The Heart of Darkness
by Akane-Rei
PART FOUR
Acts of Evil
"I should be loyal to the nightmare of my choice."
Marlow from "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad
Race Bannon woke up to a sound that sent shivers down his spine, took ten years off his life, and spurred him to run from his room in a total panic -- Jessie's scream. Unthinkingly, he kicked open the door to her room while his eyes searched for his daughter.
The room was empty.
He turned back to look at the corridor where he came from, hoping for a sign of his Ponchita, but what he saw instead were Benton, Hadji, and Jonny, each looking a little rumpled from sleep but all equally alert.
"What on Earth is going on here?" asked Benton.
"Where's Jessie?" asked Race, fear lacing his voice.
"You mean she's not in her room?" questioned Jonny as he went past Race and entered Jessie's room.
"I heard her scream," said Race, " so I ran here. But she's not here!"
"We each heard her scream, too," said Hadji.
Then they heard it again.
"Get away from me!" said Jessie's voice.
They all ran down the stairs following the sound.
"I will kill you!" screamed Jessie. "I will damn well kill you before you get me!"
"It's coming from the kitchen!" shouted Jonny. "Jessie!" he called.
Race ran towards the kitchen with the others following closely behind him. He was ready for a fight, ready to defend his daughter, ready for anything but what greeted his eyes.
He saw his daughter in her pajamas, her hair in wild disarray, her eyes glazed. He saw her brandishing a butcher knife in front of her, tears streaming down her face.
There was no one else in the room with her.
He felt the others come up behind him. He held up his hand to signal them to stay back.
He approached his daughter. "Jessie?" he asked.
Jessie stared at him. No, no, not at him, through him. It's as if she didn't even see him.
"No!" Jessie screamed to someone behind him. "You're not going to get me!"
There was no one behind Race. Benton, Hadji, and Jonny were now all at his left, staring at Jessie.
"Ponchita, what's going on?" he tried again.
Jessie just continued to stare at nothing, her whole body shaking. Her hand was trembling as she held the knife, warding off unseen opponents.
Race slowly backed away, trying to keep his distance from the sharp edge. Jessie started to wave the knife widely and right now he had no idea what was going on.
"Jessie," he tried yet again, "put down the knife."
No response.
"Race," said Benton quietly, "I don't think she sees us."
"What do you mean, dad?" asked Jonny.
"Jonny," said Hadji, "if you will notice, Jessie has not made a single reaction in response to any of our presence. It is as if we were not even here."
Suddenly, Jessie lunged forward with her knife raised, intending to give a death blow to an unknown enemy.
The blow never landed.
Race, who was in front of her, blocked her attack and grabbed both her hands. And, at long last, Jessie responded to the presence of one of them.
"You bastard!" she shouted at Race, struggling from his grip. She stared at him unseeingly and squirmed from his grasp.
Race tightened his hold on her knife hand, trying to force her to drop the potentially lethal weapon to no avail. Instead, she kicked and screamed and cursed as she tried to free herself from his restraint. Unfortunately for Race, she had the added advantage of not caring what she does to her opponent. She bit his hand hard and when he released one of her arms in response, she promptly threw a punch at him, the blow landing quite hard on his cheek.
He winced in response. He twisted and grabbed hold of her arm again. He felt more than saw Jonny approach them.
"Get back, " he yelled at Jonny. He looked at Benton and Hadji, too, when he said, "I don't want her to accidentally hurt any of you and I've got my hands tied trying to keep her from hurting herself. So stay back! I'll handle this."
He backed her into a wall while she proceeded to kick his shins.
"Jessie!" he shouted.
She managed to free her hand again and attempted to punch him in the gut. Her aim was wild, however, and she ended up punching air.
Again, Race caught hold of her arm while he slammed her other hand into the wall again and again. This time, she dropped her knife.
Then she began to really struggle. She kicked and twisted from his grip. She tried to free her arms from his own and all the while Race kept shouting his daughter's name, hoping against hope that his voice would penetrate somewhere in her consciousness. In frustration, Race started shaking his daughter and her head accidentally slammed into the wall behind her.
At that sound, Race ceased his shaking and looked at her in horror. She had stopped struggling at the same moment and Race saw the dawn of recognition enter her eyes.
She looked at him. "D . . . Daddy?" she said in a little girl's voice.
Race saw her take in her surroundings.
"What am I doing in the kitchen?" she asked and collapsed.
Race caught her before she hit the ground. With his daughter in his arms, he turned to Benton.
"Where to?" he asked.
******************************
Across town, in the Keller residence, Jeanette smiled, pleased at her work.
****************************
"Let's get her to a bed," said Benton leading the way to Jessie's room.
Benton entered Jessie's room and watched as Race carefully laid is daughter to bed. He knelt beside the bed and started checking for her vital signs. Everything seemed normal enough considering. The shortness of breath and accelerated heartbeat he put down to the struggle between her and Race.
He looked at his friend who was holding Jessie's hand.
"I don't know what else to tell you, Race, " he said. "It looks like sleepwalking to me."
"Sleepwalking!" exclaimed Jonny in disbelief.
For the first time since getting to Jessie's room, Benton looked at his sons. They still wore the same stunned expressions on their faces from the kitchen.
Jonny looked at him, concern warring is features. "But dad," he said, "her eyes were open. She looked at us."
Benton took a deep breath. "That may be true Jonny," he said, "but I don't believe she ever saw us. Sometimes people who sleepwalk do so with their eyes open."
"Is . . . is she going to be alright?" Jonny asked.
Benton looked back at Jessie. "Let's hope so, son."
Suddenly Race cleared his throat. "Who was she fighting?" he whispered hoarsely.
Benton could see him replaying the scene in the kitchen over and over in his head. Now that Race brought up the subject, he couldn't help but wonder the same thing. He'd known Jessie for a long time, since she was six or seven in fact. Granted, he only saw her occasionally until around six years ago when she came to live with her father and consequently, with them. But still, in those six years, he'd never seen Jessie look as frightened, as desperate, as he had seen her in the kitchen that night.
Race faced him again. "What could have triggered this?" he asked.
"I'm not really an expert on the subject," Benton said, "but offhand, I'd say stress. However, it could be a number of things. Do you know if she has ever sleepwalked before?"
Race stood up from his kneeling position at the bed. He rubbed his eyes. "I've never seen her like this, " said Race, "but I remember Estella once mentioning -- back when we were married -- how she woke up one morning and found Jessie in the patio of our house. She had fretted and worried about it for months, saying over and over how she left Jessie sleeping in her room the night before. But that was a long time ago. Jessie was around four years old then, I think."
"Any other episodes?" asked Benton.
"Not that I know of," replied Race.
Benton looked at the prone girl. "Well, besides a bump in the head, there's nothing really wrong with her. We really can't do anything anymore tonight." He turned and looked at his sons. "I suggest you two try and get some sleep. You have to be in school in approximately five hours."
