Chapter 5

Ned was taken to the clinic – no questions asked. They just took him and left. No one looked at Moze; they didn't even glance in her direction. They seemed to already know the answer to what happened.

Moze didn't care. She didn't care about much, anymore. Let them think what they want; the last thing she had on her mind was to cause any more trouble. She was sitting down in her chair, as everyone else worked to clean up the mess left behind. Cookie had retrieved the necklace and put it back in another glass box. Suzie, Missy, and Lisa were busy cleaning up the broken glass. Loomer, Coconut Head, and Martin had taken Ned's unconscious body to the clinic, and should be returning soon.

Cookie finished with retrieving the necklace, sat down next to Moze. He asked quietly, "You okay?"

She nodded, feeling numb. He put his arm around her, and hugged her close. Lisa stared at the both of them, then continued cleaning up the glass.

Cookie noticed the blood on Moze's hand. Grimacing he pulled out a small pack of wet wipes (Ned's Tip: Always keep a pack of tissues or wet wipes in case of accidents) and offered to clean Moze's hand.

She jerked back a bit, and shook her head. Cookie confused, "Jennifer, if you leave it there it's going to congeal and get really messy."

"I don't care. Leave it on."

Cookie sighed, not wanting to get into another argument with her. "Okay, Jennifer, if that's what you think is best."

Moze heard the sad tone in Cookie's voice and replied, "I'm sorry, Simon. I don't know what came over me. I guess it was the necklace – no I'm being selfish, it was my fault entirely. I let my emotions get the better of me."

Cookie smiled sadly and replied, "No it WAS the necklace. It took advantage of your emotional weakness and just gave a little nudge. Don't forget, you weren't the only one affected by it." He gestured at himself.

Moze was glad to have Cookie back. She needed all the friends she could get right about now. She gave Cookie a big hug, then settled back into her own seat. She felt a little better.

Then Moze asked a question everyone else wanted to ask, but were too afraid to. "Why is Ned the only one not affected by the necklace's power, Cookie?"

Cookie rubbed his chin for a moment, and then answered the question. "Ned is special. I guess the word for him is that he's . . . incorruptible He is incapable of being morally corrupted, especially incapable of being bribed or motivated by selfish or base interests."

Moze nodded at him. Everyone else, who was listening in, was silent. Moze translated for them. "It means Ned can't be influenced by the necklace, because he's . . . pure of heart, I guess."

It was true. Ned was innocent to the point of being naïve. It's that innocence combined with his pure heart that helped him get through this ordeal. But what makes Ned pure of heart?

Cookie answered that question for her. "I'm a scientist, so matters of the soul are beyond what I know, but I have to theorize that Ned is pure of heart because of the fact that despite everything he's been through, he can still feel and love with his heart. Moze I hate to use you as an example, but you too are pure of heart. You've been stained by the necklace's power, but your love for Ned is what protected you from it completely controlling you."

Great, Moze thought. I'm indebted to Ned for another thing. It's going to take my whole life to repay that. A whole life with Ned. . .

That is if he ever forgave her.

Missy rolled her eyes, and said, "This is all fascinating and stuff, but can we get on with the story? I think most of us here, remembers what Mosely did next."

Moze turned pale, paler than she had already been. "I think we should wait for Ned to return, before I go into that part." She was scared. She remembered exactly what came next – and it was not good. It was the one memory that she wanted to forget, but couldn't. The reason why she almost killed herself. The thing that had allowed the necklace to take full control of her for a single second. They say it takes a lifetime to build happiness, but only one moment to ruin it. It was in that moment that her future and Ned's had truly gone down the drain.

Missy looked triumphant and smiled a smug grin at Moze's reaction. "Oh, yes, Mosely we all remember what you did. You didn't think we'd leave the best part of the story out, did you?"

Moze was silent. She had been hoping that Ned would have been by her side when she told this part, but now because of her stupidity, he wasn't. She was alone. She was about to tell the darkest single moment and admit her single biggest mistake in her entire life.

She had beaten Ned – both emotionally and physically. With her own bare hands.

Cookie said, "You don't have to tell this part, Moze. You can wait for Ned if you want to."

Moze shook her head. "If Missy wants to remember now then so be it."

She took a deep breath, and then spoke the following statement.

