Chapter 8

Chapter Nine

" What??" Stevie frowned after Jesse explained to him about what he did a couple of hours ago. " How did I do that?"

Jesse shrugged, " I don't know. You just got angry."

" Really angry. Almost like outraged." Amanda added.

" Yeah yeah! And you attacked Aaron and bit off Frankie's finger....it was awesome!" Chris pipped up.

" No it wasn't!" Aaron growled and hit him across the head making him fall off the table again. Stevie flinched and looked at Frankie, who was holding his hand and shaking really bad. Stevie covered his mouth with his hand in shock.

" Oh my God, I am so sorry you guys." He apologized, his eyes pleading for forgiveness,

“Lindsay can't you heal his finger?"

" No. I already tried."

" I don't see what's the point of your power if you can't heal me." Frankie choked out, his voice dry.

" I'm sorry. Here...." She got up and got a new towel, " Put some pressure on it, maybe it will stop the bleeding."

" I don't understand something. If were dead, why do we still feel pain?" Frankie cried a little.

Jesse took a deep breath, " I wish I can answer that, Frank."

" Well, at least I won't die. God, I love being dead." He joked, making the gang laugh a little.

" Yeah, well I wish I can say the same thing for Kaci." Aaron said, rubbing his eyes, " It's a little late for her."

" So was Kaci one of our innocents?" Stevie asked.

" Yeah she is. Or she was. If we don't hurry and go check it out were going to lose all of our innocents. And then were all fucked. If we stop screwing around, maybe we can actually get something done." Jesse said. Aaron sighed and walked up beside him.

" No offense, Jess. You seem to be the boss around here...why don't you get up off your ass and do something about it?"

" What the hell is that suppose to mean?"

" I agree with Aaron, Jess" Frankie called out.

" Shut up! Aaron? What does that suppose to mean?"

Aaron turned toward him, " You know what I mean, Jess. You go around yelling at us and making us do everything, while you just prowl around looking pretty!"

" Say wha??"

" If you think your the leader of all of us. Why don't you get off your lazy ass and you go fix it. Then maybe will come out and join you. " Aaron told him. Jesse's eyes widened.

" I never said I was the leader in anything!"

" You didn't have to say it, Jesse. You show it." Hilary added.

" But....."

" You boss us around like were your little slave dogs, dude." Stevie said.

" What is it with you guys beating up on me today, huh"

" Jesse, all were saying is that your a pain in the ass, 99% of the time." Aaron continued," Kaci was just killed, man. What could we have done to prevent it? You could have called a little group meeting to discuss it. But noooo, you just had to run your mouth on how much you hate Kent. News flash, Jesse! Kent is dead! I killed his mother fucking ass. Me! It was all me! Stop fucking worrying about him, man. He's not our problem anymore....!" Jesse sighed and walked away, while Aaron is still running his mouth. Calmly, he unlocked the gun cabinet in the hallway and took out a pistol.

"....Are you listening to me?" Aaron called out.

" Yeah yeah I hear ya." Jesse said, slowly loading up the pistol. He locked the cabinet back up and walked back to Aaron. He stopped some what beside him and smiled.

"......Honestly I think we need to find a new leader, because ya'll, the one we have has got to g----!" BAM! Jesse pulled the trigger and shot Aaron in the back of the head. The others gasped and stared at Jesse with wide eyes. None of them said anything. Aaron groaned and slowly lifted himself off of the floor without using his hands.

" What was that for??" Aaron frowned, confused on why Jesse shot him. Jesse tightened his lips and pulled the trigger once more, this time shooting him in the side of the head. Aaron stumbled to the side, but didn't fall. Secretly, Jesse tossed the gun to Stevie. Aaron struggled to regain his balance.

" You are really starting to piss me o---" Then Stevie shot him on the opposite side. Aaron hit the ground, then popped back up.

" Why the hell are you guys shooting me??" Before he could get an answer the room erupted in hysterical laughter.

Aaron frowned," What?" He looked at Jesse, who was laughing really hard his face was nearly turning white, instead of red. It turns out that they were laughing at his face. His facial features were all messed up. His eyes were down at were his lips would be, his nose was pushed to the side and so on. It was a laugh literally.

" Aaron....go look in the mirror, dude." Frankie choked out. Aaron frowned and walked in front of the mirror.

" Aaaaaaaaaggghhhh!!!" He screamed bloody murder, " My face! My face! My beautiful, beautiful face!" He cried out in horror.

" Oh my God! You are so funny, Aar!" Lindsay said, struggling to catch her breath.

" Haha...." Aaron called his eyes. He grabbed his face and started to stretch it out. He let go and immediately his face turned back to normal. Everybody stopped laughing and became silent, their eyebrows raised.

" Whoa! Nice one." Amanda said breathless. Aaron sighed heavily and sat down in the side chair.

" You shoot me again, and I will eat you." He threatened. Jesse laughed and put his gun up.

" I only did that to shut you up. It worked." Jesse laughed, " Now here is what I am thinking. Frankie, I want you and Aaron to head over to Kaci's house. Try to find any clues on how she died. Investigate a little."

" Wait, why me and Aaron?"

" So you can blink on out of there before anyone can fucking see you."

" Oh I see."

" And I'm making Aaron go, so he will stop bitching. You hear that Aar---" Jesse stopped mid sentence when he noticed Aaron wasn't in the chair.

" Aaron??"

" Okay now that's just weird, I just saw him sitting there a second ago." Hilary pointed out. Jesse whirled around, looked up at the ceiling, and circled the chair. Stevie stood in front of the chair really confused.

" Where did he go??" He said. He frowned again and scrunched up his face. It looked like he was straining. Actually he was. Suddenly, a loud rip ripped through the air. Yup, Stevie just let one.

“Pardon me."

" Like wow! Dead peeps farts are far worse than living ones!" Lindsay said scrunching up her nose.

"Damn boy, what did you eat?" Jesse moved away from him quickly.

" Yo momma." Stevie snickered. Jesse glared at him.

" Boy, don't be talking about my momma!" Unnoticed a pair of legs appeared through the chair. They shrunk back then connected with Stevie's butt kicking him forward.

" What the hell was that?!"

Suddenly, Aaron fell out of the chair. It seemed like was hiding inside of it. Well whatever happened, shocked the hell out of everyone.

" I got a new power!" He said, breathless.

" Yeah, welcome to the club." Alicia said.

" Stevie, don't you do that again." Aaron glared at him.

" Sorry."

" And Jesse...." He stood up, breathing hard, " Yes, I heard every fucking work coming our of your perty little mouth." He joked in a southern accent.

" Just get over here!" Aaron smiled and walked up to Frankie, " Get on with it will ya."

" Come on Aar. Let's go solve a mystery." Frankie linked his arm around Aaron's and blinked out.

" Hold it!!! " Jesse called out. The boys blinked back in, losing their balance a little from the rush.

" Was sup?"

" If your going to do this, can you please arrive at the scene like a normal person?"

" I do recall that were not normal." Aaron joked.

" If you get caught, it's our asses. People are going to get suspicious. Drive there, wear black, look like your not dead...."

" And how the hell are we suppose to do that?" Aaron asked.

Jesse smiled," Easy." He looks at Alicia," Alicia? Will you do the honors?"

" I shall." She smiled and walked up to them. She snapped her fingers and they changed. Aaron and Frankie looked at each other with silly grins on their faces.

" Whoa...."

" Now go and look around. And please, please do not get caught."

" Gotcha ya!" They nodded and left. Amanda got up and rested her head on his shoulder.

" Shall we worry?"

" Yeah." Jesse said quickly.

Chapter 11

 "Where are they?" Alicia asked, getting frustrated. The others shrugged and continued to talk among themselves. Alicia wrapped her arms around her legs and rocked back and forth staring off into space. Suddenly Frankie popped in right beside her. She screamed and moved away quickly, jumping over the couch. The others stopped talking and stared at him for a few seconds. Frankie breathed hard and gently placed Kaci on the floor. Dozens of eyes landed on the corpse on the floor, their mouths hanging open.

 "Frankie? Whaty what is--wha-wha-wha-wha-what is-whaty what what???" Stevie stammered out, pointing down at the corpse on the floor.

"It's Kaci." Frankie said in a short breath.

"We know that! What are you doing with her?" Stevie snapped. Amanda got up and pushed Stevie back down on the couch.

"Stevie, cool it.” Amanda told him. She turned toward Frankie, resting her hands on her hips, “Frankie, I don't think you understood Jesse when he said to investigate. Not bring back the dead body of Kaci Brown. You’re lucky he's not up here right now." Amanda told him.

 Frankie shrugged, "What if he was, Amanda? What's he going to do, cry corpse? He is one. And if you ask me, that boy needs to take a chill pill, maybe a hundred. I'm afraid one of these days he's going to have seizer over nothing." Frankie said, gently lifting Kaci’s head, and placing it in his lap.

"Yeah, but Stevie, I wouldn't blame him. I mean think about it. We’re dead. We can't just go out anytime we want to. We have to be careful; otherwise were in our graves…..... again." Alicia pointed out.

"She's right Frankie." Allison added quietly.

Frankie rolled his eyes, "Look I know that. And we were careful. No one saw us. Jesse just needs to back off and lose the damn attitude. It's pissing me off."

" Just be extra careful." Amanda said to him and then looked at everyone else, "All of us."

 " Agreed."

 "Hold on for a second. “Alicia suddenly said, “Where's Aaron?" Alicia said, getting the attention to everyone else. Frankie made an 'O' shape with his lips and looked around.

 “Frankie, didn't Aaron go with you?" Chris piped up from the chair sitting in the far west corner of the room.

Frankie nodded, "Yeah he went with me. He stayed behind though."

"Why?" Allison asked her wide eyes.

 “Well, we kind of had to get out of there in a hurry. And I didn't have time to grab him when I blinked out. He'll be here, don't worry."

 "Tell that to Jesse. What are you doing with Kaci anyway?" Amanda kneeled down beside Kaci and examined her. She made a face and sat back, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"Well, I had this idea that------" Frankie was cut off, when Jesse’s voice rang through the air.

 "Hey, anybody want some coffee----WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Jesse yelled, pointed down at the corpse. Everyone groaned and rolled their eyes. Mr. Crabby just entered the building, "Hey!! Is anybody going to answer me? What is that?! Who is that?!” He continued to rant on and on and pointing at the corpse in a mad rage.

Alicia quickly got up and ran over to him, trying her best to calm him down. "Jesse? Honey? Jesse, calm down!" He continued to yell and rant, "Baby, please!” Alicia turned toward everyone else, her eyes pleaded for them to help her. No one moved. No of them wanted to mess with Jesse,” Jesse, it's okay! It's okay, baby! JESSE?!" Alicia yelled, connecting her hand against his cheek. Jesse suddenly stopped ranting and looked at Alicia with wide eyes, blinking several times.

"Did you just slap me??" He looked at her with a look of dismay on his face. Alicia gently grabbed his face, running her hand gently across it.

