Status: Active.

Andy

A Gift.

We joke with one another as we cross street after street, each block bringing us closer to CC's apartment on upper Mainstreet.

It feels odd to be on such good terms with Ashley, and I find myself questioning a few times if he was possessed by some demon out there in the woods... Just one with far better manners and a sense of humor than him.

It reminds me of the night after I met Andy for the first time. We kept our distance from each other and were wary of one another's presence, but still we continued into town towards the school to dig up his time capsule from under the big tree behind the building.

"CC lives on the top floor," Andy tells us, nodding towards the highest windows above us as we walk up Mainstreet, most of the shops closed or dead except for the bar and cafe. "So we'll have to play by the rules, unfortunately."

"Can't you guys climb walls?" I wonder in confusion. Andy nods proudly, "We can... But ah, not with luggage, if you get what I mean."

"Right, no fatasses..." I nod along with him, seriousness coloring my tone.

He sighs and laughs under his breath "That's ah... Not quite the word I would have used."

"Nevertheless, let's get a move on." I nudge them forward, towing their elbows towards the tall, four-story brick apartment building that sits just at the end of the block, facing a big cinderblock wall across the way. Surprisingly, the thing wasn't affected by the flood at all, save for the pieces of litter stuck to the lower border of brick.

"What are we doing, then? We could go on up and Ash could come through the elevator, then one of us could 'ninja' our way in and let her inside." Andy suggests, looking over the building for more entryways. Adventures like these always end up being much more than they need to be, but also become quite memorable and fun to reflect upon. The funeral home, for instance... I was not informed prior to breaking and entering that we would be undoing some handsomely paid mortician's makeup and clothing choices, and then stand there in plain sight while he wheeled the coffin back from the viewing room to the fridge.

Maybe Andy's wake was earlier that day?... I never really thought about it until now. I mean, the mortician easily could have just done his makeup from the preparation room, unless there were still evening 'visiting hours' going on... I shudder at the thought of someone thinking that nine-thirty in the evening is a good time to drive to the funeral home and sit in the front row, staring at the chromium casket mere feet away with a sullen expression for fifteen minutes, then getting up and leaving without a second thought.

That reminds me of the following afternoon when it was time for the big reveal... The casket barrers carried it up on stage and set up the stand, and rested it on top, taking time to arrange the flowers around it in a big wreath. Everything was comfortable and light-hearted... Until they opened the lid and his parents leaned over for one glance at their son and saw what he had done to himself. Shocked? Yes... But also accepting of it after a few minutes once they were reminded that he was going to be buried in his natural state.

Ashley and Andy agree on a plan, and step up to the wall beneath CC's window.

"Here." Ashley hands me the plastic bag that contains the last few canisters of salt, then turns towards the wall, reaching towards the brick. He digs the fingers of his gloves into the crevices between the stone, and places one boot against the wall, adjusting his grip a bit before leaping up from the ground, holding on firmly to the rust colored stone.

"I'll go open the window." He mutters to us, preoccupied with his task.

Ashley crawls up the wall swiftly, never faltering as he reaches over his head again and again, gripping the grooves of the brick, tugging himself upwards towards the illuminated window on the top floor. Me and Andy take a few steps bac and look up at him. He climbs up onto the sill, still gripping the wooden frame as he peers in.

"I don't see him." Ashley calls down, "He's probably in a different room."

He leans back from the window, holding on with one hand, prying open the window with the other. Thanks to his ghostly abilities, he can get in without CC hearing so much as a squeak.

Ashley disappears into the apartment, leaving us alone for nearly twenty seconds before poking his head back out. "Andy, it's clear. He's in the shower. Ash can come up in the elevator."

He disappears again and Andy gets a wicked smile, and climbs the wall in the same fashion as Ashley.

Down below I am left behind - the boring mortal who cannot climb walls invisibly... Though, while I cannot do things like that, I have some fantastically weird talents like being able to invert my elbows around the front of my torso and jab people with them.

I wait a few moments for a signal from the window, but when none come, I take matters into my own hands and head into the lobby of the apartment building. Inside, it's lit up in warm, yellow light and feels much more comfortable than the bleak, prickly cold outside. The long wooden help desk to the right of the front door is vacant, so I can make my way to the elevator without being spotted and making folks suspicious.

