I Don't Know, I'm Just A Kid

2: Great Vacation

Marington sat quietly, reading through the thick, ancient book in his hands. Nothing was catching his eye which frustrated him. His reading pace was quick so it didn't take long for the boy to finish.

"...ughhh.....there's nothing in this book to help us..", he groaned as he closed the book with a muted thud.

The black and white cat simply flicked her tail in response, looking up at him from his side. With a sigh, he set the book down and brought his once crossed legs, up to his chest as he leaned into them.

"What do we do..?", he asked solemnly.

The cat mewed softly, the voice in his head telling him what she said, "Be patient, Darling. All will be well. Just keep out of trouble."

Marington sighed again, wrapping his arms on top of his knees as he leaned his forehead onto them.

Annie stretched, jumping up to the boy's bed and laying down as she mewed again.

"We need to do another ritual soon though."

His face filled with doubt, looking up at his cat then down at his right hand. Many scars plastered around the palm of his hand. This was the only reason he went left handed nowadays. Soon he flipped his hand around, showing his abnormal birthmark. A triangle with circles on each point, a single line going through each of them.

Annie caught on quickly, tilting her head at the navy haired boy, "Getting second thoughts, Mari?"

He let his hand go limp, hiding his scowl as he heard his nightmarish nickname. He wasn't in power to tell her not to use it which was why he hid the fact he hated it with every bit of his small body.

"Only a few."

Annie gave a look of suspicion, "And they are?"

"I don't know how much longer I can hide the cuts in my hand. I know we need blood, specifically mine, but I just don't know-", the boy started to explain, seeing the look on the cat's face worsen as he quickly tried to change the subject, "-I-I can still do it though. It's just my head messing with me. There's no reason I can't do it."

Even if she was a cat, you could see her smile as her mood brightened, "Good. I wouldn't want you backing out last minute."

She knew he had doubts but she also knew he was smart enough to do what he was told which made her smile widen in a sinister manner.

Marington sat there feeling helpless, but he wasn't going to let this get the best of him of course. He was strong and he knew it. He could do this. For Annie. His sigh calmed his nerves as he put a little more faith in himself.

"It's going to be noon soon. What book are we reading while we wait for lunch?", the cat questioned with a yawn.

The boy got up and put the large book back in its hiding place as he went to get another book. It already had a bookmark, that bookmark being a simple yellow sticky note. The cover was dark and didn't have any scenery, just a low saturated blue.

"I believe it's called The Ironworks. I started reading it last night before I fell asleep.", he replied.

Annie tilted her head curiously, "Isn't that the one you borrowed from the public library?"

He nodded, "Mhm, I got it the day before yesterday when Carter took me."

"Oh, I remember that. How is it so far? Seems like it was interesting.", she gestures to how deep the bookmark was in the book.

"Well, it's in the horror and mystery genre so yeah. It's about this guy being obsessed with this ethereal being and thinking that it's resting place was underneath this abandoned factory that works with iron. So far he's been able to get a few people on his side and obsess over the being with him."