It would seem that Keaton hadn’t been the only one feeling a little uprooted. The following morning, everyone eventually succumbed to a grouchy, sullen, or otherwise unpleasant mood as they all tried (less than gracefully) to repair the ship. The ocean made sure they were constantly damp and freezing so they had to make many trips to the tepee over the course of the day to dry off and keep warm. Jay attempted, several times, to lighten the mood with a joke, but more often than not, it ended with a groan or a glare from Ann.
Dinner was planned out more strategically this time around, and it went more or less smoothly (compared to last night, that is) though the plain fish was hardly a distraction from the long, cold, tiresome day.
This grizzly reality continued on for three more days while Jay made absolutely sure that there were no leaks whatsoever on the ship. They did this primarily by harvesting the pine sap from the few trees growing on the island and turning it into a kind of tar they could use to waterproof the wooden boards. It didn’t turn out as perfectly as they would have liked, and there ended up not being enough to coat all of the patches, but hopefully it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Or so Jay said, at least.
Finally, on the fifth day of being stuck on that tiny island, they were ready to head back to the mainland. They collapsed the tepee, climbed aboard their ship, and set sail. Or at least, they would have if the ship still had any intact sails. Ann used her nautical know-how and water powers to help steer them north, toward Brookeside, but she made sure to keep them hidden in a bank of fog as they went. The closer they got to the cities, the more attention they would draw; the very last thing she was prepared to let happen.
Nya held on to one of the railings, trying not to get splinters stuck in her jacket sleeves, and stared out into the fog. It was kinda creepy not being able to see for very far like this. Just one more reason she didn’t like the ocean. The colder parts of the ocean, where fog was common place, anyway.
She noticed Cole sitting nearby, eyes closed. He was probably grateful for the calm seas today, considering how nauseous he had seemed the other day. Kai had gone below deck, trying desperately to keep warm, as he always seemed to do. (On the island, he had practically been a permanent attachment to the fireplace.) She supposed it all had to do with him being a “master of fire” or whatever they were called.
A breath of her’s suddenly puffed away into the cold air. What she wouldn’t give to have a jacuzzi or hot spring right now. That sounded heavenly.
Then an ocean wave cropped up and splashed her in the face as if to say, “oops, sorry, were you too warm? Let me fix that.” She spat out the salty taste and tried not to think about how many fish had peed in that water over the hundreds of years it had existed.
She decided she would move to higher ground and went up to where Ann was, steering the ship. “Hey,” she said, trying to sound casual.
“Hey,” Ann replied, glancing her way.
Nya leaned against the railing again and watched the water beneath them rush past. It was impossible to tell how deep that water went, or what was lurking there, just out of sight. With how cold it was, it was all too easy for a chill to ride up her spine.
“How long do you think it’ll take before we reach Brookeside?” She asked, trying to get her mind out of the water.
“A few days. Maybe.”
Nya thought for a moment. “So, by a few, do you mean two or three, or maybe four…?”
“I’m not one hundred percent sure. We’ll find out soon enough.” She didn’t so much as turn around to face her as she spoke. Just kept her eyes on the blank, white nothingness ahead of them.
“So what’s your deal?” Nya blurted. She crossed her arms and tilted her head. “Do you just enjoy being an ice queen, or is it in your blood?”
That got her to turn around. She wasn’t glaring, per say, but it was something very similar. Maybe more of a scowl.
“Ice is Zane’s department, so either go ask him, or keep quiet.”
She turned back to her work.
Nya felt the urge to squeeze something. Ever since they had first met, she had always been such an uptight, bossy, grouchy, gremlin. Especially toward her. Especially regarding her sister. And especially whenever anyone mentioned having fun. It’s like she was allergic to the very idea of being a normal teenager.
“It’s not my fault you don’t know how to have fun, you know,” she muttered.
“Excuse me?” Ann started, and it looked as though the bags under her eyes were getting darker. Nya shrugged. “I could have you locked up for insubordination like that, you know.”
“Maybe if we were in the army,” Nya countered, with just the slightest hint of snark. “But we’re not in the army, are we?”
“We’re running a military operation here.” Ann was narrowing her eyes more and more with each sentence, and gradually she turned around to face her fully.
Nya threw up her arms. “Seven teenagers on an old boat. Sure sounds like peak military operation to me!”
Ann rolled her eyes and went back to her steering. “You wouldn’t understand. You’re the one who’s too much of a baby to handle a simple mission. That’s why you chickened out of becoming a ninja.”
