Fly Now

by Panda-Chan8

Izzy is Alex's twin sister. They are a part of the Riverton Eight, along with their best friend Adam "Bug" Hellerman. But on their sixteenth birthday, "Ripper Day", horrible things begin to happen to the Riverton Eight. The eight are dying off, one by one. Could it be the Ripper came back to life? One-Shot, follows the movie. Bug/OC. EDIT: 01/25/2014

AN: Okay, so, My Soul To Take has become one of my favorite movies. I LOVE IT! And Max Theiriot, 'cause he's H-O-T HOT! And since there are so few My Soul To Take fanfictions out there, I decided to write one of my own. I originally planned to separate this into chapters, but they would have been all wonky and uneven, some longer than others. So I just kept it all together and now it's a one-shot! Yay!

Make sure to read the bottom Author's Note for more information about a possible new My Soul To Take fanfic that I am working on!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MY SOUL TO TAKE, I ONLY OWN IZZY AND SOME PARTS OF THIS STORY THAT I MADE UP :)

---

Tonight was the eve of the Ripper Day. At midnight tonight, a bunch of Riverton teens were going out to the destroyed, abandoned ambulance to celebrate the death of the Ripper and the birthday of the Riverton eight. Eight children, each born prematurely on this night, all at the same time. My twin, Alex, and I, were two of those children. It would be our sixteenth birthday. Happy sweet sixteen, right?

It was a little past 11:40 pm, and I was in my room that I shared with Alex, changing clothes for the big celebration later. I had pulled on a pair of dark skinny jeans, and had pulled off my shirt, about to put on a black tank top, when my brother quietly burst into my room from the bathroom.

"Hey, you ready yet Izzy?" He asked.

"Alex!" I hissed, covering my chest with the tank top "Fuck, I'm not finished getting dressed yet! Get out!"

"Sorry!" He whisper-yelled, covering his eyes, but didn't leave.

I frowned, pulling the black tank over my head "Asshole, don't even have the decency to leave." I joked.

"Nothing to see there." He teased back.

I smirked, punching him lightly in the arm. "Shut up, Alex. I'm pretty damn sexy." I walked to my mirror and grabbed a hair tie, pulling my hair into a messy, curly side ponytail. Us Dunkelman and our damn curly hair.

"Yeah right. Just hurry up, I don't want to be late!"

"Fine!" I huffed, pulling on my brown hoodie. "Let's go, Mr. Rushypants." I went to my open window and threw my leg over the side and climbed out, stepping onto the roof. Alex followed and we made our way to the ground. Then, we walked through the forest to the abandoned ambulance.

There was already a crowd of teens there, talking amongst themselves. I could see our blind friend Jerome, our kind-of friend Jay, Penelope, Brandon, and Brittany. "Where's Bug?" I asked, not seeing our best friend and my secret crush.

"I don't know. But he'll be here, he wouldn't ditch us on Ripper Day."

Jerome made his way over to us and asked the same thing. Alex answered with what he told me. Everyone began counting the gongs when the town clock struck midnight. When they hit 'twelve' all the lights in the town went out. It was officially Ripper Day. All of us in the Riverton Eight were officially sixteen.

"The lights... Out!" Brandon O'Neil yelled to the cheering crowd "Alright, this is it. let the day begin! As you all know, Ripper Day marks two things. One of them bad, and one of them good."

"The good part is, it's the birthday of eight of us here. Born sixteen years ago tonight. Jerome King. Hey, Jerome," he pointed to my blind friend.

Next he pointed to Alex, who raised his hand in recognition "Alex Dunkelman." Probably the only time he's ever said our last name right.

"The ever adorable Izzy Dunkelman" Brandon teased, pointing at me. I flipped him off in return.

"Jay Chan, with the new Ripper puppet tonight." The crowd cheered.

"Bug Hellerman." Bug still wasn't here. "Hellerman?" There was some cracks in the woods and Bug appeared through the trees.

"Better late than never." I teased softly.

"Where the hell have you been?" Alex asked with a smile.

"Sleeping." Bug answered. He didn't look happy.

"It's okay, Bug takes a little longer 'cause he's a little slower." Brandon joked with a taunting grin. I glared at him "Moving on to Penelope Bright, over there by the ambulance, who incidentally knows God, they speak daily." Brandon was an asshole, making fun of her religion like that.

"And to the beautiful, gorgeous Brittany Cunningham!" Brandon laid it on thick for his little whore. I had nothing against her, except for the fact that Bug liked her. So that automatically made her my mortal enemy.

"And last but not least, me." Brandon pointed to himself as the crowd yelled his name. "Thank you, thank you, thank you very much." His smile was smug.

"Now it's time for the bad part, people. We of the Riverton Eight have had to share our birthday with a monster. The serial killer Abel Plenkov who died at midnight the day we were born, The Ripper. Legend has it that we, the Riverton eight, are the mirrors of Abel Plenkov's personalities. The ones that turned the Ripper in, and that The Ripper still wants revenge. So Abel Plenkov is dead. But his ghost isn't."

"No, it lurks underneath the old railroad bridge, you've seen it. It sleeps in the river. It roams the darkest corners of the woods. Just waiting for the next Ripper day to come around. So that day, our birthday, tonight, the Devil has told him he could take revenge. BUT he can only come out of the river at this spot!" He pointed to an opening behind him. "And every year, since we have been able, one of us Riverton Eight has volunteered to drive him back to the river where he belongs!"

"And tonight is no exception! And I have personally chosen to volunteer..." People in the crowd voiced their disagreement "to volunteer Bug Hellerman that is." Brandon pointed at Bug. The crowd cheered. Douchebags, all of them. "It's your turn Bug! The rest of us have done it! We will now summon the Ripper from the river. If he appears yet again, then Bug must slay him, or we all die."

"Bug, you don't have to do this." I whispered as the crowd chanted for the Ripper. He didn't answer, but looked terrified. Jerome started yelling with everyone else so Alex hit him in the chest, hissing "Shut up."

"What'd I do?" Jerome asked.

"Bug's freakin' out." Alex whispered back.

Something snapped in the woods. Everyone gasped and turned towards the sound. The ripper walked through the trees, tall, creepy, and dead-looking. "He's coming through the woods." I squeaked in fright. I faced the Ripper two years ago, but it didn't look nearly as scary as this one did.

"It's just a puppet, knock it over." Alex assured Bug, pushing him forward.

"Whoa, get in there you pussy!" Brandon yelled in a wavy ghost voice, pushing Bug. I clung to Alex, kind of scared out of my mind.

Everyone cheered Bug on in their own way, except me, but Bug turned around looking as scared as I was and said "I can't do this!"

At least he was honest.

The crowd just cheered more. "Stop this! If he says he can't do it, let him go!" I yelled to Brandon. He ignored me, waving me off.

Suddenly there were sirens. "COPS!" Penelope yelled. The puppet crumpled to the ground.

"Shit!" I cursed, going with Alex to pick bug up.

"Come on, we gotta go!" Alex yelled as Bug got up.

Running through the trees, I warned Jerome "Watch the trees Jerome!" He ran wildly and bumped into me, I bumped into Alex, who bumped into Bug and sent him sprawling into the river.

"Oh, he's still alive!" Alex exclaimed as Jay and Jerome laughed.

I stepped to the river bank. "C'mon, I got you." I offered my hand to Bug. He took it with a small, grateful smile and I hauled him out of the water.

"I'm blind Bug, not you!" Jerome joked.

"You okay?" Alex asked. Bug nodded. We ran again. Jay pointed to a big log for us to hide behind. We jumped over it and hid safely on the other side. It was then that I noticed Bug and I were still holding hands. I looked up at him, and he was looking back at me, realizing the same thing. Embarrassed, we quickly let go.

"The fuck was that? Why did they stop us?" Alex asked. Jay shushed him.

"Go home!" A cop yelled "Ripper Day has been officially cancelled."

"Just Patterson and Lane." Jay said, peeking over the log at the cops.

"Why so glum, chum?" Jerome asked Bug. I looked at him concerned.

"I failed." Bug said dejectedly.

"Why, 'cause you couldn't kill him?" Jay asked

Bug continued "Now we're all gonna die and it's my fault."

"No!" I shook my head, rubbing his shoulder.

"That's bullshit Brandon made up. If he was so worried about it he would have killed it himself." Alex said logically.

"That puppet was scary." Bug said. I nodded, looping my arm through his and holding it tight.

"Thanks!" Jay smiled. He was cute, but Bug was more my type. I liked his soft demeanor, how he was so shy and thoughtful.

"The coat was creepy, you added some moss and grass and shit, right?" Alex asked.

"Yeah man, he's been living under the river for sixteen years, he's primeval baby!" Jay answered enthusiastically.

"If the Ripper died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, how did he get the coat and everything?" I asked.

"Well, in my version, the day after Plenkov supposedly drowned, his house was burglarized, right? They took the coat, the boots, his whole outfit!" Jay explained.

"Why would the burglars just take clothes?" Bug questioned.

"A burglar wouldn't, Bug!" Jay said.

Jerome pieced it together "But Plenkov would, if he was still alive!"

"Exactly!" Jay exclaimed.

"The Ripper is still alive?" Bug asked, sounding scared. "I thought you said he was just a ghost!"

"He's dead!" Alex hissed, reassuring Bug and I.

"No, they never found his body!" Jay argued.

"And no one really knew the Plenkov's well, they just moved to Riverton. And Plenkov could look completely different after sixteen years!" Jerome agreed. "Cosmetic surgeries, hair transplants, weight watchers!"

"He could have changed his name!" Jay added. "Snuck back into Riverton to get his revenge this year."

"He could be principal Pratt!" Jerome joked, laughing.

"Shut the fuck up!" Alex whispered, hearing the cops nearby. We all quieted down.

"I gotta get home, guys." Jay said, crouching to move. "Wait, are you guys set for tomorrow?" He asked Bug and Alex, who were presenting their science project tomorrow.

"What?" Alex asked stupidly.

"The buzzard thing!" Jay reminded him.

"Condor." Bug and I corrected at the same time. It was Bugs favorite thing, and Bug is my favorite thing. I like to know what he likes.

"Oh, we made a sock puppet." Alex sighed.

"A sock puppet?!" Jay asked in horror "You'll put your class to sleep! A good show and tell needs Shock-and-awe!"

"It's my fault; I was too scared about tonight to think about it." Bug admitted.

"Oh, listen Bug; I'm scared of the Ripper too." Jay confessed as well.

"You are?" I asked.

Jay nodded "I gotta cross that bridge twice a day. I just do what my grandma told me. Spit in the river, and he won't come after me."

"That works?" Bug asked.

"For sixteen years. See ya, guys." He got up and left, keeping out of sight.

Jerome said "I gotta go." And got up to leave as well.

"And then there were three." I sighed quietly.

"We should go too. Quint's gonna kill us if he catches us out too late." Alex said, pulling me up and moving. We stopped momentarily to watch the cops but left immediately. We moved fast through the woods and separated all too soon.

"Later Bug." Alex waved.

"Bye Bug," I wrapped my arms around his middle, a quick friendly hug that I wished could be so much more.

