With Teeth

With Teeth8

Chapter Eight

Hours later, staring out the window once again, watching the landscape mindlessly, I still had no answer. It seemed that George and Perpetua had about the same idea of where we were going that I did. My mind wandered as we continued down the seemingly endless road, thinking of parties past and friends I had known and loved in Kasamrin. I smiled to myself as I thought of Alicia, my favourite and by far funniest and most foolish friend. I was remembering the time we had, after days of planning and deliberation, crept out of the house late at night and gone to the graveyard, intent on calling up the lost souls of those whose bodies dwelled in the large, uneven field. I had been terrified, and so had Alicia, but both of us refused to admit that, and went on with our quest. We climbed over the tall gates, avoiding the sharp spikes at the top put there to stop the very thing we were doing, and had literally fallen to the ground on the other side. Both our knees scratched and bleeding, we had kept our eyes averted from each other and crept closer to the ancient Pyre tomb which marked the very centre of the graveyard.

When we had reached it, we had been mystified and horrified to see candles burning brightly around the tomb, wax dripping onto the marble stones silently. Gripping each other tightly, we had crept closer to it, eyes wide. When we reached the candles and were standing in their flickering light, a sudden howl had sounded out, causing both of us to hug each other with fear and scream as loud as we could. We spun around, still gripping each other tightly, as we heard a moaning and clanking of chains seemingly coming from inside the tomb. The clanking had been too much, and Alicia had dropped my grip and ran back the way we had come as if all the demons in hell were after her. I had been more cynical of the clanking, and had, clenching my fists tightly, rounded the corner of the tomb. Behind it, carrying an armful of heavy chains had been Jason and his crew of friends, most of them laughing silently and manically. Seeing me, Jason had let out one last 'Whoo-oo!' and then, dropping the chains, had run like the wind, his gang following. I had followed them for a bit, before turning and exiting the graveyard by the far more conventional method of the side gate, which was always open.

Alicia had been standing outside the main gate nervously, almost crying with fear, and had jumped when I tapped her on the shoulder. After cries of 'I thought you were dead! Oh my God, never do that again!" I had managed to explain to her who had been hiding in the graveyard with us, and then her fear had turned to anger and embarrassment.

Now, remembering that night along with fonder memories of Jason - stealing kisses in the school library seemed best - I grinned to myself, wondering where we had gotten the courage to enter the graveyard in the first place. Then, with a sinking heart, I wondered if either Alicia or Jason had survived Harte's attack. Sighing, I turned to look out the front window.

"Any idea where we're stopping tonight? And when?" I asked.

Perpetua twisted in her seat to look back at me. "There's a town up ahead - we should be able to get some accommodation there."

I sighed. "And what if they ask me for ID again?"

Perpetua grinned back at me. "Don't worry, love, I've sorted that out for you." She rooted in the glove compartment for a minute, and then pulled out a book. She handed it to me with a look of triumph. "One of my best, if I do say so myself."

Taking the book, I flicked through it, letting it open where it did naturally, and found myself looking at a picture of myself. It was a passport, good enough for use in any town.

"Perpetua! Where did you get this!?" Its quality was one akin to nothing I had seen in years. I stroked the creamy paper delicately, and then turned back to the photo page. It was unmistakably me, but I had no idea where Perpetua had gotten a photograph of me.