《A Family Affair》


 Prologue

    Footsteps. That unmistakable sound of impending capture reached the ears of a middle-aged man crouched on the balls of his feet with his back to a ragged brick wall. His legs exploded with power as he leapt to his feet. The rough red brick tore into his flesh as he ran to the window at the far end of the room. The muffled sounds of shouting men grew louder. Bang! A bullet missed the man by mere inches to his left, striking the red brick wall next to the window in a shower of shattered masonry.


    The world slowed down, it seemed. He stared at the ground; the ground fifteen feet below stared right back. He crashed through the glass, and the ground rushed up to meet him. The man rolled forward to break the hard fall. As soon as he was on his feet again, he ran. The tree line was but a few hundred feet away, and he was sure he could make it. Bang! A sharp pain echoed through his right arm, rendering it useless. He kept running.


    Nothing except fear crossed his mind. Those men, those hounds, they would track him until his execution day. Their noses never lied¡ª¡ªthey would find him. The man finally reached the safety and cover of the trees. He felt tired. Maybe from running, maybe from his wounded right arm, he didn¡¯t know. He didn¡¯t care. He knew he needed medical attention, and now.


    With those hounds looking for him, he knew it wasn¡¯t safe to venture out in the open for a while. The woods grew darker and thicker with each passing second the man kept moving. He could feel the blood snaking its way down his arm and dripping from the limp limb. Branches smacked his face in the impenetrable darkness he found himself in. Somewhere to his east was a road; but which way was east? Where was anything for that matter? He could only see a few feet in front of his face, and for all he knew, he might be running in a circle. He was lost¡ª¡ªa sitting duck, an easy target.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The man took a sharp right turn, hoping the road was that way. Several minutes of rushing through the forest yielded nothing more than a small clearing in the brush. The man paused. Looking up, he saw the moon¡¯s light dancing on the trees. It gave the leaves an unearthly white glow. Red drops continued to fall from his motionless arm. The red drops splattered the rocks below. Bang!


    The man fell forward onto his face. His breathing became ragged and painful almost immediately. Blood swelled and ran in a torrent down his back and sides. His body felt numb, and he could no longer think. He could only feel himself slipping away. The extreme pain was the only feeling strong enough to break through the dull and senseless world around him. The moonlight suddenly darkened. One of the hounds stood above him.


    ¡°You fuckin¡¯ missed!¡± It shouted. ¡°The son-of-a-bitch is still alive. I¡¯ll take care of it though. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t miss.¡±


    The sound of something being moved reached the man¡¯s ears. A click rang through his ears for an eternity. Bang!

 Chapter 1 [Johnny]

    I


    ¡°Johnny!¡± A voice yelled from downstairs. ¡°Get up! You¡¯re going to miss school again!¡±


    The smell of frying eggs wafted up through the air to Johnny¡¯s nose. He sat up and yawned loudly. The clock next to his bed read seven in the morning.


    Oh shit! Five minutes before the bus is here. Fuckin¡¯ homework ain¡¯t done either.


    Johnny felt a pit form in his stomach as he thought about what his aunt might say. He rushed to put his clothes on and raced down the stairs. A bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwich was waiting for him on the table. He threw his backpack onto his shoulders and grabbed the sandwich. Johnny slammed the door on the way to the bus stop. The big yellow monstrosity was there to greet him upon his arrival.


    ¡°Hey Johnny, nearly left ya there. Be on time tomorrow¡­¡± The driver said trailing off to a mumble. ¡°Not that ya¡¯d ever be early.¡±


    The bus ride was not very long, but it afforded Johnny the time he needed to finish his homework. By the time he¡¯d finished, the bus had already arrived at school. The students filed out of the bus. Johnny followed. He had always hated high school. The teachers and the other students had always made him feel stupid.


    The day was boring. It didn¡¯t matter that the early fall weather beckoned Johnny outside. No, he was stuck in that god-forsaken rat-hole called ¡°high school¡± for the rest of the fuckin¡¯ day.


    His mind inevitably turned to the entrance exam in a couple weeks. It was the only test that really mattered this year. If he didn¡¯t do well, he knew that he was in for it. His aunt may not be married, but she sure made up for the missing parent. He had been beaten many times for not having good enough grades. He didn¡¯t really care though. School wasn¡¯t his thing. He¡¯d rather do what he liked and be happy; but no, things just couldn¡¯t be that way. Anger welled up inside of him at thought.


    His tense anger faded to boredom fairly quickly, and he laid his head on his arm. A dream from just before he got up that morning crept slowly into his mind. Piece by piece it came back to him. He¡¯d forgotten he¡¯d even had the dream. There was a man in it. Yes, a man; and he was being chased by some people. Johnny didn¡¯t remember much else, save for the bit about the man dying at the end. It interested him for the rest of the period, after which he forgot all about it.


    II


    The remainder of the day passed by rather quickly, and Johnny found himself where he always did: on the couch with a game controller in his hands. Johnny clicked away his afternoon. Dinnertime was upon him before he knew it. He sat at the table and dug in.


    ¡°So Johnny,¡± asked his aunt, ¡°how was school?¡±


    ¡°Sucked.¡± Johnny said with food stuffing his mouth.


    ¡°Your manners Johnny!¡± She said, smacking his face.


    ¡°Sorry Auntie.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s the studying coming? You have that entrance exam in a few weeks, are you ready?¡±


    Johnny groaned. ¡°No Auntie, I¡¯m not. I can¡¯t even study with you being up my ass all the fuckin¡¯ time.¡±


    His aunt stood up and slapped him again. Johnny stormed out of the room and back up the stairs to his room. He slammed the door loudly, making sure he locked it.


    God. I fuckin¡¯ hate when that bitch pushes me around! I wanna do it my fuckin¡¯ way! Fuck this shit!


    I can help you pass that test, a deep voice said in his head¡ª¡ªa voice that was alien.


    Who the fuck are you?! Johnny screamed into his brain.


    All in due time my boy, it said. As I said before, I can help you pass that test. What do you say?


    Fuck no! I ain¡¯t crazy! Get out of my fuckin¡¯ head!


    Fine. But if you need me, you know what to do.


    The presence left Johnny¡¯s conscience.


    What the hell is going on?! Thought Johnny, his head beginning to hurt.


    Unable to find an answer, Johnny went on to his homework. Two minutes of frustration later, he just gave up and played a violent game on his TV. He went to sleep early, forgoing the usual and habitual ritual of brushing, washing, and pissing. His dreams were very troubled that night.


    III


    Studying took up most of his time for the next couple weeks, and all thoughts about the voice emptied from his mind. The day of the test arrived long before Johnny was ready. The red and gold leaves of early fall had begun to, well, fall. Johnny wanted to be outside. If he did well on the test then he could, so his aunt said. Today was the big testing day, and everyone had exams. It was the big one too, not a measly school exam, but the college entrance test. Johnny was nervous and very wound up.


    He made sure his pencils were well sharpened, and went over some of the information in his head. Johnny knew it would be hard, but all of the waiting around just made him all the more antsy. Even though he saw his friends, he couldn¡¯t talk to them. Not now. Not when this test was hanging over his head. After it was over, he might try to go to one of their houses. For now though, it was time to go. He heard the proctor assigning the rooms call his name.


    The room, his hell for the next three or four hours, was institution white. Chairs neatly aligned in rows, just far enough away that cheating would be impossible, but close enough to fit the maximum number of students. His seat was in the very front of the room, exactly where he hated to be. The tests were handed out face down. They were a lot thicker than Johnny had expected, and he felt the pit in his stomach growing by the minute. Any longer and the pit might start sprouting.


    Please be a fuckin¡¯ easy test. I need to do this shit to get into college, or Auntie is gonna fuckin¡¯ kill me!


    The test began with a short essay. This was the part he dreaded the most¡ª¡ªhe hated English with a passion. He didn¡¯t know what to write, so he just wrote down anything that might get him points. He figured that, at least, he¡¯d get some points if he wrote a couple sentences. He knew the system: no pencil marks means no credit whatsoever. The next section was reading, equally bad for Johnny. He liked reading a bit more than writing; so at the very least he didn''t have to think as much. That suited him just fine.


    I don¡¯t fuckin¡¯ get this shit! He yelled in his head, pulling some of his hair out in the process. I wish I could do it like those fuckin¡¯ smart kids always do. God, I hate them so fuckin¡¯ much!


    I can help you.


    It was the same deep voice as before.


    You again! What the hell do you want?! Johnny thought in frustration.


    I want to help you; I want to ace the rest of this exam for you.


    Fine, just do it. Just fuckin¡¯ do it ¡®cause I can¡¯t take it anymore!


    Johnny felt an extremely sharp pain in his head. Something was intruding into his consciousness. All these ideas, all these memories, all of this knowledge flooded his mind in an instant. He looked at the page in front of him. There were only five minutes remaining in the section. The words all made sense now. He finished just in time, but he finished. The answers were right¡ª¡ªJohnny knew they were right. But how did he know? It was as if a thousand years of knowledge and memories had been accrued in a mere instant. The thought puzzled him for a moment but the next section began. He didn¡¯t have time to think about it now, there was a test to finish.


    The rest of the test was a breeze for Johnny. He finished each section quickly and accurately, something he¡¯d never been able to do before. The test was the last thing on his mind as he left the building. He saw one of his friends out of the corner of his eye, but paid him no attention. Going to a friend¡¯s house was out of the question. Johnny¡¯s head hurt like hell, and he felt strangely exhausted.


    IV


    Johnny arrived home about thirty minutes later. His aunt had lunch waiting for him.


    ¡°How did the exam go Johnny?¡± She asked.


    Johnny grunted and slowly walked away.


    ¡°Did the test go badly?¡± His aunt asked him as he walked up the stairs. ¡°Johnny! Don¡¯t walk away from me like that, boy?¡±


    Johnny locked his door in a hurry, just in case. She would be pissed when he went down later, but he didn¡¯t care. He had his escape. The controller fit snugly into his hands. Johnny played games for the rest of the afternoon. By the time evening came, he felt hunger gnawing through his gut. He didn¡¯t care though, there would be time for that later. The one thing he did need to do was piss. The bathroom was down the hall to the right.


    The porcelain goddess sat next to the sink, and above the sink a mirror hung like a painting. The mirror was a large square of reflecting glass that Johnny remembered buying a few years back. The previous occupant of that spot had been an ornate oval mirror. It met its sticky end one day after he fought with his aunt.


    Glancing into the mirror while pissing, Johnny saw his reflection. He needed to shave badly, but something above his prickly chin stuck out like a sore thumb. His eyes were no longer the light blue they had been his entire life, but were dark brown, almost black. Johnny¡¯s heart skipped a few beats. His pulse quickened, and he ran back into his room.


    What the fuck is going on?! Why the hell are my eyes brown? What crazy fucking disease do I have? What the fuck is wro¡ª!


    It has begun! The voice in his head exclaimed, laughing.


    What the fuck did you do to me you fuckin¡¯ asshole?!


    Hey, watch your language Johnny. After all, I helped you pass the test.


    Then why the fuck are my eyes brown?!


    Your eyes? It said incredulously, I beg to differ. Those are my eyes.


    WHAT?! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!


    Calm down Johnny. I¡¯m only here to help.


    HELP?! YOU CALL THIS HELP?! I WANT MY FUCKIN¡¯ EYES BACK!


    I¡¯m sorry Johnny, my boy. That was part of the deal. That was the price you paid to ace the test.


    GIVE ME MY FUCKIN¡¯ EYES BACK!


    No, echoed the voice, sinking back into the recesses of Johnny¡¯s mind.


    Johnny was furious. Whatever the hell was happening, he didn¡¯t like it. Somehow, he had to stop this. He wanted to run away from it all. He has considered it many times before. His aunt was always up his ass. If he got away for a while, maybe everything would go back to normal. Then maybe he could move on with his life. Yes, that would work.


    He decided that he would sneak out of the window tonight after his aunt went to sleep. Johnny wondered about leaving a note, and decided that maybe she wouldn¡¯t go after him if he did. In his best handwriting, he scrawled down what he thought would be most deserving of his aunt.


    Auntie, the note read, I¡¯m running away from this fucking house. Don¡¯t fucking look for me, I don¡¯t want to be found. You¡¯re always up my fucking ass, and you never seem to fucking get it. I¡¯m sixteen, I can handle myself now. You won¡¯t get off my back so I¡¯m going. You can¡¯t fucking stop me. I hope I NEVER see you again!


    Johnny


    Johnny began packing in his room. First went the clothes of course. Those would be the most important. Then some soap for washing and a toothbrush too. He took whatever money his aunt had in her room and put it into his wallet. He would need it more than she would, the ungrateful bitch. A hand-held video game would be essential to pass the time. In it went, spare batteries too.


    When he was done, his aunt called from below.


    ¡°Dinner!¡±


    Johnny went downstairs slowly, looking down at his feet. At the table, he didn¡¯t talk much, despite his aunt¡¯s many attempts to goad him into telling her about the exam. Dinner was over quickly and he was back in his room in a flash. The slowly ticked by, so slowly in fact that Johnny decided to sleep now so he could be awake later.


    V


    The time had come. Johnny snuck downstairs into the kitchen. He opened one of the cabinets and took as many cans as he could. He took a can opener too. It took several trips, but everything was finally packed away. Opening the window, the cool night air hit him. Johnny shivered. It was a cold night for early October. He slipped on a coat. Johnny lifted the duffle bag with all of his things onto his back and crawled out onto the roof above the porch. He felt a pang of guilt for leaving the house, but ignored it. It was the right thing to do after all. She didn¡¯t really care about him. He closed the window behind him quietly. He looked down at the ground. It was about ten feet below. Johnny closed his eyes and leapt.


    The ground was hard, and pain shot through his legs as he landed. It was nothing serious, but jolting nonetheless. The driveway was long and dark. Johnny slipped a hand into his jacket pocket, feeling around for the paper. He felt nothing.


    Shit! It must be in the damned room. Fuck it. The bitch will find it when she breaks down the fucking door in a day or two.


    Johnny passed the mailbox and kept on walking. He didn¡¯t have a destination in mind, but something in instincts told him that the forest would be the best place to hide for a while. About a mile down the road, the houses on either side of the road he was on thinned out. Trees filled much of the landscape between them. This sort of landscape was something he has always disliked. It scared him.


    A long stretch of darkness to his left across the street seemed like the perfect place to hide for the night. Johnny entered the dark forest with the fear of the unknown gripping him tightly. About a hundred feet in, he decided that he¡¯d gone far enough to be safe until morning. He laid his head on a fleece from his duffle bag and looked at the darkness above. The odd sounds of the forest creeped him out, but sleep did come eventually.


    VI


    The world Johnny woke up to was beautiful. The sunlight danced through the autumn leaves. Johnny¡¯s whole body ached from sleeping on the hard and uneven ground. He was cold too. The jacket he had on was adequate when he was awake, but not so as a blanket. At least it was softer than dirt.


    He left his campsite and surveyed the surrounding area, gathering any small branches he could find for a fire. He¡¯d seen on TV that rubbing two sticks together made fire. He took two sticks and started rubbing them furiously. He tried for over half an hour before his arms were sore and his energy was spent. Johnny threw up his arms in frustration. As much as he wanted to, he knew that he couldn¡¯t go back home anymore. Certainly not after all he¡¯d said in that letter. His aunt would beat him senseless as always, and he couldn¡¯t bear that abuse. He was free, but at what cost? He couldn¡¯t make a fire and he knew the food and money wouldn¡¯t last forever.


    ¡°How the fuck do you make fire?¡± Johnny said to himself.


    I can show you. The voice said quietly.


    No! Not you! He screamed at it. Get the fuck out of my head! You¡¯re the fuckin¡¯ reason why I¡¯m out here!


    The voice faded again, leaving Johnny on edge. If he couldn¡¯t have a fire, at least he¡¯d have a place to sleep tonight. He¡¯d always seen Indian teepees in the movies and; he figured, they couldn¡¯t be very hard to make. Johnny laid several large sticks vertically against a tree with smaller sticks placed horizontally in between. He then picked up armfuls of leaves and sprinkled them on top of the horizontal beams. Most of the leaves littered the inside of his shelter, and a few stayed where he wanted. It would have to do.


    Johnny ate some of the provisions he¡¯d packed away in his bag while sitting in the poorly thatched teepee. A light rain began to fall through the holes in the shelter, dampening Johnny¡¯s spirits even further. He curled up in a ball on the floor and cried. He was cold and wet. He wanted to go home, but the image of his aunt about to beat him¡­ He didn¡¯t know what else to do except stay there and suffer.


    ¡°I can¡¯t make a fucking fire,¡± he cursed himself, ¡°I can¡¯t fuckin¡¯ keep the rain out. And I can¡¯t fuckin¡¯ go home either!¡±


    I can help you, the voice said from deep within.


    Johnny sat there shivering. The cold air mixed with even colder water made every drop feel like a pin pricking his skin.


    I can help you, the voice said again.


    Johnny¡¯s situation got the better of him this time.


    Please, help me, he begged the voice.


    In a flash, the knowledge he needed flooded his mind. It was as if he¡¯d known how to do it all along. The same pain as before accompanied the newfound knowledge. In less than an hour, he¡¯d improved the shelter so that it was dry. In front of the entrance to the teepee, a fire roared and crackled. The warmth of the fire was enough to keep at least one side of his body warm.


    Crack! Johnny jumped. It was a clap of thunder. Boy was he glad to have the shelter and the fire. At least he would be somewhat comfortable. Johnny fetched his handheld video game to pass the time. He knew it wouldn¡¯t last forever, but at least he was doing something to keep his mind busy. God only knew what kind of things might happen to him if he went home.


    Hours passed before the storm lifted. Johnny ate some of the canned goodies, after heating them on the fire of course. He was tired. It had been a long and frustrating day. He lay inside his shelter looking up at the roof. It was quiet and it was peaceful. He was safe; he was alive; he was Johnny.


    VII


    Colors swirled around his body, and he felt the sensation of slipping backwards off the ground down head first into another world. The world around him stabilized itself. It was a scene from several years ago. His aunt stood in the kitchen; and Johnny, he stood in the hallway just outside of the kitchen. His aunt was mad. He had just broken the mirror upstairs, and she looked like a devil. Johnny was afraid for his life. In her hand lay a large, thick, wooden stick.


    Help! He heard himself scream, but he had no control. The actions played out like a sick orchestra of dead cats in which the conductor had four arms. He wanted it to end, to stop, but the inevitable conclusion would eventually come.


    Johnny stood there glued to his memory. He was petrified while she leapt at him. His aunt grabbed him harshly by the front of his shirt and thwacked him head to toe with the stick. Johnny felt the same excruciating pain as he had that day. The hate welled up inside as he felt himself lying on the floor bruised and bleeding.


    The scene shifted. Snippets of memories flashed before Johnny¡¯s eyes. He wondered with trepidation at what horrors could possibly be in store for him. After a short time, the flashes settled down and a new image emerged from the shadows.


    Johnny felt a smile on his face. Tears were streaming down his face this time as well, but they were tears of joy. In front of him, the world was blanketed in a sheet of red. Everything was coated in a demonic glow. It was blood. The remains of some slain foe lay at his feet, the body completely obliterated. Little bits and pieces clung to the surroundings, but nothing big enough to be considered a chunk. The blood that seemed to hang in the air began to fall like rain all around him. It made a wondrous sound in his ears. Johnny felt ecstatic. Nothing he had ever seen before had felt so good. It was as if this was his life¡¯s calling laid out before him.


    The scene shifted once more, destroying his newfound joy. Anger rose in his stomach. Johnny wanted to enjoy that scene again. The swirling colors steadied themselves around the memory of his aunt¡¯s treacherous act against him. His anger mixed with hatred, and then the dreams vanished.


    VIII


    Johnny awoke still feeling quite tired. The morning air was cool but humid. A thick fog hung in the air around him. He was uncomfortable. He didn¡¯t remember much from the night before, just that he was angry about something. Whatever it had been was so real that he was still in a sour mood. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Johnny was nearly out of food, and knew there wouldn¡¯t be any left by the end of the day if he didn¡¯t do something about it soon. He had no idea how to get food in the wild like this, but at least he knew that he couldn¡¯t get anything in town since his aunt would probably be after him. All of the plants around him were green. To his untrained eyes, they all looked alike. Any animals he saw were too quick for him to catch. Johnny tried a few of the plants but all of them were bitter and eventually made him wretch all over the ground. Nearly half a day was wasted before he gave up and sat down.


    What the fuck can I eat out here? I¡¯m fuckign¡¯ hungry!


    I can help. The voice chimed in as if on cue.


    Johnny figured he¡¯d starve if he didn¡¯t get some food that day or the next.


    Please, help me.


    As you wish, the voice cooed.


    Johnny braced himself for the painful rush of knowledge he thought would flood his brain in an instant, but it didn¡¯t come. There was only a single thought. He stood up and trudged loudly through the woods slightly over a mile before coming to a clearing. Through a thicket next to the clearing, he spotted what he was after.


    A white painted house shone brightly in the mid-afternoon sun. Green grass grew from the house to the thicket, shaved to perfection weekly. The bright red foliage of a maple stood in the middle of the yard. A car sat in the driveway running while a man ran dressed in a black suit ran inside.


    The man was his best friend¡¯s father. He was back in the car a few minutes later, then he was gone. Johnny crossed the lawn to the back door, carefully making sure no one was home. The latch on the back door was loose. It always had been, at least as long as he could remember.


    Johnny had practically grown up in that house for much of his life. He remembered playing catch in where he was standing. There was also the time he¡¯d nearly cracked his head in two on the stone wall by the back door. Johnny entered the house through the back door in silence, just in case someone was home. The moment he stepped in, he was hit with the familiar aroma of freshly cooked venison.


    The venison was in a pot on the stove, still cooking for dinner later that night. Johnny dug into the food like a dog. He was done stuffing his gullet in less than a minute. Opening one of the cabinets in the kitchen, he found some canned food. It would come in handy so he took it. Johnny¡¯s instincts told him to look in the basement. In the basement, a closet yielded the real prize. It was a rifle. Grabbing it and some of the ammunition next to it, he headed up to the kitchen and out of the back door. The back door swung shut with a small clunk. He was on his own. Before leaving the property, he took a stick and scribbled a message in the ground.


    Thanks, the gun will come in handy.


    Johnny


    That should be enough for my friend to understand. Johnny thought with a smile. Only his best friend knew of the troubles between him and his aunt. They had both said it was only a matter of time before he ran away. The friend¡¯s father took a more neutral approach, but had hinted pretty overtly that if he needed help, he could take what he needed as long as he returned it later.


    The couple days he spent in the forest had turned Johnny¡¯s heart away from civilization. He loved the adventure, the beauty, and even the solitude. Being out there was like the world¡¯s best videogame. He had freedom.


    The forest brought him comfort. The trees and bushes made sure no one could find him.


    It was late in the day by the time Johnny got back to his camp. He had another day¡¯s worth of provisions from his friend¡¯s home. Tomorrow, he¡¯d hunt.


    IX


    Johnny woke up bright and early the next morning. The pains he had from sleeping outdoors were gone now. He was jovial in the early morning light. The sky was clear. The hunt was a go. The easiest place to get food would have to be the lake. It was just east of where he was camped. Thinking of the camp, Johnny figured it might be time to move on. He needed to move away from the road to a place where it would be much harder to find him. Destroying the shelter and fire pit took but a fraction of the time it had taken to build them. Before long, he was packed and ready to leave. Johnny heaved the heavy duffle bag onto his back, and left in the direction of the rising sun.


    The trees had thinned out by the time he reached the lake. The lake was an expanse of black water, bounded on all sides by the autumn reds and yellows. On the lake, geese crowded together, preparing for the day¡¯s flight south. For about a month every fall and spring, geese filled the lake from shore to shore. It was as if the lake experienced a deep freeze. Only problem was, no one could skate on it. Johnny and his friends had always affectionately called the lake ¡°Geese Shit Lake¡± for one simple fact: the whole shore was a veritable minefield of geese shit. It was thick enough, in fact, that one might consider it the first significant snowfall of the year.


    Johnny shouldered the rifle and aimed at the goose nearest to him. It wasn¡¯t so much aiming as it was pointing in the general direction of the goose. He¡¯d shot a rifle before, so it wasn¡¯t an entirely new experience. He pulled the trigger. Bang! The birds flew away in an instant, leaving a dead bird floating by the shore. It wasn¡¯t the one he¡¯d shot at for, but considering the amount of birds, it was probably harder to miss. He rushed to the shore. In his haste, he slipped on the geese ¡°snow.¡± His backside slid at least five feet in it before coming to rest. He got up. Once he got to the edge of the lake, Johnny looked into the water to see how much of a mess he had become. The back and sides of his head were covered in geese shit, his clothes were ruined, but at least he had a meal.


    Johnny threw the goose carcass high on the beach, away from the shit. He dunked his head in the water and took off his clothes. He carefully washed his body, making sure not to miss any of the nastiness. Looking at his reflection in the lake again to make sure he hadn¡¯t missed anything, Johnny gasped. His ears were differently shaped, his mouth too. The alien image of his new face looked starkly older .


    What the fucking hell did you do to me?!


    You asked for my help, the voice said sardonically. You know the consequences.


    Arrrrgh! Johnny screamed as he punched the water.


    Get the fuck out of my head! This is all your damn fault!


    Pardon me? The voice asked with a hint of sarcasm.


    You fucked up my face!


    I held up my end of the bargain like the honorable man I am.


    Then who¡¯s fucking fault is it?!


    Wasn¡¯t it really your aunt who has done this to you? She was the one who pressured you every day. She beat you when you didn¡¯t do what she wanted. It is her fault. I am just here to help you. You would probably be dead without me.


    Maybe you¡¯re right. I don¡¯t fucking know, someone will have to pay for my face. We should go eat some of that shit we killed. I¡¯m fucking hungry.


    Johnny put his slightly cleaner but still wet clothes back on. He headed off into the woods with his kill. The wet clothes rubbed his arms and legs raw by the time he reached a suitable site for a new campsite. The clothes also chilled him to the bone. The first order of business? Get dry and put on new clothes. When that was accomplished, a new lean-to needed to be constructed. Johnny set about the task for about an hour and then dug a fire pit. He lit a fire, and looked at the goose in his hands.


    What the fuck am I supposed to do with this piece of shit?


    Cook it, the voice said.


    How?!


    I can show you, the voice said with much restraint. Johnny would have picked up on it if he wasn¡¯t so hungry.


    Johnny agreed. Within a second, the knowledge he needed was in his fingertips plucking the bird clean. He fashioned a skewer from a long, straight stick and used it to roast the goose. The skin turned golden brown above the dancing flames and then charred black. It was done. Johnny ripped off a large chunk of the meat and stuffed it down his gullet. It made him feel better. He ate the rest of it; and before long, he was stuffed.


    Night was soon upon Johnny. He crawled into his new home after gathering enough wood so that the fire would last the night. Even with the knowledge, making a fire was always harder than keeping one going. He laid his head on the soft fleece and drifted off soon after.


    X


    Johnny had the same dream as before. He saw his aunt beating him to a pulp and he grew angry again. He remembered now why he¡¯d been in such a foul mood two days ago.


    With a sudden ferocity, the scene changed. Johnny was jarred about within the dream. It stopped, and Johnny felt himself fall down into an alien world. It was quiet. Around him he saw tall pines arching over a fast-flowing stream. The full moon above cast a bluish-white glow upon all it touched, rendering a clearing behind him well lit. Viewing his reflection in the stream, Johnny saw his newly formed face that he¡¯d seen earlier that day. He liked it. It truly suited him.


    AAAAARGGGGH!!!


    Johnny¡¯s heart jumped. The high-pitched scream came from the direction of the clearing. It was close by. What it was, he couldn¡¯t tell. All he knew was that he was scared. He saw a shadowy figure leap from the tall pines into the clearing behind him. He twisted around to get a better look. It was the figure of a woman, but she looked wretched. She had talons instead of hands and was splattered with the blood of past victims. The wretch cocked her head back at an odd angle then rushed forward. She was upon him in an instant. Her talons dug deeply into Johnny with unrivaled precision. The talons tore a large gash across his chest. Johnny screamed. Blood poured out in globs.


    He felt his heart stop when he got a closer look at the monster. The face on the beast was his aunt¡¯s! Hate, fear, and anguish gripped his body. Johnny grabbed for something. For anything. Something hard hit his fingers. He gripped it with his hand and he took a swing at the wretch. The world was in slow motion the instant Johnny connected.


    Crack!


    The skull of the wretch exploded, sending a shower of blood and guts sailing all around. It bathed the trees, the ground, and his body in red. He dropped the weapon. He felt elation. He felt excitement. Tears began to stream down his face. He was smiling broadly. This was the best feeling of his young life. Johnny wished to feel that joy for the rest of his life. The colors began to swirl and the world slowly faded. There had been too much blood spilt.


    XI


    Johnny awoke with a smile on his face. The dream was still fresh in his mind. It had been the most wonderful of his life. He¡¯d give anything to have enjoyed it more. Sitting up, Johnny felt something wet slide from his chest. Pain erupted into his brain in an instant. He looked down. His shirt was turning deep crimson, and it smelled funny. It was blood. His hands moved of their own accord, ripping his shirt in two and then wrapping it tightly across the wound. The pain stopped as suddenly it had begun.


