She craned her neck up the staircase with her brown eyes. Sitting down the pair of suitcase on the flooor she pushed a strand of dirty blond hair behind her ear as she had let out a breath before rumaging through the pockets of her vest as she got out a small piece of rectangular shaped ivory paper pretending to look at something scrawled across it before shoving it back into a pocket while the palms of her hands wrapped back around the handles of her suitcases as she pulled them up from the ground and ascended the stairs before her.

Days before Aegir had spotted her, sinking casually into her mind as he drudged up matters of her past. Thus he toyed with several ideas that had sprang into his mind. He wanted her alright, and deception came naturally to him.

Cloaking himself in an illusion of this girl, of Linda, he choose a day when Susan's schedule had thinned out, where she was likely to be in her dorm room. Scaling the stairs rather slowly Aegir eventually made it to her dorm room.

Again the suitcases had been set down while Linda fished through her pockets for a key to the portal before her. The illusionary object sinking into the keyhole though in reality he had reached out with his mind as he exerted a little telekinesis against the locking mechanism as he slid the lock aside with his mind. He put away the key, threw open the dorm room door and proceeded inside hefting her suitcases in the process
and headed inside, using her foot to close the door behind her before her eyes scanned the interior of the room.

There had been several beds present and she had headed towards one that didn't seem to be used given that there were no posters on the wall her nor any pictures on the nightstand to remind one of home and the life that they had left behind.

Even though her classes had ended a while ago, Susan hadn't been in a hurry to get back to her room. The four-person room had never had never been more than half occupied. During her brief time with Malina, it had been roomy; after she'd vanished, the empty space just made it lonely. She'd tried spending some time in the common room, but it seemed that everyone else had classes at the moment. Eventually, boredom had got the better of her and she went back.

Might as well set up an account on the animation software, then see if I can... Hmm?

Her train of thought was interrupted when she heard someone in the room as she opened the door. From the sound of it, it wasn't someone... or something... sneaking around, but rather someone who belonged there. That probably meant another student; none of the monsters she'd met seemed like they'd make themselves at home in a dorm room while waiting for the occupant.

"Mal...?" Her voice trailed off as she entered and saw the person. Even though she was facing away from Susan, she obviously wasn't Malina; Malina was a brunette, for one thing.

She looks like... No, can't be... She went to Montclair State, why would she be here?

Nonetheless, as she got a better look at the girl, it seemed that it was her high school classmate, friend, and almost lover.

"Linda?!? What are you doing here?" Her voice held a mix of emotions; Surprise and joy, of course, but there was also an undercurrent of... sadness, maybe? As if she was glad to see her friend, but also regretted it at the same time.

By this stage Aegir had plopped both heavy suitcases on a bed, one being opened as he unpacked it. A poster of Lincoln Park adorned a wall and while it had been instinctual he had remained focused on what he had been doing as he rummaged through the open suitcase for clothes and the like.

A container of thumb tacks laid open on the bed obviously used to hang up the poster.
turning Aegir in his illusionary form dropped a bundle of clothes contained in his hands. A smile spread across her thin lips as she "rushed" towards her friend, the effect of moving quickly being another illusion that had entered into Susan's mind as Linda took her in a warm embrace.

Her eyes had seemed to sparkle as she spoke, another illusion of course as Aegir spoke into her mind with telepathy, matching up the words with the movements of her mouth.

"Susan! What're the odds! I transferred her, couldn't stand Montclair State an all the hazing going on their of the freshmen body. Well one day I came across a broucher for Shokushu and remembered that you went here. So a few phone calls later and an airplane trip later I made a transfer to the school.

"You know, I've missed you ..."

She smiled, taking half a step back to better see her. Her hands grasping her arms loosely as she did so though Aegir picked up the trace of sorrow within Susan's words. Joy and surprise had of course underlined matters and though he could strike now he refrained holding off to test out his illusion, to practice with this since he had believed that he had needed the practice since he hadn't been too creative. At least he had deemed himself such when first arriving on the campus.

"I missed you, too. It's just... this place..." Her voice trailed off; she didn't really want to talk about her experiences here, even though she knew she really should warn Linda. Knowing Linda, she'd press until Susan told her what was wrong.

She returned Linda's embrace. "I'm glad you're with me, but now I'm going to be worrying that you're safe half the time." ...And that'll make sure she keeps at me until I explain.

Her hands tuck into her own, fingers curling against her own as she kept her at arms length. Aegir had done what was expected of him despite already knowing the answer as he plucked it effortlessly from her mind as she thought about matters.

"What do you mean? Hurt here? Susan I'm confused. Why would anyone try to hurt me? Besides I'd just do a few martial arts moves on them that you showed me back in the day."

She smile softly at her, the pressure of her hands growing a little as she did so.

