awakening

10: Instinct

Even in the darkness of his room Blake could clearly see that his outstretched hand held nothing. He released an exasperated sigh and leaned back onto his pillows. His mind swirled with thoughts of uncertainty, as they had for the last hour or so.

How did I do it last time? If I actually did it at all. Blake twisted his head a little. The digital clock read 10:48.

He flung himself backward and bounced on the mattress a couple of times. His hand stretched out and up with extended fingers as Blake stared pensively. He held his breath, squinted his eyes a little, and waited. But still nothing happened.

"Dangit."

After June left, he realized minutes later that he'd still left the scythe in the park bathroom. His own mother came home shortly afterwards, and by that point he was so concerned about the mysterious weapon that he could bother himself with homework. But he had attempted to, in a way, summon it as he was sure he'd done in the past. But for some reason it did not work.

And the longer it went on, the more the knots twisted about in his stomach.

Blake finally pushed himself off his own bed and walked towards his dresser. He quietly reached for a dark hoodie out and pulled it over his head and through his arms. He then tiptoed into the hallway, and checked his mother's room with a brief peek. His mother's still form convinced him to make his way to the front door, slip on some shoes, and leave as quietly as he could muster.

The moment he heard the click of the door he spun around and scanned the front yard. A blade of grass occasionally twitched, visible only from a nearby and dim street lamp. The land beyond the fence line seemed normal, nothing unusual there either. A blanket of stars filled the night sky, and the light of the crescent moon gently coated the edges of the surroundings with a faint azure. The air smelled warm, but not so much that he felt overheated. Once he was comfortable enough, Blake took off in a quiet but fast-paced jog.

The park's only a mile away, he thought, continuously left and right, up and down. If someone saw it, I would've heard about it, we all would have, in a town like this. Right? It still has to be there......

The entire idea of him leaving his house late at night to retrieve an object, a weapon, he somehow knew how to use was simply mind-boggling. Not to mention that somehow the scythe put to rest shadowy monsters and benevolent spirits? What a crazy notion. Not to mention he still had yet to ask his mother about this! She had to know something, since he found the scythe in her room. At the moment nothing made sense no matter how he tried putting it all together, and he wanted so desperately to find the right time and ask her if she knew what was going on.

But right now, he only knew he had to get that scythe back, and hide it. Even the smallest of children in this town would know to fear such a menacing tool. Such a weapon was the very personification of ill omen to the residents. Even if he did not necessarily believe in the same things, Blake still respected the faith of his hometown. Which meant he needed to retrieve the scythe as soon as he possibly could.

No one was out this late at night, thankfully. Blake still looked every way he could as he turned corner after corner. His breathing quickened the longer he jogged, but neither his chest nor his legs lost their energy.

In minutes the park was just ahead and on the right. It was faint, but he could see the small and dark outline of the park bathroom. He picked up speed as he ran right over the grassy-

He screeched to a halt and froze in place. His hands tingled, but something else alarmed him. His entire back burned...and the sensation was terribly uncomfortable. His heart thumped irregularly and louder than ever, his chest tightened further with every breath he took in. And he did not need to look around to know of the impending danger.