Super Scary (or not) Halloween Challenge!
1. Must be a non-canon pairing: Sheldon/Penny, Leonard/Amy, Howard/Raj, Amy/Raj, Bernadette/Penny, Sheldon/Leonard, etc. (Please remember to list the pairing in the story description)
2. Must be Supernatural (vampires, witches, werewolves, ghosts, demons, etc.), OR a Murder Mystery (think Christie, Doyle, Clue/Cluedo, Scooby Gang, etc.) OR you can take a scene/chapter from your favorite (scary) Play/Book/Movie and rewrite it for your non-canon pairing
3. Can be a one-shot or multi-chapter (but no more than 5,000 words) (hahahaha)
4. Must be posted (to or Ao3) by/on October 31st, 2016
There is no restriction on rating or type (Angst, Friendship, Romance, Smut, etc.)
A/N: so um… here is my submission, its more thriller than horror… there is violence! That's all I will say… so yeah… read on! And I don't know if I am at all good at writing scary/thriller, but this is what happened…. (not beta'd)
Enjoy….. *ghost noises*
~.~
He'd agreed to the date, decided to humor his friends in all of this. He had not enjoyed himself. While she was a very intelligent and the conversation was some of the best he had had. He could tell her interest was in him in a way he did not like. So after the date, he never called her again.
One year later...
Sheldon had been working late hours all week, but he felt like he was nearing a breakthrough so he pushed aside his carefully scheduled nights so he could finish his work.
And tonight, Friday night, was no different he was walking into the cool night air, it was just past 9pm, he was ready to get home, eat dinner and go to bed.
He would be taking the bus; he had on his bus pants. His mind was on his theorem and on dinner. Penny had been making him dinner and putting it in the fridge for when he got home later. Since he hated to reheat leftovers and Penny wouldn't let him eat only Big Boy or some other late fast food. So he'd been eating well for the last week. He had no idea that she was such a good cook.
They'd been spending a lot of time together lately, she and Leonard were no longer a thing, and they sort of fell into place, getting closer and closer. Sheldon didn't mind it at all.
His mind was on Penny now, making him dinner; a happy feeling filled his chest. He was sort of looking at the sidewalk, in his own head, when he nearly walked into someone. He was startled. He hadn't seen anyone on the path, the orthopedic shoes and dark tights led him to believe it was a female. He looked up, furrowed his brow.
"Amy Farrah Fowler?" It was a question; he wasn't sure why she was standing on the path at Caltech after dark. An odd feeling washed over him, but he pushed it aside.
The glasses wearing woman smiled at him, "so you do remember me!" She seemed pleased.
"Of course, I am unable to forget anyone or anything, I have an eidetic memory." His reply was plain and automatic.
Amy frowned, but then she smiled again. "So... I recall that we had a date and it went very well." She said.
Sheldon furrowed his brow, now he wasn't the most astute to social norms when it came to dating. So maybe he was wrong. But he was sure that she was confused. "We had coffee over a year and a half ago... I'm not sure what you're talking about?" he was getting impatient and he was hungry and tired.
Amy frowned again. "So you would be against another date?" She asked.
Sheldon didn't wait, "I would not, we were set up by my friends and I was never looking for anyone..." green eyes flashed through his mind but he shrugged it off.
Amy frowned deeper.
When she didn't reply, Sheldon figured this odd conversation was done. "Well it was interesting seeing you again, have a good night." Sheldon started to walk past her.
The corner of his eye spotted something shiny in her hand, he didn't have time to think about it, for he was suddenly on the ground, Amy stood over him, gripping the crowbar.
"Oh it will be a nice night, Dr. Cooper."
~.~
When Sheldon opened his eyes again, the first thing he felt was the headache, how the back of his head throbbed. He finally focused enough and a smell came to him, it reminded him of the zoo, he furrowed his brow and focused, his blue eyes looked around. The room was dark; some light filtered in from what looked like it had been a window in the corner.
