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A rapidly growing breeze blew through the grass at Dakota’s feet while he stretched his hands toward an overcast sky. He was standing on a track behind his school while his other classmates continued their stretching. While Dakota leaned over and reached for his feet, he caught a glimpse of his teacher approaching them in the distance. On the other side of the field where his teacher was heading from, was the girl’s gym class. After a few more stretches, his teacher drew nearer and began to speak.
“Alright everyone! So today we are going to be competing against the ladies while we record all your stats for your physical fitness evaluation. There’s no prizes or metals so there is no need to go all out. We are just trying to brighten things up for you guys on your second day back.”
Dakota was standing there looking up at the sky while clouds continued to gather and swell as if they were about to begin a downpour of rain.
The teacher continued on speaking and said, “So the weather looks pretty gruesome and the other teacher and I decided that since this is the last class of the day, if we can get all the stats recorded quickly we will let everyone go home early. Now go ahead and head over to Mrs. Madilyn and get matched up with your partners.” Some students cheered out loud at the thought of getting to go home early while Dakota slowly headed over to the other side of the field. A girl with dark shoulder length hair who was a little shorter than Dakota came running up to him with an immense speed, and a wild grin on her face. She barely could stop herself from crashing into Dakota as she shouted, “It’s you and me, Dakota! I made sure my teacher paired us together so I can get revenge for last year! You might have beat me in every category last year but this time I’ll be the victor. I spent most of my summer training and working out.”
The girl crossed her arms and grinned widely at Dakota while he stood there completely emotionless and said, “Why did you waste so much time doing that over your summer vacation? This is our last year. Why didn’t you spend all that time with your boyfriend?”
The girl’s grin turned to a frown while she said, “Hey! Don’t worry about my personal affairs Kota! Worry about me beating you into the ground. I spend plenty of time with that jerk, but ever since we were little, I promised myself I wouldn’t let you win at everything. So, this is my last chance before we graduate this year to face each other!” She turned around and started jabbing at the air in front of her as if she was a professional boxer.
The woman’s gym teacher called out and said, “Heidi! Quit messing around and get started before it starts storming!”
Dakota joined in with the girl’s gym teacher and teased Heidi by saying, “Yeah, Heidi stop fighting your shadow over there and lets get this over with.”
Along the track, there were stations set up for the students to rotate from when they finished recording their events. The first one Dakota and Heidi stopped at was the stand and jump. Dakota went first and stood at a line drawn with chalk on the track. There was another girl student standing on the side with measuring tape and a clipboard. She nodded to Dakota and he bent down for a moment and then leapt forward as far as he could.
After he landed the girl said out loud, “six feet four inches!”
Dakota felt a bit of shame as he thought to himself that he scored higher last year.
Heidi stepped up to the chalk line and readied herself. Her playful and competitive nature seemed to vanish as she had a look of determination and vengeance painted on her face. The girl on the side nodded to Heidi and within a fraction of a second, she leapt through the air as her track jacket was blowing in the wind behind her. Her body glided through the air like it was naturally riding the air currents around her. When she landed, she raised her arms above her head like she had been practicing for the Olympics and was waiting for the judges to call their scores.
“Seven feet one inch!” The other girl cried out.
Heidi spun around facing Dakota and stuck out her tongue to taunt him. Other students nearby cheered and hollered for Heidi because she got such a high score. One by one they moved to the next stations and competed against each other. They won off and on one after another until they were at the last station with the same number of wins and losses. The last station was the hundred-yard dash. Thunder was grumbling above their heads while most of the other students had already finished and were putting away the other stations. A slight drizzle had started while Dakota and Heidi stood at the start of the hundred-yard dash line. The girl who had been following them around with the clip board was standing at the end of the race while her hair and jacket was blowing in the wind behind her. She raised a whistle to her lips and blew through it while Dakota and Heidi began making a mad dash towards her. Their speed was evenly matched, their running was in sync, and their breathing evenly timed.
As they were mere feet in front of the finish line, Heidi missed a step and roller her ankle causing her to start falling forward. Without hesitation Dakota grabbed her hand and pushed her forward causing her to regain her balance and cross the finish line first. It happened so fast that no one watching realized and cheered for her victory over Dakota.
After crossing the finish line Heidi bent over to catch her breath and while she was rubbing her ankle she shouted out, “Kota! Why did you do that?”
Dakota replied, “Do what?”
Heidi growled and said, “You know what you did! Now I didn’t win fair and square!”
Dakota smiled and said, “What are you talking about you beat me fair and square! Everyone else saw you win.”
