*Again big thanx to my only reviewer left, lol Blind fold and toe wedges? Definitely, lol Dunno the song melody as well: hehe just saw the title and checked the text. Find out about the blonde mop, hehe I thought it was so obvious after all of my telltale babbling about – but see urself ;o)*

Chapter 7

Carter stared at Alex.

Alex stared at Tod.

Tod tried to evade eye contact with Clear for he had destroyed her car.

Carter didn't care that Clear stared at him, making him responsible for it, but being happy that it had been the reason that somebody's life had been saved. All of them directed their eyes towards that person.

"I still can't believe it", Tod finally broke the silence. "This is so weird."

"You just restarted to spend more time with Alex, so what did you expect?" Carter replied as if the conclusion was that obvious. "He's the king of all weirdoes!"

Alex groaned deeply unnerved and looked heavenwards. The five of them were sitting in a small café, a beautiful comfortable place and he surely would have noticed that the owners had tried to copy the Central Perk out of the Friends series if his mind hadn't already been busy with thousands of thoughts.

"Aw sorry, I was going to say the god. Forgive me." Carter gave him a fake smile before he turned to the fifth person that had remained silent up to now. "Billy Hitchcock, I can't believe it. I never thought you'd make it that far. I supposed you would break your neck while walking downstairs or stuff."

Tod swallowed his coffee the wrong way and coughed. "Carter!"

"What?! I only say the truth!" He shook his head. "No!"

"Huh? What no?" Tod asked confused, but Carter didn't answer him, his Death Scowl already focused on Alex, who didn't really care after all the time he knew him.

"Forget it, Browning! I hate that expression on your face! Get it off!"

"I was just wondering why …. don't you think it's strange? First we met Tod. And then out of nowhere there is Billy. Suddenly, after all of these years he suddenly appears just to get nearly knocked over by your car."

Billy shrugged. "History's only repeating itself." In the past it had been one of Carter's endless numbers of strange favourite habits to pretend he was trying to run him over with his infernal bat mobile, as Billy had named it. It had given him more than ninety almost heart attacks, several injuries as he tried to escape and had cost him about five bicycles Carter's car had squashed instead. The memories were still alive in his head, though he hadn't met any of these guys since graduation day. Like Tod he had missed the flight to Paris, though not on health grounds. Billy had won a scholarship to a college in France, so instead of flying to Paris without any of his friends, doomed to be Carter's whipping boy, he had decided to pay his new place of learning a visit.

"You make fun of me?" Even after more than ten years the words and the angry voice still didn't miss their target. It was a bit like the Pawlow Dog method. Instantly Billy raised his hands in a gesture of defence. "No, of course not."

"It seems as if Death somehow seemed to …." Alex searched for the right words.

"- to kill the actual 180 survivors?" Clear helped him.

"I wasn't on flight 180", Tod and Billy said in unison.

"No, but maybe you should have been."

"Hold on man, you said that it never went for me for I was never meant to be on that flight. Cuz I had to become ill. For that was the original plan. Fate. You remember?" Tod raised his eyebrows, appearing like a dog that expected that some of his master's ham sandwich would fall down by chance, right into his mouth.

I never said I was right. It just seemed plausible since nothing dangerous ever happened to you. Besides the tube thing."

"Aw, so it's the tube thing now", Tod repeated sarcastically, then shook his head as he saw the exhausted look on his friend's face. "Sorry." Man he had to pay attention to not steal Carter's place.

"So: explanation please", Billy required.

Alex stared onto a point somewhere on the table, his eyes concentrating on a splodge of coffee. It was dark, almost like dried blood, in the shape of a – Alex looked up to get rid of the imagination that appeared in his mind, straight into a pair of well known blue eyes. They were cold as usual, but there was something else Alex couldn't exactly define. For the second time within a few days Carter interrupted the eye contact first. Alex frowned. What was all this? Slightly clearing his throat, Billy reminded him of his question.

"What do you want to know? "

Billy gulped. "Will …. will I die?" He tried to fix his eyes on Alex', but more looked onto his jacket.