 “Geez, have an aneurism why don’t ya.” Stevie said quietly from the couch. Amanda reached up and smacked him the leg. Stevie jerked and glared at her.

"I’m sorry I hit you baby. It's the only way for you to calm down. Just listen and be calm about it. Frankie has an idea." She said giving him a quick kiss on the lips. Jesse took a deep breath and looked at Frankie.

"Okay.” Jesse nodded, walking over to the couch. Stevie scooted over so Jesse and Alicia can sit down, “Frankie? Why is Kaci Brown on my floor?" Jesse frowned and looked around him, "And where the hell is Aaron?"

"Just forget about Aaron right now, baby. Frankie will explain the entire thing. Go on Frankie." Alicia nodded toward him.

Frankie sighed and cleared his throat, "Okay, when me and Aaron went over there, I wasn't planning on doing this, but an idea just came to me all of a sudden. Since Aaron can shape shift and possess I had him sneak into the Coroners van to get Kaci, while I was in the house looking around, just like you told me too Jess." Jesse nodded, urging him to go on, "Anyway, Aaron possessed Kaci and brought her into the house, where I was waiting for him."

 "Wait...." Allison said stopping him for a second, "When Aaron possessed Kaci, how in the hell did he get passed all those people? Someone must've seen a dead Kaci Brown walking on those two legs of hers, after she was dead." Allison pointed out. All eyes turned toward Frankie.

 "Now that is the question I am going to be asking Aaron, later on. With him, God knows how he did it, but with Aaron's brain, he figured it out.”

Stevie snorted, “Aaron’s brain??”

“Hey, Aaron can be smart when he wants to be. And does anyone else of something to say so I can finish here?”

Everyone shook their head.

“Thank you. Anyway, he brought her in. He kind of scared me for a minute there. When he got out of her body he looked around with me. I found something, that wasn't really connected to Kaci, but connected to us. And I'll show that to you later on, Jess.” Frankie told him. Jesse nodded. “Um....me and Aaron sat down on the couch and talked for awhile. We talked about Alexa and how he says he thinks she never died. And lately I've been getting a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, that he’s right. That's why she's not even here. I'm guessing someone had heard us talking, because they came in to check it out. I didn't have time to grab Aaron, because he was kind of out of reach. So I grabbed Kaci instead and blinked out of there and left Aaron behind. That's where he is, Jesse. He's back at Kaci's, or he could be on his way here, I don't know. To be honest I don't know if he got caught or he got away. Now the point I’m trying to make, the real reason why I got Kaci was because…. I thought of you… Alicia." Frankie said his eyes slamming up at Alicia.

She rested her arms down by her side and looked at him. "You did?"

Frankie nodded, "Yeah. Do you remember yesterday when you found out you that you had a power and you touched that flower and it came back to full life?" "

Yeah, I remember."

 " Well......do you think it will work on a human?" He asked nervously.

"Uh.....I don't know. I can try." She got up and kneeled down next to Kaci.

 "Try it baby, it could work." Jesse told her. Alicia glanced up at him. She swallowed hard and rubbed her hands on her pants.

"See I was thinking if you can revive her, maybe she'll know who killed her." He told Alicia. She licked her lips and looked at him, nervously.

" I-I don't know if I can."

 "Just touch her." Frankie told her calmly. Alicia sighed and slipped her hand in Kaci's. Nothing happened. Alicia shrugged feeling like a failure.

 "It’s okay, Licia. Just focus...." Frankie whispered.

 "Come on, honey....." Alicia took a deep breath and hoisted Kaci up into a sitting position. She let Kaci’s body rest up against hers. Alicia brought her arms around Kaci's waist. She placed her fists up against her chest and pressed down, putting pressure against her heart. For awhile nothing happened, but Alicia didn't let her go, not even a little. Just then a bright white glow formed out of Alicia's hands and covered Kaci's entire body. Then Kaci’s body started to shake uncontrollably.

 "Oh!" Alicia tried to get a good grip on her, but failed. She slipped out of her hands and jumped all around, like she was having a fit of seizers.

"What's happening to her?" Amanda said frightened. Everyone stood up and circled Kaci. "I don't know." Alicia answered, starting to feel panicky. Then Kaci was still. The group stared at her, their eyes wide and their breathing seized. They waited. Suddenly, Kaci’s Fingers started to jerk up and down and hard, raspy breathing came. The group finally started to breathe again and they broke into applause.

"Lindsay come heal her face. Hurry!" Jesse said, reaching for Lindsay. Lindsay ran over to her and healed her. Kaci gasped loudly and quickly sat up. She breathed hard and looked around, her eyes growing wider and wider.

 "What's going on? Where am I?" Kaci said, looking into the familiar faces she recognized.

"Holy shit, it worked." Alicia said in shock. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fainted.

Kaci Brown’s chest heaved up and down from her hard breathing. Her eyes are wide and her body shook slightly from fright.

"Oh my God...." She choked out, slowly moving back away from them. Stevie slowly stood up, holding his hands up in order to tell her he meant no harm.

"Kaci, it's okay. J--just listen to us for a second, okay? Let me explain....."

Frankie stood up, "Nah uh, back down Cujo. I brought her in, I'll do it." He grabbed Stevie by the shoulder and pushed him back down on the couch. Stevie nodded and stayed silent. Frankie gave Kaci a soft look and kneeled down in front of her. Kaci gasped silently and shrunk back when Frankie got closer to her.

"Kaci, I need you to listen to me very carefully, okay? I know you’re confused and scared. I mean I don't blame you...."

"You’re dead!" She shot out.

Frankie sighed and moved to where he was sitting on his feet, “Yeah, don’t remind me.” Frankie grumbled.

"What are you guys, man-eating zombies or something?" Kaci squeaked. The others glanced at each other.

"Uh.....no. No, not really. Well...Lindsay tried to eat Allison yesterday if you want to count that." Frankie said snickering. Allison shot him a dirty look.

"Hey, the left side of my ass is still missing thank you very much."

Kaci shook her head in dismay, "I'm outta here!" She got up and ran toward the door.

Jesse shot up from the couch, "Wait Kaci....!" He shouted out, his hand shooting out in front of him. As he did that he suddenly lost control of his power and he ended up blowing up the attic door. Kaci screamed and fell to the floor. Frankie stood up and glared at Jesse.

"Jesse, don't you realize you could've blown her up?" Frankie confronted him.

Jesse blinked and then shrugged, "I took a chance. At this point I don’t really give a damn if did or not.”

“Jesse, stop being an asshole and sit the fuck down.” Frankie hissed through his teeth.

Jesse narrowed his eyes and stepped closer to Frankie, “Call me an asshole again and the next thing I’m going to blow up will be you.”

“Stop it both of you.” Lindsay hissed putting herself in between them to keep them from really tearing into each other. Of course they may try later.

"Who are you people?" Kaci whispered her voice barely recognizable.

"If you just stay calm and listen to us, we will explain everything." Hilary said as calmly as she could. Kaci took a deep breath and stood up, wrapping her arms around herself. Jesse groaned loudly and pushed Lindsay away from him. She opened her mouth to say something but thought against. She shut her mouth and sat back down on the couch. Jesse kicked a piece of splintered piece of wood out of his way as he walked toward the destroyed door.

"Excuse me, where are you going?" Frankie asked, taking a few steps after him.

Jesse stopped and looked at him, "Um...it's a little crowded up here. So I'm going to go downstairs and watch Scooby Doo."

"Jesse, come on now man. Don’t do this.“ Frankie said, soberly.

Jesse turned sharply and threw his hands up in the air, "Frankie this is your fucking mess! You’re the one that had to bring her back here! You explain this to her." He stepped over the mess he made and stormed downstairs. Frankie sighed and walked up to Kaci.

"Give me your hand." He whispered. Kaci stared at him.

“Hey, does Kaci not know that she’s dead?” Allison whispered to Amanda. Amanda smirked and remained silent.

"Please. Kaci, you have to trust me. I won't hurt you." Kaci looked down at Frankie's extended hand then back up at him. She sighed and slowly placed her hand in his. He gave her a small smile and lifted up her hand. He placed it up on her chest and held it there for a few seconds.

"Now, tell me…what do you feel?" Kaci was silent for awhile, listening. Her eyes widened and her breathing came faster and faster.

"Frankie.....I can’t.....I can’t feel my heart beating.”

"That’s because you’re dead, bitch!” Chris called from his spot on the chair. Alicia grabbed his lips and closed his mouth.

"Easy on the details, Chris."

Amanda leaned closer to Allison, “She does now.” Amanda said. Allison snickered.

Kaci shook her head, "No. No, this can't be happening. I have to get home!"

"Kaci, you’re not going anywhere!" Frankie grabbed her by the arms and pulled her closer to him. "You were just killed and we need to know who did it! You need to trust us. We need your help." Kaci sighed and looked up at him with guilty eyes.

"I don't know who it was,” Kaci answered. Frankie closed his eyes and hung his head in defeat. “I couldn't even see his face. He was dressed all in black. That's all I know. I’m sorry."

Frankie sighed and nodded. "It's okay. Thanks for telling us. “ He said, then he suddenly thought of something, “Wait.....did you say he was in black?"

Kaci nodded, "Yeah."

"All...black? Like pitch black? No skin showing?"

"Yeah,”

Frankie raised his eye brows and looked back at the others, "He wore black, yo.” He whispered.

"What’s your fucking point?" Lindsay mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"Kent wore black when he killed us." Frankie rushed out.

"Who's Kent?" Kaci asked, slowly sitting down next to Hilary. She scooted a couple of spaces over toward the end of the couch. Kaci still felt insecure about everything that was happening and Hilary’s gaze was not helping much.

"Kent Miller...he's the one who murdered us." Amanda told her.

Kaci nodded, “All of you?”

“Except one of us.” Alicia whispered.

Kaci blinked a couple of times, “Who are you?”

Alicia gapped, “Uh, I’m Jesse’s…or was Jesse’s…no I am Jesse’s significant…other.” She said stumbling over her words.

“And Aaron’s lover,” Chris added.

Alicia shot a piercing glare at him. “Speak one more word and you’re going in the garbage.” She hissed. She saw the others staring at her and she let out a nervous laugh, “Severed heads. They’re such jokers.” She smiled, patting Chris hard on the head. Then, Chris let out a piercing screech as Alicia’s fingernails dug into his head.

“Ow, ow, ow! I’ll kick your ass!” Chris threatened.

“Is that a promise?” Alicia snickered.

Chris glared at her, “You just wait girl. I’ll have legs some day.”

Alicia snorted, “Right.”

“Awkward…” Lindsay sang.

“So, who didn’t he kill?” Kaci asked getting back on track.

Stevie raised his hand but didn’t say anything, “Who killed you then?” Kaci asked.

Stevie shrugged, “I really don’t know.” He narrowed his eyes in Frankie’s direction and then stood up.

"You think it was Kent don’t you?”

"Well----" Frankie started, but was cut off by Stevie’s aggravation.

