"You should take a shower."

JC snapped out of the daze he'd been in, having zoned out while Chris had been on the phone ordering the food. He quickly realized Chris was now off the phone and staring at him, waiting for a response.

"What?" JC said, unsure he'd really heard Chris's question.

Chris stepped closer to him. "I said you should shower. You reek, man."

JC shook his head. "I'm fine. We need to figure out how we're going to help Lance."

"Would you rather I tell you to take a nap?"

JC caught the no nonsense look Chris had in his eye, telling him he wasn't going to win this. It seemed stupid to indulge in such a luxury considering Lance was going through something JC couldn't even imagine, but he couldn't deny that getting clean would make him feel better. He felt so grimy from navigating through the numerous busy streets between Lance's house and Chris's apartment. Besides, there was nothing to keep him from beginning to think of a way to get Lance away from Vanessa while he was showering.

"Okay," JC relented finally, getting to his feet.

Chris clamped a hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle shove towards the bathroom. "Go ahead in. I don't think I have any of your clothes here, but I can at least give you a clean t-shirt when you get out."

"All right," JC said with a shrug. He didn't think it would do much in the grand scheme of things, especially since the shower itself would make him feel way better than he did at the moment.

JC walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. It took him only a minute to strip his clothes and step into the shower. His eyes reflexively closed as the warmth of the spray seemed to relax the tense, injured muscles while washing all the dirt and grime away. It was the first moment he'd had to relax since he'd woke up at four in the morning and his abused, exhausted body was more than ready for a rest.

But he forced himself to open his eyes and stand up straight, knowing he couldn't rest until they saved Lance from whatever Vanessa had planned. He couldn't even begin to imagine what Lance was going through at that moment, especially since he'd no doubt been punished for helping him to get out. It was a thought that terrified him and made him even more determined to come up with something. Anything.

The only problem was it wasn't quite that easy. His mind was muddled from lack of sleep, the injuries he'd sustained, and the exhausting trek he'd made to get here. And what thoughts that did get pieced together were either jumbled or raced through his mind too fast for him to really grab onto a possible solution. Still, he refused to give up.

As he forced his mind to focus on what they were going to do, he began to shampoo his short hair and wash the rest of his body. He frantically thought of any possible way they could use to incapacitate Vanessa, allowing them to get Lance away from her. Various methods ran through his mind, but regardless of what they went with, there was no guarantee that it would work. After everything that'd happened in the last thirteen hours, he wouldn't put it past her to somehow evade whatever they tried.

Frustrated, JC fell back against the cold tile as he allowed the water to wash away the soapy suds from his body. Part of him almost didn't want to get out of the shower because he knew it was unlikely Chris and Joey would be able to add much insight, no doubt struggling as much as him. There was a lot of what ifs to this, making him think that they would have no certainty that whatever they came up with would work. The idea of it wasn't encouraging and made him almost unwilling to face that very real possibility, but that wasn't an option. He wouldn't give up on Lance, not after the risk he'd taken to get him out and the fact that he was relying on him to save him.

So his mind continued to run with possibilities, trying to determine what had the highest probability of success. His right hand unconsciously went to his neck, his nimble fingers playing with the thin black cord that held his Leo pendant. Several seconds of him fiddling with it passed before something in his mind clicked, his motions stilling instantly. He wasn't the only one that had a special piece of jewelry that was always worn.

Every time JC had seen Vanessa, she always had a pearl necklace on. The very same necklace he'd seen her hold as she'd chanted those weird things when she'd summoned her ex-lover's soul to Lance's body. The significance of it wasn't lost on him. Why would she grasp it as she spoke if it did nothing? She'd made a point of holding a few of the pearls between her fingers while she worked her mojo, and JC knew they had to get a hold of it.

All of his earlier reluctance to turn off the shower vanished at the prospect he could have figured out something that may truly help them save Lance. He shut off the water and grabbed a towel as he stepped out to quickly dry himself. Once he was relatively dry, he put his underwear and jeans back on, forgoing his t-shirt in favor of a clean one that Chris had offered. It took only a few seconds and his excitement propelled him out into the living room where Joey and Chris were.

Before he could even get a word out, his presence seemed to surprise them and both of them spoke.

"Jesus, JC," Joey breathed.

Words alone weren't good enough for Chris who was on his feet and moving towards him as he said, "We need to get you checked out."

