Chapter 4

Rayne cautiously pushed open the door to her house, and looked around. No sign of Billie…yet. She prayed Billie was gone. Zeke quietly closed the door behind him, and followed her upstairs, into her room, where she packed up her things, saved everything on her computer to a couple disks, and helped Zeke carry it back down to the car. On the way down, he peeked into Billie's room to see her sleeping. Zeke rushed her outside.

"Why'd you push me?" she asked.

"Billie was asleep inside." Rayne nodded, started the car, and took off.

"So, where are you staying?" he asked. She shrugged.

"I don't know. I was planning on going to a hotel tonight, and searching for someone who needs a roommate in the morning," she said. Zeke shook his head.

"Why don't you just stay with me? Don wouldn't mind. I mean, he thinks your pretty cool for a chick." Rayne smiled.

"You did not just call me a chick…"

"No, he calls you a chick…"

"So, you don't mind?"

"Nah."

Rayne lay on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. She had a bad feeling about going to classes the next day. Shrugging it away, she closed her eyes, rolled onto her side, and fell asleep. Zeke, who slept on the other side of the room, looked over at her through two tired eyes, but fell asleep without thinking twice.

Rayne had gotten to class with Zeke that morning, so she sat by him, with Stokes on her other side. Stan showed up a little late, and took the seat beside her. Rayne hadn't slept well the night before, so she had her head propped up with her right hand, occasionally catching herself before she fell asleep. At some point, she fell asleep, and didn't seem to realize it. Everything was still the same. She was still sitting in class, propping up her head, between Stokes and Zeke, with Stan beside Stokes. The teacher was talking, and she had a pen in her hand. But something wasn't right. She felt someone looking at her, and turned her head slightly to the side. Billie sat two rows in front, across the aisle.

Wait.

Billie wasn't in her English Lit class…in fact, Billie wasn't in any English Lit class. A chill went up her spine as she realized Billie was staring at her. And, as she moved her head to look around, she noticed everyone was staring at her, except for Zeke, Stan, Stokes, Davy, and Scott…everyone else stared at her…right down into her soul. Then they began to get up. As they stood up, they began to move towards her, circling her, encompassing her….it became hard to breath….And she sat up.

Rayne looked around the room, but no one was looking at her except Zeke. Everyone was paying attention to the teacher…and Billie was no longer in there. Zeke touched her arm.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She was breathing heavily, trying to remember…trying to think. The bell rang, and class was dismissed, so she quickly gathered her books and ran from the room, accidentally leaving her bag in her chair. Zeke picked it up and ran out after her.

"Rayne!" he called. She looked behind her and stopped to unlock her car door.

"You forgot this!" he said, walking up. Rayne looked at her bag, and nodded.

"Thanks, Zeke," she said, and tossed it into her backseat with her books. He grabbed her arm.

"What's going on? Why'd you almost freak out in class?" he asked.

"There is something wrong with these people, Zeke. I fell asleep, right? And it was exactly the same in my head. We were still in class…but Billie was there, across the aisle and two rows down. Staring at me. So was everyone else, except you, Stokes, Stan, Davy and Scott. Then they started to get up and circle around me….it was freaky…"

"That's why you jumped during class?"

"There was something different about the way they looked. They were all so pale, and wet, and….they reminded me of Mary Beth…" she said.

"What?" Zeke asked, stepping back. Rayne dropped to the ground.

"The way they looked…it reminded me of Mary Beth before she changed in the locker room…" Zeke shook his head.

"No…I'm not going to believe this…" Rayne suddenly jumped up.

"Maybe their back. Maybe her people are back, Zeke!"

"No! There is no way that that could happen…"

"Why not! What is so hard to believe about it? It's happened once, right? It could happen again!"

"But even so…that doesn't explain the thing with Billie and the fish!"

"Sure it does! The aliens love water! She doesn't live in it, so she cuts out the gills, and attaches them to herself! Don't you get it?" she asked. Then she froze. People walking by looked at her, confused, not sure they want to know.

