The Key Chased the Blade

"Are you cold?" Simon asked as we walked.

"Nah," I said, even though I was. I didn't want to admit it to him; I felt pretty stupid for not bringing a jacket. I should've expected this weather. Early mornings here were really chilly, and it was just going to keep getting worse as the weeks went by and winter came. There was already some frost in places on the grass.

Simon knew me better, though. God, that's what I get for being his friend all these years. He took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders, his skinny arms already getting goosebumps. I swear he weighed less than I did even though he was practically a foot taller. Jesus. I scowled at him, but put the fuzzy coat on anyway. It was actually pretty warm. It was too big on me though.

Simon smiled his stupid dorky smile, which made me think that he was getting back to normal. I made an ugly face at him.

"It's your fault if you get hypothermia," I said.

"I accept that possibility and will continue my trek with you," he said. "Do you want my gloves?"

"No."

"Okay, I'll believe you on that."

And we went on walking.

"You know, I have never skipped before in my life," Simon noted.

"Yeah, I know that. You're a big scaredy-cat. I swear to God you think the principal is going to pop out of every corner."

"Sometimes she does. And I'm very aware of what happens when she catches someone."

I grinned. "God, do you remember what happened to whatshisface, that Bryce kid, when he was bragging about stealing someone's iPod? Jesus, when she overheard that she really flipped her lid that day."

Simon laughed. It was his stupid dorky laugh. "I remember, that was freshman year, right? Wow..."

We talked about that for a while. Simon was the only person that cracked up over these things. Most of the time he was there to experience the stupid things with me though. He was my only friend. But it's not like I couldn't make any new friends, I wasn't socially awkward or anything, I just didn't want any new friends. God. Some of the people at my school were real jerks and backstabbers. I wouldn't even try to waste my time with them.

Simon probably could have all the friends he wanted. He was really nice, even if a bit dorky at times. He kind of stuck to me like glue when he saw me playing with the dinosaur toys in the first grade. I had some sort of vibe. His mom, however, hated me for the longest time, she said I was a "problem child" - I swear those were her exact words - but she warmed up to me when I saved Simon from getting chocolate milk poured down his pants in the third grade. God. What a year that was.

Then in the middle of my sentence, I couldn't even remember what I was saying, I heard something. I knew Simon heard it too, because he stopped in his tracks. Even in Simon's warm jacket I got chills.

"It sounds like singing," Simon whispered.

It felt like all the hair on my body stood on end. I heard the noise grow a bit louder; the voice sounding like a weeping woman. She was wailing. It almost sounded like the screaming and wailing I'd heard in my dream last night.

"Let's go check it out," I said, shuddering, and I forced myself to investigate.