THE FEAR OF FEAR ITSELF

LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE

Lexie wakes up in a moving van. It was very dark and hot inside. She could not tell if it was day or night. She tried moving but hit something. What she hit was Sync. He's still out cold. Although, now breathing.

"He's alive," Lexie whispers to herself. Lexie gets up with so much pain. She's now seated. She looks everywhere. (Still dark). She whispered, "Sync, are you awake? Sync?" She pushes him around. She keeps pushing him without saying a word. Sync finally woke. He whispered, "Lexie? Where are we?"

"I think we're in a moving vehicle. Hey, what happened when I lost consciousness in the building?" "You were dehydrated and running out of air. The pulse of your heart... wasn't in normal conditions. I... came in quickly to save you... from the doom trap. Then, someone approached you. He or IT tried to attack you. I managed to knock IT out with the back of the ax you gave me. Oddly enough, I put him close to the entrance of the office. When I did, the bomb stopped the fast ticking. Once the slow ticking started, I dragged you to your motorcycle. Then stepped on the gas. Little did I know, the flames were already behind us."

One more bomb exploded near us. It flew us out and away from the building. That's the last thing I remember. " "Wait if you were the one that took us out then... who was the person next to me? Wasn't that you?" "No it wasn't. What exactly were you looking at?" Both Sync and Lexie turned their backs with fear to find what appeared to be a fresh dead body. 

Sync looks closer and the body got up eerily quick. It was a man who looked ever more creepy the more Sync stared. He appeared to be repeating phrases that are not his. "Sir are you alright?" Sync asked. The man faced his eyes towards Sync but still kept with his unsettling words. 

Lexie and Sync face back to each other. "Sync, I... I think that was the man that was next to me." "Possibly, but how did you confuse him for me?" "I don't know Sync, but it gets creepier the more I think about it." Sync and Lexie here clanking in the back. Lexie says to Sync, "Check on him. I'm scared he might be planning something sinister." 

Sync measures his distance before approaching the man closer. "Hey, what you got there?" The man did not give a proper answer but did give a key phrase. "Fourteen is my favorite number." "And why is that?" The man said another eerie phrase, "Fourteen women and fourteen children." Sync was curious to know what he meant by those phrases. 

The man's more terrifying phrase was, "There can only be fourteen children and fourteen women. I'm counting to fourteen. I have to eliminate children first, then women. Children then woman! Children then women!"

The man turns to Lexie. He smiles, gets up, and walks towards her. He had such a slouch walk which made it all the more disturbing. "I only see one woman!" he repeats this phrase as he approaches Lexie. 

The eerie man aimed a hand drill towards her eye. "OH HELL NO!" Lexie acted fast. She grabbed him by the arm and twisted it behind his back. She then slams him towards the doors of the moving van. "I am done being the victim form now on!" Lexie smacked the man again, causing the doors to open. The man fell hard on the street. 

"Now's our time to get out!" said Sync. Sync headed for the exit of the van. "Sync don't!" Lexie exclaimed.

Once said, the van jumped up, causing Lexie and Sync to bump on top of the van and fell back down. The doors slammed shut. They were locked in once again. "Dammit! Sync! When we get to our destination, be prepared. We need to be ready for any danger that comes upon us." 

"What shall we do?" "We have to pretend that we're still unconscious. Then, you punch one of the shadows and I'll take care of the other one. "What if there's more than two?" Sync asked.

"I know that there's more. I'm sorry Sync." "Why are you sorry?" "For telling you this at the wrong time. But I know there will be a lot of shadows in there. An evil group I've joined for a bit of time. I disobeyed them and now they're after me." "Well I still trust you, Lexie." 

"Thank you. Now, you ready Sync?" "Ready!" 

They suddenly hear the van slowing down. They both lie down and fake their unconsciousness. The doors were slightly opening. They both jumped out, only to notice that they ended up on a cold concrete floor. 

They were placed in a large cell. There were only a few white lights in specific areas. "The hell?" Lexie said confused. A voice from the dark said, "Did you really think I would let you win this time?" 

"Just come out! I know it's you making that stupid voice, Grieve," said Lexie. The voice spoke again, "Grieve? Please, I'm smarter than that young boy. Are you even ready to see my face? Do you really want to know who I am?"

Sync was brave enough to shout, "You better show yourself!" "Or what? What can you possibly do to me... Syncope?" "You have syncope? Why didn't you tell me Sync!?"

