Shifters: The Overture of Sedition

Part 4

When we got to the edge of town, we parked the bike right outside the circle of buildings, Kyle and Megan parking next to us. After turning off the vehicles, we walked towards town, our spirits lifting a little as music filled the air. We had forgotten that it was the beginning of December. They must have decorated the town for Christmas for today so that the people on the List could experience it one last time. That was nice of them.

We walked into town and saw that the red and green Christmas lights were strung up above the first floor of the buildings and crisscrossed between the buildings. My eyes widened in amazement. I have never been in town for Christmas before and it was beautiful. I heard a small chuckle next to me and I knew it came from Marcus. I elbowed him in the side.

"I can't help it. You just look so, awestruck," Marcus argued. I looked up at him and saw that he was grinning.

"You've never took me to town during Christmas before," I countered. We weren't angry at each other, it was a light hearted argument.

"That's true," Marcus agreed.

We stopped the argument and walked around. The town was so pretty with the decorations and I was excited to be exploring the town. The buildings all had holiday items in the windows and Christmas decorations out. I looked around at the items and took in the sounds and smells of the town with a smile. I didn't want to leave, there was just too much to see and try. But I knew I had to. I pushed that thought aside as we continued walking, looking at everything around me.

We walked towards a corner and looked up. The sign above the shop on the corner told me that the shop was the bakery. Marcus was friends with the owner, Eric's dad, so we walked inside. I looked around at the shop. It had shells with baskets lined with white cloth on them. Inside the baskets was bread, cressants, and even some cookies. The place smelled like fresh baked bread and had a comfortable, warm feeling to it.

We walked up to the counter to see a man with shoulder length blonde hair and dull blue eyes in a white apron standing behind a cash register helping a woman check out. When she left, the man looked up at us and smiled.

"I haven't seen you here in awhile, Marcus," he greeted. "What brings you here?"

"Just stopping by," Marcus answered. "I heard your son was on the List, Logan."

Logan nodded. "Yeah. We're sad to see him go. But you and Alex are going too so I'm glad he has you to protect him."

"I don't need to protection!" Eric called. A second later he appeared from a door behind the counter. He looked at us and smiled. "Hello, Alex."

I smiled back. "Hi, Eric."

"Why don't you two go off and enjoy the town," Marcus suggested. He then reached inside his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He got a $20 bill out of it and handed it to me. "Spend it on whatever you like."

I smiled and took the money. "Thank you."

I looked at Eric and saw his dad also gave him some cash. He then walked out from behind the counter and led me out of the shop. I waved goodbye to Marcus and followed him out.

We walked through town until we got to a candy shop. I could tell what kind of shop it was by the treats displayed in the window. We walked in and looked around at all the treats and cookies displayed on the shelves and tables.

"Have you ever been here before?" Eric asked as we looked at the displayed items.

I shook my head. "No. Marcus and I stayed I the market whenever we went shopping. Every once in awhile he would go to town by himself and bring me back something from here though."