Chapter Eight

My brain was jumbled with millions of questions. I hadn't actually taken the dream seriously, it was a dream after all! Dreams weren't suppose to be real! But there he was, sitting there watching the game with his tough guy like demeanor. I bit my lip and tapped Jess lightly on the arm.

"Im not feeling so good, im gonna go to the bathroom." She nodded.

"Alright." I got up and ran out of the gym as fast as I could. My heart hammered in my chest like a bass drum. I felt light headed and confused. I had accepted the weird things that were going on, I understood them. But I just couldn't wrap my head around this. It was surreal to be able to travel back in time through my dreams in my Spirit Form. Why in the world did it happen anyways?

Reine had been sleeping soundly, just as I had been. There was no way she could have transported me and I knew I wasn't in tune with the Spirit Realm enough to be able to travel without her. So what had happened? I pushed open the door to the nearest girl's bathroom that I could find and leaned over the sink. I splashed my face 10 times, trying to clear my head. When I looked up, I could see how panicked I looked. My eyes were wide and, although I couldn't feel it myself, I could see myself shaking slightly. I grabbed my arms and closed my eyes. If only I could talk to someone. Where was Sean when I needed him?

I dried my face off with my sweater and walked out. It was almost as if fate had set everything up for me. I walked out of the bathroom at the same time as he causally walked out of the gym. Our eyes met for just a fraction of a second, but it made both of us stop in our tracks. For someone who usually looked so tough and cool, when he had saw me he looked completely shocked and confused. I felt mortified and had been hoping I wouldn't have to confront him or see him ever again.

"Y-Your that ghost!" He stuttered and pointed at me. I looked down awkwardly.

"I never said that, you assumed." I mumbled.

"But you never said you weren't either." He said, his calm and cool voice coming back.

"I was about to, but then I woke up." He gave me a look.

"Woke up?" I shook my head.

"I can't tell you anything about it okay? It was weird enough seeing you today." I told him, getting more and more irritated. I suppose boys always made me super irritated. Cam took out a cigarette and lit it up.

"So I can tell you about seeing spirits, but you can't explain to me how you were one, and then not?" I glared at him.

"Your inside the school for christ's sake, go smoke outside." I chastised him, ignoring what he said.

"I'll only go outside if you come with me and tell me this super secret thing." He said with a slight devilish grin, blowing smoke right into my face. I swatted it away and glared at him. "It would be nice to talk to someone at these factions, especially a cutie like you."

I kept glaring at him, my gaze as hard as stone. I hated smokers and smoking. The fact that he was doing it, but also inside just made me more irritated. He somehow knew this, and was using it against me. I clenched my fists and walked out the doors to the parking lot, not looking to see if he was following behind. I leaned angrily against the wall and crossed my arms. He was such a cheat. But I wasn't going to give in so easily. This was still my secret and I was planning on giving him the cookie cutter version. I'd tell him minimal information and then I'd tell him to fuck off and to have a nice life.

He came out a few minutes later, the cigarette still popped into his mouth.

"You have quite the temper girl, Im not sure if im more attracted to you now, or if im in love." He said with the same handsome and devilish, carefree smile.

"Save it. Tell me what you want to know and I'll tell you." Sort of, I whispered in my head as an after thought.

"How about the one I've been asking, how were you a ghost, and now you're here an alive?" I sighed.

" Again, I never said I was a ghost and I was asleep. I woke up and thought nothing of it, until now. " He gave me a long stare.

"You're not saying something."

"How would you know that?" He leaned against the wall beside me and puffed lightly.

"Because along with being able to see spirits, Im somehow very intuitive. I can sense when im being lied to or stuff like when people are withholding information." I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists.

"Im not obligated to tell you anything! I told you what you wanted to know, what I can tell you. So please stop and leave me alone!" I yelled and began to walk off. I felt him catch my arm and when I looked back, I somehow seemed to fall into his light, clear blue eyes.

