Into Darkness We Walk

Death and Dying

Gavin had never been to this part of Everett before; a great deal of the houses were cookie-cutter, but he could sense that there was some bad crap going down in the neighborhood; an old lady out getting her mail and flipping him off just proved his point.

Cracking his neck as he walked, he kept his eyes out for Evan's house. He'd told him it wouldn't be hard to find, that there was a crapload of junk in the yard, but Gavin wasn't sure if that was specific enough-

He came to a dead stop out front of what he presumed was Evan's place.

There was a huge blue tarp set up as a tent in the driveway with a piano under it, and a bunch of newspaper and magazines scattered across the yard, along with an above-ground fire pit full of black wood. Amongst that was a manner of indescernable objects; one of them looked vaguely like a charred hand, but Gavin couldn't tell, although he didn't want to get close enough to check. He also noticed that the windows were covered from the inside by blankets, which made him frown.

"Hey, you made it!"

Gavin snapped to attention, lifting his head to find Evan walking toward him from around the blue tarp tent. He was smiling and shirtless, and from what Gavin could tell using his shirt as a rag to clean the black grease off of his hands. "I saw you comin' from the backyard. Workin' on my bike, damn chain popped off again,"

Squinting in the sudden sunlight, he motioned with his thumb over his shoulder and told him, "Why don't you come on back, wait for me to finish up? I should be done in a few minutes."

Gavin nodded. "Yeah, sure. Workin' on your bike, you say?"

As they walked around back of the house, Evan answered, "Yup, the chain popped off again. I dunno what's wrong with the damn thing; I've done everything I can think of to fix it."

"You probably need a new chain,"

"Yeah, may be."

Once in the back, Evan waved his hand toward what Gavin figured was his bike; it was upside-down, and the chain was half on the spokes.

Gavin dropped his bag on the porch as he walked over to take a closer look. Sure enough, chain was striped. "New chain, definitely. The one you have's worn out. I can get you one if you'd like-"

Evan shook his head. "No, it's cool, I know a guy,"

Gavin wasn't sure he liked the way that came out.

Smiling again, Evan tossed his shirt at his bike and said, "Come on, let's go inside. You can get comfy in my room while I wash up."

Unlike the rest of the house, Evan's room was pristine; save for the girl's underwear on the floor and sticking out of the closet, of course. Even though the carpet had strange stains and cereal stuck in it, it was safe to walk on, which couldn't be said for the carpet outside of this one safe zone. Being careful not to squash the two sandwiches inside, Gavin set his bag on Evan's unmade bed and took out the new journal he'd bought from Office Depot on the way over. He'd bought it as a poetry journal, something to practice or brainstorm in.

After taking out his journal, he took out a pencil, a pencil sharpener, and two bottles of water: one for him, one for Evan. "Hey,"

Gavin turned around and received an eyefull of Evan in his boxers standing in the doorway. "Do you see my pants anywhere? I only have one pair, so they should be easy to find."

Trying not to appear too shocked, Gavin searched for Evan's pants and found them shoved back in the closet, by yet another pair of female undergarments. Seriously, this guy was like a pimp.

"Here," he tossed him his pants. Evan caught them, smiling. "Thanks. I always seem to lose them somewhere."

Slipping into them, he motioned for Gavin to follow him, which he did, to the bathroom across the hallway.

There, he smirked, "So, you're probably wondering where those pairs of underwear came from,"

Gavin scratched the back of his neck. "I guess you could say that."

With his trademark toothy grin, he turned to Gavin and gave him a light punch on the arm. "They ain't mine, obviously, but they ain't my ex-girlfriend's or even any of my current girls', either,"

Gavin frowned. "Then, whose-"

"My older brother uses my room whenever he's in town. Brings whatever girlfriend he has at the time with him. Always leaves me a 'present' when he leaves. Dick. I forgot to pick 'em up before you came; sorry."

"I do the laundry sometimes, I think I'm used to it," Gavin shrugged.

Evan finished with his hair before pulling a tight wide-necked shirt over his head. Fully clothed, he asked Gavin: "Ready?"

Gavin nodded. "Yeah. I'm all set up in your room."

Shaking his head, Evan strode past Gavin to his room. "Change of plan; we're going out to the forest."

"Wha... the forest? Why?"

"It's where I get most of my inspiration. Besides, I need to check my traps and test my newest homemade fire pit."

This made Gavin's eyes go wide. "Fire pit? In the forest?"

There was a strange, maniacal glimmer in Evan's eyes as he replied, "Yup. I love fire."

Sunset would soon be upon them, and Gavin had to be home before dark. He told Evan this, which made him smile. "Don't worry, I'll get you home. This won't take long,"

Believing him was either the best or the worst decision Gavin had ever made.