Seth Preston Cage's Story

Sebastian wasn't feeling too hot when he woke up at Elizabeth's house with the others. The pills they had taken were probably the best he had ever tried in his life. The hallucinations had been so intense and realistic that Sebastian couldn't tell the difference between reality and hallucination. The best part was that everyone saw the same things as he did and he could see what they saw. They had spent the best birthday ever. . . Morning wasn't as nice.

At first when Sebastian had opened his eyes, everything was normal and he had that same fuzzy feeling at the back of his head just like every morning after a party. He went out on the porch to light a cigarette but then it happened. The whole world in front of him twisted like it was being sucked into one tiny hole at the extent of the horizon. The hallucinations were still there and he wasn't the only one having them. All of his other friends were going through the same thing.

They thought that maybe it was because the drug was much stronger than they had expected and that it would take a day or two to go away. . . The whole weekend went by and none of the friends had stopped seeing the demented world. They had gone to see each other to help one another fight against the scariness. Sebastian had slept over at Seth's place. He hadn't slept throughout the whole night because of the dark visions and disturbing sounds. Their life was a living nightmare without having to worry about the real world, but now school was back and they would have to deal with their visions muddling with reality.

"Hey, Sebastian, you got anything for me?" The voice was familiar. It was Brandon, the porch driving jock in Sebastian's economy class. They weren't on bad terms wince Sebastian would sell him weed ridiculously over price, but Brandon was too rich to care.

Sebastian turned around to look at who he knew was Brandon, but when he saw him it was simply Brandon's steroidal pumped body with a Picasso face. His eyes were triangles pointed in one directing, his mouth was a simple line and his nose was a rectangle. He was Picasso's exceptional work of art mixing both the profile of a person and a person facing forward. Sebastian couldn't help from staring in shock which obviously bothered Brandon who started approaching Sebastian imposingly.

"Um. . . sorry,"Sebastian snapped out of his stupefied state, "I didn't get you any, how about tomorrow."

"Yeah," Brandon's answer was hesitant and questioning so Sebastian left before he became any more suspicious.

The whole hallway was a jungle, and not even a normal one at that. There were plants constantly over growing and dying and when they toppled over Sebastian got scared at moved aside. Evading the hallucinations made him bump into people and only got him even more hysterical. The hallways was continuously being crossed by moving foliage, vines coming down from the ceiling and withering then falling to the ground and melting into it. Branches popped out of the walls causing Sebastian to jerk to the side and hit his head onto someone else's. Things were getting much too oppressing and invasive.

He started to run while rolling on the ground dodging the vigorous plants like a marine in training. He had to go to the group's hideout situated behind the wall of the second floor, girls bathroom, fourth bathroom stall going from the right. He finally reached the bathroom. There was nothing inside, it was a regular bathroom until he opened the door to the fourth bathroom stall. There was a huge monster with teeth as long as an elephant trunk. Every single one of it's teeth were of that length and his body resembled an ape. Sebastian almost let out a shout but he put his hand in his mouth and bit down. He started to bleed but the hallucination did not go away. He tried to get past the creature hoping it was truly only a hallucination but he hit the smelly and sturdy beast.

"Hallucinations aren't supposed to be real, they're only supposed to look real!" Sebastian fell to the floor out of breath.

Finally, he slipped under the creature. He had just enough time to push the unstable block of a dozen white bricks stuck together but not well fixated to the wall next to the toilet. He jumped through hole and quickly put the block of bricks back into the wall like the last piece of a puzzle. It was dark behind the wall and Sebastian's breathing was heavily echoing in the shadows. Life had just taken a turn he had never expected.

Seth thought that they had found the best hallucinogen ever. He regrets thinking that after he woke up this morning.
It all started when Sebastian brought some new drug for the gang to try out at Elizabeth’s. The drug induced more euphoria and intense hallucinations than Seth had ever experienced, even from his favorite LSD. The best part was that this time, the whole gang was part of the adventure. Everyone could see the exact same visions the drug produced. Seth has always loved his acid trips, but now his friends could share the experience with him. Every trip has to end however, so Seth dozed off thinking he found his new favorite hallucinogen.

However, to his surprise, the trip never ended. After waking up, putting on his brown leather jacket, and looking outside a window, he discovered he was still in the same distorted surreal world that he thought he left. Now, instead of feeling the same admiration and awe that he experienced during his usual acid trips, Seth felt in its place intense fear. It crept up his body and felt as though a spider, hidden inside his jacket, was slowly climbing on his arms. He tried to shake the feeling away, thinking that he’s just experiencing a “bad trip” and that the effects will wear off. The group thought the drug was just more powerful than anticipated.

“Yeah, it’s just more powerful. It’ll wear off eventually so there’s nothing to worry about,” Seth thought to himself.

The drug never wore off during the weekend and he and his friends were prisoners to a hell they didn’t think existed. Sebastian crashed at Seth’s place, but Seth could tell that his friend wasn’t getting any rest because of their predicament. Seth tried to conceal his own fear throughout the night, but he can hear his own heart pounding as he turned to see visions of otherworldly demons surrounding him no matter which way he turned.

Seth tried to maintain the façade that nothing strange is going on with him and his friends and so he took his regular visit down at the shooting range, hoping to improve on his aim. The outside appeared normal. It was just a regular concrete plain white building with a steel door and two closed windows. He thought he could finally escape the madness and hurried inside, pushing the steel doors away. Inside, the shooting range was a spiral of distortions. The floor, ceiling, walls, and people were constantly being twisted, blended, and bent in unnatural angles. Seth tried to take his shots at the targets, ignoring the contorted people yelling at him. Every time he tried to shoot a target however, it transformed into a grotesque beast figure that laughed at Seth hesitating. When he did shoot, the beast figure contorted its body in a way that the bullet just went right past him.

