Chapter Three

Katelyn woke up the next morning, feeling disoriented. What was that dream all about? Shrugging her shoulders and chalking it up to another strange dream, she got up and began to shower.

Forty minutes later, she emerged from her bedroom in her waitress's uniform. Sighing, she grabbed her purse and peeked in her mother's bedroom, only to find her sleeping on the bed holding a bottle of liquor in her right hand. Katelyn looked at her with sadness, suddenly remembering how her mother used to be so vibrant and happy. Now, she was just a drunk.

"Come on, Katelyn, you can do it!"

Seven-year-old Katelyn glanced at her mother with an apprehensive expression on her face and looked at the pink bicycle sitting in the driveway.

"I don't want to," she whined. "I might fall off!"

"Now, Katelyn," her mother gently said. "I promise I'll be right there by your side. I won't let you fall. Don't worry. Now, let's try it one more time, okay?"

Katelyn, realizing that she had no choice, gave in and got back on the bicycle. Her mother's soft hands came and rested on the handlebar and the other on Katelyn's back. Katelyn, soothed with the feel of her mother's hand, began to push the pedals.

After going around the block and coming back to their driveway, Katelyn's mother thought for a minute then said, "Katelyn, I'm gonna let go, okay? But I'll be right there beside you, I'm not going anywhere."

True to her words, she let go. And Katelyn began riding down the street all by herself.

"Mommy, I did it!" Giggles escaped from the little girl. "Look at me, Mommy! I'm doing it! I'm riding my bike!"

It was at that moment when an equally radiant smile lighted up both mother and daughter's faces. Oh, Katelyn, her mother thought. I love you so much.

Katelyn stared out the window, remembering that day. She wished she could be a child again. In her opinion, children were lucky. They were so innocent and happy. Katelyn wished that she could have that kind of happiness again.

One thing was for sure, she probably would never find it in this apartment living with her mother. Katelyn straightened her shoulders and shook off the memory. She opened the door and set off for work.

When she reached the diner, she greeted the regulars and tucked her purse away. One of her co-workers, Pam, was wiping the counter.

"Hey, Katelyn," Pam said. "Better watch out, Sal's on the warpath today. Luanne told Sal this morning that she wanted not only the house, but the dog too."

Katelyn groaned. Sal was their boss, and it was known by all the employees and some of the regular customers that Sal was going through a nasty divorce with his soon-to-be ex-wife, Luanne. Whenever Sal had a run-in with Luanne, he took it out on his employees and also annoyed the customers by constantly talking about Luanne and her shortcomings as a wife.

"Great, just great. Are we the only ones working today?" Katelyn asked.

Pam grimly nodded. "Afraid so."

Katelyn sighed. "Lovely."

Pam and Katelyn then began to greet customers that were coming in through the door. As she seated a father and his son to a table, she took their orders and went back into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, she gave the orders to the cook and began to look for napkins and silverware to take to the family. As she found the napkins, her hand moved toward the silverware.

The silverware suddenly shot down the counter, toward the cook. Puzzled, Katelyn made a move for it again, but it only went further down. She made two more attempts but it didn't work.

Now getting frustrated, Katelyn stared at the silverware.

Lou, the cook, raised his eyebrow and said, "is there a problem, Katelyn?"

With a hint of annoyance in her voice, she replied, "No, no problem. My hands are just..." she paused. "Slippery this morning, I guess."

Lou chuckled. "Yeah, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that those silverware don't want to be anywhere near you."

Katelyn rolled her eyes. "Yeah, real funny, Lou."

Realizing that she probably looked like an idiot, she waited until Lou's back was to her. When Sal suddenly yelled for Lou to come into his office, Katelyn seized the opportunity.

Gritting her teeth, she lunged for the silverware and finally managed to wrap her fingers around it. "Haha!" Katelyn grinned. "I got you now."

Turning around, Katelyn carried the napkins and tightly held the silverware, which strangely felt like it was trying to escape from her hands, to the table. As she set down the napkins and the silverware, the silverware shot across the table and suddenly made a beeline for the little boy sitting there.

In a matter of moments, the boy yelled and jumped up. "Daddy!"

The boy's father grabbed him and they scrambled out of the booth. The father glared at Katelyn, whose mouth was open in shock. "What the hell do you think you're doing, throwing it at him! Why did you scare him like that!"

Katelyn, at a loss for what to say, could only gape at the man.

"Well?" the father demanded while the boy stayed behind his father, gazing with a terrified expression toward Katelyn.

"Um...well….I don't know…," Katelyn stammered. "It just…shot out of my hand."

Pam, seeing the situation, rushed over. "I am so sorry, sir. She's normally not like this."

"Yeah, I bet you're sorry," the father snarled. "We're never coming back here again. Come on, Tommy." The father picked up his son and he strode out of the diner.

Turning to Katelyn, Pam asked, "What happened?"

Katelyn looked at her, confused. "I don't know. But I think I need to go home."

Pam sighed, then nodded. "Okay, I'll cover for you. Rest when you get home, okay? I need you back here."

Katelyn nodded. "Okay, I will." Taking off her apron, she grabbed her purse then headed out to her car.

When she got to her car, Katelyn got in and just sat in the driver's seat for ten minutes. She wondered how that could have possibly happened. I didn't throw it at him, she thought. Is it possible that the table was really slippery and it just slid over to the boy? No, she decided. That's crazy. Pam always washes the tables really good.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Katelyn thought. Then what? Realizing that there was no rational explanation for this, she decided to go home. Maybe after a good night's sleep, she could figure it out.

With that thought in mind, Katelyn left the parking lot, unaware that a mysterious group of people were watching her in the alley.

The group of people had decided that Katelyn was the one. She was the one they needed. The question was when they were going to bring her in. After much deliberation, they all agreed to bring her in tomorrow night.

It was time to make her one of them.

Author's Note: I am so sorry that it took me this long to update. I know there's nothing I can say that will explain or excuse why I haven't updated, so I won't even try.

But I will say this: I will definitely be updating regularly, when my work and classes schedule allows me free time. But anyway, I hope yall enjoyed this chapter and reviews would be greatly appreciated. :)