• Narrow looked around the room. Tessa was up, but her head hovered inches from her desk and she was scribbling in her notebook. She looked almost dead; eyes having dark rings around them, body trembling, and hair mangled. She hadn’t slept in weeks. And only Narrow knew why.
    “Alright, class,” he stood slowly. “Surprise half day.”
    The class cheered. Tessa looked up, not knowing what was going on as her classmates flooded out of the room. She grabbed her stuff, standing tiredly.
    “Not you,” Narrow whispered, suddenly in front of her. She looked up. “We’re having a field trip; or should I call it a time trip?” He was deep in thought as he dragged her down the hall and into a secluded room. Several other teachers followed, wondering what was going on.
    In the room were a small glass wardrobe and a pair of necklaces hanging on a hat rack. Narrow tossed one of the necklaces to her. She caught it sleepily.
    “I know you’re tired,” he said, not looking back at her, “but this will wake you up more than any exercise I’ve put you through.”
    “I don’t want to be woken up,” she whispered. “I want to sleep.”
    Narrow took her by the wrist and pulled her into the wardrobe. He loomed over her, one arm above her head. “Believe me, after this, you’ll sleep like a baby for the next week.”
    Narrow pushed a small black button and there was a sudden flash. Seconds later the sound of gun fire and bomb explosions filled Tessas’ ears. She fell to the ground quickly, covering her head.
    “Whoa, girl,” Narrow laughed loudly. Tessa looked up. The sky was on fire behind him. Bombs exploded, planes shot down other planes, even the people on the ground fell point blank; and during all of this Narrow was laughing? Tessa growled at him. “This is the life, huh? Death all around you, no one can see you, you can’t get hurt-”
    “What?” Tessa jumped up quickly. She looked at herself. “No one can see me?”
    “What do you think?” Narrow laughed again. “We’re back in time, Tessa; 1941, to be exact. This is Pearl Harbor on December 7th.”
    Tessa looked up. A wave of planes flew by, some dropping bombs, others shooting at innocent people. She stared on in awe shattering fright. Narrow only laughed more.
    “This is what you brought me back for?” she shrieked. “A day when thousands of people were killed for nothing!? This is what you think is going to make me sleep easy?”
    “No,” Narrow didn’t look at her. “I think this will get rid of your blood lust.”
    Tessa opened her mouth to say something, but fell silent. She didn’t understand him when he said that. Something about it, the way he was talking so calm in the danger and death made her skin shiver. She felt the urge to run for her life, but what life did she have?
    “Do you feel it?” Narrow had moved so quick, he was literally face to face with her, noses touching. His eyes were wide with excitement, hands trembling with it as he grabbed her arms. “The tightness in your throat, the way you just want to pick up your scythe and start offing people, the way your body just can’t resist the urge to go wild? Do you feel it, Tessa? Do you feel the burning for blood dripping down your flesh as the victim gurgles their last plea, or hear the screams of those who wish they had repented earlier? Don’t you see? This is your destiny, Tessa; to bring pain and misery to the world!”
    Tessa stepped back. She didn’t like it. She wrenched herself away from him as he started rambling louder. She felt strange, almost like something inside of her was going to burst. The scythe shuttered in her hands.
    Narrow turned back to her. His eyes were a bright crimson, his face screwed up with lust. He stepped toward her. “Give it to me,” he hissed.
    Tessa couldn’t speak or think from the fear she might loose her sanity, but she understood what he meant. She shook her head.
    “Give me the scythe,” Narrow growled. He was drooling with the thrill of killing something. “Give it to me, you little-”
    “No,” Tessa screamed. As soon as the worlds hit the atmosphere she lost it. She felt everything he had described. Her body started shaking, her eyes glancing around so fast it was as if the could see things that were going to happen. She smirked, charging toward a crowd of nurses. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Tessa lifted the scythe. She new the next days headline; ‘Twelve nurses, disembodied by plane propeller.’
    She wanted more, craved it. She could feel something inside of her snapping, cackling, growing stronger. But the human in her was fearful. She needed out of it before the darkness of herself engulfed her; however, she was already chest deep in it. She’d need outside help for such a task.
    Suddenly, Tessa found herself being ripped again. She screamed, but in more pleasure than pain. Before she knew it, she was rolling on the school floor, looking up, panting. Her crimson eyes were back to normal. She was a regular student again, covered in blood, as usual.
    Narrow had his arm around her waist, also breathing heavily. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I don’t know what came over me.”
    Tessa shivered. She jumped up, away from him. She bumped into one of the other teachers, jumping away when she felt his heartbeat on her back. She shook her head. “I don’t want this,” she whispered weakly. “I don’t want to feel that ever again.”
    Narrow looked up at her, but didn’t say anything. His eyes told everything; she’d have to get over it, there was more to that feeling than he had told her, and when it came, it would hit hard.