~~~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.