Chapter III

Chapter 3 of the novel Reapers

Marielle hopped gracefully into the passenger seat of Emery's Bronco, pulling her seat belt around her promptly. Emery followed, climbing into the driver's seat and tossing his apron into the back seat.

"Alright, let's get out of here!" Emery cheered enthusiastically, shuffling for his keys. As he placed them in the ignition and gave it a swift turn, the engine, however, was less than enthusiastic. As he turned the key, all that could be heard was what sounded like the engine desparately trying to come to life through a series of sputters and squeaks, only to give an exhausted huff and fall silent again. Believing that the third time was the charm, he tried it again, finally getting the reassuring drone of engine noise as the Bronco roared to life.

"Lord, please do not let me get stranded in the woods with this fool," Marielle jokingly prayed as the shook her head with complete pessimism.

"Oh come on now, don't hate on the dinosaur. She's still got plenty of life left in her," Emery reassured her, patting the dashboard gently before shifting the truck into reverse.

They made their way hastily out of the parking lot and headed towards Raven's Pass, which was a good drive into the woodlands surrounding them. It was all the more reason for Emery to strike up the conversation that he knew they were both dying to have.

"I feel like I barely know November anymore," Emery commented, hoping that Marielle would reassure him that she felt the same.

"Well, you know it's got to be hard for her. She's got a lot going on. I'm sure she doesn't ditch us on purpose. We can't ask her to, I mean, look at what all she's doing," Marielle, shrugged, knowing that Emery meant well, but not sure if he really understood the gravity of November's current situation.

"I know, I feel terrible for Nate, and I know November is doing her best to help her mom and to take care of him, but it's like she's completely forgotten about herself. It's sad to see. I can't imagine what it's like to just...watch someone you love die right in front of you, so maybe I'm just being selfish," Emery continued, sighing to himself and feeling the all too familiar feeling of regret beginning to crawl over him.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. I know you just miss her, is all. It is really heart-breaking to watch. It's just consuming her, the whole situation. I understand what you're saying, she just needs to stop and breathe every once in a while. I know you mean well," Marielle reassured him, flashing him a friendly smirk. "The girl never leaves her house, and when she does, she's so zoned in on getting back that she just...shuts everyone out."

"Yeah, that's all I meant. November never does anything with anyone anymore, and I've talked to Nate a few times about it. He feels like he took her life from her, even though he knows that's not true. He even tries to tell her to go out sometimes, just so that she could have some time for herself, but she won't," Emery explained as they drove along the dimly lit highway. "I just can't bring that up to her, though. She would take it completely the wrong way and would feel like we don't support what she's doing for her brother, and it's not that at all."

"All we can really do is just be there for her, you know? There's going to come a time, and I hate to say it, but Nate won't be here anymore, and then she's going to really need us, so all we can really do right now is just try to be here for her in whatever way we can. I know what you mean, though. I miss our little trio, too," Marielle admitted, sighing softly as she turned to stare out of the foggy window.

The truck fell silent as they continued on their way to Raven's Pass. They'd both fallen into their own thoughts on November's situation and talking about it only made them feel worse. Things hadn't been the same in a while. They used to be inseparable, but since Nathaniel had gotten sick, they didn't see much of November outside of work. Neither could blame her, but it took its toll on everyone. While they wished the best for Nathaniel, they wanted their friend back, but they knew that was selfish of them, so Marielle and Emery could do nothing but accept how things were for now. It just wasn't the same without her.

The highway carried on through the darkness for the next few miles before they arrived at a small opening in the surrounding woods. It contained a narrow dirt trail that led deep into the woodland. Emery grabbed the steering wheel and pulled it to the left, guiding the truck down the eerie path.

"Could we live in a creepier town? I mean really. I feel like we should just have a picture of a redneck with a bloody axe on our welcome sign. There's nothing fun to do around here, and the one thing that can be, has to be on Murder Me Avenue", Marielle ranted, throwing her hands up at her surroundings.