Jonny and Hadji protested, but he adamant. "Jessie's alright for now," he said. "I don't believe she would appreciate your all being here in her room when she wakes up. Now, go!"
They reluctantly left the room.
He walked over to Race and put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Race," he said, "there's nothing we can do right now. You should try to get some sleep yourself."
"I think I'll stay with her for a while, " he said quietly.
Benton knew he wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise.
He left the room.
****************************
The human body was very . . . constraining. He had been sharing Jeanette's person for no more that a minute when he first noticed it. To be unable to shift forms, to be forever trapped as a mere container of mostly water in its lifetime, to be unable to be at more than one place at one time are just a few of the countless of inconveniences that a part of him had had to put up with.
Jeanette, ofcourse, was having the time of her life. Even if he had not been joined with her in a symbiotic relationship, her aura would have told him the same thing: she was drunk with power. Jeanette had loved being able to manipulate Jessie's brain waves to achieve her desired effect. She had even loved it more when she realized she was able to do it with a mere thought. Her enjoyment increased a hundredfold when she was able to observe the results of her handiwork right in her own bedroom.
It was a waste, really, he thought. She would have made an even more cunning tormentor had she chosen to accept the fact that she was a sociopath. Unfortunately, that's one journey of self-discovery which she vehemently refused to take. The result, he was sure, would be an eventual slip to insanity. Fortunately for her, she wouldn't be alive long enough to experience that particular destiny.
Perhaps it had been a bit underhanded of him not to mention to her the full implications of their current link. While she shared her whole Personhood with him, the same could not be said vice-versa. Granted, their minds were linked in such a way that her every thought is revealed to him. He, however, can control the flow of knowledge, energy, and power from himself to her. What's more, she never did ask what he was getting out of their shared link. He wondered if he would have told her the truth. Probably not. He was quite sure that had he explained the full ramifications of their relationship -- which really was more of a parasitic than a symbiotic one, he might add -- she would have fought him every step of the link. The reason for that stems from the fact that, when all is said and done, and regardless of how everything ends, the result of the 'symbiosis' is the premature death of the host.
Life was not fair that way. However, because of Jeanette's service to him, he would see to it that she gets what she desires before she dies. He would see to it that the Bannon girl suffered. Whether Jeanette would admit it or not, she wanted Jessie's torture more than the title Jonny would bring her. And so, she will witness the torment of Jessie.
Really, he could be quite fair at times.
********************************
Jonny stared listlessly at his bowl of cereal, deep in thought. The incident last night had disturbed him more than anything he could have imagined. The bags under his eyes bore testament to the sleepless night he had spent. Not that he tried very hard to sleep in the first place. After the incident with Jess, he just couldn't bring himself to stay in one spot. He was too wired. So, he had ended up pacing his bedroom until he saw the dawn beginning to make an appearance from his window.
At that sight, he sat in his bed and buried his face in his hands. He couldn't remember ever feeling as helpless as he did that night. The sight of Jessie, looking so desperate and . . . and -- dare he think it? -- 'helpless' tore at his gut. He had never, ever seen Jessie look like that before. She had always been so gung-ho about everything. She would be the very last person he knew who would back out of an adventure, and despite her somewhat rational nature, she had always been there with him whenever his rash actions landed them in big trouble.
She had always seemed so invincible. She could fight better than any other guy he knew at their age. He figured she probably got that from her father, Race.
He remembered the Jessie he saw last night with her arms flailing wildly about her. Gone was the controlled student of the martial arts who three him on his back yesterday afternoon. In her place, a frightened girl fought her demons alone and without protection.
He groaned. He should have been able to do something for her yesterday. He should have been able to help her, comfort her, do anything but just stand there gawking while Race tried to deal with her.
Suddenly, he chuckled. He could almost see how Jessie would respond to what she considers his overrated macho tendencies.
The sound of his humor brought him back to the present. He looked across him on the table and saw Hadji finish his breakfast. He and Hadji made quite a pair. He didn't think his friend got any sleep
last night either. It was just as well that this was a Friday. He was pretty sure he needed a weekend to recover from all the 'excitement' last night.
A sound from the kitchen entrance drew his attention.
There stood Jessie looking beautiful, as is her wont, wearing tight black jeans and a green, sleeveless shirt. Around her waist hung a black/gray/white plaid shirt. She entered the kitchen with her book bag and sat next to them.
Race, whom his dad pried away from Jessie's room over a half an hour ago, stood up and said, "And where do you think you're going, Ponchita?"
Jonny saw Jessie look at her father with a perplexed expression.
"I'm going to school, dad," she replied cheekily. "Last time I checked, Friday was still a school day."
"Not after last night, you're not," said Race. "You're staying home and resting all day today."
"Dad!" she exclaimed. "What's gotten into you? What are you talking about?"
"Don't be obtuse," said Race. "After last night's sleepwalking incident in the kitchen --"
"What sleepwalking incident?" demanded Jessie.
"Uh, Jess?" said Jonny. "Don't you remember . . . last night . . . the kitchen . . . you screaming . . ."
She looked at them like they were talking in another language which she didn't understand.
"Did I miss something here?" asked Jessie.
The four males looked at each other.
She doesn't remember, they all thought.
Finally, Jonny's father asked, "So, Jess, how are you feeling this morning.?
Jess looked at him. "I'm okay, I guess. I had a headache like you wouldn't believe when I woke up but I took some aspirins for it."
"Nothing out of the ordinary or anything?" his father probed.
"No," replied Jess slowly.
"I'm not a physician," said his dad, "but I don't really see why she can't go to school today."
Jonny saw Race clench his fist and noticed that he did the exact same thing.
"Wait a minute," said Jessie. "I'm not going anywhere until someone tell me what's going on."
Jonny saw the look of indecision stamped on the faces of his peers.
"Hey, Jess," he said. "Don't you remember you were sleepwalking last night?" He deliberately made the tone of his voice light. "Geez, Jess, you woke the whole house up!"
Everyone forced a laugh.
Jessie looked bewildered. Then uncomfortable. And embarrassed. Then panic.
"I . . ." she started, "Did I . . . say anything . . . or do anything I should know about?"
"Well," began Race, "you did wake us up with your scream . . . but everything was under control and I put you to bed."
Jonny could see Jessie's mind shifting gears.
"I . . .I don't understand," said Jessie. "I've never done something like this before."
"Don't worry, Jessie," said Jonny. "You didn't do anything embarrassing. If you did, do you think I would have held back this long?"
Jessie smiled at him gratefully, but a troubled expression still remained on her face.
"You know what?" said Jonny, trying to take her mind of it.
Jessie said, "What?"
"You overslept big time and now we're going to be late for school."
