//------------------------------// // Vengeance // Story: Curse of the Siren // by Nephilinae //------------------------------// I honestly don't know why I asked Angela to come along... I guess maybe as backup? Or something... Any way, the silence in her mini-van was palpable... At least until I stopped ignoring the cloud of worry that surrounded Angela. We were now parked across the street from Jerkwad's house... Which was not giving enough credit to the building... Despite the nature of it's owners, their house was more akin to a mansion than a house, three stories, each floor at LEAST 400 square feet... It was massive for just three residents. The clock on the dashboard read 8:34, and the sun was starting to set. "What're you gonna do?" Angela asked. I thought for a moment. "Good question." I stated as I opened the passenger door and hopped out. "Just... Stay here and keep your van warm or something..." I told her. She looked at me funny. "Wait wait wait..." she stated. "What are you going to do?" she demanded. "If you're planning on murder then I'm telling you now, this was all your idea, and I will rat you out if asked about your guilt, and if so, I'm leaving now..." I stared at her for a minute. I felt a smirk cross my face. "I am not planning on murdering anyone." I half promised half laughed. "I just... Wanna rough him up a little..." She looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "I'm just going to give him a piece of my mind..." Angela's cloud of worry intensified, but she relented. "Oookay..." she said, drawing out the "O". She then got back into the drivers seat and closed the doors. I sighed, then turned towards the monstrous house that was surrounded by woods... Did I mention the wood's behind Jerkwad's home? No? Well they're full of tall, thick oaks and maple trees... And it was hella creepy... As a kid, when I still rode the school bus everyday, I had nightmares about getting lost in those trees... I joked to myself that they were the perfect place to hide a body... But I hadn't lied to Angela, I just wanted to have a very one sided "chat" with Jerkwad... I started walking across the street, half way across I realized I was humming... I still didn't recognize the tune, but it seemed fitting for my situation. So I didn't stop myself. When I got to the door I realized I was putting words to the tune, but I couldn't hear myself yet to decipher the lyrics. Oh well. I knocked on the glass door. Something shuffled around inside. I felt a sense of disgruntlement approach. Soon Jerkwad's face loomed out of the darkness. The disgruntlement turned into fear, and he seemed to pale when he saw me standing there, then unexpectedly he turned around and ran away "Hey!" I yelled. Through the door I saw another door open to the backyard and a silhouette of a chubby guy ran through it. "What the Tartarus?!" I yelled. I sprinted around the obscenely large building and caught a glimpse of him disappearing into the trees. "I just wanna talk!" I yelled into the trees, stopping at the edge. As a kid these woods always scared me. They were dark and just gave me the chills... That wasn't the case now however. The normally dark branches looked as bright as a cloudy day. And the feelings of dread and terror I felt as a kid? They were nonexistent now. Even though I knew bears, coyotes, and sometimes wolves frequented this area... I just couldn't find it in myself to be frightened... It was... Like... Like... I knew nothing would've dared hurt me if we crossed paths... I shook my head and entered the not very frightening trees. The cloud of fear was strikingly easy to follow. It went down countless paths, twisting and turning... All trying to get away from me. As I was running through the woods I just kind of slowed down into a deliberate walk... I could feel that the source of fear was close... And the ruby was lapping it up like a content cat... I didn't know why... But I started to hum again... But that slowly turned into me whispering strange lyrics... For some reason Jerkwad's fear started to grow, and as it did I felt my voice get louder and louder... ...Once again we find ourselves in this mess... Once again we find you backed into a corner... Once again we find that it is time to pay... I skirted around where I could feel Jerkwad huddling down. You should've known, should've known... That I can't have any prisoners, prisoners... After about half an hour of searching these woods, I finally saw him sitting a fetal position next to a tree. He didn't notice me though. It is once again time to paaay... When will you learn? When