Event #9 "Perfect Match"

[Something]

Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.

Those two words followed by a similar unplesant noise echoed in the participants ears.

All "spectators" sat in front of the stage in the auditorium separated in small groups, tied to their seats. The stage was well lit and the big, bright red stage curtains were closed, as if they all been waiting for some kind of "show" to start. The only two who were missing were Tara and Esmeralda. Nor Chris, nor Dawn, nor Tawny couldn't find any traces of where their friends could be till the familiar white noise forced them to lose consciousness.

Meanwhile first to wake up from their slumner was a dog who was on a chain-leash, somewhere behind the curtains. It was now barking loudly, trying to break free, making others unconsciously follow the omnious command and wake up...

Besides the dog - "Naya", Andrei, Nancy and Zara were nowhere to be seen.

---

RULES:

1. Wake up.

2. Wait.

PARTICIPANTS:
- Nancy, Zara

SPECIAL GUESTS:
- Everybody, but the participants of event #8 "Behind the scenes" thread.

POST ORDER:

- None for the special guests.

- Nancy and Zara will "wake up" and will be given an opportunity to post after my post as Naya (on Sunday, October 7th).

[!] IF you want to participate in event #10 - leave at least one post in event #9 before October 9th.

DATE:
- 2nd of October till ? of October

[Catherine "Pidge" Santorini]

It had been a while since she had heard that dreaded static that filled her ears. When she woke up, she was back in the auditorium. Pidge flinched, as if she could still hear the sound of the drilling into Jamie's skull. First Ellie; then Jamie... There was definitely a pattern of tragedies that occurred in this area.

No time for jokes now. It seemed like everyone was here this time. What fresh hell was awaiting the drama club... and Kat... and some teachers this time? That was strange. That didn't matter though. All that did was that she needed to escape this hellish purgatory... whatever this place was.

[Peyton Cross]

Peyton felt her head hanging, her spine bent over as she had another black out. She quietly mumbled to herself, until a loud bark made her eyes shot open and her back straighten out.

“I wasn’t asleep!” She called out as a reflex. Peyton’s vision was fuzzy, so she shook her head a few times to regain her focus. Once the sight was clear, she immediately became aware of her surroundings.

She was in the auditorium…again.

“Fucking christ, not this place again!” she said. After everything the woman’s been through, she never wanted to step foot in an auditorium.

She also was tied up in a chair again. The stage’s curtains were currently closed, the spotlights shun upon it as a show was about to begin. And she was the audience. Well…not just Peyton. As the raven haired looked to the sides and behind her, she spotted all of her fellow students…those still alive at least. She was grateful to see familiar faces such as Pidge, Tristan (who was bald apparently), Misha, Dawn, Chris, and especially Max. Good to know one of her original friends was still alive. Yet she also saw some people she had no clue were even down here. Peyton was able to spot her favorite teacher Ms Lockwood, the history teacher, and the gym teacher. Miss Kishi was nowhere to be seen. In fact…there were quite a few people missing. Tara and Esmerelda to be exact. She hasn’t seen Tara for a while but had heard no bad news either. Esme she saw only recently. It made her wonder if they were just missing, or worse perished. With this place it was hard to tell anymore.

As the raven haired started to function more, she saw two familiar faces beside her: Alex and…Alessa!? What was she dong here? Peyton felt awkward trying to wake her up, so she instead went for Alex, nudging him in the shoulder.

“Psst, Alex. Hey Alex! Wake up!” Peyton whispered.

[Misha Charisse Quinn]

Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.
 – Ugh, shut the fuck up…
The redhead groaned in her torpor. She didn’t remember falling asleep, but she sure as hell didn’t remember asking for a wake-up call either.
The distant sound of barking forced her out of her slumber once more, just as she was battling the voice in her head. She actually recognized that sound; enough to push herself to open her eyes.
 – … Copper? – she asked, her voice coming out as a confused grunt. She vaguely recalled leaving the dog with Andrei, and then… Peyton, and…
Alex.
The sudden memory jolted her a bit. Alex… in the bathroom…

… that had happened, hadn’t it?