Jessie stared at her watch and gasped.
Success, thought Jonny.
He looked towards Hadji and saw him smile approvingly.
"Well," said Hadji, "what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
On the drive to school, Jonny ended up riding at the back seat. Hadji was able to reach the driver's side of the car before he could and Jessie claimed the passenger side.
"By the way, " said Hadji, "I will be unable to join you for lunch today, my friends. I promised to tutor a fellow student in the library today."
"Okay, Hadji," said Jess. "Just don't have too much fun without us, alright?"
Jessie and Hadji laughed while Jonny thought of the implications behind what Hadji just said.
Hadji won't be with them at lunch.
He and Jessie will be alone -- relatively speaking. He had been waiting for a chance to talk to Jessie alone since they shared that 'look' in the clearing. However, circumstances have prevented such an occurrence until now. At lunch. In school.
Oh, well. He could think of better places, but he really wanted to talk to her and it seems this is the first opportunity which presented itself to him. He had wanted to talk to her about dating - each other in particular.
He had known for some time now that he had wanted something more than friendship from Jessie for some time now. Although it had taken time -- not to mention Jessie's dates with Michael -- for him to realize the extent of his feelings for his friend, Jonny had been . . . hesitant-yes, hesitant.
*You mean scared*
Hell, no! I mean hesitant, he thought.
--Hesitant. He had been reluctant to act upon his new--
*New?*
New!
--his newly recognized feelings because he had been unsure--
*Clueless*
Unsure! he responded. As in not sure, okay. Geez, give me a break.
There were times, he thought, when he truly believed that his inner voice is really none other than Jessie in disguise.
--Unsure as to how Jessie might receive the news. Because he'd had no idea how to act around Jessie once he realized what he felt for her, he resolved not to give a hint of what he's feeling until he had made a decision on what to do.
He would have continued in that state of emotional limbo had he not heard Jessie and Eliza talking to each other by the lockers. To be precise, they were talking about him.
He really had not intended to eavesdrop on their conversation. But, when he heard his name mentioned by the very person who has started to fill his waking thoughts, he had abruptly stopped himself from making the corner turn that would reveal his presence to the two.
**FLASHBACK**
"I don't know," he heard Jessie's voice. "Jonny's been acting kind of weird lately."
"Oh?" he heard Eliza's voice. "How so?"
"I don't know if I can describe it," Jessie said. "He's been . . . distant -- I guess that's a good word as any." She paused. "There are times when I feel like he's putting on act for my benefit."
*Show yourself*
Wait, Jonny thought. I want to hear this.
*Eavesdroppers never like what they hear about themselves*
There were time when Jonny was sure his conscience takes advice from Hadji.
"You think he's acting distant for your benefit?" Eliza asked.
"No . . . I mean . . . I don't know," said Jessie. "Eliza, I've know Jonny almost all my life. We've been best friends for God knows how long, but lately, he's ssttphgggm."
"He's what?" Eliza asked in confusion.
He heard Jessie sigh.
"Eliza, would you describe Jonny as a touchy-feely sort of a guy?"
"What do you mean?" asked Eliza. "Like a guy who'll try to cop a feel whenever he can?" she teased.
Jonny blushed.
"NO!" said Jessie. "Not that kind of . . . Geez . . . Jonny would never --"
Eliza burst out laughing. "I know, I know," she said. "I was just kidding. Honest." She stifled her mirth. "I know exactly what you're trying to say," she said seriously. "Jonny's very . . . expressive, no? I think part of the reason a lot of the kids here in school, including me, by the way, thought you guys were a couple once was because he's very . . . affectionate -- towards you and Hadji, at least. He's very quick to give a hug or sling an arm around your shoulder. Not many guys are secure enough with themselves to do that, you know."
Jonny heard Jessie snort. "If this is your way of telling me that Jonny has a big ego," she began.
Eliza laughed again. "No," she said. "This is Jonny Quest we're talking about here. The big ego is a given."
Jonny frowned.
A big ego? Jonny thought indignantly. What do they mean a big ego?!
"But anyway," continued Eliza, "we're straying off the topic here. What about Jonny's touchy-feely tendencies?"
Silence.
"Well," he heard Jessie's voice. "He's . . . not like that anymore."
"Oh?" Eliza's voice said.
Jonny was sure that if he could see Eliza, he would be able to see one of her brows arch up in that comment.
"At first I didn't notice it, you know," said Jessie. "But after awhile, I think I kinda mmsstt."
"What?"
"I said," said Jessie, "I think I kinda missed it."
Silence yet again.
"Jessie," said Eliza slowly, "is something going on between you and-- "
"No!" shouted Jessie. She laughed nervously. "Nothing like that," she said in a much softer voice. She took a deep breath. "You know those hugs he used to give?"
Jonny did not hear Eliza acknowledge the question so he assumed she nodded.
"Well," continued Jessie, "they didn't have anything . . . romantic attached to them. They were . . . brotherly--"
"It took me a while to figure that one out, let me tell you," interrupted Eliza.
"And you know I never had any siblings of my own to begin with," she continued. "Well, Jonny's . . . 'affectionate gestures?' . . . used to make me feel very . . . secure. And don't ever, EVER tell him I said that, " she finished.
"No, no," said Eliza. "Never."
Silence.
Then, "Ever wonder why Jonny suddenly started acting . . . distant?" Eliza asked.
"Oh yeah," said Jessie.
"Well?" probed Eliza. "Conclusions please."
A pregnant pause.
"I thought maybe his girlfriend objected," Jessie said. "After all, he acts normal around Hadji."
"Oh," said Eliza.
. . .
"What's the scoop between those two anyway?" Eliza asked.
"You're asking me?" said Jessie, not without a touch of bitterness. "I was in Paris when they started seeing each other."
"Yeah," agreed Eliza, "but doesn't Jonny talk--"
"Not about this."
Jonny leaned against the wall. He can hear the hurt from Jessie's voice when she said that. He closed his eyes.
"Let's talk about something else," offered Jessie.
"Okay," conceded Eliza.
"Now how about that David of yours," introduced Jessie.
Eliza smiled. "Only if you tell me about Michael," she replied.
Jonny's ears perked up.
"Ahhh," said Jessie, "an exchange of information."
"You got it," said Eliza.
Their voiced started fading.
They were moving away!
Jonny strained his ears more but eventually, their voices disappeared all together.
He sat down with his back against the wall and stared unseeingly in front of him.
**END FLASHBACK**
"--ey, hotshot!" Jessie's voice called to him.
She and Hadji were now outside the van, looking at him.
"Do you intend to spend the entire school day inside the van, my friend," asked Hadji.
Jonny shook his head and got off the van. "Just daydreaming there for a sec," he said. He joined them eventually and they all started to walk toward their lockers.
