Well, here we are again, at the 2d chapter. The first one was a little funky looking, but this one will be better. As I said I encourage any ideas and pointers y'all may have. I know that they made an error in the film, and that the corn is just being planted in the spring, but maybe that was artistic license to get a certain mood and feel. So at any rate I've decided to keep it. Plus, most of this first half will probably take place inside Minxie's head, with the events inside the bus secondary. Let me know how you like it. Let's get Kracka-lack in!!!!

Chapter Two: ESP

Minxie hated the fact that she was the one forced to listen to the voices and not anyone else. Why her? Why was she the one with the gifts?

Why not someone who knew how to save the world, or someone who was prepared for it? It certainly wasn't her, she thought. Whatever this boy wanted her to do, or what the monster wanted from her she was not prepared for. She just couldn't have this on her shoulders. She couldn't do it. "Yes you can" the voice hissed in her ear."I wouldn't be here if you couldn't." That voice in a way comforted Minxie and troubled her. She could hear the way it sounded in her head; like it was teetering on a line between young and innocent and black and ugly, marked by the pain and suffering that had aged it considerably. It was like a scar in his soul that wouldn't heal, and Minxie was deeply in touch with this.

"Listen to it", he said. "He needs to feed now. He will take one of you with the strongest heart."

"Why?" Minxie whispered. "Why do you want me to listen to what it wants if there's nothing I can do about it?" All of the sudden, Minx It was the harsh scream of Coach Charlie Hannah cutting into her ears, as she heard the deep throaty voice of the thing that took him away. "Yes this'll do."

"No I don't like this", Minx yelled. She was not yelling out loud only inside her head. "I don't want to listen to a man die!" Her head started feeling tight when she tried to block it out. She heard that deep voice in her head again.

"One down... "

"Every time it takes someone", the boy continued, "listen for his thoughts, his wants and his needs. Whenever he eats, they scream at you." Minxie watched as everyone stood out on the street in a stupor, their mouths open in shock and their eyes protruding. "Charlie!!!!" Betty was screaming into the air shouting expletives. "Oh shit, what happened? CHARLIE!!!" One minute a man was standing right in front of them and then he was gone.

"Tell everyone to get onto the bus!"

Minxie knew why the creature took Hannah, because his heart was like that of a 15 year old. He always stressed the importance of eating healthy to his team, and the boys would always complain of his strict rule about never eating pizza and greasy hamburgers. Although he was nearly a 50 year old man, and his team was full of teenagers, he could have easily outplayed any of them, because of his many early years as a player himself. Which made him a great coach?

Now he's dead, Minxie thought. Now, something is digging into his chest with razor sharp claws, while he's screaming and wailing...lifting the still beating heart out of his chest, and jerking the blood veins apart with its teeth. It would need to consume every part of the chest cavity hollowing out parts that he would need so that the heart would beat properly inside of it. Inside its stomach, those acids would dissolve what it had eaten; and then by some force of dark voodoo, it would sprout up and suddenly regenerate, growing like a seed then finally blooming into an adult heart. The body, after the main part had been eaten could not just be left to go to waste. This had to be saved as part of his collection. His garden. "Please, stop", Minx silently pleaded.

What am I doing?"the young man replied, almost too softly. "It's him that's doing it."

Betty Borman ran back into the bus, cursing the whole way and making a b-line strait for her flare gun.

If she was going out, she'd be going out in a blaze of glory.

"Fuck!" Coach Barnes did not like this one bit. If someone like Betty was afraid, then that meant something was seriously wrong. "What the hell happened out there?" he yelled. "Do I look like I fucking know?" Betty yelled back. The kids on the bus were watching the two of them, as if they were children seeing their parents fight. "I told you there was something going on out here! I just know it. There is something out there!"

The Creeper gasped, and sighed, and squealed as he felt new power surging through him. This was one of the best hearts he ever tasted. Not fatty, or gristly. No traces of pills and alcohol. Just plump, red, ripe fruit from this man's chest.

Extraordinary.

Now, the Creeper would determine what was the next step would be. Get those little bastards scared just enough so that he could smell all of them. Find out what smells stood out the most. It was like a cat playing with his mouse before he ate them; so much fun. How could he make them shake like little leaves? Ah yes, I'll need to get a good look at them. Maybe I'll just make a little appearance.

That'll make them go crazy.

"I'm the one who's going crazy", Minx whispered. "What did you say?" Minxie's best friend Rhonda had been looking at her the whole night, trying to figure out why she seemed so strange. She knew something was wrong.

"Minx you haven't said two words the whole way, and now you look like you're about to faint."

Minxie never did talk very much unless she had something to say, but tonight she really did not want to get into it. "It's all right, I'm fine", she murmured. "Just have a headache...that's all"

"Look, I'm a little scared too." Rhonda said. "I have no idea what's going on".

I think I may know too much, Minxie thought. Coach Barnes addressed everyone on board the bus. "Coach Hannah seems to have umm..disappeared. I want everyone to stay perfectly calm, while we--"

Scotty, the loudest member of the Bannon Bantoms, would never let an old guy tell him to calm down. "How the FUCK do you expect that?!" he snapped."We're practically stranded in the middle of fucking nowhere, people are disappearing into thin air, and now you're tellin' us to stay calm?" Both Rhonda and Coach Barnes told him to sit down.

