Deep Into That Darkness Peering- Part Twelve by: Enemyoffun Ryan Roth is a college freshman with a good life. He has a great girlfriend, a good best friend and seems to be starting his college career off on the right start. But something dark and dangerous comes into his life and things go from bad to worse.

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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 12, about to be posted with a lot of Retcon traffic today, here's hoping my little story doesn't get dwarfed by the others. I like to call this chapter the big set up because in the next 2 chapters things are really going to hit the fan. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing, FaerieFyre for the beta and DC Comics for the characters.

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Chapter Twelve:

I sat in the corner of the bed, my knees pulled up under my chin. Lori was sitting on the end, panting heavily. The two of us had just been through the experience of a lifetime and neither one of us knew what to say. Confusion was apparent on both our faces. Mine was because I wanted to know how the hell she got into my dream. I could only imagine what she might be thinking. We had just woken up a minute or two ago and the first thing she did was push me away from her, like she was repulsed by me. That hurt more than she could know. Here she was, the person I considered my best girl friend and she was rejecting me. I couldn’t speak, so, instead, I crawled into the corner and withdrew into myself. She wasn’t doing much better, panting heavily, wringing her fingers through her hair.

For the longest time, the only noise in the room was our heavy breathing and the tick of her clock.

Finally, she turned and looked at me. I caught her eyes and the two of us just stared. We played the staring game for a bit, neither one of us ready to break the silence. After what seemed like an eternity, I decided to take the chance. I took a deep breath and opened my mouth to speak. No sooner had I gotten one syllable out of my mouth, something that would have been “I can explain”; she uttered the exact same words.

I blinked. “What?” I asked, confused.

Her head lowered. When she spoke, her voice was soft, barely audible. “I’m a freak.”

I scoffed. “If you’re a freak then I’m the Queen of Freaks.”

She raised her head and smiled. I couldn’t help but smile back. The coy, quiet girl in front of me was not Lori. This girl, the one smirking at me, that was the Lori I knew and loved. It was hard to think of her as any other girl. But, the one sitting before me, the one who thought of herself as a freak, this was not my friend. The silence returned, but only for a moment.

This time, I built up a little more confidence and tried again. “I’m not who you think I am. I’m Rachel Roth, but I haven’t always been this way.”

She nodded. “So, in the classroom back in September, before we met in the mall, you didn’t just look like a guy, you were one.”

I nodded, then realized what she said. How did she know that?

She smiled. Her smile faded and then she took a deep breath. “I wasn’t always Lori, either.”

We played the swap game. First, I told her about my life before. I told her about Katie, which she already knew pieces of, then I told her about everything else. I tried to dance around things, but she knew not to pry. When I told her about the dreams and the Thing, we both kinda shuddered. She asked if that was my power base and when I told her about the other stuff, one of her eyebrows rose. It appeared she knew a bit about Metas because she didn’t look scared or freaked out in the least. I had a good idea why, but I didn’t want to jump to conclusions until she was ready to tell me, herself. I ended my story with Dr. O and how he thought I was something else entirely.

She started as soon as I was finished. “My name used to be Nick. I didn’t lie about my past in the least. I’m really from Ohio. I live with my Dad after my Mom died of cancer. It sorta drove a wedge between the two of us, actually. I lived a fairly normal life. After Mom died, I fell into an Emo punk scene, took to wearing black eye liner and all that. It freaked Dad out a lot, but he dealt with it. We got over her death and little by little, we got our relationship back. But, of course, all that changed when I became the Freak of the Week. It happened suddenly, too. Dad and I were vacation in Chicago. Well, I called it one, but it was a work trip for him. I was in the mall when it happened. Some crazy shadow dude robbed a bank. I was caught up in the confusion.

“When he started to run, he slammed into me. It knocked us both on our asses. I think it scared him as much as me. I mean, he was a shadow. I shouldn’t have been able to knock him down. The next thing that happened freaked me out more than anything, though. There was this intense pain, it lasted only for a few seconds, but, when it cleared, I felt different. When I looked down at my hands, I saw they were black and shadowy. I fucking freaked. I’d heard about Metas on the news---hell, Chicago seems to be Meta capital of the world---but I never actually thought i’d see one. I never actually thought I was one, either. In the confusion, the security guard drew his gun on me. It wasn’t until looking at the glass wall that I realized I was a shadow dude, now, too.

