Chapter Thrity-One: Down The Dark Destructive Path

The Turning Point

Katie Lays in her bed, her head feeling nice as she lays there in a blissed high, a smile on her lips. After the week she had had she needed this little pick me up. Han had stayed away from not that she minded, but whenever Bryan wasn't looking he would send a meaningful look at Katie,which she ignored every time.  At night he would try to IM her but she had finally blocked him, she just couldn't face him and that humiliation again. School was intolerable, even though Cade wasn't in school his friends didn't hesitate to make Melina and Katie's school life a living hell. She wanted to give up, lay down and not get back up, go to sleep and never wake up, her only solice was the white powder in the film canister and she was running out. Sitting up her head swims and she shoots her hand out to steady herself as she grabs her cell phone,dialling the newest number programed into it.

 

"Yo It's Carl." The voice on the other end says making Katie Smile.

 

"Hey It's me Katie, I need more. how much for the normal?" She says not bothering to elaborate. She hears Carl snickering on the other end before answering. Carl was a 24 year old bum who hung around the school looking for new customers, Everyone knew who he was, not many approached him, but she did, she wasn't afraid of him.

 

"Normally for such a hot customer they pay in a different way, but your a*s is under age, tell you what, wear something sexy, and I'll give it to you for free." He says, "You know where to meet me." he hangs up leaving Katie alone in her room with gooseflesh. She Didn't want to deal with him but if she wanted her drugs she had no other choice. Sighing she gets up and going to her closet she digs down to the bottom for the outfit she had worn to the rave last year with Melina knowing that that would be considered acceptable for "Sexy". When she finds it she snatches it up , grabbing her messenger bag that hung on hook in her closet, she stuffs it in there as she heads out the door. She goes down the hall and bangs on Mia and Bryan's door.

 

"Mia you in there?" She asks her high slowly wearing off, a headache forming, she needed more stuff soon, she bangs on the door again. "MIA?" she yells. The bathroom door opens and Han pokes his head out, a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth, toothpaste dribbling down his mouth. He says something inaudible and Katie just glares at him. "I cant understand you with toothpaste in your mouth." She snaps, her head pounding, sweat beading on her forhead. Han ducks his head back in the bathroom and spits it out in the sink and rinsing off the brush before turning back to her,wiping at his mouth.

 

" I said, she isn't here, she's at work, Bryan's at the shop fixing his car, Dom and Lisa, are on a date." he says leaning against the door frame, "Where you going?" he asks spying her messenger bag. Katie gives him a look, she didn't want to be talking to him but if she wanted to meet up with Carl She had to find a way to use Han's car.

 

"Wanted to go out for a few, clear my head, was going to ask if Mia would let me use her car but that's out of the question now." she says looking down and leaning against the door. She hears Han go into his pocket and the sound of keys jingling. When she looks up she had just enough time to catch the keys to the Civic before they hit her in the head, "whats this for?" She asks looking at them then back at Han.

 

"I'm heading to The Edge to help Bryan, if you want drop me off there and you can use the car, just fill it up before you get back." he says pushing off the frame and heading to his room, "I'll just be a sec let me put on some work clothes," Katie follows him to his room and mills outside as he goes to his dresser, pulling off his shirt as he went. Katie sucks in her breath as she sees his well toned back. the muscles moving as he opened his dresser, digging around for clothes he didn't mind getting greasy. "Unless you want to watch me get fully undressed I suggest you turn around." He says not looking up. Katie blushes and turns around as she hears the sound of his zipper, resisting the urge to peek. She was still pissed off at him and really didn't want to be there, but if she wanted his car she had to play nice. "Alright I'm good." his voice says right behind her making her jump and whirl around to find him face to face with her, close enough to touch. She swallows the lump that formed in her throat and looks up into his eyes his emotions clear, but she couldn't do it, he rejected her. She backs up and sees the hurt on his face before it smooths away. He nods to the stairs and follows her down them and out the door, locking it on his way out. Katie slips into the Civic and waits for him to get buckled before backing out of the drive.

 

Han watches Katie from the corner of his eye as she weaves her way in and out of traffic to the shop, trying to think of something to say but coming up blank. Not able to Take the silence any more he leans forward and fiddles with the radio, trying to find something good to listen to. Suddenly the voice of Whiz Kalifa and 2 chainz fills the car and Katie cracks a smile, turning the volume up using the button on the steering wheel, Han laughs.

