gentle sins | book of murder

❝ 9 : 49 a m ❞

chapter one :

Lieu D'horreur Manor , September 19th 

     Nausea.

     That's all he felt. Filling his head and stealing his breath as the small, rentable van navigated it's way through the narrow trail that his teacher insisted they must take. Kyle tried his hardest to ignore the whipping sounds of branches hitting the window next to him, and to focus on the music that he was currently blasting in his bright red earbuds. 

    Christopher, the boy next to him, and his two year long best friend, turned to him, and tried to speak over the tunes. 

     "Hey, do you think that the teacher would let me play my music?" He asked him, and Kyle pulled out his ear bud to answer.
 
     "Chris. No one wants to listen to your old music except for you." He grumbled, and  Chris rolled his eyes and took mock offense.

​​​​​​     "What crawled up your ass and died?" He said, and Kyle let out a little laugh, resulting in a smug smile from the boy next to him.

​​     Without a word, Chris carefully picked up the loose ear bud, making sure it was clean before putting it in his ear. Kyle flashed a quick smile before glancing out the window, his bright blue eyes taking in the desolate nature that surrounded them. Dead leaves scattered across the ground, only momentarily visible because of the angry glare of the sun, blinking through the trees.

     Kyle didn't see why they had to go to a place like this so early in the morning. It was a cool fall day. Chilly, even, and even more cold when they had to wake up at five in the morning just to be on time for this trip. 

     His sisters were still asleep when he left. He didn't get to say goodbye. His mom packed him a nice lunch, knowing he was going to need it. The thought of eating the lunch provided by the school made him even more sick. 

      "Here, honey, take this. And have a good day at school, okay?" She had said to him, and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. He was taller than her, so she had to get on her tiptoes to do it. 

     He laughed at the memory. She had been waving even when he hopped on his bike and pedaled his way to the school. He could vividly imagine her try to get the cat back inside as it
attempted to escape and follow him down the road. He couldn't help himself, he let out another soft laugh. 

     He was jarred from his happy daydream to Chris poking him in the arm, the male's eyebrow raised and a glint of amusement in his eyes. 

     "Bro, you okay? You're creeping me out, with your weird ass laughing." Chris said, and Kyle shook his head, trying to explain himself. 

     "No, no, I was just thinking about som-" 

     The van came to a sudden stop, his seatbelt stopping him from flying forward and hitting the seat in front of him. His teacher smiled, her grin wide and excited as she turned to the nine students. 

     "We're here boys! Welcome to the Manor!" 

     Kyle glanced out the window, and raised at eyebrow at the apparent emptiness of the area in front of them. 

     "Um? Ma'am? There's nothing there." A voice pipped up from in front of Kyle, and he only nodded to agree. 

      "Well, we've got to walk, boys. C'mon. Unhook your seatbelts. We've got a long way to go." She said, and turned off the car, unlocking all the doors. 

     Kyle quickly slipped off his seltbelt, stealing his ear bud from his friend before waiting for everyone to get off. He was crammed in the back row, with three other boys, and had to wait until the row in front of them emptied.

     It seemed to take ages for the boys to empty out. First came the shortest of the bunch, a boy that Kyle didn't recognize. Then, a freckled redhead, followed by a taller boy with crazy hair and mocha skin. The last boy slipped out, and he was breathtaking. Long, beautiful hair tired loosely into a bun, his jaw strong and his eyes smoky, with a hint of mischief flaring, he didn't look like he belonged with the bunch. Kyle took extra cautions to not stare too long. 

     Afterwards it was their row. First was a bulky guy, with a hair cut that screamed douche and a spray tan as fake as his personality, with his questionable friend who was a tall, stalky boy, his arms a bit too long and his hands gigantic. Chris went out after them, and finally, Kyle squeezed out from the back, his small bit of pudge from over the summer making things a bit difficult. 

     He heaved out a heavy sigh when he got out, grabbing his bookbag, and slinging it over his shoulder after he slide the door shut. The teacher made sure all the doors were locked once more, before they began their small journey.