When he couldn’t take it anymore, Seth ran to school, hoping to meet up with his group of friends. Throughout the hallways, a jungle of vicious flora and vegetation tried to trap Seth in their grasps, but Seth utilized his pocket knife and hacked and slashed away. Finally reaching the group’s hideout, he doubled back upon seeing a monster appearing like the mash up of an ape and an elephant, staring especially at its long teeth that seemed to grin at him. Right next to it was his friend Liz kicking the creature. At first he couldn’t believe it was real, but when it lunged towards him, he dodged to the side right as the monster’s teeth chomped a bathroom stall door.

The monster then turned to Liz and Seth had a flashback from his childhood of the father he lost, and the assassin that killed him. He saw the same grin the assassin gave him twelve years ago in the long-toothed monster. “No, I’m not the same weakling I was before!” Seth then reached into the pocket of his brown leather jacket, and pulled out his revolver. “Get down, Liz!” Seth called to her, and shot three rounds.

Liz was beginning to give in. She wasn't strong, and the thing wouldn't quit trying to chew her head off. She sighed, about to give up, when she saw Seth. He looked like he was about to make a run for it, but then pulled out a gun. A gun. Did he know how much trouble they were going to get in, if a teacher found him with a gun? She didn't have much time to worry though, as he was shooting the creature and telling her to get down. She dropped to the floor as ordered, and watched the creature kind of just... disappear from her view. She felt like the whole world around her was shaking, but then realized it was just her. She was shaking.

She looked over to where she heard, crying, then over to Seth before curling up into a ball. This wasn't normal. Drugs didn't do this, they just didn't. It should be all in their heads. But it touched me, she thought, then realized there was a pain in her arm. Looking at it, she found blood and felt a little faint. "Oh god," she mumbled, closing her eyes. She wanted to sleep, possibly forever. Just leave the head ache and insanity behind. But then she thought of Seth and the revolver. Someone must of heard him shooting.

Looking up, she sighed and tried to pull herself together. "We should really like, leave, before someone arrests you," she says, motioning to his hand. It occurred to her that no one else seemed to see what she was seeing. Well, except Seth so far. If they saw him with a gun, that;d be trouble enough, but the fact that he shot it and no one else saw the danger. That was bad. Still shaking, Liz tried to get to her feet but only succeeded in slipping and falling back over, causing a stream of curses to come out of her mouth.

Liz dropped to the floor as Seth's three rounds vaporized the creature. In disbelief at what he saw and his own actions, Seth looked down at the revolver in his hand.

"Did I really just take out my gun and fire at the monster?" Seth thought. "I must be crazy I mean, why did I shoot at something from my imagination. Then again, Liz saw it too and was about to get eaten by that monster..."

Liz's arm was starting to bleed and Seth grew worried about his friend. Seth realized the monster's teeth must have grazed on Liz's arm before his bullets penetrated it. Seth was about to gather toillet paper to stop the blood flow when Liz mustered up some strength and said, "We should really like, leave, before someone arrests you," and motioned to his hand. Seth looked at his revolver again and realized the gravity of the situation. Sure, they saw the monster, they saw the jungle, and they felt their effects, but everyone else was oblivious. How it looks like now to normal eyes, is that Seth was flinging a knife around in the hallways and shot someone with his revolver. Since Liz is bleeding, people will think Seth was trying to shoot Liz.

"Dammit...you're right. We gotta get you some help though!"

Seth watched Liz gradually start to stand up only to topple over and curse several times. He grabbed some toilet paper and began wrapping it around Liz's bleeding arm, hoping that it could help a little. He knew he had to hurry and leave, not only because of the trouble they were in, but more importantly because he was worried Liz would bleed to death. Still, he wondered where the rest of the gang was and whether they were okay.

"I should've been more careful" Seth scolded himself. "Argghh... what the hell is going on???"

Liz was glad Seth realized what was going on so she didn't have to waste time explaining, but was surprised he was worrying about her arm. She was just going to ignore it. She watched in a daze as he wrapped her arm up in toilet paper, thankful but at the same time worried that this was wasting time. Someone was bound to hear the gun shots and be on there way already. She saw Seth looking confused, and decided not to mention the crying in the wall. It was probably the drug acting up, anyways.

Using Seth as a crutch, Liz stood up, but it didn't feel quite right. It made her feel dizzy, and she couldn't quite get her feet to move how she wanted them to. Frowning, she didn't' think the injury on her arm could cause that. The drug? Maybe a combination of the two? Shaking her head, she tried to appear like she was okay and nudged Seth. "Come on, Seth, let's go. I don't want to explain this to the police, they'll put us in an asylum or something," she said, though her voice was rimmed with fear. She didn't want the cops around at all, she didn't like them. Which was understandable, since she broke the law very often, whether by using drugs or something else.

Liz's stomach growled, and if she wasn't feeling like falling over, she would have face-palmed. She didn't eat, she was seeing things, the things she saw hurt her, and her friend could get arrested. Great. Liz attempted to shove Seth in the direction of the way out of school, but ended up stumbling and having to grab Seth and the wall to keep from falling on her face. "This is so stupid," she muttered, thoroughly annoyed.

"Come on, Seth, let's go," Liz said. "I don't want to explain this to the police. They'll put us in an asylum or something."

