Silent Reaper ～ Chapter ❹ ～ I heard the birds in the trees above me grow silent. I noticed the wind that had been gently flowing around the wood, stop. I stared at the boy infront of me. Of course, he was lying. Who would just announce to a complete stranger that they were reapers? No one. That's why he was lying. So why did I believe him? As the moments ticked by I thought about what my response would be. It was utterly ridiculous to even consider what he was saying — but I found the question creeping back into my mind. What if he were a reaper? What if he was actually telling the truth and not playing some absurd mind game. The silence dragged on. His pose seemed never to change as he looked at me, his sunset eyes seeping into mine. Part of me - the logical part - said that he was a disturbed person where as the other part of me, I don't know which part, said he was telling the truth and honestly, the look on his face and strange features didn't exactly help me think otherwise. Distracting my train of thought, the boy spoke. "I guess you really don't know," he sighed slightly. I looked at him not sure what to do or say. When he didn't hear a response he spoke again. "Never mind," he spoke gently this time and faced away from me. "If you don't know I guess your father didn't want you to." He turned to look at me over his shoulder and gave an icy smile. "After all, Hanna," I gasped at the sound of my name. "Good old man Pete wanted his daughter safe from all this." His cold smile turned sly, and then he was gone, gone before I could have possibly began to understand what he was talking about. I felt as though I had been rooted to the ground. I felt suddenly really uncomfortably warm, but on the inside I felt as though my blood had turned to ice. I started to hear Doom's growling. I looked down at the dog whom was still looking at the place where the reaper boy had stood. How did he know my name? How did he know my fathers name? Does he know what happened when my father had died? Did he know what strange things were going on in my family or, and what I prefer to think is the solution - was he just a seriously capable stalker? I allowed myself to laugh at that thought. I began walking back to my home, with Doom close at my heels. It was about seven in the morning now and I knew mom would have already left for work. What would I do today? Once I arrived back into the safety of the house, I began pacing around my room, looking at my fathers book then pacing again trying to make sense of what was going on. I let out an exasperated sigh. What was I trying to find out? If that boy, Ethan, really was a reaper, then what kind was he? What was his over all purpose and why was I still alive? Nothing was making sense - not the village's stories and understanding of reapers, not any of the books in the library, not my mothers stories or my fathers for that matter. For the first time in a long time I felt truly alone.