Calm As The Grave [alexis]

[Corey Wright]

Corey had grown used to being dead. It was a part of his "life", just like walking and oxygen and convenience stores and cheap hotel carpets. He had to admit, he handled the whole death thing pretty well. Perhaps it was because he didn’t have much of a life to begin with. Maybe that was a good thing, because honestly, he didn’t seem to be missing much these days. For all of the world’s grandeur, it changed remarkably little over time. As far as he knew, the only brand new thing to human nature was technology. Every history book he ever read showed the same amount of sheer doom and gloom that surrounded the burden of humanity at the present day, it was just played down to made today seem ten times more horrible than the last. That’s why being dead was a good thing. That’s why he liked being an outsider. He didn’t have to be a part of that vicious cycle.

Even so, he was not entirely peaceful. Sometimes his mind was moving too fast to let him rest. At times like these, he liked to do what he did best; escape. He went somewhere he could be completely alone, and just relax for a while. He didn’t really care where, as long as he was going to be in complete solitude. Perhaps it was his sense of irony that drove him, but whatever the case, he wound up sitting in the graveyard. Even though he never knew any of these people when they were alive, it felt like visiting old friends. Or how he would imagine visiting old friends would feel like, since he never really had any of those for himself. He was a walking corpse who fed on blood, and these people were stationary corpses who fed the worms. When it came down to it, there really wasn’t as much of a difference as he would care to admit. The biggest gap between himself and these people in the ground was the fact that, once gone, they had been remembered.

Corey had no such thing. But that was okay with him. He had lived in privacy, died alone, and continued to walk the earth in much the same way as before. That was the curse of the wanderer, he supposed. To be perpetually by himself. It wasn’t a bad thing to him, but sometimes, he did wonder what it would be like to have company… no. He shook his head and sighed, leaning his head back, as if trying to get the thoughts out. He was sitting on a bench provided along the path, with his head tilted back and his arms folded. The seat was a little bit damp, and the whole place smelled faintly of dust and cold. Strangely enough, it did help to ease his thoughts, possibly more than anywhere else. It was like the home he’d never had. He didn’t understand why this place felt special or different, it just did. He had that impression ever since he drove into this town. That was what had sent his mind reeling; the strange sensation that something big was happening here.

Ugh. No. Corey came here to relax and banish his silly thoughts, not wallow in them. Nobody liked thinking on the fact that they died young. He took a deep breath. He couldn’t doze off here, but he wished that he could. Sleep was something he didn’t really have anymore. In lack of that, he instead just concentrated on his breathing and tried to focus his mind elsewhere. It didn’t matter, he just needed some sort of distraction from the strange feeling of this place. His mind took a while to do something like that for him, but luckily, he was a patient man. He could wait it out, just like he always did.

[Alexis Hayden]

When it rains it pours,
>>and when it pours I think of you

The trees over head danced in the evening wind, branches moving slightly and leaves waving frantically. What leaves were left, that is. Being winter in Newport (a town that even during the summer didn't get much sun) most of the tree's weren't exactly what you would call 'healthy' looking. In fact, the few there were, were bare bones and branch. The forest was the only thing that was filled with life. And a little bit of that life overtook Rockwood cemetery after it was considered not modern enough to be used anymore. A dead body hadn't touched this place in so long all the relatives were now buried in the new, more modern (whatever that meant) graveyard, more within the city limits. But not too close of course. No body wanted death looming over you, so it was still not exactly inside the town of Newport. That would be too close for comfort.

So instead they had placed the new one one the opposite side of the outskirts. And this cemetery lay forgotten. Trees from the forest over taking it, so it was more alive in a way. Slightly greener then anywhere else, almost better off then the famous gardens of Newport. Almost. But this was a different green, this wasn't that artificial fake kind. This was real. And maybe that is why she enjoyed it so much. As the sun began setting lazily over the hills, the winter cold coming out even more with the lack of sun, the wind shifting the trees in the breeze. It was nice. A place that was suppose to be for death so filled with life. It awed her, easily her favorite place in the whole town of Newport to go. The place no one else went. It had become hers, her own little secret, her own little place. And she loved that. As much as she enjoyed figuring out other people's secrets you'd be surprised to learn that this was the only secret she herself held. The only thing that only she knew about.

Who was this brown headed blue eyed girl? The one walking through Rockwood cemetery, hands running across various tombstones (their names long forgotten from memory, washed away with the weather now)? Who was this pale beauty, simply wearing jeans, a pale green blouse and a small jacket to protect from the cold? Better question, why was she here? Why was this deserted graveyard her own little secret place? Well the first is slightly more easier to answer then the rest. Her name, Alexis Hayden, known as Alex to friends and Hayden to closer friends. It seemed everyone had their own name for her. Alex, Alexis, Lexy, Hay, Hayden, she had heard them all. She goes by them all. Not that it bothers her. Sometimes she just wished people would stick with one name, not a million. It tends to get confusing when you don't know what to answer to anymore.

