The Enemy Within, Part 4

Last time on The Enemy Within: Best friends Gracie Deck and Lauren Sanders crossed into another dimension and found themselves unable to return home. Gracie blamed Lauren and it started a bitter feud between them and they've been trying to kill each other ever since. They landed themselves into some strange purgatory where the ruler of the weird disembodied spirits made them the God mothers of each others children. Yeah. I'm just as confused as you are.

Part 3: Despair 1996

Chapter 13: Jenni has a problem

Black haired, blue eyed beauty [I’m a sucker for this combination] Dawn Sullivan walked out of the crowded corridor of Harrington Creston High School. What a horrible day, she thought. It has got to be one of the worst days of all time. [Is it just me, or are all of my heroins complete melodramatic bitches?] Fist it was pouring and the bus was two hours late. Then her boyfriend dumped her for her friend Debbie. She didn’t blame Debbie though. Dan [Spam] had a wandering eye. And when temptation knocks you answer, you don’t question. Then, in science, her best friend Jenni Miller was being a complete bitch. Now, it was still pouring and her bus wasn’t here yet so she had to wait in the rain for the fucking bus.

When the bus finally came, and she went home. She didn’t do her homework. Dawn hated homework. So she just watched TV. [This is what I did. This is why I graduated high school with a 1.9 GPA. This is why I didn‘t get to go to college, and move on to a successful career. The moral of this story kids, is DO YOUR FUCKING HOMEWORK! Okay, I‘m done ranting.] Dawn hated a lot of things. Like her brother, Dean. Her sisters, Liegh and Chloe [Which I thought was pronounced like it rhymes with go.]. They were annoying. All of them. Except Chloe, who was one year younger. Liegh was fourteen months, and Dean was five minutes older. [Is Liegh fourteen months older, or fourteen months old?]

Just then the phone rang. “Hello,” Dawn answered.

“Hi Dawn.”

“Hi Jen.”

“Can you come over? I’m really scared. I don’t know what to do. Things are happening. Weird things. Please come over! I need to talk to you. But not over the phone. Please!” [Well that’s cryptic.]

“Sure. What’s wrong Jenni?”

“Come over. And I’ll tell you.”

“I’ll be right there.”

“Thanks Dawn. Really. I mean it.”

“Yeah. Bye.”

“Bye.”

* * * * *

Dawn walked up to Jenni’s family’s old Victorian two storie’d house and rang the doorbell. [Nice to know my obsession with Victorian houses goes so far back.] She heard Jenni coming down the stairs quickly.

“Hi Dawn. Come in.” Jenni led Dawn to the living room.

“So, what was so important that you couldn’t tell me what was going on over the phone?”

“I don’t know how to start. From when I was six I suppose.”

“Why when you were six?”

“Because that was when things started happening. When I was six I had blackouts. I remember once I was going on a date with my boyfriend and I had a blackout. [When you were SIX?] I woke up the next day in my bed. And Jack was dead. I think I killed him. The police didn’t question me thought, even when they knew that I was the last person to see him alive. [When you were six you not only had a boyfriend, but you killed him. Heavy.] I had seven more blackouts, and three more people wound up dead. Two were my best friends; Emily and Jessie. And the other was my ex-boyfriend Jeff. [She got around, didn’t she?] I didn’t know what to do. Then people started to talk.” [Started too.]

“About what?” [What do you think, Dawn?]

“About how well I knew these people. About how I knew ther daily routines and where and when they would be in certain places.” [I’m guessing these six-year-olds weren’t supervised all that much.]

“In other words they thought you killed them.” [She was a six-year-old serial killer.]

“Yeah. My mother couldn’t bear the thought of her precious little Jenni, a murderer. She got sick and tired of all the rumors, so we moved.”

“God. How could you live with it?” [She‘s taking this rather well, don’t‘ you think? A little too well.]

“I don’t know. But you know how Savannah Delony ; who turned up dead last weekend?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t remember where I was that day.”

