Fairborn

The sun was sinking beautifully below the tops of the trees in Erie park, but no one noticed it, due to the screams coming from under the train tracks.

For a while, things were quite. There was the usual yelling of someone asking for a cig, or for a lighter. But for the most part, things were calm.

But that didn't last for long. There was a loud scream and someone came running from under the train tracks. She had blonde hair and was stick skinny. When she ran over to us, her face was the perfect picture of terror.

She was hysterical. She couldn't stop crying. And for a while, we all just stood around her as she sobbed. Finally, someone was able to calm her enough to ask her what was wrong.

We got our answer, but none of us were ready for it.

This is what really happened in Fairborn on that dreadful day, and in the weeks that followed. This is not the version you'll find in the police report, or what you'll read in the papers. No, this is what really happened.

The truth will no longer be hidden and ignored.

The Discovery

The lights from the police cars were flashing, and night was coming on quick. We had all been ordered to stay put until we were given direct permission to leave. I was numb still. Not really noticing all that was going on around me. I was in shock. And who could blame me? Who could blame any of us for being scared, and tired, and just wanting to go home and cry as our mothers held us?

The police were furious with us. Well, not really the police, but a rookie. He yelled, claiming that we'd ruined the crime scene. That any evidence that might have been there, was now gone due to our childish actions.

He cared not for the tears running down our faces, or the fact that I was in the ambulance getting bandaged. No, all he cared about was impressing his caption, and cracking this big case. He didn't care the "the victim" was my friend. No, he just wanted his 15 minutes of fame.

All the cameras and camera phones were taken from us, and all pictures deleted. They wanted to make sure that no pictures made it to the media. And hell, I can't blame them.

We were interviewed, as to how the crime scene looked, to who discovered the body... They asked us question after question, and noted the way we all responded. And the way I didn't respond. That was what made me a suspect at first. After they took their heads out of their ass's they realized that I was in shock, and that's why I couldn't talk. But, enough with my personal feelings of the police force in Fairborn.

I had never seen anything like that before. Anything so... Horrific. At first, I didn't know what I was looking at. None of us did. I knew that girl, whose name to this day I still don't know, said that she'd seen a body, but, I just didn't see one. I was looking for it, but, I never expected it to be one of my friends.

Only about 7 or so of us actually seen Shane's body. Mike had forbidden anyone else to go anywhere near the train tracks. And, I guess, that turned out to be a good thing. For, the more people there that day, the worse things would have been in the end.

When we got to the spot where she said the body was, at first, I didn't see him. There was a horrible smell lingering in the air, that hadn't been there 2 hours ago, and the trees did look funny. Like, someone had moved them. The rocks were all in small piles. The place had changed it seemed, without anyone noticing. It was like, we were watching it change, and we didn't see it happen.

Finally I realized that the thing laying on the ground in the bushes was the body. That it was what was omitting the smell, and that it was Shane's dead body. I hit the ground; hard. Never before had I felt this immense pain. This, overpowering urge to cry, and strike out at the world; and to kill. It was at that moment, when I hit the ground, and cut up my hands as I did so, that I felt a presence enter our midst. I didn't think anything of it then, and now I know that was such a mistake. A very deadly one on my part. And if given the chance, I'd go back and fix it, but, I know I can't, and its useless to play that game.

I started crawling toward his body. I was terrified, screaming, crying. I didn't know what to do. But, I had an overpowering urge to touch his body. I thought, at the time, that if I did, I could bring him back. Now, I realize that touching him would have been the biggest mistake of my life.

Before I could reach him, Mike pulled me back. I was screaming, and fighting him, yelling that I could save Shane. That he wasn't lost, just... That he wasn't lost. And in a way, he wasn't.

I was fighting him tooth and nail. Trying my hardest to get to Shane. By the time everyone was able to pull me away from there, I had already started to calm down enough to react to what I'd seen. I was throwing up over Mike's shoulder, and bleeding all over the place. My hands and knees were bleeding, as was my head. Somehow, I'd managed to get a piece of glass wedged in my forehead. It was bleeding pretty freely. But, I didn't care. DeAnna was crying, and so was Stefanie. Amber was quite, not knowing what to do. Mike was carrying me, and the other person or two that was with us, were just quite.

The police rolled up as Mike sat me down by the soda machines. I was still getting sick, and crying hysterically. DeAnna and Stefanie tried to comfort me, as much as they tried to comfort each other and themselves.

I am told that I was questioned. That, the ambulance patched me up, and that I was "requested" to return to the police station for more questioning. I don't remember any of it.

