She's,


falling,



d



o











w



n.




In the eyes of the dead we see betrayal. In her eyes, we see secrets. They laugh at her for being an outsider. She laughs at them because they'll never figure her out. She isn't an outsider. She might not have tons of friends in school. She might sit alone at lunch, but she has lots of friends. They're just all dead...

The ghosts in the corners whisper, "Give it up.



"OPEN THE PAGES OF THE BOOK OF LIES
SEE THE SECRETS AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO HIDE
THRIVE IN THE SILENCE UNDER THE DARKENED MOON
AND KNOW THAT THE SOULS ARE COMING FOR YOU SOON"


Her name is Destiny Skye Lightning. It's a fun name. Destiny for, well you know, fate, karma, and chance. Skye for, 'the sky's the limit'. Lightning could be just lighting her way through the dark, but most people just see it as a strange last name.

She is....extraordinary. She has powerful senses beyond the human senses. But, her innocent face lets no one in. It's her secret and she hides it very well along with the other ones. And there are lots of them.

The ghosts whisper


"THE DARKNESS IS CREEPING TOWARDS THE LIGHT
TO TAKE OVER AND CREATE A NEVER ENDING NIGHT
THE EDGE OF NEVER IS GETTING CLOSE
A BRITTLE GROUND WILL GROW A DEAD ROSE
OUR SECRETS WILL SLIP FROM THE LIPS OF THE WIND
THE VOICES OF THE DEAD WILL RISE UP AND SING"


She looks out of her bedroom window and allows her eyes to wander to the moon. The moon tonight is almost full but as bright as ever. Something about the moonlight draws her in. She watched the moon intently as if something will happen, even though nothing ever does. Her eyes trace the rays of light down to the ground and dance around the shadows.

Now and forever the shadows come to life. Her eyes are haunted. Her mind - possessed. She watches them crawl up the long, spiny tree branches and momentarily they stare into her eyes. Tell her their secrets, make her swear not to tell. She won't. Then they climb to the top and jump off onto the stars. Swinging high and happy, like little kids on a swing set.

A small, delicate smile is set on her lips as she closes her curtains, blowing air kisses goodnight to the shadows below. They just watch her with wide, wandering eyes. Almost innocent eyes - but how innocent can living shadows be? The ghosts know, but they won't tell her. They scare her when they whisper,


"THE FINAL EXIT OPENS UP SLOWLY
OUT COME THE SOULS THAT ARE CLEARLY GLOWING
THEY WATCH WITH DEAD EYES
ABSORB ALL OF THE LIES
AND NEVER WANT TO TURN AWAY
THEY WANT TO LEARN THE SECRETS SO THEY CAN STAY"


Her mind is buzzing so fast, from one thought to the next. Getting ready to sleep for the night. But tonight is different. She can feel it. Her ruby blood is running faster than normal. Her heart beats like a hummingbird's tiny wings. She isn't tired. Maybe it's a sign or maybe she just shouldn't have had that second cup of coffee. But even if that were the case, she feels different tonight, more alert. She's waiting, for what, she has no idea. But she continues to wait.

Her curtains are open a shred and she can see the stars sparkle and wink at her. She wishes she could pause time and be under their spell forever. A million possibilities pass through her busy head: {asleep, tortured, captured, hidden, falling} under the stars.

She imagines the shadows. Sailing during twilight, through a sea of disappearing stars. They have the courage to twist through the diamonds and release their cluttered minds to the wind. They are brave for the wind can't keep a secret. It'll whisper all our secrets to the open, giving away what we've worked so long to hide.

She shakes her head slowly, the small smile disappearing. Her mind snaps back to reality, at least as close as it can return to reality and begins its de-cluttering again. No one can understand what goes on inside her head. The ghosts laugh, they read her mind and whisper into her ears,

"LET ME GO
IT'S KILLING ME
TAKING CONTROL
INCOMPLETE"

take all of me, let go, of all i held onto,
not quite sure, nothing else, can change my mind



She saw a quick flash of lightning. All ongoing thoughts in her mind stopped. They shattered and violently broke into pieces, throwing themselves at the walls of her mind. Stabbing like little shards of broken glass, trying to escape to see the show themselves.

She pulled open her curtain the rest of the way and watched the lightning in awe. She watched the shadows dance as thunder crashed through her windows into her ears. The sky was their playground, a little kid's destiny. They swung high on the stars, hanging by the moonlight rays. The lightning was their roller coaster and the thunder was their theme music. Simple yet so dramatic.

The voices inside her head whisper:



"Why can't I control my life,

I never can seem to get things right,

Once on track, I always fall down,

I wanna scream but can't make a sound."


She ignores the evil shadows that absentmindedly slip through the thin walls of her mind. All of the thinking has thinned them out. One day they won't be able to take anymore and they will rip open, exposing everything.

