The C I N Series Bundled

by Christina Leigh Pritchard

  “Michael has truly forgotten who you are. He must’ve really upset Alex. Now we all have to introduce you as the new girl. No one is allowed to tell him that he knew you or else we will have our memories erased, too.” Donna scratched her head, “What is it with you? Why is Alex being so cutthroat now? It was always Ally that we needed to worry about but now; he’s become a fascist ruler. I don’t even feel like this place is my home anymore.”

  “I’m sorry; I never meant to cause trouble.”

  “It’s not your fault. I’m happy you’re here it’s just I’m beginning to agree with you. Watching Alex and Michael battle over you is not very romantic at all.”

  I tossed my pillow at her and she giggled. “Want to go get some breakfast?”

  “I do,” Donna admitted. “C’mon, and don’t talk to Michael, he thinks you’re a psycho for screaming at him in the bathroom.”

  “I thought he did it on purpose. He told me I needed to take a shower and then the next thing I know, there he is inside the bathroom with me when I’m nearly naked.”

  “Just keep away from him for a while.” Donna motioned for me to follow her to the kitchen. About ten others were sitting around in the provided tables. Pete and Marie were in the kitchen. They waved, motioning for us to come to them.

  “Hi, Lisa, you’ve caused such an uproar.” Marie laughed, filling my plate with hash browns, sausage links and pancakes. “I’ve never seen Alex so crazy before. He usually stays away at his house and lets us alone. But no, you had to bring him to school.”

  “She’s just teasing you,” Pete said, offering me scrambled eggs. I shook my head. He shrugged his shoulders and placed them on Donna’s plate. “This is the best year yet. I haven’t had this much fun since Frank lost his longevity.”

  Frank leaned forward, glaring at the four of us. “I can’t wait till you lose yours. I’m going to laugh straight in your face.”

  “Go drink something.” Marie flipped a pancake. “Stupid drunk.”

  “It’s okay, Marie.” Pete stood tall. “I can take care of myself. Frank would give himself a heart attack if he tried to take me on.”

  I looked away.

  They weren’t what bothered me, though. It was Alex. He was mean. He really was. Why would he make Michael forget me? Was he afraid of the competition? How in the world was it possible for him to erase his memory? Maybe with the lightning… Was it like electroshock therapy? Most people ended up coming out of that with a fried brain.

  “What happened to you staying in your room till I got back?” Ally asked, sneaking up behind us. “I have looked everywhere for you.”

  I jumped. “I got hungry, so me and Donna—”

  “Yeah, you and Donna; your new best friend.”

  “What’s your problem?”

  “You sure go through friends fast.” Ally stomped away. She stood in front of Pete and Marie. “Aren’t you going to give me something to eat? Or am I chopped liver?”

  “No, Ally, you know that you aren’t chopped liver,” Pete said. “I’ll make something extra special for you. Please, just calm down. We wouldn’t want anything bad to happen, would we?”

  “No, I wouldn’t want that.” Ally narrowed her eyes at Donna.

  “See, you’ve made everyone crazy,” Donna whispered in my ear. That sort of hurt my feelings. As if maybe she was making a jab at me. I focused on my meal.

  We shoveled food into our mouths. Ally snatched her plate from Pete and I waved her forward. “Come sit with us, Ally.”

  “I wouldn’t want to interfere.”

  “Never.”

  She sat down, slamming her plate. Eggs spilled over the side of her plate and onto the table. She didn’t seem to notice. Her fork jabbed into a sausage link. “So, Donna, what’s new?” She forced herself to speak.

  “N-Nothing, I think the biggest news so far this morning is Lisa and Michael. He’s forgotten who she is.”

  “Yeah, Alex erased his pain.”

  “Has he ever done that to me?” I asked, leaning forward.

  Ally dropped her fork. “If he had, what would you do?”

  “I’d never forgive him for one, and two, I’d leave this town forever.”

  “Well, I think that’s a question that’s best left for Alex to answer.”

  “Yeah,” Donna stuttered. “You haven’t even been here long enough for him to erase your pain. So I wouldn’t worry about it.”

