| Chapter17 Jered and Ephah appeared in Nick's room, seeing him asleep on the bed. Jered laughed, "He picks the oddest times to sleep." "Yeah, you'd think he'd be hiding somewhere, knowing we were coming," Ephah said. "Well, let's wake the blonde wonder and see what we can get out of him," Jered said, walking over to the bed and sitting next to Nick. Ephah walked around to the other side, sitting down. Jered reached over and put his hand over Nick's mouth. Nick's eyes fluttered open and he looked at the two. "You aren't going to scream for help are you?" Jered asked. Nick shook his head, and Jered took his hand away. Nick started to sit up, but Ephah pushed him back down, "Stay where you're at." Nick stayed where they told him, looking from one to the other. "You're being awfully quiet. Why is that?" Ephah asked. Nick shrugged his shoulders, "Don't have anything to say to you." Jered laughed, "Oh you will. Say, tell me, what's Tara like now?" Nick looked at him confused, "What do you mean?" "Oh come on, don't play dumb with me. You two have to be doing a little �extra training'," Jered said. "Extra training? I have no idea what you're talking about," Nick said. Ephah laughed, "You really are blonde. He's talking about sex you idiot." Nick looked shocked, "I would never. She's married to my best friend." "So?" Jered said, "That best friend isn't like you and her." "What does that have to do with anything?" Nick asked. "It has everything to do with it. You know that's why she fell don't you? That she liked it to much to stop," Jered taunted. Nick closed his eyes, "Shut up." Jered looked at Ephah, "Aww, we touched a nerve." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara sat straight up in bed, staring at the door to the room. She could feel them, and could feel Nick's anger. Brian turned over, "What's wrong?" "They're here," she said. He sat up and looked at her, "How's he doing?" She sighed, "He's angry. He needs to calm down, or he'll get to where he can't focus." Brian watched her for a moment. She was biting her lower lip, staring a hole through the door. "You really want to go in there don't you?" he asked. She nodded, "This is the hardest thing I've ever done. I know what he's going through, and I don't want him to have to, ya know. And to know that I can't interfere, it's killing me." Brian took her hand and looked into her eyes, "The only thing we can do for him now is pray." She sighed, knowing he was right. Together they bowed their heads and started to pray. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Come on Nick, not one little kiss, nothing?" Ephah asked. Nick turned his head away from him, "This is getting you nowhere. We are friends, and no we will never do anything like that." Jered got up and walked across the room, "Let him up." Ephah stood up, looking at Nick. Nick slowly sat up and looked at them both, not sure what they had planned. Jered turned and stared at him, "Do you know what you're missing?" "What?" Nick asked. "All the fun, Nick. We have no rules, no anal retentive boss up there telling us what to do. We can do anything we want, and there are no consequences," Jered said. "Yes there are," Nick said, "You just can't see them." Ephah shook his head, "You have so much to learn." Nick glared at him. Jered walked over to Nick and leaned down, getting right in his face, "You know, I could go in the next room and do anything I wanted to her and there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it." "Don't you even think about it," Nick spat. Jered laughed, "Oh and what are you gonna do? Stop me?" Nick was trying to ignore him, but was having a hard time. He was angry and all he wanted to do was wrap his hands around Jered's throat and choke the life outta him. Jered smiled, "Come on. I can feel how angry you are, act on it. Don't just sit there like the helpless being you are, do something!" Nick closed his eyes and started praying. He knew Jered wanted him to attack him, and he remembered what Tara had said about not fighting them. Ephah laughed, "You think He's gonna help you? You are so naive." Nick looked up at him, "He is always with me, and He will always help me." Ephah rolled his eyes, "Wake up to the real world here Nick. You're on the wrong side." Nick shook his head, "No I'm not, you are." "Enough of this," Jered said. Nick watched as he came closer, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him up. "You think you're better than us don't you?" Jered asked. Nick just stared at him. A brightness shown in Jered's eyes, and it sent chills down Nick's spine, "Well, let's just see how much better you are." Nick was caught off guard when Jered threw him across the room. He hit the wall and sank to the floor. "Come on Nick, defend yourself," Ephah teased. Nick