"Don’t give me that bullshit, Frank. Aaron killed his ass! It has to be the one who was helping him. Aaron did say that there were two killers, you know."

"Fine, if Kent is really dead, then why the fuck did we have to come back here?! The guy who signed us this mission was to kick some killer ass and there’s no killer to kick!!" Frankie yelled in frustration.

"Yeah and he also said we had to protect the others too, Frankie!!!" Stevie yelled back at him, getting up in his face. Amanda and Allison stood up and pulled Stevie away from him.

"Whoa, easy Stevie. You don't want to turn into Cujo again do you?" Stevie and Frankie glared at each other, both breathing hard. Frankie took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

"You’re right. He did say that. But....he also said to get our killer too. You were there, Stevie. You heard him. Don't deny it."

Stevie shook his head, "I'm not denying anything. Maybe he meant....their killer. Not ours." Frankie blinked a couple of times and sighed.

"Fine. It's their killer! Happy now?!" He yelled.

"Frankie, stop it! That's enough!" Alicia yelled grabbing his arm and pushing him a little. Frankie glared at her. Alicia returned the favor and glared back at him.

"You know what? We came here to do a fucking job; to save these innocents. To save our friends. When Kent was out hunting us he killed everybody in three days flat. It's been three and a half days now and only Kaci is dead! He's just messing with us. This guy wants us to fail. For the last three and a half days we have been doing nothing but sitting on our asses and bitching at each other! It's not going get us anywhere!”

“Actually, Jesse’s the one that’s been bitching at all of us.” Hilary mentioned.

“Shut it!“ Stevie growled. Hilary clamped her mouth closed and remained silent. “Look, I don't know if you guys care if everyone lives or dies but I do! Our job is to go out and find them, bring them back here, and lock them up safe so that fucker can't get to them. And then go out and track down his mother fucking ass and slice and dice him so we can go home!" Frankie swallowed hard and looked down, "I want to go home. We’re dead......we don't belong here, not anymore.” Frankie sniffed, “It was my idea but Kaci, I’m sorry I brought you into this. It’s not fair for you to still be here.”

“Frankie, don’t apologize. You guy’s brought me back to get some answers and I’m sorry I couldn’t give you any, but I’m here to help you as much as I can.” Kaci said giving him a warm smile. Frankie nodded and returned the smile.

Hilary stood up and gave him a hug, "Frankie, how do you know the others aren’t already getting killed as we speak?"

"Because, I get some kind of an attack. A stabbing in my heart when someone is hurt, dying or already dead. And I know who it is at that exact moment. I got my first one when me and Aaron were on our way to Kaci's. It‘s hard to explain the feeling. I guess it‘s a part of my power. " Frankie said shrugging his shoulders.

"All we need to do is calm down and think about this...." Chris said.

"We thought about it long enough Chris. It's time to take action. But we can't do it without Aaron. Or Jesse," Frankie swallowed hard, thinking about Aaron's whereabouts and if there was anything anyone could do to get through Jesse.

"It's been an hour. I hope he didn't get caught." Alicia sniffed and rocked back and forth on her heals.

"I hope he didn't get caught either." Frankie whispered, walking toward the attic window. The rest of the group sat back down and rested their heads back on the couch. Alicia gazed upon Frankie, her right leg shaking nervously. She stood up and walked up next to him.

“Do you think he’s going to be okay?” Alicia whispered.

Frankie shook his head, “I don’t know. Aaron’s full of mystery sometimes.”

“No, I’m talking about Jesse.”

Frankie glanced at her, “Oh. I don’t know. You’re his girlfriend, what do you think?”

“What the hell does that have to do with any of this, Frankie?”

Frankie took a deep breath, “I'm sorry. Alicia, I’m freaking out. Jesse is losing it and losing control of his powers too. Look, I know where he’s coming from, I really do. I understand what he’s feeling. He didn’t want to come back here, none of us did. His mood swings are giving me whip lash though. He’s taking it out on everyone else and to be completely honest it’s not helping. We need him. We can’t do this without him.”

“I know, Frank.” Alicia said placing her head on his shoulder, “Did you ever think that maybe Jesse is scared too and doesn’t know what to do either?”

“Is that even possible? Jesse always seems to know what to do.”

Alicia chuckled, “That’s because he’s such a good actor.”

Frankie smiled, “Point taken, sister. I think we all need to put our heads together. Remember, two heads are better than one. But before we do anything, we need Aaron.”

“Agreed. We’ll give him another hour and if he’s not back when the hour is up, we’ll both go looking for him. “

Frankie nodded, “We’ll retrace our steps. Start back at the Brown’s house and go from there. Aaron wouldn’t be stupid enough to be soaring through the sky for kicks, at least not right now. Not when Jesse is so pissed off.”

“Yeah, Jesse always has to get the last word in when it comes to Aaron. It’s always been like that, even when they were still alive.”

“It may not seem like it now, but Aaron and Jesse are best friends. I guess that’s Jesse’s way of looking out for him.” Frankie said, staring out into the sky. Alicia gave Frankie a sweet kiss on the cheek and turned to go sit back down.

“We’ll figure it out.” Frankie whispered.

“Yeah, we will.” Alicia whispered back.

Frankie leaned up against the window seal and placed his forehead against the cold glass, "Damnit Aaron, where are you?"

Jesse trotted down the stairs, his hands stuffed deep into his pockets and whistling to himself. He entered the living room, clamping his hands together.

"Okay, look alive people! Let’s go save some innocents, because I for one want to go back to heaven."

"Look alive? Is that some kind of inside joke or something?" Amanda said, cracking a sarcastic smile. Everyone else started to laugh, softly.

"Amanda, has anybody told you that you’re not funny anymore?" Jesse said flatly, hands on his hips. Amanda was about to open her mouth and say something smart but nothing came out. The others giggled uncontrollably. Amanda crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Dude, what crawled up your ass? Why the change of heart all of a sudden?" Aaron joked.

Jesse threw his arms up in the air, "You, 'dead people' are so fucking unbelievable. I can't work with you! If you guys won't help me, I'll do it myself!" He growled, heading toward the front door. Aaron quickly stood up and ran after him.

"Jesse, I was just joking. I'm sorry, chill." Aaron put his arm around him and led him back to the living room. Jesse sighed, crossing his arms silently.

"Jesse, we want to help. Tell us what's on your mind." Allison said softly. Jesse sighed and looked down.

"Answer me first...." He began, "If anybody doesn't want to go through this, tell me now and you can stay home." Jesse moved his eyes over from one person to the next. Nobody said anything, "Going once....going twice...."

"Sold! For $300!" Stevie joked, making everybody erupt in laughter.

"We didn’t come back to sit around and not help. Everybody is in, Jesse. We're listening." Lindsay said softly, after everybody had calmed down.

"Okay, you guys we have to get our corpsie asses in gear and do this. We have waited long enough, so waiting another day is not an option. Now, this is my plan. Amanda, Allison, and Hilary, I want you guys to track down Mika, Joanna, and Jamie-Lynn. Talk to them, try to convince them that you’re the good guys and that you won't hurt them. Tell them the situation, if you can. It's going be hard, because we’re all dead and we might possibly give them a heart attack. But if you do get their trust, bring them back here and send them to the basement for protection."

The three girls nodded, "Got it!"

"Aaron and Frankie, I want you guys to go to the school and look around. See if you find anybody there." Jesse continued.

“Why do I always get paired with dumbo?” Frankie whispered to himself, annoyingly. Aaron heard him and quickly slapped him in the arm without so much of an expression. Frankie jumped, startled. He grabbed his arm and stole a glare at him.

"Yes daddy." Aaron snickered and nudged Frankie with his elbow. Frankie rolled his eyes and nudged him back.

"Stevie, Lindsay, Alicia, you will come with me, I'll explain our mission to you on the way. Everyone understand their jobs?" Jesse said, waiting approval from everybody. Everyone cheered loudly and got ready to go.

"Alright let’s do this thingy!" Jesse cheered, excitedly. Alicia got to work by giving everyone the best disguises that she could think of that would shield them from the living, but their true identity will only be shown to the innocents and to each other. Alicia didn’t think that she could do it, but after a long talk and a little bit of practice later with Jesse, she figured out how to do it. Their identities weren’t completely different from their previous self, they still had somewhat of the same aspects. If anyone saw them, they’ll probably think they’re a relative and that was exactly what Alicia was trying to go for. After everyone was ready and with their new identities, they all headed toward the door.

"Hey!!!" A voice called out interrupting the chatter among the others. They all stopped and turned around.

"What do you need Chris?" Jesse said smirking. Chris sat on the table beside the couch, giving them all a death glare. Chris was the only one who couldn’t participate. But what didn’t make sense to Jesse is why Chris developed powers along with the rest of them when he didn’t have any use for them. Chris had his limits and there were really not a lot of things that he could do. Jesse knew Chris wanted to help and he hoped before all of this was over, Chris would be able to do his part and not act like a center piece.

"What the hell do you want me to do?" He frowned.

Jesse looked up at the ceiling for a split second, "Keep Kaci company." Everyone turned at once, ready to scurry out of there but Kaci stopped them.

"Wait! Are you actually thinking about leaving me here with Mr. Blabber mouth?" Chris glared at her from his peripheral vision, since his head was facing away from her.

"Put him in the freezer," Aaron quickly added. "That'll keep his mouth shut for a while." They quickly turned and ran out the door before Kaci or Chris could say anything else. Kaci listened for the front door to close before she faced Chris.

"You wouldn't dare...." He snarled at her. Kaci flashed a huge grin and snatched him up by his hair.

"Ow!" He whined. She quickly walked over to the freezer and opened it.

"No! You can't do this to me! I have my rights!"

"Well, right now I'm giving you the right to shut the hell up." She grinned, amusingly. Then she set him the freezer and shut the door.

Chapter 15: On the Hunt

Meanwhile with Amanda, Allison, and Hilary


"So what's the plan?" Amanda asked Allison, who was staring of into the distance. They were standing outside of a movie studio, where Mika Boorem, Jamie-Lynn Spears, and Joanna Levesque were shooting a movie together.

"Why are you asking me?" Allison asked quickly. Amanda shrugged, "Well...." Allison began, "I'm thinking about just walking up to them and spilling our guts." She said taking a breath. The other girls looked at her blankly.

"That’s the plan?" Hilary asked frowning. Allison sighed and rested her hands on her hips, while she tapped her foot against the ground.

"Yup, that's the plan!"

"Of course it is," Hilary and Amanda said in unison. The girls sighed and slowly entered the building.


Meanwhile with Aaron and Frankie


Aaron and Frankie ran behind the busy school yard. They slipped through some double doors, leading into the gym. The boys stopped short and froze in their spot. The whole basketball team was there practicing. A few of them looked their way, but no one seemed to care. The team stayed focused and ignored them. When Aaron and Frankie realized that they were in the clear, they let out a sigh in relief.

