I'm popping in with an update. It sucks. Humor me. I do. :D
Haha. Anywho. How are you all doing? Good I hope. Yup. Yup.
Ok, so I'm not good at small talk.
Here's my replies:

Yes I killed Saben. Bwhahahha. Oddly, I had fun with that too. :1 But there was kind of a reason for that. Maybe this chapter will help. If not...well I'm good at...pulling excuses out of my butt. blink :D Maybe not believable, but I'm pulling it all the same. :p

bbblfl–Hee! I'm glad you enjoyed the update! Now, something just struck me. I've been talking to you for a bit now, and I still have no idea what your user name stands for. Could you please enlighten me:D

...Shadows36–Sorry. I should type your entire name out but I'm...lazy. Sigh. It's the sad truth. What do you want me to say:p I'm glad you liked the (short :p) chapter.

Claudine–Happy belated Birthday:D I hope it rocked. Sucky birthdays just...you know...suck. :p Smooth I know. I'm glad you like it. But I highly doubt it will seem to flow smoothly after this. :D

Thanks for the reviews, da'lings. :D I appreciate them all. They make me happy.

Disclaimer: I own only the plot. Everything else, nope. Song lyrics: "Breakdown"–by Breaking Benjamin (the band, not me, lol).

Ch 11: Image of the Invisible

I opened my mouth to say something, but then closed it. What do you say?

"Gee, you're dead."

"You've looked worse."

"Nice...shoes."

Seriously? What?

Saben walked over and handed me the vials with a sniff.

"Where in the world does an eighteen year old guy get nerve gas!"

I looked at Hector to see if he understood what she'd said. But when his gaze met mine, I knew he didn't. I was afraid to ask though. She looked seriously angry. Pissed even. And I didn't want to be the one the volcano erupted on when it did decide to spew.

But naturally, curiosity got the best of me. I was about to ask Saben "What?" Luckily, Hector spared me the death wish.

"Querida..." Hector sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Saben glared in his direction, but didn't stop pacing.

"That bastard rigged the device with nerve gas! Nerve gas! Who the hell uses nerve gas anymore?"

Our silence and twin expressions of "I'm with stupid" must have indicated our confusion because she stopped pacing. After taking a deep breath to keep from yelling (more), she elaborated.

"I successfully disabled the stupid ghost device. No biggie, right? Yeah, well, when I did, nerve gas started coming out from underneath. I didn't know what it was, and by the time I figured it out..." she sighed and looked down at herself. "Let's just say nothing pleasant came from it."

"Except the antidote," Hector reminded her. For some reason he sounded different. And when I looked over at him—this wasn't the guy I'd been talking to few minutes before. He was glowing brighter, stood up straighter, his eyes...his eyes weren't full of pain anymore. And I could guess why.

Now that she was dead, there was nothing to keep them apart.

Which was sweet. Kind of morbid, but sweet.

I know he didn't want her to die–especially like that–but she had. And if he loves her like Jesse loves me then...well, I can't really blame the guy for being happy.

I don't think that idea had quite clicked with Saben yet. I didn't exactly expect her to do cartwheels, but come on. At least kiss him or something.

Yeah. There's no way it had clicked. That or we're more different than I thought.

"Speaking of the antidote," Saben looked over at me. "You need to get to the hospital...We need to follow the plan."

Jesse and Paul didn't take the news well. At first, they reacted like I had. What The Hell? But then they, well mainly Paul, got angry.

"I knew we should have gone with you."

"Nombre Di Dios."

"God dammit! Why didn't Hector do something? He was suppose to be watching the two of you!"

"Paul!"

"What?" he snapped at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a group of nurses and a doctor ran passed our room.

"Can you take it down a freaking notch? We're not exactly alone here."

Paul narrowed his eyes at me, "Where is she now."

Thankfully, he'd lowered his voice.

"She and Hector are administering the antidote."

"I thought I was suppose to..."Jesse cocked an eyebrow at me.

"She didn't want us to get caught," I smiled at him. He was going to make a great doctor. He's very passionate about helping others.

For the last ten minutes I'd been sitting in a chair between Father Dominic and Adam, explaining to Jesse and Paul what happened. They hadn't been given the remedy yet, but there were others worse off than they were.

A shimmer of blue to my right caught my eye. Saben and Hector appeared, needles in hand. Hector gave Father Dom the antidote, while Saben injected Adam's IV with the orange fluid.

"The effects are almost instantaneous," Hector informed us as he disposed of the needle.

As Hector walked back over to Father Dominic, my ears began to ring. Suddenly, I heard someone say, "You need to wake up, Suze. This isn't real."

It sounded like Saben, but I couldn't be sure.

"What did you say?" I asked and looked at her. Saben looked at me like I'd grown another head.

"I didn't say anything."

"Wake up, Suze."

I stood up and looked around me. Nothing.

"This isn't real."

"Who's saying that?" I turned to the others, but when I looked, they were gone.

Jesse. Paul. Hector. Saben. Adam. Father Dominic.

All of them gone.

I was alone.

The hospital walls surrounding me dissolved into blackness.

"Suze."

I turned around and found myself facing Saben. Only it wasn't –she looked utterly different.

She looked like she did when I first saw her. Jeans and a band t-shirt. The same outfit she had on the day I visited Jesse's new residence. The day I accused him of cheating on me.

"Who are you?" I asked, as a chill ran up my spine. This place was creepier than the Shadowland. And I hate that place.

"I'm you."

"I know, but I–"

"We don't have much time. He's coming. You need to listen to me."

I nodded and did as I was told.

"The last few weeks have been a dream, Suze. A dream. You're in a coma. But your dreams have a reality to them. Parallel shifting is real, Qain is real, the threat he poses is real...He's going to start killing people. And he's going to start with you."

"What–?"

"I need you to do me a favor."

I blinked at her, absently.

"Relinquish control to me. Please."

"I don't understand–"

"If I separate myself from your mind, Qain will be able to see me. He'll be able to exorcize me. I can only stop him through you."

"No. I...I can't..."

"You won't be held responsible for anything I do. I promise."

With that, I felt myself being suffocated, pressed further back into the dark corner of my mind. Saben disappeared, extinguishing the only light there had been in the cold dark.

I don't know how long I waited in the dark for Saben to return, but if felt like forever. Suddenly, I heard a gasp to my right and opened my eyes.

Only this time it wasn't a dream. I was awake. The pressure that had forced my soul into darkness was gone, and I was once more the only one in my body.

I was in a hospital gown, lying on a bed in a bright, white room. Next to me was a ghost and a man.

The ghost was Saben. She was glaring at the man next to her. His eyes were wide and his mouth gaping open. With one last glance at Saben he fell to the floor and began convulsing.

I recognized him. It was Qain, disguised as a physician. With him he'd brought a needle, which now resided in his abdomen, all of it's contents gone.

I watched his body collapse violently as his bones disintegrated.

He was dead.

Qain was dead.

Let the fun and games begin
She is spayed and broken in
Skin is cold and white
Such a lovely lonely night
Heaven is on the way
You could feel the hate
but I guess you never will
I'm on a roll again
and I want an end
'cause I feel you creeping in
What I found in this town
I'm heading for a breakdown