“Listen up, you whores! You’re all basic!” Britney was shouting with her hands cupped over her hands. The other cheerleaders began to fret. “You’re the ones who can’t tighten up the routine! We all move as one! In unison!”

Early morning cheerleading practice continued on as Julia hid underneath the bleachers. Walking around the school wasn’t doing anything to help out Kara. It had been days without Kara reacting to anything. Not to her classes, her friends, or even the spot where her body was found.

Julia had settled for stalking her friends. Start with the cheerleaders, go to her boyfriend’s friends, then… She didn’t know what. Looking through the egg, all Kara seemed to be interested in was watching the girl’s dance about, but it wasn’t at all helpful.

“We are the Black Bear Raindrops!” Shouted Britney. “That doesn’t give you the right to fall on your asses! Get up and do it right!”

There was a time where they were the Black Bear Natives, but the mascot had been removed at some point in the nineties due to cultural insensitivity. That’s when the student body made the “mistake” of voting for raindrops as the next school mascot. Ever since then, they’ve been called a different name by the other high schools.

“Get it together, cumdrops! Stop being a bunch of selfish whores and work as a team! Our guys are out there sucking the other team’s cocks and letting them score because you can’t give them the motivation to be real men!”

One of the girls stopped. “I don’t really… You shouldn’t be calling us names. I don’t feel comfortable with-”

Britney blew her whistle in the girl’s face. “Practice is over! Don’t be late to class!” She looked over to the bleachers, squinting momentary at where Julia was standing. Julia realized this and quickly began to walk away. “Wait up!”

Julia stiffened as Britney caught up with her. “Don’t you have to change?”

“Pep rally after first period,” replied Britney smugly. “You, me, double date this Friday. Tyler and Austin. You in?”

“Tyler..?” Her sister’s boyfriend? He was already dating again? Julia was disgusted at the idea.

“People bond over tragedies,” replied Britney in a light tone. “I know you want to give Kara peace of mind in the afterlife, but she’s gone, honey. We move on, and your pussy is a barren desert that’s never been fucked.”

Julia whipped back her hand and slapped Britney across the face as hard as she could. She didn’t even mean to. It was a jerk reaction, but Britney did deserve it. By no means did Julia feel guilty over hitting her.

“I-I… Sorry.”

She walked ahead, hoping that no one saw that. However, all eyes were on her. Julia hastened her footsteps and went to calculus. Her backpack was dropped on the ground and she hid behind her textbook as the teacher began his lesson.

A tapping noise from the next desk over caught her attention. She looked over and saw that Trill was repeatedly banging his claw against the desk. Her eyes widened as she then looked around the room. No one else seemed to notice. Class continued on as usual, but she was unable to pay attention for as long as the demon was present.

Julia rushed from the room as soon as class was over. Everyone was already flooding the hallways to go to the pep rally, but she went elsewhere. She had never been one to pay much attention around school, so didn’t know where the best places to hide were. Outside near where the school’s greenhouse was seemed like the best bet, even though it was freezing outside.

As she walked around to keep herself warm, Julia could hear the rustle of dead leaves and scratching on wood. She did her best to ignore it and sat on the ramp leading up to one of the portables. They were sort of makeshift trailer classrooms since the school had more students than it did building.

She pulled out her phone and began to fiddle with it, waiting for the bell to ring so she could head off to her next class. All of her evidence was located in it. Pictures of Kara’s diary, notes about her friends, even a copy of her calendar. The calendar was the most important evidence of all.

Why would someone keep making plans if they were going to kill themselves? Kara was meeting up with Austin that weekend to work on a school project, and she had made movie plans with Tyler as well. Julia gritted her teeth as that scratching noise became all the louder. Since Kara’s soul egg wasn’t helping her out, she was back to sieving through her evidence again. She needed to concentrate on this.

A faint mewling sound caught her attention, but once again Julia ignored it. The week before she died, Kara had spent most of the weekend with Tyler, two afternoons working on that project with Austin, and Friday night with the cheerleading group. She hadn’t left the house before that but spent her time in the living room. Even though they were sisters, neither of them spent much time in the same room as the other.

The mewling sound repeated itself, louder this time. Possibly a lost cat… Julia had read once that cats preferred to give birth outside, and a large number of kittens died of hypothermia as a result. Someplace dark and cramped, like a school portable, sounded ideal.

She put away her phone and ducked underneath the ramp. There was something furry down there. At least, she could make out the glimmer of a creature’s eyes. Julia began to snap her fingers in an effort to get the animal’s attention.

“Here, kitty.” She tsked her tongue, hoping that the sound would ease the cat’s worries.

Slowly but surely, the snout of the animal came closer. The eyes larger, the growl deeper, and its massive paw snatched out and grabbed onto Julia’s wrist. She let out a sharp scream as its digits tightened about her limb.

“Shh,” hissed Trill.

“Holy shit! Let me go!” Julia skittered back as he did so, and began to look around in a panic. She didn’t hear anyone call back or approach, so it was possible that her scream went unnoticed for now. “What are you doing?”

Trill retreated back into the darkness of the portable, but he spoke loud enough for her to hear him. “I am watching you fail,” he replied in a cold tone.

That was it. She had had enough. It didn’t matter if he was a demon or some other supernatural creature. “I’ve already posted about your ritual online, and I told you that I don’t need your help.” Or his distinct lack of help. “Go away.”

“As we gain more wisdom, our desires begin to change,” mused Trill. “I have decided to make a deal with you.”

