I don't own a thing, Disney does. Oh, didn't even notice until I had posted it, but I just passed the 200,000-word mark last chapter! Now that is something I really didn't think would happen when I first started this little tale of mine!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Things Men Do – Chapter 6
April 12th
Dear Kim,
I think telling him you were going to be waking up really helped Ron! He seemed so much happier, at least for the most part. Even had us all over for dinner at his place to celebrate. I just worry about how long it will last. We still don't know when you'll wake up, but at least he has hope again.
Tara and Josh are still going strong. I think he likes the new Tara even more, now that she's more assertive. Of course, maybe it's becoming a bit… too much, if you get what I mean. When the two of them came out of the art room together, goofy grins on their faces… I thought better than to ask if he got any work done!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So... she was able to teleport or something?"
Bonnie groaned, and rubbed her eyes. Both her and Wade had tried to explain what had happened, but he still didn't seem to get it. "No Ron, she just made our minds think she was somewhere she wasn't."
Wade groaned as well as he caught Ron's expression. "Think of it this way." Wade typed a few keys on his keyboard, and stood up. Suddenly, an image of Wade appeared beside Ron, and he jumped. When Wade spoke next, it was like a stereo effect, hearing him from both the hologram and the computer monitor. "Now, you see me here right beside you, right?"
Ron nodded as he waved his hand through Wade's holographic form.
"So, what you are seeing is really just a collection of light distortion fields coalescing in front of you, which is interpreted in your mind as a visual image of me. If I shift the fields, it appears I am moving, or talking to you through the use of vibrational principles that…" Wade paused as Ron's eyes glazed over, and he sighed. "OK, so I'm not really here, am I? That's what she was doing, only instead of an external manipulation, she does it in the mind. You got that?"
Ron nodded slowly. "I think so. She makes you see her, even if she is somewhere else? But what about making everyone fall asleep?"
"That's simply a matter of tricking the brain into starting a REM cycle. I mean, I can do that with a combination of lights and sounds. It's not that tough."
"And what about causing people to kill themselves? I mean, that's not exactly a trick that would be easy to pull off!"
"I don't know about that one. I guess if she exerted some control over the person…"
"It was nothing like that." Both pairs of eyes turned to look over at Bonnie, as she clutched a textbook to her chest. "I don't think she exerted any control over them at all. I don't even think she can, or she would have used it on us. I think that she did target those who would be prone to suicide, or at least those that would suffer greatly from the loss. All she'd have to do is the same trick of the eye to convince them that they were seeing their loved one die, maybe repeatedly. I mean, if they were being subjected to something like that, over and over again…"
Bonnie allowed her end of the conversation to trail off, and neither responded as they shifted uncomfortably. "Anyways Wade, you have her picture. See if you can track her down somewhere. Ron, I might need your help with trying to vision find her. She's been blocking me somehow, but maybe using the crystal might help to focus it better."
Wade nodded, and set right to work. "You got it!"
When the screen went dark, Ron closed up his locker. "Do you want to get together tonight?"
Bonnie just shook her head. "No, we should get on this right now."
"What about cheerleading practice? I thought we had another day before she was supposed to strike again?"
Bonnie just frowned. "Do you really want to take that chance though? The faster we stop her, the happier I'll be! Besides, Tara can handle the practice just fine. She is the captain now!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Great job gang! We still need to work on the final formation a bit more, but I think we've got the competition in the bag next week!"
Tara gathered everything up as she watched the others head for the change room, humming quietly to herself. She gathered up the stereo, and a few stray belongings, and headed for the change room herself. When she entered the room, she noticed most of the squad had already been and left.
Marcella grabbed her bag from the bench, waiting patiently on Liz, who was still getting dressed. "So, do you really think we stand a chance at the competition without Kim or Bonnie?"
Tara just smiled, as she sat down herself. "We'll do fine. Besides, we might actually have Bonnie back for the meet if the doctor clears her this week. She told me the cast might be coming off on Friday. And believe me, if it does, there is no way she'll want to sit on the sidelines!"
Marcella just smiled, and sighed with relief when Liz grabbed her bag. "See ya tomorrow Tara!"
"Have a good night!"
Tara quickly shed her uniform, and stepped into the shower. The water felt good to her, as she allowed herself to soak under the water. She had never expected to become cheerleading captain, let alone in charge of anything. She had always deferred to someone else when it came to things like that. But when Bonnie had recommended her, since she wouldn't be able to take part herself, she had been surprised when the entire squad had supported the move. It was something the old Tara never would have been able to handle, but it was something she relished now.
Stepping out of the shower, she wrapped a towel around herself, and headed back to where her clothes lay.
"You get all squeaky clean just for our little play date? I'm touched!"