---

Alex and I climbed through the window to our bedroom, soaking wet from the pouring rain. "Get into bed, quick!" Alex hissed, pointing at my bed against the opposite wall. I shed my sweatshirt fast and dove for my bed, Alex doing the same when we heard Quint's door slam. I closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep and willing my heart rate to slow down.

The door opened, light bursting through. "Yeah, you two better be in bed." Quint grumbled and slammed the door. As he walked away he yelled "I'll kick your punk asses if you ain't!"

"Dickhead." I swore quietly.

Alex whispered something I didn't hear, but I brushed it off and rolled over to sleep.

---

I blearily woke up to Alex shaking me "Izzy, wake up. You gotta go. Quint is in one of his fucking moods again. You better get out of here before he comes in here."

"What?" I asked, his words barely registering. Suddenly they clicked "Shit!" I scrambled out of bed "Uh, fuck, where do I go?"

"Grab some clothes and go to Bug's house. I'll meet you there." Alex said.

"In my pajamas?" I hissed gesturing to my red plaid shorts and the black tank top I had changed into before I fell asleep.

"Yes! Suck it up and go! Do you wanna deal with Quint?" He snapped back.

I sighed "Fuck, no. God dammit." I hurriedly shoved my feet into socks and my converse, pulling on the hoodie I'd worn the night before and grabbed a random outfit, shoving the clothes into my backpack and climbing out the window. "Thanks, Alex. Good luck." I told my twin.

He nodded "Just get to Bug's"

I slid down the roof and jumped to the ground, running as soon as my feet hit the grass. I sprinted through the woods until I made it to Bug's house. I climbed onto his roof and knocked on his window. The curtain pulled back to Bug's surprised, yet somehow still emotionless face. I smiled "Hey there, beautiful. Mind if I come in?"

He gave a half-smile and opened his window. I crawled through and slipped into his bedroom. "Sorry to drop in unannounced. Quint was in one of his lovely moods so Alex kicked me out. I gotta change, is that okay?" I asked.

He blushed but nodded "I'll be, uh, outside." He started for the door.

"Hold your horses, cowboy!" I grabbed his arm, stopping him "Your mom and Fang can't know I'm here. If you stand outside your door it'll look weird."

"But-"

"Just keep your back turned, Buggy-boo." I patted his cheek. He swallowed and nodded, turning his back to me.

I smiled, turning around as well. First, I slipped off my shorts and pulled off my tank top. I bent down to grab my clothes out of my bag, and from between my legs I could just barely see Bugs back twisted, just a bit. I stood up, pretending to be unaware. "See anything you like?" I asked teasingly, twisting around also and giving him what I hoped was a seductive smile. Thank god I wore one of the few cute pairs of panties I owned.

"Ah, I, uh, s-sorry." He stammered, turning back around.

I giggled "Chill, Bug. I don't care." I pulled on a gray pair of skinny jeans, a teal tank top that didn't quite reach the hem of my jeans, exposing a little midriff, and a gray hoodie that ended past my waist. I wish I could have dressed up. You're only sixteen once, right? As I slipped my converse back on I said "Coast is clear, Bug." I stood back up to come face-to-face with Bug's chest.

"Dear god, either you're getting taller or I'm getting shorter." I remarked, looking up at his face.

He stared down at me, all seriousness. "Happy birthday, Isabelle." He said quietly, using my full name.

I smiled softly "Happy birthday, Adam."

He pressed a small box into my hand. I knew what it was though. We had this tradition, every year since we were kids, Bug would get me a charm for the silver chain bracelet I inherited from my grandmother when I was born. All the charms he had gotten me represented something from the previous year. One year he got me a little directors scene marker because I had been in the school play. Bug had been to every showing, even though he had already seen it. Another year he had gotten me a small bell to represent the liberty bell, because our eighth grade class had taken a class trip to Washington D.C. Last year he got me a little flip flops charm because we had gone to the beach so many times that summer. I had about seven now. About to have eight. I started to untie the ribbon when Bug grabbed my hand "Wait. Don't open it till later."

"Why?" I asked, biting my lip with a smirk.

"Just because. Just promise me you won't open it until later tonight." He looked me in the eyes.

Staring into his serious blue eyes made my heart speed up and pound harder. I wondered if he could hear it, we were so close. "I promise." I said quietly, leaning up to meet his lips.

Alex came through the window and we stepped away from each other. Fucking cockblock.

"Am I interrupting?" He asked innocently.

"Suck it." I murmured, stepping away from Bug.

"You got the sock puppet?" Alex asked, ignoring me.

"Yeah, right here." Bug lifted up a stuffed duffel bag.

"What the fuck is that?" Alex asked.

"Sock puppet." Bug said like it was obvious.

"On steroids?!" Alex and I asked at the same time, then shared a look. Fucking twin telepathy. Bug tossed the bag on to the roof.

"Kind of." Bug shrugged.

"Kind of?" Alex and I echoed again. Creepy twin togetherness, goddamn!

"Only you wear it this time." Bug continued, pushing a few more things out the window.

"What?" Alex started "excuse me?"

"Like Jay said." Bug shrugged once more, climbing out the window. "Shock and awe." Alex and I looked at each other and followed Bug out the window.

---

"Thought Edgar was a home crow." Alex asked, looking up at the fake raven Bug had just tied to a tree branch in the woods.

"Raven." Bug corrected "He's a guard. He watches over you, you know?"

"You still spooked by last night?" I asked concerned.

"We were all watching the river and he came from the woods. That's scary." Bug said.

"Now, that's Jay's whole thing!" Alex exclaimed "Never do what they expect. And now we got Edgar up there to keep him away, so..."

"Smile!" I encouraged, giving Bug a short one-armed hug.

"You guys can have him after tonight if you want." Bug said offhandedly. "Edgar."

"Seriously?" Alex asked surprised.

"Yeah, it's your birthday."

"Well thanks." Alex smiled. I rolled my eyes but still smiled. Boys.

"I should get you a present!" Alex suddenly exclaimed "How about a weekend in Las Vegas with Brittany Cunningham?"

My eyes widened in shock and anger at my brothers words. He knew how I felt about Bug!

"Brittany doesn't know I'm alive." Bug said, slightly smiling at the thought of him and little Miss Brittany.

"She's gonna, after two days and two nights of star-studded shoes and high stakes gambling!" Alex smiled.

"Oh yeah." I scoffed.

"Or I could just help you with that." Alex pointed at the bag with the costume-puppet thing in it that Bug just dropped.

"Yeah, that's just as good." Bug joked, hoisting it up and handing it to Alex.

"It's heavy." Alex remarked.

"It's all the fluids." Bug explained.

"Fluids...?" I said to myself.

---

"Hey, Jerome!" I called to our blind friend. He stopped in the school parking lot, hearing his name, and waited for us to catch up with him. "Happy birthday!" I smiled, giving him a quick squeeze.

"Happy birthday to you too Izzy." He smiled back at me. "Happy birthday Alex and Bug."

"Happy birthday Jerome." The two said.

We continued walking towards the school when something began ringing from Bug. He pulled a phone out of his pocket and flipped it open, answering the call. "Hello?" Bug asked.

"You like it?" His mom, May asked on speakerphone. Bug pulled the phone away from his ear.

"Yeah, it's great. Thanks mom." Bug smiled.

"I scotch-taped your number to it." May informed him. "And mine, and 9-1-1. Happy birthday, Bug. I love you."

"Love you too." Bug said into the phone. Oh how I long for him to say those words to me. Bug looked confused "How do... do I close it?"

"Hit the red button." I supplied, Alex taking the phone to show him.

"Boom, done." Alex smirked, shutting the phone "Small." He commented.

"Is that bad?" Bug asked.

"No that's good." Alex said in his I've-got-a-plan voice.

"Jerome!" Our blind friend's sister strode up to us, looking angry.

"Uh-oh..." I murmured. "Here we go."

She pushed Bug and Alex away, not even acknowledging me, and began berating her younger brother.

"Catch you later, Jerome." Alex said as he pulled me away with Bug.

We walked up to the school until one of the security guards, Officer Ramirez, stopped us. "Hold up, guys, what d'you got there?"

"Just a project for science, sir." I smiled sweetly. No adult can resist my sweet face and demeanor.

"I'm gonna have to take that, but I can bring it to your class for you. Where and when?" Officer Ramirez asked.

"Mr. Kaiser, sixth period Biology." I said.

He repeated what I said, writing it down "It'll be there."

"Thank you!" I smiled.

"Thanks Jose." Bug thanked him.

"So you wanna come over tonight?" Alex asked Bug loudly enough for Jose to hear as we walked away "We could burn the house down with our stepfather in it."

"Ha, ha, ha!" Jose laughed sarcastically after us.

"He give you guys anything for your birthday?" Bug asked us.

"Yeah, a hematoma." Alex said, lifting his shirt to expose a colorful bruise on his abdomen. "Made it himself, too!"

"I escaped before the presents were given." I said "Thanks again, Alex."

"No problem Izzy-bear." Alex smirked at my grimace of the use of my childhood nickname. "Oh! Behold Bug, what light in yonder window breaks." Alex quoted as Brittany Cunningham walked past us.

"She is so beautiful." Bug said dreamily, smiling for real. I cursed Brittany. I wanted that smile!

"She's hot for you, too." Alex lied. "You should go over there and talk to her!"

Brittany began talking to Officer Ramirez. "Uh-oh. Distraction maneuver. Run!" I cried, pushing Bug and Alex. They turned and ran... right into Brandon O'Neil.

"Bug." Brandon greeted "This is a three." The quarterback punched Bug in the shoulder.

"Dunkelman, this is an eight." An eight? What did my brother do to deserve an eight?! Before I could react, Brandon grabbed Alex and hit him right in the stomach. Alex grunted in pain and fell to the ground.

"That's the way the cookie crumbles." Brandon said. "Dunkelman, stay away from the Fang Zone! And you, you stay away from him." Brandon said to Bug, then he turned to me "Count yourself lucky, Iz. You got nothing today."

"Thanks Brandon. Felt good." Alex called weakly after him.

"Ass-wipe." Brandon brushed him off.

"Not as good as your mother felt last night though." I snapped at Brandon before my brother could continue to say something stupid, my anger flaring.

Brandon stopped and turned around, dropping his backpack on the ground. "Just bought yourself a twenty." He glared at me, rushing over. I steeled myself, ready for anything he had to throw at me. My foot went back, preparing for a fight.

A shout from Penelope stopped him "Brandon O'Neil!" There she stood, fiery hair and all. She stormed over to us "Do not bring the wrath of Jehovah down upon you. Your sins are already a stench in the nostrils of an angry God." Her voice turned soft and almost threatening "Like knocking up Melanie Pratt, who's only fifteen and the principal's daughter.".

"What? Melanie's pregnant?" Brandon asked, shocked dumb.

"She's in my prayer group, duh." She said like it was obvious "What men will do to you in prison is nothing compared to what demons will do to you in Hell. On beds of fire. Through all eternity."

"I'm going to get you for this, Penelope." Brandon threatened in a low voice.

"If you do, God will get you, Brandon, and it won't be pretty." She said in reply. I never agreed with Brandon, but Penelope was a little God-obsessed.

Brandon nodded, uncaring or masking his anger "When you least expect it, Dunkelman." He threatened me before walking away.

