Chapter Two FINISHED

Chapter Two:
What the hell is going on?!

THURSDAY MORNING: 4am

I heard my phone going off as I lifted my head from under my covers and looked around blurrily. I reached over and grabbed it off my night stand, growling into the mouth piece.

            “Do you know what time it is?!” I growled.

            “Turn on the news, man.” I growled louder at Tommy

            “Tommy, it’s 4 in the damn morning. I’m tired as hell.” This had better be an important call.

            “The moms are dead, dude.”  I blinked in confusion

            “Ahh… What?” I stuttered

            “Buck’s and his goon’s moms are dead, dude! They’re saying suicide” I sat up and fumbled for the remote, after finding it I turned in on the morning news.

            “… And in other news—it seems like another tragedy strikes as the boys who died yesterday, their mothers had died early this morning. The bodies were found when a neighbor had gone to their apartment to complain about loud music being played. She called the local police as they rushed to the scene. The causes of deaths are not yet released, but their neighbors are ruling it out as a suicide. We’ll have more for you when we return.” I sat there in silence for a few minutes.

            “You don’t think it was a suicide, do you?” I asked Tommy. He made a noise in agreement.

            “Think about it. Their sons all died at the same time, the same way. Maybe the fathers came back and killed the women for letting the goons die.” I remained quiet, pondering on what Tommy said. I heard the news come back on, same with Tommy.

            “And we’re back. We have reason to believe that these were not suicides. We’re live with Kelly, who’s on the scene. Kelly?” Kelly came on the air.

            “Evidence points to that the murders were made to look like a suicide. Finger prints and DNA was left on the victims as it was reviled to be the fathers of the victim’s sons. I’m here now with Chief Calaway.” Then, my grandfather’s face came on the TV.

            “All I can say is that the murder of these women all happened at various times in the morning. We’re doing everything we can.” With that, he left as Kelly became main focus.

            “Could there be more victims you ask? Possibly. We’ll have more later. Back to you Andy.” With that, it was back into the studio.

            “Thank you, Kelly. We’ll have more on the developing story later. Now…” I turned the volume down.

            “Maybe the killer is killing people that bully and are no good to society?” He asked as I shook my head.

            “No. Think about it, Tommy. Butch and his goons died yesterday and now their mothers? Some things going on and I don’t like it. Not one damn bit” I added.

            “Man, what the hell? What was the killer’s motive?” He asked as I shrugged.

            “I don’t know. But I’m going to try and get some sleep” with that, I hung up. I kept the TV on low as I looked up at the ceiling. The killer has plenty of motive… Doesn’t he? I asked myself as I started to drift off into sleep once again.

            I felt somebody shaking my shoulder as I buried my body deeper within my cocoon of warm, cozy blankets. The shaking became more forceful as I lowered the blankets that covered my eyes as I faced Ember.

            “What do you want?” I snarled as she looked at me.

            “Let me in” She said, her voice was quiet as I looked at her like she was crazy.

            “I need to talk to you.” She explained as I lifted my arm and blankets. She slid in as my arm wrapped around her waist as I noticed she was freezing.

            “Now talk, Em” I demanded, my voice husky from sleep.

            “I watched the news… About those murders…” She became quiet as I sighed softly.   

            “Emmy…” I started, using her nick-name.

            “I won’t let the killer come get you. Neither will anybody else.”

            “You Promise?”

            “I swear, sis.”

We both dozed off once again as I heard my alarm go off. Em reached over and turned it off as I yawned. We stayed like this for a few more minutes until my alarm went off again. We both got up as Ember left as I shut off my alarm and went to shower. I walked out of the bathroom in my towel and wandered into my closet. I put on some pants with holes in the knees and the bottoms (where they drag on the ground) were ratty and torn. I walked out of the closet as I toweled off my short hair. I slipped on my old Rob Zombie shirt and grabbed my biker boots. I sat at my desk as put on my socks, eyes watching the TV. I glanced at my clock as it read 5:38am. I heard my dad get up as I grabbed my boots, phone, and backpack as I walked out, but I turned off my TV.

            “Dad…?” I asked him as he paused and looked back at me. I caught up with him as we walked down the stairs.

            “The killer strikes again” I said as he looked at me.

            “What do you mean?” He asked as we arrived in the kitchen. I set my backpack and boots down as I grabbed a bowl, spoon, milk, and fruit loops.

            “I mean: Buck and his goon’s mothers were all murdered” I confirmed as I poured fruit loops into the bowl and poured milk. I put the milk and FL away, munching on my breakfast. He started the coffee, leaning against the counter as he watched me.

            “Huh.” Was his reply

            “Yeah, I know. Ember came into my room because she was worried that the killer was going to go after her. I told her the killer wouldn’t even get close.” I told him as he nodded.

            “Good.”

Breakfast went by fast as I slipped my socked feet into my boots and slipped on my sweater. I grabbed my backpack and I left the house. I walked down the drive to the bus stop, standing in silence. I had my ear buds in as the bus came around and stopped. The doors whooshed open as I climbed in and made my way to my friends. I sat next to Vince as I slipped one from my ear.

            “I was just telling the guys what happened” Tommy told me as I nodded.

            “Ember was worried” I muttered as we all kept talking about the murders that have happened.

            “It’s like some horror movie” Jason stated as we all looked at him. He shrugged slightly and went started to flirt with some cheerleader.

            “I don’t know, man. I wonder who he’s going to strike next?” Hoyt asked as we all shrugged once again.

The bus pulled up into the school and stopped. We all got off as we walked into the building. I saw Ember with her friends talking as we all went to our lockers and grabbed our first period books. We then went back into the cafeteria and took our seats. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and I couldn’t shake it. The bell rang as everybody went off to first period as Ember grabbed my arm and pulled me aside. I nodded to Vince as he went inside.

            “I found this in my locker.” Ember said, a hint of worry in her voice as she handed me the note.

You little bitch.

I’m going to kill you.

Run if you want, but I’ll find you.

It was signed anonymous as I looked at her. She was scared, I could tell. She hugged me tightly as I wrapped my arm around her, chin resting on top of her head.

            “Did you get any more of these notes?” I asked her as she nodded.

            “When?”

            “One yesterday and one this morning” She admitted as the bell rang.

            “Do you want to go home? I’ll get all your homework” I asked her as she nodded.

            “Okay. Let me call mom” I took out my cell phone as I called mom.

            “Aren’t you supposed to be in class?” She asked

            “Mom, somebodies writing threatening notes to Ember and she’s scared shitless. She wants to come home.” I told her as I heard her growl.

            “I’m on my way. Walk her to the office and stay with her.” She ordered as we hung up. I looked over to find Mr. Black looking at me. I gave him a look that said ‘I’ll-be-right-back’ as he nodded. I walked Ember down to the office as we stepped in.

            “My sister is going home early... Could you excuse her?” I asked the secretary. She looked at us, eyebrow raised. She was about to open her mouth when Mr. Garcia walked up.

            “What seems to be the problem?” He asked. Ember glanced at me, hugging me tighter.

            “Somebodies writing threatening notes to her. She wants to go home. She’ll feel safer with our parents around.” I answered as he looked at her; Ember nodded her head in response as our mom came in. Ember hugged her tightly.

            “C’mon Emmy. Let’s get you home.” She soothed her as she looked at me.

            “I’ll get her homework.” She nodded as we walked out of the office and towards the door.

            “I’ll keep looking for clues and whatnot. I’m going to find this son of a bitch and kill him” I growled to her quietly. She squeezed my arm and left. I then turned around and walked back to English. I arrived fifteen minutes late as I took my seat. I handed Vince back his notebook as he caught me up on what’s going on.

            “Okay. Everybody turn in your homework” Everybody took theirs out as they passed it forward. Mr. Black collected them and passed around a packet and some worksheets.

            “I think the worksheets are self-explanatory, but the packet isn’t. You have to read it and then answer the question. The twist is that you have to pick two stories off the list and read them in your text book, answer THOSE questions and then write an essay on the three stories you read.” Mr. Black must like handing out homework because he’s on a roll.

            “We’re having a quiz tomorrow on all what we went over this week. So study” He commented. We then went over the novel we’re reading and he told us we should be on chapter 17 by tonight. There are 23 chapters in this book and I’m on chapter 18. He told us that we have the rest of the class to work as a clap of thunder sounded. I rested my chin on my palm and looked out the window. That’s the nice thing about having a back seat—the window. I watched it rain and lightning as I saw a figure standing. I straightened up as he then vanished. I decided to do my work as the bell rang. I sighed and packed my stuff. I walked out with Vince as we went to our lockers.

            “What was with you this morning?” He asked me as we switched out our books.

            “The killer is writing Ember threatening notes. She went home. I’m going to find him and I’m going to kill him.” I stated as we parted ways. I made my way upstairs as I went to the Spanish room. I walked in and took out the work. I handed it to the teacher. She looked at with surprise.