It's basic knowledge that you see a kid under the age of eighteen roaming the streets at almost eleven-thirty at night, it can't be good.

I go to the elevator and hit the button, patiently rocking back and forth on my heels waiting for the doors to open. The elevator gets to the first floor and the doors glide open silently, a triangle of yellow light shining down on my face with calming jazz elevator music accompanying it.

I take my time getting in and pushing the button, assuming that Andy and Ashley have an elaborate plan to scare the shit out of CC, so I really don't need to be there right away.

Can't say that I've ever been on an elevator on my own before. The last time I used one was on one of our last adventures in California, sneaking out to do some breaking and entering and visiting the ocean... And there was that snooty business woman on the same ride as us, shooting judgey stares at us the entire time until we got to her floor.

The elevator glides up to a stop, and with a ding, the heavy metal doors slide open and I step out into the lush, carpeted halls of the top floor. CC talks a lot of crap about being poor, but judging from how pristine this place is, he's got it much better than most people.

Everything about the building makes you feel so invited and at home. I don't know if it's just the lighting or the strange combination of 50's music and the smell of vanilla candles drifting from under the other doors, but it feels comfortable.

I walk up the hallways a little ways before stopping and realizing that I have no clue what room CC is in. A glance at the others around me confirms that these apartments don't use nameplates. If it wasn't eleven thirty in the evening, I might consider knocking on one of the doors and asking where I can find the little scruff, but that may result in some angered faces answering the door with curlers in their hair.

I'm in the process of figuring out what action I am going to take, pacing the hallway with a 'thank you' bag full of salt canisters, when I hear a muffled shout of surprise nearby. Bingo.

I go to that door and knock three times, and am greeted by Ashley. He holds the door open and gestures inwards. I walk in warily, the plastic bag brushing against my leg as I go. The inside of CC's apartment is just as cheerful as the rest, except a bit messier.

I walk down the short hall and peek around a wall into the living room, where a Christmas film is playing on the TV and CC is on the floor, just about hogtied.

"I thought you two were just going to scare him?" I frown down at the man. Although his hands are tied behind his back with what looks like the belt of a bathrobe, he's still laughing and grinning, obviously he wasn't expecting a visit this late in the evening, much less a surprise visit.

Andy stands nearby, chuckling.

"I'm sorry I missed it." I nod towards the overturned end table and cigarette butts strewn across the living room floor. It looks like they snatched him coming out of the bathroom.

"You're the last bunch of people I expected to see... Can you untie me?" CC scoots around the the floor, turning with his back towards me.

I laugh and go towards him, crouching behind him, working to undo the handy work of thing one and thing two.

"Yeah, well, they weren't supposed to tie you up." I shoot a playful glare up and Andy, and attend to CC. "Nevertheless, it's quite an enterance, isn't it?"

I pull his hands free and toss aside the rope. CC stands up, rubbing his wrists. "I'll say..."

We all stand up in silence, and CC is the first to break it. "Alright, not that I'm not happy to see you all... Just why?" He hedges, dropping his arms back to his sides, and his eyes drift to the bag on the floor, the contents visible through the thin plastic. "And why are you here with a bunch of salt? Are we doing an exorcism?"

"Yes and no." Ashley responds, "the salt is for us, you're just a stop along the way."

"Wow, thanks." CC replies with flat sarcasm in his voice, narrowing his eyes at him.

"We weren't done hanging out so we came here. You're not a burden." Andy rolls his eyes, walking towards the big, puffy recliner by the slightly open window, plopping down in it, kicking his feet up leisurely.

"You're great at making people feel better, truly." CC mumbles sarcastically. "That doesn't really answer my question, what brings you here?"

"We got demons after us and Ash's house isn't safe." Ashley responds bluntly.

"So you bring the demons here? Thanks, just the pet I always wanted." CC narrows his eyes at him.

"We didn't bring you any demons." I assure him. "We just came to hang out with you because you're cool, special, and we missed you."

CC gasps, and makes an exaggerated gesture towards me with both hands. "Take notes! Ash knows how to make people feel better! You two were here for less than five minutes and convinced me the world was ending and it was time to opt out."