 

"You and this damn song." he says shaking his head as her smile widens, her head nodding slightly with the beat as her lips move to the lyrics. She turns onto the street of the shop and two minutes later was pulling up in front of it. Bryan's wrecked Nissan Skyline in the opened Garage, his feet sticking out from under it. Katie gets out and follows Han over to him, when they get to him she kicks his foot to get his attention, a string of curse words coming from him as he jerks with surprise. Rolling out from under the car he Squints in the bright light up at them, his blonde hair matted down, a streak of oil on his cheek, a wrench in his hand. He smiles up at them when he realizes who it was, but frowns when he sees it was just them. Han cuts in before he could say anything. " She needs the car for a few, told her to drop me off and she could use it, figured you could bring me home when we're done, though-" he looks over the wrecked car, "that might take a while." He snickers. Katie looks over Bryan's Prized street car, it was a Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R with a C-west body kit, and a blue long striped vinyl and a C-west spoiler wing, she only knew this because of the multiple times he had told her. He had told her the story about how when he became a fugitive he had discovered this car in a pound fixed it up and won a "killer" race with it because Tej had called him telling him to get his a*s over there, back when he was scrounging for money. He hadn't seen this car in almost 9 years after it was impounded when he was taken in by the Feds to do an under cover mission, he had finally gotten it back over a month ago and it was wrecked, but over the month he had gotten it somewhat back to it's original state. The engine was good, the upholstery on the seats were fixed, and all the other small parts were ordered and he was waiting for them, the only thing left to do was get another body-kit, but that costed money, to much money for a guy in between jobs. Bryan gets up and Katie hands him a towel so he could wipe his greasy hands on it before giving the hood a loving pat.

 

"It's almost done, a few parts came in an hour ago after that all that's left is the body kit." He says turning to Katie, "So what you up to today? hanging with Melina?" He asks. She smiles at him and shakes her head.

 

" Melina is at a family weekend trip, visiting her aunt or something, I just needed to get out of the house and clear my head, maybe see a movie alone, I heard the second Divergent movie is in," she says shrugging her shoulders and adjusting her messenger bag. Bryan smiles at her and ruffles her hair like he always did, fishing money out of his pocket and handing her a few crumpled bills, a twenty and a five.

 

"Here, get some good movie popcorn, extra butter." He says before turning to Han, "You ready to started?" he asks, Han nods and turns back to Katie handing her another twenty.

 

"Here's for the gas, please remember to fill it when you're done, we'll see you at home later." He says smiling at her. She thanks him and takes the money, trying not to blush when his fingers brush against hers. She turns to get back into the car but Bryan stops her.

 

"Yo Sis," She beams him a big smile when she hears him and turns to look at him, "Tell Mia that we might be late tonight and will get something on the way home, she doesn't have to make dinner for us OK." She does a two finger salute before dropping into the driverseat. As she pulls out she waves goodbye to the boys and drives down the street, her nose itching in anticipation. 

 

 

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"Hey Han does Katie seem off to you?" Bryan asks from under the car. Han was sitting on the beat up old couch munching on a bag of Doritos waiting for Bryan to finish tighten up something under the car so he could check the engine. He raises an eyebrow in questioning before remembering that Bryan can't see him, swallowing the last of the chips he throws the bag away and answers him.

 

"Why you asking me? I can't go near her remember." He says standing up and going over to the vending machine, fishing out a few quarters for another bag. Bryan rolls out from under the Car and glares at him before pushing up on his elbows in a sitting position, making sure not to wobble off the small roller he was laying on.

 

" Don't worry I haven't forgotten that, but I know you," he says resting his elbows on his knees as he draws them up. Han looks at Bryan's reflection in the vending machine's glass as he plugs in the code that will make the chips fall, grabbing them out of the tray and retrieving his money when it was done. Spinning around he plops back on the couch and opens the bag, raising his eyebrow at him. Bryan sighs and gets up, opening the car door to sit in the front seat across from Han. "You notice things about her, I've seen you watching her, making sure she's OK. Like you're looking out for her. why is that?" He asks, genuinely confused. Han resists the urge to snort at him, he was too stubborn to ever admit that Han might actually care about her, Han takes out a few chips and tosses them in his mouth, the taste of cheese exploding on his taste buds. He chews them slowly knowing Bryan would get impatient waiting for his answer, a huff and a glare confirming his notion. Wiping the cheese dust off his fingers he gives His old friend a leveled look.