"I think you're being a little dramatic, don't you?" Emery replied, finding something oddly relaxing about the fact that they were miles from any sort of civilization. "The woods are peaceful. It's just nature. Not every forest is going to have a psycho with a chainsaw just waiting in it to turn you into human sushi," He continued, rolling the window down to get a better view of the area. "See, nothing but fresh air and a little fo-"

Emery was cut off as he slammed on his brakes as a large creature crossed the path of his windshield, forcing him to swerve into the surrounding grass.

"Oh my God!" Marielle exclaimed, slamming her hands down onto the dashboard to keep from bashing it with her face. "It's just an owl!" She roared, throwing her hands up in its direction as the large bird let out a loud "whooo" and continued on its flight. "Yeah, relaxing, peaceful, huh!?"

"Sorry, I just..wasn't expecting an owl the size of a 747 jet to cross right in front of me!" Emery apologized, pulling the truck back onto the dusty road. "I think we're almost there." He added, nodding towards the bright orange glow flickering in the distance.

"Thank goodness, wouldn't want another man-eating owl to turn this truck over," Marielle mocked, smiling to herself.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Emery groaned, finding his way down the remaining portion of the road to find a large group of empty parked cars next to the open field that held the bonfire.

Emery parked the truck at the end of the makeshift parking lot, cutting the lights and noisy engine off as he did. The two exited the truck, pushing the creaky doors closed behind them. The air was thick with the scent of the tall pines that crowded the wooded area surrounding them and the pungent odor of burning embers. There was a crowd surrounding the relatively tall, crackling flames several feet from them. The ground seemed to be littered with the iconic red plastic party cups, a sure sign that the people who were there were already on the fast track to making bad decisions.

While Raven's Pass was located in the actual town of Angel's Crossing, young people from other surrounding towns would sometimes find their way over. It typically never ended well, as most small towns seemed to always have some sort of unspoken rivalry between them. Fortunately for the people from Angel's Crossing, when it came to Raven's Pass, they at least had home field advantage, not that that was saying much.

"Looks like the party got started without us," Emery teased, kicking one of the bright red cups only to watch it bounce lightly in the dirt and rest near several others on the ground. "Any idea who's here?"

"No idea, I just heard a few people were heading out here tonight, you know, just those annoying Facebook acquaintances you don't really pay much attention to unless they have free alcohol," Marielle giggled, pulling the sleeves down on the hoodie she'd put on in the truck on the way over. "It's freezing out here, though."

"Oh good, the rest of you caught up with your icy heart?" Emery joked, nudging Marielle playfully as they made their way over to the fire. "Also, you could try getting close to this magnificent new invention known as a fire," He continued, extending his arms out in presentation of the blaze they had approached.

"Oh hardy-har. You're hilarious. I have a heart of gold," Marielle defended, placing her hand over her heart dramatically. "I'm an absolute doll," She added, casting a wink in Emery's direction.

"Yeah, if we're referring to the bride of Chucky, maybe," Emery retaliated, chuckling softly to himself as he adjusted his thick wool-lined jacket, glancing at the crowd around him. He had put it on earlier as a back-up plan just in case the people out at Raven's Pass had gotten too drunk and forgotten to tend to the fire. Luckily that was not the case and he was now plenty warm.

Marielle and Emery took a long look at the people crowded around them. There seemed to be very few people from Angel's Crossing out tonight and moreso from the neighboring town of Rouler. While they were used to seeing unfamiliars out in Raven's Pass, it was usually never this one-sided. This wouldn't have been a problem if there wasn't always talk of Rouler boys stirring up some kind of trouble every where they went, especially when alcohol was involved. They were gathered in small groups, mostly talking and laughing loudly amongst themselves. It seemed they had brought a few kegs with them, with people approaching the kegs as they pleased. They were propped up on the tailgates of two nearby trucks that were backed relatively close to the fire.

