I hope you enjoy the first chapter of Supernaturally Insane! Reviews are welcomed!
#1
I spent most of my days surfing the web, finding pictures of supernatural beings - you know, like vampires, ghosts, the undead creatures - and posting them to my blog, telling the world how I knew these creatures were not real. I had fans, like every other blogger, and I had haters. My fans - aside from my best friend, who I chatted with every night when a new "mystery" found it's way onto our computer screens - agreed with me, and hung on every word I said. Haters, like they usually did, created stories, blogs, articles, and etc. to try to put me out of business. The crazy part: I wasn't making a single penny off of my blog. Or off of my fame for that matter. I was completely anonymous on the internet, but if hater's gave a damn about what anyone who didn't want to cut my head off had to say, hell would've surely frozen over by now.It was a Monday night, right around eleven, when I hopped on my computer and opened up Dex's latest email. Since becoming close friends - which our ten-year friendship anniversary was coming up - and getting emails to make it even more specific, we had grown accustomed to only checking the latest information, so I ignored the rest of his emails as I opened it up.
"Twenty-dollar contacts, home-constructed fake nose, dollar store Halloween makeup, cheap, store-bought copy of Selena X's 'Go To The Fucking Graveyard' primary video dress, and shitty Photoshop. What do you think?"
I had barely answered my cell when Dex blurted out the complete obvious. I shrugged, even though he couldn't see me.
"I'd say it looks more like Selena D's leather swimsuit from the world tour, but you could be right..."
"Damn it," He muttered, clearly hoping to get the whole thing right this time. I scratched my scalp and zoomed in on the photo, directing my eyes sinfully on the twenty-five year-old's crotch.
"Don't go and shoot yourself just yet. You make actually be right..."
"I checked the picture a hundred times already. Your hypothesis seems so more logical than mine." I could him sigh as he took the liberty to double-check the photo. I could hear the faint chirping of the mouse as he clicked over and over again around the picture, hoping for more evidence to see which one of us was right.
"I think you're right, Dex. I believe it is Selena X's video dress. Selena D would definitely put on a pair of underwear with that dress. Especially when she's using a tampon."
"How the hell did you notice a tampon string in so little time? And how can you tell the difference between Selena X and Selena D, anyway? They both have basically the same bodies."
"They're both a girl thing in my opinion. The tampon is definitely a girl thing. The whole who's who project, that's a different story."
"So, how are we going to rule this? A Selena X look-alike?" I thought for a moment, reminiscing what evidence we had stumbled upon and what we had concluded moments ago.
"No. I'd say Photoshop. There's a distinct line between the head and neck and there's a few gray patches along the body's outline. I'd say that whoever created this found everything on Google and mashed it all together."
"Case closed then. Do you need any help with the blog? I know you have a huge exam tomorrow and you definitely need some sleep."
"Nah. I think I'll actually be good. Plus, Chemistry isn't until sixth period. I can easily sleep in Johnson's class and take a nap under the bleachers during OP."
"Okay. Whatever you say boss." His voice was exaggerated, and I knew that he'd take care of the blog in a jiffy. But it was my night to upload, and I was going to. I didn't need to overwork Dex on Monday of all days. "Just, please, try not to be late picking me up. I do need to at least be on time to first. You know my mom. She checks first period's attendance and doesn't take another look for the rest."
"Lenny has to take me in the morning, since Carol has a doctor's appointment, and that dick totaled my car on Friday. So I think we'll both make it to class on time. Unfortunately."
"Great. Lenny. That'll be an interesting conversation, won't it? Hey, on the bright side, Derekson might not send you to detention, which means that we don't have to sneak out of Peters' classroom with a bunch of popular wannabe's trailing behind us."
"Good for you. I kind of enjoy the thrill and excitement of sneaking out of detention."
"Either way, I'm planning on skipping third, fourth and fifth. You said you had Chemistry sixth. Doing anything else important tomorrow?"
"Nothing but that stupid exam that I could make up during detention on Friday if I accidentally got sick..."
"Then how about we check out the Miller's old place? You know, the mansion? Maybe I could get a few shots for Photography."
"Simmon's would probably have a heart attack if you showed up to class with a camera full of photos. Hell, I bet he'd have a heart attack with you just showing up to class."
"So...? You in?" Excitement laced his voice like my mother's ugly ass wedding gown, but I couldn't exactly deny the chance to fake being sick and extend my exam for another few days. It was just too good of a chance to skip. So I was going for it. Head first.
"Hell yeah."
"Where does he live again?" Lenny asked as we came upon yet another wrong road. My fists were clenched tight as I forced myself not to tell him to pull over and let me walk to school. Or worse. Take him out and one of Dex's neighbor's mailboxes.
"Oh. My. God. I told a million fucking times! This is the wrong road! Turn the God damn car around and listen to my fucking instructions!" I yelled, growling and ready to pound the dashboard with the heels of my dirty Converse. "God, why the hell did Carol actually marry you? You're not good for anything!"
Ten minutes and not a single word from Lenny. I didn't care what the hell he had to say anyway, and his silence made me less angry than I knew I would've been if it had been Carol in the driver's seat.
By the time we pulled up to Dex's house, he was already hopping in, eyes glaring at me like I had broken my promise. I rolled my eyes.
"Blame Lenny. He's the one who can't follow simple fucking directions." Dex didn't say anything. Probably in fear that Lenny would put all his bottled up anger on him, since obviously he wasn't touching me. But with me in the car, and not to mention me climbing into the backseat with Dex, he had nothing to worry about. I mean, it wasn't like Carol was driving.
"So how many hits? Any comments so far? It's been hours since it was uploaded, right?" Dex leaned across the seats to look at my phone when I pulled it out to check. We both smiled at the data. Two-hundred hits. Fifty comments. Damn, we were good.
"Damn... We're good." I high-fived Dex without looking away from the screen. It really didn't matter to us what the comments were about, as long as they were there. I mean, at least people were reading our blog. It could've been worse. No one could've been reading it.
Dex's phone suddenly went off, right after his, so did mine. He pulled out his BlackBerry and checked his email as I checked mine on my IPhone. I could almost swear that our reactions were jinxed as we looked at each other almost like a mirror image and spoke.
"Is this you?"
I looked down at my phone again and looked for an email address. There was nothing but the word "UNKNOWN" typed as the sender. I was about to click on the link when Dex knocked the phone out of my hands.
"What the hell was that for? Are you fucking crazy? Do you want me to break my fucking phone again?"
"You're going to break it if you open that file. Look." Dex showed me the face of his phone and I froze. The touch-screen was cracked from top to bottom. But that wasn't the least of my concern. It was the background, the picture that was being flashed behind the cracked screen. A ghost. Or what seemed to be a ghost. It looked human from it's features, but it was translucent.
"It's probably some hater trying to screw with us." I murmered, but neither of us, Dex nor I, believed that. No one - not even our fans - had our true emails. Our true identities, our names, numbers. Yet the email was sent to our personal accounts. Personal being the ones with our names, ages, numbers, everything. So how did this happen?
"Hacker?" Dex murmured, looking up at me with eyes full of concern. I shrugged. "Hater Hacker?"
"I mean, that's the only way, right? There must be some heating virus that can cause that type of damage, right?"
Dex nodded, trusting me on my answer. But neither of us seemed to believe it. I wasn't sure we could, either.
"Have a great day!" Lenny shouted from up from. I had totally forgotten that Lenny was in the car, but from my perspective, it didn't exactly seem like he was bright enough to understand an eighth of what we had been talking about.
