Table of Contents

Part One: Current Entry



For the One You Love………………………………………………3

The Sun and the Moon………………………………………………21

Marcellus and Kyle……………………………………………………34

Master and Mannequin…………………………………………………50

The Lover’s Execution……………………………………………………56



Part Two: Next Entry

The Lost World………………………………………………………………75

Revealing Pain…………………………………………………………………88

Frostbite……………………………………………………………………………100



Please excuse the indention trouble...crossing over fromWindows to WDC fromats didn't really work out. Enjoy the story!







Chapter 1

For the One You Love



Okay, so what if I'm in love with a murderer-assassin-person? It's not really his fault that he kills people. I'm just the only girl who's ever been able to find his heart. Now that I think about it, I'm probably the only person to know his heart, including him.

And that's why it's so unfair! Why kill him? Why throw them off our floating city? Why does it even float? It’s so unnatural, I mean…a floating city? Why? What’s the purpose of it? What’s the purpose of anything anymore? What was the purpose of using Kyle to kill people? The very people that hide his heart away now plan to destroy it? They're the ones who made him murder in the first place! They're punishing him for a crime he didn't even know he was committing. Well, I can't exactly say that...

They say they make this world better. But condemning the person they brainwashed to kill for them...if that's their sense of justice...

I'd rather 'die' with him.

And that's what I did.

***

His eyes were two silver half-moons waning on his face. That's the first thing I noticed about him as he stood up on the wooden stage. He stood up towering, but leaned back a bit like he wasn’t built in an ordinary way…as if he was a new, possibly wrong idea of design, as well. His pitch-black hair swayed in the wind with his bangs covering the top of his eyes. He had his hand in his back left pants pocket with a chain escaping out of it. He wore vermilion and maroon waved long sleeve under a black T-shirt. He appeared sickly; face was thin and he seemed very tired...it seemed like he wasn't entirely there…or rather, like he didn't want to be here. Like those people standing next to him were forcing him to do this.

He scanned the crowd. His eyes seemed to miss no details. They drifted through one section before heading to the next. A mass of people came here today to see him. ‘Here’ was the plaza of the huge city that was used for festivals. There were large apartments and skyscrapers guarding the area. The stage was center in the plaza, with the Mass crowding in its proximity.

I was around the third ‘row’ of people standing to see him. You can’t really call this mass of people a row, but I was close enough to see a lot of the action. I was close enough to see his eyes: they didn't care, didn't want to be here, didn't...

Live.

My daydreaming was ended when four men in white coats passed by him forming a half circle on the wooden floor. He was in the middle of them, just standing there. It was boring to him, I guess. But how could this guy be bored while he was by the Mass standing in awe of him?

One of the men started to speak. It was Marcleus, the brother of their leader. "Residents of the floating city, Alexandria!" Somehow, in someway, this city floated around in the sky. A floating city…it’s like a piece of magic left in this world. If there ever was magic. This land has been hovering in the sky for longer than any of us can remember. It's a long story...if anyone knew it. Nobody exactly recorded how it came to be…the city lifting up from the ground and starting to fly into the sky…but right now I wasn't worried about that. I was actually worried about...Kyle, for some reason. "Here today stands before you the greatest addition to the governmental force: Kyle!" I wasn’t so sure if I loved any additions to the ‘governmental force’, but it was quite an accomplishment for someone as young as Kyle. As the slithering voice of Marcleus died, clapping sounded throughout the plaza. Kyle stepped up, bowed, and stepped back. "He is our new addition to the White Senate, and as all members are here, we now recognize Kyle into our organization." The White Senate was virtually the government of Alexandria. Kyle, being fifteen or sixteen was the youngest member to ever enter it.

One of the members came onto the stage with a white cloak. He gave it to Kyle, who slipped it on. It was a tradition for the White Senate to receive a cloak. The length of the cloak distinguished the rank of the members. and Kyle’s was already further than a couple of the other members. What did this guy do? How could he be so good to begin with? How could he already be better than adults when he’s only in High School?

The cloak was silver and white, and its sleeves were thin at each shoulder and to around the elbow, but the sleeve enlarged and became large like two gaping mouths where the hands came out. There was a well-hidden zipper concealed by black lining that trimmed the edges and seems of the cloak. A hood flowed behind and could conceal one’s entire face if stretched down. The four men who had just came up onto the stage had covered their faces like this. Marcleus had his pulled down, and Marcellus, the brother of Marcleus and leader of the senate, was standing behind him. Kyle was in front of the two of them standing there like a model for a new piece of clothing.

And his silver eyes didn't stir at all. He was getting this fabulous, probably record breaking award. Everybody now had a new mini-celebrity to follow. He’d have it made for the rest of his life. And…his silver eyes didn’t stir at all.

There was something wrong here.

They kept exchanging pleasantries and all kinds of nonsense talk while I had a better plan. It was a sudden urge…I usually think about things first. I had no idea why I was going to do this, but...

I would go meet Kyle...alone.

I usually am not that outgoing. My special ability is to remain hidden in the back of the classroom. I usually get into a real conversation with someone only when one semester is over. I don’t take chances like this…but there was something about Kyle. It was the air around him...the way he acted...it intrigued me. It made no sense, and something deep inside wanted to find out.

Kyle whispered something to a man in a white coat. "Kyle isn't feeling well today. We have to take him back to the courthouse. Thank you all for coming." Well Kyle could pull a few strings easily. As if he really felt bad. He probably didn’t care about this at all. They walked down the platform with me following in secret. They took the main road to the courthouse, where the Senate lived, while I took a route of my own. Spinning through the alleys and turns of the city, we ended up at the courthouse, a regal looking building with a clock penetrating to front. The senate went inside while Kyle waited by the front. Perfect.

"Um, excuse me," I said, going up to him. Why was I doing this? I couldn't believe it...well, he is kind of a senate celebrity, but was it all because of his fame? Was I only talking to him because he was famous? "You're, Kyle, right?"

"Yeah. And you are?" He stared down at me. He shifted his weight a little, like I was...intimidating. How could I be intimidating? I'm too average: long brown hair, brown eyes, and I have had a few people say I look like a model-in-training, probably who needed a lot of training, too, but never has anyone told me I intimidate them. He, the mysterious new figure in the senate, is the intimidating one. Hair covering his eyes…strange eye color…

He seemed like he didn’t belong here…or anywhere for that matter. But is that what being a celebrity is about? Is a celebrity about being special? Not fitting in? Is that why people look up to them and like them so much? Or is it about being able to fit in anywhere? Are celebrities just chameleons? The best chameleons that people wish they could be like?

"My name is Larissa. I saw you up on the stage earlier, and…you looked kinda cool, so I wanted to meet you."

