3: Jumping at Shadows

Sometimes it's hard to understand what someone really means when they say something to you. Amanda told me that she accepts the ways I've come up with to protect her, and that our lives will be complicated as long as we're together – as long as I love her. She may have said one thing, but I suspect she meant another. I fear that she doesn't want it this way, and may want things to change.

Things can't change. I set things a specific way in order to protect her. Only with this plan can she truly be safe. This is the only plan I can trust right now, until we can figure out what Latnok and Cassidy are going to do. Even if she isn't very accepting of things, we have to move past that, and try to do our best together, reaching compromises that we can fulfill for both of our sakes.

For the sake of my love for Amanda, for one.

[Break]

"So, you and Amanda got back together, I see," Lori told Kyle as he walked inside.

"How did you know that?" he questioned. Ever since they had gotten together about a week ago, he hadn't said much about it. He hadn't actually told the Tragers anything about it, yet. And while Lori had told Mark that Kyle and Amanda had been spending more time together recently, she hadn't known that they were dating again.

She smiled, "I'm a woman, I have my ways. That, and I ran into Amanda earlier, and she told me."

Kyle's sharp hearing picked up on something. A slight change in her voice. It was raised a bit, likely with happiness at his being back together with the woman he was in love with. But there was something else in her voice as well, so he came right out and asked, "You don't think it's a good idea, do you?"

"I didn't say that," she told him.

"But you think it?"

"Well…honestly, a little," she said, sighing a bit, "Look; Amanda's a sweet girl, and I know how much you love her. But you and Tom Foss have told us about how dangerous things are. Are you really going to expose her to danger like this?"

"We have a system," Kyle admitted.

"A system?" she questioned, "Now that sounds kind of interesting."

"It's just that we figured out what we would do if Latnok came after me," he explained, "There's not much."

"You could pick up on how I didn't think it was a good idea, but not that this idea of a system doesn't sound that good to me?" she questioned, hinting her true feelings to him.

"You don't think this system will work, do you?"

"I don't know what it is, but no," she said, "I talked to Mark a bit about what happened. From everything I know about these guys who work for Latnok, they're crafty. I don't think a 'system' is going to work too well."

"I'll make it work!" Kyle defended.

"You just want it to work," she said, "There's a difference."

"You're sounding like mom," Josh said, walking into the room, "So, what we talking about here?"

"Amanda," Kyle said.

"He has a system," Lori told her brother.

"A system?" Josh smiled a bit, "Oh, I bet I know what this is about!"

"Get your head out of the gutter," Lori told him, "It's not anything like that."

"You mean Kyle hasn't explained that it's that. I'm sure it is something like that," Josh told Lori.

"What are you talking about?" Kyle questioned, confused.

"Don't ask him," Lori said.

"Sleeping with her, of course. Dodging her mother? I don't know; something like that," Josh said, giving his idea.

"No! Of course not!" Kyle said.

"So you don't want to sleep with her?" Josh questioned.

"Intercourse is often used to show love to the partner," Kyle said, "I love her. I would show her in any way, but I'm not going to do that with her! Not now. She wouldn't want that, and I don't either. Not until later in our lives."

"Don't let it pass you by," Josh said, "It's a wonderful feeling."

Lori made a sound of what was likely disgust, shaking her head, "You don't know much about it, do you, Josh?"

"I'm no virgin!" he defended.

"You and Andy, I figured," she said, "But,"

"Just because you've probably had more practice doesn't mean you know better than me," he said.

"Are you calling me a whore or slut or something?" she demanded, enraged.

"No!" he said, actually afraid of her as she shot to her feet in outrage, "I was just…"

He looked back to Kyle for help, but Kyle was gone, leaving Josh to take care of himself without Kyle's words of wisdom to back him up.

[Break]

"You have my stuff. I want it back!"

Amanda turned around after taking the trash out. She saw Nate standing a few feet away, hands in his pockets. She was afraid of his appearance, but put on a strong front.

"I don't have it," she told him, "I don't have any of it."

"Oh come on! You knocked me out and stole a lot of my research! Am I supposed to believe that you didn't keep any of it? Like that ring?"

"That ring belonged to Jessi's mother," Amanda said, "She has it."

"I suppose she has everything. She's the smart one, after all."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Amanda demanded.

"No offense babe, but you're not exactly at her level," Nate said, fingering the electrical device in his pocket. He wasn't sure if Amanda had any of it or not, or if she knew where Jessi was. She could probably give him some information, and he would get some enjoyment out of seeing her in pain, after the pain that had been inflicted upon him.