"I wanted revenge on

Moze

all of you. Every single one of you. I'm not afraid to say it. I'm pretty sure all of you have had your murderous impulses (most of them probably toward me), but have any of you actually acted on them. I did. Yes, that's right you all know what I did to Ned. I tried to kill him – I tried to take away your one hope of surviving High School.

I'm not ashamed. I was being human – which is essentially the same as being stupid. Ned taught me that you shouldn't reject your emotions. They're the essentials of humanity. Some people think that emotions chain you, imprison you in a cage. Ned says otherwise – emotions free us, brighten our lives, and yes, gives us pain and heartaches. But that's part of life, I realize now. I was running away from that.

The necklace, in its own way, brought out the worst in me. It represented everything I didn't want to become – cruel, twisted, and uncaring. Ever since Ned and I had started dating I had been afraid. I was afraid of what would happen if we broke up; if the relationship didn't work out; if one of us got hurt; if we hurt each other. There was a lot to stake to our newly found boyfriend/girlfriend relationship; if it didn't work out, more than one relationship would be lost. Our friendship would be broken right along with it.

I was terrified every single moment of our relationship – it felt so right, yet it felt fragile, easily breakable. I couldn't enjoy it fully. Ned told me to relax; to loosen up. The relationship was fine, I was being paranoid. He was right. But I didn't heed his warnings. I still remained scared.

Then the necklace came along. I was having a bad first day at school – everyone else was doing fine, but I was unable to adjust. My relationship with Ned was going fine, until High School started. He became busy with work on his Guide and all his focus was directed toward his work. I couldn't blame him (yet I did anyway); Ned was the type of person who needed to help.

But soon, I couldn't help but feel resentful. My bad first day at the new school turned into a bad first week. I was desperately trying my hardest in all of my classes, yet I could not keep up. My resentment soon became anger; my anger became hate; my hate lead me to the necklace. It fed off me.

Wearing the necklace felt good – it was not unlike taking drugs (which I had tried during my time with the necklace). It freed me; made me feel invulnerable to life and its pressures. The pain of life was gone! I felt like I was finally living. I was INVINCIBLE!

Or so I thought. With the necklace on, I felt like I commanded life itself; turns out life was commanding me. The necklace was punishing me even more – life took an even greater toll on me. The necklace wasn't making me invulnerable to the pain; it was just dulling me making me oblivious to it. The necklace was eating me – I became . . . less somehow, less me, less human. It probably doesn't make much sense, I know. But it's okay. I know Ned understands.

Every person in their life finds themselves with that same necklace in life – some reject it, some wear it, others just ignore it. But sooner or later, they wear that necklace. They put it on, just to see what it's like. This is all figuratively speaking, though. But, yeah, sooner or later they find that necklace and put it on – and then what? What will they do? I don't know. I only know what I did.

So what will you do? What will you do when you find a necklace like that? Don't ask me – that' s up to you. But I do recommend not wearing it for long, though. Why? Easy, if you ask me.

Sooner or later, the necklace ends up wearing you.

I was roused from my sleep – I was having another one of those nightmares. Ned and I were arguing, and I ended up stabbing him. Nothing new to me.

The phone was ringing. I checked the Caller ID.

Someone from the house across from me, was calling. Oh, boy, I couldn't wait. It was Ned – who else would call 11:30 PM at night?

I answered the phone. "This had better be good, Bigby."

"Hi, Moze." It was Ned, alright. My heart fluttered and I felt some kind of primal fear seize my heart. I was afraid of him. He scared me with his undying love for me.

"What do you want?" I tried to sound cold and disinterested, but dammit it didn't work. He did that to me. I couldn't fully lie to him.

"It's Friday. I want you to come over."

I peeked outside my bedroom window, pulling away the shade (recently installed, the sun was getting a bit too bright for my taste) and stared at the window across from me. My breath caught, and that primal fear seized me again.

Ned was standing there, holding the phone, staring hard at me. His blue eyes locked with mine, and for one instant I felt vulnerable; exposed. It was like I had just stripped for him (yeah, right in his dreams – and maybe some of my own perverted dreams as well) and he was staring at ME – not the mask I had put on, but ME. All of me, in me, in my soul, in my head, in my heart; there was no place left unchecked.

