Looking back

I given changed I must act with my looks. I had to know how I walk and what reaction I give with people staring. I picked out a phone from my pocket and played that new app game for a bit. It were to give the impression of arrogance and privilege. I put the hood up in busy areas.

This app game was good way to have a map without Google announcing my direction. A low accuracy location settings means I am anywhere on the 5km radius on screen. And I could be mistaken as some nerd player collecting digital creatures.

"James." I stood with catching a snake headed dog on screen and let this person walk up, "Dude... How did you get here?" I finish catching and lock the phone. I make sure to wear my mask, if they comment on it... I know they have gifted sight. I am glad to find that these is no step back and no double taking.

"My last foster fathers were good folks but I wasn't going to accept boarding school and kick to uni like that." I offer my hand out and my old room mate from a previous foster house. He returned the greeting.

"A real shame cuz they kept you longer then the 12 others." Taz wasn't a bad brother and got over my weirdness easy. He would often find some anime or movie references to joke in my moments. We not from the same backgrounds or share kinship by type but we do act like brothers. Always breaking and pulling apart, messing around or just having unique opinions. It is nice to see him well.

We haven't grown up together in this area but it seems we both know the same favourite spots. From the youth club in the community hall beside a retail corner shop to the quiet seating area beside the old Roman Bridge which no longer has water under it. The last months rain only really trickles the spring under it. It be the last time I see him but I am his third to last. Death's own bird of fate constantly glares at him.

Not the first time I seen those I like pass away. I am actually grateful to be warned ahead of the event. Even when its a eyeless Black fluff of feathers with a more then a death rattle laugh. It sings louder the closer to time it will be. Hollow sorrow lament of when time to move to the next life is at hand.

"See you around mate, keep your Facebook updated man."

"Good bye and good luck. Well missed." He finds my actions odd again. He sees that it was like a really meant for something serious.

" What do we say to the god of death?" he punched my arm, him may have took it meaning I was in bad head space. Maybe I was but not right now.

"Not today." Last shake and he makes a call to his current parents about how far from home he is. I took out my phone, thinking the same habit too. I don't want David worried. Greg is so much more stressed if I called him. Maybe I should call Rick. Let him know.

" Hello..." Karen answered his phone.

" Hey sis, they treating you both well? Any know of whats going on?" She not crying but she shuffled something. Maybe a paper.

"You should met us at the old KB burgers from the canal." That isn't a place. She telling me to not come at the instruction of having to read it from paper, "The one we buy secret milkshakes and fries when Greg cooks." That place is in a small business at the square around the corner from Davids old bingo job and the school we attended.

"I understand sis. Did you need picking up? I have the car ready." I said this in the timing of someone else reving it, "Rick too. right?"

"We going to be." she sighed wavered, "I see you soon anyways."

"Do you need my help?" I asked sharply.

"We are actually OK. They have good food, better school and I made more freinds. Rick got a apprenticeship and totally into it." She speaks so much calming. She worried about me being captured.

"I will come at my own time. Its not the first time I have avoided them. They are nice people. Is whom they work for that is the problem. Can't blame them for a bad boss." I hang up without any further talking. I am she feels better warning me.

I wrote a text.

'I will see you by the bus stop off Jim's barbers. We are to old to be ordering junk.' It was my last location.

I linger in pressing the call button again. I back out and changed whom I was about to call. I still hover with not doing so instantly.

I sigh and press call. He picks up instantly.

"Hey David, sounds like the other two are doing fantastic. Don't worry on them." I can hear Karen in the background, "I promise you no trouble but I am hitting the airport. Let Greg know that I sent him mail yesterday. See you both on the 13th. I will bring Rick's chocolate cake." I hang up before he speaks.

'This number is useless to contact me. But I will find ways to letting you know that I am OK.'

I took out the sim card and crushed it. factory reset the phone and storage it away. I get moving with stealing at nearest car and driving up the M1 interstate.

Driving, stealing and gambling money for food. Some habits are hard to not when running away from home. Not the first time between foster homes that I had to fend for myself. My mistake is homeless shelters. They have me on record as a face to take back to the foster company.

