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They changed all of that.
They offered me stability.
They gave me a future.
And now I have a chance to repay them. I have the opportunity to offer my dad the same thing he gave me: a future.
I have to find Donald, though.
I burst through the doors to the post office dramatically. The wind blows the door shut behind me, and I step forward into the little office. I’m ready to find the postmaster and tell my dramatic story. I’m ready to do some convincing. I’m ready to prove that I’m worthy of knowing where Donald stays and what he’s been up to.
But I instantly realize I have a problem I didn’t anticipate.
There’s no one here.
“Hello?” I call out into the empty building. The lights are dim, though, and the building is cold. I look around at the posters on the wall and the different forms and boxes for mailing things. A thin, almost imperceptible, layer of dust is settled over everything around me.
“Is anyone here?” I try again.
I won’t accept that there’s no one here. I can’t. I have to know where to go next.
“Hello? Anybody?”
Maybe they’re just on their lunch break, I reason. The post office can’t be closed. Even though I don’t get cell service in Fablestone, I have a phone. I pull it out and check for Wi-Fi or bars. Nothing. I didn’t really expect I’d have service this close to the mountains, but it doesn’t hurt to check.
“Maybe I can Google the hours,” I mutter.
“She’s on lunch,” a voice says, and I jerk around. I didn’t even hear anyone enter the post office behind me.
“Excuse me?” I whisper, still shocked. There’s a tall, lanky boy standing in the doorway. He looks like he’s 16, maybe 17. He smiles.
“The postmaster,” he says. “Well, postmistress, I suppose,” he chuckles. “She’s at lunch.”
“When…when will she be back?” I stutter, still caught off guard by the fact that this kid managed to get the jump on me. I might not be a shifter, but I was raised around them. No one should be able to sneak up on me. Ever. It’s one of the first skills my father tried to teach me.
Apparently, he didn’t do a great job.
The kid shrugs. “Hard to say,” he says. “Not many people need to mail stuff.” He looks at me suspiciously, and I suppose I don’t really blame him. I probably look like I’ve been trekking through the woods, which I have. I’m obviously not from around here, and I’m guessing that in Storm Dawn, everyone knows everyone else.
“I need to talk to her as soon as possible,” I say carefully. I don’t want to spook this guy. He’s the first person I’ve seen and I have a feeling that if I mess this up, I’m not going to find anyone else for awhile. I don’t want to label this place as a ghost town, but, well, it kind of seems like a ghost town. “It’s important.”
“Are you from the government?” The kid asks. His eyes narrow as he looks at me.
“No,” I say firmly. “I am definitely not from the government. I’ve just got a question about the mail.”
“I haven’t seen you around,” the kid says, and I sigh.
“Yeah,” I tell him. “I’m not from around here, and to be honest, I’m not planning on staying long. Once I talk to the postmistress, I’ll be on my way.”
“Are you sure you aren’t from the government?” The kid asks again.
With a sigh, I shake my head and leave the post office. I let the door close loudly behind me and look around the empty streets. Where would she be eating lunch? At home? Is there a diner nearby?
“Hey!” The scrawny guy comes out behind me. “You just walked away.”
“I don’t know how to convince you I’m not from some secret organization that wants to bother you,” I tell him honestly. “And to be perfectly frank, I’m in a rush.”
I turn and head down the street, passing empty street windows as I do. The kid follows me for a little while, glancing around nervously. What the hell is he so scared about? Does this town get a lot of random murderers or something?
