Where The Raven Sits

WTRS Chapter 8

Kadie wasn't entirely sure what was happening. There was a teenage boy she had just met hanging over her shoulders in an awkward hug. She wasn't used to being touched by people she didn't know and she didn't like it. But worse, there was a cursed monster pressed up against her! Shoving the intrusive creature away, she jumped up and ran across the landing. Her skin was crawling. Disgust rose in her stomach. Kadie could still feel his skin against hers, slithering like a layer of living slime.

"Are you for real?" Gale sat back, staring at her as she backed away. "Right," He stood, walking back over to the railing. "No point being nice to you. Why don't you go have your dad drive you home?"

"I'm fine if you stay away from me," Kadie snapped. "Don't touch me and don't touch my dad. We don't need your dopple-ghosts seeing us and thinking we're guilty of doing something like you."

"That's not how it works."

But Kadie had distracted herself. Dad.... Where is Dad? Kadie frowned. He should have been back by now. We didn't park that far across the lot. She looked toward the trail. The heat made the path seem like it was draped in a shimmering veil that could trap unsuspecting travelers and whisk them away to another world. The imagery made her feel even worse. She didn't know how someone would get to and from the dopple-ghosts' world; her dad very well could have walked into another realm and no one would know. Leaning forward, Kadie waved her hand at the start of the trail.

"What'cha doing, crazy?" Gale asked. "Can your dad turn invisible?"

"Of course not," she snapped. "Dad is human. I'm checking to see if he walked into your dimension."

The creature pressed his hands to his face. "Okay, look, that's not how that works. There's a very specific way to get to the other world and walking down the trail is not it. Why don't you stop gracing me with your company and go find him?"

That's a good point. She turned back to the trail. If her dad couldn't accidently trip into a different world, then where was he? Kadie pressed her lips. Knowing him, he found someone on the way and is standing around talking to them. She turned back to the creature that had taken to leaning over the railing like he was looking for something. If he wasn't there when she got back, she wouldn't be insulted. But she hesitated, staring off down the path. Her dad really hadn't been gone that long. He couldn't have been. Maybe it only felt long because she didn't want to be alone with that creature. Kadie decided to give him a little more time.... Two seconds more, in fact, before she took running toward the lot.

"Well, bye!" the boy called after her.

Kadie ignored him. Learning about the strangeness that was going on right next door to her world, she was unreasonably worried about where her dad could be. She didn't quite believe Gale about her dad not being able to stumble into another world. He could have just been saying that. He could have been planning to send them to the other world the whole time. He could have been using them as sacrifices to get his curse removed, if it even was a curse. Kadie stopped at a small tree to snap a branch from it. It wouldn't be good defense, but it would count for something if the creature attacked. Yanking off the leaves, she went on searching, calling out for her dad. Taking a shortcut, Kadie struggled to kick her way through shrubbery and tumbleweeds until she reached the parking lot.

"Dad!" Kadie shouted.

Her dad was sitting in the car with the windows cracked. His cell phone was pressed against his ear. Kadie sighed with relief. Then she flushed with anger. How could he go and take a phone call when she was left alone with that monster?! Storming over to the car, Kadie smacked the passenger window. Her dad jumped, looking at his daughter with equal parts shame and annoyance. The car dinged as he locked the doors. Kadie huffed and smacked the window again. She could hear the person on the other line; from the sound of the voice she could tell it was her mother, and the word 'bills' came up often in just a few seconds. He sounded way too cheerful as he gave his wife his credit card information. Kadie leaned against the car, feeling the hot metal on her arm. She tapped at the window impatiently. Holding up a finger, her dad politely excused himself from the conversation.

"May I help you?" her dad asked, rolling down the window. "This is a closed office, ma'am. You have to make an appointment."

"You left me alone with that thing," Kadie said.

"His name is Gale, Kay. You don't have any reason to be mean to him."

"I'm not being mean to him. I just don't like what's going on here. What makes you so comfortable that you'd leave your kids alone with him?"

"I don't have kids, Kay. You were an only child."

Kadie glared at her dad. "I'm going to tell Mom you've been hiding pies in the trunk of the car and eating them behind her back, I swear."

"Don't be so dramatic." He unlocked the door to get out. "I'm just as put off by this as you are, but if this boy wanted to hurt us, he would have already. We aren't exactly armed and he seems like he'd be far stronger than us. I can't say I have any real plans as far as interacting with him, but I would like to know more about what's going on in this other world. Remember, Kay: Doctors aren't really interested in healing people, it's just a front to learn more about the human body."

"I still think you're lying when you say that."