Her eyes opened wide; just in time to avoid smacking her face right into the chair’s headrest. Suddenly realizing how uncomfortable her neck felt, she forced her head back into its normal position, looking around her in confusion.
Wait… she wasn’t in the bathroom anymore… and she wasn’t in any of the other smaller rooms of the school either. She was in…
Her blood froze in her veins. Her jaw tightened.
The auditorium.
Nothing good ever came out of this place.
As a strand of hair fell in front of her eyes, she raised a hand to try and set it aside; to no success. From the aching and pressure on her wrists… she could only guess why.
She had been tied up. In the same place Jamie had died. Again.

So, I guess that’s when I start panicking.

Her eyes darted around the room, eager to find out who her new companions of misfortune were. Much to her surprise, the group was much bigger than the tea party had been, as well as Alex’ from what he’d told her. In fact, after a thorough search… Everyone was there. Everyone she hadn’t seen since the beginning, all the roommates she’d spent some time with, all of them were here, tied up and slowly waking up. And, somewhere in the back, out of sight, barking.
This could NOT be good.
Immediately, her attention had gone to try and locate Alex; thankfully, she didn’t have to look for much longer; the boy was close to her, still sound asleep, but alive and not more damaged than the last time she’d seen him; which felt like it had been… seconds ago. She considered checking on him, but Peyton, sitting on the other side of him, was already taking care of that, like the new apparent bestie that she was.
As her eyes lingered on Alex for a minute too long, she felt her cheeks heat up lightly, and quickly turned her head away. There was no use getting flustered now in front of Peyton, over… well, over nothing. Nothing at all. So instead, she tried to make a mental note of all those attending. DeeDee was there, as well as Tristan, Philip, Chris, Pidge, Max… and a bunch of people she had no memory seeing at the club reunion at all. She quirked an eyebrow at the sight, trying to understand. Where the fuck did all of these people even come from?

The people she DIDN’T see, however, were Tara, Esme, Thalia, Nerissa, Nancy, Arielle, Ryan, Alejandra, and so many others she didn’t remember, and the thought was sickening. If so many people were there, did their absence mean that they were still in their rooms, or that they were…?

There was one plus: Amanda and Naya were nowhere in sight, thank God. But there also was one major downside.
 – Where the fuck is Andrei? – she blunted out, frantically looking around the room. The rest of her group was there; heck, even Copper was there, though she couldn’t see where. Then why wasn’t HE with them? What had they done to him?
Or… what had HE done this time?
The blush in her features had all but disappeared now, replaced by an expression of dread. She could only hope her friend wasn’t mixed up in yet more shady business… or worse.

[Christopher Kresh]

The white noise in his ears made his stomach turn. No. Finally he had found dawn again, Esme and Tara had to be around them somewhere. he couldn't be teleported away now! Not again. Resisting the pain in his head he tried to cling onto being conscious until he got the feeling his head was going to explode.
He opened his eyes.


No.

That word was repeating in his mind. just the word no over and over again. he was in the auditorium. AGAIN. In blind panic he looked around him gasping for air. Dawn was there. Tawny was there. both seemed still out. He scanned the crowd for familiar faces. No tara. No esme. It felt as if there was a brick in his stomach. No.. they were just .. excluded! they were safe from all of this. the sounds of copper barking made his head pound as he felt himself getting more frustrated and desperate. Where were they.
He looked at the people who were awake so far. He noticed pidge, misha.. .. Peyton.
He looked away not daring to look at her. He had told her emery would be fine. And he had actually been one of the people who sentenced her death.
Peyton seemed focussed on her other friends. And then he heard mischa. “ Where the fuck is Andrei?” She asked. Chris frowned looking at her in disbelieve. “ He’s alive?!” he asked his voice shaking and a bit hoarse. That couldn't be true. He had seen andrei fall in that hole. there was no way his friend was still alive. Though he knew andrei meant a lot to mischa and she wouldn't lie about it.. then again he had also never imagined nancy to strangle thalia.. Looking around he noticed both of them were not there. He swallowed heavily. did that mean.. they were gone too..? he looked at the group. lots of people were missing. he didn't want to imagine what had happened to them.

[Alexander Attiyah]

Alex didn't remember ever sitting down in a chair (or anything really). Nor did he remember making it back to where Andrei, Copper, and Peyton were. But as he was forced to wake up from his unconscious state by an annoying pressure against his shoulder, he swore he could hear the pupper's loud barking echoing strangely all around him... as well as the familiar voice of Peyton, who was apparently the one currently nudging him to wake up.

