Chapter 8
Influence

Susie awakened from her sleep, her head aching in pain.
"Shit! Is it okay if I don't have to do that too much?" She said.
"Oh, don't worry. You won't have to." Killer said. She climbed out of bed and readied herself for school. Something Calvin did not know about Susie was that she knew how to astrally project her spirit out of her body. She had known Killer for some time now. They were working together since the beginning.

Susie was the only person on Earth that loved Calvin. His parents used to love him, back when he was an infant, but as Calvin grew, their child grew world weary faster than most children his age. He always thought about how he hated the world around him, hated society for trying to mold him into an idiot or a tormentor, and was always so very full of anger and hate. They thought it was only a phase, but Calvin continued this attitude well into his teenage years. Their plan was to force him to leave the house once he graduated high school and visit him only enough so that he still had the illusion that they cared.

Susie, however, felt sorry for Calvin. His resistance only made her love him more. She wanted to help him, and make him feel better about the world. Unfortunately, Calvin already had someone for that. It was his stuffed tiger and imaginary friend, Hobbes.

Susie's parents were into new age mysticism and healing. As a child, Susie had no interest in her parents' strange ways, until she decided to try astral projection. She had not completely mastered astral projection, as she always awakened with a splitting headache. On her journeys into the astral realm, she met Killer, and devised a plan to help Calvin. Sometimes Susie doubted her actions, wondering if what she was doing to Calvin and if it was evil and a violation of free will. She asked Killer once, but he never answered. She decided to ask again today, seeing how close she was to obtaining her goal.

Susie's parents were both at work now. Susie was very mature and independent. She could wake herself up, shower, and eat her own breakfast without any sort of assistance. Killer was still with her, though. He was always with her, lingering in the back of her mind. Susie was still not entirely sure what Killer was, but she theorized that he was an astral being that lived in the collective unconscious and could jump from one mind to another.
"Killer?" Susie asked, as she ate her breakfast.
"Yes?" Killer said.
"I was always wondering, is what I'm doing right? Is forcing Calvin to be what I want him to be good?" Susie said.
"Yes. Do you know what a manchild is? Have you seen people who are forty and still live in their parents' basement? Do you know how psychotic and beyond repair some of those freaks are?" Killer said, with growing anger.
"He's headed down that path without me, isn't he?" Susie said.
"That's why we have to yank our proverbial Peter Pan away from his Neverland. Never doubt your actions, Susie. We are fighting for the right cause. Never forget that." Killer said.

Susie did not know if what she was doing to Calvin really was morally right, though. She sometimes wondered if love made her evil, if her burning desire for a new Calvin was consuming her, and if her unyielding care and effort to try to shape Calvin into something more socially acceptable was like robbing him of his choice in life, his choice to be what he wanted to be. It also meant killing Hobbes, Calvin's best friend. Imaginary or not, Calvin had a much more meaningful relationship with Hobbes than he would with any human. He had schizoid tendencies that Susie knew would only be amplified with age. The problem was that Calvin wanted to be insane and he wanted to be how he was, even if deep down he was really someone else.
"Susie, the key is to simply take sides on his identity crisis." Killer said to Susie, back when she was planning everything. She knew that neither side of Calvin's identity would go down easy, though. On one end was the artificial Calvin, the emerging young adult that was ready to be accepted into the world that would not even exist without Susie and Killer's influence. On the other end was his inner child, who was inseparable from Hobbes and inseparable from his misanthropic ideals. Susie sometimes wondered if there was a "good" side to this conflict, but stashed those doubts into the back of her mind, as Killer commanded.

Susie left for the bus, which was just pulling in once she was finished with breakfast. As always, Calvin sat next to her. He was different from usual, this time. He looked happy.
"Hey Susie. Remember last night? Remember the phone call?" He said.
"I remember." Susie laughed.
"I wanted to tell you, that I want to be with you. Not now, though. I still have some things to sort out in my life. But once I'm done, we can be together." Calvin said.
"What do you need to do?" Susie said, curious.
"Personal stuff. Don't worry about it." Calvin said.