War Of The Witches

PHASE ONE

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SAMSON

"Guys? Where are you?" Samson asked with rising fear. The sudden wind that blew into the room was gone and so were his friends.

"Guys?" Samson shouted even louder looking extremely worried. He ran to the door and tried to open it so he could get out of this place but the door was stuck shut. He struggled to open it, using all of his strength but the door wouldn't open. He began trying to break it open but still no luck.

Suddenly, he heard a soft voice whisper his name. "Sam...Son" the eerie voice called out in a hushed tone.

"Who's there? Guys, is that you?" Samson asked after hearing the voice.

There was no response and Samson could tell that he wasn't alone in here. Someone or something was watching him.

"I said, who's there?" Samson asked aggressively, trying to sound intimidating.

"Samson!" The voice called out again and he noticed a figure in the distance. The figure began moving towards him while calling his name.

"Samson!" It said with so much pain and agony like it was asking for his help.

"Whoever you are, stay back!" He warned the strange figure but it kept moving towards him.

"Samson!" It called out again.

"Help, somebody, help me!' Samson began screaming and banging on the door, hoping someone outside might hear him and come to his aid but nobody was around to help.

Samson was still desperately hitting the door when he realized that the voice wasn't calling his name anymore. He turned around but the strange figure was gone.

He started to move forward slowly, unsure of why. The rest of the building ahead of his sight was completely dark and silent except for the sound of water dripping. The dripping sound was echoing from his left and then his right, up, down and everywhere and it was getting louder.

Samson wasn't sure where to go or what to do. He continued moving forward slowly and was startled when someone grabbed his hand. The coldness of the person's grip felt like ice and Samson gasped in fright and turned around to see the last person he was expecting to be here; His little brother, Jamie.

"Jamie, what are you doing here?" Samson asked and held Jamie's shoulders.

Jamie was dripping wet and his skin was as cold as ice. His skin was very pale and his eyes were bulging.

"You left me, Sam. You didn't come with me to the clinic. You abandoned me!" Jamie said to him with a voice that sounded like multiple people speaking at the same time.

"I didn't abandon you, Jamie," Samson assured him.

"LIES!!" Jamie yelled and pushed Samson to the ground.

"You're a liar," Jamie said and he began screaming. From out of nowhere, a hand burst out of his mouth.

Samson watched in terror as another person crawled out of little Jamie. The person was also Jamie or at least had his face. They both stared at themselves and then at Samson and they launched at him.

"Noooo!!" Samson cried out.

PEACE

"Guys, what's happening?" Peace called out but no one answered. "If this is a joke, it isn't funny." She said angrily.

A spotlight suddenly came on in the centre of what seemed to be the living room of the old building and someone was tied to a chair and gagged at the mouth underneath the light. The person was struggling, trying to get free of the ropes that tied him.

"Darryl, is that you?" Peace asked when she saw the person. It was Darryl, she thought. She ran to him and began to untie him.

"Darryl, what the hell is going on? How did you get tied up to this chair and where are the rest of the guys?" Peace rained him with questions, questions he couldn't answer because his mouth was still gagged.

She took off the gag and Darryl let out a grunt. "Peace, please get me out of this chair. Hurry!" He begged and she began loosening the ropes faster until she untied him.

He stood up and gave her a hug of relief. She gladly took the hug since she was emotionally vulnerable because of what was happening.

"Who tied you up?" She asked him.

"I don't know. The last thing I remember was that strange wind blowing into the house, the lights went out and I felt someone hit me on my head and I passed out. I woke up and I was tied up to that chair. I was so scared, I didn't know what was going on." Darryl told her.

"Where's Nelly and Sam and Jennifer?" Peace asked him.

"I don't know and to be honest, I don't care. I'm just glad that you're okay." Darryl said and Peace couldn't help but think that what he just said sounded strange.

"What do you mean you don't care?" She asked, confused.

"I'm glad they're not here because I can finally do something I've wanted to do the entire night," Darryl said and pushed her to the wall.

"Darryl, what are you..." But before she could ask, he kissed her affectionately with hungry lust.

Peace was struggling at first because she wasn't expecting this, but she slowly began to succumb to the sweetness of the kiss and how it made her feel. She grabbed his head and pulled him closer. She started to take off his shirt and he did the same to her.

He kissed her on the neck and she moaned in sweet ecstasy. She began to unbuckle his belt when he started laughing.

"What's so funny?" She asked him, unsure of why he was laughing.

"Your lust! It's sickening. How can a child like you, of what, 16 years of age be so lustful?" Darryl asked, his eyes becoming red.

"Darryl, what's wrong with you?" She asked in fear and began backing away from him.

"I'm not Darryl but I can give you what you want from him." He said and grabbed her neck and slammed her to the floor. She screamed but it did her no good as 'Darryl' grabbed her legs and dragged her into the darkness with her screams echoing.

JENNIFER

"Guys, where are you?" Jennifer asked. The room was so dark, she couldn't see a thing. She saw her purse in the corner and quickly grabbed it. She went through it and found her phone. She turned it on and was about to dial 911 when the phone suddenly fell from her hands.

She bent down to pick it up but it moved by itself a few yards away from her. She gasped in fright, unsure if she was dreaming or if she saw right.

She slowly moved closer to her phone and tried to pick it up again but the phone slid away from her again. Now she was sure something weird was going on. She stood still in fear, and she decided not to try and pick up the phone again.