I glared at him, crouching down to Alex's level and trying to ignore the conversation starting between Bug and Penelope. I knew she liked him, but I was pretty sure Bug was as oblivious to her feelings as he was to mine.

"You okay Alex?" I asked my twin quietly.

"Yeah, I think. Thanks."

"You would have said it if I hadn't."

He chuckled "I know."

"Pray for our souls, Bug. He's coming." I heard Penelope say.

"Jesus?" Bug asked.

"We should be so lucky." Penelope hesitated, then leaned up and kissed Bug on the cheek. I bit the inside of my cheek, hard. That Jesus-loving bitch!

Wow, I have got to get over my jealousy issues.

I felt Alex hold me back "Easy there, tiger." He teased.

"Rise up and gird your loins, Alex." She said to my brother "The end is near."

What the fuck?

"Watch them, Isabelle." She said to me before walking away.

"Oh I'll watch them." I murmured "I'll watch them..." The bell rang and I helped Alex up, ignoring Bug holding his cheek where Penelope kissed him. "Come on, up you go." I said to Alex. We walked into school, the boys holding their injuries.

"Why is Penelope always saying weird stuff like that?" Bug asked.

"Parallel universe, baby." Alex answered.

"I don't understand her sometimes. I mean, the way she said that." Bug grabbed Alex and me, turning us towards him with a strange, wide-eyed look on his face, and spoke in a weird girlish voice that sounded scarily like Penelope "Pray for our souls, Bug. He's coming." He seemed to snap out of it, letting go of us and stepping back "What if she meant the Ripper? I'm scared."

"Me too..." I admitted.

"Izzy, Bug, we're sixteen. Like it or not, we're men now. Even you, Iz." Alex smirked.

I rolled my eyes "Fuck you Alex."

"I don't feel like a man." Bug said nervously as we climbed the stairs.

"No man does, that's why you got to fake it." Alex said. Oh no, here we go again. I had been on the receiving end of Alex's 'fake being a man' spiels before.

"Fake being a man to be a man?" Bug asked.

"That's the way it works. So, you can't run, you have to face your fear like a man." Alex turned towards Bug.

"Even though I'm not a man?" Bug asked.

"Because you're not a man." Alex said "Listen, the better you fake it, the better man you are."

"Just fake it?" Bug asked, starting to get it.

"Well, fake it good." I supplied, knowing Alex's every reply.

"Like if you're scared, act like you don't give a shit." Alex explained "Or if somebody hurts you, say 'Thank you very much, that felt wonderful.'"

"Thanks Brandon, I can't raise my arm. Feels good." Bug attempted.

"Yeah, there you go!" Alex said proudly.

"That all you got, Brandon?" Bug continued. "I mean, I feel downright cheated."

I giggled, Bug sounded so silly.

"I'm amazed that you're getting this so quick. It's tricky stuff!" Alex complimented.

"I was faking that I did." Bug admitted.

The bell rang again "You were?" Alex asked.

"Completely." Bug said.

"Yeah but you were faking it good." I nodded in appreciation.

"I was?" Bug asked hopefully.

"Abso-fucking-lutely." Alex agreed. He patted Bug on the cheek "You now have permission to shave."

---

I sat in math, bored out of my mind. Algebra was simple, nothing more than numbers. As the teacher droned on, I dozed off into my daydreams about Bug.

Bug held me close to his body, one arm wrapped tightly around my waist. I straddled his waist, laying against him as we kissed passionately. I bit my lip, releasing a high-pitched moan as Bug moved his lips to my neck, sucking on the hollow skin above my collarbone. Bug flipped us so he was on top. His hands moved to grip my thighs, inching up closer to my crotch while spreading my legs farther apart. He moved a hand up into my shirt, teasing my nipples. His lips left my neck and travelled down my chest, taking a bud in his mouth. I moaned and arched my back to press closer to him. I moved my hands up his shirt, feeling the lean muscles on his stomach and chest, pushing his shirt up. We broke our kiss for only a moment so Bug could pull his shirt off completely, and then we resumed our little tongue dance. Bug fingered the button of my jeans, tugging at it-

"Miss Dunkelman? Would you mind answering the question?" I snapped out of my fantasy when my algebra teacher, Mrs. Blithe, asked me a question.

"What?" I asked confused, shaking my head a little to clear it.

"I asked you to answer number twenty-six. Three times." The class erupted in giggles.

I glanced at the problem on the board and rolled my eyes "X=24. Let me know when you have something difficult up there." Mrs. Blithe looked flustered, and the class erupted into a collective "Ooooh!"

---

In gym I got a text from Alex telling me they were about to present their project. I had wanted to see it, so I faked feeling sick and snuck up to their biology classroom when my teacher sent me to the nurse. I got there just in time for Mr. Kaiser to call them up. "You boys ready?" Mr. Kaiser asked. I didn't see either of them get up. "Boys? While we're young. I believe this is yours." Mr. Kaiser pointed to Bug's bag as they came into sight from my spot by the doorway. Alex grabbed it and dragged it to the other side of Bug, nodding a hello at me.

"Back from the Brink, by Adam Hellerman and Alex Dunkelman." Bug said quietly. He looked uncomfortable.

"Dumbfuckelman." I heard someone cough. I raged inside, knowing it was Brandon.

"Brandon." Kaiser warned. That piece of shit fucktard.

"Our subject today," Bug winced, a hand going to his head "is about a bird." He must be having one of his migraines. My heart went out to him.

"You having another one of your migraines, Adam?" Kaiser asked.

Alex pulled the costume out a little, looking at it in awe. I stared too. "Shock and awe." Alex and I breathed together.

"Adam?" The teacher asked again.

Suddenly, something seemed to click inside Bug "Our subject today is the largest bird in North America." Bug said in a deep, commanding, sexy, voice "Unchanged since the Pleistocene Epoch and only recently rescued from extinction. I present to you..." Alex swung the costume around and onto his body "Gymnogyps californianus."

Brandon made another stupid comment, lost to my ears as I stared in wonder at this strange, confident Bug. He commanded attention from every part of the room. At least, he certainly had my attention, what with the way I had to press my thighs together.

"The California Condor!" Bug announced as Alex fully put the costume on, spreading the wings out. The students gasped in surprise.

"Are you ready?" Bug asked Alex, a sadistic smirk on his face that had me wanting to go in there and jump his bones in front of everyone "Fly now!" Alex took off, 'flying' around the room and in between the desks.

"His wingspan is ten feet wide! His body more than four feet high!" The students had to duck their heads to avoid getting hit by Alex "He can weigh as much as three hundred and fifty parrots. As for soaring, he can glide effortlessly for days until he finds his food, which is carrion. A dead, stinking body, crawling with maggots, is like ice cream to him!"

"Bug!" Mr. Kaiser interrupted.

Bug returned to his normal self "Just showmanship, Mr. Kaiser. The facts are correct." I almost snorted with laughter, but was once again mesmerized when Bug spoke once more with that deep voice and bravado "A California Condor can consume the carcass of a cow in one day."

"Bullshit." Brandon spoke up again.

Alex, who had been crouched down near the door breathing heavily, suddenly turned, standing again and advancing slowly on the students, growling at each person. The students all moved their desks away except Brandon, who sat there with a dumb smirk on his face.

"And if anyone tries to harm it, if anyone even so much as touches one of its feathers, just one..." Bug goaded him on, a smirk on his face that made me bite my lip with want.

Brandon reached forward and ripped a feather from the costume. Out of nowhere, Alex lifted his head and puked all over Brandon. I realized that was the liquid Bug was talking about earlier, so it must have been fake vomit. I hoped to god it was fake, anyways.

"The bird will vomit copiously on its tormentor!" Bug finished, mad laughter ringing in his voice. Brandon got up from his desk and pushed it away, charging at Alex and tackling him against the wall, hitting him. "And if that doesn't work, the great bird has another defense, too." Bug continued "Bottle two, Alex!" He shouted. While Brandon was being held back by Mr. Kaiser, a disgusting brown liquid shot out of the costume's butt and all over Brandon's shoes.

"And that is why no one should ever screw with the California Condor!" Bug yelled over the noise, a wild look in his eyes.

"Thank you so much Brandon, that felt so good!" Alex laughed.

"Alex and I would like to thank you all for your kind attention..." Bug's face lost its confidence and he started to gag. He went to the teacher's desk, gagging over it, and Kaiser hurriedly wrote him a pass, sending him out of the room. Bug almost tripped over me leaving the classroom.

"Jesus Bug!" I followed after him as he rushed to a bathroom. "Are you okay?" He only shook his head in response and ducked into the boy's bathroom. I hesitated, but followed him in. Inside, I heard Bug gagging in a stall, but no sounds of retching. "You gonna be okay, Bug?" I asked, leaning against the stall where his gagging was coming from. I waited for an answer, and finally I got one when he stopped.

"I think..." He replied weakly.

He came out of the stall and I immediately wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. "You had me worried there for a second." I murmured against his neck.

His arms went around my waist, hugging me back gently. "I'm fine, Izzy, don't worry."

I pulled away and sighed, smiling. "Don't scare me like that." I said as he walked to the sink to wash his face "Awesome project by the way."

"You saw it?" He smiled slightly.

"No, I was just standing outside your classroom door because I have a crush on Brandon." I rolled my eyes.

"Are you serious?" He asked worriedly.

"No... Jeez Bug, you know I hate him." I looked at him questioningly.

Bug looked me up and down, taking in my shorts and tank top. "You were in gym?"

I nodded, way to pay attention. Bug splashed water in his face one last time and looked up into the mirror. He gasped in horror. "Bug?" I asked in worry. He didn't answer, only stared transfixed into the mirror. The bell rang and he jumped, covering his ears. "Bug?" I asked again.

"Did you see him?" Bug asked, spinning around and staring seriously at me.

"See... Who?" I asked concerned.

"Jay... He was in the mirror. Didn't you see him?"

"Bug, there was nothing there..."

Bug turned and gasped loudly, jumping. I squeaked in surprise and turned to see what had shocked Bug so bad. It was only Alex. My back had been to the door, so I hadn't seen him come in.

"Fuck Alex. Alert us or something next time." I scolded him.

"What are you doing in the boys restroom dear sister? Feeling frisky, perhaps?" He asked with a smirk. I scoffed and Alex looked to Bug. "Didn't mean to scare you guys. You okay Bug?"

"Yeah." Bug said.

"Bug, that was amazing. Oh my god, that suit was genius! I felt like Mothra." Alex complimented.

"Nerd." I coughed.

"Bitch." Alex coughed back. "How'd you come up with that, Bug?"

Bug shrugged "I don't know."

"Have a good puke?" Alex asked.

"Couldn't." I answered for Bug.

"Try the finger thing?" Alex tried again.

"Nothing." Bug answered.

"Bummer. We should get out of here before someone thinks we're having a three-way with my sister." Alex said.

"Ew, oh god I think I might throw up now." I pretended to gag a little. "Oh shit, I gotta go change out of my gym clothes... I'll meet up with you guys later." I rubbed Bugs shoulder and hip bumped Alex on my way out.

I made my way down to the gym and snuck past the gym teacher, leaving my pass hanging on the wall and slipped into the locker room where I changed and grabbed my stuff before sneaking back out of the gym.

