If I Die Young

17. Odd

"Who was that guy giving you weird looks all day?"

"Some kid named Ethan, he's a sophomore." I shrugged. "Tried to pull the tough guy act and I put him in his place."

"He's an idiot."

Mine and Ezra's conversation was interrupted by Ladon. Both of us looked up in surprise from the park bench as he walked outside. He seemed perturbed, like something was off internally. I'm sure if Elyse were here she would've said something about his energy being off.

"You know him?" I asked.

"He's taking freshman English because he failed it last year, he's literally an idiot." Ladon snorted. "I wanted to come see what he was bugging you about, but I guess I got my answer."

"He was trying to be a dick and that just doesn't fly with me." I laughed halfheartedly. "Did he get held back in science too?"

"Which class are you taking?"

"Astrobiology."

"No, that's an elective science," he leaned against the back of the bench, "is that class any good? I almost took it this year but decided to wait."

"It's decent," Ezra piped up, "I took it last year, you'd probably like it. The work is easy."

Ladon nodded, serious consideration on his face while he looked away. I went back to scribbling on my math homework while Ezra chipped in, attempting to help me with fractions and ratios, the only unit I'd ever had difficulties with. Even Ladon was able to help here and there, and I was glad for it.

We paused suddenly when a sound came from the forest. Ezra cocked his head as if he were listening, and I was sweeping the tree line with my eyes to try and find any glowing ones. To everyone's surprise, a small mammal came hopping out of the trees, a creature with a chocolate pelt and unnaturally teal eyes. Ezra laughed and leaned down to pat the fox on the head before it jumped over to the playground, morphing into Brandon right before our eyes. I'd seen him do this on a few occasions and it still left me in awe each time.

Suddenly something struck me that I hadn't taken the time to think about. Had Miss Huld known about all of us before she took us in? Was she clueless to the whole ordeal? It felt strange to think about, but if she'd known about us, maybe she'd know more about me than even I did. I pulled myself out of my thoughts when I saw Daisy running out of the house to join Brandon on the swing set, giving her a smile as she hopped onto the plastic seat.

"Does Miss Huld know about any of this?" I asked. "About us?"

"What do you mean?" Ezra questioned me.

"She has to know about our abilities, there's no way she couldn't. I mean, the fact that we all just so happened to land here and we all just so happened to have super powers is beyond coincidence."

"She's right you know." Ladon chipped in. "We can't all have just landed here without good reason. I'm sure my parents did their research on where to toss me out at."

"How did you get here Ezra?" I turned to the older of the two boys.

"I had a caseworker who put me here, Brandon and I both. She still comes around every six months just to check in with Miss Huld, I think her next visit might be coming up here in March."

"Mine was just here not too long ago. Does anyone else have caseworkers?"

"I think Ms. Renshaw has a couple of the other kids' cases. I'm not entirely sure though." Ezra pondered something, his eyes glazing over slightly. "I've never really thought about how odd this seemed until now."

"I wouldn't linger on it too much." Ladon snorted, earning a small glare from both Ezra and I. "Seriously, it's not worth it."

"I guess you're right." I shifted uncomfortably in my spot while Ezra excused himself, beginning to walk back towards the house. Ladon shrugged and took his spot beside me, leaning his head back and looking towards the sky. I was always looking at his eyes when he was around, and the same was true as of now.

We stayed like that for a while. I'd scribble on my notebook for a few moments and have intervals where I'd look up and stare at him. His eyes never moved from the clouds, never even blinked, but that didn't sit in the forefront of my mind as of the moment. When I looked back down at my paper I realized I'd been drawing; a creature in the shape of a boy in 3/4 view, looking at me over his leather covered shoulder as darkness swarmed his head from the neck up like a fire. White eyes stood out, but I knew in my mind they'd been orange, glowing like little suns. I added spikes to the shoulders of his coat and scribbled in his shirt, only to be jilted out of my trance by the sound of his voice.

"Is that how you see me?" Ladon asked, and I shook my head.

"It's just a drawing." I chuckled. "I don't do normal cutesy crap the art students put together."

"I like it. It's raw, like you're letting the filter between your brain and the page disappear." He smiled a little as he examined the paper further. "Is that what you see in your dreams?"

"Sometimes. I see a lot of monsters and demons and blood and rotting flesh." I sighed. "I see a lot of death. I've seen everyone die ten times over in my head by the time I've had a quick twenty minute nap."

"Harsh." He sighed. "I don't know how you can sleep like that."

"You start to feel pretty indifferent after a while." I laughed darkly. "Eventually I'll probably grow to enjoy it. Maybe I'll gain an enemy, or someone will break my heart, and I'll see them drowning in their own blood and I'll start to love the sight."

"That's sick," Ladon whispered, and I looked up, realizing what I'd said had been out loud, "is that really how you think?"

"Sometimes." I shrugged uncomfortably. "I mean, I can only hope I won't end up like that, but at least it would be better than hating my dreams."

"I...guess you're right."

Ladon leaned back on the bench and I saw him visibly shiver from something other than the cold breeze. I just laughed to myself and thought about how I couldn't really care less about what he thought of me, because it was true. I'd rather grow to love the bloody nightmares than sit here for the rest of my life plagued with sleepless nights, dreaming about my own demise.

"I wonder if Iden's seen his own death."

"That's a dark question." Ladon seemed taken aback.

"Well, I mean, you've got to be curious about that too." I told him. "If he can see into the future or whatever, do you think he's seen himself die? Do you think he's seen us die?"

"It wouldn't surprise me if he had, but it's also something I wouldn't ask him." Ladon warned me. "It's rare enough for him to talk about what he sees, he won't respond if you approach him."

"He told me he'd seen something likened to an apocalypse," I said, "fire and lightning. I wonder when it's going to happen."

"It's not a when, it's an if." He corrected me. "Not everything he sees happens."

"Still though, imagine it. It'd be gorgeous." I smiled, thinking about the storms that could brew. "Fire and lightning painting the sky. I wonder if we'll be a part of it or if we'll just be bystanders watching the world end."

"You...really need to stop thinking about this kind of stuff." Ladon looked a little sick as he spoke. "You're going to drive yourself nuts."

"Maybe I will, at least then I might shut up."

There was a pause before we both laughed somewhat uneasily, but still, we laughed. Elyse stuck her head out the back door and called for dinner, Brandon running ahead of us and holding the door open for Daisy. We wandered inside and took our seats, serving ourselves slices of French bread and spaghetti. As I ate I couldn't help but think about Iden's premonition, fire and lightning, lighting up the world as it came to and end. What a fun way to go.