The first thing Barry noticed was that it was quiet. Very quiet. The second, was that he wasn't alone in his bedroom. Monique had fallen asleep on the floor with her head and an arm over the edge of the bed. "She seriously didn't leave." It was Jade who spoke. "Barry...I saw them talking again. Last night...I don't know what they're doing, but I think it's bad. They want the light."
"I know," Barry replied tiredly. "They almost got it last night."
"What happens if they get the light?"
"I don't know, but it's not gonna be good."
The Horde, as was so affectionately named the trio of Patricia, Dennis and Hedwig, were up to something. He tried to dissuade Hedwig from their influence but he was just the same as them: now obsolete. Patricia nad Dennis, however, were far more troublesome than a mischievious child. The stories they told scared the others but it was far more unsettling that they believed them. Barry went to rinse his face in the bathroom and found Monique sitting up when he came back. She looked him up and down.
"Are you okay?" she asked in a small, uneven voice.
"I'm okay now, yeah. But I don't know for how long."
"What do you mean?"
"If you're serious about staying then I should tell you before things get out of hand." He sat on the floor in front of her. His expression was almost sad as he began to explain what they had been going through. The horde was planning something. He didn't know what but they talked to each other a lot. The others were getting anxious but it wasn't like they could just get rid of them. The other alters just wanted to live, to experience things but the horde had different ideas of what should be done.
They spoke of the pure and impure. No one understood what they were talking about. What they could understand, that no one really believed they existed, didn't bother them much. They knew they existed and that was enough. The horde wanted more.
"If one of the horde got control of the light I don't know what they would do," Barry said. "None of us are bad, we're not crazy. We're not. The horde believes it's for the good of all of us but..."
The longer Monique listened the more nervous she became. She had put so much into this friendship but now she was feeling hesitant. Barry wasn't bad and Jade wasn't bad either, but there were alters with unknown intentions. It would feel horrible if she did abandon him for the sake of her conscience then something awful happened. "What happens if they take the light from you? Will I still be able to see you again?"
"Probably not," he replied. "If they got the light from me, there's no way that I would ever get the light again. The horde would be completely in control."
"Do you think you will be able to keep it?"
"I don't know. They were close to taking it last time and the others couldn't do anything about it." He sighed heavily. "I'm not sure what's gonna to happen next time."
Monique watched the worry in his eyes and his brow and the way he frowned now. She didn't like the way it looked on his face. She liked it less that there was nothing she could do to stop him from looking that way. "I'm sorry that there's nothing I can do but ssit here and listen," she said. "You're going through all of this and me being here doesn't make it any less harder for you."
"Look, Mo'," he moved closer to her and took her hands between his, "if there was anything that you could do to help us right now, it would be to litsen. I'm gonna tell you about the other alters. Take notes if you want to, but if the they do get control of the light, you should know who you're dealing with."
Monique thought it better to record the information rather than write it down where it could be lost or thrown away. She started the recording function on her phone and listened as he explained. There were twenty-three alters- meaning twenty-two others shared this body with Barry. Jade, the only other alter she had met, was one of the younger alters. There were younger alters and older alters. They were also worried about the horde's actions and he told her that if one of them ever got a hold of the light to listen to whatever they had to say. It could only help.
The three of concern, Dennis, Patricia and Hedwig weren't like the others. From what Monique could gather they were disliked by the others but not without reason. Their behavior was more harmful than helpful considering the goal was to keep Kevin potected and sustain themselves as well. Monique nodded her undrestanding when he paused to make sure she was getting everything. She stopped the recording once he was finished.
She had to break it up into three videos, but they were on her phone so she could listen to them at any time. Barry still looked as though he was unsatisfied with the whole thing, then again, who expected him to be? Out of everyone sharing that body three of them were trying to ruin it for everyone else. All of them were created out of a need to protect himself, protect Kevin, so how was creating all these problems helping him? Monique sat back against the bed and sighed. "I'm sorry you have to go through all of this," she whispered just loud enough for him to catch it. "All of you, I mean."
Barry just shook his head. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this." He slowly stood to his feet and strecthed his arms over his head. "Mo'," he called, gaining her attention instantly, "I'm gonna give the light to the others for a little while, alright?" She nodded. "They've been wanting to meet you," he said with probably the sadest smile he'd shown her yet. "They'll probably want to go out or something so...yeah. They're good people though. We all are..." He added the last part slowly. She knew it was more to reassure her than himself but he just looked so sad.
"It's okay, Barry," she said, moving up to sit on the edge of his bed. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."
Monique watched as the light in his eyes became brighter and a smile came to his face. She had only met one other alter other than Barry so she could only guess as to who had control now. "Are you seriously staying with us?" It was Jade.
"Yeah," she said hesitantly. "Do you think I shouldn't?"
Jade folded her arms over her chest. "I don't think it's smart, no, but I hope you will. It's nice to have someone else to look forward to seeing sometimes."
Monique smiled at how she fidgeted with embarrassment as she spoke. "I'll stay here as long as you want me to."
Monique left the room to give Jade a chance to change her clothes. She sat on the sofa and waited patiently while taking the time to collect herself. It was still a little unsettling watching the change happen right in front of her eyes. His demeanor changed slightly and there wasn't a big show of it. He could give away the light or one of the others- the dangerous ones- could get it and she probably wouldn't even know. Honestly, that thought scared her.
Jade emerged with an unzipped hoodie, a tank top underneath and yoga pants. She sat on the sofa next to Monique and turned to her. "So, are you going to live here with us?"
"Here? Here with you?"
"Well, not here because we don't- Crap," she groaned.
"You don't live here?" Monique asked, kind of afraid of the answer.