"Don't call me that," she said, disgusted by his use of the word 'babe'.

"Fine. Where's Jessi and my stuff?" he demanded.

"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you," she said. Her mother wasn't home and wouldn't be home for a while. Kyle wasn't coming. Kyle, for all of his planning, hadn't actually told her that he would be listening for her to be in danger and would come at any time. He just expected them to be safe at home, with him nearby. She supposed that included that he would come to her aid at any time, so where was he?

Nate pulled his right hand free, showing the weapon, his finger on the button, ready to fire it, "Where is she?" he demanded.

It was one of the weaker models that Cassidy had spoken of. One used for interrogation purposes, for causing pain. He would enjoy this.

"Hey! Who the hell are you?"

Nate turned to see Declan standing behind him, out on a jog. Foss had sent him out running for today, to clear his mind and be ready for mental training in a few hours. He figured that a jog was the best. Declan had just taken it too far and had gone all the way back towards the Tragers house.

"Oh, you're one of Latnok's members, aren't you? I kind of recognize you," Declan said.

He aimed the device at Declan now, "I'll take care of you first, then," he said, no fear permeating his voice, but he was afraid. He wasn't ready for any sort of fight. He knew Amanda could hit pretty hard. If he focused all of his attention on this guy, she might get a good hit off on him, and maybe Kyle would come. If he took care of Amanda, he had little doubt that this guy might do a lot of damage.

"Try it," Declan said, "I've been waiting for a moment like this to test what I've learned."

"Nate!"

Nate turned towards Amanda, seeing Kyle standing there, the one who had shouted his name.

"Kyle! You're just in time to see some revenge dealt out on Latnok," Declan said.

"Declan, no," Kyle said sternly, "We're not going to sink to the level of some of their members and go to violence. We're going to talk, Nate."

"I don't want to talk to you. Unless you know where Jessi is, so I can get my stuff back. My research and my computer."

"Jessi wiped your computer, but I've seen your research," Kyle said, "How can you work for a group like Latnok, with what they're doing? Playing god and doing such immoral things for money? How can anyone work for that?" Kyle demanded of Nate.

Nate smiled, "Money makes the world turn, you know that, right? Well, our experiments fetch us a lot of money. Hence I do it for the money."

"That's sick," Kyle said.

"What are you talking about?" Amanda questioned him, "What experiments are you talking about?"

"Jessi probably mentioned that you shouldn't know," Kyle said, "If you were with her as she went through it."

"Yeah, she said something about that," Amanda said, "Even said I shouldn't know, that I couldn't handle it."

"Someone like you couldn't," Kyle said, not thinking.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"Someone good like you! A good heart, a good soul! You wouldn't be able to handle it," he said, hopefully recovering from his other words.

While they were bickering, Nate was preparing to fire. The moment they would touch, he would fire and take them both down. But he was very aware of how close Declan was behind him.

Nate was about to run. Obviously they weren't going to talk, and they weren't close enough to touching. There was no point here, and he knew he would get beat up if he stayed. He was sure that no matter what Kyle said, the guy behind him would just do as he felt was right.

As Nate attempted to turn to run, the man grabbed him by the collar, pulling him back roughly and into Amanda's yard. He dropped to a knee and tore the electrical weapon away from Nate before he could fire.

"No! Don't use it!" Nate shouted, not wanting to feel the pain of his own weapon.

"I wouldn't waste my time on someone pathetic like you," Declan said, dropping it and stepping on it, breaking the device.

Nate pushed himself up and ran, but Declan didn't pursue. Kyle and Amanda watched him go, but didn't say anything. They were at an uneasy silence after their vague conversation on the Latnok experiments.

There was a crack of thunder and a flash of lightning above their heads. Declan ran over, "I've got to go. I'll talk to you later Kyle," he said, running off back towards the warehouse where Foss was.

Amanda started back towards her house before the rain would fall. Kyle called after her, "Amanda!"

She turned, "I'm strong, Kyle. I think I'm strong enough to know what it is you're keeping from me. You told me we wouldn't have any more secrets. This is a secret."

"It's not about me," he said, "I'm not telling you for your own sake!"

"My own sake?" she questioned, "You don't have to keep trying to protect me like this. You can tell me! I want you to tell me!"

"I…I just can't. Please, trust me and believe me. I can't tell you," he said.