Reluctantly, he let out a groan as his body straightened up, vaguely aware of the hard and somewhat plushy seat he seemed to be sitting in. "Ugh, what's going on?" he mumbled in a barely coherent voice while he attempted to stretch his muscles, raising a hand to rub at his face as he tried to shake the aching sleep off of him. However he was immediately halted in his movements, a binding texture wrapped tightly around his wrists preventing him from moving. And instantly the ravenhaired's eyes widened into a panicked expression as his muscles stiffened in place, his arms attempting to move a second time. Then a third... all while the nerves in his skin sent small shoots of pain up from his wrists due to the rough material rubbing against them.

"Fuck!" he cursed under his breath as he let out a frustrated sigh, giving up the vain attempt as his muscles relaxed a little bit. His wrists were thanking him; they had already been rubbed raw from the last time he had been tied up. Though his nerves were still high, all of the sleep in his body gone in an instant. He knew what this was, what it meant... He may not be on the ground this particular time, and the air in the room might have felt different - not quite the same to the torture classroom. But the warning sensation that was causing shivers to run up and down his frame was the exact same, and he could feel his previous experience rapidly flash across his memory.

Blinded. Tied up. Ominous sounds echoing all around him... Only this time the laughter was replaced with Copper's frantic barks. Barks that seemed to be muffled yet carry enough for him to hear them clearly. This is another fucking 'game', he concluded as his teeth clenched up, unable to think of any other alternative as anger and panic and worry and determination all hit him at once.

Swallowing hard, he turned his head towards the shoulder that was nudged, his skin crawling as he spoke. "Where are we?" he asked Peyton in a hushed tone, hoping he'd be able to get at least some kind of bearing on where he was. The sounds in this room sounded a lot different than they did in the other rooms he'd been in... Except he couldn't quite pick up where or why. Though if she was blindfolded like he had been before, that was going to make finding out a bit more impossible-

"Where the fuck is Andrei?"

Alex's body froze in an instant, his air gone from his lungs. "Misha?" he whispered in a concerned and almost hesitant voice. Inside his chest, he felt his heart squeeze at the sound of her voice, though it was for two very different reasons: one particular reason only crossing his mind for a brief moment as his lips burned from the memory of what happened just moments ago inside the bathroom, as well as his shyness and embarrassment by it.

Though despite feeling his cheeks radiate heat at the memory, he wasn't able to focus on his shy nerves much. Neither any relief and joy he felt knowing they weren't separated again due to the second reason. If this really was another torture fest (and most likely paraded by 'Naya' from what Peyton said earlier), he couldn't help but be scared of her getting hurt too... or worse.

But on top of all that, the mention about Drei being gone that Misha had just made was extremely worrying. Especially since everyone else he had heard so far from his group was accounted for. And apparently Chris too, from the sound of it. And his brows knit together into a concerned and serious expression as another foreboding question crossed his mind. "Wait, who's all here?" he asked audibly while his follow-up question continued silently in his mind. And are more people besides Drei missing too?

[Cameron Nelson]

Cameron felt the same thing in his ears; oh, how he was used to the feeling of paranoia consuming his ears. His head being in a dazed state, which made him more or less perplexed- not another one... He said as his arms could just feel suffocated. Not again... Ugh... Still no Elizabeth, where was Becca? Ugh... No... «no....» He said to himself, his head echoing with the two lettered word: N - O. 

He groaned, trying to sit upright and looked around groggily in the room... What now? Their were way more people than what he was used to, was this important or something? Well, important in a messed up way. He shook his head, sighing as he just stared at everyone.

[Sam Lockwood]

[OCC: This is very rushed I'm sorry]

Sam woke up with buzzing in her ears. A voice, urging her to wake up. She was used to waking up alone in different places, however when she opened her eyes, she was not alone at all. Students, and a few teachears. Mostly familiar faces, altough some were missing. She was shocked to see how many other people were living in this nightmare alongside her.
"Chris..Peyton, Misha, Alex..!" she said in disbelief. "Wha-what's going on? What's happening? Why are we tied to chairs? How long have you been here? Where are the others?" so many questions came flooding out, though she wasn't sure her students knew more than she did, but it was worth a try.

