AN: This is actually sort of a songfic… I disclaim ownership of the characters whom I have not created. Also, disclaimer on the works of Andy McKee, Atreyu, and any other artists whose names have been used.

II: Obliterated.

A train has crashed into the walls around my heart and left the old me dead. Obliterated.

On the ride home from school, Skara sat quietly in the back of Aric's Tundra. She hadn't felt quite herself since the accident. The old Skara had been brutally murdered.

November 21st of last year. Skara waited impatiently at home for her parents return from their anniversary trip to Ireland. Their ETA was fifteen minutes away. Skara gripped her cell phone in her hand, nearly crushing it with anticipation. "We'll call as soon as we land, honey." She heard those words over and over in her head. She became overwhelmed with emotion, excitement, love. Her relationship wither parents was strong, close; unlike most teens, Skara loved and respected her parents.

The ring of the phone tore her away from her thoughts. She was taken aback when she noticed she didn't recognize the number on the caller ID. Her mind stuck a toe into the cold pool of possibility, and her heart sank momentarily, but she was not one to jump to conclusions. She answered.


Skara numbly remembered the night her parents never made it home. She remembered the tone of voice of the police officer who became the bearer of bad news. With no more tears to cry, she sat, silent and stony, in the back seat.

"Here we are! I'll pick you up again tomorrow. Hey, you ok…" Aric began to ask her, but before he could expect a response, the door to the truck had slammed shut and Skara was trudging her way up to the giant front door of her foster home.

Skara had been taken in by a friend of her parents, Seamus Newton. He had a daughter, Jessica, whose mother had also passed. But she never seemed as bothered by this as Skara was by the passing of her own parents.

The Newtons were a wealthy family; there was no getting around that. Mr. Newton had money in the stock market, but of course, he was always very vague about where he invested. But regardless, they supplied Skara with anything and everything she could want. Her welcome basket had included an iPod Touch and a new digital camera, among various other designer labels. The family was kind and generous, a far cry from the endless horrible possibilities of foster homes that could have been hers. And she was grateful for them.

But tonight she had come home upset again. She skipped dinner, which had been prepared by Jessica, with some help from Cecelia, their maid. She declined Jess's invitation to watch a comedy in the theater. And she passed up Seamus's offer of Cold Stone and some mall time.

Tonight, Skara went straight to her room, powered on her shiny new computer, and played some mind-numbing computer games until she could no longer keep her eyes open. Video games were her therapy, and music was her prescription. After playing for a few hours, Skara curled up in her huge bed and flicked her thumb over the screen of her iPod Touch until she decided upon a little Andy McKee to lull her to sleep.

Skara's dreams that night were all but predictable.

There were thousands of faces she'd never seen, crowded around her, cheering, screaming, shouting. She found herself dressed in her favorite Children of Bodom shirt and comfiest jeans, pushing her way through the crowds of people. Just when she thought she would never see the edge of the sea of swaying bodies, a large platform appeared, seeming to rise up out of the dirt and mud. As she reached the edge of the crowd and approached the stage, she saw Aric, standing at the foot of the stairs that climbed up the platform. He motioned for her to go, up the stairs, onto the stage. Hesitant for one second too many, she felt herself being shoved violently up the stairs and then falling, only to land on something cool, solid, and strong. Comforting.


Skara awoke with a jolt, lying on the floor, clutching a pillow. She was caked in sweat, and realized the familiar hum of the air conditioner had stopped. She promptly adjusted the thermostat and lay herself back down to sleep, but sleep eluded her until the sun rose.

Having gotten up earlier than usual, Skara had time to plan her outfit for school, as she rarely ever did. Today she had finally ventured into the closet full of new clothes the Newtons had bought her. Most of it was too pastel, too Sunday-at-church-on-Easter. She decided on a khaki miniskirt, a brown leather belt, and a navy blue spaghetti strap top. Her accessories remained the same every day; she wore her Chuck Taylors (from seventh grade) and three necklaces that she never left home without. The first was a woven hemp choker with a bronze globe the size of a 25 cent gumball, which also doubled as a bell. The others were thin leather ropes, one with a pewter albatross, and one with a carved wooden leaf.

She waited outside on the curb, looking to the horizon for the white Tundra to come rumbling up to her house. It was overcast but just short of rainy, her favorite kind of day. This lifted her mood. Her dream had kept her mind off of what upset her. And then Aric arrived.

"C'mon, let's get some coffee and donuts before class starts." He smiled his bright, perfect smile. He shook his long brown hair out of his face to get a closer look at her.

"Ok, don't stare." She said, both embarrassed and annoyed.

"Sorry. You never dress up like that…" He trailed off.

She ignored him. "Are we going to eat or what? I'm starving."

As Skara walked through the hallways at her school, Edward seemed to appear everywhere. He was always with the same people, his adopted siblings. They had at least this in common, being adopted. They were stunningly beautiful, even the boys, Emmett and Jasper. Alice and Rosalie, his sisters, were both runway-worthy. Edward was no exception. This was intimidating, but she felt an urge to talk to him in their first period every day. About a week after she started school, something extraordinary (for her) happened.

That day, there was another movie day in Mr. Kroner's class. The room was dark, and the seat next to Skara was empty. She had her head down, slowly nodding off. Suddenly she inhaled deeply and smelled the faint, lovely smell of nice cologne. She raised her head to see Edward sitting next to her, his body totally facing her, not even trying to pretend to watch the movie.

"Hello." He said, coolly and with confidence.

"H-hi…" Was her reply.

"I noticed you don't seem to get out much around here. I was wondering if you'd like to go to dinner this weekend."

"With you?"

"No, I thought I'd just drop you off and let you go alone," he said sarcastically, but with a straight face. Seeing that she didn't catch his sarcasm, he continued to confirm their date for Saturday night. The old Skara would have definitely declined, but the old Skara had been obliterated.