Chapter Four

"You're a failure Jesse." Jesse was running through the darkness with that same menicing voice following behind him. Looking over his shoulder, Jesse cried out in fear when he saw that same dark cloud chasing right behind him.

"Leave...leave me alone!" he called to the evil presence.

"What's the matter Jesse? Afraid of the dark?" An evil laughter filled the dark and Jesse closed his eyes. However, that was not a good idea considering the fact that he was running. After a few steps, Jesse tripped over his own two feet and did a face plant onto the foggy ground. As he fell, the fog swirled around him and Jesse slowly sat up. Rubbing his head, Jesse sat cross legged and shook his head.

"Dang... that hurt." Suddenly, a shadow appeared over Jesse and he froze. Slowly looking up, Jesse gasped when he saw a man shrouded in all black withred eyes standing over him.

"Stay...stay away from me!" said Jesse trying to crawl away. The stranger shook his head and grabbed Jesse by his arm. Pulling him up, the stranger grabbed Jesse by the collar and shoved him into a wall.

"Hello there Jesse." he said with an evil smile.

"Who...who are you?"said Jesse dazed and confused.

"I am the one who is going to take away your soul." Jesse's eyes widened in shock and tried to fight.
"No way! I refuse to die. Ya hear me?" he said pushing away from the stranger and trying to escape again. The stranger sighed and began to walk after Jesse.
"It doesn't matter how far you run Jesse. Once I catch you it is all over." Jesse closed his eyes and called back to the stranger.
"Leave me alone!"

End Dream

"Leave me alone!" Zane jumped when he heard Jesse's voice and quickly opened his eyes. Looking down at Jesse's bedside, Zane noticed that his friend's forehead was covered in sweat and his whole body was shaking. Acting quickly, Zane ran over to a bowl full of water and grabbed the washcloth. Ringing out the excess, Zane ran back over to Jesse and began to dab at his face.

"Come on Jesse. You need to relax." he said trying to calm the frightened student. Jesse kept moving his head back and forth and mumbled something in his sleep.

"Stay...stay away from me!" Before Zane knew it, he was thrown backwards and went crashing into the chair that he had been previously sitting in. Slowly sitting up, he rubbed his now red cheek and looked over at Jesse. Jesse was now sitting up in the bed and had his eyes half open. Looking closely, Zane noticed that Jesse's eyes were clouded and unreadable. He watched as Jesse slowly stood up and made his way over to the door. Regaining his senses, Zane quickly stood up and ran over to him.
"Jesse, you have to get back in bed!" he said wrapping his arms around Jesse's waist and stopping him in mid-stride. Jesse froze and turned to face him.

"Zane?" he said confused. Before Zane could answer, Jesse closed his eyes and his body went limp. Acting instinctivley, Zane caught him before he could hit the ground.

"Jesse!" he cried in alarm. Positioning Jesse so he could see his face, Zane watched as Jesse's head fell limply to the side. Zane's eyes widened in fear and that's

when he heard footsteps come running up the stairs. Looking towards the door, he watched as Asther and Alexis came running in.
"What's all the noise up here?" asked Alexis looking around the room. Asther was the first one to see Zane with Jesse and his eyes widened in concern.

"Zane, what happened?" he asked running over to the two and kneeling down beside Zane. Alexis was right behind him and stood behind Asther.

"Jesse had some kind of...spell." said Zane gently picking up Jesse bridal style and carrying him over to the bed. Alexis and Asther looked at each other in concern and followed behind him. Setting Jesse back in bed, Zane covered him up and looked back at Alexis and Asther.

"I think we should take this conversation outside." he said motioning to the door. Alexis and Asther nodded their heads and made their way to the door. Zane followed behind them and when he made it to the door, he turned back and looked at where Jesse was lying.

"Please Jesse, you have to hang on. For Jaden." and with those words, Zane quietly shut the door behind him leaving Jesse alone in the darkened bedroom.

As soon as Zane shut the door, Jesse's eyes slowly opened back up. Sitting up, Jesse placed a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes.

