Kree slowly sat down, still pale as if she had seen a ghost.
Chris, Kree's father, came out into the kitchen, "What's going on?" he looked at Kree with concern and knelt down in front of her, "Are you okay? Are you ill?"
Kree slowly shook her head, and Chris looked up at his wife for an answer, who also still looked concerned. She turned away as she continued making dinner, "Kree just saw a house that spooked her. I don't really agree with Kree having a job that keeps her out until 7 pm, because it starts getting dark."
Chris sighed as he stood up, "I told you that it teaches her responsibility," then her turned to his daughter, "I'm sure that everything will become familiar to you soon, sweetheart. This is all just so new that you're giving yourself the creeps."
Lily gave Chris a dirty look and sat a plate in in front of Kree, "Eat. You are probably tired from all the running."
Chris sighed again as he sat down and started eating his own dinner. He noticed that Kree was just stirring her food around her plate, and Lily was slamming stuff down on the table.
No one had agreed to the move, but after being laid off from his job, he had nowhere else to go. This was the only job opportunity that took him.
Kree finally put her fork down, "Can I go to bed now?" her voice was quiet, too quiet. It sounded like she wanted to talk, wanted to be able to trust someone, but knew she couldn't. It broke Chris' heart.
Lily only nodded. Lily was too quiet, too. What was happening to his family?

Chapter 1

Year 2013

The night was cold and dark as she stumbled on the dirt road. "Just a few more blocks to go." she told herself.
Kree continued walking. There were no stars tonight, and it was somewhat hard for her to find her way.
The road was deserted, and she gasped as she noticed the house on her right. The lights had suddenly come on. Kree walked slowly towards the house, but the closer she walked, the less of a house it looked. Instead, it looked like an old, dilapidated prison facility. It gave Kree the creeps.
A cold shiver ran down her spine, and sweat started forming on her brow, "I've never noticed this before." she whispered under her breath. The chills were no longer from the cold as she continued to stare at the building.
Finally, she turned around and ran. Her mom looked up with a start when Kree slammed the door to their home.
Kree stood against the door, panting. Her heart was still pounding in fear.
Lily raced to her daughter and put her hand to her daughter's forehead, "Kree...are you okay? What's wrong?"
Kree didn't seem to hear her at first, but then she looked up as she started calming down, "There was this...house. I have never seen it before. It was so creepy." Kree shivered once again as she remembered the barred windows. She could have sworn she had seen a shadow behind one of them.
Lily looked at Kree worriedly for a minute and then led her to the table, "Sit down. Dinner is almost ready."

Walking On Fire

Prologue

Year 1922

"Yep, he's going away for a long time." the guard said and cackled. He held a ring of keys in his hands and whistled as he walked down the long hallway.
The young man who was with him hustled to keep up to the guard. His heart was pounding as he kept looking behind him. Why did he feel like this man was not truly behind a bullet proof cage?
The nutty laughter of the insane echoed down the hallway, sending shivers down the spines of those who are not used to it. However, there was laughter from one man whose laughter made it sound like he was right behind you.
Jeremy looked behind himself constantly, but the old guard walked on confidently, whistling to himself, unaware of Jeremy's hesitation.
Finally, John turned around, "What's wrong?" he waited a second for a response before laughing, "You're not afraid, are you? Stop being a pussy. He can't get out."
He was wrong. Dead wrong. Sure, the body would be locked up forever. The soul was a different story. The soul can escape. The next thing Jeremy saw was a ghostly figure racing past him. He heard John's loud screams as the figure ate him from the inside out within a second.
Jeremy didn't have time to think, let alone run for his very life before the figure turned towards him. Blood sprayed on the walls as his screams echoed down the halls of the insane.
The soul of Kiran Kragen was free, and there was no escape...

Epilogue

There are no words to describe how I felt. The depression cut deep into my heart like daggers. This was not something I was going to recover quickly from.

That is what I thought on the plane ride home. That is what I thought when I was finally able to go back to work. That is what I thought when Jessica walked up to me and told me that I returned looking like a zombie. She knew that not even she could fix this pain of actually seeing death for the first time. 

Life does not last long, death does. With death comes emptiness, loneliness, and the heartbreak. Maybe one day there will be hope, but it's not today....

The End

Jewel looked at Jacob with pleading doggy eyes. It almost made me sick. "You don't want to do this, brother."
"It's for our own good." he pulled out the ring. His hand was visibly shaking.
Shawn stood up, and his face paled even more, "No!" he stood up and ran towards Jacob.
"Jacob, move!" I screamed out.
But I was too late. Shawn hit Jacob at full force, trying to get the ring. It didn't work. All three of them-Jacob, Shawn, and the ring (Jewel) fell into the lava. The screaming did not last long...

But something else caught my eye. I turned to see Jewel standing right beside us, sighing in exasperation, "Shawn, I'm right here, and not inside that ring."
Shawn gasped and looked up. He prostrated himself on the ground. It was actually quite pathetic. "My queen...what do you mean?"
"Jacob didn't give her the real ring, you idiot!"
I looked at Jacob in shock, "What?"
Jacob looked away. His jaw tensed, "No offense, but I didn't trust you...or him." he glared at Shawn.
Shawn was just now realizing what was going on. He angrily threw the ring into the lava and slowly stood up, "Give me the ring." he said in an ominous tone that sent chills up and down my spine.
I, however, was still not done with Jacob, "Well, why the hell should I trust you with the ring? She is your sister after all."
Right after I said that, I could see the doubt written in his own eyes. I could see how hard it was on him. I almost felt bad-almost. "She is my sister," he said quietly, "And always will be." His voice caught on a sob, "But I have to do this."
Realizing that Shawn was useless, Jewel turned her attention to her brother, "Jacob...please don't do this. Remember when we were children, you said you would always be there to protect me..."
"I am protecting you from yourself." Jacob's jaw tensed. He knew that there was no other way, and he was intent on his mission.

Jacob didn't waste any time in climbing down the rock face into the volcano. I was hesitant. Apparently, I valued my life more than he valued his.
I gulped down my fear as I started to climb down. A rock fell and bounced, landing in the middle of the lake of lava. This was not comforting to me, and I squealed in fear.
"I am right below you. I will catch you if you fall." he said gently.
That had the calming effect that I desperately needed. I was able to make it down to the bottom safely. Jacob stood there, and I took the ring out of my pocket that he had given me, but all of a sudden, it was taken from me.
I stared at my empty hand and then looked up. Shawn was standing by the lava, his greedy hands all over the ring, "My Jewel, my precious Jewel."

When we reached the top, it was a relief, and I sunk to the ground, feeling that the mission was truly over, and I could be back on an airplane in a couple of hours. Needless to say, it was not that simple.
First, I got to find out the true reason of why it looked to be an erupting volcano. The lava was closer to the surface than Jacob had realized. What was worse-we had to get closer to it to make sure that the ring actually got destroyed.
I gulped as I envisioned hot flames devouring me hungrily. As you can imagine, it was not a pretty picture, and I was not looking forward to what lied ahead...

Chapter 4

Jacob had me lean on him for support as we walked up the mountain. My leg was starting to heal, however, so I wasn't complaining half as much as before.
It took us half a day to reach the top of the mountain. We had to take several breaks along the way, because my body was still not as fit as it should have been.

Finally, Jacob stopped dead in his tracks, and I almost ran into him. He pointed to a mountain in the distance.
I took this moment to stop and put my hands on my knees to breathe while I looked at where he was pointing. Fire was coming out of the mountain, and it look like an..."Erupting volcano!" my voice squeaked.
"It's not erupting," there was laughter in Jacob's voice, and my face face flushed with embarrassment, "It just looks that way to scare off people."
"Oh." I looked at the mountain again as I slowly stood up to my full height.
Shawn was quiet as always, but I was no longer feeling alarmed. He was just an obsessive idiot.
Jacob started walking again. Of course, me and Shawn followed him. It wasn't until we got to the foot of the mountain that I noticed that I noticed that Shawn was gone. "Where is Shawn?" I asked, looking around us.
Jacob looked around also, but then he shrugged his shoulders, "Could be he got tired of following us around like a lost puppy, or maybe he got lost. We will keep an eye out for him.
I will always wish that we hadn't underestimated Shawn the way that we had...

The next day, we had to start early. For some reason, Jacob decided that he was going to carry me part of the way.
I laid my head against his chest and forced myself to relax. Jacob, however, was tense and would not relax until he set me down on my own two feet. "It's best if you try to walk on your own for awhile."
I nodded as I winced against the pain and started walking slowly. It didn't hurt as bad as it did before, so i was able to walk a little bit faster. I could even keep up better.
The only thing that was really difficult was going uphill.

Jacob looked back at me, and I felt my heart hammering against my will. Jacob took out his pocket knife once again. He started building a fire and made Shawn put what he had gathered into the fire. 

He put his pocket knife over the fire. He looked at me, and for the first time, I saw genuine concern in his eyes, "This is going to hurt a lot."

He put the edge of the knife against my wound, and I screamed. Jacob winced, and Shawn almost looked like he was bored. 

Finally, Jacob took the knife away and placed me next to the fire as he took off his shirt and wrapped it around my leg. 

"It's going to heal now." Jacob said as he prepared camp. 

I started shivering until I finally fell asleep...

However, after walking a few more miles, it was getting harder and harder not to complain. "How many more miles?" I tired to sound nonchalant.
"Oh about fifteen."
"FIFTEEN?!" I wanted to scream, but I knew that it was not going to get us there any faster.
Yeah, sure. Fifteen miles didn't sound like a whole lot, but try walking that distance, along with a swollen calf.
Shawn was definitely not willing to help in any way, shape, or form. Jacob suddenly stopped and turned around, his jaw tense, "You must carry the ring now. However, under no circumstances should you put it on. Do you understand?"
I slowly nodded, in awe that I was allowed to be the actual ring bearer once again. Shawn was watching as Jacob handed me the ring, and I put it in my pocket. His eyes seemed to get darker, and a shiver ran down my spine.
I started limping as quickly as possible, trying to ignore the pain as best as I could. We walked a whole 'nother mile before we stopped to make camp. By then, my leg really felt like giving out on me, and I collapsed onto the ground.
Jacob knelt beside me and looked at my leg, "Damn! It's infected."
"What?!" I started hyperventilating.
Jacob ignored me and looked at Shawn, "You, go get some stuff for a fire."
Shawn hesitated and glared at Jacob before doing what he was told.