“He fired a shot at me, but the bullet went right through. After that, I think I passed out. When I came to, I was in a padded room, somewhere. I thought for a second I might be in a nut house, but it turns out that the authorities brought me to some Lab, a place where they help people like me. I was there for hours. They ran some tests and some government spook interrogated me. They tried to get me to do the shadow thing again, but I couldn’t.”

I was confused. “The shadow thing wasn’t your power?”

She shook her head, mascara stained tears running down her face. “They tried all kinds of tests, but they couldn’t figure me out. After a few days, they set me up with a new ID, some cash, and sent me on my way. The relationship Dad and I had spent the last three years trying to repair was shattered again, after that. We didn’t know what to say to one another, so we pretty much stopped talking, altogether. A month after my change, we moved out here to Phoenix, which worked out because I was already accepted to go to school here. That was in July. I only had about two months to get used to the new me before classes started.”

I reached out and touched her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. I didn’t know much about how girls comforted one another, but I’d seen Katie do this to some of her crying girlfriends. Lori seemed to appreciate it. She smiled. It took her a few moments to recover though.

I took that chance to ask a question. “Did you find out your Meta power?”

She nodded. “The scientists did, actually.” She took a deep breath, wiping her cheeks. “They brought in another Meta to test their theory, a pretty blonde girl. They tried a few things, but, in the end, all it took was a touch. I felt a surge of energy and then I felt stronger. Looking in the mirror, I realized that wasn’t the only thing that happened. I took some of her height and half my hair matched her golden locks. It turns out that I could copy the powers of others. All it takes is a simple touch, at least at first. Now all I need is eye contact and it happens.”

Realization dawned on me then. The two of us were sleeping together. I groaned and she nodded, crying again. Another realization dawned on me then. I bit my lip. “How long have you known about me?”

She lowered her head. “A few days after you came back to class. I accidentally bumped into you on the way out of the room. I didn’t realize what was going on until I started to feel all this funky stuff. It messed me up pretty bad. I spent the whole hour of your ‘power time’ in the bathroom, crying in a stall.” She looked at me, a sad look on her face. “I don’t know how you handle it all the time, but it nearly killed me.”

This time, I didn’t hold back the hug. I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around her. She flinched a bit, but rested her head on my shoulder. She cried a bit more. We sat like that for a while, neither one of us willing to move. Somehow, I felt closer to her than ever before. I knew Barbara was a Meta, like me, but there was some kind of bond I felt with Lori. Even though I wasn’t technically like her, not a Meta entirely, it felt good that there was at least someone I could share this with. After we were done hugging, I thanked her for helping me in the dream. Then, I told her as much as I could about the Thing and how it’s been trying to get me to unlock the door.

She shook her head. “That thing is bad. I could feel the darkness radiating off it. Whatever you do, promise me that you’ll never open the door.”

I nodded but cried too. “It’s so strong. If you hadn’t stopped it, I might…”

She hugged me this time. “We’ll think of something,” she said softly in my ear. “You’re my best friend, now, and I’m not going to let something like that take you away from me.”

After I recovered a bit, we talked. We spent the rest of the night talking. Then, we went to bed for real this time. I curled up on her bed and she held my hand as I fell asleep. I felt secure with her there, knowing that if something bad happened she’d be there to get my back. We made a promise. No matter what happened, she’d always be there to help me.

Lori frowned at me from the mirror. I tried to ignore the face as I finished lacing my left boot. The more I thought about that dress she bought me, the more I realized there was no way I was going out in public dressed like that. So, I took it upon myself to add some of my own style to the costume. In the end, I replaced the wicked slit dress with a pair of tight black pants and a gold belt. The top was something I had lying around; one of the many we bought on our first shopping trip together. Lori’s frown was apparent. She wanted the three of us to look like wicked badass witches, with her and Angelina being in long floor length dresses. I still looked pretty badass, but I was going to do it without half my body spilling out of that damn dress of hers.

“We’re not going to look alike anymore,” said Lori as I turned from the mirror.