It was a blur walking to Stefanie's. I was silent by this time, Stefanie and DeAnna were still crying. Holding each other; attempting to hold me. I think they tried to talk to me, but I know that if they were, they knew it was useless.

It was when Stefanie's house came into view, and I started to come back to reality, that I noticed that someone was following us. I noticed a presence. It was unlike anything I'd ever felt before. Stronger than the thing at the train tracks. And I knew it was evil. But, at the time, I thought it was in my head.

DeAnna noticed the change in me. She noticed the way my eyes unglazed, and how my body stiffened. And she knew I wasn't ready for talking. At least not outside like we were. She could sense that what we had to talk about could wait until we were safely in the house. Safely out of the prying eyes of the night sky, the moon and the ever listening stars.

When we walked in the house, it was hot. The dryer was humming, and the smell of dryer sheets was overwhelming.

Jana and Corey's fighting could be heard over the blasting T.V. The microwave dinged, and out came a loud scream from Jana, and Corey emerging from the back room to retrieve his food. When he opened the microwave, the smell of dryer sheets was shared by the smell of beef ramen. He picked up his two liter, growled at us, and walked silently into the back room as Jana came out screaming about how Corey had just beaten her up, and how she hadn't done anything to deserve it.

We didn't care, and we didn't pretend to. We walked, silently and in a single file line, to Stefanie's room. The computer sat there, untouched, as we all stood around, unsure of what to do with ourselves. There was no need to put on music, or to watch a funny video clip. No need to check Xanga, or Myspace. No, we just stood there, like idiots, not knowing if we should even dare to look at each other.

Finally, I sat down. That seemed to be the ice breaker. For, only moments after I had done so, both Stefanie and DeAnna sat too. We sat there in silence for a while, before anyone spoke.

I was the first one, once again, to break the silence.

"What do we do now?" It was just a question, no more than 5 words, but the one that will be the beginning and end of all periods in our lives.

"We wait.." DeAnna's voice was quite, cracking. Unlike her usual cheerful one. No, now her tone was withdrawn; hurting.

"We wait for what?" Stefanie's eyes were bloodshot, and her voice held the marking of crying.

"We wait for answers. That's all we can do. We wait. We go to bed, now. There's no sense in staying up, and thinking about what we've just seen. What we've just... We go to bed. And in the morning, we go the police station. We talk to them, find out what happened. Find out as much as they'll tell us. And we go from there." I seemed to be the one who was the most alert and grounded.

I looked down at my hands; noticing for the first time that they were bloody. I felt my head, and traced where they'd placed the bandage.

It was finally settling in that things were different. It was settling in that I'd just seen a dead body; seen a friends dead body.

Things were changing, rapidly. And I know that I wasn't the only one who noticed this. We all looked up, at the same time, and joined hands; making a triangle. There was a surge in our bodies at that moment. And we all noticed it. The words came out of our mouths in perfect unison, "I'll protect you until death".

The Police Station

It was a nice day; and it seemed to be a crime. Why was the sun shining when we were so gloomy? It seemed to be mocking us.

We entered the police station... Uneasy as to what might be asked of us. My mother was there, telling us everything would be ok, and gently prying as to what happened, and to what we'd seen. Stefanie tried to tell her, but DeAnna and I just walked forward; silent.

We were taken into an interrogation room. The air was hot and stuffy, and it smelled faintly of urine. And we sat in there, for 20 minutes before someone came to talk to us.

His name was Officer May, like the month he told us. It wasn't our first encounter with him, but he didn't remember us, and at least he didn't smell bad.

"So, what is it that I can help you with?" He handed us bottles of water, and we accepted, silently.

"He was our friend. Shane was, I mean. We were the ones that discovered his body. We... We need to know if you have any idea as to how he died? How did his body... How did it get into that position? What killed him? We need answers." DeAnna was crying again, as was Stefanie. My mother was holding them, and had tears in her eyes as well. As for me, I was all cried out. I was in a state; crying wasn't on the ballot.

"Well, I can't discuss an open investigation. But," he looked around, making sure, even though we were in a locked room, that we were alone, "I can tell you that we don't know how he died. We have no idea how his body was so decomposed. He was seen, alive, not more than an hour before the call was made to the police station about a body. We don't know what went on, but we do know that we'll get answers. If you're patient, you'll know the answers to the questions that you have... But, now, its my turn to ask you a few questions. Do you have any idea how his body was so decomposed? Why he was positioned the way he was, or why the crime scene looked as it did?" He looked at us, expecting answers. Answers we didn't have.