She crawls under her blankets. They're cold....freezing her into a deep sleep, hypnotized as she falls asleep watching the show.


****



She wakes up unexpectedly, face wet with sweat beads and feet tangled in the sheets. It's still dark. she probably only slept for an hour or so. She looks out of her window, the party is over. Silence has taken over and sullen clouds are passing slowly over the moon, it has dimmed out and also fallen asleep.

All at once, the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, she gets the chills. She pulls the blankets up and over her head, gets it centered and pulls it back down so only her tired eyes are showing. Above her, she sees a faded shadow clinging to the ceiling.

Her throat tightens for an unknown reason and she squeaks, "Hi."

The shadow's eyes are watching her intently, ready to make a move, ready to pounce, but he doesn't. He watches her for a moment then whispers, "Destiny?" in an unsure tone.

"Mhm," She mumbles, eyes wanting to close, fighting to keep them open.

He tilts his head to the side and Destiny sees a large scar descending from above his right cheekbone, down his neck, around his shoulder, and about halfway down his arm. She stares at it and wonders about the story behind it.

He opens his mouth but doesn't speak. Shadows have lived among people for many generations. Destiny is their friend. But they are shy and don't talk very much, mostly they observe, like her. He looks unsure of what to say next and he closed his eyes.

"Bye," he whispers even quieter and he fades away.

Destiny's eyes close tightly and she drifts into a dark sleep, possibly the start of a nightmare.



****



She wakes up peacefully, not a thought in her head. The sun is shining faintly through her curtains making small shadows on her wall. At that, all of the previous night's events circled through her mind.

She thought of the strange shadow man that had watched her from her ceiling. He spoke but didn't say very much. She wondered who he was, why he was there, but most of all, about the scar that was printed into his skin. What was it about that scar that drew her in? Why did she even care?

She put a hand on her head and closed her eyes. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts, randomly making their way around her head. They never came in order, just flew around never really knowing what to do, like a flock of birds in a storm.

She shook her head, swung her legs over the side of her bed and stood up to stretch. Her neck was sore from tilting it to watch the dancing shadows. Her eyes were tired, in need of more sleep, but it was time for her to get up.

She took slow, steady steps to her door, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. She looked around with beady eyes. The coffee maker was on and half empty, the dishes were done except for her parent's breakfast dishes and the counters were swiped clean. The air smelled like burnt toast and a vanilla candle that was burning on the stove. She walked to it and blew it out.

It reminded her of when she was little. Before people forgot about her. She used to help her mom bake cookies, sugar cookies because her mom was allergic to peanut butter and her dad was allergic to chocolate. It would be a bright Sunday morning. The radio would be on, quietly playing country music and a vanilla candle would be burning on the stove.

Not anymore. She watched the black smoke rise above the candle and disappear. She touched the hot wax with her fingertip and lets it mold around her finger like a cast. No way, those days were long gone. One day, out of nowhere, her mom came home and said she had been promoted. Her parents were so happy, they made a great dinner and shared a bottle of cheap wine. That's when her mom said she had to buckle down to keep her position. She had no time for Sunday fun anymore. And her dad started working later and later. Eventually they were both gone most of the time.

They were always so busy. Her mom worked at a big law firm and her dad was a lawyer. They went on business trips without Destiny. They brought home frozen dinners and stashed them in the freezer, knowing they wouldn't be home for dinner. They forgot about their only daughter, wiped her off the face of their existence.

She reaches into the cupboard and pulls out a clean, shiny coffee mug and pours herself a cup in silence. A little splash of milk and a spoonful of sugar and it's perfect, sliding down her throat with ease.

She sips at her hot coffee, staring out the window. The sun is barely shining now as gray clouds move in. It looks like it's going to rain. What a fun day. She gets to sit inside alone staring at the walls of this empty house.

She sets her empty mug down on the counter and sees a piece of paper folded neatly into a triangle with her name on it in her mom's handwriting. She opens it carefully not to tear the edge, It reads:


Destiny,


We are going to New York on a business trip. Be back on Thursday, will call if that changes. Please do the laundry and vacuum the living room. Thanks.









Mom


She reads the note several times before ripping it into tiny shreds and throwing it in the trash. They don't have the courtesy to wake her up and tell her or hang around for a few hours before they leave. It's Sunday, they couldn't even wait until she woke up. Her mom can't even say 'I love you' in the note or anything.

She hates her parents. They are the reason she is so alone. Everything is their fault. She is steaming, so mad, she wants to break every window and set the house on fire. But she won't.

Instead, she walks into the living room. The carpet is spotless. Why should she vacuum a clean carpet. She shouldn't and she decides she won't as she sits down on the leather couch.