"I'm fine," JC said, now understanding why he'd elicited such a response. It hadn't been because they were surprised by his sudden appearance, it was because they could clearly see every bruise on his upper body since he was naked from the waist up.

"You're so far from fine it's ridiculous," Chris replied. "We're taking you to a doctor."

"No!" JC objected, and immediately hissed as Chris pressed against the large bruise halfway down his right side that was right over his ribcage. "Damn it, Chris. Leave me alone."

"JC, you're hurt. You could have a cracked rib and it looks like you took a pretty good shot to your kidney."

Chris reached out and his fingers barely skimmed JC's flesh on the lower left just above the waistband of his jeans, but it still sent pain running down his body. JC jerked away, out of Chris's grasp.

"Quit it," JC said, panting just slightly as he recovered from the pain that'd momentarily shocked his system. "I'm trying to tell you something."

"You can tell me whatever you want on the way to the doctor."

Chris tried to reach out to take a hold of JC's wrist, but JC stepped back, putting more distance between them. He glared and Joey seemed to share at least a fraction of JC's annoyance as he said, "Chris..."

"She has a necklace," JC blurted out, cutting in to try to get their sole attention on what he was saying and not his injuries.

Joey and Chris glanced at each other, clearly confused. "That's nice," Chris said, looking back at JC. "I'm failing to see how knowing what jewelry she has helps us."

JC shook his head. "She held it as she was doing the ritual or whatever it was to Lance."

"So you think it's the source of her powers?" Joey asked.

"Yes?" JC said, unsure if that was truly the case. The necklace definitely was significant and seemed to have some kind of power, but he wasn't ready to say it was the source of her power. After all, she hadn't touched the necklace when she'd nearly choked Lance to death without even touching him. "I don't know. It's probably got some of her powers. If we destroy it, maybe it'll weaken her."

"You said it right there. Maybe. We have no idea if it'll work," Chris said.

"But it should do something."

"You hope. You don't know for sure."

JC narrowed his eyes at Chris. "Of course I don't know for sure. I'm making my best guess here, and I'm telling you my gut says this necklace is important."

Joey stood up then, moving between them like he was trying to diffuse the mounting tension. "He's not saying it's not important. We just don't want to take a chance with it and make things worse."

JC understood where they were coming from, but he had a feeling nothing they came up with would be foolproof or guaranteed to work. All he knew was they had to get Lance out of there at all costs, and if destroying the necklace didn't work, hopefully it'd at least give them an opportunity to get Lance out. And maybe that was what they really needed to focus on.

"Then we'll just have to come up with some way for one of us to distract her while the other two help get Lance out of there," JC said.

"Like that's any easier," Chris replied with a bit of an attitude.

"Maybe if we get Justin in on this. He can help," Joey suggested.

Without any hesitation JC said, "No. He doesn't need to be in the middle of this. He's still recovering."

"And I figure you think you're going to be the one to distract her."

JC looked at Chris. "And why not? We have no idea what shape Lance is in and you two are better equipped for that."

Chris raised an eyebrow like he was surprised JC was finally admitting that he was injured enough for it to be limiting, but JC didn't pretend to be okay enough to help carrying Lance out if it came to that. It made sense that he would be the one to distract Vanessa, especially since he could probably stall her the longest as he knew some of what she was capable of. But he knew that was also cause for concern to them.

So he wasn't disappointed when Joey said, "What if she tries to do something to you? She can't be too happy you escaped."

"No, but that's the reason I'd be the best distraction. She'll be more occupied with me allowing you guys to get to Lance."

"Two problems with that," Chris said. "One, it's not like she's not going to know we're there. If you're there, she has to figure you brought someone to help. Two, what if she kills you?"

"That's not going to happen," JC told him, though he knew it was a very real possibility.

Vanessa could've easily killed him and no doubt intended to do so at some point. She'd certainly proved she was in control and had no problem doing whatever she felt was necessary to ensure she got what she wanted. Something she displayed when she kicked the carrier down the stairs with him inside, completely unconcerned about his wellbeing. Still, he knew he couldn't avoid going back to Lance's because he knew the most about her and could hopefully use it to their advantage.

"Not if you stay here," Chris said.

JC narrowed his eyes. "I'm going, and you can't stop me."

Chris opened his mouth, but Joey cut in before he could get a word out. "We're just worried about you, you get that, right? Especially when you say that we need to split up."

JC nodded once. He did know it was hard for them to accept, none of them comfortable with the idea of putting their friends in danger. But one of them was already in danger and they had to do what they could to help him.