you finally see? The errors of your waaay? I continued to loop around him, keeping him in sight as much as possible. Occasionally he would jerk his head in some random direction, probably expecting to see me standing over there... But he never once looked where I truly was. Will it take an eternity, eternity... For you to learn? That it is time to paaay... "Where are you?!" He yelled standing up. I noticed his fear had a tint of rage in it. The gem drank the emotion greedily. Listen to me when I say... That you will never get... AWAY! For it is time for me to... I found myself standing right behind him. PLAY. He yelped like a small dog and fell over backwards when he tried to face me. "What do you want?!" he yelled. "What do you think I want?!" I yelled, ending the song. "I want to know why you and your mother want me expelled!" "What?! I don't even know who..." He began, only to stop himself. "Circe?" "Who do you think numb nuts!?" I yelled while advancing on his pathetic position. He curled up into a ball. "Who the fuck else are you trying to get expelled?!" He mumbled something. I kicked him in response. "Speak up damn it!" "Get the hell away from me you bitch!" he screamed, trying to scoot away from me. Of course I kept pace with the crawling Jerkwad with ease. "No chance asshole." I stated, putting a foot on his chest. "Why are you and your Faust awful mother trying to get me expelled?" "Who the hell is Faust?" Jerkwad asked. I drew a blank. Who was this Faust that I just confused with God? I shook my head. "Not important. Why are you trying to expel me?!" I yelled now standing over the form of Jerkwad. He looked up in fear. "WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO RUIN MY LIFE?!" WHY?! My yell pushed Jerkwad down nearly an inch into the ground. His eyes became unfocused and even more vacant than usual. "Ughhh..." he moaned. Welp... He was going to be out of it for a while... "Sally?" a voice called out from the nearby woods. I turned around to find Jerkwad's mother walk through the woods. She froze in shock when she saw me standing over her son. "I... It's not what it..." I started but she screamed in fear and hate. I held up a hand as she ran away. "Look what you did!" I stated at the wonked out Jerkwad. Jokes aside, who knew what Mrs. Silverstern would do... Something probably worse than trying to get me expelled that's for sure... I sprinted after the fleeing woman. "Wait!" I called. I followed the cloud of fear and hatred, which my gem ate with gusto. Fortunately Mrs. Silverstern seemed to be as lost as I was. And was obviously going in circles... The only reason I could tell was the criss-crossing of cloud vapors, left over as she rushed about. Even though I had slowed to walk, I soon caught up with Mrs. Silverstern, who was running back and forth in a daze. Why she was spazing out? I had no idea. I mean come on... If you found someone standing over your son than yeah, you freak out... But she was acting like I was some sort of monster or something... I still was human wasn't I? I looked down briefly. Two legs, two arms, hands... Yep still human... So why was she freaking out like she had seen a werewolf? Eh... She was probably just a cooky lady that had finally snapped. Still, I had to at least try and stop her before she killed herself, or worse... Get to a phone and call the police... Cease the struggle... Cease the resistance... All I want is what is mine... All I want to do is play... It took me a moment to realize I was singing again. Mrs. Silverstern's fear and anger started to grow again, causing the pendant to suck down the emotion even faster. When will you give up? When will you bend a knee? When will you learn... Jerkwad's mom was looking around frantically... Little did she know that I had calmly walked up behind her. That it is time to pay? She turned around with fear in her eyes. "What do you want?!" she yelled. "Why are you trying to get me kicked out of school?!" I yelled back. For some reason she fell backwards as I yelled back at her. "You?! I don't even..." she suddenly paled. "Circe..." Was I that unrecognizable? "Yeah it's Circe! Why the Tartarus are you trying to get me expelled?!?" I glared at her. All she did was shudder. "Answer me!" Even though our faces were several feet apart, it felt like they were inches away... "Why are you trying to ruin my life!" "YOU'RE A DISTRACTON!" she yelled at me. Oh look... My mind drew another blank... "What?!" I asked. "Everyday Sally is always going on and on about how you're the best, you're the cutest, you're the smartest... He's stopped doing