Matthew

Danger Signs

Kindle sat hunched over the book of demons, furrowing his brow in that way that he did to concentrate or seem serious, his lower lip outwards in a distracted pout. He pulled his legs in to sit on a sideways pew, which made me wonder why he didn't just set it upright. August figured there would be some sort of spell in the book to instruct Kindle on removing my essence himself.

"Is there seriously no fine print to this book?" August muttered, trying to see what Kindle was reading. "Like, hey, you need these things, here's how you get them."

"The book of demons is very old. Besides, that would be too easy." Kindle stated and August rolled their eyes. "It's never that easy." He murmured. August leant a bit on my shoulder as we sat together. I appreciated the contact, it was reassuring. Their fingertips stretched out and brushed mine.

"I'll figure out how to get the essence eventually." I told both of them. "I just... need a little time to clear my head and figure out how. Maybe I can get Seraphim talking." I wiggled my fingers, displaying the black ring. "Too bad there's no book of angels. Or, like, a pamphlet or something."

"A pamphlet?" August stared at me like they were wondering why they ever liked me in the first place.

"I don't know what a pamphlet is, but I'm sure it would've been helpful." Kindle added, giving August a glare.

Their intense stare down lasted a few seconds longer, which prompted me to look at them in bewilderment.

"What is with you two?"

"Nothing." They both said at once, which just made me even more suspicious.

"Bullshit."

Kindle stood, the tips of his ears turning a dark red as he practically stumbled off the pew. "I'm going to collect the hellfire." He blurted, and I watched as he fled, rushing past the overturned pews to the outside. I was, to put it simply, baffled.

I looked at August for an explanation, but they pursed their lips and turned away.

"You two are being ridiculous." I exclaimed, brushing an annoyingly ticklish strand of hair from my face. "I thought you were finally getting along. What's your problem with each other, anyway? Kindle literally helped save your pack. Shouldn't you be grateful for that?"

"It's none of your business." They snapped. "Just drop it and try and focus on being useful. " August paused for a moment, their eyes smoldering like the first spark of a bomb, set to go off at any second. That spark quickly died, though. "I'm...sorry...I'm going to find Sally."

I stared after them as they walked, pulling their jacket around them and stuffing their hands into their pockets.

"You're so oblivious." Ryan said, suddenly behind me. I glanced at him, and he rolled his eyes.

"I've clearly missed something important." I agreed, and Ryan snickered.

"Well, whatever, you can deal with all that drama later. If we can stop Rae, anyway..." he trailed off, looking concerned. He reached up and nervously twirled his hoodie string around a finger and continued to unravel it in an almost mesmerizing pattern. His foot tapped in a soft beat, almost close to a song of some sort.

I felt like I was viewing things in such a new way. My friends seemed so different to me. That, I didn't quite understand, much like most of the new conflicts in my second-life. Hooray.

"Ryan?" I asked, cautious about the tone of my voice for once in my life. I pushed my hair back, grimacing as I looked at him sideways. "What happened when I died?"

I watched him push his glasses up his nose. Part of the left lens was cracked. The other side had a small hairline fracture in the frame, which had been mended with clear tape that was coming undone. Finally, he spoke up. "It'd be easier to...show you. Explaining it is just.... Of course, that's probably impossible-"