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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 9 finally. Sorry for the massive delay but I got busy. I had 4 pages written at the beginning of the last week but then things came up, one of them being my Birthday on Friday. But now that that is out of the way, I'm back into the swing of things. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and DC Comics for the characters.

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Chapter Nine:

A bubbly, annoying pop tune woke me up. At first, I thought I was in hell because of the song but it took me a few seconds to realize I was in my dorm room. When I opened my eyes and blinked, I was kinda surprised. I sat up quickly, looking around to make sure I wasn’t still dreaming. I even went as far as pinching my arm. I winced at the pain and cursed. I was awake and I was in my dorm room. I rubbed the back of my neck. What the hell just happened? One minute it was night and I was in the parking lot. I turned my head toward the window. Now it was clearly day and some teen bimbo who screeched through her song was assaulting my ears.

“Morning roomie” said a bubbly voice, cutting through the shrill.

I turned my head toward the source and finally came face to face with Angelina Smith. For some reason, I expected her to be this bubbly, but I was hoping that I’d been jumping to conclusions before. Boy, did I hate being right. Here she was as perky as I thought she might be, dressed in a pink tank top and panties. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, smiling broadly. The song was coming from her radio. I looked at the glowing red numbers: six am. Not only was she annoyingly perky in the morning, but she got up three or four hours before I ever did. A small part of me wanted to “suggest” her back to sleep. Maybe it wasn’t too late to put in a request for a new roommate.

Angelina got off her bed and walked over to me. Before I even knew what was happening, she wrapped me in a tight hug. I was frozen in shock. Not only was she perky but she no regard for personal space. When she pulled away, she was still smiling. How could anyone smile this much? She giggled and walked over to her desk, the stupid song still blaring on her radio.

“Umm… hi.” I mumbled groggily.

She pouted. “Someone isn’t a morning person.”

I rubbed my temples. “Could you turn the song off?”

She frowned, but did as I asked.

“You’re Rachel, right?”

I nodded. I wanted to say, ‘…and you’re the roommate from Hell’. Instead, I said, “And you’re Angelina Smith.”

She smiled. “You can call me Angie, if you want.”

She was smiling again. Maybe this girl was a Meta too and her power was to annoy? I smiled weakly and slowly got out of bed. Besides the very rude awakening, I tried to process things. Last night was a bit of a haze. I remember leaving the science building and walking with Becky back to her dorm. I took a short cut through a parking lot and then…then Brody. I groaned, remembering what the son of a bitch tried to make me do. I guess I should have let him get it out and then bit off the tip. But, something else happened–something horrible. I can’t remember everything about it, but I know there was darkness. I was angry too, very angry. It was this overwhelming feeling that took control. I couldn’t fight it and I couldn’t stop it. Things after that were a bit fuzzy. The angry feeling lasted a while and then there was this bright light. I knew the light was important, but I couldn’t remember anything else about it. The next thing I knew, I was waking up to a girl who should never have been able to record that voice of hers.

I looked around the room, then down at myself. I was still wearing the clothes from yesterday, but my boots were on the floor next to the bed. How in the hell did I get back here? Was it possible that I walked myself back here after the incident with Brody? I shook my head. Then, why didn’t I dress in my bedclothes? It made no sense and as I sat there, trying to figure it out, I couldn’t help but think I was missing a very important detail. It was one of those things that was lingering in the back of my mind, but I just couldn’t place it. It was so damn frustrating, too.

I ran my hands through my hair and realized Angelina was looking at me funny. I groaned. Now she was judging me. “Ummm, you ever had one of those nights where you just can’t remember how you got home or what you did before hand?”

She blinked once or twice. “No, I’m a Christian.”

I bit back the urge to laugh. One little suggestion, just one.

I forced myself to be nice, though. I stood up and tried to get myself through my morning routine. Angelina did the same. She left a few minutes before me, wearing a fuzzy pink robe and carrying a towel. One of the things I was dreading the most about living in a girls’ dorm was the showers. I’m sure most former guys would think it was a dream come true, but not me. I wasn’t a horn dog when I was a guy. Katie was and always will be the only girl for me. The idea of fantasizing about other girls naked never even crossed my mind.

