Confused and dumbfounded, Jesse slowly lifted his shaky hands in eye view. He turned his hands over and over, scanning them with doubting, wide eyes as his breathing came hard and fast.
“Jesse, are you okay?” Amanda asked, curiously. Aaron quickly hobbled to his feet and gave him a questionable look.
“My powers….” Jesse mumbled, still turning his hands over countless of times, and trying to take in account of what had just happened.
“What was that?” Aaron asked as he took a step closer to him. Everyone began to gather around Jesse, eager to know why he was so shaken and stunned.
“They didn’t work. Why didn’t they work?” Jesse pleaded as if he was the only one in the room. He pulled his hands up in a fist and then squeezed his eyes tightly, praying that when he opened them, the nightmare he endured would go away.
“They looked like they worked to me.” Aaron answered. Jesse huffed angrily and then whirled around to face him.
“I know they work, but they didn’t they work?” Jesse hissed. Aaron could have sworn he saw steam shoot out of Jesse’s ears.
“I’m not following you,” Aaron and Stevie both said in unison. They quickly recoiled after they received the ugliest look from Jesse since they’ve been back. Stevie scurried over to the couch, while Aaron placed himself behind Amanda.
“We got our powers to kill him, not fucking wound him!” Jesse growled in frustration, pulling at his blond locks. “Why didn’t he blow up? I barely dinted him!”
“It’s probably going to take more of our powers combined to stop him,” Alicia said as she wrapped her arms around Jesse’s waist and rested her head on his shoulder. Aaron rolled his eyes and turned away. He silently strolled over to Stevie, and pulled him off of the couch. Stevie didn’t hold back and let Aaron pull him unnoticed around the group.
“We just need to think things out more clearly,” Lindsay suggested taking a seat on the arm of the couch.
“For how long, Lindsay,” Hilary started. “Long enough to lose another innocent? I don’t think so. I’m not going to stand for that.”
As the rest of the group continued to give suggestions on what to do, Aaron already knew what to do; at least he wanted to try. He quietly kept pulling Stevie away from the group. Aaron didn’t want to mention his plan to Jesse, basically from fear of being ripped a new asshole. They’re at a crucial point. There cannot be anymore screwing around. Right now, any plan is a good plan—unless someone gets killed, then it was a bad plan.
Aaron also knew that Kent was only messing with them for whatever sick twisted reason, and it was probably for the same reason why he killed them in the first place. Aaron was determined to figure out who Kent really was, what his plan was, and what part Alexa and Laura played in his little game, before they lose another innocent. For his plan, Aaron was surely grateful for his shape-shifting power.
“Dude, where are we going?” Stevie whispered once they were out of ear shot. Aaron stepped over the splintered wood from the busted door and then pushed Stevie outside.
“I’ll tell you on the way,”
The boys were long gone before anyone noticed their absence.
“Hey, where did Aaron and Stevie go?” Amanda asked as she just took notice of their two missing friends. Jesse quit pulling at his hair once the question was asked. He called out their names, but he was only answered by silence. Jesse rolled his eyes in annoyance and dropped his head.
“They were just here,” Hilary added. Everyone began to walk through the house trying to locate them. When each one returned, they came back with their eyes on Jesse.
“Don’t look at me. I’m tired of keeping tabs on those assholes.”
***
Meanwhile, Aaron and Stevie stood hidden behind the south side of a major office building in downtown Los Angeles. Aaron knew it was dangerous to appear in public without disguises, but he didn’t want to ask for Alicia’s help in fear of Jesse being tipped off. Aaron took a deep breath, faced his fear, and bravely peaked around the corner of the building.
“Are you crazy or are you just plain crazy?” Stevie said, chewing nervously on the gum. He eventually made a face and let the gum fall clumsily out of his mouth. Aaron positioned himself back into place and glanced at him.
“We’re not going to get anywhere just sitting on our asses. We need some answers and we need them now.” Aaron whispered.
“What are you planning on doing?”
“I’m going right in there and demanding some answers.”
“Wait…you’re just going to walk in there? What if someone recognizes you?” Stevie said as he grabbed Aaron’s arm, and prevented him from going anywhere.
