The Princess and the Plague Part 43 By Anistasia Allread edited by Edeyn "Hello?" she tried her voice. She didn't hear anything, but could feel a vibration in her throat. "Hello?" she tried again with the same results. "Can anyone hear me!" she called out, not hearing anything. Erika slumped to the ground. Her blouse was torn open in several places. She looked down and realized that she was naked from her belly button down. She stared in horror down at her male genitalia.

---

"Turn down the music," Erika called out over the noise, "My mom is calling."

Erika pushed the talk button and put the phone up to her ear just as Samantha turned the car radio down.

"Hi mom... yes... I'm with Samantha and the girls, we just had our hair done... well we were kind of planning on going to a Hallowe'en party... no... I promise... okay... okay... thank you, Mom. Bye."

"What was that about?" Tricia asked.

"My mom just wanted to know where I was and what I planned on doing this evening. And made me promise that I'd call later."

"So where are the parties tonight?" Victoria asked.

The girls all looked at one another, not knowing of any.

"No one knows of a party tonight?" Victoria asked.

They all shook their heads, 'no'.

"Should we go play tag at the cemetery?" Samantha asked, "Tell ghost stories and scare the bejeezus out of one another?"

"That could be fun," Krystal agreed, "I've got all kinds of ghost stories I can tell."

"I'll need to check in with my mom first," Tricia leaned forward in the car to be heard better.

"Call her," Samantha suggested.

"She'll want to see me in person. Can you swing by and let me check in with her for just a few minutes?"

"Sure," Samantha nodded.

Tricia leaned back and rested her head on Erika's shoulder. She took Erika's hand in one of hers and lightly stroked the back side with her thumb.

Erika felt a wave of warm comfort wash over her. She turned her head and kissed the top of Tricia's forehead before laying her head against the window and closing her eyes.

--o0o--
Erika ran down the long school hallway. Her heart pounded in her chest like a sledgehammer. Sweat glistened on her forehead and ran in tiny rivulets down her back. She stopped at one of the classroom doors, turning and pulling on the handle... but it wouldn't budge. Frantically, she peered behind her as the two boys, grinning like wolves about to ambush their prey, advanced ever so slowly.

She pressed her face against the cool, smooth surface of the inset window and pounded on the door.

"Help!" she screamed, "Help!"

The twenty bodies inside sat like statues at their desks, their heads bent over what looked to be a test. Erika turned to see the two wolves stalking her. She could see the whites of their eyes. She turned and fled down the never-ending hallway.

"Leave me alone!" she cried, "Just leave me alone!"

The two behind her laughed maniacally.

She ran to another door, slamming up against it.

"Help!" she screamed.

She pounded on the door. The students in the class, not hearing her, read their text books.

"Please! Help me!"

The teacher in the class, Mr. Hatfield turned his head towards the door. However, instead of Mr. Hatfield's face, Gregg's face looked back at her with a large evil smile.

Erika screamed and jerked to a conscious state and startled all the girls in the car.

"Oh my god! Are you alright?" Samantha yelped as she corrected her steering.

"Are you okay?" Tricia was concerned.

"Just a bad dream," Erika confided.

"God, It must have been," Victoria commented, "Do you have them often?"

Erika nodded, "They have been getting better, but every once in a while I get one."

"What was it about?" Tricia asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it. It's stupid anyway."

"Not if it makes you scream like that?"

Erika stared out the window of the car, trying to forget the whole thing.

Tricia's hand held hers in a comforting embrace as she told Erika softly, "I love you."

"I love you, too," was Erika's slightly absent-minded response.

"Here drink this," Krystal said, handing Erika a bottle of water.

"For some reason it always helps me after a nightmare."

Erika took a long draw on the bottle before handing it back.

"Thanks."

"You sure you are alright?" Tricia asked.

Erika nodded, feeling a bit silly, "I'm just tired."

Erika closed her eyes as she lay her head against the window and twirled a finger through a curly lock.