The first time I slept with Katie was the first time I’d ever seen a girl with her clothes off. I mean a real girl, not one in a movie. I’m sure a lot of guys can tell you all about this and that. I just remember how beautiful she looked. There was something about the natural beauty of her nakedness that made me feel serene.

As I pulled off my own clothes, standing there in my bra and panties, I turned to the mirror. I was trying to see that beauty in myself. To me, Katie was a masterpiece, but I was something else. Too pale, too skinny, and too foreign. I guess I wasn’t used to looking at the girl in the mirror. I was done fighting the fact that she was me, but I just couldn’t get over it. I would never be male again, never be Ryan again. A small part of me thought that might be all right, but the rest of me was screaming silently. This was not what I wanted. This was never what I wanted. As far as I know, no male would; at least, not one who was happy with himself, inside and out. Ok, so I wasn't fully happy as Ryan---I was too pale, too thin and too girly---but I was happy being a guy.

I sighed, pulled on my own robe, and walked out of the room. The shower room was down the hall and when I got there, there were five or six girls in different stages of undress–only one or two of them were completely naked. I stared from one to the other quickly. Though I didn’t fantasize about naked woman all the time like most males, I still was simply aroused by them before. I even felt this tingling when I saw them. I think it was a normal reaction. The same thing with that little feeling in your brain that tells you that you’re attracted to this girl or that one. Now, though, I felt nothing. All these girls were pretty, I suppose, but I wasn’t attracted to a single one of them. A small part of me was sad at that revelation. If I wasn’t attracted to girls… did that mean…? I shook off the thought and went to one of the benches. I sat down quietly, pulling off my robe. The girls laughed and talked, gossiping about things that made me blush. I knew what guys talked about in the showers but I never expected girls to talk like that. A lot of it, I will not repeat, but for the most part they asked questions and tried to get to know one another.

I quietly showered with my eyes closed, letting the water wash over me.

I was trying to drown out their chatter, but something caught my ear. I opened my eyes at the mention of it.

“Did you hear about that guy in the parking lot?” asked one of the girls (I think she said her name was Jaslyn?) asked someone else.

One of the other girls, Shay, shook her head. “What happened?”

“Campus security found him early this morning. Apparently they thought he was dead but it turns out he was still breathing.”

Brody? Oh God, what did I do?

“I heard about that,” said another one of the girls, her name I didn’t know. “I heard it was drugs.”

“Anyone know who it is?” asked Angelina, as she scrubbed her chest with a puff.

All the girls shook their heads. Me, I could only sigh. It was a good thing no one heard me. Brody was a dick, but did he deserve that? They continued to talk about it for a few minutes. Apparently, after finding him, security brought him to the hospital where he was now in a coma. How these girls knew so much I had no clue. Eventually, the topic shifted to some party this weekend. I stopped listening after that. I tried to get back into the joy of my shower. The water running over my new, more sensitive, skin was fantastic. I was just about relaxed when there was a surprised gasp from behind me.

I opened my eyes and turned my head. Shay was standing there, having just finished her shower. She was the kind of girl that I might actually see myself befriending---what with her pink hair and nose ring. “That’s an awesome tat,” she said, pointing to my back. “Did it hurt?”

I shook my head. “It’s little, so not so much. I have a thing for birds, especially black ones.”

She looked confused. “The bird is cool, but I’m talking about the cross.”

Cross? I stepped out of the water and walked over to the far wall where there were several mirrors. I turned so my back was to it and looked over my shoulder. I nearly had a heart attack. There was a giant cross tattoo on my back. But not any cross this one had two bars just like the one I wore around my neck. It was huge too, taking up the whole of my back. No wonder she thought it must have been painful. Something that size would have taken hours to do. I stared in numb awe at the thing, trying to comprehend what it meant. There was no way in hell I would have even forgotten that. Which begged the question: where the hell did it come from? I know for a fact it wasn’t there yesterday or even the day before that. Was it possible that I got it last night after the Brody incident? I shook my head. Something like that would have cost a lot of money, but there’s no way I would have done something that reckless.