had the wind knocked out of him, and was on his hands and knees gasping for air. Jered walked over to him and grabbed him by the hair, yanking his head back. "I'm sure your �teacher' has told you that you lack control. What would you say if I told you you could have it?" Jered asked. Nick started at him. "Oh I forget you're blonde, let me spell it out for you. All this training you're doing is for nothing. Why work for something when you can get it for free, and instantly," Jered said. Ephah smiled, seeing the shocked look on Nick's face, "Yes, you want that don't you?" Nick said nothing, not taking his eyes from Jered, who still had him by the hair. Jered smiled down at him, "Think about it. No more frustration, no more feeling like your left flapping out in the wind, trying to figure things out. No more hurting your girlfriend when all you want to do is love her. And no more of �them' telling you what you can and can't do." "No," Nick said. "Fine," Jered said, slamming Nick's head into the wall. Nick sank to the floor, holding his head and trying to focus his vision. Ephah walked over and pulled Nick away from the wall, leaving him in the center of the room. He then kicked Nick in the stomach, before he and Jered vanished from the room. Nick didn't attempt to get up, he was coughing and his head was pounding. He tried to heal himself, but couldn't focus long enough to do it. He finally closed his eyes and let the pounding of his head take him into unconsciousness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian and Tara heard the noise coming from Nick's room. "What are they doing in there?" Brian asked. "I don't know," she said. A minute later someone was knocking on their door. Brian got up and went out to see who it was. Kevin was standing on the other side, a worried look on his face. "Bri, what the hell is going on. It sounded like someone was coming through the wall," Kevin said, walking into the room. "We don't know," Brian said. "Well I'm going in there and find out," Kevin said. Brian grabbed Kevin's arm, "We can't." "Brian, Tara said that she couldn't help when they were here, she said nothing about us," Kevin argued. Just then Tara came out of the room, "They're gone." All three rushed to Nick's door, and found it locked. "God, why did he lock the door?" Brian asked. "Damn if I know," Kevin said, slamming his shoulder into it. Brian joined in and after a few tries the lock gave way, and they rushed in. At first they didn't see him. Then Brian spotted him. "Shit, what did they do?" he said, dropping to Nick's side. Tara gently touched the knot on the side of Nick's head. "Guys, get him up on the bed," she instructed. Kevin and Brian picked him up and laid him on the bed. Tara walked over and sat down next to him. She placed her hand over the wound and closed her eyes for a moment. Nick moaned and slowly opened his eyes, looking around. When he saw Tara he broke down in tears. Tara reached out and held him as he cried. Brian and Kevin exchanged worried glances. "Nick, you're alright," Tara said. "It was awful," Nick cried. "I know," she said, fighting back her own tears. "He...he threatened you," Nick said. "He can't hurt me now," she said, "He's just doing that to get to you." Nick pulled away from her and wiped his face with the back of his hand, "He offered me something." Tara looked at him, "What?" "Control," Nick answered, "He said that I could have it instantly, that I didn't have to work for it." "Nick, you know he's trying everything to get you to turn," she said. "I know," he said, looking at the floor. "Hey man, look at it this way. You made it," Kevin said. Nick shook his head, "They're coming back." "What do you mean they're coming back?" Brian asked. "Guys, this goes on for a while. It's not just one night," Tara said. "Oh man," Brian said. Nick looked back at Tara, "Is it true?" "What?" she asked. "About the control, is it true?" he asked. Tara looked at him for a long time, "It is. When you turn you have instant control of your abilities." Nick was shocked, "How? Why do we...?" "Nick, we train and work for ours so we know where it comes from. So we know that it is a gift from God, and something that we cherish enough to work for. If we were instantly given the control, we would take it for granted, and misuse it," she answered. "I see," Nick said, laying back down. "You OK?" Brian asked. "Yeah, I'm just really tired," Nick said. Tara squeezed his hand, "Get some sleep. They won't return tonight." Nick nodded his head and closed his eyes as the others left the room. When he heard the door shut he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. "God help me. They've found the one thing I want more than anything in this world. Please help me resist it," he prayed. Chapter 18 |