Rated M for descriptions of gore. Leave a review, 'cause reviews are crystal water falling on the parched cracks of a thirsty soul.
Enjoy! :)
Chapter 1
Sheriff Emma Swan choked back vomit, blinked away tears, and turned away from the ugly scene. There wasn't much that could faze the hardened woman, but gore like this would trigger a gag in any rational human being. Her partner and father, Deputy David Nolan, placed a hand on her shoulder- as much to comfort himself as to steady his daughter. Voice trembling, he pulled out his cell phone and called for backup – and body bags.
Robotically, Swan walked to each victim and checked for a pulse; she didn't expect anything. A dozen young women, each with once lovely blonde hair, copper eyes, and petite features, were sprawled across the waxed wooden floor. Each had been hideously mutilated- limbs ripped off, bodies battered, broken, and bruised, and faces slashed by what could be knives- or claws. Some of the limp bodies were flung unnaturally against walls – as if the killer had played with his victims like a pet bats around its toys.
David was still on the phone. "Yes... The Burford Sisters... In The Enchanted Forest? The Twelve Dancing Princesses... What?... Yes, at the dance studio... No, it doesn't look good. Emma's checking... Ok."
"Whale is coming with the ambulance," he addressed his daughter. "He's the only doc on duty at the hospital tonight but he's calling Doctor Jay at home. They'll be here soon."
"I'm not finding a single pulse," Emma reported shakily.
Suddenly Emma's nausea became too much for her to bear. She walked toward the exit to find escape from the gory chaos. Concerned, and seeking his own relief, David released a long, shaky breath and followed.
Outside in the cool midnight air, the deputy's head cleared and he turned to comfort his daughter. He pulled Emma into an embrace, but she broke away from his arms. She didn't need David's comfort, as good as his intentions might be. Needing someone else brought weakness and pain and Emma Swan would not become that vulnerable.
Fighting to keep her emotions buried, Emma turned away and blinked quickly as headlights appeared down the street. Two vehicles approached, first the town's only ambulance, a relic that barely squealed out a rusty-sounding siren, and following it Madam Mayor's shiny black Mercedes.
"Why is she here!?" fumed Emma. "She's not a doctor or a cop! I can handle this situation."
"Emma, I know things are tense between you, but she is the mayor and this is a threat to the town."
The ambulance screeched to a halt. Doctors James Whale and Henry Jay leapt out, leaving the ancient vehicle running, and sprinted toward the building.
Still angry, Swan opened her mouth to reply to her father, but Mayor Regina had already parked and climbed out of her car. The women exchanged an icy glare as the mayor walked purposefully toward the building.
One glance at the bloody wreckage in the studio was enough to put Regina at the sheriff's throat. "How could you let something like this happen to MY town!? I always said you weren't capable of protecting Storybrooke the way it ought to be! How can you call yourself the sheriff when-"
Hotly, Emma interrupted, "I have this situation completely under control! What are you here for anyway, Regina?"
"Oh, it's under control? Then why are you standing here arguing with your mayor instead of warning the public and starting an investigation?"
David stepped forward and placed a hand on Emma's shoulder. Angrily, she shrugged it off, but she caught the hint and began helping her father tape around the bodies and block off the crime scene.
Whale and Jay briefly examined each corpse in horrified silence. "Internal bleeding is obvious," Jay summarized. "The markings on the wrists indicate a brief struggle. No indication of poison. No signs of rape. Cause of death is most likely head impact in most cases although a few of the victims appear to be asphyxiated. We can take the bodies to the hospital to perform a complete autopsy." Henry Jay looked to Emma for a response, but the mayor replied instead.
"We need all the information we can gather," Regina directed. "Once the crime scene is thoroughly blocked off, I'm calling an emergency meeting at the sheriff's office- Deputy, you and the sheriff will attend, as well as at least one of you doctors if you can be spared. We'll continue the investigation in the morning. I think it's safe to assume no one will disturb anything before then."
