CHAPTER 4

The door to Rainbow's room flew open, and Wilt ran inside, slamming the door behind him. Normally, Wilt would never just barge in like this, but this was far from a normal situation. Rainbow sat up abruptly from his bed, startled and turning yellow for a moment before fading back to green. "Oh, Wilt, it's you," he said. "What's wrong?"

Wilt leaned against the door, sweating heavily. He stammered, "I... I-I... I just..."

"Calm down," Rainbow said, hopping off the bed and trotting over, becoming somewhat blue with concern. "It's all right. Just tell me what happened."

Sliding down the door frame and sinking into a sitting position, Wilt spoke with a low voice, "I... k--... k-killed... her... I didn't... m-mean..."

"Eurotrish?" Rainbow asked. Wilt barely managed to nod; he was quietly panicking and looked scared. Rainbow walked over to him and said, "Pick me up." Wilt didn't respond at first, and Rainbow turned orange, shouting, "Pick me up!"

Wilt snapped out of it for a moment and scooped up the tiny friend, holding him face to face. He immediately began to panic more openly, "What do I do?! I didn't mean... it was an accid--... I can't... oh my gosh... What do I do... I'm a murderer... I have to get out of...!"

"Wilt!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Get a hold of yourself!" Wilt quieted down, doing his best to keep from whimpering, though his body continued to shake. Rainbow continued, "First of all, how did it happen?"

"I... I got mad..." Wilt explained, "a-and pushed her... down the stairs..."

"And was anyone else around to see it happen?" Rainbow asked. When Wilt shook his head, he pointed out, "Then nobody knows it was you who did it. You'll be safe."

"Y-yeah, but..." Wilt protested; what did that matter? Rainbow's reaction seemed less horrified than he would have thought...

"Now listen to me," Rainbow said carefully. "Don't feel bad about this. Think about how you felt about her. Didn't she make you angry?" He grew a brighter orange and added, "Weren't you fed up with her? She wasn't about to change for you, was she?"

Wilt nodded, "Yeah... yeah, that's right..." He felt so conflicted; he was undeniably angry, but he couldn't understand why he felt that way, especially when he should be feeling sad, guilty and terrified. Why was the anger stronger than all of that? Did he really hate her that much?

"But now, think about it," Rainbow told him, shifting now to a green color. "She's gone. She'll never bother you again. There's no longer any reason for you to feel upset, and no reason to feel bad about what you had to do. Let the anger go... how do you feel now?"

Wilt's anger faded, and to his surprise, so did all of the guilt for having killed someone. Instead, he felt... refreshed, as if a load had been lifted off his shoulders. It suddenly made so much sense; there was no need for any regret for what he did. The way Eurotrish made him feel, the insincerity and selfishness she displayed... all that was forever gone, and would trouble him no more. In its place, he found only bliss; for the first time in his life, he felt truly happy. He never thought such a terrible act would feel so right... and best of all, he had gotten away with it...

"How do you feel?" Rainbow repeated.

With a smile, Wilt admitted, "I feel good... happy. I actually feel happy..."

"There, you see?" Rainbow said, smiling with him with a bold green color. "Everything's going to be just fine... now, there's just one more thing you need to do, to make sure nobody finds out..."

Mac moved down the hall quietly, shining the penlight ahead of him. One of the first doors in the hall was already open, and he caught sight of a teddy bear sitting just inside. This must be Kevin's room, he thought, moving up closer to get a better look. Bloo stayed close behind and said, "Are you sure it's safe?"

"Of course it is," Mac replied. "The killer's long gone."

"Yeah, but maybe he left traps," Bloo insisted. "We could be walking right into one!"

Mac looked back at him, "But the cops were already through here. They would've set of the traps if there were any."

"Unless..." Bloo said, thinking hard. "Unless... they were delayed traps! Maybe they take a whole day to go off! Quick, what time is it?"

"There are no traps!" Mac shouted.

"Okay, geez!" Bloo said, throwing up his hands. "Just trying to be careful." The two of them walked into the room to get a better look. This was without a doubt the boy's room. The wallpaper had airplane designs across it, there were piles of toys and stuffed animals, and a little mobile of the solar system hung from the ceiling. There was a small bed with rockets on the bedspread, and a closet full of various colors of clothing.

Mac made a mental note of the things he saw, and said, "Look at all this stuff. What kind of kid do you think Kevin was?"

