~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, now the moment we've all been waiting for: the first (well, second really) Death. Yay! Okay anyway...thanks for all the reviews, I'm glad everyone likes my idea of not having an order. Here's another chapter, please review!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Fourteen
Chemistry Lesson
Altessa had waited for the little black phone to ring but it had remained silent; all of the previous night the phone was silent and that was true even now, as she pocketed it, heading downstairs with her school books in hand. She figured she should be relieved that the phone hadn't rang but she didn't like not being in touch with Kimberly. What if something had happened to her? Or Thomas?
As the teenager entered the kitchen she made up her mind to call Kimberly around second period if she hadn't heard from the brunette. Altessa stepped over to the kitchen table and set her books and notebooks down upon the surface, looking around the area. Her mother was moving about the kitchen silently, lighting candles; it was something Amanda did whenever she wanted to remember someone. Two years ago when the family dog had died, the house had been filled with candles. And last year, Altessa remembered seeing the flickering lights.
Now was no exception; the kitchen was filled with candles, set on every available surface, flickering in remembrance of the deceased Adams men. The candles made Altessa nervous and she realized how much could happen if one of the candles tipped over. She opened her mouth to tell this worry to her mother but realized that Amanda wouldn't listen anyway and might take her words of warning the wrong way.
A breeze flittered through the kitchen, causing the candle flames to waiver; Altessa watched them out of the corner of her eye, warily, turning around to face her mother. Her hip jostled the table and knocked the top notebook off the stack; it toppled onto the floor and scattered the loose papers she had inside. Altessa bent down to gather up her homework papers, stuffing them into the notebook. She fingers brushed against her chemistry homework, which was swept away by the breeze, suddenly more powerful, before she could grab it.
Altessa watched as the paper was pushed upward, stopping only when it made contact with her mother's pillar candle, causing the sheet to catch fire. The paper was nothing but ashes in a few seconds, burning faster then Altessa would have guessed; the ashes scattered on the counter.
Amanda turned around to face her daughter, not having seen the damage caused by her candles. "Are you going to school today?" She questioned, looking as though she didn't care one way or another if she daughter ran away from home.
Altessa nodded once, narrowing her eyes at the ashes on the counter, trying to decide if the homework catching on fire was a sign. If it was, she couldn't figure out what it meant; it had been her Chemistry homework, which was a branch off the science subject, which Kristen McAnderson had taught her a year ago. Kristen was on the Design, perhaps the "Sign" had something to do with her. But she wasn't sure how Chemistry would figure in; when she had had Kristen, she'd taught Physical Science, not Chemistry.
There was silence in the kitchen and Altessa debated calling Kimberly and explaining the recent events, but she wasn't exactly sure what that was going to prove. It couldn't have been a Sign; her homework had simply caught on fire because of bad luck, that stuff did happen. Altessa gathered up her books again and headed out of the kitchen, casting a last fleeting glance at her mother. "Bye Mom." She mumbled, hoping for some spark of motherly instinct to appear.
Amanda said nothing, simply returned to lighting the few remaining candles set around the sink. Altessa shook her head, sighing deeply. "Mom, put out those candles, they're dangerous." She said, louder this time, before she disappeared out the back door, shutting it behind her.
Amanda looked over in the direction her daughter had vanished, pursing her lips. As she prepared to turn away again, the ten candles she had set around the kitchen table suddenly winked out, as though blown by an invisible breath. The woman frowned, brow knitting, trying to sort the whole incident out.
She set down her lighter and headed out of the kitchen, leaving the remaining candles burning.
* * *
Altessa met Shane in their usual morning spot and she realized that she had never been so happy to see him. She saw that Morgan wasn't there and prayed that her friend was simply pissed at her and wasn't dead. "Have you seen Morgan today?" She asked her boyfriend, after breaking a tight embrace.
Shane nodded once, looking his girlfriend up and down; he couldn't decide if she was simply trying to move past the accident over the weekend but he knew that if his father and brother had died, he wouldn't have come to school. "Yeah, she seemed pretty upset though. What's going on?" He questioned, sensing something between his girlfriend and her best friend. Shane had known Morgan for a while, a lot longer then he had known Altessa, and she had always been easier to read.
Altessa debated telling Shane about the Design, wondering if he would believe her when her own best friend hadn't. "Shane, I'll explain it all to you later but be extremely careful...you'll understand later but just watch out. I have to find Morgan." She said instead, knowing that she didn't have time to explain everything to Shane.
Her boyfriend nodded once, looking confused but he let her go without a word, watching the raven-haired girl disappear down the hallway. Altessa was weird, that was for sure, but he was beginning to become used to it.