his homework, he's spending all of his time fantasizing about..." she began. FUCKING EW. "I get the picture..." I said putting my hand on my forehead. "What's that got to do with me being expelled?" "I want him to take over my position in my company and the school board! And with you in the way, he'll never get there!" she exclaimed. "... So you wanted to ruin my life so your dumb ass son gets a position in a dead end company and on a board that is completely useless!" I yelled at her. For the first time tonight, I felt something other than fear and hatred radiate from her. "I wouldn't say 'wanted'... More like 'did'..." she grinned. It was confidence... She now reeked of smug confidence... "You... You didn't..." I stammered, my fists clenched at my sides. "They voted unanimously 20 minutes ago... Circe Adams was expelled from Clovesdale Senior High School for missing 30 unexcused days of school this year." She said smugly. "Also, Principle Norman was fired for showing favoritism to a student that was CLEARLY guilty of missing 30 unexcused days..." "YOU FIRED MRS. NORMAN?!?" I screamed at her. All she did was smile up at me. Rage overcame me... And my fist met her nose. She was unconscious instantly. Not only did she ruin my life... But she had also ruined the life of one of the most efficient teachers I've ever known for being fair! Ugh! I stormed away from the sleeping bitch... Faust! I was pissed! I soon found myself in the Silversterns' backyard again. When I walked around the house I noticed that Angela and her van were gone. "FUCK!" I yelled. Ugh... I guess I would have to call her to come pick me up or something... I went back into the backyard and opened the back door, which lead into a clean kitchen. Phone... Phone... Phone... Where was the Faust damned phone?! I began searching everywhere I could think of for a phone... I know land lines were kind of dumb... But seriously! A house this big had to have at least ONE! I soon found myself climbing up the stairs in my search for a phone. That floor was also a no go. And that left the third and final floor. I was about half way done searching when I opened what must've been Sally's room... And it was the most disturbing thing of all time. The wall was COVERED in pictures... Pictures of ME. Facial shots, full body shots of me walking down a street, super models that have had my face photo shopped in, anime versions of my school portraits... It was utterly and absolutely disgusting... And I was already pissed at these people ruining my life just for their gain. I forgot my search for a phone and went back downstairs to get the lighter fluid and matches I had come across earlier. I was rooting around in the kitchen and had just found the matches several cans of lighter fluid, and some paper towel when I noticed a purse sitting on a counter. I took a peek inside and found several hundred dollars in cash, car keys, and a notebook. Curious, I opened the notebook. Inside was a multitude of passwords and bank account numbers. Ah screw it, my life wasn't going to get much worse... I put everything back inside and shouldered the purse and went back up stairs with my arson supplies. Once back in the room I poured the lighter fluid EVERY WHERE, well, except in the middle of the floor. I then opened a new can and set it down on the floor. I quickly lit a match and lit a twisted piece of paper towel, making sure it didn't burn too fast, I put my makeshift wick into the can and made my way down the stairs. About a minute later I had opened Mrs. Silverstern's car and was pulling out of the garage when an upstairs room suddenly flashed. Flames were starting to lick the window when I stopped the car at the corner. I watched in the rear view mirror as the house was engulfed in flame... I had made my choice. It was obvious I wasn't going to be able to live a "normal" life anymore... I wasn't going to graduate, I couldn't go to college, I couldn't show my face in public with what had happened BEFORE I committed arson... I couldn't even eat food normally ever again... There was no way in Tartarus I could stay here anymore! I finally turned off the street when the house started to collapse. I soon lost sight of the flames, but the light and the smoke still lit the night sky... Several emergency response vehicles passed by me as the thundered by to quell the flames I had started... They ignored me completely. I soon pulled into a gas station... One with a ATM outside. I flipped through several pages, looking for a bank account that was compatible with the machine... Thankfully I found one. I memorized