"Yes."

He was surprised by the direct answer, though he had reckoned on it. He might be a coward, but he wasn't stupid. Suppressing a deep sigh he asked: "When?"

Alex shrugged. "In the end."

Billy narrowed his eyes. "Are you kidding me?"

Alex shook his head. "No kidding. That's it – in the end we will die. All of us. Without exception. It's up to you what you do in the meantime. Whether you want to wait for it to happen or fight it and try to stay alive. It won't be easy, not at all. It's no fair fight, we're not its equal. People that don't seem to have anything to do with it or you will die when it should have been you. But they're not dying for you, they're not taking your place and all of it will be suddenly over like a horrible nightmare. It's never over, this we know for sure. You don't know when it starts, you don't know when it ends. That's it. Wanna join us?"

Four people stared at him, mouth open.

"What?" He shrugged and turned to Clear. "Did I forget anything?"

A bit confused she shook her head. "No – I guess that was basically it."

"So", he continued, ignoring the looks the others gave him for he sounded like a host that had just explained the rules for water volleyball. A game with high stakes of course. "Do you have any questions?"

'What can we do?' was what Billy wanted to know but he felt a bit dim asking that question, for it sounded so simple. But actually things were simple. An attack caused defence. A fight resulted in winners or losers. It surely wouldn't end in a tie. Or had that already happened as it ended the last two times? He shook his head to get his thoughts into order.

"Don't think too much about it, it only drives you mad", Alex said though he knew it was futile. Billy would surely spend the next few months with a constant headache for his thoughts would run wild in his mind, keeping him awake at night, distracting him from everyday life during the day. He would look for signs everywhere, not finding them, but interpreting and analyzing everything round him just in case it could mean something. If he survived that long.

"And what does that mean? Do we have to stay together all of the time like Clear said you did the first time? To make sure th-"

"Hell NO!" Carter cried. "I already told you I will call you up if I have one of them fucking head aching premonitions! And as now everything is said, excuse me but I leave you freaks. I have a life out there."

"But – " Billy began, but Alex interrupted him.

"I propose you go with Clear and Tod. They will tell you everything you have to know. - Hey, I'm coming with you", he shouted after Carter.

"What for?? I thought we just straightened that out that I will call you if –"

"Uhm hello? You fucking gonna drive me to work!"

"Why the hell should I??" Carter flared up.

Alex folded his arms and grimaced. "You remember that car you just destroyed a few hours ago?"

Carter smirked. "That was Clear's, stupid. Your fiancée, remember?"

Alex rolled his eyes at his friend's stubbornness and let out an exaggerated sigh. "Yeah, so she can have mine to drive home and therefore you will drive me to work, geddit?" He bent down to kiss her goodbye, whispering something in her ear that made her giggle.

"What?? What have you said?? What??" Carter fumed, yelling at Alex the entire way to the parking lot. Alex waited until they were out of the other's sight and then turned to face Carter. "Okay, since you're so talkative today, why don't you tell me?" They seemed to make a habit of that; talking in plain English at the parking lot.

The jock frowned. "Tell you what?"

Alex leant against the side door of Carter's car, resting his elbows on the roof. "Stop playing games, okay? What is it you didn't want to talk about back in the café? Back in the parking lot at the hospital? Carter", he continued as his friend didn't make a move to answer. "You know how important this is; I don't have to make it clear to you. So if there's anything - as little and unimportant as it may seem …."

"What do you want to hear?" Carter snapped. "That it was my fault what happened? Congratulations, you won the washing machine; it was my fault!"

Alex narrowed his eyes, trying to find the meaning of what he had just heard. "What was your fault? Carter, that fucking premonition stuff doesn't mean that you-"

"Tod! What happened to him was my fault. That he nearly died. I could of averted it, but I didn't!" Carter never would have thought that telling the truth could be somewhat releasing.

Alex stared at him. Surely Carter was the biggest asshole he had ever met, but he didn't believe one second that he intentionally failed to give assistance. "There was a sign you didn't see. So what?"