Seth was careful, trying to help Liz stand up and walk, but it appeared she was having some trouble. Suddenly, he heard a faint growl that wasn't his. Seth wondered if that was Liz's stomach but didn't want to ask because she looked eager to leave and annoyed about her situation. He still couldn't shake this awful feeling he had. Where were Looney, Emmie, Ging, and Lulu? Are they alright? For now, he decided to focus on the current situation, escaping trouble from the cops and getting Liz to a safe place. Liz kept on stumbling and having to grab Seth and the wall to keep from falling.

"This is so stupid," she muttered.

Seth didn't want Liz to force herself from walking anymore and at this pace, the cops could catch up to them at any moment. He was worried about how Liz would react, especially given that she was only an inch shorter than him, but decided it was the only way they'd go faster.

"Liz, I'll carry you. I don't want you to force yourself and the cops will catch up to us at this pace. I don't know where we can get help or where our friends are, but we have to be able to move quickly if we are going to get out of here."

Seth held Liz upright with one hand and offered the other to lift her up.

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Shortly after Sebastian arrived in the hide out followed Emelia. When she came through the wall and placed the bricks back in their place she dove onto him and hugged him with tears and all. Sebastian was having a very short reaction to what was happening so before he could tell her it was fine. Ginger popped through the wall as well. Two girls and one guy, a lot of people would see the situation as an advantage, but there was nothing funny about this situation.

"We're going to be alright," Sebastian tightened Emmie against his shoulder, it made him feel more secure as well.

Then it happened, a cry was let out, Sebastian knew exactly whose. Liz. He ran over to the bricks and then heard a gun shot which made him jump back. He knew it was Seth and he also knew what he was shooting at. The beast in the entrance, but Seth mast have been extremely desperate to use his gun on school grounds. Maybe Elizabeth was in a lot of danger. Sebastian had to go something. He clumsily crawled over Emmie and Ginger excusing himself for his manners and then he popped the bricks off the wall.

He barely saw Seth walking away with Liz in his arms. The beast was gone. Maybe Seth's guns had an affect on the creature, maybe they could affect the hallucinations. Nothing was certain but Sebastian ran out of the hiding spot behind the bathroom and called after Liz and Seth.

"Hey wait up! Girls are you coming?" He asked Emelia and Ginger.

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Rajani had just enjoyed giving terrible visions of the past to Seth, the assassin, the fear of never being able to become stronger. He was just too much of an easy prey. Itziar had created the creature in the bathroom and seeing Seth shooting at the beast had made it perfect to give them hope. After Seth had shot several bullets to the beast she had created, Itziar took the creature back into her soul. Now the stupid kids thought they could kill the hallucination.

"Let's just see how that goes," laughed Itziar in a very monotonic tone.

"I'm enjoying them already, just wait until Adisa and Briar start getting in the game," Rajani had a much sexier and lustful laugh, but just as twisted and sadistic, "Where are they anyways?"

Emmie felt instant comfort when Sebastian tightened his arm around her. She would have felt the same way about any one of their group, had it been them inside of here instead of him. It was only her five friends that could ever offer her any form of solace. The rest of the world could damn well piss off as far as she was concerned. All she needed was her friends and right now, she needed them more than ever. Just as she thought about the others, the bricks were being removed from their slot and another form slipped into the hiding place. Peering up from Seb's shoulder, she offered a small, but sad smile to Ginger. Self-pitying was one thing, but she needed to realise that her friends were experiencing the exact same horrors. Slowly, she reached out and touched Ginger's hand with her fingertips. For Emmie, although small for most, it was a giant gesture of caring.

When a scream echoed from the other side of the wall, Emmie snatched her hand back, her eyes swivelling fearfully in the direction of the noise. It was Liz's scream. Followed promptly by a shout and then three very loud gunshots. Undoubtedly Seth. But just how serious was the situation for him to use his gun? And on school grounds as well... Before she could react, however, Seb had clambered across them and out of the hole. Selfishly, Emmie almost held him back. Who knew of the dangers that were out there? He could be injured, or worse...killed. But then again, her friends were in trouble. Quickly, she followed suit, dusting herself down as she reached the other side. Cautiously, she peered around for the terrifying creature, but it was no longer anywhere to be seen. Visably, Emmie relaxed, her tense body easing up somewhat. At least that thing was gone. That was one less thing for the group to worry about. It still seemed strange to Emmie that it could be physically touched and if that meant they could touch it...then it could touch them. Fear clutched at her heart for a moment. Who had every heard of hallucinations that could be touched and felt? No-one. Because it just didn't happen. Ever.

As she left the stall, she caught a glimpse of Sebastian heading out of the door. Gesturing towards it with her head, she silently informed Ginger to follow. Emmie didn't speak. It was as simple as that. Silently she crossed the bathroom and slipped out of the door, holding it open for her fellow friend. Before them stood Sebastian and Seth, holding a very limp Liz in his arms. Emmie clasped her hands over her mouth and rushed to their side, dropping her hands to her unconscious friend's forehead. There appeared to be a lot of blood coming from a wound. Probing it gently with her fingers, she attemped to see the damage. Not that she would know what to do, but she felt like she must do something. Wordlessly, her eyes focused on Seth, asking a silent, but important question: "Are you alright?"

Next, she looked to Sebastian and shrugged her shoulders in a "What do we do now?" kind of question.

Seth could hear sirens as he walked farther and farther away from the hideout. Could Liz hear them? Were they real sirens? Or was it all just part of the imaginary hell they were a part of?Seth’s mind was racing with so many questions that he almost didn’t hear Liz say, “Hey, Seth…”

“Yeah Liz?” Seth asked in a whisper not looking at her but looking straight where he was going. “Liz?” Seth asked once more with a slightly louder tone of voice till he looked down and saw that Liz had passed out.

“Liz!?! Liz, wake up!” Seth said worriedly, slightly shaking her to wake her up.