    What the hell just happened?!


    Then he remembered the face. It was his aunt who had torn up his body. He wanted revenge. Today would not simply be about survival, that was for sure. He didn¡¯t have time to waste on that kind of shit. No, today would be the big day. The dream brought the realization of what he needed to do. It wasn¡¯t ok to just run away anymore. Johnny needed to make sure that his aunt could never hurt anyone again. And there was only one way to ensure such a thing; she had to be killed. She must die in a way befitting of her crimes. Johnny slung the rifle over his back and set off for his old home.


    He arrived at his old house by mid-morning. Dark grey clouds obscured what might otherwise have been the beginnings of a beautiful day. The air was cool and still. The crunch of the fallen leaves cracking under his feet as Johnny strode across the front lawn was the only sound. His aunt had already left. He had the rest of the day to prepare. His heart leapt with excitement. This was going to be fun.


    In the back of the house, there was a tool shed. Johnny opened the door. Like the back door of his friend¡¯s house, it was never locked¡ª¡ªprobably a dangerous thing, but perfect for what he wanted to do. He laughed. Inside the shed, he found a chainsaw, some gasoline, and a canister of stump remover. The voice inside told him that these things would be necessary. Putting these on the back stoop, Johnny went back into the shed and retrieved a hammer and some nails.


    Under a fake rock next to the back door was the spare key. Johnny let himself in, bringing all the gear with him. He went upstairs with the gasoline, the hammer, and the chainsaw. The door to his room had been broken down. His entire room looked as if a hurricane had gone through. He was furious. Why would she have done such a thing?!


    Johnny took the chainsaw and cut down the bathroom door and then the one from his aunt¡¯s bedroom next-door. He would need them for later. Going downstairs past the kitchen and into the living room, he cut the legs off a coffee table in the living room. Johnny brought the tabletop out back and nailed it firmly over the outside of the back door. This ensured that the door was completely sealed. Letting himself in the front door with the key, went into the dining room. Johnny cannibalized the dining room table and used the pieces to blockade most of the other possible exits. Johnny did leave one exit: the bathroom widow. He thought the game would be a little more enjoyable if he locked the door to the bathroom. It was done. He climbed out of the window and back into the house through the front door.


    Johnny went back upstairs with the hammer and knocked nails through the doors so that the sharp tips stuck out like a pincushion. He laid the doors down on the banister for later. He then went into his room and cut apart his bed.  He brought the pieces out of the front door and hid them in the bushes nearby. His aunt would not be able to see them there at night. Johnny took the canister of stump remover and sprinkled a clean white trail along the hallway towards the bathroom in the shape of an arrow.


    That should be quite interesting, especially if it explodes while she¡¯s near it.


    He raced back up the stairs to the second floor. Johnny took the two doors and nailed them across the doorway top of the stairwell, making sure the sharp exposed nails were facing down the stairs to stop his aunt from trying to escape from up here. Johnny went into his aunt¡¯s room. He opened one of the windows in the room and stepped out onto the roof. The wires that hung from the corner of the house nearest him were the ones that connected the phone and electricity. With several hammer strokes, they were both disconnected. There would be no help for that bitch. All that was left to do was sit and wait. Soon his aunt would arrive.


    Johnny rubbed his hands in anticipation. Soon the beautiful chaos would begin. He smiled. It was going to be fun.


    XII


    It had begun to rain heavily by the time his aunt arrived home. Hearing the motor of a car coming down the driveway and then turning off, Johnny quickly spread gasoline across his aunt¡¯s room with a trail leading back to the edge of his room. As soon as his aunt was inside, he ignited the gas. Orange flames raced out of his room. He opened his window, and climbed onto the roof above the porch. It was time for some fun! Johnny carefully slipped off the roof onto the porch as quietly as possible. He grabbed the pieces of his bed that he had hidden in the bushes earlier. He used the pieces to nail the front door closed. He heard banging on the door as soon as he had finished nailing it closed. To dissuade her from trying to break out, he knocked a couple nails through the door hoping that one would be shoved in her hand. No such luck, but his aunt did stop banging on the door.


    Johnny casually walked behind the house to the tool shed and found a lawnmower inside that she had always made him use. It was old and small. It had always taken forever to mow the large lawn, especially considering he would never get dinner until after he was done. Just that thought made him hate her even more. The bathroom window was on the side of the house, paralleling a row of trees. Johnny positioned himself and the lawnmower in the row of trees just out of sight. A high-pitched scream echoed throughout the house. Certainly loud enough for Johnny to hear.


    And the fun begins.


    I¡¯m definitely enjoying this as well, chimed the voice.


    Glad you are.


    The voice laughed.


    Crash!


    A window on the second floor rained shattered glass on the ground below. Black smoke and flames erupted from within. The fire danced along the top of the window, licking at the supports of the house. Like a pile of tinder, the roof ignited with a bright light. It was an eerie red glow. Johnny heard pounding coming from within the walls.


    That bitch must be enjoying our little game.


    Part of the roof collapsed onto the floor below, and sparks shot out in all directions. Puffs of black smoke from some dangerous and nameless chemical rose with the rest of the smoke to join the dark grey clouds above.


    Crack!


    The sound of wood breaking reached Johnny. The sound was nearby.


    ¡°The time has come,¡± he muttered as he started the lawnmower.


    A figure leapt from the burning building. It landed right next to him. The look on its face was priceless. Behind it, the red flames danced their eerie glow, lighting up its charred face. That figure, that bitch, was charred where flames must have eaten at her during her escape. But there would be no escape. Not after all that she¡¯d done. Johnny stepped out smiling from ear to ear. The look of pure terror on her face made him laugh.


    She screamed. Johnny swung the business end of the running lawnmower at her. It connected with her hip. The blades dug in deeply. Blood was ejected, covering everything in sight with its ethereal presence. The crunch of breaking bones made Johnny cry with excitement and joy. His aunt¡¯s body fell, still screaming.


    ¡°Keep screaming!¡± Johnny said. ¡°There will be no mercy for the wicked! Tonight you will die by my hands, auntie; just as I nearly died by yours!¡±


    Her eyes bugged out as she finally realized who he was. Her screams only intensified more. Johnny lifted the lawnmower and swung once more. The blades cut into her skull, releasing her innards in a glorious red rain. She was no more, and his revenge was complete. Johnny felt tears running down his face as he fell to his knees. He felt happiness like no other. This was surely the best moment of his life. He had finally acted it out. His fantasy had come true!


    Johnny looked at the ground below him. Strewn everywhere were pieces of what had been the aunt he hated. Her brain lay like pudding all around where her head had been. Blood oozed out of the deep gashes covering her charred body. The falling combined with the blood to form a torrent of red. The body looked nicely roasted, and Johnny¡¯s mouth began to water. He hadn¡¯t eaten since breakfast and he was very hungry. The charred body looked like a tasty meal for later. Despite being far off of the road, Johnny knew that with the fire and hit aunt¡¯s screams, the police would be there at any moment. He used the butt of the rifle to break off one of her arms.


    Johnny carried the still bleeding arm with him back into the forest from whence he¡¯d come. By the time he got back to camp, the rain had finally come to an end. He noticed that his fire had gone out from the rain, leaving a bit of steam rising from the coals. Almost an hour of intense work later, the fire was back and roaring higher than ever. Johnny skewered the arm with the same stick he has used for the goose, and slowly roasted it over the fire. The flesh of a fallen foe would certainly bring him strength.


    With the arm finally cooked, Johnny bit off a large chunk. It tasted great! Like beef mixed with chicken but only better. It was a hard-won meal, and he deserved to enjoy it. Cannibalism wasn¡¯t so bad. It certainly made hunting easier. Humans were always plentiful.


    XII


    Johnny went to bed soon after finishing his meal, and was asleep before his head hit the fleece.


    The dreamscape steadied itself as it had before. It was as if Johnny was really there. It was the same moonlit world from the previous night, with one exception. The stream that flowed was no longer its original pristine color. It was red. Red as the torrent of blood and water he¡¯d seen earlier. Johnny felt a cold, hard, object being held by his right hand. He looked down. It was a bloodied baseball bat. Johnny realized that he was naked as well; the scar from the battle the night before was imprinted across his chest.


    In the distance, a rustling sound caught his attention. Johnny turned to see what it was. A beast erupted into the clearing in front of him. It had a long pale face and a slender body. It was the figure of a woman; but this woman was only partly human. Her figure was grotesque, twisted beyond recognition. She was tall with lanky arms and legs. From the back of each wrist, a blade sprouted that ran to her elbow and then off of her arm to a point just behind the elbow. The mere sight scared him, especially since he could not recognize it. In an enchanting female voice, it spoke.


    ¡°Welcome to my world.¡± She said laughing.


    ¡°W-who are you?¡± Said Johnny.


    ¡°I am you. Well, not you exactly, but I will be very soon.¡±


    ¡°What the hell do you mean?


    ¡°I am your conscience. I have been the one helping you.¡±


    ¡°Get the fuck out of my head!¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s my head. It¡¯s my body now. Tonight I will take what is rightfully mine!¡±


    The creature came at Johnny. The blades on her arms were flared out, ready to slice his body to pieces. All Johnny had in his defense was that bloody baseball bat. The stream was to his back, making escape all but impossible. He had to fight. He had to win. He knew his survival depended on destroying the thing in front of him. Johnny swung at the beast, his bat hitting one of the blades. The blade sliced clean through the bat. The other blade missed his face by a couple of inches. That was too close. Johnny turned and ran. He ran as fast as his legs would let him. The beast was right on his heels.


    ¡°Afraid of being beaten by a woman?¡± It said with glee. ¡°That body will be mine, boy!¡±


    Johnny just ran faster. She scared him more than even his aunt. Whatever that thing was, she certainly had it in for him. All he could do was run and hope he¡¯d wake up. Without warning, his foot caught a root and he fell. The beast stopped above him. Her blades gleamed with blood. Somehow, he knew it was his blood¡ª¡ªhis dripping blood from the previous night¡¯s attack! He suddenly realized that he¡¯d been tricked. It was this beast, the voice in his head, who had really killed his aunt. The feelings, the emotions, they were all fake. They weren¡¯t his, they were hers. His heart dropped. It was too late to do anything about his aunt, but he surely wished to rectify his mistake somehow. He was going to die tonight. He would pay for his sins in hell for all eternity.


    ¡°This is the end of you, my darling.¡± She said, smiling. ¡°And the beginning of me!¡±


    ¡°Stop!¡± Johnny screamed in desperation.


    ¡°Why? This is the fear that bitch felt when you killed her. It¡¯s only fair if you feel the same!¡± The woman laughed. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get down to business.¡±


    ¡°NO!¡±


    ¡°What, you think you can stop me? I don¡¯t think so. Accept your punishment. You are as bad as your aunt. This is my body, and you can¡¯t sto¡ª¡°


    Johnny smashed what was left of the bat into the side of the beast¡¯s head. She screamed. The dream cracked and began to fade.


    Fall asleep again and you will be mine! The beast¡¯s screeching voice echoed within his head as he awoke.


    XIV


    Johnny sat up. His foot hurt. His instincts pounded fear through him. He had to run away. He couldn¡¯t sleep. He needed to make sure that beast couldn¡¯t get him anymore. Without bothering to take anything, he just ran through the woods. The bare branches scraped his body in many places, leaving his clothes in tatters. Johnny winced in pain at every stroke, but he had to keep running. Not doing so meant certain doom.


    Johnny was afraid. He had done terrible things to his aunt and her corpse. As much as he hated her, he truly felt sorry for what he had done; no, for what the beast had done to her. His thoughts turned to his own plight. November first was his birthday. He knew he wouldn¡¯t live see his seventeenth birthday. It was just not possible to stay awake for that long without falling asleep for a moment. That moment would surely ring his death knell. Johnny decided to fight the beast that night in order to rectify his mistakes and avenge his aunt. He knew that he probably wouldn¡¯t win, but it would put his conscience to rest. At least it was better than going crazy and giving up. Johnny was going to be ready. That beast inside of his was going to pay for what it had done!


    Johnny stopped running and slowly walked back to his camp. It wasn¡¯t hard to find the camp with all of the broken branches along the way. He was hungry, he was tired, but at least he was calm. He accepted his fate, whatever it might be; but he certainly was not going to let that beast have his body without a fight. When he got back to the lean-to, Johnny ate his remaining food and prepared to fight the beast.


    Time is a funny thing. Waiting for something makes it inch along, but doing something enjoyable makes time run by in a flash. The waiting was eating at Johnny. He wanted to resolve this once and for all. He lay down in his lean-to, trying to sleep. But sleep would not come. The excruciating wait finally ended when night fell. It was time.


    XIV


    The dreamscape came together as it had so many times before. The crimson stream gushed through the landscape. The moon shone brightly through the tall pines onto the clearing behind Johnny. The baseball bat was clasped tightly in his hands. He turned around. He was ready. The beast slowly walked towards him; it was like an old west standoff. Both figures stood silently, sizing each other up. The beast cocked its head back, laughing.


    ¡°Ready to give me your body, huh,¡± the beast joked.


    ¡°In your dreams bitch!¡± Came Johnny¡¯s retort.


    They both charged each other. The beast was fast, but that didn¡¯t stop him. Johnny swung as if his life depended on it. It did. He swung, and the bat missed by a large margin. The beast brought down one of her arms at Johnny and scratched him slightly with the blade. He winced in pain; and the beast laughed. His misery was the beast''s pleasure, that was for sure. The beast came at Johnny again, arms ready to strike. She swiped with her left arm and he parried the blow with his bat. The blade sliced a large piece of the bat off, leaving him with even less of a defense. Johnny swung again. He missed again.


    ¡°You aim like my grand-ma!¡± She taunted.


    Johnny was furious. The damn beast was toying with him when it was such a serious matter. It was his fucking body at stake, not the time for joking! He kicked up dirt at the beast and then swung, hoping the confusion would help. It did. The bat connected, but only just. The beast howled in pain.


    At least I hit the damned thing. I can¡¯t use the same trick again, but at least it isn¡¯t untouchable.


    The dirt Johnny had kicked puffed up into a big cloud, blinding him. Things certainly were different in dreams than reality. He took this opportunity to flee. He ran towards the river, knowing the beast would only be able to come in front of him. As he reached the river, the cloud covered his position in thick brown fog. He heard the beast laugh.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming to get you my darling.¡± It cooed.


    A shadow passed over him, and he looked up. The beast¡¯s eyes locked with his. He froze. The blades sliced deep into his back, forcing Johnny to his knees. Johnny screamed. Nothing had ever hurt so much. Not even the time he fell out of the second floor at school. Blood gushed from his flesh, adding yet more blood to the river. The beast laughed again, and Johnny swung his bat. Crack! The bat hit the beast in the leg, knocking it aside. Johnny struggled to his feet. He was tired. With his remaining strength, He swung at the beast. His last effort met with futility. The beast hopped on top of the bat and sliced into Johnny¡¯s neck.


    Johnny fell to the ground wheezing. The world seemed to be getting brighter and out of focus. Everything just hurt; but the pain was slowly easing its grip on his body. He heard laughter from that beast, but it grew fainter with each passing second. It was the end.


    XV


    Lilly woke up and stretched. The side of her leg hurt where Johnny struck her during the dream. She stood up and left the lean-to. It was a brand new day. She finally had a new body. The transformation was complete.


    Thanks for the body Johnny. I could have gotten it sooner, but you afforded me some fun along the way. Now I can get my revenge!

 Chapter 2 [Jake]

    I


    Crash! A young man spun on his heels, wondering what the hell was going on. Shattered glass rained down on him. Standing inside the window was a dark figure of a middle-aged man. In his hand, he held an axe. The young man screamed. The older man came at him quickly, axe raised to strike. The younger man backpedaled and tripped. He fell onto his back, helpless. The older man swung the axe down. The younger man closed his eyes and screamed.


    He felt a thick liquid running over his body. Something heavy fell on top of him. The young man heard the laughter of the older man. The heavy lump on him shifted and breathed raggedly. He opened his eyes.


    ¡°R-run.¡± She whispered.


    The young man screamed again. It was his sister¡¯s body. The deep crimson of her blood rushed over him like a tsunami. He was frozen in place. The older man stood above. He raised the blood-soaked axe. The young man screamed again, this time from incredible pain.


    ¡°Run.¡± His sister whispered again before taking a ragged breath. ¡°Run¡­ J-Jake¡­¡±


    He staggered to his feet. The older man swung the axe, but Jake was faster. He dodged the blow. Instead he witnessed the axe penetrate his sister¡¯s skull. There was no time for her to scream in pain. Her brain was splattered all around, along with the rest of her blood. There was a distinct look of terror on her mangled face. Jake screamed again.


    ¡°Jake!¡± A voice called from behind him. It was his brother; Ed. Ed grabbed Jake by the hand tightly. They both ran out of the front door. The smell of their sister¡¯s blood permeated the air. They kept on running, knowing that their lives were still in peril.


    ¡°W-where¡¯s Mom?¡± Stammered Jake.


    ¡°S-she didn¡¯t survive.¡± Ed jerked out, tears on his face.


    ¡°And Dad?¡± Jake said crying now too.


    ¡°He¡¯s with Mom.¡± Ed said, grabbing Jake and hugging him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s OK.¡± Said Jake, hugging him back.


    The pair stood there hugging for several minutes. The tears on their faces would not stop. Red flames shocked them back to reality. Their home was on fire, and the madman was nowhere to be seen. Hatred filled Jake as he cried. Why had his parents and his sister been killed? Why?


    II


    Jake woke up. Sweat poured off his body in rivers. He remembered those events as vividly as the day they had occurred. The covers from his bed lay on the ground next to the bed. He must have kicked them off in the fury. He sat up on the edge of the bed. Even though many years had passed, that night would always haunt his dreams.


    Jake and his brother had searched far and wide for that goddamned murderer. Through high school and beyond, they had pledged their revenge. In college, they both placed well in their classes and were selected to join a secret task force. The task force was something right out of a James Bond movie. Their job was to find and hunt criminals so dangerous that they were kept off the front pages for safety.


    Several years had passed, and they had killed several of them. One of their perennial targets was the madman who had killed their parents. He always remained elusive. Somehow, Jake knew that he and Ed would eventually happen upon his sorry ass¡ª¡ªtheir revenge would be complete.


    It would be time to head to the office shortly. Jake washed himself up. The hot water of the shower eased his pain. But only just. Jake threw his clothes on and gobbled up his breakfast. He stuffed his wallet and keys into his pockets and headed out the door. His black car was parked neatly in the driveway.


    The drive to work was as uneventful as any other day, just a quick drive down into the city to the police headquarters. In the dingy bathroom inside the headquarters lay a secret. Behind a fake wall tile laid a hidden world. Jake entered the code into the keypad on the wall. He went to the stall closest to the center of the room. Inside, the toilet was gone, a door in its place. Jake took a key from his pocket and twisted the handle.


    He entered the passageway. The door clicked shut behind him. There was a staircase directly in front of him. Its wrought-iron stairs were beautifully crafted in an age long past. Jake made his way down the spiral stairs. He ran his hands along the railing, as he always did, marveling at how it felt in his hands. There were about eighty stairs going down. Jake knew because he was always out of breath every time he climbed up them. At the bottom, a simple institutional door greeted him as it did every morning.


    Beyond this door lay a long cavernous room. The red brick walls curved up in an archway. Doors lined the edges of the room. Jake walked down the hall, glancing at each door carefully. You usually could tell what had happened the week before by the titles on each door. It was understood that a name that was gone was certainly a dead man. Jake finally reached his room. He shared it with his brother since the day they had both been accepted.


    Inside the room, Ed was already at his desk reading the daily brief for the both of them.


    ¡°¡¯Morning Bro¡¯.¡± Ed teased. ¡°You¡¯re late as always!¡±


    ¡°Oh shut-up Ed.¡± Jake retorted, taking his seat.


    ¡°Good news.¡± Ed said, ignoring Jake. ¡°We¡¯ve got ourselves an assignment.¡±


    ¡°How is that good news? We always get assignments¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, this one seems to be buddy-buddy with you-know-who.¡±


    ¡°I really hope you¡¯re right, Ed. We¡¯ve been lookin¡¯ for that guy far too damn long. This guy better cough up the info.¡±


    ¡°You bet. This is a special case as you¡¯ve probably guessed. Mr. Boss obviously felt this would be a good one for us. Only thing is, we can¡¯t kill the guy. We have orders to capture him. He¡¯s a regular police target. You know, easy pickins.¡±


    Jake laughed. It had been a long time since they had any good news¡­ months, maybe years. Common criminals bored him though. Their kind were what made people turn over in their beds at night. What a funny thought. The ones he dealt with most of the time were quite a lot worse. This assignment would be easy, maybe even fun; that was for sure. Excitement rose within Jake.


    ¡°So where are we headed this time?¡± He asked Ed.


    ¡°Oh¡­ well¡­ that¡¯s a secret.¡± Ed said laughing.


    ¡°Just fucking tell me. This ain¡¯t the time to be kidding around you know.¡±


    ¡°Sorry Jake.¡± Ed said solemnly. ¡°We¡¯re going home.¡±


    III


    Jake sat in his seat and looked down at his hands. Fear and sadness welled up inside of him. Bad memories were stuck in his brain; bad things had happened there. Both brothers sat silently for several minutes. Jake understood why his brother had joked so much as he had¡ª¡ªhe was in pain. Jake lifted his head, facing his brother again.


    ¡°Let''s do what we have to do, Ed. Let''s face our fears, together.¡±


    Ed agreed, and they got up. The equipment room was at the end of the arched room, just down the hall from their office. Inside the room, the brothers gathered their supplies. Assignments lasted as long as it took them to track down their target, usually ending with a bloody corpse. This task was the odd one out, and they needed slightly different gear this time. Body armor was always a must. A couple of pistols for each, followed by the handcuff of choice: zip-ties.


    They were plain clothed, as per their orders. A car was waiting for them in the small parking lot beyond the equipment room. It was an old beater. Jake got in the passenger¡¯s seat, while Ed got behind the wheel. It was a stick shift¡ª¡ªsomething Jake had never learned to drive. But hey, that¡¯s what brothers are for¡­ right?


    The trip would take a little over a day to complete. The small town they¡¯d grown up in was in the countryside. Ed drove the clunker up the six stories to street-level and out onto the open road. Once outside the city, Jake stared down at the pavement as it whizzed by. The radio blared the classic rock tunes both brothers loved since the day they were born. Nothing was as enjoyable as a road trip, even a sobering one. The pair drove all day, not stopping unless they had to. As night fell, however, they were forced to find a place to spend a few hours resting.


    IV


    The next day was about the same as the previous one. By sunset, they were on the outskirts of their old stomping grounds. Only one night stood in their way to hopefully getting information.


    The sun rose heralding the new day. Jake and Ed readied themselves for the day¡¯s events. Body armor went under their clothes, the pistols hidden in their shorts. It was Jake¡¯s duty to carry the ¡°handcuffs¡± for the capture and questioning.


    Jake and Ed got into the car. They drove into the town, and Jake finally realized what Ed had really meant by ¡®home.¡¯ They parked the car on the street across from where their old home had burnt to a crisp. The long driveway brought flashbacks to Jake. He cried silently as they walked. He knew he shouldn¡¯t. He had a job to do. But it was just too much for him to bear. A newly built house stood on the foundation of the old one. It looked different, but it had the same dimensions.


    According to Ed, their target was currently ¡®residing in that damned place and needed to be taught a lesson in humility.¡¯ The criminal in question was wanted for the suspected rape of a neighbor. This criminal was sitting on the front porch, drinking his morning coffee as the two brothers walked down the driveway. Jake cleared the tears from his eyes.


    Ed marched forward, Jake on his heels. The criminal looked up at them.


    ¡°Well hello there.¡± He said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve not seen your faces before¡­ you from around here?¡±


    ¡°We used to be.¡± Ed said, smiling back. ¡°We used to live in a house that was right here where yours is right now.¡±


    ¡°What a coinkidink! So what brings the both of you here?¡±


    Ed pulled a badge from his pocket and showed it to the criminal. His face went white.


    ¡°I think we should discuss this inside,¡± said Ed.


    The criminal went inside and the brothers followed. The insides were different than Jake remembered as a child. Jake followed Ed into the living room, where the criminal sat fidgeting. Sweat was visible on his head. Ed sat down across from the man.


    ¡°We¡¯re here to have a little talk,¡± he said. ¡°Depending on how you answer our questions, a couple things can happen. First, if you tell us everything we want to know, we won''t hurt you at all. You¡¯ll do time for your crimes, and possibly get out a little early for helping us. Second. You tell us everything, but you don¡¯t right away. We¡¯ll beat you up a bit, then you¡¯ll go to jail and do your time. But this time, you won''t be getting out early. Finally, you don¡¯t tell us what we want to know. This would be most, unpleasant, for you.¡±


    Whatever blood was left in the man¡¯s head was gone in an instant. He just sat in his seat, mouthing words, but no sound came out.


    ¡°C¡¯mon,¡± said Jake. ¡°For god sakes, speak!¡±


    ¡°W-what d-do you want t-to know?¡± The criminal stuttered out.


    ¡°There was something terrible that happened here about 15 years ago. In this very house in fact. Who was the man who burned this house down?¡±


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t k-know what you¡¯re t-talking about!¡±


    ¡°We know you do. Perhaps extra jail time would¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Please, anything but that!¡±


    ¡°Well then answer the damn question!¡±


    ¡°I-I can¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°And why the fuck not?!¡± Ed yelled, standing up and marching over to the man.


    ¡°H-he¡¯s going to kill me!¡±


    ¡°Well guess what buddy?¡± Ed asked, pulling his gun out. ¡°You¡¯ll be dead right now if you don¡¯t fucking tell me. Now!¡±


    ¡°A-alright!¡± The man was shaking visibly now. ¡°T-the guy you¡¯re looking for. H-he is a wanderer. You p-probably can¡¯t t-track him down, b-but¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Just fucking tell me or I¡¯ll shoot you right now!¡± Ed screamed, shooting down into the floor.


    The man screamed.


    ¡°H-his name is John! John Mackenzie!¡±


    ¡°Why thank-you.¡± Ed said with a smile before putting his gun away. ¡°Well, time to go off to jail old man.¡±


    ¡°W-wait!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Ed snapped.


    ¡°He¡¯ll have me killed in jail!¡±


    ¡°Well, we can have a special one-person kiddy jail cell made for you back at our headquarters. Once he¡¯s dead you can go back to big jail until your sentence is complete. Jake. ¡®Cuff ¡®im.¡±


    Jake took the zip ties from his picket and tied the man¡¯s hands behind his back. He grabbed the man and pushed him out the door in front of him.


    Bang! A shot whizzed past Jake¡¯s ear and splintered the wood of the doorframe next to him.


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯ve got compa¡ª¡ª!¡° Jake yelled back before a bullet struck him in the chest. He fell to one knee.


    Damn that hurts. He thought. Fucking glad I have this armor on. I would¡¯ve been fucked otherwise¡­


    Ed jumped out in front of Jake, pushing his brother and the man inside the house. Jake took another tie from his pocket and tied the man to the railing, then joined his brother outside. There were several figures at the edge of the driveway with guns aimed at them. Both brothers rolled away from each other and pulled out pistols, one in each hand. Jake fired both at once, hitting a guy squarely in the chest. The man he¡¯d shot got up and shot back.


    ¡°They¡¯ve got armor Ed!¡±


    ¡°I know!¡±


    Ed shot one of his guns. A figure fell like a lump, blood leaking from his head. The remaining figures shot a volley, missing both brothers by inches. Jake dove behind a bush for a bit of cover, and Ed hid behind a column on the porch. The figure on the driveway started running for cover as well, but Jake fired both guns at one of them, dropping him where he stood.


    The amount of bullets being fired dropped off quickly, but a few still sailed over Jake¡¯s head. He gauged the direction after a few shots and looked at where he figured the guy must be. He pulled the triggers. A thud escaped where he¡¯d shot.


    Fucking lucky shot¡­ He cajoled himself. Gonna have to step it up a bit if I want to beat ¡®bro at this.


    Ed stepped out from his hiding place at a dead run for where the figures were hiding. The muzzle of each of his guns was blazing. The figures fired on him as he ran. Jake stood up from his hiding place and ran as well. He fired as quickly as he could from a halfway point. The cover fire seemed to work. The opposing guns fell silent as Ed fired at their positions. One by one, targets died where they crouched.


    Boom! A small explosion ripped through the air near Ed. He was thrown back several feet onto his back. He slowly got up and yelled back to Jake.


    ¡°I¡¯m ok!¡±


    Jake ran over and the two brothers surveyed the scene, guns ready. Bodies lay strewn across the side of the driveway, and pieces of the bomber lay splattered across the driveway. And Ed¡¯s body.


    ¡°Yuck!¡± Jake commented.


    ¡°Oh shut up. It looks like they¡¯re taken care of. Let''s go get this guy and clean up.¡±


    The brothers strolled back to the house. Ed was limping a little bit.


    ¡°Hey Ed. Are you ok?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, just got hurt a bit by the blast. I should be ok with a bandage.¡±


    The pair passed the criminal, who just stood there gawking at how bloody Ed was. In the bathroom, Ed stood in the shower, washing off the blood. He winced in pain from the wounds on his leg. They weren¡¯t too deep, but the large area they occupied looked really painful. Jake took some gauze from the medicine cabinet. He wrapped Ed¡¯s leg up, making sure to put disinfectant all over it to prevent infection.