I ran back upstairs and caught Bug and Alex by the Fang Zone. "What are you guys doing up here?! It's almost two, you know that's when Fang and her crew talk!" I hissed.

"Izzy, it's time for the revolution to start." Alex said, grabbing my shoulders "and I have the perfect plan. You just need to slip Bug's phone into the girl's bathroom."

"In the girl's bathroom?!" Bug and I whisper-yelled.

"I'm sure Brittany is going to be there as well, talking about you." Alex told Bug "We could gather that kind of intelligence also."

Bug smiled "Talking about me?"

"Yeah, yeah! You amazed her back there in biology, Bug. She saw a new man standing there, fascinated, powerful, daring." Alex said.

"I certainly did." I murmured to myself, thinking about how Bug looked and acted only minutes ago.

"Get your phone in there, and you'll hear it with your own ears." Alex continued "But now we've only got a minute forty-five."

Bug looked at me pleadingly "Izzy, please do this."

I couldn't resist that face! I sighed irritated "What if somebody's in there?" I asked.

"No, no, I got that covered." Alex whispered, waving us over to peek around the corner.

A bunch of girls' shrieks came from the bathroom. Jerome was pushed out, apologizing profusely. "Wrong bathroom, Jerome!" a girl yelled "Yours is down the hall, around the corner!"

"Did I scare anyone else?" Jerome asked concernedly.

"No one else is in there; it's the Fang Zone in thirty seconds!" The other girl said, and the two ran off.

"Clear!" Jerome whisper-yelled, waving his hands in the air. Then he ran down the hall with his walking stick banging against the lockers.

"Go, go, go!" Alex urged me.

I growled to myself, snatched Bug's phone and took off down the hall. I skidded into the bathroom and looked around for a spot to hide the phone. I looked up and saw a bit of the pipes sticking out in the top corner in the back of a stall, and quickly stepped into the stall, on top of the toilet seat, and placed the phone in the little nook that jutted out from the pipe. I jumped down and ran back out, tearing down the halls as quietly as possible. I saw Alex gesturing me to hurry and I turned the corner where the two boys were and almost fell over when I stopped too quickly. Luckily, Bug caught my arms and held me up, placing me back on my feet.

"Thanks Buggy-boo." I panted.

Alex looked back at us, a smile on his face "Mwahaha." He fake evil-laughed.

Alex had the phone on speaker and we heard Fang speak. "Brittany, window. Chandelle, door. Maria, you've got five." There was a little bit of movement, then Fang said "Go."

"The sophomores have paid another year's protection for their bikes." Brittany's voice came through loud and clear, she must have been in the stall or closest to the phone "And the answers to next week's Organic Chemistry test are selling briskly. Bottom line, two thousand in the bank."

Two thousand... dollars? Damn.

"We got her." Alex chuckled deviously.

"Good numbers." Fang said "speaking of numbers, apparently this morning there was a problem with Brandon giving the punitives? A three and an eight, I believe."

Brittany's voice moved farther away "The numbers were administered properly and on schedule, however, before Brandon could leave the area, Penelope Bryte came out of nowhere and told him he was going to hell."

"Brandon would enjoy hell. Kick some ass, take names." Fang paused "There something you're not telling me?"

"Well, Maria's dad was there." Brittany admitted.

"I thought I told you to distract him with the baseball stuff!" Maria's voice accused.

"I did, but Penelope's yelling got your father looking straight at us." Brittany said.

"Maybe Penelope needs a Ten." Fang said.

"A Ten?" Alex, Bug, and I echoed at the same time. Oh shit. I didn't really like Penelope with all her religion talk and her crush on Bug, but I would never wish a Ten on her.

"What's her story, anyways?" Fang continued.

"She's obsessed with Bug." Brittany said. "Girls find him attractive."

Alex gave me a knowing look that I really hope Bug didn't see.

"Do you?" Fang's voice asked.

"What?" Brittany asked.

"Find Bug attractive." Fang supplied.

"No, of course not." Brittany denied quietly.

"Sorry." Alex apologized to Bug.

"He's a lunatic, Brittany!" Fang exploded through the phone "A brain-bomb waiting to go off. His only real friends are those Dunkelman's, and the boy just uses him as his monkey and the girl has that stupid crush on him." I sucked in a high-pitched breath. Bug looked at me and I looked to the floor.

Fang continued "He's been in and out of institutions half his life. Bug has killed people."

"Killed people?" Alex and I echoed the same time that Bug asked "Monkey? Crush?"

"Wake up and smell the Starbucks." Fang finished.

"You're right, he's pathetic." Brittany said, driving the knife home.

"Brandon's the one for you, Brit. He's a diamond. In the rough, I'll admit, but a diamond just the same." Fang assured Brittany "By comparison, Bug is a lump of coal. Trust me on this. Okay?"

Brittany's answer was too quiet to hear, but I'm sure it was an agreement. What the fuck is Fang going on about? Bug is amazing, he is ten times better than Brandon fucking O'Neil!

Bug turned suddenly and began walking away fast. "Bug, don't run away!" Alex called, going after him. I followed behind.

"Bug, stop." I said when we caught up to him.

Alex grabbed his arms, stopping him. "Bug, say 'Thanks Fang, that felt great.'"

"I'd be lying." Bug said.

"That's the point." Alex replied.

"Thanks Fang, that felt great." Bug said sarcastically.

"That felt fucking great." Alex grinned, encouraging Bug.

"That's a bad word." Bug said like a child.

"Be bad, it makes things good." I shrugged, still feeling the back of my neck burn with embarrassment.

"Everything's backwards with you two." Bug said.

"Just fake that you're bad." Alex supplied.

Bug sighed "Thanks Fang, that felt...fucking great. That felt fucking great." He turned away.

Alex grabbed him again "Good, but you have to do one more thing."

"I can't handle another fucking thing, okay?" Bug snapped.

"You gotta get your phone back."

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"I'm not fucking kidding you. They're going to find it, and they're going to trace it, they're going to call your mom." Alex warned.

"She's going to have to come in and get humiliated by Principal Pratt." I added, knowing that would push him over the edge.

"No fucking way!" Bug said.

"Way. And enough with the fucks now." Alex said.

"You say Fuck." Bug pointed out.

"You're not me, okay?" Alex and Bug said at the same time, mirroring each other's movements. Alex looked down at his hand in surprise. I watched as he and Bug did the exact same things.

"Stop it."

"Bug?"

"Bug."

They leaned in close "Boo!"

"Cut it out."

I started to get scared "seriously Bug, enough. Knock it off."

"Bug. Bug!"

"Bug!" I snapped, stepping in between him and my brother and slapping Bug across the face.

That seemed to wake him up "What just happened?" He asked.

I breathed heavily, biting my lip "Nothing." I sighed angrily, stepping away and leaving.

"Izzy, Izzy, wait!" Alex called after me, but I waved him off and kept walking. He didn't come after me.

I stormed down the hallway. Stupid Bug. Scaring me like that. Stupid fucking Alex, coming up with stupid ideas that hurt Bug's feelings and reveal my crush on him. I rarely got mad for real at my brother, but right now I was furious.

---

I walked out of school with Alex, still ignoring him. "C'mon Izzy, you can't be mad at me still. It's not like I told Fang to talk about your crush on Bug." Alex said. I kept my head turned away childishly, not saying a word.

"Izzy... Izzy-busy-bee. Izzy-bear." Alex began to call me by my childhood nicknames. It irked me, but I continued to ignore him. "Hey look, there's bug." Alex said. I couldn't help it, I looked up. The little shit knew my weakness.

"You win this time, Alex." I growled as we walked up to Bug.

"Connecticut Condor?" Alex asked, looking up at the large bird soaring above the school.

"Turkey Vulture." Bug and I answered at the same time. Both boys gave me a look of incredulity, probably mirroring my own. How did I know that?

Bug brushed it off and continued "You find Jay?"

"No, weird. He always answers." Alex answered.

"Yeah, he didn't answer mine either." I said. Which was weirder, because we all knew about Jay's not-so-secret crush on me, so he always answers my calls.

"I saw him." Bug said.

"Where?" Alex asked. Oh no, Bug had said something about seeing Jay in the...

"In the boys' bathroom mirror." Bug hesitated "He was in the river, I think. He tried to say something, but-"

"Bug, it's best not to think about your nightmares today." Alex interrupted.

"It wasn't a nightmare." Bug said "Izzy was there."

"Did you see Jay?" Alex turned to me.

I bit my lip in hesitation, unable to meet Bug's pleading eyes. "No." I admitted with a sigh.

"Whatever it was. Look, all eight of us are on edge today. Seeing the Ripper in all sorts of weird places. It's like Brandon said, the way the cookie crumbles." My brother's voice dropped "For us. Just for today." He turned away, starting his walk home.

"You're a Condor." I reminded Bug, sitting next to him on the bench "You eat death for breakfast. Remember that."

"Izzy!" Alex yelled, wanting me to follow him home, lest we suffer the wrath of Quint for being late.

"Stay safe today." I advised, standing. I bit my lip, and driven by an unknown courage, I leaned down and gave Bug a kiss on the cheek, the one opposite where Penelope had kissed him this morning. His cheek was soft and warm, smooth under my lips. "Call us after Pratt." I said, walking away to catch up with Alex.

"What was that all about?" Alex teased, suddenly in a better mood.

"Nothing, shut up." I pushed at his shoulder, hoping I wasn't blushing.

Alex smirked "You so want him."

"So bad!" I admitted "Oh shit, did I really just say that out loud?"

"I knew it!" Alex laughed "You totally want to fuck Bug!"

"Whatever Alex. Hell, mind your own business." I giggled nervously.

"Aww, my sissy is embarrassed 'cause she wants to fuck Bug!" Alex teased in a baby voice.

"Careful Alex," I threatened "Today's Ripper Day and you never know what'll happen."

"Oh believe me," He chuckled "this will be a Ripper Day to remember."

---

I lay on my bed while Alex watched TV in our room. I flipped through some boring homework I probably wouldn't finish until the very last minute. A thought to further my procrastination suddenly popped into my head. "Shit!" I cried, hopping off my bed.

"What?!" Alex startled, jumping in place.

"I forgot to give Bug his birthday present!" I dug around a spot near my bed and pulled out a rectangular present, wrapped in simple brown paper tied with a thin red string.

"I'll be back later, watch out for the step-fiend." I said to Alex before sucking out the window.

It was a bit chilly as I walked to Bug's house, but I didn't feel like running like I had this morning. So I sped-walked. It still took a while, and by the time I got to Bug's house it was dark. I climbed up onto the roof and through Bug's window. But the room was empty. There were sounds of something smashing next door in Fang's room, and for a moment I was scared, but then it stopped. I heard her door open and I hid behind Bug's bed, the side not facing the door.

"Hi." I heard Bug's mom say.

The voice replying was Bug's "Hi."

"Is Leah okay?" His mom asked.

"Leah's fine." Bug said, and I heard his footsteps walk into the room. I stayed down, not wanting to interrupt or be seen.

"Are you?" Ms. Hellerman asked "You look..."

Bugs footsteps stopped, then continued in the opposite direction. He must have been walking back towards the door. "I know you're not my mother." He said.

Holy crap. What?

