Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

This is a co-written novel between Me(Odd Chapters) and MadBlossom Torsorosy(Even Chapters). Enjoy.


--------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 1


A single beam of light shone vibrantly through a crack in the blinds of Delphy’s apartment window. It radiated throughout the room, providing just enough light to wake her from her light sleep. Sitting up slowly, she looked around feeling as though she hadn’t gotten much sleep at all.

The room wasn’t that extravagant since she had just recently moved in and didn’t have adequate time to decorate. The floors were hard wood and the walls white and plain. A single ceiling fan, hanging in the center of the room, provided enough noise to keep things from being overly silent. Not that the fan was used for that purpose, but rather to hush the noises that bled in through the walls of surrounding apartment rooms.

She slid her feet off the bed and stood up. A simple stretch towards the ceiling made her feel more lively and awake. Her long dark hair fell past her shoulders as she let out a slight noise, finishing the stretch.

“I’m hungry…” she thought while recollecting on something delicious she had eaten the previous day.

Her morning ritual consisted of the bathroom, cooking breakfast in her small kitchen, and then relaxing in front of the TV for a short time to catch up on her favorite shows. The only excitement was from the news, which on occasion would inform the viewers of some outrageous and unheard of crime that was committed in the area.

The news today highlighted some story of a local man who was apparently breaking into homes and not taking anything. The reporter said that the police didn’t have any leads other than the person being male and his motives unclear.

She finished her meal and placed the empty plate on the wooden table in front of the couch. Studying the room around her was exciting as she envisioned and plotted how to decorate the place. There wasn’t much in the living room other than the leather couch, table, and big black TV.

“I should get dressed. I need to pick up a few things from the store today.”
A knock sounded at the front door, just as she finished changing into blue jeans and a white v cut shirt.

Walking towards the front door, she peered through a peak hole in the center of it. A strange looking man stood in front of her. He seemed very nervous and was slightly sweating.

“Yes?” she said loudly, trying to speak through the door.

“Hey… Do you have a phone I could use?” the man replied, sounding shaken.

“Uh… sure.”

An uneasy feeling went over her while she searched around for her blue cell phone. It ran on a data plan and didn’t have very many minutes left on it, which slipped her mind.

Opening the door so that the chain held it, she handed the phone to him. People in the apartment complex weren’t bad people, so she figured he lived in a nearby apartment.

“Everything alright?” she asked.

“Yeah, yeah everything is fine…” he replied nervously.

His hair was shaggy and a light brown, which was blocking her from seeing his eyes. He wore a black jacket and blue jeans that looked like they had several holes in them. For some reason she felt like she knew him, even though she had never seen him before.

His talk on the phone was quiet and he stood a few feet away, turned around to where she couldn’t eavesdrop. The conversation was over quickly though. Turning around he handed the phone to her and walked off in a hurry, not even saying thank you.

Shutting the door quietly, she stood there trying to make sense of the situation.

Finally she decided to forget about it and continue getting ready.


--------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 2


“Yes, I said Delphinium. No, I swear, that is actually my name. My mother obviously didn’t like me when she thought of the name, okay? Now, can I just…” As yet another salesperson hung up on her, she rolled her eyes, wishing –not for the first time- that her mother had named her something less… odd.

Besides, no one called her that anyway. Everyone shortened it to Delphy, even her parents. Muttering quietly under her breath, she moved up the counter to order, swearing when she remembered that the minutes on her phone were almost gone, and she’d even let a complete stranger use it.

“Bad morning?” The woman at the register smiled sympathetically, her hands moving automatically to be ready for Delphy’s order.

“The worst,” Delphy replied, sighing quietly and rolling her shoulders to relax. “Um… could I have a caramel macchiato with extra caramel? And a slice of pumpkin bread… Becky?” She read the name off the tag hesitantly, unsure whether or not to use it.

“Of course! What name for the cup?”

Right. Names. The source of all her problems. “Delphy. It’s a nickname,” She explained, earning herself a smile.

“Got it. Here’s your bread, and we’ll call you when that drink is ready!”

“Thanks.” Delphy sat down at an empty booth, running through her to do list for the day. Coffee: Check. Next: Shopping for food that isn’t microwavable, breakfast, or ramen. Or just ramen and microwavable goodies.