            “I assumed it was due today, so I did it all.” I said as she took it.

            “That was fast.” She commented as I took my seat. The teacher stood in front of the room.

            “Buenos días, clase!” (Good Morning, Class!) the teacher announced.

            “Buenos Dias, señora Hotchner” (Good Morning, Mrs. Hotchner) the class responded.

THURSDAY NIGHT: 8pm

            Classes went by relatively fast today. I got a lot of homework, per usual. I also grabbed Ember’s homework and took the bus home. When I got into the house, I saw her sitting next to dad in the living room. She got up as I handed her the homework she missed. I then walked upstairs and shut my door. I leaned back on the legs of my chair, pencil twirling in my hand as the TV was going on in the background. I’m going to find out who scent Ember those notes. I got a good look at the shadow at school. I thought as I wandered over to my window. I opened it and jumped out. I landed gracefully as I glanced around before jetting into the woods. I paused by the river and inhaled the air. That mother—He’s been here. I looked around and saw the figure as he ran. I ran after him fast and hard. My adrenaline was pumping as I tackled him. We fought as he bucked me off. I growled as he ran towards the house. I sent out a signal to alert my parents and when the house was in sight, I saw that creep had Ember. My parents and the guys weren’t happy. I snarled and tackled him. Ember ran to mom as we rolled around, we both threw punches as I kicked him off me. I grabbed his leg as he tried to get away and I ripped off his mask. My eyes widened as it came to reveal…

            “Willy the Janitor…?” I stuttered in disbelief. He looked back at me, rage in his eyes.

            “That’s right, laddy!”  His Scottish brogue spoke out.

            “You’re the one who’s threatening my sister?” I asked him, disbelief still in my voice. He looked at me.

            “Aye…!” I slammed him down, growling.

            “Why?!” I demanded. I was pissed off and confused.

            “Because she interfered with m’plans” He answered, accent getting thicker

            “What plans?!”

            “I was gonna kill that trouble makin’ boy and his stupid friends!” I snorted

            “Ember didn’t have anything to do with it, you dumbass!” I snarled at him.

            “She wasn’t?” He asked.

            “No! If you had watched the news, you would have known that they killed themselves! Then the father’s come and murdered their mothers!” I told him as he nodded. Just then, the police came as my grandfather came out.

            “I came as soon as I could when Harley called” He explained as Mustang cuffed Willy. I got off the ground as my legs gave out. Ember caught me as she wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

            “The real killer’s still out there, somewhere…” I stated.

            “It was Willy that wrote those notes… Why would the killer come after us?” Ember asked our grandfather as he shook his head.

            “I don’t know, Em… I don’t know…” Was all he said as he and my parents conversed before they all left. I looked at my parents.

            “That was a brave thing you did, Junior” My dad said as I nodded. My mom smiled at me as everybody went inside, Ember taking me up to my room. She sat me at my desk.

            “You could’ve gotten hurt”

            “I was protecting you” I countered as she nodded.

Ember left as I did my homework. I sat at my desk as I stared at my math homework. I looked at my phone and it said 3:15am. I had finished everything else and now I’m just working on Pre-Calc. I started working the problems and I started getting frustrated. I threw my pencil down and got up and walked down to the gym. I worked out my frustrations out on the punching bag before somebody grabbed my wrist. I growled at them, whirled around as I saw Cena. I panted faintly as I sat on the bench.

            “What’s wrong?” He asked as I snorted softly.

            “You heard about what happened?”  He nodded

            “I could have killed him, John. I wanted too, so bad.” I admitted

            “With great power come’s great responsibility” he told me as I tilted my head.

            “Look, Junior… What you did tonight was out of pure instinct. Ember’s your little sister and you would kill for her. Just like you would for any of your siblings if they were threatened like this…” Cena stated as I nodded.

            “I know… It’s just…” He nodded as I went back up to my room.

After that talk with Cena in the weight room, I was able to focus and finish my math. It was 4:40am and I knew I wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight.

            I was just getting out of the shower as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Circles were under my eyes as I looked slightly pale. I had a few bruises from last night and other than that, I just looked like crap. I opened the bathroom door and walked into my bedroom. I yawned as I wandered into my closet and flipped on the light. I dried off as I stood in my boxers, debating if I want to wear basketball shorts or pants. I decided on pants as I slid into them. I slipped on my football jersey. I’m the quarterback as the colors of my jersey are purple and gold. The back top says ‘Calaway’ and my number, 13. Ember has my jersey also, so she wears mine on game days. Speaking of game days… There’s a game tonight.

            5:37am… I lay on my bed as I looked up at the ceiling. I yawned again as Ember walked in.

            “I could have been naked” I commented as she rolled her eyes.

            “Oh please… Don’t flatter yourself.” I scoffed to myself as she opened my curtains.

            “You seem to be better” I commented as she nodded.

            “I am… Thanks… For what you did” She said as I shrugged

            “I didn’t wanna hear shit from mom about it” I lied as she raised her eyebrow.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON:

Before the first football game of the year, I went home and played video games. The game wasn’t until 6, so I had plenty of time. Ember had told our parents to go to my opening game and that they’ll be plenty of her games. They agreed and when the team came out, I saw my parents, Cena (who played football), Hunter, and Randy. We were going up against the Tigers (Who I heard were a pretty good team), who didn’t even have a chance. We beat them 36-0 and when I got that touchdown, the whole team tackled me, cheering me on. The stands went up with cheers. Once I got home and showered, I passed out on my bed out of pure exhaustion.

SUNDAY MORNING: 5:12am

            I rolled over and looked up at my ceiling as I glanced at my clock as it read 5:13am. I sighed softly as I let my mind wander over the day’s events of yesterday as Led Zeppelins ‘Baby I’m gonna leave you’ plays softly through my stereo. 

Saturday was just another Saturday. I slept in until 2pm and got up. I walked downstairs and found my parents sitting on the couch as I stretched and yawned. I don’t know what was wrong, but my dad made me mow the entire lawn by myself. That took like, two hours. I ate my lunch and showered. I called up Vince to see if he and the guys wanted to hang out in the mall and they agreed. I came home around 10ish and played video games. I sighed softly. Then why am I awake? I pondered on that question for a few minutes. Oh yeah… I remember. I bitterly thought. When I had gotten home from the mall, Lili told me what was going on and I remember just getting pissed. I also remember my dad holding me back as Lili tried to calm me down. I rolled over and faced my door. This sucks… I noted I looked at the various posters on my wall. I had Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Aerosmith, and a few others. I had Jimi Hendrix, a marijuana poster on my wall also. Gabe gave it to me for my birthday. I sighed softly and briefly closed my eyes. I opened them a few minutes later and rolled again. I got in a comfortable position and fell back asleep to Foreigner. 

SUNDAY NIGHT: 8pm

            I got up at noon and showered. I got dressed as I headed downstairs to eat my lunch. I don’t know what’s up with my dad as of late, but he told me to clean out the horse stalls as I began to argue. He just looked at me and told me that I’m grounded… What the hell? I looked at mom as she got up and lead me to the barn. She started cleaning out her horse’s stall. Her horse’s name is Wildfire. (We call him Fire for short). I started cleaning and paused half way through.

            “Mom?” I asked as she looked at me

            “What the hell’s up with dad?” I asked again as she wiped her forehead, leaning against a stall.

            “His mom is sick, so he’s been worried about her and whatever.” She started. I motioned her to continue.

            “He’s been busy with the school and with other things too, Junior. I wouldn’t worry about it.” I snorted as she raised an eyebrow.

            “I had to mow the ENTIRE lawn by MYSELF yesterday… He better lay off some, mom.” I told her as we finished cleaning out the stalls. That took a few hours. We both walked out as I saw Ember sitting on the porch. I walked past her, grumbling. I stomped upstairs and took another shower. I scrubbed my skin until it was pink and my scalp until I was sure it was clean. I got out and got re-dressed. I pulled on shorts and a shirt as I sighed again. I looked around and gathered my dirty laundry.

            Once I was in the laundry room, I put my clothes in the washer and started a load. I did that with a few other washers as I started them at the same time. It’s better than waiting for a few minutes or hours… I sat on an empty washer and leaned against the wall as I pulled out my phone. A few minutes later the washers all went off so I put them all in the dryer, starting them as I took my spot again. Ember came down with her laundry as she looked at me, hamper on her hip.

            “Junior… Is there ONE available washer?!” She asked as I nodded. I hopped off the available one as she started. I re-started each dryer I was using. We took our seats as she looked at me.

            “Good game” She spoke first as I nodded

            “You too” I said as she nodded.