The ghost of me is right about how time slips. The second I got out of the village area, time blurred and flung me with parking up at an old busted cathedral

It was right out in the country side. A Heritage site looked after by a charity and government programs. Persevere history for our children's children's children.

I got out and paid for 3 days worth of parking. I recon they call in the adondoned car by then. Nothing useful on the car to be taking. Stealing to drive is one thing. There being no worth in here for some other idiot to break in is another. I used ice to unlock the car like it had the key. I lock it that way too.

"Church... So why here?" The mask on my face has started talking to itself again.

It will mean I am closer to what I came for. I have my bag to my shoulder and start hiking the old river that runs beside the estate ruins. The old Tudor carved super Manor made of the reused bricking of the older cathedral. The old gardens are picked clean of the graves that once buried underground. I came here for the purpose of memories. I have washed up in the river here a few to many times.

It was only yesterday that I was swimming in under canal boats to escape monkey suits. Being drawn here cant be a coincidental. Plus the activity of my other side of my soul reconnected here. It has to be spiritually energised around here for that. A sort other worlds energy flowing here.

"Never know whom you run into by chance until you try." He is not in company's uniform however clearly lied about being a video game developer.

"We seem to either be cross hairs with each other or you came to find me for a other reason." He passed me a file... paper about me. But the most important part is the one on top. Blood sampling. DNA matching the four comparisons. My mother, my father and my uncle. I know now but I didn't before I met Greg and David.

"You need to come home." I study him because where is home? Why should I? I don't think anyone knows alot. In someway I still don't either.

"There's a reason why I haven't yet. I am on a journey to find myself. When I have that, I will be worthy to make things better or worse." I give back the file and walked around, "If I wasnt so scared of him, I would never been in this situation." Greg look at the trees above, "You would know best, follower of Omens." I shouted up. Wings fluttered in shock, "I dont have time or the bargain to rule while I am among the living. But I will walk all of hell when I die to be there when needed."

"Then... your not scared at all." Greg frowns.

"Anyone else wouldn't want to see deaths birds following them too." I step around the tree in slipping through shadows. I change the hoodie and throw the bag to void shadow storage. That weird trick of throwing my stuff into that dream world I talk to the shadow creep at. If you recall like where my textbooks went.

I walked the gravelled floor up to the estate, paid the tour entry at the front desk and be line through... passing both living tourists and dead residents. I skipped through a doorway. This door isn't part of the estate at all, its a ghost door to the spirit world of undead. A world where spiritual veil that makes residents treat the living like ghost.

These doors and gates exist many places, some are famous like Stonehenge. Others are hidden local myths that only local people spin tall tales. This place being the grounds of a holy church, God doors would still be here. A way for a God to turn into a spirit in order to act among us. They are weaker or powerless in visitation but with a willing priest can help enact miracles.

"I left a tool in a gods domain near here." the mask remembered. It has warps my living shape to be like spirit body. It is without the need to experience dying to become it. Yet. I can't do everything like a pure spirit can. I still have to use doors and climb through windows, some rules have to be follow.

The distortion of living folks around are blurred muffled figures. Getting out by a staff entry, I can now walk the orginal cathedral stairs that my living side could not. Time turned back with nuns and monks walking the grounds. Some spirits what seek salvation lingering about. Then there are the new things that humanity would not have accounted for. Spirits as these are known as Hunters. They protect humans of both living and dead from things that don't belong in this worlds land. Hunter's can be a wild mix of cultures and race. Mostly here are cursed types and holy guardians.

This place is swamped of many standing around the alter where a cursed object was left. Its meant be something that demons use to break angel wings off for good. The freak show ghost side of my soul has been using remake the cathedral in this spirit world. He didn't mean to leave a curse evil object in a God domain.

"Next!" I pushed past the crowd and came forwards. I do the motions, being puppeteer by my own darkness to wave my hands about. It were finally that it shrink into a necklace and I put it on. I shortly find the exit, walking out the cathedral and into sunlight. The ghost form removed from me and I can stand to enjoy the dusk light.

"Young prince is missing more then just a metaphor for your identity." two birds land on my shoulders, "You're uncle is a changed man since..." the second bird is hissed by its respected elder.

"You are a very strange pair. A God and his follower. Contastly asking me stupid questions." I had a light chill when a thought crossed my mind, "Where was my parents buried?"