"Bug, I'm so sorry." Ms. Hellerman said after a beat of silence "I never meant-"

"I hope you know something, too." Bug interrupted her.

"What?" She asked.

"That you are my mom. That one you're stuck with, like it or not."

I didn't hear anything from Ms. Hellerman, but I did hear Bug walk further into his room and the tearing of paper. It was silent for a while, until I decided to pop my head up.

"Bug!" I whispered.

His head shot up from a letter he was reading. "Izzy?" He whispered back "When did you get here?"

"Just a minute ago."

"How?"

"Through the window, duh."

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

I stood up and snuck over to him, pulling the present out from behind my back "I forgot to give you this. Happy birthday."

He gave me a half-hearted smile "Thanks." That's when I noticed the blood.

"Holy shit, Bug, what happened to your nose?" I instantly reached up to cup his face, checking him for any more injuries.

"Leah." He shrugged.

"Are you okay?" We both froze at the sound of Ms. Hellerman's voice. But she wasn't talking to us.

"Maria just called." Leah responded. "They found Jay Chan in the river this morning."

I gasped, Bug covering my mouth with his hand to muffle the sound. He pulled me over to his doorway, hiding us in the shadows of the corner in the wall.

"No!" Bugs mom gasped.

"Penelope Bryte near the old ambulance. Brandon and Brittany in the woods nearby." Leah paused and we saw Ms. Hellerman walk past the door, not seeing us. Leah's voice got quiet and she choked "I was a total shit to her today, and she's dead."

"How can that be?" Ms. Hellerman asked.

"You know how that can be, May!" Leah snapped "Our father is still alive." Who is their father?

"Let's wait to see what really happened." May said.

"What's really happening May is he's killing his way through the Riverton Eight. He'll get Jerome, and the Dunkelman's, and then he'll come for us." Was Leah saying that the Ripper was her and Bug's dad? No... It's not possible.

"No. We'll go to the church and be with the others." May said. Bug shut his door quietly, but we could still hear their muffled voices.

"I'll go to church with you, May. But this is the last time I'll go with you." Leah walked past the door "And I'm sorry, I had to tell him. I'll get the car and be out front. Get Bug, okay?"

Bug stood with his back against the door. When May knocked, we looked at each other worriedly. Bug grabbed my hand and pulled me under his bed. If it weren't for the distressing news we just heard, I think I would have been delighted to be in such a tight space with Bug.

May opened the door and walked in. But she left when seeing the empty room. Bug and I waited, hearing her wall down the stairs. A car honked outside. Finally Bug wiggled his way to the edge and pulled himself out from under the bed. He crouched down and held his hand out to me. I grabbed it and he pulled me out as well. I pulled him into a hug instantly, tears pricking at my eyes. "Oh god Bug." I breathed "They're dead. Shit." A few tears leaked out and ran down my cheeks. Bug held me, letting me fist my hands in his shirt.

Sirens wailed in the distance and something clambered at the window. Bug and I released each other immediately and turned to see Alex climb in. "Fuck, Alex." I breathed out shakily.

"You didn't come home, so I got worried." He answered.

"I figured you'd come." Bug said, suddenly very serious.

"Really? Have you heard?" Alex asked us both.

"I've heard. I've heard a lot." Bug said.

"Oh?" Alex questioned.

"The Riverton Ripper, Abel Plenkov?" Bug asked.

"Yeah?"

"He was my father."

Alex sighed and admitted "That... I know."

"You do?" Bug and I questioned at the same time. How did Alex know, and I didn't?

"The parents of all the eight know. I think I'm the only kid. My mother told me the day she died." Alex said.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Bug asked.

"Sorry, we thought you were too..." Alex hesitated, looking for a word "I don't know."

"Innocent?" Bug scoffed.

"I guess."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I questioned my brother. I hadn't been there when mom died. I was at home with the flu and didn't know she was on her deathbed.

Alex turned to me "I didn't tell you because I knew you had that crush-" I shot him a glare telling him to shut up, my eyes flicking to Bug for a second.

"I'm not so innocent anymore." Bug said.

"Yeah, I can see that." Alex chuckled, picking at Bug's shirt "Who beat you up?"

"Fang." Bug answered simply.

"Figures." Alex shrugged. I was lost for words when Bug suddenly pulled off his shirt. He wasn't especially gifted with muscles, but he had a lean, flat body and slightly defined pecs that looked just as delicious. His arms however, had definite muscle on them, which almost had me drooling, imagining being wrapped in his strong arms as he did unspeakably pleasurable things to my body. My fantasies were interrupted when he spoke again.

"Penelope sent me a letter."

That bitch.

"A love letter?" Alex asked, his eyes sliding my way.

"No." Bug denied, and I let out a quiet sigh of relief and continued to stare at his gorgeous chest "She wrote to warn me that he'd be coming back for us. My father. She had a source."

"Oh yeah. Anything else?" I asked, out of fantasy land now that Bug had put a shirt back on.

"She said that there are two ways he can come from." He walked around Alex to the window "One, if he survived sixteen years ago, then he'll come back as Abel Plenkov. Dad." He shut his window and locked it.

"Option two?" Alex asked.

"Option two is that he did die," He walked back to the door and shut it, locking it "and his soul went into one of the eight kids who were born the night he died." He walked back to us.

"Hopped the nearest bus." Alex joked weakly.

"In this version," Bug continued "he's one of us killing all the rest."

"Attack from the unexpected direction." I murmured.

"Yeah." Bug agreed next to me.

"There's not many of us left to be unexpected, though." Alex said in almost dark thought.

"You, me, Izzy, and Jerome." Bug listed off quickly.

"Jerome's not a very good candidate." I noted.

"Mm-mm." Bug said.

" So, you, me, or Bug." Alex listed.

"That's option two." Bug reminded.

I sighed "I like option one better."

"Makes more sense." Alex said, walking to Bugs window "The Ripper who was shot and stabbed, had a little fender-bender, ended up in the river, no biggie. He patched himself up with stuff from the ambulance. Survives on acorns and crawfish for sixteen years. So he just crawled out of the river in a rotting overcoat to take his revenge. I'll just call the cops and tell them to keep an eye out for the Unabomber's evil twin."

Bug suddenly pulled out a large knife.

"Or not." I squeaked. "What is that?"

"The biggest knife I could find in the kitchen." Bug answered, playing with it.

"Bug..." Alex trailed off.

"What would you say," Bug advanced on my brother, then suddenly turned towards me with the knife "If I told you I was going to kill Izzy, Alex?" I squeaked loudly in fright.

"I'd say you weren't." Alex said hesitatingly.

"Why not?" Bug asked, pointing the blade closer to me. I whimpered, my eyes flicking between the knife and Bug.

"Because you're our best friend." Alex sounded choked up "Because you're Bug."

Bug turned the knife in his hand and held it towards Alex "Now you ask us."

Alex took the knife, staring at it almost fondly "You don't think I could kill somebody?" He questioned.

"No!" I immediately answered "You're my brother, you could never do something so fucked up!"

Alex looked to Bug for his answer. "No." Bug answered firmly.

"You'd both be wrong. Dead wrong." Alex said, moving the knife into a better holding position, the blade pointed towards Bug.

"You killed Penelope and Jay?" Bug asked frightfully.

"And Brandon and Brittany?" I asked, staring at my brother in horror.

Alex swung the knife past mine and Bug's faces, wedging the blade into the wood of Bug's desk. "Of course not." He looked up at Bug, not meeting my eyes "I killed my stepfather."

I gasped "You killed Quint?"

"He was drunk." Alex explained, sounding tearful, and he collapsed into Bug's desk chair "He hit me. For the first time in my life, I hit him back. Fell down the steps and broke his stupid neck."

"Oh my god." I crawled into my brother's lap and held him tight "It's okay Alex, okay?"

He shoved me off, hard "No, it's not okay!" He yelled "What I did... it's not okay for everybody to be killing each other all the time!"

My lip trembled, and I moved to sit on Bug's bed. Bug walked over and sat next to me. "You both wouldn't want something to drink?" He offered quietly.

"You got rat poison?" Alex asked, his voice wavering.

Bug shook his head and joked quietly "No, we just ran out of rat poison. I'm going to get you water."

"I'll go with you." I sniffled and wiped at my eyes "I should probably fix myself."

Bug stood up, patting Alex on the shoulder. I stood as well and followed Bug out. He put a hesitant arm around my shoulder and gently rubbed my arm. "It's gonna be okay." He assured me.

We walked into the bathroom, and I sat down on the edge of the tub, my face in my hands as I tried to suppress the shocked tears fighting to escape. Bug gasped at something, and I looked up, my eyes blurry from collecting tears, but I could see that he was looking at the mirror. I blinked my eyes, wiping them, and when I opened them Bug was holding a bloody knife. I covered my mouth so I wouldn't shriek.

"What is this?" Bug asked no one. Maybe himself. He reached over and flipped on the lights. The blood on the knife illuminated to a bright red.

"Bug... Where did you get that?" I asked in a shocked whisper.

He looked at me, not answering, only staring at me with a blank face like he didn't even see me, like he just saw right through me. He turned the sink on and washed off the blade. I stood and stepped behind him to watch. When he lifted the blade and wiped it off, I could read the engraving. Vengeance, it said. Bug flipped the knife shut.

Something clattered in one of the rooms. Bug suddenly flipped the blade open, and he stared at in shock, like it opened on its own.

"Bug, I think it came from downstairs." I breathed. Creepy knife or not, I trusted Bug. With my life, even, which I'm pretty sure will happen soon enough. We walked out of the bathroom and made our way down the hall. Bug stopped at his room. "Alex, I'll be right back-" I looked in at his sudden stop, and saw that his room was empty. Alex was gone. Something sounded downstairs and we got back to business, walking slowly down the stairs. The front door was open slightly, and Bug moved to shut it with his foot. I saw someone through the dining room. "Bug!" I hissed, tugging his arm and pointing.

Bug looked and walked over towards the doorway. "Ripper?" He called out.

The man yelled and turned around. I shrieked in shock and ducked behind Bug. "Son of a bitch!" The man yelled. He didn't sound like the Ripper.

"Drop the knife, Bug." He ordered. I looked up. Officer Paterson? He had his gun pointed at Bug and I. "Now."

Bug dropped the knife to the floor. "Kick it over to me." Bug complied with Paterson's orders, and the knife skittered across the floor. Officer Paterson kicked it farther, and it landed by the back door.

"I'm sorry; I thought you were somebody else." Bug apologized.

"Get your hands up." Paterson ordered "Both of you. Up!"

Bug and I put our hands up. "Walk slow." Paterson commanded. We took slow tentative steps towards the police officer.

"Why are you pointing that at him?" I asked.

Paterson held out his hand in a stop motion and we stopped walking "That's far enough."

He addressed me "Why? His phone was found next to Brittany Cunningham's body."

"It fell into her purse at school." Bug explained, stammering "That was an accident. You can ask my mom."

"Your mom is why I have to arrest you both, Bug." Paterson said. He turned his head up the side.