    Jake decided he could wait until they got to the hotel to wash up. The brothers made their way back to the man and cut him loose. There was a look of fear on his face. Jake pushed him out the door and up the driveway to their car. The man lay on his stomach in the backseat on the short drive back to the hotel they¡¯d stayed at the previous night.


    V


    The two-day trip back to the office was uneventful, and the captured man was locked away in a cell at headquarters. Ed and Jake went back to their office to compile the report. Standard procedure could be a pain-in-the-ass waste of time when research needed to be done. The brothers took several hours to complete their report, by which time night had fallen. Tonight would be yet another night they¡¯d have to sleep at the office. It seemed to be happening more often lately, probably because their assignments were long and difficult.


    VI


    The next morning, Jake awoke with a start. He looked at the clock. Its red lights told him the time was nine o¡¯clock in the morning. He stretched his arms out wide and yawned loudly. Jake looked around. His brother was still asleep on the couch next to him. He looked through his desk quietly until he found a really sharp pencil, then used it to poke Ed hard in the side. It was time to get up.


    Aargh! Ed screamed. Looking around, he saw Jake. ¡°What the hell did you do that for?!¡±


    Jake held up the clock to show him the time.


    ¡°Oh. But still, that hurt!¡±


    ¡°We have work to do, Ed. Stop complaining and get up.¡±


    Ed grumbled to himself for several minutes while getting dressed. Jake and Ed went to the cafeteria down the hall; sleep still dripping from their tired bodies. Food for the morning was meager: just an egg and a slice of buttered toast¡ª¡ªnot enough for the day ahead.


    The research room was a far walk from the cafeteria. It was in a secure room down the hall by the entrance. They had to enter special codes given to them by their boss. The codes were one-time use to ensure maximum safety and security of the information held within. The four-foot-thick door trundled open on its track.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    The brothers entered the chamber and the lights came on. Behind them, the door rumbled shut. Row upon row of books and documents in towering shelves took up most of the room, except for a small section by the door where three computers stood waiting. They were there for two reasons. Two of the computers were there for access to a database of information about everyone, and the third computer was there to facilitate the finding of documents in that room¡ª¡ªthe ones not in the database, the secret documents that don¡¯t exist.


    Jake and Ed both sat down at the computers to see what the regular database had to say about one ¡°John Mackenzie.¡± One thing found quickly was that there were several of them, scattered throughout the country and abroad as well. Most of the Johns had perfectly clean records. A few had done stupid things, and yet fewer still were in jail for doing something heinous. One thing that Jake saw jumped out immediately.


    ¡°I¡¯ve found our guy Ed.¡± He told his brother.


    ¡°Really? How can you tell?¡±


    ¡°Because he doesn¡¯t exist.¡±


    It was true. On Jake¡¯s computer screen, the details of this person were completely missing.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what our archives have to say about this guy.¡± Ed said, walking to the third computer.


    Surely enough, there was a file on him. Ed told the computer to fetch it for him; and in a matter of minutes, the automated system presented the file to him. The brothers sat down in their chairs and read the man¡¯s file.


    He was a well-built man now in his early forties. He¡¯d led a life of crime since the time he was only ten. During his teenage years, he committed crimes against women, often raping them and killing them. He had never been caught. In his twenties he went on to bigger crimes, and was implicated in many murders, although that could never be proved. These murders allowed him to ascend to the top and become a crime lord. Until now, his movements are elusive, although his actions are well documented. The organization he runs, the Red Game, has been at the center of many hijackings and brutal killings over the last fifteen years.


    Jake read on to discover a list of possible crimes that he¡¯d committed personally over the years. Some had notes attached such as his first victim, or his first use of a certain type of method. The final criminal jumped out and hit him in the face. It was the murder of his parents. The attached note was even more surprising.


    ¡°Final murder. Entire family killed. The father was the previous crime lord of the Red Game. No remains ever found of the children.¡±


    Jack sat there speechless, just staring at the page. He couldn¡¯t believe what he¡¯d just read! Ed saw the look on his face.


    ¡°Hey Jack! Are you alright?!¡±


    Jack didn¡¯t answer and instead handed the file to Ed. Ed dropped the paper as soon as he¡¯d read what Jack had.


    ¡°Crime lord?!¡± Ed screamed. ¡°I never fucking knew our dad was a crime lord!¡±


    Jack sat with his hand between his knees while his brother kept yelling. The fact that his father was a crime lord was jarring of course, but it wasn¡¯t the most important thing he¡¯d noticed. He raised his head and yelled at Ed to stop talking.


    ¡°Ed, I think you should read it once more. There is something there that is more shocking than the thing about our dad.¡±


    Ed read the passage again and his jaw dropped.


    ¡°Our sister.¡± He mouthed.


    Jake nodded.


    ¡°This was under our noses the whole fucking time.¡±


    Jake nodded again.


    ¡°We¡¯re not dead.¡± Jake informed Ed.


    ¡°Well doh.¡±


    ¡°But I saw our sister die right in front of me. What happened to her?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯d like to know.¡±


    The brothers sat there for a moment, contemplating their next move.


    ¡°Let''s go after the Red Game.¡± Ed suggested. ¡°John will turn up at some point while we break up that organization.¡±


    ¡°Good idea Ed.¡±


    The both of them shut off the computers and went to report directly to their boss. They were furious about the new information. Their boss¡¯ office was closer to the research center than to their room. The brothers stormed off to his office. Ed opened the door forcefully. It slammed into the wall and the man behind the desk jerked up and looked to see what the disturbance was.


    ¡°Ed, Jake!¡± He said, seeing their tempers. ¡°What are you both so steamed about?¡±


    ¡°No time for joking here.¡± Ed said. ¡±Why did you keep the information from us about our father?!¡±


    ¡°What happened with your father? All I know is that he was killed a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t play stupid! You know our father was the previous leader of the Red Game!¡±


    ¡°WHAT?!¡±


    ¡°You heard me!¡± Ed yelled, brandishing the file to prove it.


    ¡°I know a lot of things boys. But this? I¡¯ve never heard anything about it. Now that I know this though¡­it makes some things come into perspective. I think you both have a job to do though. Don¡¯t get any funny ideas just because your daddy was a crime lord.¡±


    ¡°Are you fucking kidding me?! We never knew what our dad did, and we certainly don¡¯t like the Red Game for what it did to our family, not just our dad!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just doing my job. You should be doing yours!¡±


    Ed stomped out of the door, and Jake followed suit. He slammed the door behind him. He was pissed! Not only had he found out what had really happened, but his boss was just as much of an asshole as ever!


    Back in their office, the brothers looked at each other. Rage emanated from their faces. They prepared for the mission in front of them. It would be long. It would be tough. But damn it, it would be the most important mission of their lives.


    VII


    Once equipped, the brothers got in their car. It was a newer model, an automatic. It wouldn¡¯t break down on the mission like the other one might have. Inside, there was a note that alerted the brothers to the fact that there was armor plating in the car. ¡°Just in cast.¡±


    Where John was, they didn¡¯t know; but the Red Game was, that was easier¡ª¡ªquite simplistic really. Their main base of operations was but a short drive away in Queensboro.


    VIII


    Ed and Jake woke up in Queensboro the next morning. They had spent most of the previous day driving there, before finding a hotel and spending the night.


    Queensboro was an old city. The streets were narrow and the buildings were tightly knit together, leaving not much room to breathe. The streets were paved for the most part, but where they were going, they would be cobbled with stone.


    Ed drove deeper into the older part of the city. The cobblestone road jarred the brothers around. Ed stopped the car in one of the allies, facing out. Jake exited the car and looked up. The only sky visible was a small sliver of blue and white. The rest was a dark shadowy mixture of wood, stone, and brick. In front of him, we saw a low hanging wood sign. ¡°Three Eyes Blind¡± it read. It was the main gathering place for the area¡ª¡ªa Red Game hangout.


    Ed stepped through the doors with Jake on his heels. The first thing that hit Jake was the very strong smell of cigarettes. It was a dark room, but as his eyes adjusted to the light. Jake was able to see the wooden surfaces of the bar and the booths where waiters served food. Several patrons were laughing at the bar, drinks in their hands.


    Ed moved forward and sat down next to them. Jake followed suit and ordered whatever the local beer happened to be. Jake offered to buy Ed one as well, but he declined. The brothers sat at the bar while Jake finished off his beer. The men next to them continued to joke and let off steam. Ed turned to the bartender.


    ¡°I need to talk to someone.¡± Ed said to the man behind the counter.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you around before, but that¡¯s what doctors are for.¡± The bartender laughed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean that. I mean, I need to talk.¡±


    ¡°As I said before, I haven¡¯t seen you around before.¡± The bartender said with a serious look. ¡°If you want to talk you¡¯ll need someone to sponsor you, even if it¡¯s for nothing big.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Ed. Eduard Jones.¡±


    The bartender stood there with his mouth open. Jake inched closer to get a better look. It was his uncle! The bartender was old, but there was no hiding who he was. The bartender looked at Ed up and down, and then Jake.


    ¡°You both shouldn¡¯t be here!¡± He whispered. ¡°If someone finds you, you¡¯ll be dead! The both of you!¡±


    ¡°Like I said, buddy. We¡¯re here to talk to someone. So unless you can get us to see someone, we¡¯re going to make someone see us.¡±


    ¡°Ed.¡± Jake said. ¡°This is our uncle!¡±


    ¡°I know Jake. I know.¡±


    ¡°Uncle?¡± The bartender said. ¡°I never was your uncle, only your dad¡¯s business partner. I¡¯ll sponsor the both of you. Just talk to the men next to you.¡±


    Ed tapped one of the men on the shoulder. The man wheeled around and looked at him sternly.


    ¡°Watch where ya put yer fucken fingers!¡± He yelled.


    ¡°I came to talk, not to argue about where I put my goddamn fingers.¡± Ed said, pointing to the bartender. ¡°This man is sponsoring me.¡±


    ¡°Is this fucken shit true?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it is; and I think you should cool down before I let the boss know how you treated our guests!¡±


    The color drained from the man¡¯s face.


    ¡°Follow me.¡± He said, beckoning the brothers to the back of the bar.


    Jake followed Ed and the man through a door in the back of the tavern. The room beyond was small, with a simple chair and a desk. A single light hung from the ceiling. There was a man behind the desk who looked to be in his mid thirties. He looked the boys once over and motioned for them to sit down on two chairs the man from the bar had brought with him.


    ¡°So, I understand you boys wanted to talk with me.¡± He said.


    ¡°Not you really.¡± Ed said. ¡°We really want to see John about some unfinished business.¡±


    The man laughed.


    ¡°No one sees John anymore. Most people don¡¯t even know where he is, and that¡¯s a good thing.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re hoping that you know where he is.¡±


    ¡°I may know where he is, but then again, my memory is a bit foggy. Maybe you can do something to help jog my memory.¡±


    The man looked at the brothers with a broad smile on his face. He was clearly expecting them to be his bitched for a long time, and even then, he still probably wouldn¡¯t grant them an audience with John. Ed stood up, and Jake did as well. They both pulled out their guns and aimed them at the man behind the desk.


    ¡°Will this jog your memory?¡± Ed said. ¡°You tell us what we want or we¡¯ll blow your fucking head off.¡±


    A flash of fear flew across the man¡¯s face, but it was gone as quickly as it had come.


    ¡°Now boys, be reasona¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Fucking tell me before I blow your head off!¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Ed yelled. He pointed the gun at the man¡¯s groin and fired. Blood splattered the floor and the man collapsed from shock. Two men rushed into the room and raised their arms when guns were pointed at them.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to end up like him, I suggest you let the rest of the Red Game know that Boss Jones¡¯ sons are still alive and we¡¯re coming for each and every one of you!¡±


    Ed stormed out of the building, Jake protecting the rear. Both men jumped into the back of the car and sped off towards their hotel. They would probably be safe in that room one more night, but then it would be time to move and use an alias. You could never be too careful on a mission. One mistake and only death awaits.


    IX


    The brothers packed in the morning and drove to another hotel on the other side of town. They were staying at the hotel with assumed names under the guise of vacationing to the historic town. That should throw the Red game off their trail for a few days at least.


    Ed and Jake put on their protective armor, and collected their weapons for the day. It was going to be an intelligence-collecting day. Perhaps they could find something useful on the whereabouts of John Mackenzie. The sooner the brothers found him, the better.


    With his knowledge of the criminal underground in general, Jake knew where one of the Red Game¡¯s lesser hideouts was. That would be perfect. Not many people, and a place where they could both dominate the action if anything went down.


    Ed drove the car to where the hideout was. Ed always drove because Jake was the better shot, which is also why Ed did most of the talking. The building was a typical modern apartment building clad entirely in brick. Ed walked in first, and Jake followed. The hideout was where any good hideout should be: on the second floor. That allowed quick escape and a bit of time if you see your enemy coming to get out while the getting¡¯s good.


    Ed showed the man behind the desk a piece of paper telling him to give them the spare key to the room and then flashed his badge. It was better to keep it quiet. The man behind the desk came back with the key a moment later, telling them to enjoy their visit. Ed grabbed the key and headed to the stairs. On the way up, they readied themselves. The room was close to the stairs, and Ed signaled to Jake to get ready. He inserted the key while Jake pulled his two handguns out. Click.


    ¡°Welcome back my fr¡ª¡ª¡° Said a voice as Ed opened the door. ¡°Who the fuck are you?!¡±


    Ed pulled out his revolver and aimed it at the man.


    ¡°Just shut up.¡± Ed spat out. ¡°Tie him up Jake.¡±


    Jake went over to the man and forced his hands behind him. They were secured quickly with a zip tie. Jake sat him on one of the chairs, and Ed pulled another chair in front of him in which he sat.


    ¡°I know who you are, and you don¡¯t know who I am,¡± said Ed with a smile. ¡°And that is exactly how I want it to be.¡±


    ¡°What do you want from me?¡± The man asked.


    ¡°Information.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Where is John Mackenzie?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Where is someone who does know?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t tell me? You can¡¯t tell me?! Look buddy, I have ways of making you talk. And if you don¡¯t want to talk, I¡¯ll just kill you. That doesn¡¯t bother me at all! I shot one of your friends in the balls yesterday, do you want me to do the same to you?!¡±


    The man froze.


    ¡°You!¡± He said trying to get free. He kicked Ed in the shins, and Jake smacked him in the chest with the butt of his gun.


    ¡°What about me?¡±


    ¡°Your father was our old boss!¡±


    ¡°We know.¡± The brothers said together.


    ¡°Tell me where there is someone who knows where John is!¡± Ed yelled, brandishing the gun.


    ¡°No. My friends will be here very soon.¡±


    ¡°Fine, you¡¯re a dead man then.


    Ed pointed the gun at the man¡¯s head.


    ¡°Ed! They¡¯re coming into the building right now!¡±


    ¡°Fuck! We¡¯ve gotta go! But first, let me leave you with something you won''t forget.¡±


    Ed fired the gun into the man¡¯s groin. He fell from the chair. Jake motioned to his brother that they had to go. Now. Ed jumped from the window onto the bushes a few feet down. Jake tripped over the man on the way to the window then scrambled to his feet. Out the window he went after his brother.


    The brothers raced back to where their car was. They could hear shouting coming from the hideout, as the Red Game tried to figure out what had happened. The brothers raced back to their hotel, making sure they weren¡¯t being followed. They would have to lay low for a while after all that had happened in the past two days. The gang was going on high alert.


    X


    Brrrriiiing! The telephone rang, waking Jake up. About two weeks had passed since the brothers had their tussles with the Red Game. They moved from hotel to hotel, biding their time until they would strike again. Brrrriiiing! The phone rang again. Jake made his way over to it, and picked it up. A rushed and panicking voice yelled at him from the other end.


    ¡°This is the chief of police!¡± The voice said. ¡°We¡¯re being overrun by the Red Game! Help!¡±


    ¡°Where are you?¡± Jake asked calmly.


    ¡°Homebase!¡±


    Shit thought Jake Homebase? That means I¡¯ve gotta go find Ed and get back to the office. They¡¯re attacking police headquarters!


    ¡°I¡¯ll be there as soon as I can. Hold them off with whatever you¡¯ve got.¡±


    Jake threw the phone down and packed all of their belongings. He lugged them down the stairs and out the door. Ed had gone to the store for some milk. He hated being away from home and his stocked refrigerator. Jake waved Ed down from the front door as he came from the car.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got to go, Ed. Now.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Tell you on the way. We have to go!¡±


    The pair threw their suitcases in the trunk and left for home. Jake informed Ed of the situation; and as soon as they stopped for gas, they both put on their armor and readied their guns.


    Within the hour, they were back home. The police headquarters had broken glass littering the ground in front of it. Ed parked the car and jumped out. In his hand, he had a shotgun. There would be lots of enemies, and that meant he needed lots of firepower. Jake, on the other hand, had an assault rifle with which he could make use of his good accuracy.


    Ed stormed the building first, and Jake followed his brother. There were a few enemies in the entranceway, but not very many. Jake thought this would happen. Most of them would probably be on the third floor trying to get to the chief.


    I hope the chief is still holding them off, he thought.


    Ed fired off a couple of rounds from his shotgun. This rendered a bit of the room in ruins, and no enemy resistance. In the hallway, the brothers met up with one of their coworkers from below. The three decided to head upstairs and try to get to the chief as quickly as possible. That would be the fastest way to end this battle.


    Jake raced up the stairs, grabbing the banister for support. The three men were winded by the time they reached the third floor. Ed stuck his head out of the door to check down the hall. He jumped out with guns blazing, and the sound of someone¡¯s body hitting the ground reached Jake¡¯s ears. He left the stairwell and followed his brother.


    The Chief¡¯s office was just down the hallway. Loud voices could be heard yelling in confusion about what had just happened. Bodies were strewn across the floor from the battle that had taken place mere minutes earlier. Masked men from the Red Game rounded the corner and brought their guns to bear against Ed. Jake aimed his rifle and dispatched one or two of the men while Ed blasted holes through the rest with his shotgun.


    The team rushed to the Chief¡¯s office. Ed entered the room, and Jake peered in from the side. The chief was tied up and another man was yelling at him to sign a piece of paper. Ed¡¯s presence took the man by surprise. He seemed oblivious to the carnage that had occurred right outside the door. Ed raised his gun at the man, who surrendered instantly. Jake came in as well, and tied the man¡¯s hands up. A smile crossed the Chief¡¯s face.


    ¡°Thanks boys.¡± He said. ¡°I thought I was going to have to sign the city away to this fucker.¡±


    The chief pointed at the man Jake had tied up. Jake, Ed, and the man from below sat down in chairs in front of the Chief¡¯s desk. The room was a mess. The wall was torn and pitted by the countless bullets. Paintings and pictures lay ruined on the ground.


    ¡°Chief.¡± Ed said. ¡°I would like to question this man. I think he knows something me and my brother need.¡±


    ¡°When you¡¯re done, give him back to us? We need someone to blame publically.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Thanks Chief.¡±


    XI


    Hours later, Jake and Ed sat on chairs pulled up next to the man they¡¯d captured earlier. He was chained down to a chair that looked like a dentist¡¯s chair. Ed stood up and walked over to the man. In his hand, he held a syringe.


    ¡°W-what are you going to do to me?¡± The man asked.


    ¡°Nothing if you tell us all we want to know.¡± Ed replied.


    ¡°Ask me a-anything.¡±


    ¡°Why did you attack the police headquarters?¡±


    ¡°We found a badge that had this address. John Mackenzie said there was a prisoner here.¡±


    ¡°John Mackenzie¡­ where is he?¡±


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t kn¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Oh shut up and tell me now before I fucking shove this syringe up your ass!¡±


    Ed moved towards the chained man and prepared to stick the man with the needle.


    ¡°W-wait!¡±


    ¡°What is it?!¡±


    ¡°I know where he is! He¡¯s in Stowe.¡±


    ¡°Where in Stowe?¡±


    ¡°39 Chestnut Street.¡±


    Ed stabbed the man with the syringe, injecting him with the clear liquid within. The man protested but passed out almost instantly.


    ¡°Nighty-night!¡± Ed said laughing. ¡°When you wake up, you won''t remember our little conversation!¡±


    Ed tossed the syringe and left the room. Jake was about to leave as well, but saw something fall to the floor from within the man¡¯s jacket. It was his badge! Suddenly, Jake realized that it was his carelessness that had led to so many deaths. He picked up his badge.


    I must¡¯ve dropped it when I fell at the hideout. He thought. That seems like the most likely spot. I¡¯m such an idiot¡­


    XII


    It was much later in the day when Ed and Jake left headquarters to go kill their target. Night fell by the time they reached Stowe, a small town on the outskirts of Queensboro. Jake knew that they would have to act on the information that night before it went bad. Milk certainly had a longer shelf life than information.


    The brothers parked their car several streets away to minimize suspicion. Ed left the car with his two pistols. Jake had a longer hunting rifle for this task¡ª¡ªany mistake would be catastrophic.


    The ten-minute walk to Chestnut Street brought a bit to Jake¡¯s stomach. He hadn¡¯t felt this sense of rage and of pain since that day. It was time for revenge. He needed his A-game, not to be worrying about the past. He shunted the thoughts away, but they lay at the back of his brain, haunting him still.


    Ed looked at the house numbers as they passed. Jake was looking down and didn¡¯t notice that Ed had stopped moving. He bumped into Ed and then turned his head. Written in white letters were the unmistakable numbers 39. Jake''s heart beat faster. His palms began to sweat.


    Calm down Jake! He told himself. Play this one by the book and no one gets hurt; play this one by the book and you¡¯ll have your revenge¡­


    The house in front of him was a four-story brick-faced tenement. The third and fourth floors still had lights on. Ed picked the lock while Jake stood guard. Click. The door swung open and both brothers crept inside. A quick look at the names on the register of the tenants told the brothers where to go.


    Up two flights of stairs, Jake again stood guard while Ed unlocked the door. Ed jumped through with his guns out. A surprised guard was there to meet him. Ed shot first and the man fell. Both brothers rushed forward as several guards yelled. Jake stopped two of them as he ran towards a closed door on the left of the hallway he was in. The brick walls ripped his shirt as he kicked the door down. His brother was right behind him on the way there. Jake saw a figure race across the room in a desperate bid for freedom. Ed aimed one of his guns. Bang! Masonry showered the floor, but he¡¯d missed the man.


    Jake ran across the room and jumped through the window. Fifteen feet of air lay between him and the ground. He landed on his feet and rolled forward, breaking the fall. Jake glimpsed a tree line about two hundred yards away. The figure was racing towards it as fast as he could. Jake aimed his rifle. Bang! The man stumbled a bit, but kept on going.


    Shit. He thought. I missed a bit.


    Ed sped ahead of him and ran into the trees after the man. Jake followed suit and was soon hot on the man¡¯s trail. The moon shone brightly that night, enough that Jake was able to glimpse his target through the brush every now and again. Jake saw the man sitting in the clearing, but Ed saw him first. Bang!


    The man fell to the ground from where he had been sitting. Jake moved towards the man to check his vitals. He was still breathing.


    ¡°You fuckin¡¯ missed!¡± Jake shouted to his brother. ¡°The son-of-a-bitch is still alive. I¡¯ll take care of it though. Don¡¯t worry, I won''t miss.¡±


    Jake lifted his gun to his shoulder and sighted it in. The man¡¯s head shone a deep crimson in the moonlight. He pulled the trigger. Bang! The man¡¯s head disintegrated from the powerful shit. Pieces of him littered the entire area.


    ¡°I think we¡¯ll need a good maid for this one.¡± Jake joked.


    ¡°Very funny.¡± Ed sneered. ¡°Let''s call this one in before someone accidentally finds it.¡±


    ¡°Good idea.¡±

 Chapter 3 [Lily]

    I


    Lily sat down on a log by the campsite. It had been so long since she¡¯d had any senses. The rough texture of the log left imprints on her skin. The smell of wetness from the morning dew was a relief¡ª¡ªnothing had ever smelled so wonderful. Her mouth water for some food. Any food. She desperately wanted a taste of reality again.


    Lily got up and rummaged through Johnny¡¯s backpack. Her fingers happened upon an energy bar he¡¯d nicked from his friend''s house a few days ago. She bit into it. Lily¡¯s face lit up with delight. No meal had tasted so good in all her life, but she knew that an energy bar wasn¡¯t going to keep her going for very long. For that she¡¯d need some real meat.


    Lily looked again in Johnny¡¯s backpack. She found the money he¡¯d stolen from his mother¡ª¡ªit would be needed. She pocketed it and left the campsite as it was. By midday, she was in town. There was a mall in the center of town; Lily knew this from Johnny¡¯s memories. In that mall, she knew she¡¯d find several stores where she could buy new clothes. Johnny¡¯s old ones were god-awful.


    The mall was white to the point that Lily had to shield her eyes as she approached. The inside was nice. The floors were carpeted; the railings were wrought-iron masterpieces. Lily found a directory by the entrance of the mall and searched for stores that might have what she wanted. Just above her, she found a Victoria¡¯s Secret. Nearby to that, there was a Macy¡¯s. Both would suit her nicely.


    Inside Victoria¡¯s Secret, Lily picked out several of the sexiest things she could find. She brought them into the dressing room. Lily gazed into the mirror. She wasn¡¯t bad looking at all. Her body had curves in all the right places. Her body looked like it had the last time she¡¯d had a body, and that made her smile. The lingerie looked good on her as well. She would definitely be able to attract a few men with them.


    Lily took the clothes with her back to the counter to pay for them. She knew it would be expensive, but she also knew that she had enough money. The lady behind the counter rang up her order.


    ¡°Any man who sees you wearing these is going to look twice.¡± She said while putting the clothes into a bag.


    ¡°I hope so.¡± Lily said with a smile.


    Oh, she thought, they definitely will love me. And I will love them back.


    Lily chuckled to herself. She had a young looking body¡ª¡ªshe looked like a high school senior at most¡ª¡ªand all the men would be wanting her. Lily was definitely looking forward to the evening. It would be a lot of fun. She had a large smile on her face as she left the store.


    With the undergarments secured for the time being, Lily made her way to Macy''s. The store wasn¡¯t very crowded. Probably because it was the early afternoon and in the middle of the week. Lily followed signs for the women¡¯s department. She was keen on finding a couple of dresses for later. The dresses hung neatly on racks. She picked out any of them that might show off her figure. In the dressing room, she put on the underwear she¡¯d bought earlier.


    I look good, Lily thought to herself. I look good enough to eat in fact!


    Over the top of the underwear she put the first dress. It was a bit tight, so she tried on the next one. This one fit better.


    But, she thought, it doesn¡¯t show off my curves well enough.


    That one was rejected as well. The third one went on after. It was better, but Lily had a few more she wanted to try. After ten minutes of undressing and dressing again, Lily happened upon a dress that made her look lip smacking good as she put it. It accented her young body by allowing small glimpses of the lingerie below.


    She took the dress off and put her regular clothes back on. Lily took that dress as well as another and paid for them at the front desk. She immediately went to the bathroom. It was time to change. It was time to get the party started. Once in the bathroom, on went the new dress. She made sure her hair looked good for all those men.


    They¡¯ll love me, she told herself, smiling. No one will be able to resist me now¡­ I can¡¯t even resist myself! I do need a shower though. I guess I¡¯ll take one after I get my man tonight.


    Lily took the rest of her things and stuffed them in the backpack. She didn¡¯t have much money left, but that didn¡¯t really matter. She¡¯d definitely get more tonight. There was a bar near the outskirts of town that Johnny¡¯s memories told her would be a good place to go. His mom had frequented it. His mom had brought home many men from that place. It would take an hour or two to get there.


    II


    Around 8 O¡¯clock in the evening, Lily finally decided to enter the bar. The inside reeked of smoke. Barmaids scurried around serving food and beer to all of the patrons. The bar was all but filled by young men and women looking to have a good time. Some of the women were prostitutes. Some of them were underage too.


    I¡¯ll fit right in! Lily thought.


    Lily sat at the bar and was asked to show I.D. She rummaged through Johnny¡¯s backpack. With the cash, she found his mother¡¯s license. There was no picture on it, which was a good thing considering the two women looked nothing alike. The bartender was satisfied and left Lily alone.


    Lily sat at the bar and scanned the room around her. Several men were taking glances at her¡ª¡ªthat was good¡ª¡ªbut none had come up to her yet.


    This could be a long night¡­ She mused.


    Lily called over the bartender and ordered a beer. The bitter but filling liquid satisfied her for now. She heard a rustling noise behind her.


    ¡°May I take this seat?¡± A rough voice asked her.


    ¡°S-sure.¡± Lily said.


    ¡°May I say that you look wonderful tonight?¡±


    ¡°Really? You think so?¡±


    He put his arm around her.


    ¡°I know so. You¡¯re one in a million.¡±


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know what to say.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to say anything my darling.¡±


    The man called the bartender over and ordered Lily another beer. Lily tried to look as innocent as possible. What was the use in letting him get it easy? Lily sipped her beer while she talked to the man. She had to endure stories about how he was succeeding at work and how he was rising up the ladder. Lily didn¡¯t give a damn about the man¡¯s life. She just wanted to know how good he was in bed.