"No, we don't know any of those things. That's why we came to you. We want to know what happened to him. To our friend. We want to know how his body was so decomposed when we'd seen him only the day before. We want to know why he was positioned the way he was, and why it smelled so horribly. Why the rocks were forced to the sides, in little piles; why the trees looked as if they'd been moved, and why no one noticed all this happening. I want answers. I want to know why one of the people that I considered to be a very close friend is now gone. I want to know why a 18 year old was killed in the prime of his life. I want to know what this police force is going to do to find his killer!" I was becoming violent. The rage was surging through my body, the bottle of water that I'd been holding in my hands, unopened, threatened to explode under the pressure of my tight grip.

Officer May sat with an expression of fear and sorrow on his face. DeAnna and Stefanie held blank expressions; for the same emotions were flowing through them as well. My mother on the other hand, was crying, and had an expression of pure terror on her face. She'd never seen me act in such a manner. She'd never seen me yell at a cop, or demand answers from one.

"We will do our best to find your friends killer. And I will personally keep you updated, as much as I can, with the case and its ongoing. I cannot say if we'll ever solve this, and I will not make you false promises. Especially seeing the state of that water bottle clutched in your hand. But, I can say that we'll do our damnedest to solve this. We don't take kindly to murder in this town. We know that he was a friend, a brother, a son... We're doing our best."

Calmly I looked him in the eyes, and said only the following, "This is not the time to joke about how tightly I am squeezing a water bottle. You will not keep me updated as much as you can, but you will give me all the details. If you can't solve this case, then you shouldn't be on the force, and yes, you will do your damnedest. If you can't solve this case, then I will. Make that a promise; a vow."

After which, DeAnna, Stefanie and I stood at the same time, and left. No one spoke another word. My mother stayed behind to talk to the cop, to try and get some details, but, she said that I'd scared him shitless. And that after we left the room, and the door closed behind us, our water bottles exploded; in perfect unison.

By now, I knew this wasn't a natural murder. I knew it sounded crazy; but nothing human killed him. And if it was a human, it was most certainly possessed by something.

My mother reluctantly dropped us off at Stefanie's. She wanted me home, but, when she looked into my eyes, she could see the change in them. I was no longer her little girl. No longer would I blindly follow her instructions. She sensed this. She knew I'd changed. She knew we'd all changed. And a part of her knew that in the not to distant future, she'd never see me again.

Tears silently rolled down her face, and she hugged me. She hugged DeAnna, and Stefanie as well. Kissed us on the head, and told us to keep safe. Slowly, she drove away. She knew she'd lost her little girl. Yes, I'd return home, and yes, I was still alive. But no longer was I a child, and no longer could I enjoy the things I used to. No longer could any of us.

We walked into the house again. This time, it was quiet; no one was home. And we were thankful. Although, we had realized, at least I had, that we had a newfound power over people. I could put fear in them. Oddly, it scared me as much as it excited me.

No longer was I numb. No. By now I was out for revenge and justice. I wasn't looking for a trial; a sentence. No, I was looking for street justice. And I was determined that I'd get it. No matter the cost.

Realizations

"We've got things to discuss." I turned to my best friends, my sisters and looked, waiting for their response.

"He wasn't murdered by anything human was he?" DeAnna knew what I was thinking. I could tell. She had a plan, or she was working on one.

"No, he wasn't. But, what did kill him? What had that kind of power? And how do we protect ourselves from it as we hunt it down?"

"I don't know. I was hoping you'd have some sort of idea. Its an evil being. It has to be. No good force would do this. But, why Shane? What was so special about him? And, was he the first one? I highly doubt that, since no one noticed anything going on. No one noticed the fact that the trees moved; that the rocks moved..." Before DeAnna could finish her sentence Stefanie interrupted her.

"What are you two talking about? Shane was killed by a human. There are no such things as... I mean, I believe in ghosts, and entities, but... This is taking it to the extreme! You can't honestly think that there was some force powerful enough to kill Shane in Fairborn do you? We've got to look at this logically. Shane wasn't killed by something supernatural; he was killed by something human. Something evil yes. But supernatural? No."

"Stefanie, you've got to realize what we're dealing with; what we're looking for. Something killed Shane. It wasn't human. It couldn't it have been. Humans can't move trees without there being some sort of sign that they've done so. We can't move rocks without noise. And I can't grasp how we can make a body decompose at such an accelerated rate. Stefanie, we're not dealing with a human, or a group of humans; we are in fact, dealing with the supernatural.