I looked her up and down. Her dress was killer but there was no way I’d be caught dead in something like that. She had this real tight bodice that made her boobs look twice as big and the length, I would be tripping over the damn thing. It was hard to believe the girl standing before me was ever a guy. I couldn’t help but smile. Our revelations to one another were over a week ago, now. For a few days after that, we were a bit on the awkward side. It felt strange to know that only a few short months before hand, longer for her than me, the two of us peed standing up–not that either of us wanted to dwell on it. We talked very little of our lives before. I think it was a hard subject for her. Lori talked little about her Dad, but from what I could tell, they weren’t on best of terms. Added to that the fact that her father lost a son and gained a daughter, I’m not sure how I’d react, either.

I guess I was lucky. I talked to Mom every day on the phone. Well, almost every day. Even though we had still yet to meet face-to-face since the change, our relationship hadn’t changed. In fact, it was closer than ever. We talked about things that I never would have talked to her about if I were Ryan. She was particularly interested in the clothes I was wearing and the way my body was making me feel. We even talked about that dreaded “time of the month”. I got mine two days after revealing my secret to Lori; I got over it, yesterday. Trust me, it wasn’t a fun time, especially for an emotionally fucked up girl like me. I ended up spending most of it at Dr. O’s, away from anyone I could harm.

I was getting better with the powers, though. I spent every moment I could with Dr. O. I still didn’t have my words of focus, but my concentration and meditation were going so much better. I could levitate off the ground about two feet, now, and could hold myself there for five minutes. Not the greatest about it, but better than before. My other powers were much more toned, though. Dr. O didn’t want to proceed so quickly, but the bald monk guys were all over the place, now. They were even following my friends, so he upped the timetable a bit. Three days after revealing myself to Lori, we started on control. He wanted to see exactly what I was capable of. It turns out that when I use telekinesis, I surround the object with a strange black energy. I couldn’t help but remember popping the light bulb my first night at the Allens’. I think I did it with telekinesis, not even realizing it at the time.

My thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of Lori’s cell. She pulled it out and walked away, but I vaguely heard Jaslyn’s voice on the other end. She and Shay were going to meet us at the party. Thinking about the two of them, I couldn’t help but laugh. Shay showed up a few hours after Jaslyn’s frantic call the other day. Apparently, she had a bit too much to drink and passed out–exactly what we all thought had happened. Jaslyn had jumped to conclusions, as usual. Now, the two of them were closer than ever. I think Jas was guilty for suspecting Shay of cheating. Everywhere we went, the two of them were now clinging off one another, showing themselves off to the whole world. Well, at least our small corner of it, anyway. Seeing them together, though, sent a pang of jealousy and guilt through me. I couldn’t help but remember the good times I had with Katie and how much it hurt knowing that we’d never be able to cuddle again.

Lori came back over, snapping her phone shut. “Jaslyn, Shay and Angelina are going to meet us at the party.”

I nodded. Shay and Lori were the only ones in our little circle of friends who had cars. They were our designated drivers, I guess. Angelina was the only one who didn’t have her license. Back home, I always drove my grandfather’s truck around. My Mom had a little Prius, but I rarely used it. I had been saving up money over the summer to buy my own car, but I ended up spending it on a new laptop, after my old one died. I didn’t mind being chauffeured about by my friends, though.

I turned back to the mirror, realizing that my lips needed to be touched up. I turned my head and saw my purse on the other side of the room. I bit my lip and closed my eyes. Dr. O told me not to use my powers in public because I still didn’t have a grasp on total control. I wasn’t in public right now–not really, anyway. I concentrated on my purse and watched as it was surrounded in a black light. It rose off my dresser and floated quickly across the room into my outstretched hand.

“I am so damn jealous,” huffed Lori with a fake pout.

I laughed as I reached into the bag and took out my lipstick. I applied it with great ease. Something like that would have freaked me out weeks ago, but now it was second nature. I guess that meant I was really a girl, now. That fact was hammered home by my “visitor” that had just left. Before then, it was like I was wearing a costume and, any day now, I might finally be able to take it off. It was real, but it wasn’t as real as it should have been. Now, there was no going back. I guess I sorta knew that, but a small part of me was still hoping this was all a bad dream and I’d wake up as Ryan with Katie in my arms.