I look at his interesting attire while he rants, noticing his obnoxiously colored Seasame Street pajama pants.

"Where did you get those?"

He stops speaking and looks down in confusion, then gets a big, excited smile. "Oh these? Found them on clearance at Walmart."

"And you bought them?" Ashley raises an eyebrow judgingly.

"Of course," CC sneers, "is that okay with you Mr. Biker-dude Ashley Purdy?"

Ashley cracks a smirk and shrugs, leaning against the living room wall.

"Let me ask you guys a question now... What's with all the salt?"

"We have to make a salt perimeter around my house to keep what's in the woods at bay."

"Wait, in the woods? You mean those spooky remains we came across out there?"

Andy nods solemnly.

"I told you two we shouldn't be playing around with that stuff! Did I not tell you both that we shouldn't play around with it? But nooo," He sneers with a high pitched mocking voice, "no, we had to keep walking deeper into those creepy, probably cursed trees searching for spirits and now congratulations! You have demons attached to you."

He slumps into the lumpy brown couch across the room, his eyes growing distant and gloomy. "Your world is so fucked up." He chuckles darkly. "Things were so much easier before."

"Yeah, it is." Andy agrees with a slow nod, "And it's only getting weirder. When you're alive, you know stuff like this is going on all around you, you know it's there... But because you can't see it and how terrible it all truly is, you're content with it. Though once you can see beneath the ice, so to speak, and see everything you could not before, it puts you in a numb sense of mind thinking through every time you thought you were being watched or thought someone touched you."

His words bring a cold reality with them, and I think back to all the times I would be walking down the school halls in a hurry and feel a tug on my hair, but no one was close enough to have done it... Or times when I was younger and could have sworn I heard someone calling for me downstairs, but when I'd go to investigate, no one had been calling.

"How much different is things?" CC asks, "we never fully talked about things before... Because Ashley went into rage mode and turned everyone against each other." He shoots a glance at Ashley, who doesn't seem to react to his words.

"At this point, it'd take more than an evening to explain everything." Andy sighs, puffing out his cheeks in thought. "All I am really sure of now, is that I am Ash's official guardian and that I am dead." He laughs bit, but it sounds nervous. There is nothing else in his world that is guranteed.

For being my guardian, he sure doesn't take my word on things much... I can't expect him to be perfect at his job, but I wish he'd be more open minded, as well. For the time being, Ashley is a pretty decent person. He's actually been joking around and being more lighthearted - something completely foreign for the one I met in California a few weeks ago.

"So do we still have plans this weekend?" I offer, changing the subject since it's making the atmosphere feel heavy. "Jinxx said that you were thinking of going to Talia Lake."

"Ha ha, yeah. Weather permitting, of course, but right now it looks like it's supposed to be pretty warm. Maybe not swimming weather, but definitely nicer than usual. Are you guys up for it?"

"I am." I nod, "Are Jake and Jinxx coming to?"

"I'd assume Jinxx is - I don't know about Jake, though, so I'll have to check in with him. What about you two?"

Andy agrees to the invitation almost immediately, and Ashley agrees after a moment of hesitation. "Okay, I'm in."

"I was thinking of doing a picnic, at least for those of us who eat." he has to poke at them playfully, of course. Andy cracks a grin anyways. "Hey, I still eat."

"Allow me to rephrase: For those of us who need to eat. Leisure eating does not count."

"Yeah, it does." Ashley defends it, actually joking around. I look at him, and to his hands... Still gloved up, still concealing evidence. I look down before he notices me watching him and it blows my cover.

I do trust him for the most part... It might be a big of forced trust, but it's all I can offer at the moment.

"Yeah, well, all the same." Andy waves his hand dismissively.

"Why does this conversation remind me of high school so much?" Ashley asks, looking at his former schoolmates with a crooked grin. "we used to bicker so much over irrelevent stuff that shouldn't have been a big deal, but we made a big deal because we were all so stubborn."

"I don't know what you're talking about," CC says snootily, sticking his nose in the air. "I'm still stubborn."

