《Seer Of The Second Realm》 Prolouge and Introduction Seer Of The Unseen Realm

(Volume 1)

(Listen to "Are You Afraid Of The Dark?" From Halloween Haunted House for extra spookiness! There are no words in it except for a girl mumbling and someone saying "There is something else out there". Or for those who can listen to any music you want, listen to ¡°Panic Room¡± by Aura. Prologue Hi! I am Alexandra Doomar, and the story I am about to tell you is filled with horrific events, and strange happenings: one filled with many ups and downs, twists and turns. One that I warn you, does not have a happy ending. So, if you are one of those people who adore happy endings where the knight saves the princess and the like. I suggest slamming closed the covers of this volume, and throwing it across the room never to lay eyes on these covers ever again. Instead sit down in a comfortable armchair with Cinderella, Tangled, Beauty and the Beast or the like in your hands. Calmly sipping creamy delectable hot chocolate that your mother recently brought you, the miniature marshmallows dancing on the top. Because this story is filled with unhappy plot twists, and unnerving trials. It¡¯s my story. Introduction I looked down at my pendant which was shining in the morning sun. I touched it tenderly. The pendant was one given to me as a gift by my grandma. She had died the day after. I remember her words as she had laid it into my hands and closed my fingers over it. ¡°This necklace contains things we as humans do not understand Alexandra. Do not try and seek the magic within. It is a mysterious source of evil, and must be kept safe so that the balance of good and evil do not lean to far one way.¡±The coin-like necklace had two crimson eyes and a formless shape surrounding them. I rubbed my forefinger and thumb over the figure and closed my eyes. I let the pedant fall letting it land with a thump on my neck. I gazed up at my new school. ¡®This could mean a new beginning and a chance to change my personality.¡¯ Unpleasant memories danced across my brain. I took a deep breath: I was going to be brave, and I was going to be myself. Then I walked into the towering red-brick archway of my new school. I was jostled by students left and right as I tried to reach my locker. ¡®At least I took the school tour before school started,¡¯ I muttered under my breath. I felt like I was just a small, insignificant human being in a crowded room. I was, but at least at my last school I had friends. Friends that stuck with me; friends that also loved me for who I was. Being alone was something I feared; something feared more than them. I found the row of metal lockers and strolled down the hall. Finding number 242 I put in the locker code. It didn¡¯t budge, I tried to force it open. Presently I became annoyed when after twenty minutes I couldn¡¯t get it open, I kicked it with frustration. An average looking brown-haired kid with mysterious black eyes approached me,This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Need some help?¡± he asked with a friendly smile. I nodded and stepped out of the way. The strange kid clenched his fists and he hit it hard. One fist under the lock, the other near the hinges. I gazed on in wonder as the locker opened a crack, then moved slowly open. Revealing three shelves evenly spread out. He stuck out his hand. ¡°Avery¡± he said ¡°Avery Goolsby¡±. I smiled and shook hands ¡°Alex, Alex Doomar¡± I said in reply. I was also surprised that I talked to him. Normally whenever someone talked to me I just stared and the ground and shifted awkwardly until the person left. I shocked myself even more by asking ¡°Want to be friends?¡± Of course, I fully expected him to say no, as I said I am the type of girl that nobody wants to be around. He looked even more surprised than I did, but he said ¡°Sure¡± nonetheless His ¡®sure¡¯ sounded more like a question than an answer and I smiled a rare smile. He smiled back and his white teeth sparkled, the school bell rang and we said our goodbyes as we headed off to our class rooms. ¡®Wow a friend on the first day! Ryan will be shocked!¡¯ I thought. Ryan was by best friend, and my eight-year-old brother as well. I looked and saw that my first period was biology, I shuddered. Science. I found the school room and met the teacher in the hallway, he raised his eyebrows ¡°You¡¯re late¡± he commented. My eyes went straight to the floor and I nodded sheepishly. He opened the door and I walked in, I could feel the eyes of the class on me as I found an empty seat next to a boy with curly hair and braces. The teacher went to the front of the room and wrote on a big white board. ¡°Mr. Fornicuff¡± he said, ¡°That is me and I will be your Biology teacher this year!