Ember’s game was at an earlier time and it got over right as mine was about to start, so she was able to see it. When we won, she jumped over the barricade and hugged me. I shook my head as I took all my hot and dry clothes out of the dryers and walked back upstairs. I saw Rey, Jeff, and my mom putting up Halloween decorations. I laughed softly as I shook my head. I also saw Willow hanging up some too from the ground. I heard Halloween music playing as I saw the stair banister and railing all decorated. If you think Halloween is bad, wait until Christmas! I laughed softly to myself as I continued to my room. I arrived as I shut the door and put away my clothes. I looked at my TV as I saw ‘The Addams Family’ playing. I sometimes think my family is kind of like the Addams… The sick part is, I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. I turned up the volume and found a marathon. I grinned and grabbed my homework, sitting at my desk.

            An hour later, I was all done with my homework. Wow… That was fast… I noted as I packed it all away. I had finished my Psychology project (the independent one) and had returned the books I borrowed from Glenn except a few. I sat on my bean bag chair and watched ‘The Addams Family’ as Ember joined me a few minutes later. She sat in the other one as she looked at me during a commercial.

            “I decorated my room for Halloween” she announced as I rolled my eyes

            “Good for you” I said as she smacked my arm. I smirked faintly and looked around my room.

            “Wanna do mine?” I asked her as she nodded as a grin appeared on her face. I sighed softly. She’s just like mom on that… Loves decorating for the holidays, even though it’s not October yet; Em ran back in with decorations as she set out to decorate. I continued watching ‘The Addams Family’.

MONDAY MORNING: 5:01AM.

            Judas Priest blared as my hand shot out and swiped my alarm, knocking it over. I refused to get out of my warm and very, very comfortable bed and into the cold, unwelcoming world on a Monday morning at an ungodly hour. I absolutely refused as Journey came on, blaring through my alarm. I groaned and leaned down, shutting it off. I got up and stretched, shuddering when my bare feet hit the cold wood of the floor. I walked over to the bathroom and flipped on the light as I cursed softly. I yawned and stretched, looking at my reflection in the mirror. Ember had stopped putting up decorations around 11ish and I remember passing out in my bean bag chair half-hour later. Dad must have put me into my bed. I thought as I got into the shower. The warm water felt really good as I stood there. I felt myself falling back to sleep as my hand slipped, turning the water on icy as I yelped loudly and jolted. I turned off the water and got out. I ran a brush through my hair and spiked it in the front a little as I brushed my teeth. I rinsed my mouth out and left the bathroom. I turned on the TV to a music station as I got dressed in jeans and an old AC/DC shirt. I yanked on my socks as I looked at the time: 5:30AM. I yawned as I made my bed. My phone started going off as I answered it.

            “Y’ello?” I answered

            “Hey, man” I chuckled softly.

            “Hey man, how’s it going?” I asked

            “It’s goin’ pretty good. You?” I shrugged

            “Can’t complain”

            “Good, good”

            “Sup?” I asked

            “Nothin, man…” I rolled my eyes

            “This is a pointless conversation, Jason”

            “What’s your point?” He asked

            “That it’s pointless. Why’d you call?”

            “Was wondering if you were going to ride the bus?”

            “I dunno… Maybe” I responded

            “Okay. Well, see you at school”

            “Yeah. Bye.” We both hung up as I looked at my phone. I rolled my eyes as my door opened as Ember slipped in and shut the door. She set her bag by mine as she sat at my desk. I raised an eyebrow as I watched her.

            “Whataya want, Em?” I asked her. She tilted her head

            “Nothing, bro” She responded. I once again rolled my eyes as I shut off the bathroom light and closed the door. I also turned off my TV and picked up my bag. Ember followed as I shut off the main light and closed the door. Em and I walked downstairs to find Liam and Harley resting on the couch. Em and I rested on the other couch.

I felt a shake a few minutes later as I jolted up sleepily.

             “Uh, huh, wha?” I asked as I looked at Shawn. He chuckled as I got up. I found dad, Em, Liam and Harley at the table as I sat down, slumping in my seat.

            “Did you get to bed late?” Dad asked as I shook my head

            “No. 11:30” I responded; he nodded and didn’t say anything else. A few minutes later mom came down, dressed.

            “You don’t like Mondays” I told her as she nodded.

            “I know. But Michael called and said he wanted all of us in the studio at 8” She told me as I nodded. Michael is her manager. Brian was her old manager but he died of cancer—just like my uncle Justin and Brian. (Not the same Brian).

            “You look like shit” she commented as I yawned.

            “Thanks.” Was all I said.

            “Want a ride to school?”

            “You offering?”

            “I didn’t stutter”

            “Then yes, I would.” I responded as she nodded, sipping on her coffee.

TUESDAY MORNING: 5:03AM.

            For some strange reason, I feel excited. I don’t know why I do, but I am. Maybe it’s not a Monday anymore? Maybe I don’t have to worry about my Psychology projects anymore? Well, for whatever reason, I’m excited. I got out of the shower and got dressed as I flicked on my TV. I actually got up the first time my alarm went off. I slipped on my socks and turned on my Laptop. Cartoons were going on in the background as I watched, waiting for my laptop to boot up. I had been saving up my money for a laptop for a while. It’s a black VAIO Sony laptop. It cost me a near $800.00, but it was worth it. I was working for my dad (I think I still am) with helping him working on bikes and he’d pay me. I and my siblings don’t get an allowance; we’d get money on Christmas and our birthdays until we reach 18. I looked over as my laptop was finished booting as I clicked on Google Chrome and logged into Facebook. Most people use a different name, but I just use my name. I responded to the comments and posted on my wall as I looked at my page. It has a photo of me on my dirt bike, grinning. I looked over at the name as it says, ‘Junior Calaway’ I have over 900 ‘friends’ and most of my siblings have a Facebook. I checked my email when my message box popped open.

Ididyourmom: Dude…

CrissCrossCrazy: What, man?

Ididyourmom: What’d you do after school?

CrissCrossCrazy: Came home and did chores. I’m grounded, remember?

Ididyourmom: Oh yeah… Haha… Did ur dad ever say y?

CrissCrossCrazy: If he did, I didn’t pay any attention

Ididyourmom: LOL! :D

CrissCrossCrazy: You?

Ididyourmom: Tommy came over and we skateboarded

CrissCrossCrazy: That sounds like fun.

Ididyourmom: It was, until we got busted

CrissCrossCrazy: For?

Ididyourmom: Talkin’ bad about Butch

CrissCrossCrazy: Was it his sister? I thought she died too… Dammit

Ididyourmom: I know… But yes. What a bitch.

CrissCrossCrazy: I know!

Just then, another message box popped open.

LikeABoss:  Bro, what’re you doin’ up?

CrissCrossCrazy: Duh. School. Dork

LikeABoss: Retard. XD. How’s the family?

CrissCrossCrazy: Fine. Just like the Addams Family

LikeABoss: We are, aren’t we?

CrissCrossCrazy: How’s Seattle?

LikeABoss: …Rainy…

CrissCrossCrazy: Move to LA.

LikeABoss: I would… But Ana likes it here…Sigh.

CrissCrossCrazy: When are you coming to visit?

LikeABoss: Soon, hopefully. Darlene misses mom

CrissCrossCrazy: Give me a call or text sometime, sis. I hafta go. :/

LikeABoss: Will do, Love you

CrissCrossCrazy: Me too

I shut out of that convo box and the other one as I leaned back into my chair, rubbing my face. ‘Ididyourmom’ is Jason. I chuckled softly. Jason’s a nut job, but he’s my brother. Jason’s dad is a CEO at some big law firm in Dallas and his mom is a judge. He has two sisters—Laurie and Rachael. Both of them are older than he is and Laurie is a vet up in Dallas and Rachael is a dancer in Houston. ‘LikeABoss’ is my older sister, Shy. She and my other older sister, Ana both live in Seattle, WA. Shy doesn’t like it there and Ana doesn’t either, but Ana’s adapted. That’s the thing about Ana—she can adapt to almost anything if you give her time. Shy has a daughter, Darlene. My first niece and she’s adorable. Shy is an artist while Ana is a ballerina (in training). Obviously, I’m ‘CrissCrossCrazy’. I don’t know why I chose that name, but I did. Another chat window opened.

Tomboy360: Baby brother

CrissCrossCrazy: ‘Tard

Tomboy360: Sup?

CrissCrossCrazy: Passing time until school. You…?

Tomboy360: I have a morning class with Mia at 8am

CrissCrossCrazy: And you’re up this early… Because?

Tomboy360: Can’t sleep.

CrissCrossCrazy: I see

Tomboy360: If you see my dad, tell him I say hey. I already talked with mom last night.

CrissCrossCrazy: Will due

I exited out of that conversation. ‘Tomboy360’ is my other older sister, Aleu, or “Lulu” as everybody calls her. She and Mia were in New York until they moved to LA. They now go to UCLA. Lulu wants to become a Marine Biologist and Mia wants to become a fashion designer, like our Aunt Cherry. Both of them are with Gabe right now. (Not living in the same apartment/condo complex). Both of them live in the dorms while Gabe lives in his condo with his girlfriend, Ari. (I think I told you that already, but I’m not sure). Gabe got a full ride on a football scholarship. He was excited as hell when he found out. Gabe’s a good football player and he told me that he’s already gotten offers into the NFL. My door opened to reveal Ember as she shut the door.

