Part 9

“You guys, wake up!” Tess said, shaking the shoulders of Isabel and Kyle. “It’s almost noon!”

Drool dripping from Kyle’s mouth splattered onto one of Tess’ hands.

“Ewww!” she shrieked. “KYLE! WAKE UP!”

Screaming into his ear, she proceeded to pinching and punching him in the arm. He woke up fast, flinching in pain as Tess’ small fist slammed into his jaw.

“Opps.” Came the forged angelic voice, “Sorry.”

More groans emitted from the tangled limbs of his fellow “roommates” as Kyle tried to pick himself off from the floor. Maria was the next to wake up when Kyle’s foot oh-so conveniently crushed one of her lungs. She then woke up Michael, intending to use her boyfriend’s alien powers to fry Kyle up like a duck. Michael, instead of frying Kyle like Maria had hoped for, woke Max up who woke Isabel and she woke up Alex.

Remembering the door incident last night, he didn’t dare go touch it. Instead, he turned to Michael’s TV set. Yawning, Alex turned on the morning news, a habit he hadn’t been able to break since the earliest age of 10.

“… and we’re standing in front of the crime scene where the detectives are baffled out of their minds,” the news reporter spoke into her microphone.

Alex paid it no mind since it didn’t seem at all interesting. He was about to turn off the TV when something caught his eye.

It was a picture of Liz.

Feeling suddenly nauseous, Alex herded the rest of the occupants into a small circle surrounding the TV. He reached over and raised the volume so that everyone in the room would be able to hear the news reporter.

“For all you viewers that are just now tuning in,” the reporter called Grace Lune said, “this is the picture of 17-year-old Liz Parker. If you have seen her in the past twenty-four hours, please immediately notify your local police station.”

“The police suspects foul play but is yet to find anything to support this. Stay tuned for more coverage, Grace Lune signing out, back to you Young.”

The camera gave one last view of the Crashdown Café before switching back to the newsroom.

Max was already out the door, the door slamming heavily as he ran down the stairs, occasionally tripping over the cracks, catching himself with the rail.

At the Crashdown

The sign at the door said it was closed for the rest of the day but he didn’t care. All he cared about was the love of his life, which, if he had heard correctly from the reporter, was missing.

“Mrs. Parker!” Max exclaimed.

Liz’s mother was sobbing endlessly on the couch, her husband nowhere in sight. She looked as if she had aged ten years within the past 12 hours.

“What happened?” he asked.

Mrs. Parker tried to tell him the full details but whenever she opened her mouth, nothing came out, more sobs were emitted.

“Max.”

He turned and standing at the doorway was Mr. Parker, looking very weary.

“Mr. Parker, please, you must tell me what happened here!” Max pleaded, “Where’s Liz? Please! Tell me!”

“I think you should sit down.”

Max sat down on an available chair and waited impatiently. Mr. Parker looked at him with a great amount of sadness in his eyes. Max gripped onto his shirt tighter.

“I don’t know how to tell you this. I know how close you and my daughter was -”

“Is.” Max interrupted.

Mr. Parker just looked at him.

“Sorry, please continue.”

“My wife and I came home from our friends, we went to check up on Liz like we do every night, just to be sure she’s still safe and sound in her bed,” Mr. Parker’s lips curled into a wistfully smile, “but her room was locked.”

The smile dropped. “She does lock her door sometimes, but whenever we call to her, she would answer. Not this time. We called and called. She still didn’t answer. We knew something was wrong. We took out the door and in the bathroom…”

He couldn’t finish. Tears filled his eyes and he had to excuse himself. Max sat rigidly in his seat.

*Go to the bathroom.* His brain told him. *Bathroom.*

He got up and went upstairs, despite Mr. Parker’s protest. He had to see it for himself. The bathroom door was already opened and was surrounded by yellow tapes since the police were there before he arrived. He climbed over the tapes and was paralyzed by what he saw. Dried blood was on the tiles of the once spotless floor and some were on the curtain covering his view of the tub. He steadied himself on the sink and gasped when he saw that the mirror above it was broken. Unable to help himself, he touched the broken glass gently with one hand.

Flashes invaded his mind, the scene playing right before his eyes. He could only stand paralyzed and watch it play through.

-Flash-

Liz sitting up in the tub.

A red glow surrounding her body, vibrating brightly.

She was angry.

Her hands were in two fists.

She looked ready to take on a Sumo Wrestle.

A noise coming from Liz’s throat.

An energy burst coming from Liz, striking the mirror like a laser on target.

-End Flash-

After the flash, Max realized that the door getting stuck at Michael’s place must’ve been Liz’s doing. *But why?*

The intense emotions he got off of the flash still lingered around him. He saw that the tiny droplets of dried blood led to the tub. He touched the curtains and began parting them. The curtains opened and Max saw in horror, bloodstains all over the tub, on the pillows that covered the bottom of the tub and on the sides. He straightened up and closed the curtains. That was when another flash came to him.

-Flash-

Liz slumped over in the tub.

The candles making eerie halos over her hair.

Blood dripping from her arm.

Pools of blood on the white marble floor.

A shadow outlining a man’s figure could be seen through the pale curtains.

Liz moving her head to look up painfully.

Liz’s eyes glazing over and closing for what seem like the final time.

Liz’s chest not moving, no breathe taken.

Liz’s mental voice whispering his name.

*Max.*

-End Flash-

Max stumbled away from the curtain as if it had burned him. His breathing was rapid and erratic. His hands searched for something to keep him from falling over in shock. He leaned on the wall and received another terrifying flash.

-Flash-

A man walking into the bathroom.

The man drawing the curtains away, revealing Liz.

Him smiling and saying, “You’re mine.”

-End Flash-

It was too much for him to handle. His mind was going to explode. His brain was not ready to see so much at once. His body wasn’t able to ride the emotions coming off from the flashes. He fainted, losing consciousness quickly.

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