Serena awoke abruptly, sunlight stinging her eyes and an ache cramping her legs. She pulled herself up slowly and climbed to her feet. Her eyes skimmed the alarm clock on her night stand. It was backwards. She turned to her right and saw Stanton sitting on the ledge of her balcony.

That's when everything came flooding back to her. She shut her eyes forcefully, trying to wash away the memories of last night. She couldn't bring herself to believe that it was true. Jimena couldn't be dead! Not her best friend! It was a dream...a terrible nightmare! But the solemn look upon Stanton's face reaffirmed the harsh fact that her fears were indeed real and Jimena really was gone.

Determined to prove herself wrong, Serena picked up her cordless phone and punched in Jimena's phone number. Her grandmother answered the phone in tears, babbling about an ancient goddess appearing to her in a dream she had had, foretelling Jimena's death. Serena hung up the phone without ever saying good-bye, and threw it onto the floor.

Stanton crept back into her room and wrapped his arms around her as she cried uncontrollably once more. Serena hugged him tightly, and opened her eyes widely, a new sense taking charge of her. She knew she must continue on, for Jimena's sake. And she would, right after she spilled out all her emotions. A new spark gleamed fiercely in her eyes, an almost evil, vengeful gleam.

Collin sat on the deserted beach quietly, his body sprawled out on the warm, crisp sand. Yet today, the feel of the sand on his body sickened him, and the feel of the lukewarm water splashing his bare feet made him want to scream. Yet, he had no desire to move.

His face was blank and emotionless, and empty abyss. Inside of his mind were memories of Jimena and everything they had shared together. She was so happy last night at Planet Bang, so full of energy and spunk. Could it really be possible that only ten hours later she ceased to exist? She couldn't really be gone...it was too horrible to think about.

No matter how many times he replayed the story Catty and Vanessa had told him, it made no sense whatsoever. Jimena wasn't even a Goddess anymore...why would the Atrox be after her? What possible good could that accomplish?

He hadn't talked to Serena yet. In fact, he hadn't even seen her since she left Planet Bang. She must be taking this news pretty badly, he thought. He knew that she'd have wanted to be left alone, so after news of Jimena's death reached him, he drove out to the ocean. The ocean was his favorite place in the world, yet now it only seemed to bring back terrible recollections of Jimena. That brought an ache into his heart that was unbearable.

He closed his eyes and thought of his mother. Had he gone through the same experience when she left? No, he insisted. Jimena's death was much worse. Jimena didn't choose to leave. His mother did. Jimena had loved him. His mother obviously didn't.

A cool breeze swept over the shoreline, causing a chill to engulf Collin. He sat up quickly, zipping up his hooded sweatshirt. But the chill didn't disappear. It was inside of him, taking over his thoughts, his emotions...

He gripped a handful of sand tightly as a sob made its way through his parted lips. He stood up slowly and shakily, forcing himself to stare at the rough, undefined waters. Jimena had never been afraid of anything. She was strong and brave. That was the exact same way Collin felt whenever he was surfing, fully aware of the dangers surrounding him. He felt almost, invincible. Jimena had always been the invincible one...so why was she the one who was taken away?

Releasing the handful of sand into the ocean, Collin then proceeded to wipe an escaped teardrop from his eye. He bit his lip forcefully, easing the pain from inside, making a silent vow to himself.

"No fear," he whispered hoarsely, clenching his fists tightly.

Catty felt the icy drip of the water stinging her back, but didn't attempt to change the temperature of it. It didn't matter anymore. Water was only water right? Cold water wouldn't kill her.

She froze. That word. Kill. It had taken on a new meaning, since last night. her tears meshing with the shower water, Catty finished her shower and dried off.

She left her hair damp, in no mood to fight with her blow dryer. She walked out of the bathroom and into her room, where Vanessa and Tianna sat solemnly, neither uttering a word, but both communicating silently.

"Has anyone talked to Serena," Vanessa asked quietly, breaking the awkward silence.

Catty shook her head. "I tried calling her last night. No answer."

"Poor Collin," Tianna said suddenly.

"Yeah," Vanessa agreed. "I just...I can't believe things could turn out this way, you know? I mean, one second she's here and then the next..."

Vanessa stopped speaking, her lip trembling, tears pouring down her cheeks. She was still in shock about everything that had happened the night before. She felt horrible for not being able to help Jimena. She had been right there...and yet... Vanessa sighed. She couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for Jimena's death. And poor Serena! And Collin! They must be a mess right now! And here she was feeling sorry for herself! Honestly, she could be so insensitive at times!

Vanessa was interrupted from her thoughts as a low sob emerged from Catty's mouth. Catty looked away quickly, not wanting Vanessa to see her crying. Smiling understandingly, Vanessa wrapped an arm around Catty, stroking her hair softly.

Tianna sat on Catty's tie-dye beanbag chair, staring blankly at a miniscule stain on the bright orange carpet. Out of all of her friends, Tianna had been the one who had known Jimena the least. Of course she felt a profound sadness because of her death, but she couldn't help but wonder if she was feeling sympathy for her friends who were hurting or for the impact of Jimena's death on herself. She had barely known Jimena. Jimena had always kept to herself for the most part, only exposing her most intimate secrets with the other girls. In a way, Tianna resented her for leaving her out. Yet, she felt guilty because of that resentment. She was certain Jimena hadn't meant to exclude her and make her feel unwanted, but it still hurt. Tianna hated herself right now for even thinking about such things. Jimena was dead and this was how she was honoring her memory? By contemplating unimportant things that Jimena had done to anger herself? She broke her gaze from the carpet stain and turned back to Vanessa and Catty who were now crying and comforting each other. Tianna chewed on a long, black strand of her hair. God, why couldn't she just be normal like her friends and cry…just a little?

Hey guys, sorry it took so long...I left this chapter saved on my dad's computer, and haven't been back to his house since today. Sorry nothing has really happened in this chapter, but I needed to let out everyone's emotions and reactions to Jimena's death. More to come in the next chapter which will be out much sooner than this one was. Oh, and I'd like to send thank you's to everyone who reveiwed my story and a special thank you to Charleygurl for her awesome review. I personally pride myself on good gramar and english skills. I'm grateful to know that these things show in my writing.