HOME | DD

Description
Clarity jumped roughly three feet into the air, let out a tiny screech of surprise, and whirled to face the newcomer.

"Jeez, Rit, thanks for that!" wailed Heather, hopping backwards on one foot. Clarity rolled her eyes; she'd warned her friend to stop trying to sneak up on her for pretty much this exact reason.

"And don't think I didn't see that, missy," Heather snarled, smiling mischievously. "I will freaking end you."

"With only one foot?" Clarity said slyly, giving Heather a sharp prod on the shoulder and darting away again. "Impressive."

"Just a flesh wound," Heather grumbled, lurching closer. "Now get over here so I can kill you slowly."

Clarity shot her a look and approached. Rather than submitting to her righteous end, however, she slipped an arm around Heather's shoulder and helped her hobble to the bench. Once she'd taken a seat Clarity shimmied up to perch once more on the back, gazing keenly down at her friend. Heather glared silently at the concrete.

"Did I actually hurt you?" Clarity eventually inquired.

"No," came the morose reply.

Clarity nodded slowly.

"All right then."

Heather blew a strand of light brown hair off her face with a huff was that perhaps slightly louder than it needed to be.

"Heather," Clarity said in her I'm-talking-to-a-toddler voice. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah," she replied, sounding a little less like a five-year-old. "It's just bruised. I'm fine." She shrugged. "I just kind of enjoy being dramatic, I guess."

"I'd say that's a pretty good guess," Clarity replied with a slight smile. "So why'd you come down here, other than some impromptu amputation?"

"Ooh, 'impromptu amputation', good one!" Heather exclaimed, pulling a pen out of her jeans pocket and scrawling the phrase quickly onto her forearm. Clarity was used to this habit by now; her friend aspired to become a writer, but she had consistently lost every notebook she attempted to carry around with her. Thus, her skin had become the best note-taking surface.

"Why thank you," Clarity replied, glad to have restored her friend's good humor. "But seriously, do you need a ride or something? The bus should be here soon. I can lend you some cash."

"Oh, right!" Heather said excitedly, shoving the pen back into her pocket. "So, I was up by the gym, in the woods there, y'know? Y'know the place?"

Clarity assured her that she did indeed know the place.

"So I was there, waiting to see if Damien was staying after-"

"Seriously, Heather?" Clarity interrupted. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously," Heather giggled. "I don't care how weird you think I am, he is a sexy beast."

"Whatever," Clarity sighed. She couldn't fathom Heather's obsessive fascination with various guys in their class, especially since the victim of her affections changed nearly every week. Apparently this was just another chapter in her endless quest for a boyfriend. Still, best to let her wear herself out. "What happened? Did you see him?"

"I didn't, actually," Heather answered, frowning slightly. "That did kinda suck. But, wait til you hear what I did see."

The sparkling in Heather's eyes and the evident shimmer in her voice piqued Clarity's curiosity; for Heather Freeson to be expressing this much interest in something that didn't pertain to the opposite sex was unprecedented. She slid from the back of the bench to join Heather on the main seat, eyebrow raised.

"Alright, I'm listening," she said. "What did you see?"

Heather's eyes gleamed. "You won't believe me."

"Try me."

Heather wiggled her toes inside her fashionably old-style sandals, seemingly bursting with excitement.

"I saw…"

She paused, apparently savoring the dramatic moment.

Clarity raised her eyebrows. "A wild alpaca."

"Nope!"

"A dying baby."

"Eww!"

"Mr. Metzger making out with Ms. Sharpe?"

"EWW! GOD NO!"

"Well, WHAT then?"

With a grand and expansive gesture, Heather at last concluded her sentence.

"I saw… a UFO."

Clarity's shoulders slumped.

"Heatherrrrrr," she groaned. "What the hell! C'mon, tell me! What did you see?"

"No, seriously!" Heather said earnestly, looking slightly hurt. "I saw a UFO!"

"No, no you didn't," Clarity replied with just a touch of anger in her voice. "'I want to believe' and all that, but quit messing around."

"Dammit, I knew you wouldn't…" Heather hissed, then leaned forward to look her friend directly in the eye. "Rit, listen to me. I know it sounds crazy. I know it does. But think about it. I know you love logic and stuff, so let me explain it to you logically."

Clarity folded her arms. The thing was, she did love logic, and if there was a logical explanation to this she certainly wanted to hear it. Damn you, Heather. Why do you have to know me so well?

