(Hmm… Would you all mind telling me who your favorite character is? You don't have to if you don't want to, though…)

MichelLover67: After the fire; about half a day later. Glad you're enjoying it.

diddly day: I didn't think the last chapter was all that good, but I suppose some authors don't have high expectations for their work… As for the granola thing, if Joshua doesn't have his daily amount, he becomes crazier than he already is… Poor fool…

SageoWind218: You've never ever had a granola bar before? Huh… As for Sydney Wells, throw as many as you'd like. I kind of like them, but I rarely chew gum. Anyway, thanks.

The Extremely Crappy Days at Ashfield High

Chappy Sixteen: Under the Falling Snow

Was that… fear? No, impossible. Noah couldn't possibly be feeling fear; no mere fire was going to worry him.

And yet… this was certainly an unexpected occurrence. Everything had been going according to his plan, but, as if from nowhere, this man comes and threatens Noah's grip on the situation.

Sydney Wells… The name felt vaguely familiar to the young man, but he had never heard of such an identity before in his life. If that was the case, then why had the man seemed so familiar to him…?

No. Now was not the time to be thinking; now was the time to act.

Noah's gaze traveled around the room; the flames hungrily ate away at the wooden interior, and, in less than a few moments after the match had hit the floor, fire had already surrounded them.

"Sir, please!"

That was Melissa; she was trying to assist the elderly man, but there wasn't much of a chance he would be escaping. Time was running out.

"N-No…" The hooded man let out a small cough. "Take this…" He reached into under his cloak, bringing out a peculiar looking cross. It was gold, a long blade forming out of the bottom end.

Melissa stared at it for a moment, trying to comprehend the situation. "What are you waiting for! Take it!"

"But what of you?"

The man laughed weakly. "I have outlived the life God granted me so long ago… Just go…"

Alexis tapped Noah on the shoulder, squinting. "The front door is locked…"

"Locked? Well, we'll have to force our way out, then…"

"We can't!" Catherine squealed. "Something's blocking it from the outside!"

Noah cocked his right eyebrow up. 'It seems I underestimated him…' He sighed. "There's still the exit from which he entered," Noah stated, pointing over the flames at the closed door at the back of the room.

"Then let's go!" Catherine rushed through, skipping over some protrusions of fire. Alexis brought a handkerchief to his mouth. "We need to act now…" Noah nodded and they both swiftly followed the blonde girl to the opposite side of the room.

"Melissa, come on!" Catherine pleaded. The raven- haired woman took one last glance at the hooded person before running towards her fellow cult members.

"This one's locked too…" Alexis informed them; Noah let out an aggravated sigh. "Get out of the way." He took out a handgun from his back pant pocket and aimed it at the door knob.

Joshua took another bite of the granola bar. "Yessss, Precious… We won't let you go ever again…" He hugged the green box which held six other bars.

Henry walked into the living room to see his son doing this.

"Um… Did you get the mail, Joshua?"

The teenager sprang up upon hearing his father's voice. "Oh, uh, hey Dad… What did you say?"

"Did you get the mail?"

"Uh, no…"

"So I guess you went to the store after school?"

Henry was referring to the box of granola bars under his son's right arm. "Oh yeah, I did…"

There were a few moments of utter silence between them before Henry spoke up. "I'll go get the mail, then."

"Sure…"

Joshua watched his father walk back into the kitchen and outside; he glanced at the box of granola.

Henry gently closed the entrance door behind him before starting towards the mailbox at the front of the lawn. Not that you could really see any green from the grass under the blanket of white.

'It just started snowing earlier today,' he thought while walking up to the mailbox and opening it. Henry peered inside, only seeing a single letter lying flat.

He swallowed hard and reached for the letter, quickly pulling it out into the open. The front side was void of any writing at all; Henry had a confused look on his face.

"What…?" He flipped it over in his hand, noticing the envelope was closed only by a single piece of scotch tape. Henry pulled the cover up, removing the tape's firm grip on the paper.

Henry backed away upon seeing what was inside. The page inside… was red.

The envelope and paper fell to the ground; the red crimson paper slid out, revealing a date: August 9th.

Henry stared at it for a second, shaking his head. "No… No! It's over…" He kneeled down, gradually reaching for the letter. "I killed him… he's dead, Joseph… he's dead… You hear me? Do you hear me!" Henry found himself yelling slightly, tears actually beginning to fall from his eyes.

He gripped the envelope tightly with his left hand, taking out the letter with his right.

Placing the envelope on top the mailbox, he began to read…

I realized something just right now… he can't be killed. I intended to leave it up to the next tenant of Room 302, Number Twenty- One, but if my theory is correct, he'll be just as hopeless as I am against him…
But it's extremely unlikely as well… If a soul leaves its deceased body to enter that of its new body, what would happen if the previous body did not truly die? If a body does not have a soul, does it lose what makes it human, emotion? Or does it become something different, something truly not real…? In any case, I believe that there's no way to be sure that Walter Sullivan can die any longer…
If Eileen represents his mother…

Well, it's doubtful that my theory is valid, but I have no time left… The hole has sealed up, and the apartment is becoming worse and worse… He's coming…

August 9th

Henry stared at the letter, attempting to piece together what he had just read. 'If he thought this… then why'd he leave it for me sixteen years later?'

"Hey, Dad, you okay?" Joshua called from the front doorway. Henry looked up at his son, quickly tucking the letter up in his pocket. "Yeah, I'm fine," he answered back.

"Well, you've been out here for like ten minutes…"

"Joshua, can you keep an eye out for your mother? I… have to go somewhere…"

"Where?"

"I… South Ashfield Heights; don't worry."

Henry walked over to his car, unlocking the door and stepping inside. "I won't be long!" He slammed the door shut and turned the vehicle on with his key before backing the car out of the driveway and riding away.

Joshua shrugged and walked back inside. 'Weird...'

(Yeah, I know this was a really short chapter... Darn...)