    Almost an hour had passed before Lily was fed up with his stories. She interrupted him in the middle of another story.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been sitting here listening to you for a long time,¡± she said. ¡°Do you want to have a bit of fun?¡±


    Lily struck as sexy a pose as she could. No man could resist her young body. The man opened his mouth, but nothing came out.


    ¡°You can have me all you want. I¡¯ll be your little girl.¡±


    The man couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He took Lily by the hand and dragged her out of the bar. He hailed a taxi and took her back to his apartment. It was a one-bedroom flat furnished with nice looking furniture. It certainly seemed as if his stories were true, but Lily doubted it. It was just a ploy to get women to sleep with him. She didn¡¯t care however. It had been so long since she¡¯d had any pleasures of the flesh.


    Lily followed the man into his bedroom. The bed was large enough for him and whatever girl he happened to be enjoying that night. The man pulled up the sheets and beckoned Lily to join him in bed. Lily shook her head¡ª¡ªshe had something else in mind first. Lily shook her body and stripped out of her garments. She then jumped in the man¡¯s bed. For the next few hours, Lily pleased the man in every way imaginable. Both were tired by the time it was all over.


    ¡°Damn.¡± He said. ¡°You¡¯re good in bed. And your body, it¡¯s amazing!¡±


    ¡°Thank-you¡± Lily said before tucking him in bed.


    He fell asleep right away. Lily dressed herself and snuck into the man¡¯s kitchen. She found a large chopping knife.


    Perfect. She thought.


    She picked it up. Its sharp edge shone in the light from the living room. Lily walked into the bedroom with the knife and picked up one of the pillows. In an instant, she shoved the pillow on the man¡¯s face to muffle his screams, and stabbed him in the chest several times until he was dead.


    She was tired; the bed was ruined. Lily decided that the couch in the living room would have to be for the night.


    III


    ¡°Lily!¡± A voice said.


    It came from behind her. She turned and saw that it was her mother.


    ¡°It¡¯s late sweetie.¡± Her mother said. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go to bed soon?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lily replied. ¡°I was going to after I had some milk. Probably ten minutes or so.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fine sweetie. Just don¡¯t stay up too late, you have school tomorrow.¡±


    Lily walked to the fridge and poured herself a glass of milk. While she was drinking it, she heard a window shatter. Lily put the glass down and made her way over to the sound.


    He¡¯s dead! She heard her mother scream.


    Lily ran to her mother, and she stopped the instant she saw what had happened. Her father lay there in a pool of blood. Dead. She screamed and ran. She heard a thud as her mother¡¯s body hit the floor.


    No! She screamed in her head. This can¡¯t be happening! Why?!


    Tears rolled down her cheeks as she ran. She heard another crash a few moments later. Her younger brother screamed. She ran to him. The man with the axe had the axe raised over his head, about to strike her brother.


    Not another one! She thought.


    Without thinking more she leapt in front of her brother. The axe penetrated her back. The pain was incredible. Her brother screamed again.


    ¡°R-run.¡± She whispered.


    Her brother screamed.


    ¡°R-run.¡± Lily said. ¡°Run¡­ J-Jake.¡±


    Her brother struggled out from under her. The man swung the axe.


    IV


    Lily woke with a start. Dappled light fell on her face. She sat up on the couch and yawned loudly. The red digital display on the microwave in the kitchen told her it was already ten O¡¯clock-in-the-morning.


    I overslept? She wondered before her mind went back to the dream. It was so real. Did it happen?


    Lily yawned again. There was a cramp in her neck and her back hurt from the couch. She was hungry but that body would take a while to cook and pack away for later.


    She rummaged throughout his apartment looking for anything she might be able to use. Lily found a handgun as well as a few hundred dollars in cash. All that searching caused her to sweat profusely; and when combined with the fact that she hadn¡¯t showered in days, Lily knew she reeked. At least this man had a shower. That would help. She took a nice warm shower to wash the grime away.


    Lily dried herself well and put on the second dress she¡¯d bought. The dirty clothes that had accumulated over the past days were thrown into the laundry, and she was finally ready to prepare herself a meal. In the kitchen, she found a serrated knife and brought it with her to the bedroom. Lily began to dismember the man¡¯s body. The head came off as well as the arms and the legs. Any part of him that didn¡¯t need to be cleaned out was taken into the kitchen where she skinned the parts.


    Lily peeled off the meat from the bones, making sure there was nothing left. After all, she¡¯d need this food for a while. In the many cabinets, Lily found a large pot and filled it part way with water. In went the meat as well as a few vegetables from the fridge.


    She sat back once the pot was boiling away. It would be a good stew. The man had a nice TV in the living room and she flipped it on to pass the time.


    V


    Hours passed before the stew was finally ready. Lily tasted the broth. It was amazing! It sent her back to when she used to cook with her mother all those years ago. Lily found a bowl in one of the cabinets and filled it to the brim with the stew. A little salt and pepper for extra flavor. She indulged herself with the stew. The aromas filled her nostrils and then the rest of her senses. The warmth felt wonderful on a cold October day. It warmed Lily¡¯s heart.


    After she¡¯d finished, Lily stood up and smiled. That man was tastier dead than alive, that was for sure. She packed away the washed clothes and the stew. It wouldn¡¯t last all that long, but it was better than nothing. Lily did another once over of the apartment to make sure she didn¡¯t miss something she might need later. She slung the pack over her back and slipped out of the apartment.


    The red and gold foliage looked striking against the deep blue of the sky. The cold late-afternoon air stung Lily¡¯s hands. Soon, the temperature would dip below freezing¡ª¡ªprobably tonight¡ª¡ªfor the first frost of the year. Sleeping out in such weather could be deadly, but Lily didn¡¯t worry. She had her wits about her.


    The sun was setting by the time Lily gathered enough wood for a fire and built a shelter. She had paid the cabbie almost fifteen dollars for the fare. Lily counted her money. Only sixty-eight dollars left. The man she¡¯d slept with last night didn¡¯t have much on him, but it would have to do for now.


    The hastily thrown together shelter was made of one large log propped up on one end with a few larger branches shoved in the ground. Pine boughs were laid to form a roof with leaves piled on top and some more shoved inside as bedding. Lily climbed inside and pulled leaves in to seal up the door.


    VI


    A scene shimmered in front of Lily before solidifying. The room was recognizable as a kitchen. Lily stood at one end of a white round table while a woman stood at the other end. The woman was pregnant¡ª¡ªher belly bulged out. The woman rubbed her stomach.


    ¡°John.¡± She said to Lily.


    ¡°Yes dear?¡± Lily asked in return with a deep male voice.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s almost time.¡±


    The scene shifted. Colors swirled around Lily before coming to a stop. She was standing at the end of the same table. This time, there was a chair on the other end with a baby in it. Next to the baby, the woman from before stood feeding him food. The baby was crying¡ª¡ªhe didn¡¯t want to be fed¡ª¡ªand flinging his food all over the room.


    Lily moved towards the child and took the food away so it didn¡¯t end up on the ceiling.


    ¡°Johnny.¡± She said in the same male voice as before. ¡°Don¡¯t play with your food. It¡¯s dinner time.¡±


    The woman peered at her.


    ¡°John, can you please clean this up? Johnny still needs to eat.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Lily went to the counter and picked up a roll of paper towels. Wetting them, she proceeded to wipe down the kitchen until it was somewhat cleaned. When she was done, Johnny had fallen asleep on his chair.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be annoyed,¡± the woman said looking at Lily¡¯s face, ¡°he¡¯s a good child. Let''s raise him right together.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    The scene shifted once more. Before the scene even steadied itself, Lily heard a deathly scream. In front of her, the woman from before fell out of a doorway that led to the stairway adjacent to the kitchen. She was bloodied up. Behind her was a man with a knife about to stab her. Lily felt a pit in her stomach as she fumbled for a gun in one of the kitchen drawers. Her hand clasped on tight to the grip as she yanked it from its hiding place. Lily aimed the gun at the man¡¯s heart. Bang! He fell to the ground. Dead. Lily rushed to the woman¡¯s side. Her heart was in despair. Who could have done this? Why?


    ¡°J-John.¡± The woman gasped.


    ¡°D-don¡¯t talk dear.¡± Lily said, shaking. ¡°You¡¯ll be just fine. I¡¯ll call an ambulance.¡±


    ¡°You liar.¡± She whispered. ¡°I-I love you, but I¡¯m dying. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Lily grabbed the woman and wept. She loved her, but she was being taken away from her.


    ¡°P-please.¡± The woman said. ¡°Please take c-care of Johnny.¡±


    ¡°I-I will.¡± Lily sobbed into the woman¡¯s bloody clothing. ¡°I promise. J-just don¡¯t die. We can take care of him together. You can¡¯t die!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry John. I¡¯m at my end. I love you.¡±


    The woman¡¯s head rolled to one side and she gasped. Her breathing was ragged as she spoke her last word.


    ¡°Johnny.¡± The woman gasped as she died.


    ¡°No!¡± Lily screamed. ¡°Don¡¯t die! I love you! I fucking love you damn it! Don¡¯t die on me please. Don¡¯t-don¡¯t die. P-please.¡±


    Mixed with the grief as the scene began to fade was another, more important feeling. Revenge. Lily would avenge that woman¡¯s death.


    VII


    Lily woke up. The leaves around her had kept the cold night air at bay, but now it was time to exit this cocoon. Lily crawled out and was greeted by a dense fog. Light scattered by the fog fell all around her. It was an eerie glow. Lily stood up and relit the fire from the night before.


    Within a half an hour, a bowl of stew was boiling and ready to eat. Boy was she hungry. The stew tasted better than before¡ª¡ªgood things get better with age after all. Lily took a deep breath and ran her hands through her hair. She found there were leaves still stuck in her hair and took the next few minutes to pull them out. The shelter she had made did as it was designed well, but had that quite embarrassing drawback.


    Lily looked around her again. The fog was starting to lift; the air was starting to warm. It was going to be a beautiful day.


    What am I going to do today? Lily thought. I guess I could make this camp better. That should be worth something at least. I don¡¯t want to have more leaves in my hair. That¡¯s annoying.


    Lily went about making a proper shelter. This one would keep her dry, safe, warm, and leaf free. Work to this end took Lily several long hours, but it was worth it. Lily also took the time to dig herself a fire pit. She could then warm flat stones for the night ahead. Lily figured it might ward off some of the bad dreams she¡¯d been having lately.


    Lily knew she needed water badly. It was starting to get late in the day, so she needed to hurry. Lily struck off into the woods to look for a water source. After about an hour of hard bushwhacking, Lily was about to give up and try again tomorrow. She could wait another day; she had enough water for that. But she found a small clearing with a brook on the opposite end. The rocky clearing provided an opening in the trees through which she could see the sky. There was not a cloud visible, and the sky was a deep blue. It was a perfect day. Lily dipped the bottle she¡¯d brought and filled it to the brim before sealing it.


    The sun was nearing the horizon by the time Lily returned to her shelter. She gathered a large pile of wood and stacked it neatly next to her shelter. She used some of it to ignite the fire in order to heat the stone, to purify the water, and to reheat another bowl of stew.


    Dinner felt good in Lily¡¯s stomach. She¡¯d done what she needed to do that day. Tomorrow would be another day. Lily looked at her reserve of stew, thinking about how long it would take to go bad. She realized that it might be time to go hunting again in a day or two.


    Lily pulled the warmed stones from the fire and laid them down inside the shelter. She threw a few of Johnny¡¯s old clothes over them and lay down on top. It was comforting and relaxing. Sleep came quickly thereafter.


    VIII


    There was a strong feeling of disgust and revenge in her stomach as Lily stood at the end of a long driveway. She held an axe in her large hands. Its wooden handle felt cold to the touch. Lily knew this was a dream, but it felt so real.


    She moved one foot and then the other. Each fateful step brought her closer to happiness, closer to her goals. Closer to revenge. She¡¯d seen her family die in front of her, and she needed to make sure these people had the same happen to them as they¡¯d done to her. Lily walked faster down the driveway. Before long, the house was in view. She walked around the house to figure out the best way to get in.


    On one side of the house Lily stopped. Right in front of her stood the man responsible for all of this madness. She jumped through the window without thinking and buried the axe deep in the back of the man¡¯s neck. She heard a woman screaming and turned to her.


    Must be the wife. She thought.


    Lily lunged at the woman and struck her in the chest. Another scream reached her ears, along with the sound of footsteps running away from her. Lily figured it¡¯d be best to try another entrance.


    She searched outside for another way in, and found a window with a shadow of a young boy. Lily broke the glass and climbed through. The boy screamed; Lily laughed. This was going to be well worth it. She raised the axe and swung it down hard. Lily struck a body, but it wasn¡¯t the boys. A woman¡¯s body was impaled by her axe. Lily rolled her eyes in disgust. Why did people always have to get in her way?


    She raised the axe, aiming for the boy who had just gotten to his feet. She swung hard and missed. Instead, she cracked the woman¡¯s skull clean in half. The boy ran off while she stood there. The picture of the woman¡¯s face right before she¡¯d been killed reminded her of her wife before she was murdered. Lily picked up the body and dragged it out of the house. Once the body was safely outside, Lily went back in and took a lighter from her pocket. She ignited the house.


    That should hide the evidence. She thought. Now, what to do with the body?


    The scene shifted. Lily was now back in the kitchen where she¡¯d seen her wife murdered a year earlier. The pot on the stove smelled great. Her son Johnny was walking around asking her to play with him. She told him she couldn¡¯t. Lily was cooking.


    A timer rang from the countertop. The stew was ready. Lily poured a bowl each for her and Johnny. She called him for dinner, and he sat in his seat like the big boy he¡¯d become.


    ¡°Thanks Daddy!¡± Johnny said, holding up his spoon.


    ¡°Wait Johnny, we still need to say our prayer.¡± She responded.


    Lily prayed about her fallen wife and thanked God for her meal. Lily tasted a spoonful. It was amazing! The broth was accented with onion and carrot as well as a special mix of spices. She¡¯d always heard it said that revenge was a dish best served cold. Lily disagreed. She liked hers piping hot.


    Lily watched as Johnny swallowed a large spoonful while the scene faded.


    IX


    Lily woke up, the taste of that stew still fresh in her mouth. That had been amazing. Her stomach grumbled¡ª¡ªshe was hungry. Lily crawled out of her shelter and brought the fire back to life. She placed a large bowl of stew on top of the fire to heat it up.


    Her breakfast tasted great. Even though she¡¯d had stew for the past few meals, the dream she had made her enjoy this helping just that much more.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Stew gets better with age. Lily joked. But I do need to get more before this stew ages too much.


    Lily got up from her meal and cleaned out the pot and bowl. For a moment, Lily felt as if time skipped. She touched her head and grumbled. Her forehead was hot. She was sick. Lily put herbs in the pot along with some water in order to make some tea. Sick people needed to drink lots of fluids after all.


    Lily crawled back into her shelter while the tea was being made. The chilly morning air made her feel a little bit better. She felt like she was burning up.


    Boiling water signaled that the tea was ready. Lily let it steep for a few minutes before drinking a cup. The hot tea felt great on her throat. She filled her cup again and curled up inside the shelter under her covers. Lily yawned loudly. Being sick always took a lot out. She took a large gulp of tea and lay down. Lily closed her eyes and drifted off.


    X


    A dream solidified in Lily¡¯s head. She was lost in a forest. It was night and there was no moonlight.


    Where am I? Lily wondered.


    She recognized the place. She¡¯d been there once before, but why had she been there? Lily looked down at her body. It was in tatters. A pool of liquid was at her feet¡ª¡ªblood. Lily had bled more than a normal person had blood, but she wouldn¡¯t die.


    How am I alive? She asked herself.


    This was odd. Lily pondered her situation for a moment while more blood poured down her body in limitless amounts. Then a vision flashed before her eyes. Lily lay on the ground with a hatch buried in the back of her skull. She was definitely dead.


    Was this heaven? I didn¡¯t look like it. It was not comforting in any way, and there was no one around her. Was this hell? Again, that seemed unlikely. So where the hell was she? Lily realized she had no choice and that she should find a way to stop the bleeding before it drove her crazy.


    Lily removed the hatchet from the back of her head. More blood gushed down her back. A wind blew the liquid on her back sideways, but she couldn¡¯t feel it. She couldn¡¯t feel anything. She had to be dead. Lily lay down in her pool of blood and tried to sleep. Sleep didn¡¯t come, and for the rest of the night, she lay curled up in her own blood as more gushed out every second. The wounds were not healing at all.


    XI


    Lily gave up on sleeping and lay on her back looking up at the pitch-black sky. The sky slowly changed to purple and blue. From blue to cerise and then to gold. The light showed Lily what she was. Her white skin was bathed in her own blood. The puddle the night before had grown deep enough for her to have lain down to take a bath.


    Lily got up from her puddle and wandered slowly through the forest she happened to have found herself the previous night. She looked for a clearing to better assess her situation.


    What the hell is happening to me? She asked herself. I know I¡¯m dead, but why am I walking around? What is going on?


    Waves of depression and sadness rippled through her body. Her existence was pitiful, but what could she do about it? She was stuck here, so why not figure out what was going on. Maybe then she could at least go back to being dead.


    Several hours of wandering brought Lily to the edge of a large clearing on the top of a hill. The rocky soil had small bushes growing out of it at odd angles. The shrubbery shrank off to nothing as the soil changed to solid rock. Lily made her way over to the rock in order to get a better view. She stood on the rock with a hundred-foot drop below her.


    Her body was still leaking a lot of blood like it had since she¡¯d arrived in this god-awful place. Lily looked up. The sky wasn¡¯t just blue with a sun, there was some fuzzy image behind it. It was just too vague to see. This puzzled Lily a lot. Was there something else beyond this world?


    She noticed that her body was as light as a feather, even though the limitless amounts of blood coming out had done nothing to change her appearance. The pool of blood beneath her feet was slick. She turned to leave the cliff, but slipped instead. Her stomach rose in her body, giving her that odd sensation. Time passed by slowly as the ground neared her body.


    I¡¯m going to die! Her mind raced. Not again!


    Thud. She hit the ground hard.


    XII


    Lily felt no pain, but she passed out nonetheless. She lay on the ground going in and out of consciousness. The wounds she had sustained before she arrived here were still gushing, although the fall had done nothing to her body. Lily lay in a dazed state for a long time while the sky faded in and out of her vision.


    While lying there, Lily felt the terror she¡¯d felt the instant before she arrived here. It was hellish. It was unrelenting. The glint of metal as she felt herself leaving her own body scared her, even now. Then it hit her. Her suspicions of death had to be true¡ª¡ªshe had a big hole in her head. She was bleeding and it wouldn¡¯t stop. Maybe, she thought, it would go away if she imagined she didn¡¯t have any wounds. Mind over matter solved most dilemmas anyway.


    Lily focused on her body and tried to imagine herself without any holes in her. It worked for a moment, but then her mind let the image degrade into something horrific. She imagined her body with sharp spikes stuck in her flesh. Blood was again pouring out of her. To Lily¡¯s surprise, she looked down and observed that her thought had come true.


    I¡¯ve got to try harder. She thought. I know it can be done. I know I can fix myself. Why be so miserable?


    Lily sat up and shook her head to snap out of her drowsiness. Blood flew around.


    I¡¯ve really gotta do something about that. She thought. It¡¯s getting really annoying.


    Lily closed her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could. She imagined how she¡¯d been before she was killed. An image of herself in the mirror swam into focus in front of her. Just as she was beginning to believe her image, a flash of metal was visible in the mirror behind her. The axe sunk its teeth into the back of her skull, and she watched herself fall.


    Lily opened her eyes and shook off the feeling of despair before trying once more. Again the image of her in the mirror appeared in front of her. This time, however, she was able to stabilize the image and snap it into place before the image of her death returned. Opening her eyes, Lily reached back and felt the back of her head. There was no more gash; there was no more blood. Lily smiled.


    Lily stood up and made the arduous journey back to the top of the hill. There she looked at the stone and imagined a small hut with a fire outside. When she opened her eyes, she saw the hut just as she¡¯d imagined.


    Perfect. Lily thought. I figured that was going to happen. I wonder what else I can do with this power¡­


    Lily didn¡¯t feel hungry in the slightest. She was tired. Lily slid herself into the rocky hut. And imagined a nice warm blanket to cover herself with.


    XIII


    Lily woke up early the next morning before the sun was even up. She rolled out of bed and imagined a sandwich for breakfast. She didn¡¯t know the limits of imagining, but simple things seemed to work OK. Lily decided that she would stick with that for now.


    The sun rose while Lily ate, and the fuzzy image beyond was still there as it had been the day before. She wondered if she¡¯d ever figure out what it was.


    Maybe, she thought, if I imagine that the image is clear, it will be. But then again, maybe not. I¡¯d like to try a few more basic things before I try that. At least then I¡¯ll know if it¡¯s possible.


    Although Lily¡¯s stomach was sated for now, she realized that she would be hungry again later if she didn¡¯t do something about it now. Survival was all about planning. If she wanted to enjoy her food more than she had the sandwich, she would have to cook. Lily imagined a grill over her fire and a pot on top.


    Lily had always loved to cook. She remembered when she used to help her mother in the kitchen. When she was alive. Tears came out of Lily¡¯s eyes, but she pushed the pain away.


    I don¡¯t have time for this. She told herself sternly. I need to figure out what is going on here more than anything else. Pain and the past can wait a while.


    Wiping the tears from her face Lily looked at her handiwork. There was a grill and a pot sitting right on top¡ª¡ªjust as she¡¯d imagined.


    Now, she thought, all I need now is something to cook.


    Lily smiled for the first time since she¡¯d arrived there. In her mind, she imagined a freshly killed animal that was already skinned on top of tinfoil to protect it from the ground. Lily picked up the chicken. It was heavy and unwieldy. She needed a way to cut it up¡ª¡ªto make it small enough to pick up and put in the pot.


    With her imagination, Lily found a shiny new hunting knife. She figured it¡¯d be more useful in a variety of situations, not just for cutting up the chicken. Lily noticed that when she imagined these things she became hungrier and more tired. It was definitely draining. Lily figured it was probably better to find what she needed when she could, but imagine the larger things that would wear her out trying to find.


    There was no water on top of the mountain, and Lily had to resort to imagining that along with a few vegetables to make it tastier. Lily stoked the fire and put the cut up pieces of chicken and the vegetables into the pot and left it sitting there, occasionally stirring with a stick she¡¯d cleaned off.


    Lily was tired from all the things she¡¯d created and crawled back into the hut and slept for an hour or two. When she woke up, the stew was boiling away to perfection. Lily imagined herself a bowl and a spoon to eat with. She was really hungry now. Not much she could do about it until the stew was ready.


    Another hour passed before Lily scooped some of the stew into her bowl. It smelled amazing. Each bite tasted like a dream. It was a simple stew but it warmed her body and made her feel great about herself. Lily felt the energy flow right back into her. She was wide awake again.


    Lily looked up at the sky. The fuzzy images faded as darkness came across the sky. The deep-red sunset seemed beautiful yet strangely murderous. Lily lifted the pot off of the grill and placed it in the hut by her bed. She threw the covers on top of herself and drifted off to sleep.


    XIV


    Crash! Lily woke with a start. She banged her head on the ceiling of her hut.


    Ouch! She exclaimed even though it didn¡¯t hurt at all. What the hell was that sound?


    Lily was on alert as she peered out of her hut. The knife she¡¯d imagined yesterday was firmly in her hands. Whatever had made that sound was not something she wanted to take a chance with. Sniffing around the back of her hut was a mountain lion. It had been attracted by the sweet smell of the stew sitting inside. The mountain lion wasn¡¯t all that big, but Lily knew it could kill her in an instant.


    Panicking, she imagined herself as half-woman half-beast. Immediately her body lengthened and she grew taller. Her body thinned out some when her body stopped growing at about seven-feet tall. Lily¡¯s eyes grew more narrow and she could see the whole land as if it was night. Her senses were heightened. She looked at the blade in her hand¡ª¡ªit seemed inadequate. Lily thought that a longer and slimmer curved blade would suit her womanly figure better. The blade stretched out to the shape she imagined. It glinted white in the moonlight.


    Lily had been so enraptured by the current situation she hadn¡¯t even noticed the moon was out that night. Her new body brought her some confidence and she felt safer. Her heart slowed down and she felt calm again. Lily turned to face her adversary. The cat¡¯s brown fur stood on end and it hissed and growled at her. She smiled as she lunged at the beast. In a flash, the fight was over. Her blade was bloodied from the quick slice, and the large cat¡¯s head was left snarling while it rolled down the hill.


    The nighttime air kept Lily wide-awake. She couldn¡¯t go to sleep; at least not after that enjoyable fight! Lily walked down the mountain, all too aware that her new senses would ensure that she would not get lost. And even if she somehow did, she could always imagine a new home and some more food. She felt powerful!


    Lily sniffed the air once, then a second time. A mysterious scent caught her attention. Following her nose, she ran through the forest faster than she ever had before. Her keen eyesight ensured she wouldn¡¯t trip, and her new longer and more powerful legs increased her speed a lot. The cool breeze threw her hair around while she ran towards the origin of the scent.


    Lily flew through the forest like a woman possessed. The source was right ahead of her; she could almost taste it. Lily slowed down as she approached. She hid herself behind a tall oak. The ridged bark pressed up against her face while she peered around it to see what had attracted her here.


    In the bright-but-soft light of the full moon stood a man in his twenties. He seemed strikingly handsome to Lily and she approached cautiously. She was out in the open¡ª¡ªno cover to hide behind, nowhere to run. A branch snapped under her foot and the man turned. He looked her up and down before his eyes remained glued to the sight of her blade, still dripping blood.


    Shit! Lily thought when she realized what the man was looking at. He screamed and ran. Lily chased after him. She only wanted to have someone to talk to. She was all by herself in this place. To see another person, that was a godsend!


    Lily¡¯s long legs allowed her to catch the man within seconds. He stopped when she approached and turned around. His face was like a ghost¡ª¡ªas pale as a sheet, and a deep look of dread. His mouth hung open as if to scream, but nothing came out. Lily walked closer to him, and opened her mouth.


    ¡°Hello,¡± she said.


    With those words, the man fainted and disappeared. A passing cloud covered the moon. The world was cast in an ebony shroud in an instant. Lily¡¯s excitement turned to sadness as she realized what happened. She was alone again.


    Lily sniffed the air. It was full of her morose loneliness. In the smell of her self-pity, Lily picked up the scent of the trail back to the hut. She trudged back to her shelter and lay down in bed. She pulled the covers up tight and nodded off.


    XV


    Sun shone through the door to her hut. It¡¯s brilliance washed over Lily¡¯s face, waking her up. It was already late morning judging by the position of the sun in the sky. She yawned. It had been a long night. Lily left the hut and stretched herself fully out. It was cramped being as large as she was now. She liked her new form a lot. It gave her many advantages living how she was now. The only drawback was that she¡¯d scared away that man last night.


    Pushing the feelings away, Lily went about reheating the stew for breakfast. Once it was ready, she dug in. It was still just as good as it had been the day before. While eating, Lily¡¯s thoughts meandered through her plans for today. She felt a jolt of excitement run through her body when she remembered that today was the day. She was finally going to attempt to see beyond the sky.


    Lily lay down on the rough stones outside her hut and gazed up at the sky. As always, there was a fuzzy image just out of reach. In her mind, she tried to imagine what it must have looked like all cleared up. Clear images floated through her head and she opened her eyes. The wispy clouds were still floating by like pillows, and the fuzzy image was still fuzzy. Lily closed her eyes once more and imagined a pair of eyeglasses that would clear up her vision. Upon opening her eyes, Lily saw the glasses resting on a rock next to her. She put them on and gazed up at the sky. At first, she was nothing, but as the seconds wore on, her eyes adjusted and the fuzzy images began to sharpen to form one single coherent sight.


    Lily felt as if she was looking through the eyes of someone else¡¯s body¡ª¡ªthe sight seemed so real that she could almost touch it. She concentrated all her efforts to understand what was going on. Her view covered a desk and a chair behind it. The room wasn¡¯t very big, but it was designed with very expensive ornamentation. A simple wooden door stood at the far end of the room. The handle turned and it swung open. A male figure stepped through the door and Lily jumped in an instant. Something she didn¡¯t expect filtered down from the sky. She not only saw the man enter, she heard him enter!


    ¡°Boss,¡± said the man, ¡°we¡¯ve finished mopping up the last of the resistance. The Red Game is fully ours.¡±


    ¡°Good work.¡± A male voice said from somewhere she couldn¡¯t see. ¡°Let¡¯s put our plan into action.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir. If you¡¯ll excuse me.¡±


    The man turned around and walked out the door, closing it softly. The visual in the world turned around until it was looking out a window onto a busy street. The street was narrow but still wide enough for two cars to pass abreast. Lily took off the glasses and looked up again. It didn¡¯t seem to surprise her really when she could still see and hear everything going on. It was slightly annoying, but she dealt with it¡ª¡ªshe had no choice.


    Lily walked back to her hut and imagined herself some food. With her stomach full, she retired for the night.


