Obsession 2

Chapter 8- Help Him

I've been out all night looking for Sadie and I've decided to go to the police at this point. I know Kai said it will only give Sammy a reason to run, but if we can't even find him, why does it matter? If we can get Sadie's picture out there, other people will be able to identify her or Sammy. I feel like every second that I waste is getting me closer and closer to the grueling reality- that I might lose Sadie forever because of this.

Which makes me feel all sorts of things. I'm afraid, of course. Terrified. I don't know how I'll be able to go on or live with myself if something happens to Sadie. I'm also nervous, to the point I'm feeling sick. There's a sense of dread hanging over me, telling me that no matter what I do, I'm going to be too late. She's been gone for too long.

I think what I'm feeling most of all though is anger. I'm angry at Sammy, even though it seems like maybe he has no control over what he's doing. I'm angry at myself for leading Sammy straight to Sadie. I was in such a hurry when I snuck into her house, I didn't bother to make sure the cap belonged to Sarah. And even if it did, Sarah hasn't been around in a long time, which means even if it was Sarah's cap, it's likely Sadie has worn it before.

Sammy has Sadie's scent because of me. I led him right to her.

I pull up to the police station and take a deep breath before getting out of the car. I start for the entrance, but I pause just as I make it to the door. What am I going to tell them? That my brother is cursed and has super human abilities? They'll only laugh at me and dismiss everything I say as delusional.

I put my hand on the door to push it open, but suddenly, a strange chill moves up my spine.

"Don't do it little brother."

"Where have you been?" I ask without turning around.

"I'm sure you've figured that out by now," he answers.

"You're brave to be standing in front of a police station. Don't you know there are cameras all over the place?"

"Did you know that I don't give a s**t?" he laughs.

I finally turn around to face him, giving him a look of disgust mixed with disbelief. "Where is Sadie?"

"Don't worry, I didn't hurt your little girlfriend. The b***h puts up a fight. She didn't want anything to do with me," he answers coldly.

His skin is glistening with a layer of sweat, his chest heaving as if he ran all the way here. His eyes are dark and evil. The curse is fully consuming him right now.

"Can you blame her? She knows what you're capable of. She doesn't want to die," I snarl.

"You have to find her before I do," he says. I can practically see the war waging in his eyes. While he's consumed by the curse, there's still enough of him left to try and do the right thing. "If you don't, we both know what will happen."

"Why don't you just turn yourself in? If you're in jail, you can't hurt-"

"Forget it," he scoffs, backing away from me. "I refuse to go back there. Besides, we both know they can't keep me locked away. They can't stop me. Only you can."

Without another word, he turns and runs away, vanishing into the darkness.

Sadie is alive. She got away. I take a moment to let the relief wash over me before I start thinking about where she could be. I've got to get to her before Sammy finds her again.

My phone rings and I pull it out and furrow my brows when I see Sadie's name. My heart drops to the pit of my stomach as I answer.

"Sadie?"

"Mikey! Thank God! I'm in the attic at your house, but...someone is here so I don't want to come down," she cries.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" I ask.

"I have a pretty serious burn on my side, but other than that, I'm fine. Where are you? Why are there strange men in your house?" she asks.

"That's Kai and Leo. They're...friends from out of town," I answer, looking around for any sign of Sammy. I hurry back to my car and get in before he has a chance to hear anything else I say. "Listen, he's still looking for you. You're not safe."

"No s**t, Sherlock!"

"I'm being serious! Kai and Leo won't hurt you. Just climb down, tell them who you are and don't go anywhere. I'll be there in five minutes!"

Sadie

I peek through the attic door and see Kai and Leo sitting on the sofa in the living room. One of them have been on the phone for a while, talking to who I can only assume is his wife or girlfriend. Their shameless lovey-dovey romantic talk is about to get on my last damn nerve.

I take a deep breath, ready to make my presence known. "Excuse me!"

The one who is not on the phone looks around, but he doesn't look in my direction.

"Hey! Over here!" I call out to him.

He finally notices me and his eyes widen in surprise.

"Can you help me down?" I ask when he doesn't bother moving.

He says something to the other guy and finally, they get up. "Sadie, is that you?" one of them ask as they approach me slowly.

"Yes, I'm Sadie. Mikey told me I could trust you, so...can you help me down?"

"Of course. I'm Leo, by the way," the taller one says, holding his arms out to me. "And this is Kai."

"Nice to meet you," I reply, jumping down and bracing myself against Leo. That's when I notice the ring on his finger. "You're married?"

He nods, smiling. "Yep. For almost three years."

"You look so...young..." I say, checking him out. He's hot too, but I won't mention that.

"Well, I kind of am. I'm only twenty-six," he replies.

"What about you?" I ask Kai. "Are you married?"

"No," he answers curtly. I guess he's definitely not the friendlier one of the two.

But wow. They are both so good looking. Where did Mikey find them? They look like they were manufactured at a hot guy plant, all tall and perfect...

"Hello?" Leo smirks.

I snap out of my daze and clear my throat. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I asked if you have talked to Michael," Leo repeats.

"Yes. I called him just a few minutes ago," I answer. "He told me to let you know I was here and that I could trust you. Apparently, his raving mad brother is still looking for me."

"You probably have a lot of questions about what happened," Leo says, his eyes moving down to my waist where my hand is covering up my festering wound. "Are you okay?"