Sync ignored Lexie and said in anger to the voice, "Look at what you've done! Now she's gonna think of me differently! More cautious! I don't want people to feel bad for me! Look at what you've done you son of a—"

"Watch your language! Young man!" "Wait! Only one person would say that!" Sync whispers. "What the hell do you want from us!?" Lexie asked. She had seriousness in her voice. "To keep you here. Both of you know too much already. Especially you Lexie. I'm a little worried that you might find out more. We can't have you loose in town with information that's dangerous to the public. The other reason I have you here is I want those answers you both shouldn't have known."

"Why the hell do you want those answers!?" Lexie shouts. "They're important! Tell me now, Lexie!" 

It came to Lexie that he was calling her by her name. "How the hell do you know my name?". "Why I still can't believe you both don't know," said the unknown voice. 

The one who made such a mysterious voice approached closer into the light. Lexie and Sync couldn't believe their eyes. "No! It can't be!" Sync said. He was speechless. "There's no way that you could be a part of this!" Lexie said. She could not believe who she was seeing. 

Back to Angel and the girl... "Was Grieve involved in this?" The girl asked. "What do you think!? Of course, he was!" "How can you be so sure?" "That bastard has been following me since the day we met. He has hatred against me. He's also unfair of his words. Never get close to him. Never believe him! He's a boy of trickery!" "Wait! How do you know he's a boy?" The girl questioned him.

She had a feeling Angel was helping Grieve somehow. "I can tell by his voice and attitude. It is that of a teenage boy. The only difference between him and I is the anger. Both our fits of anger resemble good and evil. I know that if I were to join him, all hell will break loose. Everything would've been different if I had joined him. He would've turn me into fear and he'd make sure that I kill everyone I see. He'd make sure that there'd be no survivors!"

"What happens if he dies and you turn into fear?" The girl asked. "It'll make things more dangerous. There will be no one to tell me what to do. I would most likely decide for myself. All the decisions I make will lead to psychotic actions."

"How do you plan on stopping Grieve?" The girl asks calmly. "To my luck, there's still quite a good amount of options." "Well great!" As the girl says this, she follows Angel for a few steps. 

Angel then stops and turns around to look at her. He asks, "What are you doing!?" "I'm going to help you find your friends!" "No! You're not!" "But you need my help for this mission!" "What I need is to be alone for this mission!" "Why won't you let me help?" "Because you're a threat now. You know too much! Those Shadows will do anything to kill you!" 

"They won't lay a hand on me!" The girl says firmly. "Really!? Because I had to save you from them. Look, if they don't kill you, they'll do something even worse." "Well, it can't be that bad, can it?" 

"Can't be that bad!? Can't be that bad!? Look at what you've done! For knowing such private information, they will now t*****e you. Not only that, they'll think you're associated with me! You are in a hell lot of danger! Well, at least you don't know too much about Lexie, right?" 

"No, I only managed to get a glimpse of her from behind." "Good! You also don't know anything about Joyce, right?" The girl looked down with a face of guilt. "Dammit! You see what you have done! How much do you know about Joyce?" 

The girl did not want to respond to him. "You know too much, don't you?" "Yes," the girl sighs in a low tone. "Well if I were you, I suggest you stay here."

Angel had to think about his next move. Where would he be able to find Lexie? He's just about to leave when the girl shouts at him, "Hey! How much do you know about Grieve?" "Not enough, but he does remind me of someone!" 

"Who?" Angel did not respond to her question. As of now he tried tracking Lexie using the GPS trackers. There was too much interference. He could not tell where she was. "Dammit!" He says.

He tried using his earpiece. He only heard the disrupted sound of interference once again. "Great! Now what should I do!?" "Angel, let me help!" "How will you help if I can't even trace them down?

"Well we can't trace them, but they can trace us. Just use me as bait." "Fine! But if anything goes wrong, just know, it was your fault for helping me." "Deal!"

Angel and the girl planned their bait trap. Once done, they waited outside the school patiently. 

Back to Lexie and Sync... They still couldn't believe who they were looking at. Sync stutters, "P...Prin... Principal Will!?" "The one and only!" "How on earth are you a part of this!?" Sync shouts. "I've always been a part of this, young man."

"Why!? Why would you do this to us!?" Lexie asked. She desperately wanted to know the answer. "Because of you orphans! Unlike normal children with parents, you orphans always get the better benefit! Everyone has sympathy for all of you. My parents never had sympathy for me! All of you no good for nothing orphans have it easy! I've never had it easy!" 