"Kind of a sissy if you ask me," Bloo muttered, picking up a yellow pony from the pile of stuffed animals and giving it a strange look. It suddenly squeaked in his hands, and he cracked a smile, giggling.

"Rocket ships, airplanes, solar system," Mac noted. "He liked flying, that's for sure." He rooted through the toys, finding a lot of toy airplanes and spaceships, further supporting his theory. "Could make sense... rainbows are found in the sky, after all, and if he was sad at he time..." He stopped talking and glared at Bloo, who was still squeaking the pony doll. "Stop it!"

Frowning, Bloo dropped the doll and said, "So if Kevin likes flying, all we need is to find someone else who also likes flying?"

"Maybe," Mac said, though something was bothering him and he couldn't figure out what it was. Something about the planes, or the rockets... then it hit him. "Wait, Bloo. What's wrong with this whole thing?"

"You won't let me keep the pony?" Bloo answered.

"No, I mean about Kevin and Rainbow," Mac said. "If Kevin loved flying, don't you think he would imagine a friend who could also fly?"

"Well... um..." Bloo said. "Maybe... maybe he can, and we've just never seen him do it?"

"Or maybe," Mac suggested, "he could fly at one time, but can't anymore." He scratched his head, "Or maybe, the rainbow thing was enough of a connection. I don't know... let's look to see if we can find any pictures of Rainbow. Maybe he used to have wings or something..."

It didn't take long for Eurotrish to be found, which caused a huge stir throughout the house. Friends began gathering around, making it hard to approach the scene. Mr. Herriman and Frankie pushed their way through the crowd, and upon seeing Trish's condition, Mr. Herriman blanched, "My goodness...!"

"Oh no!" Frankie exclaimed, running down the steps and examining her closely. She turned around to the others and shooed them back, "Give me some room!" The friends piled back on the steps and allowed Herriman through, who looked on rather helplessly. Frankie checked her pulse, and then looked up sadly at Herriman, shaking her head.

There were murmurs from the crowd. The rabbit lowered his eyes and took off his hat, holding it to his chest. Knowing his duty in this instance, he turned to the others and said, "Please... return to your rooms. I will make an... an announcement shortly." Everyone else obediently left, leaving the two of them alone with the body.

"Poor girl," Frankie said. "She must've tripped."

Mr. Herriman nodded, "I agree. However, it is still rather shocking. She only fell one flight of stairs after all, so she must have fallen with some force."

Frankie looked up at him, "You think she was running?"

"Perhaps," Mr. Herriman remarked. "Or, she could have been knocked down by someone else on the stairs."

"What?" Frankie said, confused. "But then why hasn't anybody said anything about it?"

Adjusting his monocle thoughtfully, Mr. Herriman said, "Why indeed..."

Frankie gaped at him for a moment, and then exclaimed, "What's wrong with you, man? One of our residents was just killed, and you're already trying to blame somebody for it? Trish had those big shoes; she was probably running and tripped! It's the easiest answer!"

"And the most convenient," Mr. Herriman pointed out. "Do not think I am being insensitive, Ms. Francis; quite the contrary, it grieves me to see an untimely end to any imaginary friend. For the sake of Ms. Eurorish, however, the precise circumstances of this tragedy must be determined in order to prevent it from occurring again."

"Fine," Frankie huffed. "We should get the police to take a look then. We need to do something."

"Yes, yes," Mr. Herriman nodded. "I will call the police immediately, and also inform Ms. Eurotrish's creator; I believe I have their European telephone number on file. In the meantime, please cordon off the area so that it remains untouched." He gave Trish a heartfelt glance before hopping off quickly downstairs.

Frankie watched him leave, and then laid a hand on Trish's back, frowning sadly. Accidents like this weren't unheard of over the years she's been at the house, but it was definitely uncommon, and the death of an imaginary friend was always a terrible loss. They could practically last forever if it weren't for things like this...

The area had been clear of all other friends, but Frankie was unaware that one was still hiding a few floors above and watching her. Eduardo had listened the whole time and had heard Herriman's accusation that someone had possibly pushed Trish. He had been hiding from the house for most of the day, afraid that someone may be out to get him, and was beginning to calm down... but now, he knew something was happening. If someone had killed Eurotrish, then they would surely be back for more. Or maybe it was a warning to him that he was next.