¡±. ¡°That¡¯s obvious¡± the boy in front of me said. Making the whole class snicker. Mr. Fornicuff did not hear apparently for he continued, ¡°Biology is an amazing subject and I know all of you will enjoy it as much as me¡±. While he droned on about the rules of the class and how we should respect our teachers, I took note of the people in the classroom. There was one kid on the other side of the room, he had brown hair, brown eyes and sharp facial features. He leaned back in his chair, chewing gum, the girl in front of him had blonde hair that was in many tight ringlets. Then I noticed a girl in the far back of the room in a dark corner where no light entered it. She had auburn hair and dark green eyes, her headphones where in and I could see her phone under her table and her fingers flying over the keyboard. I wondered at how she got away with it, her headphones were dark green, like her eyes that stood out in the rest of the class. The teacher had us introduced ourselves, and as usual clumsy me tripped over my own two feet and went spralling in the middle of the aisle. The rest of the class laughed and I could feel my ears going red with embarrassment. Gathering my wits I stood up and quickly went to the front of the room and introduced myself. ¡®This is not the kind of attention I want¡¯ I thought bitterly. In the far back of the room I noticed the girl looking at me in pity. As I finished introducing myself, the bell rang, student after student charged towards the door. I hurriedly went to my seat and grabbed my backpack and made my way to the door. As I stepped out into the hallway, I saw the girl staring at me. Today had been a good day overall so I decided to try and befriend her. Going over to her. I greeted her ¡°Hi! I¡¯m Alex, what is your name?¡± ''''Autumn `` she said looking at the floor. First impressions over, I began to chat with her about school, life, and sports. Minutes flew past and I realized that if we didn¡¯t hurry that we would both be late for our next class. We said goodbye and I started to head to math class, stopping by my locker to get the books. School went on and by the end of it I was glad to go home. Even if it was filled with packing boxes, furniture in random places, and a sister and brother who hated me. I walked down the sidewalk, relatively pleased with the days events. Shadows Chapter One: The Shadows The morning sun shone through the blinds and a ray of light beamed on Alex¡¯s sleeping figure. She groaned and stirred, half awake yet more asleep than anything else. She was dreading the moment when she would have to arise from her soft bed and get ready for the strenuous day ahead of her. Ryan then appeared in her doorway. ¡°You better get up before mom sends Sunny to see if you¡¯re ready,¡± he said in his sweet gentle voice. He knew I hated school, but he also knew I disliked it when Sunny came in and started to yell at me that I was useless, too slow, and a let down. Not because it wasn¡¯t true, but because it hurt my heart more than when other people said it. I forced myself to open my eyes, rolled over on my back and stared at the ceiling. Ryan still looked at me, worry gleaming in his eyes. ¡°Are you okay, Lex?¡± he spoke, his words caring, soft and filled with love. ¡®Lex¡¯ was the nickname Ryan had given me when he was a toddler. For some reason, it had stuck and he had called my Lex ever since. Noticing he was still there and that I hadn¡¯t answered his question, I said, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine Ryan.¡± It was a lie, he and I both knew that. I guess I just held on to the hope that, if I said everything was fine, that they would go away and that somehow people would like me, that somehow I wouldn¡¯t hate myself, that somehow everything would be alright. He stared at me his round dark blue eyes seeming to peering into my inner thoughts. Instead of arguing he nodded in understanding, Ryan was the kinda person who knew how I thought and felt. Sitting up, I stretched and yawned, I looked towards the doorway but Ryan had already left, probably to do some more studying before he went to school. He was that type of kid who always had his homework done 2 weeks before the due date, and who loved tests. I got dressed in my usual mauve shirt, which made my black hair more vivid, and a black leather jacket that brought out the color of my deep green eyes. Suddenly I heard whispers, not the kind of whispers you would normally think of, but the kind of whispers that haunt your nightmares. They echoed around in my head bouncing around and sending a chill down my spine. Silhouettes of dark figures started to enclose around my reflection in the mirror, my clone started to tilt her head to the side, her eyes shone bright green and a sickly smile spread across her face. I stared, a chill up my spine, to anyone that this had occurred to the first time they would probably been screaming their heads off, but this was normal for me, even if I still feel afraid everytime I see them. But no sound came out, then just as quickly as the shadows came, they left. I stared into the mirror. It was normal, but still I couldn¡¯t bare to look at it. Regaining my senses, I grabbed up my black and mauve backpack from where it had been slumped on the floor. I snatched a stack of completed homework from my desk, which was littered with eraser dust, and stuffed it inside the bag. Just before flinging it over my shoulder, I reached for my bookcase, pulling out The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe. Pausing at my enormous bookcase, I pulled out ¡®The Edgar Allan Poe Collection¡¯ by Livingsworth. Reading to me was one of the very few comforts in my life. I dashed down the 13 steps down to the first floor and nearly tripped over Sunny who was coming up the stairs. ¡°Watch where you¡¯re going useless brat!