Now it was the dark haired's turn to be left mouth open. "So what?? Alex, he nearly died!"

"That's what it's all about, to kill us! What happened? You saw the sign, didn't notice it was one, then the thing with Tod happened and you didn't dare to tell us afterwards, but out of some reason you did now. Carter, these things happen. Shit happens. You haven't been asking for them premonitions neither have I and surely none of us has ever asked for the whole shit! My God, relax and try to be more observant next time."

"Couldn't you just yell at me, punch me in the face so I could beat you up and everything was alright?"

"It would be quite boring if there were two Carter Hortons, wouldn't it?" Alex grinned, reached for the handle and opened the door but realized that Carter still stared at him. "Okay, you saw the accident with Billy as well? Forget it, what's over is over. We have no time to deal with the past since worrying about the present takes so -"

"I saw Bludworth."

Alex nearly caught his hand in the door as he slammed it. "WHAT??"

"See, it's not so easily fucking over and done with", Carter yelled, automatically taking the offensive though it was him who had done wrong. But Alex wasn't willing to go into that. "You sure?"

"You think I'd ever forget that fucking face?" He had only met that guy once, but his features had made an impression on his mind forever. There wasn't much that could scare Carter but the mere thought of this man sent a shiver down his spine.

"When and where?"

"The evening Tod was in the hospital and I drove back to my firm. I nearly knocked him over with my car."

Alex smirked and even Carter's famous look didn't shut him up. "Seems as if you were bloody talented for that."

"So what do we do now? Can you find out where he is? I mean, using your FBI sources?" Carter still couldn't believe Alex' reaction to his confessions. This had been a bit too easy.

"What do you think I been doing during the last years, huh?" He opened the door again and let himself fall into his seat, listening to Carter teasing him who had just remembered that a few years ago someone had hidden things as well ….

~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.

Carter couldn't get rid of the song he had heard in the morning. Especially one line kept spinning round in his brain. Everything's been said before, there's nothing left to say anymore ... stand up and admit it, tomorrow's never coming. He was sitting in his huge office, trying to concentrate on the file that lay open before him, but the line kept spinning round in his head like a record. Was that a sign? No, it certainly wasn't. Only a sign that he was slightly going mad maybe. He wished that he knew what the design was about this time, but as hard as he tried to find out he discarded every idea the next moment. Clicking at one of the icons on his computer he went back to the game he had just started to play. It was on an Italian website, him and Italian – that was the biggest joke ever. Carter had never been very talented with languages. Why the hell should he learn another language when half of the world population spoke his own? Though he sometimes only got one word of the question for it was similar to the English equivalent he was quite good at the principle of exclusion, an ability that had allowed him to pass the French exam and be able to take flight 180 just to ruin his entire life. What made things easier in this game was the fact that he was allowed to repeat it several times and so he reached the highest score after fifteen minutes. Great, now he was able to survive in a hole for a week or so. He skipped adding his name to the winner list and was just about to leave the site when something caught his eye. There were ten names on the list, names of people he never had met or heard about, but he was sure that the first name hadn't been there a few seconds ago. He leant forward, but there was no doubt. The first name was: Carter.

He frowned. He hadn't typed his name, so why was it there? Combined with the song line in his head this was going to be quite freaky. On the left side were the names of the winners, on the right side the score – 400 points was the highest possible. But above the long row of 400s the first number was 403, which was absolutely impossible. But it stood there, definitely. A blue 403 on a black background. Okay that surely meant he was next. Carter looked around and checked the room for any visible hazards, stopping to count them when he reached the 32. Basically everything was dangerous: the pencil as much as the cables or the screen. Maybe he would trip over something and fall out of the window. Suddenly his mouth and throat felt dry. He felt his heartbeat quicken, but tried to ignore the upcoming panic. It was just like that Stephen King book he had read when he was a child. It was useless to be afraid of something that could simply be everywhere. Carter knew how illogical it sounded, but for him it made sense. Damn, he definitely spent too much time with that Browning guy. Alex. Should he call him up? What for? 'Hello Alex, by the way it's my turn now?' Naw, that was stupid. How far or close Alex might be – he wouldn't be able to do anything. It was his turn so he had to try and cheat Death again. Alone.

