If you're just joining the adventure and would like to start at the beginning, click here @dreemit/reborn-chapter-fifteen-monster)
Go to Chapter Fifteen [here](
Chapter Fourteen
"Jake," she replied, her voice wavering.
"Sorry I haven't called before now, I've been preoccupied. I heard you were looking for me the other night." His voice had a light-hearted casual tone to it, and she remembered her image of him as a super-hero.
"Uh, yeah I guess I was." Intelligent Anna, smooth, Jesus.
"You're supposed to leave tomorrow right?"
She blinked. Oh yeah, she'd told him when her trip would end. "That's right."
"Unfortunately I’m still tied up in some things, but I'd really like to see you again. It's not every day a human can see through the “dimming” and I feel drawn to you. Have you told any of your friends about me?"
She snorted. "That would be a no, I'm pretty sure they would think I was nuts." Well except for Jenna.
He laughed. "Yeah, people tend to only believe what they see, sometimes they even question that. So what would you say if I offered to buy you a ticket home for later next week?"
What?? "Why?"
"Well, like I said, I'm still tied up with some things but I want to see you. I’ll understand if you can’t, but if you say yes I'll buy the ticket and send it to your email. It will be for next Saturday. I'm not sure exactly when I will get free to see you, but it will be before then, I promise."
He sounded so normal, so reasonable, so friendly and disarming. She could picture him leaning casually up against a wall, smiling into the phone. Peter Parker, only not so geeky.
"Is there anyone you've met whom you might be able to hang out with until I can get away?"
She chewed her lip. Of course the money for a return trip was not a problem for her, but the thought of him buying the ticket did make it appear above board. But the girls…she could tell them she just wasn't ready to go home yet. Except Jenna and Marina might want to stay too. It was unlikely they'd ask her to buy them new tickets, but they definitely wouldn’t understand why she’d want to stay alone…. She stared at the sidewalk for a moment before a plan began to form.
"Okay," she told him, "buy the ticket."
"Excellent! I'll call you tomorrow to be sure you received it."
She gave him her email address and hung up.
She went back inside and tapped Jenna on the shoulder. "We need to talk."
Jenna nodded and stood.
"Where are you going?" Marina asked, starting to rise.
"No, hang out here, we’re just going for a walk, don’t worry we won’t be long."
Marina frowned but sank back in her chair.
Once outside they walked slowly down the sidewalk and she could feel Jenna’s eyes boring a hole into the side of her head as she worked out exactly what she was going to say.
Jenna put a hand on her arm forcing her to stop. "So, what's going on?"
Anna spoke carefully. "There's something I didn't tell you.” She pulled out the now rumpled pack of cigarettes. Two left, not bad, she mused as she handed one to Jenna.
She lit hers and passed the lighter, taking a long drag and letting it out slowly before speaking. "Jake can see the shadow men. He knows what they are."
Jenna reared back. "What? And you didn't tell me this why?"
Anna launched into the lie full speed ahead. "Because he asked me not to, even though I told him you could see them as well. I described the ceremony to him, and he wasn't certain that your abilities would even last. Whereas with me I could see already…anyway, there's like an underground network of people who can see things like that, and they know things. They fight them Jenna. That's why he left that night, it had nothing to do with sexual exploits." She took a deep breath, weaving the story in her brain. "I have been living with this for three years, and I have so many questions I need answered. He can answer them."
"So that was him on the phone?"
She nodded.
"So when will you see him?"
"That's what I needed to talk to you about. He's tied up in something and he can't get away until later this week. He offered to buy me a new ticket home, for Saturday, he's sending it to my email right now."
"Whoa, wait, you're going to stay here?"
"Just for a few more days."
Jenna leaned away from her and frowned. "Well, I want to stay with you then. I haven't lost the ability I’ve just been ignoring it, beIieve me I still see them."
Anna shook her head. "The society is extremely secretive. Jenna, he could get in trouble if he brings someone in without their permission. Apparently he made a case for me, so what I will do is get the information…and then once I'm in I can bring you in too, if that’s what you want."
"Of course I do! I don't see why he can't make a case for both of us," she insisted.
"Please, Jenna! I'm asking you as my friend to trust me and let me do this first. I’ve been living with this for years, you’ve only had to think about it for a couple of weeks and at least you had me to let you know you weren't crazy! If you stay with me, he won't do it. Please, I need this."
"Okay, okay, I see your point. But how do you know you can trust him? I mean, this underground society could be some sort of cult, he could totally be lying to you. Maybe not about seeing them....how did you find out that he could see them by the way?"
"He saw me watching a couple of them rather intently, and asked what I was looking at. I laughed and said "the shadow men", thinking he would consider it a joke. Instead he looked as if I'd just slapped him in the face. He told me to describe them and...the rest is history." Anna took a breath. Wow the lies were coming easier and easier.
Jenna nodded, but frowned. "It could still be a cult."