But as soon as she sits, she stands back up and paces the floor. She can't sit still. The feeling from last night is back, sending electric jolts down her spine. Something is going to happen.

She hears the splatter of rain on the roof, light at first but soon growing heavy. The sun disappears behind the clouds and the shadows slip off the walls. They crawl to the couch, sit and watch her intensely. She talks quietly to them, not wanted to scare them away. "Who was on my ceiling last night?"

They don't speak, just watch, but one of them vanishes from the couch and materializes inches in front of her face. It's the man with the scar. "Hello. Nice to see you again," she says without a hint of emotion.

He looks back at the couch. All of the other shadows have vanished from sight.

"Why were you here last night? Do you need something?" She sounds frustrated and her brows wrinkle together.

He stares at her for a moment, breathing loudly from his open mouth. "I will help you," he whispers.

"Help me?"

He searched the room with his sparkling eyes, opened his mouth to say something but quickly changed his mind. He nodded and blinked at her several time before fading away.

She just stood there, thinking. Her mind wandered through endless possibilities about why she would need help. Maybe this shadow was a special one, maybe he could see the future. Maybe he was sent here. Maybe she was in trouble.

Ugh. Her stomach rumbled. All of this nonsense thinking was because of her empty stomach. She walked slowly into the kitchen, stopping to thoughtfully stare at random objects like an old family picture hanging on the wall or the cold stone fire place.

That fireplace must feel empty. It must feel cold. Like her. She could relate to this fire place. Maybe she should just crawl up into a ball and slide herself into the fire place, closing the iron gate and locking herself in. Then maybe she would have somebody to love. And she could warm the fire place up. Put some garbage in it, light it on fire, and not scream when she starts to burn.

She viewed that in her head. A vivid picture came to mind. If that's what she did, she wouldn't be crying or screaming, she would whisper goodbye to the shadows, wink, and smile. Some part of her wanted that, but she shook her head and let it go.

Walking into the kitchen, she picked up her coffee cup and started to make another cup. She tried distracting her mind, telling herself to repeat the fifty states, name the presidents in order....things like that but it didn't work. She wanted to know more about that man. About his scar..... Next time she sees him she decides she's going to ask him about it. Maybe he'll talk to her a little more.

Her coffee was hot and steamy and as she blew of the steam, she popped the top off of a muffin tin and grabbed herself a blueberry muffin. She saw her mom making them yesterday but didn't ask to help. Didn't even let her realize she was watching. Maybe if she had, her mom would have laughed, been ecstatic, and said, 'I was waiting for you to ask. I've missed you.'

Well, no. It would have been more like, 'I'm busy, go away.'

That's her mom for you, and at this time her dad wasn't home yet, so she had nobody except the shadows on her walls. Not that she ever had anyone anyway, but that was enough. She was happy with them, happy that they took her in when everybody else pushed her away.

Reality drifted back into her head, and her eyes cleared, her vision gone. She watched the rain pour out of the sullen clouds that drifted overhead. The window pane was covered in fast rolling tears. The clouds were crying, violent tears. She secretly wished that the thunder would roll in and the lightning would pain the sky with light, but the clouds weren't storm clouds. Just empty wanderers with no where to go because no one really wants them. They should come curl up in the fireplace with her.....


****



Destiny lifted her head up and examined the blank walls. By this time, she had finished her third cup of coffee and even had a little cheese sandwich for lunch. She was lying on her bed staring at the walls, waiting. She was waiting silently, patiently. Maybe he would come soon, maybe not. It's not like she was wasting her time, she had too much time to waste.

Hmmm. She was thinking so hard, her head was almost ready to explode. What had she been doing when he arrived last night? Let's see, laying on her bed, watching the storm? Yes - wait, no. She had waken up abruptly. Gotten a funny feeling and looked up, and BAM!, there he was.

Without thinking, she lay back down, closed her eyes, and pretended to dream. She decided she would dream for about two minutes... [She was lost at sea, screaming into the whirling air and killer waves. The clouds had moved in and rain was pounding down on her in her little life raft. The water was filling the bottom of the raft and the rain continued making it heavier, sinking a little faster. She dropped to her knees and cupped her hands together and started vigorously throwing water out. She had tears streaming down her face, her hair was a tangled mess that kept blowing into her face, and her eyes stung wildly from the constant salt water being thrown into them. She screamed for help even though she knew her voice would only travel a few feet in this storm. The raft was sinking. Less than an inch of water was necessary to sink the raft and as hard as she was trying to scoop out water, the waves kept crashing in anyway. She had no choice. She took in a large breath of air and dove into the salty depths below. When she popped up, the raft was no where in sight. The water was fairly calm at her angle and as she was about to smile, a large wave crashed into her back, sending her dozens of feet under, tumbling and in need of air.]

