Chapter 21: This just gets weirder and weirder
"What the fuck do you mean we have a problem?!" Jesse yelled in Aaron’s face pacing back and forth in front of him.
"Jesse, calm the fuck down!!" Alicia growled. She grabbed his arm and slung him on the couch. Jesse glared at her, but remained silent. Alicia rolled her eyes and went up to Aaron. She grabbed his hand gently and directed him over to the couch. Jesse sighed heavily, sat up, and let Aaron sit down next to him.
"Now tell us what happened. Where's Frankie? Didn't he find you?" Lindsay said, as she kneeled down in front of him and wiped the blood off his face with a wet wash rag.
"Yeah....but...." Aaron took a shaky breath and looked at everyone else. Their eyes shone with hope and nervousness, yet filled with fear. "He's dead," Aaron whispered. They gasped, and took glances at each other.
"What do you mean 'dead'? As in 'living dead' like us, or 'you're totally fucked dead'?" Stevie asked. Hilary hit him in the arm. Stevie jumped back and shrugged.
"He's dead....again. He’s gone." Aaron closed his eyes and fell back against the couch.
"How did it happen?" Jesse asked. Aaron looked at him with tired, sad eyes. He pursed his lips together for a moment and then sat back up.
"You know that girl that Frankie and I told you about, the one that we saw with Alexa and Kent?"
Jesse nodded.
"It was her," Aaron continued, "Her name is Laura and apparently she is definitely on Kent's side. She has this power. I don't really know what the hell it is and to be honest I don't really want to know, but she killed Frankie with it. So I suggest we stay clear of this chick. She's dangerous. I think we should worry more about her than Kent and Alexa right now."
"Aaron has a point there, Jess." Amanda told him.
"I know, I know. We all just have to be extra cautions with this chick, especially if she’s a whole lot more dangerous than Kent is right now."
“I think Kent is using this bitch to fend off anyone who gets in his way.” Aaron said.
“Like us?” Hilary said.
“Exactly,”
“Yeah, but the question is, who is she and what the hell does she have to gain for this?” Amanda said. Everyone else just shrugged. No one really knew the answer.
“The real question is where the hell did Kent find this chick, and what the hell is up with that power she’s packing? That’s some lethal shit. The impact of it got me blown out of a window.” Aaron said.
“Is that why you’re all bloody?” Jesse asked. Aaron looked down and observed the bloody wound on his chest. He gently put his hand over his chest, pressing firmly against it.
“No, Kent stabbed me.” Aaron answered him. Jesse nodded and fell silent. Lindsay kindly reached forward, pulled Aaron’s hand off his chest, and silently healed his wound without a word. Once she was done, Aaron gave her a small smile of gratitude.
“Thank you,” He whispered. She answered with only a smile and then sat back behind the others.
"So, did you figure out why Kent's still alive?" Lindsay asked Aaron.
“Kent isn’t alive, Lindsay. He’s dead as door knob just like us, but why he’s back I have no fucking clue.” Aaron told her, “That dude is packing on the muscle though. The fucker hurled me through the air with only one arm! But I did a pretty good job keeping the fight fair. I mean he’s strong, but he’s not that damn strong. I had him on his ass on a few occasions.”
"You did?" Jesse grinned. Aaron nodded and smiled, “Maybe I wouldn’t have to worry about you for now on.” Jesse continued.
“You were worried about me?” Aaron smirked.
“A little bit. I guess we can go up against Kent alone, but not against Laura that’s for damn sure!” Jesse chuckled. Everyone else stole glances at each other, surprised Jesse made a joke about something he’s always been so serious about. They all shrugged and chuckled along with him.
“Son of a bitch! What the hell??” Stevie suddenly stammered off. Everyone turned their attention to him. Stevie stood to the right of the shelf beside him. He stared blankly at something sitting on top of the shelf, something that wasn’t sitting there a couple of seconds ago.
“Dude, what the hell is wrong with you?” Aaron asked, walked up behind him and placing his hand on his shoulder.
“Guys, I swear on my own grave I am not bullshittin’, but this jar just literally appeared right in front of my fucking face.” He said, pointing a finger at the glass jar that suddenly appeared to him. Jesse stepped up and moved Stevie out of the way so he could get a closer look at it.