She turned away without a word and walked inside her house. He could hear the click of the lock of the door, and turned, defeated, back towards the Tragers house as the sky opened up, unleashing the heavy downpour associated with the storm that was flaring in the sky above.

[Break]

I've thought before that rain can bring life just as easily as it brings forth death. The rain causes birth, while it can cause destruction and drowning. This heavy rain, causing the afternoon sky to become black as pitch with the storm it brings, is a rain that causes death. I fear to even think that my relationship with Amanda could be one such death, but she's had a hard decision choosing to come back to me. I just know that. Yet I've already broken her trust in me by not telling her about Latnok's plans with the cloned babies.

But how can I tell her? Even if it destroys our relationship, how can I tell her about that? She's too good to know. I can't allow her to worry about things like that. It's not her responsibility. It's mine. It's my duty and job to stop Latnok. My self-imposed duty.

She is my light; I can't let her into the dark of their plans. She may shine, but eventually all lights fade. I can't allow Amanda's to fade because of Latnok.

Kyle looked out the window. His room was very dark, with his lamp providing his only light.

He looked out into the downpour. It had been raining often recently, but this was the worst. Hopefully after this the rain would end. He knew it was foolish, but he hoped that the end of the rains would be the end of his problems with Amanda.

He vaguely remembered something that was coming up in about a week, something that he and Amanda were supposed to do, but he couldn't focus on it right now. He closed his eyes, rubbed them, and opened them again, looking back at the window.

His breath caught in his throat. His heart beat faster.

He saw Cassidy's face, out in the rain, staring in at him.

Kyle shot to his feet, overturning his chair. He ran to the window and threw it open, but there was nobody there. The image had gone as quickly as it had come to begin with, yet he had wanted to look outside just the same.

His head out in the pouring rain, getting drenched, he saw nobody. But his mind was filled with thoughts. He closed the window, not thinking to look down to see if there were muddy tracks, for already the rain had caused mud to swell around.

But there were no tracks. That's not to say it was because Kyle was just seeing things. That's because that Cassidy, with the technology that the Latnok students were developing, had access to it all, and to ways to mess with Kyle, like these boots that wouldn't leave footprints due to a property in them that sucked the substance that one would step in back into place. Mud, snow, anything, would be sucked back in, creating a filled footprint that would look pretty natural. He was wearing the prototype that Mark had helped make.

He wasn't there to scare Kyle. He wasn't acting like a ghost and trying to haunt Kyle.

He wanted the information from Kyle's head. He wanted the cloning information that only Kyle had. He didn't know how he was going to get it, but he figured that shivering, feeling miserable out in this storm would possibly help him. If he could just watch Kyle, spy on him, then perhaps he could gain some insight.

But he had found something more appeasing. If he played the role of the ghost or specter to Kyle, then maybe Kyle would start to panic. Maybe something would happen, and he would get some power over Kyle, or at least bring Kyle down a little.

But he detested the rain and cold and conditions of the storm, and so he walked off, content with his single scare. Perhaps that's all it would take. Perhaps all through the storm, his face appearing for only a few moments before Kyle would have the man jumping at shadows.

[Break]

Lori looked down at her phone again as she walked into the living room, looking up to see Stephen, "Good. Hey dad, have you seen Mark in class recently? I can't seem to get a hold of him."

"Mark?" he asked, "Come to think of it, no. He hasn't been in class for about a week."

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing on his attendance to say that," Stephen said, "Why? You can't reach him?"

"No. I haven't seen him in a week, and I can't call him," she said, "Dad, I'm kind of worried."

"Why?" Stephen asked, "He's a big boy, he can take care of himself."

"He's…," she didn't want to bring up Latnok, so she shook her head. If anything, she would ask Kyle or Jessi. Preferably Kyle. So she walked out of the room, tried calling and texting again, but nothing, so she went looking for Kyle and headed towards his room.

[Break]

"Cassidy, I need your help," Nate told his boss.

"My help? But you're a big boy, Nate. What do you need me for? Or has your quest to reclaim your things gone bad? Has that Amanda girl gotten the better of you once again?" Cassidy questioned him, rather bored and irritated by Nate just walking into his office.

"I don't think she has it," Nate said, "And I got blindsided, but that's beside the point," he muttered, "Look. I need to know where I can find Jessi."

"Jessi? What do you need her for?"

"I think she has my stuff," Nate replied, "I need to find her to get it all back."

