Season 3, Episode 2: "Seer"
Throughout history, there have been people called "seers;" people who have the extraordinary power of foresight. They advised armies, even kings, but there have always been rumors that there are seers who can see other things…like spirits. More often than not, these people are regarded as crazy, but after seeing all the weird stuff I've seen, it's entirely possible that there are people who can see the spirit world like I do and maybe, they can even see things I can't.
"Sweet! Nachos!" Carey exuded, snatching up a black plastic tray laden with tortilla chips. From the back of the store, Fi shook her head and laughed. It seemed like every guy she knew loved convenience store nachos, but she was more concerned with choosing between grape or cherry taffy. Biting her lip, she reluctantly picked up the purple package and walked up to the counter with it and a bottle of soda in her hands. She gave her mother a sheepish smile when she set the items down on the counter, and Molly just let out a chuckle.
"Wait! I want grape soda," Fi said, snatching the bottle of lemon lime from the counter and running to the back of the store.
"Well, hurry up, Fi!" Molly called after her. Quickly, she exchanged the green bottle for a purple one and started to run back to the front, but stopped when she realized that a woman was looking at her intently.
"You can see them too, can't you?" the woman said, idly setting a bag of chips down on a rack.
"Excuse me?" Fi asked warily.
"No…you…you've been touched by them, haven't you?" The woman took a few steps toward the end of the aisle, and Fi involuntarily took a few steps back. Not wanting to talk to the stranger anymore, she hurried to the front of the store and set her soda on the counter.
"Baby, what's wrong?" Molly asked, digging through her purse for her wallet. Fi glanced toward the back of the store where the woman stood, still watching her.
"Nothing," she said finally, turning to the attendant. When their purchases were paid for, they all left the gas station and gathered around the car.
"Okay, guys. Let's go. This is my first day off of recording in a while and I want to make the most of it!" Molly announced, unlocking the car.
"Yeah, but do you have to make US make the most of it?" Jack moaned, and Fi laughed. She stopped when she felt someone standing behind her and when she turned around; the woman from inside the store was there.
"I can see that you've been touched by evil…but you've also been touched by good. He's watching over you." Fi almost let her soda slip out of her hand. It seemed like every cryptic remark this woman was making had something to do with her father, and maybe even what had happened in New York.
"How…how did you know that?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.
"You can see them too." The woman dug into her pocket, pulled out a piece of paper and held it out to Fi. Fi paused for a moment, wondering what could be on the paper, but was interrupted.
"Hey, kiddo! What's the hold up? Who's this?" Molly asked, sounding more serious when she asked the second question. Fi let out a small sigh and took the paper.
"Nothing, mom," she said, tucking the paper into her pocket and opening the car door. As they drove away, she could still see the woman standing there and watching them as they left.
"Hey, Fi, what did that woman want?" Jack asked, tearing open the package of chips he'd gotten from the store.
"I don't know," she replied, looking out the window.
-X-
Fi looked blankly at a mannequin dressed up in "one of the hottest summer fashions," according to the sign behind the window, but she didn't really care about that. The woman at the gas station had mentioned that she knew Fi's father was protecting Fi, but how could she have known that?
Sighing, she took the piece of paper out of her pocket and opened it.
If you can see them too and really believe,
e-mail me.
.net
She frowned as she stumbled across the cryptic "them" remark. If "them" referred to spirits, did that mean this woman was a medium? She remembered the medium she'd encountered before, the one who'd allowed her to talk to her father. It had been an emotional experience, especially when she played a song she'd never heard before, so it was entirely possible that the woman could be talking about spirits.
Painfully, she recalled the warning she'd received on the rooftop. "YOU'RE NEXT." The woman had mentioned something about being "touched by evil;" was it possible that she meant having actually been touched by evil?
Suddenly, she felt a hand come down on her shoulder. She jumped and turned around, but breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Molly.
"That's a pretty nice dress, but I think you'd look better in green," she said, smiling warmly at her daughter.