Oh, and she was supposed to have lunch with that guy from work… what was his name again? Thomas? He was going to pick her up at one, so…

That gave her a few hours for shopping, to pull out extra money for lunch, and maybe even hit that antique shop around the corner for some unique decoration for the apartment.

Feeling better now that she had a plan, Delphy practically skipped to get her drink, taking a small sip as she went outside. Caffeine and a plan… having those certainly made what was a bad day better.

Her mood only increased when she found out there was a sale going on, so her groceries were considerably cheaper. She even decided to splurge and buy herself some of the more expensive snacks she liked, such as a large pack of beef jerky and jalapeno poppers.

All she needed now was to find something special at that antique shop. Having dropped her groceries off, Delphy strode around the corner, humming cheerfully. So what if she had an odd name? She also had cheaper groceries, the ability to get craved caffeine within ten minutes, and perfect solitude when she wanted it.

Across from the antique shop, a small group of people were watching passerby, making Delphy slow and become more cautious. She was almost sure that one of the men was the same one she’d lent her phone to that morning…

Laughing off her paranoia, she ducked into the shop, intent on finding herself some kind of hidden treasure, putting all thought of the group out of her mind.


--------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 3


The antique shop smelled of an old attic. It was quite clean however, and plenty of old relics of past times decorated the place. There weren’t very many people in the shop however, just a couple of older folk.

“May I help you?” one of the store clerks asked.

“No thank you, just browsing.”

There were a few items of interest that caught her eye. One was some lamp that seemed to be out of the Egyptian era and didn’t really appear to even belong in the shop. Another item was some odd looking decorative trinket.

“That is a Gloker.” the same store clerk said, appearing over her shoulder.

“A Gloker?”

“Yes, it was used by women one hundred years ago to vanquish evil from their children.”

She studied the store clerk now, feeling a bit timid by his explanation. It was a younger guy with darker features. His attire was a bit ridiculous but it was that of the stores.

“I don’t think I will be buying that…” she said laughing slightly.

“How about this over here?” he said, trying to get her attention onto something else.

“No thank you, I am just browsing.”

“I insist…”

She began to feel that he was creepy.

“No.”

He looked at her almost annoyed. Then he reached out for her arm and grabbed it, looking at her wrist.

“I see you don’t have a watch, perhaps…”

Suddenly a hand grabbed his and pulled him off of her.

“She said no.” the man stated clearly.

Delphy looked over and saw the man who had borrowed her phone from earlier. He looked very serious, almost as if he were about to fight the store clerk. Some motive was obviously at work here that she wasn’t clear of.

“Don’t start with me Stu.” the store clerk replied, as if challenging the guy.

She turned and quickly walked out, leaving the store. Without stopping she walked even faster to get farther away. Something was obviously not right with what had just happened.

When her apartment complex came into view, she turned around and took notice of the man, whose name was apparently Stu, following her. This sent a cold chill down her spine. What was even more odd though, is that he was carrying the Gloker.

Speeding up, she made it safely back inside of her apartment, ensuring that the door was locked behind her. The feeling of whether he was still following her made her almost call the police. She decided not to though, since no crime had been committed to report.


--------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 4


When Delphy heard the knock on her door just twenty minutes later, she almost screamed, dropping the book she’d picked up in a vain attempt to relax. Moving almost silently, she peeked to see who was outside her door, throwing the door open in relief. “Thomas! You’re early!”

“A little,” he admitted sheepishly, running a hand through dirty-blond hair quickly, leaving it messy. “I expected more traffic, and your doorman gave me a dirty look when I would have waited.”

Delphy laughed, knowing exactly which doorman it was. “He glares at everyone. Seems to think that only he should be here. If you’ll wait a second, I just have to get my shoes on.”

As they walked out of the building, she gave into impulse and reached up to straighten his hair casually. “My brother would always leave his hair all messy like that,” she explained, linking their arms as a friendly gesture. “I can’t just leave it alone, for anyone really. Blame him.”

They made casual conversation on the way to the car, and she was surprised –but pleased- when Thomas opened the car door for her before getting in himself. “So… where are we eating?”

