The Echoes of Aethra

Part 1: Stasis Shatter

~

I am but a lone grain of sand astray from the hourglass…

Searching, in pain, knowing the sand is concealed, I struggle…

In the dark, I find pebbles.

Those pebbles become akin to me.

Amidst the pebbles is a ruby, pure as snow.

As the hourglass went, my time was with these stones…

Then time slipping, they turned, one by one…

I was soon alone, and all my soul knew was pain, and that ruby…

That ruby kept me sane...

and caused more pain than the pebbles ever could…

I finally came to see, with anger absorbing my being…

I was meant to be alone, for my true kin are in that hour surrounded by glass…

One day, when I pass, I shall be with my fellow grains of sand…

For the hourglass itself tells me to go on…

And one day I shall be back within…

Where I belong…

My friends, this I swear to you, within or without…

History resetting, eternity of the spinning hourglass!

Fight! Survive! For time has an end, though my own hourglass spins! An infinite resetting of a clock!

Please, do not stop! Please, my precious time, do not stop!

God, my Lord, allow me to make it, allow me to cross!

I implore thee, Lord, allow me to make it in time!

Faith must be held.

Held as that glass holds time…

I will find you, this has been sworn!

It has also been wept…

Please, my friends. Please, become those diamonds that pale the ruby and slow the flow of sand!

The flow of time…

Endless has the emptiness been.

Comforting has been that ruby.

Please, again I beg, my friends… my diamonds…

I am coming.

The ruby dims, though in the darkness….

My God, can it be?

In the darkness…

My diamonds begin to shine, calling me forward!

A tear is shed, followed by dozens, so heavy they are, the hourglass slows.

My tears or theirs? What could it be but both, for they wet the sand and slow the very flow of time!

Finally it has begun. Finally this void can fill. Finally I am not alone! Finally these wounds can heal!

I have found you!

~the Grains of Time

~Feldyn Goldchord, the Endless Bard

* * *

This SO isn’t happening!

Sprinting, running, broken damn sidewalk; Oh fuck! His foot caught briefly causing a mild stumble, though fortunately his forward momentum kept him going, well, forward. Good thing too, because the Doberman chasing him was large, and faster than shit. Balance recovered, his sprint increased in speed, but now what? I’m about at the end of the street! the boy yelled in his own thoughts, as if it would give him some random idea. Think, think… Great, end of the sidewalk, and unless he wanted to go straight across the street and up the Rock, it was left or right. Dammit! Left! His feet actually skid before the traction hit as he tried to slow for the turn. Adrenaline pumping, he turned left and saw the rabid thing a half block back out the corner of his eye. With another mental curse and his legs pounding pavement, he increase his sprint.

No hesitation, he crossed the street. No cars! Woot! Running straight across the sidewalk on the neighboring side of Cowlitz Drive, and without a look back, he kept his sprint up the small grassy hill that climbed at a grade that slowed him slightly. Doberdick drool-snarled closer behind than he cared for.

Hitting the top, his panic-induced energy blast rocketed him a bit faster than intended. Clearing the small flat grassy area in a flash, he was already at the downslope on the other side of the hill, so he instinctively jumped. OH SHIT! The downgrade on this side was quite steep, and much farther down than the side he had run up.

Landings never as graceful as they were in comics and anime, his forward momentum lessened the impact, though it did send him into a violent tumble, before he somehow managed a shoulder roll back to his feet. A quick glance back showed the dog still running and almost down the hill, causing him to give a quick silent prayer his stamina would hold until something, anything, helped out here.

Though a prayer for greater intellect may be needed… for why he had just jumped into the large open field near the grade school, he wasn’t quite sure. Could be stupidity. Random chance. Anything really. What he did know was that in a sprint through a grassy field this big, versus a canine, he was going to lose.

Caleb took of running. Again. There was no way he could lose this S.O.B. before it got its teeth in him. Literally.

This is SO actually happening!

Then, ahead of him on the other side of the -still seemingly infinite- clearing, he saw a welcomed sight: a Castle Rock cop car. Honestly though, the initial reaction was akin to, oh shit, the cops! But only for the briefest of moments. Who doesn’t clench their cheeks a little when they see a cop? But the silhouette standing next to the cruiser, and not the badge that he wore, was a very comforting sight indeed; rifle aimed directly at Caleb, or to be more precise, just past him at the dog that was quickly gaining.

Caleb started to cheer, abruptly ending in a flinch, as he felt -FELT!!!- the bullet pass his left arm, hitting the grass. The second shot resulted in a yelp and wet thump. Caleb ran on a bit more before looking over his shoulder, to see the dog in a heap, appearing quite dead.

Stopping to catch his breath, hands on hips, he leaned forward, gasping, laughing, and spitting dirt. After catching his breath, he turned and started walking ever so slowly towards Stryker.

Realizing his left butt cheek hurt like hell, he started rubbing it instead of limping, making his way towards the far end of the field, where the officer still stood, rifle in hand.

As he was getting closer to the cop, Caleb heard him bitching loudly. “Don’t just leave the carcass out there!” and “Don’t ignore me!” He ignored him the entire way, then flopped his tall skinny frame facedown over the trunk of the patrol cruiser. “Dude, your aim sucks horribly. And I’m starving,” he complained, then pushed himself back up to standing, and turned around to face Stryker.

