The Owls Who Watch

Chapter 12 - Witches of the Woods

Days passed fast in Arumlily. Kevin spent most of the time sleeping and lounging around, only having opened the front door once to retrieve two bags of shopping he had purchased from a limited selection on his phone. The food was mediocre at best, yet the time spent living under the tyranny of Jules Johnson provided Kevin with tastebuds defective enough to tolerate the jelly-textured meat and plastic cheese, coalescing in the microwave to form a 'burger'. Arumlily's tap water proved preferable to the poor imitations of Starlord's amazing drinks, however. At least it's not Jules' vile rations. Glad I'll never have to eat that again. Pity I can't make her tea anymore though.

Dean had warned him about the gas, yet it was hard to prevent. Kevin had spent several hours attempting to find a source of the gas, only to find nothing. He knew he ought to avoid the gas, but it became somewhat addicting. As he lay in bed, all his troubles faded away. Bad memories became increasingly harder to manifest in his conscious mind. Jules' endless torment, his father's violent abuse, his mother's death, his sister's escape and estrangement, bullying at school, all melted away, leaving only the overwhelming sensation of sheer tranquillity.

It was Sunday now, the day he and Dean agreed to meet up again. Having spent years in the village, it was hard to counter-argue Dean's claims and observations. He did seem bold and reckless, maybe I should be careful. If there truly are little to no patrollers around on Sundays, then Kevin should have nothing to fear. Perhaps they were lax and superficial. He couldn't forget about the disappearances or Rab's warning. Worry arrived once more, causing him to realise that the gas had dissipated. I have another few hours till Dean comes, I'll make another shitty burger and wait by the window.

Watching the time pass on his phone looked to be an incessant hobby throughout his stay in Arumlily. He could stare out of the window and watch the trees for hours, thinking, contemplating, imagining a future after Arumlily. If I ever leave, he thought. He imagined the distraught reaction of Jules when he returned home, yet cringed at the idea. He could not be seen by them again. The thought made his skin crawl. Dean emerged from the apartments off to the right half an hour early. Kevin went to collect his hoody and left his phone on charge, re-entering the kitchen to sip on some water and wave out to Dean, who himself gestured to the ground. Kevin understood the hint. He quietly left his home, locked the door, and made his way around to the back.

The pair nodded at each other in greeting. "Had to get out of there early. Crazy neighbours were screaming about ghosts again", Dean explained.

"Is that a regular occurrence?", Kevin asked.

"Everyone in this village is a lunatic. You live right on the edge of Arumlily", Dean pointed to the path which bent into the forest, "We're going down there. You been yet?".

"No, haven't had the energy to leave", Kevin replied, as they walked down the path, "That gas is something else".

"I suppose it's alright when there's no alcohol in. You'll develop a tolerance for it. I rarely ever get gassed these days, unless I've been naughty".

The pair had walked far enough to see what lurked behind the street of apartments where Kevin lived. Grassy fields sprawled on until they met sparse trees which surrounded the road Kevin had initially come in from. Onwards, the path bent to the right, deeper into the forest.

"Why does the forest floor have to be twice the size of me?", Kevin asked.

"To keep us out? No idea how they managed it. Surely they could just cage us in".

"Maybe something happened then. Like an explosion".

Dean laughed, "How could an explosion cause that you numpty? Though, there was a fire that happened a few years before I came here. MEPHRA blamed it on The Cavs".