"Do you want to get a pretzel?" This question made Fi genuinely smile.
"You know I can never turn down bread that's been twisted into a knot." Molly laughed again at her daughter's remark.
"Wait a second. You've got that look on your face," she said, furrowing her brow slightly.
"What look?" Fi asked, confused.
"The one that tells me you've been thinking about your father." Fi's smile vanished and she cast her gaze downward.
"Well, do you think that you can multitask? Everyone's waiting for us at the food court." Molly reassuringly put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. Fi gave a small smile and nodded.
-X-
"Welcome to Forget Me Knot. Can I take your order?" The bored-looking teenager behind the counter poised his hand over the register, waiting to punch their order in.
"Can I just get a regular knot, no salt?" Molly asked. The cashier nodded and Fi stepped up to the counter.
"Can I get…" she started, but trailed off when something caught her eye. A dark shadow slid across the shiny silver base of the lemonade machine to the cashier's right, and she got a chill; the same chill she'd felt on the rooftop. She jumped when something crashed onto the floor next to her, and she quickly turned to see her mother frantically scrambling to pick things up.
"Shoot! The straps on my bags broke!" Molly let out a frustrated sigh, but Fi breathed one of relief, despite the fact that traces of the chill she'd felt still lingered. She almost turned back to order but stopped when she noticed that a piece of paper was leaning against her shoe. When she picked it up and read it, her heart stopped for a moment. It was a coupon from a store called "Watch Out." Although she figured it must have been a coincidence, it might not have been, since her mother's bags broke seconds after she saw the shadow.
"Nothing for me, thanks," she said, giving the cashier a weak smile. Molly gave her an odd look, but paid for her pretzel like normal.
-X-
The rest of the day at the mall passed without incident, and before Fi knew it, the Phillips' and Bells were sitting around the dinner table, eating Mexican food. Although she didn't feel much like eating, she still came to dinner as she'd never missed Mexican Night before.
"Okay, everyone, I have some major news," Molly said after tapping her glass with her fork. Everyone stopped talking and turned to her.
"Well, the record company and I have been talking. The album's all finished, but…they want me to go back on tour." Everyone at the table save for Molly became abuzz with excitement.
"They want you to go back on tour? That's great!" Jack said.
"Yeah, Molly! You should definitely do it." Carey was beaming at her from across the table.
"Well, it would be a good way to promote the new album, but…I told them I'd think about it." Molly's statement seemed to shock everyone.
"Why not? I mean, it's only been, what, five, six months since you were last on tour?" Irene asked, frowning as she took a drink of water.
"Well, you know, we were on tour for almost two years and now that we've come back home…plus, I don't think I'd be better than the Rolling Stones, going back on tour after saying I wasn't." Molly chuckled.
"You know, it'd be great if you went back on tour because we have so much fun on the road, but I'll be happy with whatever decision you make," Ned said, taking a bite out of a taco and spilling seasoned beef onto his plate.
"You know what? I might have made a mistake, dropping a bomb like this on everyone. How about we talk about this tomorrow?" Molly suggested.
"Actually, I think you really only need to discuss it with Jack and Fi. The Bells are behind you no matter what," Ned interjected, and Irene and Carey nodded.
"I think that would be great," Molly said, breathing a sigh of relief.
-X-
After dinner, Fi cloistered herself in her room. Although she wanted to go to sleep, something was keeping her awake. She picked up the coupon from the mall off of her nightstand and looked at it; the words "Watch Out" in big, red letters seemed ominous, almost like a warning. Had the shadow she'd seen at the mall been the same dark spirits she'd encountered in New York? It certainly seemed that way, but she'd been warned; but by who; or, rather, what? Although she'd never felt her father protecting her, he'd always left signs like e-mails, so could he have been the one to warn her? Then again, the dark spirits had warned her on the rooftop…
Sighing, she set the coupon back on her nightstand, but paused when she noticed something about her ring. When she looked closely, it almost seemed like it was glowing with a faint aura. For some reason, that didn't scare her, but she made a mental note to investigate it.