"Clearly." Andy deadpans, looking to his friend from the chair so poofy it looked like it was trying to suck him into the folds of the coushions.

"Remember how we got into that three day argument over rubber Halloween rats?..." CC asks, looking back on the memory fondly.

"Rubber Halloween rats?" I wonder in confusion, causing CC to grin. "They never told you this story?"

I glance at Andy, spotting the hint of uncertainty in his expression.

"...No.... Go on."

"Okay, so - " CC takes a deep breath like a dramatic valley girl about to recitre the latest gossip on a girl she doesn't like. "It was October, 2004, and Andy was fourteen and had been here for what? A year? I think you may have just moved here, or it was around that time - anyways!"

Another long, dramatic pause, and Andy looked ready for the couch to eat him. Embarrassed dread all over his face knowing that the story CC was going to share was about to cause him a lot of problems.

"All the Halloween decorations were in store, and you know how when you first walk into Target, they have the Halloween aisle right there? Well, myself, Ashley and Andy went to Target to goof around and skip school because we were cool rebels like that... Well, we were poking around the Halloween aisle, and we find one of those rubber rats with the crappily painted beady red eyes and long yellow teeth and claws, and immediately, Andy is kinda freaked out by it."

Andy's lips are pressed into a firm, thin line at this point.

"So Ashley's screwing around with it, making rat jokes as you do when you've got a rubber rat, and Andy gets so annoyed that he goes to grab the rat from him... Well it was no ordinary rubber rat. It was one of those ones that they fill full of the tiny, sand-like plastic beads to make them feel squishy. So, when he grabs this rat from Ashley and they're both pulling on it, what happens?"

"It splits." Ashley elaborates with a distant look on his face, amusement hidden in his slightly raised lips.

"It splits," CC repeats with a gesture of his hand for the sake of storytelling. "And I mean, those damn little beads went everywhere. they were like sand, so they were getting stuck to everything, bouncing under the shelves, sticking to the cart wheels going by and ah, it was a mess... Well, Andy realizes at this point that they managed to rip off the damn tail."

"And Jake, being the good friend that he is now... We didn't know who he was at the time, we had seen him at school, but never spoken to him... He was there when it happened and he came over, and told Andy not to let any employees see him with the broken rat, and it's bad luck to leave the tail, so... He tells him that he has to keep the tail." Ashley fills in the story a bit.

"Jake made him keep the tail of the broken rubber rat?" I laugh in disbelief, trying to invision the scene of a gullible fourteen year-old panicking because someone came up and told him that he'd be in a lot of trouble.

"So he panicks and pockets the broken rat, and we beat it out of there after that. I think Ashley kicked it under the shelf afterwards."

"I did." he confirms.

"So we all go our seperate ways and go home... And Andy takes home his broken rat tail, drowning in guilt knowing some employee is going to find it, and somehow figure out that it was him who broke it. So he keeps the rat tail on him, and the following morning at school, he comes to us to tell us all the bad shit that happened to him since the rat broke, speaking of it animatedly like it was real and he was cursed. Poor gullible kid."

i look over at Andy, who now refuses to make eye contact with anyone in the room, just looking down at him tattooed arms crossed tightly across his chest in embarrassment.

"That's when Jake turns up and tells me and Ashley to play along with it and pretend that it's all real, so we did, and it drove him mad in a matter of days. He blamed every failed test and change of weather on that rat tail."

Andy is biting on his lower lip in agitation.

"And it went on for about a week. Every morning he'd tell us more things that had happened and then started to go straight to blaming Ashley for his misfortune."

"Yeah, I remember that." Ashley's eyes look vacant as he speaks, "He wanted to blame me so badly for his bad luck, it was hilarious."

"And come the end of the week, he's so pissed at the both of us, having found every possible reason he can to hate us both... That's when Jake turns up and lets him in on a little secret... Telling him about the crucial detais he missed in his paranoia... It wasn't real, no one cared about the incident but him, and, truth be told, tons of people break stuff in stores every day and carry on with their lives with no curses."

"Why do you have to tell this story?" Andy mumbles, pulling up his knees from the footrest to his chest where he hugs them half heartedly, looking embarrassed and ready to go home. "I was fourteen."