“Arghhh what am I going to do???” Seth thought frantically. “Liz needs help, but I can’t bring her to the nurse! What am I going to say? A monster tried to eat my friend and I shot it and it disappeared? She’ll think I’m nuts! Plus, the fact that I have a gun means I can go to prison! And what if there’s more of them? What am I going to do then?”

Seth kept walking trying not to attract attention in the halls and avoiding being seen. He nearly ran when he heard “Hey wait up!” but he recognized the voice. It was Seb, followed by Emmie and Ginger. Seth was relieved to see that his friends were alright, but knew he couldn’t relax for long. They had to get out of school, and they had to get help. Seth turned around and Emmie clasped her hands over her mouth upon seeing her friend limp in his arms. She rushed to their side and placed her hands on Liz’s forehead. Then Emmie gently pressed her on Liz’s wound with her fingers, probably examining how badly hurt she was. Afterwards, her eyes switched over to Seth with the look of wondering whether he was alright.

“I’m fine, but Liz…she’s hurt really badly. The monster’s tooth was able to scrape at her arm. What are we going to do Seb? She’s out cold and it looks like I’m the monster!”

"Elizabeth...." the cold voice spoke, echoing in her head. She knew she wasn't awake, everything was too weird. Then again, things had been weird when she was awake, but they had seemed solid. Everything around her right now was fuzzy. Objects fading in and out, knic-knacks moving away or even disappearing as she tried to grab at them Someone was following her, but she couldn't see them or even run, and it bugged her more than anything else. She was scared, sure, but she knew it wasn't real. She was annoyed she couldn't wake up. Liz then felt a sharp pain in her arm. Looking at it, she noticed the injury she got before wasn't there, but she could feel the pain from it. But why, it hadn't been there a minute before? Following the pain were faint voices that she couldn't really make out, but they kept getting clearer as she waited.
She didn't feel like she was being chased anymore, and everything was eerily quiet except for the muffled voices. Then she heard one word that stood out most of all. Monster. Just after hearing it, something grabbed her from behind, causing her to scream and kick as it dragged her backwards to god knows what. And then she saw light.

Seth was still holding her, but others were there now, and Emmie was looking at her arm. Liz felt a little relaxed, knwoing it was probably her friend who touched the wound. She then realized that she was still struggling. At least, her body was, though her mind felt strangely calm.

"Sorry," she mumbled, forcing herself to stay still. Looking around, she saw the others, though they looked just as shaken as her and Seth. "Were you guys behind that wall...?"

Sebastian finally caught up with Seth and Liz who was blacked out. Whatever had happened got Seth into a panic and had wounded Liz.

"I’m fine, but Liz. . . she’s hurt really badly. The monster’s tooth was able to scrape at her arm. What are we going to do Seb? She’s out cold and it looks like I’m the monster!" Seth was starting to have a break down.

Sebstian immediately grabbed both of his shoulders and forced their eyes to lock together, "Get it together man! We're fine, this all just a big ugly nightmare. You're not a monster, Liz is going to be alright and we're not going to keep on seeing these things for long."

There was Sebastian spreading out the positive energy even though he too was shitting his pants at everything. He knew that someone had to keep everyone together. Emmie arrived with looks that said everything, obviously her question to Seth was answered pretty clearly, he wasn't alright but Sebastian was doing everything in his power to get him back into shape. And then Emelia looked at Sebastian in that, "What do we do now?" look.

"We stay strong, Emmie, we stay strong and do what we do best, stick together."

Liz woke up. Her eyes were small but they were darn well open and that was enough to get Sebastian's attention. He grabbed her hand and held it tightly. She seemed to be suffering so much but oddly her voice said otherwise.

"Sorry," Liz mumbled, "Were you guys behind the wall?"

Even though what Liz just said was in no way funny, Ginger who was standing behind Sebastian let out a squeaky laugh which made him smile. They were in the middle of a terrible situation, where nothing and everything seemed real. How could they laugh you're probably thinking? Well, it's all they had left, it was all that seemed real enough at the time.

"Yes, yes we were," replied Ginger. Sebastian added a nod to it.

"Hey Sebastian," Brandon was back with his football suit on all dirty, he must have had practice, "what is up with you guys? Having more bad trips? And why is your buddy carrying Elizabeth?"

That was a bad sign. Either it meant that Brandon had official gotten brain damage or he simply could not see Elizabeth's wound. What was going on?

"We stay strong, Emmie, we stay strong and do what we do best, stick together."

Emmie regarded Seb silently, agreeing with just a simple nod her head. Of course, he was right. They were all going through the same thing and they needed to remain together and keep each other strong. And right now, Liz was the one in danger. The blood coming from her arm was making Emmie feel slightly sick. Surely if she lost any more then she was going to be in serious danger. She didn't want to think about it. They had to get their friend out of there and get her some help. A brief conversation passed between the rest of the group, and although she felt no inclination to join in she was watched with careful eyes. Until Brandon walked up, then her eyes narrowed suspiciously and her stance changed to one of tension.

Emmie knew Brandon exceptionally well. At least she had known Brandon. Back when Emmie was the pretty little cheerleader with all the friends. Brandon was Craig's best friend, but since Daniel's death her had barely said one word to her. Not that she cared. Those weren't her real friends. She had found her real friends when she went through her bad patch. They were the ones who pieced her slowly back together when she was falling apart. They're the ones who haven't shunned her despite her silence and furious bursts of anger. True friends were the ones that looked after her.

