The people of Lancet Falls, Idaho are changing, and it's all because of an otherworldly light that only a few can see, but the changes are affecting everyone. Animals are dying, people are disappearing, and what's with the men in jackets twenty year...
Kate put a hand on Christopher's back, "It's okay Christopher, really." She applied a little pressure nudging him out of the room.
She waited until they got downstairs before she started on the lecture, "I hope you know how much harder you made this on her."
"You don't understand, I needed her."
"I understand perfectly Christopher. You can't help yourself, but Gracie needs better than that. She needs a dad that can control himself, and put himself aside for his daughter. I know you want to, but that's just not enough anymore."
"I can change, just give me another chance please. I've made so much progress. Ask Dr. Lewis, he'll tell you. Legally, he's not supposed to, but he will understand given the circumstances."
"I'm sure he'll testify in court Christopher, then we'll talk," she replied. She had a look on her face that looked familiar, but he couldn't remember what it meant.
Christopher wanted to ask her what it meant, but asking Kate how she felt tended to increase her irritation towards him.
"If the court says, can we all be a family again?" Christopher asked.
"It's a little too late for that. I've replayed that moment in my head a thousand times wanting to forgive you, wishing that it had never happened, wishing I could rewind us to that moment and do everything differently, but I can't. The time for you and I has passed, but if the doctor really thinks you've changed, I don't want to tear you out of Gracie's life. A girl needs her father."
Christopher nodded, "I wish I could take it all back too." He turned away from her, she grabbed his hand.
"I still love you ya know, I'll always love you," she said with a tenderness she only reserved for him and Gracie.
"Then I don't understand love."
He kept walking, hoping he could keep himself together long enough to leave the house and go where nobody would be able to see him. When he passed the archway to the living room, Christopher felt a blast of heat radiate from the entryway. The heat was stifling, hotter than the uncomfortable humidity of a sauna. Kate's mother still stood in the archway. She grimaced at the heat, but did not budge from her position.
They're trying to hide something from me.
Christopher wanted nothing more than to dive past her into the living room and reveal the subject of mystery. However, He'd already tested the frayed ends of Kate's patience far more than he should have, and this would be the tipping point.
Regaining his composure, Christopher continued to the door as if he didn't notice anything. Two sighs of relief sounded behind him.
The front closed with a soft click, and Christopher looked over the emptiness of Lancet Falls, devoid of all signs of life. There were no children playing outside. It was either too cold or they weren't home from school yet. No cars scooted by; most adults were still at work at this hour. Logically, it made sense why he didn't see anyone, but he couldn't shake an ominous feeling.
Lancet Falls is a ghost town.
Christopher was not a human that acted on instinct. He would arrive at a conclusion based on a series of factual reasoning, calculations, and a series of weighed out pros and cons. Despite all that, he couldn't banish that thought. It clung to him like a parasite.
He shivered, and it had nothing to do with the cold.
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Hey everybody!
This chapter was surprisingly hard to edit, and way more dialogue than I'm accustomed to! I hope it turned out alright. Emotional scenes with Christopher are tough to handle, but it touched me a lot. I hope things work out for him.
Hey this is the obligatory time I ask you to vote because it means a lot to me. :)
Finally, what did you guys make of the chapter? What do you think happened in their past? Did you like the introduction of Christopher's quasi-family? What about that blast of heat?
Thanks for reading this far! I don't think we'll be having another slow chapter like this for the remainder of the entire book, so I hope you all enjoy what's to come. I know I've loved writing it. :)