The phone suddenly came on and began ringing. The phone rang and rang and rang but she was too scared to try and pick it up. It stopped ringing and her voicemail began taking in a message. It was from her mother.

"Jennifer, where are you? Your father and I got back to the house and we've been so worried because we've been trying to call you but we couldn't reach you. Please pick up the phone, dear." Her mother said.

Jennifer ran to the phone and picked it up, talking to her mother in a rush. "Mom, mom, I'm here. I'm in a building in the woods and something's after me. Please, Mom, I need your help. Please!" She said quickly, desperately in need of help.

"Slow down honey. I can't hear a single thing you're saying." Her mother replied.

"Mom, I said I need help," Jennifer said again.

"Help? And why should I help you?" Her mom asked.

"What are you talking about Mom?" Jennifer asked with tears already filling her eyes.

"Your father and I have given you everything you've ever wanted. We've spoilt you and made you completely dependent on everyone else except for yourself. Aren't you ashamed?" Her mom said to her through the phone, as meanly as possible.

"Why are you saying all these things to me Mom?" Jennifer was now crying.

Her mother appeared behind her, with the darkness of the room concealing some parts of her face.

"I'm saying all this because it's the truth." She said and Jennifer turned around and saw her. In her fright, she dropped her phone, fell backwards to the floor and began to crawl away from her.

"You need to learn to fend for yourself, you lazy child." Her mom said and began to grow larger.

Jennifer was screaming in fright and crying hysterically.

"No daughter of mine will be a weakling. I'd much rather kill you myself than let that happen." Her mother said, now completely giant. She raised her foot and stepped on Jennifer, crushing her into pieces.

DARRYL

"Guys, where are you?" Darryl asked in confusion.

Just like the others, he too was transported to a different version of the room where everyone was gone but him. He tried his hardest not to panic so he could think with a clear head.

"Jennifer?" He called out her name, wondering if she was alright. He was really worried but he kept his cool, that was until something also happened to him.

He saw the backpack that Jennifer brought for their party. He remembered that along with the electric lamp, it also contained a flashlight. He moved towards the bag and grabbed it. He opened it and took out the flashlight.

He could hear whispers coming from just ahead but he didn't know who or what was whispering. He turned on the flashlight and faced it in the direction of the faint whispering but there was no one ahead. His hand was trembling and he held onto it with his other hand, trying to get a hold of himself because now was not the time to be afraid.

He began moving closer to the sounds and then he realized that the flashlight felt a lot softer. He looked at the flashlight in his hand but what he saw was not a flashlight but a snake. He screamed after seeing this and tried to throw the snake away but it was curled around his hand tightly and would not let go. He used his other hand to try and pull the snake off him but it was wrapped around him very tightly.

"Get off me!" He screamed in fear but the snake was going nowhere.

He hit the snake on the ground, trying to force it off but it held on relentlessly and wrapped itself even tighter around Darryl's hand.

The snake became agitated by Darryl's struggling and bit him. Immediately after inserting its fangs and releasing its venom into his body, the snake unwrapped itself from Darryl's hand and slithered away into the darkness.

Darryl started to feel the effects of the snake's poison almost immediately. He became drowsy and he staggered around the room until he couldn't stay on his feet anymore and fell to the floor. His vision was woozy and he could feel the venom doing its work.

The venom was moving through his blood very quickly and he could feel his internal organs shutting down.

"Someone help me." He said in a whisper as he crawled on the floor, trying to get help however he could.

As he lay on the floor, waiting for the poison to do its work and kill him, a spotlight suddenly came on above him. The room was brightly lit and he could see everything clearly but he still couldn't move because the venom had paralyzed him.

He heard a hissing sound, the hissing sound of a snake. And then, he saw the snake that was making the sound. Judging from the patterns of its scales, it looked like the same snake that had just bitten him but it was larger now, much larger. It slithered out of the dark part of the room into the spotlight where Darryl was and it stared right at him.

Darryl was so scared because he knew he was about to be devoured by the huge snake. And then suddenly, the snake opened its mouth and spoke.

"Look at you, you foolish child. Look at where your obsession over some girl has gotten you." The snake said in the voice of Darryl's father. It sounded exactly like him.

"Dad?" Darryl managed to get the word out of his lips.

"I told you that she wouldn't be able to make you truly happy but you didn't listen. Now you'll die without ever seeing her again." The snake said and began wrapping itself around Darryl.

The snake coiled itself around Darryl and began squeezing the life out of him. It squeezed so tightly that Darryl could hear the sound of his bones being crushed while he was still alive. It took one last look at Darryl before biting his head into its mouth and slowly devouring him.

NELLY

"Arghhh, get off me" Nelly shouted at the devil-like creature that was attacking him. The creature had already bitten Nelly's neck but he was still alive, struggling to stay that way for as long as he could.

The creature snarled at him and continued trying to bite him again. This monster was terrifying to look at. It had long, sharp, black claws, its eyes were dark red, its skin was pale and it looked and felt like it was melting or decaying, it had clothes on but they were torn and withered, it had long fangs and the sound it made was demonic.

As it tackled Nelly on the floor, sticky gooey saliva seeped out of its mouth and landed directly on Nelly's face. He became even more desperate to get away from this disgusting creature so he used his hand to search for anything he could use in his favour. With one hand holding the creature at the bay, he used his other hand to look for a weapon on the floor. His hand touched something and it felt like a metal rod. His fingers were grazing the rod and he tried really hard to fully grab hold of it until he finally did.