Shay came up behind me. “Must be new if you’re looking at it that much” she said, I numbly nodded. “My folks would kick my ass if I did something like that. You have balls.”

“Thanks, I think.” I said softly, she laughed and walked off.

I reached around and gently touched the tattoo. A slight shiver went down my spine as I did so. What the hell is going on with me? I stared at the cross---my cross? ---over my shoulder for a while. Shay laughed and walked off. After about ten minutes, I went and shut my shower off. I started toweling myself dry before wrapping my hair up then putting on my robe. I left the showers after that and made my way back to my room. The whole time I couldn’t help but think about the cross tattoo. When I opened the door, though, my thoughts were distracted by the envelope on the floor. I bent down and picked it up, seeing that it was addressed to me.

I opened it slowly. It was strange because there were only a few people who knew and none of them would send me letters. The letter itself was short: You and I need to talk, D. There was also a place to meet. I groaned. Why did Dakota have to be so cryptic?

The meeting place was in a small courtyard behind a non-descript building. The area was arranged around a small stone basin filled with flowers. There were five or six stone benches around it. It didn’t take me long to spot Dakota because she was sitting at the only bench that provided shade. It was clearly not for her though, but her companion. Dakota was dressed for the weather---in her usual t-shirt and khakis---her friend was not. It was clear that this guy was new to the area because a charcoal gray suit was not smart for Arizona heat. He was fidgeting with his collar and loosening his tie, when I approached. I gave him a once over: from his slicked back hair and expensive attire, it was clear that he was some kind of slime. If I had to guess, I’d say lawyer.

They were in mid-conversation when I walked up. “How can you stand this heat, it wasn’t nearly as hot in Chicago” grumbled the suit.

“You’re the one who screwed up Damon” she said harshly, it was clear the two of them were talking about something that happened prior to this.

He sighed. “I don’t know why you picked this sun baked patch of earth” He wiped his sweaty brow with a handkerchief. “If I ever get my hands on that red skinned bit…”

He stopped talking as he turned and saw me. He looked me up and down. There was a curl to his lip as if he were sneering at me. I’m not sure what happened in Chicago but how did I get saddled with this prick.

Dakota perked up when she saw me. The smile she gave me was weak, bordering on a frown. So it was clear that this “suit’s” visit was not planned.

The man cleared his throat so Dakota introduced him. “Rachel, this is Agent Matthews from the legal department, he has a few things to discuss with you.”

I groaned. So the suit was a lawyer. Agent Matthews set his briefcase on his lap and snapped open the lid. Then he took out a folder and opened it up. There were a lot of papers in there. I tried to look disinterested but they did pique my curiosity. I was pretty certain I knew what this was all about. They were here about last night. I guess I wasn’t all that surprised. Dakota did say they were going to be watching me like a hawk and last night’s incident probably raised several red flags. I knew I was dangerous and they knew I was dangerous. But were they willing to act on that danger and lock me up. Did I deserve it? The second after I killed Katie I would have said “yes” in a heartbeat. Now I wasn’t so sure.

It was clear that Agent Matthews thought so.

“Miss Roth” he said, faking a smile. “Would you like to tell us about last night?”

I shrugged. “There’s not much to tell.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why don’t you start from the beginning and go from there.”

I took a seat on the edge of the stone flower basin. Then I cleared my throat and started at the beginning. I told about the classroom first then proceeded to tell them about how Brody tried to get me to “suck him off” in the parking lot. Matthews flushed at my choice of words. When I finished the story---with what I remember anyway---Dakota smiled. I think she was impressed that I handled the bastard so quickly. But there was a hint of fear, too. I lost control, that much I knew. Other than that, I’m not really sure what happened. It was still all very fuzzy. Whatever I did to him though had a lasting effect if the rumors about him being in a coma are true.

“You gave Mr. Gerard severe neurological damage,” said Matthews, glancing quickly at the paper in front of him. It looked like some kind of medical report. He then rattled off a bunch of other medical stuff.