Tara spun quickly, driving her foot behind her to the source of the voice, and was only mildly surprised when her foot passed right through the woman. Tara took a moment to examine her opponent, like she had been taught by her martial arts instructor. She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, nothing like she had been when they had first met. Her light brown hair trailed down past her shoulders, her posture indicating more of a casual conversation rather than a fight. If Tara didn't know this woman was completely crazy and a killer, she wouldn't have given her a second look out on the street.
Tara tried striking again, her hand passing right through, and she followed up by sweeping her leg around her, trying to trip her up, wherever she was.
She just laughed. "Oh this is so going to be a hoot, but we really need to get you ready for the party!"
Tara felt her eyes trying to close, and she shook her head to clear it. "I know all about your little trick, and it won't work on me."
"Oh Hon, it's not supposed to stop you… just slow you down!"
Tara felt something heavy impact her head from behind, and she collapsed to the change room floor. Struggling to remain conscious, she tried to rise to her feet again.
"Oh, don't worry Hon, I'm not going to kill you just yet. Like I said, we're going to have a show! And you'll be one of the main attractions!"
Whatever had hit her before struck again, and Tara sank into the darkness.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brick sat on the couch, a bowl of popcorn in his lap, as he enjoyed the hockey game. It wasn't nearly as good as football, but sometimes the hits were just as nice, and it was the only thing on. He frowned briefly as he thought about his girlfriend Bonnie, and how worried she had seemed all day at school. This case was getting to her, and he wished there was some magic way he could make all her problems go away.
As he watched the Chicago goalie stop a couple of shots from in close, he heard a knock at the door. Reluctantly getting to his feet, he wondered just who it could be. Bonnie, or any of the others, would have called first. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see a woman in her twenties standing there. Her hair was brown, and flowed past her shoulders, and she was dressed causally.
"Hi, you must be Brick!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Have you got anything yet?"
Bonnie rolled her eyes beneath her closed eyelids. "No, I haven't got anything yet! I didn't have anything ten minutes ago, and I still don't have anything!"
Ron winced slightly. "Sorry."
Bonnie groaned, opening her eyes, and slowly rising to her feet, stretching as she did so. "No, I'm sorry Ron. It's just… this woman is really starting to get to me. I can't find her anywhere, and we've got nothing from Wade or the police, and it's starting to bug me!"
Ron nodded as he sat there. "Maybe you just need a break. Get some food into you and give it a try again in a few minutes."
Bonnie massaged her temple, but sat back down. "Let's give it one more try here, see if we can get anything. If we can't, then we'll take a break. Okay?"
Ron nodded, and held out the crystal to her. Bonnie placed her hands on it gently, and closed her eyes, trying hard to focus. Minutes passed, and Bonnie began to grow irritated again. "I don't think…"
Tara slumped to the floor, her eyes closed, as the brown haired woman stood over her, brandishing a metal badminton pole. When she looked up, she smiled…
Brick standing at the door to his house, the same brown haired woman at the door. Bonnie stood aghast as she watched Brick slump to the floor and was dragged from the house…
Bonnie's eyes flew open and she jumped to her feet. "She's got Tara, maybe Brick as well!"
Ron jumped to his feet. "What? When?"
Bonnie grabbed her coat and her keys quickly. "She got Tara after practice, so that already happened. I don't know about Brick though. We need to hurry!"
Ron grabbed his stuff as well, and he jumped quickly into her car. "Why do you think you got that vision now?"
Bonnie started the car, and pulled out quickly. "I think she wanted me to see."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Will Du sat in a car a little distance away, and almost grinned when he got the information he needed.
She won't be there, not if she wants you to find her, but this does give me a chance to get a leg up. Don't want to work with me, that's fine. I'll capture her on my own!"
Will pulled out quickly, but headed for the school instead. When he got there, he appraised the area outside, smiling at what he found. Ms. Matthew's car is gone, most likely taken. Should be easy to track then.
Will pulled out his laptop computer, and quickly hacked into the GPS database. Punching up a few numbers, he smiled as the location of Ms. Matthews's car came up on the screen. Got you!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bonnie tore into Brick's driveway, and jumped out quickly. The door was slightly ajar, and she barreled through, Ron right behind.
"Brick? Brick, are you here?"
No reply came, and Bonnie scrambled all over the house looking for him in a vain hope. When she came back down stairs, she saw Ron standing there, his face white, clutching a piece of paper in his hands. When he noticed her, he handed her the sheet.
Fear filled her heart as she read slowly.
Let's play a game BonBon, just you and me. Come see me by midnight tonight, or I'll just have to play with your little friends instead! You know how to find me!
Bonnie slumped to the floor, tears flowing freely. "She's got them both!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Notes – A little shorter than I normally like, but I'll make up for it next chapter!