Cade leaned against an oak tree watching the river meandering along. It was relaxing. He needed that. He could feel the tension building up, like something was going to happen here soon. But he couldn't imagine what. A few people wandered through the park, enjoying the nice August weather. Looking at each of them, none of them gave any indication through their body language that anything was amiss. And in a town this size, if anything was amiss, Cade knew that nearly everyone would know.
It wasn't a small town, per se. It had a population of about three thousand. The library was fairly large and very nice. The main street businesses seemed to be operating nicely. There were bars and churches and restaurants. A gas station on each end of town. The rest of the roads ran a grid throughout town, where all the houses stood. Everything one would expect in a small town in Southern Colorado. The sign said the name of the town was Kent. A bus passed through every hour, first going one direction, then the other. It only stopped in the town if somebody on board needed to get off here. Otherwise, it brought people between the nearest two cities, each an hour away. Of those, neither was huge, but both were large enough to have airports. Cade vaguely wondered what it was like to live in a town that was literally the halfway point between two such places. To his knowledge, he had never lived in such a place. Then again, a large part of his memory was still missing.
He pulled out his necklace. Clearly handmade. Silver, in the shape of a small flame superimposed over a heart. He flipped it over and ran his fingers over the initials, SME, on the back. It had been his girlfriend's, a gift that he had made for her. She gave it back to him after he had made a better one, so he would always have something of hers to keep close to his heart. He didn't actually wear it very often, preferring to keep it in his pocket. But he always hoped some latent energy in it would guide him back to wherever she was.
Movement to the right caught Cade's attention. Two young men, twins by the look of them, had made their way over to the weeping willow. They certainly weren't from this town. They each had a mohawk that had been died in a rainbow of colors, again, completely identical. They arrived at the tree and looked around. Nobody else was around, and they apparently didn't see Cade. Satisfied that nobody could see them, they bumped fists... and suddenly one of them was gone.
Mutant, Cade thought.
This could either be really good or really bad. Why would this mutant be coming specifically to a single weeping willow tree in this tiny town? Either he had been drawn by the same tense feeling that Cade had, or he knew something that Cade didn't. Cade partially hoped it was the latter, but also hoped finding out wouldn't involve a fight.
For now, he chose to remain at his tree and watch for anyone else.
It wasn't a small town, per se. It had a population of about three thousand. The library was fairly large and very nice. The main street businesses seemed to be operating nicely. There were bars and churches and restaurants. A gas station on each end of town. The rest of the roads ran a grid throughout town, where all the houses stood. Everything one would expect in a small town in Southern Colorado. The sign said the name of the town was Kent. A bus passed through every hour, first going one direction, then the other. It only stopped in the town if somebody on board needed to get off here. Otherwise, it brought people between the nearest two cities, each an hour away. Of those, neither was huge, but both were large enough to have airports. Cade vaguely wondered what it was like to live in a town that was literally the halfway point between two such places. To his knowledge, he had never lived in such a place. Then again, a large part of his memory was still missing.
He pulled out his necklace. Clearly handmade. Silver, in the shape of a small flame superimposed over a heart. He flipped it over and ran his fingers over the initials, SME, on the back. It had been his girlfriend's, a gift that he had made for her. She gave it back to him after he had made a better one, so he would always have something of hers to keep close to his heart. He didn't actually wear it very often, preferring to keep it in his pocket. But he always hoped some latent energy in it would guide him back to wherever she was.
Movement to the right caught Cade's attention. Two young men, twins by the look of them, had made their way over to the weeping willow. They certainly weren't from this town. They each had a mohawk that had been died in a rainbow of colors, again, completely identical. They arrived at the tree and looked around. Nobody else was around, and they apparently didn't see Cade. Satisfied that nobody could see them, they bumped fists... and suddenly one of them was gone.
Mutant, Cade thought.
This could either be really good or really bad. Why would this mutant be coming specifically to a single weeping willow tree in this tiny town? Either he had been drawn by the same tense feeling that Cade had, or he knew something that Cade didn't. Cade partially hoped it was the latter, but also hoped finding out wouldn't involve a fight.
For now, he chose to remain at his tree and watch for anyone else.