"They took many pictures of his body; the crime scene. We can call Officer May and get copies. We'll get the coroners report and we can go back to the crime scene.

"I don't know if you've felt it or not, but something has been with us since yesterday. Its strong; and its evil. I've felt it, and I know that I feel it the strongest. Its like we've got a bond. Its almost like I can read its thoughts.

"And oddly as it sounds, we've got a connection; this thing and and I. I don't know why me, why Shane, why Fairborn. But I do know that we're not alone" DeAnna stood there, nodding along. He expression was the same as mine: determined.

"DeAnna, you don't actually believe her do you? Ghosts and spirits are real, yes, I'll admit that. But this? Come on! If anyone heard you two discussing this they'd have you committed! We've got to accept the cold hard facts. Shane is dead. He was killed by a human. Nothing"

I cut her off before she could finish her sentence. "He wasn't killed by anything of this world. Something evil has come to Fairborn. We've got to find it destroy it. Stefanie, we're the only ones who can do this; the only ones who know that this thing is here. We've made the blood sister oaths. And we've got the power of 3 on our side, the most powerful number in magic and religion.

"We've got a reason for going after this thing. And we won't turn to evil, or let it try and turn us. I know DeAnna's in, I can sense it. and I can sense that you want to help us; that you believe us. Just as you can sense that we're not crazy, and lieing to you. Put aside your doubt; trust me and DeAnna. We can do this. We have to do this."

DeAnna and I grabbed her hands, and there we stood. Once again in the triangle.

"You're both crazy." She pulled her hands from us, and walked away rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands. "But then again, so am I." She placed her hands back in ours.

"Good, because we've got a lot of work to do. DeAnna and I are going to get online; do some research. You call officer May and tell him that we want copies of everything.

"Once you've called him, we'll prepare for tonight."

Next things next

"Whats tonight?"

"We're going to make medallions to protect us from this thing. We're also going to bells them and cast protection spells. We'll also redo our blood sister oaths, so that they're nice and strong, and better protected. Tomorrow we'll actually start hunting this thing."

"Hunting. You make it sound so simple and easy. Like this isn't a crazy ass idea. Like we can actually pull this off."

"We can. We will. We have to. I don't want to think that this THING is still out there; that its killing more people; putting more through what we're going through." It was the first time DeAnna had engaged us since we'd been back at Stefanie's. She was unusually quite when she had something to say. And I had been able to tell that she'd had something to say.

"Call May; no wait, he's scared of me, let me do it. You know, it puzzles me as to why he is scared though. I mean, yeah, I know I was a little mean to him today, but, Im just a teenager... Hell, Im just a fucking teenage girl. How in the hell did I scare him?" I laughed to myself as I picked up the phone. I dialed the number for the non emergency line at the police station.

"Hello, you have reached the Fairborn City Police Department. How may I help you today?" The woman that greeted me had an artifcial sweetness to her voice. It was automated, the sweetness was I mean. She was bored with her job, and it was quite plainly obvious.

"Yes, can I please speak with Officer May?" I tried my hardest to sound sweet. Hell, I don't know if my tone was anything more than just less than hateful. But, I tried my hardest, and thats all I could hope for.

"One moment please. I'll see if he's available." She clicked over for a moment. "Im sorry, he's on the phone at the moment. If you give me your name, number and the nature of your call, I'll give him your message."

"No, it is imperative that I speak with him right away. Tell him that Bryanna Riley wishes to talk to him; now. He was expecting my call."

"One moment. I'll see if he'll take your call." She clicked over once again.

Removing the phone from my ear, and placing my hand over the receiver I looked at DeAnna and Stefanie. "She's seeing if he'll take my call. Do I sound like a bitch? I didn't want to sound to intimidating. I seem to be doing that a lot lately. I dont..."

She clicked back over. "He has requested that you hold until he finishes his current call. Will you hold?" Her voice seemed different, but I don't know how I noticed it. It was like a sixth sense; something I'd never been able to detect in anyone's voice before.

"Yeah, thats fine. I'll wait." I heard her click over again, placing me on hold. Looking back to my friends I laughed. "She said he requested that I hold while he finished his current call. Did I scare him that much, or does he always talk like he's conversating with a genius?"

We all laughed while we waited on him to click over.

"Hello? Miss Riley?" His voice was like the operators. I knew what I was detecting now in their voices... A slight indicator of fear. It should have made me happy; I could strike fear in people by just simply saying my name. But, this was not something that I found satisfying. No, it saddened me.

