《Wonderland: Origin Arc [Script]》 1.1 - Hit and Run [It opens up at night, on the pavement next to a road just outside of a forest. It¡¯s raining and the sky is blocked by the trees to keep it dark. A girl is walking along the street at night texting on her phone, mumbling to herself. She¡¯s wearing a black hoodie and jeans, with a white shirt underneath it. She¡¯s looking at the floor, not paying attention to the cars driving past and the surroundings. Behind her, the text messages start to appear once it¡¯s received. It says the name of the texter above and the messages below it with occasional bad grammar and spelling mistakes. In this case, the name is ¡°Sissel¡±. After each message, there¡¯s a few seconds delay before the next is received.] Sissel: [text only] Do you wanna talk tomorrow? It is late Tracey: [text only] Its fine, I can talk a bit longer XD Sissel: [text only] Better worded, I¡¯m very tired XD Tracey: [text only] Okay then XD Sissel: [text only] So¡ are we talking tomorrow? [Tracey pockets her phone just as she receives the text, not noticing it. She keeps walking, getting closer to the turn in the road. As she¡¯s walking, she hears a rustling next to her. She glances very nonchalantly, not seeing anything when she looks. She keeps walking, then hears another rustle which she disregards. After a few seconds, a branch snaps which causes her to stop and quickly turn.] Tracey: Hello? [No response. She sighs and moves slightly closer to the forest. There¡¯s a slow panning shot through the forest to show it, completely dark and nearly impossible to see anything. You can however see two individuals hidden in the shadows. One is shorter than the other, but both have rather pronounced rabbit-like ears at the top of their heads. Tracey pushes through the bushes slightly.] Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Tracey: [annoyed] Right, I can see you! Who is that, is that Leigh? Chelsea? This is NOT funny, guys! [Tracey moves and starts walking down the pavement again, a car going by. She sighs, mumbling to herself before hearing another rustling. She turns towards the noise, seeing the figures again. She groans and throws a stick at them.] Tracey: [annoyed] This is not funny! Leave me alone! [Tracey starts to walk again, taking out her phone to start texting Sissel. She starts typing, which appears behind her. The shot shows her facing the camera, with one of the figures coming out and following her in the background.] Sissel: [text only] Still there? Tracey: [text only] Yea, we can talk tomorrow. Sorry it took me a while, I th [Tracey is abruptly stopped as the man runs up behind her and tries to grab her. They barely miss and Tracey immediately starts running with her phone in her hand. She keeps running down the street as the road starts to get busier with traffic. She keeps running, looking back at the figure although it isn¡¯t seen by the audience. They continue running as a car is audibly coming closer while the space between her and the man is closing. As she makes it towards the end of the road, a gloved hand shoots out from the forest beside her. She screams and turns to bash the arm away. She hits the arm but starts to fall over into the road on her back. As she falls, a car drives towards her and her head ends up lining up with the headlight. The phone gets flung which is followed to the impact. The car can be heard braking before causing an impact. The phone receives another message which is only seen on the phone.] Sissel: [text only] Hey...text me if you¡¯re okay. It¡¯s late, I wouldn¡¯t want you to get hurt. [Opening.] 1.2 - College [It opens two months later with a shot of a framed photograph that contains Tracey with Sissel, who has long hair and wears glasses along with a red hoodie, both at the beach. The shot passes over the top of a guitar and moves over towards the alarm which reads 11:11. A hand places on it and switches it off. The camera pans out to show a woman in about her mid-30¡¯s wearing a black hoodie and jeans with a black ponytail. She has her phone to her side. She¡¯s looking at a bed currently with Sissel laying on it and not moving, facing away from her. She sighs.] Velma: [sad] You¡¯re gonna be late again. [He doesn¡¯t say anything or move.] Velma: [sad] I¡¯ve called College for you. I told them you¡¯ll be there for your catch up so¡ we have time to talk. [There is more silence. She groans and starts to leave.] Velma: Just¡ just be out of bed soon. Please. [Velma closes the door and the room remains quiet for a few seconds. It moves to outside where Velma texts someone on her phone labeled ¡°Olivia C¡±. The text being typed out is shown behind her.] Velma: [text only] He¡¯ll be there soon, keep an I for me [She sends the text and pockets the phone. Through an overhead shot, it shows the message get carried across the town and into a college. The message travels along the corridors and eventually stops in a corridor. Camera focuses on two specific people firstly a ginger girl wearing a black t-shirt and a short brown haired boy wearing a white button shirt and a black jumper. They¡¯re both walking down the corridor, but a phone vibration is heard. The girl takes the phone out and sees the message.] Olivia: [text only] Okay, thank you. [She pockets her phone, Vince turning and looking at her.] Vince: What is it? Olivia: Sissel¡¯s mum. He¡¯ll be in later. Vince: [relieved] Oh, that¡¯s good¡ that¡¯s good. [Vince looks down at the floor as they walk to a lift, Liv pressing a button.] Liv: You okay, Vince? [Vince looks at Liv, thinking.] Vince: [hesitantly] I dunno¡ it¡¯s just that we¡¯ve all been talking and¡ we don¡¯t think we should bring him back into the group. [The doors open and Vince enters, Liv look offended.] Liv: [surprised] What? [Cuts to downstairs, the two leaving the lift and walking through a group of people.] Vince: [loud] I¡¯m not saying that I agree with them, I just¡ I see where they¡¯re coming from! Liv: [loud, offended] We are not kicking him out of the Mad Tea Party! Vince: [loud] Come on, Liv, you can¡¯t be like that! Liv: [loud, offended] What do you mean? Come on, he¡¯s your cousin, you should stand up for him! [Vince turns in the corridor to face Liv, visually upset. Behind them, there¡¯s an African man who notices the two and begins walking over. He¡¯s wearing a white shirt and black jeans, while texting on his phone.] Vince: [loud, offended] That¡¯s why I don¡¯t get rid of him! I¡¯m just saying that it make sense! Liv: [loud, offended] His girlfriend is dead, we can¡¯t just abandon him! Especially not you! This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Vince: [loud, offended] He¡¯s my cousin, I am not abandoning him! [The African man arrives, not noticed by either.] Gary: [confused] Who are we abandoning? [Vince and Liv jump, moving slightly back. Once they realise who it is, they calm down.] Vince: [calmer] Hey Gary. Liv: [annoyed] Why are we abandoning Sissel? [Gary has a sharp inhale, turning to Vince.] Gary: [quietly] She found out then. Liv: [angry] What, you were gonna keep this from me?! Vince: I¡¯m just gonna¡ [Vince started moving back down the corridors, Liv chasing after him. Gary sighed and walked off behind the two. It then cut into a classroom, lined with chairs and with a projector at the end. A male and female are sat in the room. The male is wearing a beige button up shirt and ripped jeans with scruffy black hair. The girl is wearing a blue shirt with a jacket over it, having long blonde hair. There is a slight commotion outside before Gary enters, quickly followed by Liv and Vince.] Gary: Hey, so Liv knows. Chelsea: Crap. Leigh: [sarcastic] Yay. [Chelsea and Leigh stand up.] Liv: [angry] Both of you, we are not doing this. Are we clear on that? [Liv turns, facing Vince and Gary. As she talks, she looks between them.] Liv: [angry] Especially not now! Okay, we have¡ we have just started college and he¡¯s going to be alone and still mourning so we can just abandon him after all of this! Okay? Leigh: [calmly] With all due respect- Liv: [angry] No, shut up! You don¡¯t¡ this was your idea, wasn¡¯t it? Chelsea: Liv, calm down. Leigh: [calmly, slightly louder] With all due respect- Liv: [angry] Leigh, how do you think Sissel is going to react to you kicking him out? Leigh: [angry] You don¡¯t have a place to say! [The others in the background look at each other, Liv and Leigh staring at each other.] Vince: [concerned] Um¡ Chelsea, how about we give them some space? Chelsea: [concerned] Yeah, good idea¡ [Chelsea quickly moves around and the three leave, Gary being pulled out by Chelsea after staying. Liv and Leigh are alone in the room.] Liv: [annoyed] What do you mean ¡°I don¡¯t have a place to say¡±? Leigh: [annoyed] Because it was your mess in the first place to do all this. If it wasn¡¯t for you, we wouldn¡¯t be in this shit, would we? Liv: [annoyed] What, so¡ so now it¡¯s my fault? I¡¯m just meant to take the blame. Leigh: [calming down] You just... look, none of us want to do this but Vince¡¯s cousin has never been comfortable here, he¡¯s told you that. If he stays around, it¡¯ll just remind him of Tracey. [Leigh raises one finger.] Leigh: So one day. That¡¯s all, then he can find his own place with people he deserves and not who he¡¯s uncomfortable around. [Leigh lowers his finger, heading out of the room.] Leigh: The Mad Tea Party¡¯s last hurrah, send off for Sissel and Tracey! Got it? [Liv sighs, then nods. Leigh opens the door.] Leigh: Good, then I¡¯ll see you after hours. [Leigh leaves, the door thudding behind him. Liv is visibly upset and annoyed as he leaves.] 1.3 - Vandalism [Transitions to the afternoon with students leaving the college. There¡¯s a large crowd outside the front leaving and talking. Focus then moves onto Sissel, now out of bed and wearing a zipped up red hoodie with jeans, keeping his head down and walking into the college. He pushes through a crowd, makes it into the building and walks through the rather empty space. There are a few scattered chairs and tables without people around them, Sissel passing past them without taking notice. He continues through a few corridors, the chatter of people in the background. Eventually it cuts to him opening a door into a blue classroom, the edges lined with computers and desks with a projector on the roof. There is a teacher in there, male in his mid-40¡¯s with dark brown hair, receding hairline. He¡¯s wearing a faint yellow button up shirt with a blue striped tie and black dress trousers. He¡¯s on his computer, hooked up to the projector, showing a powerpoint. He glances over his shoulder and sees Sissel, then looks back at his computer.] Goldberg: Cecil Mastin? [Sissel nods.] Goldberg: Sit down. [Sissel moves onto a computer next to the door, turning it on. Goldberg glances over again.] Goldberg: Username is your surname, then first initial capitalized. Password is just password, you can change that. [Sissel logs in with MastinC. Computer boots up to Mac. Goldberg finishes on a powerpoint slide and gets up, going over to Sissel. He gets out a pen and paper, scribbling some numbers down.] Goldberg: I¡¯ve got an arrangement with somebody so¡ I won¡¯t be able to stay around today. There will be another student with you, little ahead, so they should help you catch up. All the infos in the powerpoint, have a look at that if you¡¯re stuck. If you need me, for any reason¡ [Goldberg pockets his pen and pushes the paper in front of Sissel, having a phone number.] Goldberg: Call that. Okay? [Sissel nods.] Goldberg: You¡ don¡¯t talk much, do you? [Sissel shrugs, Goldberg gives a sigh.] Goldberg: Fair enough¡ see you tomorrow, in class preferably. [Goldberg starts to leave. The door opens before he gets there, with an unseen individual in the way while the camera focuses on Sissel¡¯s face.] Goldberg: [quietly] He¡¯s all yours. [The person enters the room as Goldberg closes the door behind him. The character moves behind Sissel¡¯s chair and puts his hands on it, huffing.] Vince: What are we gonna do with you then? [Sissel gives a confused look, turning slowly. Vince backs away from the chair slightly, smiling. Sissel gives a smirk, standing up himself.] Vince: Just¡ just for a heads up, from what I heard out there, you aren¡¯t doing that selective mute shit, are ya? Because nothing against it, but that is gonna piss me off a bit. [Sissel shakes his head.] Sissel: [slowly] No, I¡¯m just¡ sorry, I didn¡¯t know you were on my course. Vince: You¡¯re my cousin! Someone has to keep an eye on ya. [Vince smiles, then holds his arms out.] Vince: Come on big man. [Sissel moves over and they give each other a hug. Vince pats Sissel on the back, then the hug breaks.] Sissel: It¡¯s kinda weird not being the one to offer the hugs. Vince: Nah, it¡¯s fine, you¡¯ll get back into it. Sissel: [scoffing] That¡¯d be nice. [Vince smiles.] Vince: Two months, we were all away from each other. Because of what happened. That is a lot of time to make up for. Sissel: Well¡ I¡¯ll talk to the rest of the Tea Party at some point later then. Vince: No need, they¡¯re just outside. Sissel: [surprised] W-why? It¡¯s- Vince: To catch up! Make up for it! Come on¡ Tracey wouldn¡¯t want you like this. [Sissel gives a sigh, looking down.] Sissel: Well¡ you¡¯re not wrong. But I do need to catch up. Vince: We can do it after, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve got the stuff at home, I can¡ I can tutor you. [Sissel looks up, thinking.] Sissel: If you¡¯re sure then¡ let¡¯s go. [Sissel rather quickly moves out the door, Vince smiling and following after. It cuts as they both get outside, the rest of the group there. The area is large, surrounded by classrooms but with a staircase into a car park. Chelsea pops a party popper and Gary readjusts a large bag on his back. Liv is slightly away from the rest of the group, staying away from ] Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. All, bar Liv: Surprise. [Sissel gives a wave and a half-hearted smile.] Sissel: Hiya. [Gary quickly moves to the side, dropping the bag on the floor.] Gary: Right, let¡¯s cut the crap and get to it. We got¡ Chelsea, time. Chelsea: 5:05pm. Good to see ya again. [Chelsea gives Sissel a handshake.] Leigh: Same dude, good to see you. [Leigh leans over, Sissel gives him a handshake.] Gary: 5:05, we¡¯ve got