            “Mornin’!” She stated as I nodded

            “Did you wake up feeling really excited, but didn’t know why?” I curiously asked her as she nodded.

            “I did! I don’t know why, though” She shrugged

            “I woke up like that too… I wonder what the hell is going on?” I questioned as she once again shrugged. She took a seat on my bed, facing the TV. Today, Ember was dressed in a red polka dotted black mini skirt and a new ‘Bullets for my Valentine’ shirt with a studded belt hanging off her hips. She also donned a pair of boots and Panda Dot Knee-High socks. She had her long hair in lower pigtails and had different accessories on. I went back to browsing on my laptop. I myself was dressed in jeans and an Aerosmith shirt with my boots, my leather bracelet on, my necklace my uncle Dean gave me and my ring on.

            “Did you do laundry last night?” Ember suddenly spoke. I continued browsing

            “Yeah, I did. I washed my uniform and my gym clothes. Didn’t you?”

            “I did. Just curious”

I heard Scooby Doo going on in the background and shook my head. Back when Em was a little girl, she used to be obsessed with Scooby. I asked her one time if she was obsessed with Justin Bieber, Twilight, and whatever else and she told me.

            “I like only ONE song from Bieber. That’s Baby. I’ve read all the books to Twilight and saw all the movies that are out. I don’t see the big deal in obsessing.” She bluntly said as I laughed. I shrugged faintly as I updated my blog. I glanced at the time 6:32am. It was a two hour late start yesterday, which was awesome.

            “I wonder if Liam an Harley woke up like we did?” I asked her as she glanced at me.

            “Dunno. Let’s ask when we go down for breakfast.” I nodded as ANOTHER chat window opened. This time, it was Hoyt.

ImGoingToLoseIt: My mom’s driving me CRAZY, man!

CrissCrossCrazy: Dude, calm down

ImGoingToLoseIt: I came home from practice last night and she WIGGED out on me for no reason!

CrissCrossCrazy: What’d she say?

ImGoingToLoseIt: She said; “Hoyt, you have NO respect for you poor mother” and “You’re never home anymore! What kind of child did I raise?!” and my favorite; “You have to open to the Lord and he will hopefully accept you for your stupid mistakes”

CrissCrossCrazy: Dude… That sucks. Sorry.

ImGoingToLoseIt: Then she had this girl Spring (that’s her name) try and get me to be more religious like them!

CrissCrossCrazy: Screw that, dude. Look. I gotta go eat breakfast. Text me

Ember and I headed down to breakfast as we found almost everybody there. We took our spots as I munched on some toast.

            “Hey Liam… Did you wake up feeling… Excited?” Ember asked him as he looked at her

            “Yeah, I did. Harley and I were talking about that a few minutes ago...” He stated as I looked at the time. 7:04AM. Us kids got up from the table. Liam and Harley headed for their bus while Ember and I got a ride from mom and dad. We got sat in the back as dad drove us.

            “When will you be heading out on tour again?” I asked mom as she yawned

            “Few days…” She responded as it became silent again. Mom turned on the radio as some song came on. I slipped in my ear buds as I looked out at the scenery. We pulled up to the school at 7:21 as Em and I got out as I saw Hoyt sitting on the bench, waiting. I slipped out an ear bud as mom rolled down her window.

            “Would you go have a ‘talk’ with Mrs. Calendar, please?” I requested as she tilted her head

            “She was all up on Hoyt’s ass last night and this morning… He’s going crazy” I said as she nodded.

            “Thanks. Bye, guys” I nodded as they pulled away.

I walked up to Hoyt as we both headed inside. The busses weren’t here yet so that meant Tommy, Vince, and Jason weren’t here. Hoyt and I stopped by our lockers as I unloaded my bag. I glanced at Hoyt as I watched him unpack his bag.

            “How did you get here?” I asked him

            “Skateboarded” I nodded. Hoyt lives in town, so he’s about… fifteen minutes from school, I’d want to say. We grabbed our books for our first period as we walked back out into the cafeteria. We grabbed some food as we sat in our usual spot.

            “Did you wake up excited?” I asked him as he nodded

            “Yeah. I always do because then I know for 9 hours out of the day, I’m away from that religious freak of a mother” We both shared a laugh as the first wave of kids started coming in.

            “What would you do if she died?” I asked as he looked at me

            “I dunno, man… I’d be shocked first, I guess…” he spoke as I tilted my head

            “Don’t you have a religious aunt that lives here in town?” I asked as he nodded, shuddering

            “If you thought my mom was bad, my aunts worse!” He spoke as I shuddered.

The rest of the bus kids came in as Vince, Tommy, and Jason all went to their lockers and joined us a few minutes later as we all talked.

            “Been pretty quiet” Vince commented as we all nodded.

            “The governments up to something!” Tommy exclaimed as I laughed. Tommy is… Shall we say… The conspiracy theorist of the group; it’s funny when he goes into a rant and says all this funny stuff. I turned to Hoyt as he looked at me.

            “We’re all good on our Psych project?” I asked him as he nodded. We shared a grin as the cheerleaders came walking by. Jason gave them a whistle as some giggled and some scoffed. I rolled my eyes as I scoffed back. I never had an interest in cheerleaders, but Jason will chase almost anything that has breasts. The bell rang as everybody shuffled towards their classes. Vince and I went to our English, Tommy went to his Math, Jason went to his History and Hoyt went to his Art class. We all took our seats as Mr. Black went up to the whiteboard and wrote in all capitals: TEST AND NOVEL WORK DAY in blue marker. We took out our pencils and put everything else on the ground. He passed out the test as he sat back down.

I walked up and put the test on his desk as I sat back down. I pulled out my novel work and started working on it. The test consisted of a few essays and a lot of response questions. The test itself was composed of reading questions of the stories we read and a few study guide questions. The novel I’m working on is an adventure/comedy. I looked up as most of the class was working (or trying) on their novel. Vince had just sat back down and took out his notebook.

“You haven’t started yet?” I asked him as he shook his head.

“Why not?”

“I’m stuck”

“I know the feeling”

“What’s yours about?”

“It’s about this guy who has to travel to Imperial Ireland and try and save the King from the devil and from becoming a Vampire, but what the King doesn’t know is that he is a Vampire and has been sent by the devil, but he ends up falling in love with the King’s daughter, but in the end he slaughters the whole village and becomes the vampire King”

“Sounds like an interesting story”

“Oh, it is”

I continued to write my novel as I flipped the page on my notebook and continued writing. If I’m writing, I tend to get in my ‘Writing Mode’, meaning, you probably shouldn’t disturb me. Vince nudged my arm as I waved him off as he smacked my arm. My head snapped over to him.

            “What do you want?!” I snarled as he pointed to Mr. Black in the front of the room.

            “Now that I have everybody’s attention” He started as I flushed.

            “I’m going to be giving you two worksheets and another packet” He stated as he passed out the worksheets and packet. He explained what we had to do as he went over the lesson.

            “In your text book, they’ll be a few stories I want you to read and answer the questions at the end of the chapter. Get back to work” He ordered as he sat back down to grade our tests. I happily got back to work as I glanced over at Vince, who was brainstorming ideas. I shook my head and wrote. Before I knew it, the bell rang as I finished my sentence and packed up my stuff. Vince was already packed as we both left the class. We headed to our lockers to get our books for our next class.

            “I’m hungry”

            “Get something from the vending machines”

So Vince left to get something from the vending machines as I headed back upstairs to my Spanish class; I arrived in class and took my seat next to Dex. I pulled out the homework we got as everybody took their seats.

            “Saque su asignación” (Take out your assignment) Mrs. Hotchner spoke as we all did.

            “Fuimos a un montón de material en un corto período de tiempo, así que prepárate para una prueba. Después de la prueba, se le da una hoja de cálculo pocos y repasar la lección de hoy, así que tome notas si es necesario. (We went over a lot of material in a short amount of time, so get ready for a test. After the test, I will be giving you a few worksheets and go over today's lesson, so take notes if you must.) She explained as we all moved our books to the edge of the table as she passed out the test.

It was a kind of thickish test as I wrote my name on the top. This… is going to take a while. I thought as I started. My Spanish is pretty good, so this test wasn’t really a big problem. The verbs and small things like that were kind of tricky. I zoomed through the first few pages as I caught Dex trying to look at my test. I pretended not to notice as his eyes snapped back to his when Mrs. Hotchner walked passed. She paused behind me, watching me. I flipped the page as I had three pages left. She left to go back to sit at her desk as a few students finished before me and turned it in. Dex turned his in before me as I rolled my eyes. Stupid Jock… I thought as I finished my test. I double checked my work and re-did a few questions. I walked up and turned it in. Apparently, I was the last one. We went over today’s lesson and I took notes. A lot of notes, as a matter of fact as she handed out the worksheets and gave us some text book assignments; The bell rang as I gathered my stuff and left.