"Really?" He was surprised, in a good way. I could tell he wasn't stuck up or anything like that. He didn't care that I was 'below' him. At least, in popularity, that is. But…how in the world could he be surprised that I said he was cool? How?

"Yeah, you seemed, well...never mind." I couldn't tell him everything I thought: what if I offended him?

"What did you think? Tell me." He drew the words out of my mouth before I could think about it. He wanted me to tell him…so I did. The question is why?

"Well, you seemed kind of alone up there. Like you didn't want to be there." Please, please don't think I'm crazy...why did I even do it? Why did I just go spill my guts when he asked me to tell him what I thought? I didn’t even have to do it.

"Oh, well, I didn't." He walked a little bit closer toward me and swept his hair back. My eyes stared at the silver disks on his face. What was going on behind those? What was he thinking? Your eyes are supposed to be the window to your soul, but Kyle’s window…was shut.

With the blinds down.

"W-wait...you didn't? Why not? Everybody out there was in awe of you...I don't see why you wouldn't like that." He was so mysterious...what was it about him that made him like that? And what about him made it to where he didn’t like people cheering for him, gathering just to get a glimpse of him? What could make a person dislike that?

"Well, you know the senate is the government, pretty much, right?" The senate made all of the decisions around here…it was like a city council. They made all the choices for us. The senate made sure the city was safe.

The White Senate was a guardian to Alexandria. Peace, safety, and justice was sought through them. The group was more like a crutch than an actual force, though, since there wasn’t that much crime in the city. Everybody knew everybody here. Murders were unheard of. Robberies occurred very seldom. But still…they were here.

"Yeah, I know.” Now what I wanted to know was where he was going with this. He was now a part of the government, so…what was he going to tell me about it? He wouldn’t pour out their secrets to me…would he?

"Well, I like the governing, being able to change things for the better and everything, but…I don't want to become a big part of it. I'm already too much tied into it." Already too much tied into it? What was he talking about?

"How?" That was the only thing that came out of my mouth. How…could he be tied to it…could he say that…could he be talking about this with me?

He took a breath to start speaking again, but then the bell tolled. "I have to go...meet me here tomorrow.” He turned away from me, looking into the sun with his shadow draped over me. “Please…please, meet me here tomorrow.” And he ran off. I tried to stop him, but he was already gone. I sighed. I will meet you here tomorrow…Kyle.

The next day, after being drowned in homework from school, I ran up to my sister in the hall. "Can you do me a favor?" I asked her. My sister’s name is Kimmy. She’s very popular at school and also pretty…two things that I wasn’t. Kimmy had gorgeous blonde hair with sparkling blue eyes, and I was a brunette with brown eyes. We looked nothing like sisters except for the shape of our face. That part of us was the same.

"What is it?" Kimmy replied. “Do you need my notes again?” Kimmy and I were the best of friends. She was popular, but she felt like I was her responsibility…in a way I felt like a handicap for her, but no matter how much I try to push her away, she’d keep coming back to me. We weren’t just sisters, we were friends. She liked my company better than anyone else, and she was about the only company I ever had. I didn’t need much else besides her, though. The only other company I was interested in, now, was her and Kyle.

"Will you take my stuff home for me?" Yes, that was what I needed. I had a truck strapped to my back, and I couldn’t take it with me. I don’t want to be ready to collapse by the time I see Kyle.

"Sure." I threw everything in her backpack real quick. It was about to explode it was so full. "Whoa! I didn't know you had that much!"

"Thanks a ton, I owe you! See ya!" I ran away before she changed her mind. I didn’t have to worry about dying in front of Kyle anymore. That was good. I don’t know what it is…but something about Kyle and I clicked. I can’t believe I was saying this after knowing him for a whole…maybe fifteen minutes? Either way, I just knew there was something there. Going back to see him wouldn’t be a mistake.

I couldn't wait to go see him again, so I practically ran out of the school and towards the courthouse. The alleys and turns flew by and some people stared, but I didn't care. I was going to see him again! The building slowly appeared and grew as I approached it. The clock read three fifteen.

I waited in the area right outside the courthouse. There it was, on the edge of the city, a tall building with a clock facing out from it. It was red brick and square windows were lain across the side of it. It seemed to be three stories from the outside, but it actually had a basement or even a floor under the basement from what I’ve heard. It was a building surrounded by mystery, that was for sure. It even had a certain feel to it; sort of like a haunted house feel. All I know is that I wouldn’t want to work in that place.

The courthouse was placed at the intersection of the main road, Queensway Drive, that led to the center of Alexandria and two alleys coming from the northwest and southwest on each side of Queensway. Buildings cluttered the area it was in, and you couldn’t get a good look at it unless you were heading for it from the main road. Shadows concealed a lot of the details around the place, such as the corners of the buildings, which were already concealed by ivy that grew there. A few benches were placed around the courthouse along with one single streetlamp. It used to light the place up by candlelight until only a few years ago. You’d think that the courthouse would be taken care of more, it being like the focal point of the city, but not much actually occurred over here. Most of the people that came to this part of town worked at the courthouse or lived in one of the surrounding apartments.

He said meet me back here at the same time we met yesterday…but yesterday was Sunday. We saw each other at eleven, and today I had to go to school. Well, I guess he had to go to school, too, so…maybe we’d still meet. I hoped we’d still meet.

"Kyle!" I yelled. I peered around the area to see if he was there. "Kyle?" Where was he? I walked around the building to see if he was there. Where was he? Could he...could he have stood me up? I waited a while longer...and a little longer...

It was about three thirty. Still no sign of him. Where was he? Did he have celebrity stuff to do? Or…did he have that celebrity-ness about him? Did he think he was better than me and was just toying with me yesterday? If he did…ooh…he was gonna get something the next time I saw him. And to think…I spent all my time thinking about that low-life all day today! Of course…in the back of my mind I was still hoping to see him peer around the corner. I looked and the clock now said three forty. "Oh, I can't believe it! He--"

"I thought you stood me up!" said Kyle, standing right behind me. I did a u-turn on the spot and looked at him. "I've been waiting out here since ten! Where were you?" I stared up at his eyes. They were piercing and…hurt.

It took me a second to comprehend all he had just said. He stunned me so much I couldn’t think for a bit. "Did you say you’ve been waiting here since ten? Um...I had to go to school. Don't you go, too?"

"Oh! Well, I have a private tutor. I don’t see him on Mondays, though…so, you didn't stand me up? "He scratched the back of his head like he was embarrassed a bit. How could a famous guy get embarrassed? You’re supposed to be…a level higher than regular people. But Kyle didn’t seem like that. He seemed down to earth.