"Well, thanks. I love you too. I'm gonna get a drink, you want one?" Marielle asked, tipping her head towards the twin kegs that sat on the neighboring truck's tailgate.

"No, I'm fine. One of us has to drive home, remember?" Emery answered, following Marielle as she made her way over to the beer supply.

It was surrounded by what looked like a pack of howling gorillas. The majority of them seemed to be hammered frat boys who could barely stand. They were stumbling around the back of the truck, groping whatever poor female who had the misfortune of walking past them. On top of that, nearly everything out of their mouth was some sort of horrendously innapproriate remark to any passerby only to be followed by an eruption of obnoxious laughter.

"Let's make this quick, please." Emery pleaded, nudging Marielle to hurry it along so they could get away from the goons.

"Yeah, totally." Marielle agreed, grabbing a nearby plastic cup and wandering silently up to the keg behind a few other party goers.

"Well you're new here, beautiful!" boomed one of the drunken morons, hopping down from the back of the truck only to stumble and almost land face first in the fire.

Emery let out a small snicker as he tried to turn the other direction and mask it so that he wouldn't get caught.

"What're you laughing at?!" The idiot growled at Emery, focusing his attention back to Marielle as Emery simple threw his hands up while they remained in his pockets to show he had no idea what the guy could've meant.

"Yeah, just came over to get a drink!" Marielle entertained them, flashing them her charming smile as she headed up to the keg's spout.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa.. who said you can have a drink? I mean, come on, what're we getting outta that?" The frat boy rambled, trying his best to hold his balance.

"Well, it seems like no one else is giving you anything, so why should I?" Marielle stood her ground, placing her free hand on her hip

"Well there's always a price for outsiders, baby doll," the guy continued, moving closer to Marielle as Emery realized nothing good was going to come of this. "So why don't you give me some sugar and we'll call it even?"

The look of repulsion that bled across Marielle's face was indescribable. She hastily slammed down the plastic cup on the bed of the truck and turned to walk away as Emery pulled his jacket up over his face to contain his laughter. The entertainment quickly died, however, as Marielle felt a violent jerk against her upper arm.

"Hey, look here b***h, I wasn't kidding!" the frat boy roared, snatching Marielle back to him as she stared at him in disbelief.

"Let go of me!” Marielle exclaimed, slapping the drunk profusely, but to no avail.

Emery knew it was time to step in and that the joke was over. He rushed over to the scuffle, grabbing the drunk’s hand and tore it off of Marielle’s arm.

“Leave her alone, dude, seriously,” Emery warned, stepping between Marielle and the man to shield her as they began to step back and away from the stranger.

“Or what!? You’re gonna beat me up?!” The guy let out a howl of laughter as he shoved Emery violently, sending him hard into the ground as Marielle barely dodged out of the way in time.

“Emery, are you alright?!” Marielle rushed to his side, making sure he hadn’t fallen on anything out there in the dark. “Enough! This is ridiculous! Just get lost!”

Marielle fell backwards as she felt Emery’s body slam into hers as the drunk landed a hard kick right in the center of Emery’s stomach. People had begun to crowd around and watch, to make matters worse. She could hear him groaning as the drunk continued to kick him several more times including in the face. Marielle wasn’t going to sit by and let him be beaten to a pulp right in front of her. While she was a small girl, she was fully capable of clawing this moron’s eyes out. She leap from the ground and charged at the man, jumping onto him at full speed. He tumbled like a small tree to the ground, Marielle wiping out any balance he had remaining.

“I said stop!” She roared, tearing at his face as she suddenly felt herself being flung into the air. The drunk had tossed her to the side with ease as she landed violently in the dirt near him, a soft moan of pain escaping her lips as she rolled back up, her entire body throbbing.

Marielle could see the drunk regain his footing and making his way back to Emery, who was clearly bleeding from what seemed to be above his eye and mouth. At this point, Marielle felt fairly helpless, and what's more, no one seemed to care enough to stop gawking and help.