From what I could tell Brody was now a vegetable. I’m not sure if I was happy or terrified. On one hand, he deserved to get punished for what he tried to do to me but on the other hand, I nearly killed the bastard. But the scariest thing about it was the picture attached to the file. It was of Brody in his hospital bed. His skin had a grayish tone to it and his eyes were white. There was a bit of drool running down his chin. It looked as if there was no one there at all, like everything had been sapped out of him. Looking at that pic, I should have been appalled but I felt slightly energized. It was horrible to see a human being like that but no matter how much I stared at the pic, I didn’t feel any remorse. I was scared of that fact.

“You’re going to have to be monitored from now on,” said Matthews as he closed the folder.

“I didn’t authorize that,” snapped Dakota, clearly annoyed. “Rachel is my Asset; her case is under my jurisdiction.”

“And under your jurisdiction, she put someone in the hospital” Matthews fired back.

I didn’t like where this was going at all. I didn’t like Dakota shadowing me around but I tolerated her. She was cool and pretty and didn’t go out of her way to annoy me. But this Matthews guy, I didn’t like him the moment I saw him. There was no way I could let this guy have goons following me all over the place.

The two of them argued back and forth. It was clear that Dakota had my best interests at heart. I wasn’t a Meta and they shouldn’t even be here with me.

“She’s not even in our jurisdiction,” snapped Dakota with frustration. Then she lowered her voice but it wasn’t low enough. “If the BPRD finds out we’re trying to push our way into one of theirs, there will be hell to pay.”

BPRD? What the hell was that? But at the mention of it, Matthews’s eyes widened. The color drained from his face. It was clear that whatever or whoever they were, it scared the hell out of this smug lawyer. The mention of it seemed to kill their argument though. Whatever it was, it scared the hell out of Matthews. I think it scared Dakota too. It was clear that whatever they were doing with me was something that this BPRD would not like. Did that mean that they were another government agency of some sorts? Maybe they knew what was wrong with me.

After the name drop, Matthews said no more. He stuffed the folder back into the briefcase and looked at me with fearful eyes. Dakota turned to me and smiled weakly. “I’m sorry about that, Damon is a drama queen.”

He scoffed; I shot him a smug look. Dakota continued. “We are going to have to monitor you more closely however. It’s clear that what happened was an accident and that you didn’t intentionally try to kill Brody.” She looked around, lowering her voice. “Did you take out the security cameras too?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t know there were any.”

She bit her lip. “Probably just a malfunction then.”

There was uncertainty in her voice though.

The two of them didn’t stay much after that. I gave Dakota a hug and limply shook Matthews’ hand. I didn’t leave the area until the two of them were gone. I sat on the basin and watched them go, both of them going off in different directions. My gaze followed Matthews though. He looked out of place on a campus full of kids younger than him. When he got to the building, a figure caught my eye. He was half in the shadows, obscured but still visible enough for me to see. It was Professor Dee. He was standing there in his trench coat. He was staring at me but also looking at Matthews too. It wasn’t a casual look either. Did he know who the agent was? I shook off that thought as ridiculous.

“Hey girl” said a voice, shattering my concentration.

I turned and saw Lori walking toward me. I smiled as she approached. Then I turned back to the Professor to see if he was still watching. But he was nowhere in sight. A slight shiver went up my spine. But I shrugged it off and turned back to Lori with a smile.

The rest of the week went by rather interestingly. After my meeting with Dakota and Agent Matthews, I tried to get back into the college life. I fell into step just like before, except now I was a girl doing it. I was just glad that I wasn’t high school and that this wasn’t an all girl’s Catholic School. I know a lot of guys fantasized about that cute schoolgirl look of white blouse and blue plaid skirt---I’ll be a fool if I said it didn’t cross my mind. Now every time I saw it in my mind’s eye, I saw my new self in that cute little outfit and I shuddered. So yeah I’m very glad that this college is coed.

The scariest thing about falling back into the college life was how quickly I adapted to my new situation. I’m not saying I got all girly---far from it---but I did become one of the girls. It didn’t take all that long either, maybe a day or two. It was the same group from the Shower Room on that second day, minus a few of the ones I didn’t really know all that well. I became fast friends with Shay and Jaslyn because we shared the same interests. Shay had three times as many tattoos as me and piercings in places that I didn’t even want to know about. Her hair changed color every day too---washable dye apparently. She said she liked a variety. Jaslyn’s parents were from India but she was raised in the US. She rocked this mixture of clothing style---both American and traditional Indian garb i.e. t-shirts and sari like skirts.

