Dark Force Rising

The journey back to Blackwell was as uneventful as it was quick. However, it took him some time to find his car in the hospital parking lot due to the fact that he was at first looking for a blue Celica instead of a white Mazda. Luckily neither Max nor Chloe noticed his momentary confusion and in a matter of moments they were on their way back to school to search for clues in Nathan's room.

Max and Chloe were hoping that Nathan wasn't in his room so they would have an opportunity to take a peek inside. If Nathan was in his room Kevin was certain that he wouldn't allow such a minor detail to bother him. Interrogating Nathan would certainly be an enjoyable experience, especially if he resisted at first.

As Kevin parked his car in the school parking lot, he felt a darkness grow within his chest and he was momentarily shaken by the fact that he wasn't bothered at all by thoughts of inflicting harm on someone else. Exiting his vehicle, he decided that such dark thoughts were reasonable when they concerned Nathan, he was a despicable human that drugged and did god knows what to defenseless girls after all.

As the trio marched across the campus towards the dorms, he noted that his companions seemed to be walking with more vigor today. Their heads were held high, their shoulders straight and their steps were confident and filled with purpose. Perhaps he wasn't the only one among them who desired justice for Kate, but in his case, he knew that he didn't just want justice, he wanted revenge.

Upon reaching the dorms, Max and Chloe spread out to talk to some of their friends and peers to see if anyone had seen Nathan. Taking a more direct route, Kevin marched into the dorms and quickly located Nathan's room. Without a second of hesitation, he pounded on the door with barely contained fury.

"Nathan! Are you in there you piece of shit?" He waited for a moment and focused his hearing as best he could, but no sounds responded to him from within. Trying the door, he found it frustratingly locked and he took a moment to listen again, just in case. Sounds of loud music, video games, and perhaps even movies seeped out of the other dorms and clashed for dominance. Sighing in annoyance, he crossed his arms and pondered his options. Nathan was clearly not inside but aside from bashing down his door or climbing through his window, Kevin couldn't think of a less conspicuous way to gain access to the room. As he stood there pondering on what to do next, he almost didn't notice Max come to stand behind him.

"Did Kate help you find his room too?" she asked quickly as she carefully stuffed her phone into her pocket. Kevin shook his head in response and returned to his thoughts as he glared at the obstacle before him. Max hesitantly tried the door and seemed slightly disappointed when the door didn't open. Before he could tell her that he had already tried to open the door, Max quickly moved to the right of the door and grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher. Momentarily confused, Kevin kept his comments to himself and his jaw dropped as Max bashed the door handle and opened the door.

"Max… what the hell are you doing?" His words were hushed and he looked around the hallways to make sure no one was around as she returned the extinguisher. Ignoring him, she burst into the room and before he could move to follow, he felt the world shift around him. As he marveled in wonder from the experience, he watched breathlessly as the ruined door repaired itself before him. The door mended, he felt the world shift again, and he exhaled in awe as Max unlocked and opened the door. She wore a devious and triumphant smile as she invited him inside.

"All you, mad Max. I'm going to go and keep watch in case Nathan shows his face… if he does, I'll keep him busy for you."

Nodding, Max told him that Chloe was keeping watch at the front door of the dorms and that she would search the room as quickly as she could. As she closed the door, Kevin made his way to join Chloe. He found her leaning against the wall, arms crossed, as she peered out the door's small window.

"Max is inside…"

Chloe turned to him as he spoke and nodded before turning back to her sentry duties. Kevin posted himself up on the opposite side of the door and mimicked her stance, but before he could bring up Max's ingenious method for gaining entry, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He felt his spirits lift considerably as he discovered that Kate had sent him a message. She must have assumed that he had joined Max and Chloe on their search for clues, because her message stressed that he should be careful and that she didn't want any harm to come to him because of her. Smiling at her concerns, he told her not to worry and reassured her that they would be careful. Nathan should be the one to worry, if he shows up he's going to be in for a rude surprise.

Chloe noticed the all too foolish smile spreading across Kevin's face and teased him relentlessly for it. Kevin ignored her because something far more important than her jests had caught his undivided attention. Telling his friend not to move an inch, her eyes narrowed in suspicion but she nonetheless obeyed. He raced to his room and grabbed his laptop bag, stopping only to ensure that his camera was inside. Returning to Chloe, he was relieved to discover that she had complied with his request and that she had remained exactly where she was.

"Oh my God really? You and Max are such nerds…" Chloe scoffed as she watched him remove his camera and frame up his shot. Turning away from him, she returned her gaze to the window and settled back into her sentry duties. Smiling as he lined up the shot, he marveled at the contrast of the lighting on Chloe's face. The pale indoor light reflected off of part of Chloe's face, while the rest was shadowed slightly due to her position and the angle in which she stood. Her intense and searching stare added a sense of mystery to the shot. Steadying his breathing, he took the shot and smiled in triumph as he returned his camera to his bag. He didn't need to check over his work at the moment, because he knew that he had again succeeded at capturing perfection.

As he was finishing securing his camera in his bag, he noticed a triumphant looking Max round the corner and hurry towards them.

"Damn. Max, you're finally back… I got worried." Rolling his eyes, Kevin resisted teasing Chloe about her concerns, because even without Max's short time manipulation, she hadn't really been gone that long. "So, what did you find?"

"His room was clean… and creepy," said Max, turning to remove something from her camera bag. Max revealed a clear plastic bag that contained a few items, including a phone. "Check this out…"

Max handed the bag to Chloe so she could inspect the contents, and the door they should have been watching opened, a surprised looking Nathan stumbling through it. Max managed to hide her prize in time, and for a moment the trio stared at Nathan in surprise while he stared back.

"What are you doing in my dorm?" Nathan stammered out. He turned his gaze on Kevin, his eyes narrowing. "Girls aren't allowed in here, man… and what is she doing here?" Nathan leveled an accusing finger at Chloe, who crossed her arms and shifted her stance defiantly.