Her day had started out rush, rush, rush, busy, busy, busy. Just like all Tuesday's normally did for her. It started at 6 in the morning, wake up and enjoy a nice cup of fresh coffee. Her day could not be started without a cup of coffee. It was her drug, her weapon of choice. Without it she was a wreck all day, not functional, talking in mumbles. Let's just say it's better for everyone when she get's her morning dose of caffine. After a quick shower she raced off to class, like always. Arriving just in time for her advanced creative writing class to start at 7:15. When that was done rush to her second class, which the only one available was a mere ten minutes after her first one, causing her to have to rush across campus in order to make it in time. Often arriving just as the teacher began talking, out of breath, and exhausted. Today was no different. By the time her classes were up her watch had read 11:43 exactly. Leaving her around 45 minutes to grab something from the snack machine and make her way to work.

Work a five hour shift at Lynns Skate shop, which ok, not exactly 'work'. Everyone there was laid back and chill, which wasn't exactly a good thing. She was the only one who bothered to clean up the store, pull out new merchandise, make it spic and span. In fact she was convinced that without her, it would just turn into an old building where people hung out. After work she swung by McDonalds and grabbed a Large Iced Coffee. Needing more caffeine to get through the rest of her day, which involved a stop at the abandoned factory on the outskirts of town. It took a good twenty minute drive to get there, and that was with no one on the roads. But somehow she still managed to get there by 6:08. Which was ten minute before everyone else. The group - a misfit bunch of people who had something against the Elite 4, who ruled the town - went over everything new since the week before. And for a surprise, their spy had dropped it. Good news, they were getting closer to the Elite.

It still wasn't good enough...

However now the time was just a little after 8, the sun almost completely void from the sky now. And this girl was walking around 'her place' finally taking a break. Finally getting a breather from her hectic Tuesday's, always filled with go, go, go. This was her favorite part of the week. The time she could just relax out here, with her own thoughts, no body to interrupt, no one to bother her.

It seemed fate had another idea though. Because there, sitting upon a bench in the overgrown path was a man. She paused...this was her place. No one else was suppose to be here. A small frown decorated her face...but she was too kind to say anything. So she let out a small breath, still a good ten feet away from him, and turned around. Yes, she was going to leave, give up her place to this stranger. Or that was the plan at least. What wasn't involved in the plan was a root sticking up from the ground. Or the fall. That was sure not part of the plan. She let out a small yelp as she fell, her leg tangled up in the root, her arms reaching out quickly to brace herself for the hit to the dirty ground. Her light jackets instantly attracting the dark dirt.

Great, just what she needed. To fall flat on her face in front of some stranger in her place. "Crap." She didn't curse, hated the sound of foul language. So 'crap' was the best she could come up with.

Wow...sorry it's so long. I got carried away. Haha.

[Corey Wright]

Corey was not sure why, but he had always rather liked this time of day. It felt refreshing, like a new beginning, or possibly a limbo between two other beginnings. Yes, that made sense. He was never much a man for the new beginnings, only the travel from place to place. It was the journey, so they say, and not the destination that really mattered. Until now, that is. Now he had reached a destination he hadn’t even known he was aiming for. What came next? Would he stay here for a while? Would he move on as usual? Would he ever really be able to choose? It was troubling, but not impossible to solve. One day he would have to make up his mind. Just not now, and not here. Not when he was surrounded by the cool, cold air of the impending night attempting to calm him. Everyone needed to just relax and let go for a short amount of time. One would think that being alone all the time would give him lots of opportunity for that, but he still felt stress and confusion like anybody else. Maybe even more than that.

Tonight he felt like he could just sit here until the sun started to rise and bother him, at which point he would head back to his ratty old death trap of a car. He wanted to do that. He probably could have done it, too, and felt like a new man by morning. Like always. Secluded places never failed him before, but since fate had dragged him to Newport, it also seemed intent on making sure that a brief respite would not be so easy. He had not heard the woman’s footsteps, nor had he seen her with his head tilted the way it was. The yelp was a bit harder to miss. For such a calm man, he sure got startled when he heard someone falling over. Hearing unexpected noise was not a common experience for him, and when he had been easing into a private moment of contemplation it was the last thing he expected. His heart, sadly, did not beat faster. In fact, it didn’t beat at all. He felt like a Popsicle that way. It was easier to calm down quickly since he did not need to catch his breath.