    XVI


    Crash! A loud noise woke Lily from her deep slumber. The peaceful day had turned into a chaotic night full of thunder and wind. A tree had fallen just outside her hut, and she scampered out and flew down the mountain like the wind. In the clearing where she had met the man the day before, she looked up at the storm. It was night, but the clouds were visibly emerald green and bright. The man stood at the other end of the clearing fighting with a beast she¡¯d never seen before. It looked like another man, but larger and meaner. It was quite unlike anything she¡¯d ever witnessed in her life.


    Without thinking, Lily rushed to the man¡¯s rescue and tackled the beast. The beast was very strong and the two of them rolled on the ground aiming to be on top. After a momentary struggle, Lily found herself on top of him. She thrust her sickle-sword into the beast¡¯s neck, killing him. Taking a closer look at the beast, Lily realized that this thing was the stuff of nightmares. He had gruesome features that were now soaked in his blood. She pulled her blade from the beast, and shook the blood off and turned to look at the man. He looked her up and down and then his eyes bugged out when he recognized who she was. Lily put her blade away and walked over to the man.


    ¡°Hello,¡± she said to him. ¡°My name is Lily, what is yours?¡±


    The man stood there frozen in place, scared half to death. His mouth opened and then closed again. He couldn¡¯t decide whether to speak or to run. He was too scared to do either.


    ¡°G-get away from me!¡± Lily heard a voice in her head say. She looked at the man¡¯s face, but he hadn¡¯t moved his mouth. Where could it have come from? ¡°Get out of my head!¡± It said again. Lily couldn¡¯t figure out what was happening.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± She asked. ¡°I¡¯m not doing anything wrong.¡±


    ¡°J-just get out of my head!¡± came the reply, ¡°You don¡¯t belong here! You¡¯re supposed to¡­to be dead!¡±


    XVII


    Lily sat upright in an instant. Her thoughts raced. What had just happened? The words rang in her ears. ¡®You¡¯re¡­dead!¡± She started to realize her surroundings. Her head was killing her and her stomach ached. The roughly made shelter stank to high hell, and a cup of tea rested against her. It was cold.


    How much time has passed, she asked herself, since I, well, passed out?


    Lily picked up the tea and warmed it up over the fire. She reheated the stew as well, and tended to the fire. She ate a bit and drank the tea. She felt tired and crawled back into bed. The best thing for being sick was to sleep and drink lots of fluids. That she knew. Sleep was easy to get, but fluids would be a bit more difficult. For now, though, she would just rest all she could. Hopefully she¡¯d be better in the morning¡ª¡ªat least well enough to get into town and get some medicine.


    In bed, Lily looked up and thought for a moment. What were all of these dreams she was having? Were they memories? Were they figments of her imagination brought to the fore by sickness? Lily¡¯s brain paused for a moment and then continued with the most important question.


    Who am I? I know my name is Lily, but who am I really? I¡¯ve done all of the things I have done instinctively. They are natural, but why? Why am I who I am? What happened to me before I gained this body a few days ago? Who am I?


    ¡°Who am I?¡± She whispered. ¡°Someone please, tell me¡­¡±


    Sleep overcame Lily¡¯s probing questions.


    XVIII


    A light touch grazed the side of her face. She turned and opened her eyes. Lily saw the man lying next to her and kissed him. Intuitively, she knew it had been over ten years since the day she saved his life. A lot had happened in that time. She had found out that she was in this man¡¯s head, and talked to him through his thoughts. Over time, he had begun to see her as a valuable companion and he taught her everything he knew¡ª¡ªor almost everything. He had a special surprise in store for her today. He saw her as the replacement for his wife, who had been killed in cold blood, and loved Lily as he had loved his wife. Her heart fluttered when she thought of the last bit: she was deeply in love with him too. And even though he had killed her once upon a time, those days were gone now, and he¡¯d made it up to her many times. She was excited for the day to begin¡ª¡ªshe wanted to see what he would show her.


    Lily rolled out of bed and put her slippers on. Where she lived had changed, too. Instead of a rock hut, she had painstakingly erected a beautiful house. It wasn¡¯t too big and it wasn¡¯t too small¡ª¡ªjust the right size for two lovers to romp in the night. Lily walked into the kitchen and imagined herself the perfectly cooked breakfast she loved to indulge herself with every morning: two eggs over easy with a stack of pancakes and a side of bacon. Butter topped off the stack to complete that heart-attack-inducing burst of flavors.


    She sat down at the wooden table and dug in. Across the table, she had prepared the same meal for John¡ª¡ªthat was the man¡¯s name¡ª¡ªin case he wanted to join her. John entered the room and sat down at the table. He picked up a fork from thin air and began to eat.


    ¡°This is great food Lily,¡± he praised. ¡°You always cook great food.¡±


    ¡°Thanks John.¡± Lily blushed. He still made her heart flutter every time they talked. ¡°So, what¡¯s the surprise?¡±


    ¡°Just you wait and see. You¡¯ll love it.¡±


    He winked at her and she blushed again. Breakfast was finished in a hurry. Both were excited for the day ahead. Lilly dressed up in a long dress and came back to the kitchen. John was ready and waiting for her. He was dressed in hiking gear and beckoned her to follow him. She looked down at John and kissed him again.


    He had always preferred her in the form he¡¯d seen her that first night. Even though it used to scare him, she had saved his life¡ª¡ªshe was beautiful. To Lily, John seemed like a genuinely amazing man¡ª¡ªand he was¡ª¡ªthat she wished to be with him for the rest of her life.


    She followed him out of the house and up to the top of the hill she used to live on. The barren top of the ridge afforded the two of them a great view of the landscape. Once upon a time, Lily had wondered if this was heaven or hell. She knew the answer long ago, but muttered it again to herself.


    This is heaven.


    John caught her attention with a wave and then pointed out into the distance. She couldn¡¯t see what exactly he was pointing at, but she saw a speck. Whatever it was, it was too far for her vision. She looked at him, and before her eyes, a telescope on a tripod grew out of the ground in front of her. Lily peered into it. The magnification allowed her to see the object in the distance. It was quite a bit more than a speck. It was a full-blown castle! A smile found its way onto Lily¡¯s face.


    ¡°Thank-you!¡± She exclaimed.


    ¡°Ah,¡± he said, ¡°but that isn¡¯t the whole surprise. When you go there, there¡¯s an evil sorceress ravaging the land. You¡¯re the hero today. You have to quest to kill her!¡±


    Lily smiled even wider. It had been a while since she¡¯d had the opportunity to do something fun like this. She loved surprises! Just before darting off, John spoke again.


    ¡°Bring the body back when you kill her,¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯ll have a special treat waiting for you.¡±


    Lily gave him a quizzical look then dove off the cliff towards the castle. She imagined wings on her back¡ª¡ªthat was faster after all¡ª¡ªand flew onwards toward her destination. The flight didn¡¯t take more than half of an hour, in which time Lily had enjoyed an acrobatic flight. She loved to soar up into the sky. It was something she missed doing.


    The castle loomed in front of her as she approached. Below her, people of ¡®the land¡¯ cheered her on. It didn¡¯t matter really, it was all a game. They didn¡¯t exist just as the enemy didn¡¯t exist. It was all created for her pleasure. The thick castle walls stood like an army motionless on the ground. It was an imposing structure to say the least. Lily flew right over them and landed in the courtyard. She took the wings away¡ª¡ªit wouldn¡¯t be fair, or fun for that matter, to have all the advantages¡ª¡ªand pulled her sickle-sword from its holster around her waist.


    The castle doors were bolted shut from the inside, but Lily forced her way inside. There were guards waiting for her, just as they should be. She easily dispatched them with a few quick slices of the sword. She kind-of wished they had put up more of a fight. No sooner had those thoughts entered her mind, when the soldiers picked themselves off the floor. The places where she¡¯d cut them through were now holes through their armor. Inside, skeleton bones formed their bodies.


    Nice touch. She thought. Undead soldiers¡­that¡¯s a first, so thanks John.


    You¡¯re welcome. He whispered in her head.


    Lily attacked them again, but no matter how many times she knocked them to the ground, they kept getting up. Finally, she resorted to crushing each and every miserable bone in their bodies. That did the trick since the soldiers didn¡¯t get up any more¡ª¡ªnot that they could have. They were dust in the wind.


    Lily pushed her way through the hallway and up the winding staircase. The velvet carpeting felt nice on her feet with every step. At the top, great ornate doors greeted her. They were golden and inlaid with precious stones. Obviously, the creator had gone through many pains to make them as beautiful as possible. Lily pressed her weight against one of the doors and it creaked slowly open. Beyond the doors was a good-sized room with a mahogany chair. The chair had puffy pillows on it; and sitting on the pillows was the sorceress¡ª¡ªthe enemy.


    ¡°Glad you could make it.¡± She cackled.


    Before Lily could react, a fireball was headed straight for her head. She dodged to the left and sped across the ground to her adversary. Her opponent carried a magical staff. She swung it at Lily. Lily thrust her sword into the wooden staff, splitting it in two. The sorceress shot a fireball out of her hand and lightning from the ceiling. Lily dodged the fireball, but let herself get struck by the lightning while she launched at the enemy with her sword. The lightning traveled along her sword and through the sorceress. She was run through and fried. A perfect combination. The sorceress fell at Lily¡¯s feet. Lily picked her up and put the body on her back. The wings she had taken off were back on in an instant, and she was off towards John.


    He was standing on the cliff where she had left but two hours before staring up at the sky.


    ¡°Here she is.¡± Lily said as she dumped the body down.


    ¡°Great!¡± He exclaimed. ¡°Now it¡¯s time for the rest of the surprise. Help me lug the body over to the fire.¡±


    Lily hadn¡¯t noticed the fire before, but it was there with a large pot on top. She dragged the body over and placed it in the pot when John instructed her to. Several hours passed while the body cooked. Lily was curious about it, and asked him about it.


    ¡°John,¡± she said. ¡°Why are we cooking the body?¡±


    ¡°Because,¡± he said, ¡°This is what you should do with a fallen foe. You get it¡¯s strength to add to your own.¡±


    If Lily had an ounce of humanity in her, it probably would have disgusted her. But, seeing as she¡¯d been here for so long, nothing really surprised her anymore. The stew was done soon after. Lily knew it had to be stew. John knew that was her favorite thing in the world to eat.


    John filled her a bowl of it and she took a bite.


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing!¡± She said with her mouth full.


    ¡°See? I told you it would be a great surprise!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this more often.¡±


    ¡°We will Lily¡­we will¡­¡±


    His voice faded.


    XIX


    Lily raised her head an inch and stared out of her hut. These dreams certainly seemed so real¡ª¡ªnostalgic in fact. Were they her memories? Bits and pieces had come to her since she¡¯d taken over Johnny¡¯s body, but nothing on this scale. Lily was wholly unprepared to handle it. It made her wonder.


    Who am I?


    Lily sat up in bed and poured some of the tea still in the pot into her cup. She was feeling a bit better now. She didn¡¯t know how long she¡¯d be out, though, and that troubled her. She was hungry, but not hungry enough that it would have been two or three days. It didn¡¯t really matter anyway. She drank the tea, even though it was cold, and laid back in bed. Lily didn¡¯t have any stew left, so she figured that she¡¯d go get some more food when she got up again. Hopefully she¡¯d be completely better.


    XX


    Lily gazed up at the sky. John couldn¡¯t be with her tonight. He wasn¡¯t sleeping either because the world wasn¡¯t night yet. She watched and listened to what was going on intently. It was the same small room with ornate furnishings that Lily had seen when she first learned to see in this world, except this time, there were two men seated in front of the desk. John, through whose eyes she saw this world, was discussing something important with these two men.


    ¡°We need to get that man back.¡± John said. ¡°Your job is to lead our fighters into the police station and capture the chief. Once he¡¯s in your hands, negotiate his safety for the release of the prisoner who you are to terminate once outside of the building. Make it quick. Make it clean. No mistakes!¡±


    ¡°Yes sir!¡± Both men responded, and with that, they left.


    The scene shifted for a moment and then solidified once again. The room hadn¡¯t changed, but the time must have. The wall clock read a different time than it had before. John was standing now and the two men were reduced to one bleeding profusely.


    ¡°What happened?!¡± John exclaimed. ¡°What happened to no mistakes?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir.¡± The man said. ¡°We had the chief and the entire police station under control. We had the papers ready and the chief was about to sign it when two guys entered and tore the place up! We tried to get them, but the captain died and I almost did. I¡¯m sorry we couldn¡¯t do the mission.¡±


    John raised his gun at the man.


    ¡°I don¡¯t tolerate failure!¡±


    Bang!


    XXI


    The scene abruptly changed. Lily was looking up at the sky, watching John again. She could hear his thoughts; she could feel what he felt. He was agitated. He had been pacing the same piece of floor for the past hour, thinking. Someone was after him, but he didn¡¯t know who, he didn¡¯t know why.


    Crash! The door to John¡¯s safe house was torn down. A man¡¯s voice told him to run, but he didn¡¯t need any more prodding. His heart raced and he hid himself behind a brick wall and waited. Hopefully his men would be able to deal with this threat. John heard a thud as one of his men fell.


    Shit. He thought. I have to go¡­Now.


    He ran across the room, tearing his shoulder against the brick wall and jumped out of the window, bullets missing him by mere inches.


    Lily. He thought so she would hear. Hide somewhere. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m going to make it this time.


    Lily¡¯s heart raced as she was gripped by fear and horror.


    What? She thought. John is going to die? This can¡¯t be happening!


    She held her head in her hands and cried.


    Don¡¯t cry little one. He thought. You¡¯ll be ok.


    But what about you? Lily thought. What am I to do without you?


    Get revenge. We¡¯re a team, so do what I can¡¯t do.


    Lily cried even harder. This was pain beyond all recognition. John had been hit in the arm by a bullet and had made it into the forest nearby. Maybe he had a chance. Lily wanted to believe that, but knew that he was going to die. That realization made her despair even more.


    John fell in a clearing from the loss of blood and she heard the two men approaching. Lily screamed as they approached. One of them said something, but she didn¡¯t hear it. She was going crazy instead. Why did her love have to die like this? Why?


    Bang! Lily felt a tug of excruciating pain throughout her body. The world around here was evaporating, herself with it. Her body was being torn from this world; her existence was being annihilated. Lily saw the world separated from John¡¯s body for but a brief moment. His body was covered in blood. A man stood above the body looking down. Then he looked straight ahead, towards Lily.


    Lily screamed in pain. Why was it this man who had killed her love? Anger welled up within her. She wanted revenge. She didn¡¯t care who had done it, just that they must be killed. Both of them. Her brothers.


    Lily¡¯s head shot up in bed. She was angry. She was hurt. Nothing crossed her mind but revenge. Anything and anyone that got in her way was going to have a bad day. She would have her revenge, and there was nothing that would stop her.

 Chapter 4 [Jake]

    I


    Jake stretched his arms and yawned loudly. It had been two years since the showdown with John Mackenzie¡ª¡ªtwo years since he had quit his old job. The things he saw¡ª¡ªthe things he had done¡ª¡ªbothered him then, and they bothered him still. His past experiences served him well, however, and he taught a new generation of policemen in the fine art of marksmanship. His specialties were the pistol and the assault rifle.


    Jake taught one class each per day. Even though he had only been doing this for a short while, he was one of the better instructors¡ª¡ªat least according to the student¡¯s comments when they thought he wasn¡¯t looking. He pushed them to aim with hearts as much as their eyes. What that meant was to be able to hit what you thought you were aiming at without sighting in. It¡¯s not as if there is enough time to aim in a heated battle after all, but when it came to rifles, it was all about the accuracy of the aimed shot. The first shot counted the most, of course, but the second and third shots in the burst were there for added security. That same mentality carried to pistols, where Jake instructed his students to always fire twice just in case. That second shot can mean the difference between life and death.


    Jake rolled out of bed and slipped on a pair of pajama pants. It was the beginning of November now, and the nights were getting chilly. The house he lived in now was one of those old ones built in the middle of the last century. It was full of holes and missing a bit of insulation in many places. He blinked a few times, rubbed his eyes, and yawned again. Mornings were always tough for Jake¡ª¡ªhe was more of an evening person.


    Breakfast this morning consisted of scrambled eggs and a side of bacon. To top it off, Jake had a tall glass of orange juice. He polished off the food rather sluggishly, and meandered to the couch in the living room. With a click, the TV was on and humming. The TV was an old tube beast that whined in that high pitch whine only children seem to be able to hear. Somehow Jake was able to still hear it despite having fired several thousand rounds throughout his life.


    While sitting on the couch watching TV, an uneasy feeling stirred in his gut. It would be his birthday soon. Jake would be turning thirty this year. He wasn¡¯t over the hill yet, but age was certainly starting to catch up to him a bit. He was certainly not as youthful as he had been ten years prior. It was a hurdle he was ready for, but a bit fearful of as well. How would he be viewed now that a three preceded the rest of his age? For that matter, would women be attracted to him at all? Not that they ever had been of course, but thinking of his age had made him realize that he needed to settle down and start a family before it was too late. Who would carry on his legacy, after all, if he never had a child?


    The clock on the cable box reminded him that he had to get in the shower shortly or risk wild students wrecking havoc like wild students always seem to do¡ª¡ªeven the police-in-training. Especially them. Jake rose from his comfortably warm seat on the couch and made his way through the creaking floors of the hallway to the bathroom. He undressed and turned the shower on. The hot and steamy water soothed his fear and brought his consciousness back from the depths of sleep. Once he was awake and thoroughly clean, he wrapped a towel around his body.


    Leaving the bathroom¡¯s warm interior felt like having ice water dumped all over his naked skin. Jake rushed into the bedroom and threw on some clothes. They were more practical than anything: a long-sleeved shirt and jean pants. He put a coat on as well¡ª¡ªjust a fleece windbreaker. It was cold but not that cold yet to warrant his thick leather jacket that he liked to wear during the winter. The better movement he had, the better he was at teaching the students.


    Jake opened the front door to leave for the school. A harsh blast of wind slammed it in his face. With a harder push, he opened it and walked down the cement stairs to his car. It was a vintage Ford that didn¡¯t do so well on cold mornings usually, but Jake had retrofitted it with a new engine that didn¡¯t have those problems. To him, it was the body of the car that was beautiful, not the power or the sound. He inserted the key into the ignition and turned. The motor turned over after a second or two, and it was humming along just fine after a couple minutes.


    The ride to the firing range where he taught his class was but a short thirty minutes. He used the time to listen to music and prepare for the class as he always had. There wasn¡¯t much to do anyway.


    The firing range was located within the Police Academy near the administration building for some odd reason Jake could never figure out. Stray bullets weren¡¯t a problem he figured. At any rate, it made getting his materials and getting to class much easier than if it had been somewhere else; and for that, he was grateful.


    Jake grabbed his teaching materials¡ª¡ªnamely a gun and some ammunition¡ª¡ªand headed out to the firing range where the class was waiting. There were five students in this class. That was just enough to have some camaraderie, but yet not be too many that it would be hard to instruct them correctly. The students were disproportionately male in the group. The average student, according to the handbook, was forty-five percent female; and these students didn¡¯t look less than one hundred percent male. He chuckled a bit at his own joke before addressing the class.


    ¡°Good morning class!¡± He greeted them jovially.


    ¡°Good morning Professor!¡± They responded in kind.


    ¡°Today, we will be working on the second pistol shot. As you remember, being accurate isn¡¯t always about hitting the target, but following up with a second bullet placed where you want that one as well.¡±


    Jake paused for a moment before continuing.


    ¡°I want you to send two shots down range as quickly as you can.¡± He said. ¡°There will be two targets for you to hit. Use your judgment as a police officer in training as to what they are. Remember, speed and accuracy are key!¡±


    Jake pressed a button as soon as he was done speaking, and one target popped up for each of the students. This was perhaps the most difficult assignment he gave the students every semester. The target had two guns, one in each hand. That wasn¡¯t all though. The target also had a civilian directly in front of it. What the students were supposed to do was to shoot both guns on the target in less than a second. That was what he expected from them. Most students were never able to complete this task, but it provided them with an extreme situation to test their judgment.


    Most of the students stood dumbfounded once they saw the targets. One of the students fired twice, and missed, twice. After about a minute, Jake called the firing to cease and asked the students what they had learned. None of the students could answer his question however.


    ¡°This is an extreme type of situation most of you will probably never have to face.¡± He explained. ¡°But the key to this situation was realizing that the target had a civilian blocking your path; and that he had two guns. You were supposed to be able to figure this information out quickly and fire two shots. One each to knock the guns from the target¡¯s hands. I didn¡¯t expect any of you to do this since most people who have been working for forty years still can¡¯t do it. It¡¯s a special skill I thought best to show you now so you have something to work towards. Guns are not toys. Always remember that.¡±


    The students stood in silence for a moment before Jake asked them to resume firing positions for regular target practice: two shots in the center of the target.


    II


    An hour passed before the class was over. Jake grabbed his belongings and left the firing range. He returned his gun to the office nearby and got into his car. He switched on the radio and zoned out as he drove to a caf¨¦ in the town closest to the academy. Jake always went to this caf¨¦ after work. They had surprisingly good food for a pick-me-up on his way home. As well, there was a woman Jake had been talking to who was always there about the same time as him. She was a businesswoman who worked in the building across the street from the caf¨¦. She had lunch around one thirty every day. Jake glanced at the clock on his radio. It said one twenty-five¡ª¡ªright on time. Jake pulled into the parking lot of the caf¨¦ at one twenty-seven, and got out of his car.


    He entered the caf¨¦ and picked out a table by the window¡ª¡ªthe same one he always took. The waitress spotted Jake and brought him two glasses of water. He thanked her, and the bell above the door clanked. She was here. The woman was dressed in a suit and skirt with black slacks on her legs. She walked across the room and sat down across from Jake. He had known her for about a year now, and they were dating now. They had messed around a few times, but nothing too serious yet¡ª¡ªcondoms were still required.


    The waitress came back with two menus a moment later, and Jake flipped through the pages. He felt like trying something new today. It was just that type of day. When he found what he wanted, he waved the waitress back over.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have a Reuben this time.¡± Jake said.


    The businesswoman ordered a croissant with ham and Swiss inside. Jake looked into the woman¡¯s eyes as soon as the waitress had left. She was beautiful. The dark straight hair, the blue eyes covered with square classes, and the baby face all made him smile. He looked forward to spending days with her, but really relished the time spent on the weekend. There was a question mulling over in Jake¡¯s mind, but he decided today was not the time. He might ask on his birthday, but not today.


    The waitress returned with their orders after about ten minutes¡¯ time that the couple had spent chatting¡ª¡ªhow work was and the like. Jake started on his Reuben with a large bite. The sandwich was large and messy. A bit of the sauce had stuck to the outside of his mouth, and the businesswoman wiped it off gently.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Jake said, offering her a bite of the sandwich. She declined.


    Jake finished the Reuben at about the same time the woman did. He checked his watch; it was now one fifty-five. She had to be back to work at two. Jake tossed enough money on the table to cover the food and the tip and walked her across the street. They kissed before she took the elevator up to the fourth floor where her office was.


    Jake crossed the empty street once more and slid into his car. With a twist of his wrist, it was humming and music was playing. The drive home went by faster than Jake had remembered it did. He was tired and the music took him into his head the entire way.


    Once Jake was home, he unlocked the door to his house and turned on the heat. It was cold inside. There was still enough light when he got home to be able to have most of the lights off. He opened the door, walked outside, and walked to the back of the house. Behind the house was where Jake kept wood for the fireplace in a stack about as high as him. He had used up the last of the wood the previous night. Jake picked up the yellow-handled maul and began to chop logs first in half and then into quarters.


    He chopped five or six logs¡ª¡ªenough to last a couple of days¡ª¡ªand wiped the sweat from his brow. Jake placed the maul back into its rightful place against the house and proceeded to carry several bundles of wood inside. The pieces of wood that would not fit in a smaller stack by the fireplace, he heaped by the door for easier access.


    Jake brushed off the dirt and wood that clung to his jacket before entering the house again. There was a mess on the floor from when he had brought the wood in. Once that was cleaned up, he placed the logs in the fire in a sort of pyramid, stuffed scrunched newspaper balls under the logs, and lit it with a match. The whole structure caught fire and was roaring within minutes.


    The warm yellow glow of the fire played over Jake¡¯s face as he started into it. The warmth took away the cold chill that stuck to his bones from work. The sun was beginning to set now, and the fire cast long dancing shadows against the back wall.


    Jake stood up after a few moments in front of the fire and walked to the kitchen. He flicked on a light and heated a pot of water for ravioli. He returned to the fire and stoked it before placing another log on top. A piece of bark that had splintered nearly off of the log, caught fire almost instantly. As it burned, it curled up as if it was trying to escape the searing heat¡ª¡ªthis was the sort of thing that fascinated Jake.


    He got up and made his way back to the stove. The water was heaving and rolling, just ready for the ravioli to cook. He plopped the pasta into the boiling water and affixed a lid to it. He set the timer for ten minutes and walked back to the fireplace.


    The fire sucked air from the far rooms, making the colder. When combined with being used to the heat from the fire, the hallway next to the kitchen radiated an intense chill. It felt to Jake like a vacuum for warmth¡ª¡ªand a place he would have to trek to go to bed tonight. Jake shivered at the thought. The timer¡¯s shrill ring pierced the peaceful silence. He got up to turn it off and strain the pasta.


    He took a plate from the cupboard and filled it with ravioli. He put butter and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese on top. Jake carried the plate back in front of the fire. He slowly ate his food with the plate sitting on his lap. The heat radiating from the fire warmed the front of his body much more than the back. Jake turned his body around to warm his back while he finished his dinner.


    After taking a bite of food, he looked up at the wall across the living room. The dancing flames behind him cast his twitching shadow on the couch and wall in the back. The dark room felt cold compared to the fire¡¯s heat.


    With an empty plate in his hands, Jake reluctantly walked away from the fire and put the dish in the dishwasher next to the sink. He pulled a cup from the cabinet and put milk and honey into it. The cup then went into the microwave for two minutes. Jake pulled it out and tested it with his finger¡ª¡ªit was warm enough. He stirred the white liquid with a spoon and walked back to the fire with it.


    The milk calmed him down as he relaxed by the fire. The only light besides the fire was from the light bulbs in the kitchen. Jake slowly sipped the milk, reflecting on his day. It had been a good day overall, but he was mostly excited for Sunday¡ª¡ªhis birthday. Jake finished the last of his milk and stood up. He carried the mug into the kitchen and washed it. He then walked back to the fireplace and separated the logs so the fire would go out. The fireplace was now dark except for the small glow of the remaining embers.


    Jake made his way to the bathroom and fumbled to turn the light on. He stared at his reflection in the mirror for a moment before grabbing his toothbrush. White suds foamed between his teeth. He swished water in his mouth and spit. His mouth had that clean-but-bitter sensation that he hated. Jake swished more water around in his mouth, attempting¡ª¡ªbut not succeeding¡ª¡ªto wash the taste from his mouth. He washed and dried his face before shutting off the light and heading to the bedroom.


    The chill of the night grabbed at his bare feet and ankles when he entered the room. Jake switched on a light and went over to a calendar pinned to the back of the door. The November picture was of the constellation Scorpio. He took a pen and marked an X on Thursday.


    Only three days left. He thought gleefully.


    Jake pulled back the covers of his bed and slipped in. He pulled his feet close to warm them up before attempting to fall asleep. They were icy. He lay on his back, heart beating quickly from the excitement of his birthday but three days away. He pulled the covers up to his chin and slowly nodded off.


    III


    Jake drifted in and out of dreams the whole night. Most were about the businesswoman and his angst towards asking her to move in with him; however, the one that woke him up was something that fundamentally disturbed Jake to his core. When he was semi-awake, he looked back on what it was.


    IV


    It was a cloudy day where it felt like perpetual twilight. There was no rain in the forecast; or, for that matter, in the clouds. They were heavy with water, but they would not rain here in this parched land. It had been that way for years¡ª¡ªnot an ounce of water had fallen here. The dry parched earth was cracked and dusty. The wind from the storm kicked up a terrible blinding cloud of dust that narrowed visibility considerably, but not completely.


    Jake sat with a hat on his head. It was like a sombrero, but the wide brim hung down on the ends to keep dust out. In this storm though, it was no help. Jake pulled his leather jacket close to his body and shimmied behind a wood-framed building. The whistling wind tore all around him, beating his skin senseless with never-ending wind-whipped dirt. If he could only make it inside, then he would be able to weather out the storm in relative comfort¡ª¡ªnot that it was very comfortable to have dirt wedged in places it shouldn¡¯t be and no way to wash it out.


    A rough hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him only a few feet into the blinding winds. Jake heard a door creek open. He was shoved in, and the door was pushed shut with great effort. He turned his head to the one who had dragged him from the storm. She was beautiful! She was young¡ª¡ªmaybe in her mid twenties¡ª¡ªand dressed in a stunning red dress.Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°You alright there cowboy?¡± She asked in a high voice.


    ¡°I guess so.¡± Jake responded.


    ¡°I¡¯m Marie, nice to meet you. What is your name?¡±


    ¡°Jake.¡±


    ¡°Not one for talking,¡± Marie said with a chuckle. ¡°I get that.¡±


    ¡°Where am I?¡± Jake asked.


