Through Hell and Into Heaven

Chapter 8

     Israel packed his backpack for school like a zombie. His mind was on the last day's events. Was I hallucinating? he asked himself. No, that.... thing.... seemed pretty real. I felt it grab onto my arms. It had to be real. He automatically stuffed his homework and his books into his pack, along with his phone, and began to march out of his room. He said goodbye to his mom, walked out of his apartment ,and hopped on to his worn, blue bike. It was a little rusty and it definitely needed a repaint, but he did not care. As long as the tires were full of air, he was fine. He pedaled his way up the road and turned a few corners around sad-looking houses. There stood his school, large and bustling. His legs feeling like led, Israel parked his bike in the bike stand and trudged into the building with the other jabbering kids. The noise had not bothered him before, but now he was very annoyed by all the constant chattering. He opened his locker, practically threw his belongings in, and walked, hands around his textbook, to his first class. History. This was going to be one long day.

     Israel sat through class, but was mostly lost in his own thoughts. He knew he would probably fail any test that was coming up, but he did not care. It was the same for the other periods. Eventually, the lunch bell rang and he found himself walking down a hall full of squabbling teenagers. He stuffed his textbooks in his locker and entered the lunch room. He picked up his usual meal at the counter, a normal peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a side of chips, and sat at the very back of the room. He wanted to be alone. He folded his hands and squeezed his eyes shut. Lord, he prayed, please help me. I don't know what to do. What was that creature I saw? He actually listened, as if expecting an answer to be thrown at him from the other side of the room. IS. Israel blinked, startled. Is? Why would God give him an answer like that? His thoughts were shattered when he heard the clatter of a plate and the sliding of a seat. He looked up and saw Tina sitting in the seat opposite of him with her meal of soup. "Hey," she greeted, clutching her bottle of water. Israel diverted his gaze and replied, "Hi, Tina." The girl wanted to ask him questions. He could tell by the look in her eyes.