OMG! Somebody shoot me! I can't believe I forgot again! I won't forget this time! At the end of this chapter, I will tell you what chapter six will be called. (As you probably know by now, this is chapter five)

Flying Star: Looks like you must be psychic! But can you predict the end? No, I don't think so; it's a long way away. My situation seems a bit similar to theirs right now; I have to sort through this mess one tower at a time...

IndustrialFear: lol. An apostrophe?! Heaven forbid! Glad it made you grin.

MizZ hypocrite 101: Thanks. ASAP is here.

Ch. 5 Maybe I'll Never Hear It

Sam was freezing cold. There were only so many hours you could sit outside at night. She wasn't even wearing a sweatshirt! Luckily, it was approaching midnight, which meant they would be coming soon. Once they started arriving, she would slip inside. Of course, then she would wish she were back outside. Maybe the noise didn't matter anymore.

'Maybe they're not coming,' Sam thought. She would have to spend the night outside, but that was a small price to pay. Could this have been a time-of-the-year thing? 'Maybe I'll never hear it again.' As if to prove her wrong, a beat-up car pulled up in front of her house. This would be the beginning.

About eight teenagers got out. A few had been in the trunk. They all began to climb the steps. A guy she vaguely recognized came up to Sam, and ruffled her hair.

"Hey Sammy. You want a beer, Baby?" He took a dark bottle from within one of his enormous coat pockets, and held it out towards her. Sam glared moodily, and took it.

A lady had rapped on the front door. About thirty-four seconds later, a nineteen-year-old boy with dark hair opened it. "Do come in. How many are we expecting tonight?"

Sam dove for the open doorway, but felt something catch her chest. She glared into her brother's eyes.

"Let go!"

"Sorry, Hon. Only people I know are allowed at this party." He pushed her back outside. Sam shivered as her brother held the door open for the other eight people. More cars were arriving now. The guy who had given Sam the beer looked a bit sorry for her, and handed her his coat when Harvey wasn't looking. Sam just had time to mouth 'thank you' before the door slammed.

Feeling depressed, but a lot warmer, Sam watched as strangers filed into her house. Then the music started. Why couldn't someone just call the cops? The base made the porch rattle, and Sam thought her eardrums would rupture. Not having a bottle opener, Sam smashed the neck of the bottle on the top step. Beer splashed onto her hands. She began to drink, hoping to settle her stomach. She tore her lips up pretty bad on the broken glass, but couldn't bring herself to care.

"What a life." Sam said to herself. She could feel bulges in the pockets of the coat she was wearing, but thought it best not to look. She leaned against the wall. "What a fucked up life."

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A swarm of hornets had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Yumi had not yet recovered from shock, and was panting heavily. Both her and Aelita were squished back between the rocks while Ulrich attempted to battle the monstrous insects. The problem was that the hornets could fly, and Ulrich did not have a weapon that enabled him to hit an air-born target. It seemed impossible. All he could really do was block the lasers the hornets fired at him and the girls.

"Okay. Time for a new plan." Ulrich said.

"What?" Aelita asked hopelessly.

"We'll make a run for it."

"To risky!" Jeremie joined the conversation. "There's two of them and only one of you, Ulrich."

"Triplicate!" Ulrich screamed. Two clones were at his side immediately. "Aelita, do you see those rocks over there?" Aelita nodded. "That's where we're going. It'll be a safer path to the tower from there. Right, Jeremie?"

"Correct."

"Good." Ulrich said. "I'm going to take Aelita first, because she can create a stronger barrier if necessary. You stay with Yumi." He ordered one of the clones. It nodded obediently, and placed itself directly in front of the opening to the crevasse Yumi was hiding in. "Okay Aelita. Let's go." With the second clone blocking shots for them, they made a run for it. Two of the monsters broke away and followed them, while the other three continued to fire at Yumi.

"Will she be okay?" Aelita yelled.

"Not if we don't hurry. My little friend back there has only got ten lifepoints."

The two hornets began to shoot sizzling green acid down at them, and the clone got caught in the stream. He was deleted instantly.

They could hear Jeremie saying, "Oh God, Oh God, Oh God," which wasn't very reassuring.

A drop of acid about the size of a lime landed directly on her hand. The codes flickered, but held.

"Aelita just lost ten." Jeremie informed them.

Ulrich could see more acid beginning to rain down on them. They weren't far now. He shoved Aelita as hard as he could, sending her flying behind the rocks. She immediately created a barrier for herself. Ulrich turned around to go back for Yumi, knowing the clone couldn't hold out forever. Sure enough, it was hit right between the eyes, and then it was gone. Ulrich wasn't close enough yet. He could only watch as a hornet approached, and fired directly into the crevasse. He heard a squeal of pain.

"Yumi!" He screamed and threw himself at the hornet. But it just flew higher, leaving him to fall to the ground. He didn't, though. He landed on his feet, and ran to Yumi's side. He could se where the bug had hit her. It wasn't bleeding like her hand, but it hand singed a hole in the shoulder of her shirt. "Are you okay?" he was so worried. Worried about everything and everyone. Yumi didn't say anything. She didn't move; her entire weight was on the rock behind her. Ulrich was paralyzed with fear. Oh God. Ulrich's mind was racing. Please no. Don't do this to me, you can't-

Yumi very slowly nodded her head. And he wanted to throw himself on her. To squeeze her and kiss her, but there wasn't any time.

