Sinner (Children of the Corn/Malachai)

Chapter #6: Getting to Know You

Katie led me outside of her family's store, stopping on the sidewalk outside it to turn to me. She placed her hands on her hips.

"So. Has anyone given you a real tour of Hemingford yet?" She questioned.

I was severely concerned for what her interpretation of "real tour" was, but still I shook my head.

"No. I kind of just showed myself around yesterday." I admitted.
This made Katie smile broadly. She took my wrist in her hand again.

"Well, then allow me to be your official tour guide! I'll show you all there is to see in our quaint little farm town. And answer any possible questions you may - and probably will have." She stated, adopting a professional tone - an adult tone....
I shook my head at her, trying my best to appear amused.

Katie then began to drag me down the street, immediately beginning to point out every store. It seemed like every shop in Hemingford had a story to go with it:
The library was owned by an eldery man with an odd liking for spoons, the cafe was modeled after one in a popular movie, the floral shop once caught fire, the owner of the bed & breakfast slept with mostly all of her adult male tenants - Katie knew everything.

We came across the school now. It was a very large brick building with windows speckling the walls, much bigger looking than the school in Gatlin.

"The building has to be really big because all grades go here, kindergarten all the way through 12th." Katie explained.

"Wow." I muttered. I was attempting not to sound too impressed, but honestly the idea of having every school grade in one building intrigued me slightly.

"Want to check out the inside?" Katie asked, a grin forming on her mouth.
I shrugged my shoulders.

"Sure."

Thankfully, Katie didn't latch onto my wrist this time, but instead she skipped ahead of me up to the school's front doors and pushed them open. I walked in behind her and immediately took in the school's atmosphere.
Shiny marble flooring, light blue painted walls, signs directing to different offices and classrooms hung everywhere. The musty smell of books and floor polish was in the air. Typical surroundings for a school.
Katie and I began to walk side by side down the hallway, towards the stairs. It didn't take long to figure out that the bottom floor strictly belonged to the younger kids. Drawings were hung on the walls, clearly done by children and cheerful looking classrooms lined the halls.

"So is each floor broken up into grades?" I wondered aloud.

Katie turned to look at me and smiled a bit.

"You catch on quick. Yeah, the elementary school kids have the first floor, the middle school takes up the second floor and finally the high school is at the top floor." She confirmed.

I nodded my head, following Katie up the set of stairs that we came across now. At the top of them, the tone of the hallway instantly changed.
Instead of a calming light blue, the walls were painted a dark green and the floor was a dark brown. A much more mature looking theme for middle schoolers. Even the classrooms looked more spruced up. There were more books and less games and toys.

Katie and I stayed silent as we padded down the empty hallway of the middle school. Eventually we came to the next set of stairs that led up to the high school level.
The two of us bounded up the steps and like it had for the elementary school level to the middle school, the environment changed.

The high school floors were pure white, as were the walls. No drawings of any kind were hung up, but just the occasional sign directing to an office. The classroom walls were grey with one or two windows per room.
My eyes scanned each room, my expression growing more and more gloomy with every one.
Katie on the other hand, started to giggle next to me. I stared at her, raising an eyebrow.