For those of you who are asking...Tori and Katniss are still okay and don't worry! I'll be bringing them back in a bit ;) Enjoy the new chapter faithful readers and don't forget to review!
Monday: June 3rd, 2010 – 4:23 P.M. (Deserted Island: Lighthouse)
Carlos felt the anticipation within his chest throb intensely as he finished injecting every meatball on Beck's plate with the deadly fluid. One bite…that's all it takes. He looked at the tainted dish with hypnotized and transfixed eyes before taking the needle and stuffing it carefully into his pocket so he doesn't stick himself with it. He heard the dishes clinking all around the room as the other five teens continued to scurry around the room in order to get everything done. Now, all he had to do was take this to Beck…and all would be done. God's Will can finally be fulfilled.
The glowing rays of the fast approaching sunset were soaking the room in a brilliant orange glow. The once bright white table was now bathed in a calming orange color as everyone began to dish up their plates. "Alright!" James cheered as he ogled his steaming plate of spaghetti tacos with hungry eyes. "Now this is what I'm talking about!"
"Carlos, would you mind getting the salt from the cupboard?" Carly asked with a sweet tone to her voice while Carlos stood there by the poisoned food with a worried look on his face. "Is something wrong?"
Carlos instantly shook his head with a carefree smile playing onto his lips as he tugged his hand from his pocket containing the contaminated syringe. "No…I'm okay Carly, really. Now, salt! Got it!"
Carly gave a gentle nod of her head causing her wavy locks of hair to swerve around her form and smiled before returning to dish up her own plate. The sound of excited voices filled with hunger filled the room as well as spaghetti slapping onto the plate while Carlos flew over to the cupboards in search of the iodized salt. He looked inside the dark depths of the pantry with squinted eyes in order to find it but all he saw were cans of diced tomatoes and various soups…
"Where's the salt," Carlos whispered as the sound of happy conversation filled his ears.
"Shut up," Kendall laughed while fixing his plate with his emerald green eyes sparkling from the glowing sun.
"I'm serious! Your eyebrows are like two furry caterpillars man," James chuckled as he carried his smoking plate to the table; his UCLA hoodie becoming bright orange from the sun's rays. Logan merely shook his head with an amused laugh escaping his throat as he put a heaping amount of spaghetti into a crispy corn shell.
"They're more like centipedes actually," Logan joined in while examining Kendall's eyebrows causing Kendall to sigh in exasperation.
"Okay. My eyebrows are abnormal! I get it," he rolled his eyes before grabbing a few clean white napkins from under the sink.
"I think they're cute," Cat spoke up with a cheery voice as she danced over to the table with a steaming plate in her hands. "They're like two baby squirrels-"
"Alright already," Kendall sighed with a smile on his good natured face.
"Yeah, leave the poor guy alone. Besides, we all know they actually look like two dog tails instead," Carly chimed with an adorable laugh as Kendall glared at her for a minute before bursting into a fit of laughter as well.
The song, Someday My Prince will Come calmly flowed from the dock speakers like soothing gusts of air. Everyone literally joined in on the song with goofy voices as laughs spill from their mouths.
"Once there was a princess," Cat began with a sweet voice to resemble Snow White.
"Was the princess you?" James joined in with a low voice as he ran to Cat's side eagerly.
"And she fell in love," Carly finished with a sweet sigh as she dramatically placed the back of her hand on her forehead.
"Was it hard to do?" Logan asked with a dopey tone while shrugging his broad shoulders as he sat down on the wooden dining chair making it creak in response.
"It was very easy," Carly and Cat both spoke with giggles before dreamily looking up at the ceiling with affectionate faces. "Everyone could see that the prince was charming…the only one for me."
"Did he say he loved ya?" Kendall asked with a smirk.
"Did he…steal a kiss?" Logan and James both asked with eager tones in their voices as if they're longing to know more. Carlos only ignored them with worry slowly aching in his chest as he kept scavenging the cupboards for that damn salt.
Demon boy will die! He will! I know he will!
