Cook Stood in the mouth of the alleyway and watched NATE and Michelle walk back into the now un-surrounded theater. She shivered, despite the warmth of the California evening. Something had happened to NATE, he still had his feelings but it was like he had put them away and wasn’t going near them. Cook also had to admit to herself that the thing inside Michelle scared her. She hadn’t noticed before that the thing didn’t just control Michelle, it had broken down her inhibitions. There was a strength and chaos of emotion within her that, if it had been light, would have been too bright to look at. Cook was lonely and it hurt, yet she was too afraid to go in after them.
She looked down at the heart-shaped clock around her neck to check the time. Things had started to change once they received the gifts from Sean. She started thinking that maybe she should take it off. She tried and failed to do so. It was a gift and Sean was so nice to help them out, it would be mean and rude not to keep the clock and cherish it. Her train of thought was disrupted by a small squeaking noise and a rustling near her feet. Cook jumped what must have been two feet straight up and let out a blood-curdling scream she didn’t think she was capable of. Without thinking she flailed her arms and hopped about and threw whatever she could at the offending rodent. Luckily for her, she just happened to have been holding the clock.
The heart-shaped clock hit the sidewalk and shattered as the small grey rat ran away as fast as its little legs could carry it. Cook tried to relax her breathing and heart rate and succeeded after only a few moments. What the hell had happened to her. She’d screamed like a little girl because of a rat. And she liked rats. She felt sorry for the little fuzzy thing and then noticed the pieces of the clock as if for the first time. Of course, she thought, they were addventure items so they could alter the people who held them. If the three items were held together they most likely balanced each other out, but alone they messed with you. Sean probably hadn’t known that, he certainly seemed to mean well, but like his character counterpart he sometimes got things mixed up. Cook was no longer afraid of everything the night held. There were dangers, certainly, but she could handle them. Now she just had to get the other items away from NATE and Michelle. Easier said than done. NATE was now planning and Michelle would be afraid of nothing. She may be able to offset NATE by being quick and reckless. For Michelle, she’d most likely have to be lucky.
“Let’s do this,” Cook said to the night as she hefted her fetish gun and went into the theater.
Mon Nov 27 11:37:57 2006