"Here," he leaned across the desk, sliding a piece of paper forward, "I figured you'd come for that sooner or later. Her mother's apartment number and location," he said, "Good luck."

Nate nodded, "Yeah, thanks. Hey…what did you end up doing with Mark?"

"You're finally looking into your loose ends?" questioned Cassidy, shaking his head, "Why did I give you all of this information; make you so important, if you're not going to bother paying attention to your own plans like this?"

"I've been busy!" Nate said, attempting to defend himself. It had been his choice to go after Mark, more than Cassidy's, but Cassidy had a point. He hadn't actually checked up on things yet with Mark's status. All he knew was that after he had gotten Mark, he was being sent off for interrogation by some…specialists whom had been located by Cassidy at some other point. It sounded as though they were remnants of the "old regime" – as Cassidy had put it – of a place called Madacorp. They had managed to help construct something – or rather, reconstruct – called the C.I.R.; cerebral impulse relay machine.

Cassidy ran a hand through his still wet hair, "Information was extracted from Mark's brain with the C.I.R. We know that he helped Kyle to stop the cloned babies. That's about all we got out of him that's of interest to us."

"How is he right now?" Nate asked, "I heard that the chair is supposed to…I don't know; fry the brain, or something."

"That is a result under some circumstances. That includes the occupant, such as Kyle or Jessi. But with Mark, and the chair as it is, it wouldn't fry his brain, as you so eloquently put it. It did knock him out, and he hasn't woken up yet, though. He's pretty much comatose now, but we can still use the chair any time to get at his brain. It doesn't matter."

"Won't people be looking for him?" Nate questioned.

Cassidy shrugged, "Lives alone in an apartment, I've had payments sent out so no one seems suspicious of the apartment loss. We're fine so far."

"Whatever," Nate said, heading out.

Cassidy shook his head as he watched Nate leave. He started to regret making Nate the man he was bringing along on the inside, as a promoted student into the ranks of Latnok. But Nate had a certain drive to him that Cassidy liked, and wanted to use. That was the only purpose to having him anymore.

[Break]

"Kyle?" Lori walked into his room, seeing him pacing around the room, "Why are you pacing?"

"Thinking," he said, "Pacing is for thinking. That's what I'm doing."

"Yeah, I know what pacing is. I know what you're doing," she told him, "But why?"

"The more I pace, the more focused I am on my own thoughts. The less I notice around me," he informed her.

"Why are you trying not to notice things around you, though?" she questioned him.

"I see a face in the shadows," he said. There was a flash of lightning outside a few moments later, as he was turning. His eyes drifted to a corner. The flash's illumination caused the rough image of a face to appear, at least to Kyle's eyes. His heart skipped a beat in his shock, and he stopped, but then shook his head and screwed his eyes shut, continuing to pace.

"A face in the shadows? What are you talking about?" she questioned.

"I think I saw Cassidy's face in the storm," he said, "And ever since, I've been seeing his face pretty much everywhere in the shadows around me. It…it frightens me."

"Kyle, come on. You're better than this. You're smarter than this. You can get over it," she said, almost forgetting her reason for coming. Kyle was rational enough to get over this, right? Was she supposed to feel bad that she wasn't able to help him right now? Or was she supposed to put her question aside and try to help him, "Look, I doubt you saw anything. With everything that's been happening, I'm sure your mind is playing tricks on you."

"Maybe," he said, not hoping that it was, not hoping that it wasn't. If it was, then there was something wrong. If it wasn't, then Cassidy had been there and vanished just as suddenly. And it also showed the lengths Cassidy would go to; coming to the house in the middle of a storm like this and watching, potentially waiting to take his shot at the family.

"Look, I'm really sorry to intrude on this, but have you seen or heard from Mark lately?" she questioned him.

His head lifted up, "Mark?"

The last time he had seen or heard from Mark was when they were at the warehouse together, when he was getting Mark's help to take care of the cloned babies. Was something wrong? Did Latnok find out about Mark's involvement? Was she asking because he was in danger, or that something was wrong?

"I haven't heard from him in about a week," she said, "Dad hasn't seen or heard from him either."

Kyle felt sick. Had he swayed someone to his side and brought them into nothing but pain as a result? Was that what happened? Mark was discovered by Cassidy and Latnok? Was Kyle responsible?

"I haven't seen him since the night everything changed," he said, using that to refer to the night when Cassidy had attacked him, to the night when The Rack was razed, when the clone babies were dealt with.

"You mean you saw him at the warehouse?" she questioned, knowing he probably didn't see Mark at any other point that day.