After nearly a minute and a half, he finally did; but he was now scared out of his mind, an emotion he would never let anyone see if he could help it.

Minxie's heart pounded like voodoo drums. Faster and faster. She could feel that thing getting close. Lurking in the trees above them, and leaping from branch to branch. Even if no one else could hear it; she could. Its shallow breathing alone, made her skin crawl. It seemed to be coming back from the place it stashed Coach Hannah, and where it quickly made short work of him. Now that it had a new heart, its strength and speed was renewed. And so, Minx could hear its claws scraping the surface of tree bark, as it came straight for the bus; in search of a new brain.

Minxie knew who it would take next. His name was Andy Buck, and he was a whiz with computer science.

"I can't watch him die", she thought. She and Bucky were sort of the black sheep of the group. They understood each other.

Betty Borman had her flare gun ready to fire. Her hands were shaking, and something inside her knew the futility of this, but still, she was going to try. And then suddenly, something like a clawed hand tore through the metal roof of the bus, clutching onto Bucky's head, trying to pull him through. "OH SHIT!!!!!!!" Bucky screamed. "Help me!" Betty was right on it. She sprinted to Bucky's side, and aimed the flare gun straight for the area where she saw the creature. Without hesitating to think about the unimaginable presence of this thing, she aimed straight for its head. "You let him go, motherfucker!!!" she bellowed. And then, she fired.

Minxie knew that Betty's flare hit the beast, because when it did, she felt as though her head was being split in two.

Hot, burning liquid was pouring on all sides of her brain, but she couldn't, and wouldn't scream. Instead, she clutched the seat under her, tears running down her face. "Does that thing feel this pain?" she asked the young man in her head.

"It's gotten used to it", he hissed. Minx felt as though she was finally going insane.

She suddenly felt angry; angrier than she had ever felt in her entire life. She felt like killing someone...hurting them, badly. Making them suffer until their last breath. And then they would pay for blowing a hole into her fucking skull. Wait a minute... these were clearly not Minxie's thoughts alone.

Somehow, Minxie felt things that this creature felt. And even though Bucky was safe for the moment, that didn't ease Minx's anxieties. She became very afraid for Betty. She heard that deep voice in her ear once more.

"Old man-looking bitch" It hissed. Minx suddenly had to fight the urge to lunge at Betty for what would appear to be no apparent reason. The voice again. "Those hands of yours have caused me pain. I think I shall rip them off. Along with your fucking head and spine, you wretch!!"

Oh. No. Minxie wished so hard she could stand up and scream at Betty that she was in terrible danger. "I have to warn her" she whispered, so low that no one could hear her, but the boy could. "You can't" said the boy, traces of doom in his voice. "No matter what you do, it will get her," he whispered. "No" replied Minxie. "It will happen" said the boy.

"NO!!!!" When Minx finally realized she had screamed "no" aloud on the bus, everyone was staring at her. "Minx, are you alright?" Ronda said, now looking very concerned for her friend. Coach Barnes, standing closely beside Betty asked her the same. In this type of situation, an outburst like this was cause for extreme concern. Bucky also jumped, almost weeping. "WHAT!! Oh god what?" he cried.

The boy in Minxie's head spoke. "Don't say anything more."

"Why?" Minx silently replied.

"They won't be able to help."

"Why?" Minx replied.

"Because this will happen" replied the boy.

Feeling defeat, Minxie slowly lowered herself back into her seat. Betty showed her frustration. "God Dammit! Tell us what the hell is going on Minxie!"

"Nothing." She murmured. "I...I'm just afraid!" "We all are," Rhonda said reaching over to embrace her.

Scotty glared at Minx, disgusted with the outburst. "You're just a weirdo Minxie! I can't believe they even let you be a cheerleader."

"Shut up Scott!" yelled Rhonda, like a young woman scolding her man. "That doesn't help anything!"

"You're right, it doesn't!" Barnes yelled. "Something bad is going on, and it will not help anything to start throwing insults." He turned to Betty, and instructed her stay with Bucky. He then turned to Scott. "Since you're so eager to speak Scott, I want you to get to the transmitter, and see if you can reach the highway patrol. I'm going back out to watch."

"You stay the hell inside!! Did you see what just happened?" Betty screamed. Coach Barnes always believed he could handle things on his own. "I'll be alright; you just stay with the kids while I'm out here." He exited the bus cautiously.

"Fool", whispered that boy again calmly. "He's gonna die too isn't he?" ask Minxie. "I think you know that," he said. "Why me? And what is this thing that keeps invading my head? I need answers. "And you'll get them" he replied. Minxie suddenly felt like she couldn't move her arms or legs. Her breath grew labored. She fell to the floor of the bus, as someone shouted her name, and the space around her went black

Well, that is it for this chapter. Next time Minxie will be in a dream, (sort of like in the deleted scene in the film where Darry shows her bodies of ancient soldiers.) and it will be an involving one. (I hope) I sure hope ya'll like this. Give me time; it may take a while for the next chap to come up! (Like it did this one.)

P.S, The Creeper says that light meat has 15 less calories than dark.