“Are you saying that--”

“I’ve been having blackouts again. I think I killed her.”

* * * * *

Chapter 14: A Bad Day

My god, Dawn thought. Jenni, a murderer. I can’t believe it. I won’t believe it. She wouldn’t. She couldn’t. Why? Jenni wasn’t a particularly cruel person. She was generally nice. But what does--

Her thoughts were cut off as she slammed right into Paula Goodrich. Oh shit. Now she’s going to be following me around for the rest of the day apologizing. Paula was a general wannabe. [There was a certain song that was popular around this time that I in no way liked or ever listened to and knew all the words.] She had the same raven black hair and sapphire blue eyes as Dawn, so in turn, she thought that she was Dawn’s best friend and was always trying to be like her. She dressed in the same style as Dawn. Listened to the same music. She even went as far as shoes and haircuts. Paula was scary. [Stalker]

“Oh Dawn, I am so sorry. It was my fault.” She helped Dawn to her feet. “Are you all right? Mabey I should take you to the emergency room.” [For bumping into you?]

“I’m all right Paula.”

“Are you sure. Mabey we should have you checked out. Just to be on the safe side.” [I think she wants to check Dawn over herself.]

“Paula, I’m fine. I don’t need to go the emergency room.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yea! I’m sure. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going home.”

“Hey Paula, Dawn,” said the childish voice of twelve year old Holly Hallie Goodrich. Too late, Dawn thought. “Dawn, where are ya goin’?”

“She’s going home Holly Hallie.”

“Why?”

“Whe was in an accident, Holly Hallie. And she was hurt.” Paula turned towards Dawn. “Come on Dawn. Let’s get you home.” So then Paula grabbed her wrist and brought her home.

It’s funny, Dawn thought. The lengths Paula would go to to get my attention. There was defenent competition between the two sisters. Hallie was definitely the more beautiful of the two, and I think that’s why Paula resents Hallie so much. It also had to do with the fact that their parents play favorites. It’s funny. [I think sad is a better description, personally.]

When they got to Dawn’s house Paula said goodbye and ran across the street to her own house. Goodbye, and good riddance, Dawn thought, as she went inside. She found that no one was home except Dean who was working on his homework. “Hi Dino,” she said. “Doin’ homework like a good little boy.” [Unlike you, you stupid bitch.]

“Shut up Delta Dawn.” [Delta Dawn is a really old song that I heard when I was a kid and sort of liked, and it made me like the name Dawn. Then I read Dawn by V.C. Andrew’s ghostwriter, and I didn’t like the name Dawn so much.]

“Shut up yourself Deany Weinie.”

“I’ll be in my room Delta.” Then he picked up all of his books and went upstairs.

“What a cry baby.” Then she went upstairs.

* * * * *

Gracie walked into Jenni’s bedroom in Jennie’s body. [The shock! I didn’t see that one coming!] “This is just great,” she said slamming the door behind her. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice this before. Dawn has to be Lauren. She just has to. I always get this feeling when I’m around Lauren. But for some reason it feels different this time. Like it’s not Lauren. But that’s impossible. Mabey Dawn’s another one, and she knows about me.”

This just can’t be for real. Luaren’s not in Delaware. She’s in Florida. I think. Then it has to be another one. But who the hell can it be without giving me sighns of wht it was. What’s going on? Who is she? What is she?

* * * * *

Chapter 15: Nightmare on Rosemont Lane [So original with the titles, wasn’t I?]

Dawn Sullivan walked dizzily in the deserted corridor at Harrington Creston High School. That’s strange, she thought. Where is everybody? I’ll go look for Jenni. She’ll know what’s going on.

She started to walk toward the freshman hall. Toward Jenni’s locker. [So they’re fourteen.] Jenni would be there. But Jenni wasn’t there. And niether was her locker. The school was gone too. Suddenly she was two years old again and in the garden back home. That was so long ago. How did she last all of these years? She didn’t know.