He lingered only for another moment, and then fled as quietly as possible, trying to find someone who would protect him, or at least help. As he moved down one of the halls, he halted in front of a room, which he knew belonged to Rainbow. He reached out and gave it a very soft knock.

It opened, and Rainbow stood at the door, saying, "Wow, I must be popular today. Come on in, Ed..." Eduardo nodded and came in, while Rainbow gave a small smile and closed the door behind them...

It didn't take too long for Mac and Bloo to find some family pictures, since there were some hanging in the hallway, but they wanted to find as many as they could. Going through one of the closets in the hall, they found some more, including a box full of loose photos, and an album that looked like a vacation from last summer. One thing they were noticing in all the pictures, however...

"Where's Rainbow?" Bloo voiced after a while. "He sure must be camera shy... or maybe he's the one taking all the pictures..."

"No way," Mac said, thumbing through picture after picture. "There would have been at least one picture of him. What's going on here?"

"Maybe he doesn't show on film," Bloo suggested. "Rainbow's a ghost!"

By now, Mac hadn't even bothered to respond to any more of Bloo's ridiculous claims. He mused, "Maybe... maybe they didn't know about him... maybe Kevin kept him a secret. I mean, he's small enough to hide away easily..." He looked at the photos of Kevin, smiling widely and standing near his parents, the tiny friend nowhere in sight. There had to be something... something...

Something suddenly stuck out from the corner of his eye. Bloo was still sifting through the photos from the box, and one of them had writing on it. He quickly grabbed the photo and looked at it; the boy was on the front wearing a party hat and sitting in front of a birthday cake. On the back of the photo, a quick note had been scrawled:

Gregory, 5th birthday

Mac blinked in surprise, "Gregory? But... but then... who's Kevin?"

Rainbow turned from the door and looked up at Eduardo, "So you really think someone is after you?"

"Yes, you right when you said before," Eduardo fretted. "They already get someone else! Eurotrish es muerta! They come after me next! What do I do?" He spread out his arms in a sign of helplessness.

"All right it's time I leveled with you," Rainbow told him. With two careful leaps, he jumped onto Eduardo's outstretched arm, then onto his head. Eduardo looked up at the tiny friend hanging from one of his horns, who said, "I can't lie to you, Ed. But I also don't want to scare you..."

"Tell me," Eduardo begged, "please!"

Rainbow took a deep breath, shifting yellow as he said, "There's someone... someone scary out there... th-they even frighten me. I don't know w-who it is exactly, but they know you. And they're d-definitely out for you."

The sight of Rainbow suddenly looking so afraid, so less brave than he had seen him before, made Eduardo start shaking. He said, "You... you don't know... who it is?"

Rainbow shook his head, "It's just... just what I have been seeing in people since I got here. The way everyone looked at you, and treated you. It could be any of them. And... and when I heard what happened to Eurotrish... there's no doubt... he was sending a sign. H-He was saying that you're next..."

A cold fear swept over every inch of Eduardo's body. It wasn't his usual paranoia, but real fear; normally, he could only suspect and be afraid of some phantom threat that seemed to follow him wherever he went, but this was real. He had confirmation that something was really out to get him, and that it wasn't just to frighten him or cause him pain. It was a real threat on his life. The thought paralyzed him, but he managed to say, "W-what... do I... d-do..."

"There's only one thing you can do, Ed," Rainbow said, his color shifting to red. "You have to strike them first. You have to deliver the first blow... it's either them or you."

Eduardo protested, "But I... I too s-scared..."

"Then you're already dead!" Rainbow growled, turning brighter red. "You don't have a choice! Do you want to die? If you want to live, you must kill, or be killed..."

A strange feeling washed over Eduardo, feelings of courage. He knew that Rainbow was absolutely right. If he didn't kill first, the he would be killed instead. He knew there were few people in the house that could match his strength, his ferocity, especially if he surprised them first. It was for his own survival. If he showed fear, he was dead.

"Are you ready?" Rainbow asked, hopping down from his head and going over to the door to open it. Eduardo's face was steeled, and he nodded once silently; Rainbow swung the door open and let the large friend walk confidently out into the hallway...