~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.

Alex slammed the door to his office, the crash echoing down the long corridor. Could his life become any worse? Well, he thought that no, but hey – faith was so imaginative it always invented new ways to torture him. He had only reached his seat and let himself fall into it, as someone knocked at the door, opening it a second later.

"I cannot remember having said 'come in'!"

Nevertheless Agent Schreck entered the room suppressing a grin.

"I really mean it, Roger, stay out!"

The elder agent raised his hands in a gesture of defence. "Aw c'mon Alex, it isn't my fault. I been talking till I was blue in the face, but an order is an order."

"Fuck your orders!"

Roger closed the door and leant against the wall behind him. "So what do you want to do? Quit?"

Alex pretended to honestly take the option into consideration, causing his colleague to laugh.

"You wouldn't do that. Never", he maintained.

"Whatever you say", the young man murmured. His work got him good money, facilitating an agreeable life style. Most of the times. But after all it was just a job, he wasn't really into it like his colleagues, never made a big effort to get it like some of them whose dream it had been since they first had heard the three famous letters. Like that one guy they had made his new partner. Alex didn't like him at all, he never had and certainly the feeling was mutual.

"C'mon Alex, he's not such a bad guy – you see if you know him a bit better, then –"

"Have you ever listened to a single word I said?" he flared up. "Roger, there is a reason why I'm working alone, okay? You remember? It's sometimes a tiny lil bit dangerous to be near me. And just right now – whoa, what a perfect timing!"

"But I thought it only would be dangerous for people who were already part of that design …."

"What design?"

Schreck was confused. "The design."

"What the hell do we know what it is about this time?" He shrugged, snorting scornfully, knowing that he somewhat acted like a stubborn little boy, but couldn't soothe his anger.

A knock on the door interrupted them. Alex made no secret of his displeasure at the situation as a young man entered the room. He was two years older than himself, nearly the same height, with dark brown hair and eyes of the same colour. Alex could tell by the look on his face that he neither appreciated the new collaboration.

"Browning", he greeted shortly.

Instead of an answer Alex mumbled something inaudible, cursing Schreck who didn't manage very well to hide his grin as he left. Maybe he was right and he just worried too much – no one told him that that guy really was endangered. Which was the point – he didn't know. Alex shrugged and took the file the agent handed to him. He could still quit. Schreck might not believe it and think that he had interest in his job and big ambitions in that direction.

They didn't know how little he cared.

And he was sick of knowing that he still did too much.

~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.~°~.

Carter went into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. The thought of what had happened to Tod came to his mind and he eyed the shower suspiciously as if expecting that the tube would become a serpent and try to attack him. At first he had appreciated the fact that his huge office included a little bathroom though he never made use of the shower – what did he have one at home for? It was more the aspect of possession that made him want to have it and so the room wasn't fit out cheap. But at the very moment he wasn't so happy about the shower anymore and so kept the biggest distance between him and it possible. He propped his hands up on the washbasin and looked at his own reflection in the mirror. Would he die within the next seconds? Within the next minutes? Hours? Would someone be there to save him if? How would it happen? And first of all would he be able to make it one more time? He wondered if it was going to be over for the rest of them when he died like the curse had left them when Alex died the last time. Before the medics had been able to bring him back to life again.

However, he wouldn't be defeated. Not him, not now – after all he still decided what to do with his life. As well as with his death. For now he decided to go back into his office, making some more of the calls he had to and then leave. Outside was as dangerous as inside.

The door slammed hard behind him as he left, stopping when he realized that he wasn't alone. Nora, secretary, waitress and part time lover, sat on one of the chairs in front of his desk, cross-legged, waiting for him and frowning as she watched him enter. "I thought you weren't even in the office", she remarked.

"I wasn't", he gave back, smirking. "And I thought you were already gone …."

