The Skullcap Chronicles

Chapter Four

 "Death may be the greatest of all human blessings," Mr. Green, our Psychology teacher, professed. "Does anybody know who said that?"

 Socrates.

 "Anybody? Anyone? ...No?" A sigh. "Socrates. Now, who thinks they know what that means?"

 A usually cheerful girl in the front row's hand shot up.

 "Wendy, what is it?"

 "It means that the peace of the grave is eternal. That once you die, all the hardships of life are ended, so whatever gave you that death- a person, criminal, animal- has blessed you in their own way."

 Mr. Green had something of a smirk curving his lips as he said, "Now, Wendy, I'm going to ask you something- what makes you differentiate between a person and a criminal?"

 She laughed. "I don't know, I was just thinking out loud."

 "Ed Sheeran!" A girl called from the back, and Mr. Green rose his eyebrows at her for a moment, and then resumed pacing.

 "Now, class, I want you to think about something: if death is a blessing, an eternal peace in which we all get relief from these awful hardships of life, then why is it so feared?"

 Mathis's hand shot up next to me. and Mr. Green nodded at him.

 "Because it's the end of opportunity. We fear death because it's an end; the peace of the grave is either eternal perfection, eternal damnation, or nothingness, a ceasing of life and being. Whatever it is, you can't go out and compete, you can't feel the blood rushing through your veins, you can't plan for the future; it's just... Nothingness."

 "And that gets us to the topic of today: Darwin's theory of natural selection, and the fear it strikes by those who recognize the survival instinct in us all. Take out your textbooks."

 As the heavy books shuffled to desks, I blinked tiredly. I had hardly slept in the past two nights, and hardly ate. No one else had died, yet, but I was constantly on edge, prepared for the news. I knew asking Cain to ask Hades if there was any way out was a fruitless effort, but I had to try. I guess in the grand scheme of things life really is pointless- I have a few acquaintances and distant foster parents. Even among my peers, I was little more than a temporary diversion from the stresses of life. Is this what depression feels like?

 I was headed to the bus, having not clarified a ride with Kai, when the girl herself showed up and took me by the hand, pulling me to an isolated corner.

 "Can we hang out? I just really need a distraction," she asked. I had never heard someone sound so pleading and desperate outside of movies, and I quickly nodded.

 "Of course, anything."

 She took a deep breath, looking relieved. "Okay; I need someone separated from Josh's death- Heather's going over to Alexis's today, and Lacey's been making these dark comments, and I just need a break from it all."

 Three of my friends... What if one of the three was Kai? I shook the thought from my head; no, no she can't die.

 Which means I have to. Right? Unless there's a chance...

 "Alright, yeah, let's um..."

 "I was thinking we could go by the library, grab a bite to eat, and then go play some video games back at my place," Kai suggested. I was almost wary of going back to her house after what happened right after I was last there, but I just nodded. She needed someone with a level head, and me freaking out about everything wouldn't help. Besides, if I was potentially going to have to die soon, then I needed to start living life to the fullest before then.