She was about to go to bed when something kept bugging her: the piece of paper the woman, Evelyn, had given her. Getting out of bed, she grabbed her jeans from the laundry hamper and plucked the piece of paper out of the pocket. She threw her jeans back into the hamper and stared at the writing, biting her lip as she debated with herself; finally she made a decision and sat down at her desk. She flipped her laptop open and clicked the icon that would allow her to compose an e-mail.
Evelyn –
I know you probably don't know me, but I was the girl you gave your e-mail address to at the gas station. I'm curious about what you said to me when we met, so if you could please respond to this e-mail as soon as you can, I'd really appreciate it. I'd like to find out more.
- Fiona
She clicked "SEND" and watched as the message sent; sighing, she got up and walked over to the bed, turning the covers down so she could get in. She turned around when she heard the noise for a new e-mail, and she clicked the message open.
Fiona –
I'm very glad you e-mailed me. I could tell that you had a gift and I figured that e-mail would be the best way for us to communicate; however, there are things you need to know.
- Evelyn
As soon as she finished reading the message, she started to work on a reply.
Evelyn –
Things I need to know? What kind of things? Am I in danger?
- Fi
Anxiously, she waited for the reply and opened it when it arrived.
Fiona –
I don't know that these are the kind of things that should be discussed online. I don't blame you if you don't trust me, but if you truly believe, I'd like to talk to you in person.
- Evelyn
She was surprised; this woman could be a crazy person or some sort of evil entity, and yet, here she was, actually considering meeting this woman she'd only briefly met, if that. Her common sense was screaming "DON'T GO!" but something else was thinking that it might be best to talk to Evelyn. It seemed like what the woman had to tell her was important, so could she risk not finding out? Taking a deep breath, she typed her reply.
Evelyn –
I'd like to meet you, but I'm not too sure I trust you. I'm sorry, but this is all a little sudden.
- Fi
The reply came minutes after she sent hers.
Fiona –
I understand completely; however, if you are even considering meeting me in person, I can give you my word that I won't harm you in any way. I don't know if a stranger's word means anything to you, but I hope you'll at least reconsider.
- Evelyn
For some reason, the woman's reply seemed honest. It was a mystery how she could know that, but it seemed like it would be in her best interest to reconsider.
Evelyn –
Okay, I've reconsidered and I'd like to meet you.
- Fi
A ding announced the arrival of the reply.
Fiona –
I'm glad you changed your mind. My address is 101 Everett Drive. You can find it by heading north on the main road until you get to Everett. See you soon.
- Evelyn
She made it a point to memorize the address, writing it down on the same piece of paper the e-mail address was on.
"What have I gotten myself into?" she mused aloud as she turned off the lights, getting into bed and sinking into unconsciousness.
-X-
Fi gave a groan as she rolled over in bed to look at her alarm clock; when she saw what time it was, her eyes shot open and she jumped out of bed.
"Eleven o' clock? How come nobody woke me up!?" she said, throwing her door open and rushing out of her room. Her footsteps were loud as she thundered down the stairs, and she stopped when she got into the kitchen; however, when she looked around, no one was there.
"Mom? Jack?" she called, looking around. Now that she wasn't in such a hurry, she noticed the silence that seemed to dominate the kitchen. She checked the refrigerator for a note of some kind, and she started to worry when she didn't find anything. Suddenly, there was a loud crack and she turned around to see the wall behind her splitting apart. Before her eyes, pieces of the wall fell backwards into oblivion, sucked in by some strange force. As more and more of the wall crumbled, she ran out of the kitchen, looking over her shoulder the entire time. The cracking got louder and she could see that the rest of the house was collapsing into the void, and it was all she could do to get to the stairs before the void swallowed her too. Just as she was halfway up the stairs, her hands shot out to grab the banister as the stair she was on gave out underneath her weight. She gave a small scream as the force that was pulling the rest of the house into the void grabbed her, and she tried to tighten her grip. After fighting the force for a minute or so, her fingers slipped and she flew backward into the darkness, screaming.
