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| "Why aren't you doing what I told you to do?" Amanda stopped brushing her fiery red hair. The implement fell from her hand and clattered on the dresser. Her breathing became erratic, she knew she had to be losing her sanity. The first night she'd slept in her room the voice had come. Telling her parents was out of the question, they already suspected her of having problems after the troubles at her old school forced them to move to this town. Her second attempt at senior year had to succeed, but that could be hard when you're hearing voices. The only option was to go to the source. "Who are you? Is this like that God show with that teen girl that's oming out?" "No, I am you. Or the you that you could be. Until then, I'm a friend and a guide." "Am I going crazy?" She knew it was a foolish question even before it escaped her lips. Did David Berkowitz or Charles Manson ever ask themselves that question and get a yes? "Hardly, my dear. You'll be better when I'm done and so will I." "What do you want?" "I said I wanted to help. You must throw a party here this Saturday just like I have been instructing you to." "When my parents are out of town? Of course, stupid. But that only gives me two days, not counting the rest of today." "Then I must say that you'd better hurry tomorrow. For now, do your homework and get a good night's sleep." The landing in Ogdensburg had gone easily enough and they'd found the car with no difficulty. To most people, that meant business as usual, but Kylee didn't trust when even the easiest parts went off without a hitch. The longer they went without complications, she figured, the more trouble there was waiting for them at a crucial moment. The accomodations at the Stone Fence were nice enough, but Kylee planned on spending very little time there. "What now?" "Well, procedure says we call in to notify them of our safe arrival," Duverge reminded her unnecessarily. "After that, well, we can hardly go to Alicia's place in the early evening." "But we can drive by and look for any signs of-" Her voice trailed off. "I know, it's going to be alright." The physically imposing man softened as he leaned in to offer a comforting embrace. "Let's try. Even if we're doing this it'll somehow keep our minds off a worst-case scenario." He couldn't bring himself to say that he doubted Alicia was still alive. Amanda stumbled through the halls aimlessly. She was trying to get the word out, but she wouldn't know until the party. Why a stranger who may be a delusional whack-job had to be obeyed seemed strange. No rational explanation could be found and a drive to be liked eroded sensibility. This train of thought kept her so occupied that Amanda didn't even notice the other girl until the collision. "I am so sorry," the other girl jibbered out. She pushed a blonde lock off of her mousy features and froze. "You're the new girl." "I'm Amanda, I moved here from Montreal." "Quite a change in scenery. You live where the model used to, right?" "Yeah, I guess word gets around quick. I didn't think this place was that small." She barely noticed the other girl's shudder and decided it was better to dismiss it. "Not really, I just used to know that family." "Well, stop by for my party tomorrow night. Because of the short planning time, it's BYOB." "I should tell you I take night courses nearby and work with developmentally disabled students here during the day. That kinda makes me faculty." "You just graduate? Well, stop by anyway." "Maybe." She started to walk away. "Amanda," she called out, "has anything� strange happened there? Or been seen?" She didn't trust this stranger that far. The look of desperation in her eyes at the request gave her goosebumps. "Not really. What is the deal with my house? No one tells me anything, but they give me weird looks and mention a Lindsey." "It was a - little mishap there. I'm Lindsey." She turned and left without giving Amanda anything else depsite repeated demands from her for more. Lindsey knew that girl was holding something back and she needed to go to that party. This time, she'd be more careful coming through the door. |
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