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So, the big event has finally happened, seven chapters in the making; sorry it took so long, but I needed to set up a little background for Altessa, as well as some for Kimberly. But, now that the premonition has happened: let the fun begin.
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Chapter Eight
Cheaters
"Altessa." She opened her eyes, startled, sweat beading across her forehead, trickling down her cheeks like tears. Her heart thudded in her chest, her skin burned feverishly and she felt as though she had just awoken from a nightmare.
But she hadn't, she was still in the large Victorian house, with her family, with her father calling her name.
But it was just like in her nightmare; she could remember everything, standing at the stairwell, listening to her father call her name, not bothering to respond. She remembered hearing Morgan chiding her friends and Michael and Shane shattering a vase. And she remembered the real estate agent, telling her mother something about school districts...
"Despite the location of the house, it's in the Mount Abraham School district." Juliet Barely was saying, to the nods of her mother and two other people gathered around her.
With increasing panic, Altessa whirled around, eyes wide with fear, even more so when she realized that she was inhaling something mixed with the air: the faint smell of gasoline. Everything, down to the last detail, was exactly how things had played out only minutes before.
"My God..." She whispered hoarsely, heart beginning to beat faster. She saw her brother and her boyfriend begin to argue jokingly about something, with Morgan's exasperated look and words attempting to stop them. Altessa already knew what was going to happen next and before she could blink, Michael gave Shane and semi-forceful shove and knocked him into a polished table, knocking off the vase atop it.
"This can't be happening." Altessa whispered, speaking a little louder this time, though she couldn't be heard over the shouting of her father. "This house is going to explode."
At those last words, she managed to draw the attention of the brunette woman, whom she had noticed outside, who was now looking at her with wide eyes. Seeing that she had at least someone's attention, Altessa knew she had to continue, knew that if they stayed in the house any longer, they would all die. "We have to get out of this house, trust me, we have to get out of here!" She shouted, gesturing toward the front of the house. Everything had happened so quickly in her "dream" that no one had time to stand around and be confused.
For a second, no one moved or spoke, simply staring at the teenager. Finally, the real estate agent sighed, crossing her arms across her chest. "Young lady, this is not amusing." She said in a patronizing tone.
Kimberly looked over at the teenager, who was beginning to retrace her steps toward the front door; she looked frightened, yet strangely sane. Looking at her, Kimberly realized that it had happened again; the girl had suffered a vision, just like Alex Browning, just like herself. They were all going to die if they stayed in that house.
She grabbed Thomas' hand and tugged, pulling him toward the exit. "Come on, let's get out of here." She mumbled, hoping that everyone would take their cue. For once, Thomas didn't argue, didn't give her a hard time or tease her about seeing the signs. He simply followed her out of the house.
Altessa gave a last pleading look at her family and everyone else in the house saying, "Please, we have to get out of this house. If we stay in here, we're going to die." When no one moved still and she knew that there was nothing she could do. If they didn't want to believe her, there was nothing she could do to save them. As Altessa headed out of the house, Morgan and Shane followed her, as did two other members of the house buying party.
Amanda turned to face her husband, surprised, embarrassed and even more confused. "Donald what...?" She trailed off, letting him know that she needed his help deciding what to do. Altessa wasn't the one to joke, especially not about something like Death.
"You and Michael go ahead outside and talk to her; I'm going to stay and help clean up this mess." Donald told her with a reassuring smile. He also shot his oldest child and look that told him that he was going to replacing the vase before the teenager disappeared out of the house as well.
One young looking couple whispered to each other before leaving the house, hand-in-hand; a single man that didn't look much older then the other two left as well, as did Altessa and Morgan's science teacher. Donald began to apologize to the two remaining people in the house as he began to pick up the pieces of the broken vase.
* * *
Once outside, Altessa found that she didn't feel any better and continued to pace around the driveway, praying that her parents would leave the house; she was certain that what she had seen was true and she just wished that she could convince everyone else.
Having had enough of her pacing, Shane approached his girlfriend and placed his hands on her arms, stopping her. "Altessa, what the hell is going on? What was that all about?" He asked, concern and confusion apparent upon his face. He didn't like the look he saw on the girl's face and found that he couldn't meet her eyes; she was so panicked, yet so certain, eyes slightly watery with tears.
"Yeah Al, you're really freakin' me out." Morgan added, joining her friend's side. She wasn't sure what her friend was trying to pull but she knew that it couldn't be good; Altessa had been really different lately, even more then she normally was. Morgan just hoped her friend wasn't buying her ticket to an insane asylum
Altessa sighed, pushing Shane's hands away from her and taking a step toward the house. For the first time, she noticed that the brunette woman and her boyfriend had joined them outside and she let her gaze linger on her for a second before turning back to face her friends. "I don't know...I don't know what happened; it was like I was dreaming and then when I woke up, everything was happening exactly the way it happened in my dream. I knew Michael and Shane were going to break the vase...everything was the same. That house is going to blow up and no one believes me!" She cried, unable to keep any control any longer. Her shoulders fell as she buried her face in her hands, trying to hold back the tears that had wanted to flow ever since she had "woken up" from her vision.
