Death City (Book 1)

Chapter 15: Encounter

On Thursday afternoon, Dawn spent the majority of the lunch period on the practice field behind the academy. It was a rare sunny day, but there was a cool breeze in the air. She had received an informational ad on the archery club and thought it would be a good idea to join. Archery was a hobby of hers for years, and it helped to engage in activities beyond demon hunting.

Dawn, team captain Ryan, as well as several other members, stood in the middle of a large grass field across from several mounted targets. It was a relaxed session in which Dawn spent a lot of time helping the other members with preparing their bows and setting up their protective equipment. As she was one of the more experienced archers, she took it upon herself to guide the newer members.

Toward the end of the session, as Dawn was heading back toward the girls' locker room, she ran into Sky, who was running track as part of his P.E. class. He stopped for a moment to talk with Dawn as she waved at him.

"I see you're in the archery club," he said.

"Yeah, I got into it when I was in the city actually," said Dawn. "It's really fun."

"Are you any good?"

"Do you doubt my skill, Sky?" she asked with a smile.

He shrugged. "I mean, it's a pretty intricate sport for a valley girl."

"Oh okay. I am totally putting your face on my target next time!"

"Anyway," said Sky, smirking. "We've got a mission tomorrow. Make sure you come ready at four. Price will give the details then."

"Got it, tomorrow at four. See you then."

Just before lunch ended, Dawn changed back into her uniform in the locker room. With five minutes until the start of her final class, she headed inside the west building. Crystal sat outside of the classroom, waiting beside the door and staring down at her notepad. Dawn had only then realized that she hadn't heard from Crystal since her V.A.S.E. teammates rescued her over the weekend.

"Crystal, how have you been? We were so worried when you didn't show up for days."

"Hi Dawn. I'm sorry if I worried you guys. I was dealing with some trouble at home so I ran away for a while. But I didn't mean to scare anyone."

"I'm just glad you're okay. You are okay, right?"

"Oh yes, I'm fine now. Although...I don't really remember too much of what happened. I went to go draw nearby the forest for a bit and next thing I know, I wake up in my bed at home. My parents told me I was gone for several days until the police found me."

"Yeah, it's bizarre what's been happening with people out there. I'm so glad they were able to rescue you. Promise me you won't go near that place again."

"I definitely won't," said Crystal. "The good news is my parents haven't been fighting since I came back. I didn't plan this to bring them closer, but I'm happy it worked out that way."

"That's great to hear! I knew things would start looking up for you eventually."

"Dawn, I've been thinking about what you said a few weeks back and wanted to ask a favor of you."

"Sure, anything."

"Y-you're good friends with Skyler right?" she asked.

"Sky? Yeah wh-Oh! Don't tell me, do you want to go out with him to homecoming?!"

Crystal's cheeks reddened as she nodded. "If it's not too much trouble...I really wanted to work up the courage to ask him myself, but I can't."

"Don't worry," said Dawn. "Leave it to me!"