Nya seared a hole into the back of Ann’s head with her withering gaze and had to resist saying something far more mean. “Well, I wouldn’t expect you to understand. You were raised since birth to be a mindless killing machine.”
“I was raised to protect Ninjago,” Ann snapped, suddenly standing very close to Nya. “I was raised to stop evil people from hurting innocent lives. It’s my sworn duty as a ninja and as a student of Sensei Wu. I put others’ needs before my own. That is what I don’t expect you to understand.” Her glare might have been intimidating if Nya didn’t find it so arrogant.
As she began to turn away, Nya couldn’t help but slip out one last comment. “You can’t seem to put Keaton’s needs before your own.”
Ann stopped cold. Figuratively, and literally. “You leave my sister alone. Do you understand?”
Nya simply met her scowl and not another word was spoken between the two of them.
“Rawr, cat fight!” Came a voice from the deck below them. Then Ann waved her hand. There was a loud DONK, and then an “Ow!” Which sounded very much like Jay.
* * *
Wu stood alone at the peak of a low mountain and adjusted his heavy coat. The snow had let up some, but the wind was merciless, and cut through him, straight to his bones, like a samurai’s katana. The only thing keeping him from freezing to death was the roaring fire in front of him. On top of that fire, there sat a kettle, held aloft by a special stand. He was waiting for it to boil.
In his hands, he held a small pouch of dried herbs. Specifically, crushed orange flowers that smelled like honeydew and citrus. An ancient and powerful herb known now only to a few. Traveler’s Tea. Wu had found that it was most potent when used in high places, although getting to those high places was becoming more and more of a pain. He silently lamented his ageing joints and failing muscles. Even several hundred years seemed too short a time to be alive.
The kettle began to whistle, and he used his staff to lift it toward him. He needed to get this just right or else the tea wouldn’t work. He carefully emptied the contents of the little bag into the tea pot, followed by the hot water which he slowly poured in, moving it around and around in a circle, letting it cover all of the tea. It steamed terribly, what with the cold air and all, but Wu could see well enough to know what he was doing.
As the contents of the teapot swirled together, it began to glow. Orange at first, with little flecks of golden light scattered here and there, but the more it steeped, the brighter it became. He set the kettle down and held the teapot close to his face, staring deeply into its dazzling colour.
“To the fifth realm,” he said to it quietly. “To the Dark Realm.”
The water seemed to shimmer and its surface clouded over with purple clouds. There. It was ready. He placed the lid on and stood, careful not to let his robes fall into the fire. Then he began to walk around in a circle, pouring the tea onto the ground as he went. The flames flickered and lurched as the tea began to work its magic, pulling them down and using its power and heat. When the circle was complete, there was a flash of light and the fire burst into golden light, revealing a portal in the ground where the fire pit had been.
Putting the teapot down, he made a silent prayer… that his brother would be alive when he reached the other side.
* * *
Jay found Cole shadow boxing below deck during their second day at sea. “Trying to keep from going stir-crazy?” He asked as he looked for leaks in the floor.
“Well, gotta stay in shape,” he replied simply. He let his arms fall and took a few breaths. “Besides, gotta be ready for when I become the Green Ninja.” He sounded like he could be kidding, but he also sounded like he might be a little bit serious.
Jay clucked his tongue as Cole bent down and started doing pushups. “Oh ye of misplaced faith. I hope you aren’t too disappointed when we find out who the real Green Ninja is.”
Cole chuckled good-naturedly, not breaking his rhythm. “We’ll see.”
Jay scratched at his arm absentmindedly as he walked through the many rooms below deck. There were a few areas dripping water, but they were easy enough to fix with what little left over pine resin they had. He passed by the barracks and saw Kai bundled up in the (now dry) blankets and pillows. The room was unexpectedly warm as well, for being submerged beneath a winter sea that is, but he chalked it up to Kai’s powers.
“Ah!” He gasped, clinging to the wall. He looked down at his arm and peeled back his sleeve, dreading the inevitable sight of black veins. However, it wasn’t quite what he had expected. It was worse. It seemed as though the infection had spread, even if only a little, snaking toward his wrist and elbow, and there seemed to be some green colouring coming in around the area where the initial cut had been. Not exactly the result he had been hoping for. Still, there was a chance it could go down eventually, right? He never really paid attention in anatomy class.
Either way, the pain was going down now, so it was fine. He just needed to keep weathering it until he got through it. Eventually it would go away. He had to keep believing that.