[Phillip Pendragon]

Phillips head was spinning. So many noises ... TOO MANY noises that seemed to be all around him both talking all chaotic and in order seemingly at the same time. Then however it clicked for him. He wasn´t alone but instead tons of people were surrounding him, people he knew or at least the majority of them. That either meant something good like they could gather together to get out, or it meant they only were brought together for a big mass slaughter. Either way he felt uneasy.

As he tried to move he soon realized that his feelings were well reasoned. Once again he was tied and that seemed to be a sure identification for death or great hurt at least for one person if not several ... . The first time he had been tied down, his tongue got cut out and the second time ... No! He couldn´t go through her death again. Not now. Now it was time to survive and to find his brother. So he opened his mouth just about to scream for Tristan when he once again got reminded about his lack of voice. So instead he searched the room with his eyes, praying he didn´t loose him as well.

[Tawny Tempest]

Tawny woke up to the sound of barking. At first she thought she was back in her home and the neighbours relatives were back with their annoying dog. She stirred and lulled her head to her shoulder and muttered something in her sleep and tried to pull her arm to pull the covers over her head. Which she would have done in a normal situation but this was not such. She could not move her arm.
With a gasp she opened her eyes now and noticed she was sitting in the auditorium, tied up onto the chairs. Panic struck her as she tried desperately to tug herself free but couldn't. She felt the stinging of the ropes that were cutting into her arm and stopped struggling. Panting she looked around herself and noticed almost half the school here. She saw Dawn too. "Dawn!" She yelled. "Dawn wake up!!!" She was scared. She still didn't quite know what they had gotten involved in.

[Dawn "Dee Dee" Dreemurr]

"Look at the puppies, look at the puppies! Everybody come and look at the puppies!" a stupid song played on a loop in Dawn's head when she suddenly heard an actual dog barking somewhere nearby, waking her up from her sweet slumber.

"Puppy?" she mumbled trying to open her eyes, when suddenly...

"DAWN!" Tawny yelled right into her ear, making the blond jump in panic. "Dawn wake up!!!"

"GUAH!" Dee Dee screamed in reply and tried to break free from whatever was holding her. "What the fuck?" she looked down. Ropes? What in the?.. The blond looked around the new room she and her 'sis' got themselves in. Auditorium. And they weren't alone. "Chris," she whispered when she noticed the young man sitting not that far away behind them. And Al! Al was also here, thank god! Or no.. not thank god. Well it was a good thing she was still alive but... Shit. She shouldn't be here in the first place! Not her, nor Tawny...

The girl's attention was brought back to her cousin aging. "Tawny," she said and leaned towards her, their foreheads touching. She wished she could hug her, but at least like that Dawn could try to give her some reassuring gesture. "This is what I meant by this place is cursed," she wished she could have explained her and maybe prepare her earlier, "I'm so sorry Tawny..."

But I know we will make it! I am NOT gonna leave you!

[Something]

All of the present students were slowly waking up one by one until all of them were caught off guard but an unbelievably loud first note of an instrumental composition that was coming from the speakers followed by a whimpering sound of a dog getting hurt.

A beam of light shined on the stage from the ceiling, gluing everybody's attention to the rising curtains, only to reveal "Naya" in a shining new costume! Now she was wearing a pair of jeans, a dark grey oversized t-shirt and a black long coat... and she was ready to perform!

"You chucked me out like I was trash! For that, you should be dead,.. HA!" she sang addressing Amanda's dead body that was suspended on the wires to the left of the stage, wearing a bright blue jacket, probably symbolizing Veronica...

The most horrifying thing though besides this was that in the background behind her people could also see three more dead bodies hanging from the ceiling... Arielle in a yellow jacket, Elisabeth was wearing a bright red one and Thalia who got the green one... For those who were familiar with the play - it wasn't hard to guess what "roles" those corpses that were used like some kind of decorations were supposed to mean.

"Then it hit me like a flash! What if high school went away instead!" the girl made a circle around the stage, gesturing wildly and then tear down a black cloth from something that was in the middle of the stage. That something was a tied up, gagged and scared Andrei, dressed up in the white, but bloody - probably taken from a deceased student - school uniform of Maveric High.

"Those assholes are the key!" the raven-haired girl pointed at the janitor and picked up a rope that was conveniently left in the middle of the stage. "They're keeping you away from me!" she tied the noose and threw it over a thick metal plank that was located a few meters above the stage - it was used mostly for backgrounds and props in the past.