Jonny then deliberately put an arm around Jessie's shoulders as the three of them discussed the upcoming party for Estella scheduled to take place that night. If Jessie took notice of his action, she hid it well. She made no action at all to indicate she even felt it.
Since the lockers at Rockport High are arranged in alphabetical order, Jonny and Hadji usually end up dropping Jessie off her locker on their way to theirs. This morning was no different except for the stench that assaulted their nostrils . . .
They first noticed it when they approached the hallway where the lockers are kept.
"Geez," said Jonny, "what died in here?"
"I don't know," said Jessie, her hands on her nose as she tried to limit the amount of her inhalation, "but whatever it is, I hope they find it soon."
"I believe I would have to wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments, my friend," said Hadji.
Students around are making similar remarks.
The putrid smell got so overpowering by the time they got to Jessie's locker that Jonny said, "I think I'll run and get my stuff from my own locker now. I want to get out of this hallway as soon as I can."
Hadji agreed and Jessie wore an expression that said 'I don't blame you' as she started turning the combination of her own locker frantically.
Jonny and Hadji ran.
******************************
Hadji Singh didn't know exactly what made him stop running half way to his locker and turn back to Jessie. All he knew was the fact that the feeling he felt last night, when he heard Jessie's scream, came back full force. The result? He ran back to Jessie.
He saw Jessie backing away from her open locker, her book bag forgotten and dropped on the floor, her left hand covering her mouth as she stared in horror at the sight in front of her. Hadji ran to her side and put his arms around her shoulders.
"Jessie," he said.
She ignored him and started making choking sounds at the back of her throat. All the while, her eyes were glued to her locker.
Keeping her cradled in his arms, Hadji turned to look at what held Jessie's attention and promptly felt the rise of bile in his throat.
There, in her locker, on top of her books, lay a mutilated cat. He stared with morbid fascination at the sight of the maggots as they feasted on the carcass. Because of their sheer number, some of them had fallen into the ground now that Jessie's locker was open. He heard the buzz of flies as they circled around the cat when a thought penetrated the fog of his disgust. He noticed, for the first time (he had no idea how he could have missed it, actually), that there seems to be an inordinate amount of blood -- fresh blood -- smeared in Jessie's locker. In fact, the locker had started dripping with it. From what he can see, the cat had been dead for several days, but the blood . . . the blood was not that old. It couldn't have come from the maggot-filled cat. Unless . . .
And then he noticed it. There was not one cat but two. The other one, the fresher of the two, was draped inconspicuously behind the other cat.
He tightened his arms around Jessie and again looked closer. There was writing in the back of the opening of her locker. It was written in what looked like -- and more than likely is -- blood. It simply said, 'Jessie the Cat'.
Hadji felt anger the likes of which he had never known before permeate his being. That somebody, anybody, would dare do this to Jessie--
He felt her tremble in his arm.
He looked at her and everything outside the two of them fled his mind. He never heard the shrieks given out by some students as they saw the source of the stench. He never heard the curses shouted by Jonny as he ordered someone to get a teacher. All he saw was Jessie as she struggled to compose herself, to pull herself together.
"Hadji," she whispered softly.
He looked down into her green eyes in response.
"I'm going to make whoever did this pay," she said softly.
And finally, he really looked at her. Her emerald eyes, which only moments before were filled with revulsion, now had the glitter of rage and the flash of determination. Jessie was back.
She stepped away from his embrace. He let go of her reluctantly and watched as the principal of the school approached her. With a calmness even he would envy, she answered some of his questions.
By this time, several teachers had arrived and are asking the students to vacate the hallway.
He and Jonny lingered, trying to stay as close to Jessie as possible. She noticed.
"I'll be fine," she told them. "Why don't you two head for class?" she suggested. "The principal would like to talk to me in his office."
Still they delayed, but Jessie insisted.
"I'll see you at lunch, Jonny," she said with an air of dismissal. "Later, Hadji."
She turned and followed the principal to his office.
He and Jonny looked at each other.
"I don't like this," said Jonny, "I don't like this at all."
"Neither do I, my friend," he said, "neither do I."
******************************
Jessie splashed her face with cold water as she leaned down the sink in the school's rest room.
Talking to the principal, the police, Dr. Quest, and her father had exhausted her. After countless of time of telling her father and Dr. Quest that she was alright, they finally agreed to let her finish the school day in school. They weren't very happy with her decision to stay, but they respected her choice.
Now here she was, feeling tired and weak after emptying her stomach of last night's dinner.
Delayed reaction, she thought.
Actually, she was quite grateful that this happened now instead of before when everybody had been staring at her. She hated showing any kind of weaknesses to anyone. At least now, there was no one to see her in this state.
She took a deep breath and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked okay, if not a little pale. With any luck, she'll be able to make her third class.
She clenched her fist. Whoever did this to her was going to pay and pay dearly. She had come closer to being reduced to a mass of bubbling, female hysteria that morning than she had ever been her entire life. And she'd hated it. She hated the fact that she had trembled and showed her fear as she backed away from her locker. She had hated the fact that she almost threw up right there in front of her locker. She had hated the way her fingers turned nerveless and she'd had to drop her school bag. But most of all, she had hated the fear that she felt when she saw what was written in blood in her locker. Only the fact that the culprit might be there . . . watching her . . . had stopped her from running from the scene.
Oh, but she had been tempted. She had been tempted to scream when she first saw the grotesque picture that awaited her when she opened her locker. She had been tempted to turn tail and run when she saw the writing. And most of all, she had been tempted to lean on Hadji and let him and Jonny take care of everything.
Her pride came to her rescue. No way was she letting Jonny see her as a damsel in distress. She wasn't about to lose Hadji's admiration after all the work she's done. So she rallied her spirits and took everything in her own hands.
After one last look at herself in the mirror, she exited the restroom and headed for class.
*********************************
"That was quite a disappointment," said Jeanette as she saw Jessie exit the rest room.
She was sitting on her bed watching as scenes from school appeared in her full-length mirror.
This is definitely better than television, she thought.
"I was hoping for more of a reaction," she said.
"Don't worry," said her benefactor, "you'll see her suffer."
"How about tonight?" she asked, already making plans.
"No, not tonight," he said.
"And why not?" she pouted.
"Look at your -- our energy reserves, " he said.
Jeanette closed her eyes and probed.
She gasped.
"How did it get to be that low?" she demanded.
Her benefactor laughed. "Well," he said, "let's see shall we? First of all, that energy you're using in the mirror. Second, manipulation of brain waves from across town. Third, dual transportation of organic material without so much as lifting a finger. Fourth, killing organic material without getting your hands dirty. Fifth, all these in less than twenty-four hours. Need I say more?"
Again she pouted.
"Don't worry," he said, "tomorrow, as they say in that movie, is another day."