Stryker (Real name being Francis Chloe Stricksent, one can see why a nickname) was a cop. Not a very good one policy-wise, but an amazing one as far as the town and citizens were concerned. The girls probably loved him because of the middle-aged, boy band, pretty boy thing he had going on. His short-cut, naturally colored, bleached blond hair seemed to spike itself. His sorta metro-looking, movie star type of face was popular with the ladies. Guys liked him because he never wimped out, wasn't a dick, or the bitchy type of pretty boy he appeared to be at first glance.

Officer Stricksent was also an all-around good cop, giving breaks and breaking his ass for the community, sacrificing his own personal time and inherited wealth for the town, and risking his neck for others.

Living alone, he became known at twenty one, when he inherited his wealthy parents’ estate, and promptly donated everything except for enough money to buy a small house, and live the rest of his life happily. When he chose to go to the police academy to serve the town he had given his fortune to, it made national headlines. He wasn’t doing it for any real reasons other than that’s just how he was. He had more money than he needed, so had given it to the community he chose to make his home. He also had more time than he needed, so chose to use it protecting that home.

Stryker was also known for doing the things no one does anymore, like helping little old ladies cross the street, or rescuing a cat from a tree. The latter had resulted in an uploaded internet video of him doing such, going viral and cementing his position as a police officer. For the world was so impressed with seeing a uniformed officer climbing a tree to get some kid’s cat, that to fire him would be political suicide. Never a complaint, aside from the ‘all policy and no brains’ administration and co-workers, as well as the few like-minded spread throughout town. Stryker stayed humble, and kept an outstanding service record through and through.

Well… as far as they knew. But sometimes you gotta break the law to do what was right. At least that’s what the officer told himself as he continuously covered for Caleb and his friends.

Currently, Stryker looked sorta bitchy. Caleb wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. “Dammit, Caleb! Now I gotta walk all the way out there!” he whined. Turning away, he suddenly whirled back, looking flustered, and tossed the rifle into the vehicle through the open window. After stalking out a bit into the field, he stopped and then returned.

Trying not to laugh, Caleb watched the (actually quite ditsy) officer retrieve the gloves and large sack he had forgotten in the trunk in order to get the dead dog properly. This time Stryker seemed to stomp as he headed back out to the Doberman’s corpse.

Caleb just raised an eyebrow, since Stryker didn’t volunteer speech as he returned with gloves on, sack over shoulder like a Santa of evil doggy meat. Walking to the back of the cruiser and dropping the bag with a flop on the gravel road, “You look like a moron.” was all he said as he shooed the boy from the trunk he leaned on, eyebrow still raised like an idiot.

“Y’know, Stryker…” Caleb began, finally relaxing and allowing himself a lazy stretch, as the cop opened the trunk of his old patrol cruiser and put the sack and gloves inside. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful and all, but why exactly did you just happen to be here?” Not even seeming to acknowledge or register the boy had spoken, Stryker closed the trunk and returned to the driver’s seat. Starting the car, he backed up to align the passenger side window with Caleb. “Get in. Was looking for ya.” Caleb sighed at the non-answer and reached for the back door, but Stryker stopped him. “Your giant ass is too squished back there. You may be fifteen, but you’re like seven feet-”

“Six-three.”

"-tall or something. Just ride up front. We ain’t going far anyway, not like someone’s gonna see and bitch. The whole town knows you kids use me like a taxi.”

Caleb marveled at Stryker’s ability to just ignore everything around him.

He got in and buckled his seatbelt, as Stryker put the cruiser in gear and started forward. The A/C had been up quite high apparently, and the cool air felt amazing as it blew the young boy’s short enough to spike, yet fluffy, light brown hair. The blasting vent of deliciously cold air, combined with the sound of the gravel crunching under the tires as Stryker turned the car around, was the exact lullaby he needed after his sprint on this ridiculously hot April day. And just like that, eyes closed, he began to melt away…

“Besides…” Stryker started to speak out of nowhere, startling Caleb “…even if someone wanted to bitch, I could always just explain the situation. Y’know, the dog trying to eat you and all that.” The boy decided he needed to teach Stryker the difference in asking a question and making a statement.

Around the time they turned off the gravel road near the grade school and back onto asphalt, Caleb decided to ask again, why the cop had been looking for him. “WHY WERE YOU LOOKING FOR ME?” he asked in a very loud voice, causing Stryker to run a stop sign. “Why are you guys so obnoxious, anyway? Only one of you that isn’t is Bryan,” the cop grumbled. Then with a sigh, added, “He is boring as hell though.” Stryker was still obliviously (or intentionally; so hard to tell) not answering the damn question! Caleb’s dramatically slow eye-roll gave Stryker time to continue before a berating. “Well, guess Ally isn’t too bad, just lewd. Which is bad enough... Pazely on the other hand, now SHE’S obnoxious!” His eyebrows had risen quite high with that last, as if he was accentuating the point.

Continuing on from a stop sign he had actually managed to stop at, it seemed Stryker was heading towards the boy’s house. It was only a few blocks from the grade school. “Stryker,” Caleb started, slow and deliberate, making sure to pronounce each syllable, “I know this may be hard for you, but I am trying to get you to answer a question. And if you don't, I'm going to jump out and make you look for me again.” Caleb was staring at the side of Stryker’s head, who continued looking straight forward as he pulled into the tiny driveway, and drove into the fenced-in yard, before putting the car into park and saying, “Because she’s back, and really annoying, and nagged me into finding you.” Stryker then pointed straight ahead out the windshield, finally turning to give Caleb an annoying inside-secret smirk.