¡± the words themselves did not hurt, but the truthfulness of them stung worse than if she had stabbed me with a dagger. My heart hurt, but I wasn¡¯t going to show her that she affected me. ¡°Sorry,¡± I said ducking my head, she scoffed and continued upstairs her bleach blonde hair bouncing with each step. Sunny was beautiful, and sometimes I envied her. Sunny was, popular, well liked, and well loved, the opposite of me. I continued down the stairs and was about to go out the front door on the way to school when Ryan blocked the door. Without a word he grabbed my hand and dragged me into the kitchen. This would be a surprise to anyone who knew him because he wasn¡¯t the strongest person in the world, but then again I didn¡¯t weigh much I was light as a feather. He let go of my hands and shoved a bowl of cereal into them. ¡°Eat.¡± he ordered sitting down at the table and pouring himself a bowl, I looked at the food in disgust. Ryan knew I had an eating disorder, and he was the only person who knew or even noticed. The kids at school kept telling me I was ugly and overweight, I don¡¯t like to admit I have an eating disorder, but I do whether admit it or not. They were right after all, I am ugly, and overweight. Nobody cared if I was struggling with life, if other people did notice they didn¡¯t say anything to me about it, which wasn¡¯t saying that much since the only people who talked to me at school were the bullies, always taunting me and insulting me, and my best friends, the only people who were nice to me besides Ryan and my parents. Even the teachers didn¡¯t like me! My silence and weird personality didn¡¯t draw people closer to me, after all, introverts usually aren¡¯t liked by many people. I sat down next to Ryan and ate slowly. I wasn¡¯t even half way finished I put down the bowl. Ryan looked at me with worry but wordlessly picked up the bowl and poured the contents into the sink. Together we walked out of the house and started on the 5 block walk to school. As we neared the school, the first bell rang, Ryan, who was never late, started running to the school, I on the other hand just walked and entered the adjoining highschool and slowly maneuvered my way through the groups of people. I passed the goths, barbies, players. ¡°Hey Alex,¡± someone called. Looking over my shoulder, I caught a glimpse of Autumn trying to catch up to me. Autumn¡¯s face changed to one of distaste and warning, then I looked in front of me again, too late. I crashed into someone, we stumbled to the ground and I hit my head on the hard concrete floor, things became dizzy but I managed to sit up. Blinking a few times I looked at to whom I had bumped into, then my blood froze. Zori Clamora, the bully of our school, had already picked herself up and was now glaring at me like she wanted to kill me, her green eyes bore into mine. I shakily got to my feet, people around us had backed up and I saw Sunny behind Zori, a satisfied smirk on her lips. I looked at Zori again, she had gotten over the shock of being knocked over and now was advancing towards me. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you useless freak!¡± she growled. She lunged for my neck and I could feel her body slam into mine. It hurt, it hurt so badly, I wanted to cry and curl up into a ball of anger and depression. She balled her fist and the force of her hit punched my in the lip. The anger I held was forced to lock itself up into a chamber deep within my soul. Punch after punch was hurled at me and punch after punch more anger flared up inside. Zori was relentless as she started to kick my in the side. Tears silently rolled down my pale skin and the bitter taste of blood seeped through my torn lips. The warning bell came, a relief, a break from suffering. Zori stood up and smirked then she walked away. My lip was swollen as well as my eye. Autumn knelt down, crying histerically.¡±I¡¯m so stupid, I¡¯m the worst friend in the world! I let my best friend be beaten up by Zori and I could of done something!¡± she sobbed her shoulders shaking. I smiled faintly, at least Autumn cared. Pain surged through my body and I had to chuckle when I said ¡°At least I am alive.