Death Has Wings

Back To School

We had returned from Heaven at ten in the morning. I had brought Timor with me, since he wouldn't leave me alone. Callum had come with us as well, wanting to be back on Earth for a while. We went straight to my house where we decided to clean the place up. The rest of the week was relatively normal, despite Timor constantly being by my side.

*****

It was Monday again. School. Great. I had woken up at my usual time, six in the morning, and got on with my school routine. I was finished by quarter past six. I decided to take Timor out for a walk. Alexandria had given me lead before left Heaven, which was wonderful. She was still in bed. She never woke up before seven.

I clipped the lead onto Timor's collar and went out the door. To my surprise, there were people roaming about. Timor behaved himself, even when he saw a cat. People who passed by were very sympathetic towards me about losing my parents, yet they were scared of Timor. Good. Give them something to be scared of.

When I was on my way back, a child around the age of ten came up to me, pulling his mother along.

"Look Mum! Look how big that dog is!" The child rushed up to Timor, a grin on his face. Children can be so disrespectful sometimes.

"Tommy, be careful! It might bite!" She sounded so concerned. The child slowed down. Smart move, I thought.

The woman was Mrs Thompson, one of my mother's friends. She smiled when she saw me.

"Hey Clark...I heard about John...and your mum...I'm really sorry...I really-"

"I'm over it." I interrupted flatly. I was sick of explaining myself over and over again.

"Oh..." She sounded shocked. "So, is that your dog?" I could've been really sarcastic with my answer but I decided not to.

"Yes...I got him from the RSPCA...he's only a year old." I tried my best to look like I was thinking about the past. She nodded and moved over to her son, who was petting Timor's head.

"He's awfully big...what breed is he?" She looked up at me.

"Great Dane."

"Like Scooby Doo!" The child exclaimed. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes," I sighed. "Like Scooby Doo." I don't care much for children, except when they're in horror movies. That's when they get interesting.

"Anyway, Tommy, c'mon, we have to go," She took her child's hand. "Bye Clark, see you later." She walked off with her son. I wasn't used to little chats like that. In fact, they made me extremely irritated because people just go on and on about one thing, then randomly switch to another thing to go on and on about. I can't focus most of the time.

*****

When we arrived back home, it was five past seven. Alexandria was up and dressed. I unclipped Timor's lead and let him go. He ran straight up to Alexandria.

"Is Callum up?" I asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Not yet, but he will be. Go get Callum, Timor." She sounded so womanly, like she had aged thirty years within a day. I didn't like it. I wanted her to stay young for as long as possible. Callum came bounding down the stairs with Timor right behind him. I cleared my throat.

"Callum, go put some clothes on. I don't want you standing here in your boxers."

Callum ran back upstairs and within ten minutes he was back downstairs, ready for school. I sighed. I knew he was my older brother but he was acting like he was five.

"So, what's for breakfast?" He said, leaning near the window. His hair caught the sunlight, making it look white.

"Nothing." I grunted. "Because you slept in. If we don't leave now, we're going to be late." I turned and walked towards the front door. I'd left it unlocked. I heard Alexandria and Callum follow me into the hallway. I turned to Timor. "You be good." We left the house at quarter past seven.

*****

We got to school within five minutes. The playground was empty except for a few birds. Callum looked bored.

"Clark, I thought you said we'd be late? This is really early..." Callum began to complain.

"Shut up. I have my reasons to come here early, Callum, and the sooner you realise those reasons, the sooner you can deal with it." My tiredness showed. Badly. I hadn't slept since that night where my innocence was willingly taken from me. I just hadn't been able to get any rest. We got to the front entrance doors before Callum grew impatient.

"Why do we have to get here so damn early? It's not like we're missing some special event!"

I turned to Callum and backed him up against the wall.

"This has been a habit...no, a ritual of mine since I started school. It stems from the fact that my mother and father had to do things in the mornings, so they brought me to school much earlier than I was supposed to be to give themselves time to sort things out. Over the years I've grown accustomed to the peace that it brings me. Now, if you want to complain, go ahead but I may beat the shit out of you." My voice was relatively loud by the time I finished. It echoed across the playground, disturbing a few of the birds. I pulled away from him and turned to look at the gates.

Callum stayed behind me. Alexandria went up to him and started to scold him. He was acting even more like a child, and I was acting like John. The way he had rarely controlled his anger, the way he had threatened me. This scared me more than the dark. I didn't want to become like John. I didn't want to become a monster.