"And extremely gullible." Ashley adds with a nod. "Definitely was not the last time you fell for some little urban legend someone told you."

He glares at them both threateningly. I laugh, pleased to hear some embarrassing tales about him. I've already told him a few about myself while he remans mysterious and cool, acting as though he has never done anything embarassing. It sure is good to have friends who knew him before.

"Alright, alright, no more picking on poor, defenseless, little Andy." CC says seriously, then grinning over at him.

IIt would be a long night for Andy.

~~~


Morning comes and I a caught up in a whirlwind of trying to get all my stuff together for school. We got back from CC's last night a little after two in the morning and I missed my first alarm this morning.

"We have to swing by the supermarket today, too.... And after school, we will swing by the church up the street from my house and grab the holy water. I got two empty jugs we can fill." I tell Andy as I shrug into my pale grey zip up hoodie and tie the laces on my brown hiking boots.

"Got it." He nods in confirmation, then frowns a bit. "Do you think that woman will be there today? With the book?"

"For our sake, she had better be." I sigh, "because right now, googling witchcraft blogs on Google isn't what we need to survive this.

He nods slowly in agreement, then perks up a bit. "Did Juliet text you back?"

"I don't know, let me check."

I scoop my phone off the mattress and power it on. Once we got home last night, we just crashed. Not only were we all emotionally drained, but Andy and Ashley had to entertain a bit of an audience yesterday, and that drains them faster than anything.

I scroll through my messages and see that the thread from Juliet has been updated.

"She has," I say, tapping the message.

"What did she say?"

I scan over the message quickly and relay it to him. "She said she's got a friend who can help her get into your old apartment and retrieve the jar - assuming it's still there - and she'll ship it to us. In the meantime, she says to keep doing what we're doing and she'll keep in touch."

He nods, and leans further back in the reclining pink plush chair that is far too small for his tall, spindley frame.

"Sounds like we've got a plan for the moment... What else do you think we'll have to collect for the jars?"

"As many articles of ourselves as we can add, and a bunch of nasties, such as broken glass, nails, needles and who knows what else... I suppose we'll get the full list this afternoon. Should we pick it up on the way to school?"

"Will she be there?"

"Should be." I nod slowly, getting up from the bed to round up my discarded school supples from when I had to borrow my bakcpack for a midnight salt run. It keeps my mind busy for a few minutes while I Tetris-stack my textbooks, notebooks, pencils and other items into the small space.

"Ash, the school bus is here! If you're riding today you need to get moving." my mother's voice comes up the stairwell, and is muted by the door.

"Okay!" I shout back, already knowing that we will not be riding the bus to school because we have some other bizzare things to attend to before the first bell.

"Ready?"

"Yep."

He pushes up from the chair and readjusts his ripped band shirt, and out the door we go.

"Want to collect Sleeping Beauty?" I nod towards Ashley's door and head for the stairs. "I'll grab the jugs from the kitchen, meet me at the corner of the block, it's just out of sight from my house so my Mom won't see that we are going the wrong way."

He nods in agreement and we go our seperate ways. I jog down the steps and slink into the kitchen, hearing my Mother speaking on the phone in the living room. Perfect.

I spot the two empty plastic milk jugs on the counter and check to make sure they are both completely clean. We don't want to go to all this work collecting holy water to have it tainted by the droplets of sour milk stuck to the bottom of the jugs. I frown in disgust and shove both of the narrow bottles into the remaining spots in my backpack. I'd have to sacriface another textbook once I get to school to fit the new book we'd be collecting on the way.

I call out a goodbye to my mother and head outside, pausing momentarily to take in the clear blue sky above my head, promising a good day ahead.

The front door of my house opens and closes as I start heading north, towards the first intersection that will take us to the grocery store. I glance back just to be sure that it is them, and sure enough, there they both are, bickering quietly, making their way towards me.

I wait for them to catch up, and onwards we go.

"What if that lady isn't there?" Ashley frets with a furrowed brow, "we don't have a lot of other options."

"Well, if she falls through, hopefully Juliet can help us."

"I don't know," Andy admits, uncertainty in his voice. "She's more of your average carnival fortune teller, not a wiccan or pagen. She knows about this stuff, sure, but I cannot gurantee that she has advanced experience with what we're about to do."

"We're ripping up pieces of ourselves and stuffing it into a jar. What could really go wrong?" Ashley deadpans, and glares ahead in deep thought.

There is still the possibility that we fail, or do not complete the jars correctly. If that happens, we could end up endangering everyone that we know. Those things in the woods won't stop at us, especially not after they see the world of havoc waiting in front of them.. Of coursethey will jump on the opportunity to cause chaos.

What would happen afterwards? Where will we be in five months from now, once all of this is hopefully behind us. Defeating the spirits doesn't change the other troubling factors in our lives... There's still the problem with me and Andy - two people never meant to be together because we stand on opposing ends of the scale of life. We live in two different demensions and one of us bears skin and other other is pure spirit.