¡± To be honest death seemed like a comfort, death seemed, peaceful and good compared to this wretched life I lived. I rose to my feet barely managing to hold my ground. Autumn demanded that I go to the nurse. But I couldn¡¯t, the pain, in someway or another, felt good. ¡°No we better get to class,¡± I mumbled. She stared at me worry in her eye. I avoided her gaze and walked to class. We got to Biology and just barely managed to sit down milliseconds before the tardy bell rang. Mr. Fornicuff came into the room with a bundle of papers in his hand, which could only mean one thing. ¡°Congratulations everybody! Today is a pop quiz!¡± he said as he handed out papers, Mr. Fornicuff was the type of teacher who thought that kids should like school, tests, and especially Biology, the students groaned. Mr. Fornicuff seemed not to notice. ¡°You have exactly one hour to complete this quiz,¡± he said cheerfully. I looked at the paper and my attitude changed slightly, these questions weren¡¯t to bad. It read: Living organisms exhibit all of the following attributes except: The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Thirty minutes passed and I was finally done, I strolled to Mr. Fornicuff¡¯s desk and handed him my quiz. I could feel my classmates eyes on me as I sat back down in my seat, probably wondering why I looked like a wreck. Minutes dragged by and student by student handed in there quizzes. The bell rang and people started crowding around the door, after everyone had gone, I stood up and walked towards the door, entering the hallway I was met with crowds of people, the smell of cologne filled my nostrils making me sneeze. I spotted Micah Winser, the flirt in school and girl crazy, not that he ever noticed me of course, but I didn¡¯t want to take any chances. Micah was rude and selfish, and annoying, he tried to act cool but he looked like a fool to me. I walked to my math class and found a note on the door saying ¡°Math Class Cancelled Due To Death In Family¡±, it was sad that there was a death, but at least there was no math class. Going to my locker I put my math book back inside and gathered the books I needed for my next class. I looked at my black phone and started texting with Autumn, she was in class but, as usual, being the shy, unnoticeable girl she was, she got away with a lot of things. ¡°Life as it may see or seem is but a dream within a dream. Well this must be a dream because I¡¯m talking to an angel!¡± a smooth creamy voice said, I looked up startled and saw Micah there leaning on a locker. He had seen the saying on my phone case I know, but something about the rich notes in his voice made me blush. I looked down trying to hide my blush, I didn¡¯t say anything though. ¡°Heaven is a long way from here beautiful angel. What are you doing next to my locker?¡± he said again. ¡°If I was an angel I couldn¡¯t be next to you because wherever you go is hell,¡± I wanted to say, but I didn¡¯t. He lifted my chin with his index finger so that I had no other option but to stare into his ocean eyes. I squirmed and started to feel uncomfortable, ¡°I have to get to class. But I want you to sit with me and my friends at lunch, okay?¡± he said. I knew his friends were popular and I knew that even sitting with them would raise my social standing, but I couldn¡¯t sit with them and leave my real friends alone. ¡°No.¡± I said definitely staring him directly in the eye, he frowned and dropped his hand, he snorted with distaste, it was clear that he had never been shut down like that. He marched off, he was angry, but I honestly was glad of my doings. I looked at my phone and saw that I still had 25 minutes till my next class. I decided that I would get my books and look for Avery Goolsby, my other best friend. Closing my locker, I started off to the courtyard, where he normally spent his time either sleeping or procrastinating. I found him under a tree with his eyes closed, crumbled papers lie around him. Picking one of them up I uncrumbled it, it read: Dear You, I know I¡¯m not the smartest, I know I¡¯m not the cutest. I know you could do better. You probably think I¡¯m a pest. But I can¡¯t help the love I store inside, Your hair is dark as night, and eyes as green as the trees. In you someday I hope to confide. And ever after you to be by my side. I was wondering who he could possibly be talking about, he had never told me he had a crush, when the paper was snatched from my hands. ¡°Hey!¡± I exclaimed, Avery had apparently woken up while I had been concentrating on the note. He looked embarrassed and nervous, so I decided to change the subject. Of course I wanted to know who he liked but, I¡¯d wait to bother him about it at lunch time. ¡°So did your class with Mrs. Gingle cancel too?