Puzzled, but following the pointing finger, the sight Caleb saw standing, hands on hips, was one he hadn’t seen in almost a year. Hadn’t seen a picture nor heard her voice. Not so much as a scrap of info on how she had been. Not ever, not in a thousand years, could or would he not know her immediately. He was more shocked than nervous, before a happiness that almost made him want to cry washed over him. Grinning from ear to ear, taking a deep breath through his nose, “Pazely,” he quietly exhaled. Rushing out of the cruiser, slipping and near falling in the gravel, and looking like a derp, not even bothering to close the car door, he hurried to where she stood near his back porch.

Pazely hadn’t changed much. Actually, even though she should be pushing thirteen, she looked identical in size to when he saw her last. Even then, she had looked much smaller and younger than her years. Hell, she always had! This July 4th born little firecracker appeared more a child than a teenager.

Her crazy, long, thick, black so deep he swore it had blue in it hair, It was pulled into twintails, slightly too high on her head, cascading all the way down to her calves, no, to her ankles! That was way longer than it was a year ago! And my God, it was so much thicker! Each twintail had what appeared to be a freshly picked rhododendron flower, a white on the left, pink on the right, both quite large (making her slightly big ears which were exposed, seem delicate and tiny in comparison) and pretty, attached to the hair bands binding each tail.

Hands on her tiny hips, right one popped to the side, she was wearing black dance shorts with ‘pixie’ emblazoned on the front right. Belly showing under a deep purple, oversized shirt, which had been ripped near the bottom of the rib cage to look shorter. The once long sleeves also ripped to be short, now hung off one shoulder, exposing the small black sports bra she wore underneath. Not that she was really in need of one with that small frame of hers…

Pazely’s deep blue, large, yet still very Asian eyes, tried to look composed. Her pouting mouth forced into a frown.

She willed not to show nerves. She tried to look casual with an exaggerated head toss and nose upturn, as she tsundered in a way only she could. “Harrumph! How DARE you make me wait so long!” Paze chirped in a deceptively soft voice, as he ran to her. “I mean JEEZ! It’s been like-” and her composure broke in a squeal of surprise when he reached her and lifted her in a twirling, laughing, hug.

Not even five feet tall, the tiny Japanese girl’s bare feet dangled, his arms wrapped around her torso in a hug she couldn’t escape. His arms felt so good. She had missed him so much. So very, very much.

Pazely, unable to keep up the casual act after this last hellish year (Finally… finally… I made it home!) threw her own arms (which he had managed to not pin in his hug) and legs around him, and wailed loud enough to be heard on the moon, “CALEB!!! I missed you!!!” though it was barely intelligible over her racking sobs and borderline screams. The laughing mixed in said enough though, and the words weren’t needed.

They had all always been together, for as long as any of them could remember. Caleb, Pazely, Ally, and Bryan, all growing up in the tiny town of Castle Rock, Washington. The four of them with uptight, clueless, or absent parents. Each of them better off taking care of themselves.

Castle Rock wasn’t very big, nor were the minds or goals of those calling it home. Nestled in the Cowlitz Valley on the banks of the Cowlitz River, built around the Rock (a large mountainous mass of rock, dirt, and trees, mistaken as a castle by early settlers) and at the start of the road leading up to historic Mount Saint Helens, Castle Rock was old. And behind. So close to city, yet so far that it felt like its own little world. And all four of them loved their hometown more than any town they could ever imagine.

It was home. It was life. It was happy.

So why were they, always somewhere inside… so empty? So… missing something?

All of them went to the small dance studio in town. Bryan and Caleb were the only males at the studio, and not bad dancers. Ally and Pazely were both absolutely magnificent dancers, both with their own special talent; Ally with the technical side, and Pazely with her hip-hop. Those two traits, they were ridiculously gifted at. Everything else, they were only awesome. The girls’ respective freestyle videos (as well as videos of them in class, and recital) were some of the more popular videos of dancers on social media. I mean, where else could they be seen? Competitions? With their parents?! HAH!

All four got straight As in public school. None could do sports; parents refused. None got to ever have a vacation; parents didn’t wanna. None got to take extra classes, nor even had college funds; parents didn’t really give a shit. Dancing? They started that without their parents knowing. After some local media attention from some charity-related work tied to the studio, their parents had to continue to allow it. Though never getting to leave, never getting allowances (aside from Bryan), never getting attention, meant no competitions.

And that was the catalyst that took Pazely from them.

Ally was the only one of the group to get vacations, as she had relatives in California with money that traveled often. Those relatives (an aunt and uncle) had two young daughters who were all over the dance scene, hitting master classes casually as visiting a movie, competitions like they were attending school. Ally and Pazely wanted to compete so badly that the four kids staged a group sneak out -runaway- and took a bus to L.A.

Everything was fine in the beginning. Both girls got first in their categories, Ally taking first overall with her solo, Pazely taking second with hers.

Caleb and Bryan had a duo, which they placed first in, but didn’t make it in the top overalls. Ally’s cousins cleaned house in their respective division, though no placing overall numbers.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

They were heroes! Sure, it was a smaller competition, but they had kicked serious ass! They rocked it!