Chapter 3

It did not take long to figure out that Jacob was not much of a talker. He only said what he had to say, and then he was quiet.
Shawn was not talking, but he kept looking warily at Jacob. Sure, with me, I can't get the kid to shut up. With Jacob, he's as silent as a grave.
Me, on the other hand, was whimpering like a five year old child. Unfortunately, I start crying from a paper cut, so you can imagine how much worse it was for me to have this wound.
We reached a hill...and it looked steep. Jacob looked from me to the hill, and then back at me. He sighed in frustration as he picked me up with little to no effort and started climbing.
"You can put me down now." I objected, my cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
"Deal with it, "Jacob didn't put me down, "We don't have time to waste, and your whimpering is enough to drive any man insane."
"Your concern is touching." I said sourly, my pride hurt by his biting words.
Jacob looked behind us. Shawn was right behind us. On top of his strange looks, there was an added feature. He was as pale as a vampire. He was starting to look like he was losing life or something. "Over a ring?" I thought, but then I thought about, "Lord of the Rings." Yeah, over a ring.
We finally made it to the top, and Jacob gently put me down. I bit my lower lip hard to keep from whimpering. I will show him!

He took out his canteen and poured water onto the wound. I screamed as I clutched my leg.
Jacob rolled his eyes, "Stop being a baby. The pain only hurts as much as your mind lets it."
"Gee, thanks for the sympathy."
He scowled as he tore my jeans and wrapped the piece around my leg tightly. He was gentler than he was a moment before, "Do you think you can walk?"
I would hate to know what would happen if I couldn't walk, "Yes, of course." I said perhaps too quickly.
His jaw tightened, "Don't lie to me."
"Well, first, you're mad at me, because I was being a baby, and now that I'm trying to be tough, you say not to lie. I am so confused."
Jacob looked at me, "It's true that you will slow us down, but it will not benefit me to leave you here."
I was even more confused. I could not see how it would not benefit him to ditch me. I decided that I probably shouldn't ask, because I doubted that I would appreciate the answer.
He must have seen the confusion in my eyes, because he said, "You're the bearer of the ring. You have the power of the ring within you, of course."
Yep, that should have been left unanswered. We started walking again-well, I was limping along. Shawn was glaring. Dark circles were under his eyes, and they were all red from lack of sleep. All in all, he looked kind of creepy. Note for self: Stay away from Shawn.

I didn't say anything, but I was looking at Shawn. Jacob was right, of course, but Shawn's obsession was almost more than I could handle.
Jacob grabbed Shawn, roughly, and I flinched at how animalistic Jacob was acting towards Shawn. Granted, I didn't touch him. I let the guerrilla have fun.
"You are coming with us, and if you so much as touch this ring, I will kill you!" he swore.
Shawn didn't say anything, but he cowered in fear, seeing no lies in Jacob's eyes. This led to my original conclusion-that Shawn was just a coward and would only get in the way. But coward or not, he still turned out to be a nuisance in other ways. Imagine that.
We started walking over rough terrain. The rocks were jagged and sharp. The boys didn't seem to have a problem, but I was not as fit as I was as a kid. I was slower, and I was breathing heavier.
Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain on the calf of my leg. I let out a cry of pain as I sat down. Fire felt like it was coursing up and down the veins in my leg.
Blood was soaking through my jeans. From what it looked like, it was as long of a gash as it was deep. I gasped in pain as I tried to lift my pant leg.
Jacob looked irritated as he grabbed his pocket knife. I looked at him wide-eyed, but he knelt down and cut my jeans to show the cut. He whistled through his teeth. That did not sound good.

"Are you not listening? This ring already has an effect on you," Jacob said angrily and then sighed as he looked away, "I think I should hold onto this ring for now. We should take turns, and we will destroy it together."
"But this doesn't concern you." I folded my arms.
"How does it not concern me? This ring holds my sister. If I destroy the ring, she dies...and so do I."
"Then why do you want to do something like this? In fact, why should I trust you?"
"And why should I trust you?" he countered.
I looked away at Shawn and noticed that he was waking up. I cursed under my breath, "What about Shawn?"
Jacob noticed Shawn waking up for the first time and looked away, "We can't bring him."
"What? Why not? Where is he supposed to go?"
"Home, where he belongs."
"But he had a ticket, too, to get here with me."
"It's another part of the curse. Any guy who has ever had the opportunity to meet my sister is unable to resist her charms. He will only get in the way."
"Well, if that's the case, he will get in the way if we don't take him, because he's absolutely obsessed. Trust me, he wants to marry this chick."
It was Jacob's turn to curse, "You're right. If we don't take him, he will just follow us, until has the opportunity to steal the ring."

The man took a step back, but then became angry, "Are you crazy?! Take that damn thing off!"
I was taken by surprise as I slowly took the ring off and returned to normal. The man grabbed my hand and took the ring from me. "Hey! What the hell?!" I protested.
The man didn't bother looking at me as he walked away. He yelled over his shoulder, "It's getting easier, isn't it?"
I was getting angry, "What's easier?"
"Putting on the ring, of course. Humans are not mean to feel that kind of power. It's exactly what happened to Jewel."
I stopped in my tracks, "What? How do you know all this?"
The man finally stopped and turned around, "My name is Jacob. I am Jewel's brother."
"That...doesn't make any sense," I stuttered, "Jewel is from an old century."
"When she was cursed, so was I. She became so obsessed with the ring. She became the ring. Her overprotective brother became immortal."
"I don't understand. She said something about a king..."
Jacob snorted, "Jewel likes to blame everyone except herself. She was you...once. She was supposed to destroy the ring, but...she couldn't. The power became too much for her to handle." he grimaced. He obviously didn't like thinking about it.
I sighed as I looked at the hand that was holding the ring. I was truthfully hearing what Jacob had to say, but I couldn't help missing the ring, "But I'm the protector of the ring."

The man looked confused as he started following me, "You..are not close to this man?"
"Nope." I said simply as I continued walking without so much as looking back.
"But...you called out for him...I am so confused."
I sighed in frustration as I turned to look at him, "First thing's first. Who are you?"
He squinted at me with distrust written in his eyes, "I could ask you the same thing. After all, you are considered trespassing."
I folded my arms angrily, "I doubt you have paperwork stating that you own this land."
"No, but like I said, I have lived here for many years, and I am very territorial."
"Good for you." I muttered.
The man stepped into my way, "You will tell me who you are and what your purpose is here."
I rolled my eyes and looked at the trees in the distance. I knew that he would not stop pestering me, and then I wouldn't get anywhere. However, I decided to take a different approach. I slipped on the ring.
I fell to the ground, undergoing the change from human to unnamed creature. I could see the fear and understanding in the man's eyes as I was finally able to stand up.

Once I reached the top, I took a moment to study the stranger who had just saved my life. He was slightly rugged. I could see in his eyes that he had been through hell. He had long brown hair and bright blue eyes. I was truly taken aback by his timing, "Where...where did you come from?"
He shrugged his shoulders, "It feel like I have been here my whole life," he seemed to hesitate and then looked at me wearily, "I am not used to strangers."
I nodded my head and shyly looked around. I finally noticed Shawn on the ground. He wasn't moving, "Is he-"
"No, but he won't wake up for awhile."
"Good." I said as I started walking again.

I looked up. Shawn wasn't talking-he wasn't there. He must have kept walking, "That bastard!" I said angrily, inwardly kicking myself for ever trusting him in the first place.
I cursed him even more and suddenly screamed when I felt myself falling backwards. However, I stopped halfway and looked up.
A man that I had never seen before gripped my arm tightly. I looked down and realized that if I had fallen down all the way, I probably would have died.
The man slowly lifted me up, and I climbed the rest of the way up the hill.

The next morning, we woke up early. The ring was even heavier in my pocket, and I was walking slower and slower. Sweat was pouring from my eyebrow, and Shawn starting talking about the ring once again.
"You are getting weaker," he pointed out the obvious, but I ignored him and kept walking, "You won't be able to make it to get it destroyed."
"Neither will you. You will go off and try to conquer the world!" my voice was barely a whisper, but I could tell that he heard me, because his lips tightened, and he quickened his pace.
I sighed as I struggled to breathe. I wanted this weight of responsibility to be taken away from me, but I knew that it wasn't possible. I had to destroy the ring, or die trying.
We started climbing up a muddy hill, and I felt myself slipping. Shawn was out of sight, and I knew that he made it to the top of the hill. "Shawn!" I called out as I felt myself slipping some more.

Shawn set his sleeping bag FAR away from me-probably afraid that I was going to turn psycho. It was tempting, but I knew what that kind of power could do to a person, and it wasn't good.
I tossed and turned. My hand kept finding the ring of its own accord. I wanted to toss it away, but someone else would find out about its power, and who knew where that would lead? I sighed, realizing that this was going nowhere. I shivered, snuggled closer inside my blankets, and tossed and turned for the rest of the night...

"Just forget it?! You just threatened me. Why did you come here, Shawn? Was it really for Jewel? I think you might know more about the ring than you're letting on."
"I just want to get out of here." now he was avoiding eye contact.
I sighed in frustration. He was close to the ring...and it was not just because of Jewel. Jewel was a cover-up. I had a gut feeling it had more to do with power. Yes, Jewel was beautiful, but her image wasn't physical, the power was.
I touched the ring again and felt an electric shock. I gasped and pulled back my hand quickly.
We had to set up camp, because it was getting dark. I dreaded having to be around Shawn for very much longer, but something told me that there was a greater purpose to him being here.

I took the ring out of my pocket and stared at it for a full minute before replying, "This ring is...powerful."
Shawn looked from me, to the ring, and gulped, "You're telling me," he hesitated before saying, "You should give me the ring. It's obviously too hard for you to handle."
"Ha!" I rolled my eyes skyward, "You wouldn't know how to handle the ring if it came with an instruction manual!"
Shawn shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care, but I could see the anger in his eyes, "Fine, but don't tell me that I didn't warn you."
"What is that supposed to mean?" I said and followed him angrily.
"Nothing. Just forget it." he murmured.

