Saint Joseph School

Dear Brandon;

This is a confession. I suppose this is the coward's way out in not coming to your face and telling you, but I'm still sorting out things after my "experience", and besides, Aunt Sylvia won't let me out of her sight now.

It was my fault. All of it. I was stupid, and I thought I knew ...

Scruffy watched in silence as the crane lowered the tree into its new home. The roots, strangely pale and un-barklike, twisted and curled as soon as they made contact with the soil, digging deep to allow the tree to stand upright under its own weight.

He had carefully dusted every tendril and ...

“The guidance counselor and I sat down to piece together the events leading up to the change," Maddy continued, "with ‘Del apparently becoming a full-grown tree in the middle of the school infirmary. It’s only a guess, but we think what triggered ‘Del’s change was prolonged stress compounded by her ...

Sylvia glared at Maddy. “Running around in long underwear and elaborate costumes interfering with the duties of police officers in at attempt at misguided vigilantism isn’t normal,” she said through gritted teeth in a voice that could chill snow, “but I wouldn’t expect that you would understand that ...

“We both saw what happened on the digital videos in the infirmary the Saint Joseph’s people supplied us with,” she began, “and I don’t think the Carpenter boy was lying about what happened in the chapel just before ‘Del’s transformation started. While you’ve been sitting ‘Del for me, during the last ...

“She’s a…she’s a tree , Mad. Your daughter is a tree.” Sylvia approached Maddy with an intensity born of the desire to shake sense into her younger sibling. “This isn’t a joke, or a dream, it’s real.”

“Oh, I know it’s real, Syl,” Maddy assured her wryly. “I’ve gone over the story with you and those ...

After Maddy saw what happened to ‘Del for herself, she and Sylvia sat in her hotel suite at the Paragon Doubletree, staring at the spaces over each other’s shoulders in silence.

If they had been closer in age, instead of a decade apart, they might have been mistaken for twins…as it was, Sylvia had ...

The former Nazi struggled in her grasp. “I don’t understand why this formula is so important to you! It does nothing! We’ve tried it on every test subject with zero results!” He grabbed at her arms desperately. “There is no need to kill me for something that doesn’t work!” he pleaded.

A grim smile ...

Her sister answered on the first ring. “Maddy?”

Her throat was dry. “Yes, Sylvia, it’s me. What’s happened?”

There was a silence on the other end, pregnant with all the things she was sure Sylvia wanted to say to her. The night skies outside of the cockpit mirrored the chill in Maddy’s heart. It ...

It was hot. The guards outside the compound gate were fairly relaxed, sharing a cigarette between the two of them, the easy flow of their native Portuguese belying the speed at which they could bring up their Arachnos-supplied submachine guns if Maddy was reckless.

From where she watched from the ...

'Del waited in the stands, waiting quietly, willing herself not to panic. Brandon will be fine. He will be fine, she told herself sternly. She kept an iron control, slowly rising off the bleachers, and making her way with the rest of the departing crowd. She wanted to push everyone out of the way ...

'Del chewed on the eraser tip of her pencil thoughtfully as she gazed down at her clipboard, a habit Aunt Sylvia had tried desperately to break and had only succeeded in part. Aura shouldn't be too hard of a hard sell, she thought. Aura was a likable girl. Trouble was, 'Del didn't know her all that ...

"Aura? That *odd* little girl?" 'Del said before she could stop herself, then pressed a hand to her chest and looked chagrined. "Oh, that's just awful of me, ah'm such a terrible person! Of course she should be Homecoming Queen, bless her heart! Yes, yes, certainly, we'll do everything we can for ...

'Del was hurrying down the hall when she caught sight of Kara and Brianna chatting excitedly. She had had NO idea she would be nominated for Homecoming Queen...she hadn't even gotten a permanent dorm assignment yet! While it was a thrilling honor even being considered, the increasing frequency of ...

Dear Mom:

I'm writing this because I can't put this in my diary. It doesn't fit in with what I like to put in there.

Mom, I'm tired. I'm tired of you not being here. As much as I hate you for just packing up and leaving to go off hunting down the people that killed Daddy, I want you to come to ...