-X-
The sound of her own screams woke Fi and, as she slowly began to register that she'd been dreaming, she realized that she'd been screaming in real life as well. Light flooded into her room from the hallway as Molly and Jack flung the door open, but she caught notice of movement in the shadows by her window. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn she saw the same kind of shadow she'd seen at the mall.
"Baby, what's the matter? I heard you screaming," Molly said, rushing over to the bed. Jack stood in the doorway. Fi caught her breath before answering.
"I was just…having a bad dream," she said, trying to figure out exactly what was going on. Molly wrapped her arms around Fi in an effort to comfort her, and Fi placed a hand on her mother's arm.
-X-
The next morning, Jack found Fi at the breakfast table, using her spoon to toy with colorful pieces of cereal. She was staring into her bowl, but it seemed like she was staring through it.
"You never did like soggy cereal," he said, causing her to look up at him. She gave a weak chuckle.
"I guess I don't feel like eating much lately," she replied, pushing her bowl away from her.
"Hey, ever since you met that woman at the gas station, you've been acting more weird than usual, and that's saying something considering you're usually pretty weird." He grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and a spoon from the door, setting them down on the table when he sat down.
"It's, uh…it's nothing." She tried to avoid meeting his gaze. As he grabbed the cereal from the center of the table, he started to feel concern.
"Did she threaten you?" he asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"What? No. She…wanted to talk to me."
"Wanted to talk to you? I don't think she even knows you." The cereal made small tinkling sounds as they hit the inside of the bowl.
"Hey, half the people who want to talk to me don't know me." She chuckled.
"Well, that's true, but if she didn't threaten you, what did she want?"
"You know, I don't think you'd believe me if I told you." Her slight smile faded.
"Try me." He picked up the milk and poured it over his cereal.
"Actually, I think I can take care of this by myself. Tell mom that I'll be back later," she said, getting up from the table.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to go ride my bike around. Tell mom I'll be back later." With that, she went upstairs and into her room.
-X-
As Fi pedaled her bike, she kept what she'd read in her e-mail in her mind. The road that led north was uphill, but she had no idea how long it was going to take her to get there; it had been almost been fifteen minutes since she'd left her house and she hadn't seen any other roads. Determined, she started to pedal faster.
Another ten minutes passed and she found a road that branched off from the main one, and a signpost indicated that she'd arrived at Everett Drive. She got off her bike and took a deep breath before walking her bike down the road. The forest seemed strangely tranquil, although she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong; like…something was watching her. After everything that had happened yesterday and last night, she wasn't so sure that she was just being paranoid.
The path went on for ten minutes without any houses but finally, she found 1 Everett Drive. Although it looked like a lot of houses around the mountainous region of Hope Springs, it had a weird aura about it. Warily, she laid her bike down on the lawn and approached the house, chancing a glance at her ring. When she looked closely, it was still glowing faintly, and she took another deep breath to calm herself. She knocked on the door, doing her best not to turn and walk away; she was getting the feeling that she shouldn't be there. Her thoughts were brushed aside when Evelyn opened the door.
"You decided to come. Come in," she said, opening the door wider so Fi could step in.
The house seemed normal enough; nothing out of the ordinary caught Fi's eye, aside from the occasional interesting knickknack.
"Let's talk in the living room," the woman said, gesturing to her right as she turned around. Fi nodded and turned into the tastefully decorated living room, taking a seat.
"So, why did you want me to come here?" she asked, looking at the woman, who took a seat on a chair across from her.
"Well, I was wondering if you believed, but you did come here."
"Believed in what?" Fi was starting to feel frustrated with all of the cryptic remarks this woman was making to her.
"Spirits. Ghosts. Apparitions. Call them what you will." The woman's reply surprised Fi.
