Day 60: Freedom Is Foolishness

	Her phone was ringing early in the morning. Too early. At least, it used to be too early. Meggan felt more alive at night. Working during the day was like working a graveyard shift. Meggan flipped open her phone and said hello. A voice greeted Meggan, and then her eyes became glossy and her mind went numb. "You have done well, child," the voice said through the phone. "There are a couple of new legislations that will come to your desk today on safety and reduction of taxes. You will veto them and pass a new law that raises taxes and further oppresses the people, so that they remain in our control. You will explain the higher taxes is for education, but you will explain no more than this. Once you have finished your work, you will come to see me. Remember, Freedom is Foolishness." It slurred out of Meggan's mouth as easy as drool, "Freedom is Foolishness." The call disconnected, and Meggan's eyes blinked. It was as if there had been no call at all. Must've been a wrong number, she thought.
The government limo came to pick up Meggan, but once she got to City Hall she couldn't wait to run to the door. She knew she could have ran faster than the limo took to drive into town. That shouldn't be possible, but there it was. The impossible was beginning to be more and more normal for Meggan.
	There's normal, and then there's abnormal. Marlon had noticed something in his front yard that wasn't there before. It was a gnome, covered in snow. Was it a gift? Perhaps a curse? He wouldn't put it past this odd town to do such a thing.
Dillon smiled as he looked up at Yellow Wings. He wanted to tell her that something was wrong with his mommy, but didn't know how to communicate. He also couldn't understand what had kept the fear away from him whenever his mommy picked him up and glared at him with those glowing eyes and sharp teeth.
	Work was finished, and Meggan was ready to head home. No... she couldn't. She had to go somewhere first. She wasn't sure where, but her feet led her in the direction she needed to go. Her feet were fast and a mansion stood in front of her. Meggan thought she remembered this place.
Master Van Gould approached from the mansion and greeted Meggan. "You are prompt, very good. Come in for a spell."
	"Report on your progress today," Master Van Gould said to Meggan. "I vetoed the bills that you told me about. It caused a lot of anger, however I explained that it was for the need of education. They still grumbled, but it did quiet the anger," Meggan responded. "Very good," Van Gould said with a hint of laughter. "Of course, they will not get that education. They must never be allowed to leave to pursue any forms of higher education or receive any here. The people must remain under our control, and that money will be used to keep them here so that we do not lose our feeding grounds." "Yes, Master." Van Gould chuckled with a low growl. "Of course you realize that you will not be permitted to remember any of this conversation. You shall return to your home and act as though nothing happened after you left City Hall." "My husband. He could be a great asset to us." "No, child. You are not to turn him. We have other plans for Mr. Tempest."

Day 59: It's For Their Own Good

Meggan woke up in the middle of the night. What was that odor? It was marvelous! It was a spoiled, gallon of ice-cream. It had been left sitting out.
	Meggan couldn't resist the flavors and sensations of this spoiled treat! She should be absolutely sick from eating this, but it was delightful. Regular food seemed bland by comparison.
After throwing the remains away, Meggan called up a friend she hadn't spoken to in awhile. Quiara answered and they agreed to meet at a tavern.
	They met and joyfully greeted each other. Quiara thought Meggan looked really sick and pale. She also commented on how Meggan's skin sparkled. Meggan explained that it was the sun sparkling off of the snow.
Quiara then asked questions regarding the odd changes and reorganizations happening in City Hall. She wasn't pleased, but figured there had to be an explanation. It was one too many questions, and Meggan had had enough. She stared directly into Quiara's eyes and emptied her thoughts and worries for her. Carlie stood there, drooling. She also looked... delicious. Meggan was thirsty. Very thirsty!
	Meggan brought Quiara back into the privacy of her own home, where no one else could see. Her instincts took over and she bit into Quiara's arm. The blood was sweet with a hint of honey. It was fabulous and was just what Meggan needed. Quiara didn't know whether to respond in pain or pleasure.
Meggan told her it would be okay and caressed her back and shoulder. "It will be okay, my friend. I will take care of you." "What is going on here?" Marlon was home! What was he doing back so early?
	This could not be allowed! Meggan stared into Marlon's eyes and wiped what he just saw from his mind. "You are mine, my love!" Meggan was going to make sure her husband's attention was refocused. "You will love me and give me all of your attention for the rest of tonight, and you will forget about Quiara."
When Marlon came out of the trance, he couldn't resist the beauty of his wife standing there. He kissed her, deeply. There was nowhere else he would rather be. There was nowhere else he had to be.
	Actually, there was. Marlon had went home early, because he forgot something he needed for work. He never got what he came for and forgot about returning to work. He never heard the fire alarm blaring and wasn't there to put out a fire that consumed a family's home.