"Yeah well I'm not." Her voice sounded a bit annoyed. "Plans changed so I thought I could work some files off and take my anger out on the keyboard." Carter groaned inside. 'Plans changed' meant that her boyfriend had stood her up again. He was an unbelievable asshole. Carter didn't understand why she didn't get rid of him. She was the type of woman who could simply have anybody. But the last thing he wanted to do now was discuss the problems of her love life.

"So you could take it out on the phone as well – there are some great people you can yell at if you want to."

Nora held her breath as if she wanted to say something but then nodded. She was used to meet only the wrong kind of men, including her boss.

"I'm sorry bout Steven and you". Carter said, trying to sound honest as he reached for his lap top.

The secretary raised an eyebrow. "I bet you do", she answered, not convinced. "So be cautious on the streets," she called after him as he opened the door, causing him stop, not quite sure whether he had got her right. She had never said anything like that to him before.

"Are you afraid something could happen to me?" he wanted to know, the inevitable smirk on his lips, hiding his astonishment and concern about her remark perfectly.

"Actually I'm more afraid of what you could make happen to the rest of the road users," she said, folding her arms, making him laugh as she tried to withstand his look before he left the room.

Nora stood up and was about to take some files out of one of the bookcases as something caught her eye. She turned around to see the light in the bathroom was still on through the ajar door. Typical Carter. She opened it for the switch was on the inside when she noticed something lying on the tray that was attached to the wall above the washbasin. Getting closer to the object she saw that it was a single key. Carter's car key. Forgetting them was even more typical for him, a fact that had made him put an extra key into his desk. Strange to find it here. For a short moment she thought about calling him on his cell, but then didn't. If Carter needed it he should come back and get it himself. Damn men. Following a sudden outburst of rage Nora slammed her fist on the desk, causing it to fall down and break into pieces. She cursed and bent down to collect the biggest fragments from the ground as she heard another crack above her. She looked up just in time to see the big mirror fall down from his support, directly towards her. Her eyes widened in shock and she tried to get herself out of the danger zone but her shoes slipped on the tiles and she fell backwards. Part of the mirror broke as it hit the washbasin. It happened so fast that Nora couldn't hardly feel the pain as the sharp side crashed down on her and slit her throat. Blood was running out immediately, covering her shirt. She wanted to scream but only a gurgling sound left her mouth that was filled with blood as well. She got panicky as she tried to stop the bleeding with her hands but couldn't. The red liquid seemed to be all over her, all around her. With a great effort she finally managed to stand up focussing her thoughts on getting out of the door and get help, knowing that every little second counted, every little moment brought her closer to death.

"Nora?" she heard a voice from outside as the door to the office was opened.

Carter, thank God, he would help her. Nora moved towards the door, the short way seeming to have become so much longer as she felt her powers fade, the quick loss of blood dizzying her. No, she wasn't allowed to give up now that help was so near. Only a few more centimetres and she would be saved. Only a few more –

She stepped into a puddle of her own blood and slipped. Her hands tried to grab hold of the rim of the basin to not to lose her footing, but failed.

"Nora? Where the hell are you?"

Her head banged against the hard ceramic of the basin and lifeless body fell down to the ground.

*Again big thanx to my reviewers!! SCRIBBLEDIBBLE: Hooray back!! lol and KINGS (hope that's alright :o) : My God, u really wanna beat me, huh? Never got such a long review before, lol So yeah, it's Billy - n I thought u'd only have a bored yawn for that revelation, lol (I goddit, lol) Alfie?? Well, that's quite the same, huh? ^ . ° No, no more 45 year old Carter twins (geddit?), lol

Use of the term 'The Death Scowl' by kind permission of DHARKE PRODUCTIONS. If anyone's interested in the game Carter's playing: it's at www.thehole.it*

*Author's Note:

I added some more to my last chapter for I thought that it belonged there and not to a new one. I hope that there is no big misunderstanding and I will try to get my stuff into order okay? Sorry that it always takes me so long to update but I'm a bit running out of ideas at the moment. I mean, I know where the plot is leading to, but the way to my aim's the problem, lol*