Bug and I looked to where he was staring. In a puddle of blood lay May Hellerman. I muffled a scream and a sob with my hands and grabbed the back of a chair, feeling faint. I sat down, trembling in shock. May had been like a mother to Alex and I when our own mother died. She was there to help us and love us. To take care of us when Quint became too much to handle, or to hide us when he went on a rampage and we were able to escape. Nausea rolled in waves in my stomach, and I felt like throwing up.

Bug had a more emotional reaction. "Mom!" He screamed, lunging towards her body. Officer Paterson caught him and held him back, pushing Bug back.

"Easy!" Paterson said. "You, get up." I stood shakily and took my place next to Bug, holding him for physical and emotional support. "Stay there."

"I was there when they cut you out of your mother, Bug." Paterson confided "You were the one thing that made the whole bloody mess bearable. A fucking-"

"Miracle?" Bug asked.

"Yes! Something bright in the dark. And ever since, for all of us that were there, Bug, that's what you've been." Officer Paterson sighed "Fuck, how could you do this?"

"He didn't." I cried hoarsely.

Officer Paterson looked sad "Hold out your hands. You two."

"Where's my sister?" Bug asked, sounding defeated, like he knew no one would believe he had done this, and he was okay with it.

"Why don't you tell me?" Paterson asked.

The lights went out. I whimpered loudly in the dark, my hand finding Bug's for comfort. There was a loud grunt and a strange, squishy sound, and Paterson screamed in agony. In the dark I could see a large, hunched figure.

"It's time." The figure said in a deep, demonic voice.

Bug gasped and pulled me back. A knife whizzed past my face. Bug kept pulling me back until I tripped over my own feet and brought us crashing down onto a table, smashing it. Bug let go of my hand and we crawled backwards until our backs hit the couch, dodging the Rippers blade. Bug kicked him back and stood up, fighting him off. The sound of a knife slicing skin and Bug crying out brought me to my feet. I ran over as Bug pushed the Ripper to the floor and I picked up a vase and threw it down at the Ripper. It smashed satisfactorily against his head. Bug grabbed my hand and pulled me "Come on!" He yelled, tugging me out of the room. He pulled me around the corner into the dining room and pushed me behind him, waiting behind the doorway. He peeked around the corner and then stepped fully into the doorway. I peered around the corner and saw what had surprised Bug; the Ripper was gone.

Bug turned back around and looked throughout the room. I spotted a large knife next to Bug's birthday cake and reached for it, when the Ripper appeared again, yelling. I screamed and snatched my hand back, racing out of the dining room with Bug and the sound of the Rippers taunting laugh behind us. Bug dropped down and snatched up Officer Patterson's fallen gun. He held it up where the Ripper had been, but no such luck. He had disappeared again.

But not entirely. "They should have never cut you out of your dead mother." The Ripper said softly, his dark, low voice echoing through the house.

Bug stood and we walked to another room, Bug watching our front and I our back. A door squeaked and we walked that way hurriedly. But nothing was around. We walked back the way we came, slowly. The Ripper snarled from next to me and I screeched as the burning pain of the knife slashed through my shoulder blade. Bug turned, ready with the gun, but the Ripper was gone as soon as he appeared. I winced from pain but assured Bug I was fine, and we continued our search. Bug pulled back a curtain from a window and the Ripper yelled from behind us. Bug turned and fired the gun, but to no avail. A chair moved in the other room.

"What happened to your wings, Angels?" The Ripper taunted.

The Ripper yelled and sliced at Bug and I. I heard Bug cry out, and shoot the gun. The Ripper grunted, but moved easily, because he didn't get hit with the bullet. I felt another slice at my back and I cried out as well. Bug turned and shot in my direction, but no hits. Bug continued to fire everywhere the Ripper popped up around us, but still nothing. I was pressed close to Bug, and he fired in one direction until there were no bullets left. It was quiet for a mere second.

"Fucking piece of shit!" The Ripper roared and tackled me, ripping me away from Bug. I screamed both in shock and the pain of my back hitting the floor, but fought against the Rippers hold, pushing and kicking. My foot made contact with his guy and he doubled over. I squirmed away and stood, running back to Bug who had gone into another room. I found him by his cake, looking for the knife. I heard the Ripper stand, and suddenly a hand covered both mine and Bugs mouths, and we were pulled back into a closet.

A girls voice shushed us, hissing "Shut the fuck up. Shut up!" It was Leah! She pulled Bug back into the shadows, and he pulled me, putting me flat against his chest. I gripped his shirt, my head leaning against his chest as I watched the door. I could hear Bug's heart racing just like mine was.

The Ripper's shadow passed over the door, pausing before slowly moving again. "Come out, come out, wherever you are." His gravelly voice mocked. His heavy footsteps continued before a door opened and a dog barking was heard. The Ripper must have gone outside. I let go of Bug and took a small step away.

Leah turned to us and finally noticed our bloody state. "Ew." She remarked.

"It's not as bad as it looks." Bug reassured her.

"How did you get away?" I whispered.

"I was already in the car." She said "I came inside just to see where May was, and I found her dead. I knew that fucker would come for us."

I looked out the slits in the door "Maybe he's gone." I whispered after a moment.

"No, no, no." Bug said quickly, pushing me back.

"Let's go." Leah said, and Bug shushed her.

After a short, silent moment, Bug whispered "I think we should-" He was cut off by the Ripper yelling and smashing through the door, pushing Leah into the wall and knocking her out. The Ripper grabbed Bug and pulled him out of the closet, Bug yelling the whole way.

I screamed "Bug!" and climbed through the splintered wood after him. The Ripper hit Bug and threw him to the floor.

"Die, die, die!" The Ripper yelled, unsheathing his knife and kicking Bug.

I looked around frantically for something to hit him with. Nothing was around, so I decided on doing something stupid. I jumped at the Rippers back, knocking him aside. He stumbled, and I locked my arms around his neck. "Go to Hell!" I screamed.

"Get off me you bitch!" He roared, swinging wildly. His knife cut at my hands and arms and I let go, falling to the floor. "You're dead now, fucking cunt." He held up his knife, ready to stab me and end it all. I sent Bug one last, fleeting glance before the knife drove into my heart.

Only it didn't.

There was a loud crash upstairs and the Ripper paused, looking up. "Fuck." He cursed, kicking me in the ribs and running upstairs.

"Leah, call the cops." Bug called out, sitting up. I groaned quietly, sitting up as well.

I heard Leah stir and murmur "Son of a bitch."

Bug stood and helped me to my feet before we rushed over to Leah and helped her up. "Leah, I need you to get the lights on. Get out of the house, get to the neighbors, and call the cops. You think you can do that for me?" Bug asked her.

"What are you going to do?" Leah asked.

"I'm going to give that fucker a Ten." Bug answered angrily.

"Make it a twenty." Leah said, crawling away.

"Izzy, you go with her." Bug suddenly turned to me.

"What?! Like fucking hell I will!" I snapped "I'm with you whether you like it or not!"

"I can't risk losing you." He said quietly, and I felt all the unspoken emotion.

I put one hand behind his head and pulled him to me, our lips connecting in a short but meaningful kiss. "I can't risk losing you." I repeated "If we go, we go together." Bug stared in my eyes, searching for any proof that I couldn't do this with him. Finally he sighed and agreed.

"Okay. Let's go."

We stood and ran to the stairs, climbing them. We got to the top and the lights turned on, brightening the house. Bug and I entered his room, and it looked just the same as before. Bug walked to his desk and picked up the knife still embedded in the wood. He turned back to me, a grave look on his face. He walked out into the hallway, and a door rattled. We walked towards the noise "Ripper?" Bug called out. He opened the door, but the room was empty. "Shit." Bug cursed, shutting the door. We walk back to Bugs room and that's when I noticed something different.

"Bug, you're window. It's open." I said.

Bug looked towards the window, and there it was, open to the world. A dog barked outside again. Bug walked to the window and ran his finger over the ledge. When he picked up his finger, it was slicked with blood. He looked up and behind. I followed his gaze to his closet, the door handle covered with bloody fingerprints. Bug walked over to it and hesitatingly slid the door aside.

Whoever was inside began yelling and thrashing his way out, hitting at Bug. I recognized the dark skin and large frame. "Jerome! Jerome!" I cried "Jerome, it's us! Bug and Izzy!"

Jerome froze; touching at Bugs face to make sure it was him. Then the blind boy collapsed to the floor, taking Bug with him. I kneeled with them.

"Jerome. Jerome!" Bug said, and that's when I noticed the blood soaking Jerome's stomach.

"The Ripper's up here, guys." Jerome rasped "Watch out."

"It's okay, Jerome. He's gone, alright?" I tried to speak soothingly, but all the excitement was beginning to take its toll.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the church." Bug choked on his words, rushing them.

"Alex called me." Jerome said "He said all four of us should be together. Watch each other's backs. I was halfway through the window when the Ripper stabbed me."

"How'd he get up here?" Bug asked, continuously looking over his shoulder for the Ripper.

"He must have come up the roof like I did." Jerome explained "I passed out on the roof, and then I came to and I heard fighting. Was that you?" He coughed violently.

"Him, me and Izzy. Yeah, it was. He was kicking my ass too. Izzy got in a few good shots though." Bug chuckled fruitlessly.

"I bet she did." Jerome chuckled weakly "I tried calling the cops but I knocked over something, and then I heard him coming for me so I ducked for the closet."

"You saved our lives, Jerome." I ran my hand gently over his head.

"I did?" He asked in wonder.

I nodded "Mm-hmm. You're our hero. He was going to kill me and Bug, but you distracted him."

"Good." Jerome laughed softly, painfully.

"Dude, it's going to be okay." Bug assured Jerome worriedly "Help is coming, alright?"

"You fought the Ripper, Bug." Jerome spoke of last night, when Bug failed to fight off the fake Ripper puppet "You're a hero, like I told you." His breathing became shallow.

"I'm not a hero, Jerome. I'm just..." Bug stopped, noticing Jerome stopped breathing "Jerome?" He shook Jerome's body gently.

"Jerome?" I whispered, my voice thick. Bug felt for a pulse, but I knew there wasn't going to be one. I buried my face into Bugs shoulder, my shoulders twitching with held-back tears. He held me, his own breathing catching as he tried to hold back sobs as well. After a moment, Bug stood up and went to his desk, throwing the knife onto it. I got to my feet and joined him at his dresser, watching our reflections stare back at us.

Something clattered at the window and we spun around. Alex climbed through the window. "Alex!" I cried, never more happy to see my brother. I ran to him, throwing my arms around him in a tight hug. "Oh god, where have you been? I was so worried."

He hugged back before pulling away, surveying Bug and I "What the fuck happened to the two of you?" He asked, rushing to Bug and taking me with him. Bug said nothing, but took a fleeting glance at Jerome. Alex looked as well.

"What happened to Jerome?!" He cried, crouching down to his friends body in horror "He's dead!"

"The Ripper got him." Bug said, taking my hand in his. "A lots happened since you've been gone, Alex. Where'd you disappear to?"

"I-I saw Paterson pulling up outside and I ran. I hid in the woods." My brother explained quickly "Then I heard gunshots, so I came back. I was afraid he shot you or Izzy or something. Where is he, anyway?"

"Downstairs. He's dead." I said quietly.

"What?" Alex asked in shock "What happened?"

"The Ripper happened! He killed mom too." Bug said gruffly.