He snapped his head in the direction of the sound, and saw a strange woman tangled up in a sneaky root. Who was she? Why was she here? He had thought this place was completely undisturbed, if the excessive vegetation was any guess. So why would a girl like that come here at a time like this? Unless… oh, dear. He hoped she wasn’t a vampire. He really had no interest in finding out about the vampire community. If the episodes of Buffy he had seen were any indication, it involved tormenting sixteen year olds and dying a lot. While he was thinking all of this, of course, he did what any decent human being and got up to approach her. He hadn’t interacted much with people, so he wasn’t completely sure on the proper etiquette, but he knew that helping up a fallen lady was generally considered proper. To be safe, he quickly glanced over her. She didn’t look threatening. She didn’t look obnoxious either, if such a human being truly existed. She had even used mild language, which was a bonus compared to the genuine potty-mouths he had come across.

Thus, he stood up and went over to her at a fast walk. He stuck out a hand and stooped down, offering to help her up. Should he ask if she was alright? Apologize? Thank her? Perfect, he had come to the graveyard to escape his questions, then someone intruded and he had a whole new bunch of them. Still, he was not going to ignore it when someone was laying in the dirt. Even loners could be decent human beings, couldn’t they? “You okay?” he asked, short and to the point. He didn’t care yet of why she was here or who she was, unless for some reason she had followed him from wherever it was he came from, all he knew was that he was all by himself in a little slice of paradise a moment ago and now someone else was here. Well, he still had a bit of cash left. He could always just go to a hotel for the night, or sit in his car for a while somewhere else. Neither of them would be as serene as this place had been, though. Now that he knew people came here, he had no reason to come back for some time amongst the dead. Not when it was a place for the living.

Sure, it was a bit peculiar that this (presumably) human woman would be wandering into a graveyard at dusk. Being a vampire, it was more natural that he should like being here. But a regular person? Shouldn’t they like happier things, such as movie theaters and malls and searching the Google? Well, they stressed individuality these days. No reason a pretty lady shouldn’t like corpses that had been buried for decades. It was slightly odd to him, and thus it piqued his curiosity. But only a little.

[Alexis Hayden]

The sun took it's final look around and disappeared from view completely, the last of its ray's poking through the trees briefly before to following the sun's lead. The darkness wasn't so bad, since it was gradual, giving eyes enough time to adjust to it. But the simple fact you could still see didn't make that eerie feeling go away. It was still dark. And this was still a graveyard after all. There is only so much creepy you can take out, and sometimes there is no getting rid of it, not matter how hard you try. And the main formula for creepy included dark, cemetery, and a stranger. Check, check, check.

Yet, why wasn't Alexis afraid? Why wasn't she shivering in her - now dirt covered - pants? Her heat beat didn't speed up any, none more then from the fall that is, and she didn't show any signs of being awkward or nervous at all. And believe you me, if she was either of those you would be able to tell. She had away with hiding emotions...she couldn't do it. Every thing played plainly on her face. Whatever she was feeling showed through. When she was upset, angry, happy, sad, energetic, contemplative, whatever her mood might be, it showed right up on that pale face of her's. And it wasn't as if she didn't try, she did alright. She didn't enjoy people always knowing what she felt. Somethings she just didn't want to share. But with her, that was impossible.

Her oh-so graceful landing had caused a small tear in her jeans (on the left knee) and her right arm to slide against the concrete walkway that laid next to that darn root. She probably should have been walking on that sidewalk, instead of through the overgrowth of the graveyard. Then she wouldn't have tripped over the root sticking up from the ground, wouldn't have torn her pants, wouldn't have dirt all over her, and her hand wouldn't be scratched up. But of course she wasn't walking on the sidewalk so all these things had happened. She was so busy trying to figure out how exactly that root had caught her foot that she momentarily forgot about the stranger that had been sitting on the bench.

Which explains the startled jump she gave when all of a sudden he was next to her, bent down slightly, hand out to help her back up. But that startled look soon fell away from her face and instead she let out a breath of air and allowed a smile to slide on. She shook her head, slightly embarrassed as she took his offered hand, wiping the dirt off her shirt with her other one. “You okay?” His voice hummed through the deserted graveyard, sounding almost like a melody. She gave another small smile, taking her hand back as she now moved on to getting the dirt off of her pants.

"Yeah. I'm used to falling." She paused in her mission to rid herself of dirt and glanced up, meeting his eyes. "Wow. That sounds pretty lame, doesn't it? I sort of have a problem with being clumsy, I mean." Her crystal blue eyes stood out brightly against her pale face, quite an attractive mix. And now they turned their attention back down to her pants, almost done freeing them of dirt. It looked as if they just might survive.