With a quick swing, he struck the creature across its face and it fell on the floor, away from him. This was his chance to make a run for it. Nelly got up and began running but the creature grabbed his leg and he fell down. It began pulling Nelly closer and Nelly screamed hysterically.

"Nooo! Nooo! Let me go!" He screamed but the creature continued pulling him and growling in anger. It pinned Nelly down and smiled at him.

"Time to die." The creature said in a sinister voice. It opened its mouth so wide and was about to take another bite out of Nelly.

"Let me go," Nelly yelled and he struggled with his eyes closed.

"Nelly, it's me," Samson said to him but he didn't listen and continued struggling and screaming.

"Nelly open your eyes and look at me!" Samson said to him.

Nelly began to relax and he stopped struggling. He opened his eyes and saw Samson looking down at him. He was so happy to see a familiar face.

"Sam? Is it really you?" He asked, his voice shaking.

"It's me, Nels. It's me." Samson assured him. Nelly sat up and gave Samson a long hug.

"I thought I was gonna get eaten by that monster." THE MONSTER! Nelly remembered and stared around looking for it.

"Where is it? Where did it go?" He asked in fear.

"There's no monster, Nelly. It was all just an illusion. I think whatever was in that box was probably a chemical of some sort and it's making us see things that aren't there." Samson told him.

"What do you mean it was an illusion? I felt the pain and it was real." Nelly claimed.

"It wasn't real, Nelly. Whatever you saw wasn't real." Samson tried to convince him.

"Look at my neck! That creature took a bite out of my neck, look at it." Nelly said loudly, pointing at his neck.

"Nelly, your neck is fine," Samson said and Nelly touched his neck and it was completely fine. There wasn't any blood or wound or anything.

"Samson, where's everyone else?" Nelly asked with a look of shock.

"There they are," Samson said and pointed at the rest of their friends sitting or lying on the floor, looking like they were in a catatonic state.

Nelly got on his feet and he and Samson approached Jennifer, Darryl and Peace who were still unconscious.

"What's happening to them?" Nelly asked Samson.

"I don't know but by the looks of it, they must be having crazy scary illusions as you did and like I did. We can only hope that they wake up soon." Samson said.

"So, what do we do in the meantime?" Nelly asked.

"We need help and we have to find a way to get out of this fucking place," Samson replied and stared at the door that led to the exit.

A WEEK AGO

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SAMSON

Samson woke up from his deep sleep thanks to the persistent ringing of his alarm clock. He rolled around on his bed, not wanting to respond to the call so he pushed the clock off his nightstand and it fell to the floor.

Samson covered himself up with his blanket and went back to sleep only to be suddenly forced awake by his little brother Jamie, who jumped on top of him in an attempt to wake him up.

"Wake up, Sam. Wake up! It's time for school. Mom's already made breakfast and I need you to drop me off at my school." Jamie said in his innocent, adorable little voice.

"Get off me, Jamie. It's the last day of school before the holidays. We don't need to go early so leave me be." Samson said and tried to sleep again.

"Let's go, Sam." Jamie cried out and gave Samson a smackdown, landing hard on his belly.

"Oh, that hurts!" Samson said in playful anger. "You want to wrestle, little man? Let's do it then, come on." Samson said and picked up his little brother and threw him over the bed and began tickling him.

"Stop it Sam!" Jamie said while laughing.

"If you want me to stop, you have to tap out and admit defeat," Samson said playfully.

"Fine, I give up," Jamie said and tapped the bed with his hand.

Suddenly, their mother walked into the room, looking very serious.

"Enough of that Sam. Get downstairs the two of you and get ready for school." Their mom said, sounding a bit angry.

"You better get going little man," Samson told his brother who hurried off and went downstairs.

"And what about you?" She asked him.

"I'll be down in a second Ma. Jeez!" He said with sarcasm and a little disrespect.

"Hurry up. You have to take your brother to school and I have an early shift at the clinic." She said and left the room.

Samson rolled over to the side of his bed and unplugged his phone from the charging port and began texting his friends on their group chat.

"Morning guys, 🥱" He wrote in a text, "Crazy morning here at home. Wouldn't be coming to school today if it wasn't the last time I'll be seeing your ugly faces this year."

"Very funny." Another person with the name tag 'Nelly' typed.

"How's your morning going?" Samson asked.

"Not so great either."

NELLY

Nelly was the youngest of his group of friends at just sixteen years old while Samson was the oldest at eighteen. Just like Samson, he lived with his single mom and his sick, old grandfather. His dad abandoned them when he was still very little and he had no siblings.

Nelly was at the breakfast table, texting his friends on his phone while having his meal while his mother was scrambling all over the place looking for something.

Nelly put down the phone to enquire what she was so worked up about.

"What are you looking for, Mom?"

"Your Pop's medication. I left them on the kitchen counter but I can't seem to find them anymore."

Nelly looked at the table where he was eating from and pointed at some medicine containers.

"This medication right here on the table?" He asked his mother with a little arrogance.

"How did I not see that?" She asked and put her palm on her head. She walked over to the table and grabbed the medication and took it to her dad who seemed to be in a vegetative-like state but not entirely.

"Here Dad! Time to take your medicine." She said and gave him his drugs to take and some water to swallow with.