"But it's necessary." JC saw that was little comfort to them and added, "Doesn't mean we can't be smart about it. We'll come up with a rough plan and do our best to stick to it."

There was a long pause before Chris finally said, "Okay."

All it took was a look at Joey to know he was just as willing to figure out the best way to get in there to help Lance. They wouldn't be able to plan much, but it would have to be enough to go in and hope whatever they came up with made them capable of getting Lance out of there.

One thing JC knew for sure was that it wasn't going to be easy. Not by a long shot.

***********

JC slowly made his way towards Lance's back door, sticking close to the siding and taking advantage of whatever shadows the roof overhang above could provide. It was ten o'clock and there was a waning moon, which helped conceal his movements. That went for Chris and Joey as well as the three of them were entering the house at different points, unsure where Vanessa would be. Joey was going to come through the front door and Chris was climbing the tree up to the roof to get access to Lance's bedroom.

JC was nervous for Chris, knowing how hard it'd been to navigate his way down the tree even in his cat form. It was going to be much harder for Chris to climb up it with the tight, narrow branches. Then he had to stretch himself to get onto the overhang from the roof to get access to Lance's bedroom window. And all of that work would be for nothing if the window ended up being locked, which JC hoped wasn't the case.

They'd argued quite a bit about splitting up and who would come in from which entrance, spinning the possibilities every which way. If JC had had his way, they would've gotten here hours ago, but Joey and Chris had been stubborn about them eating something beforehand, him especially. Something JC was really regretting as his stomach churned, his anxiety growing with each step he took.

Things were quiet, and they knew from watching the house that there were several lights on both on the first floor and the second. That made it nearly impossible to know where Vanessa would be as they entered, but they each had some kind of a weapon - something Chris had insisted on. JC griped the knife in his hand tightly, wondering if he'd actually be able to stab Vanessa if he needed to. The answer came to him quicker than he thought it would. Yes. He would do whatever he had to protect himself and, more importantly, keep her from getting in the way of saving Lance.

He reached the back door and gently tugged on the sliding door's handle. It slid open easily, and JC stepped inside. The kitchen was dark, but one of the lamps was lit in the living room, spilling some light into part of the kitchen. As JC silently shut the door behind, he realized how odd that was. Lance usually always had it locked unless he was out in the backyard and when JC had interrupted him and Vanessa hours ago, they'd been headed upstairs so he'd likely locked it. Vanessa could've unlocked it, but JC's gut told him that was unlikely, making him feel like he'd just walked into a trap.

Slowly he began to turn towards the darker side of the kitchen, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. Before his eyes could even begin to comb the dark for Vanessa, he was suddenly lifted off his feet and thrown across the room. He slammed into a wall, his back taking the brunt of it and causing him to cry out in pain as it aggravated his existing injuries. He crumpled to the floor and belatedly realized he'd dropped his only weapon over by the backdoor where he'd been standing before he'd been thrown.

JC was on his hands and knees, trying to catch his breath. He could hear footsteps approaching him seconds before he saw a set of high heeled shoes come into his vision. Glancing up, he saw that Vanessa was crouched in front of him.

"How stupid do you think I am?"

JC heard another set of footsteps, this time coming much quicker and he knew it had to be Joey. He'd likely already been in the house when JC had come in and gotten attacked by Vanessa.

Vanessa turned and straightened immediately, moving quickly so she was in Joey's path. Joey had come rushing in, the Louisville Slugger Chris had given him raised in a defensive manner. He tried to bring it down on her head, but she intercepted it easily and all but yanked it out of his hands. She turned it on him and whacked him in the stomach with it, causing Joey to groan and drop to his knees, coughing.

She moved back so she was standing in front of both of them, casually swinging the bat from her fingertips. "You boys are in a lot of trouble."

As JC stared up at her, he did his best to look worried. It wasn't too hard considering fear was starting to build, but they did have one thing going for them. Chris.

***********

Chris practically sighed in relief as he carefully climbed through the window, thanking his lucky stars that he hadn't fallen out of the tree...or off the roof. That and he was extremely thankful the window hadn't been locked because otherwise, he would've had to try to make it back down and enter another way. Or he might've just broken the window, but that certainly would've drawn a lot of attention.