"She's doing my job," whispered Emma to David through clenched teeth.
Regina spun and glared at Emma. "I am simply taking charge of a situation that would otherwise be inadequately handled." Regally, she swept out of the studio.
Burning with rage, Emma followed and got into her yellow bug. After David climbed into the passenger seat, she started the car, backed out, and headed for the sheriff's office. "I can't believe I'm complying with that witch's demands."
"It's the best choice right now. We need to neutralize this threat before anything else. And Emma, her anger isn't unjustified," her father counseled.
"Oh, now you're on her side?"
"No, Emma. I'm just saying that you hurt her deeply, and she won't soon forget it."
The rest of the ride passed in silence.
The small group that met at the sheriff's office was grim. Whale, Mills, Nolan, and Swan were in attendance, as well as the reporter Sidney Glass and the ubiquitous Mr. Gold. The tension in the room was thick- the disastrous crime had set everyone on edge, and there was plenty of dissent among these persons to begin with. Emma sat as far away from Regina as possible, refusing to address the other woman. Gold, obviously but unexplainably suspicious of Whale, looked ready to use his dark powers. Whale glared back at Gold, David at Glass, and Regina at David. Finally, Emma broke the silence.
"Glass, not a word of this discussion will be published in your newspaper without explicit permission, understand?"
"The people of Storybrooke have a right to know that they are in danger," the reporter spat, "and I will write what I damn well please."
"And you will warp it into a sensational headline, not a sensible warning communicating facts!"
David sided with Emma. "Get him out of here. The entire town doesn't need to read every clue we uncover and every speculation we make." He stood to usher Glass out- by force if necessary. Whale rose to his feet, ready to help.
Regina flung out her hands and unleashed twin jets of energy that slammed Nolan and Whale back into their seats. "The town will know." Her authoritative voice carried over the sheriff's protests. "Glass will say what I tell him to, and no more." She locked eyes with the reporter and he shriveled under her regal gaze. "Now. This meeting will proceed in an orderly fashion."
Glass, made slightly more confident by his queen's protection, spoke up cautiously. "It looks like Red, doesn't it? It's animalistic, monstrous. Claws and teeth-"
"- or someone strong with a knife. Red isn't a monster," Whale defended hotly.
"At any rate, it's not magic." Glass finished.
"Oh, it's magic," Whale growled, glaring at Gold. "That clandestine imp is involved in everything that goes wrong in this town."
"That's a treacherous assumption, dearie. Continue with those accusations and you may discover just how involved I can be."
"What do you think, Gold?" David cut in.
"A monster capable of this has been created before- and Frankenstein needs no motivation to attempt a resurrection again."
Whale was out of his chair. "My brother never was a monster, you-"
"Of course he wasn't, dearie, you killed your brother. The monster was your own creation."
"Break it up, guys!" Emma saw the impending disaster and tried to step in and avert the crisis before it was too late.
"Silence. You have no authority here, sheriff. You caused this danger to Storybrooke. If you so much as-"
Sheriff Swan interrupted, outraged. "Regina, you think I did this!? There is no evidence for that kind of allegation-"
"That is my daughter you are accusing! You had better explain yourself, Mayor," David cried protectively.
"Well, Charming, I think it's pretty clear. Miss Swan was idiotic enough to bring back one villain through the time portal, and one could easily see-"
"Whoa, Mayor, I said I was sorry. And just because a better woman than you stole your boyfriend doesn't mean-"
Fire in her eyes, Regina snapped her fingers and cast a spell that left the sheriff unable to speak. Struggling in vain to produce a sound, Emma flapped her mouth open and closed.
"Or we could suspect Regina," David countered angrily. "Your recent disappointment with dear Mr. Hood has clouded your judgment. Besides that, you have plenty of motivation to cause pain for my daughter. And you have framed an innocent person in the past."
Regina looked ready to turn on David also, but Glass was already speaking again. "As sad as it is, I still think Red is our prime suspect."