Then everything went to shit.

Two days after the competition, they had missed their bus because a guy tried to assault Ally. Caleb saved her, and beat the would-be rapist unconscious. The four of them ran when the cops were coming; out of fear of being caught by their parents, not out of a legal fear. What had they done wrong?

Not three hours later, Bryan and Ally got arrested, and maced for no apparent reason. Pazely and Caleb managed to get away. However, the cops actually shot at them. Their dramatic encounter with the police told the four that something was seriously wrong. Why were they the ones being treated like criminals?!

Ally, being the fearless, defiant fireball that she is, instigated (and succeeded with) an escape from custody for her and Bryan. All four of them, resourceful and smart, got back together that same evening, without a phone call exchanged. Ally, still burning, proposed and made a plan to walk back home.

It was a -massive understatement- pain in the ass, but they made it back, and headed straight to Stryker’s property on the edge of town.

Stryker is one of the most awesome adults ever! He gave them shelter without question, and got them pizza, letting them crash there safely, without telling their parents, while he looked into what had happened to them.

Turned out (unbeknownst to the four) the wannabe rapist died from the beating. That, and he was the son of an influential family, with -alleged- organized crime ties. That was all that it took for cops to start a manhunt for the four ‘murderers’ which were explained to them in great detail by a single witness (a young Mexican girl, who later they could never relocate for further questioning) immediately following the deadly beating.

Apparently, the kids never been identified. Miraculously, nobody’s face was on a camera, no matches on prints, no positive identification was ever made. Inexplicably, they had made a clean escape! Stryker concocted a story about them running away and staying in the woods, and pleaded with Reba and Miss Terra at the studio to please go along with it. Those two weren’t as clueless as most, truly cared about the kids, and couldn’t give a shit about their ‘perfect’ parents. Stryker also chose to keep the details of the event to himself, not wanting any of them to carry the burden of causing someones death.

As for their parent's reactions: Caleb’s dad (his mom died not long after he was born) was absolutely furious, and grounded him. Which was all pointless, since he wasn't ever there to enforce it.

Bryan’s were sorta… lax. He barely got a slap on the wrist for running away. Being gone for well over a month was just a, “Ha ha ha, kid thing”. They were nice, but would probably smile and offer you cookies even if you stabbed them in the face.

Ally’s parents were fire and brimstone Catholics; wailing about imaginary sins type. Like why she, “Wants to go to Hell so bad?” and, “How she could do this to them? Why was her soul so evil?” and tons of random other shit. All resulting in being punished by their priest, who made her do penance in the nude. As irritated as she was at getting the only lolicon priest, she was also glad he was old, and she could kick his scrawny ass. So he kept his distance and just… watched.

Pazely, on the other hand had the worst luck of all. Her parents were very meek. Traditional, but strict. So when her father beat her bloody, before keeping her locked in her room for days, feeding her plain rice and water, and a bucket to go to the restroom in… Well, it was more than a bit shocking and unexpected. This was ridiculously out of character. Her parents were normally just busy! Absent and closed-minded to the extreme! Dad at the office, mom in the kitchen. Dad in his perfectly ironed suit, mom in her flawless and beautiful apron.

Eventually, she returned to school looking like she had lost a street fight. For some reason, the school didn’t care, and Paze refused to talk about it, so her friends respected her. She healed, and things seemed normal again… until June rolled around. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Pazely had vanished.

Stryker managed to use his connections to find out her parents had shipped her to some special boarding school in Utah. Unfortunately, that was all he could find, his inquiries quickly shut down. He wasn’t sure why, but was threatened with the loss of his job by the chief and the city council if he didn’t stop. So he had.

It was hard truth, but at least they knew she was alive and safe.

Now April, it felt to Caleb like a lifetime had passed. And she was finally home. Exactly -mostly- as he remembered her!

Composing himself, setting her down, and skillfully hiding his tears until he wiped them away, he looked at her from arm’s length. She was grinning and sniffling with that exaggerated cry only Pazely did, that was somehow so adorable, yet so sad. “How are you?! You look great! When did you get home?!” Caleb said, grinning and a bit flustered, resting his hand on her head. This resulted in her ceasing her tears like they were never there. Clenching her fists and closing her eyes tight, she rubbed her head into his palm. Caleb smiled to himself, then said, “You know, I think you got even more cute somehow.”

Blushing, “Of course! I’m more cute than ever!” she chirped, stepping back to look up at him defiantly. “Tomorrow I’ll be even cuter than today!” Stepping back farther, she turned away with a head toss, attempting to look casual, but appearing melodramatic instead. Trying to hide her blush, she stayed facing away. But when Pazely blushed, her entire body turned red, and the exposed small of her back was the color of a tomato.

Caleb being a male and noticing her body a bit lower than the small of her back caused the blush to go unnoticed. He did better notice the flowers in her hair though, as he looked her up and down. Not that he was checking out Pazely; it was just a guy thing to look a cute girl over, friend or otherwise. /not like he was lingering his eyes anywhere...