Dawn was once again two years old. But she wasn’t herself. Instead of having her long silky black hair, she had short, think, brown hair, and she saw two adults. Both pale. One with light hair, one with dark hair. And the strangest thought entered her head.

Mother. . . .

[Come on, can anyone guess what’s going on here? I’m dying to know.]

* * * * *

Dawn sat up in bed. She was drenched in cold sweat. What a dream, she thought. Then she layed down and fell back to sleep with the thought of that day in her head. The day she had almost forgot. The day she last saw her mother. She hadn’t thought about that day. The day she crossed over.

* * * * *

Chapter 16: Hello Gracie

The next day at school Dawn was sitting with her friends.

“Has anyone seen Dan?” Debbie Larson asked. [Isn’t she the sensitive one, even though Dawn doesn’t really seem to care that he dumped her.] Then she looked over across the table at Dawn. “Mabey I shouldn’t have said that.”

“It’s OK,” Dawn said. “I’m completely over Dinky Boy.” [I called a lot of people Dinky Boy.]

“Gee, that was fast. Just yesterday you were all upset about the fucking way he treated you,” Melanie said. Melanie Smith wasn’t the kind of person who was sensitive to other people’s feelings. She always had a way to spoil a moment. And she liked it that way. Dawn had always thought that that was how she stayed in control. She was a very insecure person.

After Melanie said that Justine gave her a look like Melanie had done something. “Nice going Melanie.”

“But you know,” said Shari Lapinski. “Dawn told me that the relationship between them has been coming to an end for along time now. Isn’t that right, Dawn?”

“Yeah,” Dawn replied. Shari knew how insensitive Melanie could be and how Melanie loved to torture people like that. But Shari Lapinski didn’t like to give Melanie Smith the satisfaction and for that Dawn was thankful. [I had to keep repeating their whole name so you’d remember the characters in this story since there are so many, many of them.]

Just then Jenni walked up to the table where Dawn Sullivan, Shari Lapinski, Debbie Larson, Melanie Smith, and Justine MacNicols. That’s strange, Dawn thought. Jenni doesn’t have lunch this bell. Weird. “Hi Jen.”

“Oh shut the hell up with the small talk Dawn. I need to talk to you.” Everyone just sat there. “Alone.”

“Come one you guys,” said Melanie. “There’s an empty table right over there.” [Isn’t that nice of her.] Then they left.

“What’s wrong with you?” Dawn asked.

“Who are you talking to Bitch? Me, or Jenni.” [Same old Gracie. Just as discreet as ever…]

“What do you mean? Like. . . .” Dawn was too stunned finish her sentence.

“Multiple personalities,” Jenni or whoever finished for her. “Not exactly kid. I may look and talk like her right now, because I am living in her body. And for that reason only. I am her.” She paused and looked at Dawn. “I’ve had my suspicions ever since the day I met you.”

“Suspicions about what?”

“You’ll understand in dew time. Meet me at the lake tonigh at midnigh. Okay.” [Not the woods? Really?]

“Yeah. Okay.” [You’re going to meet your best friend, who is more or less a confessed MURDERESS, in the middle of the night at a secluded location. Not so smart, methinks.]

“I have to ask you a few questions.” Then she left.

Then Melanie, Shari, Debbie, and Justine walked over to dawn. “What the hell did she want,” Melanie asked.

“To be honest I don’t really know.”

“That’s one of the dumbest things I have ever heard. You don’t know what she wants. She came over, told Debbie, Shari, Justine, and me to get the fuck oughta here, she practically screams at you, and you don’t know what the hell she wants.” [She’s a bitch, but she’s right.]

“No.”

“This girl can’t be fore real.” Then Melanie got her book bag and right before she left the cafeteria she ran slam into the principal. But lucky for her, he was too stunned by the blow to realize who it was.

“I honestly don’t know.”