When The Light Goes Out

Chapter - 11

The first thing Barry noticed was that it was quiet. Very quiet. The second, was that he wasn't alone in his bedroom. Monique had fallen asleep on the floor with her head and an arm over the edge of the bed. "She seriously didn't leave." It was Jade who spoke. "Barry...I saw them talking again. Last night...I don't know what they're doing, but I think it's bad. They want the light."

"I know," Barry replied tiredly. "They almost got it last night."

"What happens if they get the light?"

"I don't know, but it's not gonna be good."

The Horde, as was so affectionately named the trio of Patricia, Dennis and Hedwig, were up to something. He tried to dissuade Hedwig from their influence but he was just the same as them: now obsolete. Patricia nad Dennis, however, were far more troublesome than a mischievious child. The stories they told scared the others but it was far more unsettling that they believed them. Barry went to rinse his face in the bathroom and found Monique sitting up when he came back. She looked him up and down.

"Are you okay?" she asked in a small, uneven voice.

"I'm okay now, yeah. But I don't know for how long."

"What do you mean?"

"If you're serious about staying then I should tell you before things get out of hand." He sat on the floor in front of her. His expression was almost sad as he began to explain what they had been going through. The horde was planning something. He didn't know what but they talked to each other a lot. The others were getting anxious but it wasn't like they could just get rid of them. The other alters just wanted to live, to experience things but the horde had different ideas of what should be done.

They spoke of the pure and impure. No one understood what they were talking about. What they could understand, that no one really believed they existed, didn't bother them much. They knew they existed and that was enough. The horde wanted more.

"If one of the horde got control of the light I don't know what they would do," Barry said. "None of us are bad, we're not crazy. We're not. The horde believes it's for the good of all of us but..."

The longer Monique listened the more nervous she became. She had put so much into this friendship but now she was feeling hesitant. Barry wasn't bad and Jade wasn't bad either, but there were alters with unknown intentions. It would feel horrible if she did abandon him for the sake of her conscience then something awful happened. "What happens if they take the light from you? Will I still be able to see you again?"

"Probably not," he replied. "If they got the light from me, there's no way that I would ever get the light again. The horde would be completely in control."

"Do you think you will be able to keep it?"

"I don't know. They were close to taking it last time and the others couldn't do anything about it." He sighed heavily. "I'm not sure what's gonna to happen next time."

Monique watched the worry in his eyes and his brow and the way he frowned now. She didn't like the way it looked on his face. She liked it less that there was nothing she could do to stop him from looking that way. "I'm sorry that there's nothing I can do but ssit here and listen," she said. "You're going through all of this and me being here doesn't make it any less harder for you."

"Look, Mo'," he moved closer to her and took her hands between his, "if there was anything that you could do to help us right now, it would be to litsen. I'm gonna tell you about the other alters. Take notes if you want to, but if the they do get control of the light, you should know who you're dealing with."

Monique thought it better to record the information rather than write it down where it could be lost or thrown away. She started the recording function on her phone and listened as he explained. There were twenty-three alters- meaning twenty-two others shared this body with Barry. Jade, the only other alter she had met, was one of the younger alters. There were younger alters and older alters. They were also worried about the horde's actions and he told her that if one of them ever got a hold of the light to listen to whatever they had to say. It could only help.