The Wrong Misfit

The Dark and the Innocent : Part II

“What are you looking at?” I asked Simon as he peered from the side of the brick building. I walked cautiously behind him to find that same group of pure teens, grown in size, burning all of their drugs and sex toys followed by applause and pats on the back.

“Burn the drugs! You can do it!”

“I swear, this group gets weirder and weirder. People don’t just turn into that within a day.” Soon Nathan and Kelly were behind us, watching in confusion.

“Have you seen Curtis?” Simon asked.

“They got him last night in the community center.” Nathan responded grimly. “It was some spooky shit.”

“It’s her. She’s doing something to them” Kelly commented.

“We gotta stop her...somehow” I stated, still unsure as to what we could do. The other 3 left but I stayed behind to watch her answer some questions for the news reporters. Out of all she said, there was one thing that stuck and sounded awfully familiar.

“You don’t need to behave like this. You can be so much better.” That’s what she kept saying to these kids. That’s what was changing them. But if it was changing them, why wasn’t it changing me?

Then I remembered, “Has anyone seen Niamh?”

Nathan’s eyes grew to size of the moon. “Shiiiiit. You don’t think she’s with...them?”

“I’ll go check. You go see Alisha.” I ran out of the doors to the corner of the building where we watched in strange horror at this peculiar group of teenagers. I squinted my eyes as I searched in secrecy for Niamh, hoping and praying that they didn’t get to her. As I watched from afar, I kept contemplating why I wasn’t influenced by them. Meaning, everything that girl said had no effect on me. I went down the list. Alisha. Sex-crazed. Smoker. Drinker. Curtis. Drug user. Or should I say, drug “handler”. Has sex with Alisha on the daily. Then there was me. I didn’t smoke, drink, use drugs. I wasn’t reckless or sex-crazed or a criminal. I guess the only bad thing I did was swear but that was only when my emotions ran high. Ultimately, according to the group’s standards, I was “pure”. I wasn’t the one who needed help. I was zapped out of contemplating the whole situation when I spotted that familiar head of blond hair. She turned around to give another member a tight hug and my eyes grazed over her whole body, head to toe. Niamh sported a pastel pink cardigan over a light yellow button up top, her tiny baby bump protruding, with a khaki skirt that ended at the knee. Her face was free from the several layers of black mascara and powdered foundation. Her nose piercing was no where to be found. Her Converse for Sperry’s. Her black for pastels. I almost gagged. Knowing that none of them would be able to coax me into their lifestyle, I braved into the growing crowd, moving towards Niamh.

“Niamh!” I called out. She turned to see who it was and her smile grew immensely.

“Oh my god! April!” She pulled into a tight hug. “I have the best news!”

“I’m assuming it has something to do with your change in style.”

“I’ve given up drinking and partying. Dumped Rudy-”

“You dumped Rudy?!” I interjected. “I thought you guys were perfect for each other.”

“The tattoos and smoking, and drinking just weren’t a good influence for me. Especially for the baby and all.”

“I mean sure you can give up smoking and drinking but giving up everything else is absurd. This isn’t you.”

“It’s the new me,” she replied with a smile. “I really hope you stop by our meeting today. It’ll be loads of fun. And I’ll tell you about my new plans for the future.” She held out a pamphlet towards me but I shook my head and walked away, shocked. They managed to get three of us. Who knew how long it would take to get to the rest of them, leaving me the sole survivor.