I felt as if my feet were no longer standing on solid ground and I was floating deep inside his eyes. My heart beat against my chest mutely and my body grew warm and fuzzy. It was very familiar to the feelings I felt when I was with Sean...but somehow different. As I was dropping deeper into his mind, I could see something just beyond. A bright light. I reached my hand out to touch it and I was brought back into the real world when I felt a warm and light grasp on my hand. I saw that I was reaching out towards the collar of his neck and that he had grabbed my hand before I'd reached inside his shirt. I blushed furiously and jumped back.

"I-I'm sorry..." I mumbled. What the hell was that about?!

"It's fine..." He began with an amused and slightly curious stare. "Do you, possibly know that I have a necklace under my shirt?" I froze. What did he mean? Was that what the light had been?

"...I...don't know...I saw a light and I...reached out." I said slowly. The feelings I had felt before still clung inside me, and it bothered me and irritated me. I didn't hate the feeling, but I didn't like that I wasn't able to think properly when I was feeling like that. A slow smile crept up onto his face.

"I'll let you see it...if you kiss me." I widened my eyes and stepped back 20 steps.

"W-W-What!?" I yelped, my heart pounding rapidly. He laughed.

"Just a peck, right on the cheek. I won't turn my head or move at all, promise." I glared at him.

"What makes you think that I would want to see your necklace huh?" He shrugged.

"You say you saw some light, doesn't that mean it must be something significant to you?" I gave him a hard look. If this did have something to do with the hero thing, and I was suppose to deal with this, I suppose it would be very important I see it. But I would not kiss him, not now, not ever.

"Whatever. Im going back to watch the game and I hope I never have to opportunity to see you again." I venomously said and brushed by him. This time he did nothing to stop me, and all I heard was a slight laugh and him taking a puff from his smoke. How dare he! Seriously, what in the world made him think I would even consider doing that! Ugh! I stomped my way back to the gym and up into my seat beside Jess. She looked at my face and touched my shoulder.

"Man, what happened to you? You look seriously...pissed off. And a little pale." She asked worriedly. I clenched my teeth together and glared off into nothing.

"It's nothing. Just a minor annoyance." She took her hand off and whistled.

"Minor doesn't seem to relate to the angry vibe im getting off of you." I shrugged and shook my head.

What was I still mad about? I would never see him again and I was just making Jess worried.

"Let's just...watch the game. I'll cool down over time, so don't worry." She nodded and smiled.

"Alrighty! I'll make you feel better in no time!"

The game ended with us winning, 20-40. I'd like to say that It was a team effort, but from what I saw of the game, Sean ran the team. He was so fast and his height of about 6 foot was a bonus. He was able to manoeuver around the players with ease and swiftly make a shot, wether it was a long or short one. He just...never seemed to miss. Maybe it was the hero gene's kicking in? Jess insisted that she wanted to congratulate the team on winning, but I had a feeling she just wanted to see me interact with Sean. We walked down to where the team was coming out and Jess instantly dipped out on me and began to talk to some of the players, leaving me with Sean coming right at me.

"Here to give me a celebratory kiss?" He joked, waggling his eyebrows. I pushed him and blushed.

"No! I came to say great game. You practically dominated it. I don't doubt that if you played alone, it would have been 0-40." He laughed and blushed slightly.

"Im not that good Melanie." I gapped at him.

"Your kidding right? You never missed a shot or pass once!" He rolled his eyes, the blush still tinted on his cheeks.

"If you keep complimenting me, im gonna think you like me." I blushed and shut up. He laughed and looked back at Jess.

"That the girl you were talking about?" I nodded.

"Yeah, Jess." He gave her a long stare for a long moment. It reminded me of one of the first times he looked at me, and the thought of that made me feel a little heated and irritated. It was nice to know I wasn't the only girl that interest him. I didn't mean that he couldn't, he probably did, but standing there and watching him...It made my heart prickle with pain. I crossed my arms and turned around.

"Well that's all I wanted to say, so im leaving now." I said briskly and walked off. I didn't even want to be around him anymore. He grabbed my arm, reminding me all over again about Cam. I did not make my mood much better. He gave me a confused look.

"Why are you so mad all of a sudden?" He asked. I yanked on my arm and gritted my teeth.