“Like the flowers,” he led, suddenly feeling embarrassed himself. Pazely put a hand to them with a puzzled look as if just realizing they were there. Then, eyes widened, “OH!” she squealed and spun back around as she remembered their existence. “Aren’t they COOL? Bryan made them!” she answered in her noisy way, plucking one from her hair, holding it out to show him. “See? Has these little vial thingies you put the stem in, then seal it. The chemicals keep it all, like, preserved or something.” Her super serious way of talking made Caleb feel nostalgic as he took the flower barrette from her extended hand.

Then what she said sank in. “Wait, Bryan? Bryan’s been able to contact you?” he asked, looking up from the tiny, translucent green tube attached to the flower. Luckily, Pazely was quicker than she appeared. “No, no, no,” she frowned, shaking her head. “Don’t be a dumbass! I found him first cuz I was looking for you.” She frowned again and sighed, realizing it made little sense. Then, with another sigh, she lowered her eyes. “Wanted to see you first, but you weren’t anywhere,” she confessed in a small, sad voice.

With a sudden smirk, Paze raised her eyes to meet Caleb’s, and they twinkled. “I climbed in his window that he still never locks, and he was gaming with his headphones on.” To that, she burst into furious giggling, snorting twice, though she didn’t seem to notice. “When he saw my reflection in the screen,” she said, still giggling a little, “he screamed louder than ME!!” Her last word was practically screamed, and she was now cackling.

Caleb smiled. Poor Bryan, so stoic and calm, yet somehow every time Pazely managed a startle, you would think Hell itself had come for him. Amusing to no end, yet you couldn’t help but feel embarrassed for him. Good lord! His freaking expression when he screamed in startled terror! And with that, Caleb was now cackling as well.

..… *crack* ...

What was that noise? Caleb thought, feeling a wave of dizziness.

“Hate to interrupt you two, but we should be going,” Stryker casually said from his driver’s side window, A/C up so high his hair was blowing in it. Those cheesy sunglasses, plus the whole cop thing, made him look like a ridiculous stereotype. It suited him. Wait, what? “Get going where?” Caleb inquired. “To dance, duh!” Pazely chirped as she hopped past. Why go to dance? Frowning, he followed the bouncing girl towards the cruiser. “There’s no class today. It’s Sunday.”

Pazely was now glaring at the backseat with a scrunched frown. “It’s not Sunda- ew, is that poop?” she whined the last, and pointed through the back window. “It’s clean, and no I don’t have no fucking poop chilling in the back of my car,” Stryker said without turning around, seeming more than a bit offended. “No one’s pooped, peed or puked in it in months, actually,” he declared proudly, as Caleb got in the passenger’s side. “This is still so disgusting,” the tiny Asian complained, thankfully quietly, as she too climbed in, though a bit more hesitantly than Caleb.

All of them inside, seated and buckled, Caleb still confused, they headed out towards the studio.

… *cra~ck* ....

It was odd how quiet everyone was, though Caleb figured it was just happiness from a homecoming. Everyone sorta speechless, they just sat looking out the windows as they drove to the studio. Caleb was a bit curious what that noise was he had heard twice now, though dismissed it without too much thought.

Castle Rock wasn’t large, but it was still a town. And most towns had some type of nice neighborhood. In small Castle Rock it was the heights, the only hills in the town, on the other side of the train tracks. Their dance studio, the Jester’s Edge Dance Academy, was located in this neighborhood.

Stryker turned left into the gravel driveway of the Jester’s Edge. Miss Terra hated boring studios and names, so hers sounded and looked flashy. The trees grew around the lot and building, making a perfect shield from any nearby roads or properties. Beautiful flowerbeds lined the lot, one in front of each parking space. There were fruit trees all along a small hillside on the east side of the lot, behind and across from where Stryker pulled the cruiser to a stop. Looking out the window, Caleb sighed at the giant rainbow-colored building. It was shaped a lot like a church (in fact it had been, then remodeled into the studio), though it looked more like some creepy cult’s hangout.

Directly above the huge, glass front doors was an image of a court jester. Primarily blue, purple, and white colors on his clothes, he was on a skateboard doing some type of stunt, or trick, or something. None of them really skated, nor did the studio have anything to do with skateboarding…

And directly under the six foot or so high image, in the middle doorway, stood Ally.

Ally. Was. Gorgeous.

A good bit taller than the tiny Pazely, though not exactly considered tall herself, the slender, petite, blonde-haired beauty queen made her way hopping and skipping, hands clasped at the small of her back, to the cruiser that they sat in. Her hair hung just past her shoulders, powder blue eyes constantly seemed a bit devious, all the more so currently as she smiled those delicate pink lips through the back window at Pazely.

When Paze kept ignoring her and recoiling, Ally kissed the glass. Not missing her chance, Pazely punched the window hard, causing it to move just enough to bash into the pretty blonde’s teeth.

“Hey! Don’t break the window!” Stryker snapped at her as she opened the door that Ally had now backed away from. Ally had stepped back a bit farther, and checked her lip for blood with her fingers, barely fazed, it would seem. Then Caleb realized that Pazely had changed pants. She was wearing -very nice fitting- jeans. The hell? Why did she change in the back? He hadn’t even heard her moving around.