"Yes. Hello Officer May."

"How may I help you? Have you though of something pertaining to the case?"

"No, I'm afraid that I haven't. But, you know how you said you'd keep us up to date the case? Well, here's your chance to prove your words true. We want copies of the of everything you have on the case so far; the crime scene photos, coroners report, ect."

There was a silence on the other end of the phone before he finally spoke. "I can do that for you. But, I won't be able to get them to you until tomorrow."

"No, this can't wait. We need that stuff now. As soon as possible. Would you like us to come pick it up at your office, or do you want to bring it to us?" My voice had changed. It was the way it had become when I scared people into doing what I wanted them to do.

"No, you can't come get them. What Im doing is illegal. If we get caught, I'll lose my job. Give me a few hours. I'll bring you what you asked for."

I waited a moment before answering. It was subconscious; but I knew what it was doing. I was building that fear in him, and building suspense. He dind't know what I was going to say, and to be honest, neither did I. It was amazing how much I'd changed in not even two days; it seemed impossible. But, I fit into this new role like I'd always played it. "It's 3 o'clock now. You have until 5 to bring them to us. After that, we'll come see you at work." I hung up the phone and placed it gently on the computer desk.

It was then that something overcame me. It felt like my body, mind and spirit were on fire. I tried to scream, but I found that I couldn't. I tried to move, but I coudln't do that either. Then, my eyes glazed over and my body began to involuntarily twitch. This continued for about two minutes. I couldn't breathe. It felt like I was dieing. Then suddenly I snapped out of it. I was sitting in the chair and Stefanie and were DeAnna were watching me; waiting.

"Well, what did he say? Is he going to bring us the stuff that we wanted or not?" Stefanie was sitting there, addressing me as if nothing had happened, as was DeAnna.

"Didn't you see that? Why didn't you help me!?" My voice was cracking with fear. I had tears in my eyes too.

"Bryanna what are you talking about? You just got off the phone with Officer May. Why would we have to help you? Whats going on? What didn't we see?"

"... It didn't want you to see. It was warning me. That thing... It came to me; in me I think. Or it at least tired. It felt as if my entire body, should and mind were on fire. I couldn't move, and it seemed that I couldn't breathe. Then, my eyes glazed over and I started twitching. This lasted for about two minutes. The whole process I mean. He was trying to scare me. I have to admit, it did work. He's got me scared, but he's also got me that much more convinced that we have to stop him.

"Its telling me that we have to stop. Its his cryptic warning to me. He's telling us either stop hunting what killed Shane, Im not so sure that it was this spirit thing that I've felt with us anymore, or we're next."

There was a deafing silence pounding in our ears. It was so quite, you could've heard a pin drop on the carpet.

"So what do we do? Do we succumb to it's will? Do we be cowards and let Shane's killer go unanswered? Or do we keep fighting? Do we find Shane's killer and risk our lives?" DeAnna sounded like such a warrior.

Normally the roles would be reversed. Stefanie would be the one saying it was supernatural and DeAnna would be the skeptic. But nothing was how it used to bed. Roles had been reversed and new ones added to the game.

"I say we stay and fight. Shane's killer has to be brought to justice. We can't just give up because we've been "warned" to do so. Since when have we ever followed the rules? We've started this; opened a door that we can't close. At least not yet. And I say that we kill the son of a fucking bitch that killed Shane!" Steafnie was snapping back into her old self, her believe in everything supernatural coming back.

"I say we stay and fight too. What about you Bryanna?" DeAnna and Stefanie stood looking intently at me.

"You know Im in. I started this, and I brought you guys into it. I'm not about to abandon you because some" and I screamed this because I could sense that he was still in the room with us; watching "BITCH ASS PUSSY SPIRIT WANTS TO TRY AND SCARE US! I REFUSE TO BACK DOWN!"

*~*~*~*~*

"Miss Riley? Hello?" Officer May hung up the phone. He knew that the words she had spoken to him were not empty; she would come down to the police station to get what she wanted.

He'd never been scared of someone inolved in a case he was working before. Let alone scared of a teenage girl. But there was something about her; something in her voice that scared him. not in the sense that he was scared to be in the dark, but more in the way that he was scared of what her voice held.

He quickly stood up and made his way to the evidence locker. He knew that what he was doing was illegal, but he didn't care. Somewhere in the back of his head he knew no one would ever know. He also knew that he was playing a vital role in solving this case. Although, he thought it was because of the police force working; he had no idea that it wouldn't be the police that were going to break open the case.