Angelina hung out with us by default. She didn’t bother me as much as the first day. Just as long as she didn’t speak all that much. Considering what me and the others talked about, Angelina rarely opened her mouth. I’m not sure when my taste in music shifted but I went from the usual crap I listened to to the heavy metal/punk stuff that Shay listened to. It helped that Lori was interested in the same stuff as well. She was the unofficial fourth member of our posse actually. She didn’t hang with us all the time because she was in a different building but she often popped in and out. I remember how close Katie and her girl friends used to be in high school and could never truly understand it until now. Girls formed this unbreakable bond of sisterhood Yeah I know that sounds corny but it’s true. I felt close to these girls, like I could share my deepest darkest secrets with them.

Except the major secrets of course. I only shared those with someone I could trust, which turned out to be the only person who really knew what was going on anyway.

“Did you see them again today?” asked Bart as I walked up to him outside my dorm.

He’d taken to picking me up every day now ever since that incident with Brody. Of course, I told him and of course, he kinda freaked. I’m not sure when he started to think of me as the innocent damsel in distress but it happened. It also annoyed the hell out of me. Angelina thought we were dating but Jaslyn thought it was sweet---like a big brother complex. Well there was one advantage to hanging with Bart---the other guys left me alone. Not that there were many who approached me anyway, but the few that did try were scared off by the size of Bart. Not that he was an overly big guy but he did have muscles and this nasty glare.

But the point of his question is this: I’m being followed. At first, I thought it was guys sent by Matthews, making good on his threat. But Matthews’ guys wouldn’t look the way these guys did. They wore dark sunglasses just like government thugs but they also wore white linen shirts and brown pants and all their heads were shaved bald. They kinda creeped me out, like MIB Monks or something. Everywhere I went there seemed to be one of them dogging my steps . At first I thought I was being paranoid but the more I noticed them, the more places they showed up. They even lingered in the hallways outside each of my classrooms. I notified Campus security about them but they seemed to think they were one of the various members of some religious organization---there were apparently a lot of those in Phoenix.

After I told Bart about them, he got even more protective. He even went so far as to put his arm around my waist while we were in public. The strange part was I didn’t actually mind that. I’m not saying I was in love with my best friend but it felt nice to have that little bit of comfort. I didn’t let onto it of course. As soon s as we got into a building, I pulled away from him as quick as possible. I couldn’t let him or other people---save annoying Angelina---think we were dating.

But to answer his question, I took a quick look around. There were a lot of people in the quad in front of the dorm building, most of them students. I did a quick scan of their faces then reached out for their emotions. The thing about my Bald followers, they gave off nothing. It was like they someone shut off everything, making them as numb as they looked.

“I don’t see any,” I finally admitted with a sigh.

But his hand tightened on my waist even more all the same. “What the fuck do they want anyway?”

Ok so I hadn’t told him the whole truth. But how do you explain to someone that some creepy Thing behind a door told you that there were people after you. Not just any people either. People who were going around killing girls who looked just like you. On top of all that, the Creepy Thing behind the door was actually in my dreams or inside my head. It was really confusing actually. All I know for sure is that she wanted out and she wanted to hurt people. Hell she got me to “kill” Katie and I think she almost got me to kill Brody. I was starting to get vague recollection of that night in the parking lot back. Her Voice was there, in my head, egging me on to kill the bastard. I almost did too. It was the light that stopped me, the bright light. I couldn’t remember anymore than that though.

“I think they’re just weirdos,” I said in response to his question.

He searched my face. He was giving off this “I’m confused and don’t really believe you” vibe. It was radiating off him actually.

Finally, he nodded. “Just be on the safe side I think you should come with me to that party.”

I groaned. The party in question was this huge frat party they were throwing tonight. I’m not sure of the significance though. It was the beginning of October so it’s not like there was anything too pressing going on. We had been in classes for about a month and Halloween was still weeks away. There was a party for that as well---in fact, there were probably fifty of them. Lori already roped me into going to about half a dozen; she was getting our costumes ready. But she was being real hush-hush about them.

