Raymond

Chapter Two💚

Nathaniel's POV

Welcome to Raymond

The sign read as we are approaching  thick row of pine trees. Slowly but surely the bunch of trees grew thicker and thicker as we drove on. The road soon gave up its rough tar exterior in trade for a more smoothed gravel road. The sky began to turn an eiree somber grey, accompanied by dark clouds and a oddly welcoming drizzle of rain.

We had to be somewhere else.

Everything felt so different, so contrast with what we know. This did not feel like America anymore or anywhere else for that matter. The drive to Raymond turned from nostalgic to extraterrestrial. It's like we drove past a filter where the outside world seemed not to exist. The further we drove the further the normal seemed to go out of my field of comprehension.

As we enter the town everything seemed like that of a movie. On my fathers side of the car the scenery was that of a painting,perfectly green grass, each store identical to the other on the outside with only signs differentiating each one, the gas station - a brilliant mixture of black, grey and white. There was a fairly large gate on my side with a sign that read  "Raymond Public Pool" but the way it looked so new, I think they just resently added it in.

'How would people swim in this weather?' I thought to myself as we continue driving through this strange town.

I didn't see much of it though. Where is that so called park that he said was here, he can't tell me that one of those small buildings is an arcade and I don't see a sign that says lake anywhere. Everything was slowly turning awful.

Then all of a sudden we're back to a canvas of trees and after what felt like forever then the trees separated to show an extremely gigantic mansion like building. Greyshell walls that contracts perfectly from the thick black oak framing of every window. This place was completely surrounded by trees and a grand gate with two large cuboidal pillars holding it up.

Ashwater Academy

The words were engraved on the pillar to the right and just as quickly as we saw the clearing it was quickly replaced by forest again.

"That, Nathaniel, is where you are going to attend school." My father says as I look through my side view mirror, captivated by the mysterious feel of the school as the gate grew smaller by the second as we drove on.

A good ten minutes passed when the forest began to give way to another clearing. We reached another large gate similar to that of the school, Marshall Abbey, the engravings read as we came to a halt right in front of the gate.

Near the pillar on the left was a black container that had a clear plastic front which revealed a numetric keypad.

"8521", my dad says suddenly as he removed his seat belt. I looked at him with utter confusion.

"We'll living here in Marshall Abbey. The safest neighbourhood in all of Raymond. 8521 is our special pass code that will allow us access to get in. So remember it for when you come back from school" he clarifies as he walked out of the car to put in the code.

While waiting for him I soon began to realise why Raymond was so difficult to find on the internet, the place is completely submerged in forest. I roll down my window to look down the road and you guessed it, more trees. I looked in my father's side and yep more trees, in fact it's as if we took a completely different route once we left the school even though we have been driving in a straight line.

I'm startled back to reality when a fairly loud humming sound coming from the gates. My dad quickly makes his way back to the car with a stupid look on his face.