until six o¡¯clock so let¡¯s get to it. [Gary opens up the bag as everyone else comes around it. Liv comes up behind Sissel and puts a hand on his shoulder. He turns for a moment, then disregards her. Gary starts to rummage through the bag.] Gary: I grabbed a few things for us to play with during our little catch-up like, um¡ Sissel, heads up. [Gary chucks up a Chocolate Orange, which Sissel catches. He gets back into the bag, starting to empty its contents.] Gary: [unpacking] That. We¡¯ve also got¡ twelve cans of purple spray paint¡ two cans of pink spray paint, five rubber cat masks, a tub with a pork and egg sandwich¡ um¡ oh, and a fluffy blanket. Leigh: [confused] Seriously? Gary: Yeah, what¡¯s wrong with that? It¡¯s cold, I wanted a blanket. [Gary opens the tub and takes out the sandwich, eating it.] Chelsea: [confused] Anyway¡ um, Leigh, got the plan? Leigh: Oh yeah! [Leigh runs up and grabs a can of purple spray paint, standing in front of the group and holding it triumphantly in the air.] Leigh: Okay, let¡¯s just make this quick. We¡¯re here now, this place is gonna know it. At the most, we¡¯ve got three years here so let¡¯s make sure we leave our mark. [He turns around and points over to a doorway that leads to a corridor.] Leigh: Down that way and along a couple of corridors, there is a staircase. On that staircase, there is a lovely picture that I can¡¯t tell for the life of me what it actually is or means. [He turns back to the group, shaking the can.] Leigh: We¡¯re gonna spray paint the Cheshire Cat on top of it. Sissel: [concerned] I-isn¡¯t that vandalism? And also a crime? Leigh: Yep. Sissel: [concerned] And¡ and we¡¯re just gonna go through with that? [Chelsea moves over, patting him on the shoulder.] Chelsea: It¡¯s okay, we won¡¯t get caught or anything. We¡¯ll have masks and you will be look out. [Sissel looks over and sees Gary handing out the masks, coloured purple. Everyone is grabbing cans, with Liv being very hesitant to.] Sissel: Well¡ that¡¯ll be a bit better. Chelsea: If anyone comes, you put up your hood and give the signal. Then we run. If you get caught, then we find a way to shift the blame. [Liv looks over.] Liv: [sarcastic] When did you become a criminal mastermind? [Chelsea puts a finger to her lips and shushes Liv.] Chelsea: [quietly] Be honest, you wanna do this with us? [Sissel thinks for a moment. He then nods.] Sissel: [quietly] Okay. [Chelsea pats him on the back. She moves away and past the group, as Gary picks up the bag. Leigh passes her a mask, which she quickly puts on her head.] Chelsea: We all ready? Let¡¯s move! Go team! [The group, all wearing masks on top of their heads and carrying cans, follow Chelsea. Sissel hesitates a bit, but then comes to follow them. There¡¯s a clutter behind him, which causes him to quickly turn around. He looks behind him and sees nothing, looking confused, as the group head through the doorway. Vince holds the door, looking back at Sissel.] Vince: Cecil, you coming? [Sissel nods, turning back and going through the doorway. Vince lets him pass then closes the door behind them. As the door closes, a shot through the window shows a character appear. They¡¯re tall and abnormally skinny, appearing vaguely anorexic. They¡¯re wearing a white button shirt with red splashes on it, with black trousers and shoes. The sleeves of the shirt are rolled up, his hands covered by white leather gloves. The face is covered by a polygonal mask, resembling a rabbit with large prominent ears.] 1.4 - Watcher [The group ran down a corridor, going through a doorway. Sissel was about to pass through, when Vince turns and stops him. He puts a hand on Sissel¡¯s chest.] Vince: You stay out here, we¡¯ll get to work. If you see or hear anything, come through and tell us. [Sissel nods.] Vince: Seriously¡ good to have you back again. Sissel: Thanks. [Vince goes through the door, closing it behind him. Sissel leans against the wall, sighing and looking around for people. It cuts to the group, Vince running up to them. He has a smile that quickly fades away as he groans behind the group.] Vince: [annoyed] God, I¡¯m such an arsehole! Liv: [sighing] Your words, not mine. [Gary turns around, walking backwards. He points at Liv.] Gary: Shut. Vince, what¡¯s wrong? Vince: I just¡ come on, we¡¯re being all nice and supportive when it¡¯s now like ¡°Hey, by the way, we¡¯re kicking you out of that club your girlfriend made!¡± [They make it to the end of the corridor, Chelsea stepping in the way.] Chelsea: Okay, let¡¯s just make this clear, one! We are NOT just kicking him out! If wants to, he can stay, we just all agree bar Olivia that it¡¯d be better for him not to stay around. Two! As her best friend, I know that Tracey would ask for us to look after him! Right? [The group are all silent, looking between each other.] Chelsea: Oh come on, you guys were agreeing with me earlier. Leigh: No, I still do. Gary: Same. Liv: [annoyed] I don¡¯t. It still feels wrong. Leigh: [antagonistic] Well no one asked you, did they? Chelsea: [quietly] Leigh- [Gary quickly moves between them, Vince putting a hand on Liv¡¯s shoulder to keep her back.] Gary: Okay, can we- can we not¡ do this? Please? Not while we¡¯re, y¡¯know, commiting a crime? Vince: Yeah, save the infighting for later. [Leigh looks to Chelsea, who nods to him. He sighs.] Leigh: Yeah, let¡¯s¡ let¡¯s just get this over with. [Leigh turns and leaves with Chelsea, following them as Gary and Vince tries to calm down Liv. They make it in front of the painting, putting the masks on and leaning next to it. Their voices are slightly muffled by the masks, but still clear enough to be understood.] Leigh: I¡¯m being too hard, aren¡¯t I? Chelsea: No¡ you¡¯re like the rest of us. We¡¯re¡ we¡¯re coping, y¡¯know? Differently? Hell, if it wasn¡¯t for Sissel then Olivia would be taking it hardest. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Leigh: I thought she was just being a bitch. Chelsea: Hey! Still our friend. Leigh: Come on, you really think we¡¯re all just ¡°happy wittle fweinds¡± now she¡¯s dead? [Leigh sighs.] Leigh: She glued us together, that was pretty obvious. It¡¯s a matter of time before we¡¯re all dropping off the face of the earth. Chelsea: Fucking hell, you had a bad day? [Leigh glances over.] Leigh: I¡¯m just¡ looking at this realistically. Chelsea: You like me, right? Leigh: Wha- yes! Obviously, what kind of question is that? Chelsea: Just checking. [Chelsea looked over at Leigh.] Chelsea: You¡¯ll have me. Even if we all start turning on each other, you¡¯ll always have me. [Leigh chuckles, looking down.] Leigh: That is¡ very sweet of you, thank you. [Chelsea starts shaking her can of spray paint. Leigh looks down.] Leigh: [embarrassed] Um¡ hey, I¡ I was wondering if y- [Gary, Vince and Liv enter the room, Liv still putting her mask on. Gary is now carrying a ladder with him.] Gary: Right, are we ready? Leigh: [embarrassed] Um¡ Chelsea: Yeah, we¡¯re ready! Gary: Great! [Leigh moves back as Gary places the ladder down in that place, starting to climb up and getting to the top.] Gary: Chelsea, spray me. [Chelsea sprays some purple onto his leg. He slaps her hand and snatches the can.] Gary: [agitated] You knew what I meant! [Gary shook it again, chuckling.] Gary: Ladies and gentlemen¡ show time! [He starts spraying, covering the view. It then cuts back to Sissel waiting outside the room, scratching his wrist. He looks down the corridor through the window, not seeing anything. He looks back forward, sighing and looking around. There¡¯s a loud thud outside that catches his attention.] Sissel: [quietly, worried] Oh shit, oh no¡ [Sissel looked back at the door, moving away towards where the noise came from down another corridor. As he moves away, the door he was guarding very slowly open by itself. The scene follows along the corridor and turns into the doorway, peering through at the group as they work at a half finished image of pink and purple. Through the reflection of the window can be seen a closer look at the White Rabbit mask with an eye peering through it.] 1.5 - Hostage [Sissel walks down a corridor, away from the doorway. He¡¯s looking around, clearly worried, peering into doors along the corridor for other people. He groans, leaning against a wall.] Sissel: What¡? [Sissel starts backing into the door to the next corridor, checking around so he isn¡¯t followed.] Sissel: [confused] What is going- [As Sissel goes through the door, he¡¯s grabbed from behind by a man. He covers the mouth as Sissel tries to scream. He wraps another arm around his throat, choking him out.] Benny: [panicking] Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Evan: Will you shut up?! [Sissel looks up at the people, unable to get a good view of them. After a few more seconds, Evan throws him away into a wall. Sissel hits the wall and falls onto the ground in pain. He rolls over to see Evan and Benny. They¡¯re both wearing black and white striped jumpers, with red hats on. Evan is ginger with curly hair and a cut underneath his left eye, looking generally annoyed, while Benny is short haired blonde a little bit shorter than Evan and very panicked. Evan comes over and kicks him into the stomach, making Sissel cough and curl up in pain. Evan is twitching in his panic.] Benny: [panicking] Oh¡. no¡. Evan: [angry] Great, we got the wrong guy. Perfect. Benny, mirror check! [Benny quickly pulls a mirror up and looks around in it.] Benny: [panicking] Nothing¡ there¡¯s nothing, he¡¯s not here! [Evan groans, punching a wall repeatedly.] Evan: [angry] Great, just¡ GOD FUCKING DAMN IT! [Evan puts his hand through the wall on the last punch, sighing and dragging it out. The arm is bleeding badly, but he just pulls his sleeve further down over it.] Benny: Evan- Evan: Shut up, I¡¯m fine. [Sissel starts trying to get to stand up.] Sissel: [confused] W¡ what i- Evan: [angry] I said shut up! [Evan moves over and kicks Sissel in the stomach again, making him fall onto the floor and yells in pain. It then cuts to the group as they¡¯re doing the spray painting, Liv turning around towards the door. The graffiti image shows a design of a large cat head with a large smile, along with pink stripes and a top hat on the head.] A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Liv: [confused] What was that? [Leigh looks at Liv confused.] Leigh: What¡¯s what? Liv: There was a¡ a scream, or something. Gary: You¡¯re hearing things, Liv, just ignore it. [Vince drops the can on the ladder steps.] Vince: Um¡ Sissel¡¯s alone out there. Chelsea: And? Vince: And Liv just heard a scream. [The group look between each other, each coming to a similar realization.] Gary: [panicking] Oh shit. [Gary jumps down from the ladder and starts running. The group then each quickly run after and follow them. It cuts back to Benny and Evan, looking at each other and panicking.] Evan: [angry] Right¡ right¡ okay, we need a plan, right? So¡ so let¡¯s just¡ [Evan walks back over to Sissel and grabs him by the hair. He pulls Sissel up, pulling a gun out of his jumper and immediately pushing it into Sissel¡¯s head.] Evan: [deranged] Just take him¡ and make a trade, okay? Okay Benny? [Benny breaths for a second, staring at Sissel.] Evan: [shouting, deranged] Benny! Benny: [terrified] O-okay then¡ Evan: [deranged] Right¡ move then. Move Benny. [Benny starts to look around the corridor, seeing an open window.] Evan: [slowly, deranged] Benny, don¡¯t make me point this at you. [Benny starts to move to the window, climbing quickly through it. Evan pushes Sissel forward.] Evan: [slowly, deranged] Now you too. [Sissel quickly moves to the window, eventually climbing through it and moving after Benny. Evan follows after him and stops, smiling to himself. He points the gun at the window, with Sissel quickly ducking, then fires at it. He climbs over and cuts his hand on the window frame. He points the gun back at Sissel and he starts to move again. As Sissel moves to catch up with Benny, Evan frantically tries to grab a piece of shattered glass from the floor. He cuts his hand while getting one, but grips onto it. He looks through it with one hand, following along behind the others with the gun pointed at them.] 1.6 - Origin [The group run into the room that Benny, Evan and Sissel just entered, Vince and Gary leading. They see the shattered window and run up to it, Vince running much faster.] Vince: [panicking] Oh no¡ Cecil! [He runs up to the window and looks out of it, looking in the direction that the three just left from.] Vince: [panicking, shouting] Cecil! [Vince jumps through.] Leigh: [panicked] Vince! Chelsea: [panicked] Wait! [Leigh and Chelsea jump after him, followed by Gary and Liv. It cuts back to Sissel being forced down the pathway and towards a car park.] Evan: [deranged] Ready, Benny? Benny: [panicking] I don¡¯t know, I just- Evan: [shouting, deranged] I said are you ready Benny? [Benny glances back at Evan, shaking.] Sissel: [panicking, faux-calm] W-what are ready for? Who the hell are you two? [Evan moves closer, pushing the gun into the back of Sissel¡¯s head. Sissel closes his eyes, breathing heavier and more panicked.] Evan: [deranged] We had a friend looking out for us, but he¡¯s decided to turn his back on my friend. I don¡¯t like that very much. Now ask another question and I will [shouting] blow out your fucking skull! [Evan moves slightly closer, whispering into Sissel¡¯s ear.] Evan: [whispering] Are we clear? Vince: [shouting] Get away from him! [Evan turns slightly and sees the group running up to him. He quickly grabs Sissel by the throat and points the gun into the side of his head. Benny turns around and is shocked, while the group all stop in their tracks in shock.] Vince: [quietly] Oh no. Liv: [quietly] Jesus Christ¡ Benny: [panicking] Evan, don¡¯t! Evan: [panicking] Shut up, just shut up! [shouting] Shut up! Nobody get closer or I¡¯ll shoot him. Leigh: [commanding, faux-calm] Hey, hey! Calm down! Okay, calm down, look at me! [Leigh steps slightly closer.] Chelsea: [panicking] Leigh, don¡¯t. [Leigh turns to look at her, nodding slowly. He looks back at Evan.] Evan: [deranged] Don¡¯t you dare move. Leigh: [faux-calm] Okay. [Leigh stops walking towards Evan, with about five meters of space between them.] Leigh: [faux-calm] I won¡¯t. Okay¡ what¡¯s your name? Evan: [deranged] D¡ do you- Leigh: [faux-calm, demanding] What is your name? [Evan breathes heavily, hitting himself in the head with the gun and groaning.] Evan: [deranged] E-Evan. Evan Tweedle. Leigh: [faux-calm] Okay Evan Tweedle, okay Evan¡ my name¡¯s Leigh Fisher. Okay? Everyone else here, Vincent Cosgrove, Olivia Hart, Chelsea Queen, Gary Gray and¡ the man currently in your hands¡ Cecil Mastin. Still with me? [Evan nods, breathing getting more panicked. Leigh takes a few steps closer.] Leigh: [faux-calm] Why do you need the gun, Evan? Evan: [deranged, quiet] I said don¡¯t move. [Leigh moves within arm¡¯s length.] Leigh: [faux-calm] Just tell me why you need the gun and we¡¯ll be fine. [Evan points the gun at Leigh.] Evan: [deranged, shouting] I said don¡¯t move! Benny: [panicking] Evan, please! [A shot of Benny sees some dark purple colour travelling up his neck, looking like it was lighting up at points.] Leigh: [faux-calm] Evan Tweedle¡ I¡¯m sorry about whatever got you into this¡ whatever happened to get you here, to threaten my friend¡ but quite kindly, a friend of ours died recently and I¡¯d really rather not lose another, okay? So just tell me where you got the gun. Evan: [deranged] I¡ my dad is a cop- was a cop. I ran, took his keys, broke in and grabbed the gun. It¡¯s easy with half the stuff people like me can do. Leigh: [faux-calm] So¡ you¡¯re a very special kind of person, aren¡¯t you? Evan: [deranged, quietly] He¡¯s gonna kill my friend¡ and me¡ just because of one stupid day, we¡¯re gonna die¡ [Leigh glances up towards Benny, then back at Evan.] Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Leigh: [faux-calm] I¡ presume this ¡°he¡± you¡¯re talking about¡ is the man behind your friend? [Evan immediately drops into complete panic, dropping Sissel and turning around. He points the gun up in Benny¡¯s direction, who ducks down. There isn¡¯t any other person there. Sissel quickly runs as Leigh grabs Evan from behind, keeping his arm outstretched.] Chelsea: [panicked] Leigh! [Gary and Liv grabs Chelsea, holding her back.] Leigh: [shouting] Go, just go! Now! [A gunshot goes off as Evan tries to fight back. Leigh bites deep into Evan¡¯s neck, breaking the skin and making Evan scream in pain. He drops the gun and Leigh quickly throws Evan to the side. He grabs the gun and runs towards the group.] Leigh: [shouting, panicked] Run! [The group all quickly run away from them. Evan gets up, gripping his neck.] Evan: [deranged, shouting] No! No, get back here! [Evan starts to run after the group as Benny starts to shake madly. He collapses to the ground, crying, as the colour spreads up further on his body. Evan keeps running after the group, as they turn round the corner they came. As they run past the corridors, Vince falls to the ground. Evan quickly launches himself at Vince, but Vince manages to run out of the way and Evan lands face first onto the floor. He gets up, his nose broken and bleeding. He grabs Vince¡¯s leg, stopping him from being able to get up. Vince turns, looking at a panicked Evan.] Evan: [deranged, out of breath] Please¡ I don¡¯t want to d- [Evan gets cut off as a figure suddenly appears around him, gripping his neck. Evan let''s go, gripping onto the hand instead. The figure looks as if they¡¯re made of shards of reflective glass, quickly forming closer to create the clear image of the White Rabbit. A close up shows that the back of the mask reveals brown hair and a tie stuffed into his pocket. Vince looks scared, then up at the mask of the White Rabbit. His voice is heavily distorted.] White Rabbit: Run. [Vince quickly gets up and runs, Evan panicking.] Evan: [shouting, panicking] No! No, please! Please! No! [Vince catches up with the group, the shouts of Evan abruptly stopping. They all run out from the school as a large stormcloud rolls in. They all get into a circle, looking at each other. They all yell at each other, overlapping each other. Gary is looking up, focused on the sky.] Chelsea: [panicking] Are you okay? Are you hurt, either of you? Are we all okay? Are you sure nothing is wrong? Leigh: [panicking] I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine. Who the fuck were they? What is going on? Vince: [panicking] What the hell was that? Who the hell was that? He fucking appeared out of nowhere! Sissel: [panicking] You- You could have died back there! He had a gun to your head! We both could have died! Liv: [panicking] What is wrong with you?! That is the dumbest thing you could of done! Why did you go up to a guy with a gun! Gary: [quietly, panicking] Guys¡? Guys¡ hey, guys! Look! Hey! [Gary claps his hands quickly, getting everyone¡¯s attention as they go silent. He points into the sky.] Gary: [panicking] What the hell is up with the sky? [The group all look slowly up into the sky and see a large dark purple cloud forming in the sky. It¡¯s building large and spreading across the sky as far as they can see. There¡¯s little pulses of light travelling throughout the stormcloud, loud echoes of thunder inside of them. There appears to be some build up of the pulses above them.] Sissel: [quietly] Oh shit¡ [A large lightning bolt suddenly shoots down and hits directly into each member, each being blasted back by the force. They all fly off, Liv going through a window and Vince crashing the back of his head into a car which sets the alarm off. Each of them remain unconscious, laying on the ground as it can audibly be heard that more lightning strikes are occuring around the area.] 1.7 - Informed Discovery [It¡¯s now dark, night time. The violent storm cloud above has dissipated. The group are now conscious, sat outside the front of College on the edge of the road. Leigh and Chelsea are next to each other, very close. Gary is next to them, wrapped in his blanket. Liv is tapping the back of her phone. Vince and Sissel are next to each other, Vince looking concerned for Sissel. They¡¯re all silent.] Vince: [confused] So¡ anyone want to talk about what happened? Leigh: [strong] Nope. Chelsea: [confused] I¡¯m good. Gary: [shaking] I¡¯m fine. [Liv shakes her head.] Vince: [confused] Okay¡ okay then. [Sissel gets up, looking at the floor.] Sissel: [panicking] Um¡ tell you what, I¡¯m just¡ I¡¯m gonna go home. Can we¡ pretend that today never happened please? [The group look between themselves and make a silent agreement.] Sissel: [panicking] Okay then¡ see you tomorrow. [Sissel quickly turns from the group and starts walking down the street. Gary and Vince get up.] Gary: [paranoid] I¡¯m gonna go too, long day. Vince: Want help with¡? [Gary looks to the bag, picking it up.] Gary: It¡¯s fine, no worries mate. [Vince gives a thumbs up.] Vince: I¡¯ll just go with you then. [Gary nods. He looks back to the group, bowing.] Gary: See you guys. [Gary and Vince walk away. Liv very silently gets up and walks down the street, giving no effort in a slight wave to Leigh and Chelsea. Leigh looks over to Chelsea.] Leigh: You gonna be okay? Chelsea: [chuckling, scared] After that? [Chelsea gives a faux-smile, that slowly fades.] Chelsea: [scared] The one time we up our game from pranks and tricks, we get struck by lightning and with a gun pointed at us. [Chelsea is visibly scared, so Leigh pulls her in and gives her a hug.] Leigh: Okay¡ okay, come on. [Leigh gets up, helping to bring Chelsea to her feet.] Leigh: I¡¯ll walk you home, okay? Chelsea: [scared] Okay... [The two walk away from the college. It then cuts to Sissel again, on his phone with Velma and rummaging through his keys.] Velma: [worried] Are you safe? Did it come close to you? Sissel: Mum, I¡¯m fine, it was just lightning. Velma: [worried] It was all over Chesterfield! It hit the hedge for the neighbours, whole thing set on fire! Sissel: Mum, I¡¯m not on fire! Calm down! Velma: [worried] I¡¯m allowed to worry about you. Sissel: I know¡ um¡ [Sissel manages to get a key with a purple cat ornament attached to it.] Sissel: I- I¡¯m gonna be a bit late home, I just need to go somewhere. Velma: [worried] What? Where? Sissel: Just¡ just to a friend¡¯s, look, I¡¯ll call you later. Love you. [Velma objects as he hangs up, pocketing the phone. He eventually makes it outside a clearly abandoned house with a purple door, the windows smashed and boarded along with a few holes in the roof. He steps up to the house, using the key to unlock the door and heading inside, closing it behind him. He moves into the building and enters the living room. It¡¯s dark with only a round table visible, along with a candle on the centre. He feels around the table, managing to get a lighter and flicking it on. He pulls the candle over and starts to light it. He carries it around the room, lighting candles stuck into the walls around it. He turns to the next room, seeing a light is already on. He looks confused, walking towards it and entering the room. Inside there is only a black tattered sofa, a map and a single lamp. Sissel stares over, confused.] You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Chelsea: Wanna know something? [It cuts to show Chelsea on the sofa, although she looks different. She¡¯s now wearing a brown blazer and white shirt with red splotches, slight cut on her cheek. She¡¯s smiling, flicking through a phone.] Sissel: [confused] How did- Chelsea: When Tracey made the club, she did it because she wanted to pull a few pranks back at school. Get popular. I helped her out because, well, I was more popular than she was. So one day, during break, we get a ton of sticky notes and start plastering the headteacher¡¯s car in them. Sissel: [confused] But- Chelsea: [forceful] Sissel, talking. [Chelsea sits up, looking at Sissel.] Chelsea: So we¡¯re covering this car, right, and she is loving it. Not a care in the world. But then¡ big surprise, turns out that somebody caught us doing it. You did, actually. So of course, we run off because we don¡¯t wanna get caught, right? We move and hide behind the bins around the back for the rest of the day, silent. Then she turns to me, wanna know what she said? [Chelsea smiles and hands over the phone, showing a picture of Tracey smiling in a school uniform, leaning into some bins.] Chelsea: She said¡ ¡°Tell you what, he didn¡¯t look half bad.¡± Sissel: [confused] I¡ why are you- Chelsea: Sissel, we¡¯re all in danger. I¡¯ve seen it, we¡¯re going to die if we aren¡¯t careful. Because of you. [Sissel sits down on the sofa, looking at Chelsea worried.] Sissel: [worried, confused] What¡ what did I do? [Chelsea turns to him.] Chelsea: First of all¡ you¡¯ll need a bit of a run down for what¡¯s going to happen today. The Storm hit? Sissel: [confused] Y-yes, you were just there. Chelsea: I was, about two weeks ago. Sissel: [confused] What? Chelsea: [forceful] Just¡ listen. [It cuts to Leigh, outside Chelsea¡¯s house. She goes in, nodding.] Chelsea: [shaking] Thank you. Leigh: Anytime. If you need me, just give me a call. Chelsea: [shaking] I will. I can promise that. [Leigh leaves, Chelsea closing the door. He starts to walk away from her house, shaking himself and sighing.] Leigh: [panicked] Jesus¡ bad day¡ [He gets his keys out, fumbling with them. As he¡¯s walking, he suddenly trips and loses the keys from his grip as they fall into a gutter.] Leigh: Oh¡ crap. [Leigh crouches down to the gutter, looking down into it. It cuts back to Sissel in the room, pacing. Chelsea is following him with her eyes.] Sissel: [confused, panicking] I don¡¯t¡ sorry, that just¡ it doesn¡¯t make sense! What you¡¯re saying is just- just- Chelsea: Pseudoscience. Gary called it that. ¡°Like something out of a comic book¡±. Sissel: [confused, yelling] Yes, but it doesn¡¯t make sense! We were struck by lightning, n-n-not magic or- Chelsea: Sissel, I need you to trust me. Sissel: [yelling] Why?! Why should I believe anything you¡¯re telling me?! Chelsea: [yelling] Because if you do then we can save her! [Sissel stops, staring at her silently.] Chelsea: [groaning] Oh of course, that got your attention. 1.8 - Active Discovery [It cuts back to Leigh¡¯s situation, his keys at the bottom of a grated gutter that he can¡¯t reach. He groans, sitting up.] Leigh: [annoyed] Oh, for¡ [He sighs and leans down, pushing his hand into the grate. He manages to get his fingers through, but can¡¯t manage much further. He is about a hands length away from the keys when he tries. He pulls his hand out, groaning.] Leigh: [annoyed] Oh, come on¡ [He reached into it again, but grabs the grate and tries to pull it up. He pulls it with one hand, getting no changes. He moves and grabs it with both hands.] Leigh: [strained] Come on¡ maximum effort¡ [He pulls it and eventually it breaks off, falling onto his back and accidentally throwing it into the air. The grate goes up into the air, as Leigh watches it. It then starts to come back down, towards his face.] Leigh: [scared] Wow! [Leigh puts his arms up to defend himself as it comes down hurtling towards him. He closes his eyes and recoils. No collision occurs. He frowns confused, opening his eyes and looking up. He moves his arms away and sees the grate dangling in midair attached to nothing.] Leigh: [confused, scared] What- [A door opening can be heard to Leigh¡¯s left, which Leigh looks towards. When he does, the grate suddenly flies over in that direction which causes him to recoil. It goes through two cars back windows and sets off their alarms. He quickly panics as this happens and runs in the opposite direction, hiding behind the cars in order to not be seen. It then cuts to Liv walking through a park. She¡¯s still silent, arms crossed and looking at the floor. She¡¯s walking by the side of a pond and hears a cat howling. She looks up and sees a dark black cat with one blue and one purple eye by the side of the pond, laying on the ground with a gash on it¡¯s arm. Liv quickly moves over, crouching down next to it.] Liv: [worried] Oh god! Oh¡ oh, you poor thing. [She takes up it¡¯s arm, stroking the cats back.] Liv: [worried] Don¡¯t worry, kitty, you¡¯ll be okay. [She starts to pull out her phone, starting to dial. She looks back down at the cat, stroking it¡¯s head as it groans and meows.] Liv: [worried] Ssshh¡ it¡¯s okay¡ [As she¡¯s stroking, she looks at the wound again and sees that it¡¯s slowly fading, healing itself. She looks at it confused.] Liv: [confused] What the hell? [She starts to get up, but immediately falls onto the ground with a cry