Raine Walker

Chapter Twenty-Eight

        We pull up to the Lucky Lanes bowling alley. A few cars were scattered over the parking lot, mostly the employees. The daylight was burning, the sun was setting over the western edge of the sky. My eyes glance over to the sun as I rip the helmet off of my head and correcting the pieces of my hair that decided to be crazy and uncontrollable.

        Oh, the irony!

        "What town is this?" I ask, looking over at Scott as he fixed his own hair. My curiosity was going strong because I feel like I've seen this place before...like on TV.

        "Riverview," Scott responds, setting his helmet on the seat of the bike, a little against his own will to answer.

        Riverview. This place was on the news before. I remember this place. This was the town with the double homicide that was plastered over the TV weeks before. Is that why this place is almost abandoned? Did the double murder change the works of the town? People moved away to get away from the pain and loss. If I remember correctly, they never caught the murderer.

        "Ready to go in?" Scott asks me, and I snap back to reality. The realization that I'm in a town with a recluse murderer. Great.

        "Yeah," I nod as he takes the helmet out of my grasp. We head into the bowling alley that smells vaguely of smoke and old beer. The doors open to the sound of bowling balls knocking down pins. 

        "Fuck yeah!" a deep man's voice echoes throughout the room. He must've got a strike. 

        Smoke drifts over the bowling area, a couple of lanes occupied by heavy built men. The place looked kind of aged, but it looked original. The small diner space was set up for people who wanted something to eat was cleaned, but looked worn down and old. As I glance over my shoulder at the trophy case, I could tell this place was a hot spot in its day.

        "Scott? Hey! Haven't seen you in here in a while," a woman's voice brings me to the front desk where Scott is leaning against it.

        "Yeah, it has been a while, hasn't it?" Scott asks, taking twenty dollars out of his wallet.

        "Who did you bring with you?" the girl with dark red hair shines me a glance. Her nose and lower lip were pierced. As she reaches across the counter to grab the money, a full arm of tattoos were visible. Her eyes were insanely green, shadowed by dark make-up and red lips. 

        "Raine," I respond, standing beside Scott. 

        The girl raises her eyebrows in a way I would describe it as shocked. She shakes her head, throwing her hands up in the air as if she just surrendered. "Well...you two have fun."

        Scott glances over at me with a smile on his face as he reaches and grabs my hand. "C'mon." I was confused as to why he was holding my hand, but I was okay with it. He guides me over to where the bowling balls are, a wide variety of sizes, weights, and colors. 

        He lets go of my hand, reaching down to pick up a bowling ball. "Try this." He places it in my hands, and I struggle to keep the weight up. "Okay, not that one."

        He laughs as he scoops it up from my arms. He chooses a pink bowling ball, placing it in my hands. I could actually handle the weight. He then shows me how to properly hold the bowling ball, which isn't all that difficult to understand. He picks up a bowling ball for himself, directing us to an open alleyway. 

        "Alright," he sighs, settling behind the little monitor to enter our names onto the screen above. "Do you want to go first?"

        "Um...it doesn't really matter," I shrug, knowing that either way, it was going to be a disaster in the making.