Wind Warrior by Jon Messenger Page A

I don’t live that far
away,” she said. “Maybe you can walk me home.”

    The cool night air felt wonderful against
Xander’s flushed face. They hadn’t spoken since leaving the
convention center but he was satisfied without meaningless
conversation. They walked hand in hand, strolling down the vacant
and quiet streets of White Halls.
    He didn’t recognize the part of town through
which they walked but that wasn’t entirely unusual. The town was
pretty well separated by College Street and he rarely had a reason
to come to this side of the small town.
    Looking over, he saw Sammy’s distant stare.
The jovial attitude he’d come to appreciate over the past week
seemed curiously absent, as though she had a lot weighing on her
mind.
    “ Penny for your thoughts?”
he asked.
    She shook her hair and reached up with her
far hand. She brushed some of her hair out of her face but he swore
she also wiped the corner of her eyes as though wiping away a
tear.
    Xander stopped and pulled at her hand,
forcing her to stop as well. “What’s wrong? You’re not still
bothered by Jessica, are you? I told you that you shouldn’t worry
about her.”
    “ It’s not Jessica,” she
replied sadly. “You’re just such a nice guy and you treat me so
well. You’re just so different from what I expected when we
met.”
    “ Shouldn’t that make you
happy?”
    “ It should,” she conceded.
“I’m just not a good person, Xander, I’m really not. I’m going to
break your heart and you’re going to hate me.”
    “ Unless you tell me that
our first date was really horrible or I’m a terrible kisser, I
don’t think you’re going to break my heart.”
    His attempt at humor elicited little more
than a weak smile. Sammy looked down at her feet, unable to even
make eye contact.
    “ Our date wasn’t all that
bad, was it?”
    “ No, it was perfect.” She
seemed nearly on the verge of tears.
    “ Then what is
it?”
    Sammy pointed to an abandoned house across
the street. The windows were boarded over but someone had removed
the planks from the front door. With only a few interspersed street
lamps on the road, the house looked dark and foreboding.
    “ Come with me,” she said
softly. “I have to show you something.”
    He followed without question, eager to find
out what was bothering her so badly. “You don’t live here, do
you?”
    She squeezed his hand as she led him across
the street.
    The front door opened with an ear-piercing
screech as the rusted hinge fought against the intrusion. The smell
of dust and mold assaulted his senses and he had to bite back a
sneeze. A few footprints crisscrossed across the foyer but they
looked old. New layers of dust and dirt had already settled into
those ancient steps.
    The hardwood floors groaned with each step
they took, betraying the otherwise stagnant air of the abandoned
house. Looking around, Xander appreciated what the house once
represented. Despite most of the crystal having been stripped away,
he could still tell that the chandelier above the staircase was
impressive.
    “ Why are we
here?”
    Sammy didn’t reply but led him to the
staircase heading upstairs. He could see her shoulders heave with
emotion as she walked and a sense of dread settled into his gut.
Good news didn’t come from an emotional woman in a decrepit
building.
    Each stair creaked in turn as they climbed
the stairs. Debris—a collection of empty cans and stained
bottles—littered the first stairwell landing. On the upper floor,
he could see small scorch marks against the wall where the
wallpaper had bubbled and peeled against the heat. More empty cans
sat nearby, remnants of what Xander had to assume were small
cooking fires.
    Sammy led him to a back room, the door of
which was already ajar. As they stepped inside, she turned toward
him. Her eyes sparkled with tears and the mascara had run at the
corners of her almond eyes. The sight was heartbreaking and he only
wanted to reach out and comfort her.
    “