"Im not mad. Im tired and im leaving. See you at school." I said and turned back around. Why was I mad? I shouldn't be. Sean could like anyone he wanted to, why did it matter to me? I sighed and rubbed my temples. I needed some sleep, or maybe a large chocolate bar with caramel. I waited silently by Jess's car, still fuming slightly but it wasn't as bad as before. Jess finally came over and gave me a worried look.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Im just fine. Let's head home quickly, Im beat." She threw me a last look before climbing in and turning on the car. She began to talked excitedly about the game and the cute player she had been flirting with instantly, making me feel better. I looked into the mirror and saw that Sean was watching us drive off. I crossed my arms and tuned into what Jess was talking about, not wanting to think about him anymore.

Jess dropped me off and, after more reassurances that I was fine, she left. I stood there for a moment after she drove off. My mind was overwhelmed with emotions and I didn't know how to let off some steam. I felt that if I didn't do something, I would combust. I walked slowly inside my house and dropped my bag.

"Im home!" I called out. Silence answered me. I took off my shoes and began to walk around.

"Mom? Dad?" I yelled out as I walked around. The house was completely dark. It was so hard to see. I tried to flick the light switch but nothing came on. I checked the phone and there was no dial tone.

Everything was dead and dark. A chill swept through me and I had a horrible feeling that something bad was going on here. My breath quickened as did my steps. I opened every door that I could and it was just the same. The dark and empty blackness. I ran to the bedrooms and pulled back my bedroom door. It was more dark then the rest of the house, as if the night sky had nestled itself in my room. To me, it felt like a portal of darkness, and it scared me. I called out panicky for them.

"Mom! Dad! Reine!" I shut it quickly when no one answered and opened the second bathroom door. Nothing. I looked over at my parent's room.

This was the only room left in the entire house. If they weren't here, then I had no idea where they were. If they were going out, they would have called me for sure. They wouldn't have just left without telling me. And they for sure wouldn't have taken Reine with them. I pulled the door handle to my parents room and found that it was jammed. I yanked and pulled on it, but nothing I did seemed to work. A familiar mewing began to start from inside as I began to pulled on it.

"Reine! Im coming!" I yelled and fell backwards as I tried a huge yank. I hit the back of my head hard on the wall, but I got back up. I looked at the door, my panic rising. I closed my eyes and with all the strength I could muster, I kicked the door. It opened with a earsplitting crack and I rushed inside to see what was going on. Blood was the first thing I saw. It was on the sheets and streamed slowly at my feet. I looked up horrified and saw my father was stretched on the floor near the bed, eyes closed and face relaxed. To my relief, I could just make out the rise and fall of his chest, he was still breathing. But it did not ease the panic or fear in my mind. When I saw my mother, fear clogged inside my throat.

She was in the clutches of something as black as night. She hung limp and I couldn't tell if she was alive or dead. There was so much blood on her though..it terrified me. I examined the dark figure and realized what it was. A Shadow Demon. Reine was near my dad, her leg cut up and she was mewing softly at me. The Shadow Demon looked over and threw my mother aside. I heard a large thwack sound and she disappeared from sight. I tried to run over to where I saw her thrown but it was a futile attempt. The Shadow Demon was very fast and agile. It was on me before I could even turn my head and it roared like a beast into my face. I looked up at it, the adrenaline pumping in my veins and my fear undefinable for words. It gave me a sinister and menacing grin, making me want to scream out.

It opened up it's mouth, showing the sharp and long teeth that I remembered too vividly. I looked back over at Reine and my dad. Reine locked gazes with me and I suddenly felt the rush of power that I'd felt when I touched the meteor in my dream. All of my sense's sharpened and I could feel the strength pulsing in my body. Even though I was so very scared, my mind seemed to clear and the world around me turned a bright red. Reine passed out right afterwards and I wanted nothing more but to hold her and my parents in my arms, to know that they were all alright.