Sheldon was confused, this wasn't his room. He went to get up, and he couldn't. He tried to move his arms, his legs, his body; he looked down and saw the leather straps holding him firmly to a stiff wood chair. Sheldon felt panic now, he was trying to think, was he having a nightmare? What had happened last night? He tried to open his mouth and he realized that there was tape covering it. His heart started racing.
The light switched on. Dull and blinding at the same time, he ducked his head as his head and eyes felt a sharp stab from the sudden start.
"You're awake." A familiar voice said.
Sheldon's head snapped to it, there was Amy standing at a door, he realized that was where the light had been coming through before.
She looked normal, the same as last night... had it only been a night? He kept his eyes on her as she stepped into the room, concrete walls, and a single light above.
And then it's when he noticed the large box shaped objects lining the walls of the small four sided room. They were covered in dull canvas. He watched her as she gently lifted the covers; they were cages.
That's why he smelled...
"I do research with primates... I'm very good at getting into their head, conditioning them..." Amy said.
The monkeys, started to wake up as she lifted the sheets from their cages. They started to make their little chant sounds as some rocked back and forth, some clawed at the bars, some threw their body at the door as Amy walked by.
Some were sedentary; they had caps on their skulls, wires coming from them.
Sheldon's mind started racing and he started to breath heavy.
"You'll be my favorite experiment." Amy whispered as she stood behind his chair.
Sheldon couldn't see her, but he looked down and noticed some car batteries under the seat, wires coming up and were under the leather straps on his body.
"I like to start my experiments with a little persuasion... let them know who's boss." Amy said as she flicked a couple switches.
Sheldon was on the verge of hyperventilating. He had an idea as to what she was going to do. He shook his head vigorously. She stepped around until she was standing a couple feet in front.
He had tears in his eyes at the terrifyingly calm look on her face. And then the monkeys went silent.
She flicked a small switch in her hand.
He seized up, the monkeys screamed, all too familiar with this part.
If Sheldon could scream... he would have.
~.~
Penny stumbled into 4A, messy hair and bleary eyed. She needed coffee… Badly. It was Saturday morning and she should have smelled coffee brewing and heard Star Trek playing on the tv... a tall grumpy physicist sitting on the couch eating his morning cereal. The fiber content would tell her what sort of mood he was in.
Only she stumbled in and the apartment was seemingly devoid of life and dark, no coffee brewing or Spock talking.
Penny woke up more instantly. This wasn't normal, not in the last 9 years of knowing them, knowing Sheldon and knowing this apartment. An uneasy feeling washed over her.
'Maybe he's sick.' Was her first thought and she made her way down the hall and to Sheldon's room, the door was open, room was dark, bed was made and it felt cold and unlived in.
Penny felt worried again. She knew that he'd been spending late nights at the university... but this was odd… Penny darted across the hall and burst through Leonard's door. "Where's Sheldon!?" She yelled.
Leonard jumped up and fell out of bed, hitting the floor with a groan.
"He's not in his room, coffee isn't made and his Friday pajamas are still on his bed folded." Penny stated.
Leonard had been trying to get up off the floor, tripping over sheets until he finally stood and put his glasses on. "What?"
Penny huffed annoyed and marched out of the room.
Leonard grabbed up his robe and followed. "What? What's wrong with Sheldon?" He asked. "and how do you know what pajamas he wears each night?"
" He never got home last night!" Penny said as she started to work herself up.
Leonard furrowed his brow, "maybe he stayed over at Caltech... Raj is doing some work there this morning, I'll ask him to check." Leonard darted back to his room to get his phone.
Penny nodded. That would work; maybe the whack-a-doodle just fell asleep at his desk.
Leonard is on the phone speaking to Raj as he re-enters the living room, his face is calm and then it's worried, "he said he's not in his office..."
~.~
It's no help when the police tell her she needs to wait 72 hours to file a missing person's report for an adult.