"You can't blame us for your parents!" Sync states. "Now that's where you are wrong Sync! Do you not have it easy? Anyone will take you into care. Anyone will try and find a way to feed you. Anyone would give you an education. Now, why would they do that? Oh! That's right! Because they know that you need all of it! I've seen how people looked at me as a child. I remember one time asking my parents for a toy. I asked very nicely. My father and mother rejected on buying it. Then, that's when I saw an orphan enter the store alone. He asked the store clerk for a certain toy. My father ended up buying the orphan that toy. I cried for that toy and that's when my father slapped me! After I'd been slapped, my father said, "He deserves it more than you. You don't deserve anything!" As I grew older, other orphans took advantage of adults. They had more love for you than me! Orphans have always been a threat and a disgrace! Look at what you've done to this damn world! You've changed it for the worst! Everything you've ever wanted was so easy to get. You're all a disappointment to me!"

"Nothing is easy for us!" Sync shouted. "Oh! It's not? Wasn't it easy for you to just walk into my school like nothing?" "That's not what I meant! Plus, why did you even take us in the first place!?"

"At first I thought to myself, why not take advantage of the orphans!? Then, I wanted to figure out who would be strong and who would be weak. The strong orphans were to turn into the shadows!" 

"And what about the weak ones?" Lexie asked. Principal Will did not answer that question. Although, he got close to something nearby. The only thing that was sticking out of the light was some feet of a twelve-year-old girl.

The twelve-year-old girl screamed, "No! No! What's happening!? What are you -" The last thing Sync and Lexie heard was a gruesome crunch of bones. 

The Principal comes back. He says, "Does that answer your question, Lexie!?" "How the hell do these orphans listen to a messed up man like you?" "They see me as a father! A father who will agree to take care of them! When in reality, I don't give a crap about their lives! I only use them to cause fear around the world! I make them into a weapon of destruction! Nothing will ever stand in their way! Nothing!"

"For what purpose?" Sync asks. Little did the Principal know, Sync purposefully asked him that question. He wanted to get the most information out of him. Although, why does he want to know? And for what purpose? 

Could he be associated with someone? Could he be associated with Sherrie? It would be impossible for him to be a part of the FBI! Is he part of a group that no one knows about? 

The principal answered Sync's question, "I want them to cause fear, so they can have control over the city! I want them to have hate towards their family! Just like my family hated me. I want them to kill everyone they see! Their purpose is to transform into hooded psychotic animals! That's what they are to me. Nothing, but a bunch of stupid, filthy animals! Animals that listen only to me!"

Lexie says, "Wait! If the children you collect kill their own family, wouldn't that make them orphans? I thought you hated orphans." "Oh, I do. I'm only using them for my benefit. You see, I'm like a father to them. Not an actual father. Do not confuse the two. See, if they behave how I want them to, they get benefits. But, if they fail, punishment awaits them! Finally I am the one to teach them that nothing comes easy. Plus, once they've completed their job I will use them for other malice activities." 

Sync was now filled with all kinds of rage due to what he had heard. He shouts, "All of that is based on your freaken opinion! You think every orphan's life is the same as every other!? You're sure damn wrong to think that! You think my life is easy!? You think my mentality is okay!? You think nothing is wrong with me!? You don't think every single one of us has problems just like you do!? I know that each and very one of us has it worse than others! But that doesn't mean we have to compare ourselves to one another! Let's say I have it worse than someone else. It doesn't give me the right to say to someone that I'm worthless. It doesn't give me the right to say that I'd want to kill myself! It doesn't give me the right to make others feel worse! You know why I'm so freaken angry right now!? Because most people in this damn world assume the worst in other people!"

Principal Will tried to interrupt but Sync continued, "Do you know how many lives are gone? All because you assume the worst!? My dad was a stupid drunk! My mother would always yell. She would never see not even the slightest effort I put. Just for her! I wasn't who I am now. Before, I wouldn't care about school or my grades. My mom always assumed failure in me! If I were to do something or anything wrong for that matter, she'd tell it to my face! I tried to escape it, but she would come to remind me later. She would come to remind me what a disappointment I was! She would never see how hard and detailed I've been working on a certain book. Just to show her that I am creative, because she's always seen me as an uncreative person. And that hurts. You think that's having it easy you son of a prick!? Easy my a*s! I had to watch my dad hit my sister with a belt or his arms! His hands hurt as if you had been hit with a hammer! So you can imagine the force of that damn belt!" 

