Open Minds || Book 1 || Golix [OLD]

Chapter 14: (make up good tiltle)

Mike's POV

  We're eating breakfast when we hear a short scream from upstairs.  It can't be my parents fighting, they're out of town for a week for something.  Then it hits me.  Phoenix. 

  I leap out of my seat milliseconds after Jeremy does and sprint past him, practically flying up the stairs.  The other three follow close behind. 

  We get to the guest room and I fling open the door without a second thought.  Phoenix is sitting up on the bed, her head in her hands and taking quick, shallow breaths. 

  Jeremy shoves past me and runs to my cousin.  He hugs her and starts speaking to her softly.

"Ph-phoenix,  calm down!  Ju-just breath! It's okay, nothing bad is happening, so please calm down!"

  My cousin just continues shaking violently,  that's when I hear her repeating something over an over again. 

"It's all my fault.  My fault.  My fault.  They're gone because of me.  My fault.  The were killed because of me.  It's all my fault that they're gone. My fault,  my fault,  my fault!  I could've helped them!"

  It only takes me maybe a second to figure out what she's talking about by repeating that over and over again.  The murders that happened at Fazfuck's pizzeria 10 or 11 years ago.

  Phoenix never, and I mean never brings up the topic,  so the dream or nightmare or whatever must've been bad enough to get her to start talking about it.  So that's also probably what this panic attack is about.

  I see a dark shadow fly past me, and realize that it's Faith.  The spirit child hug Phoenix, and everyone gasps as Faith becomes visible to them,  as well as the fox ears that just twitched on Phoenix's head.

  This I also when I notice that Faith seems to have a more physical figure,  like a child made out of mist and shadows.  Her lower half seems to be more clear,  not just fading away into a trail of mist. 

  Then my cousin rests her head against Jeremy's shoulder,  and I feel a small twinge of jealousy,  but I push it aside.  I can't feel like this.  Anyway, it's time to get ready for school.  And it's Vince's turn to watch Phoenix. 

~*~

Vincent's POV

  I walk back upstairs, because I have to check on Phoenix again.  I walk into the guest room we gave her to use, only to find her still curled up under the covers. 

"Get out of the damned bed already!" I shout at her.  She visibly flinches,  but rolls over while giving me the middle finger. 

  That little bitch,  how dare she-

*please stand by,  we are experiencing some technical difficulties, LoL*

Mike's POV

  We walk into the school, and Jeremy sticks close to my side.  Heh, he seems to want me to protect him from everyone.  That's cute.
...
   I really have to stop thinking this way. 

  We walk out of Social Studies and down to fourth period,  Gym.  We enter the locker room,  and I can almost instantly tell that my friends were about to prank Jeremy.  My suspicions are proved correct when I hear a locker slam shut and Jeremy comes running from the way the noise can from, then hides behind me. 

  I pat his head softly as I look over at my friends. 

"Hey guys,  leave Jeremy alone.  He's a night watcher now, so that mean he's one of us," I explain.  They all look at me in shock,  then start patting Jeremy on the back kinda roughly. 

  Even though he tries to hide it, I see him flinch every time.  Then he lets out a slight whimper.  I look at him.

"Hey,  you good?"

  He nods, but he's also holding his torso.  I can tell that his injuries are bothering him.  Sighing,  I motion Scott over. 

"Jere, take off your shirt.  Scott, be ready to heal him,  'k?"

  Scott nods while Jeremy seems more reluctant.  Slowly, he pulls his shirt off, revealing his bandaged torso.  Everyone does a quick double take, looking at the bandages, several of them you could see where blood had soaked through.

"Holy crap, Foxy sure did a number on ya, huh?" Scott questions Jeremy as a green glow with teal particles surrounds his hands.  Jere only nods once again, allowing the healing magic to do its work.  Everyone knows which animatronic did the job on Jeremy because I was similarly injured a few months ago.  And I'm technically still healing.

  After Scott finishes stabilizing Jeremy's wounds, Jere pulls his shirt back on and stands up,  limping slightly from his not entirely healed leg injury as we walk out to join the rest of our class.  The kid is stronger then he lets on...but what did Phoenix mean when she said if only I knew what they went through each day?