From where she stood, Kimberly saw the teenage girl dissolve into tears of confusion and fear, wishing that she could comfort her, tell her that she knew exactly what she was feeling. She had heard everything that the raven-haired girl had said and knew that the past was repeating itself once again; Death's list was once again in motion and she and Thomas were now back on it. Those thoughts made her want to cry as well but she remained silent, standing beside Thomas, who had his arm around her waist. For now, all she could do was watch, though she already knew how everything was going to play out.
Altessa looked up when she heard someone call her name, turning around to see her brother and mother coming toward her. She breathed a sigh of relief, rushing toward Michael and feeling slightly better. The relief nearly vanished when she realized that only two of her family members had left the house. "Michael, where's Dad?" Altessa asked, glancing back toward the house, hoping to see her father. Instead, she saw three people she didn't know and her science teacher heading toward the driveway.
"He's still in the house." Michael told her, getting his sister's attention again. "Altessa what is going on?"
Before she could answer, an explosion rocked the area, brining with it a wave of intense heat; Altessa was knocked to the ground by the explosion, eyes wide with fear and panic as she realized what had just happened. The house behind them had suddenly exploded, just as she had seen in her nightmare, leaving behind only wood and debris, which were propelled by the blast.
Altessa's mind was racing, body in a state of panic; the only thing she could register was that everything she had seen earlier had come true and that her father was still in the house. She looked up at Michael, who had somehow managed to keep his footing during the blast; the second she looked at her older brother, she wished she hadn't.
Michael was staring straight ahead, a blank, lifeless expression on his rapidly paling face; a shard of charred wood jutted through his chest, the wood no longer white, stained red with his blood. The explosion had driven the debris straight into her brother and if she hadn't fallen, it would have surely killed her too.
Altessa let out a short scream as her brother's knees finally buckled, dropping the corpse onto the ground. Unable to take any more, her brain on complete overload, filled with fear, Altessa let her muscles collapse, head drop back onto the ground, her brother's lifeless body the last thing she saw before everything faded to black.
So, the big event has finally happened, seven chapters in the making; sorry it took so long, but I needed to set up a little background for Altessa, as well as some for Kimberly. But, now that the premonition has happened: let the fun begin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Eight
Cheaters
"Altessa." She opened her eyes, startled, sweat beading across her forehead, trickling down her cheeks like tears. Her heart thudded in her chest, her skin burned feverishly and she felt as though she had just awoken from a nightmare.
But she hadn't, she was still in the large Victorian house, with her family, with her father calling her name.
But it was just like in her nightmare; she could remember everything, standing at the stairwell, listening to her father call her name, not bothering to respond. She remembered hearing Morgan chiding her friends and Michael and Shane shattering a vase. And she remembered the real estate agent, telling her mother something about school districts...
"Despite the location of the house, it's in the Mount Abraham School district." Juliet Barely was saying, to the nods of her mother and two other people gathered around her.
With increasing panic, Altessa whirled around, eyes wide with fear, even more so when she realized that she was inhaling something mixed with the air: the faint smell of gasoline. Everything, down to the last detail, was exactly how things had played out only minutes before.
"My God..." She whispered hoarsely, heart beginning to beat faster. She saw her brother and her boyfriend begin to argue jokingly about something, with Morgan's exasperated look and words attempting to stop them. Altessa already knew what was going to happen next and before she could blink, Michael gave Shane and semi-forceful shove and knocked him into a polished table, knocking off the vase atop it.
"This can't be happening." Altessa whispered, speaking a little louder this time, though she couldn't be heard over the shouting of her father. "This house is going to explode."
At those last words, she managed to draw the attention of the brunette woman, whom she had noticed outside, who was now looking at her with wide eyes. Seeing that she had at least someone's attention, Altessa knew she had to continue, knew that if they stayed in the house any longer, they would all die. "We have to get out of this house, trust me, we have to get out of here!" She shouted, gesturing toward the front of the house. Everything had happened so quickly in her "dream" that no one had time to stand around and be confused.
For a second, no one moved or spoke, simply staring at the teenager. Finally, the real estate agent sighed, crossing her arms across her chest. "Young lady, this is not amusing." She said in a patronizing tone.
Kimberly looked over at the teenager, who was beginning to retrace her steps toward the front door; she looked frightened, yet strangely sane. Looking at her, Kimberly realized that it had happened again; the girl had suffered a vision, just like Alex Browning, just like herself. They were all going to die if they stayed in that house.