"Hear me—" Sync interrupted Will, "No, you hear me. Every time he would come to the house within four minutes, my baby sister wanted attention from my father. Sadly, my father was a man of zero patience! He got annoyed to the point he hit my baby sister! I yelled at him with everything I had. That only led me outside! it was cold that night. No shoes and no sweater for hours. If he wasn't able to find a belt, he would hit both my sisters with a broom! He had insults towards everyone!. Everyone has a problem related to this! A lot of people see getting drunk is a good thing. I've seen teenagers drink with friends. Why? Because they think it's fun! They think it's normal in this damn world! Well, I see it as a disgrace to society. Whoever made alcoholic beverages in the first place was a freaken i***t! I remember the history of alcohol. Once it was produced, everyone wanted a taste of it. Once tried prohibiting the beverage, a war started! For a freaken drink!? That's the lowest of the lowest. Now, I don't care if you're addicted! Once addicted, it's hard to stop! I understand that! But don't get drunk just because you like the feeling of it! I could just kill you right now! Get your a*s over here, so I can show you physical pain!"

"Why the hell are you telling me as if I'd care?" "I'm just trying to express my views and opinions. I'm pretty sure a lot of people would disagree with my opinion. I can't change it. I can't change anything! I want to help as a psychologist, but a lot of people don't agree with our opinions. We study to try and help people, but because I'm young, adults don't want to listen to us. We try to be patient and you people get mad. Although, I wouldn't mind relieving your mind, Will" 

"I see you know too much information about the human mind and your anger makes you strong and fearless! You'd be a benefit to the group!" "No! I'd be a danger! I know what you're trying to do and it won't work! I'm mentally stronger than you."

"Amazing! You protect your mind from my fear nightmare! It's as if you block everything that could possibly change your mind! One day, I will get you to join us!" 'I'd rather die!" "That can be arranged! I'll let it sly this one time." With that said, the Principal walked away.

"How did you control your mind like that?" Lexie asked Sync. "It wasn't easy and my mind is really tired right now." "Do you think you can show me how to control my mind like that? Did you not see what you have done!?" Lexie asked in excitement. 

She continues, "If we both control our minds, we could take down the shadows with no hesitation. Will you help me?" "Fine! But if we fail, you will see what we have done." 

The time Sync and Lexie spent in that cell, they learned different things about each other. Lexie was learning how to control her mind. While Sync was learning about Lexie's FBI training and experience. 

Back to Angel and the girl... They had their plan ready to go. They were just about to start when a police car came by them. Two officers got out of the car. "Are you children okay?" asked officer Simmons from afar. 

Angel and the girl had the idea of a different plan. He says to the girl, "Let's pretend that we were the victims here." The girl asked, "So that way the news copter and news van come, right?" "Exactly! This will be new bait! I want you to tell the whole story. I'll just add other little details. "Okay, I got you covered!"

When the officers got near, both the girl and Angel's face were covered with the black ash of fire. "What happened here?" asked officer Pat. The girl responded, "It was terrible! I was just inside when all of a sudden I saw fire! It was getting closer and closer. I got tired of running and stopped right before entering the exit. I thought I wasn't going to make it! That was until this brave soul saved me."

The girl pats on Angel's arm. "What other information do you have boy?" asked officer Simmons. "Well after I saved her, the building came tumbling down for some reason." 

"Any other survivors?" "Not that I know of." "I'll call up an ambulance to patch both of you up. Then we're taking both of you in!"

The news van finally arrived four minutes before the officers took them in. A news reporter woman, along with a camera holder man came out of the van. 

The reporter told the officers, "Wait! Wait! My name is Miriam. I'm the head news reporter of SCND. I would like to ask a few questions about these children. Angel and the girl agreed to it. The news was on air live. 

Immediately Grieve saw what was happening on the TV in a small room. Alongside him was Principal Will. "What's the plan?" asked Grieve. "Same as usual," the principal responded as he smiled.

"I'll get there within a few minutes," said Grieve. 

After those few minutes. Grieve got closer and closer to the school. The firefighters had already calmed down the flames. 

Grieve hides on top of the trees. He examines everything and everyone. "There are too many people here," grieve says to the principal through an earpiece. "Shut it all off!" The Principal ordered. 

With that, Grieve managed to shut all the lights of every vehicle, including the helicopter. "He's here," Angel whispers to himself. Grieve was now in front of Angel. "Are you ready to lose another chance!?" asked Grieve. 

Angel sighed and said, "No, I'll join you." Grieve was surprised by Angel's response. Grieve says, "This better not be a damn trick!" "No... I quit! Just take me..." Grieve got a hold of him only and left the girl behind. "Wait! What about her!?" Angel shouts. 

Simmons and Pat heard the shouts of Angel. But they were prohibited from shooting since they could not see. "She is not necessary!" Grieve says. Angel looked as the police took her into their vehicle. The girl looked up at Angel as the police seated her in the back of their car.

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