Chapter 7

Jess found herself running through the woods, and looked over her shoulder expecting to see Reid right behind her. Instead of Reid, Chase was running after her, only five paces behind. Jess tried to pick up the pace and out run him, but knew it was futile.

She saw Reid up ahead, and tried to yell to him to run. Reid, not hearing her, had instead moved towards her. That's when Chase hit Reid with all of his power, causing Reid to hit a nearby tree.

Jess stopped running and turned on her heel to face Chase. "Stop it you bastard," She screamed raising her hands to send her own power back to him. He dodged her electric current of power and laughed. She struck him again, and he fell backwards hard.

"That wasn't very nice Jessica," Chase said, giving her name a few extra syllables, "And mean girls deserved to be punished." With that he threw a ball of his power at her causing her to double over in pain. He moved closer to her, ready to finish what he started.

Jess stood up strait and spread her fingers wide. At the same time she took a step forward, she pushed her hands toward him, and her power coursed from her heart out of her fingers hitting him square in the chest. As he hit a nearby tree, Jess turned to see how Reid was holding up. Concerned about his shallow breathing pattern, Jess hadn't notice Chase sneak up behind her.

He grabbed her by the throat and lifted her into the air. With his other hand he slapped her cheek sending spots across her vision. She could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness…it was only a matter of seconds before her airways were crushed.

Caleb had brought Sarah back early that night because they were both tired. He held her hand as he walked her to her dorm, and as they rounded the corner, they both heard a muffled scream. Not sure where the sound was coming from, they moved further down the hall. Outside Sarah's dorm, Caleb could hear someone screaming inside. Not even bothering to unlock it with Sarah's keys, Caleb pushed Sarah behind him, his eyes flashing black as he kicked open the door.

The door jarred Jess from her sleep, and she sat up wrenching her eyes open. Still unfocused from slumber, Jess could barely make out the male's face that had just entered her room. The dark hair and black eyes were all she saw before she screamed, "CHASE" and hit Caleb with her power. By the time he hit the wall, she was fully awake, and saw what she had done.

Sarah ran over to Caleb as Jess jumped off of the bed and scrambled out the door. Chase or no Chase, she had seen the black eyes, and wanted to put as much distance between herself and Caleb as possible.

"Stay here" Caleb told Sarah as he scrambled out after Jess, already on his cell with Pogue.

"Where are you Pogue? Everyone needs to get here right now."

"What's going on man?"

"Sarah and I just walked in on Jess' nightmare, and she woke up screaming Chase's name with eyes as black as night and threw me across the room with her power!"

"What the fuck! Ok We're coming."

"Hurry, it might already be too late."

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Jess slowed down as she reached the nearby wooded area of campus. Hoping to just wait it out until morning and then catch a ride home, she sat down on a nearby stump. She hadn't heard Caleb following her, and she was relatively certain he wouldn't find her. What am I going to tell Reid when he finds I've left, Jess wondered as she sat there.

Caleb was about 500 feet away from Jess, waiting for the other boys to meet him. When they got their, Reid was demanding that Caleb explain everything right there, but for once Caleb's look silenced him.

Jess heard the twigs snap, and immediately stood up. As Caleb walked into the clearing alone, Jess pulled her power around her in a protective bubble. Caleb's eyes were black as before, and Jess was prepared for anything he might throw at her.

"We aren't going to hurt you Jess, honest," Caleb said holding his hands up causing Jess to wince.

"We?!" Jess looked around wildly, and found herself surrounded by the four of them; Caleb to her front, Pogue on her right, Reid on her left, and Tyler at her back. She immediately focused her attention on Reid, and winced as she saw his eyes go black just like Caleb's. "You're just like him," she spat at Reid. God I'm an idiot and now I am dead. No way can I keep this bubble up for much longer.

Reid's expression was pained as he said, "Like who?"

"Chase."

"What?! How the fuck do you know him?" Reid asked shocked as he took a step forward. Noticing the fear when he did so, and not wanting to scare her further, he quickly stopped and took a step back. If he wasn't careful he would lose her, even though a part of him registered that it seemed he never really had the real her.

"He was my stalker last year, but I'm sure you already knew that." Jessica said, her voice trembling as she spoke. Reid knew the energy it must take her to keep the protection up, and worried what it would cost her.

"Shit! Caleb you were right man," Reid said, not taking his eyes off of Jess. "I thought for sure Chase was gone."

"This whole thing was a set up. Everything you said to me, just a ploy to get closer to me. How could you Reid?" Jess cried. The protection around her grew slightly at her angry outburst, causing everyone to take several steps back from her.

"Jess no, you have to listen to me. We are nothing like Chase."

"Ha, explain the eyes then Reid."

"Yes, we have the same powers, but it was Caleb that tried to kill him last year. You have to believe me" Reid pleaded with her.

"No, that doesn't make sense. Chase told me he would send others. I didn't know I would end up right in their arms though. God I am stupid." Jess' voice trembled, and for an instant the protection around her faultered.

"Jess, look at me. I told you I would protect you, and I meant it. Chase isn't going to touch you. All you have to do is drop the power and let us in on the whole story." As Reid spoke, he had inched his way closer to her. When she didn't put up a fight, he continued to walk towards her, palms up in a surrender position pleading with his eyes.

Jess felt herself on the brink of collapsing, and knew she had to make a decision soon. She looked around the group and noticed that everyone had backed away from her except for Reid. In fact, none of their eyes were even remotely black anymore. Aware this could be a trap, but knowing she had no other choice, Jess dropped the bubble that surrounded her and immediately began to topple over from the loss of energy.

Reid caught her before her head hit the hard ground beneath her, and he swept her unconscious form in his arms protectively.

"We have to get her somewhere safe Caleb. We don't know how close he is to finding her. I should have known it wasn't an ordinary stalker from what I saw."

Caleb nodded, and motioned for everyone to follow him. Still carrying Jess, Reid wondered what to expect when she awoke.

Author's note: ok so what does everyone think so far? I should have a couple more chapters done in a few days. Please review...this is my first time so tell me if I'm doing something wrong. Any plot suggestions would be great too (even though im pretty set on the next few chapters) :)