"So do you mean that you were talking about spirits when you said that I'd been touched by them?"
"Yes."
"Wait, back at the gas station, you asked me if I could see them too. Does that mean you can?" The woman nodded.
"I'm what some would call a 'seer.'"
"Wait; I remember reading something about seers when I investigated future telling. According to what I found, seers see the future." Fi was slightly confused.
"Well, yes, historically, the most talked about seers could see the future. In Hebrew, the word for seer translates to 'one who sees.' That could mean anything outside of normal perception."
"Okay, so what, you can see spirits?"
"Yes. I can also see when people have been touched by them."
"Do you mean actually touched?"
"In a way. 'Touched' is my term for coming into contact with a spirit. A lot of people have been touched without even knowing it because they can't see, but you…I don't think I even needed to look for you. You emanate the aura of someone who has been touched many times."
"Well, I do have the habit of finding weird stuff."
"It's not just that. You're protected." Fi looked away for a moment and nodded.
"My father watches over me."
"It's rare that anyone who's been touched has a protector, but…"
"But what?"
"But…you've also been marked."
"Marked?"
"Yes. Marked with…" The woman trailed off and looked around.
"Marked with what?" Suddenly, Fi got the feeling that something was wrong. The woman stood up.
"You need to go," the woman said anxiously.
"Wait! I need to know what I've been marked with." Fi stood up as well, angry that the woman was ordering her to leave without telling her more.
"Get out now!" the woman yelled, and Fi's anger was replaced with fear. Rather than a command, the woman's words sounded urgent.
"Go!" With that, Fi turned around and hurried out of the house, feeling the chill again which could only mean one thing: danger. She ran across the lawn and scooped up her bike, fluidly jumping on it and pedaling away. As soon as she turned onto the main road, she looked up briefly to see a dark shadow flitting through the treetops. Before she could register what was going on, she heard a series of loud cracks and saw something huge crash onto the road in front of her. Her bike stopped, but she didn't; she flew over her handlebars and hit whatever it was that had fallen onto the road. She bounced off and went unconscious as soon as she hit the ground.
-X-
Fi.
Fi!
FI!
Fi's eyes fluttered open at the sound of an internal voice; an instinct that told her to wake up or else she might not wake up again. She gave a groan, feeling pain all over her body. Slowly, she got unsteadily to her feet and tasted copper in her mouth; when she wiped it with the back of her hand, a red trail smeared across her skin.
"Oh no," she whispered, feeling her head with her hands; her heart almost stopped when she found a warm, sticky spot on her forehead. The sight of her own blood almost made her woozy, and she looked down to survey the rest of her body. Her clothes were dirty and there was some blood staining the left shoulder of her jacket, but everything else seemed fine aside from the dull pain that was everywhere. When she looked down the road, what she saw horrified her.
A large tree had fallen onto the road and crushed the front tire of her bike, leaving the metal trapped under its massive weight. If she had been going even a little faster, she would have been crushed under the tree. Shaking, she climbed over the tree and started to make her way home.
-X-
Molly looked up from making lunch as Fi walked into the kitchen.
"Hey! Jack told me you went…" She stopped mid-sentence when she saw that her daughter looked shaken and battered.
"Oh my god, Fi! What happened to you!?" The blood on her daughter's forehead alarmed her, and she ran over to the sink to wet some paper towels.
"Here, sit down at the table," she said, and Fi numbly did as she was asked. Without wasting any time, Molly began to wipe the blood off Fi.
"What happened to you?" she asked again, trying to be gentle.
"I was riding my bike and a tree fell into the road. I crashed into it." Fi sounded less like herself and more like a zombie; her words were monotone and seemed forced. Molly kept glancing at her daughter, but cleaned up most of the blood. She threw the paper towels away and rushed to the hall closet, where she grabbed the red first aid kit and brought it back into the kitchen. Taking a disinfecting pad, she wiped Fi's wound with it and then opened a bandage. Gently, she applied it to Fi's forehead.