            “Tommy!” I shouted as he paused

            “Hey, man!” he greeted as we walked downstairs.

            “Do you know Dex?” I asked him as he snorted

            “Who doesn’t know Dex?”

            “He’s in my Spanish class and he tried to cheat off my test”

            “Did you punch him?”

            “No”

            “He’s a prick”

            “I’m starting to notice”

            “He transferred here when school started” I nodded. Everybody knew who Dex is. If there’s dirt on somebody, Tommy will know. He’s good at that type of shit.

            “So he’s the star of the baseball team, huh?”

            “So they say”

We arrived at our lockers as we switched out our books. I closed my locker, locking it when Tommy looked over my shoulder.

            “Dude… He’s trying to pick up Ember”

            “He what?” He pointed as I turned around and sure enough, Dex was there, trying to get Ember. She just looked uncomfortable and pissed. Dex’s friends were with him as they watched; Ember’s friends were there also. Tommy and I walked over as I stood behind Ember.

            “Leave her alone, Dex” I ordered as he looked at me, eyebrow raised.

            “Why should I?” He smirked as I handed Tommy my books. I stood in front of Em.

            “She’s my sister you freak.”

            “I’m the freak?”

            “Yeah, you are. What? Your girlfriend not putting out so you have to pick on the freshmen? Let me tell you something. Em’s not available to pricks like you.” I snarked as Dex got pissed. I turned as he grabbed my shoulder, jerking me back as he punched me. I growled and punched him back. Luckily for me, a teacher saw Dex punch me back again as he broke it up.

            “That’s enough!” he barked out as Tommy handed me my books.

            “Dex, get in the office. Now!” Dex started to protest, but the teacher silenced him a look as they both walked off. The crowd disappeared as I walked Ember to her class, Tommy and I headed to our classes also as I walked into Mr. Cross’s room. I took my seat next to Vince as he looked at me, eyes wide.

            “Black eye” I cursed

            “Dex”

            “What happened?”

            “Tried picking up Ember”

            “He punched first?”

            “Yup. Teacher saw him punch me a second time and got in trouble”

            “You didn’t?”

            “Would I be here?”

            “Good point”

Mr. Cross settled the class down as he handed our quizzes back. He got back into the front as he looked at us, quiet. Vince and I shared a glance as I glanced at my quiz. I got a 30/30 and Vince got a 28/30. I shifted in my seat slightly. Mr. Cross handed out a bunch of worksheets and packets for sections two and three. Everybody wrote their names on the top of the pages as he grabbed his marker and started going over those sections. We took a lot of notes and that’s what we did the entire class period. He finished towards the end of the class period as I shook out my hand, watching Vince do the same thing.

            “Get working on the stuff I gave you” He ordered as we all sat to work. I saw him correcting papers and whatever. I got to work on the first worksheet as I had to refer to my notes. I saw Vince scratching his head a few times as I shook my head. I was stumped a few times. The bell rang a few minutes later as Vince and I headed to lunch. We got in line, grabbing our trays.

            “Weird class period” I said

            “No shit”

I grabbed a chicken patty, fries, pizza, mini corn dogs and two milks. I was starving. I saw Vince load up his tray also. I also snagged a burger as we went to pay for it. I grabbed some ketchup and a spoon for my Jell-O. We sat with our friends who also had an insane amount of food on their trays.

            “How were your classes?” I asked as I stuffed my face. (Not literally)

            “Good” they all responded

            “Good” I responded as we chatted about this and that. We were outside today as I kept an eye on Ember. The sun was shining brightly as I polished off the rest of my food. I saw Dex and his gang coming as I motioned Ember over, she got up as Dex blocked her way. I growled and got up and yanked him away.

            “Dude. What’s your fucking problem?!” I snarled out as he shoved me back

            “This isn’t between you, freak!”

            “It is when my sister’s involved, loser!”

            “I didn’t realize she needed permission!”

            “Fuck off, Dex”

            “Make me” I smirked ferally as Ember gripped the back of my shirt, keeping me in control.

            “You really want me doing that?” I asked

            “You chicken?”

Just then, Jason came in.

            “Well, unlike you, tough guy, Junior and I actually do a contact sport.” The crowd made a noise, Dex growled.

            “And another thing, you lay a hand on my friend and you deal with us.” Vince, Tommy, and Hoyt all flanked me as did Dex’s friends for him. I smirked faintly.

            “Listen, you punks… I’m an upper classmen. Loser’s like you are supposed to respect me.” I snorted.

            “Respect? I don’t respect you and I’m sure as hell my friends don’t.” Dex moved forward as I did too.

            “After school” He said

            “Aw… I can’t. You see, I have football practice. You know… Where I practice and don’t prance around like a dumb blonde” I responded. The bell rang as the crowd broke up, heading to their classes. Dex’s friends pulled him away as Ember pulled me inside also. I walked her to her class as the guys and I headed to S&C. We went down to the locker room as I punched my locker.

            “God, he pisses me off!” I raged as I got undressed and into my gym clothes.

            “We can tell” Tommy stated.

            “He’s a senior, so he’ll be graduating” Hoyt added.

            “It’s only September. We have awhile”  

We all went upstairs as the teacher took role. We ran a few laps, warm up and then it was off to lift. I was still raging so I lifted more.

            “Have you noticed when he’s raging he lifts more?” Jason said to Tommy as he nodded.

            “Yeah, dude… I don’t know if I should be worried or not”

            “You should have seen him earlier” Tommy mentioned as I racked the weight.

            “You realize I can hear you, right?” I said, wiping my brow. Coach barked at us to work. I growled under my breath and started working out like crazy. I worked out my rage as I paused to go over to the water fountain to take a long drink. I wiped my mouth as I went back to work out. A few minutes later, Coach told us to go shower and change as we all did. I showered, dried off and got dressed. I finished tying my shoes as I looked up at my friends.      

            “What?”

            “Work out much?” Vince stated

            “I was raging”

            “We noticed”

I stood and grabbed my books as I looked at them all. They were dressed. We all headed out as the bell rang.

            “If I see him, I swear to God, you’re going to have to hold me back” I warned them as they nodded. I opened the gym door as I found Ember waiting. We all parted ways as I took Ember to her next class.

            “If Dex or his gang give you ANY trouble at all, I will be there in a second and beat the living shit out of them all” I promised as she nodded, hugging me. I hugged her back as I walked to History. Mr. Watson was sitting at his desk as the rest of the class filtered in.

            “Get out your homework and pass it forward” he ordered as we all did that. He passed out another worksheet.

            “Turn in your chapter one study guides” Once again, we passed them forward. He handed us a thick packet that had ‘Chapter Two’ on the top in bold letters.

            “We’ll be having a test over chapter one right now. After the test, we’ll have a lecture, notes, and then worksheets. If there’s any time left, then you’ll work on your project.”

History went by quickly. All of us got through the test in a relative time as Mr. Watson lectured as we took notes and he handed out worksheets and the a study guide for chapter 2. We didn’t have time to work on our projects, but that’s fine because I’m done with mine.

WEDNESDAY MORNING: 2:13AM

My body ached as I rolled over. You’d expect that I’d be tired as hell from football practice, but I wasn’t. Dex and his gang had come to fight me when I was done. We got off school property as we all just attacked each other. My friends verse his as Ember watched. I told her to keep an eye out for mom or dad as she did. Dex and I were good fighters, but I was the better one. What I didn’t count on, however, was Dex bringing his switchblade; it grazed my shoulder as I knocked it from his hand, tackling him. I didn’t hear Ember warning me as Dex and I were yanked off each other as we looked at the officers and our parents.

            “What the hell is going on?!” Roy shouted as I tried to get at Dex and vice versa.

            “That punk started it!” Dex exclaimed as I fought harder against my dad.

            “Yeah right!” But his parents seemed to believe him

            “Keep your brat under control” His mom said to mine. That did NOT go over well with my mother.

            “Hey lady, tell your hornball of a son to put his dick back in his pants!” I growled as she gaped at me.

            “That freak tried to rape my sister!” I exclaimed as Ember nodded. Both his parents looked at him as Dex looked back, flabbergasted

            “I did not! I just tried to pick her up!” He defended

            “After she kept telling you no, you fucking creep!” I snarked

            “Why you--!!” We both lunged at each other, Roy stopping us.

            “Enough!” He ordered. Dex and I (plus our friends) looked at him.

            “You’re all disturbing the peace” He stated as I rolled my eyes

            “I was defending my sister, Mustang” I snarled. Both our parents were pulling us away as I jerked from my father and whirled Dex around.

            “If you ever come near my sister again, I swear to God” He smirked

            “You’ll what… Kill me?”