"No! I never do that to you!" I felt my cheeks tingle a bit...was I blushing? I better not be blushing! It seemed like I wasn’t though, since he didn’t glance at my cheeks. When I blush, my cheeks turn to something like an orient red. Yeah. There’s no ‘pinkish white’ color, I only go deep red.

He sighed. "I'm glad." It's so weird how only two words could make me so happy. All right. Now what? We’re back here…at the place we were yesterday…and I forget what we were talking about…"Well, how was your day?"

That was…normal! I got a breathe of relief. This wouldn’t be so awkward. "Just the usual." Wait, he doesn't know the usual for me! I was acting like we already knew each other. "Get up way too early, go to school, get loaded with homework, that kind of thing. I like a couple of the classes, but I totally hate geometry. It's hard and boring and…I guess I should stop rambling."

"Oh, no, you're fine." He smiled at me. Did he have plastic surgery on his face? Well, either way, I was not about to ask that. "I kinda like hearing how your day went." Oh, he’s so sweet…he’d never get plastic surgery. Uh-uh. I don’t think he’s that way.

"Oh, thanks!" All right, pull yourself together. I know I was blushing now. Bring the perkiness down a notch. Stop being so jittery. Okay, maybe I can actually seem normal. " Well, everybody at school's dying to hear about you. I told my sister I met you, and after that everyone knew." Wait…would he not want me to do that? “I hope you don’t mind,” I added quickly.

"I don't mind. I don't really have many friends my age anyway. I'm lucky I know you." Why'd he have to say all these things that made my cheeks glow like neon? Besides my fluorescent face, I was also wondering about what he had just said. What about not having many friends his age? Hadn’t he been outside any time in his life? There were kids everywhere! "Oh! Yesterday...what were we talking about? I just remembered..."

My little thinking world was thrown back into reality. "Huh?" Then it popped back into my head. "Oh, yeah! I was wondering why you didn't want to be such a big part of the government. Then you said you were involved enough already." Another weird thing about him. He was already involved enough in the senate, and he didn’t have many friends his age, or friends at all, I could tell. Could his ‘friends’ be people in the government? I wonder…are the two things related?

He took a step back. "Oh...well, people from the senate raised me. I'm an orphan or something, so they took me in.” Orphan or something? Is he serious? He doesn’t know? That is insane. “They don't know who my parents were; they just got me from an orphanage that closed down a long time ago. Well, they always had it in my mind that I'd become part of the White Senate, so they trained me in the line of work the head of the senate proposed.” All right, that explains a little. “And ever since then, I've had a private tutor, training, and all that. I've been in there so long I don’t even know what it’s really like out here.” He’s been in a cage so long he hasn’t learned how to fly… “I haven't even been around the entire town yet, and also...I have barely any friends. You and a couple of kids of senate members..."

"How can they keep you cooped up like that? They have no right!" I had reached a level of anger now that I had maybe once or twice before in my life. I was just plain furious. "They're keeping you from having a life! How dare they! You have a right to be free!" I covered my mouth. Why did I have to just start preaching about ‘Be free! Go out into the world and live your life!’ Well, he smiled a bit. I guess he saw my insanity as humor. Was that a good thing? I laughed with him either way. I stomped away, thinking. "Hmm..."

"It's not their fault, I just...they always preferred I stay here, that's all.” So…I was dealing with a goody-goody here, huh? “That and if I leave I know they’d be mad at me. They took me in, but I’m sure they could leave me just as easily.” Okay, so he wasn’t that much of a goody-goody, he was just trying to get a home. That’s reasonable.

"Well, I prefer that you go with me to the park."

"Huh?"

We walked back towards each other. "Yeah, tomorrow we should go to the park. It's really nice there this time of year." That was a lame excuse. Pretty much every time of the year was good. The city floats above the clouds, so it’s always our little sun drenched paradise. The city is only about a mile or two across, but there are huge skyscrapers.

He opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out. He hesitated.. "The people here may get mad...” My heart sank. So he didn't like me that much. But what could I say? I'd only known him for two days. "I really want to go.”

"It's okay. I understand.” My eyes found there way to the sidewalk. I didn’t want to look at him…or think about his excuse to get out of going to the park. It was his nice way of saying no. It was okay. We’d only met yesterday. And he had famous things to attend to.

"Even if they get mad, I'll still go." My eyes made a beeline from the walk to his face. Did he really just say that? Why did I always think he didn’t like me and then have him turn me around and make me feel better than before? It was…incredible.

I stared at him. His silver eyes were happy now. "Really? You will?" I couldn’t believe he was saying yes!

"Of course! It'd be awesome to spend a day with you at the park! I've always wanted to go there!" That was the first time he pulled up the blinds for me. He showed me his true personality. The bird who just wanted to be free to sing his song and fly away. The person stuck on a city stuck in the sky but has never seen the clouds or the stars. The teenager whose never had a friend or a heart. The murderer that would end up putting me under his spell.

"Alright! I'll meet you here at three fifteen tomorrow, not ten!"

I turned and ran away before the neon in my cheeks flickered again.

I could barely sleep that night I was so excited about tomorrow. Yes, I probably got every problem of my science homework wrong, but I didn’t care: tomorrow would be an awesome day. My life had become a dream overnight.

Kimmy was all over my situation with Kyle. She tried to predict what would happen by how we acted, her experiences, and her horoscopes. Of course, one time on my unlucky day I won a competition, got a one hundred on a test and got fifty bucks. So, I didn’t really trust the horoscope part of her diagnosis. Other than that, she was a real love guru.

“You’re so lucky. I know some girls at the school that would give their arm to go on a date with him. They’re the kind of people that are money obsessed, though…”

“He just likes me because I’m awesome that way,” I told her, laughing.

“Wow, Larissa, you’ve changed.” Kimmy told me. “You used to be, no offense, kind of boring. I always liked you, but…you know.”

I glared at her. “Offense taken.” I morphed my frown into a smile. “Just kidding! Actually, I think I agree with you. I never really let my personality this much. I only started—”

“When you met Kyle. It seems perfect!” She started to slowly move her hand left to right like you do when telling people an idea. “I totally see it: a boy who’s never been able to have a life meets a girl, who’s hardly lived a life.” She smiled when she said the last part and I scoffed at her. “They meet and open up each other’s hearts and souls, becoming soul mates and living together for the rest of their lives.”

“Well, I guess that could happen once I get to know him better.”

“Yeah, well…your horoscope says…” Kimmy grabbed her paper to check what it said about love. “Here. ‘Stay away from men this week: they only want one thing…” Kimmy ripped the paper. “That’s a bad horoscope. I gotta switch subscriptions or something. Well, I’ll leave you to yourself!” Kimmy left my room and I crashed on my bed.

My thoughts were focused on tomorrow. What would we do? I’d have to show him the lake, then we can play tennis, and he can meet a few of my friends, too.

