Invisible

Chapter Nine: Powder

Weeks had passed since the incident with Martinez, and things had taken a turn for the worst; drastic changes had been made. Miles stood in his usual corner of his host's room, keeping to himself with a bowed head. That's all he had been doing for that meantime, there was no use following Ryder to school anymore; he couldn't be seen, or heard. His posture was slouched, tendrils completely limp behind his form. He had been in the same position for days, for weeks. There was nothing he could do, nothing he could say, that would be seen or heard. His eyes cracked open in the slightest at the audible sound of movement, daring to lift his gaze up to his host. Ryder was slumped on his desk, arms crossed on the surface with his face buried into them.

"I know you're real," The boy muffled into his arm, "I know I'm not crazy. I-I don't need these pills."

He didn't bother to respond, he had reached his own limit of the situation. He had reached his own breaking point. A soft sound rumbled in the back of his throat, gaze lowering back down as he closed his eyes once more. Constantly, Miles had tried to call out to him. He had wailed and screeched, to no avail. There was nothing he could do, not with the medication that his host had been put on. Not only did it blind him from the Entity, but, it had also changed his personality. It made him duller, it took his energized vibe away from him. It took away from the boy, it took away what made him Ryder.

"I know," The Entity hummed quietly, "I know.."

...

The same routine had been developed. Miles remained in the corner of his host's room, awaiting his return whenever he had disappeared. Everyday it grew worse, the days dragged on endlessly. The days grew duller and lifeless. There was no point in existing, in the Entity's opinion. He missed the bickering, the petty arguments and disagreements. He missed the connection, the bond. He missed the growing friendship. It had all been taken away, stolen by someone to keep something hidden.

"There has to be something we can do," Aria spoke up, breaking Miles' concentration, "He can't go on like this, he's a freaking zombie."

The Entity couldn't agree more than he already did, his gaze shifting onto the dirty blonde female. The kids had returned from school just moments ago, it had been the first time that he had seen Aria and Noah ever since they were at the pizzeria. These kids were smart, that had him hanging onto a thin rope of hope; something he had almost lost entirely.

"What can we possibly do about this? My mother makes sure I swallow the damn things," Ryder kept his voice hushed, arms crossing as his chest as he slumped in his seat, "She literally checks my mouth. I'm lucky that she even allowed you two to come over, because, heaven forbid I have friends now. She thinks you two are a bad influence for encouraging me."

Miles shook his head at the thought, his own arms crossing at his chest. His gaze glanced in the direction of the doorways, eyes narrowing just a tad. He kept alert, not needing the mother to hear them talking about this. One mention of the medication, and surely his mother would kick the friends out. As soon as they had gotten home, they had all scrambled to settle down in Ryder's room. Back packs were set in a corner, and papers were a bit scattered everywhere. Exam week, if I remember correctly.

"Scarlett said her parents don't want her around you," Noah said rather slowly, looking up from a textbook in his lap, "She said that they heard what happened with you, and you know how gossip spreads in this town. Back to the bullcrap, I think we should brainstorm here. Your mom is at the store, right?"

Miles blinked a few times at the question, watching Ryder slump in his chair from the first part of Noah's words; watching the boy nod as well at the question. His eyes turned back over to Noah, confused as to why the ravenette had suddenly jumped up from the bed; even leaving the room. An awkward, confused, silence had filled the room, Aria and Ryder exchanging glances.

"Maybe, he had to—" Aria started off, quickly getting cut off by a rattling noise.

Noah had rushed back into the room, shaking an orange pill bottle in his hand; a plastic bag in his free hand. What is he doing? Miles tilted his head in curiousity, stepping closer to get a better look. The male popped the pill bottle open, pouring all the pills on the desk out. He pulled out two other pill bottles from his pocket, pouring them out in different spots of the desk not to mix them up. Clozapine, Abilify, and Seroquel.

"We need to work fast," Noah stated, setting the bag down, "Uncap them, pour the dust into the bag, and cap them back together. They're the capsule kind, so it isn't impossible to do this. We have to do this quickly, before your mom comes home. If you take them without the powder in it, you'll be back to normal in no time. Granted, you'll have side effects from suddenly hopping off them, but, I'm sick of this. I want my friend back."

Miles stared at the male in admiration, eyes widening in astonishment. Out of the three kids, he was shocked that it had been Noah who had been able to pull something as daring and risky as this. The skittish, shy, and soft-spoken kid had been the first one to leap into action. He— He reminds me so much of Cruz. The bond, the friendship that Ryder and Noah had, it reminded him of the only friendship that he could actually remember. It touched his dead heart. He watched the kids work on every pill that had been spilled onto the desk, impressed with how quickly they were working.

"We'll just keep doing this whenever the pills are refilled, but, whatever you do," Aria started, doing the last set of pills, "Don't take them again. Not with the actual medication in them. Try and come up with an excuse, or, throw them up immediately."

Ryder had nodded at his words, starting to place the pills back into the orange container. He had finished rather quickly, Aria and Noah finishing as well. This had filled the Entity with a sudden overwhelming feeling of joy. Something that he thought he would never feel again, despite the fact that it felt strange to him. It felt foreign to him. It didn't matter, not at this moment. Miles would get his friend back, he would regain Ryder back into his dull, what he could consider, life. He'll see me again, hear me. The afterlife wouldn't be so lonely anymore, he'd have his purpose again. Whatever that purpose was, he'd have it one more time. The chance to communicate, it would be granted to him one last time. Hopefully, it'll stay that way.

"Now that we know that Martinez is keeping track of us, we need to throw him off our case," Noah hummed out, tying the plastic bag together in a knot and shoving it into his pocket, "We need to split off in pairs, he can't watch all of us at the same time. Even if he asked his co-workers to watch us, it would seem strange on his part, I don't think he would risk that."

Another wave of shock was washed over the Entity, staring at the ravenette. Even after all this, they were still set on solving this? Miles was impressed and touched.

"There's something Martinez is hiding, and we're going to find it out. We need to find out what he did to Miles."