The moment passed, but I still felt afraid. Still staring at Ned, I said back to him on the phone, "You must be crazy. It's 11:30 PM. I'm not going over there, now."

His head cocked, and he looked like a puppy dog that was curiously examining something. "Why are you scared of me?"

Wham. That little question hit me like a slap to the face. Feeling a chill begin to crawl down my spine, I asked "What are you talking about, Ned?"

"You're hiding inside your room from me. You've been avoiding me all week since our argument. I KNOW you Moze. You can't hide from me. Not anymore."

My insides seemed frozen solid. I could barely breathe. "I'm going to kill you, Ned Bigby." I hissed his name out.

He chuckled. "I know."

He knew? How? "You know? How could you know?"

He cocked his head again, and he smiled crookedly at me. It was one of those smiles your friends wear when they know something you don't. You probably don't like it, and neither do I.

His answer was clear and precise. "I knew Moze, from the day I first fell in love with you. I knew you would smother me with your love and affections until I couldn't breathe. I would drown in it. I would lose my soul." He gestured at me. "All for you."

Goddammit! He really could get me going. The necklace glowed darkly, angry at the reaction Ned was causing in me. He was driving me crazy!

"What do you want, Ned?"

"I want you back, Moze. I want you to come over. We need to talk."

I took a moment to control my emotions – there they were again, the annoying little things. Struggling to break free of the iron walls I had constructed around them. It took several moments, then I regained my cool.

"Very well, then. But this had better be quick. How do you propose I get over there? It's 11:30 at night, and my parents are keeping a curfew on me."

"Just sneak out, like always." Typical Ned. The seriousness was gone from his voice already. He was so naïve.

So I snuck out.

Several hours later, Ned's house would be on fire and I would be stranded inside being roasted alive by my own inner demons.

Moze stopped her narrative and stared at the door entrance to the gymnasium. There was someone there. Someone standing there who wasn't supposed to be there.

It was Ned. He looked bad - his right eye was a purplish black, his right arm was in a sling, he was limping, and there was a wrapping of gauze around his head. He began to make his way back to his chair. Everyone stood up to help him, but Moze was there first walking with almost superhuman speed to reach him. She held him and together made their way back to the circle. Several seconds later, Ned made it back to his seat.

Everyone was silent. They couldn't believe their eyes. Ned, however, rolled his eyes and said, "What the HELL is everyone staring at? I know I'm super handsome, but jeez, if I had known it would create this kind of reaction, I would've stayed at the nurses' office."

Ned's ploy worked. The tension was broken, and nervous smiles and laughs went all around. Ned, smiling, took up the narrative and began to speak his part of the story.

Ned

If I could describe saving Moze, I would describe it like this: Jennifer Ann Mosely, better known as Moze, had just sold her soul to the devil. I intended to save her – how? Easy. By matching the price.

I would trade my soul for hers.

I heard footsteps outside my door. I quickly went to it, and opened it. What I saw made my heart stop.

Jennifer was standing there. She was there. Like some dark forbidding goddess (God, I sound sappy, but that's what I saw) that had come to tell me I was about to die. She was like a beautiful Grim Reaper, come to steal my soul.

I wasn't too far off from reality in that last description.

I opened the door wider and beckoned her inside.

Moze

Ned wasn't wearing much – just his boxers and that's about it. It wouldn't be the first time I'd seen him in nothing but his boxers. Ah, memories. I remember – it was during our 8th Grade Field Trip, when –

Whoa. Stop there. I was beginning to lose myself. What was wrong with me?

"What's up?" Ned was grinning like a crazy man.

"This had better be good, Ned." I sat down on his bed.

"We need to talk about. . ." I leaned forward-what did he want to talk about? Restarting our relationship? Why we broke up? Why I hated his guts, and wanted to kill him?

"We need to talk about that interesting necklace you're wearing." He definitely seemed interested in the necklace. Why? That's all he wanted to talk about? The stupid necklace?

The necklace glowed angrily.

"That's it?! You want to talk about the necklace?"

"Actually, do you mind if I wear it for a minute?"

What? What did that have to do with anything? "Ned, if you aren't going to be serious –"

"I am serious. I want to see that necklace." He reached a hand out for it.