“Holy wow, I forgot about our disguises.” Aaron said trying to catch his breath.

Frankie nodded, “So did I.”

“I think we better get a move on,” Aaron mentioned, grabbing Frankie by the arm and pulling him along. Frankie walked slowly along, but kept his eyes on the basketball coach as he started getting closer to the boys.

“Team’s looking good, coach.” The coach turned slightly toward him and gave him quick nod. Before turning back to the team, the coach took another glance at Frankie.

“You boys better hurry up and get to class.” He told both of them. Frankie smiled and waved him off.

“Heading that way, coach,” Frankie said. The coach nodded once more and then turned his attention back to the team. He blew his whistle to stop the play and yell at one of the team members for making a mistake.

Aaron grabbed Frankie by the arm and pulled him into the hallway, “Are you out of your freaking mind?”

Frankie shrugged, “What? Aren’t we trying to keep up appearances? I didn’t want to look too suspicious.” Frankie said his voice as low as possible.

“Yes we are, but we don’t want to tip anybody off. Try not to socialize with anyone if you can help it.”

Frankie nodded in agreement. “Okay, I'll go back out this way and look more around outside. You my friend need to get your butt to class." Frankie joked. Aaron smirked, knowing exactly what he meant. He would have to sit in a classroom full of living, breathing humans and pretend he was a part of the class. If only he could come up with some kind of plan...

"Alright man." They gave each other a manly hug and went their separate ways, hoping they’ll find something. It’ll be nice to tell Jesse something good for once.



Meanwhile with Jesse, Alicia, Lindsay, and Stevie


Jesse pulled the SUV he rented earlier into a vacant driveway and came to a stop.

“What the hell are we doing here?” Stevie frowned.

Jesse put the car in park and looked at Stevie through the rear view mirror, “Parking out of sight.” He answered. Stevie and Lindsay both leaned forward and glanced up at the house they just parked in front of.

“Yeah, but what if someone actually lives here?” Stevie asked.

“Well, yeah, of course this place is inhabited. Some rats and maybe a few bats may love it here,” Jesse said, glancing at him. “Do you really think that an actual human being would be willing to live in a house like that?“ Jesse shuddered a bit, pointing at the house. Stevie shrugged and then shook his head. Jesse nodded and glanced back at the house. “That house always gave me the creeps.”

Alicia took off her seatbelt. “This is your neighborhood,” She said. “What are we doing, baby?”

Jesse sighed, “We need a computer and the only one I can get my hands on is mine.”

“Don’t you have one at the house?” Lindsay asked him.

“You know, it’s weird. I’ve noticed a few things of mine missing from my house. My car for starters, and now my computer. I’m guessing my parent’s took them back after I died. That‘s the only logical explanation, I guess,” Jesse explained. “Come on, my parent’s house is just beyond those trees.”

Alicia and Lindsay followed Jesse out of the car, except for Stevie, who sat in the backseat trying to connect the dots, “Your parents??”

“Stevie, come on!” Lindsay shouted. Stevie quickly shot out of the car and sprinted up behind them.

“Jesse, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait…!” Stevie reached up and grabbed Jesse by the shoulders. Jesse spun around quickly and looked at him with wide eyes.

“Boy--damn! Can you trust me for once?”

Stevie put up his hands in defense. “Just one question,”

“What?” Jesse hissed.

“What if your parents are home?”

Jesse shook his head. “They’re not,”

“But how do you know?”

Jesse laughed and put his arm around Stevie’s shoulders. “You see that house over there?” Jesse said pointing at a nice brick home through the trees.

“Yes.”

“That’s my parent’s house.”

“Okay,”

“Do you see that driveway by my parent’s house?”

“Yes,”

“And do you see a car in that driveway?”

“No,”

After Stevie’s last answer, Jesse grabbed his face, “Then no one is home!” He let him go and continued to walk through the trees, the girls trailing behind him.

“Someone could still be inside,” Stevie added. He still wouldn’t let it go. Jesse growled and whirled back toward him.

“Fine,” He hissed. “If any of the doors are unlocked, we’ll go home and do this another day. Now, are you going to keep on running your damn mouth and waste our precious moments or are you going to let us get this over with?”

Stevie threw his hands up in defeat, “Alright fine, you win. After you,”

Jesse nodded, “Yes, after me.”

The group walked the rest of the way through the trees. Then, one by one they ran up to the house and pressed themselves firmly against the rough brick. They huddle together behind the heating and air unit.

“Okay, Stevie move over and see if the back door is locked.” Jesse whispered. Stevie shuffled a few paces to the right. He reached up and silently as possible, jiggled the doorknob. He pulled his hand back and gave Jesse a nod.

“Okay, carefully make your way to the side of the house and check the side door. It’s usually locked but try anyway. And then meet us at the front door.”

Stevie nodded, “Mkay.” Then, he carefully slid along the wall and disappeared around the corner. Jesse caught Lindsay’s and Alicia’s eye and then grabbed the girls’ arms.

“Come on,” The trio quickly headed in the opposite direction and jumped up onto the porch. The girls crouched down behind a pillar, as Jesse quickly reached up and jiggled the knob. It was locked.

“Stevie?” Jesse quietly called out. Stevie stepped into view from beside the house and leaped behind another pillar.

“No such luck with the side door.”

“Yeah, same with the front door,” Jesse said, and then his eyes narrowed at Stevie. “I told you they weren’t here.”

Stevie shrugged, “Yeah, but guess what is.”

“What?”

“Your Camero,” Stevie said. “I saw it parked in the garage.”

Jesse blinked. “Yeah, I had a feeling,”

“Why don’t you just take it?”

“That’s called stealing, you know.” Jesse said rolling his eyes.

“It’s yours,”

“And I’m dead. I think you keep forgetting that.”

“Okay, is there a window we can crawl through or something?” Lindsay said interrupting Jesse and Stevie’s bickering. Jesse glanced behind him and looked at her.

“Uh no, my parents kept them locked at all times…” Jesse trailed off when he started to remember something.

Stevie snapped his fingers, “Oh well, it’s all locked up. Better luck next time.” Stevie was about to stand up when Jesse grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back down.

“No, wait…there’s one window that doesn’t lock. Lets go,” Jesse flashed an excited smile and ran off the porch, the other three close behind him. They ran around the corner of the house and dove inside a bush just below a window.

“This is good, because this window leads into the room we need to be in.” Jesse said looking up at the window.

Stevie frowned, “Your bedroom?” Jesse nodded, silently. “Well, what a qawinkadink.”

“So how come your parents don’t keep this window locked?” Lindsay asked.

“There’s no lock on it.” Jesse answered her.

Stevie reached up and placed his hands on the window, examining it. “How the hell are we going to open it up from the outside?” He said trying to find a way to open the window.

“Boy, move it!” Jesse said. Stevie retreated back to his spot in silence, resting his hands on his knees.

Jesse turned toward Alicia and said, “Baby girl, do you mind?” Alicia smirked.

Stevie gasped in delight, “Oh I get it! Tele Wilson!”

Alicia wrinkled her nose and shot a glance at Stevie, “What??”

Stevie huffed. “You have telekinesis and your last name is Wilson. Get it? Tele Wilson?” A cheesy grin appeared on his face.

Alicia sucked in a breath and then slowly turned back toward Jesse, “Why did we have to bring him?” She whispered in his ear.

“I…don’t…know.” He whispered back. Alicia pulled away from Jesse. She glanced back at Stevie and rolled her eyes in annoyance. Then, she turned her attention to the window and with the flip of her right hand the window above swung up.

“Got it,” She said, smiling at her friends.

Jesse put his arm around her and then kissed her cheek, “Thank you, darling.”

Standing up slowly, Jesse reached up and gripped the window seal. He lifted himself up and cautiously peered into the room. He looked down at the others and motioned them to follow him.

“Quickly, before anyone sees us.”

Jesse lifted himself inside, followed by the others. Luckily nothing was below them as they settled inside. They were afraid they would accidentally break something and then they would be in major trouble.
Jesse took a deep breath and ran his hand over his bedspread. It felt weird being back in his old bedroom. He almost forgot what it looked like. The room seemed different; cleaner. Everything was set up nice and in place. There was no spec of dust anywhere.
This must be my moms work, Jesse thought. A lump started to form in his throat as he started to think about his mother. He thought about how she still must feel. If only he could see her now. He would wrap his arms around her one last time and tell her that he went to a good place. He wanted to tell her that he loved her and that he’s happy.
Jesse blinked back a few tears and took a quick breath. He smiled to himself and walked over to his dresser.

“I guess your parents keep your room locked up.” Stevie said in a low tone. He was standing by the door with this hand resting on the door handle.

Jesse nodded to him.

“Baby, come here.” He whispered to Alicia.

She got off the bed and went to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder.

“Yes, dear?”

“Do you remember this?” Jesse asked her, holding a gold necklace with the charms ‘A+J’.

Alicia gasped and her eyes lit up. She reached up and fingered the ‘A+J’ and kissed Jesse’s neck, lightly.

“Yes I do. I got that for you when we first started dating. I was lucky enough to have a father in the jewelry business. I had that custom made for free.”

Jesse smiled, “I remember I was so paranoid about losing it or it getting damaged that I refused to wear it. I wouldn‘t wear it to school, afraid it‘ll get stolen. I wouldn‘t wear it when I traveled. I wouldn’t even take it with me on tour. I would sure lose it then. It meant so much to me, because it came from you. It was the best present I’ve ever received.” Jesse sniffed and leaned his head against Alicia’s.

Alicia tightened her grip around him and snuggled her face into his neck. She placed small kisses along his jaw line. Tears began to form as she breathed him in. Although she’s dead, Alicia could feel her heart breaking into a million pieces. She loved Jesse so much and she couldn’t believe she had hurt him the way she did. She didn’t even think it was possible for her to cheat on him, but she did. Alicia couldn’t take that back. She wished she could turn back the clock and take back what she had done. That wasn’t going to happen. She could feel his pain and it tore her to shreds.

“I love you,” She whispered softly, her lips brushing his ear. “I’m so sorry.” Her voice cracked.

Jesse squeezed her hand and took a shaky breath, “Baby…”

“I betrayed you. I don’t deserve to be forgiven for that.” She cried.

“Does it matter now?” Jesse whispered.

“I want to be able to have a little piece of mind after all this is over. I want you to forgive me. But I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t. I want you to know that I love you more than anything in this world and I never meant to hurt you. I don’t even know why I did it in the first place.”

“Because you love him.”

“But I’m not in love with him. I never was. You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted and the only one I’ve ever loved.”

Jesse turned around and faced her. Alicia sighed and wiped away her tears. Jesse cradled her face and kissed both of her eyes. He pulled her face away slightly and looked deep into her eyes.

Jesse shook his head, “Why Aaron?”

Alicia’s lips quivered and she lowered her head, ashamed. Jesse immediately pulled her head back up.

“Why…him?” Jesse asked again.

“I don’t…know.” Alicia started to sob quietly.