Whale interjected protectively, "Red wasn't the only child of the moon in the Enchanted Forest. Why do we assume she's the only one here?"
"For all we know, Glass is a werewolf," Gold said sarcastically.
"Glass, who were you anyway?" David asked, suddenly realizing he knew next to nothing about the shady reporter.
"That's irrelevant." Regina quickly changed the subject. "Glass, make a list of suspects."
"Red, Whale/Whale's monster, Gold, Sheriff Swan, and you, Regina. That's what we've discussed here anyway."
"Now, can this meeting be adjourned?" Gold asked, already on his way out. "I have urgent business to attend to."
"And now would you please take that spell off of my daughter?" David requested indignantly.
Before Regina could respond, the station radio crackled to life. "Sheriff, Mayor Mills, its Jay. Get down to the hospital, STAT. One of the princesses is alive."
The meeting disbanded in a matter of seconds. The mayor and the still-silent sheriff dropped everything and left for the hospital accompanied by Doctor Whale.
Within minutes, Mr. Gold was inside his shop, potions and ingredients spread haphazardly across the counters, frantically mixing and casting spells. A protection spell rose around the building, then a second just inside it. Giving extra attention to his apartment at the back of the shop, Gold blocked the doors both physically and magically; he drew a border around the back door with invisible chalk.
Mrs. Gold awoke to rustling, clattering, and her husband's unmistakable muttering. Rolling over, she glanced at the clock. It had been two hours since the phone rang and he had left, explaining that he just wanted to check on something the sheriff had found. Even then, she had known that it was nothing routine- Rumple didn't make a habit of leaving in the middle of the night.
Clearly, something was very wrong.
She climbed out of bed and wandered sleepily out into the shop. The dark one stood at the front counter, his brow furrowed, mixing a smoky blue liquid in a clear vial.
As he saw her, his face relaxed. His lips, however, were still tightly drawn. Belle always knew when the usually unfazed Gold was troubled, and tonight was as tense as she had ever seen him.
He addressed her softly. "It's okay, Belle. Go back to bed. I promise I'll protect you."
Belle padded toward him and turned her face upward to meet his tender kiss. "That's very sweet," she told him, "but what are you protecting me from?"
"Eleven of the Burfords were murdered tonight. But don't worry. No one can get in here." His voice, both soft and protective, carried a hint of the dark one's cackle- a clear window to Rumple's distress.
"Eleven," Belle breathed, shocked and dismayed. She sank into a dusty, antique chair, tears pooling in her eyes.
"Maybe twelve."
A single crystal drop ran down Belle's cheek; tenderly, Gold brushed it off with his thumb. "Find them before they kill anyone else," pleaded Belle, voice trembling.
"I will," Rumple promised. He couldn't care less about much of the town, but for Belle, he would do anything. The murderer must be found- for Belle's safety and for Belle's comfort.
He grasped Belle's hand and helped her to her feet. One arm tightly around his wife's shoulders, Gold led her back into the bedroom. "Try to sleep," he whispered. "It's 3:00 in the morning." Quiet tears dripping, Belle slipped between the sheets as Gold turned back toward the shop.
"Where are you going?" Belle's voice trembled with sympathy and sorrow.
"The hospital. The mayor and Sheriff Swan are there. You're safe, Belle. No one can get into this shop but me," Rumple reassured.
"I know. It's not me I'm worried about." Belle had complete confidence in Rumple's protection, but the rest of the town could be in grave danger. A killer capable of eleven murders within a few hours could wreck untold havoc on the little town.
Gold smiled tenderly and bent to kiss her forehead. "My ever compassionate Belle." As she closed her eyes, he gazed longingly at the empty far side of the bed. Another mystery, another adventure, suddenly felt like a burden. If it wasn't for Belle, he wouldn't involve himself in yet another of Storybrooke's troubles. But Belle needed his protection and wanted him to help- and she was worth it. Belle was worth any price.
Gold stole silently out and started toward the hospital.