“Don’t worry. I got a cover up. I’m a shape shifter, dog. I’m going to use Chris as my disguise.” Aaron told him and then shook Stevie’s hand off his elbow.
Stevie suddenly started to laugh. “Chris? Aaron, please tell me you’re not serious?”
Aaron gave him a smirk. “Stevie, no one liked Chris enough to remember that’s he’s dead. Just trust me, okay,” Stevie nodded, “Kent’s going to talk. I’m going to make him talk.”
“Aaron, we’re out here in downtown LA standing in front of one of the city’s largest building, how the hell do you know Kent is even here?”
Aaron hesitated before answering.” A long time ago I remember him saying something about working here in this specific building. Although I can’t recall what he actually did though.” He said.
“Did he tell you this, or did you hear it from someone else?”
Aaron glanced at him, biting his bottom lip. “He told me. Kent and I actually were friendly with each other about two years ago. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I considered him my friend at the time.”
“Yeah, until he killed your sorry ass,” Stevie smirked.
“Be quiet,” Aaron muttered under his breath.
“But that was before right? How do you know he’s still here?” Stevie asked.
“I don’t know what it is, but I have this feeling. It’s hard to explain. It’s like I know he’s here, but without actually knowing, you know what I mean? Have you had that feeling before?”
“Yes,” Stevie said without hesitating,” I have the feeling that you’re out of you damn mind and that this is a bad idea.” Stevie grabbed Aaron by the shoulders and turned him around to face him. “Did you forget about Kent’s bitch-ass body guard? If you just walk into Kent’s office, you’ll be walking right into your grave, man.”
Aaron sighed and firmly placed his hands on Stevie’s shoulder. “Stevie, more like walking back into my grave. I have to do something, man. Mika and Kaci have already lost their lives and now Frankie and Allison are gone. How can you just sit back and not do anything?”
“I just don’t know what to do. We all looked at Jesse for answers. I don’t know why, we just did. He just seemed to have an idea of what to do.”
Aaron clicked his tongue. “Jesse has no idea. If I don’t do this now, then their deaths would mean nothing.”
Stevie took a deep breath and let his hands fall from Aaron’s shoulders. “Okay, but by the way, I hate to put some more problems on you—“
“Nah uh,” Aaron interrupted him, “Leave the problems to Jesse.”
“No you don’t understand. It’s not really about us, well it is sort of, but it’s kind of about Kaci…sort of…I think.” Aaron frowned and looked at him.
“What about Kaci?”
“Well, the authorities usually take dead bodies to the morgue right?”
“Coroners, yeah,”
“Well…um…don’t you think it’s going to be a little suspicious when they find out that um…well…how can I put this…when she’s not in the body bag?” Stevie mentioned his eyes wide and his mouth set in a fine line. Aaron stared at him dumbfounded.
“Are you seriously just now worrying about the little issue that we don’t have time for right now?”
Stevie shrugged. “Yeah, so I’m worried. What else is new? At least I’m not psychotically worried like Jesse.”
Aaron nodded. “Well, stop worrying you’ll get wrinkles on your horns. Just keep it together. Now, if you’ll excuse me I need to go knock some sense into a psychopath. Be ready if I need some backup.” Aaron shape-shifted into Chris and then hurried toward the buildings front entrance, before Stevie could say anything else.
“Be careful!” Stevie called after him. Aaron/Chris waved him off just before he briskly slipped through the door and disappeared inside. “Don’t let Laura see ya,”
Stevie slumped against the wall, trying to shield himself the best he could from passersby’s. Fortunately, no one approached him while he sat waiting for Aaron to return from his suicide mission. Stevie picked up his used gum and squished it between his fingers. He rolled the sticky gum around wondering to himself why his favorite spearmint flavor gum didn’t satisfy him anymore. He pondered a lot more when his mouth began to salivate with each passerby.
***
Aaron/Chris walked briskly down the busy hallway at the main office building downtown. Aaron still wondered why Kent would choose a public place to do his thinking and his dirty work. Kent was either really intelligent or really dumb.