Shawn looked at me in surprise. He didn't back down, but he didn't seem to know what to do, either.
"What's happening?" I asked shakily, but I knew exactly what was happening. I felt like the hulk. I was getting a lot stronger.
Shawn took a step back, "You..." he cleared out his throat, "You're not the same."
I looked down and noticed that I had claws, and my arms were bulky. I slowly took off the ring. I fell to the ground and screamed as I returned to normal.
I laid down on the ground and stared up at the sky for a few minutes before slowly standing up.
Shawn was standing 100 feet away, pale as a ghost, "Do I even want to know what happened to you?"

"I had the ring first. You stole it from me."
"That's not how I remember it." I pointed out. I regretted saying that as soon as it left my lips, because he slapped me-hard. I fell down and touched my face where he had hit me. My hand came down with blood on it.
"Shut up!" he roared, "It's mine, and I want it back-NOW!"
I put my hand in my pocket and found the ring. Just touching the ring, I could feel its power. I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I put the ring on. I felt the power course through my veins.
I stood up, slowly. I was looking at the ground. my body felt like it was going through shock therapy. I couldn't make a sound as my muscles twitched. Finally, I looked up, and noticed for the first time that everything I was looking at was red.

Shawn and I kept walking. I felt like the weight of responsibility was now put on my shoulders. I felt like the ring was bearing a hole through my pocket.
Shawn was quiet, probably still mad at me for what he, himself, got into. Finally, he broke the silence, "That...Kilmo...I don't like him."
"Probably because he doesn't like your future lover." I murmured. I really didn't want to fight again. I just wanted to find a way to destroy the ring.
Suddenly, Shawn stepped in my way, "I can't let you do it." he said.
I was taken aback by his behavior, "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean," he said angrily, "The ring belongs to me. I should be the one to hold it."
"I don't think so." I took a step back.
He took a step forward, "Come on, Kat, where are you going to go-back to where you came from?"
"That's a thought." my voice quivered, and I cursed myself for showing my fear.

Kilmo laughed again, "That makes a lot more sense. Shawn is weak. Jewel wanted to weigh you down."
"I am not weak!" Shawn objected.
Kilmo kept talking as if Shawn wasn't there, "But you need to go, and hurry. You  have limited time to destroy the ring. Good luck!" he called out as I grabbed Shawn's hand and started climbing down the tree. I looked up just in time to see Kilmo turn back into a guerrilla...

"Know what?" I asked, looking at him suspiciously. This guy only seemed to be getting weirder and weirder.
"You are the keeper of the ring-the one who has to protect it all costs."
"What?! Why me? I may have been looking for some excitement, but this is too much excitement for me."
The man started laughing, "She sold you that line about being chosen from depression, did she?"
"Yes, and who are you? Shawn is obviously not the first person you have harassed."
"Oh, forgive me. My name is Kilmo. This ring...it has power. The power to choose who will destroy it. You obviously have the qualities that its looking for, otherwise you wouldn't be here."
"What...what do you mean?" I stammered. I didn't think it had been to hard to get to where I was now.
"The tiger that I'm sure you ran into...he is a guardian of the forest. If he didn't think that you were up to any good, he would have attacked you."
"Interesting..." I said quietly, remembering how he had taken the ring from me.
"And don't think that it's going to be easy. It will get harder, and...well, how do I say this? Choose a better partner."
"I didn't choose him, though." I said, pointing at Shawn, who seemed to be irritated at the fact that he was being ignored.

"Okay." I rolled my eyes, realizing that this was what was going to happen the rest of the way.
However, after climbing to the top of the tree and telling myself not to look down, the guerrilla was not a guerrilla, but a heavy-set man, still holding Shawn upside down. But now the man was playing games with Shawn and acted like he was going to drop him from such a great height.
I was starting to feel sorry for Shawn now. I would not like looking at how far up I was, even while I was being held upside down. "Put him down." I said with more courage than I felt.
The man looked at me as if I was stupid, "Why? You don't even like this man, and he is not very bright."
I laughed, but tried to turn serious again, "I know, but I would still rather him be unharmed."
"And who are you?" the man asked, now holding Shawn with only hand.
"My name is Katherine." I said, watching Shawn from the corner of my eye.
The strange man almost dropped Shawn in his shock, "Katherine...take this man and the ring and leave. Hurry," he was visibly shaking as he placed Shawn on the branch and backed away, "This ring maybe have powers, but it's not worth it."
"What are you talking about?" I asked before he could take the ring off his finger.
"You really don't know?" the man hesitated and then he looked around as if he was afraid that someone might hear our conversation.

Chapter 2

The next day, I woke up to a blinding sun...by myself. Shawn's sleeping bag was gone, along with his other things. I muttered angrily, but I became even more angry when I realized that he had snuck the ring out of my pocket!
"That bastard!" I said as I glared at the place where had supposedly slept the night before.
I knew that I was going to have to go after him, because something in the ring seemed to be warning me that something bad was going to happen. It sucked even more, because I didn't know how much of a head start he had.
I grabbed my stuff and started heading east. Every limb in my body was telling me that I should just leave him to whatever trouble he got in to. However, my hear was telling me that that was not the kind of person that I was...and I had to agree with my heart. I would not be able to work at Taco Bell, knowing that I could be the reason for Shawn being killed.
I only walked for about two miles when I heard someone screaming above me. A big guerrilla was holding Shawn upside down. That's not what alarmed me the most, however. On the finger of the big fat guerrilla was the ring. I was horrified, but I couldn't stop laughing at Shawn's predicament.
"Oh real funny," Shawn yelled, "So hilarious. Just get me down from here!" he screamed.

"Fine." he put his own sleeping bag next to mine.

That night, we laid in our sleeping bags, staring up at the stars. Shawn talked tirelessly about his future, and I only half listened, gritting my teeth every time I heard Jewel's name.
"We still don't know who she is." I said for the millionth time.
"She's a damsel in distress."
"Yeah, damsels in distress are hardly able to do anything about their predicament. She's able to find people to fight to the death for her."
Shawn sighed in exasperation, "Well, apparently, she couldn't help the fact that you needed to be on this mission, because, I'm sure if she could, she would choose someone else."
That really cut deep, but I didn't say any biting words back. I had just wanted to think. Even though we had wanted to live exciting lives, this whole thing felt far-fetched. Jewel seemed nice, but I had a feeling that I was  going to regret helping her, and not just because death might be in the cards. Jewel seemed to be holding something back, and I was going to see what it was. Even if it was the last thing I did...

Shawn started climbing a tree. I couldn't understand why we had trees. I had never seen so many trees grown so close together.
"If only we had something to get us up there without having to climb." I muttered.
Suddenly, I felt a stirring in my pocket, and a trampalene appeared right below us, "Sweet."
I jumped on the trampalene and reached the very top. I expected to fall back down through the trees and closed my eyes, trying to ready myself for the impact. Instead of feeling limbs biting into my flesh, however, I felt something soft underneath me.
I opened my eyes. I was laying on top of the trees. Shawn soon joined me. Instead of jumping on the trampalene, like I did, he had decided to climb up the rest of the way.
It was beautiful from up there. We could see the sunset in the distance and the moon that was a ghost in  comparison to the sky. "It's beautiful." Shawn sighed.
I silently agreed, even though I believed the word, 'beautiful,' to be an understatement.
"I say we make camp here." I said finally, taking out my sleeping bag.
"But there's still some daylight left." Shawn objected.
I looked up at him with a calm face, even thought that wasn't how I felt on the inside, "Are you going to keep arguing with me the way there? You can go ahead and continue if you want to, but it's not good to travel this close to night when you don't know what out there.

"What?" he asked innocently.
"Since when did you suddenly fall in love with her?" I was becoming angry. In my mind, I was becoming the knight in shining armor. Shawn was just along for the ride.
"Well, what's wrong with that? I mean, she's a beautiful princess trapped in a ring, and I'm here to save her."
"Really...what have you done that warrants a marriage between you and this princess. Let me tell you what you've done...you've ran, whined, and ran again. Not sure she wants to marry a coward."
Shawn smirked, "Do you want her for yourself?"
"No! But you wanting her is ridiculous and unfounded. What do you truly know about her?"
Shawn had to stop and think for a minute, "I know that she's beautiful and very sweet."
"Honestly...that's all you know about her?" I rolled my eyes at him.
"That's all I need to know." he argued.
I stopped talking. There was literally nowhere to go-except up! Trees were guarding all sides except for behind us. Millions of trees. "Nope. You are on your own from here on out." I said, backing up. I had always been afraid of heights, and I quickly realized that that had not changed.
Shawn looked up, "Aw, Kat, it's not that bad. Come on."

"Because I'm the one who came up with the plan. I'm the one who has been doing everything. I'm the one who doesn't want to deal with the tiger. Is that enough of a reason for you?" I snapped.
He looked surprised by my outburst and slowly nodded.
"Good," I said, "Now, distract him."
Shawn didn't put up any more of a fight as he said, "Here, kitty, kitty."
I could see the sweat on his brow as I grabbed the lighter that he held out. The tiger did not seem amused. I looked desperately for a stick that was not wet from the soggy ground. I finally found one by the trunk of a tree and lit it.
The tiger took a step back hesitatingly. He looked between me and the fire. "What is up with him and this ring?" I thought to myself as me and Shawn slowly backed up.
Finally, we turned around and ran. After running for about ten minutes, we stopped to catch our breath and noticed that the tiger was nowhere in sight.
Shawn looked around as if he couldn't believe that he was still alive. I kept walking, no longer caring if Shawn was with me or not. He was starting to be more of a burden, and I wasn't sure if I could deal with him right now.
Sure enough, Shawn followed me and started babbling on about what he thought was going to happen when we got to the end of our 'mission.'  "Maybe she will marry me." he said suddenly.
"What?" I stopped in my tracks.