the number and pocketed the small notebook. I turned the car off and went over to the ATM, quickly punching in the numbers and I withdrew as much as I dared... Nearly three thousand. Then I guess the machine ran out of money. I pocketed the bills and went back to Mrs. Silverstern's car. I sat down in the driver's seat. What was I gonna do? I couldn't keep the car... The bitch probably had a tracking device or something in there... But I would have to wait to ditch it until I got to another town or something... Ugh! I never thought my life would sink so low as to actually think about committing crimes! I turned the car back on and got on the highway. Where could I go? I couldn't go home... I couldn't say good bye to my Mom... My Dad had left years ago... I was an only child... And I didn't know any other relatives well enough to go to their places... All I could do was park the car some where remote for the night and let things cool down a little before I tried anything... That being said, I pulled onto a side road and took several random turns before finding a forest trail that seemed desolate. I pulled in and went as far back as I could to make sure it wasn't some drive way or something... Thankfully, it ended nearly a mile in with into a sort of covered clearing. Perfect. I turned the car around and parked it. Now hopefully I could get a decent night's sleep... Angela Angela Micheals sat on her Dad's couch... After Circe looped around the back of the building and went into the woods... Angela debated weather or not she should wait for her friend... She was going to stay and wait... But then 20 minutes later Mrs. Silverstern ALSO went into the woods behind her home... Exactly where Circe had entered... And then several minutes later, Angela heard a women screaming... It was faint and far away... But there was no doubt that someone was screaming in terror... What ever Circe did... It couldn't have been pretty... So, just like Angela had promised... She drove away. The rest of her evening went on normally... That was, until Angela answered the knock on the door she was half expecting... That policeman was sitting across from her now... "Has Circe been acting strange lately?" he asked, turning on a recording device. "Absolutely..." Angela answered. "Could you give me an explanation?" "Where do I begin? Well, first off... Today she's been walking funny..." "Walking?" the police officer deadpanned. Angela nodded. "Yes, normally, she's quiet and reserved, small steps, rigid posture... That sort of thing..." she said. "Go on." "But today... Was... Well... Like I told her at lunch... All, sexy and predatory..." Angela blushed. "Could you describe what happened at lunch?" "Do you mind if I go into story mode?" "As long as it isn't fiction, I'm all ears." "Okay... Well, yesterday, Sal Silverstern was making a big deal on how he had broken Circe's iPod... Now, Circe... She loved her iPod to death... So... The rumor was that Circe ran away from school after he did that... I wasn't able to confirm that until lunch today... Gosh lunch... In addition to walking 'strangely' all day... She was just off... When I sat down next to her, she was completely dazed... Not the I'm ignoring everyone daze... The I'm immersed in a sensation daze... And I could've swore I saw something glowing under her sweater..." "Glowing?" "I think it was a red glow... But as soon as I sat down the light vanished..." "Go on." The officer said as he scribbled something on a notepad. "While she sat there alone... She was humming. That isn't strange in itself, but when I asked her what song it was she said she didn't have a clue of what the name was. I dunno... She just seemed kind of distracted... Any way, I then noticed that she was wearing a necklace... Well, pendant really... This was very odd behavior as Circe is adamantly opposed to wearing jewelry. I've seen her skip required events if she was forced to wear a necklace or something... "Could you describe the pendant?" "I think it had a black silk neck line thingy... You know that part that goes around the neck..." Angela described. The officer nodded in understanding. "And the jewel part was a ruby I think? I'm not too familiar with gemstones..." "Okay... Please continue." "Well, I then asked Circe if I could look at it... But I may have reached my hand out a little too early because as soon as she realized what I wanted to do... She slapped my hand away." Angela stated, rubbing a hand. "Would you describe Circe as a violent person?" "I would say that she has a mouth... But rarely does she ever lift a hand against