Wolf Heart

Chapter 8

Planet: Eteran

First Insurgency War

JAMES

So, Rayan lives on the other side of town from me?

It wasn't a path he often took to the outskirts of Eastpoint. It was closer to school than anything else. He followed Rayan through the small road deeper into the forest, folding his arms. Let's see. He can take this road straight into the heart of Eastpoint, where the supermarket is... but somehow got turned around and ended up on the pitch which I know is in the opposite direction. James scoffed, causing Rayan to glance at him with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry," he echoed.

"I wasn't thinking about that." James held his tongue as he thought of his camera. It took his entire allowance to get it fixed plus new parts — and then Rayan Falae met the difference without the bat of an eye. He tipped his head when Rayan pointed to an intricate gate when the road veered into a semi-circle at its base.

Oh, you know what? This explains a lot.

Hedges tucked against the fence protecting the entire property. Cobbled pathways led to a giant manor, where smaller bushes peeked underneath the first floor, curved windows. Rayan headed to the gate, and slipped his ID into the panel with his own soft huff as it beeped and slid open. James tried not to gawk at every perfect angle and symmetry of the manor. Irritation crawled along his knuckles without his camera to fit into his palms as Rayan motioned for him to come closer as they reached the front steps.

"Don't mind the... emptiness. We're still in the middle of unpacking," Rayan told him as he opened the double doors, and a SAI panel squeaked next to the closet.

James measured the foyer as he followed its lines to every other room. It expanded higher into a second floor full of doors and walkways, while the staircase split to a second pair of double doors. Something meaty filled the air, and he tried not to think about what Mom made at home as Rayan held his hand out.

"What?"

"Your coat?"

James considered his hand, then took off his coat to hand it to Rayan before adjusting his grip on his tools while he placed the coat into the closet, where a free hangar twisted from inside. "Who else lives here?"

"Just me and my mom," Rayan mumbled as he closed the closet. "I don't think she's here though."

So... alone, basically. In this giant manor. James took off his shoes and set them to the side to follow Rayan as they came closer to the source of the tangy smell.

In the heating apparatus beside the oven, several prepared plates of food sat and lazily spun for even temperatures. James glanced at the fridge, where the panel listed everything within while Rayan crept closer to the heater. "Are you hungry?" Rayan asked as he slid it open. "You... didn't have any plans did you? If you want to go home we can just set up your pictures."

"What, and go hang out with my dad?" James said with a scoff. "I do want to get these somewhere safe though, if you don't mind?" He thumbed his backpack handles when Rayan twisted on his heel and closed the heating apparatus, and the food continued to go in lazy circles.

Rayan's hands drifted on the counter as he turned to him with a hollow smile to match Ava's at the dinner table. One not born of happiness, but of trying to get by. "Right."

James stepped to the side to let Rayan pass by him and back to the main foyer. He peeked outside the back door, where a small shed took up one corner, and a pool occupied another, shielded with a bubble barrier to protect against the colder months. He twisted on his heel to catch up with Rayan, who opened up the doors between the split staircase, and he frowned at the staircase which led into a bunker. Rayan tapped the light panel, then twisted to him. "It's down here."