Continuing the search for leaks was a good way to keep his mind off of things, although after a few minutes he found himself all out of boat to inspect, so he walked back over to where Cole was. He was muttering, “sixty-seven… sixty-eight… sixty-nine… seventy…” and looked like he hadn’t even broken a sweat yet.
Resisting another bout of itchiness, he leaned against the nearest wall and asked, “So how come you never mentioned that your dad is some famous singer before?”
Cole paused. “Never came up. …seventy-two…” The stiffness in his voice did not imply that he was enjoying this conversation. Quite the opposite, actually. But Jay wasn’t one to pick up on such subtleties.
“If my dad were famous I don’t think I could ever stop talking about him.” In his head, though, he couldn’t really imagine what his dad might be famous for. His mechanic skills were good, but hardly something someone becomes a celebrity for.
“You don’t seem to need a famous dad for that…”
“Huh?” Jay asked, just missing what it was Cole had mumbled.
“Nothing,” said Cole. “Seventy-nine… eighty…”
Jay watched him for a second and that hint of negativity was beginning to dawn on him. Perhaps he would just wait until they got to Brookeside to see for himself what Cole’s dad was like.
Speaking of Brookeside, the image if the Winter Fest filled his thoughts, warming him up a little. Growing up, he would always go to the festivals in Ninjago City, which were pretty big and exciting, but they never had the infamous ice and snow sculptures that Brookeside was renowned for. He could already picture all the booths and restaurants lit up by a million fairy lights, ribbons, bells and tinsel, while a gentle snow fell on the crowds of people listening to live music and checking out the sculpture competition. A far cry from the old tub he was standing in now. As far as he was concerned, they couldn’t get to Brookeside fast enough.
Actually, now that he thought about it, maybe he ought to go up and see for himself how close they were getting.
When he poked his head outside, they were still in that dense fog, so he sauntered up to Ann who was still by the steering wheel.
“Hey, Ann. How much further—“
She turned and gave him a look that said, “I am massively sleep deprived. Say one more word and I will rip out your tongue.”
“Never mind,” Jay quickly said, turning around. He could just wait.
Jeez, everyone was just getting crankier and crankier. Maybe the Winter Fest was what they all needed to relax. Especially Ann.
He milled about on the deck for a while, trying to pass the time, but failing miserably.
* * *
Lloyd trudged along with the crowd of snakes as they navigated the cave tunnels. Down here, you could almost forget that it was winter up above.
The days passed by without much recognition, blurring into each other until they were one dull mass. He vaguely recalled their brief trip to the surface to retrieve the first Fang Blade, but even that was slowly beginning to fade. Part of him wanted it to. The way the ninja had looked at him when they saw his… different appearance… Pythor said that his new body was a strength, but that experience had made him feel like hiding again. No one could make him feel ashamed if he never saw anyone.
His tongue felt restless and flicked out of his mouth, tasting the air. There was a distinct smell up ahead, getting stronger, almost like moss and mould. Potentially, that meant they were getting close.
The leaders of the tribes were spearheading the expedition, and he could just hear their whispering from where he was marching, but he didn’t bother to try and figure out what they were saying. Sometime in the last few weeks he had stopped caring. This was his tribe now, those were his leaders, and this was his life. His heavy eyelids weren’t the only things compelling him to submit; the venom of the Fangpyres was also quite potent.
“Get out of the way,” a Constrictai grumbled as he shoved passed Lloyd, bumping him quite harshly.
‘Whatever,’ Lloyd thought. There was no point in arguing.
The group suddenly came to a stop and Lloyd had to keep himself from walking into the Hypnobrai in front of him.
“This-s-s is-s-s it!” One of the leaders exclaimed.
“Lloyd!” Pythor called out. “Come here, won’t you, old boy?”
Without lifting his eyes, he did as he was told and saluted before the leaders.
“Would you care to do the honours?” Pythor indicated to a hallway just up ahead. It looked man-made and perfectly empty.
“Umm… s-s-sure…” said Lloyd, taking a hesitant step into the hall. He had this bad feeling in his gut, though, and stopped to scan the walls and floor. “What exactly… am I looking for again?”
Pythor slithered up behind him and rested a scaly hand on his shoulder. “The second Fang Blade should be right up ahead,” he explained. “We feel that—since you were the one who rescued the first blade—you should be the one to retrieve the second. It’s a very auspicious honour.”
Lloyd looked down the hall, his fears easing somewhat at Pythor’s words. Then the snake gently nudged him forward.