As the rain began to pour down upon them Heidi fell to her knees and looked up into the clouds and shouted Dakota’s name in anger while he casually walked off the field toward the locker rooms to change. He didn’t care about winning or losing really but he wasn’t going to let Heidi fall face first into the ground and embarrass herself while he won. Heidi was Dakota’s best and longest friend. They grew up in the same orphanage together until Heidi was adopted one day and Dakota was left by himself. Years later an older woman adopted him, and he ended up going to the same school as Heidi. Eventually the old woman died and left everything to Dakota. While Heidi lived with a family, Dakota lived by himself and took care of himself with the money the old woman left behind. He expected to be taken away again when she died but no one ever came for him. Even at the age of thirteen, no one ever showed up to take him away. Now he was about to turn eighteen and had a house that was in his name and completely paid off.
Dakota was considered popular and liked by most of the students in his grade, but he felt that he only had a few actual friends besides Heidi. They had been sticking up and looking out for each other ever since they were very young and even though Dakota was more of a quiet person, she could always get him talking or get a rise out of him somehow. When she was originally adopted, she begged her new parents to adopt Dakota also, but they didn’t have the money or resources to adopt two children. After a week in her new home, she ran away back to the orphanage but eventually had to go back with her new family.
As Dakota was changed and leaving the locker room, he saw Heidi standing at the entrance still wearing her track uniform and dripping wet from the rain. She continued to growl as he walked past her and she said, “I swear you owe me a rematch, Kota!” I don’t know how or when, but you owe me a real race. I worked so hard over the summer to get this fit and you let me win! What’s even worse is they recorded it when it wasn’t a fair race.” Her face was bright red as she huffed and puffed.
Dakota said, “Was I supposed to let you fall flat on your face back there? In front of everyone watching. If I would have won back there you would still be begging for a rematch, so I saved you, and you’re welcome.”
Heidi seemed surprised and asked, “Even during the race, that’s what you were thinking about?”
Dakota started to blush a little and said, “Don’t get the wrong Idea, I wasn’t like thinking about you or anything stupid like that—.”
Heidi interrupted and shouted, “No you idiot! You mean to tell me that even during our competition you weren’t even thinking about race?” She clenched her fists in a rage and suddenly calmed down. After a short pause she said, “You never change, do you? You’re so stupid.” She started to walk away towards the girl’s locker room and stopped in the doorway and said, “My boyfriend is busy, so you need to walk me home. And you need to stay for a bit so I can rub our friendship in my parents faces.” Heidi loved her parents but was still hellbent over the fact they wouldn’t adopt Dakota.
Dakota replied, “Yeah that’s cool, but I need to stop by the store on the way home to grab some things so you have to come with me as compensation for walking you home.” Dakota sat on a bench in the lobby outside the locker rooms and waited for her to change. He thought to himself how he needed to grab a jar of jalapenos, pickles, and a variety of other things but most importantly he needed to make sure he grabbed a cheesecake. Dakota’s diet made absolutely no sense. His diet was completely garbage, yet he managed to stay athletic and fit. While Dakota was lost in his thoughts about food, Heidi came out of the locker room wearing a bright orange raincoat and had two umbrellas. She walked up behind Dakota and dropped an umbrella into his lap.
She said, “I always keep a spare in my locker incase I forget to bring one.”
Dakota stood up and opened the umbrella and then closed it. Heidi asked curiously, “You trying to give yourself bad luck or something. Don’t open an umbrella inside, Kota.”
Dakota said dumbfoundedly, “I was checking to make sure there wasn’t unicorns or sea horses on it. I wouldn’t put it past you to make me hold something girly as payback without me knowing.”
Heidi’s face lit up in amusement as she said, “I didn’t think about that. I should totally do something like that to you.”
Dakota pushed passed her on his way out the door as he said, “I didn’t mean to fuel the fire. Come on let’s go before the weather gets worse.” As they stepped outside lightning tore through the sky as thunder shook the ground. The walk to the store wasn’t far from the school. It was Dakota’s favorite store to get jalapenos from. They were always crisp and crunchy compared to the store near his house where they were always mushy and disgusting. Dakota was grinning like an idiot and drooling while standing in line to check out. He was thinking about all the different ways he could eat the jalapenos when he got home. He could put them on a sandwich or chop them up and put them into some steamed rice. His favorite is to make an omelet and load it up with his favorite peppers and spices. Heidi was standing behind him shaking her head because she was probably the only one who knew about his unhealthy obsession with jalapenos and other spicy foods. As Dakota placed his items on the conveyer belt, Heidi slammed down two boxes of honey buns which were boxes containing prepackaged cinnamon and honey fried pastries.
