CHAPTER 22

"Don't leave," He said quietly.

Don't leave? Where the hell did he get that idea? Oh god, could he read my mind! Ok, this was a little freaky, and yes! I was having ideas of leaving. But how could he know that?

"She shows the way," He whispered. "She shows the way."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"She shows the way, do not lose her."

Ok, it made a little more sense, but not much really. Who was "She" and who was he talking to?

"She shows the way...The way is dark, and foreboding, so take the quickest route, but the safest."

My arm pulsed in pain, as my side began to sting. The rhythm felt horrible, as I heard pounding footsteps come up the stairs.

Someone was coming.

The person still stared at me, as I stared at him. I looked at Casey for just a second, trying to keep my eyes on the guy as much as I could. Casey, too, stared at the guy. But he looked like he was about to faint.

Who was this guy?

"Todd…" Casey breathed, disbelievingly.

Well, there's your answer, Suze.

"Someone's coming," I whispered.

I had screamed pretty loud. I mean, you probably could have heard me half a block away. That's how loud I was.

Usually screams are good if you're in trouble. It can notify help; someone to come to your rescue. But in this situation…it only served as even more trouble. Casey's parents didn't know I was here. And even worse, I'm the only one they would be able to see when they came upstairs!

"Casey," I pleaded. "We need to go. Someone's coming."

He didn't look at me. It's like he was mesmerized by his brothers presence. He didn't even move an inch. He just kept staring. Kept clenching, and unclenching his fists at his sides.

"Casey! Please! We have to go!" I ran up and grabbed his hand, trying to pull him away from the spot he seemed glued to. But he didn't budge. Maybe he was glued to the floor-it sure as hell seemed that way.

Seconds passed, as they just stared at each other, like they were sending a message through their eyes and expression. It was creepy-I actually shivered.

Tugging at Casey arm once more, I shouted, "Come on!"

But it was too late. We had run out of time.

The door creaked open.

The sound of running footsteps coming to a halt.

I waited for the gasps, maybe a scream, and questions, etc. But nothing else came. So, curiously, I turned around.

And it was I, who gasped.

What? Did you think I would scream? Oh, come on!

"Paul, what are you doing here?" I screeched. "Casey's parents are downstairs!"

Out of breathe, he noted, "Nope. They were just leaving as we walked around the corner, thank God." He seemed frustrated, amused, and angry all at the same time. I couldn't pick which emotion he was in when he said, "If they had been here when you screamed like that, the police would have been here faster than you can say Rico's whole name."

Jesse Hector De Silva.

I smiled in note of what I had just thought. And then...

Susannah Hector De Silva.

I smiled at that thought as well, and mentally laughed at Paul, and regretted it just as soon as I had.

Yeah, remember the whole mind reading thing? Yeah, big BAD for Suze at that point!

Suze, even after everything, you still don't learn, do you?

Paul, shut up!

Well, I'm sorry if I'm not putting my name to the cowboys, over there.

I could just picture him putting his hands together, gushing, and lifting up his foot in the air, as he said, Paul Hector De Silva.

And then he stuck out his tongue. He actually stuck out his tongue! Not like in my mind or anything, like a mental picture. No, he stuck out his tongue. So, acting like I didn't know what the hell he was doing, I acted like the good little six year old I sometimes find myself reverting to, and stuck mine back out at him.

Oh, Suze...

Oh God, what?

Your tongue...It's so cute and pink...so sexy and inviting...Do it again for the audience...please...

In your dreams, Paul.

And I tried to keep his voice out of my head. Especially any thoughts about him. Those were what got me into trouble with him. Then he would start the-

Suze, imagine this...

I'm not even going to say WHERE he MENTALLY touched me! It's just not...pretty for the minds of small children. Oh, get a grip Suze!

Well, to keep it short, and appropriate, I let a small moan escape my throat, as my eyes closed on their own. I hadn't intended for it to sound more than a small noise, but look how good I am at doing that? Huh?