**************************************************************************** **************************************************************************** ****
Revised December 29, 2001
by Akane-Rei
PART FOUR
Acts of Evil
"I should be loyal to the nightmare of my choice."
Marlow from "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad
Race Bannon woke up to a sound that sent shivers down his spine, took ten years off his life, and spurred him to run from his room in a total panic -- Jessie's scream. Unthinkingly, he kicked open the door to her room while his eyes searched for his daughter.
The room was empty.
He turned back to look at the corridor where he came from, hoping for a sign of his Ponchita, but what he saw instead were Benton, Hadji, and Jonny, each looking a little rumpled from sleep but all equally alert.
"What on Earth is going on here?" asked Benton.
"Where's Jessie?" asked Race, fear lacing his voice.
"You mean she's not in her room?" questioned Jonny as he went past Race and entered Jessie's room.
"I heard her scream," said Race, " so I ran here. But she's not here!"
"We each heard her scream, too," said Hadji.
Then they heard it again.
"Get away from me!" said Jessie's voice.
They all ran down the stairs following the sound.
"I will kill you!" screamed Jessie. "I will damn well kill you before you get me!"
"It's coming from the kitchen!" shouted Jonny. "Jessie!" he called.
Race ran towards the kitchen with the others following closely behind him. He was ready for a fight, ready to defend his daughter, ready for anything but what greeted his eyes.
He saw his daughter in her pajamas, her hair in wild disarray, her eyes glazed. He saw her brandishing a butcher knife in front of her, tears streaming down her face.
There was no one else in the room with her.
He felt the others come up behind him. He held up his hand to signal them to stay back.
He approached his daughter. "Jessie?" he asked.
Jessie stared at him. No, no, not at him, through him. It's as if she didn't even see him.
"No!" Jessie screamed to someone behind him. "You're not going to get me!"
There was no one behind Race. Benton, Hadji, and Jonny were now all at his left, staring at Jessie.
"Ponchita, what's going on?" he tried again.
Jessie just continued to stare at nothing, her whole body shaking. Her hand was trembling as she held the knife, warding off unseen opponents.
Race slowly backed away, trying to keep his distance from the sharp edge. Jessie started to wave the knife widely and right now he had no idea what was going on.
"Jessie," he tried yet again, "put down the knife."
No response.
"Race," said Benton quietly, "I don't think she sees us."
"What do you mean, dad?" asked Jonny.
"Jonny," said Hadji, "if you will notice, Jessie has not made a single reaction in response to any of our presence. It is as if we were not even here."
Suddenly, Jessie lunged forward with her knife raised, intending to give a death blow to an unknown enemy.
The blow never landed.
Race, who was in front of her, blocked her attack and grabbed both her hands. And, at long last, Jessie responded to the presence of one of them.
"You bastard!" she shouted at Race, struggling from his grip. She stared at him unseeingly and squirmed from his grasp.
Race tightened his hold on her knife hand, trying to force her to drop the potentially lethal weapon to no avail. Instead, she kicked and screamed and cursed as she tried to free herself from his restraint. Unfortunately for Race, she had the added advantage of not caring what she does to her opponent. She bit his hand hard and when he released one of her arms in response, she promptly threw a punch at him, the blow landing quite hard on his cheek.
He winced in response. He twisted and grabbed hold of her arm again. He felt more than saw Jonny approach them.
"Get back, " he yelled at Jonny. He looked at Benton and Hadji, too, when he said, "I don't want her to accidentally hurt any of you and I've got my hands tied trying to keep her from hurting herself. So stay back! I'll handle this."
He backed her into a wall while she proceeded to kick his shins.
"Jessie!" he shouted.
She managed to free her hand again and attempted to punch him in the gut. Her aim was wild, however, and she ended up punching air.
Again, Race caught hold of her arm while he slammed her other hand into the wall again and again. This time, she dropped her knife.
Then she began to really struggle. She kicked and twisted from his grip. She tried to free her arms from his own and all the while Race kept shouting his daughter's name, hoping against hope that his voice would penetrate somewhere in her consciousness. In frustration, Race started shaking his daughter and her head accidentally slammed into the wall behind her.
At that sound, Race ceased his shaking and looked at her in horror. She had stopped struggling at the same moment and Race saw the dawn of recognition enter her eyes.
She looked at him. "D . . . Daddy?" she said in a little girl's voice.
Race saw her take in her surroundings.
"What am I doing in the kitchen?" she asked and collapsed.
Race caught her before she hit the ground. With his daughter in his arms, he turned to Benton.
"Where to?" he asked.
******************************
Across town, in the Keller residence, Jeanette smiled, pleased at her work.
****************************
"Let's get her to a bed," said Benton leading the way to Jessie's room.
Benton entered Jessie's room and watched as Race carefully laid is daughter to bed. He knelt beside the bed and started checking for her vital signs. Everything seemed normal enough considering. The shortness of breath and accelerated heartbeat he put down to the struggle between her and Race.
He looked at his friend who was holding Jessie's hand.
"I don't know what else to tell you, Race, " he said. "It looks like sleepwalking to me."
"Sleepwalking!" exclaimed Jonny in disbelief.
For the first time since getting to Jessie's room, Benton looked at his sons. They still wore the same stunned expressions on their faces from the kitchen.
Jonny looked at him, concern warring is features. "But dad," he said, "her eyes were open. She looked at us."
Benton took a deep breath. "That may be true Jonny," he said, "but I don't believe she ever saw us. Sometimes people who sleepwalk do so with their eyes open."
"Is . . . is she going to be alright?" Jonny asked.
Benton looked back at Jessie. "Let's hope so, son."
Suddenly Race cleared his throat. "Who was she fighting?" he whispered hoarsely.
Benton could see him replaying the scene in the kitchen over and over in his head. Now that Race brought up the subject, he couldn't help but wonder the same thing. He'd known Jessie for a long time, since she was six or seven in fact. Granted, he only saw her occasionally until around six years ago when she came to live with her father and consequently, with them. But still, in those six years, he'd never seen Jessie look as frightened, as desperate, as he had seen her in the kitchen that night.
Race faced him again. "What could have triggered this?" he asked.
"I'm not really an expert on the subject," Benton said, "but offhand, I'd say stress. However, it could be a number of things. Do you know if she has ever sleepwalked before?"
Race stood up from his kneeling position at the bed. He rubbed his eyes. "I've never seen her like this, " said Race, "but I remember Estella once mentioning -- back when we were married -- how she woke up one morning and found Jessie in the patio of our house. She had fretted and worried about it for months, saying over and over how she left Jessie sleeping in her room the night before. But that was a long time ago. Jessie was around four years old then, I think."
"Any other episodes?" asked Benton.
"Not that I know of," replied Race.
Benton looked at the prone girl. "Well, besides a bump in the head, there's nothing really wrong with her. We really can't do anything anymore tonight." He turned and looked at his sons. "I suggest you two try and get some sleep. You have to be in school in approximately five hours."