 

"I've already told you, you're just too stubborn to admit it," he says, " I love her Bryan, and I know you don't like it or refuse to believe it but it's the truth, that's why I look out for her, I can't be near her because of your rules, so I watch out for her the best I can, which is observing her to make sure she's OK." He finishes, fishing more chips out of the bag, the urge to light one strong as his stress rises. The glare he receives makes him almost regret saying what he did, but he shakes it off, he shouldn't be ashamed of how he feels for Katie, He was following Bryan's rule by staying away from her, though it was hard. His mind flashes back to last weekend and heat rises to his face as he grows uncomfortable, getting up and heading to the bathroom. "I'll be in the jon if you need me." he says walking quickly away. Once in the bathroom he lets the memories wash over him, the feel of her beneath him as he held her close, the taste of her lips against his, he smiles as he touches his lips. his happiness is short lived when the ugly aftermath comes rushing back, the look of betrayal on her face when he said no to her, her heartbreaking sobs as she slammed the door in his face, he sighs and leans his head against the metal door, the cold feeling good on his skin. For the past week Katie had been distant from everyone, but especially him, not so much as acknowledging his presence, much to Bryan's delight, today was the first time she had looked at him let alone spoke to him, and he knew it was just because she needed the car. But there was something else, something there that was nagging him in the back of his mind, she looked different, her eyes had lost their brightness, instead looked dull and sickly. He didn't want it to be true, he was praying that he was just seeing things and being paranoid, He prayed she hadn't go back to it, but he knew that it was possible, she was starting to show symptoms again of using. He would have to confront her next time he was able to. he just hoped it wouldn't be to late.

 

 

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"There she is, get over here sexy." Carl says with a lazy grin. Katie had just gotten to his apartment and when she knocked on the door a cracked out women answered the door and let her in. Katie clung to her messenger bag as she  maneuvered her way over to him, the place was crowded with partyers each one high out of their skulls, until she was standing in front of him. He looks up from his bean bag chair, his eyes raking over her in a hungry way that left Katie wishing she had more to her outfit, a look of badly hidden lust filling his muddy brown eyes, and she knew that if she was over the age he wouldn't hesitate to demand sex for payment, for once she was grateful to be only seventeen. Instead of running like a bat out of hell she gives him a nice view of her outfit, a flirty smile on her lips.

 

"Does this meet your standards of sexy Carl?" She says, flirtation clear in her voice, receiving a slow hungry smile as he continues to drink in her appearance. He nods his head and gets up, untangling himself from the two women who were busy kissing his neck and groping him, much to Katie's disgust though she didn't show it in fear she was anger them. He goes up to her and runs his hands down her bare arms snaking them around her waist to bring her closer to him until she was flush against him,, she could feel his approval resting against her stomach, making her gag mentally. She tries to keep her face neutral as he keeps his grip tight on her, his hand dipping low to rest on her backside, giving it a little squeeze before FINALLY letting her go, she lets out a small breath when he turns his back on her.

 