"What are you going to do… report me for bringing girls into your dorm?" Stressing the word 'your' in a taunting manner, Kevin took a step towards Nathan. "How about I tell everyone about that gun you are carrying around? Or how you're a sick sonofabitch who likes drugging girls for fun?"

Nathan reacted as rashly as Kevin had expected him to and reached behind him, probably for the aforementioned firearm. Anticipating this maneuver, Kevin cleared the distance between the two of them in an instant. He used his left hand to grab Nathan's gun-arm, and swiftly punched Nathan in his throat with his left. Nathan staggered back in surprise and dropped his gun as Kevin wrenched his right arm at an odd angle. The pistol clattered heavily on the floor, and Nathan cried out in pain as he was driven against the wall.

"Get off me—!" Nathan managed to call out, but was cut short as Kevin fiercely headbutt him in the face. Recoiling painfully from the blow, Nathan struggled again, but Kevin drove his fist into his stomach and the fight left Nathan as a gasp of air was forced out of his lungs.

Hitting him again and again, Kevin drove him to the ground, and once he was certain that Nathan would resist no longer, he snatched Nathan's discarded firearm. Recalling Charlie's deft movements, he released the magazine and as it slid out he noted that the gun was fully loaded. Shoving the rounds back into the weapon, Kevin cocked the gun and levelled it on his defeated foe. Sensing movement behind him, he cast a quick glance and noticed that Max and Chloe were frozen in place and that Warren had just now come around the corner.

"Go back to your room, Warren. You didn't see anything," said Kevin.

Momentarily stunned by the seriousness of Kevin's voice, Warren shrugged and turned to go. "Didn't see what?" He responded, sounding almost bored.

Turning his full attention back to Nathan, Kevin shoved the gun into his chest and used his free hand to drag him off of the ground and back to his feet, still pressed firmly against the wall.

"Now you listen and you listen well… You're going to tell me exactly what you did to Kate or I swear to God that I will put a fucking bullet in you!"

Nathan's eyes went wide with fear as the barrel of his own gun was pressed harder and harder against his chest. Nathan stammered for a moment that he hadn't done anything but Kevin quickly cut him off as he quickly repositioned the gun to press into Nathan's cheek.

"Don't you dare try and lie to me. Now speak before I redecorate this wall with an interesting new color I like to call 'hint of brain." Kevin could feel the darkness grow within him, and it urged him on, lusting for vengeance. It cheered as his finger moved closer to the trigger.

"Kevin, this… this isn't the way." Max was suddenly beside him, and she had a pleading look in her eyes as she reached out to him. Gingerly placing one hand on his shoulder, she used the other to inch his arm back, bringing the gun away from Nathan's face. Kevin's eyes went from Max to Chloe and then back to Nathan. Chloe, to her credit, was doing her best to contain her enjoyment of the scene, but Max's face was full of worry and fear.

Nathan had gone completely pale with dread and probably wouldn't have been able to speak even if he wanted to. Letting out a sigh of disgust, Kevin withdrew the gun, which felt ten times heavier than it had before, and flicked the safety on. Glaring at Nathan, he slowly let him go and withdrew a few paces. Max breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm keeping this by the way. Don't worry, I'll bring it back. And when I do, you will tell me everything you did. Everything," said Kevin, tucking the pistol into his laptop bag and casting Nathan one last threatening look.

Kevin pushed open the door to the stairwell and attacked the stairs with barely contained fury. Damn you, Max. I should have just shot him! We know he did it… who cares about doing it properly?

He fumed all the way up the stairs, and his mood still hadn't improved as he exited the dorms and made his way outside. Shielding his eyes as they adjusted to the sunlight, he glared at his surroundings. There were far too many people around at the moment. He desired to be alone, but he didn't dare go back to his dorm. He had frightened Nathan half to death, but that didn't mean he wouldn't regain his courage and do something in retaliation.

Having made up his mind, Kevin decided that he would leave campus and drive… somewhere. As he began to make his way away from the dorms, he heard Max coming up behind him.

"Kevin! Are you… okay?" She was plainly worried about him, but he shrugged off her concerns.

"I'm fine. I just want to be alone."

Stung by his quick and intense words, she recoiled slightly. Her shoulders slumped and her face saddened but she persisted. "But—"

Not in the mood for conversation, and feeling like he'd done his job to convey that, Kevin turned away from her and stormed off.

"Let him go, Max… just let him go." Chloe's tone was hard, clearly angered by his rough treatment of Max, but she seemed to understand enough of what was going on to keep Max at bay as he quickly put distance between himself and his two friends.

Kevin felt his phone vibrate in his pocket for the third time as he trudged up the steep path. Exhaling in frustration, he finally gave in to the furious buzzing and wrenched it out of his pocket. Two messages were from Max and a third was from Olivia.

Max's first message stated that she and Chloe were on their way to meet with Frank to see if he was willing to aid them with their investigation into Nathan and Rachel. Her second message stated that things had gotten dicey, but everything had worked out and that they acquired some information from Frank that would help. She also mentioned that they were on their way to Chloe's to see if they could organize all their clues into something cohesive, and that they could use his help with combining all of the puzzle pieces together.

Expecting Olivia's message to be more of the same, he was surprised to see that it wasn't at all what he had expected. Max told us what happened, call if you need to talk. He was tempted to take her up on the offer, but as he neared his destination he decided against it.

He had reached the lighthouse and, as he had expected, it was deserted. He had wanted to be alone and away from everything. This was the best place to achieve those results. The junkyard had been a possibility as well, but that place had creeped him out. Here he could be away from everyone and everything. As he took in the peacefulness of his surroundings, he began to feel better, if only slightly.

The waves crashed against the cliff far below and a light breeze tickled his skin, causing a slight shiver to run down his neck. The trees swayed back and forth, and song-birds darted this way and that as they went about their business. As Kevin sat down on the lone bench, he cast his gaze out to the open ocean and felt the beginnings of regret enter into his mind.