Jonny and Hadji protested, but he adamant. "Jessie's alright for now," he said. "I don't believe she would appreciate your all being here in her room when she wakes up. Now, go!"
They reluctantly left the room.
He walked over to Race and put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Race," he said, "there's nothing we can do right now. You should try to get some sleep yourself."
"I think I'll stay with her for a while, " he said quietly.
Benton knew he wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise.
He left the room.
****************************
The human body was very . . . constraining. He had been sharing Jeanette's person for no more that a minute when he first noticed it. To be unable to shift forms, to be forever trapped as a mere container of mostly water in its lifetime, to be unable to be at more than one place at one time are just a few of the countless of inconveniences that a part of him had had to put up with.
Jeanette, ofcourse, was having the time of her life. Even if he had not been joined with her in a symbiotic relationship, her aura would have told him the same thing: she was drunk with power. Jeanette had loved being able to manipulate Jessie's brain waves to achieve her desired effect. She had even loved it more when she realized she was able to do it with a mere thought. Her enjoyment increased a hundredfold when she was able to observe the results of her handiwork right in her own bedroom.
It was a waste, really, he thought. She would have made an even more cunning tormentor had she chosen to accept the fact that she was a sociopath. Unfortunately, that's one journey of self-discovery which she vehemently refused to take. The result, he was sure, would be an eventual slip to insanity. Fortunately for her, she wouldn't be alive long enough to experience that particular destiny.
Perhaps it had been a bit underhanded of him not to mention to her the full implications of their current link. While she shared her whole Personhood with him, the same could not be said vice-versa. Granted, their minds were linked in such a way that her every thought is revealed to him. He, however, can control the flow of knowledge, energy, and power from himself to her. What's more, she never did ask what he was getting out of their shared link. He wondered if he would have told her the truth. Probably not. He was quite sure that had he explained the full ramifications of their relationship -- which really was more of a parasitic than a symbiotic one, he might add -- she would have fought him every step of the link. The reason for that stems from the fact that, when all is said and done, and regardless of how everything ends, the result of the 'symbiosis' is the premature death of the host.
Life was not fair that way. However, because of Jeanette's service to him, he would see to it that she gets what she desires before she dies. He would see to it that the Bannon girl suffered. Whether Jeanette would admit it or not, she wanted Jessie's torture more than the title Jonny would bring her. And so, she will witness the torment of Jessie.
Really, he could be quite fair at times.
********************************
Jonny stared listlessly at his bowl of cereal, deep in thought. The incident last night had disturbed him more than anything he could have imagined. The bags under his eyes bore testament to the sleepless night he had spent. Not that he tried very hard to sleep in the first place. After the incident with Jess, he just couldn't bring himself to stay in one spot. He was too wired. So, he had ended up pacing his bedroom until he saw the dawn beginning to make an appearance from his window.
At that sight, he sat in his bed and buried his face in his hands. He couldn't remember ever feeling as helpless as he did that night. The sight of Jessie, looking so desperate and . . . and -- dare he think it? -- 'helpless' tore at his gut. He had never, ever seen Jessie look like that before. She had always been so gung-ho about everything. She would be the very last person he knew who would back out of an adventure, and despite her somewhat rational nature, she had always been there with him whenever his rash actions landed them in big trouble.
She had always seemed so invincible. She could fight better than any other guy he knew at their age. He figured she probably got that from her father, Race.
He remembered the Jessie he saw last night with her arms flailing wildly about her. Gone was the controlled student of the martial arts who three him on his back yesterday afternoon. In her place, a frightened girl fought her demons alone and without protection.
He groaned. He should have been able to do something for her yesterday. He should have been able to help her, comfort her, do anything but just stand there gawking while Race tried to deal with her.
Suddenly, he chuckled. He could almost see how Jessie would respond to what she considers his overrated macho tendencies.
The sound of his humor brought him back to the present. He looked across him on the table and saw Hadji finish his breakfast. He and Hadji made quite a pair. He didn't think his friend got any sleep
last night either. It was just as well that this was a Friday. He was pretty sure he needed a weekend to recover from all the 'excitement' last night.
A sound from the kitchen entrance drew his attention.
There stood Jessie looking beautiful, as is her wont, wearing tight black jeans and a green, sleeveless shirt. Around her waist hung a black/gray/white plaid shirt. She entered the kitchen with her book bag and sat next to them.
Race, whom his dad pried away from Jessie's room over a half an hour ago, stood up and said, "And where do you think you're going, Ponchita?"
Jonny saw Jessie look at her father with a perplexed expression.
"I'm going to school, dad," she replied cheekily. "Last time I checked, Friday was still a school day."
"Not after last night, you're not," said Race. "You're staying home and resting all day today."
"Dad!" she exclaimed. "What's gotten into you? What are you talking about?"
"Don't be obtuse," said Race. "After last night's sleepwalking incident in the kitchen --"
"What sleepwalking incident?" demanded Jessie.
"Uh, Jess?" said Jonny. "Don't you remember . . . last night . . . the kitchen . . . you screaming . . ."
She looked at them like they were talking in another language which she didn't understand.
"Did I miss something here?" asked Jessie.
The four males looked at each other.
She doesn't remember, they all thought.
Finally, Jonny's father asked, "So, Jess, how are you feeling this morning.?
Jess looked at him. "I'm okay, I guess. I had a headache like you wouldn't believe when I woke up but I took some aspirins for it."
"Nothing out of the ordinary or anything?" his father probed.
"No," replied Jess slowly.
"I'm not a physician," said his dad, "but I don't really see why she can't go to school today."
Jonny saw Race clench his fist and noticed that he did the exact same thing.
"Wait a minute," said Jessie. "I'm not going anywhere until someone tell me what's going on."
Jonny saw the look of indecision stamped on the faces of his peers.
"Hey, Jess," he said. "Don't you remember you were sleepwalking last night?" He deliberately made the tone of his voice light. "Geez, Jess, you woke the whole house up!"
Everyone forced a laugh.
Jessie looked bewildered. Then uncomfortable. And embarrassed. Then panic.
"I . . ." she started, "Did I . . . say anything . . . or do anything I should know about?"
"Well," began Race, "you did wake us up with your scream . . . but everything was under control and I put you to bed."
Jonny could see Jessie's mind shifting gears.
"I . . .I don't understand," said Jessie. "I've never done something like this before."
"Don't worry, Jessie," said Jonny. "You didn't do anything embarrassing. If you did, do you think I would have held back this long?"
Jessie smiled at him gratefully, but a troubled expression still remained on her face.
"You know what?" said Jonny, trying to take her mind of it.
Jessie said, "What?"
"You overslept big time and now we're going to be late for school."
Jessie stared at her watch and gasped.