Jesse pulled her close to him and kissed her face over and over. He tried to kiss all her tears away, but they just kept coming. The words I forgive you held its place on his tongue

Jesse opened his mouth to say it, but instead he said, “I love you so much.”

“No you don’t. You hate me.”

Jesse was shocked by her statement, “Baby, no. No, of course not. I don’t hate you. I just hate the situation. I could never hate you.”

“I feel like dying…” She cried again.

Jesse pulled back a little, “What?”

“I want to die again. I don’t deserve to be here with you. I’ve hurt you so badly. I can never take that back.”

“Look at me,” Jesse said, cupping her face and pulling it up. Her face was tear stained. “We don’t have another chance together here on Earth, but we can be together again forever in heaven, because…I forgive you.” And the words came. Jesse suddenly felt a lot lighter. Alicia shook in his arms.

“I forgive you.” He whispered again. Then, he lifted her chin back up and slammed his lips down on hers. He kissed her tenderly and full of passion. He slowly pulled his lips from hers.

“I love you.” He whispered and kissed her again.

Alicia smiled through her tears, “I love you too.” Jesse rested his lips comfortably on her forehead and closed his eyes.

“Uh, guys?” Stevie spoke.

Jesse opened his eyes, tiredly and looked over at him, “What is it?”

Stevie stood by the window and was nervously playing with the hem of his shirt.

“I hate to interrupt you guys, but I think we better do what we came here to do before your parents decide to show up.” Stevie said.

Jesse nodded slowly, “Mkay, go start my computer.”

Stevie nodded and pressed the power button to the computer. The computer sprang to life.

“Stevie’s right. We need to hurry.” Alicia said, drying her eyes with her shirt.

Jesse nodded, “Yeah, we’ll talk later, okay?”

Alicia nodded, “Mkay.” Then, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist one more time before joining Stevie and Lindsay at the computer. Jesse sat down in his chair and grabbed the computer mouse.

Lindsay wrapped her right arm around Alicia’s waist and held her friend close

“You okay?” Lindsay whispered in her ear.

Alicia gave her a weak smile, “I am now.”

“So what do we need the computer for?” Stevie asked.

Jesse clicked his tongue, “Research. There’s always been something about Miller that has always seemed familiar to me and I think I know what it is. I just need proof,” Jesse stared at the computer screen, deep thought. “I have a hunch there’s something not right with him.”

“What’s that?” Stevie asked putting his arm around Jesse’s chair and leaning closer to the computer screen.

Jesse turned and look at him, “I don’t think Kent Miller is his real name.”

                                                                                                            ***Chapter 16***

Meanwhile with Hilary, Amanda, and Allison

Hilary, Amanda, and Allison walked into the set acting as casual and cool as they possibly could. Allison took the lead as the others dragged not far behind.

"Allison, if you plan on telling them first hand about what’s going on, then you’re going in alone!" Hilary threatened in a hushed whisper.

"Fine see ya at home," Allison said calmly as she kept on walking. Hilary slumped her shoulders in defeat.

"Told ya that wouldn't work," Hilary told Amanda.

Amanda shrugged, "Worth a shot." The girls stopped behind some crew and watched Jamie-Lynn, Joanna, and Mika shoot a scene together.

"Okay they’re filming lets rocket." Hilary grabbed Allison by the arm and tried pulling her along with her.

Allison drew her arm back, "No! We'll just wait here until they have a break. Then we can make our move." Hilary sighed not feeling the urge to argue anymore. The girls continued to watch as the their innocents shot the scene.

"Who are you?" A sudden voice came from behind them. The girls froze in their place.

"Oh no." Amanda managed to squeak out. They slowly turned around, becoming face to face with a big muscular man. And not just any muscular man, but a security guard of all people!

"What are you girls doing in here?" He asked, crossing his arms in front of his huge chest, staring them down hard.

"Uhhhhh.....uhhhhh......" Amanda stammered on and on. Allison rolled her eyes and stepped forward.

"We are fans of Mika Boorems and we won a contest to meet her so, Mr. Guard dude, we have a right to be here." Allison said with an attitude.

"Oh really?" He said, his eyebrows raised. Hilary rolled her eyes. She knew this guy wasn’t going to buy Allison’s bullshit story. If he did then this security guard really must be an idiot.

"Yes," Allison huffed. The guard glanced at the other two girls.

"What she said," Amanda and Hilary said in unison. The guard pressed his lips together.

"If that is so, then where are your passes?" The girls eyes widened. They quickly stole glances at each other. On the other hand Hilary’s glance turned into a glare.

“I hate you,” Hilary said to Allison, just as two more security guards joined in.

The girls screamed as they were literally thrown outside by the three security guards.

"AND STAY OUT!!!!" The girls groaned and lifted up their heads and looked at each other.

"You know, come to think of it....this is harder than I thought." Amanda groaned.

After a few minutes of brushing themselves off, Allison took off toward the other side of the building. Amanda and Hilary groaned in annoyance and ran after her.

"Okay, plan B, girls. We wait behind theses bushes until they come out." Allison said, crouching down beside the building, the bushes shielding them.

"Allison, do I have to remind you that your first plan didn't work?" Hilary mentioned, sitting cross legged in front of her.

"Yeah why should this be any different?" Amanda added. Allison glared at her.

"Amanda if I had an active power, I would use it on you right now." She threatened. Amanda's eyes widened, but she didn‘t say anything. Allison blew her bangs out of her face and laid down in the dirt.


Meanwhile with Aaron

Aaron walked into the long empty hallway of the school. He stopped behind the trophy case and leaned against the wall. Aaron jumped when he saw a male student walking down the hallway, reading a piece of paper. He quickly shape-shifted into the trophy case, before the guy saw him. Aaron waited until the guy walked past before making his move. He shape-shifted back into himself and trailed behind the student, silently. The student stopped by his locker and began to take down his combination. He then opened his locker, taking a few school books out and rummaged carelessly through a stack of papers that was sticking out of his Geometry book. A piece of paper slipped from the pile and floated to the floor. The student bent down and snatched it back up, muttering curse words under his breath. Aaron swallowed down his laughter and took a deep breath and then quickly tapped the guy on the shoulder. The guy jumped and quickly whirled around.

"Hi! Hey, I was wondering if I could borrow your body for a couple of minutes. I'll give it right back." He said quickly and to the point, with a big cheesy grin plastered on his face. The guy stared at him, his voice caught in his throat.

"Who-who are you?" The guy finally choked out, his voice cracking. Aaron's grin disappeared and his expression suddenly became serious.

"For now...I'm you." Aaron said in a low tone. Before the guy could react, Aaron quickly slipped his spirit into the other guy’s body. He shook violently, trying to get a feel of his new body. Finally, his body stopped shaking and he stood there for a moment, taking everything in. He took a slow deep breath and opened his eyes. Looking around to make sure no one was lingering in the halls. He gave his neck a little pop, picked up the books from the ground and walked casually to class. Along the way, Aaron hoped this great disguise would lead him to some answers.

Aaron/student opened the classroom door and slipped inside, making the teacher stop teaching the lesson. She shot him a 'disapproving' look.

"Your late, Josh. Take a seat." The teacher said sternly. Aaron/Josh nodded and quickly took his seat. He sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair. He tapped his fingers against the top of the desk, whistling to himself. His tapping began to slow down, when he noticed the teacher and the other students staring at him.

"What??" He asked calmly, trying to stay cool.

"Josh....dude, you sit right here." A student said from the back, patting the desk in front of him. Aaron/Josh bit his lip and quickly moved to his ' right ' seat. He put on nervous smile and sat down.

"Detention, Josh!" The teacher said impatiently. Aaron/Josh rolled his eyes.

"Josh, are you okay?" The guy sitting behind him, whispered to him.

"Yeah," Aaron/Josh answered back. He winced, because his voice still sounded like his own. He became nervous, fearing that someone would take notice that something was wrong.

"There's something wrong dude…" The guy said.

Aaron/Josh could have sworn he heard his heart start to beat loudly in his chest, "What?" He said, lowering his voice and trying to disguise it the best he could.

"Your voice sounds weird. Are you sick?"

"Yeah," Aaron/Josh said quickly, trying to get out of the conversation.

"But—"

"Marcus!" The teacher snapped. Marcus quickly straightened up in his chair.

“Yes Ma’am?"

"Pay attention!!" Marcus nodded, picking up his pencil and began to write in his notebook.

Aaron/Josh sighed impatiently and slumped down in his seat. He just got into this classroom and it felt like he’s been there forever. When you’re dead, time felt like it went by like a turtle crossing a highway.

His eyes quickly widened when he noticed someone looking at him from across the room. He snapped his head to the side, to catch the eye of a hot looking girl on the other side of the room, giving him a seductive smirk. Aaron/Josh grinned and started to give the eye right back to her. The girl giggled. Aaron maneuvered his fingers, telling her to make eye contact. When she did, Aaron/Josh's' eyes suddenly turned into dark sunken black holes. Dark gore oozed out of the sockets, leaving black streaks down his face. The girl shrieked and turned back toward the teacher, shaking her head roughly, and trying her hardest not to look back at him. Aaron/Josh’s eyes turned back to normal and he smiled, pleased with himself. He had no idea that he could do something like that, but he was surprised that he did it without even trying.

More time went by and Aaron/Josh started getting antsy by the minute; no by the second. Occasionally, he would look up at the clock. The time seemed to just stop every time he would look up at it. It was like it never even moved. The teacher was still ranting on and on about a subject that made no sense to him at all. He wiggled his nose and slid further into his seat. He fingered the pocket of his shirt and felt a lump through the material. He frowned and reached into his pocket and pulled out a small rectangular unopened package of gum. He took a deep breath, looking at it dreamily. He unwrapped the package and placed a piece of Red Hot gum into his mouth. He savored it, loving the hot sweet taste if gave off in his mouth. He settled back into his seat and smiled, satisfyingly.

Aaron/Josh chewed the gum in silence, staring so hard at the chalk board, he could see right through it. He moved his gaze off the chalk board and let his eyes wonder over to the open door, blowing a huge bubble in the process. His eyes suddenly widened and his gum popped loudly on contact. It splattered all over his mouth, but that didn't seem to faze him at all. He stared open mouthed and wide eyed at the open classroom door.

Alexa....stood in the hallway chatting with some guy!

Aaron/Josh pulled the gum off his face, frowning more and more. The guy she was talking to...was the one getting his attention. At that time, he couldn’t care less about Alexa. Aaron/Josh watched Alexa nod and walk away, that's when the guy turned and looked into the classroom.........

KENT!

"WHOA!!!" Aaron/Josh blurted out, interrupting the teacher and getting everybody’s attention. Kent heard him and gave him a blank stare. He blinked and quickly walked away. The teacher cleared her throat and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Then the bell rang loudly and Aaron/Josh blew out a quick sigh of relief and flew out of the classroom. The teacher shook her head and sat down in her seat.