She grabbed Thomas' hand and tugged, pulling him toward the exit. "Come on, let's get out of here." She mumbled, hoping that everyone would take their cue. For once, Thomas didn't argue, didn't give her a hard time or tease her about seeing the signs. He simply followed her out of the house.
Altessa gave a last pleading look at her family and everyone else in the house saying, "Please, we have to get out of this house. If we stay in here, we're going to die." When no one moved still and she knew that there was nothing she could do. If they didn't want to believe her, there was nothing she could do to save them. As Altessa headed out of the house, Morgan and Shane followed her, as did two other members of the house buying party.
Amanda turned to face her husband, surprised, embarrassed and even more confused. "Donald what...?" She trailed off, letting him know that she needed his help deciding what to do. Altessa wasn't the one to joke, especially not about something like Death.
"You and Michael go ahead outside and talk to her; I'm going to stay and help clean up this mess." Donald told her with a reassuring smile. He also shot his oldest child and look that told him that he was going to replacing the vase before the teenager disappeared out of the house as well.
One young looking couple whispered to each other before leaving the house, hand-in-hand; a single man that didn't look much older then the other two left as well, as did Altessa and Morgan's science teacher. Donald began to apologize to the two remaining people in the house as he began to pick up the pieces of the broken vase.
* * *
Once outside, Altessa found that she didn't feel any better and continued to pace around the driveway, praying that her parents would leave the house; she was certain that what she had seen was true and she just wished that she could convince everyone else.
Having had enough of her pacing, Shane approached his girlfriend and placed his hands on her arms, stopping her. "Altessa, what the hell is going on? What was that all about?" He asked, concern and confusion apparent upon his face. He didn't like the look he saw on the girl's face and found that he couldn't meet her eyes; she was so panicked, yet so certain, eyes slightly watery with tears.
"Yeah Al, you're really freakin' me out." Morgan added, joining her friend's side. She wasn't sure what her friend was trying to pull but she knew that it couldn't be good; Altessa had been really different lately, even more then she normally was. Morgan just hoped her friend wasn't buying her ticket to an insane asylum
Altessa sighed, pushing Shane's hands away from her and taking a step toward the house. For the first time, she noticed that the brunette woman and her boyfriend had joined them outside and she let her gaze linger on her for a second before turning back to face her friends. "I don't know...I don't know what happened; it was like I was dreaming and then when I woke up, everything was happening exactly the way it happened in my dream. I knew Michael and Shane were going to break the vase...everything was the same. That house is going to blow up and no one believes me!" She cried, unable to keep any control any longer. Her shoulders fell as she buried her face in her hands, trying to hold back the tears that had wanted to flow ever since she had "woken up" from her vision.
From where she stood, Kimberly saw the teenage girl dissolve into tears of confusion and fear, wishing that she could comfort her, tell her that she knew exactly what she was feeling. She had heard everything that the raven-haired girl had said and knew that the past was repeating itself once again; Death's list was once again in motion and she and Thomas were now back on it. Those thoughts made her want to cry as well but she remained silent, standing beside Thomas, who had his arm around her waist. For now, all she could do was watch, though she already knew how everything was going to play out.
Altessa looked up when she heard someone call her name, turning around to see her brother and mother coming toward her. She breathed a sigh of relief, rushing toward Michael and feeling slightly better. The relief nearly vanished when she realized that only two of her family members had left the house. "Michael, where's Dad?" Altessa asked, glancing back toward the house, hoping to see her father. Instead, she saw three people she didn't know and her science teacher heading toward the driveway.
"He's still in the house." Michael told her, getting his sister's attention again. "Altessa what is going on?"
Before she could answer, an explosion rocked the area, brining with it a wave of intense heat; Altessa was knocked to the ground by the explosion, eyes wide with fear and panic as she realized what had just happened. The house behind them had suddenly exploded, just as she had seen in her nightmare, leaving behind only wood and debris, which were propelled by the blast.
Altessa's mind was racing, body in a state of panic; the only thing she could register was that everything she had seen earlier had come true and that her father was still in the house. She looked up at Michael, who had somehow managed to keep his footing during the blast; the second she looked at her older brother, she wished she hadn't.
Michael was staring straight ahead, a blank, lifeless expression on his rapidly paling face; a shard of charred wood jutted through his chest, the wood no longer white, stained red with his blood. The explosion had driven the debris straight into her brother and if she hadn't fallen, it would have surely killed her too.
Altessa let out a short scream as her brother's knees finally buckled, dropping the corpse onto the ground. Unable to take any more, her brain on complete overload, filled with fear, Altessa let her muscles collapse, head drop back onto the ground, her brother's lifeless body the last thing she saw before everything faded to black.