She bolted up in her bed, her blankets falling to the side of her. She looked at her clock. She must've really dozed off. Her forehead and hands were glistening with sweat. Her breath was rapid. Then, without thinking, she looked up.

There he was. His eyes were dull, more tame then earlier, kind of worried looking. He was staring down at her. She was staring up at him. They locked eyes for a moment and the room spun around them. Inside his eyes, she got pulled into a new world.

She was falling, she realized and started to scream. Then she hit the ground, hard but it was on a fluffy material, like cotton. She closed her eyes, pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them tight. She sat like this for a while before finally sitting up. Her hands were trembling from the fall, but only slightly. The first thing she noticed was the sky.

The sky was white. Not white from clouds, but white like a clean sheet of paper. Small black clouds rolled off in the distance being carried by a wind that she noticed was visible. It was hard to see at a distance but in the sunlight, it sparkled, like....glitter. Wind made of glitter? Then she looked around. Everything was in shades of white, gray, and black. She blinked, her expression blank. Where was she?

She noticed something move behind a black-trunked tree. It was hard to see at first but then she focused in on the tree's shadow, which was coming alive, morphing into a person shaped. It turned and stared at her, then walked away. She stood up as fast as she could, and raced towards it. "Wait! Please, I need help!" She screamed but the shadow didn't even turn around to look.

"I need your help!" She tried again but it kept going.

She allowed herself to drop to the ground. She wanted to cry, for no reason at all. She whispered to herself, maybe the wind, but the intention for someone else to hear. "Please, shadow. I'm talking to you, you know, the one on my ceiling. I don't know what you did, but please let me come back. Help me. I need help. If you're in trouble, I'll help you but you have to bring me back and talk to me."

The scenery around her faded at the seams and started to crackle, like static on the television. Everything started flying around her in circles. She was the only thing that remained in place. She watched everything twist around, her eyes flying in motions like a roller coaster. She thought she was going to be sick.

Then as if on cue, everything stopped and was sucked away and instantly, she was back in her room, staring at the ceiling. The EMPTY ceiling. Where did he go?

She was crazy, seeing things must be. She turned to get off her bed and was face to face with the shadow man, inches from his face. She listened quietly, but couldn't hear him breathe. "Are you okay?" She asked, concern crawling up her throat into the words she spoke.

His eyes appeared more happy at this. His voice was a distant whisper. She had to be completely silent to hear him, like they were in a tornado, like his voice was being sucked from his voice box. "Are you okay?"

He gestured at her with his eyes. She watched them watch her. They were silent, broken eyes connected to a face, shoulder, and arm armed with a puffy scar. Up close, she could see him better. She could see faintly through him, but not through the part with the scar. The scar was black and purple, puffed a lot, and red at the edges. She took a deep breath. "Yes, I think so."

A thoughtful smile crawled onto her face. He returned it for a brief second. "That is good."

The way he talked reminded her of a robot, except his voice wasn't boxy. "What....happened?"
His eyes searched hers for a second. Searching to find anything to throw him off. He needed to make sure she could be trusted. After a moment he decided, she could. He spoke a little louder but now it was slightly muffled like speaking too close into the microphone. "That was the shadow world."

The sudden change of voice started Destiny and she leaned back a bit away from his face, waiting for him to continue.

"I transported you there through my eyes. I was going to come along also, but it appeared you didn't want to stay." A small smile was on the edge of his hidden lips.

"Oh. Well, I wanted to leave, yes, But you have to understand that I didn't know what was going on. You could have told me first."

"Sorry." His answer sounded a little empty, but she didn't think anything of it.

"Okay, well.you obviously know who I am, so....Who are you?"

"I have no name to tell, That is not important."

"But I want something to call you."

He put his hand to his head and thought. "You can call me Skye, I guess."

"Skye?"

"Yes."

"That's funny. That's my middle name."

"Yes, I am aware."

"Okay. So can you fill me in now?"

"Fill you in?"

"I mean tell me what's going on."

"Some. But only some. Have you ever heard, "what you don't know, can't hurt you.""

"Yes, I have, but what does that have to do with...."

"That applies to this situation."

"Oh. So what can you tell me."

"I am a noteworthy shadow."

"What does that mean?"

"Significant. It means I have special privileges that many of the other shadows do not. For example, I can see things that some can't, hear things, and I have a key to get into the system of files, similar to your kind of government."

"Okay."

"Our system of files is kept by three people. They are not so much kings as they are a representative of our kind. They decide who can get into the system of files, and I am one. Now inside the system of files, I was reading through some other files and your came up."

"Why would my file be in your system? I'm a human."

"Yes, but you've been noted as one of us."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember the night you witnessed the shadows in the sky, during a thunder storm perhaps?"

"Yes I do, and how do you know about that?"