I sighed as I stared at the tiger, who was snoring soundly. I could visibly see the ring in between his paws. I had the distinct feeling that this was not going to be easy.
I grabbed a long stick and slowly grabbed the ring with it and tried lifting it out of the tiger's reach. I was starting to get excited, but all of a sudden, he swiped a paw in his sleep, and the ring fell right in front of him.
"Come on, you can do it." Shawn said.
"Easy for you to say." I muttered, and once again, tried lifting the ring with the stick. Once I succeeded, however, the tiger decided to open his eyes. The ring was dangling in front of the tiger's face!
I jerked the stick up just as the tiger stood up and roared.
"Run!" Shawn yelled as he grabbed my hand and ran deeper into the forest.
The tiger didn't waste any time running after us. My thoughts were jumbled as I tried to escape the angry tiger. I, once again, wondered how I was convinced to become cat chow for a ring that I hardly knew anything about. Jewel was asking too much of us.
"Do you have a lighter?" I asked breathlessly. I was already running out of air, and I knew that I didn't have long.
"Yes. Why?"
"Just give it to me. No time to explain. Just distract him."
He stopped, "Distract him? Why me? Why can't you do that?"

I suddenly felt horrible, "I'm sorry," I said quietly, "We will go and find the ring."
Jewel lightly smiled, "Thank you. Please don't give up."
I slowly nodded as if I was hypnotized. It didn't occur to me until after she disappeared that I was doing the exact opposite of what I had originally set my mind to.
I punched a tree in anger and frustration.
Shawn finally caught up to me. I hadn't even realized that I had left without him. "Are you okay?" he asked breathlessly, "You look like you are in a daze."
"I guess we are going to find that ring," I grumbled, "The quicker we get this done, the faster I can go back to my boring and mundane life."
"I'm not sure I want to go back to the same old, same old," he said, "Maybe I just want to stay here."
I looked at him strangely. I hadn't known Shawn very well, but I knew him well enough to know that he was somehow changed. This ring seemed to be all he thought about, and he seemed happier when we were on the mission."
I knelt down next to some tracks on the ground. There was no mistaking them-they were tiger tracks. I sighed, having wished a moment before that the tiger was far away with no tracks to be found.
We followed the tracks for about five miles before we ran into a sleeping tiger. "Now what?" I looked at Shawn, irritated.
He shrugged and looked back at me, indicating that I was supposed to be the one with the plan. The only thing he seemed good for, at the moment, was being a big fan of Jewel.

I gave an unladylike snort, "It will be fun to watch."
Shawn didn't say anything. I wasn't sure if I had offended him or not, but I wasn't ready to apologize if I had. We were both under a lot of stress, and we had barely even started.
"Maybe we should just let the ring go." I stated.
"Let it go! Are you absolutely insane?!" Shawn looked more than just angry. He looked like he was about ready to kill for that ring.
Maybe I hadn't held the ring long enough, but I still felt strange when it was brought up like something wasn't right. I couldn't mention this to Shawn. It seemed like his brain was already fried.
I started walking. I didn't know where I was going, and I didn't care anymore. I already wanted to go back to my boring life. Maybe I would even work at finding a man, but I didn't want to be here.
Suddenly, Jewel showed up in front of me, "You must get that ring."
"I don't know who you are, and quite possibly, I don't even want to know. Take me back home."
"What are you talking about? My name is Jewel."
"Yeah, and why choose me and Shawn? It's not because we were depressed and needed some sort of twisted mission, so don't tell me that."
Jewel looked hopeless as she fell to the ground. I felt ashamed as I watched her, and she looked up at me,"You were miserable. The miserable feels like they have nothing to lose. That's why I chose the both of you." she said as tears slid down her cheeks.

I woke up to someone shaking me harshly. I opened my eyes, and at first, I saw two of Shawn. "Where am I?" I murmured.
"You're alive. That's a good thing."
I slowly sat up, even though my head was pounding ferociously. Everything that had just happened came back to me in a heartbeat, "Wait...how am I alive?"
"To tell you the truth, I don't know," Shawn admitted, "He just tore your pocket and then ran away."
"My pocket?" I was confused for only a minute, and then my eyes widened in disbelief, "The ring was in my pocket!"
Shawn was not very happy to hear that, but his attitude was even worse when I told him that we needed to track down the tiger in order to get the ring back.
"He probably swallowed it." he mumbled.
"I doubt it. I mean, he went directly for the ring, so I think he wanted that ring specifically."
"What is a tiger going to do with a ring?" Shawn was more than just frustrated.
"I don't know. Why don't you ask him when we get there?"
"Oh that will go well-'Mr. Tiger, as much as the ring looks beautiful on you paw, can we have it back?'"

Suddenly, the tiger lunged at me, and I screamed. It was too late to run. I was tackled to the ground, forced to look at sharp teeth that would take painful bites out of me. 

I had hit my head pretty hard, and black spots started showing up in my vision. It was hard to keep the tiger in focus. This is better, I thought to myself, Now I won't be able to feel it.

I let myself fall to sleep...

"But what really matters is that we try to set her free and destroy the ring."
I got out of bed, "Fine. Let me get dressed."
Shawn left me alone. I was still confused about why I was chosen, but I guess Shawn was right. All that mattered was setting the girl free.
There was a nagging feeling inside of me, however, that told me that something wasn't right. I tried to ignore it as best as I could, but it was hard.
I changed into jeans and a tank top. We looked at the forest that was right across from the hotel. It looked dark and foreboding, and I wasn't sure if I was that adventurous.
Regardless of whether or not I was ready, I took the first step forward. Shawn followed me in. I had put the ring in my pocket. We had our backpacks ready for us to camping for a couple of nights.
The trip was quiet, except for the talking of insects and other animals. Suddenly, I heard a ROAR behind me and I looked back. I gasped as I saw the tiger from my dream.
"Hold very still." Shawn said quietly. He didn't have to tell me twice.
I was frozen in place. I couldn't have moved even if I wanted to. The tiger walked closer, and I freaked as I took a step backwards.
"Sh..." Shawn said, "Don't startle him."
The tiger looked at us calmly. Shawn looked as scared as I was, but he remained rooted to his spot, trying to talk to the tiger soothingly.
The tiger started looking annoyed. He probably just wanted his dinner. That did not make me feel any better.

"They are here." we heard Harley say in a low voice.
That's all that seemed to be said as he hung up. Shawn and I looked at each other. The fact that this was not a game was starting to become painfully clear to us. For once, Shawn was quiet as we walked up to our room.
Once I was showered and sitting on the bed, I took the ring out of my suitcase. I studied it carefully. One ring-that's all it was. How could it hold so much power?
I sighed as I put the ring in my pillowcase. I couldn't understand why the ring had chosen me. I was nothing. There was nothing special about me.
I got under the covers, but sleep wouldn't come to me. I tossed and turned all night.
Finally, dawn came. I was staring out the window as the morning light came in.
"Kat?" I heard Shawn's voice as he started waking up.
I heard his voice, but I didn't look at him. I didn't want to talk to anyone, but I knew I was going to have to talk to him eventually. We were on a mission.
"We need to get going. We only have a month to set her free."
"Why do we only have a month?"
"Because that's how long the coupon was for."
"No, I mean, why a month? What happens if we don't get the mission done in a month?"
Shawn shrugged his shoulders, "I really don't know. Maybe she gets trapped forever, or the ring chooses someone else. Maybe even both."
I sighed as I sat up, "Yeah, maybe."

Shawn nodded, and then he wouldn't stop talking my ear off. I didn't mind. I was too busy paying attention to the scenery to really care about what he was saying.
We went by taxi to the farther end of town. Our hotel was right outside of town with a forest right across the street from it.
"A little out of way, don't you think?" Shawn said, looking at the dark forest. It didn't help that the sun was going down, making the forest look eerier.
I tried to show no fear as I grabbed my bags and walked into the hotel lobby. The man that was behind the desk was looking at me and Shawn strangely as he looked at the postcards that were sent to us and then at his computer, "Foreigners, eh?"
"Yes, sir." I said and looked around.
The lobby had a comfy-looking couch with a couple of chairs and a coffee table. There were also tables and chairs out for those of us who could wake up early enough for breakfast.
"Room 207." he said finally.
I nodded as I looked at Shawn, "What about him?"
The man, his name tag read "Harley," looked at Shawn, "This postcard only comes with one room, regardless of whether or not there are two of you."
My eyes opened wide, "There must be some mistake!"
The man shook his head adamantly, "No mistake."
I felt resigned. I was feeling tired, and I didn't want to argue. Fine. Come on, Shawn."
Shawn followed me up a few stairs and then put his finger to his lips as he stood against the wall and listed to Harley, who had picked up the phone.

Chapter 2
A month later

I was at the airport, checking my bags, going through security-all the annoying stuff that comes with wanting to take a flight. I was still finding it hard to believe that the entire trip was paid for.
I heard my name being called, and I looked around, confused. I was starting to wonder if it had been a mistake after all, because, as far as I knew, no one in the airport knew my name.
I was quickly proven wrong, however, when I saw Shawn running up to me, "I guess I'm going to Canada, too." he said, out of breath.
"How?" I furrowed my eyebrow.
"The same as you, I guess." he shrugged nonchalantly, and I wished that I could have been as laid back as him, "Maybe it has something to do with the ring," he said excitedly, "You did bring it, didn't you?"
"Sh..." I said, looking around to see if anyone was looking at us strangely.
"Oh...right," he whispered, "Sorry..."
We started boarding the plane. We ended up sitting next to each other, so I put on my headphones and pretended like I was sleeping. I started drifting off, and then I was in a deep sleep when I felt someone poking me. I was murmuring to myself as I tried to blink my eyes open.
"Look, you can see a lot of Canada from here."
I looked out the window. Canada was so green and lively, and so different from Arizona. I smiled, "It's beautiful."

"Hi, my name is Kat. I received a postcard saying that I won a free trip to Canada, but that's impossible."
"Just one minute. Let me check something here..."
I waited for a few minutes after he put me on hold, then I could hear a click as he took me off hold and said, "Are you Katherine Levi?"
"Um...yes."
"Yeah, I show that you have won that free trip to Canada, so enjoy!"
"But I don't understand. I don't do contests or anything like that, so how did I win?"
"Ma'am, I just work here," Kyle sounded irritated, "All I know is that you won a vacation, so if I were you, I wouldn't fight against a good thing." I heard another click as the line went dead.
I sat down in the comfy chair in the living room and stared at the card. What if this is was some trick of my mind. A scam that actually costs all your money?
But the voice came up inside my head to let me know that this could be the opportunity of a lifetime.
Maybe Kyle was right. I shouldn't fight against a good thing.
I looked at the date. It was in a month-for a month! I whistled through my teeth. That was a long time to be away from work. The nagging voice in my head told me that it was worth it.
I knew that it was right. I needed to prepare, tell my boss, and start packing...