"Oh you are more then sexy, you're drop dead gorgeous, too bad you're too young, I'd love a piece of that a*s," he says not turning around, he motions for her to follow him as he makes his way to the bedroom, not bothering to knock on it as he bangs open the door. Katie squeals when she spies a couple, naked and in the middle of the deed groaning on the bed, they didn't so much as blink when Katie and Carl walk into the room. She Shields her eyes as her face turns bright right, Carl laughs. "Don't mind them, they love getting physical after shooting up." he says waving off the naked couple, The women opens her eyes and fixes a hazy look at Katie, beckoning her to join them, the man turns and gives her a perverse grin, his teeth blackened by too much drug use. Katie gasps and shudders, turning her back on them and edging closer to Carl, who she felt only slightly safer with. Carl notices her discomfort and puts a genuinely comforting arm around her giving her a gentle smile before turning to the couple. "Guys why don't you take this into the OTHER bedroom, give this girl a break you're scaring her." he says. The couple starts to protest but one look at Carl had them pulling apart and walking out the room, butt naked, to finish their deed in the other bedroom. Once they were gone Carl pulls off his tank top and throws it on the bed so she didn't have to sit on the bed directly, and turns back to the dresser to find the stash he had for her. As he digs into the dresser she studies him, he had lean muscles, not built like Dom, but almost like Han, lean muscles that lied about just how strong he was, she betted he was very strong and very fast, a deadly weapon when angry. "Checking me out are we?" He says making her lift her gaze and lock eyes with him in the mirror over the dresser, She blushes a deep red and looks away, looking everywhere but at him. "Like what you see?" He asks as he shuts the drawer, clearly finding what it was he was looking for. He walks over to her and hands her a small baggie, full of the stuff she had been waiting for, she looks at it hesitantly before snatching it out of his hand making him laugh. She opens her messenger bag and fishes out the film canister to put the goods inside, making Carl frown, his eyes narrowing. "Yo you're one of Cade's Girls, s**t why you come here?" He says standing up in a fluster. Katie's blood runs cold as hatered seeps into her veins. She glares up at Carl

 

"I USE to be a client of Cade's yes, until he tried to assult me at school and I punched him in the eye and kicked him in the ribs." She huffs crossing her arms. Carl gives her a look before bursting into a lughing fit.

 

"That was YOU? Man he told everyone that he got robbed walking home the other day." He says in between laughs. Katie grins up at him.

 

"Nope it was me," She says proudly receiving a round of applause from him as he flops onto the bed beside her. He brushes back a strand of her hair, yanking back when she winces at the close contact. "Sorry, jsutnot use to people's hands near my face." She whispers looking at her bag as she slips her goods back into it. When she looks back at Carl he was staring at her with a kindness that shocked her.

 

"I have the urge to kiss you, but I don't want to overstep my boundaries." He says actually blushing and looking away, his muddy brown eyes nervous. her mouth flops open but she quickly shuts it when he turns his eyes back to her, a nervous smile in his lips making him look sweet and actually cute. She surprises herself by leaning over and kissing him lightly on the lips, as he edges closer to wrap his arms around her. His lips were chaffed and rough against hers, tasting sickly like lemon cough drops, He was sloppy, her lips getting wet as he hungrily kissed her. She jerks away when she feels him trying to push past her lips with his tongue, her breath heavy with lack of oxygen. He smiles at her "Sorry I didn't mean to push you." He says, his voice husky. He stands up and helps pull her to her feet not letting go as he leads her out of the room. When they leave the room other people in the living room snicker at her and wink, thinking they had done the deed, the fact that her face turns bright red doesn't help any. The naked couple was curled up in the couch, snuggling in postsexual cuddles ,clothed this time, the women looks at Katie and winks before closing her eyes again and cuddling up to her man. Katie turns away and practically bee lines to the door, weaving her way among the bodies of blissed out people, Her hand still captured by Carl. When they get to the door Carl leans against it blocking her from leaving and grins at her. "You know where to come if you need more, and thank you for the present." he whispers tucking her hair behind her ear and giving her hand a squeeze before letting go. She smiles at him thanks him and slips out the door, the stale Hallway air a breath of fresh air compared to the stench of unclean bodies in his apartment, leaning against his closed door taking a few deep breaths trying to steady herself. When she was sure she could walk down the hallway without her stomach up heaving itself she races down the hallway, flies down the stairs, and runs out the lobby out the front door, the outside air a welcome to her overheated system. Once in the safety of the Civic she opens up her messenger and fishes out the film canister cracking it open and dumping out contents to see how much she had gotten. She smiles widely when she sees he had given her a few grams more then a normal batch.

 

"YES!" she says stuffing it back in the bag and tossing it on he front seat to start up the car. She peels out of the parking lot and heads over to the nearest gas station to fill up, her mind already on how she was going to spend her afternoon. When she pulls up to the station she waits in the car for an attendant to come pump the gas, rolling down the window when the young highschooler comes out to assist her "Hi um regular, for 20." She smiles at him, giggling when he blushes, and ducks his head to get the gas pump into her car. When it was all pumped she hands him the 20 and thanks him before pulling out, her cellphone ringing making her pull over into the small parking lot. she checks the caller ID and smiles when she sees Melina's number lighting up the screen. "Hey there beautiful, enjoying you're aunt's house?" She says answering the phone, Melina's throaty laugh her only answer on the other end.