--o0o--
Erika felt weightless. Her heart feeling like it was up in her throat for a moment, then a hard crash and a heavy weight fell across her chest. Then weightlessness again, as the world around her felt like It was spinning uncontrollably around and over again.

Silence. No sound. There should be sound, shouldn't there? She was unable to move, paralyzed by some unknown force across her chest.

Shouldn't she hear screams, or cries of help? The roar of an engine, the sound of spinning tires... something? Her eyes felt heavy. Heavy and thick. It took all of her effort to open them. A gray, cloudy sky over head. How many shades of gray could a sky have?

Gray and silence. Slowly, using just her eyes, Erika looked around herself. Broken glass and torn pieces of metal littered her peripheral vision.

Shouldn't I be feeling pain? she thought, Shouldn't something hurt? Why is it so fucking quiet?

She closed her eyes, the effort of looking around was just too much for her to handle.

Nothing. She couldn't hear anything. Mentally, she began a check of her body. What can I feel? Her chest felt tight. There's something hard digging into a shoulder a little bit. She worked her mouth but couldn't hear anything coming from her throat, lips or tongue.

She slowly willed her eyes to open again. It was a bit easier this time. Again the gray sky met her gaze. Gray was such a nasty color. Was gray even really a color? Or was it just a shade of black or perhaps it was a shade of white?

Accident. Her mind focused. A car accident. Oh, god, I've got to get up and help the others.

Erika found herself standing in the middle of a road. Metal debris and glass covered the road in every direction. The rear of a car, it's wheels sticking up in the overcast sky like a pair of tombstones, was visible from the ditch.

"Tricia?" Erika's mouth worked forming the words, but nothing came out.

Feeling as light as air, Erika ran to what was left of the car. So much glass.

"Hello?" she called out.

At least she thought she did. She looked into the over turned car.

Only food wrappers, empty water bottles and glass were resting against the crumpled ceiling.

"Tricia! Samantha!" Erika chest heaved with the exertion of hollering.

Silence.

Erika turned one way and then the next looking up and down the road and ditch for bodies, praying that she'd find them but praying that she wouldn't.

The only things she saw was the wreckage of the accident.

Something tickled at her ear. She turned her head one way and then the next as the tickle began to intensify.

"Hello?" she tried her voice.

She didn't hear anything, but could feel a vibration in her throat.

"Hello?" she tried again with the same results.

The tickling became a a murmur. A murmur with a pulse.

"Can anyone hear me!" she called out, not hearing anything.

The murmur grew louder. It was music. Why would she being hearing music and not her own voice?

Erika slumped to the ground. Her blouse was torn open in several places. She looked down and realized that she was naked from her belly button down. She stared in horror down at her male genitalia.

It was definitely music. It sounded like a guitar with a heavy drum beat. It seemed to be coming from down the road. Erika got up and looked down the road, straining to see a car coming.

The music grew louder. It was a hard rock song. She had heard those guitar rifts before, but couldn't yet place the song.

A motorcycle rounded a corner, its engine drowned out by the song. Erika covered her groin with one hand the best she could and waved at the rider.

The song's lyrics were blaring now.

— You're on a highway to hell —

was screaming out,

— a highway to hell —

The rider, all in black, his face hidden by a dark visor, applied the brake and pulled to a stop right next to Erika.

A gloved hand lifted the visor, "Need a lift?"

Erika screamed as she jumped once again back to alertness. The last thing she saw was the face of Gregg smiling menacingly at her, his eyes drifting up and down her body.

"It's alright," Tricia soothed her rather loudly.

"Oh my god, you almost caused Samantha to have an accident!"

Erika's lungs filled with air and expelled it quickly.

"What is going on in that head of yours?" Victoria demanded, "You about gave me a heart attack."

"I... I... I'm sorry," Erika panted.

"What are you having nightmares about?" Tricia asked.

"We were in a car accident," Erika explained, "Only, no one was there except for me."

"You're all right now," Tricia said softly, soothing her further, "We are all fine. We are not going to have an accident. See, we're just entering Constitution now."