Aaron/Josh quickly walked down the hallway, trying to find a closet or an empty classroom, so he can escape out of Josh’s body. He turned the corner, but quickly jumped behind another trophy case, when he saw Kent and Alexa talking again, this time just a few feet away. Aaron/Josh frowned when he noticed a young woman with black hair also talking to them. Aaron/Josh narrowed his eyes and started to become more suspicious of the three.

Okay...Kent and Alexa are still alive. Still talking. Who is that girl? And what is she doing talking to a psycho killer and Hollywood's biggest bitch? But most of all...what the hell is Alexa hiding? She had to fake her own death but why? And why is Kent back? The fuckers head didn‘t grow back! What the hell is going on?" Aaron/Josh thought nervously. He had to strain his ears to hear what they were saying, because of the mindless chatter among other students, it was making it extra difficult. He cursed under his breath when they broke up and walked away in different directions. Aaron/Josh didn’t get to hear a damn word from them. He quickly slipped out from behind the trophy case and turned into an abandoned hallway, where only a few students lingered. All the students headed toward the main double doors of the school and he figured school was getting out. He found an empty classroom at the end of the hallway. He entered the classroom and quickly closed the open blinds.

"Okay, Josh. You can have you body back now." He said, bracing himself for his escape. Aaron lifted his spirit up through Josh's mouth and freed himself. He landed hard on the cold floor. He shook his head and pulled himself up.

"Man, I got to get the hang of that," Aaron said to himself, dusting off his jeans. He smiled and turned back toward Josh. His smile quickly disappeared from his face. Josh laid motionless on the floor in a pool of his own blood. “Or I could figure out a way to get out of a body without killing him first.”

Aaron felt himself begin to panic. He started to pace back and forth, nervously, trying to figure out what the hell he was going to do with Josh’s body. He stopped in the middle of the room and sighed, resting his hands on his hips. He turned back around and marched toward Josh. Stepping over the blood, Aaron picked him up, and threw him in the storage closet. He grabbed a rug from the closet and placed it over the pool of blood.

Aaron walked to the door and swung it open. His breath got caught in his throat and he couldn’t move. There standing in front of him, was Alexa. Alexa stared at him in disbelief, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. A small squeal escaped through Aaron’s lips and he quickly slammed the door back, making sure he locked it this time.

"Okay, okay, okay, okay. I can handle this. I can handle this. I can handle this. I can handle this.......oh, I can't handle this." He dropped his head in his hands and groaned loudly. He snapped his head up when he got an idea, "Okay...let’s see...this always worked in Charmed. Frankie?" He called out. He waited a couple of seconds for an answer.

"Yeah?" A voice came from behind him. Aaron gasped and whirled around. Frankie stood behind him.

"Jeez! Whoa...it worked." He said, surprised.

Frankie frowned, "What worked?"

"Nothing. Did you find anything?"

Frankie shook his head, "Nope. You?"

Aaron pressed his lips together and hesitated, "Yeah.....I did."

Frankie slumped his shoulders, "Well, what did you find?"

"Two answers to our prob-problems," Aaron said, smiling nervously, twirling his fingers around and around, "I saw Kent....." He said slowly. Frankie's eyes widened, "And...A-Alexa."

"Say what?!"

"Ah yeah! Yeah! Big time still alive! Walkin around and talkin!"

"Oh man....what did Kent look like?" Frankie asked, running his hand through his hair.

"Well....let me put it this way....he still had his head." Aaron answered, crossing his arms.

"And Alexa?"

"No scar, no bashed in head. Nada. Ziiiip!" Frankie pressed his lips together and walked past him, deep in thought.

"It has been said thousands of times. Jesse’s been saying it, but now I'm going say it again. We came down here to save these innocents and kick Kent’s mutha fuckin ass. We didn't come down here to kill besides him....but.....Alexa is going wish she died along with us....because you know what? She's going to die.....TODAY!" He said angrily. Aaron grabbed him by the shoulders to settle him down.

"Whoa there! Lets just focus on the others first, before you start stalking Vega." Aaron told him.

Frankie sighed, "Your right. We'll focus on the others, then Alexa for lunch."

"Deal!"

Frankie sighed, “Dude, this doesn’t make a lick of sense. Kent walking around, still alive. I thought you killed him!”

Aaron shrugged, “Maybe I missed?”

Frankie groaned in frustration, “That would mean that Alicia’s theory was wrong.”

“What theory?”

“Well, we figured that sense you killed Kent, it had to be our second killer doing all this, the guy who killed Stevie. But obviously, it’s been Kent all along.”

“This isn’t making sense to me either. Maybe when I shot him, I didn’t kill him. But I could have sworn I saw his brains all over my attic wall before I died!” Aaron took a fast breath, “Anywho, on to our other problem…”

Frankie sighed, "What?"

"I saw Kent and Alexa talking to some other girl. And by the looks of it, she looked suspicious. She looked…evil. Like really disturbed. I don’t think Alexa and Kent is not the only ones we need to keep our eyes on."

Frankie licked his parched lips and nodded, "Okay, I'll tell Jesse later." Frankie walked past Aaron and headed to the door. He stopped when he noticed Aaron wasn’t following him. Frankie also sensed that something was wrong with him.

"Aaron? Are you nervous?" Aaron shot his head up and looked at him suspiciously, trying to look innocent.

"What? Me? Nervous? Shit boy, whatcha smoking these days?" He laughed nervously. But his smile faded when Frankie kept staring at him. Aaron sighed and sat down in a chair. Frankie moved away from the door and sat down next to him.

"There's another problem isn’t there?"

"Yeah," Aaron answered, looking in the other direction, "I went to go look outside to see if the close was clear for me to get out of here,” Aaron took a deep breath. “Someone saw me. I mean, face to face, inches apart, looking at me." He said flatly and quickly.

Frankie frowned, having trouble following, “But…what are you saying?”

“What I‘m saying is…is that when that person saw me, they saw me as me. My own self. They didn’t see my disguise.”

“How do you know? I mean they could’ve been startled---”

“Because when they saw me, it looked like they have just seen a ghost. Like they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.” Aaron sighed and dropped his head in his hands.

"Who was it?"

Aaron looked at him, nervously, "Alexa...."

Frankie stared at him for a long while, "You better not be fooling, dude." He finally muttered.

"I'm not."

Frankie took a deep breath, "Well....I guess our only solution is to look at the negative outlook on this, because I really don‘t see a positive side to this…” Frankie said, clamping his hand on Aaron’s shoulder.

"Negative outlook?? Oh shit, what?!"

"You are so fucked!"


Meanwhile with Jesse, Alicia, Lindsay, and Stevie


“This is freaking crazy, man!” Stevie said pulling at his hair and breathing hard. Jesse laughed and exited out of the website he had been looking at. He sat back in his chair and folded his hands over his stomach. Stevie jumped up and down with shock and excitement. He couldn’t believe what they just found out. The news was definitely a break in the case!

“I just can’t wrap my head around this. This is great news, man! This is even crazier than----”

Suddenly, all the excitement completely disappeared out of Stevie. His face and body froze instantly, along with the other three. Their eyes were wide and they all held their breath to keep themselves from breathing too loud.

“What is that?” Stevie mouthed to Jesse.

Jesse slowly stood up and listened. He heard what sounded like a door slamming shut, then followed by another. Then muffled voices came. Jesse’s eyes widened instantly and he shot out of the bedroom and raced into the living room. The others yelled after him, trying to get him to come back to them. Jesse ignored them and ran up to the front door. He quickly peered through the glass and saw his parents walking up the cement steps. Cursing out loud, he pushed himself away from the door and ran full speed back to the bedroom

“Time to go!” He told the others as he entered the bedroom, closing the door as he did so. The door swung shut but it never clicked into place. The group sprinted toward the window as quietly and as fast as possible. Stevie was the one in front. He dove out head first and landed hard on the ground, followed by Lindsay who landed on top of him. Jesse wasn’t too far away from Lindsay.

“Baby, the window!” Jesse said as he leaped through the window, Alicia following closely behind. She waved her hand at the window once she was out. The window came crashing down.

“Shit, that came down a little hard. I hope they didn’t hear that.” Alicia said breathing hard.

Before they could make a run for it, Jesse suddenly turned back around and dove back underneath the window.

“Damnit, I forgot to turn off the fucking computer!” He panicked. “Baby, open the window again!”

Alicia quickly opened the window with the wave of her hand. Jesse hoisted himself up over the window sill and rushed back over to the computer.

“Jesse, be careful!” Lindsay called after him. Jesse hit the shut down button. His hands shook nervously as he stared at his computer, preparing itself to shut down.

“Scot?” Jesse gasped and turned toward the door when he heard his mothers voice call for his father. She sounded way too close! Jesse listened as his father came walking over to her and asked her what the problem was.

“Were you in Jesse’s room?” Jesse heard her ask him. Oh fuck no! Jesse thought. His breathing came in hard gasps.

“Come on, come on, come on, you fucker. Shut down.” He cursed at the computer.

“Ginger, I don’t go in Jesse’s room. Why do you ask?” Yes! Jesse thought excitedly when his the screen of his computer went dark.

“Because it’s unlocked and opened a little.”

“What the hell?”

Jesse slammed the computer shut and shot up, quickly.