of pain. She gets down, hissing and holding onto her left leg. The cat slowly gets up as the wound completely fades, moving over to Liv. She pulls up her trouser leg to reveal a long gash along her leg. She looks at it in shock, then looking back at the cat. It nuzzles up to her and purrs.] The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Liv: [confused] Did¡ did you do that? [The cat continues to nuzzle into her, while she pulls down her trouser leg and sits confused on the ground. It then cuts over to Gary and Vince, walking down the street.] Gary: [confused] Y¡ you¡¯re telling me that some guy dressed as a rabbit¡ just teleported in front of you and saved your life? Vince: [manic, excited] Yeah, like¡ like a ghost! Like he just appeared and saved my life, it was some proper comic book shit! [Gary is looking at the ground in thought, Vince looking excited at him.] Vince: [worried] You¡ don¡¯t believe me, do you? Gary: [confused] Well¡ I¡¯d say no, if your cousin hadn¡¯t just been held at gunpoint followed by us all getting struck by lightning. Vince: [excited, reserved] Oh, good¡ good, y¡¯know. I mean, not all this other shit that¡¯s going on, I mean that you actually believe me. Gary: Wha- course I do! A friend of Leigh is a friend of me. Vince: Thanks¡ I¡¯ve been meaning to ask, how do you even know Leigh? [Gary looks to Vince, shrugging.] Gary: Well¡ we both played a lot of sports. Got a bit of a rivalry going. He had football and basketball, I had stuff like javelins and ultimate frisbee. Vince: [excited] Ultimate Frisbee? [Gary nods, as the two start to make it through into a carpark.] Vince: [excited] That better be a real game. Gary: It is, I- Goldberg: [distant] No, you listen. No, you listen! [The two look up and see Mr Goldberg standing at the boot of a car on the phone. The boot is open, with a large black bag in the back. Vince sees the bag immediately.] Gary: Hey, is that your tutor? Vince: [quietly] Get down. [Vince pulls Gary down into a crouch, the two quickly running to cover behind a car.] Gary: [whispering] Why are we- Vince: [whispering] Shut up. Listen. [The two barely look over the edge of the car, looking at Goldberg.] Goldberg: [angry] Listen to me, you¡ I don¡¯t care why you came here, I want you gone. By tomorrow night. If you¡¯re not, I¡¯m gonna come for you and I swear I¡¯m going to rip your head off your body and through it into the river! [Vince and Gary look at each other in surprise.] Goldberg: [angry] What you don¡¯t believe me? Don¡¯t believe me- no, you shut up! If I so much as see you back on campus then you¡ [Goldberg sighs.] Goldberg: [angry, faux-calm] You¡¯ll never see the kid again. [Goldberg hangs up the phone, throwing it into the back of the car. He gets into the car as the two properly duck underneath the car, Goldberg driving and leaving the building. Gary turns to Vince, breathing heavily.] Gary: So¡ about that whole ¡°leaving this behind us¡± thing... 1.9 - Meeting After [It¡¯s the next morning, 7:30. Liv is walking along through a nearly empty town with the black cat still following after her. She¡¯s now wearing a red shirt and purple hoodie with black jeans and shoes. She¡¯s hobbling slightly from her wound and looking down at the cat, purring loudly.] Liv: You¡ you¡¯re just going to keep following aren¡¯t you? [The cat rubs against her other leg, making her stop.] Liv: Can you at least be a little bit quieter? [Her phone starts to buzz. She pulls it out, seeing the name and answering.] Liv: Hey, Sissel, how are you holding up? Sissel: Fine enough¡ where are you now? Liv: Um¡ town, just heading to College- Sissel: Sod it off. Liv: Excuse me? Sissel: I need you to come to the old house. Liv: [confused] Seriously? I¡¯ve said before, that place is a death trap. Sissel: It¡¯s not caved in yet, also the group need you in. Liv: [confused] What? Why? Why there, not just at College? Sissel: [shouting] Look, I am not arguing with you! Can you just come over and bring the sodding cat?! [Sissel hangs up before Liv can ask another question, leaving her staring at her phone in confusion.] Liv: [confused] Um¡ hey fuzzball, you fancy a longer walk? [The cat purrs in agreement and she starts walking again, looking around. It transitions to her making it to the rundown house with the purple door, wide open. She walks though and looks around.] Liv: [loud] Hello? Vince: [distant] In here! [Liv moves into the room and finds the table surrounded by the group. Sissel is wearing the same clothes from yesterday, looking as if he hasn¡¯t slept. Leigh is wearing a shirt with a picture from Sweeney Todd on it. Chelsea is wearing a white shirt with blue stripes downwards on it. Vince is wearing a brown hoodie over his clothes. Gary has a white shirt with a yellow tie design on it with the bag from yesterday on his back. Liv immediately moves focus onto Sissel.] Liv: Um¡ have you slept? Sissel: No. Come join please. [Liv comes over to the the table, the cat jumping up. She groans and picks up the cat, putting it back down.] Liv: Come on, buddy. Leigh: When did you get a cat? Liv: He just¡ he hurt his leg, he¡¯s been following me ever since. Sissel: Is that why you were limping? [Liv looks at Sissel, confused.] Liv: [confused] Sorry, what? Sissel: You healed the cat, but you got the wound on your leg now. That¡¯s how it works. [Liv looks between the rest of the group, looking between each other in confusion.] Liv: [confused, worried] Um¡ Sissel- [The cat jumps back up onto the table. Sissel reaches over and starts to pet the cat.] Sissel: Oh, hello Cheshire¡ Chelsea: Cheshire? Leigh: Did you name the cat after the club? Liv: We are not keeping the cat, it is going back to its owners when I find them! [Sissel looks to the group.] Vince: Cecil, you might as well tell them what happened. [Leigh, Chelsea and Liv look between each other.] Sissel: Right¡ right, okay then¡ [Sissel stops petting Cheshire, looking to the three.] Sissel: I know that you have superpowers. [They look between each other again, now with Vince and Gary included.] Gary: [confused] That is not even... close to what we were thinking of, sorry, what the fuck are you on about? [Sissel looks to Gary and Vince for a second to speak, then stops himself. He looks back at the group.] Sissel: Um¡ okay, I¡¯ll prove it them. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. [Sissel takes off the shoe and quickly comes up, throwing it at Leigh. Leigh holds up his hands in a panic, making it stop quickly in front of his face. Gary¡¯s jaw drops in surprise, the rest of the group looking at it. The shoe very quickly drops to the floor, Leigh panicking.] Leigh: [panicking] Okay, I don¡¯t know why that¡¯s happening! Sissel: If it helps, she can heal people. [Sissel points to Liv, very shocked.] Liv: [shocked] Um¡ okay, sure, it is, but I thought that was the cat. Sissel: No, that¡¯s you. Chelsea told me in the future. [Vince punches the table, getting attention.] Vince: [confused, annoyed] Cecil, mate¡ I love you, you know that, so pardon what I¡¯m about to say¡ can you talk outside of fucking sense please? [Sissel nods, very quickly] Sissel: [slight panic] Okay, um¡ thinking, um¡ okay, so turns out that lightning storm gave us superpowers apart from me and Gary, for some reason. [Gary perks up, frowning.] Sissel: [slight panic] Chelsea travelled back in time and told me that, Leigh is basically a psychic, Liv can heal people by touching them and she didn¡¯t tell me what Vince can do. Vince: [surprised] Wait¡ wait, I have one? Gary: [annoyed] Wait, I DON¡¯T have one? Chelsea: [surprised] I can time travel? [Liv and Leigh look at each other. Sissel covers his ears.] Sissel: [shouting] Please stop yelling at me, I have had a very stressful day! [Leigh looks at Gary, nodding to him. Gary notices.] Gary: Um¡ how about we talk about our thing then? [Gary looks to Vince who nods.] Gary: So¡ turns out that Goldberg may have possibly murdered that¡ um¡ Leigh: [shocked] Tweedle. Evan Tweedle? Gary: Yeah! Um¡ me and Vince saw him¡ ditching the body in his trunk. [Sissel moves slightly closer to Vince and Gary.] Gary: And based on what happened yesterday¡ I think it¡¯s best that we try and deal with the whole ¡°murderous teacher¡± shtick that he¡¯s got going at the moment. [The group look between each other again, surprised.] Sissel: I also have a separate thing that I need help with¡ please. Leigh: I-I don¡¯t know if- [Vince hits the table again.] Vince: [annoyed] Oh¡ come on! We have superpowers, actual superpowers, that we have just seen! What, we¡¯re not going to use them? Use them to stop a killer? I mean Cecil a bow and arrow and give Gary some cleavage, we¡¯re basically the Avengers! Leigh: [shouting] I had a gun pointed at me yesterday, I¡¯d prefer not to do that again! Vince: [angry, loud] And if they fire the gun, then you can stop the bullet! Leigh: [shouting] I don¡¯t even know how! You expect me to start catching bullets now? Chelsea: [shouting] Stop it! [Attention turns to Chelsea. Sissel very slowly moves the hands away from his head.] Sissel: [worried] Um... Chelsea: I¡¯m in. I mean¡ if what Sissel and you two are saying is true, which I can believe since he just did THAT, then I guess I don¡¯t have a choice. Liv: Yeah¡ yeah, so am I. I mean¡ as long as I don¡¯t get the cat killed¡ please tell me that doesn¡¯t happen. Sissel: Chelsea didn¡¯t tell me anything bad happened to Cheshire. Liv: Good¡ good¡ [Attention moves over to Leigh, looking between the rest of the group. He sighs.] Leigh: [annoyed] If I get a gun pointed at me again, I¡¯m gonna scream. Fine! What is the plan? [Gary grabs the bag, unzipping it and pulling out a map. He unrolls the map and shows an overhead view of the college.] Gary: Right¡ here¡¯s the plan then... 1.10 - The Plan [It shows the group leaving the building, in slow motion, while the characters voices are played overhead.] Gary: First of all, we all need to leave and spread out, get something that we could use to fend for ourselves. [Cuts to shots of members getting weapons. Leigh goes home and grabs a hammer out of a cupboard. Chelsea picks up a walking stick from a living room, then leaves. A shot with Liv shows her getting a wrench out of her garage, the cat still following her around. A shot of Gary in his room shows him picking up a katana, slowly unsheathing it. Vince has a shot of him looking around a kitchen, thinking. He looks over at the kettle and stares for a moment, grabbing it and running.] Sissel: I¡¯ll just grab mine when we get to College. I lost something that I need to get during the storm anyway. [There¡¯s a quick shot of Sissel looking around underneath cars in the parking lot outside the College.] Gary: Whatever suits you. Speaking of, I¡¯ve already got our disguises sorted. Leigh: What are they? [A shot of Leigh opening the bag up to reveal the cat masks is shown.] Gary: What else would they be? Liv: He has a point. [Another shot of the group walking towards the college is prepared.] Sissel: Actually! Um¡ one of those two, I think his name was Benny, he needed to check through a mirror. So¡ [Specific shot of Vince walking, pulling out his phone and spinning in a circle to look at the reflection.] Sissel: Couldn¡¯t hurt to keep something reflection-wise. Liv: We¡¯re gonna spin around in circles looking through mirrors? Sissel: If you want to. Liv: [hesitantly] Fair enough then. [Cuts to a shot of Vince, Gary and Leigh meeting just before reaching the College.] Gary: Once we¡¯re all together, I¡¯m thinking two teams. Me, Vince and Leigh are gonna need to go and find this Benny guy if we can, see if we can get him on our side. Leigh: We should ask him about these powers, see if he knows anything. Gary: Good idea. [Cuts to show Liv and Chelsea meeting in the street, heading towards College.] Sissel: I¡¯m gonna need to bring Chelsea with me for my plan. Liv: I¡¯ll go with you. Sissel: [hesitant] Um¡ you don¡¯t have to- Liv: It¡¯s fine. Teams of three, keep it safe. Chelsea: Three and a cat. [The shot pans down to show Cheshire walking with the two. The cut finally moves to show Sissel still looking underneath a car and trying to grab something.] Sissel: I¡¯ll explain everything when we get there. Anything else? Gary: Shouldn¡¯t be. Meet there towards the end of College, attract less attention. Chelsea: Yeah, I doubt we¡¯re gonna get too much attention anyway. [The shot shows Sissel finally pull out from underneath the car the gun from before. He quickly sits up, covering it from people looking by. He slowly starts to try disassembling the gun, succeeding and putting the pieces into his pockets. He looks behind him once it¡¯s done and gets up, seeing the two teams coming together. Outside the front of college is reasonably crowded, people leaving. He runs over and immediately starts to pet Cheshire again, who purrs.] Sissel: Hey buddy¡ [Chelsea and Liv stare at Gary and Vince.] Gary: [confused] What? [Chelsea points at him.] Chelsea: [confused] Is that a sword? Gary: Oh, no, it¡¯s just¡ well, it¡¯s a fake sword. ¡°Recreational¡±. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Liv: Can we try not to get people killed? Please? [Vince groaned.] Vince: I think I¡¯ve got that sorted with the kettle. Leigh: You can do a lot with a kettle. Vince: [sarcastic] Sure I can. [Leigh looks between them all.] Leigh: So¡ we¡¯re gonna find Benny and try not to die¡ You do Sissel¡¯s plan and don¡¯t die. Okay? [The group all nod at each other and break into two groups. Sissel leads Liv, Chelsea and Cheshire away while Leigh takes Vince and Gary off into the College again. Gary ends up looking around the many people and repeating about how he¡¯s carrying a fake sword while Vince catches up with Leigh.] Vince: So¡ how you holding up? Leigh: [thinking, slowly] I have superpowers apparently Vincent, it¡¯s very new information. Vince: Yeah, but¡ y¡¯know, what do you think of it? I mean this is like stuff out of a comic book, I don¡¯t even know what mine is yet! Surprised your girlfriend didn¡¯t- [Leigh looks to Vince confused.] Leigh: [confused] Sorry, what did you say? Vince: Chelsea! I¡¯m surprised she didn¡¯t say. Leigh: [confused] Right, um¡ yeah, she¡¯s not my girlfriend. Vince: Oh¡ okay then. [The two continue walking in silence for a couple of seconds.] Vince: Why not? Leigh: [groaning] Okay¡ let me guess, you¡¯ve got relationship advice for me? Vince: Hell no, I just¡ y¡¯know¡ curious¡ Leigh: I tried to ask her out yesterday but then your cousin became a hostage and I nearly got shot and we were struck by lightning- Vince: I feel like you aren¡¯t going to let that go. Leigh: That is going to stay with me until the day that I die. Vince: [slowly] Fair enough. [Cuts to outside with Sissel leading the other two away. They both look very confused.] Liv: Um¡ where actually are we going? Sissel: Where do you think? [Liv and Chelsea look between each other.] Liv: [silently] Do you wanna¡ Chelsea: [silently] Sure¡ [Chelsea hops forward very quickly next to Sissel.] Chelsea: This is about Tracey, isn¡¯t it? Sissel: Yes. Chelsea: You want us to go back in time to save her. Sissel: While I have a chance to, yes I do. [Chelsea nods, understandingly.] Chelsea: Um¡ now I don¡¯t mean to¡ be mean, but¡ wouldn¡¯t that kinda change a lot of history if we do that? Sissel: What, you¡¯re telling me we shouldn¡¯t? Chelsea: [worried] Hell no, I loved Tracey but¡ I don¡¯t know if we know what we¡¯re doing. Sissel: [firm] I know what I¡¯m doing, I¡¯m saving her. I need you for this. Chelsea: [worried] And if we bring her back then what if she ends up in that Storm? Okay, what¡¯ll happen to her then? [Sissel stays silent for a moment.] Sissel: [shaking] I just¡ she doesn¡¯t deserve this. I need to do something to at least try¡ [Chelsea moves Sissel a bit further away so Liv can¡¯t hear.] Chelsea: [quietly] Look¡ look, I¡¯ll help you get back then but that¡¯s it. Whatever you¡¯re going to do, it is your choice. Okay? Sissel: [shaking] Okay. Chelsea: [quietly] If you want, I can tell Liv to go. [Sissel sighs, seeming immediately annoyed.] Sissel: Sod it, bring her with us. Chelsea: Are you sure? Sissel: She already killed her once. Now she can save her. [Sissel starts to walk slightly faster, moving ahead of the group. Chelsea sighs as Liv catches up with Chelsea.] Liv: How is he? Chelsea: He still hates you. Liv: [upset] Oh¡ okay then. 1.11 - Screen [Leigh, Vince and Gary very quietly try to move through the College towards a lift, managing to make it in without being seen. As they get in, Gary sighs and hops in place a bit.] Gary: Okay, I¡¯ll be honest, I am regretting the fake sword now. Leigh: That¡¯s your own fault, it wouldn¡¯t even do anything. Gary: Better than a kettle, isn¡¯t it? [Vince turns, chuckling at Gary and pointing the kettle at him.] Vince: [faux-threatening] Don¡¯t make me use this on you. [Gary puts his hands up in joking fear.] Leigh: Seriously, if it¡¯s that bad then just leave the sword here. Gary: [surprised] Are you sure? Leigh: Yeah, I¡¯m sure. It¡¯s not real. [Gary shrugs, putting the fake sword down in the corner of the lift. The doors open onto the top floor, having lined up with windows and a dark blue carpet.] Vince: [determined] Right, let¡¯s move. [Vince exits, Leigh and Gary then following after them. They look around, seeing no one in the corridors.] Leigh: [quietly] Where do we go then? Gary: [quietly] I¡¯m thinking find Goldberg¡¯s office. See what he¡¯s got, maybe has a clue. [Vince looks around and sees a doorway, heading towards it.] Vince: [quietly] That way. Anything specific? Leigh: [quietly] Maybe just a clue to where Benny is. Gary: [quietly] Y¡¯know, if Benny was being chased by a killer then it¡¯s probably best that we don¡¯t go getting in the way of that. [Vince opens the door and sees nobody, heading deeper in with the group two following. There are a few doorways number from 1-10, then 11-20, then 20+.] Leigh: [quietly] I just wanna make sure he¡¯s okay, I believe I¡¯ve brought up the gun thing quite a lot already. Vince: [quietly] Too much, honestly. Leigh: [quietly] Noted, but still! Vince: [quietly] Hey, nothing wrong with it, just saying that it wouldn¡¯t help you to stop every now and then. Leigh: [quietly] Okay, noted! [They go up to the door labeled ¡°20+¡± and go through quietly. There¡¯s a longer corridor again that they quietly walk down. They quickly make it to door ¡°23¡± with the name Richard Goldberg written on a plaque on it. Gary knocks on the door and the other two look at him, bewildered.] Gary: [confused] What? Leigh: [quietly, yelling] What are you doing? Gary: [defensive] I¡¯m checking if he¡¯s in there! Vince: [quietly, yelling] You wanna blow our cover immediately?! Gary: [defensive, quietly, yelling] I was just checking if he¡¯s in there! He clearly isn¡¯t, he would of opened the door by now! Okay? [Gary slowly opens the door and pushes it open.] Gary: [quietly] There you go! [Vince goes first, looking around. Leigh gestures for Gary to go first.] Gary: Cheers chicken. [Gary enters, Leigh entering behind and looking at him confused.] Leigh: [confused] What? Gary: [agitated] Oh, don¡¯t start! [The office has a single desk with a laptop on it. The room is brown, with a single window behind it. There is a bookcase at the side involving guides on writing and film design. The desk is wooden and old fashioned, with a seat across from it for a student to sit and a spinning chair for him to sit. Gary is about to close the door, but then hesitates while he does. He turns to the group.] Gary: Someone should stay outside. Keep an eye out in case Goldberg comes up. Vince: Oh, I will. [Vince hops over to the door, closing it behind him as she leaves.] Gary: Right¡ since we got kettle-boy out the room, what should we do? Leigh: Um¡ hmm¡ [Leigh looks around the room, then points at the laptop and chair.] Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Leigh: I¡¯ll check the laptop, you look through the books and see if he¡¯s hiding anything. [Leigh goes over to the laptop and starts looking, Gary looking back at him in annoyance.] Gary: Why do I have to look at the books? Leigh: Because I¡¯m already on the laptop. [Gary sighs and starts to look through the books, grumbling to himself. Leigh turns on the laptop and waits for a few seconds. It eventually loads up onto the screen saver, with an image of himself next to Benny and Evan standing in a group outside of Big Ben, also visible in the picture. There are three other men there, one of them is wearing a purple suit with a cat mask in his hand, along with his eyes noticeably with a green and brown colour to them. The other is wearing a green blazer with a white letter in the breast pocket, they also have on a black top hat with a green bow around it. The third is wearing a brown long coat with a bow tie around his neck. Goldberg is wearing a blue coat trench coat that covers up most of his body and is smoking in the image. There is a blonde woman in the background who is barely noticeable, only seeing a ponytail and freckles as defining traits. All the new men have short brown hair and no facial hair. Leigh stares at this screen, humming. Gary notices.] Gary: Found something? [Leigh pulls out his phone, going to the camera.] Leigh: Yeah, I think so¡ Look at this. [Leigh takes a picture of the screen as Gary comes over. Gary looks at it and frowns in confusion.] Gary: Well¡ that¡¯s a neat picture¡ I guess- Leigh: Gary, it¡¯s a team! [Leigh points at Evan and Benny.] Leigh: These two were here yesterday, maybe they were being chased by someone in this picture¡ Gary: Okay¡ hey, who¡¯s that? Leigh: [annoyed] Gary, there are a lot of people in this picture. Gary: That one! In the back! [Gary points at the blonde in the back, before a very quick knocking on the door is heard. It cuts outside to see Vince knocking on the door as Goldberg is walking down the corridor. He sees Vince and perks up.] Goldberg: Vincent! What are you doing here, it¡¯s after hours? Vince: [hesitant] Um¡ I¡ wanted help¡ with Sissel and... [He very slowly raises the kettle.] Vince: [hesitant] Coffee? [Goldberg chuckles awkwardly.] Goldberg: [confused] Um¡ I can help you get some coffee if you want. I just need to grab something from my office. [Vince inhales slowly then nods.] Goldberg: [confused] Okay¡ are you okay? [Vince nods.] Goldberg: [confused, concerned] Okay then¡ just wait here, give me the kettle, I¡¯ll deal with the coffee. [Vince hands Goldberg the coffee and very slowly moves out the way of the door. Goldberg enters the room and finds it empty, the laptop closed. A shot shows him move over and grab his laptop, with Gary and Leigh hiding underneath the leg space to the desk. Goldberg leaves the room and closes the door, the two falling onto the ground and panicking quietly. Outside, Goldberg looks to Vince.] Goldberg: I¡¯ll be back in a bit, you just wait here, okay? Vince: [slowly] Yep, completely fine, don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll be here. [Goldberg slowly nods, then leaves with the kettle. After he¡¯s gone, Leigh and Gary exit from the office.] Leigh: [quietly] Okay, may not be worth it, let¡¯s just go and get moving! Gary: [quietly] We got stuff anyway. Vince: [quietly] What about my kettle? [Leigh starts walking off, Gary pushing forward Vince.] Gary: [quietly] Fuck the kettle, just get moving! [Gary moves next to Vince, grabs his hand, then moves in front while pulling him along.] 1.12 - Chase [Leigh, Vince and Gary move quickly out of the teacher¡¯s offices, closing the doors behind them.] Leigh: So we found this screensaver on his computer. It had him on it with a whole ton of other people including Evan Tweedle and this Benny guy, one sec I¡¯ll show you. [Gary hits the button to the lift while Leigh rummages for his phone. The lift quickly gets closer to their floor.] Leigh: I¡¯m thinking, maybe they were part of some team? But something broke the team up a bit and so, while Evan and Benny were here, he had to get rid of them. [The lift reaches the top, Gary looking through the window and freezing.] Leigh: Problem is, if that is true- Vince: [concerned] Then we could be facing a team. Gary: [panicking] Um¡ Guys? [They all look to the lift doors as they open, revealing the White Rabbit inside with a knife. They all quickly panic as he lunges forward with it. They move out of the way and run into the lift, hitting the button to close the doors. The Rabbit turns to attack again, but Gary kicks him in the stomach as he enters which causes the Rabbit to bend over, before Leigh then knees him in the face and knocks him out the lift. As he falls, the doors close.] Vince: [panicking] Hit a button! Hit a button! [Leigh scrambles to the numbered floors and hits the bottom floor, the lift beginning to move down. They all stand still, backing into the back of the lift.] Gary: [panicking] So¡ what the fuck do we do now? Leigh: [panicking] I don¡¯t know, good job with the kick though. Gary: [panicking] Nice hit with the knee. [The two fist bump as Vince rubs his head, thinking.] Vince: [panicking] Um¡ question, can either of you outrun the lift using the stairs? Leigh: [chuckling] Barely. Gary: [scoffing] Easily. [Leigh glares at Gary in a competitive way.] Vince: [panicking] Well¡ taking that middle ground¡ we need to find a place to hide and fast because if we don¡¯t then I¡¯m sure he¡¯s going to come down and kill us in this lift. [The group look between each other, trying to think.] This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Gary: Um¡ what are the chances he would look in the girls toilet? [Leigh and Vince look at him, frowning in surprise.] Gary: [defensive] Look, I¡¯m trying to keep us alive here! You think the guys gonna be such a prick to go into the girls toilets? Leigh: He¡¯s a murderer, how should we know?! [Gary sighs.] Vince: I mean¡ worth a shot, right? [Cuts just outside as the lift pings, the doors slowly sliding open and the three of them falling out of the lift and breaking into a sprint down the corridors. They run past a corridor as the White Rabbit turns and sprints down. The group see him and run faster away into the corridor. Before the Rabbit makes it downstairs, Vince pulls the group back out of the corridor. They go through a doorway into the girls toilets. Once they¡¯re in, they¡¯re in a room with three sinks and toilet stalls.] Leigh: [quietly] We¡¯re seriously hiding in a toilet? Gary: [quietly] Shut up, everybody in a stall! [Gary runs into a stall, then followed by Vince. Leigh looks at the doors and thinks.] Vince: [quietly, shouting] Leigh, come on! [Leigh holds his hands out and the other doors slowly close, locking. Gary then runs into the stall and closes it, locking it. They all stand on top of the toilet and cover each others mouths (Gary over Leigh, Vince over Gary, Leigh over Vince). They hear the door slowly open and someone comes in that they can¡¯t see. They walk very slowly across the toilets, knocking on the furthest door. The three tighten their grips on each other, as the person then knocks on the door next to them. They slowly move over and knock the door that they¡¯re hiding behind, Gary closing his eyes in panic. The person knocks one more time, with the group managing to remain silent. There¡¯s a sigh as the person leaves the room, the door closing behind them. They wait for a few seconds.] Gary: [muffled] Should we- [Vince shushes Gary, all of them going silent again.] Leigh: [muffled, quiet] I hope the others are doing better than hiding in the girls toilets. [Vince nods slowly, still looking panicked.] 