Erika swallowed hard and concentrated on stilling her fluttering heart. She took in a long, deep breath and let it out slowly.

They were about five minutes from Samantha's house.

"I'm awake now... aren't I?" she asked.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed.

"Just pinching you to let you know that you are here," Tricia took the pinched spot and kissed it.

Samantha pulled into Tricia's drive. The rest of the Columbine girls waited in the car as the blonde went in to 'touch base' with her mother.

She came out a few moments later carrying a bag of candy and a plate of cookies.

"My mom was in a baking mood," she explained as she climbed back into the car and handed the cookies out.

"Mmm," Victoria smiled, "Molasses cookies right out of the oven. Can't beat that."

"My grandmother's recipe," Tricia smiled.

--o0o--

Fifteen minutes later, Erika found herself in Samantha's bedroom with Tricia pulling on their costumes for the night's activities.

Erika slipped into the long silky gown. “Can you zip me up?” She asked turning to Tricia.

Tricia pulled the zipper up and tucked in the tag. Erika turned around feeling a bit exposed with the low cut front. The bodice pushed up what little cleavage she had.

“You look soooo cool.” Tricia bounced with glee.

“What are we going to do with my hair?” Erika asked. “I can't get it wet, so what ever we do I have to wear for the next few days.”

“I'm sure Samantha will think of something. You ready for makeup?”

Erika nodded and was led out of the bedroom and to the bathroom. They were met by a cloud of hairspray filling the room.

Tricia waved her hand to try and clear the sticky mist. Samantha's hair was standing out and spiking in all different directions.

“That is so cool.” Erika was awed. “How did you do that?”

“Most of it was Sasha.” Samantha confided. “I just back combed a bit here and there and added a bit of product and hair spray.”

“How long will you be with her makeup?” Samantha asked.

“About twenty minutes.”

“I'll be back to do her hair then.” Samantha ducked out of the room.

--o0o--

“I've got to get a picture.” Samantha's mom laughed. “You all are so adorable.”

The five girls stood around the kitchen island nibbling at snack foods left over from the night before.

Erika looked around at her friends

Samantha was made up like an early eighties glam rocker. Her new spiking haircut teased up and out. Thick glittery eye make up shiny metallic clothes with tall white latex boots.

Victoria was dressed as Rapunzel. She wore a medieval gown with billowing long sleeves, and long braid that wound down the front of her and looped around her shoulders twice before reaching to the back of her knees.

“Your hair isn't that long.” Erika noticed.

“I braided some extensions into the end of it.” Victoria replied.

Krystal looked amazing in her witch costume. Tricia had helped with her make up, gluing a fake, hooked nose to Krystal's, then using makeup to blend it to her face. If you didn't know her, you'd not know that it wasn't her real nose. Her witches hat was crumpled and looked as if she had worn it for years.

Tricia looked absolutely fantastic. Her short cropped hair stood straight up and had glittery silver gel on it's tips. Her face had been made up white while her eyes were surrounded with various blues and silver.

She wore a skimpy white dress with a short skirt, white tights and white fur lined boots.
Wings in the shape of snowflakes protruded from her back. It was one of the few times she didn't have any pink on.

“I love your ice princess outfit.” Krystal admired.

“I'm a snow fairy.” Tricia corrected.

Samantha looked at Erika's costume. “You're a medieval zombie, right?” she asked. Taking in Erika's red and black medieval gown with long abundant sleeves. Her hands and face had large red bumps and pustules that Tricia had created.

“No.” Erika rolled her eyes. “I'm Princess Joan.”

“Who?”

“Princess Joan. The English princess who while on her trip to meet her prince, died of the plague.”

“Okay girls. Get together.” Samantha's mom raised the camera and snapped a few pictures.

“Kind of an ironic costume isn't it?” Victoria snickered. “She's Princess Plague.”

The girls had a good laugh.

“Drive slow and be extra careful.” Samantha's father cautioned. “There are a lot of kids out there, they are excited and won't be thinking about traffic.”

“I will.” Samantha nodded.

--o0o--

to be continued...