After making sure my makeup was perfect, I couldn’t help but smile at the girl in the mirror. It was strange but a few weeks ago, I was scared to death to see her there. Now she was me and I couldn’t be happier. Ok so happier was stretching it a bit but I was content.

“Hard to get used to, isn’t it?”

I nodded. “How did you react the first time you saw the new you?”

She came up behind me, wrapping her arms around me from behind. She rested her head on my shoulder. “I was scared to death.”

We stood there a long time like that. Finally, Lori pulled away and announced we were going to be late. I got my cape, making sure to put up the hood for the added effect. The hooded cape was Lori’s best find by far. It made me look all sinister and mysterious. If I could, I’d wear it with every outfit from now on. As it was, it was kinda hot out even for the end of October. Lori said that was one thing she was never going to get used too. Octobers in Ohio were cold, sometimes even bitter. But looking out the window you could barely tell it was October outside. Especially when the weatherman said, it was only eighty degrees. Lori had a thing or two to say about that.

I blocked out most of her complaining as the two of us left the dorm and got into her car. Her car didn’t fit her image in the least. It was a silver Mercedes, something that definitely didn’t match the girl she was. Apparently, her Dad bought her the car right before she started school. They might not get along all that well but he was loaded and wanted his new daughter to have the best. I liked driving in the car though; it made me feel like a someone.

The party was only a few blocks from campus at a frat house. It wasn’t our usual thing but it was only one night. The whole ride I had my eyes closed, breathing and silently meditating. When I told Dr. O about the party, he tried to talk me out of it. I think he was afraid that I was going to have another repeat of the last party I went to. But I’d grown a lot since then. Ok, so not that much, but back then I didn’t have the chakra stone keeping me in check. Since wearing it I hadn’t had any more incidents, in fact I could even tune out the emotions. I was pretty confident that as long as I didn’t get in a situation where things got out of control I’d be all right.

When we pulled up in front of the house, my heart was pounding in my chest. There was already a lot of people. There were so many cars that they were lined up all the way down the street and parked on the frat house lawn. The tree in front of the house was streaming with toilet paper and there were several smashed pumpkins strewn about. Someone was having a lot of fun, even if it was two days before Halloween. We weren’t allowed to have any parties on the actual day because it fell on a Monday this year. So the college told us to throw our festivities on Friday or Saturday. A lot of the other fraternities partied real hard last night.

“Looks like the party started without us”

We shut the car off, parking it as far away from the others as we could. The car might not fit her but Lori wasn’t about to have it smashed by some drunk asshole. After making sure it was all locked up, we swept our way in. The party was already jumping, throngs of people bumping and jiving to music way too loud to be considered a safe decibel level. I had a twinge of dread, remembering the last time I was in a place like this. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, making sure not to suck in cigarette smoke. I felt someone gently squeeze my hand and opened my eyes to see Lori smiling at me. She held my hand tight as she led me through the crowd. We passed a den of monsters, freaks and weirdos. Speckled amongst the ranks were super-heroes too.

I saw quite a few Jades, Green Arrows and Booster Golds. But there was only one me and I was proud of that. Lori dragged me through the crowd until we got to the refreshment table. Shay and Jaslyn were on a couch nearby, making out. They were dressed as a sexy cowboy and Indian. I couldn’t help but groan at Jaslyn’s Indian costume, feeling a bit of anger at the white man’s constant portrayal of my people. But it was a costume and Jaslyn meant no real harm by wearing it. Lori poured me some punch and I tried my hardest to look like I was having a good time. A few minutes later, Angelina found the two of us. She frowned at the sight of my costume, upset that I didn’t real fit with her and the “other witch sister”. I shrugged off her pout.

“You going to dance?” shouted Lori in my ear.

I shook my head. “I’m going to stand here for a bit.”

She frowned. “Well if you change your mind, I’ll be on the floor with this sexy thing.”