She wasn’t really dressed for anything fancy, not in her jeans and white shirt, but any casual restaurant would be fine. It was with delight that she realized he’d named one of her favorite burger joints.

Cheerful, and more relaxed now that she wasn’t alone, Delphy glanced out the window and tensed. She had to be paranoid, after the events that had already happened. That couldn’t have been that creepy store clerk in the car passing them. That would be…

Absolutely insane. Forcing herself to pay attention to Thomas, Delphy tugged on a strand of her hair.

Ordering was easy, despite the large crowds and demands on the employees. Once they sat down, the conversation continued seamlessly.

“So, what did you do today?” Thomas asked, sitting across from her. “I know you were talking about decorating your apartment. It’s all you talk about at work nowadays.”

“Hmm? Oh yeah…” Memories of the antique store made her grimace. “I’m going to take a break from that. Maybe just buy some fake plants or something.”

Thomas looked confused, but shrugged instead of mentioning anything. “My parents are having a yard sale this weekend if you want to take another chance. They figure my niece needs the experience.”

Remembering her own experiences with yard sales, Delphy grinned and relaxed. “Every child needs a yard sale experience. I’ll make sure to stop by.”

Chattering easily, Delphy heard the bell announcing another customer ring, but didn’t look back as the man from the antique store came in and sat in a nearby booth.


--------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 5


The smell of delicious food filled the air as the waitress brought over their order. Delphy had a very complex looking burger with fries as Thomas had a regular cheese burger but fries that had cheese caked onto them.

“Everything look fine?” the waitress asked while giving a shy smile.
“Looks delicious!” Thomas replied as he exchanged a glance with Delphy to make sure she was okay with her order.

She wasn’t really focused on her food any longer as she saw the man from the antique store heading her way. With him was a strange looking trinket that he clutched onto tightly. She wanted to scream out “Thomas!” but couldn’t muster the words.

“How would you like to buy this here Ghantoo? It is of a very fine quality!” the strange store clerk said, grimacing at her.”
“What is your problem! Are you following me!?”

Thomas was completely confused and taken back by the stranger who was now standing beside their table. The man was still in his work clothing from the store and had a crazy look in his eye.

“Then can I interest you in something else?”

She stood up and got in the guys face, trying to be as serious as she could.

“I said no! Leave me alone before I call the police!”

Thomas stood up and immediately got in between them. He placed a hand on the guy’s chest as a stern expression was etched into his face.

“I don’t know who you are but you need to back off.”
“This is between me and the girl!”
“You have become my problem now, so this is between me and you.”

A restaurant manager came over after hearing the commotion. The entire place was quiet as everybody gazed upon the dramatic scene that was being displayed before them.

“Sir, I am going to have to ask you to leave.” the manager said as he approached the store clerk.

Without saying anything, he looked at Delphy psychotically, then turned around and walked out. He still clutched onto the Ghantoo, which looked like a little Indian statue.

“Are you two alright?”
“We’re fine.” Thomas replied, taking Delphy’s hand and coaxing her back into her seat.

The rest of their meal consisted of Thomas asking her a million questions. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell him anything that had happened, it was that she felt as if she could handle it all herself. Why bother Thomas with the details? After all, she didn’t want him doing anything irrational. Irrationality wasn’t his style however, but better safe than sorry.

Night fell quickly as they both ended up back at her place for a few drinks. The TV was their only form of entertainment as they both sat quietly cuddled on the couch.

“You okay?” he asked impatiently.
“I said I was fine earlier. Just drop it okay…”

A weather warning came across their program of a tornado watch in the area. It had just begun to rain outside as the droplets of water gave the background noise a calming vibe.


--------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 6


Thomas stayed a while longer, finding more excuses not to leave. Could he have something to drink before he left? He didn’t want to miss this news story; could he finish it here so he didn’t have to look it up later? Had she heard about new management being appointed at work?

Finally, he couldn’t prolong it any longer, but he still hesitated at the door. “Are you sure you don’t want me to hang around? Your couch is very comfortable after all,” Thomas joked, trying not to bring up what had happened earlier.

For one insane moment, Delphy almost asked him to stay. But no, that would make her insane and paranoid, and she wasn’t either of those things. It wasn’t as if the antique store man knew where she lived, and she’d been nervous enough to watch over her shoulder on the way home. So she was fine.