After work, I went home and stared at myself in the mirror. I didn't look any different to myself, but I guess my skin did look more tan.
I sighed as I went to check my mail. Nothing but junk mail, but I hesitated on the one that was on the bottom. There was a big postcard that said that I had won a trip to Canada. "This is a joke, right?" I asked myself as I looked at the number on the bottom. I bit my lower lip, trying to figure out what to do.
Finally, I decided to just call the number and tell them that it was a mistake.
"This is Kyle." the man on the other end of the line said.

"No, I don't." I scoffed at the thought, but there was a nagging voice in my head that reminded me that nothing was as it was before. In other words, maybe I did have an unearthly glow about me. I took a big drink of water to get rid of the thought.
"Are you pregnant?" Jessica asked.
I choked on my drink and looked at Jessica. Out of all the ways I thought this conversation would go, I did not expect her to ask me that, "No!" I said when I was finally able to stop coughing.
Jessica shrugged her shoulders, "It was just a thought."
I looked at her quizzically, "What do you mean, 'there's an unearthly glow about me?'"
"You just look more alive than you ever did before. Whatever you use, keep using it."
She stood up. Break time was over...

The next morning, I took a shower, got dressed, and headed to work.
The only difference was that Jessica was looking at me weird. When we were finally on break, I asked, "Why are you staring at me like that?"
"You...have an unearthly glow to you." she said in awe.

All of a sudden, I felt the dream fade, and I was sitting up, panting.
My heart was still pounding fast, and I could barely breathe. The dream felt so real.
I tried to go back to sleep, but to no avail. I tossed and turned the rest of the night.

I was standing in front of a jungle. It was humid, and I was searching for clues as to my whereabouts.
There weren't any signs, and I was growing impatient. Suddenly, I heard a tremendous ROAR, and I turned around slowly. I gasped and held my breath as I saw an orange and black tiger looking at me with ravenous golden eyes.
My mind told me to run, even though that defeated logic, because I couldn't outrun a tiger.
I could run, even if I wanted to. My feet were planted to the ground. I felt immobile. Every bone in my body was tense.

I sighed. Finally, I took the ring out from inside the book and put it underneath my pillow.
My dream that night was disturbing...

"I live in the ring."
I snorted, "That's impossible."
She frowned prettily as she looked at me, "I wish it was. I have been cursed to live in the ring, until one can free me. I come from 1200 B.C. A powerful king has cursed me to this, because I had refused to marry him. Only one can rescue me. Everyone else has failed."
I furrowed my brow, "Even Shawn?"
Jewel slowly shook her head, "He was not meant to carry the ring."
"Then why did he have it to begin with?"
"It's very...difficult to explain. The ring goes to anyone who feels despair, because that is what I have gone through. It gives them the purpose that they search for, but most of them find a painful death from their failure. Shawn, however, kept a hold of the ring, so it became restless and found you."
"What am I supposed to do with it?"
"Set me free. The ring will lead the way." she smiled as she slowly began to disappear.
"Wait. You can't leave me with all these questions I have!"
"My time is up. Do not worry. You will soon know what to do." with that, she was gone.
I slowly sat down on the couch, staring at the book that the ring was in. It wasn't shining brightly anymore, and the book was out of the bookcase part way.
I got up and slid it back in, but it slid back out.

Someone would come in and notice, and that was the last thing I wanted.
After work, I went home and laid on my bed, staring at the ceiling until the pain in my chest went away.
No one knew about the pain of loneliness and heartbreak that I felt everyday. I kept it to myself, hoping that it would go away. Besides-what would anyone do about this? Suggest I go to a psychiatrist? Nah, I'd rather deal with the pain by myself.
Suddenly, the book that i had put the ring in began to glow brightly. I gasped as I sat up and scooted backwards.
A woman stood in front of me and smiled. She was an Indian girl with tanned, smooth skin, long, flowing black hair, and a beautiful smile, "You must be Katherine."
Instead of confirming my name, I stared at her and asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm Aabharana." her smile was friendly.
"Huh?" I was now staring with my mouth open.
She laughed, "Or you can just call me Jewel."
I nodded, "Yeah, that's easier to say, but what are you doing in my room?"
She looked confused, "You brought me here."
"No, I didn't." I protested as I stood up, starting to freak out again.
"The ring..."
I quickly went to a drawer and pulled out a gun, "Why do you want the ring?"
She laughed again, and I felt stupid, even though I was the one holding the gun.

The next day, I went to work, and Jessica was there, waiting for all the "news." She could barely contain her excitement. I decided that I should  probably just try to ignore her expression and get right to work. I was still confused. I hadn't looked at the ring since I put it in the book, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to.
Jessica walked up to me while I was wiping down tables, "So...how did it go?"
"It went well. We talked. He seemed really nice." I shrugged.
Jessica looked at me like I was crazy, "You talked? What else did you do?"
"Well, we went to our separate houses." I wasn't making eye contact.
She had a prepared a party just for me to find a boyfriend, or more than one boyfriend, and I screwed it up. She was not going to be very happy.
I went to the back to start cleaning trays. She followed me, and just like I expected, she was really upset, "I planned a party for you, so you could get out more. You can't be alone your whole life, Kat."
I sighed, "I know, but now, I guess, isn't the right time." I really didn't want to explain my concept of love to Jessica. She wouldn't understand.
She looked at me with pleading eyes, "Then when is the right time?"
I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know." she left me to my own thought for the rest of the day.
It was a relief, but at the same time, I felt even lonelier. I wanted to collapse to the floor with the same pain that was in my chest, but i knew that that was not a very good idea.

I looked at him, "So you believe in fate?"
Shawn raised an eyebrow, "Of course, do you?"
I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know what to believe."
Shawn seemed to ponder about what I had said for a minute, and then he looked at me, "I can understand that, but just believe that you need to take care of this. Someone can use it for the wrong thing."
"Get your story straight!" I was exasperated, "Now you're saying that is more than just a diamond?!"
He winked, "You will see what it can do."
"I can't wait." I mumbled as I put the diamond ring in my purse.
Shawn stood up, "I should go."
I looked up at him in shock, "Where are you going?"
He looked confused, "I'm going home."
"You can't just get rid of a diamond and say, 'Goodbye!' I need your phone number, so if I need help, you're the first one I'm going to call."
He laughed at my alarmed expression, "Okay." We exchanged phone numbers, and I felt a little bit more at ease.
I still thought that this was strange, but at least I wasn't completely alone. The main downfall now was that there was no hiding places for a bright diamond ring.
I sighed as I decided to use the oldest trick in the book, because sometimes, it works. I got out a book that I liked the least and started cutting out a square in the pages of the book. I put the ring in there and closed it. It didn't look noticeable. I was proud of myself. I put the book back on the shelf and went to bed...

"Let me start from the beginning." the man sighed.
"You do that." I said as I folded my arms.
He looked off into the distance, "I used to be like you, you know, lonely, desperate, not knowing the point of life. This diamond seems to pick people like us, it makes us feel like we are worth something, but now it's becoming desperate. Someone greedy and cruel is coming after it, and it picked you."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. How do you know that it picked me? It's a freakin' diamond!"
"Because the minute you entered the room, it started shining like crazy. I had to hide it so it wouldn't cause any suspicions." he laughed.
I looked at him, "How did you know about the party?"
"Fate." he shrugged his shoulders.
I raised an eyebrow, "Care to elaborate?"
"I went into Taco Bell one day, and your friend, Jessica, was kind enough to invite me."
"Jessica was inviting random strangers to her party?!" i might have said it a bit too loudly.
Shawn looked confused, "Well, yeah, who did you think all those men were?"
He did have a point, and I had to think about it for a minute, "Well, uh, I don't know. Maybe some more friends of hers?"
Shawn laughed, "Hate to disappoint you, but that wasn't the case."
I winced. She was trying to have me hook up with strangers, and that didn't make me feel any better.
Shawn sighed, "Look, if you want help with the diamond, fine, but don't get upset with your friend. This was mean to happen."

The man didn't seem at ease, either. He had dark brown hair and bright green eyes.
"I want you to have this." he said. He put a ring in my hand.
I looked at it. It was a beautiful pink diamond, and I quickly gave it back to him, "Whoa, aren't we supposed to go on a few dates first? I mean, I don't even know your name! No offense, you're good looking and everything, but I think we should wait." I was rambling, but I couldn't help it.
He started laughing, and that made me blush and stop talking. "My name is Shawn. No worries. I'm not proposing. This is a rare diamond. You're supposed to take care of it."
"Um..." all time seemed to stop as I pondered that response, "Why?"
Shawn looked around, seeming to notice that we were truly alone for the first time. It also didn't seem to bother him now, "I don't know," he admitted a little sheepishly, "But you need to keep the Argyle safe."
"Great. What am I supposed to do-put a hole in the wall, so I can install a safe, so I can hide it in there?"
Shawn turned his gaze toward me, "Honestly, I don't know."
I started laughing, "You don't know? You just want to hand off a rare diamond, say, 'Keep it safe and good luck,' and then just expect me to take it and be okay with it? It's not going to happen."
Shawn sighed, "That's kind of what happened to me."
"Well, then you're stupid." I said bluntly, still in shock.

Jessica was not kidding when she said that this party was a matchmaking process for me. There were almost no girls here. Granted, there were a few here and there, but they didn't interested in any of the men.
Not only that, it seemed like all the men were talking trailing me. There were at least ten of them.
I tried to pay attention to each and every one of them, but it was starting to get annoying. They all wanted to know me better (or my body).
At the end, I was so exhausted, I fell down on Jessica's couch. The men slowly started to leave around midnight, but one man stayed behind.
Jessica winked at me as she slowly started to ascend the stairs, "Oh, and feel free to use the couch!" she laughed.
I pleaded with her with my eyes. They begged her not to leave, but she ignored my puppy eyes and continued up the stairs.
Realizing that I was awkwardly left alone with a male stranger, I gulped and fidgeted with my hands.

