Disclaimer: I do not own the Baby Sitters Club or any of its "sister" books. The Baby Sitters Club belongs to Ann M. Martin and Scholastics. I am simply borrowing their characters for a non-profit writing.

Thanks to: Ann M. Martin for writing such a great book series and Christopher Pike for inspiring me with his book, Remember Me. Without these two, this fanfic would not be.

Chapter SIX

(ZodiacRain, started 6/12/07)

The day of the funeral had arrived. Dawn and Mary Anne remained silent about Stacey, unsure how to tell their parents or the police. They knew they had to tell somebody, but they just didn't know who to tell.

Sharon, Dawn, Richard and Mary Anne silently drove to the funeral. Halfway through the drive, Mary Anne whispered, "Was it really Stacey?"

Dawn looked up to the front, to make sure their parents hadn't heard. Luckily, they seemed oblivious. "All the evidence points to her," she whispered.

"But what motive does she have?" Mary Anne asked. "Why would she want to kill Kristy?"

"I think," Dawn said cautiously, "I think that when she saw her father die, she went crazy."

"It would make sense," Mary Anne muttered. "But why Kristy?"

Where am I?

Oh… a graveyard… Why am I here?

Is that mom? Dad? I thought dad was in California…. Mallory's here, too! And Claudia, and Abby and Stacey…

Stacey. She's glowing dangerously. No… that force inside her is glowing. I don't like this… We need to get that force away from Stacey…

Mary Anne and Dawn have arrived, too. So has Jessi. Wait… practically everyone I know has come…

Is this a funeral?

This is my funeral, isn't it?

The funeral ended, leaving everyone in tears. Most of the attendees went inside the chapel to give condolences to Kristy's family. Mary Anne, practically blinded by her tears, started to head inside the chapel, too, but noticed that there were only three people outside.

Dawn, Stacey and herself.

"Dawn…" Mary Anne whispered through a stuffy nose, pointing at Stacey.

"Why's Stacey still outside?" Dawn muttered, wiping the tears off her face. "And why is she wearing a backpack to a funeral?"

Suddenly, without any warning, Dawn marched up to Stacey. Mary Anne followed quickly. "What are you doing?"

I'm going to find out if Stacey killed Kristy or not, Dawn thought, and why. She didn't care how dangerous it was. She needed to know.

Stacey looked up when Dawn and Mary Anne approached them. There was not a single tear on her face. "What do you want?" she asked. Her voice showed no remorse or sadness, just a little annoyance. It didn't sound like the voice Dawn remembered, but she ignored the thought.

"Stacey, did you murder Kristy?" Dawn asked, her voice soft from the crying rather then blaming. Mary Anne gasped; was she trying to blow everything?

A peculiar expression crossed Stacey's face. She slowly stood up and looked Dawn in the eye. Then, before Dawn could blink, Stacey's hand shot out and slapped her across the face. Surprised, Dawn stumbled backwards, holding onto her aching cheek. She tripped.

Stacey glared down at her.

"You didn't answer my question," Dawn said after a second of silence.

Mary Anne's hand rose, covering her mouth. "Dawn!"

That being inside Stacey. It's glowing stronger and stronger with every second…. What's that noise?

The sky behind the forest has changed. It's blood red, now, just like in Dawn's dream.

A single balloon is floating through the sky… how strange…

A cruel smile crossed Stacey's face. "Yes, I killed her. And as for the inevitable, yet stupid, question why? I was sent a message, a message from the man who murdered my father."

Stacey smiled expectantly as Dawn stood up. "Wh.. what message?" she asked.

"Every person on this planet, Dawn," Stacey explained, smiling menacingly, "will become murderers. We'll hunt ourselves into extinction. And those that refuse to be the murderers will be the murdered. You only have two choices, Dawn… Mary Anne…"

Before Dawn or Mary Anne could respond, Stacey pulled something out of her backpack and jumped at the other blond. Dawn fell to the ground, looking in terror at the needle on the ground. She felt her neck; Stacey had injected an air bubble into a major vein! Dawn gave a small, panicked cry before fainting.

Stacey looked murderously at Mary Anne. Mary Anne realized, silently, that the familiar-looking girl standing in front of her wasn't really Stacey. The imposter took a step forward. Mary Anne's feet seemed frozen to the ground, but only for a minute; with a jolt, she ran into the direction of the forest. Stacey smiled and started running after her.

"Dawn!" I float to Dawn, but she doesn't hear me cries. "DAWN!"

I notice how pale Dawn has become. Then I realize what I must do. Looking up at the bright red sky, I see the white balloon floating… "Don't worry, Dawn, I'll save you…"

I have to reach that balloon… I have to get there in time… Come on, Kristy, hurry up… I've got it!

"NO!"

I dropped it! It's floating away! Come on, Kristy, you need to get this...

"Yes!" I've got it! I need to keep it, I can't drop it….

What am I supposed to do? Maybe Dawn's better… I've got to see…

No, she's still pale… still so deathly pale…. "Dawn, what am I supposed to do? I've got the balloon!"

Wait. This balloon… it's an air bubble in Dawn's blood stream, right? I've got to pop it…

Yes! It worked! Dawn's standing up!

Dawn suddenly turns around to face me. "Kristy? Is that you? Where are Mary Anne and Stacey?"

