(Parts 1-6 posted on my profile page!)

I pulled into Cal's driveway a few minutes later, slamming on the breaks and running up to the house. I tried to open the front door, but it was locked. Panicked, I ran to the garage and flipped open the code box. I knew the code, but in the heat of the moment I had forgotten it. I racked my brain trying to remember, the seconds ticking by. Finally, I remembered it. I mashed the code into the box and the door slowly began to open. I got down on the ground and slipped under it as soon as it was possible, then ran into the house.

"Cal!" I screamed, running through the kitchen. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. There was no broken glass, no signs of a struggle, but the eerie silence that filled the house sent shivers down my spine. I ran up the stairs where Cal's room was. The door was closed, and I pounded on it, my eyes wide. I screamed Cal's name again with no reply.

"Cal. No!" I whispered, tears welling up again. I thought for sure he was dead. Determined to know what had happened to my friend, I grabbed the doorknob. Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me to the ground. A large hand covered my mouth as I screamed again, struggling, trying to get away from who I thought was Her.

"B! B, it's me," Cal's voice whispered. I stopped struggling and looked up into the wide-eyed face of my best friend. He was pale, and long, bleeding gashes covered his arms, neck, and face. He put a trembling finger to his lips and uncovered my mouth. I sat up, staring at him, my mouth partly open, then hugged him for the second time in our friendship.

"Oh my gosh Cal," I said, trying to keep the panic in my voice down. Cal hugged me back this time, and I felt his whole body shaking.

"She's in there," he whispered. I let go if him abruptly and stared at him in shock.

"You trapped Her in your room?" I asked amazed. Cal nodded and swallowed.

"She came in and pounced on me, Bree. Threw me against the wall and started ripping me to shreds. I tried to punch Her in the face, but She didn't even flinch. Finally, I managed to shove Her off of me for a second, and I ran to my desk and grabbed a pair of scissors. When She pounced at me again, I stabbed Her with the scissors. She started thrashing around on the floor, running right into my open closet. I locked Her in there and ran for it, closing my door behind me," Cal whispered. I covered my mouth with my hand.

"Oh my gosh," I repeated, not knowing what else to say. Cal swallowed again and took a shaky breath.

"So... That's Her?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm so sorry Cal," I replied. "I shouldn't have brought you into this. Are you Ok? Did She hurt you bad?"

It was a dumb question. I could see from the deep slashes in Cal's neck and face that he wasn't alright.

"Uh, She got me pretty good," he said, somehow managing to flash a pained smile. "Not anything too bad though. What are we going to do now?"

I didn't answer. I didn't know what we were going to do next. I stared at the door to his room, thinking. I couldn't believe Cal had managed to lock Her in there.

"She's locked in the closet?" I whispered. Cal nodded.

"Yeah. I geuss that weird, two-way lock I've always wondered about actually came in handy," he said smiling again, "I don't think there's any way She can get out, either. It's not like there's any windows in there."

"What about vents?" I asked. Cal thought for a moment.

"There's no vents either. I think we got Her B," he replied. "Should we call the police?"

I thought about this for a moment. The police hadn't worked last time. If we called the cops, wouldn't She just control them again and send them on their way? And what if She changed back? What if the police opened that door and found a beautiful, young, beat up woman in a young boy's closet? I shook my head.

"No. The cops didn't work last time. We're going to have to figure something else out," I said. We both looked at each other, realizing what we had to do.

"Are we going to have to do it?" Cal asked. I looked down.

"I don't think we have much of a choice."

"We're going to have to kill Her?" he said. I shrugged.

"What else is there to do? We can't stop Her any other way. She's too strong."

"But, B, if we kill Her and She goes missing, people will think we murdered Her!"

"We'll show them Her body," I said, "when She dies She will change back into Her true form, the creature form, right? Then people will see why we had to kill Her. We'll tell them what She's done to us. What She's capable of. It's not murder if She's not human."

Cal looked away, thinking. His brow furrowed, and I could see he was uncertain about what we had to do, but in the end he couldn't come up with any other solutions.

"How are we going to do it?" he finally asked, "She seems really strong. She didn't even care when I punched Her in the jaw."

"I don't know, shoot Her?" I said. I swallowed and closed my eyes, suddenly feeling dizzy and sick. I was about to kill my father's girlfriend. Cal stared at me, his face growing paler and paler as the minutes passed.

"My dad has a Glock he keeps in his room," he said slowly. "I know where it is."

I looked up at him, wide-eyed. We stared at each other for a moment.

"Ok," I said, "let's do this."