Success, thought Jonny.
He looked towards Hadji and saw him smile approvingly.
"Well," said Hadji, "what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
On the drive to school, Jonny ended up riding at the back seat. Hadji was able to reach the driver's side of the car before he could and Jessie claimed the passenger side.
"By the way, " said Hadji, "I will be unable to join you for lunch today, my friends. I promised to tutor a fellow student in the library today."
"Okay, Hadji," said Jess. "Just don't have too much fun without us, alright?"
Jessie and Hadji laughed while Jonny thought of the implications behind what Hadji just said.
Hadji won't be with them at lunch.
He and Jessie will be alone -- relatively speaking. He had been waiting for a chance to talk to Jessie alone since they shared that 'look' in the clearing. However, circumstances have prevented such an occurrence until now. At lunch. In school.
Oh, well. He could think of better places, but he really wanted to talk to her and it seems this is the first opportunity which presented itself to him. He had wanted to talk to her about dating - each other in particular.
He had known for some time now that he had wanted something more than friendship from Jessie for some time now. Although it had taken time -- not to mention Jessie's dates with Michael -- for him to realize the extent of his feelings for his friend, Jonny had been . . . hesitant-yes, hesitant.
*You mean scared*
Hell, no! I mean hesitant, he thought.
--Hesitant. He had been reluctant to act upon his new--
*New?*
New!
--his newly recognized feelings because he had been unsure--
*Clueless*
Unsure! he responded. As in not sure, okay. Geez, give me a break.
There were times, he thought, when he truly believed that his inner voice is really none other than Jessie in disguise.
--Unsure as to how Jessie might receive the news. Because he'd had no idea how to act around Jessie once he realized what he felt for her, he resolved not to give a hint of what he's feeling until he had made a decision on what to do.
He would have continued in that state of emotional limbo had he not heard Jessie and Eliza talking to each other by the lockers. To be precise, they were talking about him.
He really had not intended to eavesdrop on their conversation. But, when he heard his name mentioned by the very person who has started to fill his waking thoughts, he had abruptly stopped himself from making the corner turn that would reveal his presence to the two.
**FLASHBACK**
"I don't know," he heard Jessie's voice. "Jonny's been acting kind of weird lately."
"Oh?" he heard Eliza's voice. "How so?"
"I don't know if I can describe it," Jessie said. "He's been . . . distant -- I guess that's a good word as any." She paused. "There are times when I feel like he's putting on act for my benefit."
*Show yourself*
Wait, Jonny thought. I want to hear this.
*Eavesdroppers never like what they hear about themselves*
There were time when Jonny was sure his conscience takes advice from Hadji.
"You think he's acting distant for your benefit?" Eliza asked.
"No . . . I mean . . . I don't know," said Jessie. "Eliza, I've know Jonny almost all my life. We've been best friends for God knows how long, but lately, he's ssttphgggm."
"He's what?" Eliza asked in confusion.
He heard Jessie sigh.
"Eliza, would you describe Jonny as a touchy-feely sort of a guy?"
"What do you mean?" asked Eliza. "Like a guy who'll try to cop a feel whenever he can?" she teased.
Jonny blushed.
"NO!" said Jessie. "Not that kind of . . . Geez . . . Jonny would never --"
Eliza burst out laughing. "I know, I know," she said. "I was just kidding. Honest." She stifled her mirth. "I know exactly what you're trying to say," she said seriously. "Jonny's very . . . expressive, no? I think part of the reason a lot of the kids here in school, including me, by the way, thought you guys were a couple once was because he's very . . . affectionate -- towards you and Hadji, at least. He's very quick to give a hug or sling an arm around your shoulder. Not many guys are secure enough with themselves to do that, you know."
Jonny heard Jessie snort. "If this is your way of telling me that Jonny has a big ego," she began.
Eliza laughed again. "No," she said. "This is Jonny Quest we're talking about here. The big ego is a given."
Jonny frowned.
A big ego? Jonny thought indignantly. What do they mean a big ego?!
"But anyway," continued Eliza, "we're straying off the topic here. What about Jonny's touchy-feely tendencies?"
Silence.
"Well," he heard Jessie's voice. "He's . . . not like that anymore."
"Oh?" Eliza's voice said.
Jonny was sure that if he could see Eliza, he would be able to see one of her brows arch up in that comment.
"At first I didn't notice it, you know," said Jessie. "But after awhile, I think I kinda mmsstt."
"What?"
"I said," said Jessie, "I think I kinda missed it."
Silence yet again.
"Jessie," said Eliza slowly, "is something going on between you and-- "
"No!" shouted Jessie. She laughed nervously. "Nothing like that," she said in a much softer voice. She took a deep breath. "You know those hugs he used to give?"
Jonny did not hear Eliza acknowledge the question so he assumed she nodded.
"Well," continued Jessie, "they didn't have anything . . . romantic attached to them. They were . . . brotherly--"
"It took me a while to figure that one out, let me tell you," interrupted Eliza.
"And you know I never had any siblings of my own to begin with," she continued. "Well, Jonny's . . . 'affectionate gestures?' . . . used to make me feel very . . . secure. And don't ever, EVER tell him I said that, " she finished.
"No, no," said Eliza. "Never."
Silence.
Then, "Ever wonder why Jonny suddenly started acting . . . distant?" Eliza asked.
"Oh yeah," said Jessie.
"Well?" probed Eliza. "Conclusions please."
A pregnant pause.
"I thought maybe his girlfriend objected," Jessie said. "After all, he acts normal around Hadji."
"Oh," said Eliza.
. . .
"What's the scoop between those two anyway?" Eliza asked.
"You're asking me?" said Jessie, not without a touch of bitterness. "I was in Paris when they started seeing each other."
"Yeah," agreed Eliza, "but doesn't Jonny talk--"
"Not about this."
Jonny leaned against the wall. He can hear the hurt from Jessie's voice when she said that. He closed his eyes.
"Let's talk about something else," offered Jessie.
"Okay," conceded Eliza.
"Now how about that David of yours," introduced Jessie.
Eliza smiled. "Only if you tell me about Michael," she replied.
Jonny's ears perked up.
"Ahhh," said Jessie, "an exchange of information."
"You got it," said Eliza.
Their voiced started fading.
They were moving away!
Jonny strained his ears more but eventually, their voices disappeared all together.
He sat down with his back against the wall and stared unseeingly in front of him.
**END FLASHBACK**
"--ey, hotshot!" Jessie's voice called to him.
She and Hadji were now outside the van, looking at him.
"Do you intend to spend the entire school day inside the van, my friend," asked Hadji.
Jonny shook his head and got off the van. "Just daydreaming there for a sec," he said. He joined them eventually and they all started to walk toward their lockers.