"Did his name change?" Bloo suggested. "Did he have a twin? Did he have a clone? Is he a visitor from an alternate dimen--"

"Bloo!" Mac shouted. "Knock it off! I don't know what's going on, but we have to find out. Something is very, very wrong here..." He looked at the back of photo after photo; all of them that had notes written on them referred to the boy as Gregory. The parents were named Jeff and Darlene. The name Kevin wasn't written on a single one of the photos. But it didn't make any sense, because Rainbow had talked about Kevin, and they had seen the name on...

Suddenly recalling something, Mac took off his backpack and reached inside, pulling the notebook Bloo had found before. 'Kevin' and 'Rainbow' were written on the cover along with the crayon drawings. The side of the book had scuff marks on it that looked like they came from a shoe, like someone had kicked it. Flipping the book open, he was surprised to find pages and pages of writing, far more than any 5 year old could ever have written. It looked like some sort of diary. A cold feeling ran down his spine as he read a few of the first scrawled entries in the book, piecing it together...

Kevin hid behind the side of the couch in the small trailer park home, watching his parents with teary eyes as they yelled at each other. "You're lazy!" his mother shouted, a gaunt, almost skeletal woman who looked at least fifteen years older than she really was. "I work my fingers to the bone. To the bone! We wouldn't even have a home if it weren't for me! I have to work a job and take care of this family, while you sit around all day and do nothing!"

Kevin's father, a large tub of a man, wasn't even looking at the woman; his half-closed eyes were fixed on their black-and-white television set, a beer bottle in one hand and his other arm resting on the back of the couch. "Shaddup," he said, nearly spitting the words. "All ya do is nag, nag, nag. Yer lucky I don't glue yer trap shut; it's the only way I kin get any peace 'round here."

"Don't you start that with me!" his mom scolded. "You're lucky to have someone doing things for you! If I wasn't here, you'd wither away to nothing! You need me, because nobody else will put up with you!"

His father chuckled under his breath and said, "Bah, yer lucky ta have me, 'cause yer too ugly ta get anyone else."

Furious, his mother said, "I don't have to put up with this! I can leave anytime I want; you and that brat son you wanted can go to hell!"

"You ain't leavin'," his father said matter-of-factly.

"Yes I am!" she shouted back.

Lifting himself from the couch, he turned to face her, and Kevin knew what was coming, ducking back around the edge of the couch and clenching his eyes shut. He heard a loud smack, followed by his father repeating more loudly, "You ain't leavin'!"

At this point, Kevin couldn't bear to hear them and ran out the back door, which had been left ajar. Once outside, he slumped down against the side of the home and buried his head in his hands, crying heavily; tears ran down the sides of his arms as he wept. His parents fought like this constantly, and it made Kevin feel worse and worse until he couldn't take it anymore. He wished there was some way he could make them both stop, some way to make his life better...

Something rested gently on his shoulder, and he blinked, raising his head from his hands and looking through tear-filled eyes. A small, green imaginary friend had appeared on his shoulder, which looked at him with his big gray eyes and said, "Everything's going to be all right. No matter what darkness the world will bring, I will always be your rainbow that will guide you to the light. I will show you how to be strong, how to take things into your own hands, and how to make it all better. Kevin Fredericks, your life is about to take a new turn..."

"Oh my gosh..." Mac breathed as he read the diary entries. "Oh my gosh... Bloo, we were all wrong!"

"We were?" Bloo asked, not understanding. "About what?"

Mac was still in shock, but explained, "The kid who lived here, Gregory... he didn't create Rainbow, and neither did anyone else who lived here! It wasn't any of them! This book didn't even belong to them; it must have been dropped by accident and kicked under the chair downstairs..."

Bloo looked even more confused, "But then... then who...?"

"Don't you see?!" Mac exclaimed. "It was Fredericks! The killer!! And that means..." The blood drained from his face, and he said, "We've gotta get back to Foster's now!"

Rainbow sat on the edge of his bed, staring intently at the door. He was waiting... waiting for Eduardo to return, or Wilt. Manipulating them had been easy, far easier than it had been for all the time he spent with Kevin. He accomplished in a day what had taken years before, and it was only the start. There was much insecurity across many of the residents of the house, making it the perfect place to start anew. But he wished he didn't have to start over; despite how he had manipulated Kevin, he did care for him and nothing could ever replace that. Now that Kevin was gone, his hatred for the rest of humanity as a whole was all he had left. For all the hardships Kevin had been forced to endure, torment which eventually drove him to take his own life, he would make them suffer...

To be continued…