            “You’re not worth it, but I know people” I said as he pretended to look scared. We both got jerked away as Mustang took the others home. When we got home, my father jerked me into his office and nearly threw me into the chair in front of his desk.

            “What the hell were you thinking?!” He yelled at me

            “Protecting Ember!” I defended

            “By nearly killing that punk?!”

            “He would have had it coming!” I growled

            “You’re grounded”

            “I’m so scared!”

            “Give me your phone”

            “Make me” I challenged as my mother hit the back of my head—hard.

            “Give it to him, Mark!” I winced faintly

            “Fine” I threw my phone at him

            “You don’t know what the fuck goes on during school hours, father” I snarked as he growled at me.

            “Go to your room!”

            “Gladly!” I stormed out of there and slammed the door shut, rattling the windows. I went to my room, but I snuck out the window instead. Ember had locked my bedroom door and stayed there in case our parents came in to check on me. I stormed down into the forest and onto the path.

I sighed and rolled over to resume my flashback.

            I returned home a few hours later to find both my parents in my room, arms crossed and pissed off expressions on their faces. Not only did they take my phone away, but they grounded me for a month in a half and gave me all sorts of crazy chores. I could go to school and practice and that’s it—And games. They took away my social life and it sucked. Ember came in the room dressed in her pajamas.

            “If you’re grounding him, then you have to ground me too” She demanded as both our parents looked at her.

            “What for?” Mom asked

            “He protects me from people like Dex when I can’t do it myself. He stood up for me to make me feel safe and this is how you’re repaying him? Seems like a load of shit to me.” Our father growled, eyes narrowing.

            “Fine.” Was all he said as he stormed out; our mother sighed softly and told me that I was grounded for 3 weeks, no phone as she grounded Ember for the same time and took her phone. She left as I looked at her.

            “You didn’t have to do that”

            “I know… But I did”

            “Thanks...”

            “Don’t mention it. Ever”

We shared a laugh as we both went to bed.

SAME DAY: 5:26AM

            I looked over from where Ember had burst into my room. I already had the news on and saw Alex’s face.

            “Oh my God…” She said as she joined me. I was already showered and dressed as I sat on my huge bean bag chair, volume up.

            “You said it” I softly spoke, watching the TV.

            “The killer’s back. I didn’t do it” I announced to her as we shared a glance.

            “I was with Hoyt, trying to calm him down” I explained as she nodded. I rubbed my face and turned up the volume.            

            “High School Senior Alex Reece was found early this morning murdered. He was found by his mother who went to wake her son. Sara has more details. Sara?”

            “Yes. Good morning. In back you can see the house of Alex Reece. Police say that his throat was slashed and his body was mutilated. Police also say that this fits the MO of the previous victims. He was out with friends late last night and he had previous bruising from a fight. Back to you”

            “This just in: Another high school senior was found in his basement, dead.” Em and I shared a look.

            “Peter Storm was found by his sister when she was doing laundry. He was tied to a chair and his body mutilated. This is a shame. Are we dealing with a serial killer?”

            “Those are Dex’s friends” Ember stated. I nodded.

            “I know.” I turned to her.

            “What if the killer is killing the people that are messing with you?” I asked her.

            “Huh?”

            “Think about it!” I told her

            “Alex and Peter were messing with you yesterday, as was Dex… Butch and his gang were messing with you…”

            “So the killer’s not after me?”

            “No! He are she is watching out for you!” I nodded my head in affirmative.

We continued to watch the news as Liam and Harley came in. Liam sat by me and Harley sat by Ember. I rubbed my face as we all watched TV. I shut off my TV as I gathered all my siblings in my room down to breakfast. We took our spots as a plate of eggs and bacon were placed in front of us.

            The ride to school was filled with talk about the murders that happened this morning. I shut my locker as I found my friends walking to their lockers. I leaned up against an empty locker as I talked with the guys, Hoyt standing next to me.

            “This is bad, man” Tommy stated as he shut his locker.

            “How so?” Jason asked

            “Think about it, man” He responded.

I looked around the table at my friends. They all seemed tired and worn out from the previous day’s events. Coach was running us hard at practice and the teachers seemed to be loading on the homework. A minute until the bell rang as we all got up and headed our separate ways. The school seems eerily quiet as people paused and stared at me walking, whispering to each other. Vince and I made our way to English as we walked in. I took my seat in the back as I found my test upside down. I flipped it over to find I got 18/20. The bell rang as you heard people shuffling around outside the class. Mr. Black went up to the board and wrote in all capitals, WORK DAY. The class shuffled in and resumed talking. The bell rang a few minutes later as Mr. Black took the front of the room.

            “Today will be used as a work day. If you have any work you need to do or homework for this class, and then work on it.” He spoke as he sat back down to finish grading papers. I pulled out my notebook and continued on with my story—but with the day’s events and this morning, my story took a turn for the worst.

            I looked up from my nearly finished story and glanced at Vince, who was writing away. I looked out the window at the sunny day as I rested my chin on my hand, getting lost in my thoughts.

The bell rang as everybody shuffled out.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: 7:48PM

            I looked up from my half-eaten dinner to glance at everybody at the table. They were all engrossed in their conversations as I glanced at my parents. They were talking to each other about something or other as I resumed eating. I finished my many tacos and my milk as I got up and washed my plate and glass, setting it in the dishwasher. I silently walked past the table and upstairs.

            “What’s up with him?” Shannon asked

            “He’s probably tired” Mom answered as Ember snorted softly.

            “Have you been watching the news?” She asked

            “Two kids from school were murdered and mutilated this morning, he’s been getting hell from Dex and what’s left of his gang, he’s having problems sleeping, he has no social life thanks you mom and dad, football practice is wearing down on him, so excuse him if he’s a bit tired!!!” She screamed and stormed from the table. Everybody went silent for a few seconds as they resumed eating, the chattering resuming once again.

I sat at my desk and typed my story for English, music playing from the TV as I tried to concentrate. I leaned back in my chair and twirled my pencil, staring at my bookshelf.

So the killer is trying to ‘watch out’ for Ember? That doesn’t make very much sense… I mean… Unless the killer is an admirer or a friend; I wouldn’t think so… Random acts of kindness? I don’t know… First it was Butch, his gang, their families. Now it’s Alex and Peter? There has to be clues… There has to be a sign… Has to be something!

I fell back as I yelped. I stared up at my ceiling as I sighed, rubbing my face. I got up, fixed my chair and wandered into my closet. I went over to the Cherry wood chest and dug around. I sat in front of the chest and held the thing close. I looked at its ratty, torn, and ragged body as a small smile graced my face. It was my old Winnie the Pooh stuffy my mom had gotten me when I was born. They say I used to drag this thing with me everywhere and would throw a fit if I didn’t have him. I stroked his head and got lost in my thoughts again.

I could go to their houses to try and find some clues… I need to find out what’s going on before somebody else gets killed. I got up and left the closet with Pooh.

            I sat back down at my computer and set Pooh next to my lamp. I finished typing and leaned back in my chair, hands resting behind my head.

THURSDAY MORNING: 1AM

            I wish I could figure who this is… I thought as I rested in my bed. I was unable to sleep, my thoughts racing a mile a minute. I got out of bed and walked over to my window. I glanced back at my door and jumped out the window. I landed and found a trail of blood. My brow furrowed as I followed it. I kept to the shadows, going unnoticed—a thing Taker taught me how to do. (Even though he protests that he’s in the shadow’s all the time). I kept following the person all the way back to… Hoyt’s house? I edged closer as the person went into their cellar. I became invisible as I followed them down the stairs. I nearly gagged when I found all the bones and bodies—some fresh, some old. The person turned on the light to reveal… Mrs. Calendar?!  My eyes widened as I watched her cut up the bodies. I have to get out of here! Was my only thought as I heard her talking to herself of the Lord; I made sure not to let her notice me as I raced back to my house and burst into my parents room—Thank God they were talking. I became un-invisible.

            “MRS. CALENDAR IS THE KILLER!!!!!!” I screamed at them, fidgeting.

            “What?” My parents spoke.

            “I couldn’t sleep and I found her on the territory because I found a trail of blood and I followed her as I became invisible and she went to her house and into her cellar and there were dead bodies—Old and new ones! They were mutilated and…and…and!” I panted, shaking with adrenaline. My mom got out of bed as she walked over to me.

            “Okay… I’m going to check it out. Stay here with your father and call Mustang” she ordered as I nodded. She left with her gun and sword as I looked at my dad, I didn’t notice the tears going down my face until he pulled me into a protective embrace.

I haven’t gotten any sleep since mom got back. Mom told Hoyt what his mom was doing. I looked at him as he kept playing video games, my mind wandering back to what happened.

            Hoyt looked at me and my parents from the table.

            “Um… What’s going on?” He asked as I glanced at mom

            “You’re mom’s the one killing those people, buddy” I said as he just looked at me.

            “W-what?!”