"Because they trusted you. Something about you drew them in. They came back to our world and made you certified to be one of us, so you have access to our world. But, someone dangerous found out about this. He isn't from the shadow world, he is not even shadow, but he wants you. He wants you to join him, to become one of him and he is prepared to fight for you."

"Who, or what is he?"

"I can't tell you at this moment, but you will understand why in the near future."

"Okay, so thanks for the fill in."

"Your welcome." He pretended to smile.

"Now, may I ask you one thing? It may be kind of personal so you don't even have to answer it."

He sighs loudly, it sounds kind of annoyed, but maybe he was just tired. "You want to ask about my scar."

It's not a question, it's a statement. He knew, like he had read her mind. "How did you know?"

Her eyebrows pinched together, trying to concentrate fully on what he'd say next. "It's a gift."

"So you can read minds?"

"No. I Just know things. Not everything but even if I didn't know you were going to say that, I see you eyeing my scar at every chance you get."

She was horrified. Had she offended him? She didn't even realize she had been staring. Her face flushed red. "I'm sorry. I feel bad and..."

"No, it's okay." He smiles and it softens his words. "You can know. It's not a sore subject. You just need to understand that I catch things like that easily." He smiles softly.

"Oh. Okay, well what happened?"

"Well, the guy who's after you....."

"Yeah. What about him?"

"He's...gifted."

"Which means..?"

"It means he's...this is hard to explain."

"Do your best."

"He's special."

She laughs quietly, "Yeah, I got that from gifted."

"Okay but get to the part where your scar came to be, please."

"I suppose that's all I can tell you."

"No, I want details."

"I don't do details. You'll find out everything on your own. You'll see. Now this man is...."

"What?"

"I guess you could say he's all-knowing. He found me. He found you. He's probably been here, but you wouldn't know. If your parents were home, he wouldn't have done anything."

"Yeah, but my parents are gone. They won't be back until Thursday, I think."

"Well, the shadows know about this situation and we'll be around, night and day, as long as it takes, until he's gone."

"So, like my personal body guards?"

"No because "he" can't know we are, so everything will be like normal."

"Oh yes, because my life is normal. My life is most definitely anything but normal. Right now I am talking to a shadow. I can see you come to life. I hear you talk. But that's not all. I see the scary things that everyone else is too afraid to talk about. I see the things that stare at me in the dark. I see ghosts. They haunt me, whisper things in my ear. Now someone's out to get me because I am not normal but you know what? I wish I was normal, I wish all of this could go away and I could have real friends and go to parties and just have fun. I wish none of this was real, the ghosts, the killer waiting to get me, and even you."

She crosses her hands over her chest tightly and stares out the window. By this point she is shaking dramatically. She doesn't care how evil that sounded, she just doesn't care anymore, doesn't see a point in her even trying to pretend that she can ever be normal again.

He stares at her, his expression thoughtful, but deep down, he's trying to dig into her mind. Find out what's going on with her, why she's crazy. But he doesn't try hard enough, he doesn't have the patience. "That hurt." He finally said.

She took a deep breath but continued to look out the window. "I'm sorry. I guess it's just a lot to take in. I guess I'm just not ready for this....any of this."

"Well, I hate to be harsh, but it's happening. There is absolutely nothing you can do and I'm not forcing anything on you by saying this, but you need to be ready. And soon."

Destiny looked over at him, looked deep into his eyes, searching for a smile. All she found was bitterness, and with that, he faded away, leaving her alone.

She sighed and sat down on her bed. She wasn't sad or scared. She wasn't upset that she may have offended him. She was far from that. She was angry. Fire raged behind her eyes. She was angry beyond belief. She was angry at him for dumping all of the bad news on her. She was angry at the man who was responsible for the chaos, the man who was after her. She was angry at her parents for not being there when she needed someone. She was mad at herself for being alone, for never being able to admit that she needed a friend, for ever making that stupid wish. Fury burned behind her eyes. The kind that could shoot invisible daggers at anyone who even looked at her.

She was a mess. She wanted to cry but she wasn't a baby. She was a warrior, but not because she was brave or strong, only because she had to be. The ghosts fly around her ceiling whispering to her, telling her things she didn't need to hear, not now, not ever.

"DON'T LET ANYONE IN, THEY MIGHT NOT BE REAL
THEY MIGHT NOT SHARE THE LOVE THAT YOU FEEL
RAGE COULD BE BURNING FROM BEHIND THEIR EYES
AND YOU NEVER CAN TELL, WHEN YOU'RE SWIMMING IN LIES"


They flew around her, closer and closer. They were almost touching her face. She swatted them away with the back of her hand. "Just leave me alone. I'm not in the mood." She closed her eyes and counted to ten, then to twenty-five, then to one hundred. Then finally, she opened her eyes. A folded up piece of paper had been placed in her lap. She stared at it blankly before opening it up to read;



If you really want to be alone, then leave. we are only here to help you and if you can't handle that, then maybe you can't handle the truth which we know you want to know about. we will not leave you alone. we do not care that you are depressed and lonely. Let us in and you won't be lonely. be our friend if you even know how to do that anymore...