He spun around and came face to face with his parents.

~~~Chapter 17 - Getting Their Trust~~~



Jesse pressed himself as far as he could into his computer desk. His breathing got jammed in his throat long ago and his chest screamed for oxygen, but he could not fill his lungs up. His eyes are shut tight and he feared it would be the end of him if he opened them. The air around him was silent, all except his father’s rough breathing just inches from where he stood. Jesse managed to frown slightly when his father failed to utter a single word to him. He took in a much-needed breath and then slowly opened his eyes.

“Honey, are you sure you haven’t been in here?” Ginger McCartney asked, her voice sounding so tiny and far away.

“Honey, I am positive. I thought maybe you were,”

Ginger wrapped her arms around herself. “It wasn’t me,”

Scot took a step forward in Jesse’s direction, so close that he could smell his aftershave. He placed his hand on the laptop and held it there for a few moments. Then, Scot looked right at Jesse. Jesse’s eyes widened and all he wanted was Aaron’s power. The power to shape shift into anything and that moment the computer desk would make do. Jesse blinked and began to study his father’s face. His expression was weary and dark circles made their home below his eyes. His hair was completely white, a total transformation from his light brown tresses with a few gray areas. That was five months ago, before Jesse’s life was taken away.

Scot suddenly reached toward him. Jesse quickly recoiled and stepped to the side, careful not to knock anything off the desk as he went, just barely missing his father’s fingertips on his face. Jesse gasped when he realized the odd, shocking truth about what he was seeing. He knew why his parents were not reacting toward him…

They could not see him.

*************************************************************************************

Meanwhile with Allison, Amanda, and Hilary

Someone is coming…but who?
Footsteps…
More footsteps….
And more….but wait…they stopped.
No…there they go again.
They are coming….

"Somebody’s coming!" Allison gasped loudly, quickly sitting up and stirring dirt astray, knocking Hilary and Amanda in the head on contact.

"Ouch, bitch! That hurt!” Hilary growled rubbing her head.

"Shhh!" Allison shushed them. The girls clamped their mouths shut and became silent.
"Allison...what is it?" Amanda whispered, giving her a suspicious eye. Allison breathed in sharply and hesitated.

“They’re coming," She answered back. Hilary and Amanda looked at each other with questioning looks.

"Who are they?" Hilary said, wiggling her nose.

"The girls, I can hear them. Jamie is telling Mika how good of a job she did on the set. Mika is laughing, but I am not quite catching what she is saying. Now they’re talking about Kaci's death and how much they miss her." Allison rambled on.

"Okay, how the hell do you know that?" Amanda frowned. Allison frowned herself and put a hand over her ear, her throat feeling thick with each hard swallow.

"I can hear them," She told them, catching their eye. Amanda and Hilary looked around for a while as if they were trying to hear what Allison was hearing.

"I don't hear anything," Hilary flatly informed her.

"Me either," Amanda added.

"But I can,"

"How," Amanda asked pushing back a twig that kept nicking her in the head.

"I don't know. I think—I think I might have a new power. I think I can hear things from...far away...." Allison abruptly trailed off and sat up straight. "Shit! Get down! They’re coming!" Allison grabbed the other girls by their arms just as the side door of the studio swung open. Mika, Jo, and Jamie stepped out surrounded by a bunch of security guards.

"Well, that’s just great, now what?" Hilary groaned her eyes strained on the security guards.

Allison licked her lips. "Okay I have an idea, get ready to grab a teenage celebrity that's in danger on three." She rushed out.

"Allison, I don't think that's such a good idea..."

"Three!" Allison suddenly pulled her body forward and stretched out toward the girls.

"Ohhh!" Amanda and Hilary followed suit. They grabbed the back of their shirts and pulled them into the bushes, without the guards realizing a thing. As soon as they were in the bushes, they disappeared, leaving a cloud of dust behind them.

****************************

A couple blocks away, the girls suddenly came to a stop in an empty parking lot. A few cars are parked here and there, including Mika’s blue Prius. Hilary and Amanda stared at Allison completely stunned, their mouths agape.

"What the hell was that?" Amanda choked out. Allison took a deep breath and slowly started to grin ear to ear.

"I have no idea, but I like it." She said with a cheesy grin. Allison gasped, suddenly remembering the other girls that they just hijacked. She turned around and came face to face with three horror-stricken actresses. Mika, Jo, and Jamie, stood there frozen in place.

"Please don't be afraid." Amanda said, holding up her hands, hoping they would calm down and let them explain.

Jo closed her mouth and leaned closer to Jamie, "They’re supposed to be dead right?” Hilary jumped a little from Jo’s outburst and sudden movement. Allison grabbed her arm to steady her.

Jamie inhaled sharply, "Yeah,"

"See ya!" Mika turned and began to leave, until Allison grabbed her by the arms and pulled her back over to them. With a sharp cry, Mika yanked herself away from Allison as if she just got burned.

"No, Mika! It is okay. We're not going to hurt you." Allison told her in the calmest tone she could bring up.

"Oh I get it! We're being punked. Where's Ashton at?" Jamie laughed nervously, her voice cracking a bit.

"Uh, no Jamie...."

"Come on, where’s the cameras?"

"There aren’t any cameras and this isn’t a joke. You guys need to trust us." Allison explained as best as she could. Allison glanced at Amanda and Hilary, wishing they would chime in at any time, but the girls remained tight-lipped. Allison felt like she had to do everything by herself when it came down to explaining something.

"Trust you? Look at you people. You are a pair of walking—talking, probably brain— eating zombies. How can we trust you?" Mika pointed out.

"Zombies?” Allison gapped, “Do we look like zombies to you? Look, we’re dead. We are not afraid to admit that anymore, but were very much alive as you guys are. We even feel pain and emotion, despite our cold skin and non-beating hearts.” Amanda and Hilary stole a glance at each other. Their lips coordinated with each other forming the word ‘what’. They shook their heads and tried their best to hide their giggles from Allison. Allison pressed her lips together for a split second, glaring at Amanda and Hilary from the corner of her eye, and then she continued.

“But were alive in a different way, but don't worry it's a good way. But what I'm about to explain to you may be completely over your heads...but it's fatal that you trust us first, before we tell you." Allison explained.

"Forget it!" Mika grabbed the other girls and they started to storm away. Allison groaned loudly and cleared her throat. She knew what she had to say to them next.

“Don’t say it, Allison.” Amanda told her, knowing exactly what she was getting ready to say.

"Someone very bad is after you!" Allison called out to them. The girls stopped dead in their tracks.

“She said it,” Hilary said. Allison ignored them.

"What do you mean?" Jo asked, nervously.

"Are you blind, Jo? Can you see that they are lying? They’re not real!" Mika hissed. Jo frowned, stealing a glance at Mika. She shrugged her shoulders and lowered her eyes to the ground.

"Fine, we're lying, but Mika, let me tell you a little information that’ll make you wish you would’ve trusted us. If you find yourself with a machete forced through your body or your throat sliced to the Adams apple, don't make me tell you I told you so. Actually, you wouldn’t be able to tell me shit, because you’ll be dead and this isn’t threat, it’s a promise. “Allison warned. Mika bit her lip so hard she drew blood. She remained tight-lipped and didn’t argue any further.

“You go girl.” Allison smirked and looked at Amanda.

"Okay, fine. We're listening," Jamie said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Allison took a deep breath and took a step forward. The other girls stiffened, but remained in their spot.

"It’s very hard for me to explain this to you guys in words. You might think I'm crazy. Hell, I think I’m crazy too." She chuckled, “To get to the point, you guys are being stalked by a psycho killer."

"Well it wouldn't be the first time." Jamie said sarcastically, but uneasily, remembering the time when she came face to face with her own stalker.

"No I mean it. This time it's different. This is a major deal. You guys and seven others are being stalked as well, possibly getting killed as we speak...."

"Wait a minute..." Jo interrupted putting her hand up. She daringly took a step forward, "Seven others? Who are they?" Allison took a glance at Amanda. Amanda nodded, urging her to go on.

"Well, it's you three, Chris Brown, Sara Paxton, Evan Rachel Wood, Jeremy Sumter, Zac Efron, and Ricky Ullman." Allison named off the people on the psycho killers hit list that is wedged in her brain.

"How do you know that?" Mika snorted.

Allison sighed heavily. "It's the reason why we were sent back here in the first place! To protect you guys from being killed, that is why you need to trust us. This guy is bad. If you get caught, you’re dead. You can't fight him by yourself. Trust me when I say this, that this guy is the same fucker that slaughtered us five months ago. That's another reason why we're back, is to kick his sorry ass, but the real mystery is, is that Aaron...killed our killer before he died. The bad thing is we had two killers. So it must be the second killer that's after you guys."

"But the weird thing is Jesse doesn't even think our main killer is dead. He thinks he's still alive." Amanda added.

"Which gives us more problems," Allison said biting her lip.

"God I hope not," Hilary groaned.

"You guys...the killer has already begun to kill. He killed Kaci," Allison said sadly. The girls gasped and their faces fell.

"So it's true?" Jamie said shuddering at the thought.

"Yes and honestly...I wish it wasn't. So...do you trust us?" Allison gave them an encouraging smile and held out her fist. Amanda and Hilary giggled and clamped their hands on top of Allison's closed fist. Jo took a deep breath and slowly hovered her hand just above Hilary’s. She hesitated before placing her hand on top. She flinched a bit from the coldness of Hilary’s hand. Jo took a glance at Jamie.

Jamie sighed, "Well, I just hope I get to see my sweet sixteen when this is all over." She smiled, placing her hand on top of Jo’s.

"Mika, what about you," Jamie said, turning toward Mika. She gasped when Mika wasn’t anywhere to be found, "Mika?"

"Mika?" All the girls became alert at once and whirled around and around, calling out her name. Amanda gasped as she suddenly saw Mika running toward her car.

“There she is!” She said pointing Mika out, just as she was opening up her car door.

"No! Mika wait!" The girls sprinted after her as fast as they could. Mika got into her car and quickly buckled her seat belt.

"Mika stop! Don't go, please!" Jo pleaded with her. Mika quickly locked the doors and windows. The girls pounded on the windows, begging her to listen to them.

"Go away! Leave me alone!" She quickly put her car into reverse and punched the gas. Hilary, who was standing behind the car, screamed loudly as the car slammed into her, sending her flying 20 feet in the air. Mika whipped her car into drive and sped away.

"Oh shit! Hilary!" The girls ran over to her, where she laid face down on the pavement, lightly pounding the ground with her fist, "Are you okay?"
Hilary lifted up her head and looked at them, "Ouch?" She said, sarcastically. The others girls chuckled and shook their heads. Hilary groaned and let her face fall back on the hard cement.

*************************************************************************************

Meanwhile back with Jesse, Lindsay, Stevie, and Alicia

Jesse slipped out of his parents’ house unnoticed, realizing the true horror he endured in that brief period. He walked briskly away from the house and found the others laying low and waiting patiently inside the SUV. Jesse stopped at the door, took a deep breath, and then hopped inside. Once he was inside, he let his forehead slam against the steering wheel and a long groan escaped beneath him.

“What took you so long?” Stevie asked pulling himself forward from the back seat and slapping Jesse on the shoulder. They stared at him with concern, as he remained silent. Jesse pulled back and brushed Stevie’s hand away. Jesse slowly settled his gaze on Alicia when she reached over and squeezed his hand.

“What’s wrong?” She asked climbing over and resting her chin on his shoulder while her right hand carefully caressed his cheek.

Jesse cleared his throat. “We have another problem and I don’t even know where to begin.”

“What?” Lindsay murmured settling herself closer so she can hear. The others became silent and their full attention was stationary on Jesse.

“My parents…they came in while I was in the room.” Jesse jadedly said.

Alicia gasped. “Oh my God…”

“That’s not the worst part,”