~.~
The crack in the wall taunted him. Beyond it was blackness... how far it went who knew? He had thought about putting his finger against it, tracing its lines. Instead he used his finger to draw invisible formulas in the air, being seen only by him. It was all he had. He rested on his side, the sheet under his body was a pale yellow, and the pillow was flat. He had no blankets. The mattress was on the floor, flat and small. The room was a different room than the first one. This room was smaller, the yellow light above was always on. There was a singe door. He back was to it.
Three days and he finally realized what he had to do in order to not be hurt. He would not be punished if he listened to her. Finally he obeyed, well he didn't talk back... he fell silent and she left him in this room.
There were four trays of uneaten food by the door. He refused to eat.
His mind wondered to his friends and family. He wondered if they noticed if he was gone. He wondered if anyone was looking for him.
And then he heard the door unlock. He stiffened but stayed on his side. His heart started to race. She'd only been leaving the trays of food and then leaving. But he didn't trust her.
"Please sit up, Dr. Cooper." Her voice was bland as usual. He could hear a chair scrape along the floor and then she sat down.
Sheldon was reluctant but he didn't want her to ask him twice. He sat up, facing away from her, and then he finally turned to her, he dropped his eyes to his bent legs as she sat on the edge of the mattress, and his feet were bare, cold against the concrete floor.
Amy looked at him. "You haven't eaten." She stated.
Sheldon's eyes shifted to the days old food by the wall. He looked back at his hands in his lap.
Amy sighed, "I understand that this is hard... adjusting is always hard. But if you just listen to me... everything will be okay!" Amy's voice sounded lighter and happy.
Sheldon had so many questions to ask her, he wanted to know why him... why did she do this. But, before he could…
"And if you don't start eating, I'll be utilizing force feeding." She looked almost demonic with how happy she was at the idea.
Sheldon's eyes widened a bit, he was horrified.
"The monkeys… They deal with stress differently, it's interesting to watch how man is no different" she rambled on, "but they learn, they learn to trust me, that I keep them alive and I can take it just as easily…"
As she spoke, Sheldon's eyes moved around the room, he was thinking.
"Force feeding won't be that pleasant, but it would have to be done… I can't have you wasting away."
Sheldon's mind whirled. "Okay."
Amy's smile was back. "Okay what?" She wanted him to clarify.
Sheldon finally looked fully at her, he resisted the urge to since, as her face was now associated with pain and misery. "Okay, I will eat and… listen to you." He flinched as he said the last part.
Amy jumped up, Sheldon moved back away from her so fast that his back hit the wall; she clapped her hands, not noticing his scared face. "Oh this is wonderful, okay, I'll prep dinner and then I'll bring it. If things go well, maybe I'll let you out of here." She clapped again, grabbed the chair and ragged it back out of the door.
Sheldon let out a shaky breath, he felt like crying but shook his head, he refused to fall apart over this.
Later when he did eat, the plain mashed potatoes, canned peas and canned chili, he sipped the lukewarm water and forced the rest of the food down. When he suddenly felt sleepy and dizzy, he knew he shouldn't have eaten the food, he slumped over and his last waking thought was if anyone missed him… if Penny missed him.
~.~
Penny sat and glared over the monitor, waiting impatiently as the female officer at the desk, who was typing away, glanced up at her a few times.
"The detective assigned to the case is Detective Ramirez… he's out on another case right now, I'm not sure when he will be back." The female officer said.
Penny deflated, "why isn't anyone taking this seriously?" Penny asked suddenly. She stepped away from the desk and walked back towards the lobby of the police station, for the last five days, she'd been trying to find him, she filed the missing persons, she called the LAPD every day and night looking for updates, and she contacted Sheldon's family.
She felt like no one cared, was she over reacting? Why would Sheldon just up and leave one day? Penny slumped into one of the chairs; she would wait for the detective.
Even though he was going to say the same thing everyone else had told her.
