He screamed and scrambled out of bed feeling his neck and chest. He gasped for air and staggered to the bathroom. He was alive and he was breathing, no wounds. He turned the shower on and stripped off his clothes. Bug sat on the floor of the tub letting the water roll off his head and shoulders. Then he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, but the visions of the blood filled his mind.

Bug jumped at the sound of someone at the bathroom door.

"Are you okay?" It was Leah, she peeked into the room.

"Go," he said in a gruff voice. Leah stood there for only another moment before she closed the door again.

He didn't know what to do so he left the house. He walked around and made his way to the river. Images flashed in his mind. The blade, blood, and the river flashed through his mind. His dream and the Ripper's reappearance were all connected somehow.

Bug had slowly waded into the water, he was now knee deep. He looked down into the water and saw something, a reflection.

"Alex?" He whispered. The water rippled and changed. A man with a mangled mess of hair and the vengeance blade in his right hand was looking up at him through the water. Bug screamed and fell backwards. His hands sunk into the murky mud beneath the surface. He then felt a sharp pain, let out a yelp and tried to stand. He fell onto his knees, and crawled back to the bank. He was covered in mud; he stood and took his shirt off to wring it out.

Back at home he stripped off his damp clothes and threw them in the laundry, and then he found something else to wear. Leah came into his room as he was putting on a new pair of jeans; he jumped when he turned to see her leaning against the door frame.

"Have you heard of knocking?" He said aggravated. She shrugged.

"Not like there is anything for you to hide." She laughed. "Anyway what happened to you this morning?" She walked into his room and sat on his bed.

"Nothing, I had a bad dream that's all." He tried to shrug it off, but he remembered the blade, and the pain.

"I got that much, I heard you screaming in your sleep. Was it the Ripper?" She said in a more sensitive tone. Bug looked away from her and rummaged through his drawers for a shirt. He found a sweater and pulled it over his head.

"Yes, but it was different from the other dreams." He shuddered. "He killed me, in the place where he died."

"You died in your dream?" She said bewildered. "Isn't it bad if you die in your dreams?"

Bug shrugged; he didn't want to worry about what it meant that he died in his dream. Leah was rambling on about what it meant and what it could mean for him in the near future. He was getting a head ache and he couldn't stand her high pitched voice any longer.

"Get out." He said harshly. She stopped and stared back at him. He repeated himself once before he shoved her none too gently out of the room.

He sat in his room pondering over the dream, but the migraine became unbearable. He felt nauseous so he made his way to the bathroom. Nothing he tried worked. He stared in the mirror and washed his face. He went back to his room.

"Hey man." Seth said.

"Holy shit, how did you get in here?" Bug said. He fiddled around with things on his desk.

"Your aunt let me in. She said you were upstairs." He said shrugging. "Are you doing anything today?"

"No, why?" He asked. Seth grinned. Bug wondered what he was up to.

"I heard there is a party over by the river. It's supposed to be a memorial for the ones who died recently."

"Isn't it a bit soon for something like that?" Bug said looking from his window. "I mean, they haven't caught the killer."

"You worry too much." Seth said laughing.

He agreed to go to the party but he still felt uneasy about the circumstances. He and Seth sat in his room for a while and discussed Hailey.

"Do you think she is going?" Bug asked. Seth only shrugged. He took Bug's cell and waved it in the air before tossing it.

"Call her and find out." Bug caught the phone, nearly dropping it.

The phone rang four times before Hayley picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hayley, its Bug." He said softly into the phone.

"Hey, Bug." She said in a light tone. "What's up?" Bug stammered, forgetting what to say.

"Uh… I was wondering if you heard about the party going on tonight, out by the river."

"Yeah, I did. Are you going?" She asked.

"Yes. Seth is dragging me out there." Seth flipped him off.

"Oh, okay." She paused. "I'll see you there." Then she hung up the phone. Seth smiled and walked into the hall.

"Let's go."

The bank was full of people. Someone had their car doors open and was blasting music while supplying the drinks. Couples were scattered across the area standing too close. Seth had already spotted a pretty girl and was talking to her leaning against the ambulance. With some odd realization, Bug knew that Penelope had been laid there after the Ripper killed her. He could see her pale skin and lifeless eyes. He shook the thought away.

"Hey there stranger," someone said from behind. Bug spun around to see Leah.

"Hi Fang," he said. "I didn't know you were going to be here."

"I didn't know you would be coming to such a party." She said in a maternal tone.

"Seth suggested it." He said sheepishly. Fang shook her head and walked away. Someone touched his shoulder lightly causing him to jump.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." Hayley said giggling. Bug shrugged it off smiling lightly. "I am surprised to see you here."

"I'm surprised I came at all. This place… I want to burn it down." He said honestly. He wanted to burn away the memories of his friends. He wanted to forget the things that happened to the seven of them that night.

He and Hayley walked farther from the party and sat on some boulders at the edge of the water. They sat in silence for some time. It wasn't an awkward silence, but a comfortable one. Bug closed his eyes and relaxed.