I began to reach up to take the necklace off. As I did, I suddenly felt ill. I didn't want to take the necklace off. I didn't know I had become so attached to it.

I looked up and saw that Ned was studying my reaction very closely. What was going on? "What's the hold up? Just take it off."

"No, I don't think so." The words popped out of my mouth. Where did they come from? I wasn't even thinking that. . .

Ned's grin grew even wider. He really was starting to unnerve me. "Then I'll help you." His hand reached out, and I suddenly recoiled from his touch. It burned my skin – at least that's what I felt. What was going on?

"Ned, what are you doing?"

"The necklace has to go, Moze."

His hand gripped the necklace. I found myself feeling primal fear claw its way around my heart. I began to resist. What was wrong with me? It was just a necklace after all. Right? Right?

(No, no, no don't let him get me, let go, let go, LET GO)

His hand gripped tighter and tighter. It felt as though his hand was around my heart – the tighter he gripped the tighter the invisible hands around my heart gripped. I suddenly saw where this was going. He was going to rip it off me.

He whispered, "This is going to hurt a lot, Moze. Stay with me."

My hands reached up and began to claw weakly at his chest. My heart was pumping fast, and I found myself feeling faint.

He gripped the necklace and ripped it off me. Along with my heart. Someone was screaming, and the world went black.

Ned

Oh my God, she was screaming! I immediately clamped my hand down on her mouth to muffle the screams. It worked. She still screamed through my hand. It was like I ripped her heart out.

When she was done, I let go. "All better?"

The knife flashed before my eyes and I felt something stab my shoulder. "Give it back, Ned." Warm blood began to trickle down my chest. Oddly, enough, I didn't feel anything. My eyes were on the knife. Where had she gotten it?

It didn't matter. I was bleeding, and my best friend was trying to kill me. Yay, for me.

I stumbled backward and my body hit the door. I slid down, and sat there.

"Give it back to me, Ned." She looked tired, frenzied, and wild. Crazy. "Give it back!"

The necklace. She wanted the necklace. "You want it? That's what you want. The necklace. I'm sitting her bleeding and you want the necklace."

"I need it, Ned." She seemed surprised by her own words. I wondered if that was really her speaking.

"I'm not giving it back."

The knife flashed hard and fast. I felt something slash at my chest, and another trickle of blood began to run down. The knife flashed again; suddenly my right eye was unusable. I felt something warm trickle down my cheek. I saw her through my other good eye that she hadn't slash at yet.

The knife descended again, this time at my throat. It stopped right at the artery. One cut and I'm a goner. "I want it back." I looked into her eyes, and saw the conflicted emotions in there. There was a part of her that was horrified by what she had done – and another part of her that was nothing more than swirling black.

I held the necklace up. "What's so great about this thing, anyway? It's not exactly the height of fashion."

"You don't know anything. Now give back what is mine."

"Yours? I understand that this originally belonged to Cookie. I think I'll go call him up if I get the chance."

"GIVE IT BACK, NED."

"No. No, I won't." The knife disappeared and her hand gripped my throat like an iron vise. She was very strong.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I want you to show me."

"Show you what?"

"Show me what's so great about the necklace. Put it on me. Let's see how I do."

Moze

Oh my God, oh my God, What have I done? I was watching myself from far away. It was an out of body experience. I stared at myself slowly beginning to put the necklace on Ned.

"Do you feel it?"

"Actually, I'm feeling a little itch. Do you think you could get it for me?" He nudged his head toward his –

Ew.

Typical Ned. I was getting impatient. "No; no! What do you want?"

He seemed to ponder it. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you want most in this world? This necklace can help you get it."

"I'm only interested in one thing; one thing only which is why I invited you here."

"What would that be?" I asked.

He looked up at me. "Obvious, isn't it? Convert me, Moze. I beg of you. Make me experience the greatness of the necklace's power."

There it was again; that lurch, that feeling of being off-balance. He had done it again. Damn him.

"You want me to teach you about necklace?" I was astonished, amazed.

Ned's eyes blinked slowly. "Yeah. Tell me about it Moze. I beg of you, as your best friend and boyfriend."

"I'm not your girlfriend anymore."