“Where the hell did this come from?” He whispered. Jesse ran his fingers over the unique pattern circling the body of the jar. The initials ‘FM’ were engraved on the side.
“What do you mean it just literally appeared?” Aaron asked Stevie, half knowing what he was talking about and half just wanting to break the silence. Jesse’s silence was about to make him go crazy.
“Just like that—literally. Like poof, just like how Frankie would blink in and out. Poof,” Stevie said. Aaron bit his lip and slowly nodded.
“It’s Frankie.” Jesse finally said, straightening up. Everyone’s gaze shot at Jesse at once.
“Pardon,” Aaron muttered. Then he realized why Jesse said that. Jesse was looking inside of the jar and Aaron knew exactly what he was looking at; Frankie’s remains.
“It even has his initials on the side. ‘FM’, Frankie Munez.” Aaron walked over to the shelf and placed his hands on both sides of the jar.
“What the hell does this mean? So if another one of us dies, we’ll get a jar too?” Stevie asked.
“That’s a question we’ll just have to put on our ‘hardest questions to solve’ list, I suppose.” Jesse answered, moving away from the shelf and sitting back down on the couch.
“Hey, where's Allison?" Aaron asked, still looking at the jar.
"Oh she's upstairs in the attic testing out her new power." Hilary smirked, followed by a stifled laugh.
"What's her power?" Aaron asked, turning his attention away from the jar and on to Hilary.
"You wouldn’t believe this...she can run faster than the speed of light. Talk about a head rush." Amanda chuckled as she got up and headed toward the kitchen.
"She’s running around the attic counting how many times she can run around in a circle. She probably lost track after one." Alicia snickered. She reached up and pulled Aaron back on the couch, then rested her legs on his lap. Jesse sighed heavily, leaned his head back, and closed his eyes.
"Jesse, are you okay?" Stevie asked him. Jesse lifted his head up and looked at him for a split second.
"How can you ask me that question?" Jesse said. Aaron gave him a warm smile and rested his hand on his arm.
"Don't worry, man. We'll figure this out." Aaron said soothingly.
"When after it's too late?" Jesse spit out.
"You got to have positive thinking, Jesse. Negativity isn't going to get us anywhere!" Stevie shot at him. Amanda came up behind Stevie and smacked him in the arm.
"What? It's true." Stevie shrugged.
"Would you shut up?" Amanda hissed.
"Amanda, he's right," Jesse said, taking a deep breath. "I—I need to think about this. I'll be in the kitchen if anyone needs me." He quickly got up and walked to the kitchen, leaving everyone else to talk amongst their selves.
"Do you think he's going be okay?" Hilary whispered to Alicia. Alicia bit nervously at her nails.
"I'm not so sure anymore." Alicia answered.
Lindsay sighed and closed her eyes. She gasped lightly when she started to get another premonition. The flash was short and fast, but Lindsay knew what was about to happen. She opened her eyes. No one noticed anything this time around.
"Allison's coming, ya'll."
***
Jesse took a drink of his Dr. Pepper, letting the liquid slid down his throat with ease. He made a face at the taste and then frowned in confusion.
“Nothing tastes good anymore.” He mumbled under his breath. He pushed his pop far away from him. Jesse loved Dr. Pepper and he wondered why the hell it didn’t taste good to him anymore. He sighed and massaged his temples with the tip of his fingers.
"Allison's coming, ya'll!" Jesse's head snapped up, when he heard Lindsay's voice call out.
'Shit' Jesse cursed in his mind. Suddenly, behind him, a huge blur shot passed him followed by a vast explosion that erupted in the hallway. The whole house shook like an earthquake.
"Who put that wall there?" A voice called out. A grunt came, trailed by various groans. Jesse licked his lips and sighed in annoyance. He stood up from his chair and walked to the destroyed hallway, where Allison sure enough laid sprawled about in the middle of the rubble, coughing on the dust that lingered all around.
"Allison, are you okay?" Jesse asked her, as he grabbed her hand and hauled her up. The others gathered around and then frowned at the mess. No one spoke.