Carlos thought before he heard another voice slowly speak in his clogged mind. "Carlos, my son. What are you doing," the calm voice asked with a tone of disappointment causing the troubled boy to jump in shock.
"G-God?" he gasped with a look of disbelief.
"Yes my boy…now, what are you doing?" he asked again with that same voice. Carlos only felt a surge of overwhelming confusion rush through him as the voice continued to talk with him.
"I-I…I was going to vanquish him my Lord. I was going to destroy him."
"Ah…but what will that do my child. If you do that it will only make you a murderer. It won't make you any better than him."
Carlos pondered this thought for a second as he stared down at his bright purple shoes with a look of pity and shame before tightening his grip on the pantry doors.
"What a moron!"
"I know! Can he even read?"
"That's enough!"
It was Carlos' first day at Garside and boy was it hell. He was chosen to read an excerpt from their English textbook in front of the entire class and it was the worst moment in his entire life. The small boy was standing up in front of the class with a nervous look in his innocent eyes as the eyes of all forty (Katniss wasn't in their class yet) of his classmates were staring at him.
"Well, will you read the next paragraph for us Mr. Garcia?" Mr. Sikowitz asked with a reassuring smile that shined through his scraggly beard. Carlos merely nodded before staring down at the jumbled letters on the page causing his stomach to lurch. His dyslexia was going to ruin him yet again.
"Uh…The…The bat…the b-bat combed up…up the m-mountain and runned through…through the weeds…wood…weeds and-"
"Uh…duh duh! Do you need a freakin' lesson on how to read dumb ass?" A young Simon bellowed from his seat causing a few people to burst into fits of laughter.
"What a moron," Grace giggled from her seat while popping her gum behind Josh who was reading the next issue of Nintendo Magazine.
"I know! He can't even read!" Ned cackled stupidly causing Carlos to sniffle a bit. Tears beginning to stream down his cheeks.
"Hey! Shut up!" James barked with anger causing the tormentors to go dead silent.
"What you gonna do about it Diamond?" Simon taunted while hopping up from his seat causing everyone to look over with wide eyes.
"Oh, you don't even wanna know that information!" the tall brunette snapped making the situation much more tense than it already was.
Carlos only stood there in a daze as he watched his tall friend come to his defense. "Yeah. No one makes fun of our little buddy!" Kendall roars from his spot in the front causing Simon to go off and charge at him. Soon enough, the entire room erupts into a fit of screams as the three boys fight like there's no tomorrow.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" the entire class shouts as if they're crowding around a UFC fighting ring.
"That's enough! Boys! Enough!" Mr. Sikowitz cries as he struggles to break it up.
Later that day, Carlos locked himself in his room with a profuse stream of tears pouring from his eyes as he kept revisiting that horrible moment.
'What a moron!'
'I know! Can he even read?'
"Carlos! Mijo? Come now! Open up okay!" his dad's caring voice spoke from outside his door in the stretched hallway of their second floor. "Carlos! This is your last warning! Open this door now!"
"No!" Carlos cried hysterically to his parents causing them to jump away from the door in shock. Carlos brought his Spiderman blanket over his head and covered his entire shivering body as he shook from the tears. "You made me go to that mean place! It's all your fault Papi! Go away and leave me alone! They made fun of me! All of them made me feel stupid! I'm…I'm just stupid huh?"
Mr. Garcia stood there proudly in his police officer uniform with a look of sadness while his wife stood by his side wearing an apron considering she just finished baking a batch of cookies as an after school snack for her little angel.
"Mijo…you're not stupid. You're a genius. You're so wild when it comes to your imagination. They obviously don't see that. Besides…they're just being rowdy. James and Kendall they were being rowdy also. Boys are like that baby."
"Your madre is right sport. Maybe you should go talk to the minister about this…you like him don't you?" Mr. Garcia speaks with a calming tone in order to calm his son down.
"No! I saw papi! I saw those boys! They were demon boys! I saw! The mean boys were demons! They were fighting Kenny and Jamie! Trying to hurt them! They were evil demons!" Carlos screeched from underneath the covers as his television screen glowed from him playing his gamecube earlier that morning.