  I glanced up at both Ally and Donna. Their eyes twitched nervously and they refused to make eye contact with me. Frank laughed. I turned sideways and watched him cram French toast into his mouth.

  “What’s so funny, Frank?”

  “You,” he answered. “You’ve brought life to this place. Everyone is scared of you now. Even that tyrant right there.” He pointed at Ally. “She’s afraid she’s losing her new friend, Alex’s loyalties have shifted, he’s done things he never would’ve dared do before your arrival and now, you’ve caused all out fear in us. For, if we upset you, we risk our memories and even our lives.”

  “You don’t seem so scared of me.”

  “I’m a dead man walking. What could they possibly do to me now?”

  “I don’t like you very much, Frank.”

  “Oh, no! Alex, where are you? The love of your life dislikes me. I think you better ban me from C I N or better yet—Lynn. Is that what you want, Lisa Brown?”

  I glared at Frank. Where did I know him from? “Why do I feel like I’ve met you before?”

  “You haven’t.”

  “Have you ever been in Florida?”

  “Yes, passed through South Florida about eighteen years ago, why?”

  “I’m from Florida.”

  “Well, I seriously doubt you were born when I was there.”

  “No, but how long did you stay there?”

  “Only a few months.”

  “Well, you look familiar. So maybe I didn’t meet you in Florida but somewhere.”

  “Lisa, let’s go upstairs. I want to play pool.” Donna grabbed my arm.

  “Michael broke the pool table last night. I figured you would’ve heard about that by now.”

  “No, I didn’t. When I was up there earlier it was fine and looked safe to play on. Maybe he fixed it? Michael is a carpenter.”

  “Didn’t you see the cue ball in the lobby?” Ally asked, pulling a thin strand of hair out. “Look at this, Donna, my very last bit of red hair. It’s all gone now.”

  Donna leaned forward and examined it closely. “I’m sorry, Ally. I know that your red hair was important to you.”

  “Whatever. I’m going to take a walk. Lisa, want to come?”

  I shook my head. “I think I’ll go play pool with Donna. I don’t really feel like going anywhere today.”

  Ally glared at us. “Fine.”

  “I’m going to go talk to her,” Donna sighed, standing up. “I don’t want her to think I’m taking you away from her. I’ll catch up with you in a few minutes.”

  Frank chuckled wickedly. His eyes locked with mine. “I feel like I know you, too.” He flicked grits at me. I rolled my eyes. What was he doing here? He wasn’t one of them anymore. Did he just have nowhere to go? Was he like Poppy and Bill? They were homeless. Was he? Is that why he stayed at C I N? Or maybe it was because he was the only one out of his friends that was old. Didn’t they all hang out together once?

  “Stop that, you look like you’re thinking.” Frank laughed, getting up from the table. I shrugged my shoulders. “See you around, new girl.”

  I lay my head on the table and glanced over at Michael. He sat with his back to me. He and Reginald whispered into each other’s ear and then, simultaneously lifted up one groupie’s shirt. She screamed and ran away from the table. Michael laughed, falling off his chair. His eyes locked with mine and he pointed. “That’s the crazy girl from the bathroom!”

  Reginald looked up and frowned. “Yeah, I met her this summer.”

  “She’s a psycho.” Michael stood up and cupped his
hands around his lips. “Hey there, crazy girl, what’s going on?”

  I wiped away the tears escaping from my eyes and raced out of the eating room. I could hear Michael’s laugh. It was cruel and heartless. Had he always been this way? Was he playing with me? Did he pretend to be a good guy? This was not the Michael I knew. Then again, he didn’t even remember me.

  My eyes shifted to a dark shadow. Alex stood over Ally with his arms tightly wrapped around her wrists. “What did you do with her?” He growled. How could he manhandle his sister? I was a fool for letting him touch me. He was crazy. I knew this so why did I cave in as soon as his skin touched mine? I needed to go into the computer room and look up addiction problems and how to overcome them. Never touching Alex again would be the best way. Yes, I was never going to let him touch me again. He would live the rest of his life alone without anyone to love him. I’d make Michael fall in love with me again. He loved me once so it could easily happen all over but this time, I’d have the advantage of knowing the truth, and he and I could escape this dreadful place together. I looked up and spotted Alex. He grabbed a hold of Ally’s arm and dragged her out of the lunchroom. Where was Alex taking Ally? I followed from a distance.