She said sternly, “Buy me these, Kota.”
“Sure thing,” Dakota said while smiling. “Looks like you don’t keep a perfect diet either,” Dakota said with a laugh.
“Shut up,” Heidi fired back as she revealed from behind her back the cheesecake that Dakota had already forgotten to grab before getting in the checkout line.
Dakota said happily, “Good job! I totally already forgot about the cheesecake even though that’s what inspired this trip to the store.” Dakota paid the cashier and they bagged everything and headed out the door. Even while holding an umbrella in the rain, Heidi had already opened one of the boxes of pastries and was eating them almost in one bite.
She shouted out, “I love these things so much! Everyone tells me who gross they are and how they are for poor people, but I don’t care. She had a smile on her face while she gorged on the whole box of pastries. Dakota couldn’t help but smile thinking about how even when they were little and lived at the orphanage, Heidi ate those things like how she does now since the orphanage seemed to have an unlimited supply of snack cakes and pastries. As they were walking through a small park like wooded area Heidi suddenly said while pausing in between devouring her pastry, “I love it when it rains like this. It always makes me feel at peace. When we were little it always felt like it was raining even when it wasn’t, but you were always there to make everything feel safe. When I was adopted It felt like I betrayed you in so many ways and I thought we wouldn’t be friends anymore.” She paused and shoved the rest of her pasty in her mouth.”
Dakota said, “Hey now, no reason to get all sappy. I mean here we are now. We got to spend most of middle and high school together, so I’d call that a win. I didn’t think the old lady would adopt me and I’d get to see you again.”
Heidi said embarrassingly, “Sorry, I don’t know why I said that.”
Dakota replied, “It’s cool just don’t get all mushy on me—."
As Dakota was talking, he felt something metal slam against the back of his head and went face first into the pavement. After what felt like eternity, he raised his head and as his vision came into focus, he felt the rain beating against his face. He could see a large man kneeling atop Heidi strangling her while saying, “You stupid bitch, I said your money or your body. You did this to yourself.”
Dakota slowly rose to his feet as he picked up one of the bags of groceries he had dropped filled with the large jar of jalapenos and a large jar of pickles. As the man continued to strangle Heidi, Dakota swung the bag and smashed the jars of jalapenos and pickles over his head and shouted, “Get off of her you bastard!”
The jars smashed apart against his head as the man went sailing to the side and down the ground. Dakota’s blood was running down the front of his face while he knelt and helped Heidi up. She was coughing and crying while she gasped for air. She cried out, “I’m sorry Kota, I wasn’t strong enough.”
Dakota screamed, “Heidi you need to listen to me and run! Don’t stop until you get home and call the police—” Dakota felt the cold hard steel of a blade go into his lower back and when he turned around the man drove his knife into Dakota’s lower abdomen.
While Heidi and Dakota stood there shocked in horror, the man said, “Stupid brats! Now I’m going to have to kill you both. Dakota stood there dizzy after being stabbed twice. He looked down and saw the handle of the knife sticking out of where the man had stuck it in. He felt like he was going to pass out as he saw his blood flooding down his legs and onto the ground.
Dakota took a deep breath and yelled out into the rain, “Heidi run now!”
Heidi was crying as she turned and ran for her life. She thought to herself that she didn’t want to leave Dakota behind but she always listened to him and believed in his words so she ran as fast as she could. The man laughed while Heidi ran off and Dakota stood in front of him.
The man said, “How honorable of you to let your girlfriend escape. All she had to do was give me your guy’s money or give me that body and she refused both so you can blame her for your death.”
Dakota said weakly with a smile, “What a pathetic life you’ve lived to prey upon people walking through the park. Let me guess you’re the classic case of daddy hit me to hard and mommy didn’t love me.”
The man said angrily, “You got a mouth on you don’t you boy?” He began to step towards Dakota. Dakota pulled the knife out of his abdomen and drove it into the man’s stomach when he was close enough. The man seemed surprised but with almost no hesitation pulled the knife out of himself and not only stuck it back into Dakota one last time, but he picked Dakota up and lifted him over his head and threw him into the near by river that followed the path through the park and Dakota’s body washed away in the current.
