.::AN: Geez, but Kit can be a little bitch, can't she? Well, don't worry,
she warms up soon. And the magic starts, too...^.^
Also, I was asked a question, and will clear it up: Kit was in English lit class. You know, with the verbs and the writing and stuff? Come on, you've all taken it. Yeah. If you still don't get, you can e-mail me and I will patiently beat the answer into your skull. Thank you.
O.o" Being the doorknob that I am, I forgot to mention a disclaimer!
Disclaimer: I don't own Everworld, KA Applegate does, and has all the rights to it. Except for Kit, she's MINE!! *bares teeth ferociously* Grr....::.
~~Not possible~ said my logical mind. ~Ghosts don't---can't---exist.~ The other part of my brain was a jumble of ~Run! Run now! Run FAST, dammit! MOVE!~
April, closest to the impossible ghost, was nearly as pale as the ghost itself. No question about it, neither one of us was in the mood to mock Christopher's lack of courage. Not when we were face to face with a ghost.
"Help me......."
"What the hell was that?" I asked.
"Help me......"
"What was what?" asked Christopher. "'Cause if it sounds like castanets, it's my teeth."
"No, the 'help me'. Can't you hear it?"
Both April and Christopher shook their heads. Wonderful. I was going crazy.
"Please, can't you help me?"
Taking a deep breath, I walked toward the shimmering phantom, hands held up to show that I was unarmed. "Yes, I think I can. What do you need?"
April and Christopher exchanged an 'Oh-great,-she's-gone-nuts' look, before staring back at me. "Kit, are you...feeling alright?" asked April hesitantly.
"I'm fine." I shot back, not turning my head from the ghost in front of me. "How can we help?"
"Not....them. Only you can help...." The ghost's voice trailed off, and it vanished slowly like morning mist.
"Ooooookay. File **that** under 'weird'." commented Christopher.
"WTE." said April, shrugging. "Guess the thing just wanted to check us out."
I stared at the two other humans, the only ones I'd seen. Alive, anyway. "No, it wanted help. Couldn't you hear it?" I looked from one to the other. Both faces showed disbelief, and a little bit of worry.
"Are you sure you're not just tired or something? I mean, neither one of us heard anything. Maybe you were dreaming."
Frustrated, I threw up my hands and stalked back toward the camp, water bottle slung over my back. Fine. They wanted to pretend nothing had happened, that they hadn't heard the ghost's pleas, that was their problem. But I knew what I had heard. And not even for a moment was I going to think that neither April nor Christopher hadn't heard the same thing.
***
I stared out into the night of Everworld. The only sounds that disturbed the silence was the steady breathing of the four other kids behind me. All of them were asleep, and, I supposed, back in the real world, at least in their dreams. I, on the other hand, had been a total doorknob and volunteered to keep the first watch. Being the only one with a still- working watch, I got the luxury of waking up David at one in the morning to take his hour-long watch.
I absentmindedly flicked back my chin-length black hair. I hated when it got in my eyes, the one reason I wanted it longer. But no, it refused to grow, and I had tried everything short of tying weights onto the ends. I laughed softly, thinking about what I'd look like. At least I'd stick out. Like I didn't already. Being the new kid does that.
I was practically always the new kid. Only foreign exchange students had a higher turn-over rate than me. Since both my parents were renovators, we were stuck living in run-down old houses, and just when they were livable, we packed up and moved on. At first, I'd made friends everywhere I went, but it got to be a bore, and besides, why make friends if you're going to move in a couple months anyway? There's really no point.
A twig snapped off to the side. I was on my feet and had my Swiss Army knife blade against the intruder's throat before they even realized what had happened. Maybe it wasn't as powerful as Excalibur, Jalil's Coo-Hatch Swiss Army knife, but it could still cut.
"Whoa, calm down Kit. It's just me, alright?" Christopher.
Disgusted, I snapped shut the blade and half-dragged him over to the fire. "What are you doing here?" I hissed.
He shrugged. "Life in the real world was crap, and all the sitcoms were reruns, so I decided to wake up and take a walk. Big deal. You didn't have to go medieval on me."
I sighed. "Yeah, well. Can't be too careful around here. Never know what might come in."
Christopher groaned. "Oh, God, not another David. Lemme guess, you want to stay here too?"