someone." Angela muttered. The officer scribbled another thing on his notepad. "Please continue." "After that I let it slip that Sal had planned on somehow getting Circe expelled from school..." "Expelled? How?" "I wouldn't worry about it... It was a stupid plan and..." "WHAT WAS THE PLAN." the officer commanded. "Well... Does anything I say will and can be used against me in court?" "You're not a suspect... Not yet anyway... So I would say you wouldn't have to worry about it..." "Okay then... Well... Sal when Sal was bragging about breaking Circe's iPod... He also bragged about how his Mom was going to pull a few strings to get Circe expelled... I'm not sure why or how someone would do that... But that's what I over heard..." "Okay then..." the officer said, writing another thing down on his note book. "Please continue." "After that she... Blew up. I'm not sure how describe it... As I said before, she seemed different today... And not just walking funny... Her face just seemed... Vibrant... Full of life, and lovely... I'm not saying she was ugly before today! But something about her just seemed... Hot." "Miss Michaels... Could you tell me your sexual orientation so I can rule out bias opinions?" He facepalmed. Angela's mouth fell open and her cheeks blushed. "I'll have you know I'm straight!" she yelled. The officer gave Angela a quizzical look. "Please continue." he finally said after a moment. Angela sighed. "Then. Circe seemed to get predatory... Her eyes narrowed, her fists clenched... She just reminded me of a shark or tiger... She was pissed. And rightly so in my opinion... After that she asked if I could pick her up at eight tonight." "You picked her up?" "Before I go any further... I am not in any way, shape or form, responsible for any actions or ideas that Circe made tonight... AND I made sure that she knew that..." Angela stated. The officer thought about the statement. "That sounded rehearsed... But please continue." he said after coming to a conclusion. "I did pick Circe up... And she wanted me to drop her off at the Silverstern's place... That's when I told her I would not stand behind anything she did tonight... All she told me was she wanted to have a 'chat' with the Silverstern's. After that, she knocked on the door, and randomly ran into the woods behind the house... I waited for about half an hour, cause she wanted me to wait to pick her up... Then Mrs. Silverstern ran into the woods... I think she was following Circe's tracks or something... I waited again for a few minutes... But then I heard a scream... I don't know what happened in those woods, but I told Circe I wouldn't condone anything she did. So, I left. The next note worthy thing that happened was you knocking on our door..." Angela finished. The police officer thought the story over. "So... You knew that she was going to do something?" "Yep." "But you didn't report it to the police?" "I just got done telling you." "Touche... Well Miss Michaels... You could be charged with being an accomplice... But I don't think you'd end up with anything too bad..." "If I may officer... What did Circe do?" Angela asked. The officer looked up with a worried expression. "I... I'm not sure if I can tell you... No, I'm not sure if you WANT to know..." the officer stated grimly. "Anyways Miss Michaels... Thank you for your time..." he said, standing up and walking out the door. ~~~ Police Chief Alexander Simmons looked over the overly worrying case file that had caused his department too much hassle... For only being started earlier today, it had already amassed a substantial amount of evidence. Someone knocked at his door. "Come in." he ordered, looking at a witnesses drawing. A familiar officer stepped inside. "Ah, James... I hope you've got good news." James sat in one of the guest chairs. "I've got good news and bad news." he stated. "Give me the bad news first." the Chief said as he looked at the disturbing drawing for the umpteenth time. "The bad news is that we have no idea where Circe went." "Good news?" "The good news is that most of the witnesses details were correct." "... Are you sure you didn't get those two mixed up?" "No, Angela confirmed the glowing pendent, the predatory posture, the aggressive tendencies, and the love for music." "What about..." "She didn't say anything about that." "Oh..." the Chief said sadly. "Any possible leads we could follow?" "Not yet... You'd think something fitting that description wouldn't be hard to notice..." "You'd think... Hell, I'm not sure if i believe it myself..." the Chief stated as he slapped the drawing onto the desk.