Dex grabbed his backpack and we both got out of the backseat, Dex slamming the door behind me and not even bothering to say a goodbye or anything to Lenny like he usually did.
The walk to his locker was almost a daze. I was too wrapped up in thinking how well, that happened to Dex's phone, and why that picture, of all pictures on the internet, showed up on the screen, that I had barely even noticed Dex opening his locker and me coming face to face with the skinny, metal door.
Before I knew it, I was on the slick floor, my nose hurting like mad and the group of bitchy ass cheerleaders laughing like hyenas. Dex offered me a hand and I took it reluctantly.
"Next time I should probably upload. You obviously way to tired to even walk straight, let alone walk around things and not into them." I leaned against the locker and watched lamely as Dex took off his brother's old football jacket, revealing a black long-sleeved button-up, black and gray vest, and one of those hats you always see directors wearing in the movies.
"How do I look?" He asked, opening his arms like he was posing for a Glee poster. I frowned upon his question.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you look a hundred percent gay." His smile turned into a sigh as he folded his arms and took a look at me.
"That would make two of us." I had attempted to sorta dress up, since after all it was a special occasion to skip class to go to an old mansion that had been assumed to be haunted by, well, every other teenager in the school. But unfortunately, I was a bit off with my choices. I mean, what was lesbian about worn high-top converse, black jeggings, and a red and maroon horizontally striped sweater?
"Hey! I attempted!"
"Attempted what? Murder?" Dex laughed. I rolled my eyes.
"Fine. If it's such a bad outfit, you fix it."
Per usual, Dex did exactly what I mentioned. Since one certain incident Sophomore year in the cafeteria, he swore he'd always keep extra clothes in his locker. And ever since that fateful day Sophomore year, he had clean, fresh clothes in his locker all the time.
Dex searched through the neat, folded clothes at the bottom of his locker and pulled out two articles of clothing: a crème, V-neck T-shirt and a striped black and gray scarf.
"Please do not tell me that you put on a black bra today. Please." I stopped myself from laughing as I smiled at his practical pleading.
"Fine. I didn't put on a black bra today." Dex rolled his eyes at my obvious sarcasm.
"Okay. We can play this later, but right now, I need to know what color your bra is."
"Wait. I thought I was supposed to show you after you take me on a third date...?" I couldn't help but smile at my bitchiness and Dex's unraveling attitude.
"Is your bra going to show through this shirt?" His words were slow and simple, as if he was talking to a three year old. I rolled my eyes.
"Yes. But I do think I have another bra in my gym locker."
"A sports bra?"
"No."
"What color?"
"Hot pink."
"Liar."
"Purple."
"Lie."
"Neon Green."
"Lie again. You keep that one for the club."
"White."
"You despise that color in your undergarments."
"I hate you."
"Lies."
"Fine! God. Nude."
"There we go. Truth. It sometimes takes a while, but we always get there, don't we? Now, I doubt you're going to first period, so change then. But right now, before the bell rings, tell me. What do I need to change?"
"Definitely take off the sweater and hat. Once you do that, you'll look a little less gay and more bi. If you undo a few buttons at the top and ruffle your hair a little, you'll look more straight than bi. Or gay."
"Okay..." Dex groaned as he pulled off his sweater and threw it into the locker with his hat. Usually he'd take his precious time to fold his clothes and put them neatly wherever he wanted to put them, but he had a schedule, and it was strict. At least for the first period of the day, after that he didn't give a shit about any other classes. Mostly because of one person. His mother.
"Better." I said as Dex ruffled his hair a little. "Now, I need a little coffee, Washer's will totally escort me to class if I don't have an actual place to go."
"Can't you just say you're on your period?"
"I told him that last week. Period's only last for five to seven days. He'll know I'm lying."
"Fine. But we're burning that sweater later today. Got it?"
"Who's not gay again?"
"Like I've said before, I just have a good eye."
"Whatever. See you after hell."
Dex waved as he practically ran to class. Everyone was scurrying to their classes as I poured some of Dex's coffee onto my sweater. I knew it was stupid, especially since it was scolding hot still, but there was no way I'd be able to get past the principle without an excuse.
The bell rang I shut the locker swiftly, the shirt and scarf being the only things in my grasp. Before I knew it a booming voice was echoing down the halls. I suddenly had a fondness for some of the school's rules, especially the one where all doors must remain closed after the beginning bell every period, until further notice.
"Emelija Praxis, may I ask why you are not in class right now?"
I turned around to see Jack Washer, the principle of Founder's High School.
"Hey, Washer. What are you doing out in the hall this early?"
"Making sure our students are getting to class. Can I escort you to Math, Miss Praxis?"
"Actually, I have to go to restrooms to change. Spilled coffee all over this new sweater of mine. I really don't want it to stain or shrink or whatever..."
"I cannot permit you to go to the restrooms without a hall pass."
"Please, Principle Washer, I really, really, really need to wash this out. My mom will be ticked if she finds out I ruined another one of Grandma's Christmas sweaters. And plus, if I walk into class like, like, like this, everyone will laugh at me, and then because of all of their laughter I'll run away and then it'll be too much and then I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll take a knife and jab it into my abdomen and then I'll cry myself to sleep. But really sleep is death, and-"
"Okay, Miss Praxis, please calm down. Should I call your mother and tell her to pick you up?"
"No. No. I'm fine. I just really need to wash this coffee out of my sweater."
"Okay, but only this once, you understand, correct?"
"Yes, sir." I turned around at a normal speed and began to walk away when I was stopped once again.
"Miss Praxis, your class is this way, so are restrooms. Where do you think you are headed?"
"I cannot wear a black bra and a white T-shirt, Principle Washer. It's degrading to let the whole school see my undergarments so easily. It's degrading to even let the teachers see. And believe me when I say that some of these teachers you have hired, especially the ones who... have just gotten divorced and are searching for something, no teacher in specific, they, they look, and they watch, and they touch at times. You should probably ask the cheerleaders about it. They know more than I do. Can I just..."
"Yeah. Uh, Go ahead..."
I could imagine Principle Washer shaking his head confusingly, wondering where that short little speech came from. I decided to speed walk all the way down the rest of the hall and run into the girls locker room to change.
"Why are you filming this? I thought you were only taking pictures?" I asked as Dex and I entered the abandoned mansion. Dex closed the door with a squeak and continued filming.
"What's the point of just taking pictures when you can fully see everything with a video?"
"Uh, the fact that a video records my fucking voice!"
"Well then, shut up."
I rolled my eyes at Dex's short and "sweet" sentence and looked around.
"This would be one hell of a place to photoshop ghosts into." I stated, walking in front of Dex and finding myself in a kitchen. Drawers were open, the counter was shattered, all appliances were gone. It was crazy to think that the Millers family actually lived there with all their high-end technology and what not.
"Yeah, no kidding. Well, at least we have an idea as to where these people get their backgrounds from."
"I highly doubt that they come here voluntarily. They probably get all these pictures from the real estate." I said. Dex shrugged.
"Maybe. But why would real estate agents take pictures of this? I mean, isn't the whole point of being in real estate to make the house seem, I don't know, luxurious?"
"How the hell do you make this house seem luxurious, anyway?"
"I don't know..." Dex's voice trailed off and became distant. I looked around me, searching for that certain, bright orange light that came from his camera, but to my dismay, I saw nothing but black and gray shadows.
"Dex?" I called out. My heart began to pound a little faster. Where did Dex go? "Dex?" I called out a little louder. "Dex!" I practically screamed.