Mr. Garcia (Diego) simply shook his head in irritation before pulling out a set of keys from his uniform pants' pocket. "Diego! What are you…maybe we should just leave the poor thing alone. Our little baby is just upset," Mrs. Garcia (Sylvia) spoke with overwhelming amounts of care in her voice as she squeezed her husband's muscular shoulder.
"Sylvia!" MR. Garcia snapped with overbearing impatience while bring the metallic key to the glistening door knob. "You can't keep babying him! Carlos needs to learn how to fend for himself our he'll always keep being picked on! My lord…all this crazy talk of demon boys. Maybe we need to talk with Dr. Mathews about this-"
"No! Dr. Mathews is a crazy person doctor papi! I'm not loco! I'm telling you the truth-" Carlos' frantic voice was quickly interrupted as his father began jiggling the knob with the key inside it and slowly opened the door.
"I never said you were mijo…now can we come in?" Mrs. Garcia softly spoke with a smile as she began to enter her son's bedroom right behind her husband.
"No!" Carlos cried as he leapt off of his super hero themed bed in an instant with tears flying from his innocent brown eyes. He slammed the door with all of his might causing it to smash his father right in the face making him tumble backwards into the hall with a loud series of pained hisses. "You can't make me go back to school! You can't! I'm never going back to that awful place ever again!"
As soon as he said this the door rebounded open after hitting his father and slowly revealed the aftermath. Mr. Garcia stood there in a daze with blood oozing from his broad nose in a thick scarlet stream. Sylvia gasped in horror as she laid her eyes upon it and immediately began to shriek. "Your nose Diego! Hold on! Let me get the medical kit!"
"Now , now…it's nothing to fuss over bonita (pretty). Just a little bump is all it is," Diego smiled as the liquid dripped off of the edge of his upper lip causing his son to shiver in fear.
"What have I done papi?" Carlos muttered with tears coming to his eyes as he saw the blood drops splashing to the ground. "I-I'm…I'm so sorry!"
"No mijo…I'm sorry. I shouldn't of scared you like that," he cooed while making shushing noises as a weeping Carlos ran into his strong arms for a sense of comfort. "You see that Carlos? That was being rowdy. Just like the boys in your class. See? We all get a little rowdy once in a while."
"I was rowdy? I'm sorry papi."
"It's o-"
"No papi! No it's not okay!" Carlos scolded with a serious look in his teary eyes as his mother began to scurry back up the stairs with the handy medical kit in her grasp. Carlos looked at his dad's bleeding nose and hastily brought his blankie up to it with a goofy smile on his face. "See? All better now papi! I'll think I'll go talk to Dr. Mathews though…he can help me get used to my middle school. It's scary but…but I can do it. I have Kenny, Jamie and Logie to protect me."
"That's right mijo…we all get rowdy once every now and then, but it's how you deal with it that counts," the burly man wisely spoke with his beefy hand holding the soft, small blanket that Carlos kept since he was baby up to his gushing nose.
"You mean like…like have more faith?" Carlos asked wide eyed like an eager puppy standing on his tippy toes. His neon green socks were pushing into the soft, white carpet as he did so.
"More faith in yourself mijo…God helps those who help themselves remember? The bible tells us that God will be by your side no matter what. It's in his hands and it's up to you to trust him," Slyvia spoke up kindly after unlatching the medical kit box and removing a few gauze pads and sterile cleansers.
"Up to me…to trust him," Carlos whispered with a sad smile as he stood there in front of the pantry like a frozen statue. "Rowdy boys…rough housing. Not demon boys killing. All rough housing. But I saw everything…the fall and the axe…or maybe."
The raven haired boy slowly unhinged his arms from their stuck position and he resumed his search for the salt and spotted a plastic container filled with sparkling white grains. He finally found it. "Maybe…something else happened. Beck was crying and he…he looked upset. He was mourning Kevin I think. He was upset that he died…but how did Beck- they were right. It was all probably just an accident. Kevin was losing it and…and went after Beck but…I finally see now…Beck was crying over Kevin. Beck's not a demon boy. Just a rowdy one like Kenny and Jamie are. I'm rowdy too! Papi says so."