She ripped the note up into pieces, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it against the wall, so hard, if it wasn't paper, it would have went right through it and not touch the ground for a hundred miles or so. She was so tired. Her mind was a jumbled mess and she couldn't think straight. She needed to sleep but was too afraid of what was waiting for her on the other side of her eyelids.

Deep breath, deep breath, deep breath, she repeated over and over in her head, waiting for her now blurry vision to clear. Just as she could start to see everything right again, something struck the back of her head.....hard.

She screamed just as she blacked out....

Destiny woke up instantly. Her body tried to bolt upright, but something was holding her down. Restraints? What was going on? She opened her eyes. They were sticky, like she had been sleeping for weeks. The bright blue light above her head hurt her eyes. The light blocked the room she was in out of her sight. She managed to see dark walls on three sides of her. She couldn't turn to look behind her because a strap was holding her head in place. Another one was attached to her neck, arms, knees, and ankles. She was strapped to a small bed, not much bigger than a park bench.

She struggled to free herself, but the more she struggled, the tighter the restraints got. It was no use. She was as good as helpless at this point. Nothing was going to help this situation, she thought of the worst possibilities until her head screamed at her to stop. She was shaking violently.

She was awake for only a few minutes, but it felt like a lifetime. She was losing hope, very fast. The light was too bright and as she was about to shut her eyes, a dark figure blocked the light. She squinted, it was Skye.

"Skye!" She practically yelled with delight.

"Shhhh. Be quiet."

"Oh, sorry. Now please get me out of here."

"I can't."

"What do you mean, you can't?"

"I mean I can't. Now hush, someone's coming. I'll be right here, just faded so they can't see me." He held a finger to his lips as he faded and the light flooded back into her eyes.

"I heard her talking. She must be awake now." An unknown voice in the distance said loudly.

"Talking, to who?" Another voice.

"Herself, I presume. She said something about the sky I think."

"Oh, most be from the head injury."

"Yes, maybe. Casey did hit her hard. She probably has a huge bump."

The voices were really close now. Destiny closed her eyes, zipping them shut. She listened, careful not to miss anything.

"Hmmm. She looks like she's asleep still." The second voice said.

They were looking over her, staring, burning holes through her eyelids.

"No, no I heard her. She must be faking. Miss, are you in there?"

"Mark, that was the dumbest approach to this as you can get. You deserve an award." The second voice sounded aggravated. "Miss, we know you're awake, but just to be sure, we need you to open your eyes for a split second."

Destiny didn't budge. She didn't open her eyes, she didn't move, barely breathed.

"You're safe, you have nothing to worry about. Please open your eyes."

Nothing. Destiny did nothing.

"Miss, I have little patience. Now, do as we say or we will do it for you and you really don't want that."

"Jason, maybe that isn't the way either, I mean you could......"

"Shut up Mark."

Destiny did want to believe she was safe. She wanted to be let go. She needed to get out of these restraints, then run for her life. To do that, she would have to cooperate. She opened her eyes slowly. The light burned.

"Thank you." Jason said with a smile.

She scanned the men standing above her. Jason was tall, maybe six:one, six:two. He had dark brown hair with a short army haircut. His eyes were m&m brown and his teeth gleamed in the light. Mark was shorter, maybe about five:ten. He had light brown hair. Long and straight, a skater boy cut. His eyes with sea weed green. He wasn't smiling, his lips were in a thin line.

"Do you have a name?" asked Mark. His expression was hard but his voice was soft.

She didn't answer him. Just stared into his green eyes, searching for answers.

"Little girl, we have ways of making you talk. I suggest you cooperate with us so we don't have to turn to stricter measures." Jason gestured somewhere with his hands but Destiny couldn't turn her head to see.

She heard Mark tapping his foot impatiently. "Come on. Let's try again, do you have a name?"

"Everybody has a name." She didn't smile. She was scared but couldn't let it show.

"That's funny, little girl but I'm done asking. Now tell me, what's your name." Mark's eyes burst into flames, smoke came out is ears and a dragon tail emerged. At least that's what should have happened.

"How about this. You let me out of this, and I'll tell you my name."

"You're funny, really you are, but that's absolutely not happening so you may as well give up now, little girl." He had a smug smile on his lips.

"I'm not little. I'm not much younger than you so stop calling me little girl."

"I will as soon as you tell me your name."

"I will as soon as you let me out." She held a straight face, not wanting to destroy her fierce image with a little hint of a smile.