He shouldn't have been so hard on Max. She stopped him from doing something that he probably would have regretted. He could have pulled the trigger and shot Nathan, and, even though Max could have used her powers to stop him from doing so, he would have always remembered it.

Shuddering at the thought of taking the life of another person, even one such as Nathan's, he wrapped his arms around his shoulders. Doing his best not to feel sorry for himself, he knew that he had to apologize to Max, and soon, she had only been worried about him after all. Max had acted like a good friend and he had spurned her for it, luckily, he had gotten away from everyone before his dark mood had caused any further damage.

The darkness was gone now, but he still felt it lurking somewhere deep inside of himself all the same. He took a deep and calming breath and slowly exhaled, the saltiness of the sea flooded into him and he felt revitalized almost immediately. Stretching out on the bench, he placed his laptop bag next to him, opened it, and regarded its contents. Nathan's gun stared back at him from within, as if it were beckoning him to take hold of it once again. He could feel wisps of the darkness egging him on, encouraging him to take hold of it once again. He thought of tossing the firearm over the cliff to rid himself of the temptation, but he held back. The gun may come in handy before all of this was over.

He ignored the gun and reached into a side pocket instead. He took out the picture that Max had taken of him and Kate. I should just go back to the hospital and visit Kate again. I wonder if her parents have made their way out to see her yet…

Hearing movement behind him, his thoughts were interrupted, and he quickly but carefully tucked the photograph back inside his bag and sealed it. Turning around, he noticed three men making their way up the path towards him. They were all plainly and efficiently dressed, not really standing out in any way. The three men were hard and rough looking, and wore their eerily similar clothes almost like uniforms.

Their purposeful approach gave him a bad feeling. The man in the lead was wearing dark aviator sunglasses, but Kevin was certain that he was staring right at him. His hair was jet-black and slicked back, and his hard face was accented by thick, dark stubble. His hands were deep in his pockets, his posture steady as he marched up the path, determination in his heavy steps.

To the man's left was a big, meaty-headed man, who was scanning the area around them, as if looking for threats. He was broad-shouldered, thick-chested and dangerous looking. The third and final man had a softer appearance than the other two, but matched their formidability. He had a full beard and goatee of light brown hair that accented an almost kind face. A pair of piercingly intelligent blue eyes bore down on Kevin. He found himself reaching for his bag where the gun was hidden as a chill shot up his spine. Unzipping the bag, he yanked the strap around his shoulder and prepared to leave, his hand inches away from the opening, ready to grasp the weapon if these men were as much trouble as they seemed.

As he shot to his feet, the men unhurriedly fanned out around him. There was no doubt about it now, they were here for him.

Kevin's hand shot into his bag and grabbed hold of his gun, but, as he did so, quick and practiced movements gave him pause as the three men drew their concealed weapons on him. Realizing that it was too late, he froze mid-motion of withdrawing the pistol from his bag.

One of the men shouted out, and, in an instant, Kevin collapsed hard on the ground. His entire body had gone numb. Struggle as he might, he couldn't move a muscle. Panic set in as his mind slowly came to the realization that he had been shot, but the sensation was nothing like when Nathan had shot him. There was no pain, no burning sensation, no fatigue. He simply felt nothing.

"Blast it all, Canderous—!" one of the men called out, but was quickly cut off by a rough, calm voice.

"What? The kid had a weapon."

The men approached him, their rough voices and the rhythmic crunch of the autumn leaves under their boots drew closer.

"And what if he had fallen off of the cliff?" The third voice was calm and collected, but contained a hint of annoyance. "What would we have told the boss?"

"He would have been okay with it, I think," chuckled the probable Canderous, the dangerous meat-head who'd just entered Kevin's field of blurred vision. There was nothing soft about the man's appearance at all, everything about the man, from his solid muscles to his wretched smile, screamed danger.

"Yes, I'm sure that whole part where he stressed that we 'keep him alive,' was just a misunderstanding, eh Candy?"

"Piss off, Gerrard. The kid's fine… just stunned."

The men were above him now. His heart beat pounded in his ears and he felt as if it would rip itself out of his chest at any moment. "And Hans… you know me. If I had wanted to kill the kid, he'd be fuckin' dead."

"It's a good thing that you restrained yourself then," a fourth voice, eerily familiar, called out from a distance. He heard and almost felt the three men around him tense as the newcomer approached. "Alright then... Lieutenant grab that weapon and check his bag. You two get him up and sort him out. I would like to speak with him, now."

The world flashed back to Kevin in agonizing suddenness that made his head spin, the abrupt sense of overwhelming vertigo clawing at his consciousness. He keeled over, but two pairs of sturdy hands held him upright by the shoulders. They quickly released him when he lurched forward and vomited. Narrowly avoiding covering his sneakers in what had formerly been the contents of his stomach, Kevin choked and gasped for air.

"That's it. Get it all out. There we go," an almost kind voice reassured him, as Kevin retched.

When he could breathe again, Kevin wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. One of the men from earlier knelt down in front of him, taking care not to step in the vomit.

Scanning his surroundings for a moment, Kevin realized that he was sitting on the same bench that he had been previously and his peaceful surroundings contrasted cruelly with his present situation.

The man with the kind face and piercing eyes nodded to the men behind Kevin, and he was pulled upright, his vertigo had subsided slightly, but he still reeled from the motion. "Easy… just take it easy."

"Quit fucking babying him, Gerrard. Is he ready?" The rough and harsh voice could only have come from the meaty-headed Canderous, and, as Kevin watched the alleged Gerrard react to the comment, he could see traces of hostility cross Gerrard's face.

"He needs some more time. It isn't easy being brought out of stun like—"

Canderous let out a monstrously unnerving laugh, cutting Gerrard off mid-sentence. "Yeah, well… I wouldn't know."

Kevin could see that a troubled history existed between the two as he watched Gerrard's challenging glare fire back over Kevin's right shoulder.