Day 58: In Sickness and Health

	Something was rumbling in Meggan's stomach when she woke up. She thought it was her stomach, anyway. She ate some leftovers from last night, but that didn't seem to help. In a sense, it was rather disgusting. Odd, she thought. I remember enjoying this.
	After Marlon had woke up, he sat down by his wife. The concern filled his eyes as he looked at her pale skin, which was once a lushious brown. "Honey, do you feel okay? You look really sick." "I'm... fine. Go to work. Save lives."
	The short response had bothered Marlon all day. Was she upset with him about something? What had he done wrong? He wasn't sure, and he didn't like being unsure about things. His mind was so occupied by worries that he shocked himself at the work table while making something. Suddenly, the fire alarm rang. There was no way he was going out there in this condition.
	I was too harsh with him. Why was I too harsh? It didn't seem harsh. Meggan had met with a citizen who wanted to discuss some important matters. Well, he thought it was important. It was really nonsense that was sputtering from his mouth. Didn't she used to care what these worms used to think? Worms? Why was she referring to them as worms? They helped vote her into the office as leader, didn't they? Maybe they didn't and she did it all her own, and these... people (she had to struggle to get that word out) only used and took advantage of her kindness. Yeah, that must be it. The world seemed much clearer to her now, when the days and weeks prior were becoming more hazy. The fire alarm blared in the background. An emergency was happening somewhere in town, but no fire engine was rushing to the scene.
	The house burned and burned, but no one came to save them. Meggan almost chuckled to herself. Play with fire, and you get burned worms! Meggan laughed out loud at her poetic rhyme. These... children... are helpless without me. Still, she had to have a talk with her husband about what happened. Maybe he was sick? Perhaps he needed some mental persuasion. Meggan knew it was up to her to get things under control. In the meantime, let the house burn. Maybe those fools were learn to appreciate and respect fire next time!

Day 57: Rebirth

It's here to take me away! A creature from the sky! No, please no!
	Meggan had woke up to calm her baby, Dillon. Poor thing! He'd been having a lot of nightmares recently, it seemed. "There is no need to fear, my brave little warrior," Meggan said softly. Actually, it came out as a low growl which made Dillon's eyes grow bigger.
Meggan felt like a brand new woman; nearly reborn! She felt stronger, more aware of things around her, and her senses were heightened. This transformation was amazing, but she couldn't figure out what had caused it. Oddly, it felt like she had always been this way. The previous weeks or months were becoming a blur to her. She still had key memories of her life, but the essence, the flavor, the details... those seemed to be fading from her memory. What remained seemed unimportant, anyhow.
	The cold weather didn't bother her either. It should, shouldn't it? She remembered being cold, but the sensation of cold seemed like a distant memory. She could tell it was cold outside, because her breath created a fog. It didn't affect her skin, though. In fact, the sunlight was certainly doing something to her skin. Something told her that sunlight was supposed to be dangerous, but she remembered being in sunlight before without problem. Except that her skin now sparkled, and she couldn't figure that out. She looked at her skin thinking that it sparkled like the evening stars in twilight.
She was at a cafe. She wasn't sure why she came here, but she was ready to leave. She had noticed a spacecraft in the parking lot, but paid it no mind. She thought it should be odd that it was there, but it felt rather ordinary.
	Something caught Meggan's eye and she ran towards it to see what it was. She was already there! That was awfully quick, she bemused. She ran to the end of the street and found herself at the end before even completing a thought. Amazing!
Meggan ran home, feeling exhilerated. She was in a great mood, and a rather playful one. She saw her daughter and decided to sneak up on Temeka and give her a good scare! The little pest deserved it!

Day 56: Metamorphosis Into Darkness

	It had been an ordinary Monday. Meggan swore someone had been following her; perhaps watching her. She felt like she was going to combust from within. She didn't know what was happening to her. Part of her felt like it was dying. It wasn't until later in the night that she woke up from bed in pain. An excruciating pain, yet pleasurable at the same time. Something had happened to her. Something... wonderful?
Meggan wasn't sure what it was, but she felt more energetic than ever before. And hungry. Hungry... for something. She gazed down at Dillon, drool easing from her lips.
	Dillon was happy to see his Mommy, but she looked really, really sick. Then he saw the fangs protruding from her mouth, and Dillon wanted to scream. Mommy has become a monster! Dillon tried to scream, but something was holding his voice back. He... couldn't. Everything felt okay now. That was odd, Dillon thought.
Meggan noticed it too. She thought Dillon was going to scream, but she only thought about him being quiet and at peace. It worked! Where did this power come from, she wondered. She turned to look at her husband. What does Marlon really like in life? The answers became clear in her mind as if she just opened a book and read them.
	Meggan smiled. This change within her was extraordinary! She chuckled to herself. He doesn't spend enough time with me, she thought. She directed her mind towards Marlon and commanded that he think about her more. There was no response from her husband, but she knew the connection was successful. There was no doubt.
She was still very tired, so she went back to bed. Her husband was looking quite tasty. An odd thought, that. No matter. Sleep tight, my dear.