“Honey, come here,” I heard mom yell. I got out of bed and ran downstairs.

“Yeah, mom?” I saw her holding my blue notebook.

“I think somebody has a crush.” She opened it to the page where I wrote Kyle about two thousand times. She smiled at me.

“Mom! Don’t go looking through my stuff,” I yelled, smiling. Why did all the people in my family have to get involved in my love life?

“Is this the Kyle from the senate? You have great taste, Larissa. I’m glad you have a crush. I remember High School romance…” As she was reminiscing, I made my escape. I knew a long story about one of her dates would follow. I ran to the couch to watch TV.

A couple hours later, I went upstairs, laid out my clothes, got my stuff together, and started about two sentences on a report due next week. Then I tried to go to sleep, but I was still I little excited so it took me a while. I couldn’t wait till tomorrow…

The next morning I must have had a super awesome dream cause I woke up happy and bouncing off the walls. I took a shower, threw on my clothes, put a bit of make-up on, and finished a little homework before walking to school with Kimmy. I was pretty much dancing the entire way, and Kimmy tried to keep with my rhythm so I didn’t look nuts. I really owe her sometimes…

“Dancing? In public?” Kimmy asked me as we got to school. “I’m starting to think you’ve gone insane! But love makes you crazy…so I guess this is the first sign!” She actually started dancing this time.

“Please, we need to stop dancing. My legs are tired and I have gym first block.” We laughed and walked to our first classes. Now, I usually can’t make a hit in baseball, but today I got a homerun! Today was already awesome!

The rest of the classes were okay. I was able to sleep during geometry without getting caught, so that’s a plus. Finally I was able to talk to Kimmy.

“Hey. What’s up with you?” I asked her in a hallway.

“Not much. How’s your day been?”

“Like a dream…” I floated off into my own world for a second. “Anyway, Kyle wanted me to bring a couple friends along, so how about you come?” I would’ve wanted to go alone with him, but I wanted him to have a lot of friends now. He deserves a chance to be happy: everybody does.

“Of course! Hey, can I bring Mitch, too?” Mitch was Kimmy’s boyfriend. We didn’t talk much, but he was cool.

“Sure, I don’t mind.”

“Alright! We’ll meet you right outside the school at three. Okay?”

“Okay.” We went to our last classes. Kimmy got to be in the awesome one: art. And what did I get caught with? Business Principles and Applications class. I signed up for Spanish, but I don’t know how it happened. Anyway, I usually sit through the class, bored to death until we get out.

So, after listening to the lecture, we escaped out of the school. I got all the stuff I needed to go home before last period so I didn’t have to run through traffic to my locker. Kimmy and Mitch were by the steps leading to the school doors.

“Hey Kimmy. Hi Mitch,” I greeted them.

“Hey.” Mitch commented. He had dark hair that swept across his face that reminded me a little of Kyle. His eyes weren’t silver, though. They were blue like Kimmy’s. He wasn’t fat but he wasn’t fat, either. He usually stood by himself and was quiet and was intimidating, but he was a nice person. He stood arm akimbo next to Kimmy. I think he was a bit surprised at how peppy I’d become. Not too much, though. I can’t even imagine myself holding pom-poms and jumping around the school with the overflow from my pep.

“What’s up?” Kimmy said. She smiled at me. We started walking down towards the courthouse. Well, I guess I couldn’t say we walked. I practically ran to the thing. Kimmy and Mitch were out of breath when we got there.

“What time is it?” I asked.

“Umm…there’s a huge clock on the side of the building, Larissa,” Kimmy told me, laughing. I was really ditzy. The clock read three ten.

I started pacing back and forth waiting for Kyle to come out. I couldn’t wait!

“You have too much energy,” Mitch said, laughing.

“Yeah, talk about it,” I replied.

I looked at the door and saw him come out.

He had a jeans and a black t-shirt on, and his brown hair cascaded over his face. His silver eyes gleamed through the bangs that fell over his eyes when he tilted his hair down going down the steps.

“Hey,” Kyle said. “You came.”

“Yeah,” I replied. We both sounded like we were out of breath. Well, I had been running. What had he been doing? Well, whatever. I was with him. That’s what mattered now. “Ready to go?”

“Of course! I’ve been looking forward to this all day.”

“Umm…’scuse us. We’re kinda…still here,” Kimmy butted in.

“Oh! Yeah,” I rambled, collecting myself. “This is my sister Kimmy and her boyfriend, Mitch.”

“Hey.”

“What’s up?

“Hi.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Okay, that’s all over now let’s go!” I yelled, pulling everybody along with me.

Wow…I really was hyper!

But of course it was only because of one reason.



















Chapter 2

The Sun and the Moon



Kyle, Kimmy, Mitch and I walked and talked on our way to the park. We didn’t run this time: we all seemed out of breath and I know Mitch and Kimmy would get revenge sometime if I made them run around town with me and Kyle.

“So what are you training for in the senate?” asked Mitch.

“Well,” started Kyle. He put his hand on the back of his head. “I can’t really say. I’m not allowed to speak about it.”

“Ooo, mysterious,” Kimmy commented.

“Why aren’t you allowed to talk about it? You should be able to talk about whatever you want whenever you want,” I instructed him. I was really fighting for people’s rights these days. Kyle was really hesitant about saying more. He was the kind of person that you couldn’t get information out of; you’d never make him slip up in a story.

“I just have so much they want me to do I don’t know what my ‘job’ is. I guess the only way to describe it is a Whit Senate member.” He was lying. His silver eyes flicked back and forth in anticipation of getting found out. But I wouldn’t tell them I knew he was holding the truth from the group. If he wanted to keep it to himself, then it was his choice…there I go with the people’s rights again!

“Wow, that must be pretty tough, having all that work and training,” I replied. I looked at him. He looked back and smiled. He knew I knew he was lying and that I was going along with it. As confusing as that sounds, we both understood it. He probably saw through my eyes I was just going along with his story.

The eyes are the windows to the soul…and when he was up on that stage, the first time I saw him, his soul was locked up in chains: windows closed. But his eyes were now so full of life! They were happy, and I was glad that he was finally getting a chance for his happiness.

“Oh, I’ve never been to the park before. Is it nice?” Kyle asked.

“You’ve never been to the park before?” asked Mitch incredulously. “What have you been doing all your life? It’s impossible to live in this town and not see the park!” Kimmy and Mitch were staring at Kyle in disbelief. I kind of expected it, though. He didn’t have friends, so he must not be allowed to go out much.

He put his hands behind his head. “Just never found time, with all the training and all,” he explained.

“What do senators have to train for? Some of them seem like they ‘roll’ rather than they walk, if you get my drift,” Kimmy thought out loud.