Susan sighed. That overconfidence was part of the reason she'd worry about Linda; Linda knew just enough to get herself into trouble she couldn't get herself out of. As for the rest of it...

She took a deep breath, freed one of her hands, and sat down on the nearest bed, pulling Linda down next to her. She was going to have to rely on the fact that Linda knew her, and knew she wasn't insane, to explain this. "This is going to sound crazy, but it's the truth. There are these... things... monsters, really... on the island that like using the students as their sex toys. They're too strong to fight, and I'm pretty sure the school knows about them and doesn't care." No need to explain how I know that last part unless she asks.

There was real fear in Susan's eyes, something that would have worried the real Linda; she'd once seen Susan stand up to a particularly obnoxious linebacker in high school without blinking.

"Best I can offer to avoid them is," she continued, counting off reasons on her fingers, "be cautious when you're alone with one of the staff; some of them aren't human. Be alert when you're alone; some of the things are really good at hiding. And, when in doubt, RUN!"

She sat down on the bed feeling the springs of the mattress give way beneath her weight as they made a slight impression on it. Her mouth fell open as if to speak though only silence came from it as if something had swallowed up her words. She seemed to take a moment for those words to register on her mind as she turned them over in her head.

"Seriously?" She finally said, slowly blinking as if coming to some fantastic realization. She had no reason to disbelief her, confusion had marred her soft features as she struggled with this realization. Her hands fell to her lap smoothing out the wrinkles of her skirt as she gave the matter a little thought.

"Wow ... I mean ... wow," she said softly as if stunned into fantastic belief. She raised her head to look at Susan, blinking once or twice in the process. A hand reached out extending to Susan's leg as she patted it sympathically.

"I'm sorry .. so sorry," she said as she made some sort of connection in what she had told her. "Have you thought about leaving, about transferring out?"

"Thought about it, tried to do something about it. Never heard back from any of the colleges I contacted." She paused, considering whether to add the next bit. She didn't like to admit just how badly this place scared her, but she wanted Linda to know just how far she was willing to go to get away if she could. "I even considered just running away after getting back to the States for summer break, but weather stopped the last plane from getting here."

Now that she thought about it, that had been quite the convenient coincidence. She wondered how many of the other girls who'd been stranded here knew about the monsters.

Linda fell silent for a moment as if she had been thinking about what she had been told. She lifted a hand to push back a wayward lock of hair over her shoulder, her eyes focused on Susan as she spoke in a soft meek voice.

"Do you think that the college is behind it? Do you think that they have something to do about the transfers and the plane getting here?"

Aegir had melted into her mind seeing what had been on it. The fear that had invaded her mind, the wonder about other students and the monsters that had prowled this island. "If others knew about the creatures here ... maybe they refrain to talk about their experiences out of shame or fear or maybe some have been lucky and haven't encountered these bests. How many monsters do you think, rough guess?"

"Do you think that the college is behind it? Do you think that they have something to do about the transfers and the plane getting here?"

"The transfers? Maybe, but I might be a bit paranoid here. The plane? I don't see how; there was a really bad storm then. I don't know why there wasn't a replacement flight once it cleared up, though." Despite her earlier thoughts about the convenience of it all, she didn't think the school could control the weather.

"If others knew about the creatures here ... maybe they refrain to talk about their experiences out of shame or fear or maybe some have been lucky and haven't encountered these beasts."

Huh? That's not how Linda normally talks. Despite her vague doubts about the wording, Susan had to admit that the reasons made sense. She found it difficult to talk about it even with Linda; she could imagine others who'd been attacked would be as reluctant to talk about it with someone they don't know all that well.

"How many monsters do you think, rough guess?"

"Jeez, I don't know. I've encountered five, counting all those damned fairies as one and not counting the tree. None of them seemed like the types to steal a student from their room and keep them forever, so there must be at least one more. I doubt I've seen evidence of even half of them, so, two or three dozen, maybe? Or maybe I really was that unlucky, and there are only the six. I just don't know." I really should work on trying to find other victims. At the least, we could work on putting together a list of all the monsters we've met, maybe make it easier for others to avoid them. The tricky part, of course, would be finding them in the first place; there wasn't going to be any obvious sign indicating who'd been attacked.

Linda had thought about the numbers that Susan presented. Aegir had never encountered another beast in his time on the island though he knew about them from the memories of the students that he had encountered. He had been more reclusive than other beings, and thus had no reason to seek out others of their kind.

"Think about it, they could have chartered a replacement flight for those going back but didn't. They may not be able to control the weather but they certainly used it to their advantage. They're in charge of booking flights right? Maybe they took a look at forecasts and planned a flight for the height of a storm, that is for short notice flights within a week or so."