“Don’t be shy, now.”
“Right… okay…” Lloyd muttered, taking another step. He just needed to get to the end of the hall and find the Fang Blade. Simple enough. So why, even after Pythor’s words of encouragement, did he still have this nagging feeling that something was wrong?
CA-CHUNK.
Something beneath his feet stirred. He felt the floor becoming unstable, so he started running forward, trying to make it to the end of the hall. Without looking down, he could feel the tiles of stone falling away at his feet and his heart spiking in his chest with every near miss. At last he reached the end, clinging to the frame of a doorway as he breathed out his stress. When he turned around, the floor had disappeared. Beneath it, a pool of spikes ready to impale him.
“Good show, my boy!” Pythor cheered from the other end. “Well done! Now get the Fang Blade!”
Well, it made some amount of sense that he had been sent. After all, he was smaller and lighter than most of the snakes, so perhaps Pythor was just being practical by sending him out ahead of them. He was a very smart snake.
Lloyd turned around and entered through the door frame. The room inside was small and dark and he needed to feel his way around, getting his hands wrapped in cobwebs most of the time. He had to fight the urge to bite at some of the spiders he felt crawling along his arms, forcing his newly fanged teeth to remain inside his mouth.
After a minute or so of searching, he felt a pedestal in the middle of the room, although there was nothing on it. He checked the floor, he checked the walls, and he checked the pedestal one more time. That was it. No other doorways, no other spaces of any kind, just the pedestal and no Fang Blade.
“Lloyd! What in the blazes is—ahem—I mean… what, may I ask, is taking so long?” Pythor called.
“The blade is-s-s gone!” He called back, ignoring his master’s slight loss of temper.
“WHAT?!” Several voices cried.
“S-s-search again!”
“That bumbling human wouldn’t know heads-s-s from tails-s-s!”
“I’m looking! I’m looking!” Lloyd tried to assure them as he fell on his hands and knees and went over the little room again and again, but there was nothing but stone, moss, cobwebs, and more spiders. This time, due to the stress of the situation, he let himself chomp down on what felt like a large spider, but then his human senses reacted accordingly and made him spit it out again.
“It’s-s-s not here!” He yelled, wiping his mouth and feeling like some form of punishment might be upon him. “I’m s-s-sorry! I’m s-s-sorry!”
He curled up into as tight of a ball as his body would allow and listened for the sounds of angry snakes. He was not disappointed. They were arguing now, about what, he couldn’t ascertain, but he was certain he heard his name thrown around at least once. Maybe if he appealed to Pythor they would let him off with a slap on the wrist?
Then the Serpentine went silent.
“Lloyd?” Pythor called. “Come along, we’re leaving.”
Lloyd lifted his head and could see the torchlight of the group growing dimmer as the crowd began to move away. Pythor was the only one waiting for him. He didn’t want to be left behind, so he scrambled to get to his feet and rushed to the doorway, whereupon he was confronted with the spikes. There was only one solution, and he already knew it would entail pain.
He lit up his right hand with golden energy and—
“AAAGH!!!”
The pain, for whatever reason, was driving him mad. Never before had it hurt THIS much! He felt his body lurch to the side and he slid down the door frame until he had almost collapsed onto the floor, clutching his hand. But this needed to be done. He would never reach the other side if he didn’t create a path. So, still screaming in agony, he reached out his hand and created a wooden plank for himself to walk over. By the time he had finished, the Serpentine already had a significant lead.
“I’m… coming!” He called, gasping. He tried to stand, but his knees kept knocking together and he fell onto the wooden plank. So his legs wouldn’t work. So what? He still had arms that he could pull himself along with. The long crawl across the plank was excruciating, and more than a little humiliating, but Lloyd was relieved when Pythor went out to meet him just before he reached the other side, grabbing him with his tail and pulling him the rest of the way.
“Thanks Pythor…” he breathed, trying to remember how to walk again.
“Think nothing of it, boy. Now come on, hurry up, hurry up!”
“S-s-so… where are we going now?” He looked up ahead at the rest of the group wondering if they would just go and try to find the next blade on the list.
“Oh, we intend to find the missing Fang Blade. Our plan won’t work until we have all four of them.” Pythor sounded very serious.
“S-s-so then… how do we find it?”
“…Any way we can.”