"Susannah, are you alright?" Jesse asked, coming to my side in concern. Gently, and appropriately, wrapping his arms around my waist, he helped me over to the bed.

"No, we can't stay here," Paul began. "It's not safe."

His gaze, I could see, floated over to Casey. He blinked out of confusion at Casey's strange trance, and then transferred over to Todd, who was still standing by the window, and still staring at Casey.

I could see visibly, and I could feel it too, that Paul was gritting his teeth. For what reason, I had no clue. But I wasn't going to be the one to ask such a question in, obviously, the wrong situation. Well, I wanted to, but...I just wasn't going to!

Jesse, still holding onto me as if I were made of glass and could shatter at any second, moved to pick me up. Well, I can say, I had no problem with that. I was so tired, I couldn't even tell if I was standing or not, anymore.

Paul, holding up his hand for Jesse to stop, kept his eyes on Todd, suspiciously. I hadn't even noticed it, but the furniture in the room was shaking. The bed was slowly raising from the floor a couple centimeters at a time. Ok, I'll be honest and say, that freaked me out. Casey's fists were balled so tight, they were shaking and were the purest color of white, I swear.

Shivering, I backed up closer to Jesse, holding out my good hand for him to squeeze reassuringly. Almost instinctively, he found my hand, and did just what I had wanted.

No one moved after that. Casey and Todd were still all about their staring, and making things float using their ghostly powers.

Paul's hand was still raised, as if frozen in time, his eyes still upon the brothers, and Jesse and I were still holding onto each other. Jesse, too, for some reason seemed as if he was frozen in time.

I blinked, feeling a cool breeze upon my face. It sent another chill down my spine, but I couldn't concentrate on that now. But it just felt so good...It was as if the cool air was calling to me; lulling me out of the situation I currently found myself in, and pulled me to...whatever it was.

And actually, I did find myself being pulled towards the window, by some unseen force. It was strange. No hands were on my shoulders, tugging me along, like it felt. I could feel the fingers digging into my collar bone, so as to pull me along, but I could not see them.

Paul...?

No response.

I tried again, and got no response in return either. It was weird. I couldn't even see into his mind anymore. Before, I had been able to feel his intake and exhale of breathe. Feel his heartbeat quicken with each coming second of uncertainty. Feel his eyes moving in their sockets, fixating on one thing, then another.

And now, nothing.

It was...weird.

And scary.

And that's when it came to me. The shaking. The lump in my throat that I couldn't get rid of, no matter how many times I swallowed dry spit, feeling it slide down my throat like more bricks, blocking my only way of air. My face was wet with fresh tears.

Tears of fear.

I was scared. Scared half to death, although that is how I really felt at that moment. It was...weird, for lack of better words. I had no other way of saying it, but that. Well, there may have been others, but I couldn't think of them now. I couldn't think of much, actually. I couldn't even see the welcoming and warning glow of the window over Todd's muscular shoulder, as I was drawn closer and closer to its mystery. It fascinated as well as terrified me.

Trying Paul one more time mentally, I got nothing once again. I hadn't been expecting anything, but I was still hoping.

Hope. Something I was seriously losing ever since this had started happening. Sure, a werewolf that I only thought existed in horror movies and books, comes, knocks me around a bit, lays me in the hospital, and drives me away from the same place. That I was ok with.

But chasing me and those I cared about-ok, maybe Paul doesn't count. But this new Paul was certainly growing on me!-around, herding us as if we were cattle, and then attacking, was just too much. We were hiding, risking our lives every second we were in the same place, risking it just as much as we moved to a new location where anything and anyone could see. And could we tell anyone?

No.

Just like mediating. Or, in my case, Shifting. We couldn't spill our secret. For one main reason really. A reason that both irked me, and sent back bad memories. We would be put down as, insane. Quite literally, no questions asked. Well, maybe not Father Dom. He was a priest after all. A highly respected priest, who had done nothing wrong in the past. But hey, maybe they would leave him alone if word got out of his "gift". Who knew.

