Chapter ten
Logan stepped through the door, and onto a blacktop parking lot. It was night by now, and there were very few lights around to provide visibility. Still there was enough light to see that the lot was empty.
To Logan's right the lot emptied into a lonely highway that appeared to be mostly untraveled. Across from the highway were large, empty fields that were defined by gentle, rolling hills and separated by groves of various types of trees that sat in miniature canyons between the hills. It looked like there might have been a house far off in the distance in one of the fields, but with the lack of light it was hard to tell.
All to the left of the lot was a few feet of peaceful, green grass which was rudely interrupted by rows upon rows of large, gray headstones, marking the final resting places of an army of lifeless bodies. The graveyard was set on a small hill that sloped away from Logan. At the far end of the lot was a group of pine trees and a small, white shack that probably served as a tool shed. At the far left corner the lot broke off into a narrow road that wound up and over a steep hill at the end of the graveyard. Just next to Logan another road broke off into the graveyard. This one was straight and ran down the gentle hill to a one-way street that ran parallel to the graveyard. The street ran from north to south and came to a dead end at the far end of the graveyard.
"What is this place?" Logan asked after surveying the dreary landscape in front of him.
"Turn around," Remy said.
With Remy's instruction Logan turned around to see the last thing he expected to see.
"A church!" Logan yelled in surprise. "You guys hide in a church!?"
"Da last place you'd expect to find a crazy martial arts cults, eh," Remy said almost as if he were proud of the fact. "Come," he said as he began to walk around the side of the church. "My place is just down da street,"
Logan followed Remy around the church and into the large graveyard that wrapped around most of the large, white building with the exception of the parking lot. After about ten yards of dewy, nighttime grass they reached the other side of the church. Logan guessed that this was actually the other side of the church.
The spiky-haired boy now stood on a concrete sidewalk that ran down the hill that the church sat on, and separated the graveyard from a two-lane street that ran adjacent to it.
From what Logan could tell he was at the northeastern corner of the small village. As he looked out over the hilly landscape that lay before him he could see every detail of the village, including its boundaries. All around the little mini-town ran a two-lane road. It ran north to south on either side of the village for about a half-mile, and then it ran east to west for about an eighth of a mile to connect those two roads. In all, the village was just a large rectangle.
To Logan's immediate left was a street, and across the street stood an old gas station. Beyond that was mostly forest. To Logan's right, past the church, was some more forest land which then cleared out to make space for a local restaurant, and a small, red building that had the word "Videos" painted on it in big, yellow letters. Past that was an intersection that made up the northwestern corner of the village.
Straight in front of Logan was a small block of houses. On either side of the road, about two acres apart, there would be a house. Most were two stories, and a few were three. This went on for about ten houses on each side, and then the land opened into a clear field, which was broken up by a series of small hills. After the field the land flattened out on top of one final hill. There was a short street running from east to west, and on the other side was a family of tall, brick buildings, which created a campus that seemed to take up about half the tiny village. This campus spread across the entire back of the village.
"Is that a college?" Logan asked the red-haired Cajun.
"Yeah. I don't really know how a little place like dis got one, but it's dere," Remy said as if he were just discovering the fact himself.
"So where's your house?" Logan asked looking around.
"It's dat one right dere," Remy answered, pointing to the first house on the left.
It was a square shaped, two-story house with red, wooden siding and white shutters. Connected to the front of the house was a rectangular porch with a roof on it. The porch was also red, except for a white railing that went all the way around it, and two white pillars that obviously supported the roof.
"Come," said the lanky Cajun as he cut across the street. Logan followed him to the other side where there was no sidewalk, but instead a narrow, gravel path beside the road. The two muscular warriors walked down the street, their hair shining in the dim moonlight that shinned down from the cloudless night sky.
"Wow," Logan muttered aloud in admiration of the beautiful sight.
"Dere was a full moon last night," Remy said, somehow knowing what it was that Logan was so impressed with.
"For some reason I've always admired the moon," Logan explained. "But somehow I've never actually seen a full moon,"
"Deemos likes to look at da moon a lot too," Remy told the saiyan. "I think it's a saiyan thing,"
The conversation fell silent and the two men kept to their own thoughts as they finished he journey. Logan continued to stare at the moon as he walked. The moon had always caught his eye. It seemed almost as if he drew power from it. At that moment, as he stared at the big, glowing circle in the sky, Logan felt as if he could take on the world… and beat the living crap out of it.
Beyond the moon Logan could see the stars. He had always felt a connection to the stars also. Whenever Logan looked at the stars he felt a sense of loneliness and nostalgia, like the home he had been searching for his entire life was out there in the never-ending abyss of space.
"We here," Remy announced, snapping Logan out of his thought induced trance.
Logan looked back to see that he had completely walked past the house. Remy was giving him an odd look, and at the same time was walking toward his porch. Logan quickly jogged up to the porch where Remy was now standing. The Cajun
opened the big, white, wooden door and flipped a light switch inside. With the lights now on both men stepped inside.
"Dis is my humble home," Remy announced dryly as he half-heartedly swept one hand through the air.