"You need to take a break Mom. You're working way too hard and you need to just relax a little." Nelly said to her. He had the best of intentions but was a little unrealistic.

"Oh sure. I'll take a nice long break, maybe go to the salon to get a haircut and do my nails and all our bills will just magically pay themselves." She said sarcastically.

"You don't have to yell at me Mom, I'm just trying to help," Nelly said defensively.

"If you really want to help, then as soon as school closes, come straight home and look after your Pops while I work at the restaurant." She said.

"When did you start working at the restaurant?" Nelly asked, recalling the last conversation they had about her working in a restaurant in the evenings and how she decided not to do it.

"I start today."

"You decided to take the job?"

"Yes Nelly, I did. My job at the DMV doesn't earn me enough and we need the extra money so I took the job."

Nelly was upset that she didn't tell him about her decision earlier and was now trying to spoil the plans he had already made with his friends.

"Why do I need to come back early and watch over Pops? What about Brenda?" He asked.

"I had to let her go. We cannot afford a private nurse at this moment so you're going to have to chip in a lot more around here." His mom said to him.

Nelly groaned in frustration and rolled his eyes at his mother.

"Can I count on you to come home and take care of your Pops?" She was more serious now.

"Fine, I'll be back as soon as I can," Nelly said angrily.

"Thank you. I have to go to work now so make sure you go to school so you don't miss any of the important last day announcements. I'll ask Mrs Johnson to check up on Pops while we're out."

"Ok"

As she got to the door, she said to her son. "See you later Nelly. I love you."

"Yeah Yeah, you too Mom," he replied without even looking at her and she left.

PEACE

"You boys think your morning sucks, count yourselves lucky that you don't live in my house." Peace wrote in a text on the group chat.

"Why? What's going on at your house?" Nelly asked on the chat.

"Oh, nothing! Just woke up to the blissful sound of my parents arguing." She wrote.

"Again?" Samson asked.

"Just like always. Gotta get ready for school. See you in a few."

And she went offline to prepare for her day at school today. Peace had twin younger sisters and they both looked up to her and always ran to her for comfort whenever their parents were having a fight.

"Peace, Mommy and Daddy are fighting again." Jasmine, one of the twins said as they entered Peace's room.

"It's okay. They're just talking. Come here!" She said to them and gestured to them to climb into her bed. They got in the bed and she held both of them with both hands.

"And what do we do when Mommy and Daddy are talking?" She asked them.

"Stay far away from them!" The two girls said in unison.

"Exactly. And even more important, we leave the house so let's all go have our baths and get ready for school." Peace said.

"We already had our bath." Lilly, the other twin said.

"Really?" Peace asked and sniffed both of them, "Then how come you both smell disgusting?" She teased.

"No, we don't. That smell is probably all you." Jasmine replied.

Peace sniffed herself and grimaced in disgust, "Eww, you're right, I stink. Alright, let me fix you up some breakfast and I'll go take a shower. Sound good?"

"Yes!" The twins said in unison again and they all went downstairs.

Peace made them some toast and eggs and poured them some orange juice. The twins ate their meal and as soon as they were done, their school bus honked at the driveway.

"That's the bus. Here are your lunches. And have fun, okay?" Peace said and saw them off. She watched them board the school bus and drive off.

She went back inside and ate the little food that was left in the kitchen. She went back into her room and went to take her bath. She got dressed for school, wearing a short, tight skirt and a sleeveless blouse with a lot of goth make-up. As she was about to leave for school, her father came out of his bedroom and spotted her at the door.

"And where do you think you're going dressed like that?" He scolded.

"Dressed like what, Dad?"

"Dressed like a little slut, with that short skirt and that top that's showing off all that skin." He said without curbing his tongue.

"This is the way I always dress Dad." She said in defiance.

"No, it isn't." He denied, oblivious to how his own daughter dressed.

"Yes, it is. You're just always so busy arguing with Mom that you never notice."

"You better watch the way you talk to me. I may have problems with your mother but that doesn't give you the right to disrespect me. I'm still your father." He warned her.

"If you want me to respect you, then start acting like a real father. Your little girls already left for school and you didn't even see them and now, you're giving me all this BS about my clothes."

"Peace! Mind your mouth." Her mother said suddenly after also coming out of the bedroom.

Peace scoffed and picked up her phone from the parlor table.

"You two are perfect for each other." And she left the house, slamming the door shut in anger.

JENNIFER

"Hey, assholes! What's up?" Jennifer wrote in her text and sent it to the group chat.

"Well look who finally decided to get out of bed, little miss sunshine." Peace wrote.

"Hey, unlike the rest of you, I need my beauty sleep." Jennifer texted back.

"Unlike the rest of us, you can sleep in for as long as you want because your parents are loaded." Nelly texted.

"Some people find luck, others are born with it." She wrote back.

"Tell them, Babe!" Darryl, the final member of the group and Jennifer's boyfriend said in a text.

"Morning handsome. Are we going to have some fun today?" She specified the question to Darryl.

"Of course, gumdrop. We should all meet at the rendezvous by nine and all head to school together." Darryl wrote back.

"Sure" - Peace

"Alright, see you guys there" - Samson

"Let's do it" - Nelly

"Let me make myself all pretty for you and then I'll meet you there Babe." - Jennifer wrote to Darryl.

"Sounds good babe. See you soon."

"Wait! You forgot to send me a morning kiss?" Jennifer wrote to Darryl.