"Care to find out?" Gerrard's face had lost all of its pleasantness, and his voice was full of ice and venom. He may appear to be the 'good cop' of the bunch, but it was quite clear that he was no stranger to his other, nastier emotions either.

"Knock it off, you two," came the disinterested but firm voice from over his left shoulder. Kevin turned slightly to see that the man wearing the aviator sunglasses was regarding his two colleagues in a calm, but somehow threatening manner, this was probably Hans. Canderous grunted dismissively, but remained silent, and Kevin felt the hand on his right shoulder dig into bone for a moment. Noticing Kevin wince in pain, Gerrard glared fiercely at Canderous. The man remained silent despite his reaction, and he took a few steps back. Crossing his arms, Gerrard regarded the captive Kevin for a moment.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions and it is in your best interest to answer them quickly and truthfully. Cooperate with us and this whole experience will be much easier for you," said Gerrard, with an air of entirely misplaced formality.

Kevin blinked in bewilderment and swallowed involuntarily, his dry throat complicating the simple maneuver. Gerrard cast a glance over Kevin's right shoulder, and when he followed his gaze, he saw Canderous cruelly glaring right back at him.

Great, so cooperate or the meaty-headed asshole is going to beat the shit out of you… I can read between the lines. Nodding, Kevin put on a defiantly brave face and set his eyes on his interrogator.

"What's your name?" asked Gerrard,

The simplicity of the question gave Kevin pause. Blinking in astonishment, he stared back at Gerrard. Obviously interpreting his hesitation as reluctance to answer, Canderous gripped his shoulder harder. As Kevin winced from the pain the massive man leaned closer to him, his hot, sticky breath assaulting the side of his face.

"Answer the question," Canderous gritted out, each word coming out slowly and containing more threat than its predecessor. Canderous got right into Kevin's face. Kevin looked deep into the man's eyes, and he became morbidly certain that no matter what threat the man made, no matter how cruel, he would carry out. Hans cleared his throat, as if in warning. Canderous immediately softened his grip, and leaned away from Kevin.

Despite the obvious cruelty emanating from Canderous, Kevin found Hans to be the more frightening of the two. He almost seemed robotic, barely showing any emotions as he regarded the world coldly from behind his dark sunglasses. Furthermore, he seemed to have a fair degree of control over the brute. That was truly terrifying.

"Your name, please," repeated Gerrard. Snapping his attention back to the least threatening of the group, Kevin sighed, and resigned himself to whatever fate awaited him.

"Kevin…"

"Just Kevin? What, like Madonna or Cher? That sort of thing normal around here? Your full name, please."

"Kevin Thomas Anderson."

"Where were you born?"

"Sarnia, Ontario."

"Why are you here?"

"I go to school—"

"What do you study?"

"Photography."

"Who is the girl in this photograph?" asked Gerrard, revealing as if from nowhere, the photograph that Max had taken of him and Kate. The man's eyes bored into him as he studied Kevin's reactions to the object he'd presented.

Kevin didn't know why Gerrard was asking about Kate, but he was done cooperating. He stared back defiantly at his interrogator. Gerrard's face saddened, and, after they stared at each other for a few more moments, he nodded to Kevin's right and looked away.

The world went black and then exploded into piercing colors. Gasping in shock, Kevin felt himself being dragged upright again. The right side of his head throbbed but he struggled through the pain.

Canderous gripped him tighter and Kevin groaned from the pain. It intensified as Canderous jerked him around and vertigo began to overtake him. A single, hot tear streaked down Kevin's face, to his shame, and he renewed his struggle.

"You want some more, kid?" taunted Canderous.

Despite his resistance, Kevin was held solidly in place, but he refused to give up. These men had asked about, Kate but they were going to get anything from him. None of it made any sense, but he didn't care. Redoubling his efforts, he twisted in place and braced himself for the inevitable blow to the head from Canderous.

"Enough!"

Everything came to a halt and Kevin felt again that he recognized the voice. He had momentarily forgotten about the fourth voice from earlier, and as he slowly recovered from the ordeal he could hear someone approaching him from behind.

"Release him."

Canderous's bruising grip on his shoulders vanished, but Kevin didn't dare to move. The man with the commanding voice approached, causing Gerrard to fiddle with the picture and look down, almost sheepishly. Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Kevin watched as the voice took corporal form. The figure was well dressed and his clothes were almost exclusively black. Identification of the somewhat familiar voice was impossible due to the low hanging hood that made any identification an impossibility.

The hooded figure walked towards Gerrard and accepted the picture. He stared down at it for several moments. Gerrard bowed slightly and stood attention, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he awaited further orders. The breeze picked up and tugged playfully at the figure's hood and the flimsy photograph danced in his firm grasp. It wasn't just the voice that was familiar, everything about the mysterious hooded figure tugged at his memory, as if he had met him once before, yet so long ago.

"What would you do if I sought to bring harm upon this girl?" The hooded figure asked as he continued to look down upon the picture. His voice was neutral and held no malice nor did it contain a hint of friendliness either.

"I'd kill you." Kevin surprised himself with his own conviction.

His declaration was met with mocking laughter from the two men that continued to stand behind him. Even Gerrard couldn't contain a soft chuckle, though his eyes held a hint of sadness. The hooded figure raised his right hand and immediately the laughter died away.

"How?" the hooded figure asked with mild curiosity. The man had yet to tear his gaze away from the picture.

The subdued calmness of the hooded figure was getting under Kevin's skin, making him uneasy. That in combination with the interest he possessed in the picture of him and Kate, didn't make sense. It's just a picture… What the hell is going on? Does Kate know these guys… or do they know her?

"I… don't know. I just would."

"Fear. It numbs your mind, forcing inaction upon you. How do you expect to save this… Kate from me when your mind is clouded by such thoughts?"

Kevin's froze He hadn't revealed Kate's name, but the mysterious hooded figure knew it anyway. How much did he know? Who was he?

"Perhaps in order to satisfy my curiosity we will need a proper demonstration. Lieutenant, go and fetch the girl. We shall see what our young hero does when his beloved Kate is standing on death's door," said the hooded figure.