Aegir had sensed some doubt budding up in Susan's mind though left it at that figuring that the damage had been done, that to try and repair it would only make matters worse. Instead Aegir focused on her projected numbers.

"A being even going into dorms? Others have mentioned this to you? God, your not safe here in your own room."

"Think about it, they could have chartered a replacement flight for those going back but didn't. They may not be able to control the weather but they certainly used it to their advantage. They're in charge of booking flights right? Maybe they took a look at forecasts and planned a flight for the height of a storm, that is for short notice flights within a week or so."

"Yeah, they should've got a replacement flight when the original was cancelled. But, they must've scheduled the flights waaay too far in advance to deliberately have one in the middle of a storm. They're listed in the school calender." The more she thought about it, the more it seemed that the timing of the storm was an unfortunate coincidence and the lack of a replacement flight an oversight. Next summer, I'll get out of here. And I'll make sure Linda does, too. And Malina, as well, if she ever shows up again.

"A being even going into dorms? Others have mentioned this to you? God, your not safe here in your own room."

"I wish that was just something someone else told me about. No, I've got some experience with that." She paused, taking a deep breath. This was going to take a bit to tell. "I was in a different room when I first arrived. My roommate... Becki or Traci or something like that... something cheerleader-y that she spelt with an 'i' on the end... vanished a couple of months after I got here. All her stuff stayed in the room, so I know she didn't transfer or drop out or anything like that."

"A few days after that, I met the girl who'd been assigned to this room, Malina. I think you'd like her if you met her. We hit it off pretty well, she didn't have any roommates, and I couldn't take being constantly reminded that I wasn't safe even in my room, so I got reassigned to this room. Then, a couple of weeks later, she disappeared. I'd have put in for another room change, but I wanted to be sure there was someone here for her if she came back."

"I can't prove it was a monster either time, but I don't know what else could have happened. I'd do just about anything to rescue Mal if I could, and I promise..." She took Linda's hands in her and continued, a note of determination in her voice, "...I'll do anything I can to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to you." She wasn't sure just how much she could do there, but she didn't want Linda panicking about what might happen to her.

"Hmm, maybe its just a coincidence about the plane. Though not to have scheduled a flight after the first had been canceled is a bit odd."

Linda's eyes flickered to the closed window then back at Susan as she took up her hands. Thinking Aegir had planned out his next move in his mind wondering how it would all unfold for him. In a soft voice she had found herself responding to the words that had been supplied to her.

"Suicide?" Linda questioned silently as she ran over that possibility in her mind. "Perhaps the campus staff wished to cover it up, keep it as silent as possible."

Again she fell silent as if in silent contemplation. She turned towards Susan, gazing at her for a second or two as if restraining her own thoughts before moving in towards her lips, pressing her own against Susan's in a quick fleeting kiss.

She drew back, a nervous breath escaping from her lips. "I'm sorry ... I shouldn't of had ... the timing is all wrong and I ... well," she babbled nervously as she stammered out words from fast working lips.

"Suicide? Perhaps the campus staff wished to cover it up, keep it as silent as possible."

"No! Malina wouldn't!" Her response was was more vehement than she'd meant it to be. It was just that Malina was second in her heart only to Linda herself and the mere suggestion that she could've killed herself angered her.

She took a breath to calm herself. Linda hadn't met Malina and couldn't know what she was like. "Sorry. Didn't mean to bite your head off. It's just... we were... close." She paused, hoping Linda didn't take that to mean that she'd moved on. "Anyway, if the school wanted to cover up a suicide, why would they leave the victim's things around? Packing them up and making it look like she'd left would make more sense."

There was a pause in the coversation before Linda leaned over and quickly kissed Susan. The move caught Susan too much by surprise for her to react before Linda pulled away again. No, she doesn't think I've moved on from her.

"I'm sorry ... I shouldn't of had ... the timing is all wrong and I ... well..."

"It's all right." Susan stilled Linda's nervous chatter with a kiss of her own. "We've both been waiting for this chance for a long time." She grinned. "Shall we take it? My dad's not going to walk in on us this time."

She smiled in response, the tingle of the kiss still hung upon her lips as Aegir pondered all of her reactions from her recent outburst that had leaWhile d up to the recent kiss that had still lingered against those lips. Her hand had lightly run over her thigh, her eyes seeming to sparkle in the light of the room.

"No, I don't think he will," Linda smiled a little at that comment. Her eyes gleamed slightly as if hardly able to contain herself, as if waiting too long for this long awaited moment. A hand drifted up her side while her full lips leaned in against her to draw more of her upon her hungry lips.

While her hand danced upon her blouse rising up until it lingered beneath the curve of her breast her mouth reaffixed itself against Susan's own, the taste rolling upon her lips she had found her tongue escaping her mouth to silently dash at her lips as if silently knocking against them.