"Oh, solos, big whoop," said Kevin, shaking his hands in the air.

"Well, they may not mean a lot to you, but at least I get them. Also, I'm liked more than you," replied Brian.

"Says who?"

"Every survey taken, that's who."

"Sure that's really accurate."

"Of course it's accurate. The fans vote for who they like the most, and I always get more votes than you. Always. That makes me better than you."

"And yet, I'm taller than you. Therefore, I can kick your puny little @$$ anytime, anywhere."

"So what if you're taller, at least I have the guts to tame my eyebrows. You know, I've always wondered if they were caterpillars. So, are they like little parasites, or just your only friends?"

"Neither. Kristin thinks they're cute. At least my nostrils aren't in danger of sucking up a spaceship if I breathe in too deeply."

"I'll have you know that I have never sucked anything up my nose, that you hadn't stuffed there when I was little. And as for Kristin, she must be blind because I think they are disgusting little animals. It's too bad she has to become part of our family."

"Hey, you take that back about Kristin. She's a lot better than that piece of silicon you call Leighanne." By now, both guys were standing up, in each other's faces (well as close as you can get with the height difference), ready to pounce on each other.

"You only go a girlfriend because I got one."

"I've known Kristin longer than you've had Tyke."

"So? You weren't gong out with her before I was going out with Leighanne," said Brian.

"Oh please, I proposed before you did," said Kevin.

"Yeah, but I had been planning it for months! And my ring didn't look like it came out of a gumball machine either." Kevin remained silent. "What, can't think of a comeback? Poor baby. Mr. I'm-So-Beautiful, Mr. Muscles, Mr. I'm-So-Worldly, Mr. I'm-So-Manly, Mr. I-Watch-Dawson's-Creek-Every-Chance-I-Get, Mr. I-Wore-A-Skirt-On-National-Television, Mr. I-Knit-With-My-Grandmother-Every-Sunday-Afternoon can't think of a comeback," taunted Brian.

"That's it, I've had enough of you!"

"You've had enough of me? You picked on me throughout my whole life! I could never go over your house without being tortured by you."

"YOU were tortured? You were always cracking jokes and stealing the spotlight from me," retorted Kevin.

"You're still angry about the rubber duckie I stole when I was six, aren't you?"

Nick walked down the long hallway towards the Lost Souls of Witches Room. The further down the hallway he walked, the quieter it got. There was no sound coming from behind any of the doors. The silence was frightening, something that belonged in a true horror movie. The air became thicker, almost solid. Nick could feel the presence of spirits watching him.

I'm probably the first person with a soul to walk down this hallway under my own will in a long time thought Nick.

Nick reached the second to last door on the left. He looked for a doorknob on the large wooden door, but there wasn't one. He pushed on it and it opened. Taking a deep breath, Nick walked into the Lost Souls of Witches Room.

The room was quite large. About half as big as the Hall of Records. Chained to the walls were countless witches. Their eyes were open, but they didn't seem to be breathing. Their hands were chained above their heads. Some had wounds, and others seemed unharmed.

Nick turned to the right and began to walk along the wall, looking for Serafina. He had been walking for almost twenty minutes when he saw Serafina a few feet away. She had cuts and bruises all over her body, and there was blood running down her wrists.

All of a sudden, a sense of great despair washed over Nick. Feelings that had been hidden far from his conscious mind, deep in the crevices of his heart and soul suddenly floated to the surface. He stood in front of her hanging body. It contrasted with the two witches next to her. Serafina was still wearing her modern, 20th century clothing, while the other two were dressed in medieval gowns.

Serafina's dark brown eyes seemed to bore right through him. Nick reached out a shaky hand and brushed a piece of hair out of her face. Her skin was ice-cold, as if she was made of stone (~ eyes of stone, observe the trends ~ . . . the song lyrics stuck in his mind like glue, repeating itself over and over). More bruises appeared on her arm.

Then something that the woman at the desk had said popped into his head. An image of each lost soul is kept there, and others can communicate directly with the souls.

"Serafina, I'm not sure what's happening to you, I'm not sure if you can hear me or not, I'm not sure why I'm here, hell, I'm not sure of a lot of things. But, when I'm around you, I understand a little more. I've never felt anything quite like that before, and it scares me to think that I might never feel that way again."

"I need you to come back Sera, we need you to come back, the world needs you to come back. I don't know what would happen if I lost you. I don't think I'd be able to handle the loss, not on top of my mother's death."

"Seeing you like this stirs feelings inside me. I want you to know that there are people who care for you and want you to come back. I don't even know if you can come back, but you have to try. Do it for Calysta and Sebrena, or for the Grasty's. For your grandmother, or if you won't do it for anyone else, do it for me."

"It was only a couple days ago when you saved me from myself. Now I'm trying to save you from a demon, and I think I'm losing my mind. But it doesn't matter to me. You're one of the few people I have left. Serafina, I don't know where these feelings are coming from, but they're there, and I can't fight them."

"Serafina, I, I think I love you. Please, come back." Nick sighed and turned away. While his back was turned, Serafina's eyes blinked, and her chains began to disappear. She dropped to her knees. She cried out in pain, because she could feel all her wounds again.

Nick turned around. "Sera?" She weakly got to her feet. Nick wrapped her in a hug. They held each other close, neither one daring to say anything at the moment. They stood there for a couple minutes, remaining totally silent.

"I love you too."