"Get help! Mary Anne needs it!" I cry.

I don't want to leave Dawn, but I need to help Mary Anne… Now if I can just find her in time…

"Found you, Mary Anne!" Stacey chuckled. Mary Anne jumped nearly a mile in the air. Looking around, she tried to find some way to escape… some place to hide…

But, to Mary Anne's horror, the trees surrounded her, and the only way she could get out would be to knock Stacey down. Stacey was in front of her only exit. She seemed to notice Mary Anne's indecision, and took her sweet time putting the backpack on the floor. Slowly, she unzipped it and grabbed something out of it…

A knife. Mary Anne's eyes widened at the sight of the blood-covered knife. "That's… Kristy's blood…"

Stacey nodded, suddenly moving closer to Mary Anne. Mary Anne stepped back, until she realized that she couldn't step back any farther- the trees were in the way.

"It is Kristy's blood," Stacey laughed.

"But…" Mary Anne muttered, too terrified to think of anything logical to say. "The knife was found…."

Stacey smiled tauntingly. "I used two knives. It was actually pretty brilliant of me. I had two knives. Who would ever expect that? Why would I stab Kristy with a knife and leave it around for the police to find? If I only had one knife, why would I give it up? No, I stabbed her with this knife. Then, after she fell to the ground, I went upstairs and grabbed the second knife. I held it with cotton pads, however. Oh! You didn't know I kept cotton pads in my backpack, did you? I placed the knife in Kristy's blood. Then I threw this knife out of your OPEN window. Never thought that leaving a window open would assist a murderer, now, DID YOU, Mary Anne?"

Mary Anne was shaking in terror, yet she couldn't help but think of a few flaws with Stacey's logic. "Why would you want the police to find a knife?" she couldn't help but blurt out.

"Well, Mary Anne, if they found a knife," Stacey explained, "then they wouldn't spend as much time searching us. They didn't even bother to look in my backpack, those fools. What idiots! They didn't even search the obvious suspects-"

Stacey's sudden stop left Mary Anne confused. The silence was overbearing. Suddenly, without any warning, Stacey lunged towards Mary Anne, knife in hand. Mary Anne screamed in terror, closing her eyes and awaiting the painful blow.

However, the deadly blow did not come. Mary Anne looked up to see Stacey looking straight at her, her face pale. Stacey was frozen in place, the knife just inches away from Mary Anne's head.

"Kristy?" Stacey asked meekly, staring at the person Mary Anne couldn't see.

I can't move… I need to help Mary Anne, but that force around Stacey… it's too strong. Stacey's just talking, but she's holding that knife out threateningly…

NO! She's jumping towards Mary Anne! I can't let this happen! "Don't hurt Mary Anne!" I yell, now standing in front of the girl.

But then I remember that Stacey can't see me. The knife is coming closer… I need to become visible, seeable…

It's working! Stacey's frozen! And that evil aura around her is fading away, too…

"Kristy?" she mumbles. Suddenly, Stacey falls to the ground, crawling away from me. The evil force suddenly separates from her body, violently. I watch in horror as it splits in two. One side of it merges with the unaware Mary Anne, and the other side flows towards the right…

Dawn's here, and she's brought the police, too! And my parents, too…. But… that evil force is merging with her….

"Stacey McGill, you're under arrest!" one of the policemen yelled.

Dawn watched as the policemen grabbed a hold of Stacey and explained to her what her rights were. Something in the back of her mind realized with a jolt that she had almost died that day. If it weren't for Kristy, she'd be dead right now… and Mary-Anne would have died, too.

"Thank you, Dawn. Thank you, Mary Anne."

Clear as day, Kristy's voice rang out into the little opening. However, it was obvious that Dawn wasn't the only one who heard it. Kristy's mother gasped and the policemen looked around, confused. Mary Anne smiled slightly at the sound of her voice, but then burst into tears. Dawn went over to comfort her, listening as Kristy thanked the policemen for saving Mary Anne. Kristy also told her parents that she loved them.

"Wow," one of the policemen whispered as Kristy's voice faded away. "I've never heard of anything like this happening before…"

"I don't think this has happened before," another stated.

The policeman that was holding Stacey said, "I think I actually heard of something like this happening before. It supposedly happened in New York City, when a Mr. McGill's murderer was caught…"

A strange sensation swept Dawn. Or rather, it was the lack of a sensation. It took her a minute to figure it out, but then she realized that Kristy had left. For the first time in the last few days, Dawn couldn't sense Kristy.

Looking up at the sky, she smiled. Wherever Kristy was, it was certainly a lot better there, and Dawn knew Kristy deserved to be there.

"Goodbye, everyone," I whisper, but I don't think they can hear me anymore. I want to warn Dawn and Mary Anne, but… I don't belong here.

I'm floating… drifting… I'm finally going to where I belong….

I can feel the presence. I could feel the presence of people I knew… Mr. McGill… Janine… and I could fell the presence of people I'd heard about… Abraham Lincoln… Martin Luther King Jr…. I could fell the presence of many, many people, most of whom I didn't know. I can't wait to meet them…

But I still feel one last bit of worry within me. Please, Dawn, Mary Anne, please hear me: please don't let the evil force control you….