Kevin shot to his feet and lunged towards the hooded figure.

Gerrard reacted with alarming speed and intercepted him, drawing his weapon. Kevin twisted his body and grabbed hold of the man's gun arm. He twisted the man's arm fiercely to one side, and used his right leg to kick the man's legs out from underneath him.

Gerrard hit the ground with a grunt and Kevin continued to apply pressure to the man's arm and brought his elbow down into the man's gut. As Gerrard gasped in surprise, he relaxed his grip on his firearm. Kevin grasped it and hastily aimed it at the still unmoving hooded figure. He felt the elation of victory.

Just as his moment of triumph seemed so near, the icy clutches of defeat choked the feeling from him at the last moment. Unable to breath, his mind froze. Dropping the weapon, Kevin's hands shot reflexively to his throat. Panic tore through him as his hands fumbled around his bare neck. He sunk to his knees, trying in vain to remove the invisible vice grip that was quickly crushing his throat.

As blackness tugged at the limits of his vision, the hooded figure slowly turned to face him and lifted his gaze from the photograph. He dropped the photograph in front of him, and, as Kevin took what he felt would be his last glimpse of Kate, the blurry figure's words cut through him like an icy-hot spear.

"You have failed her."

Suddenly free from the invisible grasp, Kevin gasped for air and collapsed to ground, nearly losing consciousness. Stunned that he could finally breath again, he greedily sucked in air and his hands fumbled for the picture of Kate. Finally grasping it, he felt life slowly returning to him as he was forcibly picked up off of the ground and returned to the bench. His vision was unfocused and his mind swam in confusion, but he held the picture like a lifeline and drew in ragged breaths. I'm alive? What the fuck just happened?

"Interesting." The word slowly escaped from the hooded figure, his voice soft and dripping with something akin to admiration.

"Why didn't you just kill him, boss?" Canderous asked gruffly, clearly disappointed that Kevin was still drawing breath.

"He… broke free." The hooded figure seemed confused, but his voice was full of wonder all the same. Hans was currently helping Gerrard back to his feet, and Kevin noticed a look of awe, not hostility like he expected, cross the man's face.

"How the hell did he do that?" Gerrard grunted as he retrieved his weapon and tucked it back into his belt.

"Because he's me."

Having sucked in enough air to feel almost normal again, Kevin shot the hooded figure an incredulous glare and watched as he slowly removed his hood.

Eyes wide with shock, Kevin nearly dropped the photograph that he held onto so dearly as he stared into his own face. The hooded figure was him.

His face was harder, clean shaven, and had a scar running down the right side. The wound had not been deep enough to damage his eye, but had simply passed over it, leaving his sight unaffected. His hair was darker and slicked back much like Hans', and his solid green eyes were emotionless and hard.

"What the hell? Are you from the alternate universe?" asked Kevin.

The alternate version of him cocked his head to one side and his face softened slightly as a confused look crossed his face. It was extremely uncanny and momentarily disturbing; his doppelganger mimicked his facial expressions perfectly.

"Alternate universe… what? No. I'm your… well, you're my clone."

Despite the fact that both explanations were preposterous, Kevin found the answer being presented to him even more far-fetched than his own.

The other him drew closer, a confident and self-assured expression covering his scarred face. "I was taken from this world as a child, and you were left here in my place. Don't ask me why, but here you are, wearing my face. You grew up with my parents. You lived a life that should have been mine. Meanwhile, I suffered horrors that you couldn't possibly imagine. I want my life back. Unfortunately for you, you're in my way." With each word, the voice that was eerily similar to his grew more hostile as he drew closer.

"Even if that were true… I lived my life, not yours. You lived your own, and if it sucked, I'm sorry but that life is yours." As Kevin spoke, he watched the face that was so similar to his own twitch angrily, but he simply didn't care anymore, so he continued. "My life is mine, I lived it and you didn't. You can never live my life because you've never experienced everything that I have. I am who I am because of those experiences and because of my choices throughout my life. I'm sorry but you can never be me… no matter how much you look like me."

"You see… that is where you are wrong." The other him smiled deviously, his eyes full of malice.. "Throughout the years I have learned a thing or two, and even though your feeble mind won't be able to comprehend what I am about to tell you, I don't give a damn. I can reach into your mind and take those memories from you and add them to my own. Granted you won't enjoy the experience very much but like I said: 'I don't give a damn'."

Glaring defiantly back at himself, Kevin prepared to launch himself at his doppelganger, but the boy's henchmen must have noticed this, because two of them reacted quickly and pinned him down.

"Fine… whatever. Do what you're going to do. But you've got to promise me something. If you're me or I'm you... or whatever the fuck, you can't lie to yourself, right?" The men holding him down grasped him tighter as Kevin struggled, and chuckled as he pleaded with himself. Fuck them… laugh all you want. The laughter was cut short as his doppelganger raised a commanding hand and silenced his men.

"Whatever you may think of me… know this: I am a man of honor to those who deserve it. Ask away."

"Keep Kate safe. There's some nasty shit going on around here and you'll probably be better able to deal with it than me anyway." As Kevin spoke, he felt the fight leave him, and he slumped down on the bench. The men holding him obviously suspected that he was attempting to trick them, because they only tightened their hold on him. As he prepared himself for what was to come, Kevin felt an unbearable sadness creep into his heart. This man didn't deserve Kate, but what could he do to fight him?

"I will." As his doppelganger said this, the boy reached out and reverently placed his hand on Kevin's head that was lowered in defeat. Bracing himself for what was to come, Kevin wished desperately that he could see Kate one last time, and he clutched desperately at the photograph that Max had taken of them.

Time crawled by in agonizing slowness and Kevin began to fidget nervously as it became more and more apparent that nothing was happening.

"Uh… boss?" Canderous, obviously a man of action who hated sitting around, shifted his stance uncomfortably, and Kevin felt his hands relax slightly. "You gonna do the thing?"