"They made you blind, messed up your mind! But I can set you free!" she tightened the noose around janitor's neck... and started pulling.

"I was meant to be yours!" a pre-recorded karaoke choir boomed from the speakers. "We were meant to be one!" no matter how hard Andrei tired to resist - "Naya" lifted his body from the floor. In a matter of seconds, his face was about to turn all shades of purple...

"Don't give up on me now!" the raven-haired girl looked behind her back and gave Nancy a nod, who was holding Copper on the leash behind the scenes. Her little minion should join her in this bloodbath and get rid of this annoying dog. After that - they will start the matchmaking. Whoever will resist being paired up - will meet Nancy's spiky new best friend...

Surely they could skip the performance part and she didn't need Nancy that much, but HELL this was so much fun! It never experienced such emotions with Amanda's body. She was so bland. So robotic. Of course, it missed Amanda deeply. But, oh well! Her loss! Now she's got Naya's brand new body and ideas, that were actually way more juicer and fresh, compared to the scaredy-cat that the red-head was.

"Finish what we've begun!"

"Naya"  looked down at Zara, who was sitting in the first row before the stage. If Nancy will puss out of her final task - Naya's replacement should do the job. After all Heather was always up for some shenanigans, right?

---

TASK: Nancy needs to get in the middle of the stage and slaugter Copper in front of everybody; if she refuses - same task will be suggested to Zara.

[Peyton Cross]

Peyton noticed other people starting to wake up and call out each other’s names, bit she was only focused on her friends. Alex groaned and opened his eyes, but she knew all he could see was darkness.

“Ugh. what’s going on?” he whispered to Peyton, “Where are we?”

“The auditorium,” she said, “Almost everyone’s here. But…some students are missing. There’s other people here too, like Alessa, and Ms Lockwood, and-“

“Where the fuck is Andrei?”

Peyton turned and saw Misha wide awake, point out something the raven haired hadn’t noticed before. Andrei was missing. But…she had just seen him only a few minutes ago. Was it a few minutes ago? Hell, it could’ve been hours. How could he just go missing suddenly. Peyton felt a slight panic rise up in her chest, looking around. All voices were blocked out from her mind, until she heard her name being called again.

“Peyton!”

It was Ms Lockwood, clearly in a panic. “Wha-what’s going on? What’s happening? Why are we tied to chairs? How long have you been here? Where are the others?”

Peyton didn’t think her teacher was this far behind in being caught up, but before she could speak, music boomed from the stage. The curtains opened, and Naya stood in the middle of the stage. The spotlight focused only on her, wearing a black costume. She started to sing, the song being recognized as “Meant to be Yours” from Heathers. The play they had been planning before this horrible death event. Before all of this. And being hung from the ceiling were four dead bodies. Elizabeth, Thalia, Arielle….and Amanda. All dressed in colored suits, representing the female characters from the story. But the worst…was when she stripped down the black curtain. It was Andrei. Gagged. Scared. She grabbed a rope.

No.

She threw it over a metal plank above the stage.

No god please!

She made it into a noose.

NO NOT AGAIN!

She tied it around Andrei’s neck…and pulled.

“ANDREI!!!” she screamed. She remembered she had her knife, and she tried to reach. To get herself free. But it was useless, it was in front of her, and her hands were tied behind her back. Andrei was running out of time….until there was no time left. He hung there…lifeless.

“YOU BITCH!” Peyton screamed at Naya.

But Naya continued to sing, and gestured to Nancy. Nancy, now holding onto Copper on a leash. Naya looked down at a girl in front of the stage. She had raven hair like her, and blue eyes. Peyton was confused, stressed, and angry. So very angry.

I’m going to fucking kill her.

[Tristan Pendragon]

Tristan woke up, feeling deasy ... He couldn't take it anymore ... Seeing people he loves being kill ...Jamie, Ryan, Becca ... But he can't let himself down in depression again ... He had one person left, Phillip. He need to find him, being sure he's okay. He didn't really look at what happen, he saw everyone here, he's very happy to see ALex alive but ... He can't find Emery ... God no ... He brevely saw Nancy on the stage ... Not her too ... He saw the "nayathing" ... but it's not what important now ... He need to know ... So he search and ... He saw him, he's so happy. "PHILLIP !" He scream tring to get his brother attention, with all the noises and people panicking ... If he only talk he wouldn't heard him. "Are you okay ?" dumb question ... But he more think about .. Physically ... "It's gonna be okay Phil ... I promess .." FOr once he's the one who try to comfort his brother. Everything is gonna be okay ... He really wish it'll be.