Altessa was so intent on finding Morgan that didn't notice someone standing directly in front of her until she ran into them, knocking them both off balance. Altessa steadied herself, blinking her eyes in an attempt to focus and saw that she had bumped in Kristen McAnderson, who looked equally surprised.
A look of concern immediately crossed upon the teacher's face as she regarded her one time student. "Altessa, I didn't expect to see you here. How are you...after the accident.." She trailed off, looking uncomfortably, clearly wishing she hadn't spoken.
Altessa sighed, frowning slightly and looking down at the floor; she had expected false sympathy from people but that didn't mean that she wanted or appreciated it. "I'm fine." She mumbled, forgetting all about warning her old teacher about the Signs and the Design. All she wanted that moment was to get away, go anywhere, off by herself; she had known that coming to school was a bad idea.
Kristen nodded, trying to look understanding. "Well, anytime you want to talk, you know where to find me." She offered, though it appeared like she didn't ever want to go through with her words. "Altessa, I think I'll be co-teaching in your Chemistry class today, so I can talk to you then."
The teenager nodded once, pushing the woman's words to the back of her mind as she rushed off, still looking for her best friend.
* * *
Morgan was no where to be found and by the time fourth period rolled around, Altessa still hadn't located her friend. She sat in her Chemistry classroom, tapping the tip of her pen against the surface of the black desk before her, eyes downcast. An hour before, she had called Kimberly, relieved to see that both she and Thomas were all right. Kimberly was just as relieved to hear from the teenager; she had yet to see any Signs and Altessa answered the same, forgetting about the paper in the kitchen. The conversation was short but important and the teenager felt like one part of her burden had been removed. Kimberly was still alive, there was still a chance to beat this thing.
Altessa looked up when her teacher entered the classroom, trailing Kristen McAnderson behind him. She couldn't help but observe that her old teacher wasn't meeting her gaze, as though she was trying to pretend like she wasn't there at all. "Class, for today's lab I've asked Miss McAnderson to come help set up; she's much better at preparing for these things to me." Altessa wasn't paying attention to what her current teacher had to say, watching the actions of the Physical Science teacher.
Kristen was setting up around the gas burner, securing a metal tube to the tip of the gasoline jet. Altessa watched with stunned fascination, unable to tear her eyes away even though there was nothing practically remarkable about the woman's actions.
The teenager, however, was the only person in the room that noticed that the tip of the tube came unfastened when Kristen bumped against the table, turning to face the teacher beside her. Gasoline slipped silently into the room, bringing back a horrid case of deja-vu for Altessa, who was beginning to see a sort of pattern, but she still couldn't connect the dots.
Kristen turned back around to regard the class, frowning when she noticed that the tube was no longer fastened. "Hold on, just one moment," She mumbled, picking up the metal hose onto the gasoline burner. "Now that everything is set up we can begin to experiment. First, you light the burner..." She pulled a book of matches out of her pocket and prepared to strike one.
All too late, Altessa realized what all the Signs had been pointing to: her Chemistry homework catching on fire, all her mother's candles, the metal tube coming undone. "No! Wait!" She cried out, jumping to her feet, knocking against the table before her.
The second Altessa leapt to her feet, Kristen struck the match against the book, lighting it instantly. Just as quickly, the gasoline around the woman caught fire, created a mini-explosion, driving Altessa backward, as well as though closest to the teacher. For a moment, the teenager felt like she had stepped back two days, and was witnessing the explosion that had killed her father and brother.
But she wasn't in the lawn in front of where the old Victorian house had once stood. She lifted her head, her face tingling due to exposure to intense flames; her hair was a little charred as well, but aside from that, she was all right. Everyone else appeared okay as well, despite the fact that they should have been seriously hurt in such a contained explosion.
Altessa jumped to her feet, brow knitted with concern for her old teacher. The concern quickly turned into grotesque fascination as she saw Kristen McAnderson's body parts strewn about the front of the classroom, some limbs lying in puddles of charred blood. The teenager's eyes widened when she saw the woman's head lying off to the right, still more or less attached to a charred torso, eyes staring blankly ahead, a few blackened locks still protruding from the brunt skull.
Choking back a gag, Altessa snatched up her backpack and rushed from the science room, heading down the hallway.
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Here's a completely pointless note for you readers: there's another chapter after this one, that's right, two chapters come update time. Wow...I bet you're impressed now. For all those Kimberly-lovers out there, sorry she wasn't in this chapter like at all but from now on she will be. One last note before you continue: the part with the candles blowing out by themselves, that's a death omen. It's that interesting....