I sighed dramatically, "Fine, but if it goes all wrong, I will blame you."
"Deal!" Jessica smiled. She squealed as she jumped up and down, "This is so exciting!"
I looked at her with a quizzical look, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you live your life through me."
Jessica shrugged but looked at me guiltily, "Well, it's been awhile since I've had this much excitement."
I sighed, "Alright. Let's get this over with."

I attempted to show Jessica, but she was already digging into my makeup. My vanity was packed with all my makeup, and I sighed in frustration, afraid that she would make me out to look like a whore.
Finally, she seemed satisfied as she looked at me, "You look good so far. Now sit down."
I sighed as I did what I was told. I knew that arguing with her was pointless. She started with foundation, then mascara, eyeliner, mascara, and lastly, lip gloss. She stepped back to admire her work.
When I looked in the mirror, even I had to admit that she did a great job. The eye makeup brought out my eyes, and I almost looked kissable.
I looked at her, "Aren't you overdoing yourself?"
Jessica hesitated for minute and then sighed as she sat down on my bed, "I can't lie to you anymore, Kat."
"Lie to me? About what?" I looked at her, confused, "Is there no party." even as I asked, I knew that that was a stupid assumption. Jessica would not have gone through all this trouble for there to be no party.
Jessica looked at me, "Oh, there's definitely a party, but...well...it's a matchmaking party."
"No!" I said, slowly backing up, "You're not playing a matchmaker with me as the victim!"
Jessica sighed more dramatically, "Come on, Kat. Even Chris notices that your lonely and agreed with me."
"Chris is in on this?" My voice gave an involuntary squeak. How many bosses do you know would help throw a matchmaking party? I was in shock.
"Well, I did all the work," Jessica said proudly, "but he did agree that you needed to get out more."

After our shift, Jessica met me at my apartment. She was excited, as usual. I was mellow, even though my hear was racing. Jessica was right about one thing. I had only been drunk once, and I wasn't looking forward to it tonight.
We went upstairs to my room, and Jessica made herself busy by tearing clothes out of my closet, "No...no...no." she held up a short dress in front of me, and then chucked it onto the bed, "Nah." she searched the closet some more, and then smiled when as she pulled out a short jean skirt and a low cut shirt.
"No!" I said quickly.
Jessica immediately started pouting, "This is supposed to be fun."
She always knew how to make me feel guilty, "Fine." I groaned as I started putting them on.
When I turned to look in the mirror, I was shocked to see how different I already looked.

Jessica seemed to be deep in thought. She had never stopped blaming herself, even though I kept telling her that it's not her fault. I mean, she feels a responsibility for her brother, and I admire that. Finally, she said, "I would like you to come. I will have your back," she looked at me with pleading eyes, "Please..."
I sighed, "Fine, but I'll need help figuring out what to wear."
Jessica squealed and hugged me, "Oh, thank you. I will never forget this."
Our boss, Chris, coughed loudly, letting us know that our conversation was over. I had been done wiping tables for five minutes, it was time to get back to work...

I drove to work, fast as usual. I parked the car and entered, "Taco Bell." There were the usual, "Hello, Kat," and I nodded in response.
I handed out the food, while pasting a fake smile on my face and wishing them to enjoy, while silently cursing them for being so impatient.
I received a tap on my shoulder, and turned to see my friend, Jessica, beaming at me, "Guess what?" she said, trying not to show her excitement. It wasn't working very well.
"What?" I asked as I started cleaning tables.
"There's going to be a party at my house tonight. There will be cute guys." she nudged me, reminding me of my barely ac-knowledgeable existence.
"I don't know." I said, shrugging my shoulders. Jessica was a beautiful brunette with big green eyes and an easy smile. She could also be a bit overwhelming.
Jessica frowned, "After you got drunk for the first time, you've changed...a lot. It's been a full year. You need to go out and have some fun."
 I cringed at the mention of my 21st birthday, "Thanks for reminding me." I said crossly.
On my 21st birthday, I had been given a date rape drug. You can guess what happened from there. I was dragged to a van, taken to a house, and...yeah.
"I'm sorry." she whispered. She was one of the very few people I had told. She had not attended that party, because she had to babysit her younger, Kyle, who had been born when she turned fifteen.

Chapter 1

I woke up to my alarm and got up to take a shower and get dressed in my "Taco Bell" uniform. I looked at my face in the mirror. I looked exhausted, like I've been crying all night. Funny how we usually don't need to talk about our personal lives, because it shows on our faces.

Sacred Until The Day I Die

Prologue

The pain is excruciating...like my heart is being ripped out of my chest. I feel hopeless as the desperation takes me, and I fall to my knees, sobbing.
What is the point of life? I kept asking myself all of last week. Do we just work, sleep, work, sleep, never knowing what our purpose is?
There is no love. I had learned that a long time ago. I was taught that love comes at a price, a price I wasn't willing to pay. So now I'm alone, left in a little apartment, with bills stacked on the counter, wondering if I'm already suffering a mid-life crisis. I'm only twenty-two.
I can't stand the pain, so I head to the medicine cabinet. I hesitate. Do I really want to shove a bunch of sleeping down my throat? That's no life, I have to face reality and bare this pain.
I lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling fan. I have work tomorrow...again. There's no love in my life. It's not that I'm not pretty. I'm about average with blonde hair and blue eyes. It's just guys in this town seem like jackasses. As much as I want my life to be interesting-there's no room for guy who are only after one thing.
Somehow, darkness hits me, and for once in about two years, I'm able to sleep without sleeping pills...

Epilogue

Serenia waited at the entrance of the gate impatiently, waiting for her dad to come out.
A revised version of what had happened came out to allow her dad to be released. She had said that she had ran into Larry on the way home from school, and he had beaten her before she went home.
No one knew about James and Serenia's connection. They went to see if it still worked. James cut his own hand, and Serenia didn't feel it. They still don't know what caused the connection. The chalk it up to fate, and they think that Serenia was to come to break, "The Iced Princess Curse."
Paul finally exited the gate, and Serenia smiled as she ran to hug her single parent.
He held her tightly, and then smiled down at her as he said, "Let's go home."


The End


*Please stay tuned for the next story: Sacred Until The Day I Die

Serenia was sobbing as she realized that getting her mom would be hopeless. James looked at the water as his heart broke. Despite all his dad's mistakes, he still loved him.

Larry's eyes looked up at the sky, lifeless, as dead as his iced princesses as he slowly sank even lower.

Serenia and James must have stood there an hour before James slowly turned around and helped Serenia to the shore.

Serenia looked at her mother in shock, and then she looked at James, who had come out of his hiding spot.
Larry started walking towards her mother, and Serenia tried to stop him, but he pushed her back onto the ice. The ice started cracking, but she moved quickly, and was able to avoid falling in.
Larry picked up her mother by the neck with one hand. Serenia cried out, "NO!" but to no avail.
Larry started walking back over to Serenia to push her in, but a sharp pain in his back stopped him. He turned around to see his own son, James, with a bloodied knife. James looked at him calmly and said, "Goodbye, dad."
Larry was able to utter one word in shock, "James..." before he fell into the hole and slowly sank to the bottom.

James was sitting behind a bush. "It's Serenia." he said, still not believing it was truly her this time. After all of his hard work to keep her safe, and it was all for naught. Now, he was stuck on what to do. Any move he made could be detrimental to Serenia.
Suddenly, he heard a car pull up. "Shit." he thought.
If someone came now, Larry might be in a rush to kill Serenia. He looked back at his dad. Larry seemed to be stuck in his own little world, oblivious to what was going on around him.
James snuck out of his hiding place. Serenia noticed him and pleaded with him with her eyes. It nearly broke his heart.
A woman, dressed too fabulously well for Minnesota, climbed out of the car and hurried towards the lake.
Jame looked at the woman, "Who is she?" he thought.
"Wait, don't go down there!" he said urgently.
The woman looked at him as if he was nuts, and then she looked like she was about to mock him, "Oh, you must be James, right? Serenia's boyfriend!" she laughed, "I'm her mother."
James blushed at being called Serenia's boyfriend, but then he looked at her in shock, "Serenia's mother?" Serenia had never mentioned her mother before, and now he was meeting her face to face.
Larry looked up, "We have company." he pushed Serenia, who once again had to catch her balance.
Theresa looked away from James towards his father and then walked towards the lake, "What's the deal between you and my daughter?" she seemed angry as she looked at Serenia.

Theresa went to the hotel and paid handsomely for the receptionist to tell her where her daughter's room was. However, when she entered, Serenia was nowhere in sight, but her stuff was there.
"So much for paying the clerk off." she murmured as she exited the room.
What did Serenia say again? Oh yeah, she had been complaining about ice skating. Maybe she was at the lake...

Serenia's mind was in a frenzy as he danced with her. She forced herself to relax in his grip, so she wouldn't make him angry.
"Karen," he murmured, "You're so beautiful."
"Karen," Serenia thought to herself. The name didn't mean anything to her. Then her eyes widened as she remembered what James had told her. His dead wife!

Theresa sighed as she huddled into her fur coat. She couldn't stand the cold. Perhaps that is why Paul had moved him and Serenia here. He hadn't wanted to lose their precious daughter to her.
Theresa's blood was hot in her veins. Now here she was, trying to find her daughter, who was probably lying through her teeth for attention.
She walked through the snow in her high heels to the car, "She will be punished for this." she murmured.
Once she reached the car, however, she wondered how she was going to find Serenia. She could go to the one hotel that was here, but she doubted that she could get her hotel room number from the manager. There again, she smirked. everyone has a price. She, herself, found that out when she was told that she could be a model. It had definitely paid off...

James knew that something was wrong. His dad was off of work, and he wasn't in a drunken stupor, sleeping it off on the couch.
"Another one..." James thought, and then his eyes widened as he thought, "Serenia."
He didn't want to believe it as he walked out the door. There was only one way to find out...