"Honey?" she said, and Fi suddenly broke down in tears. Shocked, Molly automatically reached out and put a hand on her daughter's head, resting it against her shoulder. It was all she could do to keep from crying herself.
-X-
Molly sighed as she took a seat on the couch in the living room, hearing Fi close her bedroom door. She understood that crashing into a fallen tree was a scary experience, especially when you saw it fall, but…
"Hey. Where's Fi?" Jack question interrupted her thoughts. She turned her head to look at him as he sat down in a chair.
"Oh, she's up in her room, but I wouldn't bother her. She's kinda shaken up," she replied, adjusting her position on the couch.
"Shaken up? Why?" He looked concerned.
"Well apparently, while she was out riding her bike, a tree fell onto the road and she crashed into it." Jack sat up, extremely worried.
"Is she okay?" he asked.
"All she got was a cut on her forehead. I don't think she had any scrapes, but I bandaged her up. I'm more worried about how she acted when she came home."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, having a huge tree fall in front of you can be pretty scary, but she seemed…"
"Seemed like what?"
"Like she had been scared really badly."
"Well, like you said, she was probably really scared by the tree. I know I'd be really scared if something like that happened to me."
"Yeah, you're probably right," she said, nodding. Jack smiled at her and got up to get something from the kitchen, but she couldn't help but think that Jack was wrong.
-X-
Fi lay on her bed, clutching her favorite stuffed animal to her like it would vanish if she didn't. All she'd been doing since she'd gotten home was think about the accident and how, even though it was extremely possible that it was an accident, she knew it wasn't. She'd seen the shadow before she crashed and now it was very clear: the shadow was after her. Maybe that's what the seer had meant when she said Fi was "marked;" maybe the shadow had marked her because…
She almost didn't want to finish that thought, but she did anyway. Maybe the shadow had marked her because it wanted to kill her, but why hadn't it killed her with the tree? While the attack definitely seemed planned, she doubted that an evil spirit would miss if it didn't want to. She needed to figure out why the shadow had targeted her.
Suddenly, her laptop announced that she had one new message, and she got up to see who had sent it. She paused when she saw who it was: Unknown. Her heart started pounding as she realized who the message might have been from. She opened it and read:
Everything happens for a reason.
"Everything happens for a reason," she repeated aloud. If that was true, then the message had been sent to her for a reason; what else could it mean except that the attack had happened for a reason? Now all she needed to do was figure out what that reason was.
"Okay, so what happened? She was talking to me about being touched, then about being marked…Wait a second…" She stopped when she realized that the seer had been about to tell her what she'd been marked by, and that was when the trouble had started. So, the shadow had attacked her to prevent her from finding out what it was, but why would it do that? Was it afraid of her gaining power over it? She took a deep breath and let it out as she resolved to go back to the seer's house to find out exactly what was going on, even if it meant risking her life again.
-X-
Fi found herself walking around in her house, wondering where everyone was again. Her ring was glowing again, but a little more strongly this time. The light grew stronger and the silver band was wrenched off of her hand, leaving her cold all over. A black shadow began to leak out of an upper corner in my room and she turned and ran, as she'd done when the void had been swallowing the house. As before, she made it top the top stair when the shadow got her. This time, however, Molly was there, reaching for her hand. She tried to stretch far enough, but all she could do was touch fingertips with her mother before she was completely engulfed in blackness.
-X-
Fi shot up in bed again but this time, she was in tears. She felt a twinge in the bottom of her stomach as she watched the shadow go out the window again. Looking down, she still saw that she had her ring on and rubbed it with her thumb, feeling the engraving. The light was stronger, but it faded to the faint glow it'd had before.
-X-
Fi was still awake when the sun rose, and she waited until ten o'clock to get dressed. Making sure she had her ring, she went downstairs and passed Molly.
"Hey! You look like you're in a hurry," she said, stopping in front of her daughter.
"Mom, I have to go take care of something. I'll be back soon," she said, taking a couple of steps forward, but Molly stepped in front of her again.