    ¡°This is the Saloon.¡±


    Jake hadn¡¯t seen the bar yet. Yes, it was the Saloon. The bar stretched along two sides of the place. A mirror sat behind the bar in between the bottles of alcohol sitting on shelves. There weren¡¯t many people here, just a few serving girls¡ª¡ªlike Marie¡ª¡ªand the bartender. The smell of tobacco permeated everything. Jake hated tobacco, but he hated the driving wind more.


    Marie tapped him on the shoulder and asked him if he wanted a drink. He replied that he wanted whisky and a room upstairs for the night. This storm wasn¡¯t going to end any time soon. The serving girl came back a moment later with a small glass of whisky. It was a bit more than a shot, but not enough to get drunk off of¡ª¡ªthe perfect amount. She led him up the stairs to the second room on the left. The wooden door creaked open from the slightest push. Jake handed Marie twenty dollars to cover the night and the alcohol. She smiled at him and left.


    Jake lay down on the hard mattress of the bed. The room was small and simple with only a small light on a table next to the bed. He switched off the light and closed his eyes. The howling of the wind and the constant patter of dirt against the window was somehow calming. He was safe in here and could finally get some rest.


    V


    Sometime later, Jake woke up when he felt a hand brush against his hair. The wind had died down a bit, but not much. It was much darker now than before, so it must be sometime in the evening or night. His stomach ached for food. The hand brushed against his head. Jake jerked his head hurriedly, but couldn¡¯t see. He switched on the light and¡ª¡ªand there was Marie in the red dress. She looked at him, and he noticed how beautiful her eyes were for the first time.


    ¡°Dinner is being served downstairs.¡± She told him.


    ¡°Great!¡± He responded. ¡°I¡¯m starving!¡±


    ¡°Hold your horses cowboy.¡± She said shutting the door. ¡°I¡¯m going to relax you a bit first.


    The serving girl teased Jake with her red dress and slowly pulled it off. He attempted to tell her no, but she continued. He really didn¡¯t mind, but he was kind of hungry at the moment. She undid his top and then his pants before sitting on his lap and giving him a kiss on the lips. Jake felt his hands around her body and readied himself to be ¡®relaxed.¡¯ Without warning, Marie produced a knife from a garter on her right leg. He didn¡¯t notice¡ª¡ªhe was busy kissing her. She hugged him tight with both arms and stabbed Jake in the back of the neck. He could have screamed from the pain and surprise, but the serving girl bit his tongue tightly so he would keep kissing her as he left his body behind.


    Jake felt his body go limp, and he felt himself slipping out of the body he had been in his entire life. He was looking down on his body as he swirled around the room. He looked at the serving girl once more, and an odd sense of familiarity. Had he known this woman from somewhere? Who was she really?


    VI


    Jake scratched his head after he had recalled the dream. Something was odd about it. That woman had made him feel nostalgic. But why? That question haunted him while he got ready for work. Class today was the same as it had been yesterday. Meeting the businesswoman for lunch was fun as usual, but Jake was really looking forward to the date they had planned that night.


    VII


    Jake returned home from work around four thirty¡ª¡ªa bit later than normal. He had gone shopping for the weekend. The businesswoman would be staying over, and he needed to have food in the house. He placed his things on the kitchen table and rushed to the bathroom. Jake turned the water on. He climbed into the tub for a hot soak. He cleaned his body twice over, making sure it squeaked. He heaved himself out of the now cloudy water and dried himself off. The cold blast of air as he left the bathroom brought Jake back to reality. He sprinted into his bedroom and slapped on some clothes.


    His clothes suited him well for tonight. They were a mix of formal and casual. The tee shirt he was wearing had a beautiful picture of one of his favorite bands¡ª¡ªPink Floyd¡ª¡ªbut the long-sleeved shirt he had was a solid red. A brown belt running through his khaki pants finished the outfit Jake had on.


    The businesswoman was going to meet him at six fifteen at a Spanish restaurant¡ª¡ªSpanish food was her favorite. Jake liked it, but his favorite was Indian. Both were spicy, and that suited him just fine. Jake looked at his watch. It read five twenty two. The restaurant was only twenty minutes away, so he wouldn¡¯t need to leave for another half an hour. Jake paced up and down the hallway, waiting for the time to pass. He hated waiting. It always made his insides turn in weird ways. The turning never seemed to go away until he left and got there early; and once he was there early, he would feel the turning inside his stomach until the businesswoman arrived to calm him down. Jake had no idea how she was able to handle her nerves, but he certainly couldn¡¯t handle his own.


    After about fifteen minutes, Jake just couldn¡¯t take the waiting anymore. He grabbed his keys and headed out the door. His hands shook while he locked up. Jake got into the car and drove off into the dusk. It was November after all, and nights came early.


    The twenty-minute drive to the restaurant left him twenty minutes early. Nothing he could do now but wait until she arrived in all of her glory.


    VIII


    Jake nervously waited in his car before she finally arrived. She was five minutes early, which was really just on time. He got out of the car and greeted her with a hug and kiss. The businesswoman looked positively stunning in a red dress down to her ankles and an ornate wool jacket to keep herself warm. Her hair was done up in a bun, and black low-heeled shoes completed the image.


    The businesswoman grabbed Jake¡¯s hand tightly. He marveled at how warm she felt in the bitterly cold air. He hugged her tightly and planted a kiss on her cheek. She kissed him back lovingly.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± She asked Jake.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± He responded excitedly.


    Their breath turned to white buffs that disappeared into the wind as they walked to the doors of the restaurant. The restaurant was clad in brick in a Mediterranean look. That stuck Jake as funny since it was November and below freezing, not like being in Florida. Clay tiles covered the roof, and large windows gave a beautiful view of the whole valley from the top of the hill.


    Jake pulled open one of the two yellow doors open and held it for the businesswoman. She walked through the door and he followed. She told the waiter her name. She and Jake followed the waiter over a stream that was allowed to run through the building. Despite the cold temperatures, the stream was still running unhindered. Jake could feel the water sucking the heat from the air as it passed quickly through the building. That was why the main section of the restaurant was walled off from the entrance.


    The waiter placed two menus on a table to one side of the room. Jake sat down across from the businesswoman. She grasped his hand gently and kissed it. The both of them picked up their menus and looked for something to order. She immediately went to the wine section to find something for the both of them to drink. She loved wine immensely¡ª¡ªnot enough to get drunk, but enough to be tipsy. The business woman picked out a bottle of red wine that she knew would suit the both of them equally. Jake was completely engrossed in the edible section of the menu. He found Spanish seasoned steak that he figured would be pretty good. The businesswoman flagged the waiter and they both ordered.


    Jake marveled at the ceiling as soon as the waiter had left.


    ¡°Look at the way the stucco is patterned on the ceiling!¡± He said in an excited whisper.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s cool.¡± The businesswoman agreed.


    Before either of them knew it, their food had arrived. It smelled wonderful, and Jake wanted badly to dig in. The businesswoman stopped him with a kiss.


    ¡°Thanks for taking me out Jake,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking forward to it for a while.¡±


    I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re with me,¡± he said, ¡°Clarice.¡±


    Jake stuck his fork into the steak and sliced a large chunk off. Clarice rolled her eyes at him. He was a messy eater and always managed to eat large meals faster than most people ate small ones. Jake bit into the steak and red juices dribbled out and down his mouth. Clarice wiped his mouth and chuckled. Her food was rice with beef and beans. She only needed a spoon to eat, and before Jake could react, she had placed a spoonful of her food in his mouth. It was great! The juices of the beef and beans swished around his mouth as he chewed.


    ¡°It tastes great Clarice!¡± He said, cutting a chunk of his steak for her. ¡°Here, try some of mine.¡±


    She bit down on the steak and chewed it thoughtfully.


    ¡°It¡¯s wonderful,¡± she said.


    The couple ate their food in silence except for an odd look or two. They were in too much love to be able to do anything else. The night wore on and Jake finished his plate. He helped Clarice finish hers as well. Soon enough, they were both done. After getting the check and splitting the bill¡ª¡ªJake didn¡¯t have enough for the whole thing¡ª¡ªthe two of them got in their cars and headed to Jake¡¯s house.


    IX


    Jake pulled into his long gravel driveway and parked to one side, allowing Clarice to park next to him. He turned off his car and stepped out into the cool night air. She followed him along the path and up the stairs to the front door. Jake unlocked the door with a twist of his wrist and beckoned Clarice to go inside. The interior was warm, but still had a chill clinging to it. He stepped into the living room and flicked on the light. He piled wood into the fireplace in that special pyramid shape, and lit it up.


    The fire roared wildly. Jake and Clarice lay down together in front of the fire and kissed sensually, their lips locked in a tight embrace. Tongues flicking in and out like small striking cobras. They hugged each other for what must have been more than five minutes, each daring the other to let go first.


    Jake listed Clarice and carried her into the bedroom. He plopped her onto his bed and pushed the covers on top of her before undressing. He jumped in bed with her and slowly took her clothes off. Jake was glad he lived far away from neighbors¡ª¡ªshe was a screamer.


    Their passionate love rocked the bed and probably rocked the house against its foundation, too. After they were done, Jake was tired but knew he couldn¡¯t sleep yet. He dragged himself out of bed and put the fire out in the living room. The air had its chill back again as he returned to bed. Jake peeled back the covers and climbed in next to Clarice. He pulled the covers up to his chin, kissed her, and turned out the light.


    ¡°Good night.¡± He said.


    ¡°Good night.¡± She said back.


    X


    The next morning didn¡¯t really come at all. A light rainstorm had moved in over night, and the dark grey clouds obscured the sun. It was dark. When Jake turned his head to look at the clock, he jumped. It was almost noon! He didn¡¯t like days like this where it was impossible to tell the time. It made him feel uneasy. Clarice turned to him with her eyes closed, and mouthed to Jake.


    ¡°Go back to sleep Jake, it¡¯s too early.¡± She mumbled.


    ¡°Clarice,¡± said Jake, ¡°It¡¯s almost twelve, we should try to have breakfast while it¡¯s still morning.¡±


    A few moments went by before Jake¡¯s words sank in. Clarice rolled out of bed quickly and threw on some clothes. Jake followed suit, and soon, the both were in the kitchen, yawning. Jake took the eggs from the refrigerator and laid them on the counter next to the stove. Clarice took out the pan and bread. Jake buttered up the pan while she stuck four slices of bread into the toaster. As soon as she¡¯d pulled down the handle, Clarice went about making the coffee.


    The eggs sizzled in the pan for several minutes before they were ready. Clarice laid out two plates and buttered the four slices of toast¡ª¡ªtwo on each plate. On each plate, Jake put an egg-over-easy onto a slice of toast. In a snap decision, he pulled some bacon from the refrigerator and stuck it into the microwave. As soon as it was done, Jake put the bacon on top of the eggs and finished up the sandwich with the other slice of toast on top. He handed Clarice her plate, and they sat down at the table in the middle of the kitchen. Clarice had poured each of them a tall glass of orange juice, and Jake drank a big gulp.


    He was sweating a bit now, the thoughts of the day weighing on his mind. When would he tell her? What would her reaction be when he did? Clarice must have seen a look on his face, because she turned to Jake and spoke.


    ¡°Jake,¡± she said with a worried look, ¡°is everything alright?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said a bit more forcefully than he had intended. ¡°I was just thinking for a minute. Nothing important.¡±


    Clarice fell silent and looked a bit hurt from his rejection of her concern. Jake felt sorry, but he couldn¡¯t apologize and explain just yet, could he? She would get over it in a few minutes, but maybe now would be the best time now that the door had been opened for him. He opened his mouth to apologize, and then quickly shut it after no sound came out. After a minute of silence, Jake tried again.


    ¡°Sorry for snapping at you.¡± Jake said slowly before pausing for a second. ¡°I wasn¡¯t ready to say it yet, but I really don¡¯t have a choice.¡±


    Jake paused again, catching his breath.


    ¡°Would you like to move in?¡± He asked Clarice with the smallest voice.


    ¡°What did you say, Sweetie?¡± She asked, not hearing him.


    ¡°Would you like to move in with me?¡± He asked a bit louder.


    Clarice looked at him beaming. The smile on her face was large, and Jake felt relieved.


    ¡°Yes!¡± She nearly screamed. ¡°I¡¯d love to! I¡¯ve been waiting for a while for you to ask!¡±


    Clarice hugged him tightly and kissed him all over. Jake¡¯s ears rang from her excitement. They embraced each other for what seemed like an hour before Jake spoke up.


    ¡°We need to get everything ready then.¡± He said. ¡°We need to figure out where to put your things and my things.¡±


    He paused for a second and then continued.


    ¡°It¡¯s my birthday tomorrow, this is the best birthday present I could have wished for. Thanks Clarice!¡±


    He kissed her.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome Jake.¡± She said as she kissed him back.


    XI


    By three in the afternoon, Jake and Clarice had taken all of her clothes to his house from her apartment. They would need to get a moving truck in the next week; but for now, they were content to just sit in front of the fire Jake had lit and cuddle together.


    By six in the evening, Clarice got up and found some pasta in one of the cabinets. She decided that the pasta would be dinner because there wasn¡¯t anything else in the house, and because she wanted to spend time with Jake, not order anything. That would just be too much money. Jake stirred from his resting place in front of the fire and went to the kitchen to help Clarice.


    Dinner was ready in about twenty minutes, and the couple ate and talked. By the time dinner was over, Jake was ready to sit on the couch with Clarice and watch TV. The fire was still going, and it kept the living room warm with its flickering light.


    Since it was a special occasion, Jake decided that they would order a movie on demand. He checked through the listings before finally arriving on The Shining. He hadn¡¯t seen the movie before, but had always figured it was too scary for him to watch. Those kinds of movies didn¡¯t suit him at all, but he knew Clarice wanted to watch it with him¡ª¡ªand she had bugged him relentlessly to do it for at least a season. Jake was certainly not going to hear the end of this after all the times he had protested about watching it. At least this way, she couldn¡¯t bug him anymore.


    Jake and Clarice watched The Shining until its end. Jake didn¡¯t move from his seat except to add wood to the fire. The movie scared him, especially the bit about Jack using an axe to cut a hole in the door before sticking his head through. Something about that scene just creeped him out thoroughly.


    Jake hugged Clarice in the hopes that he could get the movie out of his mind. He couldn¡¯t. The scenes of the movie were etched into his brain for all eternity. He got off the couch and poked out the fire. The lack of light made him feel as if there was a ghost behind his back, perpetually haunting him wherever he might turn.


    The couple got ready to sleep and then headed off to the bedroom to go to sleep. Jake and Clarice climbed under the covers and went to sleep, with cold their constant companion.


    XII


    The room was still dark when Jake felt a gentle touch to his forehead. It was too early, why was Clarice bothering him? He opened his eyes and saw a shadowy figure looming over him. Jake rubbed his eyes in the hopes that he could see whomever it was better.


    The shadowy figure took the form of a young woman, or as far as he could tell at any rate. Jake turned to his right where Clarice was sleeping. He pushed her body back and forth to wake her, but she felt icy to the touch. His mind was still foggy after having just woken up, but it slowly dawned on him. She was dead!


    Jake freaked out. He reached for the light to see his assailant better, but something cold and metallic slapped down on his wrist.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere,¡± the female voice of the figure said.


    The figure smacked Jake on the side of the head very hard with the metallic object. He fell unconscious after a short moment. The figure was laughing at his pain.


    XIII


    When Jake woke up again, he was bound and gagged on the bed still. The room was much brighter now that the sun had finally risen. The figure had opened all the curtains to let in as much light as possible; and because of this, Jake would be able to see the bitch who had killed his woman.


    His head was pounding still from the impact of the object earlier. Jake heard footsteps coming from down the hall, and those sounds didn¡¯t help any. The figure from before entered the room. She was young, very young. Jake judged her age to be around eighteen. Something about her seemed familiar, but something was also very wrong with her. His intuition was telling him that she was like two people mashed together¡ª¡ªa bastard child of some unholy union. Her voice was instantly recognizable when she spoke.


    ¡°How many years has it been Jake?¡± She asked. ¡°My body hasn¡¯t aged a day, but I have. I¡¯ve experienced things you¡¯d never imagine. There was a time I was even in love, just like you.¡±


    She paused and took a deep breath.


    ¡°You killed my love!¡± She screamed in his face. ¡°You and Ed will pay for killing my dear John Mackenzie! I started with your girl, and next.¡±


    She paused and smiled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won''t kill you,¡± she said in a soft tone. ¡°We¡¯re just going to have a little fun.¡±


    Jake¡¯s mind raced. The young woman in front of him drove the thought of Clarice¡¯s dead body from his mind. He only had questions for himself. Why was she still as young as she had been when she was killed? How was she alive? Why did she love John Mackenzie when he killed our parents?


    Jake¡¯s rational mind was in complete confusion about how she could have survived. Lily was dead, he had watched her die protecting him! His mind then flicked back to how she seemed like two people in one body. He didn¡¯t want to believe it, but it had to be. It didn¡¯t seem possible, but there was no other way.


    Lily was dressed in a short red dress, just as the woman in his dream had been. Something wasn¡¯t right about her either. She was looking at him in a way that wasn¡¯t right at all¡ª¡ªit scared him. What was she going to do?


    Jake didn¡¯t have long to wait for the answer. Lily stripped out of her dress into her underwear and got on top of him. She touched him in places a sister shouldn¡¯t, and as soon as Jake thought she was going to do the unthinkable, a loud sound resounded in his ear. Liquid poured from the wound in his chest, and everything went black.

 Chapter 5 [Lily]

    I


    With revenge firmly implanted in her mind, Lily packed her things away in the backpack. She still felt weak from being sick, but she was ready to get moving. To find Jake, she racked her brain as to where she should look. For a few minutes, Lily was perplexed, but she finally realized that she would need a computer to check online; but where would she find a computer? The library!


    To use the computer at the library, she would need a library card. However, she was dead as far as anyone knew. Lily needed an address as well, but that didn¡¯t really matter too much. She knew that she could make one up if she had to, and at least the computer would be available right away.


    Lily walked all morning towards where she knew the town to be. She had no idea where the library was, and as soon as she reached the center of town, she made it her goal to ask. A middle-aged man walked down the sidewalk next to her. She turned to him.


    ¡°Excuse me.¡± She started. ¡°Could you please direct me to the library?¡±


    The man turned to her.


    ¡°Just go down two blocks,¡± the man replies, ¡°and take a left. The library is on the right.¡±


    She followed his instructions and found herself in front of the Kirby J. Donaldson Library. Lily pushed the glass door open and walked in. The library smelled of slowly yellowing paper and plastic.


    She walked to the front desk and questioned the librarian about getting a library card. The librarian told Lily that she had to simply fill out a form and get her card on the spot. She filled out the form quickly, putting Johnny¡¯s address on the form. Within fifteen minutes, she had a plastic card with her name and Johnny¡¯s address on it.


    She walked up the stairs to the right of the counter up to the second floor. At the top of the stairs, a room filled with rows and rows of books greeted Lily. On a few consoles in the center of the room, there were a few computers that were used for both book searches and for research. Lily walked over to one of them and sat down. The computer prompted her for her library card number and her birth date. Within moments she was on the computer and on the Internet.


    Her first order of business was to search the social networking sites using her brothers¡¯ names. Nothing came up. Searching for the next few hours yielded only an old article of the two brothers, then 18 and 22, telling the story of hardship and achievement that they both had endured before being accepted into one of the best schools in the nation.


    Lily was disgusted by her find. How could her brothers have been so perfect and yet killed her love? Rage filled her to the top. She couldn¡¯t search any more that day, and so she left the library for the next day.


    II


    Lily returned to the library around noon the next day. She sat down at the computer and began her search. She had the same problem she had the previous day. Where in the world was he? Johnny¡¯s town was about two hundred miles from where she¡¯d grown up. The records here only covered the immediate area.


    Where would Lily need to look after this? Her hometown? It was beginning to look as if Jake was not living here. She would need to try somewhere else, and she would need to find that place quickly.


    Starting tomorrow, she would head to her hometown to look for her brother. At least she might have a shot there. Lily got up from the computer and headed back towards her campsite. She made sure to erase her tracks and moved to a new camp just a mile from the train station.


    III


    The next morning, Lily got up early and packed her belongings away. She hiked the mile to the train station and paid for a ticket to her hometown. The ticket was expensive, and it left her nearly broke. She would have enough money for food for another few days, but no more. Lily had the gun taken apart and stowed in the backpack. At least no one would see it when she was travelling.


    She sat down on a bench next to the tracks and waited for the train. It pulled up about half an hour later, and she boarded. The two hundred mile journey would take at least three or four hours with all the stops in between.


    Lily had never been on a train before, and she was a bit nervous. She put her bag on the rack above her and sat down in her seat. After about a stop, the conductor came by and asked her for her ticket. The conductor made small talk with Lily for a moment to figure out where she was going. The ticket told him, of course, but he was probably just bored at his job. That¡¯s what she thought anyway.


    The train rattled down the track slowing down about every half hour to pick up more passengers. The car Lily was in filled and emptied like a big lung at every stop.


    There was a lunch car in the train, and Lily made her way back to it. Tables lined the edge of the car by the windows. She sat herself down at one of them; and soon enough, a waiter came over to give her a menu. She looked up and down the menu before ordering a cheeseburger. The burger wasn¡¯t the cheapest thing on the menu, but it was the best bang for her buck.


    The food filled Lily up, and she figured that she could not handle the rest of the journey in peace. She headed back to her seat and gazed out the window. The rolling hills she had seen when she left the station before had become steeper and higher. The forest was thicker than it had been as well. Tall pines covered the mountains like the world¡¯s largest lawn.


    Lily still had another two hours before she would reach her destination. She didn¡¯t have much to do aside from twiddling her thumbs. She gazed out the window and spaced out to pass the hours away. Only her thoughts of revenge kept her company through the journey.


    IV


    Lily arrived at her destination thoroughly bored and antsy. She grabbed her bed and walked quickly onto the platform. She knew the land well from her childhood, but some of it had changed since she was last here. The train station used to be on the edge of town, but now buildings surrounded it. The landmarks she knew were gone.


    Lily left the station in the direction she remembered the library to be. She had spent much of her childhood there, which got her thinking. She could be recognized there, and that would be problematic. She couldn¡¯t use her name, her address, or her looks. Something would have to change.


    Near the library was a bar. Lily had her dresses, one of which was still unworn just in case. She went into a restaurant in town that wasn¡¯t very expensive. She ordered a bit of food and then went to the bathroom with her bag. The lingerie and dress went onto her body, and she was ready for the fun later tonight.


    V


    Lily spent the next few hours preparing camp for two days in the future. A simple lean-to with a fire pit out front would be sufficient for now. She could always improve her conditions later, but for now, she had one goal: kill her two brothers.


    Nighttime had fallen before Lily walked into the bar. She made sure to sit alone at the bar and show off as much of her body as possible without being indecent in the extreme. She pretended not to see the men looking at her, staring at her. Lily kept sipping her drink and showing more skin until finally one of the men got the guts to come up to her.


    He was a smooth talking young man that she guessed was in his late twenties. He talked to her for a few minutes, small talk mostly. The man then put his arm around her and led her out of the bar to his car. Lily could tell that he was either engaged or married by the gold ring on his finger. That was even better since there might be the possibility of having two meals.


    The man lived in a medium-sized house near the center of town. He led her inside and into the bedroom on the first floor. The room was dark, even when the man turned the lights on. Odd instruments covered the walls and the bed. One of the objects was bolted to the wall and looked like an ¡°X.¡± Red stains covered the object in places that looked like wrist and foot holds.


    Unlike the time before, Lily was a bit scared. This man was someone that had to be dealt with sooner rather than later. She would have to make her move now before he got control of the situation. She did. Lily attempted to yank her hand from the man¡¯s grasp, but it only pulled him a little off balance.


    This works I guess. She thought.


    She stepped towards the man and punched hard with her other hand. The blow hit home and the effect was immediate. The man dropped to his knees groaning in pain. He let go of her hand and clutched his groin. Lily faced the man and kicked him in the face as hard as she could, hoping to knock him out before getting to work. The man did not, but he grabbed at her legs and fought back. Lily ran out of the room with the man staggering behind her


    The kitchen was by the front door. She grabbed the largest knife she could find and waited for the man to come into the room. He rounded the corner in a scary rage. Lily charged at him with the knife and dug it into him between his ribs. She took it out and stabbed him again. Again. Again. Again. Blood poured from the man as he slumped to the ground, dead.


    Before Lily could admire her handiwork, a scream echoed off the walls. The wife or fianc¨¦ was standing in the archway to the kitchen. Lily was there covered in blood completely with the knife in her hands. She couldn¡¯t risk being discovered before she¡¯d killed her brothers. As much as she didn¡¯t want to, this woman just had to die.


    Lily covered the ground between her and the woman in a flash, imbedding the knife into her all the way to the hilt. There was no scream, no sound except for the dull thud of the dead body hitting the ground. The slow drip, drip, of the blood sounded like a leaky faucet.


    By now, it was too late for Lily to go to the library for research. She would have to spend the night here, among the dead bodies. First though, she would need to find whatever money there was. Before that though, a shower was in order.


    VI


    Lily woke up the next morning relaxed and well rested. She had slept in the couple¡¯s bedroom after taking a long hot shower. She was naked in bed¡ª¡ªher clothes were still wet in the washing machine. She got out of bed and put on some of the wife¡¯s clothes she found in the closet. The clothes weren¡¯t her size, but they sure kept her warm for the time it took to dry the clothes.


    Instead of getting out of what she was wearing, Lily decided to search the house for things she could use. She started with the bedroom and then worked her way through the rest of the house systematically. In one of the drawers of the bedroom, she found a small handgun. That would be much easier than the rifle to kill her brothers¡ª¡ªmuch more up close and personal. Aside from some spare change around the house, the place was devoid of money. The only place she had left to look was the bodies.


    Lily turned the wife over and pulled her handbag off of her arm. The outside was covered in dried blood. When she opened it, she saw a wallet. Inside the wallet, Lily saw a thick stack of cash. That would help for a while at least, but maybe the man had more. She checked his body for the wallet, but there wasn¡¯t much in there. She guessed he spent it all at the bar anyways.


    Blood covered Lily¡¯s body from dealing with the bodies. She needed another shower before she got dressed back into her clothes. She made sure to clean all the places that the blood had stuck to. Lily dressed in her favorite dress. She made sure to disguise her appearance with makeup that she found in the bathroom. She put the money into her pocket and walked out the door. The house was only about half of a mile from the library.


    When she got to the library, Lily completed the same steps to get a card that she had before at the other library. The disguise worked, because she recognized one of the women working there, but the woman did not recognize her. She took the laminate card and found the computer section for her research.


    Though she spent most of the day searching, Lily found no results that satisfied her criteria. Neither Ed nor Jake could be found here. It was another dead end. She couldn¡¯t do anything about it today, but maybe she could find results somewhere else, but where?


    That question bugged Lily on her way home. When she got to her camp, she lit the fire and warmed herself. She had a bit of food left, and it filled her up just nicely. By the time she planned to sleep, it was late. The question still dogged her, and made sleep very difficult for her. Sleep did come at last.


    VII


    Within moments of starting her troubled sleep, Lily slipped into a dream. It wasn¡¯t so much a dream as it was an old memory. She saw Jake standing in the kitchen next Ed. They were much younger in this scene with Jake about five and Ed about nine. They were talking about their dreams for the future.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to be a pilot,¡± Ed was telling Jake, ¡°that way I can zoom in and save the day!¡±


    Ed was obviously excited. He always acted first and asked questions later, especially when he was younger. He probably would have been a good pilot if he hadn¡¯t decided to become a hunter. He won¡¯t be able to fly away from her wrath. He would die along with Jake. Lily flicked her attention back to the conversation at hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna be an artist.¡± Jake said simply.


    ¡°Are you going to have a pen name or something?¡± Ed asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°What name?¡±


    ¡°Lee W. James.¡±


    That¡¯s a good name for you Jake. She remembered herself thinking back then.


    A good name my ass. Came the retort from now.


    Lily slipped back into her deep sleep. The memory flashed out of her mind as soon as it had entered.


    VIII


    By the time Lily woke up the next morning, she had forgotten the dream from the night before. She started packing all of her things into her backpack. She would go back to the library one last time to figure out where she would go. There was nothing else to do.


    The walk to the library was pleasant but cold. It was almost the beginning of November now. Most of the trees had shed their leaves, but it was still a beautiful sight. Lily made her way to the computers and started looking for a place to go.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Something in the back of her head was trying to get out. What was it? Pictures came back to her in bits and pieces. Two people in a kitchen talking, one laughing and then the other, what was going on?


    After a few moments, it hit her. The two in the room were Ed and Jake. The memories flooded back to her. Ed hadn¡¯t said anything useful, but Jake? He gave her an idea. He had said he would like to use a pseudonym as an artist. What was it again? Jake had said ¡®Lee W. James,¡¯ and that would be good enough to go on, or so she hoped.


    Lily typed the name into the computer to look up that name instead. Within moments, the results came back. There was a hit! She clicked on it, and the picture of her brother was there, albeit a much older brother than she remembered from childhood.


    His address was nearby, but still would be a day or two ¡®till she got there. Once she was done with Jake, she would have to find Ed. He was probably going to be harder to find, but she would keep trying until he died!


    Lily left the library immediately. She made sure that she had his address in her backpack when she left. The hours of walking went by quickly because her anger pushed her onwards. The fate of two people would combine in a very short while, just as Lily wanted.