Okay, now the moment we've all been waiting for: the first (well, second really) Death. Yay! Okay anyway...thanks for all the reviews, I'm glad everyone likes my idea of not having an order. Here's another chapter, please review!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Fourteen
Chemistry Lesson
Altessa had waited for the little black phone to ring but it had remained silent; all of the previous night the phone was silent and that was true even now, as she pocketed it, heading downstairs with her school books in hand. She figured she should be relieved that the phone hadn't rang but she didn't like not being in touch with Kimberly. What if something had happened to her? Or Thomas?
As the teenager entered the kitchen she made up her mind to call Kimberly around second period if she hadn't heard from the brunette. Altessa stepped over to the kitchen table and set her books and notebooks down upon the surface, looking around the area. Her mother was moving about the kitchen silently, lighting candles; it was something Amanda did whenever she wanted to remember someone. Two years ago when the family dog had died, the house had been filled with candles. And last year, Altessa remembered seeing the flickering lights.
Now was no exception; the kitchen was filled with candles, set on every available surface, flickering in remembrance of the deceased Adams men. The candles made Altessa nervous and she realized how much could happen if one of the candles tipped over. She opened her mouth to tell this worry to her mother but realized that Amanda wouldn't listen anyway and might take her words of warning the wrong way.
A breeze flittered through the kitchen, causing the candle flames to waiver; Altessa watched them out of the corner of her eye, warily, turning around to face her mother. Her hip jostled the table and knocked the top notebook off the stack; it toppled onto the floor and scattered the loose papers she had inside. Altessa bent down to gather up her homework papers, stuffing them into the notebook. She fingers brushed against her chemistry homework, which was swept away by the breeze, suddenly more powerful, before she could grab it.
Altessa watched as the paper was pushed upward, stopping only when it made contact with her mother's pillar candle, causing the sheet to catch fire. The paper was nothing but ashes in a few seconds, burning faster then Altessa would have guessed; the ashes scattered on the counter.
Amanda turned around to face her daughter, not having seen the damage caused by her candles. "Are you going to school today?" She questioned, looking as though she didn't care one way or another if she daughter ran away from home.
Altessa nodded once, narrowing her eyes at the ashes on the counter, trying to decide if the homework catching on fire was a sign. If it was, she couldn't figure out what it meant; it had been her Chemistry homework, which was a branch off the science subject, which Kristen McAnderson had taught her a year ago. Kristen was on the Design, perhaps the "Sign" had something to do with her. But she wasn't sure how Chemistry would figure in; when she had had Kristen, she'd taught Physical Science, not Chemistry.
There was silence in the kitchen and Altessa debated calling Kimberly and explaining the recent events, but she wasn't exactly sure what that was going to prove. It couldn't have been a Sign; her homework had simply caught on fire because of bad luck, that stuff did happen. Altessa gathered up her books again and headed out of the kitchen, casting a last fleeting glance at her mother. "Bye Mom." She mumbled, hoping for some spark of motherly instinct to appear.
Amanda said nothing, simply returned to lighting the few remaining candles set around the sink. Altessa shook her head, sighing deeply. "Mom, put out those candles, they're dangerous." She said, louder this time, before she disappeared out the back door, shutting it behind her.
Amanda looked over in the direction her daughter had vanished, pursing her lips. As she prepared to turn away again, the ten candles she had set around the kitchen table suddenly winked out, as though blown by an invisible breath. The woman frowned, brow knitting, trying to sort the whole incident out.
She set down her lighter and headed out of the kitchen, leaving the remaining candles burning.
* * *
Altessa met Shane in their usual morning spot and she realized that she had never been so happy to see him. She saw that Morgan wasn't there and prayed that her friend was simply pissed at her and wasn't dead. "Have you seen Morgan today?" She asked her boyfriend, after breaking a tight embrace.
Shane nodded once, looking his girlfriend up and down; he couldn't decide if she was simply trying to move past the accident over the weekend but he knew that if his father and brother had died, he wouldn't have come to school. "Yeah, she seemed pretty upset though. What's going on?" He questioned, sensing something between his girlfriend and her best friend. Shane had known Morgan for a while, a lot longer then he had known Altessa, and she had always been easier to read.
Altessa debated telling Shane about the Design, wondering if he would believe her when her own best friend hadn't. "Shane, I'll explain it all to you later but be extremely careful...you'll understand later but just watch out. I have to find Morgan." She said instead, knowing that she didn't have time to explain everything to Shane.
Her boyfriend nodded once, looking confused but he let her go without a word, watching the raven-haired girl disappear down the hallway. Altessa was weird, that was for sure, but he was beginning to become used to it.