Alex exhaled "May? I can't believe this. You two went to get me a glass of water, and now your mom, Paterson, and Jerome are dead?" Alex paused "Where were you two?"

"I ran into Penelope." Bug said.

"What?" I asked.

"Penelope is dead, Bug." Alex said.

"I saw her in the bathroom mirror." That's what he was staring at! "She brought me Ripper's knife and made me take it." Bug went and shut his door "Then I heard something downstairs, and we went to come check on you, and you were gone. Paterson wasn't after you, he was after me. He thought that I killed Brittany and my mom."

"It was the Ripper." I said, relieved that Bug was once again at my side.

"And where's the Ripper now?" Alex asked, looking confused or suspicious.

"I guess he got out my window. Or went out Leah's, hers is open too. And he tried to stab me and Izzy to death with his-"

"Stab you with what?" Alex asked.

"With his knife." I said like it was obvious.

"I thought Bug had his knife." Alex said.

"I did, but..." Bug stammered.

"Did you kill them, Bug?" Alex asked slowly.

"What?" Bug snapped, confused.

I gasped "Alex, how could you say that?!"

"No, I-I didn't kill anybody." Bug said.

"Not that you remember." Alex brought back the words Bug had used himself earlier. "Bug, I gotta tell you something. Iz, you need to hear this too. And, don't get upset."

"What?" Bug and I asked.

Alex spoke softly like he was talking to children "My mom told me this. Your father was first diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was sixteen. Just like you are now."

"What are you saying?" I snapped.

"It's hereditary." Alex explained, still speaking in that soft voice "Plus, you were in your dead mom forever. Oxygen deprivation. It can make you crazy, too. Maybe all this stuff you've been describing didn't happen exactly the way you're saying it did."

"Fuck you, Alex. I've been with him the whole time!" I gripped Bug's hand tighter.

"You think I'm crazy?" Bug asked, his voice rough.

"No, I don't know what I think! But I'm not walking away. I've stuck by you through everything. Through nightmares and migraines, hell, puking vultures when everybody else was calling you a ticking time bomb. So if you're not innocent anymore, that's okay. I mean, I killed my stepfather tonight. I'm no angel, either." Sirens wailed in the distance, and Alex stepped towards the window to look out of it.

"I'm not innocent anymore, Alex. Not with all of them inside me now." Bug suddenly said.

"Bug?" I asked softly, looking up at him. He just squeezed my hand.

Alex turned around "What? With who inside you?"

"The rest of the Riverton Eight. Even Jerome." Bug said calmly "All their souls are with me now." I watched a tear run down his face and I gently brushed it away.

"Bug, maybe you should sit down and take a few deep breaths." Alex advised.

"You think I'm crazy." Bug accused, a smirk on his face "I'm actually a lot smarter than I was yesterday. Let me ask you a question." Bug walked forward to Alex, taking me with him "Why is there blood on your left ear?"

"What?" Alex asked, feeling his ear.

"The top." Bug said, then reached out and grabbed at Alex's ear.

Alex yelled out and swatted away Bug's hand "Hey!"

Bug's finger came away coated in blood "Almost like you were hit with a vase or something."

I gasped, thinking back to when I had thrown the vase down on the Ripper's head "No..."

"Brandon told me to look for that." Bug continued.

"Bug, you are officially bat-shit nuts. You even got my own sister believing you. I scraped it climbing up the roof." Alex explained "Come on, let's get real here."

"Jay says that Ripper's getup was a costume for sure." Bug went on "Oh! And Brittany's run a timeline! You would have had enough time to kill Mom and put the knife in the bathroom sink while Izzy and I were hiding under the bed and Leah was outside in the car. And if Jerome came in the window while we were in the bathroom getting you water, you would've had time to stab him, and go downstairs and kill Paterson. You might have tried to kill me, too. And your own sister. But if you heard Jerome upstairs, you would've had to get up there before he called the cops."

Alex shook his head, sighing in disbelief "I could've killed you both off earlier, remember?" I thought back to when Bug had handed Alex the knife to see if he would kill us "Bug, you've watched one too many Law and Order reruns." He walked around Bug and I "Besides, I'm a little guy. Both of you could beat me up in like, ten seconds."

"Unless you had the bad soul in you." I realized "And then you would fight like you were possessed."

"Can't fucking believe you two." Alex growled "You're Adam Plenkov!" He yelled at Bug "The son of a mass murderer! Everybody in your house, and all your friends, except me and Izzy, have been murdered. If there's a bad soul here, you have it."

He pointed his finger in Bugs face. "And you got it from your father. Maybe you have been in institutions. Maybe you have killed people, in your past life. But you're too stupid and blind to see that. Even you, Izzy. Blinded by your stupid fucking crush on him. Maybe they'll find your Ripper costume buried along with your stupid condor outfit." Alex threatened, "And they will come for you with torches."

"What?" Bug swallowed thickly "I didn't bury any Ripper costume with my condor."

Alex smirked evilly "Somebody did." He said in a deep, gravelly voice. The Rippers voice.

My breath caught in my throat. I felt like choking, or fainting. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. "You son of a-" Bug lunged at Alex, but Alex punched him in the face, sending Bug flying back. I screamed, backing into a corner.

Alex - no, the Ripper- rushed to Bug and held him with one hand, the other taking out the knife and flipping it open "Evil doesn't forget betrayal, Plenkov. You and the other sick Dr. Blake got me and then ran away like cowards. Jumped into the first babies you could hide in. So I saved you for last. And I can kill you now, and your little girlfriend, or you both can say yes to a deal."

"What deal?" Bug asked, glaring at Alex-the-Ripper.

"Same one I offered your father, sixteen years ago today. Say yes, and you live. Say no, and I cut your throat, and have a little fun with the missy over there before I kill her too." The Ripper threatened.

I felt bile rise in my throat at his words. Quint had done a few things to me after my mom died, things I didn't like to think about, but never anything so extreme. "Say yes to what?" Bug asked.

"To my happy ending of Riverton's fairytale." The Ripper began backing up "There was no Ripper. Just one of the Riverton Eight that was a little crazy, dressed up like the Ripper, killed your mom and Paterson, and four of his birth-mates. Before we finally stopped him."

"One of the Riverton Eight?" Bug asked.

"The one of the eight with the bad soul." The Ripper pointed his knife down at Jerome "The Ripper's soul."

"Jerome?" I asked in shock.

"Great twist, huh?" The Ripper turned to smirk at me before turning back to Bug "Everybody will think you were the killer but it turns out the attack came from a totally unexpected direction."

"You'd lay all this on Jerome?" Bug asked disgust evident in his voice.

"He won't mind, he's dead." Ripper grinned sickeningly "Us three will be Main-Street heroes, helping each other forge a new beginning. Recovering from our tragic losses. Friends to the end."

"And what about my end of the deal?" I asked, stepping forward bravely, a determined glare on my face.

The ripper turned towards me with a sadistic smile on his face "You, my dear, play an important role as well. When all this is said and done, we find out we're not really twins; we're not even related! No one left alive to prove us wrong, eh? Along the way we fall hopelessly in love, and you will be mine forever. What do you say, deal?"

"Don't do it, Izzy!" Bug yelled.

"Quiet!" The Ripper snapped at him before turning back to me "Waiting for your answer still..."

I spat at his feet "You make me sick." I hissed. The rippers grin began to fade into a grimace.

"You're pathetic." Bug spoke up, walking until he was glowering right in the Rippers face "I don't even think you're Alex. I don't know who you are."

The Ripper snarled and hit Bug in the gut, kneed him in the head when he bent over, and shoved him into the desk. He pushed Bug against the desk and held him there "I'm the one that's going to kill you and her if you don't say yes." He pushed off of Bug "And then I'll say you did it, and I'll be the hero all by myself."

"Leah saw the whole fight, she'll vouch for me." Bug said.

"Leah doesn't live through the night. That's part of the deal, too." The Ripper smirked.

Bug stood up "Whoever or whatever you are, get out of Alex. And go back to hell, where you came from. I mean it."

"Okay." The Ripper said softly. Then he lunged at Bug "But I'll take you with me!"

I screamed as I heard a blade cut through flesh. I didn't know who got stabbed, until I heard Alex's very familiar voice gasp out painfully. "Alex!" I shrieked, running over. Bug held him up, and Alex dropped the Rippers knife.

"I thought that guy would never leave." Alex said raggedly.

"Alex." Bug said in relief.

Alex was breathing fast and hard "Where's the biggest knife in the kitchen?"

"Where it needs to be." Bug answered. He pulled the knife out and Alex cried out again. I whimpered with him, tears running down my face.

"Condor?" Alex asked.

"Crow." Bug said back, laying him down on the floor. Alex grunted in pain and I immediately kneeled down.

"Alex? Alex." I rushed, combing my fingers through his hair "It's going to be okay."

"It's alright, Izzy-bear." Alex said.

I laughed, a sob breaking through at his use of my old nickname. "Alex, you're going to be fine. You're not going to leave me, okay? You can't leave me. You're my brother, my twin, my other half. I can't be me without you."

"It'll be okay. You have Bug to be your other half now. Feels great by the way, Bug."

"Fucking great." Bug said, his voice thick.

Alex laughed softly "Fucking great."

"Alex? I love you. Always will." I whispered, smiling down at him with tears running down my face.

"Love you too." He whispered back, and then his eyes closed, and his breathing stopped. I leaned down and kissed his forehead gently.

"Fly now." Bug said, his voice wavering. I crawled over to Bug and held onto him, the tears that I had been bundling up all night finally releasing in great sobs. Bug held me close as each wave of sobs wracked my body, all of me trembling. I heard him start to cry too, and I just held on tighter. We needed each other from now on, because now we're all we have. Sirens wailed in the distance, coming closer, and Bug pulled away, wiping his eyes and then brushing away my own tears. He kissed me softly and stood up, picking me up with him.

"I know you're up there." He said to the empty room "And I know we're down here."

There were yells of "Police!" and "Open the door!" downstairs. Bug and I ignored them, looking at the two bodies around us. We are Condors now. We eat Death for breakfast. We live in a house of blood, and we accept that. That's all we can do.

The cops broke down the door, and seemed surprised at how calm we were, surrounded by bodies and covered in blood and injuries. They didn't even care that Bug had a knife, just ushered us downstairs to bandage us up and get out of the house, where more police, the press, and about half the town awaited us. We were ready to be arrested. We weren't ready for what happened instead. Leah had told them everything, and Bug and I were celebrated as heroes. Alex Dunkelman killed his stepfather, a cop, a mother, and five of the Riverton Eight. Bug and I alone stopped him from killing more. I didn't feel like a hero, and I know Bug didn't either. But if it makes Riverton feel safe at night, we'll fake that we're their heroes. And we'll fake it good. Alex wouldn't have it any other way.

---

Bug and I stepped out of his house to camera flashes and applause. The police officer escorting us out clapped Bug on the back and told us "Don't worry about it, guys. They're on your side." He led us down the steps and on the sidewalk "Your sister's right over there." He pointed for us.

Bug and I made our way over to Leah who embraced us both "Thank god you're okay." She murmured. She pointed behind her to a reporter after the long hug "Those people want to talk to you. Are you two feeling up to it?"

I looked at Bug to make the ultimate decision and he nodded "I guess."

