Restless Soul

34

Lorna let out a mischievous laugh, enjoying the discomfort she caused.

Amanda looked around warely, as if any of her friends would recognize her.

"Once a Warrior, always a Warrior," she said, proudly tapping her chest on which was a picture of the Milton High mascot.

The image looked faded and the shirt was well worn, which was explained when she said, "I was a cheerleader back in the day."

Amanda watched her skeptically, "How come I never saw you at any game before?" she queried, not willing to accept her presence as a simple show of support.

Lorna sent her a playful glare.

"Damn, I don't remember giving you so much shit for showing up at my house the other night," Lorna shot back.

Amanda considered a retort, but the woman had a point.

If she told her how she'd even come across her house and the car in the first place to recognize it, Lorna would most definitely suggest she go back to Whisper Wood.

"Touché," she said, and Lorna simply shrugged. "It's fine. I'm here to support my nephew. He's on the team."

She pointed at the field where number 9 intercepted a pass.

"Chuck is your nephew?" Amanda asked and Lorna nodded with a proud grin.

"So you know him," Lorna looked at her, finding her shrugging indifferently, "Just his reputation."

Lorna let out a deep belly laugh, but over the cheers of the crowd, it was only loud to Amanda.

"I don't doubt that. He gets it from me. Believe it or not, I was quite the drama queen back in high school."

Amanda raised an eyebrow in mock astonishment, "You don't say," she responded by saying, and Lorna just smirked before focusing back on the game.

"This school sure did change quite a bit," Lorna said after a while. She pensively gazed around the field and its surroundings. Amanda cocked her head, her interest peaked, "How so?" she urged.

For a moment, Lorna sat quietly, seemingly lost in memories of a different time.

"Back when I was in high school, Sheldon Academy didn't have a sports program. All the focus was on academic stuff and so, this field is a new addition to this campus."

She paused for a beat, her eyes focused ahead as if calculating something.

Then she pointed, "Back then this was all woodland. Around there is where Skye was found."

Amanda tensed up as she eyed the direction where her finger pointed.

   Blinking a few times, it was as though she was in the woods all over again. Surrounded by that mysterious fog, led to the football field where she'd seen Skye for the third time. The pale woman she'd seen standing over the pile of dirt made little sense at the time. But now that she knew the meaning being this piece of land, the hairs on the back of her neck stood upright struck by this sinister realization.

   Loud cheers stopped her train of thought. Amanda looked ahead just in time to see yet another pass intercepted by the Warriors only for their player to get pinned to the ground a few seconds later. Boos resonated from the opposition while the cheers grew louder from Sheldon Academy's side. Just then, Amanda looked to where Lorna had just been sitting, only to find it empty.

She stood up abruptly, gazing around the bleachers, locating her at the end of an aisle, shimmying her way out. Without a second of hesitation, Amanda went after her.