Oh crap, he had forgotten to change at home! “Shit, my dance clothes,” he said with a sigh. “What about them?” Stryker asked, sounding puzzled and looking at the boy’s attire. Caleb wasn’t sure why, and when he looked at himself, he saw that he was in his dance sweats, a t-shirt, and had his sneakers on, dance bag was even at his feet. “The fuck?” he asked no one, royally confused. Stryker ignored him, and leaned back in his seat, messing with the heater. Whoa, wait, the heater? And that’s when Caleb noticed it was cloudy, and that he also had a windbreaker on. Perhaps he should just get out of the car and stretch, try to help clear his head. Everything and nothing seemed to be making sense at the moment.

“What the hell do you want, slut?!” Pazely sneered at Ally, kicking her door shut with one leg like a horse. Ally’s smile seemed sincere, and she put hands on hips. “I just missed you, gawd.” Ally rolled her eyes. “You see me all the time!” Paze told her, sounding like she was issuing a warning. “You always going to be so violent when I express my love?” Ally purred. The way she wiggled her hips as she walked towards Pazely made her jean shorts ride in all the right (or possibly wrong) places. Her white and gold, silver-trimmed sports bra seemed terrifyingly small to Pazely then. Not to mention those shorts. “B-b-back OFF!” She clawed at the taller girl’s amazing belly, and missed as Ally just swayed away.

Trying to make sense of things, and not phased by his friends antics, Caleb got out of the car. The weather had seriously changed. Was more like fall than the beautiful spring day it was less than an hour ago.

Pazely began shrieking like a banshee, throwing kicks and punches at Ally, who tauntingly kept making slutty teasing faces as she dodged. Stryker did not get how did the girls could jump and skid around in gravel like that with bare feet.

“Good God, Ally, do you have to make her so screechy,” the officer complained (prompting a harrumphed and squeaky, “Screechy?!” out of Pazely) out his rolled down window. No longer screeching, Pazely glared at Stryker. “She says I don’t have boobs!” Pazely whined at the cop, pointing a finger back at Ally, who was trying to look innocent. “Aren’t you like a year older than her or something?” Stryker asked Ally in the mirror. “More or less,” Ally answered him. “Okay,” Stryker continued, “then you being older, should be the one being teased for having no boobs.”

Caleb’s eyes widened in terror from where he now stood, frozen passenger door in his hand, as he had been about to close it. Perhaps this is why Stryker is single.

“No boobs?” asked Ally, quiet and calm. Pazely seemed to have a sense of doom; without even laughing, she began scooting out of the way. Great, Caleb thought, this scorn thing Ally had going on… Looking around the parking lot, he was grateful for the sight of Bryan off to the side, tying his bike to a tree. Caleb closed the car door and headed that way, more than happy to leave the scary situation behind.

While Caleb headed over to Bryan, Ally went for the more silent kill. “No boobs? Well then, officer…” Ally said, stepping in front of his rolled down window. “What might you call these?” And with that, she pulled her sports bra back.

Bra back down, Ally turned with a smug grin. A grin that was hiding her disgust with herself. She was a bit ashamed of flashing Stryker, yet hadn't thought twice. She knew it was because she needed a man she respected to see her. Ally knew he didn't think of her that way, Stryker wasn't that kind of man. But she was pretty, and he was straight. Was just the way men were. They got flustered, or feral.

A desire went through her, and she almost lost her grin. She was disgusting. Filthy. If Caleb knew the truth about her... The things she... And who she... who she had...

Catching up to Pazely, who was eyeing her cautiously, Ally looked back and saw Caleb and Bryan were headed over now. “Surprised she listened,” Ally stated absentmindedly, an odd note to her voice. “Huh, who?” Pazely asked, confused as the boys neared them. “Hmm? Oh," her happy confident demeanor returned, "I told Gigi to wait inside and she did,” Ally answered, not really paying much attention. “WHAT?!” Pazely screeched. “GREAT!” she threw both hands in the air with the second screech.

“The hell?” Caleb asked her as they reached them, feeling a bit awkward as people were looking out the doors and windows because of the screaming. “Annoying sluts and annoying children!” was the snapped explanation, as if that explained anything. Caleb looked to Ally, with a ‘The hell is she talking about?’ look. “I was saying that I was surprised Gigi listened to me,” Ally smiled in reply.

“Geeg is here?” Caleb grinned to Ally, who smiled back bigger and nodded, visibly confused at his reaction. Pazely started hissing. “Oh, what’s wrong with Gigi? She’s adorable!” Caleb admonished the girl, who seemed to throw a sigh at him. “Yeah, adorable if you like goofy-looking onions with big teeth that smell like PEE!” Again with the screaming. Caleb just rolled his eyes “But, she’s an adorable little onion head! And she isn’t a baby anymore, y’know? She’s what, four… five?” Caleb hesitated, looking at Ally. “Six,” she answered him quizzically. “See?” Caleb said, completely missing the very clear confusion in his friends voice and expression. “She’s not a baby!” he lectured, and Pazely flipped him off, then stomped away.

“Well, this should be a long day,” Bryan finally sighed, from where he stood next to Caleb. He was tall at six feet, though dwarfed by his friend of the same age. Everything about Bryan said generic. Short brown hair. Normal skin quality. Faded hazel eyes. Flat, bored-sounding voice. He always wore jeans and t-shirts, with white sneakers. His glasses never seemed to fit, and were always boring wire-rimmed, lab geek looking things.

Where this boy shined was his intellect. Caleb honestly believed Bryan may be the smartest person on Earth. He seemed to lack in the common sense department at times, but they all did here and there. The only reason Bryan probably wasn’t in some lab working for the government was because his parents were too lax to give the boy chances and opportunities.