“Yeah, really,” Kyle said, laughing. Why did he laugh when Kimmy made fun of his coworkers? Were they keeping him captive? Kyle glanced at me…and looked back, smiling.

Had he planned everything he said so I’d get that those people were holding him captive?

No…no way. I was just taking this thing to a whole different level.

“Well, the park is really nice. You’ll like it,” Mitch told Kyle. “We’re about a minute from it.”

We got to the park around a quarter till four. An enormous brick wall that sheltered the garden from the rest of the city surrounded the park. Ivy crawled up the wall like it did my house. The entrance was a huge regal gate of iron and had tons of intricate designs carved into it. The iron swept in circles and lines inside the outer borders of thicker pieces. Kimmy and Mitch stepped in first and then Kyle and I.

Inside was a huge field of flowers, fungi, and fauna or something like that. Blooms splattered the green background of stems and leaves. Mushrooms were spread through the garden saturating the darker parts.

“Awesome!” Kyle said.

“Yeah, they have hyacinths, rhododendrons, tulips, puffballs, ferns, flocks, and—” Kimmy started.

“You’re not a flower major!” I yelled, laughing. “Is there even such a thing?”

“Hey, just because I pay attention during biology doesn’t mean you should take it out on me,” Kimmy laughed. “I bet you don’t even know what a puffball is.”

“It’s a puffy flower that’s kinda fuzzy!”

“No, it’s a mushroom!”

“Well you know what?”

“What?”

“You’re doing my biology from now on!” I ran off with Kyle to one side of the garden. Kimmy and Mitch were running after us.

“This is really fun!” yelled Kyle as he ran. We turned and dashed through the mums. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“That’s because you’ve never been someone awesome like me!” I said, joking. Kimmy and Mitch were catching up with us.

“You are really awesome. I’m glad I met you.” Well, needless to say my cheeks went as red as the burning bushes in fall.

We kept on running to keep away from Kimmy and Mitch. I started to get tired, and even though Kyle could’ve gone further by himself he decided to stay there with me. I felt pretty special. We ran towards the lake that was on the other side of the park. Kimmy and Mitch were really close now, so we hopped up in one of the willow trees.

“We’ve got you trapped now!” Kimmy yelled, as Kyle and I climbed up the tree. “Where will you go now?”

“I’ll go get them,” Mitch said.

Kyle and I looked down as Mitch started up the tree.

“Do you trust me?” asked Kyle.

Uh…why? “Yeah,” I said.

“Alright. We’re going to jump in the lake when Mitch gets up here.”

“What? It’s probably really cold and my mom would go crazy if I got my clothes wet and—” He looked at me. The silver eyes stared into me. “Oh, whatever.”

“Good. Now…” He looked down at Mitch. “This’ll be fun, huh?”

“Well…”

“Jump!”

Kyle grabbed my hand and we jumped off the tree and into the lake. We submerged and the water wasn’t that bad, actually. My hair drifted up towards the surface like his, and we floated under the water for a little. We looked at each other. And we started cracking up laughing underwater.

We reached the surface gasping for air. “I didn’t think you’d actually do it! I was going to jump in myself!” Kyle told me.

“I didn’t expect you to just up and decide to jump in the lake! I was too hyper to not listen to you!” I argued.

“You’re mom will kill you! Why did you come after me in the first place?” He was starting to sound a little angry. “I shouldn’t have even tried it.”

“My mom isn’t that harsh, and this is the first time you’ve ever been to the park! You’re supposed to have a great time, and jumping in the lake sounded pretty fun!”

“But it could’ve been too cold for you, and what if we stayed under too long? You could’ve really gotten hurt!” He was mad at himself for putting me in danger.

“Well, the only reason we were losing air was because we were laughing underwater…” I started laughing again. “Really, who starts laughing their heads off underwater?

Kyle started laughing, too. “Morons.”

“You guys are sooo crazy!” Kimmy yelled.

“Come back to this side!” Mitch yelled. We swam towards them. When we got out Kyle and I were soaking wet. We flicked some of the water on Kimmy and Mitch.

“Uhh…we gotta dry off a little bit before we go home. Do you know what time it is?” Mitch looked at his watch.

“It’s half past five.” We started walking towards the exit. “How about we sit on the side of town where the sunset is?”

“That’s a good idea,” Kimmy told him.

The park is about twenty minutes from the west part of town, so we chatted about school to Kyle for the time it took us to get there.

“You’re lucky you don’t have to go there. Geometry is awful,” I told him. “The teachers…some of them are okay.”

“I wish I went to your school,” Kyle told us.

“No you don’t,” we all said in unison, with a fit of laughter coming right after it.

“Really, I do. That way I’d get to see friends, and I’d take classes like all the other kids do.”

“What do you do that’s different?” Mitch asked.

“You know how as freshmen you take geometry? Well, I’m the age of a freshmen, but I take calculus.”

“WHAT?!” Kimmy yelled. “How could they do that to you? It’s unbelievable! I would totally fail!”

“That’s what they do when you’re one of the senate. You have to cram you’re education cause you start as early as possible. It’s the same for the other kids of senate members.”

“I’m sort of glad I’m not part of the White Senate now,” Mitch told him. “I’m sure it’s an honor, but only certain people can do it.”

“Yeah, not just anyone could do that. You have to be special or something to be able,” I agreed.

The west border of town held a few houses here and there, but most of it was businesses and little gardens for food. The very edge had benches and grass so you could sit and watch the sunset. We all lied down and saw the sun paint the sky in reds, oranges, yellows, and pinks. Kyle and I were drying off a little as we sat there.

It was about an hour after we got there that we decided to get up and go home. Kyle and I were dry. We couldn’t think of anything else to talk about, either. While we were there we did favorites: color: his was red and mine was purple. Food: he liked spaghetti and I liked yogurt.

“What do you think is down there?” Kyle had asked me. “What do you think is below the city?”

There was one thing about our city that made it extremely special.

It was a city that floated in the sky.

Nobody knows it for sure…but…some people say that, sometime, long, long ago, some wizard had put a spell on the city to make it fly. The world back then was becoming poisonous: toxic chemicals must’ve gotten into the food and air, and people couldn’t know how to deal with it back then. So, the wizard had separated this city, one of the last clean places on earth, from the rest of the world. Now, today, the floating city was the last trace of magic there was. Nobody in the city could do magic. It had died out since nobody had the power to take it up. It was like how not just anyone could become a member of the senate. The problem was that back then nobody had the ability to do magic, so it was never passed on.

“Below the city…I guess there would be life down there. Everything died from the poison. There used to be seas, I think. And there were forests, but they might’ve died from the poison if it affected trees…and I’d rather not find out myself,” I told him, smiling.

