The Eidolon of Godwyn

Chapter Five

Ossie let out a loud sneeze, the noise barely escaping into the night. The rain insisted on muffling any sound that rivaled its own presence. He looked up as if to seek his answers in the sky but immediately regretting his decision, his eyes assaulted by the clouds mournful barrage. He shivered, pulling his arms in close across his chest, attempting to gather warmth in his own embrace. The rain was chilling, like frosted death. Still, it felt less cold than the place he had left his jacket. Back at the apartment, back where he left Faye, or was it where she chose to leave him? It didn't matter anymore.

Ossie stood up from the bench that over looked the railroad tracks. The night's rainy skies had left its mark on him. To say he was drenched would be an understatement. He retreated underneath the ledge that hungover the stations entrance, seeking refuge. He chanced a tug at the glass doors, which met him with stubborn resistance. It was locked, like everything else at this hour it was hopeless. Ossie glanced to the odd gypsie-like girl staring up into the sky. The rain showered down on her face as she danced beneath it, a display of grace, and lack of sanity. She had been that way for minutes now, Ossie just blinked at her having lost track of exactly how long it had been.

"Hey-" he yelled pushing his voice to compete with the rain. "-Why don't you come over here."

She was better equipped for the weather than himself, but he still worried that she might get sick. He inhaled deeply through his nose in an attempt to keep it from running. He felt a cold coming on.

"Thank you Mr., I'm staying right here." Her tone came across rather assertive. He had suspected she would react in such a way, and if that's what she insisted on than he was all but powerless to persuade her to listen. In his short time with her, Ossie had found the girl to be incredibly resilient. He discovered this on their way to the station. It seemed to him that she had a passive personality, yet a contradicting, and strong response to authority, he figured she had some kind of major superiority complex. Aside from noticing some of her psychological tendencies, he also noticed that she was shockingly fast. Quick enough that keeping up with her had become more than a hassle, especially with the injuries he had sustained. There were even a few unnerving moments when she seemingly disappeared. The rain swallowing her whole image. One of the occasions happening only a few feet in front of him. He felt as though he was chasing a phantom. An even bigger fright, grasping him only when she reappeared. He'd jump, and she'd laugh. She laughed a lot as she ran, but she could be dead silent as well. Now she just stood there. Gawking at the slivers of sky, that peeked out between the clouds that thundered by.

He worried about her. Finding himself feeling responsible in some way, like an under paid babysitter. What made him the most uneasy though was the question of where she came from. She seemed unreal, something was definitely off about her, and this whole situation. Ossie stood underneath the awning shivering as he contemplated this puzzle, the finished pieces presenting him with one solution. Whether this was real or not he had nowhere left to go, and nothing left to lose.

Lorn Mansion was real, that much he was sure of. However, the establishment always evaded him, outside of his professional jurisdiction. It had previously stayed under the rivaling company's contracts and control. It was also the one piece of property that they were never able to sell. He never looked into why that was but had always meant to, just never had the time. It was ironic. His rival's greatest curse was now his to bear. He sighed. He felt like he could do it, he never met a piece of property he couldn't sell, be it a house, duplex, parking lot, or swamp. He had sold land that nobody would've thought they wanted originally. Now though, he was jobless, unworthy of his father's employment. If the chosen few hadn't been able to sell it than how would he?