* * *
Cole watched the horizon carefully. It was the morning of the third day out at sea, and something inside was telling him that any minute now, they’d surely reach Brookeside. His foot was tapping against the floorboards and his hands were wrapped up tight together. This had been a bad idea. He should’ve kept his mouth shut. It was probably just a coincidence.
When he closed his eyes he could already see his father’s disapproving scowl. His twitching moustache, his knitted eyebrows, his wrinkly, sour face… he would ask where Cole had been all this time, and why the sudden visit? And then he’d have to come up with a convincing lie and then somehow get the conversation to flow toward the competition and the trophy without it seeming too odd, or… he just had another thought. If he showed up asking about that trophy—which was worth a lot of money, since it was so old and made with gold plating and all—would his father think he was planning to steal it? He just had another thought. Were they planning to steal it? If it actually had the blade in it, wouldn’t they need to get their hands on it? His leg was bouncing so much now, the whole ship could hear it banging against the floor boards.
“Okay, who’s tap dancing up here?” Jay asked, coming above deck. Keaton was right behind him.
“It’s very loud,” the little ninja complained.
“Sorry,” said Cole, hanging his head and trying to keep his body still. Then he straighten and turned around. “I’ve been thinking, though… I mean… what are the odds that the trophy really has a real, genuine Serpentine dagger in it? It’s probably just decoration.”
“Well it better be real, or else we’ll have come all this way for nothing,” Kai moaned, emerging from below deck. He looked about as happy as a penguin in a desert.
“Well, even if it’s not, we can ask what it was based off of. Either way, we’ll have a lead,” Keaton pointed out, optimistic as usual.
“I’m just ready to be off this ship,” said Jay, stretching somewhat. “And maybe we can get some actual supplies while we’re there.” The others joined in with various things they’d like to do once they reached land, mostly involving food and other comfort based supplies. Heaters, for example.
“Actually,” Cole blurted, “I think it might be best if… I’m the only one who goes into town.” The others stared at him, a mixture of surprised and disappointed. “It’s just… one person will go much more unnoticed than seven, and I know the town better, so… you know…”
“…no takoyaki?” Keaton asked, her eyes growing the tiniest bit bigger. Cole sighed. He didn’t want to ruin their plans—goodness knows they deserved to have a little fun after everything that’d happened—but… he just couldn’t risk them being around to meet… his dad. It would be way too awkward and embarrassing.
“He’s right,” Ann called from the upper deck. “He’ll be much less conspicuous on his own.” The others seemed to pout a bit and stared sullenly at the floor. Cole wanted to be relieved… except their pouty, mopey selves with their stupid pouty, depressed faces just had to go and twist up his heart strings.
“Fine,” he relented, knowing he was bound to regret it later. “I guess it wouldn’t be so bad if you guys looked around a bit. But no running off, no arguing, making a scene, or drawing any attention whatsoever!”
“Dude. We are literally ninjas,” said Kai with an expressionless face.
“Dude. We are literally the worst ninjas ever,” Cole threw back, mentally recapping all the things they’d done over the last year alone that had gotten them so much attention it wasn’t even funny.
“Yes! Finally, something fun to do!” Keaton was saying as she and Jay did a little victory dance.
“Oh yeah, up top, short stack!” Said Jay, offering a double high five. She had to air jump to reach his lanky arms, but the double high five was worth it. “Woo!”
“Everyone keep your voices down,” Ann ordered. “We’re getting close to the shallows.”
They were all by the railing in a heartbeat. They weren’t entirely sure exactly what they were looking for, but they knew they wanted to see anything other than white fog. Then, like a blanket pulled back, they left the fog bank and were blinded by a crystal clear, blue sky shining down on a beautiful coastal town with a bustling harbour, a decent business district, and a lavish housing district, all still coated in a perfect layer of fresh snow. They were approaching from the east side of town, keeping close to the rural shore instead of heading into the harbour. Actually, they were pulling up rather close to a section of stubby cliffs, dotted with trees. It was more or less out of sight of the harbour proper, though any passing boats could probably see them.
The others breathed out “ooohs” and “aaahs” as they approached, but all Cole could do was try to ignore the squirming feeling in his stomach. Never once did he ever imagine that he’d be bringing his new friends to his hometown. He pulled his jacket more firmly around himself.
Ann docked the boat by the cliffs and they used Zane’s powers to freeze the ship to the shore. It didn’t look too out of place, considering the weather, and it gave them a little ice bridge for them to use to get to shore.
“Hot cider, here I come!” Jay cried, ready to hop over the railing.