With the last ounce of energy she possessed, she had transported me into the Spirit Realm and somehow given me the power to fight this thing. It roared once again before it went for the kill, angling it's jaws onto my neck. I reached out my hand and grabbed it's arm, wrapping my hand tightly around . It stopped instantly and I threw it away from me. He bounced off of the wall, a crack forming from the hit. I looked down at my hands and clenched them. Yes, now had to ability to fight off this thing and save my family. How? I wasn't sure, but my blinding anger helped. It jolted back up and roared loudly. I glared at it as I crouched down.

"Come at me." I said to it and it immediately jumped forwards to attack me. I jumped also and met it in mid-air. He swiped me with his long and slender claws, nicking me on the side, but I threw my fist out before and it landed a shot on his stomach. We both fell back on opposite sides. I smashed my head against my parents dresser, causing me to see stars and It took some time getting back up. Not only was my vision becoming blurry from the head smashing, but the pain from the scratch was intense. I could feeling something black and gross entering into my system. It jumped back up right away and growled. When I got up, it attacked me right off the bat again and all I could do was dodge it. He smacked his head onto the wall and I pushed myself backwards towards my dad and Reine. I wondered where my mother layed, I couldn't see her at all over the bed.

It took a lot of effort to get up again. I had to grab my side because the pain was becoming crippling, but I just couldn't effort to lose. I closed my eyes and thought of my family. Their smiling faces and the happy times we had together. I thought of Reine, who was always by my side and had guided me. When I opened them back up, I could see a reflecting, vibrant red glow coming off of me. The glow glided off of me and it formed a magical ball of red light. From that light, it expanded and became the ghostly image of a women who had a bright golden glow. The Shadow Demon took one look at her and began to run off. She waved her hand and instantly, a barrier of pure light encased the room, trapping it inside. It clawed at the door and whined like a puppy.

I gawked at this women who had invoked such a reaction out of it. She smiled lovingly down at me and grabbed my cheek.

"Melanie...It will be soon now..."

"What will be?" I asked mystified.

"I must...not say...but I came to you to bestow a gift born from your courage and willpower. It is the gift of the Spirit Bow...It will help you to protect the ones you love and destroy these dark creatures..." Her voice resonated throughout the room with an immense power. She was hazy, but I could tell she was very beautiful and wielded an immense power. She let go off my cheek and waved her hands around in circles and spirals, commanding bits of light to collect on her hands.

The Shadow Demon began to whine louder and fiercer. It really wanted to leave. She stopped doing the circle motions after a few seconds, then she cupped her hands together and then put them in front of me. I slowly put my hands out, pain flashing through my body, and she dropped the large ball of light. She patted my hair lightly before her and the barrier disappeared. The Shadow Demon sensed that the threat had left and it growled angrily at me. It really wanted to kill me now. It began to charge me and I wasn't sure what I should do with the ball of light.

I slowly put my hands together, like the light women had before. Instantly, it popped and in my hands was a beautiful bow made of pure light. I'd never used a bow in my entire life, so I had no idea how to use it. But from the gist of movies and shows I'd watched, you pulled back the string with an arrow on it and aimed. But the bow didn't come with any arrows. The Shadow Demon jumped and opened his wide and ugly mouth while in the air. I took a wild guess and pretended as if I had an arrow. To my surprise, an arrow made of blue light appeared. I took aim, having only 10 seconds before I would be engulfed by it's monstrous jaws.

I aimed for it's heart and quickly let go. The arrow shot fast as lightening, the light streaming through the dark red room. It's target was true and it shot straight into it's dark and shadowy skin. It roared in agony and the light from the arrow began to spread around it's entire body. It looked as if the light was burning it away. When it was completely disintegrated by the light, only ashes lay where it had been.

I fell to the ground, not able to support myself any longer. The bow disappeared as soon as I fell and I could feel my body going numb. My vision was going black and I could no longer move a single muscle. Poison. The Shadow Demon must have poisoned me when he'd scathed my side...what a lame way to die. I thought dryly. My eyes began to droop just as I saw a figure coming into the room. Oh please let it be the police, then they could take care of everyone else...after that quick thought, my world went completely black and I felt nothing.