Date: Thu, 08 Nov 2001 23:50:29 -0500
From: jack shit <j_shit85@hotmail.com>
Subject: the vindicator/part 1/chapter 8

Chapter VIII


	"Now, you boys be careful. If anything happens, you come straight home," my
mother always overreacts to everything. After another fifteen minutes of
lecturing, we finally were on our way out the door.
	We decided to go to an action movie, starring some huge celebrity. It was
Dave's idea. We made it through the concession line in record time, and
found our seats just as the previews started playing. I don't even remember
what movies were previewed, because I was too busy making out with Josh. I
know it was risky, but the theater was practically empty, and we were on the
top row.
	About five minutes into the movie, Dave interrupted us.
	"Hey Mike, isn't he in our English class?" Dave asked. He was pointing at
Ash Campbell. Ash was a quiet kid, who didn't have many friends. Most people
called him a Goth., because of his choice in dark clothing, but he only
dressed gothic because he liked black. I always felt sorry for him, but
every time I tried to talk to him, he'd shy away from me.
	"It's Ash Campbell," I said. At the mention of his name, and quite
spookily, Ash turned around in his chair, and made eye contact with me. He
smiled, got up, and made his way to where I was seated. When he got there,
he sat in the vacant seat next to mine.
	"Hi Mike. I need to talk to you. Would it be alright if we went somewhere
private?" this seemed odd to me, seeing that Ash had hardly spoken a word to
me as long as I had known him.
	I looked over at Josh and Dave, who were staring at me like I'd grown a
third eye. "Umm...I'll be right back, guys," I said to them.
	Josh looked totally confused, but nodded.
	I stood, and followed Ash out of the theater. We walked down the stairs,
and into the main lobby. We walked out of the main doors, and stopped by the
side wall of the theater. No one was around.
	"So, Ash, what's up? What's the big secret?" I asked. He stared at me,
stared right into my eyes. His eyes seemed strange to me. They seemed to be
an unnatural green, as if they were too bright, and sparkled just a little.
I felt as though he were gazing into my soul. I was beginning to feel a
little uncomfortable. His expression changed. He seemed to have found
whatever he was looking for.
	He smiled and said, "I dreamt of you last night." I was stunned. I
definitely wasn't expecting to hear that. I was about to say something, but
he continued. "This isn't going to be easy to believe, but please hear me
out."
	"I've come to trust my dreams. Well, they aren't really dreams, they're
visions. Visions of the past, and visions of the future. Although my dreams
may not make sense at first, one thing is for sure, they ALWAYS have a
purpose," he said.
	"What did you see?" I asked. Too say the least I was a bit skeptical.
	Again, he smiled and looked at me with those unnaturally green eyes, "I
expected you to be doubtful of all this. To an untrained mind, my dreams
would seem like nonsense, but things have happened in the past that have led
me to believe in them."
	"In this dream, it seemed as if you were standing in a sea of darkness,
surrounded by a blackness that seemed to have mass. Emotions were very clear
to me. Above all, I felt fear. Fear of others, fear of the future, fear of
the unknown. And then, suddenly, I felt another presence...a presence filled
with hatred, anger, and disgust. I began to feel as though the presence
approaching you, and in the last moment, I felt the last glimmer of hope
shatter, and fade into the darkness."
	I didn't know what to say. I couldn't make any sense of it.
	"So, what does all of this mean?" I asked. Confusion was clearly visible on
my face.
	"It's strange...this is the first time I have dreamt of another person's
future. Most times they are directly related to myself. The only thing I can
tell you, Mike, is to be careful. No matter what happens, do NOT give up
hope."
	"I told you that in the past, things have led me to believe in my dreams.
Two years ago, I tried to commit suicide. I took a handful of sleeping
pills, and lied down on my bed. Soon, I was asleep. What I dreamt has
haunted me every waking moment since then."
	I listened intently. So strange, that a week ago this boy hardly had
acknowledged my existence, and now he was telling me of his past.
	"In my dream, I was in Hell. Hell is the most unimaginable thing in the
universe. Forget everything you've seen on TV, the lake of fire, and the
demons dancing around. No, Hell is an infinite number of times more
horrifying. As I was dreaming this, I realized that this was not only just a
vision, a figment of my overactive imagination, I was actually experiencing
Hell. It was then that I realized that I was being given a warning, that to
continue my present course, I would face eternal damnation."
	What could I possibly say at this moment? At first, I wanted to reject this
story, but the look of his eyes told me that he was speaking nothing but
truth. I realized what seemed unnatural about his eyes. These were eyes that
had gazed upon the face of Satan himself.
	"Wow," I said. "That's a little far-fetched." he smiled broadly.
	He said, "The point I'm trying to make out of all of this is to NEVER give
up confidence in yourself. No matter how bad things will get in the coming
days, do not give up hope. When you let your hope fade into the darkness,
your deterioration soon will follow."
	The dream was beginning to make sense to me now, even if it was only a
minuscule amount of sense. But the only thing I couldn't figure out was this
presence he talked about. The presence of hatred. I guess I would find out
soon enough.
	"Mike, do not make the mistake I did. I lost hope, and have suffered for
it. I am ever so slowly learning the lessons that life fails to teach us,"
he turned abruptly, and began to walk away from me. I stood there staring
after him, when he turned and said one last thing to me.
	"Long is the way, and hard, that out of Hell, leads up to light."



::hey everyone. sorry this ones a little shorter than the rest of 'em, but
thats the way the cookie crumbles. lol.
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