He quickly scanned the room, wanting to make sure Vanessa wasn't lurking in the shadows to catch him off guard. The small moon outside didn't do much to help illuminate the dark bedroom, but after a few seconds, Chris was satisfied that she wasn't in there. With that assurance, he rushed over to the bed where he'd seen Lance tied to through the window. He turned on the small bedside lamp on the nightstand and was taken by surprise at what he saw.

Lance was so pale, which given how fair his skin was had to be some kind of an accomplishment. He also looked a little thinner than when Chris had last seen him. He might not have eaten in twenty-four hours or so, but it seemed unlikely that would've affected him so much already. It seemed like Vanessa had done something to him, but Chris was unsure what or why.

"Chris," Lance said, his voice sounding even deeper in his weakened state.

"It's okay. We're going to get you out of here," Chris replied, doing his best to be reassuring. He quickly began to loosen the knots on the scarves that bound both of Lance's wrists to the posts.

"JC's okay?"

Chris nodded, continuing to work on the first knot. "Yeah, he's fine. How else did you think I knew to come?"

It took only a minute to untie Lance, the knots not being all that tight. Once Lance was free, Chris helped him sit up and even that small action seemed to give him a head rush. He gave him a second to recover.

"You okay?" he asked, his brown eyes seeking out Lance's green. Lance met his gaze and nodded. Chris reached out for him and said, "C'mon, let's get you out of here."

Chris grabbed onto Lance's arm and helped him stand up, which ended up being the only thing that kept him from face planting into the carpet. He threw Lance's arm over his shoulders, taking on more of his weight. He didn't know exactly what was wrong with Lance, but that could all be figured out once they got out of there.

They'd made it to the bedroom door when they heard a crash and a yelp of pain come from downstairs. Instantly, they froze for a second before Chris opened the door and continued to lead Lance downstairs as planned. As he began to navigate down the steps with Lance, he could hear the sound of someone rushing into the room and Chris had to hold back a groan at Joey's lack of stealth. He was going to kill JC for this stupid plan of his.

Chris did his best not to take the stairs faster than Lance could handle, but his desperation to get to the back part of the house and help his other two friends made it hard. Still, he did pick up the pace and was at the bottom a moment later. He carefully extracted himself from Lance, lowering him to the floor and positioning him so he was leaning against the wall.

"Wait here," he told him quietly.

Chris carefully took the gun he'd put in between the waistband of his jeans and his back, clicking the safety off as he slowly made his wall down the dark hallway. He'd surprised his friends when he'd pulled the gun out of the lockbox in his closet, none of them having known he had one. It was something he'd bought a while ago, even before his father showed up, and he was grateful for it now. Even if it couldn't kill her, it would at least slow her down.

He'd just reached the edge of the kitchen as he heard Vanessa say, "You boys are in a lot of trouble."

Chris glanced to his left and saw a light switch that controlled one of the main overhead lights in the kitchen. Something he could use to his advantage.

He pushed the switch and light immediately flooded the previously darkened kitchen. Chris had squinted his eyes in preparation for sudden change in lighting, but Vanessa hadn't had the same chance. It was what he was counting on and he used that moment to point the gun at her.

"Actually, I think you're in trouble," Chris said. He glanced briefly to make sure Joey and JC were okay before turning all of his attention back to Vanessa.

Vanessa blinked once more to clear her vision before she looked at him, taking in his defensive stance and the gun he had aimed at her. And she laughed.

"You gonna shoot me?" The way she said it made it clear that she didn't think he was capable of it.

"Give me a reason," Chris practically growled. He had no doubt there'd be zero hesitation in squeezing that trigger if he had to.

"What...how can..."

Chris glanced down at JC, frowning at his incoherent mumbling. He wondered if he'd hit his head again, making what'd likely been a slight concussion from before even worse. But as Vanessa smirked and turned towards JC, he realized what had JC so flabbergasted.

There was a small swell to Vanessa's midsection. She looked to be at least three months pregnant, but that wasn't possible. She definitely hadn't been pregnant the few times he'd seen her. It could be some trick, a way to keep him from shooting her, but somehow Chris doubted it. Still, it didn't explain how she was suddenly pregnant and practically in her second trimester.

"Bit of a surprise, isn't it?" Vanessa asked, mirth in her eyes.

"Considering you weren't when we last saw you, yeah," Chris replied. "Besides, no woman can go through a pregnancy so quick."

"No human woman. I'm different."

"That's for damn sure," Chris muttered.