            “I saw a trail of blood leaving the property and followed and it lead to YOUR cellar… The lights came on as I saw your mom cutting up the bodies…” I stated

            “Oh my God…” I nodded.

            “I’m sorry, man”

            “Oh man…”

            “What?”

            “I’m not surprised…”
            “Why do you say that?” mom asked

            “Because I caught her… She tied to me a chair and preached about the ‘Sins that those people do to that poor Calaway girl’ and I knew she was talking about Ember… Ever since my sister died, mom’s been going off the handle and she picked Ember to be her… ‘New daughter’ or whatever. I didn’t have anything to do with it, I tried to stop her, but she kept saying that ‘The Lord will set me straight’ and it sucks” He said. Mom narrowed her eyes as she scanned him. She nodded. Nothing got passed mom. Hoyt was telling the truth.

            “What will you do?”

            “My aunt and uncle will probably take custody of me”

            “You mean the more religious couple?”

            “Probably not. I’ll live with my Aunt Sherry and Uncle Red…”

            “That’s cool.”

            “Well, until then, stay here.”

Hoyt shook me out as he turned up the volume on the TV.

            “Early this morning, the murderer was arrested. May Calendar was found in her cellar by police by an anonymous source. The bodies of previous victims were found as was the body of Seth Musgrave. He was taken to the hospital and is in critical care. May Calendar will face a judge early this morning.”

            “Shit!” He swore

            “Dude…”

            “The kids at school are going to look at me”

            “So? Who cares?”

            “I don’t. I’m just saying.” I nodded

            “Okay. C’mon…”

I had already showered and changed.

            “I’m going to the court house this morning” He stated

            “Want me to come with you?”

            “Would you?” I nodded

            “You want the guys to come with us?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Okay”

We both walked downstairs as we walked up to my mom.

            “I’m going to the court house this morning and was wondering if Junior could go with me…” Hoyt asked as mom nodded.

            “Of course… What time?”

            “Probably early this morning…” He stated as she nodded once again.

            “I’ll give you a ride” A new voice called out.

We turned around to face my grandfather, Hoyt gulped.

            “Don’t worry, boy. I won’t arrest you. You didn’t have anything to do with this” He relaxed slightly.

We both got into the squad car as my grandfather drove us to the court house. The press was already outside as we all quickly made our way inside.

            “Can I see her?” Hoyt asked as my grandfather nodded. He took us to her as she stood up.

            “Ma… What the hell?!” Hoyt exclaimed

            “You brat! How dare you do this to me! I gave you your life!”  She screamed at him

            “You did nothing but hurt me!” he screamed back

            “You were trying to ‘watch out’ for Ember, but you got lost in your own sick, twisted lies!” I yelled at her. She scoffed at me.

            “I’m going to get out and then I’m coming after you, boy” She threatened.

            “Over my dead body!” Hoyt defended as she smirked darkly

            “Oh, I will make sure of that. The Lord told me to kill all those who sinned!”

With that, my grandfather told the officers to take her away.

            “What time is her trial” Hoyt asked

            “6:30”

            “Let’s go” I ordered

We made our way to the court room, the jury was there as were our friends.

            “Man… We’re really sorry” Jason stated as everybody nodded.

            “Thanks, man…”

Everybody started talking softly as Hoyt’s aunt and uncle came in. They sat behind us as Hoyt turned around.

            “Aunt Sherry, Uncle Red” He greeted

            “Oh Hoyt… This is simply terrible!” His aunt exclaimed

            “Don’t worry, boy. We’ll take you in” His uncle said as he nodded.

            “Everybody rise for the honorable judge”

Everybody stood as the judge came in—Jason’s mom—Judge Brooks. We all glanced at Jason as he shrugged. Everybody sat back down. Just then, they brought out Hoyt’s mother. They sat her down at the table with her lawyer and the trial began. Mrs. Brooks is like a mother to all of us—as is all of the mothers of our friends. But when you’re a judge, you have to put your personal feelings aside and do your job is what she always said. They went back and forth when the jury went in to deliberate.

            “Hey, boy” Red whispered as Hoyt turned around

            “Yeah?”

            “Just think… If your mother is found guilty, you’ll have a bigger room” He whispered as he and Hoyt shared a soft laugh.

            “We’ll help you move your stuff in, dear” Sherry stated, stroking Hoyt’s cheek as he nodded.

Just then, the jury came back out.

            “We find May Calendar…” Sherry and Red were sitting on the edge of their seats, gripping Hoyt’s shoulders as all of us were on the edge of our seats. Hoyt gripped my arm tight.

            “Guilty”

Hoyt all but hugged me as I hugged him back.

            “You will serve a life sentence in prison with no bail available” Judge Brooks stated as they took Mrs. Calendar away. We all stood up as Hoyt hugged his aunt and uncle.

            “Can we move my stuff in right now?” He asked as they nodded.

            “Do you boys want to help?” Sherry asked as we all nodded.

            “Sure. We have time before school starts!” Jason stated as we all left the court house.

            “Did you ask your mom to be the judge on this case?” Hoyt asked as Jason nodded, patting his back.

We all went to Hoyt’s house to find police tape around the cellar as we all started packing Hoyt’s stuff. It didn’t take us very long.

            “They live in a pretty huge house, so…” Hoyt started as we all arrived at their house. Our jaws dropped as we set all of his stuff in the main entrance.

            “Go ahead and pick a bedroom. Any floor.”

            “A-any floor?” I stuttered out, looking at them.

            “Oh yes! We have 9 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, two game rooms…” She went on and on as we all looked at Hoyt who was blushing like crazy.

            “Is this all of your stuff?” Red asked as he nodded.

Hoyt had: A queen bed, night stand, bookshelf, desk and a chest. That’s all he had.

            “We’ll go shopping after school” His aunt stated as he nodded.

            “I have football practice after school” He winced, expecting to be yelled at.

            “We’ll do it afterwards!” His aunt stated enthusiastically.

            “Man, we gotta get to school!” Tommy said as we nodded.

            “We’ll give you a ride” Red stated as we all got into his truck.

Red dropped us off in front of the school as we all thanked him. He nodded as we walked in and went to our lockers.

            “Man… You’re gonna live it up!” Vince stated as he nodded.

            “What do your aunt and uncle do?” Tommy asked him as he leaned against his locker, books in hand.

            “Well… My aunts a senator for the state and my uncle is a CEO of a record company” he said, shrugging.

            “That’s awesome. What do you wanna get when you go shopping?” Jason asked as Hoyt shrugged.

            “I dunno, man…” Just then, the bell rang.

We all headed to our first period classes as Vince and I took our seats. Mr. Black calmed the class as he sat in his chair.

            “You should have finished your book by now and all the study guides I gave you, plus the worksheets.” Murmurs went around the room as Mr. Black continued.

            “I want you to turn in the study guides and the worksheets and prepare for a test” Groans went around as everybody turned in what he asked. He collected the work and set them on his desk. He then passed out the thick test.

            “If you finish and there’s still time, then we’ll go to the library to get our new book—Macbeth by Shakespeare. Then we’ll go over today’s lesson and you’ll get your homework!” He exclaimed as we all went to work on our test. I put my name at the top as I started.

I was the last one to finish my test as I double checked everything before walking up and setting it on Mr. Black’s desk. I sat back down as I twirled my pencil.

            “Now that everybody has their test in… Let’s begin” He started. He had a study guide and a few worksheets.

            “Go to the library and get your copy of Macbeth.” He said as we all got up and went to the library. I grabbed my copy, checked it out as I headed back to the room. I sat back in my seat as the rest of the class filtered in. I noticed the study guide and worksheets on the desks.

            “Now that you have your book, you’ll notice that you have papers on your desk. Along with those worksheets and study guide…” He continued on as I glanced out the window as I opened my text book to the page he said. We read a few stories as we went over today’s lesson. We got homework in that also.

            “Now, I’m going to pass out your test that you did a few days ago.” He said as he passed them back. He handed me mine as I looked at Vince. He grinned and showed me his. He got a ‘B’ on his. I looked at mine to find I got an ‘A’. We bumped fists as the bell rang. We gathered everything up as Mr. Black raised his voice.

            “And read scene I tonight and answer the questions!” as we left the room. We headed to our lockers as we saw Hoyt and Jason talking.

            “Have you decided what you’re going to get yet?” I asked as I switched out my books. He turned to me and shook his head.

            “I have a few ideas—maybe a few posters, a bed frame… Things like that” I nodded as we both headed upstairs.

            “That’s cool” I stated as he nodded.

            “I’m getting a new desk… Hell, I might just end up trashing everything and starting over, y’know?” He asked me as I nodded. We both headed to class as I sat next to Dex. I pulled out my work and my notebook.