I laughed, surprising myself. "Naw. I'm happy at home. But..." I shrugged. "Vacations are nice. And it's not my fault that I adjusted to life here faster than you did."
"Must be all that time spent fending off polar bears and moose." he commented off-handedly.
"Yeah." I agreed. "Lemme show you just how I beat the polar bear that was attacking my igloo." I said, preparing to smack him. Smartening up, Christopher scooted over.
"Uh-uh, no way. I'm no polar bear. I'm more of a tiger, if you get my drift."
"Screw off, doorknob." I shoved him over.
"What the hell is a doorknob, anyway? I mean, the way you say it, it sounds like an insult."
"It is." I said sweetly. "It's a dork, or an idiot. Or, to shorten the definition, you."
"Yeah, sure. You know you want me. You're just covering up."
I suddenly stopped laughing. There, a shadow in the trees. Instinctively, I grabbed at Christopher's hand, and we both rose to our feet.
"Damn, but I'd give almost anything for David's sword." he whispered.
Silently, I nodded agreement. Anything was better than a lousy Swiss Army knife, even Excalibur.
"You....must......come. Now...."
"Shit." said Christopher. With good reason. Floating like some sort of crappy Halloween decoration was a ghost.
"I heard that. Did you hear that? 'Cause I heard that." Christopher babbled. The hand I was clutching had become sweaty.
I stared in amazement. "You heard it too? But before you couldn't..." It dawned on me. Could *I* be the reason that Christopher was able to suddenly hear the ghost? Experimentally, I dropped his hand.
"You must help us. Only you can...."
"What happened?" asked Christopher. "Why'd that...thing....stop?"
Ignoring him, I grabbed his shoulder.
The ghost, not noticing our actions, continued "...protect us."
Christopher turned a shade of pale to rival the skin of the form in front of us. "Shit. It can....you can.....damn!"
Another force entered the clearing. Even in their sleep, I could hear the others stir and mutter as the temperature dropped several degrees. An icy wind hit me from behind. "Give up the girl. She cannot help you. It is too late. We must destroy her before all is lost." The speaker sounded male, unlike the female ghost of before. His voice carried power, and a degree of coldness to send shivers down any sane person's spin. Especially when that cold, calculating voice was talking about destroying you.
A wave of sudden, strong hatred rolled from behind. I gasped with its sharpness. It was like a blade in the back, icy cold and burning. Letting go of Christopher's shoulder, I collapsed to my knees, head low to prevent a faint. Fuzzily, I heard Christopher yelling for the others, for help, for something. My vision doubled, blurred, went black. I blacked out.
***
Blinked. Opened my eyes. It was a chilly day, there was manicured green lawn all around, and I had a short hockey stick in my hands. Shit. Gym class. Field hockey. A sport devised by a sadistic male who wanted a sport where females would have to wear kilts and run around bent over, thus giving said male an excellent view of the girls' asses. And I had agreed to take gym so I could take rock climbing, so I could join the rock climbing club for 'moral support' of a casual acquaintance.
Wham. Suddenly, I got what the others called the 'CNN update'. Two minds fused into one, with a set of double memories. The girl---who I now realized was Senna---had transferred out three days ago. No reason, just gone. And now my mom had some 'exciting news' for me tonight. Joy. We were probably going to move again. At least there'd be no more field hockey.
The Real World me got her update too: I was trapped in Bizzaroland, and a ghost wanted me dead. The irony of that statement hit suddenly, quickly accompanied by a ball to the back. Way to be, Moraso. At least now I wouldn't have to try to play a game and process the thoughts I was having at the same time.
Waving off help, I dashed to the nurse's office for ice and to fill out a stupid accident form. Something for the school's insurance. A big bother, if you ask me. But no one did.
I managed to pull off a good enough acting job to get sent home for the rest of the day. After promising to ice the sore spot, and call a doctor if it got worse, I dashed o my car and raced home as fast as I could.
I managed to spend a nice afternoon doing nothing, except wondering when I'd regain consciousness in Everworld. Not that I was exactly eager to go back, but who knew what was happening to me over there? I might be back already, and I wouldn't know until I got the next big update. It was driving me crazy, not knowing. Was I dead? Could that be possible? I mean, nobody knew what happened when your Everworld self died, so I might already be dead, and not even know it...
