Wilt

Chapter 2: The Gates Open

Gen enjoyed her walks, not just because she found the narrow, winding roads charming, but because it gave her time to daydream. Growing up as the girl who told stories from hundreds of years ago as though she had been there was cute when she had seemed like a history obsessed little girl. But by the time she had figured out it was better to hide that side of herself she had driven even the weirdest of her classmates away. Briony's grandmother's decision to stop homeschooling her in sixth grade had been the best thing that had ever happened to Gen. Having at least one friend to prove she wasn't just a freak who believed in her dreams had done wonders for her image at school.

But more than that, Briony had been someone she could speak to without worrying that she would be called crazy.

The road to Briony's house was shaded and the leafless trees cast spindly shadows across the dappled snow beside it. Gen liked the sound the ground made when her boots crunched into it. It was like breaking through paper. She liked walking home alone, especially on still days when it was completely silent except for her breathing. Sometimes she felt as though she were the only stranger in the town; the only one alive. It felt especially true as she closed her eyes to the mossy hedgerows and let her mind drift into the silence. The world went quiet.

It took her a few moments to realize that it was too quiet. She stopped walking and peered into the trees that strained against the edge of the road. The little path was the only thing that stood between the forest and the sprawling fields that dozed peacefully. The leaves didn't rustle and she couldn't make out any movement among the dark branches. She stepped closer and pulled herself onto the nettled bank, regretting wearing a skirt that day.

The roar of engines and the sharp bite of shouts erupted from somewhere down the road, slicing a hole in the tranquility. She had only enough time to press back into the trees before a motorcycle, silver and wild, careened past her in a detonation of burned rubber and sharp edges. The rider wore no helmet and she just noted the flash of blonde hair before it disappeared around the bend.

In another second the road fell back into the unusual silence. Gen jumped down from the bank and smoothed her hair back from her face. Then, after only a brief moment of thought, she hurried back in the direction of the shouts. Briony would just have to wait for her.

She didn't have to go far before she stumbled into a boy in her class, glasses slipping dangerously low on his nose, rumpled shirtsleeves rolled haphazardly up his tan arms. It was the editor of the school newspaper, unoriginally named the Haslemere Herald, and he was furiously slamming his car door, probably intending to give chase. She leaped in front of his car and waved her arms cheerfully, but furiously. He leaned his head out of his window.

"Genevieve get out of my way."

"Are you in pursuit of a blonde, kamikaze motorcycle driver?" she asked. "Because if the answer is yes, you need me as your navigator."

He raised a dark eyebrow questioningly. "You know where he's going?"

Gen faltered. "Not exactly, no, but if you don't take me I won't get out of your way."

He frowned clearly seeing he was wasting valuable time. "Get in, quickly."

The inside of his car was cluttered with, predictably, newspaper articles and unpredictably, several large volumes of folklore. Even after pushing some to the floor, Gen still ended up crushing a few of the clippings she sat on. The newspaper editor tore away from the curb and wound his way in the direction of the motorcyclist. Gen pulled a newspaper from where it had wedged itself under her butt. Boy Bitten at Petting Zoo Still in Critical Condition. Underneath the heading someone had written, Rabies or something more sinister? She dumped it on the ground. She couldn't quite remember his name. It was Chandler or Connor or something like that she thought.