Deja vu

The school field trip had been less of a drag than Ray had anticipated, though that had little to do with the trip itself. They had gone to the bay to study the motion of the waves and the wild life along the shore, both coastal and marine. On the way, however, as he had been trotting along, somewhat away from the group with his friends, Ray had seen a girl off to the side sitting alone under an umbrella, and he couldn't very well hide from his friends the abrupt attraction that he had felt. She had been beautiful. There was just something about her that caught his eye. The bikini probably didn't help much, of course. On a dare, he had gone to chat her up. And, surprisingly, she had talked back to him.

He didn't have much time, however, as the group was going on its way, and he couldn't get left too far behind, else he risked being caught messing around and given some sort of detention or the like. To his amazement, however, she agreed to join him with seemingly little hesitation, and they went back to his group of friends together. His friends teased him endlessly, with no regard for the fact that she was right there beside him, but she merely laughed along with them and poked her own fun.

The trip was a long one, ending with a dinner event inside of a submarine. It was crowded, but somehow the teacher didn't notice the extra girl slipping on in along with the rest of the group, and the buffet style of the food meant that she wasn't left hungry. Though Ray was sure that there had been much to learn throughout the day, he couldn't particularly say that anything he had learned was because of the trip. He spent most of the time talking with the girl, named Miranda, and trying to get information out of her, especially her phone number.

"I still can't believe you actually agreed to hang out with us," Ray said between mouthfuls at the dinner table. They had grabbed spots on the outer edge of the cramped room, hoping to keep Miranda as much to themselves as possible.

Miranda smiled. "I guess there was just something about you that caught my eye," she said teasingly. "Something about your messy hair, or that dumb look on your face that said you had never even talked to a girl before." Ray could feel the blush on his face, try as he might to hide it.

The group laughed, and Josh jabbed Ray in the ribs with his elbow. "And damn, what a looker you got to come with us," he said, more than loud enough for the people around them to hear. "What are the chances you're gonna be able to invite her into your bed, too? I think we'd all like to know what's under that swimsuit."

Greg laughed and pulled Ray into a choke hold, giving him one hell of a noogie. "Yeah, right," he said. "Like anyone would want to get that close to this loser. Could you imagine the disappoint?"

Miranda grinned and played with her hair. "Who knows?" she asked coyly. "Somethings about me just might surprise you."

There was an audible oohing from that comment, which was quickly shushed by the teacher as one of the crew members came out to talk to the group, probably about what they had learned or what they should take away from the day, or some other crap like that. As he was talking, Ray felt a chill run down his spine, and looked back to where Miranda had been sitting to find that she had seemingly slipped away. He felt sick to his stomach. Something about this felt familiar, like he had experienced it before. He knew something bad was coming. Something sinister. Something about Miranda disappearing...

"Hey, man, are you feeling alright?" Greg asked, seeing how pale his friend's face had become. He paused and glanced around. "And where did Miranda go?"

"I don't know," Ray whispered back. "But I have a bad feeling about it."

"What?" Josh asked. "Are you afraid she's gonna dump you? You haven't even asked her out yet. And she's clearly above your league. Come on, dude, it's been a great day. Don't go ruining this for us now."

Ray frowned but nodded slowly. "I just... I think there's something I have to do."

The two looked at him skeptically, but something inside their hearts told them to trust their friend. "You need our help, you let us know," Greg said. Ray silently nodded in return.

Suddenly, the sound of the steel door entrance to the submarine slamming shut in the distance rang through the air, followed by a heavy lock. The crew members bolted to attention.

"What are you pranksters up to now?" the teacher demanded, looking around to see who could have caused the disruption. The class looked around, trying to see who was missing, but all of the classmates were there. Ray and his friends got a sick feeling in their guts. Miranda was still missing. It felt painfully familiar to Ray in particular. There was a warmth in his chest, like something rising up, knowing what was coming.

Then the lights went out. Only a moment passed before the deep red emergency lights flipped on, and Miranda was back.

"Miranda, what are you doing?" Ray asked, more forcefully than he had anticipated.

"Where is it?" she hissed back at him. Ray was surprised, but held his ground, as if his body were preparing for a fight. There was something sinister in her voice.

"I... I don't have what you're looking for," he responded, a little too weakly. He saw the blade leap into her hands, and before he knew what he was doing, his hand leaped forward, and a burst of heat came from it, sending the knife flying out of her hand and across the room, where it stuck into the wall with a clang. Half the room gasped, while the other half started screaming. Greg and Josh quickly got behind Ray.

"You little shit, you're using it!" Miranda cried out, before trying to leap at him. Ray pushed his hands out at her chest, holding her back, suspended in mid air. "Give it to me!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Ray cried back. He could feel his friends behind him, half cowering and half supporting him. He could feel the eyes of every member of his class on him, the teachers, and the crew members. "I don't even know what's happening!"

"I'll kill you!" Miranda clawed viciously at him, and though she never touched him, he could feel light cuts grazing his skin. She had some kind of power as well. She probably had a better idea of how to use it.

"Please, can't we talk this out?" he pleaded desperately. "There has to be something-!"

He was cut off as one of the cuts slashed at his hand, weakening his push and dropping Miranda to the ground, hard. She staggered for only a moment before rushing forward. Ray's other hand shot out of its own accord, knocking Miranda back a good ten feet, spiraling across the ground. She cried out in pain, but by that point, the crew members had gotten their act together. One jumped on her, a gun pointed at her head, as another cuffed her hands together.

Kids were screaming. No one knew what was happening. As the sound of the submarine door reopening hit their ears, everyone made a break for it, trampling each other to get out. The only remainders were Ray, Josh, and Greg, huddled together, staring at the girl they had met only a few shorts hours before, and who they had only just barely escaped being killed by.