¡± I asked, my math teacher, was Mr. Gingle so I logically thought that Mrs. Gingle would be gone too. ¡°Yeah she was out for the day,¡± he said, regaining his composure. The school bell rang and Avery and I waved each other good-bye as we headed to class. My History class was next, next to poetry, history was by far my favorite class. As I took my seat I saw Autumn sit down on the other side of the class, she must have transferred over, I thought. She had hated her last history teacher, Mrs. Korma. We waited for our teacher, Mr. LeMae, somehow instead of the teachers always waiting on us, we were always waiting on them. I looked past the rows of seats and say Ethan LeMae sitting at the very front. I knew that Ethan was older then everybody in the class, and in fact he was the oldest in the school! I looked over to the door and waited with everyone else, ten minutes passed and the kids started to get restless. Then I heard footsteps, but they sounded strange, almost like they were echoing in my head. I saw the door creak open, but instead of it being Mr. LeMae, an eerie dark shadow seeped in through the door, under it over it, enclosing around the door. A smell like burning rubber filled the air and I started to cough, the dark shadows circled the classroom. I looked around, my eyes wide with fear, nobody else was seeing the disaster that was happening. One of the shadows was lurking nearer and nearer to the front of the room, it circled Ethan, who was completely unaware of what was happening. I was hyperventilating, there were so many shadows, to many creeping over desks, enclosing over people. A shadow turned to me and creeped towards me, I was shaking uncontrollably. It was coming closer, I wanted to scream, but I couldn¡¯t. ¡°Alex! Alex! Alex!¡± it chanted, the voice started to echo around my head, I shut my eyes tight. But then the voice changed, it sounded like¡­ ¡°Autumn?¡± I opened my eyes, I was sweating and trembling. Autumn was in front of me and a few of the students who had not been talking were looking at me. I put my elbows on my smooth wooden desk and clutched my head. I tried to push the horrifying scene from my head, but I kept seeing the shadow creatures swarming around the classroom. I was still shaking when Mr. LeMae came into the classroom five minutes later, I was so shaken that I couldn¡¯t pay attention to the lesson. Nothing was abnormal during class, Ethan kept shifting in his seat and disrupting class but that was normal. As the bell ended for lunch I walked out of the classroom in a daze, I heard Autumn calling me to wait, but I didn¡¯t. I wanted to be alone. I needed to be alone. I went to the one place I knew no one would follow me, the weirdo table. The ¡®Weirdo Table¡¯ was were the people who didn¡¯t have friends sat, the table was sticky and gooey, it looked and smelled like it hadn¡¯t been cleaned for years. I sat down, careful not to sit on molded left over food, and a spilled orange Gatorade that was dripping down the cold metal bench. I pulled out my Edgar Allan Poe Collections and read to myself ¡°Deep into that darkness peering, Long I stood there wondering fearing Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal Ever dared to dream before¡± I sat there pondering the meaning of the words, I closed my eyes imagining peering into an abyss of darkness. I opened my eyes, to find that what I had imagined, had come true, there I was, alone, and peering into darkness. I stared, it was quiet, not a peaceful quiet but a terrifying quiet. Looking down, I saw a mist, like a gray cloud on a black sky, then I dreamed what no mortal ever dared to dream before. *** The clouds hung low on the gray late afternoon sky, and I knew it was going to rain. I loved the rain. It was almost like the sky sympathized and mourned over the evilness of the world, each raindrop symbolizing a person¡¯s sin. I felt a cold peck on my cheek and looked up; rain poured from the sky within minutes, but I stood there just looking at the sky and thinking about life. From a distance I heard a boy cry out in a shrill voice. ¡°Lex! Lex!¡± I looked over my shoulder and saw Ryan running up to me, his navy blue slicker blowing in the bitter wind. I waiting till he caught up to me. The smile on his face was wider than one of the cheshire cats. This meant he had, yet again, scored 100% on one of his tests or quizzes. Ryan did exceedingly well in school and was two grades higher than everyone his age. He saw the look on my face and immediately frowned. ¡°Are you okay Lex?¡± he asked, his voice was wavering and his eyes were filled with deep concern. I looked up letting the rain splatter over my face. Out of all the people I should trust with my secret it would be him but... I couldn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t want him to worry. I shook my head as if trying to shake away bad thoughts. I tried my best to smile. I was glad it was raining. It concealed my tears. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I managed to choke out. Ryan looked at me, and did something he normally never did. He hugged me. I was taken by surprise, on the few occasions he had hugged me was on my birthday or Christmas. I squeezed him tightly and let go. He looked into my eyes. I saw how teary-eyed his eyes were and looked away. I didn¡¯t want him to be sad. I didn¡¯t want anyone to be sad, especially if the reason was me. ¡°Let''s go home¡±, I managed to say, he nodded and we started off in the rain, brother and sister side by side. Opening the door the most delectable scent met us. Ryan raced into the kitchen. I smiled. I knew what the smell meant: food, not that I would eat any, but still it filled the house with a nice and cozy appeal. Blake, Sunny, and Dad were watching football in the living room, as I passed the door Sunny looked up at me and a flash of hate spread over her facial features. I knew it was just a matter of time before she trapped me and started yelling at me, I trudged up the dirty carpeted stairs and into my dimly lighted room, the shades had been closed, and the room in general gave off an eerie feeling. I flopped down on my plum colored bed and stared at the ceiling. Before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep. I woke up to a noise outside my bedroom door. It was pitch black and the only source of light was the silver full moon peering in at my window. I threw my legs over the side of the bed and cautiously, silently, creeped to the door. I opened it a crack and looked out. What I heard were hushed whispers, and footsteps. I saw red eyes peering out at me in the darkness, and a strong wind coming from nowhere flung my bedroom door all the way open. I looked behind me trying to go back into my room, but it was an empty black hole, just a hole and nothing more. I sank down in the corner and shut my eyes tightly, it was just a dream, that was all it was. If I closed my eyes I would wake up. I opened my eyes to find a black demon-like figure standing before me, it looked like it was made of a dense smoke and its red eyes were bloodshot. It enclosed around me and my skin began to tingle, I looked down at my hands, they were black and misty just like the demon! Looked up again, it was my room, but something was different about me. I glanced to the right, where I kept my mirror. I was met with a pair of red eyes gazing at me, but the eyes looked just as frightened as I was. I moved, it moved. It wasn¡¯t another demon, it was something even more horrific and terrifying. It was me. Chapter Two: Darkest Hours Of Depression Chapter Two: Dark Hours of Depression My eyes flew open. My breathing was ragged and I felt sweat pour down my entire body. Sitting up, I put my hands over my face as if trying to yet again block out a forsaken memory. I heard a knock at the door and practically jumped out of my skin as Sunny barged in. ¡°Wake up freak!¡± she exclaimed. She nearly pulled me out of bed by my hair. ¡°Ow! Stop that hurts!¡± I cried, tumbling onto the carpeted floor. ¡°You better believe it hurts!¡± she said dryly. I curled up into a protective ball and coward in a corner, Sunny was about to advance towards me when a figure appeared in the doorway. ¡°Stop it Sunny!¡± Ryan yelled running over to me and held me. He stared at Sunny anger flaring in his eyes. Sunny narrowed her eyes. ¡°So, now you have our baby brother to protect you because you¡¯re too weak to defend yourself! Ha!¡± she scoffed. She stomped out of the room. Shaking, I grasped Ryan for comfort. ¡°Thanks buddy¡± I whispered my voice quivering. He hugged me again and stood up. His brown-black hair was ruffled and messy. Ryan smiled down at me: it was the kind of smile and happiness that was contagious. I smiled weakly and got to my feet, Ryan left and I got dressed in a black and mauve hoodie with navy blue jeans, the black of the hoodie brought out my pale complexion. I passed the mirror without looking at it, I didn¡¯t want to have to see myself, my demon self. I saw Ryan in his room packing his backpack for school, I closed my eyes and groaned, I hadn¡¯t done my homework! I ran to the kitchen table and zoomed through my homework. Before Ryan, who had come downstairs and was rummaging through the fridge, could tell me to eat breakfast, I flew out the door and into the misty morning. It was chilly out, and I hugged myself trying to warm up. My normally pale skin now looked white. I stood there looking at the horizon, it seemed darker than usual, it was almost lifeless. ¡®Something¡¯s off¡¯ I thought to myself. I touched the necklace on my neck and held it for a moment. I saw Ryan came out of the house and, still clutching the necklace, I waved to him. He looked directly at me, but he didn¡¯t acknowledge me. I was confused, Ryan always returned a greeting. Ryan looked the other way and frowned ¡®He is looking for me¡¯ I thought. ¡®But why can¡¯t he see me?¡¯ Ryan went back inside the house with a puzzled look on his face. I started to panic. ¡°Ryan!