The bell of an elevator went off and he hurried to catch it before the doors closed. He slipped in, collapsed against the railing, and took a deep breath. He glanced to his right and saw a girl standing just a few inches beside him reading a paper. Aaron/Chris licked his lips nervously and eyed the girl very closely as he tried to disappear into the corner. The girl turned slightly, just enough to reveal her face. Aaron/Chris's eyes almost popped out of his head when he realized who it was.
It was Laura!
Laura took a glance at him, and then quickly looked back down at her paper. Aaron/Chris sighed in relief when she didn’t seem to connect with who he was. His relief didn’t last long. Laura stopped reading her paper and looked back up. She lightly gasped and quickly whirled around to face him. She dropped the paper and began to raise her hands, but before she even had a chance to strike him down and turn him into dust, his arm quickly shape-shifted into a metal bar. He quickly swung his arm up and bashed Laura upside the head with it, knocking her out cold. As the elevator bell rang, Aaron/Chris's arm changed back into normal. He grabbed Laura and shape-shifted into the wall with her, barely avoiding a herd of the living boarding the elevator.
After a while of hiding in the wall, Aaron/Chris finally escaped from the elevator and entered a small storage closet. He grabbed some rope and tied an unconscious Laura up tightly. He smiled to himself, feeling very satisfied with his work. He quickly transformed back to normal and left the closet, humming a cheerful tune. But that cheerful tune didn’t last for long when it quickly turned into full blown anger once he got closer to Kent’s office. He didn’t know how but he knew this was the right place. Aaron wasn’t going to back down now, not this time. This time he meant business. Aaron charged up to Kent's office door. He grabbed the handle and swung it open with so much force that the door crashed against the wall, and knocked a picture to the ground shattering it to pieces.
"You evil son of a bitch," Aaron growled, stepping into the room and slamming the door shut. With his chair turned around toward the window, Kent smiled to himself. He threw a sports illustrated magazine down on the floor and turned around. Kent’s eyes lit up when Aaron came into view.
Kent raised his hands and gave a little shrug. "I would have settled for a nice hello, Aaron." He said calmly.
"Did anyone tell you not to settle for anything, Kent? Or should I say....Mikel?" He said as he charged up and slammed his fists down on the desk.
Kent laughed and shook his head, leaning back in his chair. "You know, this is the reason why I liked you so much."
"Liked me? You fucking killed me! Just tell me this asshole...what the hell are you getting out of this, man?"
Kent laughed once more. He stood up from his chair and walked over to the mirror that hung on the wall. Aaron frowned when he noticed a piece of white gauze covering a wound on Kent’s collar bone, and Aaron wondered if Jesse really did hurt him. Kent lifted his collar and quickly covered it up. He grabbed a glass and poured himself some champagne.
"You want some champagne, Aaron?"
Aaron glared at him. "No, I don't want champagne you psychotic fucker, answer the question."
Kent slowly licked his lips and took another sip of his champagne. "So...what's it like being dead, Aaron?"
Aaron flashed him a fake grin and then cocked his head. "Why don't you tell me."
Kent frowned and put down his drink. "What the hell does that mean?"
"You know what it means. You know what...as far as I know....I don't know anyone who has ever survived getting their brains shot all over the wall. You might as well come clean, because I'm not going to leave here until you do." Aaron threatened.
Kent smirked and leaned forward. "Answer this for me first, Aaron. Why the hell are you back? You never answered me the first time."
Aaron gave him a dark stare. "To stop you,"
Kent laughed out loud, and swallowed the last remaining alcohol in his glass. Then, he placed it firmly on the table beside him before walking back over to his desk. "Ha Ha, that's very funny, Aaron. You can't stop me. Nobody can."
"You know what asshole, let me just give you a little warning, "Aaron gritted through his teeth, "I will find a way to kill you and this time...I'll make sure it sticks." Aaron pushed himself away from the desk and walked to the door. Kent snatched the bottle of champagne off the table and took a couple of steps after him.
"You really think you have the power to kill me, Aaron?"