"In here!" I followed his voice at a rapid pace and bumped into something soft but sturdy, falling ass first onto the wood planks of the flooring. Or more like into the wood planks. The wood broke beneath my weight and sent me crashing down to the basement of the house. It was almost a ten foot drop onto concrete as I screamed like the girl I was and landed on my back. I groaned.
"Em!" Dex shouted, walking over the hole I had just fallen through.
"Down here!" My voice was weak as I groaned in pain.
"Em? Are you okay?"
"No, dumbass. I just fell fucking ten feet onto solid concrete by bumping into you."
I was still lying on my back as I looked up at Dex. He cocked his head to one side as he looked down at me, almost like a dog not understanding its owner's command.
"You didn't bump into me." He said awkwardly. I growled.
"Yes I did." I contradicted.
"Uh, no, you didn't. I was on my way upstairs when I heard you scream."
"Then who the hell did I bump into? You're the only other person in this fucking joint!"
"Maybe it was ghost..." I could make out the faint smirk on Dex's face.
"Not funny. Ghosts aren't real. There must be someone who followed us in. Can you, uh, lend me a hand, perhaps. I'm not one to be cooped up in a basement on a rainy day."
"Then what exactly happened two weeks ago?"
"Shut up and come help me."
Dex jumped down easily, one of the traits he and his football star of a brother had in common. Agility. But it wasn't all that it wrapped up to be. Ever since Troy made that one touchdown that broke the tie and made the school's football team win the last game of the season, life has never been the same. It's been discord ever since.
I mean, sure comparing one brother to another was normal, but Dex and Troy were polar opposites. Troy was an extrovert, a caring, loving, outgoing guy that was loved by everyone, excepted as he was and adorned with respect and perseverance. And then there was Dex. Introvert, careless, crazy, shy - when he wasn't talking to me - guy that everyone was disappointed in. Including his own parents. It was crazy to think that those two could be related, well, after you got past the whole "looks" part of their anatomy.
"Thanks." I said as Dex took my hand and helped me up. I had been too busy with my own pain to look around at my surroundings, so when I did, I could almost feel my eyeballs ready to fall out of my head like one of those stupid cartoons Carol made me watch with Lydia.
"Why do I feel like I've been here before?" Dex was facing the opposite direction I was when he murmured the question. I knew it was a rhetorical question since he wasn't exactly expecting an answer from me as much as he did himself.
"Because that picture was taken right here..." I muttered, awe-struck and in disbelief of my own eyes. Dex turned around and I could mentally picture him with the same reaction as me, staring at the one thing I never thought to see in my entire life. The studio of the fake pictures.
"Oh my God... Is that..."
"It has to be..."
"How much would that thing cost...?"
"It looks so real..."
"How?"
"Who did this?"
"Where would they get something like that?"
"Who's doing this?"
"What?"
I could barely believe my eyes as I walked over to what I thought to be a doll. A human-looking, life-size doll that looked exactly like the translucent person we saw when Dex opened the email and received a picture and a crack in his phone.
"What filter would they use? How many pictures would they have to take? What about the pixels?" Dex murmured as he pulled out his camera, taking a few shots of the doll. I was close enough to put my arms around it, which I was tempted to do based off of pure excitement, but held back.
"I don't understand..." I muttered right before a breaking sound swarmed the basement. It sounded almost like glass shattering, but also ice. I looked back to see Dex's eyes filled with fear. I rose a brow. "What the hell..." I looked down at the ground near Dex's feet to see his camera, shattered into bits and pieces, surrounded by shards of ice and pools of water and blood. "Dex?"
"E-Em..."
For a tiny second I could almost swear that Dex was looking at me. But he wasn't. He was looking behind me.
I swallowed the saliva in my mouth and turned my head. I felt a sudden rush of cold air hit my side, like I almost had no clothes on. My teeth chattered with the new temperature as I turned fully around to see nothing. I took a sigh of relief before addressing Dex.
"There's nothing here. Jeez, Dex, what movies have you been watching as of-"
"Der Tod wird sich durchsetzen. Versprechen gebrochen warden."
The voice struck me with so much force that my natural fight or flight decision kicked in.
"Run!" I screamed, galloping around the living doll and grabbing Dex's arm, dragging him up the stairs.
Dex began to run faster than me, but I didn't dare stop, that was until I caught my foot in the flooring. Again.
"Shit!" Before I knew it the doll was on top of me, grasping my wrists tighter than I had ever felt before. Instead of being a normal temperature, he was freezing.
The world faded around me into a sort of cold, misty fog. I turned my head, watching as ice spread from my wrists - where I had been pinned down my large, freezing hands - to the rest of my arms. I looked to the other side, seeing the same thing. I was doomed. He was going to freeze me to death. This was the end. I knew it.
The world became darker, the mist filing around me in thick bunches. It got darker and darker and I became calmer and more tired. My eyes began to droop, like I was drifting off into a deep, much needed sleep.
"Em!" I heard faintly. "Em!" Dex. "EM!" A hard slap across the face.
I looked up to see Dex, panting with the same fear in his eyes and the doll - or whatever the hell that was - gone.
"We need to go. NOW!" I ignored the pain in my ankle as Dex helped me up and we ran. Dex swung the door wide open, and I didn't look back until we had reached the beginning of the woods.
I panted, collapsing in the mud. Ragged sticks poked every inch of my body, but I didn't mind. The downpour made the dirt soggier, wetter, dirtier, and still, neither Dex, nor I had a care in the world. Nothing could make us more scared than that house. That hell of a mansion.
Panting, I sat up and looked back. The house - the one Dex and I had just ran out of frantically - was virtually untouched. The door closed, the sound peaceful, the shutters shut tight, even with their broken edges and worn notches.
There was one thing off about it though. One shutter open. The rest closed. I looked closely at the window, afraid of what I might find. I knew I shouldn't have. I told myself not to. But I did. Glowing green eyes. I swallowed.
What the hell was going on?
"You sure this is a good idea? I mean, what if your mom finds us? School's not even out yet."
"Stop worrying. She doesn't even get home until midnight. It's Tuesday remember? Ten o'clock news..."
"Oh, yeah. But still. What about your dad?"
"Business trip."
"Troy?"
"He'll probably be fucking his girlfriend in the back of his car until Mom leaves work. Why are you stressed out anyway? You definitely aren't one to stress about getting in trouble."
"These type of string of events do it for me. Or so I've figured out over the past hour. Ow..." I hissed as Dex finished wrapping my ankle. I could barely look at my own foot without disgust. Purples and blues and well, hugeness. If that's even a word. It was terrifying to know that twisting an ankle could result to... that.
"There. Done. How are your wrists?"
"Cold. Still." I said, pulling them away from my neck and out of the blanket for Dex to see. My wrists were cuffed in light blue hand marks while the ends of my fingertips were stained a deep red. I didn't worry much. I mean, red was a good color for blood flow. Right?
"Hmm. They look... okay. Maybe you should take a bath. Soak them in warm water for a while. We can bandage your ankle again, after."
"But-"
"I don't know what's going on Em, but I don't like it. In fact, I hate it. Today was confusing and scary and painful. All I want to do is go to bed and forget this ever happened. I want to go back to school, sneak you out of detention, write blogs about how there are no supernatural creatures, and live life like no one's watching. That... person in the house was probably just a crazy psychopath. Nothing to it. So, please, let's just get you back to health and forget today ever happened."