.::AN: I know, I know. One craptastic ending. But, eh, whaddya expect on little-to-no sleep? It's all good. Yup. All good.
Also, I was asked a question, and will clear it up: Kit was in English lit class. You know, with the verbs and the writing and stuff? Come on, you've all taken it. Yeah. If you still don't get, you can e-mail me and I will patiently beat the answer into your skull. Thank you.
O.o" Being the doorknob that I am, I forgot to mention a disclaimer!
Disclaimer: I don't own Everworld, KA Applegate does, and has all the rights to it. Except for Kit, she's MINE!! *bares teeth ferociously* Grr....::.
~~Not possible~ said my logical mind. ~Ghosts don't---can't---exist.~ The other part of my brain was a jumble of ~Run! Run now! Run FAST, dammit! MOVE!~
April, closest to the impossible ghost, was nearly as pale as the ghost itself. No question about it, neither one of us was in the mood to mock Christopher's lack of courage. Not when we were face to face with a ghost.
"Help me......."
"What the hell was that?" I asked.
"Help me......"
"What was what?" asked Christopher. "'Cause if it sounds like castanets, it's my teeth."
"No, the 'help me'. Can't you hear it?"
Both April and Christopher shook their heads. Wonderful. I was going crazy.
"Please, can't you help me?"
Taking a deep breath, I walked toward the shimmering phantom, hands held up to show that I was unarmed. "Yes, I think I can. What do you need?"
April and Christopher exchanged an 'Oh-great,-she's-gone-nuts' look, before staring back at me. "Kit, are you...feeling alright?" asked April hesitantly.
"I'm fine." I shot back, not turning my head from the ghost in front of me. "How can we help?"
"Not....them. Only you can help...." The ghost's voice trailed off, and it vanished slowly like morning mist.
"Ooooookay. File **that** under 'weird'." commented Christopher.
"WTE." said April, shrugging. "Guess the thing just wanted to check us out."
I stared at the two other humans, the only ones I'd seen. Alive, anyway. "No, it wanted help. Couldn't you hear it?" I looked from one to the other. Both faces showed disbelief, and a little bit of worry.
"Are you sure you're not just tired or something? I mean, neither one of us heard anything. Maybe you were dreaming."
Frustrated, I threw up my hands and stalked back toward the camp, water bottle slung over my back. Fine. They wanted to pretend nothing had happened, that they hadn't heard the ghost's pleas, that was their problem. But I knew what I had heard. And not even for a moment was I going to think that neither April nor Christopher hadn't heard the same thing.
***
I stared out into the night of Everworld. The only sounds that disturbed the silence was the steady breathing of the four other kids behind me. All of them were asleep, and, I supposed, back in the real world, at least in their dreams. I, on the other hand, had been a total doorknob and volunteered to keep the first watch. Being the only one with a still- working watch, I got the luxury of waking up David at one in the morning to take his hour-long watch.
I absentmindedly flicked back my chin-length black hair. I hated when it got in my eyes, the one reason I wanted it longer. But no, it refused to grow, and I had tried everything short of tying weights onto the ends. I laughed softly, thinking about what I'd look like. At least I'd stick out. Like I didn't already. Being the new kid does that.
I was practically always the new kid. Only foreign exchange students had a higher turn-over rate than me. Since both my parents were renovators, we were stuck living in run-down old houses, and just when they were livable, we packed up and moved on. At first, I'd made friends everywhere I went, but it got to be a bore, and besides, why make friends if you're going to move in a couple months anyway? There's really no point.
A twig snapped off to the side. I was on my feet and had my Swiss Army knife blade against the intruder's throat before they even realized what had happened. Maybe it wasn't as powerful as Excalibur, Jalil's Coo-Hatch Swiss Army knife, but it could still cut.
"Whoa, calm down Kit. It's just me, alright?" Christopher.
Disgusted, I snapped shut the blade and half-dragged him over to the fire. "What are you doing here?" I hissed.
He shrugged. "Life in the real world was crap, and all the sitcoms were reruns, so I decided to wake up and take a walk. Big deal. You didn't have to go medieval on me."
I sighed. "Yeah, well. Can't be too careful around here. Never know what might come in."
Christopher groaned. "Oh, God, not another David. Lemme guess, you want to stay here too?"
I laughed, surprising myself. "Naw. I'm happy at home. But..." I shrugged. "Vacations are nice. And it's not my fault that I adjusted to life here faster than you did."