Kevin's doppelganger quickly withdrew his hand and let out an exasperated sigh. "I can't! Something is… blocking me."

Kevin raised his head and stared at the scarred version of himself, and the frustrated teenager glared back at him.

"Who trained you?" Each word came out slowly, each held more vehemence and fury than its predecessor.

"What? Nobody!" Kevin responded, his confusion mounting.

"Bullshit! You're resisting me! You also managed to worm your way out of my grasp earlier! How?"

"Dude, I don't know what the fuck you are talking about!" Kevin screamed back, which only seemed to infuriate his doppelganger even more. But before a retort could be made, something behind Kevin caught the attention of both Gerrard and Hans. Their weapons were out in a flash, and Kevin heard Canderous throw himself around and wrench out his sidearm as well.

"Where the fuck did he come from? Why weren't you fuckers keeping watch!" Canderous exclaimed loudly.

"He wasn't there a damned second ago!" Gerrard growled back, his eyes darting from Canderous to the unknown newcomer. Hans seemed much calmer than his comrades, most of his face covered by his aviators. He projected calm and held his weapon at the ready. The other Kevin looked upon the newcomer with vague disinterest and seemed more annoyed than anything.

"You lost friend? As you can see—" He spread his arms wide as he gestured to his men, "You aren't invited to this picnic."

Kevin tore his eyes away from his doppelganger and turned to see who had unfortunately stumbled upon them.

The man was well dressed in a somewhat old-fashioned black suit and wore a matching bowler hat. His face was unnaturally pale and it was full of wonder and he seemed completely oblivious that several dangerous men were aiming their weapons right at him. He seemed particularly interested in Kevin… or perhaps both Kevins as his gaze shot back and forth between them.

Several moments passed and time crawled by at an inexorably slow rate. Canderous twitched nervously as he glared at the man, and Gerrard was slowly moving to the left while Hans moved to the right. Even though he was being slowly surrounded, the strange man continued to appear unthreatened. When the man finally spoke, his voice a few octaves higher than Kevin would have suspected. Everyone flinched in surprise. His voice was harmonious and it reflected his calm demeanor.

"Are you going to kill the boy?" The question, even though an obvious one at the moment, seemed oddly out of place, especially in the nonchalant way that the man said it.

"Listen pal, if you don't tell us who the fuck you are, you're going to start having a really bad—" Canderous immediately went silent as his 'boss' silenced him by softly clearing his throat. Shifting uneasily for a moment, the large man locked his fierce gaze onto the interloper but remained silent, despite the barely contained fury behind his eyes.

"And what if I am?" the other Kevin asked calmly. Several moments passed before the strange man responded.

"I would recommend against such an action." His voice remained calm and wistful, but his relaxed tone couldn't hide the barely veiled threat he had just made.

"Oh? What is he to you?" Seemingly bemused, a small yet devious smile crept across the other boy's face.

"He is—" The interloper paused for a moment as he regarded the men that were slowly surrounding him for the first time. He continued to ignore them, as if their movements were of no concern to him. "—Important."

The boy's face went cold as he reacted to the man's words and he regarded Kevin with annoyance before fixing his gaze back on the strange man.

"Important? What's so important about a thief? He's a clone you know, a clone of me, if you hadn't noticed. If anyone is important it's me. What do you say to that?" His words were quick and harsh. He had clearly become unsteadied by the man's calm words.

The words stung Kevin, as they were probably meant to, and he glared furiously back at the boy who claimed that he was nothing more than a clone. The words, however, had no visible effect on the strange man, who received them, and responded without even blinking.

"He is important because he is you." Even though this explanation was a seemingly obvious answer Kevin immediately noticed the profound effect that they had on his doppelganger. His expression softened and his stance shifted as he moved some of his weight over to his left foot. "There will come a time when one of you won't be enough… but he is right you know. You cannot live his life just as he cannot live yours. Even though you are the same, you are different. That is why he is important, because he is different. Now I ask you again, are you going to kill the boy?"

The man's words were cryptic yet specific, and Kevin couldn't help but gape at the strange man. Kevin felt as if he had seen him somewhere before. The man seemed vaguely familiar even though he was certain that he would have recognized the man if he had seen him previously. His attire was so specific and his face almost seemed unnatural. Kevin's doppelganger did his best to suppress a sigh as he prepared to speak.

Kevin wasn't sure what this strange man with the singsong voice could do to help him, but from his relaxed stance, he felt certain that he would be able to deal with whatever was thrown at him.

"No… I won't kill him. In fact, we're leaving."

Canderous, clearly shocked at the sudden turn of events, spun around, ready to protest but he bit back his words when he saw the dark look clouding his master's face.

"Stand down. Let's go," said Kevin's doppelganger.

Hans and Gerrard immediately obeyed as they holstered their weapons, Canderous followed suit with a great deal of hesitation and glared venomously at the strange man that had interrupted them. "If I see you again, pal, I'll kill you."

The man tilted his head to the left as he turned to regard Canderous. "No, you won't."

Kevin did his best to contain a smile as he watched the large man seethe with frustration before he stomped off towards his comrades. Just as it seemed that the boy and his men would leave without any further words, the boy he was allegedly a clone of turned to face him, his face serious yet friendlier than it had been before.

"Keep her safe."

Shocked, Kevin managed a slight nod and received a creepily similar nod in return before the boy turned and followed his men down the path that led away from the lighthouse. Kevin exhaled slowly. Momentarily dizzy, he shook his head as he tried and failed to process everything that had just happened. He bolted upright when the strange man spoke—he had completely forgotten that he was still here.

"I'm sorry…"

"For what?" Tensing in anticipation of something terrible, Kevin flinched as the man slowly turned and walked into the forest without another word.

Kevin watched him disappear into the thick trees, too afraid to move or call after him. Once the man was completely out of sight, Kevin collapsed onto the bench and, after several moments of heavy breathing, he regarded the picture that he clenched tightly in his hands. Keep her safe.

