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"God damn it!"
Sammy fought back tears as he ran down the hill. He'd lost control, as he'd long suspected he would. In the back of his mind, he heard the voice of his father, calling him a 'devil child' and a 'spawn of Lucifer."
Falling to his knees, he remembered how he'd been restrained as two of the priests from his father's church attempted an exorcism. He remembered the Reverend Lawrence's cold gaze upon him as he screamed and begged them to stop, to no avail.
And most of all, he remembered how all three men had suddenly caught fire, how they desperately tried to put themselves out as he freed himself and ran, how he heard their dying screams as he fled.
Though his mother had no idea what had caused the Reverend's death, she showed no ill will towards Sammy. Still, the emotional pain lingered, embittering him.
He'd tried so hard to control it, but after Wally had pissed him off one time too many, he'd completely lost his temper. Next thing anyone knew, several sheets of music had ignited into flames. Sammy didn't know if anyone had realized he had done it, but he hadn't stuck around to find out.
"Why, Lord?" he whispered. "Why did you put this curse upon me?"
"It's not a curse, Sammy."
Turning, he saw Susie making her way down the hillside. He turned away, shutting his eyes as he futilely attempted to stop himself from crying.
"You're scared, I get it. But you don't have to be afraid. Fear only makes it worse."
"How could you possibly believe that?" Sammy snapped. "You don't know what I went through because of this." He wiped away tears. "Just leave me alone!"
Susie was silent for a moment. Then she started to sing quietly.
"Moon glows white on the hillside tonight, not a footprint to be seen."
"No."
"A kingdom of isolation, and it seems we're King and Queen."
"No."
"Hear the wind howling, like the swirling storm inside."
"Susie, stop it." Sammy really didn't want to hurt Susie--she was one of the few people at Sillyvision he could stand--but if she didn't stop, he might lose control again.
"Couldn't keep it in, I can tell you tried."
Susie gestured, and all of a sudden, the wind began to pick up, caressing Sammy's face in a way that seemed...almost consolatory. But that wasn't possible, was it?
"Don't lose your cool, don't let them see, be the good boy you've always had to be. Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know..."
"But now you know."
"Let it go, let it go, don't hold it back any more. Let it go, let it go, turn your back and slam the door. Don't you dare worry what they will say. Let your soul burn bright. Bet heat never bothered you anyway."
Taking Sammy's hand, Susie led him to the nearby strip of shoreline that lay only a short walk from the studio. With very little vegetation, and the nearby sea, the chances of fire spreading out of control were almost nonexistent.
"Go ahead," Susie said, coaxingly. "Let loose."
She gave him a smile as a gentle breeze blew, causing her hair to be tossed back. The music director's eyes went wide as the realization hit him like a one-ton anvil.
He wasn't alone.
To hell with it.
Holding out a hand, Sammy reached inside, feeling the fire that constantly burned within his core. Almost instantly, a sphere of flame flashed into existence, hovering above his hand. He tossed it skyward, where it exploded into a shower of sparks.
"It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small," Susie sang happily. "And the fears that once controlled you can't get to you at all."
With a smile, Sammy joined in. "It's time to see what I can do, to test my limits and break through."
"No right or wrong for you and me. Be free!"
Lifting his hands to the sky, Sammy let loose. All that he'd been holding back was unleashed, with Susie joining in.
Years later...
Sammy shook his head as he crumpled the letter. Did Joey really think he was stupid enough to go back after that night? Yes, it was where he'd met Susie, but that wasn't reason enough to go back. Especially not if Joey knew what he was capable of. Who knew what that lunatic would do with such knowledge?
"Everything OK?" Susie asked, entering with a mug of cocoa in each hand.
"Joey sent me a letter," Sammy replied. "He wants me to go back and see what he's working on, or something like that."
Susie shook her head. "I got one too. But I'm never going back. Not after Joey gave the part of Alice Angel to Allison Pendle."
"Me neither," he said with a smile. "The old me died there."
"The past is in the past," she agreed, drawing him into a loving embrace.