He nodded, "Mark helped me. I…I fear I put him in danger as a result."

"Mark…Mark will be fine," she said, as if only attempting to assure herself that he would be fine, "I know he'll be safe. I know it."

"I hope he will be," Kyle told her.

[Break]

Nate turned the knob of the door to Jessi's apartment, walking in quietly, looking around. He didn't see her anywhere. He saw a stack of papers sitting on a counter and rushed over, only to feel the blade of a knife at his side.

"Violent as always," he muttered, glancing into Jessi's eyes at his side.

"I thought you might come eventually. I could hear your heartbeat from the main door. I've been waiting," she said, her voice filled with malice.

"What are you going to do? Kill me?" Nate questioned.

"Your words can't hide what you feel," she said, "I can hear your heartbeat increasing. You're afraid. I might kill you…but Kyle wouldn't want that. I wouldn't want that. I won't kill you, because I'm no killer."

"Cassidy's told me a lot of stuff," Nate told her nonchalantly, "Tell that to the man in the woods."

He felt the blade get a bit harder on his side, almost cutting his shirt and into his skin. Any more pressure and he would be cut.

"Don't go there if you know what's good for you," she warned.

"Ok, ok. I get it," he said, "Can you put the knife down? I came here to offer you something."

"Offer me what?" she demanded.

"A place in the inner circle of Latnok," he told her.

"You're lying," she told him.

"Can you feel that?" he questioned her, "My heartbeat? Feel my skin. I'm not lying to you, Jessi."

He wasn't. Well, he was. If it was up to him, she would be in the inner circle, but he wasn't sent to make that offer from anyone who could do anything about it. It was something he would like to offer her, a lie he had practiced for some time, hoping he would finally encounter Jessi again. And it was working.

"You're telling the truth," she said, taken back by the offer, "They…they want me?"

He knew he couldn't say anything, or she could tell he was lying if he said "yes", but what could he do? He decided to remain quiet, instead of hope that she was too distracted by her own thoughts to read through his lie. The knife was in hand, but she wasn't using it; it was away from him.

He watched her, then reached for his papers. His computer wasn't there, but this would have to do for now. As he reached around the stack, Jessi brought the knife up towards him, "Yeah, not going to happen. Put them down if you want to live."

He set the papers back down and backed away, "I will get everything back," he threatened.

"I doubt that," she said, "Now go and run back to Cassidy and Latnok. You're not getting anything from me."

He walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him, pondering his next move. Then he placed a phone call to a number that Cassidy had given him. Kyle's cell.

[Break]

Kyle heard his phone ringing. He picked it up, but didn't recognize the number. He hit a button and raised it to his ear, "Hello?"

"Hey there, Kyle," Nate said, "Glad you answered."

"I don't know how you got my number, but I'm hanging up," he said.

"If you do that, you'll never know why I called. Or the points I bring to the table," Nate said.

"I don't care what it is, if it's Latnok," he informed Nate.

"Look. I know that Latnok wants you. I just don't see why. You have this amazing gift with your brain, or so I keep being told by Cassidy. Yet what do you do with it? Almost nothing!"

"I do good for people who deserve it," Kyle said.

"What constitutes deserving?" Nate questioned him, "Are you sure you're doing the right things? Maybe people should solve their own problems, Kyle."

"People aren't always strong enough to solve thing son their own," Kyle said, "And it is the goal of humans to be decent to one another, to help one another. That's only proper."

"And is what Latnok doing not proper?" questioned Nate.

"You're playing god!" Kyle shouted.

"Or are we bridging the gap between man and god?" Nate questioned him, "Maybe we're trying to make the gap between the world of life on Earth and the afterlife of Heaven, of God, more closely connected. Maybe we're doing what you're doing, but in a different way."

"I've heard that before," Kyle said, "But I don't believe it."

"How many people do you think you can help in your lifetime, Kyle? A couple dozen? Maybe a hundred?"

"What's this have to do with anything?" questioned Kyle.

"You're one man. One man who goes about attempting to live a normal teenage life while helping people on the side. Is that what you would say you do? While we here at Latnok are a larger organization with our roots in Albert Einstein. We have the means and the membership to do great good. Kyle, who do you think is going to do the better good for the greater amount of people?"

"You sell whatever it is you make to people," Kyle said, "You were going to have those cloned babies sold to the highest bidder! You may be claiming proper intentions right now, Nate, but I know that nothing Latnok is doing is for the good of the people. It's for the good of Latnok's own pockets."