Kevin sat on the bench, alone, staring out at the open ocean as his mind recoiled from everything that had just happened. His entire body felt numb. He felt as if he no longer had the strength to stand, much less make the journey back to his car.

Was that… am I really a clone? Who were those men with him? Were they really going to kill me? Who was that man with the strange voice that saved me? Am I really as important as he made me out to be? What the fuck is going on?

Kevin's attention was wrenched away from his thoughts as his phone vibrated in his pocket. Despite the interruption, he welcomed the distraction, because the questions that were circling around inside of his head were obnoxiously unanswerable.

Max was reaching out to him, again. She had attached an address to her message, and pretty much demanded that he meet them there. Sensing the seriousness of the situation, Kevin retrieved his laptop bag from the bench where Hans had left it and was surprised to discover that Nathan's gun was inside. Smiling grimly at his fortune, his thoughts went back to the men that had accosted him along with his alleged clone.

Perhaps they were more friend then foe.

Nearly tripping several times, he rushed down the path that led back towards his car. Kevin cursed and grumbled most of the way back. Throughout the entire journey, he wondered if his haste was necessary or not but he decided that, despite the hazards, he had a certain fleeting feeling that speed was required at the moment. Max had never really demanded anything from him since their odd friendship had taken off, so this must be important. He didn't recognize the address either, so it would probably take him some time locating it, even with G.P.S.

Kevin discovered his car alone in the beachside parking lot. Once the the address was entered into his phone's G.P.S. app, he started his vehicle and set off. His tires frantically grasped for traction on the sand dusted pavement. Grumbling at the inconvenience, he made a mental note to inspect his tires later—it was probably time to purchase new ones after all. His Mazda wasn't really all that fast, but it tore through first gear with surprising speed and torque. This had a negative impact on his rear tires, if the road wasn't perfect they would lose traction almost immediately. As he tore through the backroads of Arcadia Bay, his mind went back to the strange man's apology. I'm sorry… what was he sorry for? He had probably saved Kevin's life after all. It just didn't make any sense.

Suddenly, he realized that he was about to miss his turn, and he slammed on his breaks, wrenching his vehicle to the left. Tires squealing in protest, they mostly kept their grip on the road as he forced his vehicle into a tight turn. Shaking his head in annoyance as he cleared the corner, he focused his mind on the task at hand and willed the thoughts that plagued him to leave him be. Exhaling, he double checked his route and slammed his foot down to the floor. Kevin sped off towards his destination, and the unknown.

Having only almost gotten lost twice on his way, Kevin finally arrived at the address that Max had provided him. He was relieved to discover that Chloe's truck was still parked out front of a worn down and decaying barn. Bringing his vehicle to rest next to Chloe's equally dilapidated truck, he exited his vehicle and listened. Everything was quiet save for the songs of the birds and the obnoxious creaking of a nearby rusted windmill.

Kevin approached the barn slowly and deliberately unzipped his laptop bag so that his stolen firearm was easily accessible. Suddenly, he felt as if something was wrong and he froze in place. Slowly turning back towards the vehicles, he noticed that he hadn't parked his vehicle for a quick exit as he always did. Torn between returning to his vehicle and fixing his parking job or pressing onward despite his error, he stood in place feeling momentarily overwhelmed with anxiety.

Fuck it!

Despite the uncomfortable feelings creeping into him, he turned his back on his vehicle and proceeded towards the barn. He was determined to reach his friends, who were presumably inside.

I have a bad feeling about this.

He wasn't sure why, but as he approached the ill-kept barn, he felt as if something sinister lay inside. Finding the large front door shut and locked, he looked around for an alternative way to gain entry.

As he searched, frantic movement from inside the barn caught his attention, and, in a rush of panicked movement, he tore his pistol out of his laptop bag and flung himself against the wall of the barn. As he flicked the safety off, he heard movement off to his left and, in a flash, Chloe appeared from around the corner of the building and she dashed for her truck.

Kevin composed himself and hid the weapon before Chloe could notice how worked up he was. However, as he watched her tear past him, he noted that she seemed to have more pressing matters on her mind at the moment. The bad feeling deep inside Kevin's stomach spread, laughing as it dared him to dismiss it.

"Chloe! Where's Max?"

Chloe nearly fell over herself in surprise as he called out to her, and she turned to face him as she skidded to a halt next to her truck. She was so worked up that she had failed to notice his car parked next to her truck and was very surprised to see him.

"Kevin! Jesus fuck! You scared the shit out of me! Max is coming… look here she comes. Max, move your skinny little butt! Come on!"

Max hurriedly rounded the corner, and glanced towards Kevin as she raced to Chloe's truck. Max's seemed just as apprehensive as Chloe.

"What did you guys find in there?" Kevin called out, as he quickly moved over to his vehicle.

"It doesn't fucking matter, just follow us!" Chloe responded hastily. Too hastily.

"It does fucking matter. What's gotten into you two?" Kevin responded, perhaps a little too forcefully. Both of the girls turned to face him, and then exchanged worried looks that sent a shiver down his spine, further feeding the monster that was brewing within his stomach. "What was in there?"

"Max… ride with him and tell him. But make sure you two keep up!" said Chloe.

Max hesitated for a moment before nodding, and quickly positioned herself next to the passenger door of his car. Seeing that he had no choice in the matter, Kevin shrugged and did his best to remain patient as he returned to his vehicle.

As he and Max jumped into his car, Chloe's truck threw up dirt and gravel as she reversed back towards the road. Kevin winced as some of the debris kicked up by Chloe's tires assaulted his car, but her hasty departure did give him some room to maneuver. Kevin turned his car around so he could follow Chloe, then he turned to Max and pressed her for details. Max was hesitant to answer, and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Kevin felt his stomach tighten into a knot as he easily caught up with Chloe's truck.

