CHAPTER FIVE:
nine ten, gwen's back again, part one.

    "Wait, what are you saying Heather? That someone stole her dead body?" Brett asks in disbelief, his hand reaching in his fridge to grab a water bottle. His other hand struggling to balance the phone between his ear and his shoulder.

"I guess... I don't know, Stiles was very vague."

"Well does he have any idea what happened?" Brett asked. He could almost feel Heather's eye roll as she replied.

"It's Stiles, of course, he has an idea, it's probably an insane one that involves monsters or some mythical folklore..."

Brett snorts. "Remind me, why are you guys friends with him?"

"He's endearing," the blonde defende. She looks down at her hoodie, her fingers playing with the dangling zipper. "I don't even know if you could call us friends anymore," she confesses.

Brett leans back onto the island in his kitchen. "What do you mean?"

Heather bites her lip, and with a shake of her head she changes the subject. "Do you think she went to heaven?"

Brett's head flinches back at the morbid question. "I don't really believe in that stuff, but if there was one... I would like to think so."

Heather nods. "Yeah me too," she whispers. "I just hope whoever took her brings her back, she deserves to be at peace."

Brett leans off the counter and heads towards his stairs. He lets the silence engulf them as he debates on how to reply. On one hand he wants to give her an optimistic reply, one that will instill hope into her; on the other hand, he knows better. Before he can make a decision, his ears zone in to Lori talking in her room. His head tilting in confusion, he slowly walks towards her door; his hand gently resting on the doorknob as he tries to open her door quietly.

His green eyes tunnel onto his little sister, barbie dolls in her hand and a smiling Gwen sitting right across from her.

"Heather," Brett chokes out. "I'm gonna have to call you back."

The blond moves forward slowly, trying to assess the situation while simultaneously trying to convince himself he's not crazy.

"Brett! Do you wanna play with us?" Lori's wide puppy eyes beg. "I thought you said Gwen wouldn't be around to play anymore."

"She's not supposed to be," Brett mumbles, Gwen's head snapping to his. Her eyes hardened into a glare.

"Uh Lori," Brett clears his throat awkwardly, ushering the girl closer to him.

Lori pushes herself off her brother and runs towards him. Her head tilting in confusion at his erratic behavior. "Go to my room, I need to talk to Gwen alone."

Annoyance flashes through her eyes. "Why can't you just take Gwen to your room? Like you used to before," she tacks on knowingly.

"Just do it," Brett orders, making Lori leave with a huff.

Gwen looks up at Brett, her lips pursed. "Well now what?" She asks in boredom.

Brett looks at her in disbelief. "What?"

"Well I know you're not gonna finish playing with me," Gwen huffs. "And Kylie was just about to find out Jorge was cheating on her with Britney," she rolls her eyes, with a pout on her lips.

"Gwen," Brett whispers, almost sounding like a plea.

The brunette curls her knees to her chest. Her eyes facing downwards.

The older boy's green eyes sadly look at the girl in front of him. "What happened?" 

After a few minutes of silence a small sullen 'I don't know' rings through the air.

Brett walks towards her, sitting down next to her. He assesses his small figure, if he didn't know he was looking at a ghost he would have thought it was the same old Gwen. He squints his eyes as her odd clothing catches her attention, taking note of how the green button up and clearly men's jeans hang off her body. "Where did you get those clothes?"

Gwen looks away from him. "I don't know."

"Gwen, look at me," Brett's voice strains to sound more demanding, his hand gently caressing her chin. "Gwen," he whispers.

The brunette's tear filled eyes finally meet his. "I didn't mean to, I didn't even realize until. I'm so sorry," she cries.

He gathers her into his arms, gently stroking her hair as he coos in her ear. "It's okay, it's okay," he rocks her. "We'll figure this out."

It was the next day, after dropping Lori off at school, that Brett found himself driving into the middle of the woods. He looks over at the brunette girl in the passenger's seat. His eyes slowly rake her body, squinting at every change he notices. The girl who used to once exuberate confidence has seemingly changed into a vibe that seems almost dangerous.

He takes a turn into an opening in the forest. "We're here," he informs, shutting the car off.

The brunette looks around slowly, her eyebrows furrowed and her lips in a pout. "Where is here?"

Brett smiles, getting out of the car and running around to open hers. "These people helped me and Lori when we needed it, they'll help you too."

Gwen's brown eyes uneasily shift around the campsite as she follows Brett towards a woman who's back is facing them.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" The woman asks, turning around to face them with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah," Brett sighs with a nod, looking towards Gwen. "But we kinda need your help."

Gwen faces the asian woman, her eyes glazing over her soft features and the tendrils that fall out of her bun. She watches the woman's eyes fill with recognition before glaring at Brett, the blonde shrinking at her gaze.

"What have you done?" She asks threateningly, taking a step forward.

Brett quickly puts his hands up in defense. "I," he emphasizes, taking a step back. "I didn't do anything. She came to my house, she was in Lori's room playing with dolls like nothing happened."

"What's going on?" Gwen demands, looking between the two.

Brett who has backed himself against a tree to avoid the older woman's gaze. "Gwen meet Satomi, Satomi...Gwen."

The older woman sighs, walking towards a tent. She ducks through, the two teens giving each other a look not knowing if they should follow or not.

"Well, are you coming?" Satomi yells, making them jump and follow her.

Gwen ducks under, standing awkwardly while Brett throws himself on a couch. Satomi walking towards the table with two teacups in hand, she nods her head to the chair across from her.

Gwen walks over, her fingers playing with each other as she shifts uncomfortably.

"Sit," Satomi demands.

Gwen immediately sat down, her hands folding over each other.

Satomi swirls a spoon around her tea, tapping it against the cup before setting it down on the table. "Explain," she demands once more, before taking a sip of her tea.

Gwen opens her mouth but fails to say anything. "I don't know," she shakes her head.

"You know more than you think you do, try again."

Brett leans forward, resting his arms on his legs. He watches the two interact.

"I don't remember anything," Gwen softly tells her.

"You do," Satomi carelessly dismisses. "Try harder."

"I can't."

"You can and you will, think!" Satomi raises her voice.

"Maybe we shouldn-'' Brett cuts in.

"No!" Satomi yells harshly, leaning forward. "Think harder Gwen, what happened to you?"

Gwen begins to shake her head, her hands going up to her ears. Memories flash through her brain: the yelling of 'surprise!', the sound of ominous humming and beating drums, blood, splashes of a pool, pain, pain, and more pain, being surrounded by metal walls, crunching of bones, flashes of an orange vest, scared green eyes looking at her, her own voice apologizing.

"I'm so sorry," Gwen cries, her hands gripping the side of her head. "I'm so sorry!" She yells, a dark aura shooting itself from her body knocking over everything in Satomi's tent.

Brett rushes over towards the girl, his eyes widening at the sight of her fully black eyes. "What the hell?"

"I didn't mean too," she cries. "What have I done?"

Brett gathers her into his arms. "What the hell is going on?" He asks desperately, looking at his mentor. The woman who has cared for him and his sister.

"What's dead should always stay dead."

NOTES.
Is it me or is this chapter kind of choppy? i had so many notes written for the next chapter i think i overwhelmed myself with ideas and it just didn't translate well onto paper.
I changed Brett and Lori's ages because they were very unclear. So Brett is 17 and Lori is 8.