Good thing that’s exactly how Bryan wanted them to stay. Boring, as some would call it. A pointless existence. He would always prefer the freedom to explore the unknown and study the unexplainable, at his own whims. Fancy schools and government jobs meant boring work, schedules, co-workers, regular paychecks… Bryan wanted freedom. He could make his own money, when and how he needed. You couldn’t buy the life he wanted, but you could live it. Bryan was happy, though he didn’t always seem it to those around him. Luckily, the ones around who mattered most, he knew already understood. For they were the best friends anyone, anywhere, could ever have.

Stryker began backing the cruiser out, and suddenly Ally, with a slight flush to her cheeks, and avoiding eye contact, held up her right hand. Both boys looked to her curiously, as she turned to away towards the studio. Ally suddenly held up three fingers.

Now two. Caleb was curious. One.

The sound of Stryker managing to get sideswiped by not one, but two cars at once as he failed to look before pulling out of the driveway, was pretty dramatic.

Ally’s one finger slowly went down, and her hips picked up the sway, she triumphantly headed into the studio, her unseen smile of vindication and guilt, contrasted with eyes full of guilt and shame.

Caleb and Bryan exchange confused looks, as the cop got out unhurt, and was apologizing profusely to the other uninjured drivers. With a shrug, the boys walked to the studio doors, and went inside.

… *cRAck* … *snap* … … *crack-POP-snap* … *creak*….

Entering the decent sized lobby, Caleb was shocked to see it completely packed. Looking back out the glass doors, the parking lot was almost overflowing. What the hell? Why hadn’t he noticed that? Odd. Oh well, no biggie. He turned back to Bryan, but he wasn’t there. 'Dickhead left me!' Caleb sighed to himself. Oh well again, it seems. Everyone must be in the room. With another sigh he weaved through the mass of bodies, heading down the hallway to the right, greeting people as he passed them in the crowded lobby and hall, he entered the last door on the left.

His choice had been correct, as everyone was in the windowless dance room. In the far left hand corner, directly across from the door he opened, and the far end of the only mirror covered wall, was where the control area for the stereo stood. And currently messing with it was their instructor, Reba. Being a male at a dance studio was difficult in many ways at times… Take for instance, his dance teacher (who was only eighteen or so, mind you!) bending over, wiggling her teal and blue booty short-clad butt to music apparently only she could hear.

“About time!” announced the miniature blonde in the center of the room, drawing Caleb’s attention. Her tiny arms were crossed over her chest, eyebrows raised in an exaggerated expression of attitude.

Gigi.

The oversized t-shirt she wore was covered with random brightly-colored outlines of kittens, and hung to her knees. Legs were bare to the floor. One eyebrow still raised, her pale blonde hair seemed to blow and bob in a breeze he couldn’t feel. She had it bound at the exact top of her head with a purple hair scrunchy. As if defying gravity, it rose bundled out of the bindings, before cascading out in every direction.

Those two missing front teeth, the freckles, her large green eyes, plus the slightly too big feet, hands and ears, somehow made this little ginger blonde all the cuter. Gigi was honestly absolutely freaking adorable.

“Well,” she said with a corny head shake, arms still crossed, “I don’t get a hug?!” She uncrossed her arms, hands to the side, palms up in a big shrug to accentuate her already obvious point, eyes now looking up at the ceiling, like ‘go~sh!’

Gigi was adorable!!

“Jeez,” Caleb pretended to complain, as he stood near the door, dropping his (Whoa, when did I change bags?!) dance bag to the side. “Uh,” he started, only momentarily confused, “You mean I gotta walk all the way over there?” Perfect recovery! He faked a lazy stretch, getting suspicious frowns from Ally and Pazely, though Gigi’s expression changed to one of joy, if not subtle confusion. “You mean I can have a hug?” she grinned huge, missing front teeth working for her. “Um, yeah? I haven’t seen you in forever!” Caleb teased, though the looks of outright bewilderment from his friends didn’t go unnoticed by him.

“I knew you still loved, Gigi!” was the child's only warning before bull-rushing him. When she slammed into his body, he let escape a little ‘oof’ of surprise from the force. That was a serious impact! Hugging her in a good squeeze, he heard pop music start to play from the speakers. Ending his hug, she slid down him as he set her back on the floor, her shirt hiked up quite high. She turned to walk back towards the center of the room, shirt tucked into the back of her light purple underwear.

“You aren’t wearing any pants, child. What the hell?” Caleb laughed, and Gigi spanked her butt, seeming startled at the slap. “What. The. Fuck.” Bryan volunteered to the right, near the back of the room. Gigi’s hand was still on her butt cheek, as if confused at what it found. “Watch the language, Bryan,” Reba scolded, standing and turning towards them, her long, slightly curly, brown ponytail falling back behind her shoulder again. Bryan just held his hands out towards Gigi in exasperation, who was somehow giving herself a wedgie while trying to untuck the shirt from her panties. “See?” Bryan said as Reba facepalmed.

“Lies!” Gigi yelled at Bryan, making no sense. Ally finally walked over to her and pulled out the wedgie, making Gigi’s already round eyes go rounder, and giggle, then she fixed her shirt. “Still, why no pants?” Caleb asked from where he was on the side of the room, beginning to stretch. Ally gave him a deathly glare. “They are pants! They are pantsu, it’s a special kind of pants!” Ally said in a soothing voice, yet her eyes said both 'go against me and die,' and 'are you a moron?' Caleb had no idea what she was talking about.