"That's not possible, Rayne, okay?" She looked away from him.

"Fine. Don't believe me. But don't come to me when they come running after you," she said, got in her car, and left. He stood, unsure of what to do, behind her.

She pulled up at the lake, just to sit and stare at it. Being as smart as she was, though, she didn't shut off the car. Rayne locked the doors, and rolled up the windows, just incase. She dropped her head against the seat, to try and think, when there came a tapping at her window. Her head pulled off the seat, and looked out the window. It had begun to rain, and there stood Billie, pressed against the car window. She yelped.

"Rayne! Lemme in!" she called.

"No fucking way!" she called back. She looked around, and began to get a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Please?" Then she saw it. The lake began to ripple, and kids, students, people from her classes, began to emerge from the water. She almost forgot Billie was there.

"No way! You shoved me out a window!" Billie's face suddenly went from cold and sickly, to evil and pale.

"Let me in!" she screamed, slamming the palm of her hand against the window.

"Get the fuck away from me!" Rayne screamed back, slammed the car into Reverse, pulled back, went into Drive, and took off, leaving Billie and the ton of other students behind her.

She pulled up at the guys' dorms, and ran inside. Her sneakers splashed water onto the carpet as she ran down the hallway to Zeke's room. Her hair hung around her head, and she smacked her hands against the door. He pulled open the door.

"What?" he asked. She shoved inside and closed the door, locking it.

"Rayne, what the fuck are you doing?" he asked. She spun around and looked at him.

"I was right, Zeke…she is an alien, and so is half the student body…" She walked to the window, and peeked outside, then turned back around. He stood at the door, wearing a pair of baggy shorts and a wife-beater shirt, his hair matted to his forehead.

"Did I interrupt something?" she asked.

"No…I just got out of the shower…" She nodded.

"Oh…sorry…" She turned back around and looked out the window, at her car. Billie got to it first, with all the others coming up behind her, and began to rock it.

"No, no, not my car!" she cried. Zeke walked over and looked outside.

"What's going on?"

"She's tipping my car over!" Rayne exclaimed, pointing. Billie, plus a couple other students, flipped the car on the roof.

"Damnit! Now how am I gonna get back?"

"Back where?" he asked.

"The basement of the school. I got the key from the janitor this morning, and that's where I was staying after class."

"Why didn't you come back here?"

"You pissed me off…" Then she looked at him.

"Do you believe me now?" He nodded, and walked into the closet.

"What're you doing?" she asked.

"We are going to go check on Stokes, Casey, Stan, Davy, Scott, and Delilah…" He walked out in a T-shirt and tennis shoes, and pulled open the door.

"Come on." She walked out behind him, and they ran down the hall, knocking on Davy's door. No answer.

"They're probably out…Scott with some chick from last night, and Davy with…Billie. Let's get Stan…"

They continued down the hall, but Stan's roommate said he was with Stokes, and Casey's roommate said he was with Delilah. Rayne looked at him.

"Is there a back door to this place?" she asked.

"Come on," he said, continuing down the hall. He pushed open a door, and they stood out in the rain.

She looked around, and ran behind him towards the girls' dorms. They had just arrived in front, when lightning flashed, and she jumped, grabbing his arm. She saw something move in the trees. But it wasn't the first time she'd done that. More like the fifth. He was sick of it. Zeke spun around, and pushed her back.

"What! What is it?" She fell back a step, and looked at him.

"What?" she asked timidly. The rain continued to beat down on her face and shoulders.

"What do you want?" he asked, looking down at her. Her heart began to pick up, and beat faster as she thought.

"What do I want?" He nodded. "I want all of this alien shit to go away. I want everything to be back to normal. I want my Aunt to be alive! And most of all…" She stepped back once more. "I shoulda know better than to fall in love with you." He froze. That statement was unexpected. She spun around, her hair flipping around her shoulders, and she began to run. Rayne ran through the trees in the rain towards the school.

"Rayne!" he called. She didn't hear him: the lightning flashed and the thunder cracked. He shook his head, and ran into the girls' dorms.