Before Angelina knew what was going on, Lori grabbed her hand and dragged her into the crowd. I laughed and shook my head. I couldn’t help but find myself scanning the crowd for any face that didn’t belong. I was taking a great risk coming here tonight. Even though Dr. O gave me permission to do so, he was still a little on the cautious side about it. He was afraid that my bald stalkers might use this opportunity to come for me. They were still keeping their distance but I felt them haunting in the shadows everywhere I went. Looking at the faces I couldn’t help but jump at a few of them, sure that I’d seen this one of that one before. I eventually loosened up a bit. I stopped being so jumpy and tried to enjoy myself. Even though I didn’t go dance, I started to sway to the music a bit. I tried not to go overboard though and definitely avoided the alcohol. So far things were going good for my powers too. I could still feel all the emotions in the room but they weren’t nearly as strong or as overwhelming as they were last time. I could feel them pulling and tugging but they weren’t as strong as they were before. I was able to push them away with breathing and concentrating on other things. Dr. O taught me how to keep an image in my head and to use that image to center myself. The image I chose was Katie. She was my rock, the only good and solid thing in my life. Every time I felt myself losing control, I just thought of Katie.

An hour passed before I knew it. The main room of the house started to fill up quickly, one costumed freak after another filing into the room. From where I was standing, I had a direct line of the door so I could see them all come and go. Lori and Angelina were nowhere to be found, having been lost in the crowd. In fact, I lost sight of Shay and Jaslyn too. I could only imagine where the two of them disappeared to. I tried not to think about the good time my friends were having without me, instead I thought of the good time I wasn’t having. I didn’t want that at all.

Scanning the doorway did offer me some good things though. For one I saw Bart enter the house. I couldn’t help but scoff at his costume though. It was a red jumpsuit with a yellow lightning bolt on his chest. Clearly, he was going for the whole superhero thing like a lot of other people. I’m not sure who he was trying to emulate though, it looked a bit like the Flash’s costume though. I couldn’t help but smile at the irony of it. If only Bart knew that his uncle was a girl and the Flash, I think his brain would melt. Especially seeing as he hit on his uncle without even knowing about it. I watched him meander his way through the room until his eyes caught me. There was a moment---though very slight---that I felt a pang for him. I shook it off, I wasn’t going there again. He was my best friend and that’s all he’d ever be.

That didn’t stop me from stepping away from the table into the crowd to meet him halfway. I was overly giddy because of the fact that he smiled at me so big when we locked eyes. I pushed and prodded my way through the crazed partygoers. I wasn’t really paying attention so I was taken by surprise when I slammed face first into a person a few inches taller than me. I was about to apologize when I saw the long hooded brown robe. A pang of fear shot through me. It was the robe, like the ones, those guys wore in my dreams. The guys who took those girls who looked like me and murdered them. I felt a bit of rage as I propelled my hand forward and grabbed the hood, pulling it violently from the bastard’s head. I half expected to see a bald monk figure staring back at me. Instead, I saw a confused frat boy.

“What the hell bitch” he said angrily then pulled his hood back up.

“Sorry thought you were someone else” I said apologetically, my hammering heart stilled.

I pushed myself away from him and found myself in Bart’s arms. Before I knew what was happening, I wrapped him in a tight hug. I pressed my face against his chest and cried a bit. He put his hands gently on my shoulders and led me toward the stairs. We went up them before I knew what was happening. He gently took my hand and looked in a few rooms before finding one that was empty. We slipped inside. I moved toward the bed as he closed and locked the door.

I was panting heavily. “You locked the door?”

He nodded. “You looked pretty freaked, everything ok?”

I sighed heavily. “I’m seeing those bald guys everywhere now.”

His face contorted in anger. “Were they here tonight?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m just being paranoid.”

His whole body relaxed after that. He sat on the bed next to me. “We’ll cool off in here for a bit. Then I promise not to leave your side for the rest of the night.”

I nodded then felt the tears. I couldn’t take it anymore. I was scared out of my mind. I collapsed into his arms and he held me gently. I cried into his chest, my whole body trembling. I was a nervous wreck, barely sleeping, barely eating. The only thing that was keeping me going was the lessons with Dr. O but even those were going nowhere fast. Without my words of focus, my “magic” was all over the fucking place. Those thoughts and a thousand more were dancing through my head as Bart held me. Then another thought appeared, it was fleeting and only for a moment: it felt nice to be held by him. Before I knew it, I was pulling my head away. He smiled at me, brushing a hand gently through my hair. Then he touched my chin, tilting it up a bit. When his lips touched mine, I was surprised at first then shocked. I closed my eyes and for a moment, I imagined Katie kissing me. But the image shattered just as quickly when I realized that Bart wasn’t Katie. I pushed away, revulsion overwhelming my senses. I nearly gagged afterwards.