When Dakota opened his eyes, he was laying in an unfamiliar location as he had washed up on the shore of what looked like a heavily dense wooded area. He wasn’t surprised to see the knife still sticking out of the last place he was stabbed. He could tell he had lost to much blood and felt heavy. He managed to stand on his feet and slowly limped into the woods. He couldn’t help but smile knowing Heidi was able to escape back into town and that thug took one to the gut as well. While he stumbled through the woods, he saw off in the distance what looked like a dilapidated building that was only half still standing. When he drew close enough it looked like it had been a shrine at one time. The doors were halfway open, and the un-collapsed part of the wooden building provided a little shelter where Dakota accepted, he would die.
After leaning up against the wall and sliding down it into a sitting position, Dakota coughed up a large amount of blood onto the ground. He laughed as he cried out, “Alright! You win Heidi! Look like that rematch won’t happen so you’ll have to accept that last victory as your own.” He groaned and leaned into the wall more as he felt himself starting to lean against his will. “Oh, being of higher power, please forgive me for the porno mags in my closet and being gluttonous. Also take care of Heidi because we both know that douche bag wont.”
Suddenly, Dakota heard a voice call out from the rafters sarcastically, “Wow, you’re about to die and you’re going to let that mindless slop be your last words?”
Dakota looked up and saw in the rafters, was a demi human looking cat person. He abruptly started laughing uncontrollably and coughing up blood at the thought that he had begun to hallucinate.
The being in the rafters snarled and asked, “What’s so funny? Have you no respect while in the presence of a god?”
Dakota stopped laughing and asked, “You’re a god? Are you a god of the cat people, lady?”
The being rolled out from the rafters and landed on her hands and feet in front of Dakota. She was clearly human looking but also had cat like features. She had a human looking face with short snow-white hair but cat ears atop her head. She also had a long slender cat like tail and some strange tribe like markings painted on her face.
Dakota looked her up and down for a moment and the cat lady shouted, Damn, you getting a good enough look you perv? You should feel honored, you’re the first person I’ve showed myself too in a very long time.”
Dakota began to laugh out loud again and said, “Man I’m at death’s door if I’m starting to see cat girls. Maybe hell won’t be so bad.”
The cat girl grew irritated and shouted, “I’m real you moron! I’m tying to have a conversation with you so if you could keep from dying while we talk, I’d appreciate it.”
Dakota coughed up more blood while he said, “Oh, sorry. I’ll just try to die slower for you Cat Lady God.”
The Cat lady groaned at his sarcasm as she said, “My name is Kōkishin, the god of curiosity!”
Dakota interrupted her introduction and asked, “Aren’t you a little short to be a god? Like I always pictured them to be tall and authoritative.”
Kōkishin scowled as she said, “Don’t interrupt me you pleb!” Kōkishin continued to speak and say, “Anyways, as you can see, my shrine is destroyed, no one has shown up in a long time, and no one has made an offering. It’s been so long that I’m afraid I might disappear out of peoples lack of belief in me.” She looked away for a moment in shame but looked back at Dakota and said, “If you become my vessel, I’ll save you and you wont die. We will become as one and share your body. We both get to live, and I can experience life at its fullest and fulfill my curiosity.”
Dakota asked, “If you’re afraid of disappearing why don’t you leave this place and make a shrine someplace else and get new followers?”
Kōkishin responded, “It’s not that easy. My spirit energy is already tied to this place and is weak. If I leave on my own, I might disappear the moment I step out that door.”
Dakota sat for a moment as he felt himself becoming heavier before saying, “Sure let’s do it. I mean I’m dead anyway and this is just the beginning of my hallucinations on my way out so why not?”
Kōkishin seemed shocked as she asked, “Really? Just like that? No conditions? You’re just giving yourself to me?”
Dakota laughed weakly and said, “Yeah, I mean I’m about to be dead in like twenty seconds to whatever. If this is real life, then I’ll get to see Heidi again as a ghost or whatever.”
Kōkishin turned around embarrassed and seemed nervous as she said, “Okay then. I wont lie this is my first time so I’m not too sure what’s truly going to happen. I’ve been trapped here in this building so long alone this just feels a little sudden to me. Maybe we should just take it slow for awhile and see what happens.”
Dakota coughed up more blood and then closed his eyes. Kōkishin shouted, “Don’t die yet you peasant!” she quickly jumped onto his lap straddling him and like a vampire bit into his neck and began to suck his blood. As she continued to suck his blood she pulled the knife out of his abdomen and tossed it behind her while her body began to glow and broke apart into millions of tiny orbs of light that eventually was sucked inside of Dakota’s body.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmxcBJJNsfV
