Death City (Book 1)

Chapter 6: Passion

At the school day's end, Dawn sat in her psychology class staring blankly out of the fogged window to her right. She had been anticipating this class since she awoke, hoping to once again see Rain. But after seeing Sky in the state he was, Dawn now couldn't stop worrying about him. It didn't help that Crystal also seemed to be hurting. 

Nevertheless, she anxiously sat awaiting for class to start, holding her head in her right palm and twisting the ends of her long hair. Placed on her desk was her cell phone, which would light up with a notification every minute or so. But they largely went ignored as she watched the clock over the whiteboard and counted down the seconds.

The bell sounded at 1:30 P.M. leading students to slowly come through the door, one of the first being Crystal. She seemed to have collected herself after her breakdown during lunch, but because she was so shy and reserved, Dawn couldn't be entirely sure that was the case. She did not want to risk embarrassing Crystal by bringing it up, but Crystal surprisingly mentioned it herself.

"I-I'm sorry you had to see that earlier," she said. "Things have just been rough at home lately."

"No, it's totally fine and I understand," Dawn replied. "You can always let me know if you need to talk."

Crystal's eyes were still somewhat reddened, but she managed to smile. "Thank you, Dawn."

Most of the class was seated when Rain slowly walked through the door. Once again the entire class turned their attention toward him. It was as though every time she was in his presence nothing else at the moment mattered. All of her thoughts and worries about Death City, her friends, and school were suddenly washed away. The mysterious air around him seemed to drown out anything else on her mind, forcing her to think about him, even when she tried not to.

As she stared at his glowing yellow eyes, under the bangs of his long, black hair, Dawn wrapped her arms around her waist underneath her desk. This time Rain made an effort to make eye contact with her. When their eyes met, he smiled at her and winked, before taking his seat behind Crystal. It sent shivers down her spine and made her heart begin to race wildly. She had to immediately look away and completely focus her attention on Ms. Jackson to regain her composure.

The lecture began with Ms. Jackson discussing personalities as they relate to human behavior. A thought-provoking lesson, it led Dawn to consider what would motivate people in town to venture into the forest and Death City, if it was indeed the suicide trap it was made out to be. She peered out the window to see the clock tower peaking above the trees far out in the forest. 

It's one thing to be curious, she thought, but it's another thing entirely to risk your life. Even so, she wondered what would happen if she took a few steps inside. Before she could make any deeper consideration, the bell rang and class had ended as soon as it started.

Everyone headed for the door as Dawn turned around to grab the bag hanging behind her chair. She noticed that Rain had already left the room. After putting more effort than usual into her appearance, it upset her that she didn't get a chance to speak with him. She could only promise herself to work up the courage to approach him first the next time she saw him. 

The opportunity came sooner than expected, for as she came down the stairway onto the first floor, Rain stood waiting with his hand in his coat pockets as his eyes followed her down the stairs. Her jaw nearly dropped at the mere sight of him.

"Come with me." Rain motioned at the exit with his head. Before she had a chance to respond, he turned around and began walking out.

"O-okay, wait!" she yelled, jogging after him. As they made their way outside, Dawn frequently scanned the courtyard to see if the other students were indeed looking at them, as Zach had suggested earlier.