The Jewels; Mother of Pearl (#ABA2017)

Chapter Two

The afternoon seemed endless as Lola walked home in silence, going the short cut way home that people refused to go through if they could help it. The Wood Path.

The Wood Path was a pathway that cut along the outside of the town and had access to almost every main road, the only problem was the woodland that surrounded the town, it was said that possessed Angels or 'turned' Angels roamed the woods because of how dark it was there, and ventured out to the town to petrify people and steal children at night.

On bad days, it was said people disappeared while taking the Wood Path because it was so close to where the Angels lived.

But Lola was in no mood to take the long way home, her heart still thumped and everybody she walked by she would think would try to strike her or emotionally hurt her in some way.

She hated being in a shell, but it was beyond her control and sometimes lasted for days or minutes. Her emotional barrier went up, nobody could attack her with words, so they could say anything they wanted to her, and she didn't react if someone would hurt her, so anybody could do anything they want to her.

It was some defence she had created throughout her life, a state that although nobody can hurt her, she was in constant fear and worry.

Lola walked to the back of the school, getting a couple of weird looks from some of the teachers that stayed after school. The back of the school was on the very edge of town and the most direct way to the path. Ironically, the back of the school was the most broken part of the gates.

The back of the school was where the dried up fields next to lifeless trees stood, where kids were allowed to play during recess and lunch. But most kids didn't due to the lack of attention to the fences and the fact that creatures would climb the fences at night and wander into the fields, and charm the fields features like rocks and sticks and even the grass itself.

She walked across the dead fields, the grass crunching under her shoes, within seconds the fencing was before her. The tall gates were a black metal with spikes at the very top. Along the fence there was eventually a janitor shed that was no longer used since the janitor was attacked by an Angel almost a year ago.

Lola ran her hands along the fencing, softly tapping on the rusting metal bars, until one wobbled. She stared at it, she gripped it with two hands and shook it a little and soon grew impatient. She took a step back and kicked it; the bar came loose from both the top and the bottom and landed on the dirt pathway on the other side of the gate.

All the bars were close together, so a big or chubby person probably wouldn't be able to fit through the small gap in the bars. But Lola's slim body fit through it with ease and extra room.

She was standing on the other side of the fence and picked up the metal pole. She looked at it and then looked at the gauges in the fencing for the bar to fit. She slammed it into the top gauge and pushed it into the bottom gauge. She looked at it as if it could look out of place, she smiled and nodded, happy with herself.

She started walking down the dirt pathway; it was more of a road more than anything. Two cars could be side by side and not even touch each other. She walked to the side closest to the town, she didn't like the woods, they sometimes creeped her out. But she liked the beach, and to get to it you needed to go through one of the wood paths.

Not everywhere in the woods were bad, there were actually some peaceful places with large trees Lola climbed.

She was actually tempted to go to the beach, but it was growing dark, and she didn't like the dark.

She walked down the pathway, not even an animal rustled in the bushes next to her. She watched as the fencing turned from black, metal poles that surrounded the school to the thick brick walls that surrounded the whole town as an attempt to keep the Angels out.