Post by RILEY PARKER on Jan 31, 2023 22:43:16 GMT
”I’ll see you guys tomorrow morning,” Riley shot back over his shoulder. He raised a hand waving to the three students he’d been put together with for their group project. They were already drifting away in the opposite direction on the path they’d emerged onto from the woods. They had a longer walk back to their off campus housing, but at least they were together.
Riley stuffed his hands into his pockets, his shoulders already tensing as he started back towards the dorm rooms. If it hadn’t been for the project there was no way he would’ve been out in the woods that bordered the campus after dark. Too many things had happened out there, including his own death. He frowned, trying not to glance at the dark line of trees. The quarry was out there somewhere, the place where he died feeling like it had been permanently imprinted on him somehow. Now parts of the campus would be the same, the spot where the darach had caught up to Danny somewhere he couldn’t step foot in without feeling the grief open like a chasm inside of him. Some part of him was glad their time at the college was nearer its end than it’s start. They could get a place of their own, leave those memories behind the way they had done so many other things.
He fumbled for his phone in his pocket, glad for the light for a minute as it chased that dark back a little. His thumbs danced over the screen, telling Danny he was heading back. Maybe they could grab dinner on campus, or at the Grill if they were both feeling up to it, then he just wanted to curl up with it, bask in the feeling of Danny being back. Riley smiled faintly, feeling the solid warmth of his feelings in his chest, his anchor even when it wasn’t that time of the month. No matter what had happened to both of them, he was lucky to have had that with Danny.
Ten minutes, fifteen tops. Faster if he put a little speed on. Riley hitched his bag higher on his shoulders, careful not to disturb the vials of water in his pack. They’d collected them at quarter mile intervals from a creek that ran through campus and tomorrow they’d inspect them under the microscope in the lab, comparing each to the last to see if there were any particular conditions out there that affected the ecosystem of the water. He’d have to remember to get them into the fridge in their dorm room when they got back. Another task marked off in the list in his brain.
Approaching one of those houses on campus that’d slowly rotted into shells over the years, Riley picked through the list. There were plenty of spots out here that the school hadn’t bothered to maintain. They got the warnings over them every year – don’t venture off of the marked paths in certain areas, don’t go exploring, the school wouldn’t be liable if you ended up breaking your neck. Stiles had probably ignored every single one of them, jumping over the tape, pulling together every story he could find to try and prove that it wasn’t just Mystic Falls itself that could be spooky as hell.
Riley darted a glance up at the place. It was Victorian, he thought, although architecture wasn’t exactly his thing. The roof was littered with holes, the tiles probably knocked off by exploring students over the decades. The floors inside were supposed to be half rotten, what was left weak enough that it probably wouldn’t hold anybody’s wait. You’d have to be crazy to …
The girl threw herself at the attic window as he looked, her white dress billowing out behind her like the wind was cutting through the cracked panes of glass, even though there wasn’t even a breeze out here. Her mouth opened, a dark O forming. Jesus, someone had been stupid enough to go in there. Movement registered out of the corner of his eye, down here, not up in the house. Riley clutched a hand at his chest as he turned and saw someone approaching. ”You startled me. I think there’s …” His voice trailed off as he looked up at the house again. The girl was gone, no blur of white to behind the window to show that she’d backed up, no screams as though the floor had given out. What the hell? The pit of his stomach turned icy as he looked back. ”Did you see that? There was a girl up there.” He’d thought there was a girl up there. Had he just given himself a case of the spooks instead?
Riley stuffed his hands into his pockets, his shoulders already tensing as he started back towards the dorm rooms. If it hadn’t been for the project there was no way he would’ve been out in the woods that bordered the campus after dark. Too many things had happened out there, including his own death. He frowned, trying not to glance at the dark line of trees. The quarry was out there somewhere, the place where he died feeling like it had been permanently imprinted on him somehow. Now parts of the campus would be the same, the spot where the darach had caught up to Danny somewhere he couldn’t step foot in without feeling the grief open like a chasm inside of him. Some part of him was glad their time at the college was nearer its end than it’s start. They could get a place of their own, leave those memories behind the way they had done so many other things.
He fumbled for his phone in his pocket, glad for the light for a minute as it chased that dark back a little. His thumbs danced over the screen, telling Danny he was heading back. Maybe they could grab dinner on campus, or at the Grill if they were both feeling up to it, then he just wanted to curl up with it, bask in the feeling of Danny being back. Riley smiled faintly, feeling the solid warmth of his feelings in his chest, his anchor even when it wasn’t that time of the month. No matter what had happened to both of them, he was lucky to have had that with Danny.
Ten minutes, fifteen tops. Faster if he put a little speed on. Riley hitched his bag higher on his shoulders, careful not to disturb the vials of water in his pack. They’d collected them at quarter mile intervals from a creek that ran through campus and tomorrow they’d inspect them under the microscope in the lab, comparing each to the last to see if there were any particular conditions out there that affected the ecosystem of the water. He’d have to remember to get them into the fridge in their dorm room when they got back. Another task marked off in the list in his brain.
Approaching one of those houses on campus that’d slowly rotted into shells over the years, Riley picked through the list. There were plenty of spots out here that the school hadn’t bothered to maintain. They got the warnings over them every year – don’t venture off of the marked paths in certain areas, don’t go exploring, the school wouldn’t be liable if you ended up breaking your neck. Stiles had probably ignored every single one of them, jumping over the tape, pulling together every story he could find to try and prove that it wasn’t just Mystic Falls itself that could be spooky as hell.
Riley darted a glance up at the place. It was Victorian, he thought, although architecture wasn’t exactly his thing. The roof was littered with holes, the tiles probably knocked off by exploring students over the decades. The floors inside were supposed to be half rotten, what was left weak enough that it probably wouldn’t hold anybody’s wait. You’d have to be crazy to …
The girl threw herself at the attic window as he looked, her white dress billowing out behind her like the wind was cutting through the cracked panes of glass, even though there wasn’t even a breeze out here. Her mouth opened, a dark O forming. Jesus, someone had been stupid enough to go in there. Movement registered out of the corner of his eye, down here, not up in the house. Riley clutched a hand at his chest as he turned and saw someone approaching. ”You startled me. I think there’s …” His voice trailed off as he looked up at the house again. The girl was gone, no blur of white to behind the window to show that she’d backed up, no screams as though the floor had given out. What the hell? The pit of his stomach turned icy as he looked back. ”Did you see that? There was a girl up there.” He’d thought there was a girl up there. Had he just given himself a case of the spooks instead?
Tagged: Open Thread * Word Count: 788
hope to see you in the discord! 