¡± I screamed I looked down. Then I gasped. I didn¡¯t have flesh and bones anymore, I was pure black. All black; just darkness. I noticed two red gleaming eyes shining from where the necklace should be. I let go of the choker with a screech, and some crows, startled, flew away. My hands trembling, I lifted them to my face. I was flesh and bone again, in a flash I had the necklace off being careful not to touch the frame. I opened my hand. The string was there but, where was the coin? I pulled out my phone and opened the camera app. I let out a muffled gasp, the coin, that used to be on a string. Was glowing a reddish purple and somehow sinking into my skin! I dropped my phone and regained my wits to look at it again. It was now not a physical coin, but a tattoo on the side of my neck. I scratched it, but it wouldn¡¯t come off. In the distance I heard the first warning bell ring and I ran off to school. As I reached school, the tardy bell rang. ¡°Uh Oh, maybe I can at least get there before the teacher.¡± I huffed. I into the classroom and into my seat, and, thankfully, nobody noticed, the teacher came in a few minutes later and we started our lesson, Mr. Fornicuff taught on the matter of cells and asexual reproduction for what seemed like the longest time. I was relieved when the bell finally rang and I could stretch my legs. I entered math class and saw exam files on the desk. I shuddered as I took my seat. Algebra II was my worst subject by far. It took so much time for the students to do their exams and turn them in, that the teacher didn¡¯t get to the lesson that he was supposed to teach. I was glad about that, but the exam took me most of the hour and a half. When the bell rang I grabbed by books and ran out the door. I couldn¡¯t wait to see Autumn and Avery! When I reached the lunch room I looked around for my friends. I couldn¡¯t find them where we normally sat, and it was starting to get crowded. I spotted them entering the lunchroom, but they were talking with Micah and Ethan! I was confused and I decided to go over there, as I neared my friends Autumn looked over to me, hurt filled her eyes and she turned her back to me. Even more confused, and a little worried, I waved to Avery to get his attention. He didn¡¯t even acknowledge my existence. Now I was worried, I made my way through the growing crowd. I tapped Autumn on the shoulder.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Autumn?¡± I whispered. She turned to me, what I saw tore my heart out, it made me want to sob. Autumn¡¯s eyes were filled with rage, the kind I had only seen towards Zori. Her green eyes filled with tears, hurt, and betrayal. ¡°Autumn? What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked, fearing the worst. She couldn¡¯t speak, she tried but it was all she could do to hold back tears. Autumn turned her back to me and covered her face with her hands. Avery spoke up, his voice wavered, but it wasn¡¯t filled with anger. It was filled with sadness, the kind that can break your heart just to know that you were the cause of that hurt. ¡°Why Alexandra? Why? I thought. We thought you were our friend. I guess-¡± here he stopped and choked back tears. ¡°I guess we were wrong¡± he finished. I never thought that I could feel so bad as I did now. Sunny¡¯s horrible words were little compared to this. Little compared to how my friends were treating me. I could stand the truth, but I can¡¯t stand the guilt. Tears swelled up in my eyes and I glanced over to Micah. His face revealed all. A lump came into my throat, and I wanted to scream at him. A smirk, that''s all that was there. A satisfied smirk. I turned my back to my friends, but they were strangers now. Guilt, sadness, and pain filled my emotions. I couldn¡¯t think, I didn¡¯t want to. I wanted to make things right. I went out into the hall and kicked the wall in frustration, and anger. What happened? I wondered. ¡°What did he say¡±. Again the vision of my demon self came to me, I slid to the floor my back against the wall, and cried. I heard footsteps, no, not those footsteps, but the one made by humans. ¡°I told you, that you would pay¡± Micah said, he sounded happy. As if somehow seeing me in misery made him feel better about his dreadful existence. He came over to me and I shrank back in fear. ¡°But I¡¯m not done with you, you worthless freak¡± he growled. ¡°If I''m a worthless freak, then why give me a second thought. You¡¯re only bothered because I had real friends. You¡¯re only bothered because you want to see someone else suffer so you can feel better about your sorry life¡± I said just enough so he could hear. He grabbed me by my shirt collar and threw me to the otherside of the hall. I smiled sadistically, pain never felt so good. Pain never felt so well deserved. He started to kick and throw punches, I smiled all the time, enjoying each beating. ¡°Why are you smiling freak!¡± he shouted. Tears of happiness rolled down my cheeks, he stopped and stood back. ¡°Monster¡± he said, he sounded scared. I felt myself stand up, but I wasn¡¯t controlling my movements. I felt myself jerking and twitching, everything seemed like a nightmare, like a bad dream. I stepped closer to him, he backed up thoroughly frightened. I was now smiling wider than I had in my life. My smile was wide, I felt blood gurgling in my mouth and trickling down my face, onto my shirt. Onto the floor, staining the white concrete slabs. He was shaking ¡°You¡¯re a monster!