Ten minutes later, when she was alone in the apartment, Delphy began to question her judgment on that call. Every sound, sometimes even on her tv, would cause her to jump and look around frantically.

She was going to call Thomas so he could tell her how unnecessary all this nervousness was.

No, she wouldn’t call Thomas because then he’d just insist on coming back and making sure she was okay.

Thomas was a bad idea, and Delphy similarly nixed the idea of calling her parents, brother, and other friends. Why freak them all out when she was just feeling jumpy from something that happened and was completely over by now?

Even so, she had a frying pan within arm’s reach, as well as her cellphone. No harm in taking precautions, right? Being prepared was always a good idea; that didn’t make her paranoid.

Then the power went out.

Forcing the shriek that escaped from her to stop, Delphy gripped her frying pan tightly in one hand, and the cellphone in the other, checking the screen. “Oh, thank you, god of cellphones, there is still a signal…”

Officially panicked, and not caring how paranoid and damsel-in-distress-like she looked, Delphy dialed Thomas’ number, putting the phone on speaker so she could use it as a light.

She could hear the phone ringing as she moved towards the kitchen, absently checking the surrounding areas out of habit. Delphy froze, staring wide-eyed at the window.

Right outside her window, on the fire escape, was the statue the man had showed her at the restaurant. What had he called it? A Ghantoo?

Whatever it had been called, the statue was turned to look in the apartment… as if it was watching her. “Oh my god…”

“Delphy? Delphy, are you okay?” Faintly, she heard Thomas’ voice over the phone.

“N-no, I’m not okay! Can you come get me? Please? I think…” Delphy froze as she heard someone walk out in the hall… and stop outside the door.

Had she locked it when Thomas left? Delphy thought she had, but she couldn’t be too sure.

Remembering all the horror movies she’d watched, where the heroine ended up being much too stupid and dying, Delphy fled as quietly as she could to the bedroom. It was probably a horrible choice, but it was the only room that had a locking door as well as a second way out that didn’t lead to death in normal situations.

Irrationally, she just hoped that her night wouldn’t be inspiration for the newest horror movie as she told Thomas she was going to hide and to please just get there soon.


--------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 7


It felt as if her entire life had passed by and that the inevitable was bound to happen. Whatever the verdict was, she at least had a weapon with her. A frying pan was now her only means of fighting back.

All of a sudden a laugh echoed throughout her apartment. It sounded very demented and distorted. A menacing laugh complimented by a loud bang. It suddenly stopped and silence fell upon her once again.

“Oh god… Am I going to die tonight?”

Just then a scream let out from, what sounded like, inside of her apartment. It was almost faint and quickly ended.

“Was that Thomas!?” she though frantically. “It sounded just like him…”

Her bedroom window shattered as a large stone rolled across the floor. Surely somebody in a nearby apartment heard the commotion and had to of called the police. Nobody would let something like this go on if they knew about it, right?

Glancing down, she noticed her cell phone no longer had a signal. The yellow flower that she had as a background seemed out of place now amongst the terror of what was going on.

The door to her bedroom began to buckle as the sound of something ramming against it echoed violently. She got up and ran towards her bedroom window. A rock flew in from it, nearly hitting her, so she stopped and crawled under her bed.

The matter of events seemed as if she was stuck in some sort of horror movie. Normally she wouldn’t be as dumb as to hide underneath a bed, but sadly it was her last resort. The thought was not comforting to her in the least.

“Come out and play!” a voice boomed, just as the door flew off its hinges. It flew across the room and smashed into a dresser, breaking several of her personal possessions.

“That voice? It is the store clerks…” she thought. “I should have called the police sooner…”

Multiple footsteps entered the room. It sounded like a brigade coming in but luckily the moonlight, coming in through her window, revealed six legs.

Gripping her frying pan tightly, she waited quietly. It didn’t take long however as three people surrounded her bed, already knowing she was underneath it.

Stu’s voice could be heard amongst the three. Thomas’s voice could also be heard. It sent a chill down her spine as the last voice came across theirs, the store clerks.

“Come out and play Delphy.”

Sheer terror filled her as she recognized one of the people’s shoes as Thomas’s. She couldn’t help but to begin crying silently, her face expressionless.