He pulled out the crime scene photos, looking them over carefully one by one. They saddended him. Not only because the victim had been killed in the prime of his life, but because three young teenage girls were mixed up in his murder. He knew they were innocent, and thats what made him able to feel sarrow for them.

After looking at each one carefully, he pulled out the coroners report, reading it throughly. Time of death: unknown. Cause of death: unknown. Basically the report was useless. He had no toxin's in his system, and his blood alcohol level was zero. He hadn't been drinking, and he hadn't been doing any kind of drug. Nor had anyone given him any. All the report really shead light on was the fact that the police had no idea how or when Shane died.

He pulled out the autopsy photos and looked them over as well. He personally didn't think that the girls needed to see these, but, he had promised that he'd get them everything. Setting them aise he pulled out everyone's notes on the case thus far. The suspect list, the transcript of all intervies that had taken place so far and the report that had been written this far.

It wasn't much, he had to admit it. The police had shit together and even less than that to go on.

He walked out of the evidence locker and to the private lounge the office held. It was basically a cot with a coffee machine and a copier. It was only used when you needed to catch a few minutes of sleep on break.

It didn't make much sense to him to have coffee where people go to catch a few minutes of sleep, but then again he didn't really care.

He went to the copier, and just stood there for a minute. He wasn't sure if he wasn't to do this. He knew he shouldn't, because it wasn't legal, but at the same time he knew that those girls really wanted the information.

The coffee pot grumbled, and omited its sweet aroma. Like a zombie he walked over to it; taking a cup and pouring himself some.

The papers lay unattended on the copier.

He stood there for a minute, quietly sipping his coffee. The taste was bitter in his mouth, but he didn't seem to notice it. He didn't even notice the burning sensation that it gave him throat.

After a while, he seemed to snap back into it. Slowly he walked back over to the copier, and started in on his task. It only took him about 5 minutes to get it all copied, but to him it seemed to take a life time. At that moment he hated his job. He did not want to show the girls, who he'd grown a strange protectiveness over, to see the pictures. He did not want them to be the ones who'd lost a friend, and he didn not want them to be anywhere near this case.

He'd known it wasn't a normal case the first moment he'd seen the crime scene. He didn't know what would drive someone to murder, and he defiently didn't know what would drive one to do to Shane as they did.

The stack of papers were in his hand, and it was his move. He stood there, smelling the coffee and staring blankly at the cot. He invsioned all three of them sitting on the cot; their eyes burning into his soul. It was as if his vision of them was real.

They sat there; looking at him so intently. Bryanna, the one with the long black hair and who sat in the middle, stood up and walked toward him. She wispered in his ear "We need those papers. If you don't give them to us, our lives will be in grave danger" She pulled away, locked eyes with him for a second, and then sat back down; her head droping and going slightly to the side.

Stefanie, the one with the short dark reddish maroon colored hair, stood up next, and walked over to him. She had been sitting on Bryanna's left. She quietly wispered in his ear "Those papers to us, mean either life or death." She didn't lock eyes with him, but just pulled away and sat back down. He head too droped to one side and hung low.

DeAnna, the last girl, who had been sitting on Bryanna's right stood up next. Insted of wispering in his ear, she looked him square in the eyes and said to him "You must bring that to us. We are a figment of your immagination, yes. But you must listen to our words. Without those things" she stopped to point to the papers laying on the copier and to the ones in his hands "we are helpless to defending ourselves. We will die without those. Please, bring us what we need."

She walked back over to the cot, and sat down. Her head did the same as the others had done.

Suddenly, the all joined hands, looked at him, and said, "Our lives are in your hands. Do as you wish."

He nearly screamed when they caught fire. But the fire wasn't a normal one, and it didn't give off any heat. No, these flames were ice blue. They didn't even seem to be in any pain as they were engulfed by the flames. Insted, silent tears ran down their faces.

He couldn't help but try and reach them. But the closer he tried to get, the farther away they seemed to go into the flames, and the more tears ran down their faces. He couldn't stand the sight of them in pain; he didn't want to see it. As tears rolled down his own face, he closed his eyes.

And when he opened them they were gone. And he was back to reality. He looked at the cot; they had never been there. There was no sign of them anywhere.

He wiped the tears from his face, gathered the original papers in his hands, and walked out of the break room.

He put the originals of everything back in the evidence locker, and slipped the copies in his jacket. Walking briskly out of the office, he waved good bye to Janet, the clerk who handled all indirect incoming calls, and left.