Dawn Hollow

XXX

It had been a week since the announcement of PJ's death and Kane's capture. It was the first day back at school since it seemed the world broke to pieces. Those unaffected groaned about being back in school, while those who saw the event or got visited by the SWAT were shaken and afraid of the ground they walked on.

Many had compared it to a movie. Others were confused as something so big could happen in such an erased town as Dawn Hollow. It was unnatural. People who knew of nowhere else were almost scared to get groceries anymore.

Then there were Erica, Joseph, and Noah. The entire school knew that PJ was the glue of their relationship. They knew he meant a lot to the poor three souls. So no one looked their way, no one talked to them, no one even offered any support or condolences. They were ghosts on the campus they ran most days.

Even then, there was one more that made the group whole. Whether they knew it or not, Kane brought something more to the table than any of the three thought he did. But he gave the little group the spark that let them breathe new light. He was a warm welcome and a great addition. They missed him nearly as much as PJ.

Erica walked up to the twins at their lockers at 8:10 as she did without fail every single day. She was holding a few textbooks with her shoulder bag in her elbow. The two boys turned towards her as she approached, wordless for a long minute. They had hardly spoken since leaving Melinda's home, especially since the news announced the death of their friend and the capture of their other friend. They had all cried, all laid awake, all tried to process it. But no matter what they did, it never got better. Their friends were gone. It didn't seem real. Though, supposedly, it never does.

Nobody said a word until the bell rang, to rung up in their own heads to produce any more thoughts than whatever feelings they could hold. Classes seemed quieter for all of them. Maybe that was because Erica didn't have PJ in her math anymore, and Noah didn't have Kane to glare at in English. Lunch wasn't the same for the twins in the dark corner table with no one to laugh when Noah did something stupid or PJ rejected his flirtatious efforts. It was too damn quiet but at the same time too damn loud. Joseph didn't have PJ in history class, which made his table a lot lonelier, and his stomach sank when he remembered what came next.

His feet grew 100s of pounds in weight as he tried to get to his final class. Nothing in him wanted to go back to the woodshop. That was where it basically all began for the twins and Kane. And it bothered the boy more than anything to know it was gone. His least favorite class once rose to the top of his list, only to instantly plummet down with the rest of them.

When Noah got there right at the bell, the class went off without a hitch. They built clocks with Kane's personal blueprints before the bell rang. And then it was back to where they were this morning, a true full circle. Erica was there, waiting at the lockers for the two twin boys and subconsciously was ready to wait longer for the other two but let her hopes drop at the remembrance of the situation.

"How are you guys holding up?" Erica offered quietly.

"As well as we can be, I guess. Today was awful; everything just reminds me of them! It all still feels like a nightmare," Noah admitted.

"It doesn't make sense, you know?" Joseph scoffed, rubbing his mouth. "They're both gone. Just like that."

"I shouldn't have let either of them go out that window. It was risky from the start. I just...thought that forest would be the last place they would look."

"We all did. Or else we wouldn't have let PJ go after him either," Erica agreed with her eyes down. "But...I just don't know."

"About what?"

"The whole story! They say that Kane killed PJ, but I don't think he ever could. I-I know he said he has no control of the snake, but that snake acts as his inner defense system, right? What would PJ even do to make the snake Kane feel in danger? Even at that, would Kane even be able to kill him?"