Dex looked scared of all emotions he could display. Scared, frightened, terrified. I couldn't blame him. I was too. But whatever happened that day wasn't some psychopath. I wanted to believe him, I really did. But I knew better. There was no one in the house. Not a single soul. That... thing that touched me, it couldn't have been human. It just couldn't.
Everything that revolved around that house seemed supernatural, mythical, even. Like it came straight out of a horror movie and made Dex and I the stars. Either this was real, or I was on something. The both of us were.
Dex looked at the fire and I could make out a tear escape down his cheek. He was loosing it. One incident and he was slowly, but surely being shattered into a million pieces just like his camera.
Dex was fragile. I knew that. But only had I known that after I broke through the many layers of fake Dex years ago. He needed time. Time to rebuild himself, put on a new face, and forget that ever happened.
I stood up without saying a word and left Dex to watch the flames of the fire and to give myself a much needed bath. I dropped the blanket as soon as I shut the door in the bathroom and turned on the water to a scorching hot temperature.
I stripped to nothing and slid in, my heart racing at the thought of what could've happened if Dex hadn't have been there. If Dex hadn't had been there, I'd be dead. Then again. I wouldn't have been there to get hurt.
I wasn't sure whether to blame Dex for the incident or not, so instead of finding a solution I slipped under the water and let the heat take me in.
The water burned my face more than any other part of my body. My eyes - as sensitive as they were - watered and mixed with the fresh, hot water and the faint residue of my not waterproof mascara.
As my heart raced faster, I ran out of breath. I slammed the water's surface as I sat up quickly and gasped for air. I panted and panted, without opening my eyes. It was the mansion all over again.
"Are you... Em?" Someone asked. My eyes jolted open as I took notice of a young, tall man leaning on the wall next to the tub. I opened my mouth to scream, but he was next to me in seconds, his dry hand covering my mouth.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Em." He spoke, his voice soft. I began to calm down and stopped clawing at his hand, my own hands reaching down to cover my exposed nipples. That's when I noticed his eyes. His green eyes were vibrant, glowing almost, and I immediately thought back to the mansion, as soon as Dex and I escaped.
Dex. Where the hell was Dex? Why wasn't he here? Did this guy take him out? Was Dex dead?
I tried to scream again at the finding of this new information, but the man's hand just pushed harder across my mouth and cheeks.
"Be quiet." He demanded. I did as he was told out of pure fear. "Good..." He spoke, breaking eye contact and looking down. His free hand touched my arm softly, which surprised me even more with his harsh tone. I swallowed as he lifted up my arm and inspected my now purple wrist. Placing it back in the water, he touched my other arm, the one that was covering my breasts as much as possible. His finger trailed up and down the purple spot on my left arm before he looked up at me.
"Are you going to scream?" He asked, his voice rough but calm. I shook my head. Lie.
His hand slowly but surely released my mouth and the first thing I did was take a huge breath. I opened my mouth again to try to scream, expecting another hand, or even both. But this time it wasn't a hand. It was a mouth.
His lips were on mine in a mere second, my eyes as big as golf balls. I squeezed them shut as I felt his lips spreading apart and his tongue trailing the crease between each lip. I pushed back, but he only came with me. His hands grasped my wrists with strength that could only be compared with the strength of the other man - or thing - that attacked me earlier that day. I opened my mouth to scream and he took the opportunity to kiss me harder. His tongue escaped into my mouth, tickling the roof of my mouth. I tried to fight him, but I lost in mere seconds.
It seemed like forever before he took his mouth off of mine and I gasped for air. He released my wrists and I fought the urge to cry.
"Your boyfriend's downstairs. Get dressed quickly. He's safe for now, but waiting much longer will, with no doubt, decrease the chances of you two surviving."
"What the hell are you doing!" I screamed as the man tied me to a chair next to Dex. As normal as it was, I felt fear towards Dex's calm, but disturbed attitude.
"Em... Please..." Dex said. I looked over at him, eyes blazing with fear and anger.
"Please what? Be quiet? That ain't happening anytime soon!"
"If you are quiet, I will tell you anything you want to know."
"What the hell is this, fucking school? Quiet isn't happening buddy! Not after what you did to me!"
"I healed you." He said to me. "Look at your wrists, your ankle. They're fine."
I looked down at my wrists, which were tied together and then down to my ankle. They all looked perfect. Good as new. And they didn't hurt.
"Who the hell are you?" Dex said, taking over the... "conversation."
"I'm Friedrich Niklaus Greenberg, agent for the SSGI."
"What the hell does that stand for?"
"The Supernatural Security of German Insulters."
"The Supernatural Security of German what?" Dex asked as I said, "Sounds like you should be on their list."
"The Supernatural Security of German Insulters."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Exactly as it says. Security for every supernatural being that belongs to Germany."
"What the hell do you mean 'Supernatural Security?'"
"Supernatural? An example would be Leberecht Tangeman, the think you two ran into at that old mansion a few hours ago."
"You know about that?" I spoke. Friedrich nodded.
"He's on my list."
"What the hell's your list? Death warrant?" Dex croaked. Friedrich sighed.
"Again. It's security. Everyone on my list is to be protected."
"So the... guy that tried to kill us is being protected by you? So you've come to, what, kill us?" Friedrich rubbed his face as he sat down.
"Not quite. First of all, this isn't just some 'guy.' He's an Insulter, a person who's been dead for at least a year and is attempting to get revenge on those who deserve it."
"You're kidding right?" I spoke up. "You've got to be kidding me. Supernatural? Dead? Revenge? What are you on? Hallucinogens? Aya tea? Cocaine? Heroin? Seriously. You need help. Supernatural beings are totally fake. They were made to scare people out of their minds - some worked some didn't - they're made up. Simple. Made up. Fake. Whatever the hell you want to call it!"
"You saw him. You met him. You felt his power. How the hell can you not believe in him or everyone else who has suffered his fate?"
"Fate? Okay, even if this Supernatural thing was real, how the hell could you side with a dead revenge-driven killer? Huh? If you weren't already fucking crazy with this supernatural shit, well, now you've fucking lost it."
"How do you think I healed you? Drugs? Medication? I'm sorry to say but no medication in the human world is able to heal something like that in seconds."
"You were at the house. You could've drugged me. You could've drugged us both into seeing a hallucination. Then you show up here and give me the antidote to 'heal' me. That's it. You're a fucking pedophile!"
"Listen. I know it's hard to believe, both of you, but you are in serious danger. That Insulter you were attacked by today, he's after you. No one knows why, but he is. Not even I know and he's on my list."
"Aren't you supposed to be protecting him?" Dex asked, eyebrow raised.
"Yes."
"Then why are you helping us? Why are you going against him?"
"Rule four-twenty-one in our book is that as long as each being on our list does not interfere with the everyday life of human beings, they are to be protected by those who may harm them. But if they, themselves are the ones doing the harming, we are to protect the humans at all costs. Balance is key for life to remain stable on this planet."
"So, pretend that everything you say is true. What may happen if there is no more balance?" I asked, curious as always.
"No one knows. It's never happened. All we know is that hell will break loose, and there's a slim chance that anyone - human or supernatural being - will survive."
"I cannot believe we agreed to leave with him. What if he like, I don't know, murders us?" I whispered to Dex in the backseat. Friedrich had claimed to be driving us to a safe house, which would have everything we needed until he got rid of this so called "Insulter." Dex swallowed and looked at me.
"If that happens, at least we'll be together."
