|WIDE EYES|

I beat Larson back to the lake, though that's not much of a surprise. When he finally arrived, his mouth was filled with pizza, and the rest of the slice hung from his hand. "Morning" was all he said to me as he passed me and headed down the lake's shore.

I guess someone is eager to get moving. I hopped up from the grass and jogged after him until I caught up.

"Pizza, really?" I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Why not?"

I rolled my eyes playfully, then waited for him to finish eating before we started a conversation.

He tossed the crust out into the lake. "So, what's up?"

"Nothing really.." I said. I'm obviously withholding the information on my visit from Josiah from him. I don't want him to worry.

I'm still freaked out that Josiah watches me. I mean that's weird, why does he worry about what I'm doing? Maybe he doesn't anymore since I told him to leave me alone?

I did a quick perimeter check to make sure, although it does no good when the person you're looking for is as sneaky as Josiah.

"So Larson, what all do you remember from your life on earth?" I asked. It was a good small talk question to pass the time with, plus I'm actually quite curious about it.

His usual smile faded slightly as he went through memories in his head. Some were worse than others, I could tell by the small grimaces that appeared before he could hide them.

"Well, the main thing I remember was the feeling that I had most of the time."

"What was it?" I asked after realizing he wasn't going to continue.

"Shame, guilt, depression... Usually something along those lines." His eyes were unable to look into mine.

"Why?" I pressed, though I was careful not to upset him.

"Have you ever felt like you were a burden? Like you were always hurting people more than you helped them?" He suddenly turned to me to see my response.

I thought about it. I didn't have many memories to compare, but the ones I have seem perfect. "No, I don't think I have." I answered. I hated giving him that answer for some reason; I think maybe I wanted to relate to him better.

"Well that's how I felt every single day of my life." His gaze was out into the lake now, not bothering to acknowledge me.

"I'm sorry Larson. I really am. I wish I could relate to you more, I want to understand you better.."

He stopped walking abruptly, and I had to back step to be next to him again.

"You are very special Harley. Like I said before, I'm glad I'm dead, and I'm glad that I'm here with you." His fingers curled around mine, locking me to him.

I followed his eyes as they left mine and fell on my lips.
I wasn't sure what to expect next, Larson was quite unpredictable. I closed my eyes and tried to prepare myself for what might happen. I waited a long moment. I could sense that he was close to me, as still as a statue. I opened my eyes just as his lips pressed to my forehead once. "Don't leave me Harley.." He said quietly.

I looked up at his face. "I won't." I whispered back.

A smile parted his lips, then he started to walk again, not releasing my hand. I didn't mind though because I don't want him to leave me either, especially with Josiah lurking around.

The thought of Josiah clenched my stomach. Did he see Larson kiss me?

"There is more freedom here anyway." Larson said. "Let's solve your murder so we can enjoy it." His tempting smile returned once more, lighting up my morning, though he was talking about my death.

We walked for hours maybe, I can't be sure because I don't get sore. I guess I could walk forever and never feel anything. It's kind of depressing knowing that I will never feel anything again, at least it should feel depressing. Larson looks at me like he loves me, but can we really have love here? More importantly, do we still have hope? Wonder if I'm stuck in this place forever? An even scarier thought, wonder if I move on to somewhere even worse than here?

"Hey look, a boat!" Larson yelled excitedly. He dropped my hand and ran for it.

He examined it. "We should travel by boat from here. Maybe it would be easier to cross the lake rather than walk around it."

I thought about what he was saying. We had walked all morning, but we still hadn't made it much closer to our destination. We were still on the side closest to the mountains. "Yeah, let's do it." I said, giving him a smile of my own.

His eyes lit up. "Get in, I'll push you into the water."

I did what he asked, and he gave the boat his strongest push. After hopping into the boat himself, we embarked on our journey.

The boat conveniently came with a paddle, and Larson assumed the job of rowing. I watched as he carried me closer to the center of the lake. It's quite scary being in the center of a lake this vast, but I guess it's too late for me to worry about things like that.