--------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 8


She couldn’t just lay there crying; that was how the heroine always ended up dying in the movies. Ignoring the stinging in her eyes, Delphy shifted slightly, taking aim from the shadows she could see.

Sensing the three men growing impatient, she made her move, kicking out at one of the men, feeling a sick sense of triumph when he made a pained noise and moved back slightly. Twisting, she found an opening –a small one- but an opening nonetheless and took it.

Allowing herself to be pulled from under the bed, her feet grabbed to prevent another kick, Delphy made sure to keep her grip on the frying pan. As soon as she was out, she swung at the hands holding her.

She had two seconds before one of the men grabbed her arms, making her weapon useless. “Let go of me!” Delphy screamed, kicking her foot out. Thomas, having her foot collide with his face, fell back on the ground.

The store clerk was now in front of her, so she could assume that the man Stu was the one holding her. “Why are you doing this?” Delphy demanded, her voice higher and more pathetic than she would have wanted it to be.

Why wasn’t anyone hearing this? Why hadn’t anyone come by to see if something was wrong?

“We just want to play a game Delphy,” The calm and rational tone of his voice was even more frightening than the words. Delphy struggled when she felt his fingers under her chin, lifting her face as he murmured teasingly, “You weren’t very good at hide-and-seek, were you?”

Insane. He was absolutely insane, and he must have done something to these other two to make them do this. There wasn’t another explanation, not for something like this.

Oh god, were those sirens outside? Lights?

Apparently she hadn’t imagined those, because all three men sent a sharp glance towards the window. Delphy felt a rush of gratitude for the stranger who might have just saved her life… or if not, got her insane murderers caught for it.

“It wasn’t her,” Thomas muttered, checking her phone’s call log.

If she got out of this alive, Delphy was going to personally deliver her own justice. Unless it was proven this was a side effect of a drug he was forced to take, or something…

No. Focus on the hope. Scream. Do something to get the police’s attention to this particular room. Now, while they’re distracted.

Feeling Stu’s grip had weakened, Delphy did what every self-defense class had told her to when grabbed from behind: aim for the instep.

She made a vow to donate money for more community self-defense classes the moment Stu dropped her arms, allowing her to make a mad dash for the fire escape. Knowing they were following, Delphy moved quickly to shut the entrance behind her, succeeding in closing it on the store clerk’s fingers.

She didn’t take time to feel any triumph about that though. Her feet were already moving her down, as far away as possible as she screamed for help.


--------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 9


The sun had just begun to come up as Delphy cracked open her eyes. She found herself in her car, parked by the park entrance. The events of last night played out in her mind immediately, plucking her nerves.

“Why…” she mumbled, thinking of Thomas.

She had met Thomas one year ago, at a pizzeria. The waiter was trying to get her number which was the funny thing. The entire time he was hitting on her she was busy looking over at Thomas sitting at another table.

Growing impatient, the waiter eventually gave up. Thomas had come over just then, making his big move. It was magical at first, the honeymoon phase of a relationship. There were butterflies, tingling, all of the stuff movies portrayed.

She had met up with him the following night, where he took her to a local hangout spot. Their first kissed happened there and by complete mistake. A man had bumped into Delphy, accidentally pushing her face into Thomas’s. He kissed her awkwardly and ever since then they never really spoke of it. From time to time she would recall the moment, letting out a slight laugh.

From then on they saw each other often, always going someplace to live the night away. She moved into town, closer to him. There was a committed feeling that made her future seem brighter whenever she was around him.

Last night made no sense though. Why was he with those two other guys? Was he being manipulated somehow or was it all just one big lie…

“Ms. you need to move your car!” a short man yelled as he walked up, checking a meter.

“Oh, okay.” she replied while turning her cars engine on, roaring up and letting out a small puff of smoke from the exhaust pipe.

Backing up slowly, she made her way back into town. It felt like a recon mission as she drove by her own apartment, studying the place for signs of danger.

It appeared dark, withered, and almost like someplace she had never been before. The bedroom window was still shattered and fragments of glass were on the pavement below it. People walked around the glass without even bothering to look up or figure out where it had come from.