"Do you think he can hear us?" I asked Dex. The radio was playing an up-beat German Folk music, which Friedrich apparently loved based off of pure body movements.
"My guess. Not a chance in hell."
Friedrich slammed on the breaks, sending Dex and I to slam into the back of the seats in front of us. I looked through the windshield to see a deer, staring at us as if it had just seen its life flash before its eyes.
I was too busy staring at the deer to even realize what Dex was doing. His hand etched around my waist, pulling me out of the car and almost throwing me into a tree on the opposite side of the road. Before I knew it, we were running. Again.
I attempted to avoid every rock and root that came my way. For five minutes I was acing it. That was until I met my own fate when we came upon a lake.
Dex was behind me this time, and wasn't in range to save me from my effortless fall. Head first I fell, my body crashing into the dirty, swamp-looking water. I gasped for air, but I swallowed bugs and mud instead. I swam to the surface, coughing up little of what I had just swallowed, and seeing Dex look from me to behind him and back again. Before I knew it, he jumped, slamming into the water at my side. His head popped up moments later and we heard the familiar yell of the man who we believed to be crazier than Lincoln Marley, the murderer/cannibal/offender/rapist/everything-else-in-between-that-I-may-have-missed.
Dex pushed my head under the water and pulled me down to the bottom. The lake wasn't deep. Barely as deep as my own height, but still it made a good hiding spot.
I had never been a good swimmer, Dex knew that. Thank God. He held me down at the bottom, making sure I didn't blow our cover quite yet. That was until he disappeared.
He had been there one minute, his arms wrapped around me, drowning me for my own sake. Then the next minute he was gone. His arms unraveled, his body no longer touching mine. His hand no longer over my mouth to prevent air bubbles from popping up and alerting the crazy man.
With all my strength - and air - I felt around for him, grasping plants to keep me from floating back to the surface. My hand was met with a rough object moments later. Scales was my first thought. I hadn't thought to much of it for a few seconds, that was until I realized what was really happening.
Scales.
I swam to the top frantically, swimming to shore as fast as I could. Like I said, I wasn't a good swimmer. And that meant that I was slower than a turtle on land.
I was half way to shore when I decided to look back. It was a bad idea, I had known that, but I did it anyway. As I looked back I thought of all the bad decisions I had made. The mansion being the biggest one I could think of that time. The other... probably mistaking home-made cigarettes for weed in eighth grade. Either way, I knew I was going to die.
It's jaws opened and I could've sworn I saw it's stomach from it's throat. I closed my eyes, squirming a little bit, but not bothering to fight. It was my time. I never thought it would end that way, but it was.
It's jaws began to close, the teeth waiting to meet each other once again. Was that what death felt like? Teeth closing in on you slowly.
"Sabia!" A voice said. That wasn't my name, but then again, Em wasn't either. It was Emelija. Emelija Praxis. Born to Carol Melody Witherpool and Jordan Ira Praxis.
I could feel the teeth sink into me, my blood pooling over the edge of the jaw, dripping into the water slowly and steadily. Was I dead? Was it over yet?
I waited a few moments to let me completely die. I didn't feel pain. I felt wet. Was that death?
I opened my eyes, expecting nothing but pitch black darkness and no emotions. But it was completely different. Yellow-gold eyes stared at me. But they weren't human. A slit ran down the middle of them, like a cat's did during the day. I didn't dare look away from the creature.
"Sabia..." I heard again, this time in a less loud and somewhat kinder voice. I continued to stare at the creature. What was going on? Wasn't it going to kill me. The alligator was going to kill me and now it wasn't? What?
"Em..." I heard, this time from a different voice. I didn't take note of who the two people were. All I knew is that they were male. And they were staring at us.
Slowly, the large, scaled creature began to glow the same hue as its eyes. It's form began to change from vicious human-eating alligator to a human. A human woman.
I could barely hold myself together. An alligator. An alligator changing into a human woman. A naked one too.
She was about as tall as I, with long, wavy black hair, dark brown skin and the same yellow-gold eyes as the ones I had seen seconds before. Her pupils were the same too. Like a cat, but now reminding me of the alligator. She wore nothing, no clothes, no jewelry, no adornments. Only a decorative tattoo on her right hip that glowed with green and yellow. A tattoo design including nothing but alligator scales, teeth, and eyes.
She stared at me, eyes as wide as mine, but somehow more normal.
In normal circumstances I'd feel awkward staring at a naked woman while standing in lake. But this, this was different.
She took her golden eyes off of me and looked to my right, her eyes softening and her shoulders relaxing. She was gone in mere seconds, running off to my right as I stood still in the lake, staring at the space she had just been standing in.
"Em? Emelija?" I heard again. The voice was closer and familiar, but I didn't look that way. I took a glance at my right to see the crazy man, Friedrich, and the young, naked woman who had just changed from an alligator to... a human. His arms were wrapped tightly around her, despite her unclothed state. The two of them were breathless, their knees digging into the sand as they hugged and kissed like they hadn't seen each other in years. It was almost sweet, believe it or not. Almost.
"Em?" Dex spoke in almost a whisper. I looked back to the water where the woman had been and collapsed, the water barely reaching my elbows as I gasped. Had I been breathing at all?
Dex jumped to my side and helped me up, eyes full of worry. I was in some sort of daze. I was drowsy, tired, relieved, but still frightened. I looked at Dex as he wrapped his arm underneath my shoulder and helped me up.
I wasn't sure if it was a reaction based off of my emotions or the fact that I was almost killed, but no one questioned it. I shrugged out of Dex's assisting hold and wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tight for what seemed to be like hours. His arms wrapped around my torso and I rested my head on his shoulder.
For the first time in my life I was happy about being alive. Dex was too. About him or me, it didn't matter. But even with the relief that came with our lives being saved, he still needed to know something.
He touched my face, smiled, and laughed lightly when I spoke. "Forget all those suicide attempts. Just swim in this crazy lake. Either way, I'm never coming back again."
Friedrich explained everything during the car ride to the safe house. And I mean everything. In mere hours I understood what the SSGI was for, the rules, the forbidden, how his girlfriend, Sabia Tara, or otherwise known as the naked girl from the lake, got mixed up in this supernatural stuff, turned into an alligator, and sent across the world to never be found again, and the ideas behind why this ghost guy wanted to kill Dex and I.
But first, before we got to kicking ass - as Sabia liked to call it - we needed rest. And there was only one place we'd be safe doing that. The safe house.
"Make yourselves at home. You'll be staying here for a while. Or until I find a way to contact the SSGI and get backup to exterminate Tangeman. Everything you need is in your room. And yes, you're sharing one. Just please, don't have sex. Anything but sex."
"Uh..." Dex mumbled, as surprised as I was...
"We're not..."
"Yeah..."
"Wait." Friedrich spoke. "You two aren't dating?" We both shook our heads. "Why the hell not! What was that moment back there then? Huh?"
"We're best friends. That's what happened back there."
"Exactly." Dex agreed with me.
"Whatever you say..."
I growled under my breath as Friedrich assisted Sabia into a pair of hot pink underwear and dark skinny jeans. Friedrich must've had her clothes here for certain situations, because they seemed to be totally her and not brand new.
Dex and I entered the room we were to sleep in and found our change of clothes on the bed. Dex shrugged at the clothing choices as he unbuttoned his shirt. He didn't even bother turning away as he stripped. I rose a brow as I noticed his abs.
"Whenever Troy comes home we end up having this competition. It's stupid really, but after a while I got sick of loosing, so I started working out."