Carlos removed the salt from the dark depths of the cupboards and rushed over to the table; placing it near the center along with a few napkins they scrounged up. Carlos had an actual smile on his face as he looked around the room. I…I don't need to feel scared anymore because…because Beck isn't evil. I see that now. Carlos thought with a wide goofy Garcia smile causing everyone to look at him in confusion.
"Is that a smile I see?" Kendall gasped as he rushed over to his small pal. "Is he finally grinning!? James! Logan! Take a look at this!"
James and Logan immediately did as they were told and widened their eyes in shock as if they had witnessed something groundbreaking. "It's a miracle!" James cried with a joking laugh before draping his arm over the Hispanic boy's stocky frame. All Carlos did was give a cheery, genuine grin to everyone in the room before rushing off towards the sink where the tainted plate of food was lying.
"Yeah! I'm back and ready for action! Now…just have to get this food to Beck if you buddies don't mind." Carlos spoke with an over joyous tone to his voice causing everyone to light up instantly. Carlos grabbed the two edges of the plate with careful hands before happily waltzing over to the doorway leading to the spiral staircase, but before he did… "Oh and Logie. Make sure to save some food for the rest of us. I know how much your anxiety makes you like to grub."
Logan turned red after hearing this and stared over at Carlos with an angered yet comical look on his pale face. "Carlos! You little twerp!" he snapped as his friend trotted off to the staircase. He paused after making it halfway up the crusty iron steps to the second floor and looked down at the poisoned food with a great look of disappointment. He heard everyone finally digging into their food with great satisfied sounds leaving their throats along with the noisy sounds of crunching taco shells and noodles being slurped up.
"What was I thinking?" he whispered in fear before feeling the needle in his pocket. "I have to get rid of this. I have to get rid of the food, but how? I can't dump in the trash or everyone'll get suspicious…" Carlos thought long and hard about how to dispose of the meal before a brilliant thought popped into his over imaginative mind. "I got it! I'll go up to the bathroom…then I'll dump it in the toilet and flush it. Then I'll just leave the plate by Beck's door or something so that they think he would have eaten it. It's perfect!"
Carlos beamed with a smile at his idea and began to take a step up the stair way once more, but before he could he heard something rather strange. "Owie…" Cat spoke up with a pained voice causing Carlos to stop his movements and listen in. "My tummy…it…it hurts."
"Cat?" Carly laughed with a look of amusement as she took a quick gulp of her water from a glass. "It's because you're eating too fast. You need to slow down okay," but right after Carly finished her sentence, Cat's eyes that usually resembled sweetness and childish innocence went wide immediately and her mouth began to part causing some of the food she had her mouth to slowly ooze out.
"Cat?" Carly spoke with a nervous laugh as she watched the red head drool her food. Cat soon grasped her throat as her eyes turned a shade of dark pink and her pupils began to change into a hideous purple color. She gagged incredulously until vomit began to spew from her mouth like a wild hose out of control. Everyone jumped back in disgust as they witnessed the small girl blowing filthy chunks all over the table top; onto the plates and everything.
"Cat!?" Kendall shrieked with hysteria in his once confident voice as he watched her heave terribly after finishing her throw up session. She wavered there for a few moments as if she were drunk with her eyes rolling backwards making everyone shiver with fright, especially Logan. However, Cat's mouth soon opened wide once again as she began to spray out another stream of vomit, but this one was a dark red jet of thick liquid.
"BLLLLAAAAARKKKK!" It stained the entire table spread and her hands were clutching the cup she was holding for dear life.
"Cat! Oh god! H-Holy SH-SHIT!" Kendall screamed with horror etched on his terrified face while Cat threw up vast amounts of blood which started to drip onto the kitchen floor. The veins and arteries in her face, throat and…all over her body began to puff up and bulge from her skin making her look like some deranged creature while her skin grew pale and waxy.