“We had a hard enough time getting her to wear the shirt-” Reba started, before Ally shot a glare at her too. A quick stammer, and she continued, “Err, the shirtskirt was hard enough to get her to wear,” Reba corrected. Caleb loved the ponytail, curly-haired, girl next door look of his instructor. The booty shorts and bare midriff were good too, of course.

“What’s a shirtskirt?” Caleb asked, still puzzled; Geeg wiggling around to the music.

“She was naked,” Pazely spoke, slow and deliberate, sounding like she was unsure Caleb really wanted an answer “We barely got a shirt on her, let alone underwear. By saying shirtskirt and pantsu, well, it got her to wear them…” she trailed off, looking at Caleb like she expected... something.

All Caleb noticed was that Pazely now wore black booty shorts, a black sports bra, and black jazz shoes. “Why the hell do you keep changing clothes?” he asked, getting a look from the Asian like he was completely tripping out. Then the clueless male noticed Ally had changed clothes too! Now she was wearing small, black, hipster dance briefs (Underbutt much, Ally?) and a tiny white top that was designed to look shredded and torn, like she was attacked by a tiger or something, very short, revealing all her belly and more.

Caleb was used to Ally dressing skimpy. The skin flashing thing seemed to run in her family, her mom being the only non-nudist of three sisters. Ally didn’t run around naked in public, just close to it. In fact, Caleb had never even seen her nude, or in something this revealing in public. And he had known her their whole lives. But wearing that and dancing?! From here he couldn’t even tell if she was wearing a sports bra or not, and her tiny chest seemed more… prominent to him than usual.

His blush was fierce and so was his irritation. It just meant another place he had to make sure his eyes never landed. Being a straight male at a dance studio was a terrifying thing. Show even one sign of sexual interest at ALL in a girl and you would be descended upon by the dance moms, for daring to notice their gyrating, half-naked daughters as females. Which was annoying. Caleb was a decent guy, and also a Christian. What teen isn’t a bit horny? But he wasn’t gonna take advantage or go slutting around! Now wanting to was a different matter. Jesus understood. You just kept it in your pants and waited for marriage. Unlikely, but he was going to try. They all were.

Mid-song, Gigi had gotten the rhythm and was busting out pretty seriously. Even Reba was grinning and clapping. Reba didn’t impress easily. As the music was changing, and Gigi was had winded down, Reba glanced up at the clock on the wall. “Shit! Okay, you guys ready?” she asked, turning to look at them.

Everyone but Caleb nodded. “Ready for what?” Caleb asked, as Reba left the room. “What is with you?” Pazely growled at him. She’s sure being moody for her first day back. Caleb frowned, and turned, standing, to look at her and Bryan. “Why is everyone acting so casual? It’s Sunday, or Monday, or whatever! Why are so many people here? Why is Gigi here, for that matter?” he sounded whiny, but was actually beginning to get irritated.

Puzzled, Bryan answered, “Um, it’s Saturday, man. And everyone’s here for the master classes.” That answer just made Caleb frown in deeper confusion. “You’re telling me that I lost, like a week?” Caleb asked, and no one really knew how to answer. The pop song playing now was so hyper, Gigi looked like she was going to have a seizure as she danced and shook around wildly, clueless of the mood in the room. “Okay, it’s like halfway through April, so it should be…” Caleb trailed off as he looked around for the calendar he already knew was by the stereo controls on the wall. They were messing with him, right?

“April?” Pazely asked, before he took three steps to the far corner, halting him with her changed tone. He turned to look at her. “You’re serious,” was all Bryan said, Caleb looked between them. Pazely was obviously concerned, looking at the others as the general vibe was beginning to feel creepy. Caleb hated when people did that when they weren’t the ones that should be feeling scared!

“Fuck, Caleb. What the hell?” Ally shivered involuntarily from the corner. Even little Gigi had stopped dancing. “It’s October,” Bryan said matter-of-fact, looking Caleb in the eye. “Not April.” Bryan walked towards him hesitantly, then stopped. “Dude, are you okay?” Everyone was looking at him with looks of worry. And maybe some fear.

What… the… this… Heh… So confused… A joke? “Is this a joke,” Caleb stated, instead of asking. Then, looking at Pazely, “You just got back today from being gone!” Startled at the exclamation and creepy mood, she answered in a quavering voice, “Th-th-that was months ago.” Caleb walked back a few steps. Their looks… They weren’t lying! “Caleb, you’re scaring me,” Pazely whimpered, sounding on the verge of tears.

*CrACKsnipPOP* …! ……*crack* …… no…… *pop* … jok-… *snapcrEEEeeeeak*

……fool……

Caleb froze. Did… wait… “No joke,” he said blankly. “Fool,” he added, then looked up at Pazely. “No one else heard that, did they?”

None had a chance to answer. Reba returned, with someone behind her. All Caleb saw was a man in huge, tinted sunglasses and a ridiculous (had to be a wig) looking head of long, straight brown hair. He sorta looked like he half-assed a Halloween hippie costume.

Before anything else about the man could register, the ground quaked, sudden and violent.