Just then there was a noise behind him, and Chris turned his head to see what the source was. At the same time, he forced his hands to keep the gun trained on Vanessa and did his best to watch her for any sudden movements out of the corner of his eye. He wasn't surprised to see Lance, who'd somehow managed to get up and come down the short hallway only to stumble and fall into the wall. He looked pretty out of it.

"Lance..." Joey said, looking kind of relieved as he approached him. Chris turned back to Vanessa, giving her his full attention now that he knew Joey was taking care of Lance. It also told him that Joey was truly okay, no worse for the wear despite having been on the floor when Chris had first entered.

"Such a shame, isn't it?" Vanessa said, though her tone was unsympathetic.

Chris glared at her. "What did you do to him?"

"I didn't do anything. My baby on the other hand..."

Chris's eyes briefly flitted down to her slightly swollen stomach, his brow furrowed in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded. He couldn't imagine an unborn child could do anything to Lance from the womb.

Vanessa smiled and it was something between amusement and sinister. "In my society, women are valued much more than men."

"In your society? There's more of you?" Chris said.

"Oh yes. Not many, but there's enough. It's part of the reason we look for men - we need to keep our line going. We don't have any kind of loyalty to the sperm donors though."

"That's what you used Lance for?" JC asked, speaking for the first time since he'd noticed she was pregnant.

Vanessa laughed. "No, silly boy. My ex-lover had that pleasure. He planted the seed so to speak, but it couldn't become active until I killed his physical body and his soul. Lance was the perfect host for that."

"So what the hell's happening to him now?" Chris asked, forcing her attention back to him. He felt better when her focus was away from JC as she'd already hurt him so much and he didn't want to give her any reason to lash out at him.

"As the baby grows, Lance gets weaker. Human women have to suffer through the body aches and everything that comes with the fetus stealing nutrients from her. So we found a way for the baby to take what it needed from a man instead," Vanessa explained. "And of course, it had to be another lover. Someone that was willing to submit to us completely."

Joey looked at her. "So that was your intent all along? You were just using Lance?"

"I was attracted to him," she said and tried to take a step closer to where Joey and Lance were sitting on the floor. But her movements were halted when Chris pulled back the hammer on the gun. "But yes, he was the perfect person to help me finish what I'd started with Jerrell."

"You're not finishing anything. We're taking him out of here," Chris said.

She laughed again. "Go ahead. It's not going to change what's happening. He'll be dead by this time tomorrow."

Chris noticed JC shifting out of the corner of his right eye and he got the feeling that he was about to make some kind of a move to get to the pearls that hung around Vanessa's neck. He wanted to give a signal to tell him to back off, but he didn't because doing so would definitely tip her off that something was about to happen. That and he was sure JC wouldn't listen to him anyway.

So instead, he kept his gaze locked with Vanessa's. "You're lying," he said.

"I'm not," she replied simply, not at all offended at the accusation. "Women's bodies were made to withstand the constant need of nutrients the fetus needs, replenishing what's been lost. Men aren't equipped for it, which is why this can only end in death. The baby is literally stealing life away from him."

No sooner had she finished, JC launched himself at her, his hands reaching out for her neck. His body slammed into hers and she stumbled, but before she could lose her balance completely, she wrapped her left hand around a couple of her peals and suddenly JC collapsed. He clutched his chest, looking very panicked, while Vanessa ran her free hand through her hair to smooth it out.

"I could crush his organs you know. It wouldn't be very hard at all. I could start with his lungs, make him think he's suffocating."

"Let him go," Chris demanded through gritted teeth. He wasn't exactly sure what she was doing to him, but obviously it wasn't good.

Vanessa just smiled, not seeming at all intimidated by him. Though, she did release whatever hold she'd had on JC because he folded in on himself, practically gasping for air.

"You should just accept that you're not going to best me. It's your decision if you want to lose three friends instead of two."

Chris's brow furrowed. He glanced at Joey, making sure once more that he was uninjured and that she hadn't somehow done something to him. But Joey seemed fine. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I have complete control over anyone who's blood I've taken. JC's happened as I transferred the curse to him night after night, biting into his neck. Lance's was a bite to the lip in a moment of passion." Vanessa took a step closer, unfazed by the gun in her face. "But there was someone else. Someone who was the first to get a taste of just what I could do."

Chris frowned, but behind him Joey breathed, "Justin."

Of course. Justin had been bit by her back when they'd all thought she was just some cat JC adopted from a local shelter. A bite that ended up getting infected and put him in the hospital for days, leaving the doctors confused about how it generated so quickly. The problem was that it hadn't been a normal cat bite; Vanessa had purposely made him sick.