Jade sighed. "We've really only ever been here a couple times."
"Why aren't you living here? Where are you living if not here?"
"I really shouldn't say that much," she said turning away from her. "But Barry said we stay away so that we don't draw attention. The only reason we've come here is to get stuff and then the two times you've come to visit. Barry is still trying to protect us even now...and even still from you."
Monique sat back into the sofa and stared across the room at the paintings. It wasn't the easiest thing to hear, but obviously he was still hiding things about himself from her. He was protecting the others so she wasn't really upset with him. Even though they acted and spoke differently, they did share the same body and had to look out for themselves- for each other. They were all they had.
"He does like you," Jade spoke up after a minute of uncomfortable silence. "He says you have good intentions but he doesn't want you to get hurt if he loses control of the light." She watched Monique for some kind of reaction.
Monique just sighed heavily and pat her knees. "I'm not upset," she said turning to face her. "I understand why he did it. I did the same thing to him so really there's no reason to be upset. It's his decision and we've only known each other for about a month so it's not that big of a deal."
Jade smiled then got up from the couch. "I need to eat something and then probably take another shot." She rolled her eyes as she went back to the bedroom. "I still don't really understand," she called from the back. "If we're really all in one body then why the hell am I the only one who has to take these? There are others who have way worse habits than mine and they're completely fine." She returned to the front and looked at Monique who was smiling at her. "Do you get what I mean? I mean, it's like..." She just shook her head and walked into the kitchen.
Monique just giggled. She understood how that could be frustrating and just all around confusing but the way she sounded when complaining about it was too amusing. She was a teenager after all. Monique got up and stood at the counter while Jade searched the frige. It was a small place, just enough space for one person to live comfortably, much like her house. It was also a little lonely.
"Um, Jade," she asked, drawing her attention from her current task, "If you don't stay here then what food do you have to eat here?"
She shrugged nonchalantly. "Not much but Barry went out to buy some the other day."
"Can I see what you have?" she asked as she moved around the counter.
Jade stepped back and let her look through the refrigerator. Monique hummed as she started to take out things and hand them off to Jade. Once she was satisfied, or the frige was half emptied, she moved on to the cabinets. She look over the spread and nodded approvingly. They had pasta, bread, chicken, eggs, a block of cheese, flour, salad vegetables and a few other things. They hadn't exactly stocked up but then again they weren't residing in the apartment.
"I see a few possibilities here," she said, tapping her chin. "But, uh, from what I know about diabetes, you shouldn't eat a lot of things like rice, bread and pastas. Even without that there's chicken, vegetables and cheese. That's actually sounds really good right about now." She smiled at Jade who smiled back at her.
They put everything else back and Monique fished out the cooking tools. She cut the chicken into short strips while Jade cut the vegetables. The apartment was smelling good just from the spices she had added to the chicken. Jade peeked at the pan occasionally as she used some of the vegetables to make a salad. Monique added the vegetables once the chicken was throughly cooked.
Jade covered the salad and leaned on the counter next to Monique. "Is this what you do?" she asked suddenly, startling Monique for some unknown reason.
She looked to her then the pan and shook her head. "No, I-I'm a photographer. I take pictures for one of the newspapers."
Jade looked her up and down. "Do you like it?"
Monique shrugged. "I like taking photos and it's kind of exciting being so close to the action instead of reading about it or seeing it on tv."
"Barry says that you're afraid of, like, talking to people. But you're talking to me just fine."
She smiled as she stirred the pan's contents. "I have cooking to busy myself. If I don't say anything it's not wierd because I'm busy, but I do have a had time interacting with people." She put the spoon down and looked at her. "Until a few minutes ago my chest was hurting and I had a ridiculous headache." She rubbed at her eyes and sighed. "And it's still there."
"What's wrong with you?" Jade asked, meaning no offense in the slightest.
Monique shook her head. "Social anxiety. I just don't do well in social situations. I get nervous and it escalates, sometimes into an anxiety attack."
Jade frowned. "Then you must not really like your job."
"It's a wierd profession for someone like me to choose, yes, but I was going to have to interact with people no matter what career I chose. In the end I just went with one that allowed me to do something I like." She turned the burner off but continued to stir the mixture. "I think it's ready for the cheese."
Jade grabbed the block and used the small grater to grate it into the pan. Monique stirred it in as she added it. It looked even better drenched in cheese when they were finished. Jade bit her lip as she watched Monique move to the cabinet and retrieve two plates. "I think there's enough for all of you to have some," she said as she handed Jade a plate.
"Thanks," she replied.
They ate at the coffee table in silence. Monique seemed surprised by her own creation. It was good and rather quick to make too. The cheese was a request by one of the alters, but Jade wouldn't dare tell her that just to worry her. There was food and no one had to cook so they should be happy. After she fiished eating, Jade grudgingly took a shot of insulin.
Monique felt comfortable enough to ask a few questions once they were full and relaxed. She couldn't help asking about the others. There were 23 of them. She would keep asking until she met them because it was just too curious a thing. Jade talked casually with her, giving a little more of a personal list of what the others were like. Monique listened with genuine interest. It was all the more amusing listening to her talk about the others when she got really heated and her tongue was looser.
Sadly, it wasn't meant to last long as she had to pass the light on to someone else. They pouted at each other before joining in a tight hug. "Now that we've actually got to talk, I'm kind of upset with Barry for keeping you to himself."
Monique smiled at her as she turned to go back to the room so the next alter could change their clothes.
A/N: Thank you, all of you, who have been commenting, following and reading my story so far! I'm just so happy so many people are reading it and still following since I'm sure the build up here is so slow. Thank you guys. :)