“I’m not going to some kegger so some drunk jackasses can feel me up all night.”

It felt like a month since the last time I’d had a drink anyway. Truthfully, I hadn’t touched anything since the club. The club that Katie and I went too on the night she died.

“Are the others going?”

I shrugged. In truth, they were all going, even anti-social Lori. She said she was bottled up all week and a good drink or two on the weekend helped loosen her up a bit.

Bart frowned. He could tell I was lying. He could always tell I was lying. If Bart were a Meta, he’d be one hot chick and he’d have the power to tell if people were lying or not. An image flashed before my eyes of a female Bart Allen. Sadly, I wasn’t turned on. Then an image of a male Bart in red spandex flashed into my head. My nipples got a bit hard on that one. I cursed. It was no secret that I might be slightly attracted to him. But I swore to myself never to act on these feelings. I made a promise to Katie that never again would I ever sleep with anyone but her. I planned to keep that promise, no matter how good guys were starting to look to me now.

“You’re lying and you’re going. I’m not leaving you alone with creeps snooping around.”

I frowned then sighed. “Ok but I’m not drinking.”

He smiled. “Fine I’ll do the drinking babe and you can hold my cup.”

He put his arm around my shoulder as we made our way slowly through the Quad. A small part of me was happy that he was doing it and another larger part of me was repulsed that he called me “babe” and I actually liked it.

The party was well underway when we pulled up front. WE drove because the house in question was several blocks from the school. There was one rule on campus and that was no underage drinking on campus. So the fraternity in question---I’m not really sure which one actually---were using a house one of the member’s owned. Well one of their parents anyway. It---like so many other houses in the area---had a Spanish hacienda inspired look. With stucco finish painted tan and a terra cotta tile roof. Bart slipped his arm around my waist as we wanted up the lawn and through the front door. We got a few looks. After all, he was a track star and I was the freaky new Goth chick. I shrugged them and Bart’s arm off as I slipped away. He barely noticed. Though I did see him follow me with his eyes as I disappeared into the crowd.

I only promised to come with him to the party. I never said I was going to stay by his side through the duration of it. So I wove my way through the crowd until I caught a familiar shock of bright hair---green tonight. Shay was dancing pretty close to Jaslyn, giving rise to the rumors that the two of them were in fact an item. They were swaying to the music, plastic cups of beer over their heads. When they caught sight of me, Shay grabbed my hand and pulled me in-between the two of them. I let them have their fun for a bit before I slipped away.

“You here with the bodyguard?” asked Shay as the two of them took a break from dancing.

We found some seats on a nearby couch, trying not to disturb the guy passed out on the floor at our feet. This definitely wasn’t my scene. This was only the second college party I’d been too. The first I ended up dragging Bart’s drunk ass home, slightly buzzed myself. That was back when Katie and I were happy and the only thing I needed to worry about was a play audition. That felt like a lifetime ago. In fact, it was a lifetime ago. Any part of me that was Ryan was long gone now, including my sexual preference apparently. Though Shay was hot, in her tiny jean skirt that barely covered her ass and Jaslyn was killer in her halter, neither sight did anything for me anymore.

I looked around to make sure Bart hadn’t bailed on me. I caught sight of him playing beer pong in the corner. I groaned. It looked like I was driving the Corvette back tonight.

“Boys and their toys” said a voice as a girl in a black dress sat in-between me and Shay.

At first, I was a bit confused until I saw the trademark black boots and fishnets. I blinked a few times regardless. Lori told me she promised her Dad that she wouldn’t Goth out in class but now she had gone overboard. I guess it was all that pent up gothness trying to get out. She was wearing an obscene amount of makeup and her corset was so tight that she was practically popping out of it. Shay’s eyes bulged out of her head when she saw my “gothed” up friend.

“No fricken way” said the stunned green haired punk wannabe.

Lori smiled. “On the weekends, I let the real me come out to play.”

Jaslyn piped in. “You look like Alice in Wonderland.”

Lori took her beer and took a long sip. “Not Alice” she said, passing the cup back. “Black Alice.”

We all shared a laugh.