Ned snorted. "You think that's going to stop me from loving you? Just because you won't accept it? No, I will always love you. I love you like an alcoholic loves alcohol. Like a serial killer loves to kill." Those eyes of his – they were like dragon eyes.

He continued on. "Tell me what's so great about this necklace. How do I accept its power?"

"You have to allow yourself to relax. To let go. To live life as it should be; at your command!"

"Life can never be tamed, Moze. There will always be something you can't control."

"Why, not? Why can't I control it?"

Ned shrugged. He didn't have an answer.

"If I control life, then I can get what I want. To get the power that the necklace offers, you have to stop lying to yourself. Let yourself want what you want. Let yourself fear what you fear. Give it up, and live!"

Ned didn't answer. He just looked at me. "What do you want, then?" I snapped. "Tell me what you want, and I will show you how the necklace can help you get it."

"I want . . . a rose."

What?! "Be serious, Ned."

"I AM serious, Moze. Can your necklace bring me a rose?" He paused. "Rose, Moze. They seem to rhyme, no?"

"Want something else, Ned. Something more realistic. Want power."

"I don't need power."

"Want wealth."

"Never was good with money."

"Want to be safe; want to be free from your fear!"

"I will never be safe, Moze." His eyes became dragon eyes once more, dangerous and ancient. Powerful. "The world is a cold, big, and very dark place: that is the truth. What I love will be taken from me sooner or later, by forces I can't control." He gestured at me. "Look at you."

"So be angry about it! Stop being the good guy, Ned! Strike back; don't turn the other cheek. For once, do what YOU feel is right, what you want to do, not how others dictate! Free yourself!"

Ned slowly stood up. And in that terrible moment I realized the error of my ways. Ned stood up, mutilated by my own hand, and I don't know if it was a trick of my eyes or mind or something. But the Ned I saw was terrible. It was a Ned gone bad, a Ned gone rotten, a Ned that had lost his heart. His face was horribly scarred, and his blue eyes had gone dark. The necklace was glowing stronger than ever; its red glint had taken on the color of congealed blood.

This was Ned as he would be, if he had worn the necklace instead of me. Ned, whose inner eternal wellspring of happiness had gone foul and become poisoned or corrupted. When he spoke there was a terrible smell, like burnt metal. I wondered, horrified, if my breath had been like that when I had worn the necklace.

"You know what, Jennifer, you're absolutely right. I should be angry – I should be real freaking angry." He snatched the knife from me and jumped up. "I should be mad. This whole world is screwed up! I want to control life at all it's levels; I want to stop the world from taking away all that I care about. It took away you, it took away Cookie, and it took away all my friends! Why should I care about the world? It should be caring about ME. Yes, yes it should! That's right life, I mock you and detest you, and I will take you down because Ned Bigby is free! Free at last!" He threw his head back, and unleashed a long chain of mad laughter. It was by far the most cynical, bitter, and sinister laugh I had ever heard.

He stopped his mad laughter, and then turned to face me. My heart seized into my throat. His eyes were no longer blue – they were an inky black. He stomped up to me, and seized me by the neck. He pulled my face up close to his, and he whispered (the foul smell of burnt metal washed over me and I gagged), "Where's that rose, I asked for Moze? I don't like to be disappointed."

He pulled me closer. "Where the hell is my rose?" he snarled. I didn't answer. I was too scared. He cocked his head and looked at me. "I'm sorry, Moze." He sounded sincere; there was no trace of the bitterness I had heard before in his voice. His breath was clean and didn't smell like burnt metal. For a second, I felt relief.

Then the knife went up . . . and then down. Toward me.

Ah, yes another chapter. I apologize for the lateness – after the fourth chapter I really didn't know how the story would continue. I guess you could call it writers block . . . or just being plain lazy. But I finally got it done. So here we are. Ned is wearing the necklace and is taking a swing at Moze. Uh-oh is he going to kill her?

No. I won't say what happens next (even I don't know, really – I just come up with this stuff on the spot) but if Ned and Moze are talking about this in the future then how could they be dead? That's pretty obvious, and I just want to clear things up. I don't know how long I'll continue this story – it's turning out pretty good. Maybe two more chapters, and then it's done. I have other stories to write. My head is bursting with them. So, give me a good review and more will come. Thanks, again.