Hedgesville, West Virginia
Caspian Residence
Monday, August 11, 1996
5:21 PM

"Get the fuck off!" Rem shouted as Nick pushed him into the kitchen where everyone else was seated having dinner, "I don't need a damn lecture every time I get into a fight! You always say the same damn things!"

"Then why don't you learn?!" Nick shouted back.

"Maybe it's because I don't give a shit!" Rem screamed.

Jennie sat at the table with a fork to her mouth while the contents were falling off. Her gaze was on the father and son who were arguing hysterically. She felt a nudge to her side as her stare turned to the one trying to get her attention.

What’s wrong with these people? Is no one normal?

"You okay?" Reikoku asked.

"Yeah," Jennie whispered, looking away from him with annoyance. And what’s with everyone always trying to keep their tabs on me?

"If he bothers..."

"Would you stop!" Jennie screamed, pushing away from the table, "I don't need your constant supervision!"

She pointed a finger at Reikoku and shook it madly. "I'm not some whiny-assed kid that needs a babysitter! I'm sixteen years old! You got me, Rei…rei…reiko…Reiyl!"

"No need to get upset," Rach said from where she sat, "he's only trying to look out for you."

"Ah, shut up!" Jennie yelled. She shook her head and turned to run off.

"Reiyl?" Reikoku whispered, staring down at his plate in confusion.

"I can't stand you people! All of you are freaks of nature! There is not one damn thing about any of you that makes sense! You're all too freaking strange! With your hair and eyes. The way nothing seems to hurt you. And you‘re too fast and…and…freakish."

"Jennie, please sit down," Nick calmly whispered.

"No!" she shouted, "you're the damn ringleader to this circus of freaks! You're the worst! I don't care if my parents liked you or not! I can't stand you!"

A hand hit her across the face, sending her falling backward to the ground. She sat on the floor quietly as her cheek throbbed. Looking up, she found Rem glaring at her.

"Don’t talk to my dad like that," he said.

A stunned gaze came over Jennie's face as her breathing slowed. The room became unearthly silent. Pushing herself from the ground, she hurriedly ran out. Her instincts told her to run away as far as she could. And as fast as she could.

Heading to the front door, her hands clasped the door handle tightly and pulled it open. A chill rushed through her body as she looked outside to the driveway and the surrounding woods.

Where can I go?

The door in her hands was abruptly ripped from her grip and slammed shut. Looking over her shoulder, she found Rem staring at her.

"You're not going anywhere," he said.

"Leave me alone!" she shouted.

Yanking the door open, Jennie went running outside and began a steady pace down the driveway. Her hair whipped against her face as she skidded to a stop. Rem had appeared in front of her.

"How did you get there?!" Jennie shouted as Rem stood in front of her with a hateful expression.

"Get your ass back inside!" he stated loudly, pointing a finger to the house.

"No!" Jennie screamed as loudly as she could. She rushed at him, slamming her body against Rem's. His arms wrapped around her as the two whipped around wildly and was sent to the ground. "Let me go!"

"No!" Rem yelled in her ear.

"Please!" she cried out as his arms squeezed around her tighter, "what are you?!"

"I'm a demon," he whispered into her ear as her body became still.

"A what?" she questioned, laying on him motionlessly. It was as if his words had caused her whole world to shatter. Everything she knew and understood had just become mere rubbish.

"I’m just like you," he said.

“I seriously doubt that!” Jennie cried out.

“Just because we can do things that you humans couldn‘t,” Rem said flatly, “we were called demons. But we’re just as human as the next person.”

Silence filled Jennie as all her words seemed to have vanished. All she could sense was the boy’s arms around her and his hot breath on her ear. How am I supposed to believe that? They’re the reason why my parents died. Why my family are gone. And they’ll hurt me, too. Right?

“We’re not going to hurt you,” Rem said. “At least not the ones in the house.”

In his arms, she looked in the direction of the dwelling to find Nick standing quietly on the front porch with Riley and Rach beside him while Reikoku and Kasei were in the doorway. Never in her life had she felt so unsure about anything before.

"I'm so confused," she whispered, jerking free of Rem’s hold.

Standing up, she glared down at Rem who was gazing up at her with vacant eyes. There was no way for her to tell if he was speaking the truth or not. But frustration was building and leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

"So you‘re saying," she bitterly retorted, "that you get to be perfect while the rest of us are miserable!?" Her lips curled into a pained smile while tears welled up at the corners of her eyes. It seemed like a sick, cruel joke.

Bringing up the back of her hand to her face, she tried to desperately to hide the fact she was crying. Then without much thought to it, she ran past Rem. Her feet made a made dash toward the woods that surrounded the area.

The further she ran, the darker it grew. She slowed then stopped, standing in the middle of a forest with her face to the outstretched limbs above her. No sky could be seen, but she looked nonetheless.

"What is wrong with you?!" she called out. "You let my parents get killed then hand me over to some demons?! What kind of God are you?!”

And why can’t I just die!? Everyone takes the easy way out and I get left here. I always get left behind.

Streams of heavy tears flowed from her eyes as she crashed to her knees into the ground. She sat there for a moment in silence before laying down on the earthen floor. The damp, moldy smell of fallen leaves and decaying wood calmed her as she closed her eyes.

“I want to be with you, Mom” she whispered to the dirt.