Altessa was so intent on finding Morgan that didn't notice someone standing directly in front of her until she ran into them, knocking them both off balance. Altessa steadied herself, blinking her eyes in an attempt to focus and saw that she had bumped in Kristen McAnderson, who looked equally surprised.
A look of concern immediately crossed upon the teacher's face as she regarded her one time student. "Altessa, I didn't expect to see you here. How are you...after the accident.." She trailed off, looking uncomfortably, clearly wishing she hadn't spoken.
Altessa sighed, frowning slightly and looking down at the floor; she had expected false sympathy from people but that didn't mean that she wanted or appreciated it. "I'm fine." She mumbled, forgetting all about warning her old teacher about the Signs and the Design. All she wanted that moment was to get away, go anywhere, off by herself; she had known that coming to school was a bad idea.
Kristen nodded, trying to look understanding. "Well, anytime you want to talk, you know where to find me." She offered, though it appeared like she didn't ever want to go through with her words. "Altessa, I think I'll be co-teaching in your Chemistry class today, so I can talk to you then."
The teenager nodded once, pushing the woman's words to the back of her mind as she rushed off, still looking for her best friend.
* * *
Morgan was no where to be found and by the time fourth period rolled around, Altessa still hadn't located her friend. She sat in her Chemistry classroom, tapping the tip of her pen against the surface of the black desk before her, eyes downcast. An hour before, she had called Kimberly, relieved to see that both she and Thomas were all right. Kimberly was just as relieved to hear from the teenager; she had yet to see any Signs and Altessa answered the same, forgetting about the paper in the kitchen. The conversation was short but important and the teenager felt like one part of her burden had been removed. Kimberly was still alive, there was still a chance to beat this thing.
Altessa looked up when her teacher entered the classroom, trailing Kristen McAnderson behind him. She couldn't help but observe that her old teacher wasn't meeting her gaze, as though she was trying to pretend like she wasn't there at all. "Class, for today's lab I've asked Miss McAnderson to come help set up; she's much better at preparing for these things to me." Altessa wasn't paying attention to what her current teacher had to say, watching the actions of the Physical Science teacher.
Kristen was setting up around the gas burner, securing a metal tube to the tip of the gasoline jet. Altessa watched with stunned fascination, unable to tear her eyes away even though there was nothing practically remarkable about the woman's actions.
The teenager, however, was the only person in the room that noticed that the tip of the tube came unfastened when Kristen bumped against the table, turning to face the teacher beside her. Gasoline slipped silently into the room, bringing back a horrid case of deja-vu for Altessa, who was beginning to see a sort of pattern, but she still couldn't connect the dots.
Kristen turned back around to regard the class, frowning when she noticed that the tube was no longer fastened. "Hold on, just one moment," She mumbled, picking up the metal hose onto the gasoline burner. "Now that everything is set up we can begin to experiment. First, you light the burner..." She pulled a book of matches out of her pocket and prepared to strike one.
All too late, Altessa realized what all the Signs had been pointing to: her Chemistry homework catching on fire, all her mother's candles, the metal tube coming undone. "No! Wait!" She cried out, jumping to her feet, knocking against the table before her.
The second Altessa leapt to her feet, Kristen struck the match against the book, lighting it instantly. Just as quickly, the gasoline around the woman caught fire, created a mini-explosion, driving Altessa backward, as well as though closest to the teacher. For a moment, the teenager felt like she had stepped back two days, and was witnessing the explosion that had killed her father and brother.
But she wasn't in the lawn in front of where the old Victorian house had once stood. She lifted her head, her face tingling due to exposure to intense flames; her hair was a little charred as well, but aside from that, she was all right. Everyone else appeared okay as well, despite the fact that they should have been seriously hurt in such a contained explosion.
Altessa jumped to her feet, brow knitted with concern for her old teacher. The concern quickly turned into grotesque fascination as she saw Kristen McAnderson's body parts strewn about the front of the classroom, some limbs lying in puddles of charred blood. The teenager's eyes widened when she saw the woman's head lying off to the right, still more or less attached to a charred torso, eyes staring blankly ahead, a few blackened locks still protruding from the brunt skull.
Choking back a gag, Altessa snatched up her backpack and rushed from the science room, heading down the hallway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's a completely pointless note for you readers: there's another chapter after this one, that's right, two chapters come update time. Wow...I bet you're impressed now. For all those Kimberly-lovers out there, sorry she wasn't in this chapter like at all but from now on she will be. One last note before you continue: the part with the candles blowing out by themselves, that's a death omen. It's that interesting....