Aaron opened the door and gave him one last look. "Try me." He then turned on his heal and high tailed his butt out of there.
Kent glared after him, his mouth set in tight line. The champagne bottle he held in his hand shattered under the pressure he was giving to it. Kent knew he had all of them fooled and had confidence that he’ll have them killed once again before getting found out, but he still worried that they know more about him than he realized. And now he was more determined than ever to keep his identity a secret.
***
Stevie sighed heavily, living in his own little world until he heard shuffling feet walking quickly toward him. He suddenly pushed himself away from the wall, when he saw Aaron coming around the corner.
"So?" Stevie asked in anticipation.
"So what?" Aaron said, walking right past him. Stevie turned and jogged after him.
"What did he say?"
"Nothing, the bastard kept changing the subject every time I brought it up." Aaron huffed.
"You mean Laura didn't try to attack you or him for that matter?" Stevie frowned.
Aaron licked his lips. "I took care of Laura before I even saw him, and he didn't attack me. He never attempted to make a move or threaten me in anyway. He just rambled on all...nice..." A look of disgust appeared on Aaron’s face in an instant. Then, a thought came to his mind and a light bulb went off. Aaron just figured out the missing link. He just hoped he was right about it.
"Unless...he didn't really want to kill us," He whispered to himself. Not softly enough apparently. Stevie's head snapped to the side, and he stared at him in shock, his mouth hanging open slightly.
"You want to run that by me one more time!" Stevie gasped. Aaron stopped short and grabbed him by the arm, spinning him around to face him.
"I figured it out!" Aaron excitedly said.
Stevie frowned. "Figured what out? That he didn't really want to kill us?”
“Yeah, that and other things,” Aaron answered.
Stevie frowned and placed a hand on Aaron's forehead, "Dude, are you sick or are you just out of your rabid ass mind?”
Aaron growled and slapped Stevie's hand off of him. "Listen to me. Remember when I told you before I died, Kent and I actually had a normal conversation?"
"Yes," Stevie rushed, "Weird, but yes. Go on."
"He told me he didn't want to kill us. He could have avoided it if he had to. He told me he's only doing it, so he can get what he wanted and he couldn't do that with us standing in his way. Have you noticed it’s only teenage or young celebrities he’s killing? He’s getting revenge on us!”
"Why now? I never even heard of Kent Miller or Mikel Miles."
"Does McKentlin Millersten ring a bell?"
Stevie hesitated before answering, "Sort of. Wasn’t he an actor?”
Aaron sighed and put his hands on Stevie's shoulders. "Stevie, Kent is McKentlin Millersten.”
Stevie‘s eyes widened, "Yo, wait a minute! Hold up! Didn't McKentlin Millersten die in a car crash in Vermont ten years ago?"
"Yes he did."
Stevie‘s face fell, "Okay I'm confused...."
"Don't you get it, Stevie? Kent was a struggling teenage actor back in the 90's! Nobody gave him a chance. All Kent wanted was to be the center of attention, but it never happened because he died. That's why he didn't die when I shot him, Stevie. He's already dead."
“Okay if Kent is killing everyone, why us? I mean we’re not actors. I thought he would go after someone who actually stole a part from him.”
Aaron took a deep breath and finally let go of Stevie's shoulders, "I don't know, but I think I have an idea. Come on we need to get back before someone recognizes us." Stevie nodded in agreement and the boys quickly walked out of the busy sidewalk.
Aaron took a deep breath and scratched the back of his neck. He knew he was on to something and he was determined to find out what Kent's little secret was and find out why he was killing innocent people.
Aaron shook his head away from his thoughts, when he heard a low growl like sound. He frowned and strained his ears, so he could hear it better. No, it wasn't a growl. It was too soft to be a growl. Then, Aaron realized what he was hearing and what he was hearing was coming deep within Stevie. Aaron slowly reached for Stevie arm and slowed him down to a halt.
"Stevie,"
"Yeah, dude, what is it?"
Aaron narrowed his eyes and frowned. "Dude...did you just purr?"
Stevie's eyes widened immediately and he took a step back. "What??"