“Hold it!” Everyone turned to look at a very tired Ann. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Santa’s Workshop,” Jay replied dryly. “Where does it look like I’m going?”
“I thought we already agreed only Cole should go,” she said, ignoring his comment.
“About that,” said Cole, rubbing the back of his head. “I kinda said it would be fine. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?” He added after seeing the exasperated look growing on her face. She groaned and rubbed her eyes. “You look like you could use a break too.” She seemed to pause and think.
“…fine. Fine. Fine,” she said, throwing up her hands in surrender. “But so help me, if things take a turn for the worse, I will not hesitate to drag you all back here by the ears if I have to, understood?” They all nodded, though more for the sake of getting her speech over with than anything else. “Alright. Lead the way, Cole.”
Cole turned around, hoping the others couldn’t tell how much he was dreading what was about to happen, and climbed down to the ice bridge. It was a bit of an adventure getting across the thing and there were several slips among the group, namely Nya who seemed very hard pressed when it came to balance, but eventually they were on solid ground again.
As Jay knelt down and hugged the earth dramatically, Cole was busy finding his bearings. He’d never been to this particular part of the woods before, but based on where it was located compared to the town, it wasn’t hard to figure out which direction they should start in.
The forest was mainly red maple trees, and their bright leaves could still be seen poking out of the thin layer of snow. Cardinals and bluejays darted about in the trees, and foxes retreated into their burrows, giving the place a sense of life and comfort. It got even better once they reached the nearest bike path.
“Mmmmm Oden,” Jay sighed, his nose in the air.
“Is that what that wonderful smell is?” Keaton asked.
“Oh yeah, it’s the perfect stew for this time of year,” he nodded, taking another big sniff. “Boiled eggs, tofu, burdock root, chicken…”
“Is food all you can think about?” Ann asked.
Jay turned around sharply. “We’ve been eating nothing but fish for over a week. Yes.”
“He’s got you there,” Nya chirped, looking just the tiniest bit smug.
Ann rolled her eyes and kept the rest of her thoughts to herself.
Cole listened to the conversation as a means to try and distract himself from the coming doom. Every step he took made him more and more nervous. Not even the smell of Oden stew, or the neighbourhood dog walkers could make him feel any better. Although Keaton seemed to enjoy petting each and every dog that went passed.
Eventually, they started seeing buildings, and before long they were walking through the housing district. This part of town, he knew. They were about six or so blocks from his dad’s house.
“Hey, so, you guys wanna go check out the market while I go see—“ Cole started, but was unceremoniously cut off by Ann.
“Absolutely not. We should stick together whenever possible.”
“Alright,” he sighed, and continued leading them through the suburban streets.
“This is where you grew up?” Keaton asked. “All these houses look so fancy!”
Cole looked around and noted the manicured lawns, the large windows, the white picket fences, the balconies and columns here and there. It was, now that he thought about it, a rather nicer area than most.
“Ooh, this one has a bunch of fairy lights!” Keaton exclaimed, pointing at one house in particular.
“Keaton, low profile, remember?” Ann said quietly.
“Sorry,” she muttered.
Most of the walk was carried out in silence, with only the occasional comment about the beautiful houses or oddly quiet neighbourhood. Every time a car drove passed, Cole felt the urge to pull his hood up, desperately hoping that his father wasn’t in one of those cars.
Then, after half an hour of agonising waiting, they turned a corner, and there it was. The same two story, brick house with the large front yard. There were no decorations on this house, no candles in the windows, and compared to the others, you could almost tell that there was something sad about it. At least, Cole thought so.
“Okay,” he said, stopping. “You guys wait here. I’ll just be a few minutes.” Then he took off across the street before anyone could object. He just needed to have a quick conversation with the man. No bringing up past arguments, no name calling, or anything of the sort. He would be amiability itself.
As he walked up to the front porch, a flood of memories suddenly came back to him. Namely the last time he had gone down those steps… about two years ago now. He stared at the crystal window set into the door, and then stared at the doorbell. It felt kind of weird to ring your own home, but… after everything, it also felt kinda weird not to.
He squared his shoulders, took a breath, and pressed the button.
“Coming, coming,” said someone from within. It was too late to chicken out now. The door swung open, revealing a man that barely came up to Cole’s chest, wearing an old tweed jacket and a red bow tie. Cole also noticed that he was using a wooden cane. “Hello?” He said, and then his eyes traveled upwards until they reached Cole’s face. “Cole?”
;)
Amazing chapter! Keep up the awesome work!!