Seeing that her audience was suitably captivated, Heather continued. "I hate sci-fi. I think it's nerdy and weird. I'm the last person who would jump to conclusions about flying saucers, there is NO WAY I mistook what I saw, and most importantly, I have no reason to pull one over on you. None!"

Clarity was silent.

"Clarity. I am dead. Serious."

There was a tense silence as the two girls regarded each other closely.

At last, Clarity shattered it.

"Okay. So maybe you thought you saw a flying saucer or whatever. There isn't really a way for either of us to know for sure."

"Well… yeah there is," Heather replied, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

Clarity blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Didn't I say?"

"Um, no."

"Well the thing crashed! It's in the woods!"

Much to her chagrin, Clarity's mouth dropped open. "No. Flipping. Way."

"I know!" Heather squealed, bouncing up and down slightly in her seat. "I saw it come over the roof of the gym and go down deeper in the woods. Not far from the main path, I think!"

Clarity's mind whirled. Could it actually be true? No. No way. Heather's on drugs or something.

Heather's smile grew. "I think… we should go and look for it."

Clarity remained silent, struggling to come to grips with the situation. There's no… way…

"I mean, it's not likes its horrible aliens or anything, if that's what you're wondering," Heather continued. "It didn't even look like much of a spaceship, to be honest, just a sort of box thing, really, but still! Whatever it was, it was big, it was blue, and it could fly!"

Clarity stood and began restlessly pacing along the edge of the sidewalk, much like she had been doing only a few minutes before, leaving Heather on the bench.

"So what do you think, Rit? Should we?"

No. Bad idea. Who knows what this thing is. Don't do it.

But despite the insistence of her rational mind, something deeper down felt differently.

It was that thing that she felt flickering at her consciousness whenever she walked down the street at night, or convinced someone to do something, or tried to recall a fading dream. It was seeping through her now, infecting her with a desire to run, to fight, to do something. And with the urge came the confidence that she could do pretty much anything. Perhaps even easily.

Find it. Run.

"Clarity?" Heather sounded slightly concerned now.

Don't do it.

Go. Find it.

It's your way out.

"Clarity!"

She made a decision.

She turned.

"Take me to it."

Description
Clarity jumped roughly three feet into the air, let out a tiny screech of surprise, and whirled to face the newcomer.

"Jeez, Rit, thanks for that!" wailed Heather, hopping backwards on one foot. Clarity rolled her eyes; she'd warned her friend to stop trying to sneak up on her for pretty much this exact reason.

"And don't think I didn't see that, missy," Heather snarled, smiling mischievously. "I will freaking end you."

"With only one foot?" Clarity said slyly, giving Heather a sharp prod on the shoulder and darting away again. "Impressive."

"Just a flesh wound," Heather grumbled, lurching closer. "Now get over here so I can kill you slowly."

Clarity shot her a look and approached. Rather than submitting to her righteous end, however, she slipped an arm around Heather's shoulder and helped her hobble to the bench. Once she'd taken a seat Clarity shimmied up to perch once more on the back, gazing keenly down at her friend. Heather glared silently at the concrete.

"Did I actually hurt you?" Clarity eventually inquired.

"No," came the morose reply.

Clarity nodded slowly.

"All right then."

Heather blew a strand of light brown hair off her face with a huff was that perhaps slightly louder than it needed to be.

"Heather," Clarity said in her I'm-talking-to-a-toddler voice. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah," she replied, sounding a little less like a five-year-old. "It's just bruised. I'm fine." She shrugged. "I just kind of enjoy being dramatic, I guess."

"I'd say that's a pretty good guess," Clarity replied with a slight smile. "So why'd you come down here, other than some impromptu amputation?"

"Ooh, 'impromptu amputation', good one!" Heather exclaimed, pulling a pen out of her jeans pocket and scrawling the phrase quickly onto her forearm. Clarity was used to this habit by now; her friend aspired to become a writer, but she had consistently lost every notebook she attempted to carry around with her. Thus, her skin had become the best note-taking surface.

"Why thank you," Clarity replied, glad to have restored her friend's good humor. "But seriously, do you need a ride or something? The bus should be here soon. I can lend you some cash."

"Oh, right!" Heather said excitedly, shoving the pen back into her pocket. "So, I was up by the gym, in the woods there, y'know? Y'know the place?"

Clarity assured her that she did indeed know the place.

