The stranger

"Why did you come here?" inquired Alice. "You guys kicked me out." She was in her room with her former bandmate Molly, who was staring at her in confusion. She sat down, cross-legged on her bed.

 "You’re the one who began hanging out with Ethan," said Molly. Her wide and green eyes fixed on her. Usually, Alice would see Molly with her gothic outfit. This time she wore a plain white shirt and black pants.

  "Mike kicked me because I sucked at singing," Alice replied. "Did you come here looking for seducing advice? Well, you should accept the reality of your relationship with him. Mike couldn’t care less about you." Alice could tell Molly was dressed well before coming to her house. Turned out impressing Mike was a big deal to her. She had warned her many times that they were both being used by their bandmate leader, but Molly refused to listen. 

"You know Mark was better than you," Molly hissed. "Why did you humiliate him for asking you out? Poor kid has a grudge."

"What- who’s Mark?" 

"You’re twisted as always," Molly confessed. "Your skills at manipulating others freak me out. I don't see why you would hurt Mark like that."

"I'm curious, " said Alice. "Why are you chasing after Mike? He was one of the people who caused your childhood friend, Lisa to jump off the rooftop."  

"That's ridiculous, " said Molly. "I know Mark would never hurt me like that."

Alice’s tone was bitter. "I hate to break it to you, but Mike’s nasty. He realised that fans could leave him without a singer, so he's using you to get more attention. You have a tight body after all—"

  "Whatever, " Molly interrupted, sitting up. "You don’t know anything about us. Even if it was Mike's fault, then get some valid proof." Then I promise I'll believe you." Alice watched as Molly stormed off and shut the door behind her. She recalled when she met with Molly and Mike during primary school. They made fliers for recruiting singers. Alice accepted and joined them in the gym. The first time she sang, Mike said she was okay. But something made Alice suspicious of them. 

She heard them gossiping about Lisa. Lisa was one of Alice’s friends when she moved to London. She was kind and hardworking. There was a group of people who were jealous of her popularity and a boy named Chris was their leader. Alice watched Lisa jump off the rooftop, and she couldn't do anything to stop her. Fortunately, Alice overheard a conversation between Chris and his friends in the gym, so she decided to record with her camera. Her English teacher backed her up, and Chris got expelled.

*********

Alice sat up and went out of the door and into the bathroom. She opened the faucet and splashed water on her face. She wasn't surprised that Molly didn't believe her that Mike was one of the people that killed Lisa. Alice didn't hate Molly, but she had to save her from Mike’s clutches before she ended up like Lisa. 

"Sweetie, what happened between you and Molly?" asked her mother, Jade.

"You should worry about yourself. It's my fault your reputation as an actress has been ruined," Alice said.

"It's not your fault, " added her father, Brad.

"If I wasn't kidnapped, " Alice began, you would’ve continued your career-"

"Stop worrying about your mom," her father interrupted. "Did you trespass that crime scene?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please don't lie to me, " said Brad. 

Alice sighed. "Danny and I found a girl drenched in blood."  

Brad sat up. "We investigated the vehicle, but nobody was there. Now that I think about it, the news said they found another one of those unusual vehicles." 

Alice scoffed. "You don't have to believe me."

"Do me a favour and stop hanging around with Danny, " said Brad. "Tell me if that he hurts you again, I'll-"

"Don't you dare talk about my best friend!" Alice yelled, slamming her hand against the table. 

"I thought your type were bad boys, " Brad announced. 

Alice snorted. "Look who's talking. I know what you did to Mom when you were kids-"

"Stop it!" Jade yelled. "I'm sick of you guys not able to get along with each other."

 Jade and Brad both left and Alice sat on her chair. She and her father didn't have a steady relationship ever since she was kidnapped seven years ago. Alice was sick of the way her father treated Danny in the past. The last time he and Brad talked, her father would either hurt him or convince Alice she made friends with the wrong guy. Alice appreciated how her mother siding with Danny every time her father confronted and convince him that Danny wasn't a bad person. Alice lowered her head on the table, wishing she had the power to disappear when the door opened flung open. The wind was so tense that it sent chill down Alice’s spine.

****

Alice headed toward the door to check it out , but nobody was there. She went outside and scanned her front garden. Nothing. Alice hadn't expected any visitors coming to her house. Danny should be at his house, helping his little sister out with controlling her telekinesis. The air became thin. Alice was having trouble breathing as she fell onto her hands and knees. She had to find her inhaler, or she could be in big trouble. Heart pounding, Alice raced inside her house, up the stairs and into her bedroom. 

A minute passed. Two. Alice’s vision was fading. Her breathing was out of control. Sweat drenched from her forehead. She examined her room until her backpack caught her eye. Quickly, Alice shoved her hand inside and grabbed her inhaler. She fell on one knee as the inhaler slipped from her fingers. To her surprise, Alice found herself in complete darkness. No soul in sight. A figure appeared in the distance. It was moving at tremendous speed. Alice was unable to speak. She watched in horror as the figure formed itself to a human being. A tall man in a black robe emerged before her. 

Slowly, Alice’s vision came back to her. The man looked clearer. He had dark hair, one of his eyes had a scar under it. There were ice horns, sticking out of his head. 

"It's been a long time, " said the man. His voice was familiar. "Don't you remember me, Alice?" She heard this voice before. Images of people flashed across her mind; One of them was yet as a child, the others were men in black and red robes. She recognised one of them were her mother's childhood friends, Jake and his people. The horror she felt, isolated inside a dark and unknown room somewhere in Brooklyn.

She couldn't say anything. Stay away from me! Alice wanted to say but held her breath when the man approached her. Alice had to figure out her surroundings before this man could kill her. This has to be a dream. She thought. Alice kept repeating those words until she called down, but it didn't work. She wanted to get up to defend herself, but her legs wouldn't listen to her. 

"You burned me alive!" This man snarled. He clenched his teeth. "First, I'll kill your mother, then I'll take you to the ’White room.’ Master Merikh is eager to see you."

"Merikh?" Alice repeated. The 'White room?’" Those names sounded familiar. She felt immense amount of pressure coming from him that Alice felt her words were meaningless against him. Jake lashed out at her, and his speed increased as he grabbed ahold of Alice’s throat. Struggling, she kicked him on the as hard as she could, but her consciousness began to fade.

A thought had occurred to her. What if she used her magic again? The last time she had used her ability was when she rescued Ayla from that spaceship a week ago. The key was controlling her emotions. Alice placed her hand on his chest A stream of fire erupted out of her hand and blasted Jake so far into the distance that Alice couldn't see him anymore. Could she relax? She stood up, squeezed her eyes shut and opened them. To her astonishment, she returned to her room. She glanced to the right and gasped as she spotted a burned corpse and her whole arm turned black. The window was smashed and pieces of glass shards were scattered across the floor.

***