"Jaden..."he said sleepily. Slowly placing his feet on the floor, Jesse stood up and walked towards the open window. As he walked, Jesse could feel his body swaying with every step he took. Shaking his head, Jesse made his way over to the window and looked down. There, he saw a vine that connected to the Slifer Red dorms and went the whole way done to the ground. Putting his one leg over the window sill, Jesse took a moment to rest as a dizzy spell washed over him. Once the dizzy spell passed, Jesse put the rest of his body out of the window and climbed down the vine. As he was climbing, Jesse smiled as he remembered that it was Jaden who had shown him this vine. Just the thought of Jaden brought a blush to Jesse's now pale face and Jesse quickly shook his head. Continuing down the vine, Jesse had almost made it home free when all of a sudden, the vine snapped causing Jesse to go falling to the ground below. Jesse didn't even have time to cry out in surprise when his body hit the ground hard and his head slammed into the ground. For a moment, all Jesse saw was darkness before his vision slowly returned to him. Slowly sitting up, Jesse felt something wet rolling down his face and he reached up and stuck his finger in the wet substance. Pulling his hand back, Jesse looked down and was amazed to see blood on his fingers. Jesse stared at the blood as if he was still in a trance then, attempting to stand back up, he looked over at the ocean shining under the moon's pale light.

"Jaden." he said again. Starting to move forward, Jesse felt his body began to sway with each step he took. Shaking his head, Jesse stared at the dock with one thing on his mind: Jaden.

Meanwhile, Zane had just finished explaining to Asther and Alexis about Jesse's little mishap when he got a strange feeling that something wasn't right. Stopping in mid sentence, he turned his attention to the closed door behind him. Asther noticed his friend's strange behavior and gave him a concerned look.

"Are you alright pal?" he asked tilting his head. Zane looked back at Asther and Alexis and frowned.

"I don't know. Something doesn't feel right." he said turning back to the door and placing his hand on the door knob. Just as he was about to open the door, Jim's voice called from downstairs.

"Hey guys, why don't ya come down here and get a bite to eat." A smile appeared on Asther's face and he looked over at Zane.

"Come on Zane we have to get down there before Hassleberry eats all of it." Before Zane could respond, Asther grabbed his arm and began pulling him towards the stairs.

"But Asther, I have to watch over Jesse until Jaden returns." he said trying to remove Asther's grip on his arm. But the grip remained strong and Alexis smiled.

"Don't worry Zane. I'll watch him for a little bit." she said turning around towards the door. Zane was silent for a moment before a smile slowly spread across his face.

"Well...if you insist." he said finally allowing Asther to pull him down the stairs and into the small kitchen. As for Alexis, she watched to two disappeared down the steps before making her way towards Jaden's bedroom. Opening the door, Alexis smiled and turned towards the bed.
"Hey there Jesse. I just wanted to see how you..." Alexis stopped in mid-sentence and her smile vanished. Instead of finding Jesse sound asleep on the bed, all she found was messed up sheets and a blanket thrown on the floor. Screaming, she ran out of the room and ran down into the kitchen. By this time, Zane was just taking a bite of ramen when Alexis came running in.

"Jesse is gone!" she cried in alarm. Choking on his ramen, Zane felt Asther patting his back and that allowed him to get the ramen down. Regaining his composure, Zane looked up at Alexis.
"What did you say?"
"It's Jesse. He just disappeared!" Zane felt a sinking feeling in his stomach and quickly stood up.
"Are you sure he's not there?" Alexis nodded.

"Uh yeah. I'm not blind you know." Ignoring the sacrasm in her voice, Zane turned towards the others who had gathered to see what all the commotion was about.

"What's going on mate?" asked Jim looking at Zane to Alexis and back to Zane. Zane didn't respond and before anyone could move, Zane pushed past his friends and ran up the stairs. Pushing his way into the bedroom, Zane gave a silent gasp as he realized that Jesse was nowhere to be found.

"Jesse!" he cried running over to the bed and looking around frantically. Suddenly, a cool breeze entered the room and Zane spun around to the window. Realizing what that meant, Zane ran over to the window and looked out at the darkened island.

"JESSE!" he called out to the silent island. The only response he recieved was the sound of his concerned echo.

"JESSE!"

To be continued...