Lucky and the Killer ✔

I Like This One

Lilly watched Zee disappear into the gateway and vanish. It was then that she realized he wasn't just some guy. She bit her lip, tugged on the tank top's strap, and pulled her long hair into a high pony tail. She watched the door. It was an old glass door in a small maintenance building on top of the bridge. She stared at it, but nobody came out. Nobody else went in.

She bit her lip and took a step closer to the door. Ten minutes passed by, and she was still trying to decide on whether or not she'd seen a ghost.

"I know he disappeared," Lilly mumbled to herself.

Cars zipped past beneath her. She knew she wouldn't really be missed if she went, but she still wasn't sure if she should go through the door. She took another step, and then another, until her hands were on the door handle.

"Zee, huh?" she whispered, and swung the door open. Air swirled around her ankles, and she stepped inside the portal. She looked around at the white walls of the blank building and kept going. The air was cold, and the deeper she went, the colder it got. When she came to the end of the solitary hall, she saw another door.

"He must be in there," she said, and before she knew it, her hands opened that door, too.

When she stepped again, she stepped outside. The door closed behind her, but when she turned back around, it was gone. She stood in the middle of woods. Trees with purple leaves surrounded her, and she felt like she'd just fallen down the rabbit hole.

She stumbled backwards onto the dirt and stared up at the sky. It was almost green. No, it was green. She tapped her fingers against the ground, and dirt covered her hands. She brought them to her face and stared at the glittering dust.

"This...," she whispered.

"Is my home," Zee finished. He walked up beside her and held out his hand for her. He'd stayed by the trees of the portal knowing full-well that she was going to follow him no matter what he did. He'd be lying if he'd said he didn't want her to, though. "I told you not to come."

"And I told you I was going to," Lilly said, took Zee's hand, and stood back up. "Where are we?"

"A little planet on the outskirts of the next solar system," he said matter-of-factly. "Welcome to The Kingdom."

"This...is another planet?" she said, and she squeezed his hand tighter in hers. "Kingdom of what?"

"Just The Kingdom," he said. "It's all it's ever been called. Don't worry. I'm going to take you back to your home now."

"No you're not," Lilly said. "Besides, I don't have a home any more."

"You don't have a home?" Zee asked.

"Not really. So, um, can I stay and see yours?" she asked with a grin.

The pony tail sat high on her head, and it made her look a little younger than she already did. He could see her delicate skin reflect the sun that'd slipped past the leaves on the trees. The snipped-up pieces of light bounced around past her tan lips. She was pretty.

"Where would I even put you?" he said to himself.

"With you, of course," Lilly smiled.

"What is wrong with you?" Zee shook his head, took her hand, and started walking.

"I don't know. I follow strange guys and bite hard candy—that's two things."

"Lilly," he said, laced his fingers in hers, and pulled her along the path. "I'm not...normal."

"Obviously," she said, "but do you think I am? I followed a strange man to the cemetery and, apparently, outer space."

"No," Zee smiled. "You're far from normal."