He smiled back at me. “You can’t prove it, though. The sickness might have gone away. What if there are people down there?” His eyes gleamed with the silver glow that I liked so much. They only shined that way when he was happy: they did when we jumped in the lake, they didn’t when he was on the stage, they did when we first became friends, and they didn’t when he talked about the senate.

“You’re a really special guy, you know,” I told him. “I don’t know anyone else who thinks like that.”

He was so…awesome. That was the only way I could describe him. To me he shined like the sun. He brightened up even the dark side of the moon.

So after that we had talked a bit more and decided to leave.

“I’ll see you later,” Mitch told Kimmy. We lived on different sides of town. Mitch hugged Kimmy tightly and then waved goodbye.

I turned to Kyle and he wrapped his arms around me. “Huh?” I said in the swiftness of his embrace.

“Isn’t this what friends do when they say goodbye?” he asked me.

“Well, Kimmy and Mitch are boyfriend/girlfriend, but…I don’t mind. You just took me by surprise.” I hugged him back and turned my face before I blushed for the thousandth time in the past three days. I’m starting to think my cheeks will stay this way permanently if I do it too much.

But he hugged me! He actually cared about me!

My heart was on cloud nine as I floated home with Kimmy.

I got up the next day and headed for school. I couldn’t wait until it was over so I could see Kyle again. My heart was still beating at the speed of sound twenty minutes after we went separate ways. Kimmy was about to take me to the hospital thinking I was having a hearty attack.

When I got home, my clothes were still a bit wet so we told mom Kimmy spilled a drink on me. Other than that, things were fine. She asked how our ‘double date’ went, which it wasn’t, but what do you expect of your mom? I went to bed, and now here I am.

I gobbled breakfast and ran out the door, trying to rush the day by me. Kimmy had to catch up with me and was out of breath when she did.

“What’s the rush today?” Kimmy asked me.

“I just want the school day to be over,” I explained.

“Well, mom says be extra careful today.”

“Why?”

“There was a murder.”

“What?!” I yelled.

“Yeah, I was surprised, too. It happened last night, on the north side of town. The guy who died was named Clyde Rainfield. He was found stabbed in his house this morning. They’re questioning his wife, but she has a good alibi.”

“Who would do that? Why?”

“I don’t know. Everybody’s freaked out about it though. It’s been forever since a murder.”

Kimmy was right. It was a long time ago that a murder took place. It was only one town that everybody lived in up here. There were enough people so you didn’t marry you’re cousin, and they had a law that you only have two kids to try to help keep that at bay. Everybody knew everybody, so know one was mad enough, or had the guts, to kill someone. If they wanted to, people would probably have a good guess as to who it was.

Everybody at school was in an uproar. People were running around, making sure friends were alright. Others were running to the principal saying school should be canceled. I was trying to figure out more about what had happened. Why would somebody kill this Clyde Rainfield? What had he done?

I had to admit…I was a bit scared.

“Kimmy…would you ask your friends about what happened for me?” I asked, knowing she had the most sources.

“You don’t have to ask me to find out. I’ll tell you what I found out at the end of school today, alright?” I nodded, and we went to our classes. It looked like we weren’t going to cancel school.

I was in Geometry and looking out the window. I was just watching the day go by and…I saw silver eyes peering back at me.

“Kyle!” I yelled. He was here! He came to my school? Didn’t he have to train? Oh, I didn’t care, he was here!

“What?” replied a boy with blonde hair in the front row. Whoops! His name was Kyle, too. How do I get out of this one? Oh…Kyle, you’re going to pay for this…but how can you get revenge on someone you like?

“Larissa, be quiet and sit down,” the teacher said. Kyle stared at me and I whispered to him go see Kimmy after lunch. I’d have to warn her about it real quick. Things were getting crazy, but I really did like it. It made things so much more interesting! But that wasn’t the only reason…

So I went back to staring out the window, at Kyle. I couldn’t believe he was out there: it had started raining. There were a few clouds that passed over the city, but most of them floated underneath. It was so romantic just standing in the rain like that. It reminded me of the black-and-white movies.

My dream was brought back to reality soon after that, because as people saw me staring ga-ga out the window they decided to look. A couple wondered who it was out there, but the fourth person to see him went brain dead for a second.

Then she gasped, “It’s KYLE! He’s the newest White Senate member! Right outside the window!” She ran over to the window and waved at him. Everybody went from looking to Kyle, to me, to the girl, to the other Kyle, and then just stuck their eyes on my Kyle. Even the teacher ran to the window to see if it was him.

The bell rang and I dashed out of the classroom and into the halls of the school. I ran to the entrance of the school and around to where my room was. “Kyle?” I yelled. I was getting drenched, but I liked the rain. “Kyle? Come here!”

“Larissa! There you are,” he said, walking from a corner in the school. “I decided to come see you today. Are things good with you?”

“You came to see me today…” I couldn’t get past that fact and all the usual signs of crush came up: blush, floating, and all the rest. “Things are fine with me. How are they with you? I thought you had to train or something.”

He looked away from me. “Things…are…” Terrible. I know what he was going to say. “Great, just tiring, you know.” Why did he have to lie? I knew what he was thinking, anyway. But, I decided to let it go. He had his reasons. I’d confront him about it sometime, though.

“Well, it’s the same with me. I make Kimmy do some of my homework. But you have no one to throw your stuff on. You bear it all by yourself…it must be really hard.”

“I share it with you, a little. You should never have to deal with my problems, though. You have enough going on.”

“I want to help you though your problems, though. That’s what I’m here for: to help you. Just tell me anything.”

“But…never mind.”

“But what?”

“Nothing.”

“Tell me!”

“If I told you anything, you’d probably never think of me the same way again, and losing you would be the worst thing that ever happened to me!”

My heart was so delighted with a surge of joyousness and happiness I couldn’t speak or do anything. I was overcome with emotion I didn’t know if I’d be able to move again. It’s undescribable…I can’t find words to fit how I felt then. All I know is that I felt the same way about him. Losing him would be the worst thing that ever happened to me. And I’d make sure I never lost him.

“It’s the same way with me,” I said, after a long time. I had started top get teary eyed, but had to control myself. “If I lost you, I had no idea what I would do.” He wrapped his arms around me, and this embrace was different than the one last night. This one was full of adoration and protection.

“I’ll never leave you. You know I’d never hurt you.”

“I know that. I’d never leave you either.”

I peered from the side of his shoulder and saw about a hundred faces staring at us from the windows of the school.

“We’re being watched,” I told him.

“What does it matter?”

”Hmm. It doesn’t.”





