Mark sighed, Jason was busy somewhere else in the room. She could hear him typing something on a keyboard.

"Okay, what if we gamble this a little bit. I'll tell you my name if you unhook at least my head and neck. These things are hurting me."

"Well I'm sorry that you're uncomfortable but you shouldn't have struggled. It tightens the straps."

"Okay well, why am I being held against my will, and like this?" Her face held a look of pure disgust.

"Look, I'm not at liberty to discuss this with you. I want you to listen carefully, I'm going to loosen the neck strap and unhook the head one. But you need to tell me your name as soon as I do. Is that clear?"

"Okay."

He did as he said. He unhooked the head strap, letting it dangle from the bed and loosened the neck strap enough so she could freely move my head. "Thanks."

He smiled briefly then nodded his head as a cue for her to finish her part of the deal. She took a deep breath. "Destiny." She whispered.

"Does Destiny have a last name?"

"Destiny Skye Lightning."

"Okay, well that's a start."

"Why am I here? What's going on?"

"Whoa. Let's stick to me asking the questions."

She stretched her neck, letting it twist to each side and crack. "Well, then I refuse to answer any more questions."

"Very well. But if that's how it's going to be, then I am going to remove your privilege of moving your head and neck, so if you'll just hold still, I'm going to strap you back in."

Her eyes followed his hands as he reached to tighten the neck strap. Her eyes widened. "No, no. Please....don't."

"Okay, well now you know how things work."

"What is this? Do you know how illegal this is?"

"What?"

"Keeping me against my will, strapping me to a bed like this, refusing to tell me what's going on."

He laughed quietly. "I don't think you understand the situation."

"So how about you help me understand." I prompted.

"All in good time, Destiny."

Before she could say anything else, Jason walked over to them, holding a bag that was vaguely familiar to her. "Okay, Mark. I'm good. Bring her to room 453H. I'll be in there in about twenty minutes." He whispered something else in Mark's ear that made him laugh but Destiny could not hear it.

Jason left the room while Mark was still chuckling to himself. He walked behind her bed and she couldn't see him. She heard him pushing buttons and felt the bed being touched. "What are you doing?"

"You'll see, little girl."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh sorry. Look, do you have a nickname or something?"

"No, I don't really have friends to give me one."

"Oh, well can I give you one. Destiny seems too....oh I don't know. Just not right, you know. How about I call you Angel."

"Why Angel?"

"Because that's what I want. So can I?"

"Sure I guess."

The bed moved under her. She felt it slowly tipping upwards. It moved until she was almost straight up in the air. He came around so she could see him and started unstrapping her. "You're letting me go?"

"No. I'm taking you to room 453H."

"Uh...okay.."

"Don't even think about escaping," he laughed, a smile crawling onto his lips.

"Wasn't planning on it."

"Oh, okay. Look, I'm not stupid, okay?"

"Okay, I get it."

He finished unstrapping and grabbed her hands to help her down. His hands were soft. He let go and watched her as she stretched her arms and legs. "Ready to go?"

"If you are. Man, this feels so good."

"I bet. Sorry about this next part. Don't hate me for it. Strictly orders."

He was behind her now. She started to turn around, "What are you talking about..."

He pushed her head around and stabbed a needle into her neck. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him injecting a neon pink liquid into her neck. She squealed, dropping to the floor, and closing her eyes tight. "What the....why'd you...owwww."

"Sorry." He mumbled and clipped handcuffs on her around her wrists and helped her to her feet after putting the needle into a box labeled, USED.

"What was that?" She tried to pull her arm out of his grip to touch her neck but he was too strong.

"It was uh...medicine."

"For what? I'm not sick! If anyone around here is sick, it's you people!"

"Just be quiet and come on." he said and pulled her down two hallways, up a flight of stairs and into a room marked 453H.



****



"Wonderful, this is just wonderful." She paced the floor in front of a huge mirror hanging on the wall. He was sitting on a stool in the corner watching her.

Mark had taken off the handcuffs after locking the door, the key hooked to a chain around his neck. She was looking in the mirror. Her face, neck and most of her right arm were bruised, black and blue. There was a huge red bump on the back of her head and red lines from where she had been strapped down. Her makeup was smeared like crazy and her hair in a greasy tangled knot. "What happened to me."

Her teeth were unbrushed and her body, unwashed. "Nothing, really."

She turned to look at him, her hands on her hips. "You call this nothing? How long have I been asleep in there?"

"Since yesterday I think."

"Great, you don't even have the facts. I've got to get out of here." She started to panic, running at the door, smashing herself into the walls, beating her fists against them.

"You're just going to injure yourself."

"No, I'm going to get out." She said through heavy, rapid breathing.

"Okay, well you keep telling yourself that."