    Before long, she found his address. She decided to set up her camp in the woods just above Jake¡¯s house. She would stake out the house to see how she wanted to finally get even, but that would have to wait for the next day. It was getting late now, and Lily was tired from walking all day. She climbed into her small hut, looking out one last time. The moon was low on the horizon, but there was an obvious halo around it.


    Rain. She thought. It¡¯ll rain in a few days. I have to make sure that the hut is waterproof tomorrow.


    With that thought, Lily nodded off to sleep.


    IX


    The next morning came late¡ª¡ªlow-lying clouds blocked the sun for over an hour past its rise. Lily roused herself on the first sign of light; but by then, the car in the driveway had left. Her brother was already gone. This gave her ample time to do some investigating of the house.


    The house was one story, shaped kind-of like a box. There were two doors, one on the side, and one at the front. The front door had one concrete step leading up to it, but the side door had none. The roof was steeply pitched with the eves hanging far past the walls. The back of the place housed a large pile of wood for the fireplace connected to the brick chimney. Lily gazed in the various windows to see what was inside. The end of the right side of the house was the main bedroom. It wasn¡¯t very big, but big enough for two people to sleep comfortably. The end on the left side housed a small den with a television. Next to that room was the bathroom, and in the front on the left side, there was the kitchen. The rest of the right side was a large living room with a piano at one end and the fireplace at the other.


    In her head, Lily began to formulate a plan of action on how to come in for the attack. The front door was easiest because of its distance from the bedroom. The door looked flimsy, probably enough that she could pick the lock. The kitchen would be the perfect place to enter too because it afforded her access to the knives in case she had to use any of them.


    With the plan safely in her head, Lily made her way back towards the hut she¡¯d made the night before. It was far enough back in the woods that she couldn¡¯t see the house, far enough that Jake wouldn¡¯t be able to see or hear her. She scrounged around to find something to waterproof the shed with. There really wasn¡¯t much available considering the time of year, but she eventually found a few evergreen trees. The branches provided very good rain protection when used as thatching.


    By the time Lily was done, it was starting to get dark. She lit her fire and put some food above it. She would need to get more tomorrow. She walked to the edge of the woods, about a quarter mile away and watched the driveway. After a short time, Jake pulled up in his car. She only knew he pulled in because the sky was obscured with thick clouds. It was going to rain the next day.


    Jake got out of the car, and Lily watched as he crossed the yard and opened the front door. Satisfied, she left and went back to her hut to hunker down for the night. Something sparked in her mind as she reached the hut. She grabbed the food from the top of the fire. It was hot but not burned. Lily sat down and ate while thinking about her idea again. She would need to get rope too when she went out shopping, maybe some more things, but it would be an amazing thing that happened the next day. Jake was going to die, and he was going to die in the most spectacular fashion possible!


    Lily discarded the tin that had held her food and crawled into the hut. She lay down and looped up at the top of her hut. The flickering light of the fire made the shadows dance like in some arcane ritual. She closed her eyes and smiled. Tomorrow would be a wonderful day. Joy touched every ounce of her person as consciousness slipped away. Her task would be half complete tomorrow. Finally, she would have her revenge.


    X


    Lily got up relatively early the next morning. Jake¡¯s car was still in the driveway when she snuck along the edge of the forest to stay out of view. Finally, she reached the road and walked towards the center of town. The journey took her nearly two hours, by which time it had started drizzling.


    The sky was dark, and it felt as though it wasn¡¯t much past dawn. Despite the feeling, Lily knew it was much later¡ª¡ªperhaps around ten in the morning. The center of town was filled with little shops, many of which hadn¡¯t existed when she was here last. The first order of business was to find a hardware store. She could find some of the supplies she needed there.


    On Main Street West, there was a small family-run store. It had been there for years. Lily¡¯s disheveled appearance made her unrecognizable as she entered the place. She found what she was looking for quickly, paid for it and left.


    The bag was pretty heavy, and she emptied the contents onto the side of the road after some time. She took the rope and tied one end to a bucket she had bought, and then she placed a screwdriver that she had also purchased inside the bucket. Lily slung the rope over her shoulders, which greatly reduced the strain on her body. The rest of the walk to the hut went by rather slowly. It was boring to walk for hours; it made Lily feel lonely and lost. The only thing that kept her sane was the thought of revenge but a few short hours away.


    When she returned to Jake¡¯s house, the car was gone. She ran across the yard and into the trees to safety. The hut was dry inside, but she was soaked. The fire had gone out in her absence, but that didn¡¯t matter too much. It might be hard to start another one, but she would be much warmer tonight.


    Hours passed in the gloomy afternoon. Lily felt nothing but the seething rage about to boil out.


    In time, she kept telling herself, in time¡­


    The dark day seemed only to get darker as the day progressed. Laughter broke Lily¡¯s concentration. She walked out of her hut to the edge of the woods to see what was going on. What she saw shocked her. Jake was walking through the rain carrying suitcases with someone else. She couldn¡¯t make the other person out very well, but it looked to be his woman. That really made her mad. Why should he have a woman after he killed John?!


    Lily wanted to go out now, to kill them both where they stood, but she pushed the rage back inside. That wouldn¡¯t happen now. Oh no. She had better plans. She smiled on the way back to her hut. Both of them would die tonight, that was for sure. They would both die in perfect agony.


    The next few hours passed quickly. The sun set and darkness fell even thicker around the house. The wind kicked up and the rain started blowing sideways, pelting like tiny dull needles into her skin as Lily basked in the glory of the storm. She calmly walked to Jake¡¯s car with the rope and her backpack. She emptied the bucket of water. It was still attached to the rope. With the screwdriver, Lily punctured the gas tank of his car, and let the contents drain into the bucket.


    From there, Lily walked to the front door and slid the knife from the backpack through the thin slot between the door and the jam. The knife separated the lock from the jam, and the door slid open with a slight creak. Lily slipped in and immediately stripped. Her clothes were soaking and she felt miserable. The backpack had kept her spare clothes dry enough that they wouldn¡¯t bother her. She slipped on some new underwear and a red dress.


    Lily walked over to the kitchen counter and looked around. The wooden knife rack was next to the microwave. The time read one fifteen in the morning. Not a sound emanated from any of the rooms. The silence was only broken by the occasional scratching of a mouse in the attic. Lily took a knife from the rack. It was a long serrated bread knife¡ª¡ªperfect for ripping and tearing. She put the knife in her left hand, and put the pistol in her right. Just to be safe.


    She silently crept down the hall, quietly opening the last door on the right. A nail creaked in its home, scaring Lily. Did they hear? She stopped for a moment. Nothing.


    Good, she thought, I haven¡¯t been discovered.


    Lily crawled up next to the right side of the bed to see who was there. It was the woman. The lack of light made her features indistinguishable from the background.


    It¡¯s a pity, she thought while looking at the woman¡¯s figure, she could have been a beautiful bride for another man.


    Lily licked the blade of the knife in anticipation of the bloodbath to follow. She brought it up against the woman¡¯s throat. There was a moment of hesitation, and then she pushed it hard at the same time as she pulled it across. A warm liquid gushed from the wound, along with an odd rasping sound. It only took about ten seconds for the woman to die¡ª¡ªa nearly painless death.


    Lily didn¡¯t know why she¡¯d killed the woman in such a mundane way, but she supposed that she had a little bit of compassion for the woman. After all, it really wasn¡¯t her fault that Jake had killed John, but dead women don¡¯t tell tales.


    Lily turned her attention to the other body in the bed. Jake was still sleeping soundly, despite his woman¡¯s death. She climbed across his body and looked at her brother. He looked like he didn¡¯t have a care in the world, but he also looked attractive in a sadistic sort of way. She brushed his forehead with the tips of her fingers.


    Jake moved slightly at the touch. He rubbed his eyes and gave a quizzical look. He moved his left hand and felt the body of his dead woman. The expression on his face changed immediately. His right hand made a motion towards the night table next to the bed. Lily slapped the gun down on his wrist to stop him.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere,¡± she said.


    Taking the gun off of his wrist where she had it pinned, Lily brought the gun up and then swung it down hard onto Jake''s head, knocking him out cold. She took the rope and tied his hands and feet to the bed in a spread-eagle position. He wasn¡¯t going anywhere until she was done. And when she was done, the only place he was going was a mortuary. As a final touch, she cut a swatch of fabric from the woman¡¯s clothing and gagged Jake.


    Lily left the room. Her hands were soaked in blood. She felt that a shower would be necessary before getting dirty once more. She entered the bathroom and stripped down, careful not to mess up her dress that had miraculously avoided most of the blood. She turned on the shower. The water stung her body for a second when she stood under it. Lily felt as if the hot water was washing away the sins of murder, cleansing her to go back again. She smiled and closed her eyes for a moment.


    After about twenty minutes in the shower, she got out and dried her body. Lily felt sleepy and eventually found her way to the couch in the living room. She laid her head down and nodded off.


    XI


    The faint tendrils of light touched Lily¡¯s face, instantly snapping her awake. The clouds from the night before were gone; the morning sun played across the room with a deep crimson glow. She stood up and walked down the hall. She opened the door and walked into the bedroom. Jake was tied exactly where she had left him earlier.


    Lily pulled open the curtains to let in as much light as possible. She left the room to let him wake up while she went to the bathroom. On her return, she found him stirring in the bed. He was awake. His eyes were squinted to see her against the light. Gathering all her rage together, but keeping it under control at the same time, Lily began to speak.


    ¡°How many years has it been Jake?¡± She asked, holding her emotion tightly. ¡°My body hasn¡¯t aged a day, but I have. I¡¯ve experienced things you¡¯d never imagine. There was a time I was even in love, just like you.¡±


    Lily took a deep breath and let her emotions flow outwards.


    ¡°You killed my love!¡± She screamed in his face. ¡°You and Ed will pay for killing my dear John Mackenzie! I started with your girl. You¡¯re next.¡±


    She paused and smiled. With the heat of the emotion gone, her sick plan took its inevitable course.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t kill you,¡± she said in a soft tone. ¡°We¡¯re just going to have a little fun.¡±


    I¡¯m such a bad liar, Lily thought dryly.


    She slowly took off her dress, teasing her brother as much as possible. She would make sure he was uncomfortable before she killed him. In her underwear, Lily climbed onto the bed and crawled up to her brother. He was naked under the covers, and she reached inside. Down his torso she went, lightly touching and feeling everything. When she got to her destination, she saw Jake close his eyes. Lily smiled. The degrading feelings going through Jake¡¯s mind made her glad. Revenge was sweet. She pulled back the covers and lowered her head, knowing what would go through his mind. Lily suddenly pulled the gun from under the covers where she had left it and shot Jake in the chest. The sticky blood ran from his body. She watched as the light left his eyes, her victory complete.


    By this point though, Lily was having too much fun. The pain she inflicted aroused her sexually. She wanted sex, and she wanted it now. If she had any morality left, she wouldn¡¯t have considered her brother''s body for the reasons that it was her brother and that it was a body, but she had none. She rode that body like a cowboy rides a bronco.


    When she finished, she went to the bathroom and cleaned herself up. Lily was tired. The whole ordeal had really drained her mentally and physically. She needed rest, and the couch looked more inviting than ever. It only took a few minutes of her resting her head down for her to slip into unconsciousness for the night.


    XII


    Lily¡¯s consciousness awoke with a start. She found herself running. She was scared. What was this monster behind her? It only took her a few moments to realize that this was a dream; and since it was a dream, she could defeat any monster.


    Lily transformed herself larger into the deadly creature she had years ago in John¡¯s head. She stopped and turned to face this monster. Changing the monster into a tree would have been easy, but that wouldn¡¯t really be any fun. She charged this monster and slashed with her left arm. The blade dug deeply into the monster¡¯s flesh. Blood splashed from the cut like water from a broken dam. Lily wondered if she had overdone it and cut the thing in half.


    The moon was blood red. It cast an unearthly light across the dreamscape. Lily¡¯s shadow stretched out from her feet some twenty or thirty feet to one side. The mere sight of her own shadow sent shivers down her spine. The monster lay within her shadow. The view from its eyes would have inspired terror, but it was the view that Lily saw which truly brought terror. The monster wasn¡¯t a monster at all anymore. It was transforming into a human. The human was instantly recognizable. It was Johnny!


    Lily couldn¡¯t understand how he was alive still after all she¡¯d done to him. Sure, she didn¡¯t really want to kill him considering he was John¡¯s son, but revenge was first on her mind. In her terror, she brought down her arms over and over. She repeatedly slashed gash after gash into his body. He wouldn¡¯t get up again; he wouldn¡¯t live anymore after this. How could he?


    Lily laughed. She didn¡¯t know what else to do. The situation had her confused. She laughed again, hoping that the feelings would go away. To her relief, they did. Lily snuck back into peaceful sleep for the rest of the day.


    XIII


    Nighttime fell before she finally woke up. Lily rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up on the couch.


    What time is it? She wondered.


    Her stomach rumbled and so she went into the kitchen to scrounge up some food. The clock on the microwave read ten twenty-two at night. Lily yawned loudly at the thought. The day ahead would be long¡ª¡ªshe would be looking for Ed now. He would meet the same sticky end as his brother: with a bullet in his heart.


    The refrigerator yielded nothing but eggs. That would have to do for a late night breakfast. She searched the draws and cabinets for a frying pan. Lily turned on the stove and cut some butter for the pan. Once the butter melted, she cracked two eggs and dropped them in the pan. She watched at the eggs slowly solidified from the heat. The smell of the eggs made her hungrier by the moment.


    Finally the eggs were done. Lily sat down at the kitchen table and ate the two eggs. They tasted wonderful to her starving body. Coming to her senses, Lily realized that she would have to get whatever money and food Jake had in the house because she was low on both. Finding Ed would be harder than finding Jake, and she would need all the help she could get. As well, there was a chance that Jake had files that could help her find Ed. The more help she got, the better.


    When Lily finished, she got up and grabbed the gun. She held it in her left hand as she walked through the house. The best place to start would be the bedroom, then the car. When she was done looking, she was going to burn this place to the ground¡ª¡ªless evidence for the police after all.


    Lily entered the bedroom and saw her brother¡¯s body. Strong feelings of disgust and revulsion gripped her stomach. She wanted to throw up, but she held the feeling in. She walked over to the desk, having a hard time concentrating. The smell of the bodies was almost too much to bear.


    I¡¯m not going to let you have my body anymore! A voice yelled suddenly in the back of her mind.


    With a quick rip, Lily felt her control over the body slipping away. The pain was incredible. After only a second, she found herself like a puppet watching itself being used in a show. The utter loss of control made her lose control of herself for a moment.


    She steadied herself and felt herself being forced to watch. Lily could not gain control of the body anymore. She watched the left hand slowly rise up to her head, only it wasn¡¯t her head anymore. Then she heard a click.


    No! She screamed. Don¡¯t do this to me!


    The only response she got was¡­


    Bang!

 Chapter 6 [Johnny]

    I


    The pain was gone. Johnny opened his eyes, and looked around.


    Am I dead? He wondered.


    Certainly not¡ª¡ªhis back and neck bled profusely. Johnny slowly stood up to get his bearings. The world was the same as the dreamscape had been. Behind him was the river that flowed red from his own blood. The wounds in his neck and back still bled, and that made doing anything a bit difficult. It wasn¡¯t the pain¡ª¡ªthere was none anymore¡ª¡ªbut instead the torn muscles made movement somewhat like threading a needle five feet away. It really wasn¡¯t really possible.


    Johnny collapsed to the ground and cried. What had happened to him? Why? The worries of a high school junior being suddenly eclipsed by something terrible and incomprehensible wasn¡¯t something he even considered. Now that it was upon him, however, he had no idea how to proceed. The tears streaming down his face didn¡¯t seem to be helping much, and as Johnny sat there letting his emotions run dry, he began to realize something. No matter what, he was stuck in this place, for better or for worse, and he should probably do something about his situation, especially the wounds in him. It was obvious by now that they weren¡¯t going to stop bleeding any time soon, and that he wasn¡¯t going to die either.


    Johnny sat up and reached behind him to where he knew the river was. He kind-of wished that the river wasn¡¯t there, but instead, something comfortable. To his surprise, he felt something soft but springy where he had expected there to be cold and wet. Turning his gaze as best as he could, Johnny saw that the soft thing was a bed with sheets on top. He crawled his way over to it and lay on top for a while, his wounds bleeding just as much as before.


    The blood from his back and neck were soaking into the bed, making a mess that was really uncomfortable for him to lie in, but Johnny had learned something important, or so he figured. With only a wish or a belief, he could create things in this world. That meant he could probably fix his back the same way. Although he had never been good at school subjects like Math or English, he had always been good with his hands. The video games he played daily couldn¡¯t have been better training for a situation like this.


    Johnny stopped crying as he realized that this new home could be lots of fun. Once he understood how this place worked, maybe he could cheat his way back just as he¡¯d gotten here. Games always had cheat codes, and so too did real life, he thought.


    Johnny concentrated on believing that his neck and back weren¡¯t wounded. It was slightly difficult considering the uncomfortable feeling of the blood rushing out telling him that he had the slices there. After about thirty minutes¡ª¡ªand nearly twice as many attempts¡ª¡ªJohnny was able to seal both holes in his body such that movement was much better.


    The fact that the whole idea had worked, allowed him to put more faith into the belief that there were cheat codes to this world. He would find them sooner or later. Johnny decided that he should probably find a good place to sleep for the night. He didn¡¯t know how to build a shelter or any of that, but if his imagination worked for anything, then it would work for this.


    Johnny stood up and looked into the sky. The blood-red moon put him on edge. Nothing should be that way, but some things shouldn¡¯t change, he reasoned, that way, if the demon returns, she won''t see any differences. Johnny imagined back the river and his body where it had been before walking. Johnny didn¡¯t know which direction he walked or how long he walked for, but when he felt a safe distance away, he imagined a comfortable hut that was small but livable. With a stroke of inspiration, he decided to make the house only visible to certain glasses. His house was now demon-proof too.


    Feelings of sleepiness came over Johnny after he had done these imaginings. It seemed to him as if doing these things worse him out, but that was what made it a good game to cheat. Every game had rules, and this was just another one. He would break this rule like he¡¯d broken every other one. Even if it couldn¡¯t be broken, he would exploit it to his advantage.


    All that was left to do that night was eat and sleep. Johnny imagined a hamburger, his favorite food. The burger filled him up quickly and left him even more tired than before. He put on the glasses and found the door to the small house. He entered and looked around. There was a bed, a television, a bathroom, and a kitchen¡ª¡ªall the essentials that a teenager could want or need. Anything else he had missed, he could imagine. Johnny pulled back the covers on the bed and took off the glasses. He felt around for the night table to put the glasses on, placed them there and then climbed onto the bed. He slid under the sheets and pulled the covers up tight to his chin.


    It had been a long day. Tomorrow, he would need to work on these glasses. They were really impractical. As well, he would have to explore the world a bit more to find the limits of imagination as well as the other rules. Perhaps there was a library of data that could be found. Johnny yawned loudly and closed his eyes.


    II


    Light flooded into the house early the next morning. Johnny rubbed his eyes and yawned loudly. It was too early to get up. School wasn¡¯t for another few hours. He turned over and jumped back hard enough to hit his head on the headboard of the bed. He was floating in midair! He rubbed his head and the events of the night before came back to him. With the realization, Johnny reached over to where he had put the glasses on the night table. He put them on, and the house literally materialized in front of his eyes.


    His work was laid out in front of him for the day. First on the list would be to fix these damned glasses so he didn¡¯t wake up like this anymore. Johnny concentrated on affixing the glasses to his eyes. In the end, the best he could do was to make the glasses into contacts. Anything more was just too complicated and difficult.


    His stomach grumbled with the need for food after all his efforts. Johnny materialized another hamburger, this time with barbeque sauce on it to make it taste even better. The juicy burger felt good going down, but he was so hungry that he didn¡¯t really taste it. The next item on his list for the day was to go exploring. If he better knew the layout of the world, he might be able to understand how the place worked.


    Since Johnny had been able to fix his wounds the day before, he wondered how else he could modify his own body to be able to explore the world at a faster pace than just walking¡ª¡ªthat would be tiresome. He first thought about wings, but that would probably be pretty boring after a while. Instead, he thought that perhaps a flying machine could prove a bit more difficult to learn, but rewarding because it could do things he couldn¡¯t with wings.


    In his mind, he imagined a craft where he could lie facing towards the ground such that the flying machine was just barely larger than he was. In the wings of the machine, he imagined that there were two machine guns on each side¡ª¡ªjust in case. The controls of the aircraft were located where his feet and hands would be. The craft had no visible propulsion system, but in a world like this, it really didn¡¯t matter. Johnny climbed into the machine and found the controls exactly as he had pictured. The hands controlled the pitch and the roll. His feet controlled the yaw by using two foot pedals. All together, it was an incredible flying machine for its size. Sure, Johnny could have used his brain to control the whole thing, but where¡¯s the fun in that? The only parts he chose for mind control were the throttle and the machine guns.


    With his mind, Johnny cleared a path through the trees not by making the trees vanish, but instead by sliding them back like a folding door. He took off in the flying machine and closed the gap back up again. His hideout would be invisible to the demon and anyone else that could be lurking out here. The view he saw was of mountains covered in trees. In some of the valleys there were lakes of deep blue water. The world looked beautiful in the daytime.


    Johnny soared over the hills and valleys, carefully keeping track of the layout. There wasn¡¯t anything particularly interesting that stuck in his mind, and by late afternoon, he was tired. Johnny headed back from where he¡¯d come, feeling hungry and a little tired. He was happy though. The flying machine had worked amazingly well, but it was a little uncomfortable. Tomorrow, he¡¯d try wings, that shouldn¡¯t be as painful. Just in case he ever wanted to use the plane again, he decided to make a garage for it under his house.


    To land, Johnny did the same as before. He separated the trees and closed them up once he was done. With his mind, he imagined a garage for the aircraft under the house. The entrance to the garage was inside the house, and the way out was a short underground runway. He carried the machine inside and closed the door behind him. Johnny climbed the stairs into his house.


    The sun was setting and the blood moon was rising. The crimson of late evening was being replaced with the crimson of eternal blood lust. Much as he wanted to shut it out, the unearthly glow penetrated every wall and every fiber of his being. Chills ran down his spine. Although day was his paradise, night was his hell all the same. Something would have to be done to change that before he scared himself crazy.


    Johnny imagined up spaghetti for the night. It would keep him going for a while. He lay down in bed and pulled the covers up over his head. Even then, the red glow still came to his eyes. Under his eyelids, he could still see more red. It was a different color than he normally would have expected if normal light had shone on his face. With a last desperate act, Johnny imagined that the walls were lined with lead. The heavy metal kept the glow from entering his house and allowed him to sleep, though still shaken from the experience.


    III


    The morning came later than Johnny had expected, but this was due to the lead in the walls and windows keeping that unearthly glow out. He got out of bed and imagined meatloaf for breakfast. It didn¡¯t much matter to him what he ate or when, as long as it tasted good. The meatloaf was the very same as his aunt made, and it made him feel a bit homesick as he ate it.


    With the food in his stomach, he was ready to explore more of the world, this time in the other direction. Johnny imagined that he had wings where his arms were. Knowing that there could be a slight complication if he didn¡¯t have hands on his wings, he accounted for that with sharp talons for gripping. Just like yesterday, this was just in case.


    Johnny jumped and flapped his wings a few times to gain altitude. Once above the trees, he rode the air currents in the opposite direction as he had the yesterday. The mountainous terrain he had seen the other way was in stark contrast to what he saw now. This side of his house was much flatter and increasingly sandier as well. Way out in the distance, Johnny could make out a full desert, complete with cacti and sand dunes.


    Specks that were animals moving across the savannah looked like prime targets to him. He dove and landed on one of the smaller creatures. It was something like a deer, but smaller. The animal died on impact from the heavy body and sharp claws. This would be hard to bring back to the house, but it wouldn¡¯t drain him as much as imagining food. Johnny had realized over these past days that doing anything made him tired. The more complicated or large the task, the more tired he was. When he did the things on his own, he reasoned, he wouldn¡¯t get quite as tired.


    Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something that was trying to stay hidden. It wasn¡¯t an animal and it wasn¡¯t a demon. It looked human, and it looked too scared to run in case the big bird that was Johnny saw it. He turned to the human and recognized it as a man about thirty years old. Immediately, Johnny imagined his wings back into arms and hands so he wouldn¡¯t look quite so scary. The man stood there awestruck by his transformation.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Johnny,¡± he said to the man.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m.¡± The man stuttered, ¡°I¡¯m Zack.¡±


    ¡°You look lost Zack.¡±


    ¡°Damned right I am. I have no clue where here is. Do you?


    ¡°Not any more than you do, but I¡¯m figuring out this place as best I can. From what I can tell, it¡¯s no different than a dream. Imagine something and see what happens.¡±


    Johnny watched as Zack closed his eyes. Suddenly, a rifle materialized in his hands. Johnny smiled. This man had good instincts, whatever this place was.


    ¡°If you haven¡¯t noticed,¡± Johnny said, ¡°You get tired and hungry every time you do that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I feel it. I¡¯m just amazed that I can do this sort of thing.¡±


    ¡°You can really do anything you want, it¡¯s just more difficult sometimes when the things are larger. Really zaps the energy right out of you.¡±


    Johnny paused for a moment to catch his breath. The flight here had tired him out considerably.


    ¡°See this animal here? I need to carry it back to my house to cook. It takes less energy this way. Do you need a place to stay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Zack said. ¡°I don¡¯t have a place to go. I just showed up to see you pounce on the, the thing right out of nowhere.¡±


    ¡°Alright, it may be a bit hard for me, but here goes.¡±


    Johnny imagined himself into a much larger bird with hugs wings and talons so that he could carry both the carcass and Zack back to the house. He felt his body changing with the imagination. Zack let out a scream of surprise and fright. Johnny turned to him and bent down.


    ¡°Get on and be careful you don¡¯t fall.¡±


    Zack climbed on and Johnny took off. He picked up the animal in his claws and raced through the air towards home. The miles raced by quickly, and before long, the small house was visible through the trees. He circled lower and lower until he was able to drop the carcass and land in the most open place next to his house. Zack got off of his back and looked about ready to throw up. Johnny transformed back into himself and turned to Zack.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the house,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s invisible to anyone who doesn¡¯t have certain glasses. Oh, right. You can¡¯t see it. Sorry. Here.¡±


    Johnny imagined a pair of glasses and gave them to Zack. When he put them on, surprise radiated from his face.


    ¡°That¡¯s wild,¡± Zack said. ¡°I never would have expected something like this. Why is it invisible?¡±


    ¡°Hopefully,¡± Johnny said, ¡°You¡¯ll never have to find out. Go outside tonight and I think you¡¯ll understand. Tomorrow, I¡¯m going to teach you what I know, and maybe we can figure out where the where here is like you said. Help me with the animal?¡±


    The rest of the evening was spent dissecting and cooking the beast. Dinner was served and the leftovers stashed away neatly in the refrigerator. Johnny imagined a small room for Zack and the both of them headed off to sleep.


    IV


    Johnny got up early the next morning, before sunrise. There were a few things he had to do before Zack got up later in the day. He was going to have to teach Zack what he knew in the hopes that Zack would not be such a lump sack of potatoes that he had to drag around everywhere.


    Outside the house, the red glow of the demonic moon still shone unabated. Despite this, Johnny ventured outside to set up a small obstacle course for Zack to test his skills once he had learned them from Johnny. When Johnny was done, he was very hungry and a bit tired. He went inside and heated up some of the food from the night before. There were still huge chunks of uncooked meat in the refrigerator. He cooked some of them up on a frying pan like bacon and hoped that the smell would bring Zack from his room. It didn¡¯t, and Johnny ate his meal in silence while thinking about how to continue.


    He finished the food quickly and headed off to Zack¡¯s room to rouse him. Zack was snoring loudly and Johnny had to push him nearly off of the bead in order to wake him. Zack yawned loudly and asked Johnny what time it was. Johnny responded that there was no time.


    ¡°Get up,¡± said Johnny, ¡°we have to get ready for the day. I have a lot to show you and teach you about this place. Sleeping won''t get you home faster. Lets go!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Zack said, yawning again. ¡°I¡¯ll be out in ten minutes. Let me wake up.¡±


    Johnny left Zack to his own devices and went back into the kitchen to fix both of them a plate of food. It was his second plate, but Johnny didn¡¯t need to tell Zack that. He knew that he would be using a lot more of his energy teaching than Zack would learning. He sat at the table and started eating. He was halfway through the meal when Zack finally showed up almost twenty minutes later, obviously having gotten more sleep. Zack sat down across from Johnny and ate the food in front of him like a starved animal.


    When they were both done, Johnny imagined his plate clean. This would be the first in a set of challenges for Zack.


    ¡°Zack.¡± He said. ¡°I want you to clean that plate with nothing more than your imagination. Imagine it¡¯s clean and see what happens.¡±


    Zack¡¯s face contorted with a pained I-need-to-crap kind of look. He was concentrating a bit too much, probably to the point that he would have an ulcer or something. Johnny put his hand on Zack¡¯s shoulder and told him to stop.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to concentrate that much,¡± he said thinking of a way this jock of a man might understand. ¡°Think of it as a woman and imagine her clothes off. It¡¯s that sort of thing.¡±


    Zack¡¯s face changed this time when he closed his eyes. There was a small smile on his face when he concentrated. As Johnny had hoped, the plate started to shine¡ª¡ªthe grime from the food just melted away. Zack opened his eyes and was amazed to see the plate cleaned just like Johnny¡¯s had been.


