The next morning when Mrs. Slain saw Evander trotting down the stairs, she wasn't waiting for him to come down with a smile on her face like she usually would. The sight of Evander actually gave her an uneasy feeling in her gut. Mr. Slain, who was sitting at the dining room table, glanced up from his cell phone and noticed this. A feeling of concern swept over him. He looked away and decided to keep silent about it at the moment. He heard Evander's dog tags jingling as he came dashing down the stairs.
"Remember, after you leave work you can't stay out with Lace all night. We already go' be late showin' up waiting for you to get back," Mr. Slain tells Evander.
"Yeah, I know," Evander replied, dashing past Mrs. Slain.
Evander swung the door open and ran outside. Mrs. Slain shut the door behind him while staring at the floor, still worked up about what happened a couple hours ago. She glanced up to see Mr. Slain staring at her. The look he was giving seemed to question her, as if he knew something was wrong.
"What?!" Mrs. Slain says, throwing both her hands in the air, "What?!"
Mr. Slain doesn't answer, so she sighs in frustration and heads upstairs.
Mr. Slain noticed one more thing...this is the first time she let Evander out the house without doing "the ritual".
*****
The day was the same as the previous time him and Lace were at the river. The weather was similar, but this time everything was more intense. The grey sky had an even darker hue and the wind was twice as strong than before. Him and Lace had to raise their voices while talking in order to hear each other over the wind. Evander guessed it was going to be another rainy day again. This time he was standing at the edge of the river with Lace instead of watching him from the picnic table like he always do.
"What the hell's about to happen, a tornado?" Lace says, launching a rock into the air. He saw the strong wind cause the rock to curve before hitting the water. He shook his head.
"I don't know, but it ain't been this windy for the longest," Evander replies, scratching his head.
"Well I think it's a tornado. I mean c'mon, it's only two in the afternoon and it's dark as hell. The trees look like they're about to get sucked into a giant vacuum," Lace says, looking for another rock on the ground, "You better hope a twister doesn't come and crash your party with your parents. If one comes me my dad have the basement."
Evander glanced over at him and slightly smiled while shaking his head.
"Nah, If If I die your ass is comin' wit me...don't you dare continue living on without me," Evander says.
Lace laughs and says, "Or what?"
"I'll come back in spirit form and drag your ass to the other side, just like in those ghost movies...which I hate," Evander replies.
Lace nods his head saying, "That sounds pretty fair."
"Well alright man I gotta go to this place again, then I gotta get home in time today," Evander says, turning and walking away from the river. Lace jogged past him and yelled, "See ya' around dude!"
Evander saw him disappear behind the trees.
Some of the logs that usually lay in the middle of the road were blown into the grass and trees in the sides of the road. Natural Antiques was looking secluded just like the first time he came to work. This time Ronald's truck was the only vehicle in the parking lot. Evander could see the truck wobbling a little because of the wind. Damn, I hope Lace ain't right about this tornado shit, he thought.
YOU ARE READING
Evan
Horror'She could hear his dog tags jingling as he walked. The blood dripping knife she saw in his hand had her paralyzed in her own fear. That look he had in his eyes was almost demonic. She's never seen him like this before.' Evander loves his parents li...