Julia was already regretting the first deal. The main point of it was that he disappear afterward, and yet here he was. Despite her fulfilling her head of the bargain, here he was… Lingering.

“No.”

“You are unable to remove your sister’s pain,” he mused. “Thus you are unable to make her remember the events that caused her death. However, the bond of the womb has blessed you with a special ability. You will remember for her, avenge her piece by piece, and she, in turn, will give you more clues. More answers to your little mystery.”

A silence hung in the air. Julia was too shocked to say anything. The answer had been there all along, and this bastard of a demon had neglected to tell her. She was less surprised and more furious that he had been toying with her this entire time.

“And how do I do that?” All she got as a response was an amused humming sound. “Just tell me already!”

“Ask nicely,” he replied.

Julia tensed up, gritting her teeth as she did so. She got down on all fours and peeked underneath the portable again. “... P-please… Please tell me how I can remember my sister’s memories.”

Silence.

She repeated the question, only to realize that he was no longer there. Julia cursed to herself as she stood up. Ask nicely… He didn’t specify that it had to be him that she had to ask, but maybe it was Kara? Pulling the egg out from her jacket pocket, she cradled it gently within both of her hands.

The problem was that she had been talking to Kara this whole time. Reassuring her that it was going to be okay, that she would solve her murder… But maybe that was wrong. It wasn’t about wandering about and hoping she reacted to something. It was about Julia not being afraid to confront her sister. Her fear of Kara somehow going away if she tried to hard to get the truth…

“Kara,” Julia’s voice was shaking as she spoke. “Someone, or maybe even a group of people hurt you. It happened right before you died, right? Who was it that hurt you before you died?”

For a moment, it was almost as if the egg became warmer. The world began to twist about Julia, and the warmth spread as she felt herself falling over. Suddenly she felt exhausted. Her emotions were swirling about in her chest, and her legs especially felt weary.

Something warm and moist pressed against her bare shoulder. “I’ll get you some orange juice.” The lips went from her shoulder to her ear, nipping at it for a moment before she felt something move out of the bed.

“Ah, ye-yeah… Thanks.”

Julia couldn’t move. She couldn’t talk, nor was she in control of her own breathing, but she felt and experienced everything Kara did at that moment. The roughness of sheets, the tinge sting of the cold air against her nude form, and the scent of sex were still in the air.

Fear hit Julia like a heavy wave. She was aware that Kara had sex with her boyfriend, but that wasn’t something that she had ever experienced. Now she was trapped in a body that was still fully affected by the afterglow. It felt incredibly violating.

This was Tyler’s room, wasn’t it? It had that feel of a guy’s room that was still being maintained by his mother. The furniture matched each other, and it was proper furniture instead of something picked up from Ikea. Everything was sorted, and there was a pile of folded clothes that were on the dresser. Even the pictures on the walls were organized, but they were dated, interests from when he was a boy and he had been too lazy to take them down.

“Here.” A glass of orange juice was set down on the nightstand. Kara looked up and gave Austin a nod. He had put his boxers back on, much to Julia’s relief.

“Thanks,” she repeated before she picked up the glass. This was chugged at rather than sipped politely. Watching her attack her drink made Austin laugh.

“I wasn’t aware that I had tired you out that much,” he said in an amused voice. His statement earned him a glare, which made him smile all the wider. “You look so fucking beautiful right now.”

Kara set down the glass. She grabbed the bedsheet and wrapped it about her body. “This is the last time.”

“Except for the fact that you’re coming over next Thursday to finish the project.” He sounded coy when he spoke. Sitting down next to her, he slipped his hand underneath the sheet and began to rub at her thigh.

“Except for the fact that we’d be done with this project already if you weren’t so fucking horny, and I’m supposed to meet up with Tyler that day because he wanted to catch a midnight showing of this movie he’s been wanting to watch.” Another one of those comic book films, but she couldn’t be bothered to remember which one.

Austin eased Kara back onto the bed. He used his knee to spread apart her legs while his hand held down one of her shoulders. “I’m trying to be nice here,” he said with a warm and open smile. Kara furrowed her brows, clearly not amused. His response was for him to start sucking on her collarbone.

“No marks,” she hissed.

“I should cover you in marks… You wouldn't have to explain anything to Tyler, and all he would know is that you’ve been cheating.” Austin leaned on her more heavily so that she could feel the beginnings of his erection. “He’ll be mad, but you’ll be with me afterward.” His face shifted as he looked down at her, switching from playful to pained. “He doesn’t have to know anything other than the fact that we’re together now.”

She looked up at him with an equally pained face. “He’s not going to know anything. I’ll… I’ll come over after school tomorrow, but I’m with Tyler. I love Tyler. I’m staying with Tyler.” Austin’s face became more pained at the remark. “I’m not coming over again after tomorrow. It doesn’t matter to me if the project is done at that point or not.”

They stared each other down for a moment. Nothing was said, and it ended when Austin leaned in to start nibbling on her neck. He forcibly pulled the sheet from her body, with his lips traveling down her chest for a moment before he sunk his teeth into her breast.

And just as a heat began to build within her body, Julia felt herself staggering back. She had to brace herself against the wall of the portable. Slumping down, she curled her arms about her legs and began to shiver. How… Revolting. Every fiber of her being was screaming out in disgust.

But…

She had a start. After weeks of trying to figure out why she finally knew at least something. Britney had even unintentionally offered him as a contact in the form of a double date. Either she waits until then, and try to catch him in private, or… No. Julia didn’t want to wait. She was going to talk to Austin today, and find out exactly why he had hurt her sister.