"There's a creepy bunker underneath that barn, and there's a high-tech film studio down there." Max paused and cast him an apprehensive look. Kevin's mouth went dry at the sight of her face. He had never seen her this worried. She had never looked so scared, so small. Whatever she and Chloe had found inside that bunker, it wasn't good, not at all. "Kevin… don't freak out, but we found tons of folders down there. Each one had a different girl's name on it. Inside them were pictures. There was an empty folder with Victoria's name on it. We also found folders for Rachel and… Kate."

Kevin's mind went blank with rage. So that's what Nathan had done to her. He had drugged her, taken her to his sadistic dungeon, and taken perverted pictures of her. Nathan was a dead man. Kevin should have killed him earlier when he had the chance. Despite the storm that was brewing inside of him, he did his best to focus on the road and Chloe's truck ahead of him.

Somehow, through clenched teeth, he managed to force out a few words as his mood blackened. "So… where are we going?"

Max visibly reacted to his cold and strained tone. She had been reaching over to comfort him, but hearing the darkness in his voice, she withdrew her hand and turned away from him.

"The junkyard… we found a picture of Nathan posing with Rachel, and Chloe recognized where it was taken. Rachel looked… I don't know, Kevin. She looked—" Max was clearly having difficulty finishing her sentence, so Kevin did it for her.

"Dead?"

The word hit Max hard like a slap in the face, but she nodded slowly. No wonder Chloe was driving like a bat out of hell. His little Mazda wasn't all that fast, but he had expected that he would have had no trouble keeping up with Chloe's truck. She must have been pushing her aging vehicle to its limits, because he was having difficulty maintaining a steady pace with her. But even with all of Chloe's haste, she was probably on her way to dig up her long-lost friend's grave.

Kevin felt his heart break as images of his dream returned to haunt him. He vividly recalled how empty he had felt as he had paced around the hellish desert, clutching the corpse of a girl that looked suspiciously like Kate, but was too maimed to identify.

But that horror had just been a dream. Chloe's reality was probably about to become a nightmare. Kevin hoped that they would find nothing at all, and that Rachel's whereabouts would remain a mystery, but he doubted such vain hopes.

The rest of the drive was carried out in an uncomfortable and suffocating silence. Kevin was glad to have arrived at their destination, and he exited his vehicle quicker than normal, his mood blackened as he caught a look at Chloe's face as she disembarked from her truck.

"Come on, you two!" Chloe called over her shoulder, then she tore off into the depths of the junkyard.

"Chloe! Wait up!" Max sprinted off after her friend. Before following, Kevin reached into his car, grabbed his laptop bag, and made sure his gun was close at hand, just in case. Once he was ready, he set off after his friends with a heavy heart. He expected the worst.

Kevin followed at a much slower pace, suspecting an ambush at every turn. When he caught up, he discovered them on their knees, scratching furiously at the soft ground with their bare hands.

He looked around for something to dig with that would speed up their progress. He broke off his search when Max staggered back from the shallow hole.

"Chloe…" She had found something that had simply terrified her. Max's face was locked in a mixture of revulsion and horror. She seemed to have lost the ability to form words, her mouth moved soundlessly as she looked towards her best friend. Chloe, abandoning her own excavation, moved closer towards Max, and her face paled at the sight of its contents.

"Please, no…" Chloe's voice broke as she stared down into the shallow hole, and from the sudden vulnerability in her voice, Kevin realized that her prayers would go unanswered. Slowly approaching his friends, he hesitated a moment when he saw them both reel away, choking and gasping for air as if they had inhaled something foul.

"That smell…" Max groaned, discovering her voice once again.

Kevin quickly removed his plaid shirt, and bunched it into a ball to protect himself from the ghastly smell. Despite his quick actions, the stench of death and decay found him and nearly brought him to his knees. The overwhelming smell quickly permeated through his improvised protection, and he found himself gagging as his eyes watered.

"Rachel…" Chloe's pleading voice became high pitched and desperate as the reality of their discovery abruptly smashed her world to pieces. "Rachel, no! No, please not her!"

Max was desperately covering her face with her muddied hands to protect herself from the smell, but her eyes were solidly fixed on Chloe as she grieved.

Either the gruesome smell finally got to Chloe or her emotions finally overwhelmed her, because she scrambled away from the unearthed grave and vomited a short distance away. Chloe's desperate sobbing was interrupted as she choked up more vomit. Max rushed to her side and tried to comfort her friend, but her words went unheard and Kevin was almost certain that Chloe hardly noticed Max's tender caresses nor her embrace.

Moving closer, Kevin held his breath and peered into the shallow grave. He felt his stomach turn, and he knew he would have retched if anything remained within his stomach. Rachel's corpse had clearly been in its shallow grave for some time. The small amount of the body he could see was decomposed significantly. Chloe must have recognized the clothing that the corpse wore, because what remained of the girl wasn't very recognizable.

The sight was horrific. Kevin had desensitized himself to violence and death with action movies and violent video games, but the sight of a partially decomposed corpse was more than he could take. And then there was the smell.

Kevin tore his gaze away from the unearthed corpse and gagged as he staggered away from the hole. As he broke away, he greedily sucked in air that had yet to be contaminated by the horrific smell. Recovering from the horrendous experience, his mood turned darker as his thoughts went to Chloe. To him the cadaver was just that, a corpse, but the half-rotted corpse had once been a person to Chloe… She had known her.

For months, Chloe had been holding out on the hope that her friend had simply disappeared to someplace better, but now the truth stared right back at her from a foot below the ground.

Rachel was dead.

Chloe had finished vomiting but her tears and sobs came fiercer now, and she had turned herself completely over to Max's embrace. At least she has Max… and… at least Kate is still alive.

Thinking of Kate at this very moment made him feel slightly guilty considering what Chloe was going through, but he couldn't help himself. Kate's safety was paramount to him, more so now thanks to his doppelganger's parting words. Not only would he be letting Kate down if something more happened to her, but he would also be letting himself down… twice.

Nathan was going to pay for this, and Kevin knew exactly who to call to facilitate his downfall.