"Why?" JC practically croaked, still recovering from what she'd done a moment ago.

"Because he seemed the most likely to get in the way," she said, looking at JC. "He kept coming over and I couldn't risk him coming at the wrong time and seeing me. Not that he would've believed it I'm sure. You didn't want to believe it yourself."

"You're not going to do anything to Justin," Chris said, getting her to refocus her attention again.

"No? I think you underestimate me. It'd be all too easy to make him sick again. Though, maybe this time I'll go for a coma."

Chris's eyes hardened and his grip on the gun tightened. "Actually, you underestimate me."

With that, he pulled the trigger on the gun, firing a bullet straight into the center of her chest. Like he'd suspected, it didn't kill her. But it didn't even knock her off her feet, only pushing her back a few steps. Though, a red spot spread across her chest and idly Chris wondered how she could bleed when she wasn't even technically human. But that was all he had time to think as he suddenly catapulted through the air and slammed up against the nearby cabinets right in front of the sink.

Pain sparked through his back and stars danced before his eyes for a couple seconds, but he quickly blinked them away. He found himself face to face with the dark haired woman, her stormy gray eyes boring into his with an intensity unlike any he'd experienced before. Part of him wanted to look away, but he wouldn't be intimidated. And he sure as hell wasn't going to give up.

"Chris!" Joey called from the other side of the room.

Vanessa glared down at Chris. "I think this fight needs to be between me and you. They're all too distracting."

Without another word, she mumbled a few strange words under her breath and the reaction was almost instantaneous. On the other side of the kitchen, Chris could hear Lance and JC both coughing and gagging, like she was making good on the threat she'd delivered just a minute ago about crushing JC's internal organs, starting with his lungs. She couldn't technically do anything to Joey since she didn't have his blood, but he could just make out Joey going from Lance to JC and back again, looking frantic. There was no way he was going to leave their side - no way he'd interfere.

Chris looked back at her. "And what are you going to do to me? You have no control over me."

"No, but I know just the thing."

Vanessa reached out with one hand to the wall behind Chris and flipped a switch. Dread instantly filled his stomach as he heard the grinding noise of the garbage disposal. Knowing, he had to fight her off before she could even think about shoving his hand down it, he immediately began to shove against her. But suddenly there was an invisible force pressing against him, rendering him practically motionless. Something that made it all too easy for her to grab his left arm and pull it towards the active garbage disposal.

Chris's heart began to race, getting faster and faster the closer his hand got to the opening in the sink. Once his hand disappeared into that hole there would maybe be six inches of free space before he would encounter the spinning blades. He couldn't believe he'd got himself into this situation and his mind frantically scrambled to come up with a way to get himself, and the others, out of it.

He closed his eyes as he felt her begin to shove his hand into the hole in the garbage disposal, his fingers going past the rubber padding. Just when he thought that was it, he heard footsteps and thought for sure it was Joey. So he was surprised when the voice he heard wasn't Joey's at all.

"You'd think one of you could answer your phone," Justin grumbled as he walked into the kitchen. He abruptly stopped. "What the hell's going on?"

Justin's sudden presence startled Vanessa and Chris immediately felt the invisible barrier that'd held him against the cabinets and counter lift. That was all the opportunity he needed. Chris yanked his left arm out of the sink and out of Vanessa's grasp, quickly recovering enough to latch onto her pearl necklace and dislodge it from her neck. The necklace snapped off and he threw it into the garbage disposal.

Almost immediately Vanessa began to shriek and she burst into flames. The fire seemed to consume her and lasted for several seconds before there was a puff of smoke. She vanished, taking the fire along with her. She was dead.

Chris looked to the other side of the kitchen, glad to see that JC and Lance were both sitting up and no longer coughing or gagging. Joey looked relieved, which was definitely a feeling he shared.

"Looks like destroying the necklace did kill her," Chris said, looking at JC. After all, it'd been his idea that'd made this possible. Never would he have been able to come up with that on his own.

"Um..." Justin spoke, frowning at each of them and his brow furrowed in confusion. "What the hell just happened?"

Chris walked over to him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Trust me, J. You don't want to know. Just know you saved our asses."

Justin looked like he was going to protest, obviously wanting more information and Chris couldn't blame him. He would too. But his only concern at the moment was making sure Lance and JC were okay and ensuring that all of them got the rest they deserved.