VOXISTALE: Novel Edition

Chapter 59

"Well, because the school has a . . . a . . . you know, a gaping hole in it, uh . . . they're gonna transfer you to Grace High School." Rian's father told him as the teen entered his home, Sadie at his heels.

"Oh . . . really?" Sadie asked. "I'm moving in with my mom down in Voxis. I was sorta hoping Rian would come with me . . ."

"Your mom has plenty of mouths to feed. A teenage boy might be a little much for her," Rian's dad replied. He was a big guy, like Rian, but unlike his son, he had an equally big beer belly. He wasn't a drunk, per say, but he definitely could do without a bottle or two every now and then. He was balding and had a spruce mustache that covered pretty much his whole mouth. His job was a source of secrecy, though Sadie had always assumed he was an undercover cop.

"Dad's right. I don't want to burden Gwen," Rian agreed, and Sadie shrugged.

"Damn. That . . . really sucks."

There was a moment of silence, before Rian's dad spoke up. ". . . You know, I was offered a really good job down in Voxis some time ago. I didn't take it because we'd have to move and I'd have had to pull you from school, but . . . we could always use the extra money and I could always use the extra hours."

"Are you saying you'd be okay with us moving to Voxis, too?" Rian asked, looking a bit hopeful.

"It's a possibility," Rian's dad nodded. "I mean, it's a great opportunity. Would be a shame to split you two rascals up, anyways."

Sadie tried not to get her hopes up, but she was practically giddy at that moment. She'd already been prepared for the worst, but if Rian and his dad moved to Voxis too, then everything would be okay. "I think I'd like that," Rian nodded. Partly, it was because he didn't want to separate from Sadie, they'd been a caring thorn in each other's sides for as long as they could remember, but also because he was struggling with staying. With the memory of it all. It was all a little too much to bear, and he wanted to go. Be anywhere else.

"I'll see if that job still wants me, then," Rian's dad smiled, pulling out a flip phone.

After a night's rest that was easily much better than it had been the previous night, Sadie and Rian agreed to find Stain's parents and offer their condolences. First, they had to figure out who he really was and where he'd lived, so they whipped out Sadie's yearbook from last year she'd left under her bed, and quickly found Stain.

"His name was Caul Stone?" Sadie frowned.

Rian scoffed. "Wow. Kind of a badass name combo, you know? Sucks that "Lame Stain" replaced it . . ."

The pair then checked through the phonebook for the Stone family, and found three. So their miniature adventure began. The first place they arrived at definitely wasn't Stain's home. It was occupied by an elderly woman with a million cats. The second home they stopped at denied a Caul ever living there, and slammed the door in their faces. It had been a younger couple with a screaming baby and two barking dogs. "Guess we got one place left to check." Rian told his best friend.

"I'm nervous," Sadie admitted. "You know the rumors. About his home life. Word on the street?"

"The street? You mean that spot by the stairs where you used to get all your gossip from Kiley and Marisa?" Rian gave a small smile, to which Sadie nudged him.

"Hey, they were reliable," she defended.

The two found themselves at the third house a few minutes later, both of them having a wrenching feeling in their stomachs. "You sure you wanna do this?"

"We really should," Sadie nodded. "You?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

With that, they approached the home, found in the rundown side of Savory, full of drug deals, drive-by shootings, and apparently rabid squirrels. The house in question appeared dilapidated, with grimey windows that were either cracked or missing completely. The side paneling appeared to be falling apart, and the roof had a sinking slope to it, where a small pond had formed.