“What the hell, Bart?” I snapped, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

He looked confused. “I thought you wanted that?”

I pushed myself off the bed. “What the fuck is wrong with you. I’m scared shitless and you try to take advantage of me.”

His look of confusion dissolved into anger. He jumped off the bed too. “Me? You’re the little tramp prancing around in an outfit like that.”

“Tramp, says the horn dog that can’t keep his hands out of girls’ pants”

That pissed him off. “Well at least I’m getting some instead of being hung up over some dead chick.”

I snapped. “You mother fucking son of a bitch.”

Anger flooded me and before I knew it, Bart was surrounded in black light and slammed up against the wall. I felt the anger flood into me, fueling my rage. I held him against the wall, wanting ever so much to crush the life out of him. Bart looked shocked and scared. It was the look of fear that made me waver. I felt sick to my stomach and loosened my hold, the light disappeared and he dropped to the floor. He was coughing and holding his throat. I hadn’t even realized I tried to choke him. I took a step back, scared at what I almost did. I almost killed him just like Katie. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs instead I felt a tingling rise through my entire body and this feeling to be anywhere else but here.

There was a sense of pulling; a flash of light and the room disappeared around me.

When the light subsided, I was no longer standing in a dark room anymore. I felt light headed and woozy, I staggered a bit and felt like I was going to puke. When that feeling finally passed, I felt air hit my face. I blinked a few times and looked around. The house was gone; all the houses were gone in fact. There were no people, no trees, no cars. The only thing I saw was desert and a road. A road that I was apparently standing in the middle of. I was confused for a moment then realized what must have happened. I’d actually done it twice before both times without realizing it. I teleported myself. The first time it was in my jail cell, the second time when I was dying in the desert. Both times all I could think about was getting out of the place I was currently in. Son of a bitch!

I staggered out of the road, trying to get my bearing. I looked around and spotted a large green highway sign behind me: Phoenix, 10 Miles. Not only had I teleported myself but apparently I did it outside the city. I cursed. I wanted to get away but I never expected to send myself way out here. I took a deep breath and let it out in a scream. It was the scream I wanted to do back in the room, the one that my anger prevented me from doing. As soon as it was out of my system, I took another breath and screamed some more. I screamed a few more times before I felt satisfied. Then I allowed my mind to drift to what just happened.

Anger flooded me as I thought about that son of a bitch Bart and what he tried to do. He was supposed to be my friend, supposed to stick by me no matter what. Some friend he turned out to be. I thought out of every one around me, he might be the guy I could count on, the guy who had my back. It turns out the only reason he was still my friend was because he wanted to stick his tongue down my throat. The stupid fucking bastard. Then he had the audacity to call me a tramp. But that didn’t piss me off as much as him bad mouthing Katie. The two of them were friends, had been as long as I could remember. The three of us were so close when we were kids, we did everything together. Not only did he tarnish her memory, he did it while trying to get into my pants.

The anger came back. The only outlet I could find was the sign. I lashed out with full force, gripping it in a black vice. I pulled and tugged, twisting it into a misshaped shell of its former self. Mangling the sign felt good, it felt relaxing. But that feeling only lasted for a moment. The anger was still there but it was dwindling. I still wanted to smash something though. I lashed out at some rocks, tossing them twenty feet into the air. Then an unfortunate rattlesnake got twisted into a bloody pulp. It was cruel but it didn’t seem to help.

Walking helped.

The funny thing was I should have been going away from the city; it was after all the last place I wanted to be. Instead, I found myself walking toward it. As I walked, my temper subsided. I was still royally pissed at Bart but I had other problems to worry about. I was in the middle of nowhere and my purse was back at the frat house. I had it when Bart took me up to that room but I must have left it on the bed. I cursed my stupidity. But there were other problems, too. It might have been eighty during the day but it was night and it was going to get cold fast. The cape and hood might provide some protection but that wasn’t enough. I needed to get back into the city and fast or face another adventure in the desert without food and water. Like before, I’m not sure how long I walked.