"Fiona, where are you going?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"Mom, please, let me go," she pleaded, and Molly let out a sigh, stepping aside. Fi rushed past her to the door.
-X-
The walk to Everett Drive took forty five minutes without her bike and, luckily for her, the tree was gone from the road. She practically sprinted the last few minutes of her trip and screeched to a halt when she reached the seer's front door. Rather than the woman opening it, though, it opened on its own, as if it had almost been ready to open before she got there. Tentatively, she set a foot inside the house.
"Hello?" she called, taking another step inside. She looked around when she heard a sound, and figured out that it was coming from upstairs, and she tensed as she ran up the flight. She stopped as soon as she was in the hallway, listening again for the sound. It came from a doorway ahead and to the left, and she ran towards the room, only to be floored by the horror that lay before her.
The seer lay on a king-size bed, bleeding on the sheets from a gash across her throat and, on the wall above the bed, the crimson fluid spelled out letters.
YOU WERE WARNED
Tears streaming down her face, she turned to leave, but something made her turn around. When she did, the dead seer and the blood were gone. She turned around again and flames sprang up in the doorway, blocking her exit. The room began to catch on fire, slowly trapping her in a corner next to the bed. The fire got closer and she curled up, shielding herself with her arms.
She didn't notice her ring glowing brightly, but she looked up when a voice came from nowhere.
"Run, Fiona!" The pseudo-whisper caused her to get to her feet and face the advancing flames, but she hesitated.
"Run!" said the voice again, and she braced herself before running straight through the fire. Surprisingly, she made it through unscathed and managed to get out of the house before it was completely consumed. She turned around when she heard a noise behind her only to see writing dug into the ground at her feet which was, strangely enough, her father's code.
"Everything has a reason," she said, knowing now why she'd almost been killed. She had gone back to see the seer, despite the fact that she'd almost been killed before and next time, she might not be so lucky. If this message wasn't clear enough, nothing was.
-X-
Fi walked into the house, finding Molly and Jack in the kitchen.
"Where were you?" Molly asked, looking annoyed.
"I was working things out. I'm sorry I've been so weird the last few days, but I promise, I'm better now," she said.
"Well, at least you're okay," Jack said, chuckling.
"Well, I'm glad you're home, because we need to talk." Molly set the glass of water she'd been holding down.
"Mom, I think it's a great idea for you to go back on your. Sure, living here would be nice, but I feel more at home on the road," Fi said, making Molly smile.
"Baby, are you sure?" she asked, walking over to Fi.
"I'm positive." Molly reached out and pulled her into a hug, and Fi gladly returned it.
"By the way, I'm going to be more careful from now on. I promise," she said, making her mom pause as she left the room.
"What did she mean by more careful?" Jack asked, and Molly just shrugged. Fi laughed as she went upstairs. Finally, things were going to get back to normal.
-X-
Back in her room, Fi was feeling the engraving on her ring again when her laptop made the noise that signaled a new e-mail. Curious, she got up to open it and saw that it was from Evelyn. She felt a sense of relief as she read the message:
Fiona –
Please, get on Insta-Gab.
- Evelyn
Partially smiling, she clicked on the link for the chat room and saw Evelyn in there.
Fi: You're alive!
Evelyn: Yes, I am. It was an illusion created by the spirit that marked you. I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you everything without risking your life.
Fi: I know. I'm sorry, too.
Evelyn: All I can tell you is that you're not marked anymore…for now. Just be careful.
Fi: Thanks. I'll be sure to, although weird stuff occasionally finds me.
Evelyn: You have an amazing gift, Fiona. If you ever need my help again, I'm just an e-mail away.
Fi: Thanks again for everything.
Evelyn: You're welcome. Like I said before, just remember to be careful.
Fi: I will.
She exited the chat room and started to close her laptop, but saw her ring glowing brightly before fading out again. A smile crept onto her lips as she closed the computer.