Page 34 of The Sixth Spring

How had he never noticed?

Will collapsed into his dining room chair and put his head in his hands. He couldn’t unsee it. He lived in a place without blood or beating heart.

A coffin.

Just like his father.

###

Will showered, ate a sleeve of stale crackers, and tried to read one of his library books as the evening wore into night. It didn’t help. His stomach growled and his head hurt, and he kept checking the window to see if it was dark enough to go out.

Eventually, Will allowed himself to uncurl from the kitchen chair. His back was stiff from the position, and he stretched to try and loosen it. He went to the door, put his grimy shoes back on, and walked out into the night.

The first breath of night air as he stepped outside made him lighter. Like the weight he’d been towing on his shoulders since the morning had lifted. Tomorrow would suck, but tonight–

Tonight he’d see Itori again.

The walk back to Mercale Street was silent. When he got there, he found the sand had been mostly distributed, filling a good ten feet of road drain. They’d need a whole hell of a lot more sand to make a difference. There was just too much water.

Will stepped to the side and took off his shoes.

The water was just as cold as he remembered it as he stepped in. He waded up to ankles and then calves, following the road down.

Halfway there, he found where more sand had been deposited. On one side of the road they’d built up a dry patch with cinderblocks and sand, and placed a trailer on top. It was a cheap construction trailer, with cinderblocks for steps.

As Will got closer, he could see permit paperwork taped to the front in plastic sleeves.

Will waded slowly past, expecting at any moment for someone to shout at him about trespassing. But the lights were off, no one was around.

He got to the excavators and heard night bugs chirping away. Will did a sweep of the area, but could find no glimmering red eyes.

“Itori?” He called softly.

Crickets chirped and a frog croaked.

He called again. Then again. Then louder, almost shouting.

Itori wasn’t here. Every other time he’d appeared, the other creatures had fallen silent. Tonight it was anything but.

Had Itori been discovered? Or had he left?

Will shouldn’t wish for Itori to be here. If Itori had found a way to leave, if the vein had been reopened or he’d gathered enough energy, then it was good he’d gone. He didn’t want Itori to die here.

Will walked farther down the flooded road calling for him.

There was nothing but crickets.

Itori wasn’t coming. The reality of it sank like a stone to the bottom of his belly.

Eventually Will started shivering, and made himself turn around. He walked back to the construction trailer, stopping again to look at it.

He stared at the papers on the door. Likely, the trailer now held all the plans for the site development. All their small tools and machine keys. His eyes dropped to the door handle. He wondered if it was locked.

In an area like this, a lot of people left things unlocked. He was tempted to go and check.

And do what?

Will imagined himself going inside, rifling through the information there. But how would that help? If Itori was gone…