Camden Academy

Chapter Three

"Where are we going, exactly? Who's hurt?" I asked.

"Wellington Street. The kid that was hurt is a student here. Irene Wells. A year below us. We don't have to sneak out yet, as school hasn't officially started." Deck explained.

"Ah. That's... reassuring," I said.

She was walking fast, practically jogging. Her coat fluttered a bit, and her walking was almost robotic. I had to jog a bit to keep up, being much shorter than her. She went back onto the lawn and picked up her pace. I realized that she was going to the front of the school. I jogged quicker to keep up - it wasn't tiring, I'd been on the track team- but the long grass made it harder to run.

When we reached the front gate, we found it open. "How're we going to get there?" I asked.

"You'll see in a minute," Deck said.

She walked out the gate and took a right. We continued on for three minutes until she disappeared abruptly down a tiny side path that was incredibly difficult to see. She continued down it for a couple minutes, then stopped. In front of her was a motorcycle. It was black, and two red-and-black helmets rested on the seat.

"Whoa," I said, stepping closer.

"It's a Katana," she said. "The brand," she added as I gave her a questioning look. "I kept the second helmet for the heck of it. It was my uncle's. Well, it was until he died."

"Oh. Sorry to hear that," I said.

She shrugged. "No big deal. Grab a helmet and climb on."

I took the second helmet and put it on. I pushed the visor down and climbed on behind Deck.

"Hold on tight!" she yelled and started it.

I gripped her torso tightly and she revved the engine. We shot forward and she turned to the left. I shivered a little, but grinned. I'd never ridden a motorcycle before, and this was fun! Green flashed by, turning to houses, then more and more buildings as we started to get further into town.
She screeched to a stop in front of a house and practically jumped off, taking her helmet off simultaneously. I took mine off slower and we ran into the house.

"Who, what, when?" Deck asked in a rush.

A policeman looked up. "Erin! Who's this?" he asked, looking at me.

"Hello, Inspector. This is Tylas Vendetti. She's with me," Deck said.

"I can't really allow..." he began.

"She's like me, though," Deck interrupted. She turned to me. "Aren't you, Tylas?"

"Yep," I agreed.

The inspector scratched his neck. "I'm not even supposed to let you in, officially, much less someone else."

"Come on, Inspector. She's Irene's friend..." Deck tried.

The inspector was adamant. "Then she can see Irene in the hospital later. I can't allow her in."

Deck sighed in defeat. "Go wait outside then, Tylas. I'll be out in about twenty minutes."

I pretended to look disappointed and nodded. I say 'pretended' because I really didn't want to break the law, and if Deck was helping unofficially and thus (I thought) illegally... well... it gave me a funny feeling. So I waited outside, flipping one of the helmets around in my hands. Deck was out in twenty minutes as promised.

"Get on, don't ask, I'll explain everything back at our room," she said quickly, climbing on.

I climbed on after her, feeling a bit miffed, and held on tight. We roared away, passing considerably more cars this time. I guess everyone preferred to come in the afternoon rather than in the morning. Deck turned a bit too sharply into the little sideway, as I'd decided to call it for lack of a better word, which made me grab her tighter. She laughed and stopped the motorcycle. I climbed off, sighing in relief, and took off my helmet, shaking my hair into place. It didn't exactly work.