 

"I was, but we are heading back, you still at The Edge? want me to pick you up so you don't have to use Han's car? I can't hang out afterwards but It'd be nice to see you for a few." Melina offers a slight beggin in her voice letting Katie know she had something she desperately wanted to tell her. She agrees and Melina squeals, letting her know she would be at the Edge in about 20 minutes. The two friends say goodbye and hang up, Katie quickly dials Han's number.

 

"Please tell me you didn't wreck the car listening to Ludacris or 2 chainz." His voice lightly teases on the other end making Katie burst out laughing, sensing his grin on the other end.

 

"No the car isn't wrecked, just letting you know I'm coming to the Edge to drop the car off Melina just got home and wanted to pick me up before she is locked away in her home for more family time, and yes I just filled the car, Be there in about 10 minutes." She says and hangs up. She tosses the phone on the seat with her bag and drives off toward the Edge.

 

 

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Han watches As Katie gets into Melina's car, giving her a big hug when she shuts the door. Melina turns to Han and leans out the window.

 

"Hey Sexy eyes missed me?" she hollers a silly grin on her face. Han grins back and goes over to her side, putting his elbows against the opened window to lean against.

 

"Yeah yeah yeah I missed you you little delinquent." He says reaching in and messing up her hair to which she bats his hand away. The two had become like brother and sister, the bond created over the fact that they both cared for Katie. He looks over at Katie and finds her ignoring him, picking at some invisible loose thread on her Messenger bag, refusing to look at him making him sigh and look at Melina who just shrugs. "Bye Katie, thanks for filling the tank, if you ever need the car you know you can ask me." He say, she just continues to pick at the thread and acts like she hadn't heard him. His heart breaks and again a pang of guilt stabs him. What had he done? he looks at Melina and she gives him a small sad smile.

 

"Don't worry, she'll forgive you, she loves you too much." She whispers low enough that only he can hear. He just nods his head and steps back, giving them room to leave the parking lot. Katie looks in the side mirror and watches as Han's figure gets smaller and smaller until it disappears as they turn the corner, a small tear leaking out of her eye. "You know you're gunna have to talk to him eventually." Melina says to her. She sighs and leans her head against the window.

 

" I know its just.... he rejected me Melina, it was humiliating. Why would he do that if he loves me." she asks, asking the question that kept running through her mind.

 

"Because he knew that you weren't really ready, that you were jumping in it to soon. Katie that man knows you inside and out and so do I. I wasn't there and even I can tell that you were trying to make love to him for all the wrong reasons." Melina says looking at her quickly before turning her attention back on the road, a light drizzle of rain had started and she flicks her wipers on the lowest setting. Katie sighs and closes her eyes.

 

"Yeah I know, But hey," She opens her eyes and looks at her friend, "Enough about my problems, I can tell there is something you want to talk about... so spill." She says seeing Melina break into a dreamy smile. "OOH you've got you're I'm in Loooove face on, Who is she tell me." Katie says her own face breaking into a smile. Melina giggles a child like giggle before spilling.

 

"You know Kennedy? the cashier girl at the super market? well we've been texting all week and this weekend she finally asked me out on a date. We're going out for dinner Monday!" She exclaims, the car barely containing her joy. A pang of jealously lances through Katie's heart as her smile widens for her friend. She congratulates her and for the rest of the thirty minute drive the two talk about what she should wear and how she should do her make up, all the while Katie's heart was slowly breaking. She was almost grateful when Melina pulled up outside her house and The two friends parted ways, Melina into her house and Katie across the street to hers.