"Come on." He grabbed her hand and pulled her out into the open. "Jeremie, is Aelita okay?"

"Yes actually, she's great. All the hornets are on you guys now."

At first, Ulrich thought he was being sarcastic, but he was right. All five monsters had gathered around Yumi and Ulrich in a circle. It was if they were exchanging signals. At the exact same time, they all began to spew acid, not directly on Yumi and Ulrich, but around them. They were trapped.

Yumi looked at Ulrich with wide eyes. She had, for the second time that day, given up. It was all up to him now. Ulrich wondered if this was what Jeremie always felt like. "Jeremie, can Aelita help?"

"No. She's already worked herself down on that barrier. If she tried anymore, she'd run out of energy. It takes fifty lifepoints each time, remember?"

Okay, then. That left Ulrich with one completely insane idea.

"Sorry, Yumi. Here's what we need to do." He grabbed her wrists and pulled her arms down over is shoulders. Then he linked his arms around her thighs, hoisting her onto his back. "Hold on. One...Two.... Three!"

Yumi didn't say anything, but she held on. Not just with her arms, but with her legs, and she even hooked her chin on his shoulder. Ulrich took off running like a racing horse, but with only two legs, and a lot less hair. He ran right through the acid. Yumi could feel tiny drops splashing and burning her legs, but not enough to do any real damage. Ulrich, on the other hand, could feel it pulling at his legs, trying to rip the virtual particles apart. It wasn't exactly painful, but certainly unpleasant.

"Ulrich, you're losing them fast. Down to eighty... seventy... sixty... fifty.... forty.... thirty.... and you're good!"

Ulrich didn't put Yumi down, and he didn't stop running. Though they were now acid-free, the hornets were still behind them firing occasionally. Finally, they reached the rocks.

"Back here!" Aelita's face appeared from behind a large rock. Ulrich hurried behind it with Yumi. Aelita had managed to create a sort of cave, complete with a small, well-hidden back exit.

"Well done, Aelita." Ulrich complimented.

"Thanks. Is she okay?"

Ulrich set Yumi down gently, but her legs didn't support her at all. She lay up against a rock wall with her eyes shut, and her teeth clenched tight. Ulrich plopped down next to her, and touched her hair. She didn't respond.

"You're going to be okay," he whispered. She said nothing. He took her hand and squeezed it hopefully (not the one with a hole in it- the other one). Yumi leaned her head on his shoulder, but did not open her eyes.

Not knowing what to do or say, Aelita sat down across from them, and kept quiet.

"You guys need to keep moving. The hornets are looking for you." Jeremie said softly.

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Sam had actually managed to get in. Once things had really started to get wild, people just opened the door and walked in. The door was unlocked, and no one was guarding the entrance. She had followed some kids inside, trying to ignore the deafening music.

Seeing no sign of Harvey, Sam decided to take her chances in the kitchen. The house was so crowded, and everyone was either drunk or stoned or both, so no one took notice of her. She hadn't eaten all day. She didn't really think there would be any food around, but it was worth a try. She shoved her way up to the fridge and opened it. She had a slight headache, and the cold air felt good. There was nothing in there but alcohol, though. Sam just left her head in there for a minute. It almost muted out the sound. Would drinking another beer make her less hungry? Sam didn't know. She was spared the task of deciding, because she felt someone tap her shoulder.

"Thought I told you you weren't welcome at this party." His eyes were unfocused, and his hair messed up. Sam hated her brother. She couldn't think of anything she hated more. She grabbed another beer, and shut the fridge.

"Samantha." He cupped her chin in his hand. She pulled away.

"Leave me alone."

"Heard you were expelled."

"Shut the hell up."

He took a step towards her. Sam tightened her grip on the neck of the bottle. "Don't." She said.

"You will do what I say." He moved at her quickly. Sam raised the bottle, but he had it from her in a second. In one smooth motion he smashed the bottom on the counter and threw the bottle at her.

Broken glass and amber liquid flew everywhere. The biggest piece of glass flew right at Sam's face. She had just enough time to move her head three inches to the left, but it grazed the right side of her face anyway, cutting a long gash across her cheekbone. The bottle continued to fly across the room, smashing into the stereo. Then there was silence. Not the peaceful kind, but the ringing, harsh kind. Everyone was staring at them. Sam could feel eyes on her from all sides, as well as a slight stinging on her cheek.

For a long time, everyone just stood there. Then a few people started fiddling around with the stereo, trying to get it to work again. Slowly, Sam started to walk away. Harvey made no move to follow her, so she sped up. On her way out, she passed the guy who had given her his coat. She took it off and handed it to him.

"Thanks."

He stared at her open mouthed, just like everyone else was doing. Then the music came back on, and she ran from the room.

Sam headed up the stairs to her bedroom. She shoved the door open, and was about to collapse onto her bed, when she realized there were already at least four people in there doing who-knows-what. (I know what)

Angrily, she left her own room, slamming the door. There was one place she could go. Sam headed towards the room at the end of the hall. The door was nailed shut, but Sam kicked it open. Her parent's room. It was empty of people, but it had a bed. Sam eagerly climbed under the dusty covers and fell asleep.

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That took me FOREVER! It's 12:30! Oh well, I don't have school tomorrow; I can sleep as late as I want.

Next chapter: C'mon, I'll Take You Out