Jonny then deliberately put an arm around Jessie's shoulders as the three of them discussed the upcoming party for Estella scheduled to take place that night. If Jessie took notice of his action, she hid it well. She made no action at all to indicate she even felt it.
Since the lockers at Rockport High are arranged in alphabetical order, Jonny and Hadji usually end up dropping Jessie off her locker on their way to theirs. This morning was no different except for the stench that assaulted their nostrils . . .
They first noticed it when they approached the hallway where the lockers are kept.
"Geez," said Jonny, "what died in here?"
"I don't know," said Jessie, her hands on her nose as she tried to limit the amount of her inhalation, "but whatever it is, I hope they find it soon."
"I believe I would have to wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments, my friend," said Hadji.
Students around are making similar remarks.
The putrid smell got so overpowering by the time they got to Jessie's locker that Jonny said, "I think I'll run and get my stuff from my own locker now. I want to get out of this hallway as soon as I can."
Hadji agreed and Jessie wore an expression that said 'I don't blame you' as she started turning the combination of her own locker frantically.
Jonny and Hadji ran.
******************************
Hadji Singh didn't know exactly what made him stop running half way to his locker and turn back to Jessie. All he knew was the fact that the feeling he felt last night, when he heard Jessie's scream, came back full force. The result? He ran back to Jessie.
He saw Jessie backing away from her open locker, her book bag forgotten and dropped on the floor, her left hand covering her mouth as she stared in horror at the sight in front of her. Hadji ran to her side and put his arms around her shoulders.
"Jessie," he said.
She ignored him and started making choking sounds at the back of her throat. All the while, her eyes were glued to her locker.
Keeping her cradled in his arms, Hadji turned to look at what held Jessie's attention and promptly felt the rise of bile in his throat.
There, in her locker, on top of her books, lay a mutilated cat. He stared with morbid fascination at the sight of the maggots as they feasted on the carcass. Because of their sheer number, some of them had fallen into the ground now that Jessie's locker was open. He heard the buzz of flies as they circled around the cat when a thought penetrated the fog of his disgust. He noticed, for the first time (he had no idea how he could have missed it, actually), that there seems to be an inordinate amount of blood -- fresh blood -- smeared in Jessie's locker. In fact, the locker had started dripping with it. From what he can see, the cat had been dead for several days, but the blood . . . the blood was not that old. It couldn't have come from the maggot-filled cat. Unless . . .
And then he noticed it. There was not one cat but two. The other one, the fresher of the two, was draped inconspicuously behind the other cat.
He tightened his arms around Jessie and again looked closer. There was writing in the back of the opening of her locker. It was written in what looked like -- and more than likely is -- blood. It simply said, 'Jessie the Cat'.
Hadji felt anger the likes of which he had never known before permeate his being. That somebody, anybody, would dare do this to Jessie--
He felt her tremble in his arm.
He looked at her and everything outside the two of them fled his mind. He never heard the shrieks given out by some students as they saw the source of the stench. He never heard the curses shouted by Jonny as he ordered someone to get a teacher. All he saw was Jessie as she struggled to compose herself, to pull herself together.
"Hadji," she whispered softly.
He looked down into her green eyes in response.
"I'm going to make whoever did this pay," she said softly.
And finally, he really looked at her. Her emerald eyes, which only moments before were filled with revulsion, now had the glitter of rage and the flash of determination. Jessie was back.
She stepped away from his embrace. He let go of her reluctantly and watched as the principal of the school approached her. With a calmness even he would envy, she answered some of his questions.
By this time, several teachers had arrived and are asking the students to vacate the hallway.
He and Jonny lingered, trying to stay as close to Jessie as possible. She noticed.
"I'll be fine," she told them. "Why don't you two head for class?" she suggested. "The principal would like to talk to me in his office."
Still they delayed, but Jessie insisted.
"I'll see you at lunch, Jonny," she said with an air of dismissal. "Later, Hadji."
She turned and followed the principal to his office.
He and Jonny looked at each other.
"I don't like this," said Jonny, "I don't like this at all."
"Neither do I, my friend," he said, "neither do I."
******************************
Jessie splashed her face with cold water as she leaned down the sink in the school's rest room.
Talking to the principal, the police, Dr. Quest, and her father had exhausted her. After countless of time of telling her father and Dr. Quest that she was alright, they finally agreed to let her finish the school day in school. They weren't very happy with her decision to stay, but they respected her choice.
Now here she was, feeling tired and weak after emptying her stomach of last night's dinner.
Delayed reaction, she thought.
Actually, she was quite grateful that this happened now instead of before when everybody had been staring at her. She hated showing any kind of weaknesses to anyone. At least now, there was no one to see her in this state.
She took a deep breath and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked okay, if not a little pale. With any luck, she'll be able to make her third class.
She clenched her fist. Whoever did this to her was going to pay and pay dearly. She had come closer to being reduced to a mass of bubbling, female hysteria that morning than she had ever been her entire life. And she'd hated it. She hated the fact that she had trembled and showed her fear as she backed away from her locker. She had hated the fact that she almost threw up right there in front of her locker. She had hated the way her fingers turned nerveless and she'd had to drop her school bag. But most of all, she had hated the fear that she felt when she saw what was written in blood in her locker. Only the fact that the culprit might be there . . . watching her . . . had stopped her from running from the scene.
Oh, but she had been tempted. She had been tempted to scream when she first saw the grotesque picture that awaited her when she opened her locker. She had been tempted to turn tail and run when she saw the writing. And most of all, she had been tempted to lean on Hadji and let him and Jonny take care of everything.
Her pride came to her rescue. No way was she letting Jonny see her as a damsel in distress. She wasn't about to lose Hadji's admiration after all the work she's done. So she rallied her spirits and took everything in her own hands.
After one last look at herself in the mirror, she exited the restroom and headed for class.
*********************************
"That was quite a disappointment," said Jeanette as she saw Jessie exit the rest room.
She was sitting on her bed watching as scenes from school appeared in her full-length mirror.
This is definitely better than television, she thought.
"I was hoping for more of a reaction," she said.
"Don't worry," said her benefactor, "you'll see her suffer."
"How about tonight?" she asked, already making plans.
"No, not tonight," he said.
"And why not?" she pouted.
"Look at your -- our energy reserves, " he said.
Jeanette closed her eyes and probed.
She gasped.
"How did it get to be that low?" she demanded.
Her benefactor laughed. "Well," he said, "let's see shall we? First of all, that energy you're using in the mirror. Second, manipulation of brain waves from across town. Third, dual transportation of organic material without so much as lifting a finger. Fourth, killing organic material without getting your hands dirty. Fifth, all these in less than twenty-four hours. Need I say more?"
Again she pouted.
"Don't worry," he said, "tomorrow, as they say in that movie, is another day."
**************************************************************************** **************************************************************************** ****
Revised December 29, 2001