"That's not true. We're a benevolent organization, Kyle. And we're better than you. You have to agree and admit that you're only one person, while we are many. We have greater means with which to take care of people, help people. You don't."

Kyle hated to try to argue. Nate had some proper points here. Was he just trying to rile Kyle up, or did he actually want to present these points in an attempt to sway Kyle's allegiance?

"Whatever it is you're doing Nate, I'm not joining Latnok," Kyle said firmly.

"What I'm doing? I'm just telling you where you're at fault!" Nate said, "I couldn't care less if you joined us. All we want out of you is the clone information, and we're good. Doesn't matter if you give it to us voluntarily, we force it out, or something else. That's all that you matter for anymore, Kyle. You've given up your chances to join us as of the end of this call. You've burned the last bridge. Got that?"

"You're not authorized to say that, are you?" Kyle questioned him, "You're trying to get at me."

Nate hung up. Kyle wondered if he was right or not with that final guess. It would turn out that he was, as Nate had little authority, but Kyle didn't know that at the time. He sighed and put his phone on his desk when he heard the door open.

"Amanda?"

She was wet, and apparently had used an umbrella, since she wasn't completely soaked through. She closed his door, "Kyle, we need to have a talk."

["Sway" by The Perishers; ends at the next set of brackets: .com/watch?v=LNyXGLNAE6U]

"A talk about what?" he questioned.

"You need to tell me about what's going on!" she pleaded, "Please, I can handle it, whatever it is that you have to say. Whatever secret it is that you and Jessi share about whatever's going on…you can tell me!"

"I wish I could," he admitted, "But I can't. It would be…"

"Too dangerous. I know," she said, "Kyle, I'm with you now. We're together. I'm prepared to face danger, just like the Tragers and Declan. Please, tell me!" she pleaded again, deep from the heart.

"I can't," he said, shaking his head, "It's…it's not for someone as good as you to be exposed to. You wouldn't like it. I just…I just so desperately want to protect you. If you don't know anything, then Latnok won't come after you."

"You know that secrets caused our relationship last time to end, right?"

"I remember, yeah," he said.

She looked at the floor, trying to find words, then looked up into his eyes, "Do you want that to happen again?"

"Of course not!" he said, "I never want to lose you again, Amanda! I love you!"

"If you try to keep these secrets…we might not make it," she said, "We might not stay together much longer."

As much as I wanted to tell Amanda the truth, I realized that it was for my own selfish reasons. It was so that I could still be with her, and that was it. She had her own life to live, and how could I interfere by making her a target?

No matter how much I cared about her, I could never tell her about Latnok, and about their cloned baby plots. She would be hurt to hear about what was going to happen to innocent babies, I'm sure about that. She would be a target. I couldn't let that happen.

"I'm really sorry, but I can't tell you."

"I can handle myself!" Amanda told him, "Look at yourself, Kyle! Not telling me is killing you, isn't it? You hate this pain that I'm in for not being included in any of this! You're in so much pain yourself as a result! I deserve to know, Kyle. I deserve to know what's going on, as long as we're together.

"I can take care of myself. And look! The Tragers know about this, don't they? You would tell them, let them know, let them face this danger, but not me? I could understand if they didn't know and I didn't, but why put your family in danger, but not me? What sort of love is that?"

"It's because I want to protect all of you, but…," Kyle actually didn't have an answer for her. Was it because the Tragers knowing made it easier for him to do what he had to do? To slip away and take care of things without questions? What was it that made him tell them? Was his bond with his family more powerful than his love for Amanda?

Was it even love?

Amanda shook her head, "Goodbye, Kyle. We'll talk again another time," she said, putting her hand on the door, about to open it.

"Amanda!" Kyle called out, despite the short distance.

She didn't answer him, and walked out, closing the door behind herself, leaving Kyle alone in the dark room, still fearing the shadows in the corners.

Cassidy may haunt me, and Amanda may be angry with me, but at least her light has banished some of his dark. The shadows around me are no longer as fearful as they once were, all thanks to Amanda's mere presence.

But now what? How can I tell her anything when it would cause such danger? Or do I care about her too much? But if I care about her, should I tell her? Should I make her happy? Or should I not tell her for her own protection?

I no longer know what I have to do for Amanda's sake. It's eating me apart inside. I need to make a decision, and soon. If I don't, I may lose Amanda once again. Perhaps this time for good.

[Song ends]