"You should know that. Everyone close or a direct bloodline is a citizen of the city of the undead." I knocked the god off me and the follower hops after his god in shock. A living human can't interact with spirits. Not unless there are cursed or broken. I am both, so no surprises.

"Which one? which area of that realm? It be like going to here from heaven. They be in New York where I land in the south pole. You get that, right?"

I make check with knowing there is to many eyes here, "I will work it out myself... appreciate the efforts you are making to be good at your job." I sigh on picking them both up, "So here's how it had been always. The world do not end because of the curse of darkness over my family for eons. Since it been in my hands, I have been using it for the intended purposes. I dont want to erase and end things... its that they ask me to. Thats what you need to know and how to stop asking me stupid questions. Its them when souls are done with it all. That's whom ends things." I flick them both into forced flight and use thier shadow to hitch a ride.

"The boy really does a great job of vanishing acts." The follower flew around circling for any sign. His god swiftly flutters around him and picks landing on a car roof together.

"He took one the powers and title. What he was telling me... it was the truth and a warning of what really is going on. Why things have happened..." Deep sobering thoughts for the god whom was expecting a nuclear waste land like the many others were expecting. It disturbs the god in seeing his follower being unharmed and like it all never happened.

"My lord, is there something you forsee about his words?"

"We need to learn what the true purpose of being a Ender is. The only ways I can really find untouched and unchanged history would to ask Chrono or the life thread spinners." I warp with being in the car they landed on... listening around and watching the world outside, "So you have total faith in me to never let you be harmed by truth. But it would I must break this emersion in order to keep you safe." The god asking his follower, "because learning the truth may loss your merit in myself and others." A low bow head in finding words. They flew together. I would guess that the follower had agreed in some fashion to be faithful even when learning of real gods.

This marks the moment where Omens will continue lossing his followers to dangerous tasks in order to find the truth. It will be in my last living moments that the God will finally be satisfied with what knowledge those scarfices made.

I got out the car and slip back through into the estate. It was to use the toilet and be sure to leave in veiw of cctv properly like everyone else. Wearing exactly what I came into the building in.

I walked for some time following the estate gardens and towards the creek that joins a old flood ditch. Getting lost into the landscape before reaching a familiar area. A river side embankment that flows into a diverging canal system.

The river weeds grew, snapped and water froze into the canoe needed. The long double ended paddle was wood with ice fin ends. It does its job to get me going back out to city grounds I once claimed as territory. On arrives of the new landing, the caneo smashed and sunk like it never was. Clouded dirt films the surface as disturbs sediments dropped.

Tracing back to my gambling pawned days. Tracking down my rings I owned as a kid. They called to me somehow still in the store that served me when I pretended to be 18. They still accepted my fake id when buying the rings back. More charms on my new necklace of godly universe breaking tools.

I came out from the pawn shop, through the side alley where someone lays slumped to a wall behind the industrial business size bin. A few gemstones chucks were still in pocket of the homeless guy whom stole them from me. He was a horrible drunkred and always on something. He would steal my rings and pawn to the shop too. Money for his overdosing habits. It was still no pleasure in seeing him this way. His corpse stuck here in what locals call gambler's alley. It's a short cut through towards four betting and casino like shops.

The soul or spirit of whom he was is not here. He must have made peace or something. Collected properly by a death god at the time. I would have thought he had something to say to me. I guess not.

He is already been reported by the annoyed flats overlooking this alley. Folks assumed he was just sleeping here and knew he was homeless. They assumed his smell was lack of hygienic practice, not that he was death. It will a matter of time when someone reports that his dead.

Speeding the process... I left a phone dialed in his hand. I made his finger press it. I clattered some trash around here as dispatch took action to send someone to this location. I leave, knowing he will be looked after. For a guy whom stole from me. I still feel the hurt not by his actions when we last met but more people I did know are be killed or found dead like that. The misfortunes have a purpose but it doesn't change my pain.

I can't really say that I moved on from seeing my parents heads on the throne. Nor the loss in having nearly normal interactions. The weigh of guilt, sorrow and huanted visions of time erased from history. I am not surprised the anger in me is going to make hell for whomever wrongs me.