The trees that lined the lake blazed with colors from reds to bright yellows. They reminded me of the pictures I saw in the library so many days ago. I finally get to see them.

As beautiful as they are now, soon they will be naked for the winter. That means that we are closer to the time in the "visions" we had.

"Harley!" Larson startled me from my frightening thoughts.

"What?" I asked after gathering myself.

As he turned to face me, a grin spread over his face. "We should go swimming."

I pictured the lake as it was in my vision, and then my imagination ran wild with the thought of a beast lurking under the small waves. "No, Larson..." I said.

The water seemed harmless. It was clear and calm, but I just don't think I should swim in it right now.

He pursed his red lips at me. "Well I am." He said, unzipping his hoodie.

I haven't actually seen him without it now that I think about it. The shirt underneath hung loosely from his pale frame.

The next article of clothing to go were his converse and socks, followed by his plain blue shirt. Although Larson was thin, he was still quite toned. The look worked well for him, though he could probably pull anything off.

I didn't think he would go that far, but as usual, he surprised me. His black skinny jeans were the last thing he removed thankfully.

He wore a pair of black boxers that hung almost as long as regular swim trunks. He stood there for a second while I stared for a little too long.

He of course enjoyed my admiration, and started flexing like a model.

"You're an idiot." I told him.

He laughed his booming laugh, then dived off into the water.

I didn't see his head pop up for a while. I figured he would try to scare me, or attempt some other dumb prank. He finally broke the surface about ten feet from the boat.

"Whew, this feels good Harley!" He called to me. He lay stretched out on his back just floating about. He looked natural in the water, like he belonged in it. Maybe he'll reincarnate into a blue eyed dolphin.

"Come on Harley, you know you want to get in!" He splashed around trying to make it look fun. "It's reeeeally fun!"

I looked up to the suns blinding light. "Actually Larson it's time to go!" I yelled back.

I picked up a paddle and started rowing. He swam after me for a few minutes before he decided he wanted back in the boat.

He climbed back over, nearly dumping me into the water. I'm sure he would have gotten a real kick out of that.

After drying off with his T-shirt, and shaking the water from his shaggy hair, he relaxed on the front of the boat, staring at me.

"What?" I finally asked.

"You should have gotten in with me." He said.

"I didn't want to. I would like to solve my murder if that's okay with you.." I said.

He only laughed at my annoyance. "When are you going to live a little?"

"News flash Larson, we're dead. Neither of us will ever 'live a little' again."

His smile faded to a smirk, then he stared off into the distance for a while.

It was hard to be mad at him. He's just so darn likable; I hate it.

The sun was behind the boat now, making the now visible land glow. "Hey, I think that's the other side!" I said excitedly.

He turned to face frontward.

He took the paddle from me and rowed faster. "There's a dock!" He exclaimed after a minute.

It was overgrown by weeds, and rough looking, but it was a dock.

Larson pulled the boat out of the water when we reached the shore. I hopped out into the tall grass, and fought my way through the shrubs to the dock.

Larson followed close behind me after returning his clothes to his body.

"Harley wait, let me go first." He said, pulling my hand until I stopped. "It could be dangerous."

I allowed him to pass me. He stepped on each piece of wood carefully, testing its strength.

He suddenly froze in place.

"Larson, what's wrong?" I asked.

"There's...something here." He said quietly.

"What is it?"

"I think you should just see for yourself." He said, stepping over so I could see.

I looked over his shoulder and followed his line of sight. My heart sunk like it did the day I found the note in my room. This time it fell into an even deeper pit in my stomach.

It was small, still shiny, and hidden well under the weeds. A tiny puddle of dried blood surrounded it.

I leaned closer to confirm what I knew to be true; it was a knife. A pocket knife. One that anyone could get a hold of. It was simple. I think it only contained one blade, but that's all my killer needed.

"Do you think-"

I cut him off. "Yeah. Why else would I have seen this place in my vision?"