"You never told me that."
"It started that year you left for Washington."
"Oh." The year I left for Washington. The worst year of my life.
. . . . . . .
"Hey Mom! Guess what? I got accepted into the Cooking Club! Isn't that awesome! I even beat that girl Angie, you know the one who used to bully me in sixth grade? It's crazy really. We both went to the board at the same time and looked down the list and-"I stopped as soon as I saw my mother, her legs sprawled out on the floor of the kitchen, mascara running down her face, a broken wine bottle at her side and the tip of the only bottle of Vodka she owned at her lips.
"Mom?" I spoke softly. It wasn't new to see my mother drinking so early. If anything it was normal. Work stressed her out, and alcohol gave her sort of a happiness that nothing else could. I swallowed. "Mom?"
"Come here, Emelija." She spoke drunkenly. I did as I was told and sat down next to her, letting her swoop her free arm around me and lean her head on top of my own. "We need to talk. Your father-"
She stopped, tears running down her face, carrying more mascara with it. Sure, she wasn't head over heels in love with my father anymore, not like she was when they got married and had me, but she didn't hate him. And he didn't hate her. They just weren't for each other. The divorce showed me how much they really did love each other, just not in a way a married couple should be.
She choked on her own words again as she tried to speak. My heart was pounding. What was going on?
"What's wrong? What's daddy doing?" Fourteen and you'd think I'd be mature enough for other parental words. But 'Daddy' was my favorite. Not just because it was a childish connection I had with him, but also because I was a total daddy's girl. I spent every waking moment with him - every moment I could that was. But after the divorce it had been goodbye Washington, hello Florida. I wanted to stay with my father, but my mother took main custody of me, making me stay with her during the school year and back to Dad during the summer. At least I had more time during the summer to hang out with him, compared to my mother.
"'Daddy's' not doing anything anymore. His plane crashed. He's dead, Emelija. 'Daddy's' dead."
My world came crumbling down as I denied it.
"No. No he's not. He texted me. See?" I pulled out my phone to show my mother the text I had gotten from him but it was dead. "Hold on." I said frantically, scrimmaging through my bag to find the cord. I plugged it in and waited for it to turn on.
"Emelija..." My mother murmured.
"No. Just give me a second. I'll prove it!" I was yelling now. My mother crawled to my side, placing a hand on my back to try to calm me down.
"Emelija... He's dead... He's not coming back..."
"No!" I yelled watching at the screen finally turned on. "NEW VOICE MESSAGE" was the first thing I saw. "See! He called me!" I unlocked my phone and pressed play. I had thought my world had come crushing down moments before, but this, this was the real fall.
"Emelija. Emelija, my sweet little girl. My baby girl. I am so, so, so sorry for this. I love you soooo much. I want you to know that. I want you to hear that. Please, forgive me. Forgive me. Please. I love you. Don't ever think otherwise. I love you Emelija. I love you. I-"
Tears fell, I collapsed onto the floor, my mother being the only thing holding me up. My world had fallen. And it would never get back up.
. . . . . . .
It was beautifully horrid. Beautifully sad. Beautifully painful. And it hadn't even begun. I had expected more from my mother and my father's girlfriend. As they had planned the whole thing without asking me. Red? Seriously? You're all just fucking reminding us of the blood he spilled all over that field. You're all sick and demented and none of you deserve to be here. That's what I wanted to say. And I would've too, even though everyone thought of me as this sweet, perfect little angel. But the one thing holding me back. My father. No one bothered me. No one said a word. No one did anything as I walked over to the casket - the one that held little of my father's remains, but still some - and collapsed at it's side.
I cried and cried until all the tears were gone, and as soon as they were replenished I cried again. No one touched me. No one watched me. They all left me to cry next to my father's remains in peace.
. . . . . . .
"Emelija!" My mother yelled, stomping up the stairs to state her nasty attitude. "Emilija Praxis!" She yelled, bursting through my door. I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling the silky cloth of the dress I was supposed to put on hours ago. My mother growled."Get off that bed and get dressed right now, young lady. We're already late because of your uncouth attitude." She walked into my closet and picked out a pair of sparkly, strappy, midnight blue heels to go with the silky blue night-gown like dress on my bed.
"No." I muttered, closing my eyes solemnly. I could only imagine the expression on my mother's face. I had never told her no before. But then again, I had never lost my father before. Until now.
"What did you just say to me?"
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"You know damn well what I said." I sat up and mother's eyes grew to the size of golf balls.
"Do not swear at me, in this household, or ever! Do not tell me no! Do not lye on your bed and pretend that you are the only one grieving! We are all grieving, Emelija. All of us. But we are still living like normal people. Now, get up and let's go. I promised Lenny and Dylan that they'd meet you tonight, just like I promised your father that I'd take care of you. But if you don't get up and act like a normal person, those promises will be broken. Do you want me to break that promise. The one I made to your father?"
"I can take care of myself. And what about the promise you made when you married? Was that one just a toothpick on the floor? One wrong step and it would be broken forever?"
"Get up. And get dressed. I don't want to hear another word like that coming out of your mouth, understand?"
"No."
"Do I need to teach you again how to keep your mouth shut?"
"No. I won't get up. And no. I won't get dressed."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't want to."
"We all have things we don't want to do, Emelija. Deal with it."
"Go away."
"No."
"Go away!" I screamed, throwing a pillow at my mother. Instead of hitting her I hit my mirror, breaking it to bits as shards fell to the floor. My mother was stunned at my reaction.
"Fine. I'll take this the physical route." She said, pulling me by the arm off my bed. I just laid there on the floor, no intention of getting up. "Get up."
"No."
"Get up."
"Get out."
"Get up, Emelija! I'm warning you!"
"What are you going to do? Punch me?" She didn't answer, but I could tell that she wouldn't ever have the guts to. "That's what I thought. Now, if you excuse me..."
I stood up, ready to get back on my bed when I felt it. The hit. It wasn't a punch, but a slap. Right across my left cheek. I was partially in awe as I touched my cheek. It stung. But I was also scared. My mother would never hit me. But she did.
"Get out." She didn't listen. I looked up at her gray eyes and clenched my fists. "Get out!"
Tears stung her eyes, but I felt nothing but hatred for the woman. "Emelija. I'm so sorry..."
"Get out!" I yelled again. She backed up, a tear falling down her face.
"Emelija..." She was outside my door, staring at me, practically begging me to forgive her. I'd do no such thing. Ever.
Before I slammed the door I spoke my final words to her.
"I hate you. I wish you were the one who died."
. . . . . . .
I was on the roof when they pulled up. Lenny. My mother. Lenny's son, Dylan. They all noticed me. "Emelija!" My mother screamed as I stood. I wanted them to know, I wanted them all to know that I was the one who felt the most pain. I was suffering more than them. I needed to see him. I needed to be with him.
"Emelija!" She screamed again. As terrible as one could imagine, at least Lenny and Dylan wouldn't get too attached. They wouldn't feel the same pain I felt. They couldn't. They didn't know me.
"Emelija, please! Don't do this!" I didn't look down. Not at my fate, not at my mother. Not at any of them.
"Emelija!" Lenny and Dylan spoke, backing up my mother like they were her master.
I put one foot out in the open, over the ledge, as if to step on an imaginary staircase. One foot in front of the other. I leaned forward, taking my final step - the last step I needed to take to see my father again.
"Daddy." I murmured as I fell. "I love you."
. . . . . . .