It's something I've avoided thinking about for the most part. I don't want to think about what will happen in the end when our desires are different and I want things he cannot give me without destroying himself. I would want kids and a family, and to ultimately be married to him, and being married is fine,but I want to be able to show him to people and be proud. I don't want to keep him in a closet when guests come over and my family asks why I've never met anybody.

We're getting closer to the grocery store, just another two blocks or so and we will be at our destination.

Andy and Ashley kept conversation going almost the entire walk, but I opted to stay out of it and stay quiet, succumbing to my thoughts and worries.

. If you had told me a month and a half ago that in the near future I would be walking around town with two ghosts, looking for a spell book and two jars worth of holy water, I would have never believed you.

It is almost the end of May - thank God. We'll be closer to summer and soon enough school will be out. Prom is next Wednesday, and beyond that if construction work here does not work out for my Dad, we'll be on our way to California, which is a good thin now, I suppose... Because if we should fail warding off the spirits, the least we could do is run away from them, but that aso leaves all those people left to face it alone, but I cannot save everyone. Between the three of us we can't save an entire town.

We cut acroos the parking lot and walk towards the sliding glass doors of the grocery store. Once inside, we milled around the shelves near the front door for a few minutes, trying to see if she was working today without being ultra obvious that we did not come for the aisles of bread, cereal and vegan food.

"There she is." Andy tugs both our sleeves and nods towards the door towards the back end of the grocery store. where she emerges from the employee lounge.She spots us there almost immediately waves, and turns back towards the employee lounge with more urgency.

"Well, shit, She left us." Ashley breathes in unenthusiastic sarcasm.

She comes back a moment later holding a neat little beige colored parcel. Once she gets closer, it becomes clearer that it is a book wrapped tightly in a brown paper bag, tied shut with brown twine.

She sets it into my palms without a greeting, and it is much heavier than I expected. She looks each of us in the eye firmly before speaking.

"Do not open this until you get where you're going to contruct the jars. Pick a room in your home, bless it first, and then open it. This book is a conduit for good and bad energy, and like a magnet, it will pick up anything near it. Do not remove the book from the blassed room until the jars are complete. Do not take it to other rooms. Treat it with respect and it will treat you with respect. Any other questions?"

"Do you want it back when we are done?"

"No." She responds firmly, "And it's not out of the kindness of my heart. I simply cannot take it back afterwards. You own the book, you control the book. Anything else?"

"Can we come to you if we fuck it up?"

"No." She shakes her head, looking warily at the brown-wrapped package in my hands. "I don't want any part of what you kids are up to. I'll ust p;ray that it's in everyone's best interest."

She pats my hand and excuses herself from the conversation, stopping in her tracks a few feet away, turning towards us halfheartedly. "Please be careful."

She walks towards the register without another word. I frown at the book in my hands and go after her. By the time we get to her, she is stepping into her booth, typing in something on the computer. I drop the book onto the counter in front of her and look at her. She looks up at me, startled and irritated.

"You can't ust give me a cursed book and leave it at that."

"I've done my part." She snaps at me, "It's up to you not to mess it up now. I've provided you with the necessary tools to complete your task, but I can do no more. I am sorry."

"Hey lady, we need specifics." Ashley snaps at her, leaning over the counter, glaring daggers into her.

"I already gave you what I could and you three should be damn happy I did anything for you at all. Now leave before I have security deal with you."

Ashley grits his teeth and I start to worry that the angered flicker in his eyes will turn into something much worse. Luckily Andy slaps his hand on his shoulder and gives him a serious look. "Ashley, it's fine." He puts some effort into peeling Ashley back off the counter, planting himself between him and the woman.

"Ma'am, we are apprecitive of your help. Thank you. We'll be going now."

He grabs onto both of us and tows us out of the store, pausing at the end of the checkout to swipe the cursed book off the counter and nudging us out.

"You two are ridiculous." He heaves an irritated sigh once we get out the sliding doors and are standing in the crisp, early morning air. "We got the book, it's all we need. We don't need to interrogate little old women to solve our problem, alright?"

"I'm just stressed that this won't work." Ashley mutters, fishing a Zippo lghter and a crushed pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket.

"So am I,, but we need to keep clear heads. Getting stressed over it will make us sloppy and that is the last thing we need. We've got the book, and we are damn lucky she brought it and even luckier that she didn't try to take it back after you two tried to get 'good cop bad cop' on her. Now, one thing at a time, let's just get Ash to school, get the holy water afterwards, and start our assembly toight. We're gonna get it done."

He nods two us both in determination, then nods towards the road. "Don't want to be late, just makes more problems, right?"

I nod and we start going. I feel kinda sullen and maybe even disappoited and scared. If we do mess it up, there is no going back and no one to go to to fix our problems. She has cut us off, and now if probably a bit irritated with us now. Last thing we need right now is more enemies.