"You know what? You're absolutely right. He could be a Satanist. His underground network could be a psycho group of devil worshippers. But I have to take a chance, sometimes you just have to risk it. Because I think I will go mad if I continue seeing things that I can't understand or do anything about. Did you forget about the vampires Jenna? Because I still see them too. I need to know, and he's the only link to information that I have and potentially will ever have."
"Look, if anything weird happens, you at least have some information. And if it makes you feel better, if it turns out he is a Satanist, I will totally play along until I can get my ass out of there and home. Okay? I won't point my finger at him and say "The power of Christ compels you”, I will keep my mouth shut and pretend that I am on his side, and then I will get my booty on a plane and come home."
Jenna smiled a little at that. "All right. So I guess we tell the girls that you have feelings for Andy and you need to see where it's leading? Although you haven't exactly made a case for that, and I'm not sure what you'll tell Austin....actually, do me a favor and tell Austin what you told me. He knows what you see, I can confirm that what you see is real, and at least I won't have to worry alone."
Anna started to protest, but reconsidered. What else would she tell him? He would be extremely hurt that she chose not to come home, even if the girls didn't say anything about her alleged crush. Which of course they wouldn't, she trusted them. But it might make her feel better if he at least knew something anyway...even if it was mostly bullshit.
"Okay. I'll write him an email explaining it the best I can, and when you get there you can talk to him about it. He'll worry like crazy, but I'll keep you both apprised of my general well being." She thought about it some more. "Another thing. I have an access card to one of my main accounts in my underwear drawer. And I think you should take my license with you, I have my passport so I don't need it. That way you’ll have money and my identification in case you need to fly back here and bail me out of something. I DON'T want my dad involved under ANY circumstances, promise me."
Jenna stared at her before nodding. "I'll make sure the situation is dire before I even consider it."
"Okay. Good. Let's not tell the girls until tomorrow night. That way they won't have time to analyze the way I behave around Andy.”
"Deal. Let's go back."
That night Anna sat at her laptop frowning. She'd just written Austin a very brief rundown of events and an abbreviation of the discussion she had with Jenna. She hadn't wanted to go into serious detail but she knew as soon as he got it he would be calling to let her know how he felt about it. And it wouldn't be a pleasant conversation.
She could avoid his phone calls and allow Jenna to better explain when she got there. Or she could try and face the music. She pushed send and sighed. It would be about 8 pm there and since his phone alerted him to new emails, she knew she didn't have long.
A half an hour later her phone played the doomsday music, she'd set to Austin's ring tone to amuse herself. She could pretend to be asleep, after all it was 3 am here. She let it go to voice-mail the first time, but he wasn't having it. The third time through she picked up making her voice sound groggy.
“Hello.”
"No fucking way. No way. You get on that plane tomorrow Anna, or I'll be on the next one to come and get you."
"I probably didn't explain myself well enough....
"Oh I think you did, and I can fill in the blanks. I don't need Jenna to tell me anything. I don't care what she sees now, in fact I'll go as far as to say that I believe you. I believe you see those things, and she does too. Okay? I don't think you're crazy, at least not about that, but this? Some strange guy and his underground cult? You can't be that stupid, I know you, I have known you for years, and I know that you're an intelligent girl....
Anna held the phone away from her ear as he continued on his rant about her lack of common sense and yada yada. It made no difference to her what he said, her mind was made up.
"Hey, are you listening to me?"
"Of course I am. But I knew everything you were going to say before you said it. I didn't tell you my plans to get your approval or consent, I told you out of consideration for you. Because I care about you, about us, and I didn't want you to make up some other scenario for my extra stay, like a romantic interest, especially since that's what we're letting M&M think it is. I'm doing this Austin. And don't bother with the I'll Get On A Plane And Drag You Home bit, you won't find me. If you were actually foolish enough to try, it would be an enormous waste of your time. I will be home Saturday night, if you want to pick me up my flight arrives via Conway in Syracuse at 8:35 p.m. There's nothing you can say, nothing you can do. You don't understand what it's like to be me, to live with this and not know why. I have a chance to get some answers and I'm taking it. Period."
She could hear his uneven breathing through the phone and she knew he was really upset. She felt a little bad, but there was nothing she could do.
"If anything happens to you....you can't know how devastated I will be. Jesus Anna, I've never felt this kind of fear before." His voice was strained and she felt her heart tug a little.
"You're wrong," she said softly, "I can put myself in your shoes, and I know that I would feel just like you, helpless and scared. With my imagination I would drive myself crazy with the possibilities. And I am so sorry that you have to go through it. Maybe I shouldn't have told you, maybe it was selfish to involve you."
"God Anna, don't say that. I would hate to think you wouldn't tell me things like this." He sighed. "Call me every day. Please. Just let me know everything's okay. And I'll see you Saturday night. Get some sleep." He paused. "I love you, you know."
"I know. I love you too."
"Goodnight."
She hung up the phone and sighed. Well, that could've been worse.
The moment she laid her head on the pillow she was out.
Logo made by the incredibly awesome @papa-pepper