They were married. I was supposed to make the toast. And I wasn't going to be given alcohol. What adult in my mother's world would give a fifteen-year old alcohol? A world where my mother was dead, that's what."Emelija! Thank God. We're ready for dinner, and you and Dylan are making the toast. Don't screw it up and don't be late."
"Sure. Whatever."
"Is that alcohol I smell?"
"I don't know what you talking about..." I slurred.
"You're drunk?" My mother gasped. "My fifteen year old daughter does not drink. What the hell has gotten into you?"
"What the hell has gotten into you? Swearing. Marrying some dick you meet... where again? I don't care. Talking about God in a non religious way? Wow... Where's that southern hospitality of yours, mother? It sure as hell ain't here. You must've left it with grandma back in 'Sweet Home Alabama.'"
"Let's pretend your sick then, shall we? You didn't want to toast anyway, right?"
"Hell, no. I'm toastin' and no one's gonna stop me. Not even you motha'fucka's."
My mother gasped at my language, but I had already entered the dining room so she couldn't pull me away. She sat down, nervous as ever as Dylan and I stood up.
"Tonight, two very special people got married. Two lovely, beautiful people sworn together in holy matrimony. Now, usually I'd have crazy stories to share about the groom and the same is said for the bride, but I mean telling you all those crazy stories would just be, well, crazy, since there are so many of them." Everyone laughed at Dylan's words, even my mother faked a smile and laugh for her guests. "But there is one story I'd like to share today, a story of a young woman who we hope to help by bringing love, light and happiness into this marriage. A few months ago, as you recall, the date of the wedding was postponed. No explanation, just postponed..."
Anger built up inside of me like never before. He was talking about my suicide attempt. Oh, he was fucking dead.
"I want to bring the situation into light, for the sake of our family, friends, and everyone around us. Six months ago, we had a situation run along where one beautiful young woman was going to take her own life to be with the person she loved most." Dylan turned to me, a sad smile on her face. "Emelija, I'm here for you. We're all here for you. You don't need to take your life. We've got you."
The anger just kept on building and building, and I kept on holding it in like a dam that was cracking. I just couldn't take it much longer. He had just told every person in the room about my suicide attempt. Every person from my life, my mother's, Lenny's, and even Dylan's now knew. He was going to pay. Big time.
Before I knew it, blood flew onto the table and my knuckles ached. Dylan was grasping the table, nose bleeding from my swift, fierce punch.
I didn't bother to say my goodbyes or hellos or toast. I just left. I left with Dylan bleeding from my punch, my mother scorning me with her eyes, Lenny scared that I'd beat his son half to death, and a room full of people who had just met the real me. The real, bitchy, Emelija Praxis.
. . . . . . .
"Emelija? You okay?" Dex asked me as soon as I snapped out of my trance. Dex had been too busy watching me go down memory lane to even bother putting his shirt on. For some unknown reason, I felt my cheeks warming and fresh tears forming in my eyes. I turned away from Dex's gaze and attempted to calm myself down, to stop myself from blushing and bawling at the same time."Yeah. Fine." I spoke. I began to take off Dex's soaking wet T-shirt I had put on that morning, remembering that I had lost his scarf in the lake. I didn't think he minded though, he seemed to not be bothered with it as long as we had survived. I hadn't noticed until the shirt was off that there had been a loose thread that got stuck on my bra clasp. I groaned.
"These shirts weren't made to be worn in the water. They shrink a little every time. That's why I barely wear one more than three times." Dex said, walking behind me to help. His fingers were warm as they touched my bare skin. I hated how much I loved it. We were friends. Best friends. Not lovers. He had even agreed with me on that topic. Then why did it feel so right, but so wrong at the same time?
Dex walked away from me, his fingers lifting off of my skin and never coming back.
"You should probably take your bra off too. It's soaking wet with the rest of your clothes." Dex didn't understand the mere awkwardness of me undressing. As much as I felt comfortable around him, things were changing. I was... scared. I had no one. Dex was there, but then he wasn't. Kind of like an animal. They understand you most of the time - the things that they understand about themselves they understand about you - but when you feel something different, something so... foreign they completely miss it. Mistake it for something else. It was confusing really. To both parties.
I grabbed my shirt and pulled it over my head, not bothering to put my arms through as I took off my bra and threw it aside into the pile of clothes we planned on burning after that day. The shirt was big in all the places I wasn't and short in all of the places I wanted to be covered. Sabia, despite her height being almost exactly the same has astoundingly long legs, large breasts, and a short torso. So the shirt, made for none other than Sabia, was loose fitting, but showed off every curve and muscle I had from my hip bone to the area right below my belly button.
I looked back to make sure Dex wasn't looking and sure enough he wasn't as I quickly and swiftly stripped the rest of my clothes - even my underwear - and replaced it with a new pair of panties and some loose sweatpants that even with the drawstring pulled tight, still showed more skin that I had intended.
Dex was already sliding into bed by the time I let my hair out of its wretched ponytail. I brushed my hair out carefully, untangling the knots simple, practiced brushes. Before I knew it my ratty hair went back into its natural form: silky, soft black-blue hair with light waves.
I slid into bed next to Dex since there was only one bed in the tiny room, and curled up near the edge, as far away as I could get from the awkwardness that was sleeping next to a boy. Even if he was my best friend.
"Don't hate me for this. Or kill me for it. Please." I heard Dex murmur drowsily. I rose a brow and was about to turn until I found Dex right at my back, the front of his body touching every inch of the back of mine, from every normal place to every frightening place. His arm - which I hadn't seen so muscular ever - wrapped itself around my waist, curling with my curves and pushing against my belly button piercing as if it were never there. If his position wasn't bad enough, the nuzzling of his face into my neck was worse.
With a deep breath, he seemed to calm down, and it wasn't until then that I remembered feeling him twitch as he helped me with the shirt-stuck-to-bra situation. Whatever was going on with Dex, me, or our relationship was going to have to wait anyway. Dex was asleep, and I was tired. Too tired to function anymore. So beside Dex, just like him, I fell into a deep, relaxing slumber.
I woke up to the sound of clashing and yelling. Pots and pans? Sabia?
I jolted into an upright position to see Dex still sleeping beside me, his arm lazily slung over me and the noise not bothering him in any sense. Without disturbing him, I slid out of bed, walking into the insanity of Sabia vs. a rat.
It ran around in circles, Sabia chasing its tail like a cat. Maybe she had been turned into a cat before. That made sense. She was chasing a rat and her eyes had this distinguish cat look.
"Ah, Emelija, good to see your awake. I was supposed to inform you and Dex to stay inside today. Friedrich is attempting to chat with your..."
"Ghost?"
"Sounds good to me. I never understood what he did anyway. The joy, the job, whatever went through his mind when he decided between human or supernatural. As long as he loves me, and I love him, that's all that matters, right?"
"I guess..."
"What am I saying. You're a mere child. You shouldn't get into this horror already."
"Are we talking about the Supernatural or love?" I asked, confused.
"Either or, really. I mean, they're pretty much the same. Love is as supernatural as Friedrich's job." There was a pregnant pause before Sabia spoke again. "Blasted rat. So how's Dex? Still asleep I presume."
"Damn, right. If he gets up in the next two hours it'll be a miracle."
"Got a night owl on your hands, huh?"
"Night owl. Yes. Especially when school is not in the picture."
"You two are, uh, best friends, right?"
"Yep. Going on ten years now. Crazy really to think we've known each other for that short period of time."
"Feels like forever. I know the feeling all too well. I had a best friend once, too."