 

Once heading up the driveway she notices that no one's car is in, so she grabs her keys out of her bag and sure enough when she reaches the door it was still locked from earlier, her mood slightly lifting when she realizes she was going to be home alone for who knows how long. Once inside she quickly locks the door and runs to the living room, spilling her messenger back onto the couch and snatching up the canister, searching her bag for the mirror, a random one dollar bill crumpled at the bottom of the bag. When she finishes setting up the stuff before carefully spilling the goods onto the mirror, using an old Hot topic gift card to separate it into three clean lines. Rolling up the bill with shaking fingers she puts it down on the first line and slowly snorts the whole thing, quickly finishing off the other two before putting it down and rubbing her nose to get rid of an excess. She leans back and smiles, the high already hitting her, after going months without using it didn't take much anymore to get her high, and she could tell this stuff was stronger then Cades normal batch. It was much stronger then she was use to and because it was her first time using Carl as a dealer she didn't know yet just how much too take at once, but she could tell she took to much to fast, as her head starts to pound, a muddled feeling creeping, sharp pains cramp in her stomach making her gasp out. Her body suddenly feels like it has become two hundred pounds and she could barely lift herself off the couch, something was wrong, very wrong, her mind panicking as she struggles to get off the couch to her phone that had fallen to the floor. Finally when is able to stand up her knees suddenly give out and she crashes to the ground, hitting her head on the corner of the coffee table. Her head swims as pain explodes in her temple, she reaches out and fumbles on the ground until she finds her phone, her vision swimming, as she presses number two on her speed dial.

 

 "Katie whats up?" Han's voice says to her. His voice sounds muffled and far away. She opens her mouth to say something and nothing but inaudible mumbles come out. "Katie are you OK? what's wrong?" He asks his voice on High alert.

 

"Han, Help," she manages to get out before the fog that was creeping in over took her.

 

"KATIE? You there KATIE?" Han yells into his phone, he was pulled over on the side of the road, coming home after working with Bryan, Bryan had stayed behind to do last minute touches on the Skyline. "S**t." He says hanging up the phone and stepping on the gas, speeding down the street as fast as he dared. Something was horribly wrong he could feel it. As soon as he got into the driveway he barely turns the car off before jumping out of the car and bounding up to the front door, cursing when he finds it locked. His panic was growing as he shakily opens the door, flying into the house when he finally manages to open it. "KATIE WHERE ARE YOU?" He yells a minute before he spies her. She was sprawled out on the livingroom floor, front first, a pool of blood under head head matting down her blonde hair. All the blood drains from his face as he stares at the girl he loved, unconscious on the floor. He runs to her and drops to his knees, not caring about the blood. He gently lifts her head and turns her body so he was cradling her head in his lap. "Katie baby wake up," he says tears spilling down his cheeks, he puts two fingers against her neck and feels a weak pulse. It was then that he notices the foam spilling out of her mouth and her lips turning a deadly blue, looking around he spies the mirror and the remnants of white powder. "DAMNIT KATIE." he Shouts as he struggles to lift her into his arms, He knew she had overdosed and knew the only way to save her was to get her into a hot shower to warm her body up, and to call 911. He flies up the stairs as best he could and bursts into the bathroom, gently laying her in the tub, she looks fragile like a doll and tears fell from his eyes as he turns the shower on full blast at the hottest temperature he could. The mist hitting him as it sprayed onto her, soaking her in minutes. He leaves her in there for a few minutes as he dials 911.

 

"911 whats your emergency?" The women on the other end says clicking away on her computer as she tries to pinpoint where the call was coming from.

 

"Yes hi my name is Han Chan I got home and found my friend unconscious on the floor, she hit her head and I think she OD-ed, Please send an ambulance." He says struggling to calm down. The lady asks for his address and he rattles it off, going into the bathroom to check on her. "I read somewhere that putting them in a hot shower helps? does it. I don't know what to do." he says helplessness setting in.

 

"Mr Chan its going to be OK, yes putting her in the shower will help keep her body temperature up, the ambulance is on their way." the lady says in a soothing voice,

 

"Thank you, the door is unlocked and I'm in the upstairs bathroom I'm not leaving her side. thank you ma'am thank you." He says hanging up. He looks at Katie's unconscious figure and breaks down. he climbs in behind her and cradles her to his chest. "Hang in there Katie Please, don't you leave me." He whispers holding her close. That was how the paramedics found him, holding her to him trying to provide her with extra heat from his body as well as the shower. The ride to the hospital was a blur and the next thing he knew he was in her hospital room waiting for her to wake up, They had had to pump her stomach to save her. They had given her a sedative to help her sleep because when she woke up she would feel sore. Han never left her side.

 

Author's Note

Sorry For the Length. Its just this is one of the MOST important chapters in the whole book. This is actually the scene that I had a dream off.. This whole book was based off of this ONE chapter