“What’s worse than getting caught, man?” Stevie grunted tapping Jesse on the back to get another form of an answer out of him.

“I didn’t get caught, Stevie. They were standing so close to me that I could smell my mom’s perfume. I was really looking at them, but they…they weren’t looking at me.”

“What do you mean?” Lindsay said flatly. She gave a nervous laugh and then turned toward Alicia. “What does he mean?”

Alicia closed her eyes and sighed. Then, she quickly waved Lindsay off and took Jesse’s hand into hers. “Baby, what do you mean by that?”

Jesse continued staring out the window. “My dad knew that someone was in the room. He kept looking at my computer, just knowing. I was trying to stay as quiet as I could, but the look on my dad’s face…I just knew he knew better. Then, out of nowhere, he looks up and looks right at me. He looks me right in the eye, but he wasn’t seeing me.” Jesse broke his gaze from the window and narrowed his eyes at his stunned friends. “My parents could not fucking see me,”

Alicia shrank back, glancing at the silent duo in the back. “Are you sure?” Her words lingered in the air around her when her words came out nothing but a whisper.

“Then, how come every Tom, Dick, and Joe walking on the streets can? I mean I know they’re not seeing us, only our disguises but how come your parents couldn’t see your disguise?” Stevie asked.

Jesse shook his head, his mind swimming far away from reality. “I don’t know, but what I do know is that I am eternally grateful that they couldn’t. I don’t think I would be able to handle another problem like that. I mean for God sakes, it was hard for me to see them. My dad looks like he’s sixty. He’s always been so young looking, and my mom…she’s so tiny…” Jesse trailed off and a look of swift sadness seeped into his eyes. He lowered his gaze to his lap and bit his lip until he drew blood. The others remained silent along with him, soaking in his sadness as they thought about the possibility of their parents failing to see them.

The thick air was sliced open when Jesse became alert, clearing his throat, and starting the engine. “We need to head back. Maybe the girls or Aaron and Frankie found some good news they can share with me for once.”

                                                                             ~~~Chapter 18: Figuring Him Out~~~

Meanwhile back at the house, Frankie and Aaron blinked into the hallway. Aaron stumbled backward, falling into the wall, feeling extremely dizzy from all the blinking in and out him and Frankie were doing all day.

"Son of a bitch! Does that blinking in and out all the time bother you any?"

Frankie shrugged, "Eh, not really. You’ll get used to it.” Frankie smirked, slapping Aaron on the back and heading toward the murmur of voices coming from the living room.

"I don’t want to get used it." Aaron groaned as he rubbed his head, "I'm getting a migraine." The boys slowly walked into the living room where Jesse, Stevie, Alicia, and Kaci sat around talking amongst themselves.

"So what are we going to tell Jesse?" Aaron whispered to Frankie.

"The truth," Frankie whispered back.

"Jesse can't handle the truth."

"Try me." Jesse called out from his place in his leather armchair. The others looked at Jesse and then back at Aaron and Frankie, awaiting good or bad news.

"Damn." Aaron sighed and sat down on the couch while Frankie went to go stand by Jesse.

"Why do I have a feeling my day’s about to get worse?" Jesse asked, turning around in his chair.

Frankie sighed and placed his hand on Jesse’s shoulder. "Jesse, listen. We found two answers to our problems," Frankie told him, taking a deep breath. "Kent and Alexa are alive."

Jesse stared back at him, before getting up and standing behind the couch. He stood in silence, almost burning a hole right through the floor.

"I could have told you that." He said flatly. Stevie huffed angrily and shot up from the couch.

"That's a bunch of bullshit, Frankie and you know it! Alexa is dead, man. When Allison and I found her...she…she...." The words wedged into his throat.

"Stevie...calm down." Jesse told him, grabbing his arm lightly and setting him back down.

"Are you sure?" Stevie asked, grabbing a hold of his hands to keep them from shaking so much.

"Saw her with my own eyes." Aaron answered him.

"Not to mention face to face." Frankie added under his breath. Aaron's eyes widened and he gave him a death stare. Frankie flinched when he realized what he just said and that it was louder than it should have been. He gave Aaron an apologizing look. Jesse sucked in a sharp breath and went to grasp the back of the couch, but caught Stevie’s shoulder instead. Stevie opened his mouth in a silent scream, a little squeal escaping through his lips.

"What do you mean face to face?" He gritted through his teeth, irately.

"Alexa saw me." Aaron confessed to him, flinching in the process but still trying to keep it together.

"What?!" Jesse blew up, his face turning red with rage. Frankie took a large step away from Jesse. He could have sworn he saw steam coming out of Jesse’s ears. Frankie knew this wasn’t going to end well.

"It wasn't my fault, man!" Aaron said, painfully. He took a step back, hoping he would not have to jump into yet another fight.

"Bullshit Aaron! Everything is your fault!” He screamed. When Jesse said those words, Aaron’s eyes turned a fiery red.

"Jesse, please..." Alicia beckoned to him, reaching out for his hand.

"Back off!" He snapped at her jerking his hand back. She flinched and took a step back.

"How the fuck was I supposed to know she was in front of the door when I opened it?!" Aaron fumed, "How the fuck would anyone know that?! If you want me to help you save your God Damn innocents, then you can go in this alone, because according to you, I'm a fuckup!! That’s all I do right? And you can take those words and shove them up your ass, you dick!” Aaron scowled, turning on his heal and storming toward the kitchen.

"Well that was special." Stevie grunted. Jesse groaned and buried his head in his hands.

"Jesse lay off. Aaron’s not our problem. Kent and Alexa are. Now we just need to piece together what we have." Frankie told him.

"Well, the fact is, Alexa sure as hell faked her death." Jesse said.

"You got that right.” Frankie said sighing.

"Yeah, but I don't get it. How can she do that??" Stevie asked, just as Aaron walked back into the living room with a Dr. Pepper in his hand.

"Let me give you a little hint, Stevie...welcome to show business!" Aaron said, popping the cap on his pop. Stevie rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"Aaron, I'm sorry." Jesse apologized to Aaron.

"Yup," Aaron answered, avoiding eye contact. He wasn't exactly ready to say ‘it’s okay.’ Not this time.

"But the question still remains, why did she do it in the first place?" Kaci mentioned, trying to help the others piece things together while she had the chance.

"That's a good question." Jesse sighed running a hand through his blond hair.

"All I'm saying is that girl is going have to have a new face after I get through with her." Aaron sneered, sipping at his pop. Aaron made a face at the taste of his Dr. Pepper. He quickly tipped his pop can over and emptied its contents in the plant that stood beside him. Kaci caught him pouring his drink out and gave him a concerned look. Aaron answered her by shaking his head.

"I hope the girls are having more fun than we are!" Frankie groaned, "We have nothing remotely helpful. We need to think of another strategy here."

"I wouldn't say that." Jesse said, with a smirk, "I think I’m figuring Kent out."

"Kent??"

*******

Meanwhile, Mika sped down the road as fast as she could get her car to go. She licked her lips and rubbed her hands over the steering wheel. Sweat slowly ran down the side of her face. She shook her head, trying to shove the thoughts away that rocked her brain. All she could think of was what Allison had told her.

'They had to be phonies. They had to be! This is all a dream. They didn't come up to me. They aren't alive. I'm just being paranoid.'

Mika swallowed the hard lump that formed in her dry throat swallowed hard. She took a deep breath and held it for a split second. She quickly let it go and started to relax. Although, in the back of her mind, Mika could not help but think she should have listened.

"What the hell is the matter with me?" She asked herself, "There is no one after me. No one! I'm okay. I'm okay." She licked her dry lips and tilted her mirror slightly to the right. Suddenly a big dark figure appeared in the back seat, a long machete gripped tightly in his hand. Mika let out a blood-curling scream as the intruder brutally forced the machete through the back of the seat, impaling her right through her stomach. The car skidded off the road, flipping numerous of times violently, until it came to a dead stop on the side of the road.

********

A couple of minutes later, Allison and the girls stopped on the road where Mika’s car was traveling. Allison’s speed and sudden stop left a blur behind them, from the great speed power that Allison recently found out she had.

"Holy mother of God, slow down hot wheels." Amanda joked. But her joking was soon seized when she spotted Mika's car in the ditch.

"Oh no," Allison gasped. They ran over to her, fear arising in them. Fear that they were too late.

"Mika," They flew down to the ground. Allison got on her hands and knees and peaked through the shattered window. Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed at the gruesome site before her. She swallowed hard, trying to keep the nausea inside. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned away, letting out a shaky breath.

"She’s dead," She choked out, "He got her."

Jo and Jamie let out a cry and clung to each other.

“If he was in the car, where the hell is he?” Hilary said stiffly. Allison breathed hard, looking each way, trying to see if she could see any movement out in the woods. She turned back to the girls and all she could do was shrug.

*******

“What the hell are you talking about, man?" Frankie frowned standing his ground in front of Jesse, eager for him to elaborate.

"You'll see. I'll explain it when everyone else gets here."

"Okay." Frankie agreed, "Jesse, we have another problem."

"What now?" Jesse said, annoyed.

"Aaron and I have a feeling that Alexa is on Kent's side and that they might have someone else possibly helping them. I thought we should look into it."

"Duh, anything that would help us would be useful." Jesse said. Frankie smiled and nodded. Unexpectedly, Frankie’s smile disappeared and he screamed out in unbearable pain. He clutched his chest and fell to his knees, pain and agony formed quickly over his face. Everyone in the room, jumped to their feet in an instant once Frankie started screaming. They ran over to him and tried to keep him still and calm.

"Frankie? Frankie, are you alright?" Jesse panicked, getting down on his knees, and wrapping his arms around his waist, trying to steady him. Frankie began to calm down a little but still struggled with the pain he bared.

"Take a deep breath, man." Stevie said, holding his hand lightly. Tears stung in Frankie's eyes. He took several deep breaths before he finally was able to speak again.

"Mika's hurt." Frankie jerked, becoming very quiet, "The girls are already at the scene. Allison's calling me. Let's go!" He stood up, as everyone grabbed a hold of each other. Frankie blinked out of the room with the others in tow.

**************

"Frankie?!" Allison yelled for the third time, trying to contact Frankie. Behind her, Frankie and the others blinked in behind her.

"Allison." A voice came from behind her. Allison gasped and whirled around.

"Took you long enough,"

"Sorry." Frankie walked up to her and gave her a hug.

"I got an attack that Mika was hurt and then I heard you calling me." Allison nodded and lowered her head.

“She’s dead.” Allison whispered. Frankie sighed wrapping his arms around her waist and gave her a lingering embrace.

"Oh, my God! Jamie! Joanna! Are you okay?" Kaci asked, running up to them and embracing them. The girls cried out in joy as they wrapped their arms around their close friend. Jo and Jamie knew that Kaci was dead, but they did not care that their arms were around a corpse. Nothing at this point shocked them anymore. All that they cared about was a chance to see her again.

"Kaci! Oh, my God! Yeah, were fine... but...I don't think Mika is." Jamie said sadly, nodding over at the heap of twisted metal. Kaci gasped and glanced at Jesse.

"Jesse?" Jesse stood there staring upon the wreckage. He let out a loud gasp and sprinted over to the car. Hilary stepped up behind him and grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Jesse, don't! She's already dead. There's nothing you can do now. There's nothing we can do." Hilary told him. Jesse's eyes filled up with tears at that exact moment.

"Yeah, but we could have done something." He said sadly. He pulled his hand back and walked to the car. He kneeled down beside Mika and took her limp hand in his cold one. Alicia sighed and looked down at the ground, sadly. She bit her lip and kneeled down behind Jesse. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed his neck softly, resting her face in between his neck.

"Come on, baby." She grabbed his arm gently and hoisted him up. She walked him back to their grieving friends. The group walked down the road, arm in arm until Frankie blinked.