  He led her outside, holding her tightly by the upper arm. “I cannot believe you. I thought you said you were fine and that you could handle staying with the two of them? I never should’ve let you come back to school. You aren’t better. You’re still the same stupid, selfish girl.”

  My heart fluttered. What was he talking about? He took her through the woods and out past the football field. He climbed the slight hill that led to their old home by the graveyard. Alex jerked her about. “Where is she?” he shouted.

  “It’s too late,” Ally cried.

  His grip on her arm tightened. “Where is she?”

  “In the house, she won’t come out.”

  Alex kicked in the door. Dust flew all around them and he entered the darkened house. I followed quietly, trying to not squeak the floorboards. Furniture was covered with sheets and there was an inch of dust layered on top of everything. Footprints were my guide. I heard muffled cries. What in the world had Ally done?

  “Keep her away from me!” Donna screamed. She was here? My heart burst from my chest. Hadn’t she said she was going to follow Ally and talk with her? Oh, poor Donna!

  “What have you done to Donna?” I hollered, bursting into the small room. Ally and Alex twirled around. Donna sat, trembling in the corner. I heard whimpering and looked behind me. Sitting in another corner was Pig. He trembled and I could’ve sworn tears brimmed in his big bug eyes.

  “Ally here grew jealous of you and Donna’s friendship and decided to get rid of her,” Alex answered. He shoved Ally down. “I’m sick of you! How many people are you going to hurt before you realize it’s wrong? How many, huh, Ally?”

  “Stop yelling at me!” Ally screamed, recoiling. “Don’t you dare try to kill me; I’m your sister. Besides, I’m innocent.”

  “It’s you who’s made all of our lives horrible. I can’t stand you. You make me sick,” Alex cried, covering his face. “You’ve been the problem since the beginning, in every catastrophe. How can you expect me to believe you weren’t to blame?

  “What’s wrong with Donna?”

  “Lisa, please go outside for a minute.” Alex snapped his fingers. His eyes were bloodshot and his skin bright red.

  “No, I want to know what you guys did to Donna.”

  “I didn’t do anything to her!” Alex yelled. The walls shook and thunder rumbled in the sky above us. He controlled the weather. I knew it all along. It was him who started all the rainstorms.

  “Ally, what did you do to Donna?”

  “It was Pig; he did it.” She pointed with fear in her eyes. Pig growled and barked, kicking his feet behind him.

  “No, it wasn’t Pig’s fault. Ally, she picked him up and threw him at me.” Donna cried, covering her face in her hands. “I’ve lost my longevity all because I wanted to be your friend. I hate you Ally. I really, really hate you!”

  Ally purposely harmed Donna? I couldn’t believe it. I knew she was a jerk but—never would I have imagined she’d try to kill someone. She really was a murderer just like she said at the beach that night. She was the problem, just like Michael had said. It was Ally, not Alex.

  “That’s the last person you’ll hurt at this school,” Alex promised. “I’m going to force you out of the boundary and you’ll die instantly.”

  “No, Alex, stop!” She screamed. He grabbed her arm and she kicked her feet fiercely. “Lisa, stop him,” Ally begged. “He’s going to kill me. Donna is lying; I didn’t do it.”

  I wasn’t sure of what to do. I ran over to Donna and placed my hand on her arm. Tiny bolts of electricity ripped themselves from me, shooting through into Donna. We both screamed out in pain. I convulsed on the floor and so did Donna. But within a few seconds, before Ally and Alex could even make it across the room, we lay flat on our backs breathing heavily.

  “Lisa, I think you fixed me,” Donna whispered. “I feel alive again.” Could I have done that? I was struck by both of them so did that mean my bolts were stronger than theirs? Had I saved Donna from the inevitable? How did I even do it? Was it instinct?

  “Let’s go.” Alex shoved Ally forward. She resisted, jerking in all directions.

  “Look, Donna is okay,” Ally sobbed. “Lisa has fixed her. Please, Alex, I don’t want to die. I finally have friends and I’ll be good, I swear! I just got a little jealous. I won’t do it again. It’s hard for me to be good sometimes. You know this, please, Alex, no! I don’t deserve to die because of jealousy!”