Serenia walked to her hotel room, "You're coming with me," she mimicked and scowled, "I'm not going anywhere with you." she said as she opened the door, and then gasped.
Larry was waiting for her with ice skates in his lap, "Yes, I do believe you are going somewhere with me," he held up the ice skates, and Serenia groaned, "This time, you won't escape." he grabbed her roughly and as hes started taking her to the lake. It was late, and Serenia could barely see what was in front of her.
They finally arrived at the lake, and another groan came from Serenia's lips as she thought about the pain that she was going to have to go through in just a few short minutes.
She thought about her life. It didn't seem like she had done anything to help someone else, only herself, and that pained her even more. Larry forced her to put on the ice skates, and she did so slowly. He slapped her back, hard. She fell on her hands and knees, sobbing, "Why are you doing this?"
"Just hurry up!" he growled angrily, and she did as she was told.
She felt something warm and sticky on her back. Somehow, she knew that one of the old scars had been reopened, and she felt it oozing down her back.
He pushed her onto the ice, and she nearly fell, but all the unwanted practices of ice skating had taught her how to balance. She sighed with relief, but it was short-lived as he started dancing with her.

Paul sighed as he realized his visitor was Theresa, not Serenia. He had wanted Serenia to be warned about Theresa before she showed up, but now it was too late. He should be relieved that Theresa came here quickly, but he knew that something was wrong, because Paul was the last person Theresa would want to see.
Theresa picked up the phone with a napkin. She hated germs on everything, and she tried to avoid them as much as possible. "Serenia won't come with me." she said without so much as a "hello."
Paul raised his eyebrows, "Does that surprise you?"
Theresa looked at him coldly, "You turned my own daughter against me."
Paul sighed, "You did that to yourself, but arguing is not going to help the situation. You must find a way to bring her here."
Theresa snorted, "That won't work."
"Make it work!" Paul snapped at her, "Her life depends on it. I can feel it."
Theresa hesitated, "She did say that someone was after her, trying to kill her, because she's an ice skater."
There was fear in Paul's eyes, "Then what are you doing here?! You need to find her NOW!" he hung up the phone before Theresa could argue with him further.
Theresa stood up haughtily as she walked away. It was a small town. It should not be too hard to find Serenia...

Theresa pulled up to the jail house where her ex husband was. She hadn't seen him in two years, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to face him now.
She sighed as she got out of the car. She didn't have a choice...

Theresa sighed, "I was at that time in my life when I wanted adventure, Serenia. I would hope that you could understand-"
"Understand?! You want andventure? Try being beaten almost everyday, because you share a connection with a boy you have just barely met, and his father is abusive. Then on top of it, the same guy is trying to kill me, because he kills ice skaters! Is that adventurous enough for you, mother?"
"I told you that you shouldn't ice skate," her mother mother pointed out, "It's dangerous."
"That's not the point!" Serenia yelled and walked away.
Theresa sighed in frustration, "Serenia, get back here right now!"
"No!" Serenia said stubbornly and kept walking.
Theresa looked at Serenia angrily as she got into her car. She started driving next to Serenia, "I am renting a cabin here, and you're staying with me."
"Who died and made you the Queen of Sheba?" Serenia murmured and didn't stop walking.
Theresa became furious, "I will talk to your father about this!"
"What is he going to do? He's behind bars, because if he wasn't, I would have face my whore of a mother!" Serenia cried and ran into an alley. Theresa couldn't fit the car in it.
Theresa hit the steering wheel, "Dammit..."

Theresa's eyes went dark, "Be careful with the way you talk to me. I am still your mother."
Serenia's eyes narrowed, "How did you know that I was living by myself, mother?"
Theresa hesitated, "Your father told me."
"No, he didn't. I didn't even tell him. In fact, I didn't even tell him that I worked here!"
Theresa sighed, "Fine, I came here looking for you. I ended up finding you at school and following you."
"That means you got here just seconds before I did, but that doesn't explain how you found out that I was homeless."
Theresa looked guilty, "I asked around and found out about a girl who was homeless. It didn't take long to figure out that it was you."
Serenia frowned, "Great, I was being followed and didn't even realize it."
Theresa sighed, "What is going on, Serenia. Please tell me."
"It's not like you care," Serenia glared, "I have tables to take care of."
She ran off to another table and asked them what they wanted, ignoring her mother the whole time.
Theresa stayed the whole time, until her shift was over. Serenia walked out the door without so much as another word to her mother. Theresa had to run in her high heels in order to catch up to her, "I'm sorry. Maybe running off with another man was not such a good idea-"
"Not such a good idea?!" Serenia turned angrily, "My dad loved you, and you decided to be selfish and leave your family for another man?! Were we not good enough for you?"

Serenia was about to lie and say that it wasn't true,but one look into Ken's eyes, and she knew that lying wouldn't help her situation any, "Yes, I have."
Ken cursed under his breath and looked at her, "What the hell happened that you had to take care of yourself?"
Serenia wanted to tell him and almost did, but she stopped herself, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I can tell you one thing. That woman who calls herself my mother was never there for me before, and I'm not going with her now."
Ken thought for a minute and looked at her mother, who was staring at them suspiciously, then turned back to Serenia, "You have to go with her. You can't just take care of yourself. This may be a small town, but there's some crazy people here." his eyes seemed to hold all the understanding of the world in them.
Serenia studied him curiously, wondering if he knew the hell that she had been through, but that was impossible. Wasn't it? She slowly nodded. Even though her mother was a nutcase, she had bigger things to worry about here in Minnesota than in Las Vegas.
Ken slowly handed her a piece of paper and a pen, "Write your two weeks notice," Serenia complied, and Ken sighed, "You were one of my best workers."
Serenia had tears in her eyes, but refused to shed them as she slowly wrote her two weeks notice. She took one quick peek at her mother, who was tapping her foot in impatience, still wanting to talk to her daughter.
Serenia finished the notice by signing it and then handed it to Ken. He nodded and walked back to the kitchen.
Serenia walked back to her mother, "Mom, you shouldn't be here if you're not even going to eat anything. I have to work. I can't talk all day."

"No, I'm trying to watch my figure," she held up her nose, "And by the way, Serenia, you need to turn in a two weeks notice."
"I'm not leaving." Serenia insisted.
Ken came into the restaurant area and pulled Serenia to the side, "Do you know that woman?" he asked, pointing to her mother.
"Yes, that's my mother." Serenia's cheeks flushed embarrassment, and she was finding it hard to look Ken in the eyes.
Ken seemed taken aback, "You don't act like her at all."
"Thank you." it was a relief to hear those words, but she was still concerned about the damage that her mom would do.
Ken seemed to study her for a minute, and a look of sadness passed over his eyes, "She said something about you turning in a two weeks notice."
"No. She's lying." Serenia said stubbornly.
Ken lightly laughed, "Sit down for a minute." he indicated the table next to them.
Serenia, though, shook her head, "I have work to do." her heart was beating rapidly from what she knew he wanted to talk about.
Ken smiled, "I am your boss. I'm still going to pay you, but I want to talk to you about something."
Serenia hesitantly sat down across from him. Ken sighed and looked like he was trying to gather his thoughts together. Finally, he said, "Your mother says that you are moving to Las Vegas with her. I can't argue against your mother, Serenia," Serenia looked like she was about to argue, but he continued without letting her talk, "She was also told that you were living by yourself for the last few days. Is that true?"

Serenia woke up and started her day. She went to school, even though she felt like hiding in her hotel room.
The day went uneventful, and Serenia sighed in relief. However, a shock approached her when she went to work. Her mom was sitting in a booth. "Mom?" she couldn't hide the shock from her voice.
Her mother barely looked like her mom anymore. In fact, she looked more like a movie star. Her mother smiled, "Hello, Serenia. Look at you-all grown up." Theresa, Serenia's mom, had her golden hair in curls and her bright blue eyes sparkled like never before.
""What are you doing here?"
Theresa looked at her, "Is that any way to greet your mother?"
"You left with a stranger." Serenia reminded her.
"He wasn't really a stranger. He-" Theresa cut off when she saw the look in Serenia's eyes, "Your father wrote me. He said that you were in trouble, and he had also stated that you are in dangers. He wanted me to take you back to Las Vegas with me."
"Las Vegas?! No way! Dad needs me, and so does James."
"Who is James, and do you mind telling me what's going on? Your father kind of left me in the dark on the details."
"It would take too long, and I need to get back to work. Are you going to order something or not?"

Larry felt better after the kill, but he still felt restless, like that girl wasn't enough. He knew he had to be careful, but his heart and body wanted more blood to be shed for his revenge.
He remembered what his first kill had felt like. He felt guilt, at first, but the feeling of power came later. Triumph came with it.
Now, he knew he needed to get revenge on the one who had escaped. He had been too anxious with that one, and now she knew what he was up to.
The girl needed to die, and fast. Larry wondered why he wanted to go after the inexperienced skater. It didn't take him long to answer himself.
Serenia reminded him of his dead wife. His wife used to be an inexperienced ice skater. Larry, himself, taught her how to ice skate. Her beauty and grace had always brought tears to his eyes-and now, she was gone...

James felt better now that Serenia was sleeping somewhere off the streets. Now he was going to have to face his father, and he wasn't looking forward to it.
James wanted to run away with Serenia, away from his father. At the same time, however, he knew that it was not a smart move. One stupid mistake on his part could be the death of Serenia. So he had to stay and lead his dad away from Serenia's trail...

Serenia followed their directions, to the third floor, last one on the right. She opened the door.
The room was old-fashioned with a flower bed spread and pictures on the walls. It had a great view of the lake, though, and Serenia put her bag on the bed.
She quickly hopped into the shower. The hot water felt so good, and she felt so much better when she got out.
She turned on the T.V as she got dressed. She fell asleep while it was still on...

Serenia nodded her head as she looked at the people passing by. She really didn't like this conversation, but she knew that she needed to understand James' dad better, so she could defeat him.
James looked at her, "What are you thinking?"
"That there's no way out of this situation."
"That's not true."
Serenia looked at him, "Why didn't you ever kill him while you had the chance?"
"At first, I didn't care," he admitted a bit sheepishly, "And I can't kill him, because I'm pretty sure that everyone will know that it was me. No one will believe what he has done, because he is looked at as a 'good citizen.'"
"Well, we will have to kill him eventually. It's inevitable. More girls will die if we don't do something...and fast."
James sighed, "I know, but I just don't know what to do."
"I don't, either, but we'll think of something." Serenia tried to sound optimistic, even though she wasn't really feeling it.
James nodded and then he stood up, "Come on. You can't just sleep on a street corner."
"Well, I can't just sleep at your house."
"I know. I know somewhere else where you can stay until the end of this. It still cost's money, but it's cheap."
He led her down the street, and it felt like a mile before they finally reached a quaint looking motel. It wasn't big, and it was run by a friendly older couple.
Serenia found out that she had enough money for two nights, and she put her name as Katrina Brooks."
They didn't ask her for an ID, but instead, gave her a key and told her where the room was.