Chapter 3

Marcellus and Kyle



Kyle walked in the school with me when we finally got in. We were drenched and water trailed behind us as we walked through the halls. Everybody was in a class now, so no one would be chasing after Kyle and I. I slipped to my locker and got my stuff and threw a note in Kimmy’s locker explaining about the ‘meeting’ she’d have after lunch. I had no idea what to do. Kyle was with me in the school! Should I skip the rest of my classes? Should we hide somewhere? What do we do?

“Can I go to your classes with you?” he asked. He smiled at me as he said it. “Umm…What?” I asked. “Why do you want to go to my classes?”

“I want to see what it’s like. And, you need an excuse for being late. And, being a celebrity, I am the perfect excuse,” he said with a laugh. He put his arm around me as we walked down the hallway.

“When you put it that way, sure.” I started toward Social Studies. “How come you win every argument?”

“Because.”

“That totally answers my question.”

We got to my classroom and I hesitated to go in. Was I sure we wanted to do this? Would the whole classroom go into an uproar? What would the teacher think? Oh, this is a bad idea. We should turn around—”

And Kyle opened the door. “I could’ve done it myself, I whispered quickly.

“You took long enough,” he replied.

The door creaked open. It was extremely loud and the perfect attention getter for a suspenseful entrance. And I was finding it very nervous with all the eyes in the room staring at Kyle and I.

Some girls started dropping their mouths either that Kyle the semi-celebrity was in the room or that Kyle the semi-celebrity was in the room with me. “Oh, uh, Larissa…please take a seat,” the teacher told me. Renee Harold and Sierra Licordi were glaring at me from across the room. I have to say, I kind of like it, in a weird way.

“I’d like to sit by her, is that okay?” asked Kyle. I blushed a little. And it was in front of the entire room. And people saw that I was totally into him. Shoot.

The teacher was taken aback for a moment, but finally muttered, “Yes, of course.” I went and sat at my desk while Kyle pulled a seat up next to me. I was about to die of maniacal laughter. It all just hit me at this one moment, and you had to think of the situation. A plain Jane girl somehow meeting and crushing on a celebrity, who is probably crushing on me, and sitting in school when the guy doesn’t even have to go; he goes there to see you! Ahh…life is good.

I couldn’t even listen to the lesson. I was busy as Kyle and I played ‘footsies’ which soon turned to ‘bruisies’. Every person kept glancing back at us and whispering to their friends. I had three notes passed to me in class, and I was sure I’d see more later. I read the three answered them, and then Kyle wrote them a message since he had nothing else to do. I was sure they’d love his autograph.

When the teacher passed out the worksheet, I knew nothing about what was on it. This was going to be an ‘F’ performance.

Kyle snatched the paper out of my hand. “Hmm…a…d…c…d…d…b…this is easy,” he said.

“You know this?”

“I have to learn everything quickly for the senate, so…I know this stuff.”

“Thanks a ton. I was busy getting kicked so I couldn’t listen to the lesson.”

“I don’t have to do this, you know.”

“Shutting up.” We smiled at each other. He finished the paper as I sat there pretending to be working.

That class ended and it was time for lunch. After being hoarded by students, we finally made it to the lunchroom and to the line. The cafeteria ladies looked surprised to see Kyle there but gave him food anyway. We sat down at a table with Kimmy and Mitch.

“Hey, try to get some friends that like me to surround us so people we don’t know come up to see Kyle,” I told her.

“KYLE! Why are you here?” Kimmy screamed in a mixture of joy and shock.

“To see Larissa, of course.” Kimmy gave me a secret wink when Kyle wasn’t looking. I would’ve died if he saw her. At least she knew how to do this kind of thing discretely.

Kimmy’s friends Harley and Sandy sat by Kyle to protect him from the people. The y asked him about his life of course, and he was so busy answering their questions I couldn’t talk to him. It was that way fro the rest of lunch, and I got a little jealous, I guess. But they’re only human. They wanna know what it’s like to be the coolest guy in the city.

So the rest of school was awesome. Kyle followed me to all my classes, and it would’ve been impossible if we didn’t hold hands since we were running from everyone. We were stalked through the rest of the day, and by the time school was over we had to take the long way home to get away from all the gold-diggers. Kimmy, Mitch, Kyle and I all walked through the town talking for a while. Kimmy and Mitch left to leave me alone with Kyle as we went to the courthouse.

“Thanks a ton for coming to my school today. It made things so much better…and everybody’s going to stalk me tomorrow, but I don’t mind.” I looked at him. “You being there was worth it.”

“I know. I’m worth anything,” he replied, laughing.

We laughed and walked slowly to the courthouse. We wanted this to last. Every moment was so exceptional you never wanted this time to end. We had both changed so much since we first met each other. I had found my personality and he had…found his heart.

On that stage he seemed so incomplete…so hollow…until we finally got to know each other did he show his heart to me.

“We’re so different,” he said.

“Yeah, you’d never believe we were the same people we were a week ago.”

We finally reached the courthouse around four-thirty. People were rushing in and out of the building. I hope it was okay for him to visit me. If he got in trouble because of me I’d be mad…I don’t know if it would be at me, Kyle, of them, but I’d be mad. Why did they have to control his life? He should make his own decisions…but there was one thing I never really counted into the equation. What if they were his own decisions? I think that they aren’t but…they still could be. I wanted his heart to be free. I had to find out what went on in there.

“I should visit you tomorrow. There’s no school tomorrow, anyway. We get a free day,” I told him. It would work out perfect! The day we don’t have school, I visit him like he visited me…

“No, you shouldn’t do that. It’s freaky around here.”

“Well, as you can tell my school isn’t exactly normal, either, so it doesn’t make any difference. I’m coming.”

“No! You can’t…there are evil people in the senate. You shouldn’t come here.”

“If there are evil people in the White Senate, then why do you work for them?”

“Because I was in too deep before I knew what I was into!”

This was strange.

He was scared of talking about it to me. He was scared of me coming here. He was scared…of himself being here.

“What can I do?” I asked him.

“What?”

“What can I do to help you?” There was something wrong here…so I had to help him. In any way I could, I would help Kyle through this.

“Just stay away from here. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

But can’t you see Kyle? It kills me to see you like this! Whenever you’re hurt, I’m hurt. But still you never tell me what’s really going on. You lie to try to protect me, but you need protection! You can’t hold the world on your shoulders! I wanted to tell him this, but I couldn’t. My mouth couldn’t form the words.

I knew one thing, though.

This time, I wouldn’t listen to him. I would come here tomorrow and find out what’s going on. I can protect myself.

“Whatever,” I told him. “I’ll see you later.”

“See ya, Larissa,” he finished.

I turned away and walked away from the courthouse while formulating my plan. It was almost out of my sight when somebody tapped me on the shoulder. I spun around and saw a tall man with sleek blonde hair and blue eyes in a white jacket. He was a White Senate member.

