That hollow wind tunnel noise of winter echoed across the growing snow, it was almost up to Jame's ankle. A strong dark green peeked out from the snow-covered foliage and under the soft golden glow of the street lamps shimmering down like the flow of honey, they walked down the exit ramp that was past the town.
Soon, the exit ended at a plain intersection that went left and right, the same road James and Malo took many times out of town. A blinking traffic light flashed red in front of them while the main street's light silently flashed yellow.
Straight ahead, James walked across the intersection where there was a pocket of woods. They walked through the forest of big oaks following an invisible trail buried beneath the snow and only seen by the obvious path the trees made between them. Their journey took a while as their feet crunched forward, the way they took being the longest and most secluded path only someone from town would know of and it gave time for Hammer's distraction to unfold.
The path went up and up as they ascended a hill and then slowly went down as the forest abruptly ended on the edge of a large field where off in the distance on the other side of the field, they could see the brick buildings of downtown sitting in the quiet New England winter.
Reaching the bottom of the steady slope, they followed a wooden fence stripped of bark that ran from the border of the woods to the town with a single tree sitting along the path in the middle of the field.
They stopped next to that tree when a sudden boom shook the air and forced them to cover their ears and squint. The low white clouds bloomed orange and were soon eaten up by the smog of a dark gray smoke. They eased up and gazed towards the rising color of what was presumed to be the distraction.
"Hey," Malo broke the following silence, "What do you think will happen when this is all over?"
"Huh, what do you mean?" James turned to look at her.
"If we walk away from this? Will the Foundation keep chasing us?"
"I couldn't tell you."
"Hmph," she huffed.
"But every second I have spent with you has been worth it," James smiled and took her hand.
The two of them stood there in the comforting silence of each other. With a shuffle and a crunch of her feet, Malo turned towards James.
"Hey..." She said awkwardly, almost forgetting how to speak, "You know that I love you, right?"
"I do."
She waited for him, but not for some words but for something else, "I know you can't see my face-"
"I know. You are trying to ask with your eyes, but I can't read them. I can read your heart though and I'm trying to figure out just how to do it."
He could feel the warmth of her breath on his lips and the little laugh she let out into his mouth.
"I think like this," She pressed her snout into his lips.
It was as if the world around them had disappeared in that moment, like nothing mattered except them. A few seconds passed, the snow softly landing on the ground came back to their ears and they slowly withdrew. James tried one last time to see her, but it didn't work, but it also didn't matter too much anymore. He was happy to have her in the first place.
He looked off to his right, the smoke still rising from whatever was burning, a familiar tree next to the path, and the slight highlight of prints in the snow just ahead. The tree he remembered from his dream, a twisted gnarled oak tree.
He turned to her, "This is my stop, I have to go now."
"So soon?"
"I know, I'm sorry."
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Running With the Devil (SCP Fanfic)
FanfictionJames Deckart is perceived as a normal young man attending college, but that is not the case. James has already been involved in a secret world without even knowing it, and he must uncover the secrets of his family and protect his friend he meets al...