  “Alex,” I cried, touching his shoulder. I could feel the anguish he felt. He didn’t want to kill his sister, but he had to. She was a danger to everyone. This wasn’t the first person she killed. Frank was the first and once she tried to kill Michael, too.

  Killing her wasn’t the answer. Maybe, she just needed to learn to control her emotions. Couldn’t he give her just one more chance? “No, I’ve dealt with her for over three hundred years,” Alex blurted. “I can’t call the police and have her locked up. Believe me, if I could I would’ve done it a long time ago. She’s the spawn of Satan. I hate her; she’s made my life miserable. I have to walk around always on guard waiting, watching her every move.”

  “Alex, if you kill her, then you’re no better than she is.”

  “Well, sometimes, you have to do things you don’t really want to do in order to save more lives. Nobody likes war but they have to go into battle sometimes out of necessity. She must die. The border of Lynn is just off the railroad tracks. I’m going to force her over the invisible boundary line so that she’ll die and be gone forever.”

  “But Alex,” I cried. “You can’t kill her. She’s your sister.”

  “She wanted to kill you,” he admitted, twirling around. “Remember when Pig bit her on the leg? She was coming after you. She was going to strangle you in your sleep. You really think she is a changed person now?”

  “I am different, I swear, Alex I have changed. Sometimes I have bad thoughts but it was because I was lonely. I can be good. I really can!” Ally wailed, struggling in his arms. He carried her outside, tossing her in the grass. She lay low to the earth, shivering with fright.

  “I warned you, if you hurt anyone else I would be forced to kill you.” Alex wiped tears from his eyes, “Why can’t you be nice? I thought you learned compassion with all those visits to the nursing home and with your volunteer service at the soup kitchen. I was so proud of you and then you have to go and pull a stunt like this.”

  “Please, Alex, give me one more chance. I didn’t do anything.” Ally held her hand up, begging for his mercy. He looked back at Donna and me. We held onto each other. Would he really kill her?

  Thunder and lightning crept closer and the sky grew dark. He raised his hands above his head. “You said that last time.” He struck her with the lightning above him and she flew backwar
ds, crashing into an invisible force field. It rippled under her weight, resembling water. Slowly her body inched out the boundary.

  “You’re killing me,” Ally screeched. “Look at me!”

  She was right. Her hair was turning gray and now it was silver. Her skin wrinkled and Ally looked seventy years old with only a part of her body outside the force field. He really was going to kill her. Somebody had to do something.

  “Stop it!” I screamed. He couldn’t kill her. He wasn’t god. I ran over to him as fast as I could and knocked him down. Ally dropped to the ground and gasped for air. Her hair turned back into its normal pale blond and her skin was young again.

  “Thank you, Lisa,” she whispered. “I really have changed. I—”

  “You’re banished from school,” I pointed to the woods. “Don’t set foot on campus ever again for as long as you’re alive.”

  “You can’t tell me what to do!” She growled, standing up. “I’m your creator. You owe me your life.”

  “I agree with Lisa.” Alex stood up, placing his arm around my shoulders. “You must leave. Go to the shack and stay there next door to Millie.”

  “She’ll die soon,” Ally complained. “Who will I have then?”

  “Millie has some miles in her still; at least thirty more years. After that, who cares who you have? You don’t deserve company. If you try to come on campus again I’ll kill you and Lisa will stand by that decision.”

  “You wouldn’t,” Ally snapped. “You’re not a killer.”

  “I’ll stand by Alex.” I swallowed hard. Would I really let him kill her? Was he going to actually let her die? He didn’t toss her out completely. Was he scaring her? I concentrated hard, but he had too many thoughts. He was a mess.

  Ally screamed, pulling on her hair. “I have changed, I have!” She stomped her feet and ripped out a chunk of her hair. “I don’t want to be alone anymore. I hate it! Every day of my life—I’m alone. You’ve taken everything good that I have.”

  “Goodbye, Ally,” I whispered. She looked into my eyes. Hers watered before she dashed into the woods.