    ¡°Good Job. The next task is for you to take this,¡± Johnny said, tossing a small rock to Zack, ¡°and make it disappear.¡±


    Zack closed his eyes and assumed the same position as when he had cleaned the plate. He clenched his fist so tightly that Johnny could see Zack¡¯s knuckles going white. In a flash, Zack¡¯s hand collapsed inwards, showing that the rock was truly gone. Johnny clapped as Zack¡¯s eyes opened. Both men smiled, though Zack¡¯s was a bit larger.


    ¡°Alright, said Johnny as he led Zack outside, ¡°moving on now. Up to this point I¡¯ve had you modify an existing object, and destroy an object in existence. The next task is for you to make an object out of nothing. Like this.¡±


    Johnny imagined a ripe and juicy apple in his hands. It took a second, but he felt it resting in his hands after a moment. He bit in and juice dribbled down his face.


    ¡°Now you try Zack.¡±


    Zack¡¯s face changed as it had the earlier times, but after a minute, no success. Zack tried again and again, but still, nothing. Johnny told him to imagine the feel, the smell, the sight, and the smell of the apple he wanted to make. Finally, after several tries, Zack was able to create an apple. However, it was oddly shaped, small, and had a distinctively bad aroma.


    Johnny decided it was best to move on for now, but to come back to it later. There were only a few things left to teach Zack before getting on with what he had to do.


    ¡°That apple looks nasty.¡± Johnny said. ¡°We¡¯re moving on for now, but we will come back to that later. All I¡¯ve had you mess with are inanimate and stationary objects. The best thing to do is to move the environment to your will so you can do things you otherwise couldn¡¯t. For instance, this.¡±


    Johnny separated the trees into the runway like he had to take off in his plane a few days ago. As a second demonstration, he lifted Zack and hung him upside down. Zack screamed in surprise when he started moving, but quieted down after a moment. Johnny let Zack slowly come to the ground and told him to try moving a tree.


    This test was met with success immediately. Zack was able to pull the large oak from the ground and throw it quite far. He was visibly tired now though.


    ¡°If you want a break Zack,¡± Johnny said, ¡°take one. But since you¡¯re also hungry, use your mind to think up something to eat. It''s the completion of the task you messed up before. Talk to you in about an hour, then break is over.¡±


    Johnny lay down on a smooth patch of grass outside the front door and fell asleep.


    V


    A light and then rough prodding by Zack woke him up. It was mid afternoon now, but Zack looked happy.


    ¡°I can do it now Johnny!¡± He said excitedly.


    ¡°Let me see.¡±


    Zack held out his hand, and a plate with pancakes appeared. They were golden brown and steaming. On top was a pat of melting butter with syrup dripping down the sides. A knife and fork were going to work cutting the pancakes into bite-sized pieces. The fork reached up and placed the piece of pancake in Zack¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Great job,¡± Johnny exclaimed. ¡°I¡¯ve only got a couple more tests for you before I¡¯m done teaching you everything I know. When we¡¯re done, I¡¯ll show you something cool if it¡¯s still light out.¡±


    Johnny imagined a short dagger and slashed into Zack¡¯s flesh deeply.


    ¡°W-what did you do that for?¡±


    ¡°Fix that wound. It¡¯s about the same as what I had to do when I first got here. It¡¯ll test everything you¡¯ve learned so far.¡±


    Zack closed his eyes and the wound knitted itself up. The underlying tissues fused together and the skin sent shoots of light brown across the gap. The light brown tendrils pulled and tugged on the sides of the gap, closing them together for a scarless mending.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Good.¡± Johnny said beaming. ¡°The last thing I want you to do before the sunset is to modify your body in some major way. Like this.¡±


    Johnny imagined himself into the creature he was yesterday. The wings sprouted and his hands formed claws at the end. Zack closed his eyes in an attempt, but only small winglets sprouted from his shoulder blades.


    Zack tried again and again, but as with the food, it didn¡¯t seem to work. The sun was sliding lower towards the horizon. He probably had only a couple of tried left before he would miss out on the surprise. Johnny knew that Zack had to be thinking this because it was obvious in his facial expressions. Johnny pulled Zack aside for a moment.


    ¡°From what I said before, it seems like you love women almost as an obsession. Am I right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you are,¡± Zack said, blushing a little bit.


    ¡°Good.¡± Johnny said. ¡°Instead of changing yourself into what I am, how about you get the process down a bit better by changing into a woman for a moment and then changing back? I don¡¯t mean looking like one, I mean actually being one to the point where everything is functional if you get my meaning.¡±


    Zack blushed for a moment and then tried. Not much happened the first try, but on the second, he was able to transform himself fully. Zack turned to Johnny again.


    ¡°I never knew a woman felt this way,¡± he said in a mighty high and sweet voice.


    ¡°Now try changing back.¡±


    Before his eyes, Zack¡¯s body grew taller while the womanly bits disappeared to be replaced with his old physique.


    ¡°That¡¯s a useful thing to know,¡± Johnny said. ¡°No, I don¡¯t mean how a woman feels or how to change into one, but the ability to change your form to be able to fly for instance. It is equivalent to what I¡¯m going to show you. Come with me.¡±


    Johnny led Zack into the house and down the staircase into the basement where he kept the plane. He imagined a second one identical to the first, but Zack sized. Johnny got into his plane and waited for Zack to figure out how to get in.


    ¡°Get a feel for the controls.¡± Johnny told Zack. ¡°Your mind controls the engines and machine guns. Let''s go!¡±


    Johnny went full power out of the hill and zoomed into the air. He circled around, waiting for Zack to come up. He finally did. The two flew around for a while, higher and higher into the sky. Finally, Johnny noticed what looked like a wall of reddish glow advancing swiftly towards them. He told Zack to follow him into land because it was getting dark now. The light from the blood moon hit them before they were able to land. Johnny told Zack to flip over in the plane for a good look before they landed.


    Once inside the house, Johnny closed the doors and started cooking dinner. Zack looked visibly shaken.


    ¡°That light,¡± He said, ¡°that moon. What are they?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really know, but I do know that there is a demon that lives out there at night, so I generally only go out during the day time when it¡¯s safe. That demon is a woman, and she could kill you faster than you could react.¡±


    Zack looked down at his food. Johnny told him not to worry, that house was invisible so they couldn¡¯t be found. After dinner, they cleaned up and sat down at the table for a moment.


    ¡°Before we sleep tonight,¡± Johnny said, ¡°I want to decide with you what we should do.¡±


    Zack sat down across from him.


    ¡°I see this place as something like a video game or a dream world, maybe both. That means that there should be some sort of center where everything is run out of, like a library or memories. We need to find out where that is and to have a good look. Once we do, we may know what to do from here on out. The only question is, how do we look for something like that?


    ¡°That flying machine that you showed me before is interesting. If we were both able to fly around from really high up, we should be able to spot it from far away and make our way there quickly.¡±


    ¡°That works. Thanks Zack. See you in the morning, I¡¯m heading off to bed.¡±


    Johnny brushed his teeth quickly before heading off to bed. It was more of a habit than actually needed here. He jumped into bed and pulled the covers up tight to his chin.


    The next few days will be really important, thought Johnny. I¡¯m glad that Zack learned enough to be of some use.


    With that thought, Johnny turned off the light in his room and closed his eyes.


    VI


    The next morning, it was Zack who woke Johnny up. The light poured into the kitchen as breakfast was cooked and then served. Both men were silent, knowing the journey that lay ahead. When breakfast was cleaned up and put away, Johnny took Zack downstairs to the garage. The two planes from yesterday sat at one end while the door at the other end slowly opened.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to need to cover as much ground as possible as quickly as possible,¡± Johnny told Zack. ¡°I want you to go one way and I¡¯ll go the other. I don''t know how big this world is, but what we¡¯re looking for will probably be pretty obvious. You know, out in the open. So fly high enough that you can get a good view all around, but don¡¯t fly too high, otherwise you¡¯ll miss some things. If anything stands out, don¡¯t be afraid to investigate. Finally, don¡¯t worry about coming back here tonight. Just imagine yourself a house. We¡¯ll be in radio contact just in care one of us finds something.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good,¡± said Zack.


    With that, Johnny went inside his plane and took off. He decided to go towards the desert where he had seen Zack the first time. This meant that Zack would have to go over the mountains the other way. As he traveled towards the desert, Johnny ascended to just below the clouds in order to see what he could below.


    The greens of the mountains faded into the greenish brown of the savannah and then finally to the sands of desert. Along the journey, Johnny saw nothing. He ventured farther and farther into the desert. The sand dunes grew to the size of mountains, and he had to be careful not to hit them while flying. Several times, he thought that he saw what he was looking for, but they were just dark aberrations in the sands below.


    Johnny landed around midday for lunch and to chat with Zack. He imagined himself a beef sandwich with the works. He ate it and then made contact with Zack.


    ¡°Come in Zack.¡± He said.


    ¡°I hear you.¡± Came the response.


    ¡°Any news?¡± Johnny asked.


    ¡°Naw,¡± Zack replied, ¡°Just water as far as the eye can see, you?¡±


    ¡°A lack of water as far as the eye can see over here.¡± Johnny said cynically. ¡°Well, I¡¯m off again, good luck!¡±


    ¡°Same to you.¡±


    The radio crackled as Zack clicked off his response. It was time to keep flying. Johnny climbed into the air, up to the clouds again. He flew for hours. The desert thinned out over time to become a high plateau covered in sage grass.


    The sun was beginning to sink close to the horizon when Johnny saw the ocean in front of him. There would be no going farther today. He circled lower and touched down. After brief communication with Zack, he imagined food and shelter for the night based on the home he had created hundreds or perhaps thousands of miles away. Jake ate quickly and crawled in the shelter. Sleep came as usual.


    VII


    Johnny was awake the next morning before the demonic moon had set. The first rays of light took the fear he still had of that glow. He ate breakfast quickly and got back in the plane. Zack checked in with him about an hour later when he got up and left.


    The ocean before him was a deep blue with white specks of windblown water coming off of the tops of the waves. The waves that usually look so disorganized from below travelled in specific patterns¡ª¡ªthey were well organized. Johnny flew as fast as he could to pass the ocean as quickly as possible. After all, there would be no library out here in the ocean.


    By almost mid afternoon, he finally saw land in the distance. It was far away¡ª¡ªalmost one hundred miles¡ª¡ªbut it was land. Johnny sped up to the fastest his plane could go. The water rushed under him like the wildest river imaginable. The land ahead was rugged. It was mountainous with large crags and peaks. The place looked like some place Johnny never wanted to go. He landed on the top of one of the mountains for a break.


    The meal was the same as yesterday, but it tasted just as wonderful. Johnny contacted Zack for an update but got no response. He thought it was strange but figured he would contact Zack later. The sun was setting sooner than normal where he was. Instead of venturing farther than day, Johnny decided to create a shelter for the night. The demonic moon rose soon after, and he was left to sleep for the night. Before he lay down, a crackle on the radio. It was Zack finally contacting him.


    ¡°Hey Johnny,¡± Zack said, ¡°are you there?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m here. Why didn¡¯t you pick up before?¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that, I didn¡¯t have a signal.¡±


    ¡°Where were you?¡± Johnny asked.


    ¡°I was underground,¡± Zack said excitedly. ¡°I found it!¡±


    ¡°Really? What was it like?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to see tomorrow. It looks evil outside right now.¡±


    ¡°Alright Zack. Thanks!¡±


    The radio went silent. Johnny lay down. He found it hard to sleep that night, but after exciting hours of thought, sleep did come.


    VIII


    Johnny woke up a little later than he had intended the next morning. The sun was already part way up in the sky. He ate breakfast quickly and got into his plane. Before taking off, he imagined that he had a tracker to follow to find Zack. On the glass where he looked down from the aircraft, an arrow pointed in the direction of the fastest route to Zack.


    Johnny took off and climbed high into the air. He headed in the direction of the arrow as fast as the plane could go. A number next to the arrow showed the distance decreasing rapidly, but it was still a long way to get to Zack. The rugged mountains below became a prairie as the peaks slowly smoothed out into rolling hills and then into unbelievably flat planes. Rivers dotted the prairie like little treads lying on a green piece of paper.


    It was only around midday when Johnny realized he was getting close. Below him, he noticed a pattern in the topography. The prairie had turned back into rolling hills, but from this high, the rolling hills looked like furrows in a plowed field. The furrows looked as if they were converging toward a point in the distance, just out of sight.


    After about an hour, Johnny was able to make out the point of convergence. In the distance, a spire rose out of the ground about a quarter of a mile or so by his estimate. The spire looked black against the blue of the sky. As he approached, he was able to make out more about its construction. It was triangular in design. Three thick legs started at about forty-five degrees at ground level and curved upwards almost vertically to a point. Between the legs of the structure was a tetrahedron. Between the angled edges of the tetrahedron and the legs ran support beams, and from the peak of the structure to the point of the tetrahedron ran a cylindrical pipe. Around the structure ran a circular mound of earth from which the furrowed hills emanated like rays of light from the sun.


    As Johnny approached the structure, he saw Zack¡¯s craft on the ground and a man standing next to it, waving. Johnny landed the plane next to Zack¡¯s and got out. The first thing he did when he landed was to eat and drink¡ª¡ªit had been a long day already, and he hadn¡¯t had anything since breakfast. Zack came over to Johnny and sat down with him.


    ¡°We finally found it.¡± Zack said with delight.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Johnny replied, trailing off. ¡°Night¡¯s coming soon, we¡¯re going to have to do something about these planes.¡±


    ¡°Not to worry, Johnny.¡± Zack said. ¡°We can sleep inside the library. There¡¯s even enough room for these things.¡±


    He paused for a moment, and looked at Johnny.


    ¡°Follow me, I want to show you what I¡¯ve found. I haven¡¯t been everywhere, but where I have been, it¡¯s interesting.¡±


    Johnny followed Zack into the library, which was the tetrahedron itself. The inside has a distinctive musty smell. The only light in the place was the sun that shone through the glass sides. Bookshelves followed the three walls then inward in a spiral that not only got tighter as it went in, but also went higher. At the top of the bookshelves was a small green door. The other end of the spiral sank into the floor to go underground. The structure was larger than Johnny could have imagined.


    Zack led him up the triangular spiral to the top of the tetrahedron. He opened the green door to reveal an elevator that must go through the pipe he had seen from the outside. Zack pressed the up button once the both of them were inside. The door closed and the elevator lifted them higher into the sky. Johnny looked through the small slits cut in the elevator tube and saw the earth falling away below him.


    At the top of the elevator, a red door greeted him. He slid it open and found himself in a small triangular room with a pointed top. Three glass windows looked out over the land. There were two beds in the room that looked out of place¡ª¡ªZack must have put them there.


    Johnny looked out over the horizon and watched the sun set. The demonic moon rose and covered the land in it¡¯s bloody glow. The three windows cast the light into the center of the red door. The shape on the door that the moon made as it rose just above the horizon was a sadistic face that looked exactly like the demon that Johnny had fought.


    Johnny and Zack imagined dinner for themselves. They ate quietly and cleaned up as soon as they were done. They got ready for bed and went to bed. Johnny pulled up the covers up to his chin, but he couldn¡¯t sleep. The face that light made scared him, but he knew that if he ever had to fight that beast again, he was much more prepared this time. That thought put him a bit more at ease. He fell asleep moments later.


    IX


    Johnny woke the next morning at first light. The red face that scared him last night was now the yellow smiling face of a goddess. He woke Zack up and the pair ate breakfast to get ready for the research ahead.


    Johnny hated school. It wasn¡¯t as bad when he sat in class and could sleep the day away, but when he had to look things up and do projects¡­ Johnny shuddered at the prospect; yet here he was, in a library having to do research as if his life depended on it. This fit in with his theory about there being a way to manipulate any system. Even though it was research, he would be able to control what was found and how quickly. It wouldn¡¯t be very hard now.


    Johnny and Zack got into the elevator and traveled down to the green door. Johnny opened it and they stepped into the spiral. Johnny told Zack to go to the bottom of the spiral and see what was below the entrance while he looked at what was up here. Johnny knew that he would work his way down while Zack worked up, cutting the work in half.


    The bookshelves were ebony accented with white birch. From top to bottom, there were three rows of books. Although the bookshelves spiraled down to entrance level, dividers held the books upright and served as a separator for easy viewing. Johnny ran his fingers along the top row of books at the top of the spiral. They were ancient. The covers of the books were leather bound and caked with dust. He pulled the book closest to the green door out of its place on the bookshelf. This book looked the most ancient of the lot. Many of the pages were slightly ripped or worn along the edge.


    Johnny opened the book. The pages were a light amber color from the age. He flipped through the pages to find the title and contents. The ink was a bit faded and hard to read. ¡°A Birth¡± read the title. Johnny looked at it in a confused way. The book was dedicated to ¡°my mother and father.¡± The date of the printing was faded beyond recognition, but Johnny wasn¡¯t looking at the date. He was looking at the table of contents. The first part said ¡°Conception.¡± He opened it to the first page. There was no black ink text as he had expected but instead a color still image that began to move before his eyes.


    There were two lovers in a bed, neither of whom Johnny recognized. They were certainly getting it on. Both of the lovers were screaming in ecstasy. Johnny had seen enough. He slammed the book shut and pulled the next dusty volume from the shelf. It was titled ¡°New World.¡± The contents looked similar to the first one, but the only difference was that when Johnny opened to the first page, it was not of two lovers. Instead, it was a simple light blue wall. The blue wall moved and at a corner revealed another light blue wall. It was a room. From the sight of it, there wasn¡¯t much in it, just a crib and some foam toys. It wasn¡¯t just any room, it was a baby¡¯s room. Where was the baby? Johnny thought for a moment before realizing it. A pair of large feet came into the room¡ª¡ªa giant from his perspective. This book showed the view from the child!


    Johnny ran down the spiral and chose a book about halfway down. It was much newer. There wasn¡¯t nearly as much dust, and the pages weren¡¯t nearly as yellow or as beat up. The picture inside revealed the scene of the same baby room, this time though, it was painted a pale yellow. There was a four-post bed in one corner, and posters hanging on the walls. The posters were of guys with their shirts off. Clothes littered the floor¡ª¡ªgirls clothes. Johnny finally understood what was going on as soon as the view changed. These were no ordinary books. They were memories. He couldn¡¯t say whose memories they were, but they told a story if read in order¡ª¡ªday by day.


    Johnny ran down the spiral to ground level and then blew towards Zack. When he found it, Zack was wandering around trying to figure out what to do. He obviously had gotten there only a few seconds before Johnny did.


    ¡°Zack.¡± Johnny said, trying to catch his breath.


    ¡°What is it? I thought you were going to be up there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve figured it out.¡± Johnny said between breaths.


    ¡°Just calm down, it¡¯s hard to understand you.¡± Zack said, sitting down on the floor.


    Johnny caught his breath for a moment and then continued.


    ¡°While at the top, I looked at a couple of books. They were memories. I came down a bit and the memories became newer and fresher. I figured that down here at the bottom would be the newest of the books. The newest memories.¡±


    Zack opened and closed his mouth. He was speechless for a few minutes.


    ¡°So wait,¡± he said finally, ¡°what are you saying this place is?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t figured that out yet,¡± Johnny said, ¡°but I have an idea. I think that we¡¯re in a body¡­ Well, not exactly. More like the mind of the body, like alternate personalities.¡±


    ¡°How is that possible?¡±


    ¡°How should I know? All I can say is, I have my own memories and you probably do too, so why we¡¯re here I can¡¯t say. But going from what I said before, the newest memories should be the newest book.¡±


    Johnny put his foot next to the wall where the bookshelves ended at the bottom of the structure. He stood there for about thr33 or four minutes before he had what he was waiting for. The wall moved. It moved away from his foot another three or four inches. On either side, the bookshelves grew longer automatically, slightly farther into the ground to continue the downward spiral. Johnny grabbed the newest book in the rack. It had the new book smell. The cover was also leather bound, but everything was in pristine condition. He opened it to the title page. ¡°Of and Relating to the Now¡± it read.


    How ironic. Johnny thought to himself while chuckling.


    He opened to the last page of the book¡ª¡ªthe mist present of the lot. The scene was very graphic. He imagined he had a screen on the wall and a projector to show the image onto it. The larger image showed the amazing but terrible details of the events unfolding.


    There was a man tied to a bed and a dead woman next to him. Her throat was slashed and dried blood was everywhere. The man tied to the bed was unconscious but not dead. The picture moved out of a door on the left and left down a hallway. Another left and the view was of a living room with a long couch. The couch drew nearer until the view looked directly at it. Suddenly, it shifted up to the ceiling. It was night, and the room was dark. The view slowly grew black.


    Johnny grabbed the book and ran up the spiral and out of the entrance. The blood red of the demonic moon flooded the landscape. Suddenly, it made sense. The demon was this person, this woman. She was going to kill that man just like she had killed the woman. Something else came to mind that he hadn¡¯t considered. His last memories of running away from home and of killing his aunt¡­ Why was it that there was a man¡¯s voice? The only answer Johnny could find was that the woman pretended to be the man. The last memory he had was of going to sleep and of fighting the demon. After that, the next thing he remembered was being here. Had the demon been that woman? Had she somehow taken over his body? Johnny thought the answer to both of those questions was yes. The only question that remained was how could he get his body back?


    He pondered that question under the demonic moon for a few minutes before arriving at an answer. If she had gotten in his head, what about Zack? What if there were more? This woman certainly was a killer. As much as Johnny wanted his body back, he knew what could happen some time later even if he did. She would come back. He would have to kill the body. He would have to kill himself!


    Johnny motioned for Zack to come over to him.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Zack asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s going to kill that man?¡±


    ¡°She?¡±


    ¡°The memories are from a girl. She will kill the man tied to the bed if we don¡¯t stop her. She¡¯s the reason that the moon is red like that. She is the demon!¡±


    ¡°So what should we do?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to find where she comes in and out of this place. There must be a door in the wall of this world where she comes in. When we find it, I¡¯m going to take over the body by surprise. Then¡ª¡ª¡°


    Johnny choked and tried not to cry.


    ¡°Then I¡¯m going to have to kill this body,¡± he said, crying anyway. ¡°It¡¯s not just any body, it¡¯s my body!¡±


    ¡°This place is nice though.¡± Zack said.


    ¡°Think about it! She is killing people with impunity right now¡­ In my body!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Zack said. ¡°Let''s go.¡±


    Johnny wiped the tears from his eyes and imagined a tracker to find the demon. The arrow pointed in the general direction of the house near where he had fought the demon originally. He put the tracker in his pocket and imagined a portal from the library to the garage of the house. It appeared, but it made him weak to have done it. Before going into the portal, he turned to Zack again.


    ¡°If it comes to a fight, you have to lose. If you win, it might be impossible to find the door.¡±


    Zack nodded and the two of them stepped into the portal. Johnny found himself in the garage of the house, just as he wanted. He ran through the house and outside. The tracker showed him the direction of the demon. It was in the general direction of where he had fought her the first time. He set out in that direction with Zack hot on his heels.


    The moon was setting by the time they reached the destination. Johnny was weak, and the demon was already gone. He imagined food for himself and told Zack to stand watch while he slept. Zack agreed to wake him as soon as the moon rose. The next night would be their last.


    X


    A push on his shoulder woke Johnny. Zack was there pointing up at the sky. Johnny roused himself out of his drowsiness. The demonic moon was hanging low in the sky. It had just risen. He jumped up and hid in the woods. The tracker showed that the demon was coming, and Johnny knew he would have a perfect vantage point from here. Sure enough, the demon¡ª¡ªthe woman¡ª¡ªcame into view in the clearing where they had fought.


    She was not the monster he remembered. She was beautiful, and about his age; but there was something in her eyes that Johnny didn¡¯t like. She looked like a killer. The look in her eyes was something that was indescribable, and yet it was something that he felt through his entire self. She had to be killed as soon as possible. Johnny motioned to Zack who was next to him.


    ¡°I¡¯m going in after her.¡± Johnny told Zack.


    He got up and transformed himself into a monster, just in case it came to a fight. His body was larger and stockier than before, and his skin was hardened like stone. He quietly crept after the demon.


    After a while, the demon caught on to his presence and started to walk faster and then run. Johnny gave chase. The woman turned around and faced him, growing larger until she was about his height. Her body was thinner and her limbs were long. Attached to the edges of her arms were long blades that tapered from nothing near the wrist to a point out beyond the elbow.


    She ran at him at blazing speed. Johnny knew that the demon couldn¡¯t hurt him, but he knew instinctively that he had to lose so he could follow her out of this place. Her left arm sliced and he imagined a flesh wound that didn¡¯t really exist but spewed blood as if it did. Johnny fell down only his back as if it had been a hard blow. The demon came closer to him and started slashing more and more. For each hit, he had to make another wound, so by the time he was done, he looked like a fence with holes everywhere. He thought that perhaps the sight of his real body would stun her a little bit and make it easier when he had to do what he had to do the next time. His body grew smaller and took a more fleshy appearance.


    Johnny lay still while the blood drenched demon walked off. Once she was out of sight, he cleaned himself off and followed. He made himself invisible so that another fight couldn¡¯t happen. He followed for hours, despite being so worn out from before. Johnny laughed in his head. He hadn¡¯t learned any way to use the system against itself. Despite his knowledge, he hadn¡¯t had enough time to figure it out.


    XI


    The moon was finally setting and Johnny followed the demon. When the moon got to the horizon, the woman slowly disappeared in a specific spot. He understood now. There was a door but it wasn¡¯t physical¡ª¡ªit was in his mind. To open the door would be difficult and he was weak. He would need another hour or so to rest and eat before trying.


    Johnny imagined food and ate. The energy flooded into his body, but he needed his full power. Over the next hour, he ate and relaxed until finally he felt ready. He reached out with his mind to connect with the body itself. It was something that felt natural. It was something he was born to do. It was his body, not hers. It wasn¡¯t as hard as he expected, and before long, Johnny knew he was ready to do it. He took a deep breath. His heart was beating quickly. He was going to die. He was afraid, but he knew it had to be done.


    I¡¯m not going to let you have my body anymore! Johnny yelled into the thoughts of the demon.


    With that, he jumped through the mental door and into the body. Instead of letting the demon run loose in his head, Johnny held her there to watch with him. It was like sharing a laptop that had a view of the world, but he was in control. He felt the body change to his own. He felt something cold and metallic in one of his hands. The demon struggled against his control of the body, but he held firm. He raised the gun to his head.


    No! The demon screamed in his head. Don¡¯t do this to me!


    A tear fell from Johnny¡¯s eye. He pulled the trigger.


    Bang!

 Epilogue

    The sun was shining brightly on that early November day. It had been Jake¡¯s birthday. He had turned forty. Ed was going to surprise him; but instead, he got a phone call. It had been a policeman calling to tell him that Jake had been killed along with his girlfriend. She had been knifed and he had been shot. That day was a few days ago, and the funeral was still a few days off. Today was¡­ Today¡­


    Ed broke down and cried. He cried the day he received the news, but not like he had now. His hand clenched, crushing the letter in it. He had only received it today, but if he had known sooner, maybe, just maybe he could have saved his brother. The letter was long, and it had been roughly stuffed in an envelope so that the envelope bulged out on each side. The paper it was written on had a distinctive smell that he had never smelled before. There was nothing he could compare it to, but now he had associated it with Jake¡¯s death.


    Ed straightened the letter out and looked at it again. He wiped the tears from his eyes and started to read again.


    In all stories there are those who are fortunate and those who are unfortunate. I have heard your story. I have seen it unfold. You are the fortunate one. You survived. We could use more like you. You should know more than anyone that there are things out there that can¡¯t be explained with any other means than the occult. The affair between two families that resulted in so much death and yet left you alive is one of those things.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    The next few pages laid out a detailed description of the events that his brother went through. They were so odd that it really wasn¡¯t believable, and yet, the last paragraph dug deeply into him.


    There are worlds within worlds, and the events in each affect all the others. We need people like you who have witnessed such events to prevent repercussions and to stop other such events. If you are interested, please send a letter back.


    Signed,


    The Council


    P.S. The Universe depends on you.


    Ed didn¡¯t know what to do. These people were probably kooks, but then again, he¡¯d seen his share of oddities. He cried again over what happened to his brother. Even the things in the letter seemed to make sense the more he tried to tell himself that couldn¡¯t be possible. How could someone uninvolved know unless it was real?


    Ed looked at the envelope. It had no address on it. How was he supposed to send it? He figured that he would put his name on an envelope addressed to ¡°The Council,¡± and on a letter inside, he would put the words ¡°I¡¯d like to learn more.¡± He didn¡¯t expect anything to happen, just an odd face from the postman. Ed licked the sweet tasting glue on the envelope, nearly giving his tongue a paper cut in the process. He sealed it with the letter inside and ventured outside. The wind blew and chilled him to the bone as he made the fifty-foot distance from his porch to the mailbox. Ed put the letter in the mailbox and listed the flag. Inside his house, a phone rang.