¡± he screamed his voice frantic. He was now sobbing with fear his legs trembling. ¡°You better believe it¡± I felt myself reply. But it wasn¡¯t my voice, it sounded shrill and like many voices spoke at one. I felt my hair raising and I lifted off the floor. I looked at my hands, they were black and foggy. Red light shined from my eyes onto the floor. ¡°I¡¯ll t-tell them it was a lie! L-let me live!¡± he stammered he crumbled to his knees. I looked at him, still smiling. ¡°You tell them? Ha! I will let you tell them, but then you will die!¡± I flew over to him and threw him into the wall like he had done to me. He leaped to his feet and ran as fast as he could go. I landed on the ground and fell to my knees weak and struggling to breath. My sides hurt so bad, but like I said before. It felt so good. I walked slowly, I was in no rush to get home. Ryan was at his best friend¡¯s house, Sacrah, and I knew that Sunny would take advantage of him not being there. It felt cold and I tried to warm myself up as I walked through the metal gates leading out of the school. Water was on the blades of grass, a sign it had just rained and the concrete was wet and slippery. I made my way carefully as I walked home. Light rain sprinkled from the sky, I was cold, and wet and sad. Someone lightly tapped me on the shoulder and I looked back. A boy stood there, he was tall and had a kind smile on his face, and an umbrella in his hand. I stood there gazing into his eyes, something about him made me smile. ¡°I noticed you didn¡¯t have a coat, and since we are going the same direction I thought that maybe you would like to share my umbrella¡± He said. I smiled and nodded gratefully. As we walked the boy talked on different subjects, asked my name and if I had siblings. The walk seemed shorter than usual and I was sad to depart from the handsome fellow when the time came. I walked up the sidewalk to the door and looked back, I saw the boy walking in the rain, and a smile on his face. I watched as he faded from sight. Then I noticed. ¡®I didn¡¯t even get his name¡¯ I frowned, maybe we would meet again. I hoped so. I entered my house and the feeling of loneliness returned. The house was empty, I went silently up to my room and sat on my bed. I sat there for a long time thinking of the days events, and crying. Until I heard the front door close gently. I knew it must be Ryan for he never slammed the door closed. I heard someone busy in the kitchen, but my focus drifted to the strange boy. I must have been smiling because moments later Ryan walked into the room and said. ¡°Good to see you¡¯re in a happy mood¡± I nodded and looked at the plate of steak in his hands. I frowned and said ¡°I¡¯m not hungry¡±. He gave me a look that meant ¡®I know you are and you are going to eat this¡¯. I sighed and took the plate from him planning to dump it in the trash can. He left and I looked at the simmering meat with distaste. My stomach churned and I got up and threw it into the metal waste basket. I put the plate and utensils onto the bed and lay down again. I stared at the knife, until finally picking it up. I fingered it gently I pressed my finger on the tip and a single drop of thick red blood slid down my finger. I watched it, it hadn¡¯t hurt and I put it to the skin on my wrist. It would be so easy just to end my misery, end this suffering. I gently dragged it across my wrist willing myself to press harder.I rubbed it faster but still gently, until a streak of red could be faintly seen. I rubbed faster and a sharp pain made my skin tingle. I rubbed until a deep scar with blood was made on my wrist. Watching the blood run down my wrist was satisfying. As if a portion of my sadness and depression went away with each cut. I smiled weakly, and turned the knife and made another cut so that it was intersecting the other, making a red X mark on my wrist. I watched the blood seep into my covers, and smiled wider. I heard the front door open and close and I heard laughter from downstairs. Quickly I hid the knife in my dresser drawer and went into the bathroom to wash and dress the scars. Once finished I lay back down on my bed with ¡®Michael Vey Cell 25 Book 1¡¯ in my hands. I read the words on the page for what seemed like the millionth time. Laughing when Michael shocked Jack and company. Smiling when Taylor read Michael mind and found out he liked her, and all the while envying the friendships in the novel. Somehow, books always got the better side of friendships. But they never mentioned, betrayal, and deceit. I closed the book after reading to the 24th chapter. The sun was setting and the room began to grow darker. The darkness was comforting, my wrist started to hurt but I still smiled. I put the book away and got ready for bed. Curled up in a warm ball in my bed, and for the first time in many years, I slept without fear and nightmares.