Day 55: Mysterious Urges of the Soul

That was an odd dream, Meggan thought. But then... what was the dream? She couldn't remember. She tried, but it just wasn't there. It was pleasurable, whatever it was. She had an itch on her wrist, but didn't know why. There was also this urge to do... something. Today. Anything.
	She had received a call from Rick Durwood who wanted to meet her at the fishing hole. Normally she wouldn't go, but today felt different. Little things didn't seem to matter. He wanted to meet Meggan at the fishing hole for some skating, and Meggan figured why not. How often did she really get to have some fun? Not much.
She was on her way. Snow was coming down today. It was beautiful! Simple; quiet. The lake was ahead.
	She hadn't seen him yet. She put her ice skates on and carved her path on the frozen lake while she waited for him. Rick? Yeah, that was his name. She was waiting for Rick.
There he is. He wasn't in much mood to talk. He just wanted to spend time with someone today and skate. Well, Meggan thought, we'll just have to get him to talk. Shy boy!
	Let's get his attention, she thought. She started making blocks of ice out of the snow and built an igloo. Andy thought it was very interesting and came over to see what Meggan was doing.
Questions led to laughs which led to good conversation. It was just a simple act of breaking the ice with shy boy, Rick. Meggan chuckled to herself when she thought of the pun. It was pretty cold out here! It should be, anyway. There was a fire burning inside her, but Meggan didn't understand what it was. She didn't feel sick. Probably nothing.
	Temeka had invited her friend Mara over. She wasn't sure where her mother was, but it looked like she might be gone for awhile. Temeka wanted to play with someone, now that it was snowing.
Meggan was hungry. She called up a lady from town she hadn't spoken to in awhile and invited her to lunch at the cafe.
	There she is. "Nice to see you again, Riley. C'mon, let's go eat. You can tell me all about what's been going on with you."
Afterwards, Meggan had the sensation to just be a kid again before... before what? She didn't know. These were odd sensations, but it didn't seem to bother her. Should it? Nah, not today. Meggan was just going to go with it. She put her hands into the snow and built a big snowman.
	She had received a party invitation to the Rainflower's house. What a nice house, Meggan thought. "I love the house lights," she had told them as she was invited inside. She definitely needed to decorate her own house.
Temeka was thinking the same thing too. She had see holiday lights in the distance on another home. SPLAT! Temeka shook the snow off of her. She was going to get Mara back for that one! She chuckled and ran after her with a good size snowball of her own.

Day 54: Those That Lead Become Slaves To Darkness

	It was Saturday. Thank goodness, Temeka thought. She was tired of school and just wanted to play. She wanted to play outside too. She grabbed her bike and rode to her friend's house.
Temeka sighed. This town was so gloomy. It seemed to rain almost all the time. Was the whole world like this? She approached the door of her friend's house.
	Camille answered and smiled at Temeka. "Hi, Camille. You want to play?" Camille nodded and invited Temeka inside.
It had stopped raining, but it was getting colder. Much colder! Temeka wanted to play on Camille's playground before frost started to develop.
	It was definitely getting colder. Meggan thought it was odd, but she didn't pay it much mind. She had been invited over to the Van Gould mansion on a matter of political business and gratitude.
Meggan saw one of the Van Gould children outside. The cold didn't seem to bother him very much. "Hi there," Meggan said. "You're father had invited me over." "He's waiting for you inside," the boy said with a sparkle in his eye. Meggan didn't see the grin on his face as she turned to approach the mansion.
	"Ah, Mrs. Tempest," Mr. Van Gould said. "So good that you could drop in for dinner. We wanted to thank you for your husband's prompt response to our fabricated emergency." The smile faded from Meggan's face. The emergency was a fake! The call she received was a ruse! For what pupo...... She felt like screaming in agony, but couldn't. She became entranced as Mr. Van Gould licked the blood from his lips.
"Orders are orders, Mrs. Tempest," Mr. Van Gould said. "You have become a very powerful leader and seat of influence in the politics of Moonlight Falls. With that power comes great responsibility, and it has been decided that we shall guide you on that road."
	"You will not remember coming here, Mrs. Tempest. You will only remember pleasure when you next open your eyes. Enjoy the last few days of your freedom. We will meet again."