"My Dad's screaming his head off, calling for me but here's your kiss 😘. I'll give you a real one when we see each other." He wrote on the chat.

"Mhhmm, can't wait." Jennifer wrote back.

"Seriously guys, right here in the group? Two letters, DM. You both make me sick." - Peace

"Someone's a little jealous!" Jennifer wrote to Peace.

"You wish." - Peace.

Jennifer got up from her king-size bed, put on her pink silk robe and slippers, and went downstairs to begin her day. She was the MARY SUE of their little group except for the one flaw she had of always bragging about her parent's wealth and fortune.

"Hey there, Señor Cookie. How'd you sleep, my little baby?" She said to her little dog which barked at her and scurried away.

"It's way too early to be so rude, Cookie!" She yelled out after the dog and went to her private bathroom to take her bath.

After her long bathtub soak, she finally came out of the bathroom and got dressed. She did her fancy make-up, wore skimpy, sexy clothes and red bottom heels and a really expensive Chanel purse. She stared at herself in the mirror for a long while until she was finally satisfied with what she called "Perfection".

She picked up Señor Cookie and went downstairs to the living room. Her house was so large and it had so many rooms but so far, she was the only one in view.

She walked over to the fridge and took out a plate of salad. She put it in the microwave to heat up and after it did, she ate a few spoonfuls and drank some orange juice, a very light meal. She was obviously one of those girls who were super sensitive about their weight.

Finally, someone else was confirmed to also be in the house when her mother walked up to her.

"Good morning mother." Jennifer greeted.

"Good morning Jenny." Her mother said back, already dressed and ready to leave.

"Where's Father?"

"Oh your father already left for work but he left some money for you on the counter." Her mother informed her.

"I have to go now so I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Her mother said, much to her surprise.

"Tomorrow?"

"Oh yes. I have a really busy schedule and I won't be back tonight."

"And what about Dad, I mean Father?" Jennifer quickly changed the synonym.

"He's gone on a trip and won't be back till next week." Her mother said and noticed a little bit of disappointment on Jennifer's face.

"I'm sorry that we're always working so much but that's how you have everything you have. You can't have it all so you should be grateful for what you have." Her mother lectured.

"I am, mother!"

"That's good to hear. If you get too lonely, you can invite your little squad over but make sure you don't throw a party and remember to keep the spare key under the rug for the cleaning company." Her mother said and began walking out of the house.

"Don't worry, I won't and I will."

Her mother got in her car and drove off to work. Jennifer walked over to the counter and picked up the money that was left for her by her father. She counted Five Thousand Dollars and put it in her purse.

"I guess it's just you and me again, Señor Cookie," Jenny said to her dog with a hint of sadness and picked him up. She carried him outside and put him in the passenger seat of her pink convertible, got in herself and drove off to school.

DARRYL

"Darryl, get down here quick. I need your help. The pipes are leaking again." His father called out to him.

"I'm coming Dad" Darryl replied and went downstairs only to find his father battling with the water leakage. The ceiling was damp and water was dripping down from it.

"When are we going to take care of this?" Darryl asked and handed a bucket over to his father.

"We'll fix it when we fix it." His father responded and took the bucket and placed it underneath one of the leaks.

"This is why I never bring my girlfriend over here. What would she think about this place?" Darryl said and pointed at the damp ceiling and the awful living conditions they were subjected to.

"That's what you're thinking about? What would your little girlfriend think about your house? You better get those useless thoughts out of your mind and focus on graduating from high school so you can go to college." His father said to him and walked over to the table and picked up the keys to his pick-up truck.

"I don't need to go to college, Dad," Darryl said.

"Yes you do," His father said immediately, "You will go to college, you'll graduate with a degree, you'll get a good job and you'll live a good life."

"How are we even going to afford college? It costs almost a fortune to study engineering in a good school." Darryl confronted.

"I've been saving up for your tuition. We could also apply for a loan and you still have your job at Winston's, right?" His father asked.

"Yeah, I still do."

"Good. Save some of your wages for college and stop wasting it on a girl who doesn't even need it." His father lectured.

Darryl's expression changed and his father noticed so he tried to be less demanding.

"Darryl, I know I'm usually hard on you but that's just because I know how smart you are. You've got so much potential and I don't want to see it all go to waste. Next year will be your last year of high school and you'll be done. Just focus, alright?"

"Whatever," Darryl said dryly.

"No, not whatever Darryl," His father said and grabbed his arms and faced him, "You know I love you and I only want what's best for you."

"If you really wanted what was best for me, you wouldn't be forcing me to do something that didn't make me happy."

"And what do you think happiness is?" His father asked, his voice much louder. "You think true happiness is something you get by living in a nice fancy home or having a girlfriend at seventeen years old? True happiness is something you get from working hard and becoming successful, you stupid boy."

"I guess that's why you're so miserable," Darryl said and pulled away from his father's grip, "because you've never worked hard a day in your life and you're the opposite of successful, you're wretched!" He yelled at his father.

This made his Dad very angry and he punched him hard across his face and Darryl fell to the floor. He immediately regretted it and tried to apologize but Darryl looked at his father from the floor with anger and disdain.

"I'm so sorry Darryl. I...I didn't mean to." He said and tried to help him up but Darryl pushed him away, got up, picked up his jacket and stormed out of the house.

"Darryl, I'm sorry. Come back!" But he didn't listen and walked away.