"She's…oh my God she's…Cat!" Carly screeched with tears falling from her eyes as she held her flushed cheeks. James was staring in absolute fear as he watched the red head and spaghetti was still hanging from his lips as if he was in the middle of eating it.
Cat soon ceased her blood binging and foam began to profusely run down the corners of her parted mouth and her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she fell face first making her head slam into the table.
Cat's POV
What's happening to me? Why is this tummy ache making me…making me fall asleep. Everything is going dark. Did someone give me a poison apple? Like in Snow White? Was someone being a wicked step-mother to me? Who would do that? I only had one mean mommy! I don't need to two. I hear everyone screaming around me as I taste all the nasty stuff in my mouth…the red, sticky juice all over me again. Why? Why is it happening again? I don't get it!
I killed them both! But they…they still keep hurting me.
I remember being ten and watching Little Mermaid like a good girl. I was home with my sixteen year old baby sitter Jenny because I wasn't feeling good at all, but my big bro' still had to go. My mommy and daddy were gone too which made me happy though.
Until he came home.
"Cat?" he says with a mean voice as my baby sitter goes into the bathroom upstairs to go potty. "I thought I told you to wash the damn dishes while I was gone!"
"I-I was watching movies though daddy! I was playing with Jenny and…and I didn't feel good so I couldn't!" I try to scream, but he keeps on grabbing my arm…he always made me hurt. He's strong and big…he can't do this can he.
"No excuses…looks like someone's gonna be getting the belt early today."
No…no belt! I hate it! It hurts! It leaves marks and stings and it makes me cry really bad. I won't let him hurt me with it. Not again. Not ever, ever again! Before I even knew what happened, my daddy wound up in the closet I was always locked in with a sticky knife in his face.
How did that happen? I don't remember doing that. Did I do that? I stare at his red body and it looks like a ugly teddy bear. Haha! The red juice is all over the closet and all over my hands. Ewie! Meanie.
How does it feel to finally be in my shoes daddy? It hurts huh? You always made me hurt. Hurt and cry forever, but not anymore. Not anymore-
"Mr. Valentine?" I hear Jenny chirp from the living room with a kind sound. "I still need my money sir. Mr. Valentine?"
No. Can't have Jenny tattle on me. She'll get me in trouble. I slowly get up and pull the knife from my daddy's face making a funny sound happen. Soon…Jenny's body is laying in the living room with knife booboos all over her and she looks like she's screaming but nothing's coming out. The red juice is making a puddle around her too. It's so red and pretty. I like it. Wait. What about mommy? She needs to be punished to! I think about it for a little bit and get the perfect idea. My brother has a gun in his backpack all the time! He has it just in case mommy or daddy tries to hurt us really, really bad. He can do it for me. My mommy is probably off of work right now to go get him. I need to call him though, but first…I take the the knife that has the juice on it and stab my shoulder with it. It hurts! Owie! Owie! Okay…one more time. I thrust it into to hip making it hurt even more, but now I can look convincing. I lay down on the floor with my barbies all around me with my teddy bear clutched my arm as I begin to dial his phone number.
I hear the dial tone ringing on the other hand and can't stop smiling! Big bro will punish mommy! I just know he will!
"Hello?' I hear him answer with a laugh. Big bro!
'Big Bro! Help me! Help me! Mommy! Sh-She…tried to kill me!" I scream with painful gasps as the owie in my hip starts to burn.
'W-What! Cat wait! What are you talking about!?' he hollers in confusion with a dead serious voice.
"I-I'm bleeding big bro," I tell him after touching the sticky juice on my body and feeling it on my fingers and bringing the knife up to the light so that it twinkles. I like how it looks. "Mommy…she came home…a-and she…she was mad! Really mad! She came at daddy with a knife because she was screaming and killed him big bro! Then…then she went after Jenny when she was trying to protect me! Then she attacked me, but…but I didn't die! Now," I pause to draw in a sharp breath of air. "Now she's after you!"
