Lucky and the Killer ✔

Puppy and Pig

"Where are we going?" Lucky asked as she trailed behind Gray on the black streets. Rain beaded up on the grassy sidewalk. It misted through the air and fell down on everything it touched like a sort of humid slime.

"My house," he said.

Lucky twisted her fingers around some lint as they walked in silence. She wasn't sure why he was going back to The Kingdom after bringing her to Earth, but she supposed it could be beneficial. She didn't know how to find portals. It would make getting away from him much easier.

Gray turned another corner and looked up at the sky. It was so clouded with halos from street lights that he could barely see the stars. He didn't even really need to look at where he was going anyway. He'd walked that path so many times before that it was second-nature—as natural as breathing. One more turn and they would be there.

So, they turned. Lucky watched the streets get progressively emptier. The cars that dotted the main roads trickled out, and they headed towards a smaller neighborhood. Rows of pretty houses stood along side each other like some sort of boxed-in, white-washed army.

"C'mon," Gray said as he took Lucky's wrist into his hand. They started up the driveway on the end—past the faded, metal mailbox and broken lawn mower in the yard.

"The portal's in a house?" she asked with wide eyes as they stepped onto the porch.

Gray only answered her by taking out a key and jamming it into the tiny brass knob on the front door. He twisted the key and opened the door to brighten the lawn for just a moment. Lucky followed his steps—still attached firmly by the wrist—until they were both inside.

A man slept on a recliner in what Lucky assumed was the living room. The colors from the television flashed over him like strobe lights even though the room wasn't too dark. He snored dispite their entry, and it made Gray roll his eyes.

"Wake up," Gray said as he dropped Lucky's wrist and shut the door behind them.

"I thought we were going to your house?" Lucky whispered.

"This is my house," Gray said and swatted the snoring man's foot with his hand.

The man startled awake and looked up at Gray in shock before realizing who he was and where he was. He let out a heavy breath and pulled the handle on the chair so that he was sitting up once again. He rubbed a hand through his hair and looked up at Gray and then at Lucky.

"My god...," he whispered, "you look just like her."

Tears lined the man's red eyes as he looked back to the floor and then immediately up to Gray. Gray popped his neck, dropped the keys down beside him on the couch, and flopped down like he usually did.

"What have you done?" the man asked.

"I told you one day they would all know," Gray mumbled back and pinched his nose the way people did with headaches.

"Gray...," he whispered.

"Dad...," Gray said back.

The man shut his mouth and looked back up at Lucky. He stared in some sort of shock at everything: the girl, his living room, her jeans, and the blond hair that fell around the green eyes.

"Rachel...," he whispered.

"My mom?" Lucky asked. "Is that how you know my mom, Gray?"

The man's eyes softened, but his mouth got thinner. He understood. He knew why Gray felt the way he did, but it would only lead to problems. Lucky bit her lip and played with the lint some more before going over to a chair across the room and sitting down. They'd just ignored her.