"Must be all that time spent fending off polar bears and moose." he commented off-handedly.
"Yeah." I agreed. "Lemme show you just how I beat the polar bear that was attacking my igloo." I said, preparing to smack him. Smartening up, Christopher scooted over.
"Uh-uh, no way. I'm no polar bear. I'm more of a tiger, if you get my drift."
"Screw off, doorknob." I shoved him over.
"What the hell is a doorknob, anyway? I mean, the way you say it, it sounds like an insult."
"It is." I said sweetly. "It's a dork, or an idiot. Or, to shorten the definition, you."
"Yeah, sure. You know you want me. You're just covering up."
I suddenly stopped laughing. There, a shadow in the trees. Instinctively, I grabbed at Christopher's hand, and we both rose to our feet.
"Damn, but I'd give almost anything for David's sword." he whispered.
Silently, I nodded agreement. Anything was better than a lousy Swiss Army knife, even Excalibur.
"You....must......come. Now...."
"Shit." said Christopher. With good reason. Floating like some sort of crappy Halloween decoration was a ghost.
"I heard that. Did you hear that? 'Cause I heard that." Christopher babbled. The hand I was clutching had become sweaty.
I stared in amazement. "You heard it too? But before you couldn't..." It dawned on me. Could *I* be the reason that Christopher was able to suddenly hear the ghost? Experimentally, I dropped his hand.
"You must help us. Only you can...."
"What happened?" asked Christopher. "Why'd that...thing....stop?"
Ignoring him, I grabbed his shoulder.
The ghost, not noticing our actions, continued "...protect us."
Christopher turned a shade of pale to rival the skin of the form in front of us. "Shit. It can....you can.....damn!"
Another force entered the clearing. Even in their sleep, I could hear the others stir and mutter as the temperature dropped several degrees. An icy wind hit me from behind. "Give up the girl. She cannot help you. It is too late. We must destroy her before all is lost." The speaker sounded male, unlike the female ghost of before. His voice carried power, and a degree of coldness to send shivers down any sane person's spin. Especially when that cold, calculating voice was talking about destroying you.
A wave of sudden, strong hatred rolled from behind. I gasped with its sharpness. It was like a blade in the back, icy cold and burning. Letting go of Christopher's shoulder, I collapsed to my knees, head low to prevent a faint. Fuzzily, I heard Christopher yelling for the others, for help, for something. My vision doubled, blurred, went black. I blacked out.
***
Blinked. Opened my eyes. It was a chilly day, there was manicured green lawn all around, and I had a short hockey stick in my hands. Shit. Gym class. Field hockey. A sport devised by a sadistic male who wanted a sport where females would have to wear kilts and run around bent over, thus giving said male an excellent view of the girls' asses. And I had agreed to take gym so I could take rock climbing, so I could join the rock climbing club for 'moral support' of a casual acquaintance.
Wham. Suddenly, I got what the others called the 'CNN update'. Two minds fused into one, with a set of double memories. The girl---who I now realized was Senna---had transferred out three days ago. No reason, just gone. And now my mom had some 'exciting news' for me tonight. Joy. We were probably going to move again. At least there'd be no more field hockey.
The Real World me got her update too: I was trapped in Bizzaroland, and a ghost wanted me dead. The irony of that statement hit suddenly, quickly accompanied by a ball to the back. Way to be, Moraso. At least now I wouldn't have to try to play a game and process the thoughts I was having at the same time.
Waving off help, I dashed to the nurse's office for ice and to fill out a stupid accident form. Something for the school's insurance. A big bother, if you ask me. But no one did.
I managed to pull off a good enough acting job to get sent home for the rest of the day. After promising to ice the sore spot, and call a doctor if it got worse, I dashed o my car and raced home as fast as I could.
I managed to spend a nice afternoon doing nothing, except wondering when I'd regain consciousness in Everworld. Not that I was exactly eager to go back, but who knew what was happening to me over there? I might be back already, and I wouldn't know until I got the next big update. It was driving me crazy, not knowing. Was I dead? Could that be possible? I mean, nobody knew what happened when your Everworld self died, so I might already be dead, and not even know it...
.::AN: I know, I know. One craptastic ending. But, eh, whaddya expect on little-to-no sleep? It's all good. Yup. All good.