Serenia looked at him, "Well, I don't have grace."
"That's why he's teaching you. Normally, he only kills a girl a year to keep a low profile, and it's usually a girl who's not from around here, but the killer within him is getting desperate.
Serenia looked at James skeptically, "You know awfully about your dad's actions."
"Well, yeah, I lived with him for sixteen years, and he talks in his sleep." James shrugged his shoulders.

He saw her, the beautiful blonde on the ice. A twig snapped, and the blonde looked up. At first, she looked anxious, but then she Larry, harmless Larry.
"Oh, hi, Larry."
For the twenty-first time, he asked a young and beautiful ice skater to dance.
She looked at him warily, "My boyfriend will be here any minute."
Larry became angry and slapped her, "Do not lie to me! Everyone in town knows you're single!"
The girl didn't fall down like he had intended. Instead, she started skating for solid ground. It did not take him long to catch up to him, however, and before long, she was another ice princess.
Larry stood there a moment longer before slowly walking away into the darkness...

She walked to a street corner and hid as best as she could, away from the rest of the world.
"Serenia." she looked up and saw James.
She felt the blood burning in her veins, "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"
"I followed you." James said sheepishly.
Serenia didn't say anything. She just looked at him, waiting for him to say more.
James looked around before he looked back at her, "What are you doing here?"
"What does it look like?!" she snapped at him.S eh immediately regretted it, but refused to apologize.
James looked at her, "It looks like you're sleeping on a street corner."
"Good job, Sherlock, now go away."
James, instead, sat down next to her. Serenia wouldn't even look at him, "Look, I know I said some horrible things, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted that way, but I don't choose to be abused. My dad is a drunk with anger issues."
Serenia finally sighed, "I'm sorry, too. It's just...I have a job now. If I have another episode, I might lose my job."
James looked at her, "I noticed you have a job, but I don't know how you can do it in the middle of everything that's going on."
Serenia laughed without humor, "Yeah, crazy, isn't it?"
James shook his head, "Yeah, it is..."
"I have no other choice."
James was quiet for a minute, "My mother..." he wasn't sure if he should go on, but he did anyway," My dad-he got drunk, and my mother was ice skating. He threw her on the ice and killed her. That's one of the reasons he is what he is."
"What's the other reason?" Serenia asked quietly.
James looked at her with tears in his eyes, "He's uglier than sin. Nobody really notices, but he has a limp, and he wears a mask to hide the scars. He's jealous of ice skaters because of their beauty and their grace...

Serenia went to work afters school. She had avoided James all day like she was sure he wanted. She was right on time. It was busy, so she was happy as she followed her "trainer" from table to table.
She was relieved when work was finally over. She smiled as she looked at her part of the tips and saw $100. She could definitely get used to this.

James couldn't concentrate once again. He felt like a jerk, but at the same time, he couldn't believe Serenia expected him to just stay clear of his dad. It wasn't like he went out to get hit!
He put his head on his desk. He shouldn't have told her not to come back. He was worried about her. He didn't even know where she spent the night last night!
He shook his head as he tried to pay attention to what the teacher was saying...

He was getting anxious. He didn't know where the girl was, and he was feeling the need to kill, whether it be Serenia or not. He decided to go to the lake that night. He will get Serenia later, but right now, he was going to get himself an experienced ice skater.

Serenia sat on the toilet seat, trying to pull herself together. She didn't mean for it to sound that horrible, but she needed this job. She need a way out of this trap that James' dad set for her.
It didn't feel like there was a way out. James was still going to get beaten, she was going to lose her job for acting strange, and the whole world was going to go to hell.
"Way to think positive." she said out loud as she looked at herself in the mirror.
She pounded the sink angrily and exited the bathroom...

The next day, James met Serrenia at school, but she didn't look good. "Look, I'm sorry-" he started.
"Yeah," Serenia sighed and looked a him. She didn't look like like she had much sleep. James couldn't say that he was surprised, because she hadn't gone back to his house last night. He was pretty sure that she didn't go back to his cousin's house, either, which meant that she had nowhere to go. She continued, "I...have a job."
"That's...good, I guess." James shrugged his shoulders, wondering where this was going.
"I know you can't really control it, but can you stay out of your dad's way?"
James felt his face flush, and he grabbed Serenia angrily, "Do you think I control my dad's anger, do you?!" he yelled. He could see that he was hurting her, so he let her go roughly, "Don't bother coming back!" he ran off.
The last time he saw Serenia for that day,s he was running to the bathroom, crying...

Serenia felt it and fell down on the ground. She started crying out. She got some strange looks, but everyone seemed too afraid to help her.
Ten minutes felt like forever, but it was over. She slowly stood up and walked some more. She didn't have anywhere to go. She felt lost and confused.
But one thing she did know was that she had to talk to James...and fast!

Larry ran into his son's bedroom, "Where is she?!"
James sat up in his bed, "Huh?"
"Where is that whore you always hang out with?"
"I haven't seen her, I swear!"
"Lies!" he yelled and, once again, pulled off his belt.
"No, please!" James begged.
"It's time you learned your place, boy!" he said and as he smacked James the first time, he yelped...

Serenia studied the questions on the application. Her heart sank. She didn't have any job experiences. Did that matter?
She shrugged her shoulders. Maybe they would hire her anyway, so she could get a job experience.
She finished filling it out and handed it to the manager. Ken asked her a few questions, and the next thing she knew, he said, "You're hired. When can you start?"
Serenia was so flabbergasted, it took her a minute to answer, "Well, um...today, if you want me to."
Ken lightly laughed, "How about tomorrow. You will be working part time from 3pm-9pm Monday-Friday. Is that okay?"
Serenia nodded, "Yes, that will be fine." she slowly walked around town, feeling more grown up than she had ever been before...

The first thing Serenia did when she left the building was look for a new job. She didn't know how she was going to be able to do a part time job, got to school, and find a place, but she figured that she should do one thing at a time.
She went inside of the little cafe, where a kind waiter waited to seat her. "Um...actually, I was wondering if I could speak to a manager?" Serenia gulped her nervousness down. She needed this job, which meant that she needed to be bold.
The waiter did not take long to come back with the manager. The manager's name tag read, "Ken M." He was bald. He had green eyes and was dressed in a nice suit.
He was nice enough, but he looked to be in a bit of a hurry. He looked at Serenia with curious eyes, probably thinking her to be a complaining customer, "How may I help you?"
"I was wondering if you were hiring?" Serenia stood up and looked the man in the eyes, even though they didn't hold contact for very long.
He looked at the waiter, "Uh, yes, I do believe we are. Renoldo, will you please give this young lady an application?" he turned towards Serenia, "When you are done filling it out, please come back to see me, and we'll see about scheduling you for an interview." with that, he left.

Paul could see the disappointment in Serenia's eyes. He was giving up the fight. Maybe he would get out on good behavior before Serenia grew up.
"What am I talking about?" Paul asked himself. Serenia was already grown up. She was too young to go through this, though.
Paul pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. It had his ex wife's address on it that he was able to access via the internet.
He normally wouldn't do this-after all, he would probably never see Serenia again, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He took out his pen and paper and started writing...

James waited impatiently for Serenia to show up, but she never did. James' imagination was starting to catch up with him, and he was wondering if his dad had caught up to her. That's impossible, he told himself as he walked down the staircase for the millionth time to see his dad asleep on the couch.
But where was she? James began to pace back and forth in his room. Should he go out looking for her? But if he did, his dad might wake up and notice that he's not here. That would cause problems for both of them. There was nothing to do but wait...

Paul tried to put it in good light and made a joke about it, but all Serenia could see was the pain behind his eyes.
The jail was dull, and Paul didn't have anything to remind him of his daughter. Serenia looked around, feeling selfish for thinking only of herself during these hard times. She had to get her dad out. He was innocent, but no one saw him that way. Instead, they took away her only source of protection. Serenia nearly laughed and cried at the same time because of the irony.
She looked at the guards, and then at her dad, who was somehow able to smile despite his circumstances. He had always been the optimist of the family. "Don't worry about me, Serenia. I'll be fine. How is your home life?"
Serenia didn't have the heart to tell him that she didn't have much of a 'home life,' so she lied and said, "It's great. Child services put me in a good family."
Paul narrowed his eyes as he studied his daughter, "You've lost some weight."
Serenia lightly laughed, "You're one to talk."
Paul looked at her, "Do not lie to me...You, by the way, are a terrible liar."
Serenia nodded, "I will be okay, daddy," tears came to her eyes, "I will get you out of here, I promise."
Paul looked at her sadly, "Right now, that's not possible, but it sounds like you need me."
"Of course I need you. You're my father!" she yelled, maybe too loud.
Paul slowly nodded, "I know."
The bell rang, and a guard came in, yelling that visitation time was over.
Serenia wanted to stay and talk longer, but she stood up and grabbed her backpack as her father said that he loved her.
"I love you, too, daddy." she walked out of the building and looked at the jail from outside the fence. It looked like a zoo with a bunch of caged animals. Unfortunately, her dad ended up being one of them....

Serenia sat on the street curb. She was not going to go back to James' house. It was way too dangerous, but she didn't know where to go.
She slowly stood up and started walking towards the jail. Maybe seeing her dad will give her some hope.
However, when she finally got there, she saw that her dad had lost a lot of weight. He was pale, and he had a black eye. She was in shock, "Dad, what happened to you?"

James sighed, thinking about the connection between him and Serenia. He couldn't figure out how they received this connection, but he guessed that it was possible.
While he thought about this, he also thought about the fact that Serenia didn't know everything about his father.
James' dad wore a mask, because he almost didn't have a face. There were so many scars on his face, his dad would never be able to be looked upon as a normal human being.
James had only seen his dad's face once. His dad had turned around and had become so angry, James avoided his dad as much as possible ever since. It didn't always work, but it was better than getting in his dad's way all the time.
James hoped that Serenia would be smart enough to stay out of his dad's way, too, because the price might be too high if she doesn't....