"Really? Not to be creepy or weird, but you seem like the type."
"Yep. Miss Extrovert over here. But yes, I did have a best friend."
"What happened."
"Love. That's what happened. We fell in love. Head over heels. At the time I had sworn myself to only women. I had been sold illegally at the age of eight to become a slave for some English workers. As I grew up, became a woman, my duties changed. Sex slave should cross your mind about now. Anyway, I had sworn myself to only women, and then to my best friend. But then Friedrich came along. He was kind, soft, caring. The type of man every woman wanted. And he had chosen me out of everyone. Me. Can you believe it? A poor black woman who had been a sex slave earlier in her years and was sleeping with a woman. It's more complicated than that, I'm afraid, but details aren't my forte, if you couldn't already tell."
"That sounds awful. I'm terribly sorry."
"No need to apologize, dear. You have nothing to do with it. Yet."
"What do you mean 'yet?'"
"The supernatural is what broke my best friend and I apart. Friedrich was the supernatural. This ghost, the one that wants you dead, that's the supernatural. It will break you two apart forever. I can see your future. A future with you two together and happy. But not if you don't get out of here. I love Friedrich. I really do. But after all this time, I've come to miss my innocence. My life with Marie. Simple, careless and free. It's something that you won't experience if you follow this path. I know it's your choice, but I don't want you to make the wrong one. You can run, run away from this life, leave the town, head wherever you like. Or you can stay, and be forever locked up with the supernatural of this dreadful world."
I was silent. What was she getting at? Dex and I? Together? Running away from this town? Running away from everything? I just didn't seem right.
"Why? Why are you telling me this? Why do you care? You almost killed me yesterday."
"I'm telling you this because I see something inside of you, something that I recognize but can't pin down. I see certain parts of myself in you. Certain parts that lead me to believe the supernatural was for me. I don't want you making that decision. I know I almost killed you. And believe me when I say that I didn't want to do it. I knew better than to feed off of a young innocent girl, but you were the first thing I saw and my curse just led me to believe that you were my only meal I was getting in a long time. That was until Friedrich broke the curse."
"How? How did he do it?"
"That's a story for later. Right now, I need you to wake Dex up. We're moving to the next safe house."
Dex had fallen asleep again next to me. This time we were in the backseat of the car with Sabia driving. I could see a faint smile play off her lips as she looked back at us, followed by a depressed frown and a sad expression. Whatever she wanted me to get away from by running away with Dex had yet to be cleared up, which meant that convincing him was useless.
The car began to slow to a stop as Sabia pulled over onto the side of the road - which wasn't much of a road considering the tires were in dirt, weeds, and sticks.
"Shit." Sabia muttered, hitting the top of the steering wheel ever so weakly.
"What is it?" I asked. Dex slept like a log most of the time, which is why almost a hundred percent of the time, I had to drive (or walk) to his house to wake him up. Especially when we had no school that day.
"We're out of gas. We're going to have to walk." Sabia got out of the car, followed by me as I woke Dex up.
"What! What happened? Did I miss something?" I rolled my eyes at Dex's confused nature.
"Get out. We're walking."
"The safe house isn't to far from here, but we need to hurry. We shouldn't stay outside very long considering this is the woods and the supernatural seems to linger here." Sabia spoke. Dex shivered at her words, and I couldn't help but imagine all the creatures that could be watching us at that very moment.
We began to walk. Sabia leading the way, me following her, Dex trailing behind me. It was almost like kindergarten, how we were always told to line up by that bitchy, smart-ass student-teacher. Linda...
I shook the thought out of my mind and looked from side to side, grateful that it was light outside and not, well, dark. But as time went on and my feet started hurting as I felt every little rock beneath my beat-up Converse, the sky became darker. It was around noon that the rain began to fall.
I had loved rain since my fifth birthday, when my parents had thrown a party, inviting every little girl and boy around my age in the neighborhood to play outside and swim in our pool. It had started raining and lighting soon after it had gotten started, ruining the party with ease. Most little girls would've cried, and I did, just for a different reason. But the rain and lighting was my friend. That how I imagined it. And ever since then, I embraced that kind of weather almost like a security blanket for an odd reason.
A loud crashing sound knocked me out of my thoughts.
"Friedrich!" Sabia screamed, running away from us. It wasn't until she got there that I realized what was going on. The ghost. The In... whatever. It was back.
Friedrich - otherwise known as the crazy man - was thrown in a tree, hard. A broken branch skewered itself into him. Piercing his heart ever so easily. Blood was everywhere, even on Sabia. She screamed and cried, and I noted the ghost coming towards the two.
"Sabia!" I yelled trying to warn her. She looked back at me, fear and tears in her eyes. She ignored me, turning back to Friedrich. I couldn't see what was going on. But from the looks of it, he was telling her something. And then came the burst of light.
Sabia went flying through the air like she'd been hit, falling over us and landing on the car, breaking the windshield and denting it easily. My eyes were huge as I looked at her. I turned back to see what had happened, and hated it.
Friedrich, still skewered onto the tree had his hand out, steam rising from it and eyes glowing a blazing green. A single tear slid down his face as he moved his hand toward the ghost guy. Dex and I watched in horror as Friedrich and Leberecht destroyed each other.
I stumbled to the ground in mental pain and fear. What had we done?
The funeral service was beautiful and elegant, an image that reminded me how much I hated my father's, how much I wished this was my father's. In some aspects, that was.
No one came but us. Us three. Sabia, the only woman Friedrich loved, and Dex and I, the people who sent him straight to a coffin.
Ten minutes, no one moved. Thirty. Still the same. Hours came and we didn't budge.
It wasn't much of a service, but when it came to an end, Sabia collapsed, tears shedding harder than they had ever before, arms hugging the smooth, oak surface of the casket. I dropped my head and looked at Dex.
"You okay?" I asked solemnly. He laughed softly, letting a single tear be shed.
"No. No I'm not." I didn't say anything. "You're not either."
"I'm sorry, I just..."
"Don't like sharing your own feelings with other people. I know. I know you. But that doesn't mean that I can't tell what you're feeling just by looking at you." I didn't mean to have a surprised look on my face, but I did. I was surprised at his comment. "We've been best friends for ten years. I've seen you go through hell after hell, and yet you put a smile on your face and ignore it. I know the patterns, I know the symptoms, I know. You're the same way."
"What are you getting at?"
"I think we should take on this supernatural stuff. For Friedrich. For Sabia. For our race."
"How did you...?" I started, noting that Dex knew everything Sabia had told me.
"I only sleep like a log when I feel comfort. Without it, I can't sleep. You showed me that on that night. And plus, Sabia's pretty loud. Especially when she chases rats."
"What do you mean by 'supernatural stuff' then?"
"Friedrich worked for the SSGI. That a German base. Now who says that we don't have one?" Dex smiled, but I didn't know how to answer.
"Thank you." Sabia said as she walked up to us. "Thank you for helping me plan the funeral."
"It was our pleasure. But, I hope you don't mind me asking, why isn't he being buried in Germany?"
"Germany was the base of his operations. Florida was his home. Our home. He should be buried where it most counts, a resting place for him."
"That's sweet." I spoke.
"Have you made a decision?" She asked, changing the subject.
"Emelija? Your choice?" Dex said, looking at me. I swallowed.
"I'm sorry." I said, closing my eyes and looking at Sabia. "But we're doing this. For Friedrich. His death has taught me one thing, and one thing only. Balance doesn't exist. And it's our job to create it."
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