His father was angry at himself for what he had done to his only child. He sat down on the couch and stared at the hand that he had just struck his son with. He wanted to take it back but he couldn't. What's done is done. So, he got up and decided to leave for work.

He went outside the house and locked the door. He looked around the street for Darryl but he was already gone so he got into his truck and drove off to the powerplant where he worked.

Darryl was walking angrily to school when he heard a car honk behind him. He turned around to see who it was and a huge smile materialized on his face when he saw that it was Jennifer.

"Hey, handsome! Need a ride?" She asked cutely.

"Perfect timing!" He said and hopped over into the car since the top was down.

"Good morning," Darryl said but Jennifer didn't reply. She just grabbed his face and gave him a hungry, wet and possessive kiss.

"Looks like the morning just got better." Darryl managed to say after she finally let him go.

"I missed you," Jennifer said to him.

"Yeah, I can tell." He said sarcastically and wiped off some lipstick from his mouth.

"Well? Shall we go pick up the rest of the gang?" Jennifer asked.

"Let's!" Darryl answered.

And she turned the car on and they drove off to the rendezvous point to meet the rest of their friends.

"This is going to be the best last day of school ever. We're going to have so much fun."

Samson stood in the corner with a lit cigarette in his mouth. He took in a long suck and let out the smoke from his mouth which was carried by the wind.

"A little too early for that, don't you think?" A voice said to him from the corner of his eye.

"Peace! There you are. I've been waiting for you guys." Samson said and reached in for a hug but none was forthcoming.

Peace only pulled the cigarette out of his mouth, threw it in the ground and stepped on it.

"Why?" Samson asked like a little child whose toy had been taken away from him.

"Those things will kill you. And what will Jamie think if he saw you doing that stuff?" She asked, seemingly concerned about him.

"That's why I don't do it in the house," Samson answered and brought out the cigar box to take another.

"Don't even think about it or I will burn the entire box." Peace said.

She sounded serious so Samson put the box back inside his backpack and said, "Later then."

"How about Jamie? How's he doing?" Peace asked.

"He's good, he's good. I just dropped him off at school before I came here. And you? How are your sisters after your parent's little battle this morning?" Samson asked back.

"Little battle Indeed! They're fine. I seriously don't know how they'd end up if I wasn't in the picture. They're so young. They shouldn't be seeing that shit." Peace said, wishing she could do more to change her family's situation, for her sisters' sake.

"They're lucky to have you as their big sis," Samson said sincerely.

"Yeah...Give me one of those cigars." Peace suddenly said.

"I thought these things kill?" Samson asked sarcastically.

"Only if you make it a habit." Peace replied and took a stick. Samson gave her a light and she began smoking.

Just then, Nelly showed up on his skateboard. He saw Samson and Peace and called out to them. They waved at him and he decided to entertain them with some skating tricks.

He did a 360 ollie kickflip and landed flawlessly which made his friends applaud him.

"Thank you, thank you," he said like a performer and stopped his board. He kicked it up and caught it in the air with his hand.

"Where's Darryl and J-lo?" He asked.

"Probably sucking each other's face somewhere." Peace said bitterly.

"Looks like someone's still upset about pretty boy Darryl not noticing she has a crush on him," Nelly said jokingly in an attempt to tease Peace over her unrequited feelings for Darryl.

"Had a crush on him. Keyword, 'had'. I'm over him." She admitted.

"Well if you're so over him, then why do you always let what he does with Jennifer bother you so much?" Nelly asked.

"I may not have feelings for him anymore but he's still my friend and I care about him. She's just using him and he's too infatuated with her to notice. He's just a trophy to her." Peace said, visibly upset.

"Well, you can tell him that to his face because they're here," Samson said and pointed at Jenny's car in the distance.

The car drove up to them and parked by their side with loud music playing from the speakers.

"What's up, guys? Get in, let's go." Jennifer greeted them.

"Here, I'm done with this!" Peace said to Nelly and handed him her cigarette. She opened the door to the car and went in. Nelly threw the cigarette away into a bush and went into the car as well and so did Samson.

"Let's go, Babe," Darryl said to her and she drove off to school.

In the car, the group began engaging in small talk and Jennifer turned off the stereo so they could talk.

"What's up, Darryl?" Samson said to him and Darryl turned around from the passenger seat to exchange handshakes with his male friends.

"I'm good Sam." he said while shaking hands, "Nelly, my man! How you doing today?" He asked and shook Nelly as well.

"Never better," Nelly answered.

"Hi Peace," Darryl said with a slight nod of his head.

"Hi, Darryl." Peace replied with the least of interest.

"Yo J-Lo! What's good girl?" Nelly said aloud to Jennifer.

"Nelly, how many times have I told you not to call me J-Lo? I'm a lot younger and more fabulous than she is." Jennifer replied snobbily.

"Ok hold up! I don't care how young you are, you can never be more fabulous than Jennifer Lopez." Nelly said.

"That's facts," Samson said in agreement.

"Don't listen to them, babe. You are the most fabulous babe on the planet." Darryl said to her.

"Aww, thanks, babe."

"Aww, thanks, babe." Peace mouthed the same words in mockery but didn't say it out loud. She was getting so worked up about how hard Darryl was trying to kiss up to Jennifer so she decided to make him uncomfortable.

"Darryl! You mentioned that your Dad was yelling your name this morning. What was that about?" Peace asked, already knowing what it was about.