"Please, I have to get out of here. You don't understand.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"No. You're not."

"Look, Angel, yes I am. I just don't have a choice. Jason won't be back for a little bit so how about you calm down and let's talk about something else."

"Look at me! Look at my situation! How can you expect me to calm down?"

"Just please try for a little bit. Right now, you are here with me. We could pretend to be friends. Just...focus on the resent, not the past or the future."

She took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll try."

"Good. So, um..."

"You're Mark right?"

He laughed a little. "Yeah. That's me."

"Last name?"

He looked at me for a minute before answering. Locket. Mark James Locket."

"Nice to meet you." She swallowed down her fear, forced a smile and stuck out her hand.

He shook it awkwardly. "You look really young to be one of the bad guys. How old are you?"

He smiled slightly, "How can you call me a bad guy? You just met me and I'm eighteen."

"Because I know what side I'm on and that makes you a bad guy."

"What if I'm on your side?"

"But you aren't."

"How do you know?"

"Because. This is all too....well you know, or at least you should."

"Yes. I understand what you're trying to say, but back up for a sec. Maybe we aren't the bad guys. Maybe we just want to help you."

"Maybe, but my money's on the bad guy."

He shook his head, "You just don't give up, do you? Always got to be right, have the last word."

"Actually, I'm alone. It's just nice to have someone real to talk to."

"You're not alone. Nobody wants you to be alone. I want to be your friend but..."

"But you can't because you're the bad guy."

He chuckled. "No. I disagree. I don't take sides. I am Switzerland."

"Lies."

"No way, you've got this all wrong."

"Do I?"

"Yes. But since I'm Switzerland, we shouldn't be friends. We should just talk like we are. It wouldn't matter anyway. After today or tomorrow, you'll probably never encounter me again."

"Why, oh wait, let me guess. Because you're the bad guy and that would be against the rules or something."

"Just let it go. You don't know what's going on right now, but when you do, you'll see that you were wrong."

She was about to say something as the door unlatched and the handle turned, allowing Jason to come in. He locked the door behind him and also had the key on a chain around his neck.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" He sounded more cheerful than he had twenty minutes ago.

"Good, dude. We were just chatting." Mark smiled at him but his eyes showed pain.

"How about you? How are you doing."

He looked at Destiny and she knew she had to say something. "You don't have the right to just walk in here and talk to me like we're old friends. You are the last person on Earth, that I'd want to be friends with. You are holding me against my will, not telling me anything and you think being friendly will fix that? Well, it won't." She crossed her arms over her chest and planted a frown in her lips.

"Well, excuse me."

Mark cut in, "She's a little mad about her appearance."

"Ahhh. Well, are you hungry?"

"I am not eating one bit of food here. I would rather starve to death than let you poison me with some weird, alien food or whatever."

The boys sighed in unison. "Give it a rest. We're taking you to eat. If you refuse, we'll inject food into you."

"Speaking of injections, what did you guys put in my neck?"

"Wow Mark, you got it in her already?"

"Yeah."

"Nice work. You make my job so much easier."

"That's what I do."

She interrupted their little love-fest with, "Guys, seriously, what did you put in my?"

They ignored her as Mark showed Jason some notes he had written down on his clipboard. Destiny tried again. "Hello? Anyone home?"

They ignored her again, whispering things she couldn't hear. Anger bubbled beneath her surface. If her skin could change colors, it would be red right about now. She let her control slip and yelled, "Guys, I'm talking to you!"

Jason finally appeared to notice her and replied, "Yeah, we know and you're being very rude about it."

"Well excuse me. Maybe you should step inside my shoes." She glared at him.

He sighed and turned all the way around so they were face to face. "I'm sorry. I suppose you're right. What do you need?"

She wasn't satisfied, but grateful for the attempt at courtesy. "I just want to know what you injected into my neck."

"We can't tell you."

"Why?"

Mark interrupted. "Because. Okay, just because."

"But it's not like I can do anything about it now." She started to whine. "It's already in my system, I can't stop you, all I want to know is what is in me. Hey, my fingers are tingly."

Jason put a hand on her arm, "Let's get you something to eat."

He started to leave but she backed away, "No. Wait."

"Mark, tell her what you must then meet me down in the cafeteria. The left one. If you need me or anybody, just page us."

"Okay."

They were silent until Jason had left, slamming the door loudly behind him. Mark broke the silence. "Destiny..."

"No. No more games. This is ridiculous."

"Shhh. Look, I don't know what it is about you, and I shouldn't be saying this, but there's something. Something that makes me like you. Something that attracts me to you."

He paused, waiting for her to interject. She didn't, she just stood there looking confused. The tension in the room had disappeared but something else was there. “Okay, well be better get going.”

He pulled her by her wrist and led her out of the room.