"Who do you think would do such a thing?" Hayley said, breaking the silence. Bug opened his eyes and stared into the murky water. He shrugged, Hayley didn't seem to notice and she continued to talk. "It really disturbs me that someone could do this to anyone. That person may be cruel to others, but that doesn't justify murder."

"No it doesn't." Bug said.

"It all really freaks me out." Hayley shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. "What do you do when you get scared?" Something stirred in Adam's memory.

"Well, I talk to my sister, or walk in the woods. What about you?"

"I… shop." She said in a light voice. Bug was instantly reminded of Brittany. Her face flooded his mind; he was suddenly filled with a great sadness.

'Ah behold Bug, what light through yonder window breaks?' Alex had said that morning on their sixteenth birthday.

'You should really get out more Bug. Shop… That's what I do when I'm scared.' Brittany had been scared too. She knew deep down that they were going to die. Was it his turn?

"Bug, are you okay?" Hayley touched his hand.

"Yeah," he jumped at her touch, but didn't move his hand. Her touch was comforting and he needed that. He slowly turned his hand so their fingers were laced together.

They sat there in silence leaning against one another. She didn't say anything to him, and he said nothing to her. Bug was reminded of how close they had been when they were in his room. There was laughter coming closer, causing Hayley to jump from where she sat.

"Hey man, Leah is looking for you." It was Seth, and latched to his side was a short brunette.

"What does she want?" Bug sighed. Seth shrugged and turned to the girl at his side.

Leah was leaning against her car smoking a cigarette.

"You know that is eventually going to kill you. Aunt May won't approve." She glared and flicked the butt at his feet.

"We need to leave." Bug stared at her in shock.

The nights passed with fragments of strange dreams, not involving him at all. He didn't die again, but he was killing people. He was killing his own friends. The most frustrating part was that he couldn't remember who or where. As the weeks went on he became suspicious. He couldn't speak with Officer Jeanne or her grandmother; which upset him further. On a Thursday, Bug fell asleep in class and began to dream.

He was running. He heard the wail of sirens and the shots of guns. He made it to the river and waded into the water.

"Ripper, stop!" Bug turned around to look at the strange police officer who had called out to him. He smiled maliciously and raised his knife. The officer lifted his weapon in response; but instead of a gun in his hand he held a sock. Bug later thought that the sock had been strange, but in the dream he paid no mind to it. He thrust the knife in his stomach and pushed upward. He then shouted as he fell to his knees,

"I am the devil's own."

Bug woke with a start and clutched his stomach.

"Adam, are you alright?" The teacher asked; she seemed to have been in the middle of some lecture.

"I am fine," he went to wave her concern away but noticed his hand was bleeding. He looked around him and saw that his pencil was covered in his blood. He clenched his hand in a fist and stood. "May I go to the restroom?" The woman gave him a worried look, but filled out his pass silently.

Bug walked to the bathroom and washed off his hand. The cut had been fairly deep and he had nothing to wrap around it. He grabbed the sleeve of his shirt at ripped part of it off and tied it around his hand. From there he walked to the nurse's office.

"What brings you here?" The old woman said kindly. Bug unwrapped his hand. The woman observed the wound in silence and began to clean it. "How did you manage that?" Bug blushed and looked at the floor.

"I had fallen asleep. I-I guess I must have gripped the pencil too tight." He shrugged. The woman chuckled deeply.

"That's a way to teach you a lesson isn't it?" She smiled and patted his hand; now bandaged and cleaned properly.

Another week passed with no sign of the Ripper. The folks in town were beginning to believe that the omen had left the Riverton. Even Leah had seemed to forget about Maria's death. Bug himself was feeling worse than ever. The voices of the other six were raging inside his mind.

'He can't be gone; unless it was an imposter.' Brittany hissed.

'Britt, calm down. It was most likely some freak.' Brandon said in an angry tone.

'Bug,' Alex whispered. 'Have you killed anyone?' Bug flinched at the question. He was glad that the six only spoke with him when he was alone, because Principal Pratt would have him shipped away to a facility if he knew.

"Not that I remember," he whispered to himself. He could feel Bug's skeptical glance, even though he was only real within his mind.

'Not that you remember?' He questioned hypothetically. Bug groaned to himself.

'Don't think about that Bug, you are a hero and you will always be one.' Jerome said confidently.

"Wouldn't you guys know if something was taking over my body and killing people?"

'Not if that spirit pushed us away to where we couldn't see anything. It would be like falling asleep. We would have no recollection of the event just as you wouldn't'. Jay said. 'It is most likely that you took in the Ripper's soul when you killed Alex.'

'God is with you Bug, I don't believe the bad soul would have been able to penetrate your mind and make it the Ripper's new domain. Pray to the Lord Adam, he is our shepherd. He will guide us into the light.' Penelope said in a soft gentle tone.

Bug did pray that night, at dinner and before he went to bed. He hoped Penelope was right; that night he went to sleep and he saw the Ripper in his nightmares once more.

A/N: Hello, I have finally finished the ninth chapter. I am sorry for the great wait. At the end of this chapter I finally brought in the fact that Bug has the souls of the six, for company. I have posted a poll, about the Ripper. Look at it and please vote. I would love to see your thought about the new Ripper. So please, review. And thanks for the love.

*Ray-Ray