By Heather Samantha Beckett

Disclaimer: I do not own the concept of Quantum Leap or Higher Ground or their characters, those solely belong to Don Belisario (Quantum Leap) and whoever wrote Higher Ground

Chapter 2: Carrying Deamons

Sam mustered all his strength and and took one hand off the platic hand hold he was holding on to and slowly reached for the button he saw right above him and pushed it. He heard the kids below him cheer. Sam breathed a sigh of relief. He did it, he pushed the button then he felt the blood drain form his face all of the sudden. How was he going to get back down?

"Jules let go a d just drop," Sam heard a boy yell down below.

"I, I, I, can't," Sam stammered.

"What's the matter Queenie afraid you are going to break a nail?" The blonde girl sneered.

"Juliette you have done this many times before just let go and repel yourself back down it's not that hard," said the woman.

"Easy for you to say you aren't up here," Sam said under his breath. Sam rmembered when he leapt into a test pilot he had never felt so sick to his stomach as he did when he was up in that plane and didn't know how to fly it. This should be a peice of cake compared to that but to Sam it felt the same. His throat seemed to drop to his stomach as he felt a wave of nausia come over him. He closed his eyes and decided not to look down. he remebered that looking down only made things worse.

"Sam it's ok. Do what they say," Al said apearing out of no where and floating besides him. "I'll gude you down. Keep you eyes closed if that helps and I'll tell you step by step where to step down."

"Al I can't do it. You know how I am with heights. I feel like Im going to faint. Just tell me why I'm here," said Sam his voice quavering a bit.

"Sam let's get you down from here first then I'll talk to you," Al suggested.

"AL!" screamed Sam.

"Al who's Al? you feeling alright Jules?" The hispanic boy below Sam yelled.

"She's being a freak again," The blonde girl laughed.

"Great now not only am I a scardy cat I'm the freak who talks to himself," Sam sighed exhasperated.

"Ok ok guide me Al," Sam told his friend.

Sam closed his eyes and let Al talk him down step by step. Al would tell him where to step down cause Sam could not open his eyes.

"Juliette just let go and repel it's faster and it isn't that difficult," Sam heard the man below her say.

"You're wasting your breath Peter," the blonde girl said rolling her eyes. "She is in one of her pat attention to me I'm such a drama queen moods. And you dated her first?" The blonde said turning to face a tall boy with spikey blonde hair standing next to her.

The boy shrugged his shoulders and turned back to watch Sam climb down the wall.

Sam was not about to let go of the plastic hand holds and repel down the wall, he kept his eyes closed and climbed the whole way down with Al guiding each of his steps. When he made it the ground he swooned for a second and was about to fall down infront of everyone when the hispanic boy ran over to him and grabbed his shoulders to prevent him from faiting.

"Jules you ok? Are you feeling sick or something? You never have trouble on the wall," said the hispanic boy.

"Oh I was just uh having a case of vertigo I guess um," Sam cringed a little he didn't know the boy's name and he would look like even more of a freak if he acted like he didn't know these people.

"Augusto but they call him Auggie," Al said supplying Sam with the information he desperetly needed.

"Auggie," Sam continued.

"Hey quennie forget to barf this morning so you get sick on the wall and barf when you comeback down?" The blonde girl sneered as she brushed past Sam pretending to accidentally bump into him.

"Um barf?" Sam questioned.

The girl rolled her eyes and walked away with the blonde spikey haired boy.

"Um yea Sam. You have leapt into Juliette Waybourne 16. She is a student at Herizon which is where you are. Horizon is a wilderness type of school for troubled youth," Al said reding the inof off a multicolored handlink in he held in his hands. Juilette's mother sent her here for cutting herself and for buliema so I guess uh she really does barf up the meals. Her mother is a control freak and demanded Julette be the perfect daughter and pushed perfection the Juliette's breaking point."

Sam cringed. He couldn't think why anyone who want to cut themself and make themself barf up a meal. "Wow she''s messed up," said Sam.

"She isn't the only one," Said Al pointing to several kids. "Over there is Ezra Freidkin he's a habitual drug user mainly huffing, he is adopted and his parents went through a verynasty divorce and he was caught in the midle of the crossfire. When he get out of Horizon he has to decide who to live with. Over there you got Daisey Lipenowski who likes to be called Daisey Graves. She is a tarot reading gothic girl whose father physically abused her. She beat him to a pulp with a golf club and almost killed him. Her mother died a while back while Daisey was at Horizon. Over there you got Katherine Cabot. She has been here the longest 3 years. Her sister drowned right in front of her. The hispanic guy is Augusto Ciseros he was gang member and a drug user and dealer and the girl and guy who walked past you," Al said as he hung his head.

"What Al?" Sam said afraid to hear the answer.

"Thart was Shelby Merrick and Scott Barringer. Shelby's stepfather molested her and she ran away and lived on the streets for a long time protitiuting herself to survive before her mom found her and sent her to Horizon and Scott was a promising football star who got kicked off the team for drug use and his dad sent him him to Horizon. He told Shelby and Peter Scarborrow the director of Horizon how his stepmother would come into his room whenever there was a storm and would sleep with him. Oh the hot woman is one of the councelors here. her name is Sophie Becker. I think her and Peter are an iemI wonder if they've done the deed already."