1.13 - Special Blend [Sissel opens the door to a house, moving immediately into a living room. The house has a red wallpaper, with two brown sofas on both sides of the room, one near the door and one away from it. There is a television attached onto the wall and a fireplace underneath it. Sissel moves over to the sofa furthest away from the door and sits down. Chelsea instead goes to the sofa nearest the door. Liv comes towards the sofa Sissel is sat on, but he points for her to move to next to Chelsea, which she does.] Chelsea: So¡ what¡¯s the plan, champ? Sissel: [forceful] Save her. Chelsea: We need more than that! [Sissel looks to Liv, sighing.] Sissel: Liv, when was the party? [Liv looks up at Sissel, to Chelsea, then back to Sissel.] Liv: [worried] Um¡ I don¡¯t- Sissel: [annoyed] You know exactly when, I know you do, so just tell me when your stupid fucking party was! Chelsea: [defensive] Hey, Sissel! Sissel: I need to know the time! If I don¡¯t know the time then we can¡¯t go back and save her! Chelsea: [defensive] Yelling is not going to help! [Sissel looks at the floor, taking a breath.] Sissel: [annoyed] Look¡ look, I just¡ I need to go back and save her, so give me the time that your stupid party started and we¡¯ll go back. Liv: [worried] Sissel, I¡ I really don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t remember. [Sissel scratches his head, closing his eyes and groaning.] Liv: [worried] Sissel, please, can you believe me? Sissel: [angry, faux-calm] No¡ no, of course I can¡¯t, why could I? Y¡¯know, not like you got her killed in the first place. Chelsea: [angry, forceful] Stop it. Sissel: [angry, faux-calm] Your stupid idea for a party, invite around. Apart from me, obviously, not like you wanted me here in the first place. Chelsea: [angry, forceful] Sissel, I said stop! Sissel: [angry, faux-calm] But it¡¯s fine, because if she hadn¡¯t gone to your stupid party then she wouldn¡¯t have gone home later and she wouldn¡¯t be dead. So basically, if you think about it, you killed her. [Chelsea gets up, walks over to Sissel and punches him in the face, knocking him to the side.] Chelsea: [angry] You need to learn when to fucking stop! [Liv is looking at the scene in surprise, not really able to comment properly.] Chelsea: [angry] It is not her fault! You cannot keep blaming her for Tracey¡¯s death just because of one stupid party! And if you keep doing this, then¡ [Chelsea looks back at Liv, thinking, then back at Sissel.] Chelsea: [angry] I will go back in time and stop you being born. So leave her alone! Got it? [Sissel looks up at Chelsea, his nose bleeding badly from the punch. He looks at Liv, still angry, and nods.] Chelsea: [angry, calmer] Right¡ good¡ [Chelsea turns to Liv, shaking her own hand from the punch.] Chelsea: [angry, calmer] Olivia¡ it was the 17th of June¡ give me the rough hour and we¡¯ll try to stop her before it happens, okay? [Liv nods, looking down and thinking.] Liv: [panicked] Um¡ I think¡ last text she sent me was at about nine? [Sissel starts fumbling for his phone.] Sissel: [stammering] No, we¡ we were talking when she was coming back home. Last text was at¡ [Sissel gets his phone out and gets to the messages.] Sissel: [stammering] Half ten. Ish. Just about. [Chelsea nods.] Chelsea: [annoyed] Right¡ now Sissel, don¡¯t upset me again¡ do you know how I can time travel? [Sissel rubs the blood from his nose, still bleeding, getting up.] Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Sissel: [stammering] Follow me. [Sissel leads them into the kitchen, the sides being cluttered and the oven being a dark green dusty wreck. Sissel moves over to the kettle, pushing a few things out the way before turning it on to boil. He opens a cupboard and gets coffee out of it, using his foot to open a draw on the other end of the room. He puts the coffee on the side, getting a cup from the same cupboard and doing the same. He then opens a draw in front of him, getting out a teaspoon. He pours in some coffee, then adds the half-boiled water. He stirs it quickly with the spoon and moves over to the open draw, filled with batteries, cigarette lighters and takeaway menus. He rummages and grabs out a battery, dropping it in the drink. He turns to Chelsea and hands her the drink. She stares at him in disgust.] Chelsea: [disgusted] Yeah¡ no, that¡¯s disgusting, I¡¯m not drinking that. Sissel: [annoyed] If we are going to save Tracey¡ think of the time and date¡ and drink the fucking coffee. [Chelsea stares at the cup and sighs, taking the cup from Sissel. He places a shoulder on Chelsea¡¯s shoulder as does Liv. She drinks it and immediately her face contorts into a frown. She swallows, putting the coffee down and coughing.] Chelsea: [disgusted] Jesus, Sissel, that was disgus- [Rather suddenly the three are surrounded in this pink aura that collapses on them, making them disappear in a moment. It then cuts to a night-time setting, outside of a house with the lights on. There¡¯s unintelligible shouting and music inside, with a small gust of wind blowing through. Suddenly a small vacuum occurs, sucking the wind in. After a couple of seconds, the pink aura appears again and explodes outwards which causes the three to appear again.] Chelsea: [disgusted] -ting. [confused] Um¡ [The three look around the area in surprise, Chelsea taking deep breaths as she recognizes the situation. Chelsea looks up to the moon and dark sky.] Chelsea: [shocked] Oh my god, I can actually time travel. [Sissel sees the door, pointing.] Sissel: That¡¯s your house. [Liv turns, standing next to Sissel.] Liv: Yes it is. Sissel: Right¡ nobody follow me. Meeting yourself, paradoxes and¡ stuff. Liv: Oh, I don¡¯t want to. [Sissel and Liv look at each other, then back at the door.] Sissel: [annoyed] You can go back now if you want. I¡¯ll wait. Liv: Don¡¯t be an idiot. Sissel: [annoyed] I¡¯m pretty good at that. Liv: No, you¡¯re¡ we¡¯ll talk about this later, okay? [Sissel looks at Liv and nods.] Sissel: [upset] Sorry. Liv: Not now. [Liv pats him on the shoulder, stepping back to Chelsea who is still looking around and looking over her surroundings. Sissel slowly walks up to the door, taking deep breaths. He knocks on the door twice, then waits. He wipes blood from his nose again, waiting another five seconds. He then knocks another two times. He looks back at Liv and Chelsea, then back at the door. He looks back.] Sissel: [shouting] Hey, why is nobody opening the door? Liv: Um¡ music too loud? Chelsea: Yeah, I don¡¯t remember anyone coming in anyway. [Sissel nods, coming back over and hitting his head.] Sissel: Um¡ oh god, um¡ wait out here, in case she comes out. I¡¯ll head to her house, maybe she hasn¡¯t even left yet. [Sissel starts to run off down the street, the other two nodding to him. Chelsea moves onto the wall of the house near the door, sitting down by it.] Chelsea: You coming? [Liv looks over and nods, then moves over next to her.] 1.14 - Off [Liv and Chelsea are sat outside the door, staring forward. The noises from inside are getting progressively louder, some laughing and some audio from people playing games can be heard.] Chelsea: It isn¡¯t your fault, you know? Liv: [upset] Well¡ [Liv looks over to Chelsea and shrugs.] Liv: [upset] Does it matter? Chelsea: Well¡ yeah, it does, quite a bit I would think. Liv: [upset] Well not if that¡¯s what he thinks. Hell, I know that it isn¡¯t just him¡ [Chelsea looks over at Liv.] Chelsea: [confused] What do you mean? [Liv sighs.] Liv: Leigh blames me. Chelsea: [defensive] Oh, he does not blame you! He¡¯s still recovering, just¡ just trying to get an answer, y¡¯know? [Liv looks to Chelsea.] Liv: [confused] No? [Chelsea sighs, looking around and thinking.] Chelsea: [thinking] Um¡ okay, gimme some time¡ Liv: It¡¯s fine. Y¡¯know, I¡¯ll¡ I¡¯ll live, I guess. Chelsea: Yes you are. [Liv stares at Chelsea who gets a small smile on her face.] Liv: Proud of yourself? Chelsea: [chuckling] Yep. [Chelsea continues to chuckle, Liv laying against the wall. After a few seconds, she starts to chuckle.] Liv: [chuckling] Okay, I kinda like that. [Chelsea smiles.] Chelsea: Good. You¡¯re so much better when you aren¡¯t being miserable. [Liv nods a bit.] Liv: [worried] Um¡ be honest with me. Chelsea: Always. Liv: [worried] If I hadn¡¯t thrown this party, do you think that Tracey would be alive? [Chelsea stops herself from talking.] Chelsea: [worried] Um¡ I¡¯ll be honest, you seem like you¡¯re already set on an answer. Liv: [upset] Just a little bit. [Chelsea budges a little bit closer to Liv.] Chelsea: Look, it¡¯s not your fault! It¡¯s as much your fault as it is mine, which it is not! Liv: [upset] I know! I know, just¡ it¡¯s the stupid party. I started the party, meaning that Tracey came. If she hadn¡¯t come then she wouldn¡¯t be in that situation and she wouldn¡¯t be dead. [Chelsea nods, thinking.] Chelsea: Yes, but¡ BUT she might have still gone that way even if you hadn¡¯t thrown that party! Or maybe something else would¡¯ve- know what, I don¡¯t wanna think about it. But you get what I¡¯m saying. [Liv nods back, looking up.] Chelsea: [worried, annoyed] Okay, what else is bothering you? Liv: [confused] What? Chelsea: [worried, annoyed] Well I¡¯m not gonna act like I¡¯m some sorta master of psychology, but you are still looking¡ mopey. Liv: [confused] Mopey? Chelsea: [worried] Well I don¡¯t wanna say miserable again! Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Liv: [defensive] I¡¯m fine, really. Just¡ christ, do you know what time it is? [Chelsea shrugs.] Chelsea: Can¡¯t check, phones still tied up with the present day so¡ [Liv nods, sighing. It cuts to Sissel running down the street. He turns through a corner and runs to a number 14 house. He stumbles up and quickly knocks on the door, hitting it seven times. Sissel stops and shakes himself a bit. He wipes blood off his nose again.] Sissel: [quietly] Calm¡ calm¡ S-stop being like this¡ [Sissel takes one deep breath as the door opens, immediately drawing his attention to the woman in the doorway. She¡¯s in her 50¡¯s, with a red flowery shirt on and trousers. Her hair is short light brown and she wears glasses. Upon opening the door she sees Sissel and looks at him in confusion.] Woman: [confused] Hello? Sissel: [panicking] Hi. Sorry, um¡ Tracey, I¡¯m a friend of Tracey¡¯s, is she in? Woman: [confused] Well no, she¡¯s at a party. Are you okay? Sissel: [panicking] Fine! Yeah, um¡ hey, what time is it? Woman: [confused] Just let me check¡ [The woman pulls herself into the building, Sissel taking a few deep breaths. It cuts to Liv and Chelsea again as a man walks by. He¡¯s wearing a black hoodie and beanie, covering his hair. Chelsea waves over at him.] Chelsea: [loud] Excuse me, mate? [The man turns to them.] Chelsea: [loud] Got the time? [The man nods, checking a watch on his wrist.] Man: [loud] 10:28. [Liv immediately pulls herself to her feet, panicking. Chelsea does the same, looking at Liv.] Chelsea: [panicking] Um... Liv: [panicking] We need to get Sissel. [Liv runs off in the direction that Sissel went, Chelsea tailing behind her. She turns back to the man, incredibly confused.] Chelsea: [shouting] Thank you! [Cuts back to the woman at the door, now coming back and finding Sissel, trying to remain calm.] Woman: [confused] Nearly half past. [Sissel¡¯s face drops, breathing speeding up slightly.] Sissel: [panicked, stuttering] Half-half nine, right? Woman: [confused] No, about ten. [Sissel nods slowly, breathing getting more intense. He starts backing away slightly.] Woman: [worried] Are you okay? Are you on something? Sissel: [panicking] Well I¡¯m barely gonna sleep for two months, so that¡¯s getting to me a touch. Thank you. Stay safe. [Sissel starts running down the street again. He looks towards the direction he came, where Liv and Chelsea are, and stops.] Sissel: [panicking] There¡¯s no time¡ there¡¯s no time. [Sissel turns and looks towards a road surrounded by trees. He takes another deep breath and starts sprinting in that direction.] 1.15 - Goodbye [Sissel runs along the dark road from the first scene, frantically sprinting and panicking with his breathing being sporadic. His nose isn¡¯t bleeding as badly anymore, but he still has it dripping onto his face. He is clearly very tired, barely able to keep running. He eventually collapses onto the ground, on his hands and knees. He¡¯s breathing heavily, verge of tears, then head butts the floor and screams.] Sissel: [angry] Come on! [He sits up, gripping his head and taking deep breaths. He gets up onto his feet as Chelsea and Liv come up running behind him.] Chelsea: [panicking] Sissel! [The two come up to him, Chelsea and Liv placing their hands on his shoulders and helping him to his feet. Chelsea lets go, although Liv shakes for a second. Her forehead and nose starts to bleed, while Sissel returns to looking fine with his breathing back to normal. Liv backs up a bit, panting.] Liv: [panting, panicking] Why¡ did you fucking¡ head butt the floor?! Sissel: [panicking] There¡¯s no time, we¡¯re out of time! Come on! [Sissel starts to run again, Chelsea looking at him then Liv. Liv waves her off, now on the ground.] Liv: [panting, panicking] I¡¯ll catch¡ catch up. [Chelsea breaks into a sprint after Sissel, a few meters away. Sissel continues running, looking at the floor. He hits himself in the head again, looking back up as he runs. He tries to run faster, but trips on his footing and stumbles. He falls onto his knees and skids, making him groan in pain. He picks himself up and pushes forward. He sees, in the distance, a shadow of a person. He stops for a moment, squinting to try and make him out. Behind him runs Chelsea, grabbing him and pushing.] Chelsea: [panicking] What are you doing, move! [She runs, carrying Sissel by the hand in that direction. They both move further as the car drives by, Chelsea looking and staring at it in disbelief. Sissel continues running and pulls Chelsea along until he sees Tracey on the ground. He sprints towards her, moving into the road.] Sissel: [panicking] Tracey! [He kneels down next to her, holding her. She¡¯s unconscious and bleeding badly at the neck. He holds the wound, trying to keep pressure down.] Sissel: [panicking] Oh god¡ Jesus fuck¡ [He looks back to see Liv now pulling along Chelsea, both in shock after seeing the body.] Chelsea: [disbelief] Oh my God. Sissel: [panicking] Come on! [Liv quickly moves over as Chelsea stares. She looks to her side and sees the shadowy figure up close, now visibly seen to be someone in the White Rabbit mask. They stare back at Chelsea, then look over to Tracey.] Sissel: [panicking] Fucking¡ what do we do? Liv: [panicking] I don¡¯t know. Sissel: [panicking] Well we need to fucking do something! [Chelsea runs over and kneels next to Liv.] Chelsea: [panicking, disbelief] Um¡ Christ, um¡ Liv, hold the pressure down. We¡¯ll try and calm her. [Chelsea pulls out her phone and checks the signal, finding it non-existent. Sissel moves his hands away as Liv moves hers onto Tracey¡¯s neck.] Chelsea: [panicking] Shit¡ no signal. Sissel: [panicking] What? Chelsea: [panicking] There¡¯s no signal, I can¡¯t get an ambulance. Sissel: [panicking] Well we can¡¯t just leave her here! Chelsea: [panicking, shouting] I¡¯m trying, okay? Tracey: [weak] What¡ [The two look down at Tracey, her eyes barely open and her neck back in place.] Tracey: [weak] What¡¯s happening¡ [Chelsea