Surprise flickered over her face when Brandon questioned what was wrong with Liz. Could he not see the gaping wound? Blinking, she pointed towards Liz's arm, but the blank look of Brandon's face suggested that he didn't have a clue what she was pointing out. Frowning, Emmie studied his features for any sign that he was messing with them. Nothing. Not a single twitch or muscle movement. He couldn't see the injury. Grabbing Seb's wrist in one hand and Ginger's in the hand, she tugged them towards the door, pushing roughly past Brandon. Jerking her head, she indicated for Seth to follow with Liz. They had to get out of there and discover what was going on for themselves. School was the last place that they needed to be right then. But where could they go? Her parents were still out of town, perhaps they could gather at her place and figure everything out.

Seth’s mind was racing thinking of all of the possible bad scenarios when Seb grabbed his shoulders, locked eyes, and reassured him.

“Get it together man! We’re fine, this is all just a big ugly nightmare. You’re not a monster, Liz is going to be alright and we’re not going to keep on seeing these things for long.”

Seth was glad that Seb could say such reassuring words in times like this. Seb was strong and positive even when times were bad, just like Seth’s father was. It was his leadership and hope that kept the group together when times were tough like now.

“We stay strong, Emmie, we stay strong and do what we do best, stick together.”

After that, Liz woke up and Seth’s countenance went from worry to relief.
“Sorry,” Liz mumbled, “Were you guys behind the wall?”
Ginger laughed a hysterical squeaky sound and replied, “Yes, yes we were.”

Although laughter seemed to be out of place in their dire situation, it was the only way they can comfort each other. Seth couldn't have asked for better friends to be with in a situation like this and decided it was time to stop worrying and start doing.
Brandon then came over with a sullied football jersey.

‘What is up with you guys? Having more bad trips? And why is your buddy carrying Elizabeth?”

Seth started glaring at Brandon with eyes full of anger, but then relaxed them after realizing he must not have been able to see the wound because it was inflicted by the monster. If others could not see the monster, perhaps the monster’s actions did not exist to them as well. Seth gritted his teeth, holding back on trying to explain to Brandon a situation that didn't exist to him. Emmie then grabbed Seb and Ginger and tugged them towards the door. She made a jerking motion with her head towards the door, meaning that Seth must bring Liz over. Perhaps the gang had to get out of school and figure out what the deal with the drug was. Emmie seems to want to hold the meeting at her place.

While walking to Emmie’s place, Seth would glance at Liz’s wound occasionally. The wound raised so many questions. He was reassured that since the wound did not seem to exist for Brandon, that would mean the supposed “gun wound” scenario would not be suspected. However, it also meant they were on their own to care for Liz. He wondered whether ordinary objects could even have any effect on Liz, since it seemed the monster was nonexistent to everything except for them. However, there was one lingering question on Seth’s mind that was the key to their horrible situation. Once they arrived at Emmie’s empty pad Seth decided to be blunt.

“So Seb, where did you get the pills?”

"Liz is a bit dehydrated and is weak in her legs, so she needed to be carried before she passed out," Ginger lied peacefully to Brandon which put a quiet smile on Sebastian's face.

Everyone looked at Brandon then at Elizabeth's wound. If he couldn't see up but they could then things were weird. Above all, if Liz could feel the pain but no one could even have proof that her pain was from an actual flesh wound then things weren't looking bad. Emmie grabbed both Sebastian and Ginger then headed out. She gestured for Seth to follow them with Liz. They all headed to Emmie's house and when they arrived the big question was asked by Seth;

"So Seb, where did you get the pills?"

For a second he just laughed but his smile turned to a frown and he flopped onto the couch with his head held in her hands. He started feeling the guilt. Because of his choice in dealers they were heading towards what felt to him like an eternity of suffering.

"It was this new guy, he gave them to a very reasonable price," Sebastian stared at the floor wide eyed and gritted his teeth, "I should have been more careful, I am so sorry."

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Adisa and Briar

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Adisa stood outside the door of Emilia's home he had a very pleased grin plastered onto his face his hand was shaking crazily as he questioned himself, "Open it? Don't open it. Open it? Don't open it."

"Open the damn door Adisa," said Briar as he busted through the entrance and opened his arms widely like a magician would before a show, "Hello young stupid druggies, welcome to Imaginerium!"

Emelia had led her friends back to her house, winding through the streets until they reached the pretty little two storey building on a perfect street. She hated it here, but it was her parents home and she had nowhere else to go. Most of the time she stayed at one of the group's houses in order to avoid her parents. Whenever they looked at her these days it was with such regret and pity that it made her feel sick. Nothing they said could heal the wounds left by the death of her brother and looking at them every day only sought to make her feel worse. That said, they were out of town most of the time. Her father had thrown himself into his work since the accident and her mother accompanied him everywhere. Emmie was left alone. Just the way she liked it.

Shutting the door behind everyone, she didn't think to lock it. No-one would come looking for them. Not many people cared about the welfare of the druggies in the school. Turning to her friends, she looked expectantly at Seb when Seth asked him where the drugs had come from. It wasn't his fault. It could have happened to any of them. In response, she gave a light who-could-have-known shrug of her shoulders and set about finding some blankets for Liz. Laying one over her friend, who was now resting on the bed, she patted Liz's shoulder with a concerned look on her face. Her friends meant a lot to her and she would hate to lose any of them, especially to something that was not real.

"Open the damn door Adisa!" Emmie started at the sudden voice outside of her door. Turning on her heel, she watched as two men - wait, were they men? - walked smoothly into her house, one with his arms open wide. Her skin instantly began to itch at the sight of the pair and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Emmie had a bad feeling about these people. Stepping up, she stood in front of her friends, pushing them backwards a few steps. This was her house after all and she would be damned if anyone thought they could just storm in here and hurt them.

"Hello young stupid druggies, welcome to Imaginerium!"

Frowning, Emmie studied them carefully. Imaginerium? What the hell was that? It wasn't a word that she had heard before. These people set her teeth on edge and worry seeped into her chest. She glanced at Seb in a questioning manner. Was one of these people who he brought the drugs off? Were they hear to gloat? Or perhaps sell them more? Whatever it was, she didn't look the look or feel of them one little bit. Pointedly, she looked at them and then the door, jerking her head a little. It clearly indicated time for you to leave.

Ginger frowned and sat down next to Seb, she grabbed his and leaned her head on his shoulder "It's okay Seb, im sure any one of us would have done the same thing... don't put all the blame on yourself." Ginger said softly and squeezed his hand. She smiled at him and let go of his hand and started pacing all around.

Then two people burst threw the door "Hello young stupid druggies, welcome to Imaginerium!" one man said. Ginger blinked Imaginerium? What the hell was that? Who are these people? Is this the day I die? All these questions were running threw Gingers mind, but she opted for standing straight and faking confidence "First question, what is Imaginerium? And second, who are you?" Ginger asked quietly and turned beet red.

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The two men barging in was another surprise that Sebastian had a hard time taking in. Were they real? Were they just another part of his twisted hallucinations? The guy with the black suit and open arms made him think it was just a vision. No one in their sane mind would waltz into someone's house with that sort of entry. Then again, Sebastian had done much weirder things and he was living, breathing and palpable.

The two men were so different in the way they moved and scoured the house. The one in the suit was actually very rude even though he looked more like the gentleman type. He was picking up anything he could lay his hands on. Books, decorations, furniture. . . Anything at all and he gave a little expression of either pleasure or flat out disgust to point out his opinion of the object he was making contact with.

The other man, dressed as a punk rocker with necklaces bracelets, was a bit more quiet and less curious. He just came into the house and flopped onto a couch while his buddy wandered around. The punk rocker stared at each and everyone one of the friends as if trying to discover their weak spot, their current feelings and whatnot.

"What's Imaginerium? Who are you? Why the hell are you here?" Sebastian blurted out after the suited man disgusted him when he started playing with the family pictures.

The guy was staring at them and sniffing them like he was thinking about eating the pictures. Sebastian was freaked out and repulsed by the man. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who was a bit nervous, Ginger came over and sat next to him the grabbed him. The girl was so gentle and so quiet, he liked her company a lot. She told him that everything was okay and oddly those simple words coming from her mean the world to him so he gave her a slight smile.

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Adisa and Briar

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Adisa and Briar just made themselves at home while the teenagers stared at them questioningly. What were two random guys doing at their house? That was probably one of the questions they were asking themselves. Adisa kept on making theories about their thoughts. He loved trying to guess what people were thinking then he makes stories up in his mind.

Briar just walked around, he liked getting an actual feel of the life his prey was living. He felt quite fastidious about the girl. . . um. . . Emilia was her name's way of living. He liked the picture though. Clearly there was a missing brother. There were several pictures in which the young girl was smiling along side of an older brother but then suddenly no more pictures of the big boy and only sad faces of the girl.

"How splendid!" Briar smiled after sniffing the dust off a certain framed picture where Emilia was alone and sad.

Then the young boy, Sebastian, the odd ball of the group, asked his series of questions that all his other friends were thinking as well. Briar set down the picture and went over to stand next to Adisa who answered the first question.

"Imaginerium is a parallel world to yours. It is the world of illusions and we as well and two others, are the only ones to be living in it. Except now you are in it with us but you are also in the Human world. Confusing isn't it."

Briar laughed at Adisa's teasing and then answered to the other questions, "We are call Imaginerium Fay, pretty much we are the only ones who can survive in this parallel world. And we are here to count you. One, two. . . five. Hm, that's going to be a tough share."

Adisa stated to smile but then turned to a frown when he felt the glare of Emilia set on Briar and himself. It was quite an unpleasant glare that seemed to say, "get out of my house". Adisa didn't not like it so he made eyes contact with her. He showed her a flash of bad memories and some visions of what could happen to her and her friends if she didn't stop staring. He showed her Briar and himself getting somewhat angry enough to rip off Elizabeth's head and crush every bone in Seth's body before she could even call out for help. With that Adisa grinned and went back to the questions as if what Emilia was seeing was not his fault.

Emelia had continued to glare at the two men who had so rudely barged into her home. She kept her eyes narrowed throughout their whole explanation of what was happening to the five of them. It began to make sense, though most of her didn't want to believe it. All of it sounded too far-fetched, too out of this world. But by the sounds of it, this entire situation was out of this world. Slowly, she positioned herself in front of her friends who were sat on the sofa, as though to protect them from the two strange men. They were going to count them? And five was a difficult number to share. Instantly it all made sense. Emelia clenched her hands into fists and increased the intensity of her gaze.

But in that moment, one of them turned and fixed his eyes upon her. Although she tried to hold onto his stare, her mind was flooded with a barrage of images. Tearing her eyes away, she screwed them up and pressed her hands to her head in distress as endless images harassed her mind. Sinking to her knees, her mouth opened in a silent scream.

"DANIEL!" She was looking at her brother's still form. "DANIEL. WAKE UP! Please...Please don't leave me! Daniel." A sob escaped her lips as she shook his lifeless body. But he didn't wake up. He would never look at her with those loving eyes again.

Flashes of the following months. Walking alone. Never saying a word. Losing all of her friends. Losing everything she had ever known. Her parents growing further apart for her. The regret and pain in their eyes. The guilt on their faces. And finally the resentment.

The two men grabbing Elizabeth and mercilessly tearing her head from her shoulders, tossing it over their shoulders without a second thought. All the blood on the carpet. Her lifeless body just laying there without her head.

Next they grabbed Seth and chucked him across the room, smashing every single bone in his body. He fell to the floor with a pained sound escaping his lips. He wasn't dead, but in immense agony. She couldn't help him. She couldn't help any of them.

Other images of dreadful things flashed across her mind, both past and supposed future. She could do nothing against the assault, only rest her head against her knees and grip her hair in her hands. Her whole body shook from head to toe and she bit her arm to stop the screams.

Seth observed the strange and rude behavior of the two men. The well dressed man crept around Emelia’s house, picking up random objects as though he thought Emelia wouldn’t mind at all. It got even weirder when the man sniffed at Emelia’s family pictures as though they were appetizing meals he was so tempted to gobble up. Seth glanced at Emelia, wondering how she felt having these two men barge in her place, and from her glare, Seth can imagine how much she wanted them to get out.

Soon, Ginger spoke up asking about what Imaginerium was and who they were. Then Seb added to her inquiries by asking, What’s Imaginerium? Who are you? Why the hell are you here?” According to the men the group was in a parallel world called Imaginerium filled with illusions and at the same time they inhabited the human world. The men were called “Imaginerium Fay” who can survive in the parallel world. And the reason the men were in the group’s presence was to count them.

Wait, did I hear that right? Seth asked himself. They want to count us? For what?

“One, two…five. Hm, that’s going to be a tough share.”

A tough share…? Seth thought. He remembered the man said there were two others like them. He recalled the man’s actions, particularly the way he savored the smell of the picture, and then he realized in horror why they were going to be “a tough share.”

The punk rock Imaginerium Fay suddenly turned to glare at Emelia who positioned herself in front of everyone on the sofa. Suddenly tears were streaming from her eyes. She wiped them away and held her head as she opened her lips in the form of a scream with no sound. Emelia continued this way until she rested her head against her knees and grabbed a bunch of her hair. Her whole body was shaking eerily and she suddenly bit her arm. Seth grabbed a hold of the arm that Emelia was biting into, looked into her eyes stricken with a mixture of fear and sorrow, and tried to lightly shake her to wake her from her nightmares.

Emelia?? Emelia!?! Are you alright? Snap out of it!! Emelia!?!

Seth turned to look back at the punk rock Imaginerium Fay on the other couch and saw that he had a ghastly grin on his face. Seth clenched his fists, thinking perhaps he had something to do with Emelia’s suffering, but looked back at Emelia. He wanted to make sure that whether his hunch was right or not that he wouldn’t upset this humanoid looking creature and provoke it from further harming any of the others.

Seth wondered whether the group should stay and keep asking for questions to better understand their situation or leave and find a place away from these two Imaginerium Fay that seem to eye them peculiarly, unless it was his imagination. He figured they could try to jump out the window in the back and run out through the backyard or run upstairs and get out of the window leading to the fire escape. Still he remembered what happened at school and the Imaginerium Fay’s words and wondered whether that would be a smart idea, seeing as everything was being tied to illusions and their escapes could lead to dead ends in their eyes. There was also Liz who was still badly injured and Emelia who was trapped in a nightmare inside her head. Still he didn’t want to stay around and ask questions until the Imaginerium Fay decide to…no, he didn’t want to think about that. Seth decided to glance at his friends with a look asking, “What now?” while trying to evade the attention of the Imaginerium Fay.

The new drug that Sebastian came with was utterly wonderful, Lucas had never taken anything even close to it and when all the others seemed to see the same thing. It was amazing. The hallucinations were colourful and weird, like a jungle, a desert or a plain. Plants seemed to rise all around them from nowhere, from the floor, out of the walls and hanging from the roof. The drug should wear off after a few hours or a day but as he stayed at Liz's place and woke up next day it hadn't wore off at all. Maybe it was too strong? Take some time to wear off? He spent the whole weekend at her place until they all actually had to go home for school tomorrow.

When Lucas left, the whole world was still alive. Just like it had been at Li'z place. The roads seemed not to follow any particular way, the lamp post moved with the wind but changed to something. A plant with a mouth? Like those who eat insects. He shook his head and sighed. Everything was just a hallucinations and he knew his way home with even closed eyes, he'd been at everyone's place a lot of times since he joined them.
He tried not to pay much attention on what happen around him, how the plants grew and the road spinning, curling and here and there animals, or no. Beast appeared. They must be some kind of beasts. They were too different from animals that lived here. He pressed down his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground, grass and colourful flowers appeared were he stepped on the ground.

It took a while for him to arrive at home, he could have asked for a drive home or even take his bike but he was more of a walking person. Enjoyed to walk around no matter what weather was. As he slowly approached his home which seemed to actually look normal. Like it always did but there was something that made him stop in his tracks. Something stood on the walkway to the door. He continued to walk, carefully now because even if everything just was a hallucination, his mind would still think it was real. The beast looked like a purple and green striped deer with huge antlers, moss and small flowers growing on them and glowing yellow eyes. It looked quite beautiful, like a fantasy deer. He chuckled softly for himself, it was quite amusing how real everything looked. He went to walk pass it but froze when he felt it's breath on his cheek. Hallucination, it's just a hallucination. His minded screamed as he turned to the deer, slowly reaching for the deer's muzzle and felt the warm and wet breath on his hand. He held his breath as he got closer and closer and when he almost placed his hand on the muzzle, the deer grew sharp black teeth and snapped at him. He jerked away and a scream almost forced it's way up but he manage to push it down. Holding his breath as he quickly moved to the door, not daring to release it until he turned around and the deer stood still at it's place, staring at him.
He took a few deep breaths. He could handle this, there's nothing to freak out about. He can handle scary or stressed or anything at all with a calm mind but this? It was really fucking scary. A smile tugged at his lips, he swore. Nothing he usually did. He turned again and open the door, carefully walking inside so that his parents wouldn't hear him. He needed to sleep it off for tomorrow, how would he manage school if it continued? People would probably think he finally lost his mind or something. He passed the living room and kitchen, almost at the stairs when he heard a voice behind him.

