Young Writers Society

Ky absolutely not first. No sir. Absolutely not.

Pratik took one glance at Ky’s face and smirked. The girl was terrified. Already. And they hadn’t even started yet. It was hysterical. But also perplexing. Why in the world was she going on a hike like this if she was so skittish?

“Don’t mind if I do.” Pratik dipped his head and started for the trail.

Ky glanced at the others. On one hand, she didn’t feel great about having strangers behind her. She preferred to be able to watch everyone. On the other, she knew full well that she’d be a nervous mess — a nervouser mess— if she was left to imagine what was following her if it wasn’t these people. Middle of the pack was where it was safest. She started after Pratik.

Quinn followed Ky, leaving Gabriel to take up the rear. Quinn decided to assume that Ky and Pratik were both unfamiliar with the supernatural. Almost all of her cases with Gabriel had been ones where they were the only ones there. The few times where they had been other people, those people were either like Gabriel or were regular hunters. They knew how to handle themselves.

It was different dealing with people who hadn't dealt with the supernatural before. They should have tried convincing them not to come on the trail, even though Quinn knew it would be hard convincing Pratik. Ky seemed a little more nervous. It would have been easy to convince her.

But they were walking now, and Gabriel didn't seem to have a problem with keeping an eye on them.

Ky was anxiously looking at the trees as they walked — nervous that something was watching them and was going to appear out of nowhere all of a sudden to murder them all.

Pratik walked in silence for several long minutes, trying to let someone else start the conversation. But it was going to be a long hike if they all trudged along in silence. "So, uh, where you guys from?"

He looked over his shoulder and laughed when he saw Ky's expression. "How are you already spooked? Nothing scary has happened. Yet."

Ky frowned at him. She didn't appreciate him noticing, and she certainly didn't like him pointing it out. "It costs zero dollars to mind ya business."

Pratik laughed at that, then turned towards the others. "Fine, then. How about you?"

"It's okay to be afraid," Quinn said, glancing between Pratik and Ky. Her gaze lingered on Ky. She was trying her best to be comforting, but was sure her tone came across as awkward and a little nervous herself.

"We're from here and there," Gabriel said. "We travel a lot. Quinn's homeschooled, so we don't usually stay in one spot for long. What about you?"

Ky's gaze softened a bit as she met Quinn's eyes. It'd be nice to have her along for the trip -- rather than be stuck alone with these two cocky boys. She was skeptical about whether she'd end up liking them or not. But she gave Quinn a small smile.

"Same," Pratik answered. "I mean, not the whole school part, of course. But I get around. Wouldn't properly call anywhere home."

And who needed a home, anyway? He'd been doing just fine for himself without one. He'd leveled up. No need for a home. For parents. Or even for regular afood and shelter. He survived on spite and adrenaline alone. And he was running low on both of those things these days.

Was that a sign that Pratik was a hunter? It was hard to tell. Hunters had a tendency to be vague around people they weren't sure about. They didn't want to reveal the truth to people who didn't know about the supernatural, but also wanted to let other hunters that they were the same.

Admittedly, that was how the supernatural beings hunters chased down worked, too—they weren't too open with the truth, but hinted at it whenever possible.

"So what do you do, then?" Gabriel asked. "I do a few odd jobs, and our parents left us some savings, too."

"Ah, that's nice!" Pratik said, inclining his head. Perhaps having parents would have been nice, if they'd been decent. But he wouldn't know. His parents hadn't even given him a name, much less helped him get ahead in life. "I also pick up odd jobs. I'm pretty good at making myself useful to people."

Why did God hate Ky so much? That was the only thing she wanted to know. What had she done that was so awful that she deserved this? And was it too late to apologize for whatever it was? She wanted a do-over.

Pratik was looking at her again. "What about you?"

Ky wasn't interested in small talk. But if she had to spend the next however-long-it-ended-up-being with these people, she supposed she'd rather they be her friends than her enemies. Even if this trail wasn't haunted as it supposedly was, people were dangerous. Especially two random men she'd never met in her entire life that she was now venturing into the remote wilderness with. Great.

"I'm, uh, a personal assistant," Ky said, shrugging. "Do a lot of scheduling and correspondence and such."

That was better than most of the "odd jobs" that Gabriel had done. He had done a bit of message sending here and there when making deals, but it wasn't in the same kind of way that Ky did. Ky, at least, wasn't a hunter, and likely wasn't what Gabriel was, either.

"That sounds interesting," Quinn said. She paused for a moment, seemingly mulling over if she really wanted to tempt fate. Gabriel's posture tensed as Quinn asked, "...Who do you work for?"

Gabriel gave Quinn a "are you sure you really want to ask about that?" look, and Quinn returned it with "it's better to know that now than later" look.

Ky eyed Quinn for a moment -- why did she care? Ky didn't want to have to act as Aleth's representative. If his name was attached to her, then she had to be on her best behavior. And she wanted to be allowed to be as cowardly and grumpy as she wanted to be. Ky deserved that much. But she had to give an answer. "I work for a notary who also helps people draft contracts that aren't serious enough to warrant a lawyer."

Gabriel's posture loosened, and Quinn fought the urge to give a sigh of relief. She didn't need Gabriel to tell her that a sigh would be suspicious then—she didn't want to draw attention to herself.

"Oh," Quinn said. She was just grateful she wasn't working for someone who probably knew Quinn—or, at least, around have heard about Quinn Holt going missing.

"Yeah." Ky was grateful she didn't push the matter. Aleth wasn't a man to be trifled with, and she didn't want to be caught in the middle. Like always. "What... uh... grade are you in?"

It took Quinn a moment to remember what grade she would have been in if she had actually been going to school. A new year hadn't started since she started traveling with Gabriel, so she would still be in...

"Ninth grade," Quinn said, giving a tiny smile.

“Nice,” Ky said, returning the smile. “Favorite subject?”

"I like history," Quinn said. Gabriel smiled as he listened in on the conversation. Quinn's favorite kind of history wasn't the same kind she would have learned about in an actual school, but it was history all the same. "I also like English when we-I can read the right books."

After all of this time, Quinn apparently hadn't gotten used to not being part of an actual classroom.

"I like some classics," she said, "but I usually like more modern books better."

Gabriel grinned. "Frankenstein's my favorite."

Quinn shot him a somewhat salty look. Gabriel's grin only grew. She still hadn't forgiven him for messing with his form while she was reading that book. He doubted she ever would.

"It is," he protested. It was true. "I like the story of a creator turning away their creation."

(Not me, reading this right after I "woke up" aka was still asleep and then forgetting to reply, sorry! If I ever pass 24 hours without responding feel free to nudge me haha)

"It's a nice book," Ky murmured. Well, 'nice' probably wasn't the right word for it. But whatever. "Have you read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?"