We walked to the reporter lady who stood by the ambulance. Smart lady. "Mr. Hellerman and Ms. Dunkleman, I'm Gabrielle Marx, can I ask a few questions?" She asked, flashing a smile and putting her microphone in our faces.

"Yes." Bug answered simply.

"Tell us what it was like in there. What really happened in your own little house of horrors?" Bug and I took turns explaining.

"How do you feel? Are you scared? Upset? Angry? Vengeful, perhaps?"

"You wanna know how I feel?" I asked angrily "I just lost my brother, my friends, my only family. I was almost killed tonight. I had to watch my brother almost kill his best friend and me. And you wanna know how I fucking feel?" I laughed sarcastically "I feel great. Fucking great. How about, you go through everything I went through tonight, and tell me how you fuckin' feel afterwards!"

Ms. Marx looked taken aback. Good, the little bitch. But she quickly recovered, noticing me and Bugs intertwined hands. "Have you two become an item after this whole ordeal?"

Bug blushed "N-no more questions," he said, turning away and towing me to the nearest officer, asking what we do now.

Leah told her to piss off and joined us in the back of the ambulance. We all had to go to the hospital; Bug and I to get our injuries cleaned and fixed completely, and Leah to get her head looked at. Bug and I sat together on the gurney, our hands never releasing each other. Only at the hospital did we let go, and even then it was reluctantly. On my own with a doctor and a nurse or two, I got the two cuts on my shoulder blades sewn up, and gauze wrapped around my arms from all the cuts I received trying to stop the Ripper from killing Bug. Two of my ribs were bruised. But I knew Bug was much worse than I was. As soon as I was done I dashed out of the room and went straight to Bug's. He had a bandage wrapped around his head, his back stitched up like mine, and another bandage on his shoulder where he was stabbed. The doctor was just finishing up on Bug, so I waited impatiently. When the doctor was done I walked in and sat on the bed with Bug.

"How you feeling?" I asked.

"Fucking great." He smiled faintly.

"Good. You hurting anywhere?"

"I could ask you the same question."

I played with Bugs fingers, not meeting his eyes "I'm fine. But this was a crappy birthday. Next year better be fucking amazing, or shit's gonna go down." I heard Bug's soft laughter. I dared to look up into his blue eyes "Bug, what's going to happen from now on?"

He sighed "I don't know."

"Are... Are we safe now?"

Bug gripped my hands in his "Yes." He answered with such confidence and assurance.

I nodded and crawled into Bugs lap, wrapping my arms around his neck and putting my face in the crook of his neck. Bug stiffened, but relaxed after a moment and hesitantly put his arms around my waist. I curled my legs in and we sat there together.

Leah came in minutes later, announcing that she had brought us clothes. "Hospital gowns are weird. Here's some PJ's. I had to bring you a pair of mine, Isabelle, but I think they'll fit you."

Bug and I let go of each other and thanked her. Bug took his clothes and disappeared into his bathroom to change. Leah handed me my clothes and walked with me to my room. "So, you like my brother?" That's the first time I'd ever heard her refer to Bug as her brother. I guess this night didn't just change Bug and I.

"Yeah. I always have, I guess."

"Well, you can always sneak into his room and you two can go at it." She suggested. I stared at her with wide eyes. She shook her head "You're right. These hospital beds have wheels. Don't want to be sliding around and bumping into things, now do we? Of course, you could always do it in the shower. I'm pretty sure they have showers here."

Oh my god. "I can't believe this is happening." I murmured to myself.

"Hm? Can't believe what?" She asked.

"That you're being nice to us, and giving me sex advice... for your brother." I said slowly, the words even sounding strange on my tongue.

Leah shrugged "I guess it's payback for all the years I've been a total bitch to you and Bug. After tonight, I realized that my family is important, and I should keep them close, not terrorize them like I did to Bug. I'm sorry for all the things I did to you."

"I think the one you should apologize to is Bug." I said softly.

She nodded, and went to turn away. I called out "Fang!" She turned around to look at me questioningly "Thanks." I smiled.

She smiled back and said "Call me Leah."

I nodded and continued to my room. I stepped into the bathroom and changed. Leah had given me a loose, long-sleeve shirt that had thin black and light blue stripes. I slipped that on and worked off my blood-stained jeans. I grabbed the pants she had given me and stopped. They were tiny little mint green spandex shorts! She had planned this, I just know it. And the sex talk! I should have seen it coming. I slid on the shorts if only because I had nothing else to wear. I left my room and made the short journey down the hall to Bugs room. Inside, Bug and Leah were hugging. Everything had been amended, I presumed. I leaned against the doorframe, quiet until they noticed my presence. Bug noticed first.

"Izzy! Come in..." I walked in, feeling awkward as my bare legs brushed against each other.

"I think I'll leave you two to it!" Leah said, smiling deviously.

"Wait, where are you going?" Bug asked, his eyes wide and still innocent-looking, even though I knew the real truth.

"I'm going to stay with Maria until we can find a place for all of us to stay." Leah put emphasis in the word all, meaning that I would be with them. I smiled a thank-you at her.

"What about us?" Bug asked, looking at me then at Leah. He was right, we couldn't all stay at Maria's house.

Leah faltered "I-I don't know. But we'll work something out; don't worry about it, Adam." She smiled at her brother reassuringly, and then left, closing the door behind her.

Bug and I looked at each other. "Hi." He greeted quietly.

"Hi." I said back just as softly.

"Do you want to...?" He gestured to the bed.

I nodded "Sure." and sat down on the bed, Bug and I lying on our sides, facing each other to save space.

"Alex says he's okay with us, you know." Bug said, toying with a strand of my hair.

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding painfully in my chest at the mention of my brother. "He is? Good. I'd kick his scrawny ass if he wasn't." I chuckled weakly.

Bug gave a small smile "Brandon and Jay are telling me I should 'do it' with you. Jerome says he's just happy we're finally together."

I giggled "And what does Penelope or Brittany say?"

"Brittany says we should do it if we want, but Penelope is saying to save ourselves."

"How does my dear brother feel?"

"Disgusted. Yet proud of me finally becoming a man. But still disgusted at the thought of me becoming a man with his sister."

I giggled more, closing my eyes for a moment. When I opened them, Bugs face was a mere inch away from mine. "I say I want to kiss you." He said softly, his warm breath brushing against my face.

"What's stopping you?" I whispered, closing my eyes as Bug leaned in closer and pressed his lips to mine. His hand cupped my face, his other hand resting hesitantly on my waist. He seemed unsure of himself with the kiss, so I took it into my own hands. I pressed against Bug, wrapping my fingers in his lovely blonde hair. I moved my lips against his and lightly traced my tongue over his upper lip. I moved one of my hands down his chest, my fingers fluttering from the bottom of his rib cage to his hips. He shuddered next to me, and then the tables turned.

Bug flipped me onto my back and climbed on top of me. I gasped, pain shooting through my back from the pressure on the cuts the Ripper put on my shoulder blades. Bug pushed his lips against mine, his tongue sliding in my mouth unexpectedly. My eyes opened wide in surprise before fluttering shut with pleasure. Bug slid his hand up and down the inside my thigh, touching the hem of my shorts before slipping away. His other hand slid under the small of my back and lifted me against him. Our tongues moved together, and Bug sat up, pulling me into his lap. I wrapped my thighs around his waist and grabbed his face in my hands, kissing him hard. Unfortunately, the movement caused the bed to shift and wheel forward a bit, and Bug and I lost our balance and fell backwards. I crashed onto Bugs chest, who cried out in pain. "Oh my god, are you okay?" I asked, immediately moving off of him.

"Yeah." Bug grunted and winced, sitting up "I'm fine."

I stared up at Bug through my eyelashes, a smile playing around my lips. My grin widened and I started to giggle. Bug smiled too and chuckled. I fell back against his bed clutching my stomach, still laughing. "Oh-oh, it hurts to laugh!" I choked out, feeling my ribs ache.

Bug shook his head, smiling. "We probably shouldn't do that again." His smile dropped and he faltered "I-I mean, not like ever, but while we're still in the hospital."

"I know what you meant." I smirked, taking his hands and pulling him down next to me "We've had a rough night, I think we should sleep."

Bug lay down next to me; his eyes open and alert "I don't want to sleep."

"Why not?" I asked.

"I'm scared..." he confided.

"Of what?"

"Of what might happen in my dreams."

I laced his hand in mine "I'll be right here Bug, right at your side, always. If you get scared, just tell me, and I'll stay with you until it passes."

He nodded but still kept his eyes open. I cupped his face with my free hand, rubbing my thumb softly against his cheek. And that's how I fell asleep.

Bug and I were only in the hospital overnight. The next day, we were released and had to find somewhere to stay until the police cleaned up Bugs house. We spent most of the day at the police station, giving reports on everything that happened. After several long, grueling hours, we were let go. On our way out, one of the officers stopped us and handed us each something. I looked down at the boxes and it registered in my brain that they were the unopened presents Bug and I had exchanged yesterday.

"We found these in your houses and figured you should have something good come out of yesterday." He explained "Happy birthday, you two."

Bug and I looked down at the boxes in our hands and back up at each other. "I, uh, guess we should open them." Bug said unsurely. I nodded and carefully pulled at the tape holding the wrapping paper together. I heard Bug tearing the brown paper that I had wrapped his gift in. I heard his small gasp as he saw the gift. "How long did this take you?" he asked.

I smiled, looking at the detailed picture of a flying California Condor I drew myself "A few days. I got a book from the library for help."

"It's incredible." He complimented, and I blushed a little, and opened the little box he gave me. Inside laid a small heart charm for my bracelet.

I held it up, smiling wide. "A heart?" I asked.

"I saw it the other day and it just felt… right for you. I didn't realize at the time, but now I do." He hesitated, but went on "I-I love you."

"I love you too, Bug." We hugged tightly and Bug helped me put the charm on my bracelet.

Bug and I faced the empty road in front of us. We may be on our own, with no family with us except Leah, and the haunting memories of our sixteenth birthday, but we were together, and we would make it work.

What other choice did we have?

---

AN: And there it is! Fly Now is over :/ Did you guys like it? I HOPE YOU DID! So, like I said in the first AN, I've started working on another My Soul To Take fic. This is an Alex/OC story, kind of AU I suppose. It takes place two years after My Soul to Take, and the Riverton Seven survived it (That is explained in the story). The eight teens take one final vacation together before going off to college during the Fourth of July weekend, and between the drinking, fireworks, and sex, something seriously bad is about to happen. The Riverton Seven plus Shay, the teens that survived the Ripper, are getting picked off one by one. Who is after them?

DUN DUN DUUUNNNNN!

Yes? Anyhoo, if anyone is interested feel free to review/message me about it, I'd love to talk to you guys and maybe share ideas? ALSO, I'm also thinking of a My Soul to Take/Final Destination crossover? This one would have both Izzy and Shay in it. You know how Final Destination goes; Bug will see the horrible deaths of all his friends, wake up to find it wasn't real, then freaks out and gets all his friends out of the situation only for the horrible thing to actually happen. Death is pissed that Bug prevented their deaths and starts going after them. I'd be so happy to get ideas on how to kill off characters!

I'll hopefully see you all again soon!