~~~


We arrive to school as stylishly as we can manage - which is actually just me tripping over my own boots on fat ground with no provoction.

"Elizabeth was hoping that we could arrange a meeting." I say to Andy as we close in distance on the school. I glance over at him, and he's still holding the paper bound book in his hands. I offered to carry it in my backpack, but he said he'd handle it since he has unlimited 'on person' storage.

"Really? With who?"

I send him a pointed look.

"Me? No way, no one outside our circle should see me this way."

"Elizabeth is in my circle." I remind him.

"Uh, have you forgotten how many times she's tried to sell you out to that alcoholic fucking principle? I don't think that she is a good person to confide so much in."

"She's Reece's puppet when he's around, but when he's not, she is her old self."

"Doesn't sound like you and her old self were very good friends, either." he pushes, trying to be reasonable.

"I have a better feeling about her now." I admit, shrugging a bit. "I hope I'm right."

He sighs and falls silent for a few moments before concluding his decision. "How about we get this demon nonsense out of the way, first? And then we'll worry about Elizbeth. Sound fair?"

I nod in agreement, pullng open the door, trying to justify my talking to myself by making vocal notes for myself, but all the concerned, weirded-out looks from my peers told me that I did not sell many of them. I'm just Ash, the insane girl in their eyes.

"I was thinking that we should probably go out tonight and collect... Ashley's things."

"What do you mean?" I whisper under my breath.

"We're gonna have to dig him up." He frowns in disgust, gritting his teeth.

I look over my shoulder and see Ashley lingering a few steps behind us, oblivious to our conversation.

"He's not a fan of that idea."

"I know he's not... I'm not sure how to sell him on it, either. To be honest, I-" He stops and swallows, looking down the hall "There's your friends, go hang with them. I'll catch you in class."

I don't have time to respond. He plants a kiss on my temple and is gone, marching back the way we'd come into the crowd, Ashley in tow. I question briefly what his plans are specifically, but before I can think about it too much, I'm being wrapped in a tight, longing hug.

I jump at the sudden interaction and realize that it is just Elizabeth and Mark behind her. She grins and me "Hey you." She says, and is about to say more until Reece splits the crowd and grabs onto her arm. "Come with me." He sings calmly, peeling her away from us. I look at her face for a sign that she wants help, but she just rolls her eyes and walks away with him.

"God I'd love to deck that guy in the fucking face." Mark shakes his head in disgust. "Guess I'd better get to my first class. Catch you at lunch?"

"Yeah." I nod, taking two awkward steps backwards before turning away and going across the hall to my first class. So many things are coming together from opposing roads and I'm having a terrible time fightng them all and defending myself against the onslaught of nonsense.