There was not even a miniscule amount of courage that would make her get out of the car until she were miles down the road. The recognizance mission was not over however, as she made her way towards the antique store.

Her body felt numb as the mysterious store clerk stood outside. He kept waving people over and talking to them, almost forcefully, trying his best to coax them into the store.

“What a psycho…” she muttered.

Her car didn’t stop even though the intersection she approached had a red light. Going straight through it, she continued down the road.

Oddness struck her when she discovered her cell phone in her pocket.

“Didn’t Thomas have it?” she thought curiously.

Pulling the car over, she began to check through her phone. Suddenly she stopped and stared at the bright screen. A mysterious phone number was in her recent calls. It was the number Stu had apparently dialed when he borrowed her phone yesterday.

A cold chill went over her body as she clicked it and hit send. She swallowed hard as it began to ring…


--------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 10

…And then just stopped. No voicemail message, not even the annoying standard one that every phone has. For a moment, Delphy thought someone had answered, but when she looked at the phone screen, it said that the call had ended.

She was beginning to wish she’d never lent her phone out, that she’d never answered the door. That she’d been with Thomas the night before all this and just never went back home.

Why hadn’t the police arrested that man? They’d completely ignored her when she left the apartment, treated her like she was just over-reacting from the blackout. Weren’t they supposed to at least check it out, make sure it was safe?

Her nerves completely shot, Delphy turned onto the dirt road, wishing there were a more public road to her hideout. Granted, it wouldn’t exactly be a private hideout, but privacy was getting to be overrated. The psychos couldn’t come when there were lots of people around her.

Delphy almost screamed when she heard her text alert coming through and forced her heart to stop racing. It was probably a co-worker, or her mom or something, asking what was going on or if she wanted to go have lunch.

Hello Delphy. Getting away from the city rush?

Delphy tensed, screaming as her focus was drawn away from the dangerous road, leading her to swerve. Luckily, the adrenaline let her move quickly enough to avoid crashing as she slammed her foot on the brake.

Her phone rang again. Watch out; that isn’t the safest road to drive on.

Oh god, they knew where she was. They were going to kill her, and no one was ever going to find her body, since no one drove this way, or had any business, and this was the long-forgotten and uncared for private land that her grandparents left her and…

Believe it or not, I’m the good guy.

Was he reading her mind, whoever he was? Or maybe it was a girl! All she had were frightening text messages and a lingering panic from the night before. It could be anyone, using the messages to track her phone.

If she destroyed it, would she be safe?

Don’t destroy your phone. I can’t help you if I can’t contact you.

Help? The mind-reading stranger on the phone was going to help? That Stu guy had called them, then broke into her apartment that night and tried to kill her! That wasn’t helping!

I wasn’t part of last night. I would have warned you.

Oh god, she was going crazy. She was probably just hallucinating these text messages; they weren’t real. That made much more sense than all of this. She was insane, certifiably insane, and she should check herself into the hospital to protect herself and others before she actually hurt someone.

You’re not crazy.

Oh yes, she was. How else would these messages answer what she was thinking?

You’re very easy to read though. Anyone could guess what you’re thinking.

That was true… and completely useless information at the moment. No, insanity was much more reasonable under the circumstances. Maybe it was a bout of temporary insanity, brought on by stress, and she’d just hallucinated the last twenty-four hours. She should go to Thomas and…

The phone again.

Don’t go to him.

Well, why not? He was her boyfriend, the one who kept her grounded during everything. He was the reason she’d moved away from home, started her career here, instead of moving to one of the bigger seasons, or studying abroad.

It’s not safe. Start moving.

Well, that was good advice. Very good advice. Nodding, Delphy started up the car again, moving carefully down the road, keeping an eye on her rearview mirror carefully. She was going to stop thinking about it. Out of sight, out of mind… right? She just wanted all this stress and worry to be over with.

You can make it end.

The anonymous texts were getting to be useful. Almost reasonable. Yes, she could make it end… by stopping her panic over events that may or may not have occurred. She was going to go straight to Thomas, and they’d laugh over her nightmare and he’d help her get over it. Yes, Thomas was her rock, and…

She glanced down at her phone as it let out the jingle one last time and slammed on the brakes again, nerves going into overdrive again.

You’ll just have to play their game.


--------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 11