Logan took a look around to take in the layout of the house. Currently Logan was in what looked like a living room. All the walls were completely white with a dull, green border around them. The carpet was worn to a light, orange-brown color with a few small stains here and there. To Logan's right was a gray couch, and in the far corner was a crimson red recliner. In front of the couch was a wooden coffee table with a newspaper and a television remote on it. Directly across from all this was the other wall, which was divided by a broad doorway that appeared to lead a kitchen, considering Logan could see a sink through it.
To Logan's left was a staircase that led to the second floor of the house. The staircase had a wooden rail that was covered in faded, chipping, white paint with the same dingy carpet covering the steps.
"Da bathroom and my bedroom be upstairs," Remy said. "You be sleepin' on da couch,"
"That's fine with me," Logan said as he groggily flopped onto the soft, gray cushions of his assigned resting place.
"Don't get too comfortable just yet," Remy commanded in his Cajun accented voice.
"Why?" Logan asked in a small, whiney voice that would remind you of a young child.
"Because I'm goin' to a party down da street, and you goin' with me," Remy answered.
"Dammit," Logan complained as he stiffly rose from the couch.
"Ah, it not so bad," Remy assured him. "Maybe you'll get to meet some ladies," Logan inwardly cheered up a bit at that last comment, but he still didn't act very interested.
"You look like you could use a lady," Remy remarked.
"If you say so," Logan responded as he started to walk back to the door. "Let's just get this over with,"
"Now dat's da spirit, mon ami," Remy said sarcastically.
"What did you call me?" Logan asked in a tired, annoyed tone.
"I said mon ami," Remy answered. "It's French for… ah never mind," he started to explain, but then stopped as he realized Logan had no real interest in what he said.
So the pair walked out the front door, and further down the same street they had been walking earlier. As Logan walked he began to think. He began to think about Idaho, and his parents, and Eddie. And he was beginning to wonder what they were doing, when Remy decided to break the silence.
"So you think you might stay?" he asked in serious tone, which seemed to be rare for him.
"No way," Logan answered abruptly.
"But you have to!" Remy yelled back as he stopped walking and turned to face Logan.
"Why?" Logan half-shouted back at the Cajun. Remy stayed silent for a moment. He seemed desperate to keep Logan from leaving, as did everyone else Logan had met so far.
"Why?" Logan asked again. "Why am I so important to you guys? I know I'm suppose to be some kind of superman or something, but why do you need me?"
"Nothin' man," Remy said in low, sad tone. "Let's just go to da party," he finished in his usual loud, fun loving Cajun tone as turned back around and again started walking down the street.
"So do I have to stay for the three days?" Logan asked to keep another eerie silence from forming.
"Yup, you gotta stay here for three days to decide," Remy answered. "But you can leave any time afterward," he added.
"Well I'm sure it will be three days in paradise," Logan joked. "So which house is it?" he asked seriously, referring to their destination.
"It's dat one," Remy answered, pointing to a white, two-story house across the street. All the lights were on, music was blaring, and drunken idiots were stumbling all about the porch and backyard.
Logan followed Remy across the street and into a house full of wild animals, more commonly referred to as college students. Straight in front of Logan was a tall flight of blue stairs with a few doors leading to bedrooms in it. To his right was a green room with drunken idiots in it, and to his left was a brown room with more drunken idiots in it.
"Come with me," Remy instructed. "I'll get us somethin' to drink," Remy went in the brown room and to the right where there was a doorway leading to the kitchen.
"I'll just wait here," Logan said as he stopped in the center of the room. He quickly began looking around. It hadn't been long when a hot blonde walked by him and started to sweep her hand across his chest.
"Hey baby," she said as she leaned herself against him.
"Not tonight," He said coldly, as he knocked her hand away. She immediately gave him a disgusted look and walked off into another room.
Logan once again began to check out the scene as he waited for Remy to return, when he heard a laugh from across the room. It was a girl's laugh, and for some reason it completely caught his attention. He quickly tracked down the boisterous girl who was standing by the wall to his left. She had a guy standing on either side of her, and it appeared as if she were jokingly flirting with them, although it was apparent that she had no real interest in them.
Somehow Logan couldn't take his attention away from her. She wore slightly baggy blue jeans, with plain white shoes that raised her a few inches past her natural height with their thick soles. She also had on a pink tank top that said "Rock Star" on it, along with odd, brightly colored, beaded bracelets on either wrist. With the help of her shoes she stood about five feet, eight inches tall, and had a slim, curvy figure. Her dark brown hair hung down about six inches past her shoulders, and had pink streaks running through it.
"What you lookin' at over dere," Remy asked as he returned.
Logan didn't answer. He was so completely dazed by this girl standing across the room. Then, like a ton of bricks, it hit him. Her knew why he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Despite all the lustful features of her body, they were not what caught his eye. What really got him, what really kept his attention were her eyes. Her beautiful, green eyes. For in them he could see the one thing he had never been able to find. The one thing that had eluded him his entire life. In this girl's eyes Logan could see true happiness, and he knew he had to have her.
"Remy," Logan said seriously. "Tell Deemos I'm staying,"