Scent of Blood

Chapter 6

Music for the chapter: 'Oblivion' by Grimes 

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Neil Harper POV

The hues of dawn started to cast on the sky, chasing away the darkness as the sun rose on the horizon. Life on the road makes you wonder if you have taken these sunrises and sunsets for granted.

El has decided not to speak to me. Her legs resting on the dashboard, she pretends to sleep.

With El, you have to be strict. She tends to act brash with no heed to consequences.
And we are in no position now to make a mistake.

How did I get so patient with her?
I smile.

The first time I met El was when I was 10.

~flashback~

It was the summer when my parents decided to move to Arlyne. Moving to a new place was terrifying. Leaving behind old friends was even sadder.

It took me longer than expected to get adapted to Arlyne. People here functioned like one big family. Everyone knew each other as they grew together.

Being new did put me in the limelight but I couldn't make many friends. You could say I was too shy to approach and almost clueless about how to continue the conversation when someone initiated it.

Six months had passed. I've started going to school. Continuing my studies. I was welcomed in my new class but I still was a little distant from my classmates. And soon they just got bored of trying to get me involved in their activities.

One afternoon, on my way back from school, I saw a boy, on the riverbank under the Alyne Bridge, sobbing, hiding his face between his knees. He seemed younger than me and looked like he was lost.

I can't leave him here and there aren't any adults around.

I decided to approach him. Hearing me come closer, he lifts his head. His eyes swollen from crying. There was dirt on his cheeks, even more on his clothes. They resembled my school uniform.

"Are you lost?" I ask.
He nods a No, his head low.

"Did someone do this to you?" I was concerned
He didn't reply.

I sit down next to him. I remain silent to let him get comfortable with my presence.
"I'm Neil. I moved here recently." I let him know.

"Kiyo. My name's Kiyo", he replied. His voice was small, almost cracking. He sounded calm now.

"Looking at your uniform, I think we go to the same school. I'm in my 4th grade", I tried to be friendly.

I have to help this boy. I can't act shy and run away again.

"Yeah. I'm in 2nd grade."
He still kept his eyes to the ground. We stay there for a few more minutes.

I stood up and extended my arm
"Come, let's go home together."

He was hesitant at first but gave in. Took my hand to stand, dusted the dirt off his clothes. And we started walking.

After conversing for a few minutes, he became pretty open. I got to know he lived on the same street as me. We both shared a love for basketball.

"I want to learn how to play. But nobody takes me in to play", he mumbles, his voice sad.

"I will play with you. I'm new, so I don't have many friends as well"

His face brightens like he just received a candy. I naturally pat his head, ruffle his hair a little. He resembled a little puppy. Talking to him released some of the tightness in my heart, that remained since I moved here.

This boy, who cried sitting alone on a riverbank was now beaming with the thought of playing together. And I can't help but want to be there for him.

We decide to meet at the weekend. He invited me to play basketball at home.

I walk him till his door. His mom opened the door.

"Mom! I made a new friend today" he gushed.

"Oh dear, Kiyo what happened to your clothes?" his mom asked him.

I could tell Kiyo didn't want me to tell her anything. I didn't know anything anyway.
"We were playing. Sorry, they- they got dirty because of me.", I lie

"I'm Neil Harper. I'm new at the school."

"It's okay sweetie. Thank you for dropping Kiyo back." She spoke warmly
You can hang out here anytime."

And that is when I heard footsteps, running down the stairs, towards us.
A girl came to the door.

Pale skin, dark hair, fierce amber eyes.
"Kiyo! Where were you?", she yelled, hovering Kiyo with hands on her hip.

"Sorry El, I was playing with Neil", Kiyo said pointing at me.
I was flustered.

She took a look at me, the same intensity in the eyes. Like she could read my thoughts. Warning me not to mess with her.

"H-Hi", is all I could utter.

She didn't respond to me. And grabbed Kiyo's hand, pulled him away, back to where she came from. I was left at the door.

I greeted the mom goodnight and went on my way home.

The day felt so long.
In this strange town, I met two strange people on a single day.

But I was for the weekend.

~ end ~

The day is still fresh in my memory.
I did meet Kiyo on the weekend. We played a lot in his backyard.

He told me that the girl was Elis, his cousin. And introduced us. She was a year younger than me. Her amber eyes always looked at me intently.

We three hung out every week after that.
Both Kiyo and El left such a mark on me. They don't realize how much they helped me.

Memories of the past occupied my mind today.

The sun has come to set. Mooresboro wasn't far now.

We didn't make many stops as per El's suggestion that we do not waste our time. I didn't want to argue over it.

I take a deviation from the highway. A road that takes deep in the forest. A place unfound on the GPS. This man sure knows how to hide.

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Author's Note:

We have a new character!!!!
I hope you'll love Kiyo as much as you did Neil and Elis.

I know the updates are slow. I'm trying to make the chapters longer. So it does take a little more energy. And I'm also reading more novels so that I can better my writing. I hope to grow and get better as a writer.

Early access to the chapters is available on my Patreon (.com/PinkPoet)

*** NEW CHAPTER NEXT MONDAY***

Leave your thoughts and feedback in the comments. I'd love to know if you are enjoying the journey so far.

Thank you for reading xoxo