[Oliver Thredson]

White noise rushed like water to meet Oliver’s aching ears. He cringed in his state of unconsciousness, the static loud and unpleasant and it overtly punished him relentlessly. Unused to waking up in the constant unfamiliar territory, when his eyelashes fluttered open over his tired blue eyes, alarm immediately struck him viciously.

He was immobile; his long, lean body strapped to the auditorium chair. All around him, he noted, people seemed to be rousing from a similar state of delirium. The auditorium… He raised his head and spotted the crimson red curtains before them; hanging like sheets of blood. They made him cringe suddenly, the sharp burst of colour sending stars before his vision.

As the watery rush of noise settled to mere tinnitus in his ear canal, the sound of frantic barking serenaded the crowd, warming them up. Oliver was about to open his mouth; to question his position, before the speakers screeched an incredibly loud musical composition, before the dog’s barks formed into a sudden cry of pain. Oliver tugged relentlessly at his bounds, but he knew it was likely fruitless. Like whatever had brought them here, the likelihood of him even making it out alive if he did escape was verging to a minimum. Sweat beaded like gemstones against his forehead, his thick black hair pushed up as though he had slicked it up.

Then the scene before the crowd shifted and the events which occurred next shook Oliver to his very soul. The first thing he saw was Amanda’s body – hanging there, like a dead angel; like some sick, biblical show. He choked back a cry of fright, before his eyes – which had been fixated on the poor girl’s limp, lifeless form – saw the monster in their wake. His vision blurred suddenly, and a wash of dizziness fell before Oliver. The supernatural; haunting, deadened eyes.

"You chucked me out like I was trash! For that, you should be dead,.. HA!” The thing… that was his student cackled; chirped; bellowed, Oliver couldn’t even tell. He shook his head in disbelief, his gaze frantically pulling back and forward, looking at all the teen’s faces, looking for an answer. It had to be some sick joke, right? Oliver knew Millennial culture enjoyed their pranks but this…

Oliver’s eyes focussed again. But it was not on Naya, it was on the girl hanging up behind her. The light in Oliver’s eyes died as he saw her… His heart stopped as the world became quiet. Thalia. Dead.

His mouth was agape, the horror escaping in breathy whines; a rush of icy shock gripping him. He shook his head frantically, desperately, before he screamed out. No, not Thalia; not his little sister. Not her; anyone but her.

“No… No… No…” he sobbed, his head hung loose, unable to even glance up at the performance the creature was putting on. It all rushed past him; he couldn’t breathe. His heart died; his eyes rained their gentle waterfalls; his mouth moaning in agony. In such grief.

“Not her… Oh god, not her,” he whimpered, trembling like a child. He didn’t care no one knew of their familial ties; her death struck him worse than a blow upon his own body. A pain no one could recreate. His soul breathed its dying breath; his life, his own blood. She was gone…

“Thalia…”

When his eyes raised they were of a different colour. In that moment he had never resembled his sister more; the fire which had been merely a flicker burning bright in his irises. Like a small part of his little sister was within him in that moment; laughing, smiling, happy, alive.

The boy – the janitor – Andrei - was hoisted up like a doll into the air, a noose gripping to his neck. Oliver couldn’t believe such horror was ensuing before him; the kids didn’t deserve it. No one deserved this.

"Don't give up on me now!" Naya chanted, nodding curtly to… was that Nancy? In his horror Oliver had barely noticed the girl he knew to be close with… he inhaled sharply… to be working with the monster. She had to be possessed, had to be… What was she looking at? … no…

"Finish what we've begun!"

Not Zara; why was she… Oliver’s mouth was agape, watching his student, who was sitting in front of him, on the first row. Something didn’t seem right. He bit down hard on his lip, the tears still dripping from his eyes. He could barely comprehend what was happening. He was useless; so useless.

“Zara…” Oliver murmured on his breath “What are you doing?” he asked, referring to Naya. “Why are you doing this… Why?” he sobbed, his eyes meeting the girl suspended in the air once again. He knew, for the rest of his life, that image would never leave him. And that horrified him to his very core.