            “I’m going to hand back your tests—some of you didn’t do as well as I had hoped and only two of you actually passed—to those who did, congratulations” Mrs. Hotchner said in English. She passed back the test as I looked at the top and grinned to myself. I got 102/100 because I got the bonus questions right. I glanced over at Dex to find that he failed. I slipped my test into my binder as we all turned in our worksheets and book assignments. She told us that we’re going to be watching a movie in Spanish as she passed out a packet that we were supposed to answer as we watched the movie—the answers were in the movie. Mrs. Hotchner said that the movie would take all class period so she put it in as we watched.

I answered the questions as much as I could as I watched the movie. I made sure to cover my answers so Dex couldn’t copy. Mrs. Hotchner stopped the movie when the bell was about to ring.

            “Alright… If you haven’t finished then we will tomorrow and then we’ll go over the next chapter. Pick up another packet on your way out and turn it in tomorrow.” Just then, the bell rang as everybody grabbed the packet as I caught up with Tommy.

            “Hey, where’s Gina?” I laughed as he punched my arm. Gina was his sister. His mother is a huge Bon Jovi fan—her love for the song ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ had gotten to Tommy and he refuses to listen to the song.

            “Probably with Ember” He stated as we made it to our lockers.

            “Do you know why Em is carrying around furniture catalogs?” Hoyt stated as I grabbed my Advanced Calc book.

            “Probably because she’s a girl” was my answer as I noticed that he had it.

            “Don’t let anybody else see you with that, man” I warned him as he shoved it in his locker. I yawned and shook my head as I made my way upstairs once again and to Mr. Cross’s room. All of the teachers either called a work day or a testing day.

I kept writing notes as Mr. Cross lectured and taught the lesson. He briefly went over the day before material and now we’re getting new stuff. Mr. Cross went through his text book and wrote down the problems he wanted us to do as he also handed out a packet and a few worksheets (by a few, I mean 2).

            “Use your notes and look at the examples in your books for help. I will also be available to help you” He stated as we got to work on our assignments. Vince nudged me as I looked at him.

            “Yeah?” I whispered

            “Wanna eat outside today?” He whispered back as I nodded. The bell rang a few minutes later as Vince and I booked it out of the room. We nearly ran downstairs as we grabbed our trays. I was starving as I grabbed two slices of pizza, two things of mini corndogs, two things of fries, chicken patties, a hamburger and three milks. I joined Vince in line as the lunch lady looked at me.

            “Must be a hungry boy today” She stated

            “Yep” I answered as she waved me through. I grabbed a lot of ketchup and sat outside next to Jason as Vince and the others joined a few seconds later. They all looked at my tray.

            “Shut up. I’m freakin’ starving!” We all started eating as I noticed Tommy staring.

            “What?” I asked as he shook his head

            “Do you have a weird metabolism?”

            “Kind of”

            “How so…?”

            “I can eat a large portion of food and not get fat” I stated

            “Lucky ass”

            “I know. Plus I work out a lot also, which only makes me hungrier.”

            “Obviously”

We all chit-chatted as we stuffed our faces;

            “I think I know what I’m going to get!” Hoyt announced as we all looked at him.

            “I’m going to get a new bed frame, night stand, dresser, chest, desk, desk chair, and a lot of shelves for my action figures and trophies. Also, I’m going to get some posters”

            “That’s going to be expensive”

            “I know, that’s why I have my secret bank account that my mother didn’t know about”

            “Clever boy” Jason announced

            “I know” He grinned proudly

            “If my aunt is going to pay for all of it, the least I could do is paying her back” We all nodded.

Lunch had come and gone by too fast. We all joked around like we usually do as we found ourselves running laps on the track. After we ran, we stretched. We stretched our legs so much that my legs were shaky. Coach told us that after we finished stretching to go lift weights. So that’s what we’re all doing—lifting weights.

            “Alright you ladies… Go shower and change!” Coach bellowed out as we all made our way to the locker room. We all showered and dried off, getting dressed. I sat and tied my shoes as I took out my phone and then put it away as I stood. The rest of the guys were ready to go as we all walked back upstairs to the weight room.

The bell rang as we all headed to our next class. For me, it was AP History. Vince it was Advanced Sociology. Jason it was Chemistry. Tommy it was AP Debate and for Hoyt it was AP Graphic Design. I had this class upstairs as I climbed the stairs, my head nodding to those of fellow football players as I reached my classroom. Mr. Watson was sitting at his desk, grading papers as he looked up.

            “Grab all the papers off the front table” He said as I nodded, walking over to the table and grabbing them all in order. There were a lot of papers as I took my seat. The bell rang as everybody else filtered in. Mr. Watson got up and sat on his stool in the front of the room.

            “By now, I’m presuming that most of you are half-way done with your project I assigned you.” Murmurs went around as people nodded.

            “I had you pick up some papers on the front table. That is your homework over the next couple of days. Read the instructions carefully because you will need to use your notes and your text book to help you. Some of the questions you cannot answer because you first have to answer the ones in your text books—the papers will say which ones to answer. You’ll also have to write an essay or three.” With that being said, Mr. Watson went on to teach the lesson as we all took notes—well, some of us did.

            “Now, we’re going to watch a movie that will take the rest of class. There will be a question sheet, front and back that you have to answer while you watch. If you don’t finish by the end of class, then we’ll finish tomorrow” He stated as he passed out the sheets and started the movie. 

The bell rang as I left the room, heading to my locker. I managed to get the front side of the worksheet done; I kind of fell asleep after that. I shook myself out as I changed books for Chemistry.

Chemistry and Psych had gone by pretty fast. After practice, Hoyt all but ran out of the locker room and back outside to the front. There sat his aunt in Red’s truck.

            “Come over later and help me set up!” He exclaimed excitedly. I nodded as we bumped fists. I walked over to my mom’s mustang and got in.

            “Hoyt seems pretty excited” My mom commented as we pulled out of the school.

            “Yeah, he does. He and Sherry are going shopping for him—Furniture and whatever” Mom nodded

            “He asked me over to help him—he asked the guys to come over also.”

We arrived home as we ate dinner—pizza and chips.

            “Mom, I’m ready” I told her when I was done. Mom had finished 6 slices ago as Ember looked at me.

            “Where you going?” She asked

            “To help Hoyt unpack his new stuff at his new home”

            “Lucky—mom, can I go over to Karrie-Ann’s?” She asked as my mom shrugged

            “Sure”

We all got into the car as mom drove towards Sherry and Red’s.

            “How do you know where they live?” I asked

            “Red’s the CEO of the record company that my friend Danny works for” She said as I nodded. We pulled into the long drive way as mom parked in front. We saw Red and Hoyt out front, lounging around. I got out and grabbed my bags.

            “Thanks, mom” I smiled at her.

            “Hey Red!” Mom greeted as Red waved back.

            “Hey, Sam!” he greeted back as mom drove away. I walked up the steps as Hoyt stood up.

            “Are any of the guys here yet?” I asked. Just then, we heard cars pull up as we all looked over. Jason got out of his father’s Bentley. Vince got out of his dad’s Hummer, and Tommy got out of his dad’s Rolls Royce.

            “Haven’t you heard of car pool?” I asked him as Hoyt and I shared a laugh as they all came up to where we were, bags in hand.

            “You guys want to stay and play cards for a while?” Red asked as the vehicle’s shut off. We all glanced at each other as my mom came back around and parked in front of Jason’s dad.

            “Sure, why not?” Mr. Brooks stated as we all headed inside.

            “Let’s go upstairs to my room” Hoyt announced as we ditched our parents.

            “What floor did you choose?” Jason asked

            “Third floor” He announced as I looked over at the elevator

            “Let’s take the elevator?” I suggested as we all nodded. We got in and hit 3.

The elevator zoomed up a floor as we all got out. We found his bedroom door open as it was filled with boxes and whatever. Posters were already hung up in some spots as we all looked around.

            “Well, all be damned!” Vince whistled. The room itself was huge. His bed was in the middle, huge windows resided as he had a huge bathroom, etc. We all set our bags on his futon as we helped him assemble his new nightstand, his wall shelves, etc. His desk was already set up as we found some new bedding and his clothes in his closet.

            “Well… Looks like you’re set for life, dude” Vince commented as we all shared a chuckle.

            “Anybody have any homework?” Tommy asked as we all nodded.

We all got to work on our homework as I stretched out. I shook out my hand as I resumed all my homework.

            “Is it me, or is Mr. Black handing out more and more homework?” Vince asked me as I laughed.

            “It’s not just you, man. ALL the teachers are handing out more and more homework!” Tommy added in.

            “Are any of you spending the night?” Hoyt asked

            “My dad’s been harping me on my chores—he only let me come over because of what happened…” I added.

            “We want you to get settled in your new house and spend time with your aunt and uncle, man” Tommy said

            “I can’t… My dad wants me home at 11:30” Jason said as we all looked at him

            “What for?” We asked as he shifted faintly. 

            “Jason?” I asked him. He looked at me and remained silent.

A few seconds passed as we waited.

            “Because I’m moving”