"So I was there, waiting to see if Damien was staying after-"

"Seriously, Heather?" Clarity interrupted. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously," Heather giggled. "I don't care how weird you think I am, he is a sexy beast."

"Whatever," Clarity sighed. She couldn't fathom Heather's obsessive fascination with various guys in their class, especially since the victim of her affections changed nearly every week. Apparently this was just another chapter in her endless quest for a boyfriend. Still, best to let her wear herself out. "What happened? Did you see him?"

"I didn't, actually," Heather answered, frowning slightly. "That did kinda suck. But, wait til you hear what I did see."

The sparkling in Heather's eyes and the evident shimmer in her voice piqued Clarity's curiosity; for Heather Freeson to be expressing this much interest in something that didn't pertain to the opposite sex was unprecedented. She slid from the back of the bench to join Heather on the main seat, eyebrow raised.

"Alright, I'm listening," she said. "What did you see?"

Heather's eyes gleamed. "You won't believe me."

"Try me."

Heather wiggled her toes inside her fashionably old-style sandals, seemingly bursting with excitement.

"I saw…"

She paused, apparently savoring the dramatic moment.

Clarity raised her eyebrows. "A wild alpaca."

"Nope!"

"A dying baby."

"Eww!"

"Mr. Metzger making out with Ms. Sharpe?"

"EWW! GOD NO!"

"Well, WHAT then?"

With a grand and expansive gesture, Heather at last concluded her sentence.

"I saw… a UFO."

Clarity's shoulders slumped.

"Heatherrrrrr," she groaned. "What the hell! C'mon, tell me! What did you see?"

"No, seriously!" Heather said earnestly, looking slightly hurt. "I saw a UFO!"

"No, no you didn't," Clarity replied with just a touch of anger in her voice. "'I want to believe' and all that, but quit messing around."

"Dammit, I knew you wouldn't…" Heather hissed, then leaned forward to look her friend directly in the eye. "Rit, listen to me. I know it sounds crazy. I know it does. But think about it. I know you love logic and stuff, so let me explain it to you logically."

Clarity folded her arms. The thing was, she did love logic, and if there was a logical explanation to this she certainly wanted to hear it. Damn you, Heather. Why do you have to know me so well?

Seeing that her audience was suitably captivated, Heather continued. "I hate sci-fi. I think it's nerdy and weird. I'm the last person who would jump to conclusions about flying saucers, there is NO WAY I mistook what I saw, and most importantly, I have no reason to pull one over on you. None!"

Clarity was silent.

"Clarity. I am dead. Serious."

There was a tense silence as the two girls regarded each other closely.

At last, Clarity shattered it.

"Okay. So maybe you thought you saw a flying saucer or whatever. There isn't really a way for either of us to know for sure."

"Well… yeah there is," Heather replied, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

Clarity blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Didn't I say?"

"Um, no."

"Well the thing crashed! It's in the woods!"

Much to her chagrin, Clarity's mouth dropped open. "No. Flipping. Way."

"I know!" Heather squealed, bouncing up and down slightly in her seat. "I saw it come over the roof of the gym and go down deeper in the woods. Not far from the main path, I think!"

Clarity's mind whirled. Could it actually be true? No. No way. Heather's on drugs or something.

Heather's smile grew. "I think… we should go and look for it."

Clarity remained silent, struggling to come to grips with the situation. There's no… way…

"I mean, it's not likes its horrible aliens or anything, if that's what you're wondering," Heather continued. "It didn't even look like much of a spaceship, to be honest, just a sort of box thing, really, but still! Whatever it was, it was big, it was blue, and it could fly!"

Clarity stood and began restlessly pacing along the edge of the sidewalk, much like she had been doing only a few minutes before, leaving Heather on the bench.

"So what do you think, Rit? Should we?"

No. Bad idea. Who knows what this thing is. Don't do it.

But despite the insistence of her rational mind, something deeper down felt differently.

It was that thing that she felt flickering at her consciousness whenever she walked down the street at night, or convinced someone to do something, or tried to recall a fading dream. It was seeping through her now, infecting her with a desire to run, to fight, to do something. And with the urge came the confidence that she could do pretty much anything. Perhaps even easily.

Find it. Run.

"Clarity?" Heather sounded slightly concerned now.

Don't do it.

Go. Find it.

It's your way out.

"Clarity!"

She made a decision.

She turned.

"Take me to it."