I hear him stutter over the phone and can tell I made him scared. Now he'll do it for me…he'll punish mommy like I did daddy.
'Maxie? Are you ready to go home now,' I hear mommy through the phone as my bro stops talking to me. I can tell she's a little weirded out, but soon I can hear her screaming in fear after a few seconds. He's pointing the gun at her! He'll kill her for his little sissy! He'll punish her real good!
'Mom…what have you done,' I hear him whisper in disbelief making my mom shout at him in anger.
'What the hell are you talking about!'
'Dad! Cat! Y-You…you killed dad and tried to kill little Kitty-Cat too! Even Jenny mom! Why!? What have we ever done to you to have you hate us so much! Why would you-'
'Stop this or I'll make sure you get it when we get home! Your little brat sister is obviously delusional as always-"
'SHUT UP! Stop talking to us like we're fucking cattle you…you bitch!' he screams. Yes. Yes!
'What did you just call me! What the hell did you just call me!" she blows up in fury and I can hear her running towards him over the phone speaker followed by a crazed yell coming from my brother…and then a gunshot blast. He did it. Mommy is gone! No more hurting now big bro! No more hurting and crying or red stuff! Not for us! I giggle while clutching the bloody teddy bear close to my chest.
But then he got caught by the special doctors and then he was taken away for a long time. I had to live with my nona since then, but I still visit him. He doesn't deserve to be there though. I do. It's my fault he's in trouble…all my fault. He's still hurting and it's all my fault. Sorry big bro…I've been a very bad girl.
I feel my breathing hurt every time I do it. I see nothing but black and feel the red sticky juice all around me…looks like…fruit punch. Guess someone…b-beat me to it…So sorry…big b-bro.
Normal POV
Carlos emerged in the doorway with a look of overwhelmed panic as he watched Cat's body clutch the table cloth and collapse onto the blood splattered floor making everything clash onto the ground. The dishes and cups shattered into pieces all around the once lovable red head's body as she laid there with her blank gray eyes still wide open with no sign of life in them and foam was still spilling from her parted lips.
No…Carlos thought as he felt his chest begin to twist and tighten. She couldn't have…how would she. I'm holding the plate with…with…Oh God! Why!?
The sound of shattered dishware filled the kitchen along with annoying Disney music as everyone stared wide eyed at Cat's corpse still frozen in shock. "Is she…" Carly began with a loud set of sobs as she started to take a few steps around the table but decided against it.
"I…I uh…I don't know," Kendall whispered with a scared voice as he observed the body carefully as if it were about to spring back to life. "Logan!" Kendall shouted a little too loudly out of nerves causing the brainy boy to jump with a cry as tears were streaming down his red cheeks. "Ch-Check…check her…g-go and…god damn it! Logan check Cat's pulse!"
Logan hesitantly tip toed over to her body with muffled cries leaving his shaky throat before he kneeled over the velvet red head with his face scrunched up in absolute disgust. The horrid smell of Cat's vomit mixed with blood filled the air causing everyone to feel the urge to purge as well. Logan placed his two trembling, pale fingers on the side of Cat's ghostly white neck and felt a bulgy green vein that was sticking out like a hideous vine which painted his fingers red. Her mouth was coated with puke and crimson red blood as Logan removed his fingers with a shaky breath leaving his throat before he began to let out a few choked sobs.
"Logan! W-What? Is she…" Kendall started as his eyes shook in response of the panicky situation.
"Dead…C-Cat…Oh Cat she's…C-Cat's dead!" Logan literally wailed while stumbling away from her in hysteria.
"Dead?" Carlos whispered while he shook his head in disbelief. "No…this…no. This wasn't supposed to happen. I was gonna get rid of it, but how did she…no…"
He spotted it perfectly which made him almost send out a cry of terror. Right on Cat's bottom lip…there were a few drops of liquid on them. A liquid that seemed to be a bluish color. The same color as the fluid in the needle.
Girl # 19: Caterina Valentine (ELIMINATED)
14 Students Remaining