It took a few more sips of beer for Lori to notice one of our posse was missing. She looked around. “Where’s the Barbie Doll?”

Shay shrugged. “She met some guy earlier and went off with him. That was like an hour ago.”

“No big” said Jaslyn as she took another sip of her beer, already a bit buzzed.

I didn’t drink. I was getting enough of a buzz off the three of them. Not from the alcohol but from their erratic emotions. They were all over the place, it was intoxicating. The lust coming from Shay and Jaslyn was overpowering. Mix it with the bored annoyance coming from Lori and it was like a bad porno in a mental health facility. It came in waves too. Some were overly intense while others were dull and easy to ride. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and slowly pushed myself off the couch. I mouthed “bathroom” at the looks and they shrugged, giggling into their beers.

I pushed my way through the crowd. The emotions were running too high in the room. They swirled about the area like a colorful haze. I staggered and swayed. Most of it was lust and it tore at me. I found myself licking my lips and longing for someone to quell the beast inside me. There was a lot of happiness too, which made me feel a bit lightheaded. That was counteracted by this dull, slow feeling. I think that might have been the drunkenness of the room. It hit me the hardest. I found it almost impossible to walk through that bit. I’m not sure how I managed to get to the stairs but when I did, I got up two steps before collapsing. A pair of girls nearby giggled because they thought I was drunk. Their feelings swelled off them and into me, making me giggle and sway.

I felt like I was going to be sick. I pushed myself off the stairs. Instead of going up, I went back down. I stumbled my way into the crowd. It wasn’t what I intended but now that I was there, I didn’t want to be any other place. The emotion swirled around me in a vortex of bright pretty colors. I bumped and ground with the best of them. Several people groped me, both from front and behind but it was all good. I laughed and danced and had a hell of a time. The only problem was that I couldn’t seem to stop. The more everyone else around me partied, the more I wanted to party too. I tried to stop myself but it was like I was being carried away by it all. It was like that time in the car where Katie and I were going to screw the hell out of each other or like the nightclub the night she died. I was being overwhelmed by everything around me. My head was starting to hurt too. I grabbed my temples a minute later and the room began to sway. I tried to stop the spinning but it wouldn’t go away.

Go Away, Leave me alone. That’s when it happened. I felt a tingling course through my body. It was slight at first but slowly started to build. It got stronger and stronger until I finally I just popped. I screamed at the top of my lungs and a burst of blackness spewed from my mouth. It filled the entire room, spreading across the floor, ceiling and walls quickly. It covered every person in seconds, bathing the room in a black that looked strangely familiar. Everyone was still dancing and drinking, swaying to the music. They acted like nothing was wrong. To me I could see all their colors. They were rising from them, leaving their bodies. The colors were floating, floating toward me. I could feel them getting closer and closer. I wanted them, I needed them. The colors were power and they would make me stronger.

I reached out, trying to grab them. The tips of my fingers were able to touch the nearest cloud. I felt a burst of energy, it was orgasmic. As soon as I touched even a bit of it, one of the girls staggered and fell. I pulled my hand back but only for a moment. The girl got back to her feet, rubbed her head and continued to dance. I was scared for a second but only for a second. I shrugged and reached for another cloud, one high above my head. It was closer than the other. My hand was nearly there, just a few more inches and then…

A hand lashed out of the dark and grabbed my wrist. It held tight like a grip. As soon as it touched me, I swayed and nearly fell over. The euphoric feeling was gone. I felt sick and dizzy. I looked around for the source and found a man standing there. He wasn’t bathed in black like the others; he was like me, normal. He was wearing a gray trench coat and fedora. His dark eyes stared at me and he shook his head. I gasped because I recognized his face immediately.

“Enough of that, Miss Roth” said Professor Dee as he gently let go of my hand.

The crazy feeling didn’t come back but I staggered. He reached out and caught me when I feel.

“Professor” I slurred, feeling like I was being hit by a thousand hangovers.

“Its all right girl, I’m not here to hurt you,” he said as she swept me up into his arms. “I’m a friend, I’m here to help.”He looked down at me, smiling weakly. “Sleep” he said and then touched my forehead with a finger.

Darkness overtook me and there was nothing more.

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