Darryl never liked telling his friends about his life at home. They knew he was poor but they didn't know how bad his living conditions were because he always managed to hide it and always came up with an excuse not to invite them over. The only one who knew about it was Peace. She also knew that his father was physical sometimes but Darryl made her promise not to tell anyone.

"Oh, nothing really. He just needed me to pick up some things on my way back from school and he was a bit cranky." Darryl lied in response to the question but Peace wasn't buying it unlike the rest of the group.

"And what happened to your face?" She asked again. She knew she was pushing it too far but she just couldn't help herself.

"Yeah, I was meaning to ask you about that bruise on your jaw," Jennifer added.

Darryl didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell them that his father hit him so he came up with a ridiculous lie about bumping into a pole.

Darryl turned around and gave Peace a warning look, a look that suggested that she stop asking questions so she reluctantly did.

"So guys, do any of you have any plans for Christmas? If not, we could do something together." Samson said.

"Urgh! Christmas is still like a week away. Let's talk about plans for tonight, shall we?" Jennifer dismissed the talk of Christmas plans. It wasn't her favourite topic because her parents were always working which made her always spend Christmas alone, void of all the happy family traditions.

"What plans tonight?" Darryl wondered.

"My parents are out and I have the house all to myself. Mom said I could invite you guys over so...?" Jennifer said in a casual invite.

"Sweet! I love hanging out at your crib. That place is dope yo." Nelly said excitedly, forgetting the promise he made to his mom about coming home early to look after his Pops.

"I'm there." Samson accepted to come.

"Well, count me in as well," Darryl said. He was in no rush to go back home after being hit by his father.

"And what about you Peace? You coming?" Jennifer asked and looked at her through the rearview mirror.

"Depends on how things are at home. I'll try to come but I'll probably be late." Peace said as sincerely as she could.

They finally reached their school and the bells indicating the start of classes went off. They all stepped out of the car and walked in like a troop of odd-looking soldiers. They were a weird collection of people with so much in common, yet so different in many ways.

Samson and Darryl were both seniors so they had a different class unlike the rest of the gang and so, they split up.

"We'll meet up during recess and go over the details of the party tonight, alright?" Darryl said and everyone nodded in agreement before they separated.

As Darryl began walking away, Jennifer grabbed his hand and pulled him in for a kiss. She was really going for it, not caring that they were in the hallway of the school and there were so many people around.

Peace saw the kiss and rolled her eyes at them before she went her way.

"You've been very affectionate today," Darryl said to her, wondering why.

"Do you want me to stop?" Jennifer asked.

"No, no. Quite the opposite. I kinda want more."

"Well, maybe you'll get a whole lot more tonight," Jennifer whispered in his eyes.

She kissed him again and bit his lower lip before walking away and leaving him horny as ever.

He watched her walk away, swinging her hips and he winced in excitement for what tonight would bring. He couldn't wait to get the night underway.

.

.

.

"Students! I know you're all eager to begin the holidays so I'll keep this short." The principal said on the PA system.

"The year has been long, and we've all had our ups and downs but I'm glad to see how it all turned. The Brimwood Supernovas, our senior soccer team lifted the state championship title just a few months back. Timothy Sherwood represented Brimwood in the Inter-State School spelling bee and brought back home the gold. Mr and Mrs Goldberg, in their generosity, solely funded the availability of the new cafeteria menu, providing the students and faculty with healthier and more delicious meals and the one accomplishment I'm most proud of, the remodeling of the teacher's restroom. With all that being said, it has indeed been a very productive school year and I'm so sad to see it come to an end. See you all in the summer. This is Principal Bradley, wishing you all a very merry Christmas."

With the announcements over, the entire student body burst out of their classes in celebration of the closing of the school and the start of the holidays. Everyone was exchanging hugs, kissing and saying goodbye and wishing themselves a merry Christmas.

Samson came out of his classroom and spotted Nelly. They were both excited that school was finally over for the year.

"Nelly my man, can you believe it? We're finally free of this hellhole." Samson said to him.

"Thank goodness man. High school sucks. Let's find the guys and get to that party." Nelly said excitedly.

"Tone it down man. We don't want people to know about our little get-together otherwise they'd crash it and turn it into a huge rager." Samson warned.

"And we don't want a huge rager?" Nelly asked sarcastically.

"Well, we do but Jenny's parents don't, so unless she's cool with it, let's keep it to ourselves."

"Keep what to ourselves?"

"Oh my God! Peace! You gotta stop sneaking up on people like that?" Nelly said with his hand on his chest. "Where did you even come from?"

"Doesn't matter. I gotta go anyway. See you guys later." Peace said and began walking away.

"Where are you going? What about the thing at Jennifer's place?" Samson asked her.

"I'll be there later. I gotta go pick up my sisters from school. And don't you have to go pick up Jamie?" Peace reminded him.

"Oh shit, you're right. I totally almost forgot." Samson remembered and began to leave as well.

"Well, I guess I gotta go home too. I promised my mom I'd check up on my Pops after school. But I'm definitely not missing that party." Nelly said and they all left to do what they had to do.

Meanwhile, Darryl and Jennifer were making out in the girl's bathroom. It was a good thing that the bathrooms didn't have beds otherwise they'd be naked on it.

"We really need to go before someone walks in here," Darryl said and continued kissing her.

"No one's coming in here. Everyone's leaving as we speak." Jennifer said and continued kissing him.

"We also have to get ready for your party."