It didn’t take me long to put the mangled sign behind me though. It also didn’t take me long to take off my boots. They were cool when it was only a party I was going too but walking down the road, the heels didn’t help much. I cursed Lori for making me wear them then I cursed myself for teleporting way out here. Not that I had any control over that. I tried teleporting myself back though. But no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t seem to get the hang of it. I wonder if it had to do with my emotions. I was so angry in the room that I just willed myself away. I tried recreating that incident in my mind but there was no way. I was still pretty pissed off at Bart but I just couldn’t build up enough anger to “will” myself back to campus. So I tried thinking about my dorm room, maybe “will” myself there but it didn’t work. I finally just gave up altogether and walked.

The pavement was surprisingly hot and like the jagged desert floor, it was murder on my feet. Like before, I tried not to think about it. I did try to think about what I was going to say to Bart as soon as I got back. I think after punching him in the face then I’d apologize. After all, I tried to strangle him. I couldn’t get that image out of my head. It was just like Katie but at least this time I was able to stop myself. I’m not sure if I could live with myself knowing that I killed another one of my best friends. Who was next? Lori, Shay, Angelina, Jaslyn? I shook my head. What about Dr. O or poor innocent Becky? I would never be able to live with myself if I killed or even hurt them. Then there was Mom. I felt myself tearing up just thinking about hurting her.

I was so caught up in my horrible thoughts of killing my loved ones, that I never saw the headlights until they were practically on top of me. They were coming from behind me, heading into the city. It couldn’t have been better. When I did see them, I was completely elated. I waved my hands, jumping up and down as I did so. I even went so far as to step out into the street a bit. The car slowed, as it got closer. When it finally stopped, I couldn’t help but realize how much of an idiot I must have looked jumping up and down like that. The driver’s side window rolled down, revealing a rather handsome blonde man who looked to be in his twenties.

“Isn’t it a bit early for Halloween?” he asked, looking me up and down.

I frowned. “I was at a party.”

“Out here?”

I shook my head. “Not quite” I took a deep breath. “It’s a long story but I can tell you about it if you give me a ride back to the city.”

He laughed. “I wouldn’t be a good Christian if I left a young woman like yourself out here in the middle of nowhere.”

I smiled and quickly ran around to the other side of the car. He opened the door and I got inside. As soon as I got buckled, he started driving. I looked him over, frowning a bit at the white collar I noticed. I could deal with a priest for a few minutes. “Thanks, you’re a life saver,” I said, he laughed and smiled. Then I remembered my manners. “I’m Rachel by the way.”

He smiled, flashing me his pearly whites. “Nice to meet you Rachel, I’m Brother Sebastian.”

“Brother Sebastian?” I asked confused.

He laughed then opened his jacket wider so I could definitely see the collar. ‘I’m sure you’re wondering why a young guy like me gave himself up to the church so early.”

I shrugged. It was really none of my business. Not that I would tell him that. My mother always taught me to respect clergy even if I didn’t really like them. I wasn’t big on religion, never really had been. But this guy was nice enough to pick me up so I guess I had to be nice enough to listen to his story.

“My father was a priest. It wasn’t really my calling but after he died, I thought I owed it to him. I was in med school actually, studying to be a hematologist of all things. I guess when you get the calling you just have to answer.”

I smiled, trying to look polite.

I listened as he prattled on about this and that, not really paying much attention. When he mentioned something about having to make a stop at the church, I numbly nodded. Truthfully, I felt myself drifting off a bit. The walk tired me out more than I thought. It was strange though because I wasn’t tired until I got into the car with him. I tried to fight it but no matter how much I tried it just seemed to fight me more. I felt my eyelids get heavy and my body got real sluggish. Sebastian droned on and on though, oblivious to the fact that he was actually putting me to sleep.

As my eyes fluttered and the darkness slowly started to close around me, Sebastian turned and smiled, flashing those pearly whites again. But there was something about his smile, something unsettling, something almost sinister. I tried to fight to stay awake, realizing something was wrong but I lost and darkness took me.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF