I'm Here. (Pentatonix Fanfiction)

Chapter 2

"I know how."
Everyone turned their head to look at the man. Startled, I backed up into Scott, who put his hands on my shoulders comfortingly.
"Who the hell are you?" Avi demanded, his face lined with stress.
"That's none of your goddamn business!" The man snapped, taking a step forward.
"He may know what happened Avi." Kirstie said, smiling warmly.
"Thanks, little girl." The man said sarcastically. Kirstie looked at him nervously, and backed up a little.
"Hey, don't talk to her like that!" Avi yelled, holding a fist towards the man.
"Enough!" Kevin yelled.
"Avi, just let the man talk." He continued.
The man just glared at Avi, and stormed away, disappearing into the shadows.
"Hey! You have some explaining to do!" Avi shouted, starting after the man. Kevin stood in front of Avi.
"Let him go."
Kirstie and Mitch were huddled together, cowering against the wall. Security started to usher the fans out. I turned to go, but they pushed me back.
"You're a witness. You have to stay." The security guard said, once again pushing me away. I tried to look for Toby, but he was lost in the sea of faces. Once everyone was cleared out, everyone looked around uncomfortably. The paramedics started to leave too. Soon, it was just me and Pentatonix. They told us to stay put and wait for further instructions. Avi ran over to Kirstie, comforting her, and Scott did the same to Mitch. I felt my emotions start to get the better of me, and soon hot tears slid down my cheeks. I didn't know why I was crying. Perhaps the entire situation was too overwhelming, or maybe I was just scared of what had happened to the cameraman. All I knew was that I was crying and I couldn't stop. Kevin noticed my worry, and pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged back eagerly, feeling the warmth of his arms.

Suddenly, I heard a sound. It was just barely audible. It sounded like... A wire cutting. I pulled away from Kevin and looked up anxiously. I saw a light on the ceiling hanging just by a thread, and it was about to fall on Avi and Kirstie!
"Avi! Kirstie! Move!" I screamed frantically. Avi looked up, and in the thrill of the moment, picked Kirstie up bridal style and ducked out of the way just as the light smashed to the ground, barely missing them. Glass shattered everywhere, and I heard Mitch yelp as a piece of glass wedged itself into his leg. Tears welled in his eyes, as he tried to pull it out.
"No. Let me." Kevin said calmly. He carefully took the piece of glass in his hand and yanked it out as carefully as he could. Scott looked at Mitch pitifully, and pulled him into a hug.
"Are you okay?" He mumbled. Mitch nodded silently, pulling away.
"Sorry, I think the shock just scared me a little." He whispered. I could almost find myself smiling at them. But suddenly, I felt extreme pressure on the sides of my head. It felt like it was going to explode. It was getting more and more intense, and the pain was so unbearable I couldn't even bring myself to scream. Instead, I collapsed on the ground, clawing at the sides of my head viciously.

I saw flashes of black. Then color. The only sound I heard was distorted screaming. Then, out of nowhere, pictures appeared in my head. I saw the strange man from today who had gotten in a fight with Avi. And the cameraman laying on the ground in front of him. I heard a faint chuckling, and saw blood. Lots of it. Blood, cuts, bruises, bones crunching. I desperately wanted to leave this place. To go back to the world I knew. Crunch. Snap. Splat. Trickle. I tried to scream, but I couldn't. Then suddenly, everything went completely white, and it was gone.

I was back. I felt hands on my shoulders shaking me. I looked up and saw Scott staring down at me. When he saw my face, he squinted and let go of me.
"...What the hell?" He muttered, backing away.
"W-what is it?" I asked, my cheeks hot with embarrassment. Kirstie noticed too, and her eyes widened. She pulled a compact mirror out of her purse and handed it to me. I opened it nervously, and I almost dropped the mirror when I saw myself. My eyes were completely pink and glowing. My eyes had always been purple, with a little pink in the middle... But never like this. All I could do was gasp and quickly hand the mirror back to Kirstie.
"Incredible, I always knew they existed, but I've never actually seen them before!" Kevin gasped, caressing my face.
"Seen what before?" Avi asked, peeking out from behind him.
"Ardereitis. Or Glowing Eye Syndrome. I didn't even think it was real." He said, fascinated.
"So, does that somehow explain why she collapsed?" Avi probed.
"It could be a side effect." He turned to me, and bent down to my level.
"Do you take meds?"
"Um... No?" I replied anxiously.
"Oh?" He said, standing up fully. All of a sudden, Mitch bursted into tears, startling everyone. Scott whirled around.
"What's wrong? What happened?" He asked frantically, grabbing his hand.
"I-is she going to be o-okay?" He wailed.
"I'm sure she's going to be fine, she's lived with this all her life." He answers. He pulled Mitch into a hug, rubbing his back to calm him down. Mitch buried his head in Scott's shirt, wetting the sleeves of his button up with tears. Kirstie got a call from Esther saying that the show had been cancelled and they should all just go home and rest.
"Are your parents here?" Avi asked me.
"Yeah my mom should be just outside." I replied, starting to head for the door, the others following closely behind. The lobby was deserted. My mom was no where to be found, and neither was Toby or his mom. I called her name, and her cell phone, but I got no answer.
"Do you want us to drive you to your house?" Scott asked, giving me a nervous smile.
"Yes please." I said, starting to feel a bit worried.
I sat in the car with Scott and Mitch as we drove down the freeway towards my house. I fell asleep for most of the drive, but I woke up as they pulled into the neighborhood I told them.
"We'll wait out here for you to make sure your mom is there." Scott said as I exited the car and walked up the path to my house. I opened the door slowly, leaving it open as my stomach filled with worry. All the lights were off, and I saw one light flickering in the kitchen. I started to shake, fear taking over every inch of my body. I pushed through it and walked down the hallway towards the light. What I saw next was the most horrifying moment of my life. I saw the limp body of my mom laying against the kitchen table. There was a bloody knife in her hand, and blood falling down her neck and wrists freely. I screamed, not wanting it to be true.