looks up at Liv, a very small cut on her neck that is growing. She is very slowly shaking, now turning to look at Chelsea.] Liv: [strained] I¡¯m not holding this forever, you gotta say something now. [Chelsea and Sissel look at each other, still panicking.] Tracey: [weak] I can¡¯t see¡ [Sissel moves down, looking at Tracey and panicking.] Sissel: [faux-calm] Tracey? Tracey, it¡¯s me, it¡¯s Sissel. [Tracey turns her head slightly.] Tracey: [weak] But¡ we were just talking¡ Sissel: [faux-calm] I know, I know, I¡¯ve just come to help you. [Chelsea moves down next to Sissel.] Chelsea: [faux-calm] Me too, and Liv. We¡¯re all here for you Tracey. [Tracey smiles slightly, Liv pulling away and grabbing her neck in pain. Tracey gasps for a second, the three panicking. Liv takes a deep breath and moves down.] If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Chelsea: [panicking] Tracey, are you still there? Tracey: [weak, panicking] Yeah, I¡ [Sissel looks like he¡¯s starting to cry, taking deep breaths.] Sissel: [panicking, faux-calm] Hey, don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re gonna get some help. Tracey: [weak, panicking] Am I dying? Sissel: [panicking, faux-calm] No, no¡ you¡¯re gonna be fine, you¡¯re gonna be fine. Tracey: [weak] Sissel¡ don¡¯t lie to me... [Sissel looks at Chelsea and Liv. Chelsea nods to him.] Sissel: [panicking] I¡ yes, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. Tracey: [weak] Don¡¯t be, don¡¯t¡ Chelsea: [panicking, faux-calm] Okay, Tracey? Listen to me, okay? We¡¯re gonna stay with you, but we can¡¯t keep you like this forever, you know that. [Tracey tries to nod, which causes Liv to lose her hand. She grabs her own neck in pain, only putting one hand back on Tracey. The cut on her neck is only slightly larger.] Tracey: [weak] Can¡ can you let me go? Sissel: [upset] W-what do you mean? What do you mean? Tracey: [weak] If I¡¯m gonna go¡ Sissel: [upset] No, not yet. Okay, not yet, please. Chelsea: [panicking, upset] Sissel, we can¡¯t. We¡¯re killing Liv. Sissel: [upset] I¡ I can¡¯t just let her die. We got this far, I can¡¯t¡ Tracey: [weak] Sissel¡ [Sissel looks down at Tracey.] Sissel: [upset] I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t- Tracey: [weak] Deep breaths¡ [Sissel takes a few deep breaths, his breathing shaking.] Sissel: [upset] I was so close... Tracey: [weak] It¡¯s fine¡ you did what you could¡ just let me go¡ Sissel: [upset, voice shaking] I don¡¯t want you to... Tracey: [weak] Please¡ I¡¯m okay¡ Let Chelsea¡ [Sissel gets up slowly, slowly moving back.] Sissel: [voice shaking] I¡ I lo¡ Tracey: [weak] Me too. [Sissel moves away more, crying heavier. Chelsea looks at her.] Chelsea: [panicking] What should I do now? Tracey: [weak] Keep an eye on him for me¡ he seems upset¡ [Chelsea chuckles a bit, still visibly sad.] Tracey: [weak] Okay¡ let me go now¡ [Liv pulls away, screaming in pain as she falls back and grips her own neck. Tracey starts gasping and closes her eyes, quickly slowing down. Chelsea stays next to her, holding onto Tracey¡¯s hand.] Chelsea: [faux-calm] Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here. We¡¯re all here. We love you Tracey, so don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re gonna stay with you. [Tracey eventually starts to stop moving. Her breathing gets very slow and sporadic until eventually stopping. Liv sits up, looking at Tracey¡¯s body. Sissel is looking away. Chelsea swallows some air, wiping her face.] Chelsea: [upset] Never wanted to see that. [Sissel turns to face them, seeing the silhouette of the White Rabbit in the background. His face goes from distress to anger, breathing heavily.] Sissel: [angry, quiet] You could have saved her. [The Rabbit looks at him, staring. Their voice is distorted, but sounds different and more high pitch.] Rabbit: [remorse] I did what I could. [The Rabbit becomes consumed in the reflective form, before eventually falling apart into glass on the floor. Sissel looks down at Chelsea, taking deep breaths and visibly upset. He walks up to the trees at the side of the road, punching one and screaming. He headbutts the tree twice, bleeding again, and grabs it. He rests his head on it and starts crying, bleeding onto the tree. Chelsea gets up and moves over to Sissel.] Chelsea: Sissel, we have to go. [Chelsea pulls at Sissel. He resists a bit, holding the tree.] Chelsea: Sissel, come on. [Sissel doesn¡¯t let go of the tree. Chelsea moves next to him and holds him.] Chelsea: [quietly] Sissel, the car. I saw who was driving it, okay? We need to go back. [Sissel turns to Chelsea, mixed between upset and angry.] Sissel: [slowly, angry] Who¡ was driving the car? [Chelsea swallows air again.] Chelsea: [quietly] Sissel- [Sissel grabs onto her arm, getting angrier.] Sissel: [Angry] Who was driving the car? [Chelsea takes a deep breath, looking to Liv as she gets back onto her feet properly.] Chelsea: [slowly] Goldberg. It was Goldberg. [Sissel slowly nods, Chelsea making eye contact with him. He keeps nodding and punches the tree again, screaming one more time.] 1.16 - Sissels Plan [Shows Leigh, Gary and Vince in the bathroom stall, still staying quiet and now holding themselves by the walls. Gary is asleep while Vince and Leigh look very paranoid. Vince pats Leigh¡¯s leg.] Leigh: [quietly] What? Vince: [quietly] Hear anything? Leigh: [quietly] No. You? Vince: [quietly] No. Think he¡¯s gone. Leigh: [quietly] Well we¡¯ve been here for three hours, so I would hope so. [Vince nods in agreement.] Leigh: [quietly] Maybe we should go check on- [The main door starts to open and the two shut up, Leigh covering Vince and Gary¡¯s mouth. Gary slowly wakes up, very confused by the hand over his mouth.] Gary: [muffled] Um- [Vince slaps him, to which Gary stares at him in surprise. Gary stays quiet as a quiet bundle of footsteps start to come towards the door. A shadow starts to move across slowly and then stops in front of their door. They all freeze, holding their breath. A cat paw moves underneath the door and the three scream, before Cheshire walks in underneath and meows at them. They all start to take a sigh of relief, Vince moving down and petting Cheshire.] Vince: [quietly] There you go, you stupid cat. Did you see anything? Gary: [groggy] Please tell me you¡¯re not talking to the twatting cat- [Leigh shushes Gary, who slaps him away as he gets up.] Gary: [groggy] Fuck off! He¡¯s clearly not fucking here, just¡ fucking¡ fuck, man. [Gary moves up and unlocks the door, leaving. Vince looks at Leigh in disbelief.] Vince: Seriously? Leigh: [quietly] Hey, I didn¡¯t tell him to! [Vince gets up, beckoning Cheshire to follow him. Leigh sighs and gets up, following after Vince. They all exit the toilets, Vince jogging over to Gary as Leigh walks over.] Gary: Okay, so, since I¡¯m the one that¡¯s basically having all the good ideas, I¡¯ve decided to take charge. Vince: [laughing] Hell no. Gary: Yeah, I wasn¡¯t giving you a choice in this. [Gary smiles smugly at Vince, then looks back forward.] Gary: So since the cat is over here, I would presume that it¡¯s following Liv and her group so the first matter- Leigh: Is finding them. [Gary turns to Leigh, frowning.] Gary: [upset] Hey, it¡¯s my turn! [The wind blows past them, growing intense. Vince notices, looking around.] Vince: [worried] Um¡ why is it so- [There is a burst of wind that gains the group''s attention as Chelsea, Liv and Sissel collapse onto the ground.] Gary: [surprised] Told you. Leigh: [worried] Chelsea! Vince: [worried] Sissel! [The two run over, Gary eventually joining them. Leigh goes over to Chelsea and helps her up, while Gary goes to Liv. Vince tries to help Sissel but he pushes him away.] Leigh: [worried] Are you okay? Chelsea: [upset] I¡ I¡¯m fine, I¡ yeah. Gary: [surprised] What the fuck happened to you? Liv: [upset, strained] I can confirm¡ I have a superpower. Leigh: [worried] Okay, Sissel? You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. [They look at Sissel, who¡¯s staring at the ground. Vince moves to hold Sissel¡¯s shoulder.] Vince: [remorseful] I¡¯m sorry. [Sissel slowly picks himself up and takes a breath.] Sissel: [forceful] I¡¯m done. I¡¯m fucking done. [Sissel turns and walks out of the corridor, taking a left and moving out of sight. Vince looks down at the group.] Leigh: Just leave him. We gotta give him space after this. Vince: [worried] I can¡¯t just leave him, what if he gets hurt? Liv: [upset] Vincent... [Liv gets up, straining herself in pain.] Liv: [upset] He needs this. We all do. [Leigh helps Chelsea to her feet. Vince leans slightly closer to Liv.] Vince: [quietly] She¡¯s not coming back, is she? [Liv looks at him, Cheshire coming and brushing against her leg, purring. She shakes her head.] Leigh: Okay¡ well then we can go with the next best thing. Chelsea: What¡¯s that? Leigh: Well, quick update, we¡¯ve identified the White Rabbit. Liv: [excited, strained] That¡¯s great, Chelsea saw Tracey¡¯s killer apparently. Gary: Wait, seriously? [Chelsea nods, stretching a bit and calming down.] Leigh: Well, great! Then we can deal with that person and Goldberg, since he¡¯s our Rabbit. [Chelsea grows surprised, looking at Liv who is in equal shock.] Liv: [surprised] That¡¯s impossible. Gary: Is it? I mean, we found him having previously associated with the¡ boys¡ and that is a good enough reason- we fucking jumped a shark to that conclusion, didn¡¯t we? Leigh: [concerned] Why is that impossible? Chelsea: [surprised] Because I saw the Rabbit when we found Tracey¡ and I saw Goldberg driving the car. [The group look between each other, all in a mix of surprise and worry. It cuts to Sissel, trying to stop himself crying again, as he enters the computer room from earlier. He closes the door behind him and leans on it for a moment, hitting himself in the head.] Sissel: [shaking] Come on¡ fuck, come on¡! [He head butts the door and scrambles through his pockets. He eventually pulls out his phone, the pieces of the gun and Goldberg¡¯s phone number. He fumbles with the phone as he dials the number, chucking the phone onto the desk on speaker. He starts to slowly piece the gun together with shaking hands as Goldberg answers.] Goldberg: Richard Goldberg, who is that? Sissel: [shaking] Um¡ C-Cecil¡ Cecil Mastin. Goldberg: [worried] Cecil? You okay? Something wrong? Sissel: [shaking] I¡ I n-need you to come in¡ into College. Goldberg: [worried] A-are you sure? It¡¯s nearly eight o¡¯clock. In fact, why? Are you at College? [Sissel fails to put a piece in properly, which leads to him throwing it across the room in frustration.] Sissel: [shaking, loud] Please come, it¡¯s an emergency! Goldberg: [worried] Okay, um¡ gimme ten minutes, just where are you? [Sissel looks over at the pieces of the gun, breathing heavily.] Goldberg: [worried] Cecil? Are you still there, Cecil? 1.17 - The Wrong Man [Goldberg arrives at the classroom, immediately entering. He¡¯s in casual wear, wearing a purple shirt and dark blue hoodie with glasses on. He enters and finds the room to be empty. He turns and closes the door, then gets a gun shakily pushed up against the back of his head. He takes some deep breaths.] Sissel: [forceful] Sit. [Goldberg grabs a chair slowly and moves down into the seat. The gun slowly moves away from him, to which he turns around and sees Sissel. He¡¯s visibly angry, trying to hold back. He sits down across from Goldberg and keeps the gun nonchalantly pointed at him.] Sissel: [angry, faux-calm] So¡ you killed my girlfriend. [Goldberg sighs, scratching an itch on the side of his face.] Goldberg: [remorseful] Do you think I knew she was- Sissel: [angry, faux-calm] I don¡¯t care if you knew, I care that you did it. Didn¡¯t stop, didn¡¯t think, you just kept on going. Goldberg: [remorseful, defensive] That is not true. Sissel: [angry, faux-calm] Really? Because I was there. I saw your car drive off away from her body. Goldberg: [remorseful, defensive] You didn¡¯t see me trying to save her then? Standing next to her for ten minutes, unconscious, trying to stop the bleeding? Sissel: [angry] You should have taken her to a hospital! Goldberg: [remorseful] No, I couldn¡¯t do that. Sissel: [angry] Why not? [Goldberg sighs, looking at the floor. Sissel sits up straight, gun still barely pointed, and chuckles angrily.] Sissel: [angry, smug] Never mind, I¡¯m being stupid. Of course you couldn¡¯t. [Goldberg looks at Sissel, confused. Sissel leans forward, placing the gun in his lap and pointed straight at Goldberg.] Sissel: [angry, smug] A killer walking into a place like that, they¡¯d snatch you in a second. Although you could probably get away with it, I still don¡¯t know how you ended up in two places at once. Unless that¡¯s another thing you can do. Goldberg: [confused] What are you talking about? [Sissel moves the gun up, pointing it at Goldberg¡¯s head.] Sissel: [angry, smug] You¡¯re the White Rabbit. [Goldberg¡¯s face drops.] Sissel: [angry, smug] You have superpowers. You came here to kill those guys before that Storm hit and gave more people superpowers but you failed. Because they got people like me. Goldberg: [worried] It did what? [Sissel smiles.] Sissel: [angry, smug] I don¡¯t even know what I am yet, all I know is that I¡¯m going to win. [Goldberg backs away slightly, incredibly worried.] Goldberg: [worried] The White Rabbit is here? [Sissel looks at him, confused, then shakes it off.] Sissel: [confused, angry] Well yes, that¡¯s¡ I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re- [Goldberg quickly stands, moving to the door. Sissel stands with him, pointing the gun directly at Goldberg. However he doesn¡¯t seem to care, as he looks at the window to see him.] Goldberg: [panicked, muttering] Fuck¡ God, fucking¡ fuck! [Goldberg turns back, seeing Sissel with the gun. Goldberg looks at him, serious.] Goldberg: [forceful] If that goes off, I¡¯m going to be very upset. Sissel: [angry, panicking] I¡ that¡¯s the thing, I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to do still. Goldberg: [confused] Why did you bring me here then? Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. [Sissel sighs, shaking slightly.] Sissel: She couldn¡¯t fight what happened to her. I can make up for that. Goldberg: If you think that, you¡¯ll be very disappointed. [Sissel takes a deep breath. He looks at the floor and hits himself in the head with the gun. He points it at Goldberg again as he lunges forward. Sissel panics and fires. The gunshot is cut off half way as Goldberg catches the bullet and it immediately vanishes, then moving to grab the gun and discard it across the room. Sissel stares at him, shocked.] Goldberg: [concerned] Now then¡ since we¡¯re done here¡ ready to listen? [Sissel nods slowly. Goldberg grabs him and moves him down from sight from windows.] Goldberg: [quietly] Look, I¡ I am not the Rabbit. Okay? But I knew him. Sissel: [quietly, upset] How? Goldberg: [quietly] We were a team. Me, him, the Tweedles, a few others. Sissel: [quietly, upset] Who was he then? Goldberg: [quietly] I don¡¯t know. Sissel: [quietly, upset] How can you know know? Goldberg: [quietly] It was for protection! If we made enemies, which we did, we would never be able to give a name! Just a face. That¡¯s all. [Sissel slowly nods. He looks at Goldberg, shaking.] Goldberg: [quietly] You never have to trust me, I¡¯m not saying to¡ except for this once. Because if you don¡¯t then you¡¯re gonna miss something important. Sissel: [quietly] What? Goldberg: [quietly] If the White Rabbit is here, then it¡¯s not for any of you. [Sissel and Goldberg pause, Sissel realising what he means.] Sissel: [quietly] He killed those two that broke in. Goldberg: [quietly] Benny and Evan Tweedle, they caused the Storm that gave us all powers. If he¡¯s gone for them then he¡¯ll go for the person that protected them. Sissel: [quietly] That¡¯s you, isn¡¯t it? [Goldberg nods.] Goldberg: [quietly] Where are your friends? Sissel: [quietly] Planning. The Rabbit was after them earlier. Goldberg: [quietly] Okay¡ well before I die, here¡¯s a bit of information then. I was wrong, you¡¯re all in danger. Sissel: [quietly, panicked] What? Goldberg: [quietly] You¡¯re in danger. If he¡¯s put you in his sights, or any of you, then you need to run as far and fast as you can. I¡¯ll deal with him. [Goldberg tries to stand but Sissel stops him.] Sissel: [quietly, angry] Why are you staying then? Why are you helping us if you¡¯re his friend? Goldberg: [quietly, forceful] I was never his friend, just a pawn. I¡¯ve seen the type of thing this guy can do and I am not going to let that happen ever again. Cecil, just go. If you stay then you¡¯re a dead man. [Goldberg gets up on his feet as Sissel gets on his, looking at the floor. He then looks at Goldberg.] Sissel: Tracey would have stayed. [Goldberg looks at him, exhaling. He looks at the ground, realising who that is. He looks at Sissel, who nods.] Goldberg: [remorseful] Okay¡ if you sure then it¡¯s your funeral. Get the gun. Sissel: Will it help? [Sissel moves over and grabs the gun.] Goldberg: No, but I want you to keep hold of it. Sissel: [confused] Why? [Sissel hands Goldberg the gun, but he pushes it back on Sissel.] Goldberg: Because if the White Rabbit catches you, there¡¯s only one way it¡¯ll be quick. [Sissel looks at the gun and shakes again.] 1.18 - The Next Target [Leigh, Chelsea, Liv and Gary have sat themselves at a table and are looking at the picture of the screen saver, while Vince is sat across the room and texting people. The group are all analysing the photo and keeping focus. Liv has been bandaged up, holding her own neck still. Chelsea pulls away from the photo, staring back worried.] Chelsea: That¡ seems slightly dangerous. Leigh: Yeah, just a bit. [Liv points at Evan and Benny in the photo.] Liv: And there¡¯s the two boys from yesterday. [Leigh points at Goldberg.] Leigh: Yep. And there¡¯s Goldberg. Meaning- Chelsea: He knew the boys. So he probably knew the Rabbit. Gary: [surprised] Oh, so we¡¯re actually calling him a Rabbit now, are we? Leigh: If he wants to wear the mask¡ Gary: [surprised] Yeah, but it¡¯s not exactly the most threatening name he could have. Leigh: We¡¯re really gonna have a problem with the name? He¡¯s tried to kill us, already possibly killed two people and we¡¯re gonna be like ¡°yeah, but that name¡¯s a bit crappy.¡± Gary: Yeah, pretty much. [Leigh¡¯s about to retort, but is interrupted by Chelsea sighing.] Chelsea: Can you two please not start an argument over this? [Cheshire jumps onto the table, making Leigh drop the phone by accident.] Leigh: [agreeing] Okay. Gary: [agreeing] Alright, I was winning anyway. [Leigh looks at Gary from the side, as Chelsea takes the phone. Liv starts to pet Cheshire.] Chelsea: So¡ think this is a team then? Leigh: Considering how much this feels like a comic book to me, I think this is some sorta¡ um¡ [Leigh sits up, looking at Vince.] Leigh: [loud] Hey Vince? [Vince looks up from his phone.] Vince: [loud] Yeah? Leigh: [loud] Who were the bad guys in the X-Men series? Vince: [loud] Gotta be more specific with me. Leigh: [loud] Um¡ the group that Magneto is in charge of. Vince: [loud] Okay, um, Brotherhood of Mutants, I think. Leigh: [loud] Thank you. [Leigh sits back down, Vince giving a thumbs up and going back to his phone.] Gary: So we¡¯re fighting a what? A Brotherhood of Furries? [Vince chuckles from across the room, starting to head over to the table.] Leigh: I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that, but it is definitely a team. Chelsea: This might not even be the whole team, it could have other members and this is like¡ um¡ Vince: [curious] West Coast Avengers? Chelsea: Sure. Gary: [surprised] Are you some sorta fucking walking Encyclopedia? Vince: Kinda. Better with Marvel. Leigh: [forceful] Anyway, shall we focus? [Vince moves past the group, heading in the direction that Sissel went.] Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Leigh: We got a group of people here that are either A.) Trying to kill us or B.) Have killed Tracey. [Leigh sighs, Chelsea giving the phone back to Leigh and pocketing it.] Leigh: [worried] So¡ now what? [Cuts to Sissel and Goldberg, Sissel holding the gun in a corner while Goldberg has attempted to block the entrance with tables and chairs. He eventually finishes, taking a rest on the floor.] Goldberg: [tired] Okay. That won¡¯t be enough, but it¡¯ll slow him down. Sissel: [worried] Okay¡ Goldberg: [tired] When he attacks me, you shoot then run. That¡¯s it. Okay? [Sissel nods.] Sissel: [worried] Um¡ so what is it that you can do? [Goldberg looks at him, thinking.] Goldberg: [tired] Well I¡¯m gonna try and stop him, talk him out of whatever he¡¯s doing. Sissel: I mean your power? You¡ erased a bullet. Goldberg: [tired] Oh yeah¡ Um¡ I never actually gave it a name. It¡¯s just¡ magic, I guess. [Sissel nods, slowly.] Sissel: Could you make him disappear? Goldberg: [tired] I¡¯m good, but I¡¯m not that good. Sorry. [Sissel nods again.] Goldberg: [tired] Um¡ so your friends have powers. Sissel: Yep¡ Goldberg: [tired] Want some advice? [Sissel looks at Goldberg.] Goldberg: [tired] Hide yourselves. All of you. Sissel: What, why? Goldberg: [tired] When I was in a group, the powers caused us nothing but trouble. I don¡¯t want that to happen to others too. [Sissel scoffs.] Sissel: For a man in a hit and run, you¡¯re awfully caring of other people. Goldberg: [tired] Yeah, well¡ bit of a shit time recently. [Sissel is about to speak again when the door starts to shake violently. Goldberg gets to his feet, motioning Sissel to stay down. He moves towards the door slowly. He puts his hand on the handle while staying out of sight of the window and holds it, the door still shaking more. Sissel points the gun at the door, staying equally out of sight. They stay quiet for a few seconds.] Vince: Cecil, are you in there? I texted your mum, I was gonna give you a lift home. [Goldberg and Sissel sigh in relief. Just as Sissel starts to get up, behind him in the window stands the White Rabbit behind him. He is only visible in the reflection while he has no physical body. Goldberg turns and sees this, quickly grabbing Sissel and pulling him back out the way while Vince is able to look in.] Goldberg: [panicked] Move! [The White Rabbit quickly appears in the reflective form, fading into the normal body. He attempts to grab Sissel but they¡¯re pulled away too quickly. Vince is visibly panicked.] Vince: [panicked] Oh crap. 1.19 - Vincents Power + Goldbergs Final Moment [Vince struggles and tries to open door as Goldberg shields Sissel. Sissel hides the gun behind him, the White Rabbit looking up and down Goldberg. His voice remains heavily distorted.] White Rabbit: [angry] Once again, you play with my emotions Richard. Goldberg: [forceful] Just go. Leave the kids. White Rabbit: [angry] They are not my concern. Goldberg: [forceful] Then let them leave. White Rabbit: [angry] For now. Goldberg [forceful] No¡ forever, they aren¡¯t a part of whatever you¡¯re doing. White Rabbit: [angry] They all are. Every freak that has ever stood in our way. [Sissel very slowly starts to move the gun around him, behind Goldberg. The White Rabbit raises his knife towards Goldberg.] White Rabbit: [angry] If I¡¯m being honest, I¡¯m quite hurt that you would be the one to betray me. Goldberg: [forceful] Children. Like Benny, like Evan, like the boy here. They are the line that we do not cross, what changed that? [The White Rabbit stays quiet. Goldberg scoffs.] Goldberg: [forceful, cocky] What, you don¡¯t have an answer? Didn¡¯t think about what you¡¯re doing? [Goldberg sighs.] Goldberg: [cocky, disappointed] Well¡ me and the Pussycat were right then¡ [shouting] You¡¯re pathetic! You¡¯re scum! [Goldberg travels his hands around his back, Sissel handing him the gun.] Goldberg: [cocky] Couldn¡¯t even save your girl- [The White Rabbit lunges towards Goldberg with the knife, but her swings up the gun and fires at the Rabbit. It barely passes by his head, but he falls to the ground in surprise. Goldberg backs up into Sissel as Vince manages to break the door open through the barricade.] Goldberg: [forceful] Vince, take Cecil. I¡¯ve got this. [Vince nods and grabs Sissel. He closes the door and pulls Sissel down the corridor. The Rabbit gets to his feet as Goldberg tries to kick him, but he moves. The Rabbit then grabs him and tackles him against a wall. Vince takes Sissel back just outside the classroom. He holds Sissel against a wall.] Vince: Right, so¡ you stay here. Sissel: Wha- if you go back there- Vince: [thinking] Well¡ I have to try something. Sissel: So do I, he told me to leave! Vince: Well then¡ in that case¡ [Vince turns and barrels back down the corridor, Sissel about to interrupt before stopping himself. He thinks for a moment, then starts running again. Back in the fight, the White Rabbit attempts to stab Goldberg again but they dodge and the Rabbit stabs through a monitor. He growls and tries to grab Goldberg, who moves and grabs the Rabbit¡¯s arm. He pins him against the wall.] Goldberg: [angry] Why are you doing this? White Rabbit: [angry] Those kids took everything from me! And you helped them! [The Rabbit head butts from behind, knocking back Goldberg. He turns and punches Goldberg in the face, knocking him over.] White Rabbit: [angry] They all deserve to die. For what they did to her. [Goldberg spits blood out from his mouth as the White Rabbit grabs his knife.] Goldberg: [forceful] Doing this¡ won¡¯t bring her back. [The Rabbit stands over him.] White Rabbit: [angry] It already has. [He pulls up the knife and as he forces it back down towards Goldberg, Vince enters the room and leaps onto him, knocking him over onto the monitors. He grabs the arm with the knife while the Rabbit wrestles against him. Goldberg gets back up, aiming the gun at the White Rabbit. The Rabbit manages to knock off Vince, turning and grabbing Goldberg by the hand in order to move away the gun. Goldberg drops the gun, the White Rabbit kicking it away. He looks back at Vince, chuckling, as his and Goldberg¡¯s form start to change into the reflective from.] White Rabbit: [impressed] Nice try. [Vince moves over to them just as they shatter and vanish. He groans and punches the monitor in frustration.] Vince: [panicking] No, no¡ [He looks up, seeing the reflections of the White Rabbit and Goldberg still fighting in the mirror. He looks confused, seeing that there is no-one there. He balls his hand up into a fist and punches the table. His breath starts to get heavier as, unnoticed by him, he starts to colour in the same reflective form. He runs towards the window at full speed and leaps through it, jumping into the reflection and into the White Rabbit. The world of the reflection is completely flipped around, although slightly tinted light blue. The White Rabbit falls off of Goldberg and looks up at Vince. The three of them are shocked.] Vince: [shocked, faux-calm] Um¡ stay away from him. [The White Rabbit gets up properly.] White Rabbit: [angry] You don¡¯t want to fight me. [Vince enters a fighting stance, very slightly shaking.] Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.Vince: [faux-calm] Are you sure about that? [The White Rabbit steps forward once, Vince backing away a step. He tilts his head back to the right.] White Rabbit: [smug] Very. [The White Rabbit charges over. He grabs Vince and tackles him into the window, not breaking. He grabs Vince¡¯s neck, choking him.] White Rabbit: [forceful] Here¡¯s some advice. I don¡¯t wanna hurt you. So when you see me? [The Rabbit leans closer.] White Rabbit: [quiet] Run. [The White Rabbit pulls back, the reflective form spreading across Vince as he throws him back through the window. Vince reappears back in the normal world, with the window shattering around him. He lands on his back surrounded by glass as the rest of the group run in, panicked.] Chelsea: [panicked] Vincent! [Sissel moves down next to him. As the rest of the group look at the scene.] Sissel: [panicked] Are you okay? Vince: [surprised, strained] In pain¡ but not dead. [Vince gives a smile, pulling himself up next to Sissel. Sissel looks down, taking deep breaths. Vince meanwhile gets up, moving over to the larger pieces of glass.] Leigh: [confused] What the hell happened in here? [Vince picks up two of the larger pieces of glass and holds them up.] Vince: We know his power now. [The White Rabbit is visible through the glass in a reflection, but missing around. He¡¯s facing away from the group, then turns his head to the side where blood is visibly across the mask. He then starts to walk away, looking forward and away from the group.] Gary: [scared] Oh¡ great.