"Just a little burn is all," I shrug.

Kai takes my hand and forces it away from my side. "You have to get that checked out. It could be infected."

"Okay, and what should I tell them? Some guy burned me with his weirdly hot hand?" I ask sarcastically.

Neither of them seem amused.

"Trust me, I've had worse injuries," I scoff at them.

"How did you get away?" Leo asks.

"I bit him," I reply, making both of them look at me like I'm crazy. "To be fair, he was pinning me down to the floor."

"What happened? Where did he find you?" Kai asks.

"At home. He was just...there...in my kitchen. I got up out of bed in the middle of the night to get a bottle of water, and turned the light on to see my friendly neighborhood serial killer, s***h ex-boyfriend's brother...he had blood all over him."

They share a look that makes me feel uncomfortable. Luckily, the front door opens and I nearly cry in relief when I see Mikey.

"Sadie!" he says, rushing to my side and pulling me into his arms.

"Ouch!" I hiss, causing him to pull away quickly.

"What? Are you okay? Did he...do anything?" he asks, studying my eyes.

"No, nothing like that. But his skin...it was so hot...like burning coals. When he touched me, I smelled like a strip of bacon frying in an iron skillet," I say, raising my shirt slightly and revealing my wound.

"Oh my God! That looks...bad," Mikey says, grimacing. "You should probably have it checked out."

"We've already been over this before you got here," I say, pushing my shirt back down. "I can't explain what happened to me without sounding like a total lunatic."

"Then let me help you. I used to help Sammy study for his exams all the time. I remember a few things," Mikey offers.

"What, is he like a doctor or something?" Leo asks.

"Well, he was studying to become a doctor. Which is what makes all of this so...hard to accept. I just can't believe Sammy would give up his promising future...."

"He didn't willingly give it up," Kai says. "He has very little control over what he's doing right now. If we can find him, maybe we can convince him to give up now so he can still have a chance at a promising future. But to do that, we're gonna have to be smart. He's got Sadie's scent. He'll come after her now, no matter where she goes."

"What the hell do you mean?" I ask, looking between everyone in confusion. When no one bothers to give me any sort of explanation, I start to laugh like a maniac. "No, no, no. Don't tell me you bought into this supernatural bullshit."

"We didn't have to buy into it. We lived through it," Leo answers with a slightly offended tone to his voice. "I know what's going on with Sammy crosses the line of real and make believe, but when you've seen something with your own eyes, it's best if you stop denying that some really freaky s**t is going on before someone you love gets hurt."

My eyes move to Mikey as if they have a mind of their own. I don't want anything to happen to him and he's caught up right in the middle of this nightmare. If I keep denying what's going on, I could put him in danger.

He has no one right now. His parents are gone, his brother is insane and the rest of his family is in Japan. He has no one to turn to, no one to be on his side.

So for his sake, I'll swallow my pride and admit that something strange is going on here. I'll open my mind to accept any form of reality if it means Mikey will be okay.

"So what now?" I ask. "Are you guys gonna be my new entourage?"

Again, no humor in the room.

"We're trying to find Sammy so we can talk him into giving up," Mikey answers.

"Giving up? He's escaped police custody like four times, and you think he's just going to turn himself in now?" I ask in disbelief.

"No, not turn himself in," Leo answers. "Look, I know all of this is pretty far our there, but there's a chance we can help Sammy. We can undo every wrong he's done."

"How?" I ask.

Kai and Leo share a look before Kai looks to Mikey. "Perhaps you should explain it to her."

He nods, taking a deep breath. "Sadie...you remember when I told you Sammy showed up here the other night?" I nod, so he continues. "The things he said, the things I saw that night...I knew...something was wrong with him. Something that I couldn't explain and that the police could never understand. I believe Sammy is under a curse."

I can't help but laugh out loud. "A curse? You're not being serious, right?" My laughter dies out when no one else seems to be laughing. "Oh. You're serious..."

"I was under the same curse myself, a few years ago," Kai explains. "If it weren't for Leo, I have no idea where I'd be right now. He was able to save me, and by doing that, everything I had done while infected by the curse was undone."

"So you're saying...the two girls Sammy murdered...they can just...rise from the dead? Like a zombie?" I ask, still very much skeptical.

"No, nothing like that. It's more like...rewriting history," Leo answers.

"Are we going back in time?" I ask.

"You are so difficult," Leo groans, rolling his eyes.

"Look at it this way. Life is going on as normal in another dimension. Both those girls Sammy killed are still alive and well. Anything happening now is happening under the curse and Sammy controls everything. As long as he lets this darkness stay in control, we're stuck here, in this dimension," Kai explains.

I look around at everyone, wondering why I'm the only one who thinks this is the biggest crock of s**t ever and everyone in this room, aside from me, is crazy. But then I think back to what Sammy put me through. He was strong. Way too strong for a normal human. And his skin...it was so hot. Curse or not, he definitely wasn't normal.

And because I know that much is true, I force myself to buy the rest. "Okay...while all of this does seem a bit crazy, I guess I can't argue that something is definitely wrong with Sammy. If I can help him," I say, looking over at Mikey, "I'm going to."

"Thank you," Mikey smiles. "Now, please let me bandage your wound."

I sigh, knowing he's not going to let this go. "Fine."