The Eden Projects (FINAL EDITING)

Chapter 2. As Above...

Kasper gracelessly hopped a curb, knocking his chain out of place. He had done it so many times now. Life rarely veered out of the mundane.

"Great." He peddled for a moment before stopping to fix it. His spindly fingers blackening from the gear grease. He heard the patter of footsteps the rustle of something flowy. Kasper kept his head down.

"Watcha doin'?" A girl's voice asked shrilly.

She must live nearby.

He ignored her.

Faster. Go faster.

He quickly reset the chain. Just like Adam said. Don't get distracted. "Go bother someone else." Kasper was already annoyed.

"I see you go by all the time... I don't see you in school... Are you homeschooled then? Isn't that lonely?"

She's been watching me?

"Go home. Before someone takes you- and don't talk to me again." He glanced around, ensuring Adam wasn't watching. If he had been, this girl would've been dead already.

"You don't have to be a jerk. You looked sad-"

He left her on the sidewalk, her red dress a spot of innocent spilt blood on the pavement. Had she worn it for him? Do I still count as innocent?

Kasper struggled with the weight of what he carried. I'm the Grim Reaper with tiny plastic baggies, constantly two steps from Heaven and one closer to Hell.

No one could know.

Or they'd end up next to him.

Just up the road gathered like sitting hens was a set of small stores and a garage, all clustered together in a heap of lead paint and chipping crown molding. They were all faded to a gnarly shade that nestled them uncannily between brown and gray.

For the first time in two days, he let out the breath he'd kept stored up inside himself.

This particular spot marked the only area of interest apart from the rundown strip mall. These stores and the garage were simply a passing point before The City, a brief stopover that provided a fleeting glimpse of what life might be like in the vibrant urban sprawl beyond. They served as a way to remind those coming and going of where they could be.

A sign hung bolted to a metal pole in the parking yard out front, it wasn't a Lot, so many weeds had grown up through the cement that "yard" was the closest you could get in describing it.

The sign swayed gently in the breeze.

"RATSHACK" was written in bold red font, stark in contrast against the drab surroundings, followed by the silhouette of an angry-looking rodent with a black bandana tied around its neck. It gleamed ever so slightly in the sunlight.

Kasper doubted Adam would mind if he stopped in for just a minute.

The doors were fully open, inviting him in, he could see a freshly souped car propped up on jacks inside, its sleek lines and polished body pulled at him. Now deemed a classic to those inside the walls, it was definitely someone's prized possession. These cars were rusting petty trash in the Rim, remnants of a bygone era, but this one was different; it stood out.

He pedaled to the front and entered the garage, hopping off and dropping the bike against the side of the corrugated building. It sent a resounding clang through the unit.

"YO! Kas, how's it hangin' my guy!" A man shot out from under the car as he shuffled in.

"Hey Zak."