"Oh I'm just dandy." Her eyes widened for a split second. She shook her head and closed her eyes, trying to control her vision, and to keep her head from spinning.
"Next time you practice your little uncontrolled power, please be careful. You’re destroying my house. Alicia will ya please?" He said, waving a hand at the destroyed wall. Alicia rolled her eyes in annoyance and snapped her fingers, making the wall take the form it once was before Allison destroyed it.
***
"Kent? Kent, will you slow down! Stop!" Laura said as she grasped his hood, struggling to get him to stop.
Kent whirled around and faced her, his face twisted in anger. "What?"
Laura flinched and took a step backward. “What’s the reason for this?”
"I got to make sure those sons of bitches aren't back. If all of them are, then there’ll be hell to pay. I’ve come too far to be stopped now!" He roared. He turned on his heel and began to race back toward the house. Laura sighed heavily and followed him, ready to become his back up if he needs her to be so.
***
Meanwhile, back inside the house, the gang stood around and chatted about their situations and tried to come up with solutions on how to solve them. They were unaware of the dangers that lurked outside. Abruptly, the lights went out. Everyone immediately stopped talking and silence swept among them. No one spoke. No one even breathed.
"What the fuck happened to the lights?" Jesse called out from in the kitchen, making everyone jump from his outburst, but they kept silent. They gave each other nervous glances and listened to a noise they all knew too well, "Will someone answer me!" Jesse said, walking into the hallway, where everyone was standing. At that exact moment, he got the hint and went silent. That’s when they heard the sound of angry words, coming from the outside, enter their ears.
Closer they came…louder they came.
"Kent??" Aaron whispered, finally breaking the silence among them.
"Could it be....?" Stevie whispered back to him. Aaron shrugged. Jesse grabbed Stevie lightly by the arm to keep him quiet.
"Hide...now." Jesse whispered. They scrambled away just in time as the front door was busted off its hinges. Aaron scrambled toward the couch. He leaped over it and landed on top of Stevie.
"Ow." Stevie groaned.
"Here...kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty. Come out; come out, wherever you are," Kent sang. His eyes wondered all through the house, like an owl, watching for its prey. An evil snarl spread over Kent's face, as he viciously eyed the bright yellow balls that floated by the table. Aaron poked his face out and took a glance at Kent. He frowned and took a glance at Allison. He looked back and forth at them, with wide eyes.
"Oh no," Aaron whispered.
Stevie quickly looked at him. "What is it?"
"Kent just spotted Allison." Aaron leaned forward, crouching down lower behind the couch, “Allison." He whispered, trying to get her attention. She didn't hear him, "Allison." He called out a little bit louder. Finally, she snapped her head in his direction.
"What?" She mouthed to him.
"Close your eyes."
"What??"
"Close… your… eyes."
"Aaron I can't hear you." Allison said a little bit too loudly and she knew that. She winced and pressed her back further against the wall.
"Close your fucking eyes." He hissed loudly. Her eyes widened and she gave him a blank look. "He's looking at you."
Allison's breathing picked up quite extensively. She turned to look at Kent and sure enough he was looking at her. His face was only 2 feet away from hers.
“Hiya, Allison. How's the afterlife?" He laughed ravenously. Allison screamed and scrambled away as fast as she could, but she wasn't fast enough. Laura was just a tad bit faster. Allison perished within just a few seconds.
"Oh, hell no, I did not come back from the dead for this!!" Jesse quickly shot out of his hiding place and threw his hands up in the air. He blasted Kent into the wall, violently. Laura screamed and shielded herself. She ran over to Kent and hoisted him up. Jesse tried to attempt another blow, but they shot out of there, before he even had a chance to. The others scrambled out of their hiding places and raced toward the middle of the room. They stared down at the whitish dust that lay on the floor.
"Oh no....Allison...."
Aaron stared down at the dust on the floor, and then let his gaze slowly move toward the shelf where Frankie’s jar sat. His theory was right on the mark. Another jar was placed right beside Frankie’s with the initials ‘AM’ engraved on it. When Aaron looked back down, the dust left from where Allison stood wasn’t there.