"Oi, freak. Were have you been? You said you would come back yesterday, you know. Saturday not Sunday." Sean said mockingly and Lucas rolled his eyes.
"I'm sorry but I stayed a bit longer, Liz had the whole house for herself." Lucas answered without turning.
"Not that I care but what the fuck was that on the porch? You taking something? Because you paled and reached for something and then jerked away. I'll tell mom you're on drugs or some shit."
Lucas sighed deeply and finally turned around but froze. This was not happening. Were his asshole for a brother should stand, stood a dead man. Or no, it wasn't a dead man but the flesh was burnt, dark and rotten. Black eyes with blood running down from them, no nose, one side of the jaw torn up so you could see the teeth, well what was left of them. Torn clothes. He looked just like a zombie but his voice was just the same.
"What are you staring at faggot?" The voice had changed to something raspy, gurgling and that was it. The walls around them seemed to rot and it was too much for Lucas to take, he open his mouth to something, anything but what came out was a scream and he stumbled. Fell to the ground before bolting up and run out from there. Sean grabbed his arm to stop him.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" The raspy, gurgling voice said that was not his brother but a creature of death and decay. He screamed again in terror and manage to wretch free, run out from there and out on the street. Everything seemed to grow hostile and horrible around him, it was bad. He had no idea what to think or anything until he heard the horn from a car and everything happen in slow motion. The car looked normal and he just stared at it, couldn't move but luckily it only barely touched him, knocked him to the side and he hit his head on the pavement.

He thought he heard voices but the ringing in his ears was too loud, blurry figures around him. Everything seemed to slowly darken around him and then suddenly he woke up in a unknown room. He sat up suddenly and regretted it immediately, his head was pounding. Groaning he laid down again when a voice startled him.
"So finally awaken? Mom will kill you for this." His brother said from the side and Lucas sighed deeply. Great. He was at the hospital. What happen? He tried to think back, he had been screaming and been terrified then a car came from somewhere. It must have hit him. God, his head hurt.
"Did you call them?" He asked and looked towards his brother.
"Of course I did. But I didn't tell her the whole thing. What the heck was that back there? You screamed when you looked at me and then ran out, I mean. Dude. Whatever your on, you stop right now or I will tell mom and they'll send you away." Sean said with a slight growl.
"I went mental, that's it. Too much drinking and way to little sleep. You should know how a wild weekend goes." Lucas said with a shrug. "How long will I be here? How long have I even been here?" He asked with a frown and Sean shrugged.
"I called for a doctor when it seemed you would wake up, so they'll probably check you. You didn't hit your head that bad. You were just out of it for around a hour." Sean said as he stood up and stretched.
It didn't take long until a doctor came in and smiled at them. He told them how things were. That Lucas was staying over the night. They would see how he felt the next day and more, but it wasn't for sure that he could leave the next day. Lucas just groaned a little at the thought, spend a night here. And his mother. She will go crazy, no she is already. It won't take long before they arrive and hell goes loose. Not really but almost, he wondered what his father would say? Never mind, he would think of that later. Rest sounded great now. At least the hallucinations weren't in this room. Freaking hell those things was scary.
His parents were there for a rather short time due to the exhaustion Lucas felt. He still felt a bit dizzy but the headache was much worse then some dizziness. He could really take dizziness any day then a bad headache. He slept a bit, well as much as he could with a pounding head but he had gotten some wicked medication against it so he actually could sleep a few hours. Maybe he had been too exhausted to even notice the weirdness here? Or maybe it just gave him a rest? No, it most have gone away by now. Thank the gods for that. Not that he's really religious but you know, things you just say. By the next day he felt better, his headache was still there but no dizziness so he was allowed to leave the hospital. His parents were working so his brother picked him up.

"If you do one more stunt like this again, I'll leave you there." Sean said when they were in his car and Lucas only sighed. He picked up his cellphone, but it was dead. The hallucinations hadn't left at all and shocked him when he walked out from the hospital. It was awful, what if they never left? How would he be able to live like this? He couldn't call anyone so decided to go to the one who lived closest and it happen to be Emelia's place.
"Could you drive me to Emelia's house? I can walk home from there, just want to talk to her about school things." Lucas said and hoped that his brother would do as he asked.
"Okey, but I won't pick you up there. Get home by yourself." Sean had only answered and it was good enough for him.

As soon as they came to Emelia's house and Lucas got out off the car, Sean drove quickly away from there. Did they others still have the hallucinations? He really hoped that or he actually finally went mental, which wouldn't surprise him but you could always hope. He touched the back off his head and felt the stitches as he walked to the door. He was about to knock on the door when he heard something from the inside. He opened it up slowly.
"Hey, Emmie. I think I'm going mental or-" He stopped talking when he got in and saw the others. Emelia on the ground with Seth next to her. He had never seen her so pale and scared before. What was happening? He stood still at the door, looking from Emelia to Ginger then Sebastian. Liz were nowhere to be seen. There was something really wrong here. Should he go in or, wee were should he go? He was pretty alone without them and whatever they saw, he doubted that the police or anyone else could see it all. Whatever they were staring at in the living room He carefully walked inside to them and saw the two men in the living room. Who the hell were they? Were did they come from? Any why were the others just staring at them.
"Who are those two?" He whispered to Sebastian.