Sam stared at Al in disbelief he didn't know what to say. "Al quit thinking with yuo you know what." Sam felt tears welling up at the corner of his eyes. How could any kids go through what all these kids went through? Sam fel like someone stabbed his heart. He chocked back his tears. "There's so much pain here Al. It's un real it's its's," Sam couldn't finish his sentence.

"Some of it is sick is what is is," Al finished Sam's statement.

Sam was taken aback he hadn't seen so much anger in Al's eyes before. "All thse low life parents and step parents need to strugn up by their toes."

"Al what am I here do do?" Sam asked solemly. He didn't really want to hear. He was afraid to hear what Al would say.

"What do you mean what are you here to do?" Peter asked Sam a quizzical expression of concern etched on his face.

"Oh I meant what am I supposed to do now," Sam asked Peter.

"Juliette you sure you are ok?"

"Yea why?" Sam lied. The fact was he wasn't ok. First he was leapt into a teenage girl. (Sam hated being leapt into females those were the worse leaps for Sam. He was onced leapt into a pregnant teenager now that was a challenging leap!). Then he heard about all the deamons these kids were carryingand it and it tore his heart to pieces, and he didn't know why he was here.

"You just seem out of sorts why don't you go with Sophie and get something to eat. Did you thorw up breakfast this morning?" Peter asked Sam.

Sam did his best not to cringe. "Um no. No I didn't."

"Well then go to class."

"Come on Jules," Auggie said grabbing Sam's hand.

Sam cringed.

"What's wrong?" Auggie asked Sam.

"Um nothing," Sam stammered.

"Oh yea Sam I forgot to tell you. Juliette and Auggie are an item as is Shelby and Scott," Al told Sam.

Oh you could have told me sooner," Sam hissed at Al.

"Told you what Jules?" Auggie asked Sam.

"Oh nothing," Sam said glaring at Al.

Al shrugged his shoulders and continued to walk besides Sam while Auggie had him by the hand walking him to class. He dare not let go because he didn't know where he was going and he couldn't let on that he didn't know where he was going but holding a teenage boys hand really crept him out. He knew Auggie saw Sam as Juliette but Sam knew even though if he looked in a mirror and Julette's refection stared back at it was still Sam's soul in Juliette's body and he was holding hands with a teenage boy.

"Ziggy says you are here to," Al said punching buttons into his multi colored handlink. The corlor drained from Al's face.

Sam's heart sank. What ever he was going to say he knew it wasn't going to be terrible.

"You here to make sure Juliette doesn't get killed."

"What Juliette gets killed?" Sam said a little too loudly.

"Of course Juliette gets killed. You've read Romeo and Juliette before," sais Auggie shanking his head in wonder at his girlfriend's odd behavior.

"Yes of course," Sam said quickly. "I was reviewing the play in my head. "

"Good save Sam," said Al.

"Well anyway ziggy says there is an 85 chance you are to here to prevent Juliette from getting killed by her mother's new husband when Juliette goes home on a three day leave. History says Juliette's body is found in the harbor and the autopsy rules she dies form multiple blows to the head and her mother comes clean and confesses that she came home from work one day and found her husband beating Juliette striking her herad multiple times with a baseball bat and when Juliette became unconcious she panicked and suggested her huband put her daughter in a bag and later that night they would dump the body bag into the harbor."

Sam face tuned green.

"Jules yuo don't look so hot," said Auggie.

"I got to use the bathroom, Sam thought fast.

"Over there," Auggie pointed to a nearby door.

Sam rushed to the bathroom and locked the door so no one could in and see him talking to himself. Sam looked in the mirror so he could see who he had leapt into. he saw Juliette's reflection staring back at him.

"She's sop beutiful Al why would her parents want to harm her like this. I just don't get it. It sickens me."

"It sickens me too Sam"

"I can't breath, Sam said out of breath. He turned the sink faucet on and splashed cold water on hs face. "Why is this bothering me so much? What deamon am I carrying?" Sam slapped his hands on the mirror in anger. "Damn this swiss cheese brain of mine."

"Well uh," Al stammered. Al didn't know what to say. He felt his friends pain but he knew Sam's rules for Quantum Physics. He wasn't allowed to supply Sam with information about his life no matter how swiss cheesed his brain was. It was the hardest thing about being Sam's partner. Seeing his friend loose his memory and not having the ability to fill him in on his missing life.

"It just seems so familiar," said Sam splashing more water on his face.Sam felt a wave of naussia and when he looked up in the mirror he swooned a bit. "My sister went through this Al. I remember."

Al was hoping Sam didn't remember anymore. usually he loved it when Sam, rememberd something but he didn't want Sam to remember this.

"She married that bastard who beat her everyday. I can't handel leaps like this Al."

"I know these leaps are tough on you Sam but you got into this business to save lives and if anyones life needs saving right now it's Juliette. You got to make sure you do whatever you can to not go on that 3 day leave."

"Like what Al?"

"Well I don't think kids have to go if they don't want to but they usually have to give a good reason.Up to this point Juliette has been psyched about going home. It's all she talks about so it would come across strangely that she changes her mind all of the sudden. What are you going to say? My hologram friend predicted my future and told me I was going to die?

Sam tunred to look at Al and he had an expression his face that told Al he had just had a sudden flash of brillence. "Well maybe not my hologram friend, but I know someone who might be able to help me predict a future."

Al hated when Sam came up with a hair brained scheme usually that was his deparment.