"It's not a party. Just a little get-together with some friends and we can get everything we need on the way." Jennifer said and continued kissing him.

LATER THAT NIGHT

.

.

.

"Guys, where are you? Darryl and I have been waiting for you for hours." Jennifer wrote on the group chat.

"I'll be there soon. My mom just got back from her night job." - Nelly

"My parents are having round two so I might be a while." - Peace

"My mom's working the night shift at the clinic so I just need to find someone to babysit Jamie and I'll be on my way." - Samson

Jennifer was starting to feel like her friends were planning to boycott her party and it made her quite upset.

"Everyone's dealing with their shit tonight of all nights." She complained to Darryl who was already there.

"They said they'll be here. It might just take a little while."

"Yeah. You're probably right. I feel dirty so I'm going to go take a shower." She told him.

"Would you like some company?" Darryl tried his luck.

"Sorry babe but you're not that lucky...yet." She teased and went to take a shower.

While she was bathing and getting ready, Darryl sat down comfortably and was watching TV when his eyes caught sight of Jennifer's purse. He stared at the purse for so long, almost like he was contemplating going through it. He looked around to make sure that she wasn't coming back into the room and he got up and began walking towards the purse. He was about to grab it when the doorbell rang suddenly and almost scared him out of his skin.

"Who is it, babe?" She asked from where she was.

"It's probably one of the guys," Darryl said aloud and went to open the door. It wasn't one of the guys but all of them.

"You all finally made it. Come on in!" Darryl welcomed them in.

"This place is so freaking far." Peace complained.

"It is but it's so worth it," Nelly said with a smile.

"So, what did you guys bring?" Darryl asked and rubbed his hands mischievously. Samson smiled and took off his backpack and opened it.

"Well," Samson began, "we pulled our money together and got a few of these." He said and brought out a paper bag filled with joints and pills.

"That's dope guys," Darryl was impressed.

"And what does our host, Miss Moneybags, have in store for us?" Peace asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Jennifer replied from behind. "Babe, would you do us the honour?"

"Of course," Darryl said and went to get a bag from the kitchen. He brought it back to the parlor and began to empty its contents.

"We've got four bottles of Vodka, Jell-O shots and the holy grail, pure Coke," Jennifer announced.

"Coke? Hold up, hold up, hold up. No one said anything about Coke! I mean, I'm okay with taking a few pills but isn't doing Coke a little too much?" Nelly said, unsure of the idea of doing cocaine.

"Anyone else scared of doing Coke? Peace?" Jennifer raised her brow at her.

"What are you calling me for?" Peace asked.

"Well, you're a rule-breaker, aren't you? Or do you only break fashion rules?" Jennifer took a swing at Peace's clothing choice.

"Load it up." Peace said in an attempt to prove a point. She had never done cocaine before but was willing to now. Jennifer poured a little on her hand and she sniffed it into her nostrils.

"How did that feel?" Samson asked.

"Really good." Peace replied and the party began.

The kids partied hard throughout the night, drinking, dancing, smoking marijuana, doing shots, taking pills and sniffing Coke.

The next morning, Peace woke up in one of the guest bedrooms naked. She had no idea how she got there or what happened to her clothes. She managed to stand up, still rattled from all the drugs she had taken and found her clothes on the floor. She got dressed and went into the bathroom to sprinkle some water on her face. As she did this, little flashes of last night's activities played in her mind. She could see herself kissing someone but couldn't tell who it was. There was suddenly a knock on the bathroom door.

"I'll be out in a minute." She shouted.

Samson was in the kitchen brewing some hangover tea. He also looked out of it. Everyone else was lying on the floor of the parlor, barely conscious.

Peace walked into the parlor and went to the kitchen to drink some water.

"Does anyone remember what happened last night?" She asked, still unsure about how she got naked.

"All I can remember is drinking and dancing but everything else remains a blur after the Coke," Darryl said from the couch.

"The Coke really did a number on you, didn't it?" Samson asked and laughed at him.

Jennifer was now also awake. She sat up and put her hands on her head, trying to fight back a headache.

"Can I please have some of that tea, Sam?" She asked.

"Coming right up."

"Guys? Where's Nel?" Jennifer asked after not noticing him.

"There he is, behind the couch!" Samson said after spotting him.

"Yo Nel! Get up and come get some tea so you can push back the hangover. We need to recover quickly so we can clean up this mess before my mom gets back." She told him but Nelly didn't answer.

"Nelly?" She called out again but still no answer.

"He's probably still wiped out. I'll wake him up." Darryl said and walked over to him.

"Yo, Nelly? Time to wake up." He said and turned Nelly over but he didn't seem to be breathing. Darryl checked his pulse and it was very weak.

"Guys, I think Nelly had an overdose," Darryl announced.

"What? Is he okay?" Peace asked worriedly.

"He's out. He's not responding and his pulse is weak."

"What do we do?" Jennifer asked, very worriedly.

"We have to get him to a hospital." Peace said.

"Are you crazy? We can't do that. They'll know we were messing with cocaine and we could get arrested." Jennifer retorted and dismissed the suggestion.

"So what are we supposed to do, just leave him here to die?"

"He's not going to die," Samson said and went over to him. "I need you guys to get me some water and towels. I also need some smelling salts, lime juice and a pack of ice."

They all ran off to get what Samson had asked for.

"You'll be alright buddy. You'll be just fine." Samson said to Nelly.