“Excuse me, miss,” he started. He had a pleasant voice, but I wasn’t sure about him. He seemed to be hiding something, but letting it show a little bit…on purpose? I was too startled to think the rest out. I wasn’t planning on seeing a senate member besides Kyle today.

“Uhh…hello,” I replied. What else did I say?

He smiled a strange smile…I couldn’t exactly read it, but it was either a snicker or a friendly smile, and I was leaning towards the first choice. “You’re Kyle’s new firend, right?”

“Yes, I am. How do you know Kyle? Who are you?”

“I am Lawrence, Kyle’s mentor in the senate. I’ve known him ever since he was a baby. And you’ve known him for…what, a week?”

“I guess about that long. What about it?” This guy was annoying me…and freaking me out. What did he want? What was going on?

“I’m just saying I think you know nothing about Kyle.” He was the one who knew nothing about him. “His ‘emotions’ he shows you are just an act: he doesn’t have any. Somehow he lost them.” He does have emotions, you liar. And even if he did lose them, it would be because of people like you.

“Kyle seems like a very nice guy to me.”

“But how do you know it’s not an act?”

“We trust each other?”

“So you don’t lie to him? And he doesn’t lie to you?” That’s what got me. I hesitated and he read my hesitation as a yes. “I know why he lies to you, but I won’t exactly tell you how…”

“Why does he lie to me? Tell me?”

He grinned. “Well, I’ll give you a hint.” He turned around and I looked at his back. “Between me and Kyle, I know when people will die in this town.” Clyde Rainfield! I had forgotten all about him! What did this man know? “Tomorrow, no one will die. The day after, someone will. After that day, two people will die the next. And when you see that come true…I’ll let you figure out the rest.”

He turned and walked away from me.

What was with this guy? Why was he planning people’s deaths? And how was Kyle involved?

Kyle had said, “If I told you anything, you’d probably never think of me the same way again, and losing you would be the worst thing that ever happened to me!”

Was this what he was talking about?

“When you see everything I told you come true, come back to this spot,” the man yelled back to me. That would only be a matter of days, then. In three days…three people will die…and on the fourth day…I come back here.

Walking back to the house I couldn’t hide I was a little fearful of what was going on. What was Kyle hiding from me? And why did that man want to show me the truth? He seemed so mysterious…even more than Kyle when I first met him. But he was the only chance I had to get into the court…into the depths of it.

Yet how could he plan the deaths of people in the city? Only one person had died so far. What were the chances more people would die? It was probably only a one-time thing. It had to be. But how could you tell?

How could you tell the killer would just stop at one.

I was shivering a little. Kyle was involved somehow…would he die? No…he couldn’t! Kyle cannot die! I won’t let him! But he was still involved…I couldn’t stop that now. He was in that mess somehow…

Was it because of the government? Because of the White Senate?

I got home with all this weighing down my mind. I thought that I might as well go to a therapist now before it got any worse. It was pulling my mind away at the seams: Kyle…death…me…

“Are you okay?” Kimmy asked me as soon as she saw me. She knew something had happened. Why did I have to reveal my emotions to the world so easily? At least Kimmy knew how to deal with them.

“Quick! Let’s get upstairs before mom sees the state I’m in,” I explained to her as she nodded in understanding. We both knew mom would have a lecture planned for the moment she thought I had my first breakup when it was actually something much more sinister…

We ran upstairs and into my room. Kimmy had an anxious expression on her face. “What happened, Larissa? Where did you and Kyle go? The courthouse?” The last thing she knew was Kyle and I had gone to the courthouse.

“Things are fine with me and Kyle,” I replied. At least…I think they are…but I can’t tell Kimmy that. “It’s this one guy that talked to me that freaked me out.” I explained to her how I thought he was in the White Senate.

“So what did he say?” Kimmy was dying to know.

I prepared myself for the enormity of the plan I was about to say. Everybody knew everybody in this town…so who ever he killed…we knew. “The man…he said…” I almost couldn’t spit it out. “He said he knew when people were going to die because of Kyle. He’s predicted no one will die tomorrow, but somebody the day after, and two people the day after that. It’s so morbid! How can he say that?” And how can Kyle be involved with something like that? I don’t understand it at all…but he wants me to come back on the fourth day.”

Kimmy was taken back. “Wh—what if people actually die?”

“They will die! There’s no question, Kimmy!” I just knew this man wasn’t toying with me…he said what he meant. He knew people would die, and he wanted me to come back after they died. What would he do if I did? What would he do if I didn’t?

“No, no, no! More people can’t die! Our friends could die! What would happen to the city? Everybody would be going crazy! They’d be executing so many people that probably didn’t even do anything! We can’t have our friends be killed either way! I won’t let it happen!”

There is one other thing everybody should know about the city besides the fact that it floats. Whenever someone dies…we throw the corpse off the city into the abyss below us. There’s nowhere else for the dead to go. We go to one the edges of the city and throw them off, with however much respect you can give in doing an act like that. But…when the city executes someone, they do it the same way, except they make them jump off while they’re still alive. The criminal jumps off the edge into the clouds below. The toxic air that made us escape to the sky will kill the criminal if they survive the fall. The city hadn’t executed someone for the longest time, but when they found the murderer, they are sure to sentence him to death. He will be executed while the town watches him fall to his death.

And Kyle is involved in all this somehow.

“How do we protect people? How do we know what to do? It could be us!” Kimmy was freaking out. It was so hard on me to see her lose her cool, calm self. It was times like these that made her shed her coat of happiness and show the true, caring side of Kimmy. But whenever that happened, it was always something sad. “It could be Kyle, or…or Mitch!”

“Listen, I’ll tell Kyle about it. I’m, sure he can do something.”

“Call the courthouse now. I’m scared of what will happen.”

I ran downstairs, grabbed the phonebook and dashed upstairs frantically. I was beginning to get as scared as Kimmy, but I had to keep my sanity. Kimmy would lose it if I did and mom wouldn’t believe us due to the teenage stereotype. I flipped through the pages until I got the number and dialed it.

“Hello, may I speak to Kyle of the White Senate? Tell him it’s Larissa.” The speaker on the other line wasn’t budging. “He will understand. We know each other very well.” The receptionist was iffy on this, but in the end let me speak to him.

“Kyle!” I yelled when he got on. “It’s so glad to hear from you. How are you? When can I see you again?” The thrill of Kyle had thrown me off a bit and Kimmy glared at me. I was sure to say it next time I spoke.

“It’s nice to hear you again, too. And, well…” He hesitated here. “I won’t be able to talk to you for a while. I’m sorry about it. Work is just…just…I can’t even describe it. Well, i