But werewolves? Who the hell would believe that? Oh, maybe one of the comic book nerds, who just love this kind of stuff, and fantasize of it all being real.

Ok, enough of that.

Since mentally hadn't worked in trying to get in contact with Paul, I tried orally.

Ok, eww. That did not sound right. But if you thought the other meaning, you are sick, sick little children!

"P..a...u...l..." Each letter came out as if dragged from my lips one by one. It was as if I were in slow motion, and everything came out...well, slow. I tried turning my head to look at Paul. It was painful, and so freaking slow, but I finally managed to get a look at him.

His eyes. They were the first thing I noticed. So blue, so icy blue. Yet, so beautiful. They looked pained. I didn't have to look at the rest of his face to know. He was fighting it. Fighting whatever it was that had a hold of him.

I looked to Jesse and saw the same thing.

But it wasn't the same.

Jesse had anger and frustration in his eyes, like he couldn't wait to destroy whatever it was that had him trapped there. Like he wanted so badly to just let loose and fight to the death. Only, death had already plagued him, so that part was out.

And Paul...his eyes were filled with so many things. Anger was the smallest, floating about those bright blues. I could see it, and in some way, I could feel it. Deep down.

He was scared. Scared not for himself, but for me. Scared that something bad would happen. Scared that I would be hurt worse than I was, or worse, killed. And the last, most selfish one I could think of: scared he would never see me again.

This touched me, and I almost thought I would cry. But I took a deep breath, as much as I could in the strained state I was in, and fished through the rest of what he was sending the onlooker.

Concern. This I was not expecting. Well, I wasn't expecting fear for my well being, and life AT ALL, so I guess I should have seen this coming WAY before that.

Love. Something I had earlier mistaken for lust, or just amusement. But it was true, I felt it in my heart, and I could see it, plain as day, on his beautiful, frozen face. He really did love me, for whatever reason, I couldn't for the life of me, muster it. But it warmed me. And replaced my fear with that warmth.

I closed my eyes, breathing out what little air I had left. I prayed to God, although he had never seemed to be there when I needed him most. It seemed as if he didn't care about me. And that is why I never prayed. That is why I never believed, because of so many things that had gone so wrong in my life-I blamed him from the bottom of my heart.

God...I know I've cursed you, and everything you're about. I know I've neglected you on so many occasions, and tried not to thank you for those good little things that counted so much. I've never been one to believe in anything I couldn't see, especially something that I had so wanted, for so long, to believe in when it had counted so much to me. And here I am, being pulled to my doom, death, destruction, whatever you want to call it.

I'm not exactly asking for you to beam down an angel to come rescue me from this obvious fate you have given me. But I just wanted you to know, before the end, that I always had faith. I just never realized it, until now. A little late, huh? Yeah...

Oh...a request, or two, if in your heart, if you have one, you can find a little bit of sympathy and remorse. Please, if I don't come back, if I do die, and my soul moves on without anything holding it back, could you please tell Jesse that he can move on? Tell him that I'm safe, and hopefully happy? I don't want him to have to live a life of immortality on earth, when he's really supposed to be up in heaven with you. Because that's what he really deserves. To be in heaven...

And Paul...watch over him. Make sure he lives his life to the fullest, and gets what he wants. Well, maybe not everything, but you know what I mean.

Ame-

oh and one last thing! If it's no trouble, but of course it would be, since this is me, Susuannah Simon we're talking about. But, anyways, could you please watch over my mom, Andy, Dopey, Sleepy and Doc? I really do love them, even though we aren't blood related.

Ok...Amen.

And with that last word, I was pulled off into the brightest light I had ever seen, one that blinded as well as intranced me.

And then I was pulled under a suffocating blanket...of darkness.

P&P: wow, I was about to cry! Holy cow! Ok, well, I hope you like this chapter. I really like how it turned out. Well, matched with my last chapter, I would definitely say this won first place! woohoo! Well, please review! I really would appreciate it! I need to know if I should continue this fic or not...:(