~.~
The group was in the living room of 4A; Penny had just finished relaying to them, what the detective had told her… it wasn't the most promising news.
"If anything comes up, we will look into it, but as it stands, we didn't find any evidence of foul play, as far as we can tell, no crime has happened. So it's not high on our list of priorities."
The group sat in silence after that, there was nothing to do.
"He's been gone for 5 days and we can't do anything." Penny let out a soft sigh, she'd been strong in front of everyone, and she couldn't break down.
"Maybe… maybe he did just run away…" Leonard tried, and the others started to agree with that.
And then Stuart called Penny, he found something…
~.~
Penny held Sheldon's messenger bag close to her chest as she sat on the damp concrete of the street, there was one police car down the alley, and Stuart was talking to an officer.
He found it stuffed behind the dumpster; he'd been dumpster diving nearby Caltech for materials for his art and found Sheldon's things; His wallet, phone, keys… his life. Penny was holding it because it smelled like him.
She could see the regretful looks on the detectives faces, now they'd treat this like it was real.
~.~
Sheldon woke up on a couch, wearing a suit and tie, brown and drab, the tv was on, his head hurt, and when he stood up, the chain around his ankle prevented him from moving across the room.
It looked like a normal room, but it felt odd, the air was thick and he felt like he was suffocating. And she was nowhere to be seen. A closer look at the windows, covered by curtains, revealed that he was in some sort of bunker.
He started to panic, what was this place, why was she keeping him here?
He heard a door open and he panicked and spun around.
She returned she had a bag of groceries in her arms; she saw him and smiled as she relocked the heavy door.
"Hello, dear, I've got dinner!" Amy said excitedly.
~.~
They sat across from each other; she'd made him spaghetti with cut up hot dogs. He refused to eat it, he just stared at it, he was horrified, how did she know…
"Your Meemaw gave me the recipe." She said suddenly.
Sheldon's head shot up, he felt panic, he swallowed the lump in his throat, "you… you met with my Meemaw?" he asked, he was trying to keep his reaction to her answer in check.
Amy nodded, "I called her, told her that we were dating, and she gave me the idea." She gave a small smile.
Sheldon felt relief, he looked back at her and she was glaring at him now.
"Are you going to eat it?" she asked with an even tone.
Sheldon picked up his fork, "yes… sorry." he took a bite, it wasn't good, but he pretended.
She seemed to relax a bit.
He ate slowly, the silence in the room was deafening, his eyes would slide over to the door she had entered through, he wondered how he could get out, she didn't seem to have any weapons on her.
He felt odd again, sort of light and off, and he knew she had put something in his food. He fidgeted a bit, his hands felt tingly.
"Sheldon," she cut through his thoughts.
He looked at her, "yes?" he asked. He wasn't sure why he was replying, he didn't want to.
"Do you think we will be boyfriend and girlfriend?" she asked, hope in her voice. She sounded deranged however, like some sort of crazy child.
Sheldon was going to lie, he was going to just say what she wanted, "no." he shut his mouth, he felt hot and annoyed, what had she given him. "What… what did you give me?" Sheldon asked.
Amy pulled a small bottle from her pocket, "Sodium thiopental… I didn't think it would actually work." Amy stood up now, she walked over to him, he coward a bit, "why not... don't you love me?" she asked.
Sheldon felt like he was in a tunnel, "Penny," he whispered, it slipped out, she was on his mind, he squeezed his eyes shut.
Amy looked furious, she grabbed the bottle of wine, and she threw it across the room. "I knew it… that blonde tramp!" she turned and stormed away from Sheldon.
Sheldon snapped himself out of his stupor enough after the wine bottle smashed to the wall. "Wait…" he stood up from the chair, made a move towards Amy.
Amy picked up something off the counter, stuck it in his chest.
The electricity that traveled through his chest, knocked Sheldon off his feet, he crashed back into the counter and cabinets and dropped to the floor, his back against the wall, he furrowed his brow and grabbed at his chest.
Amy still held the cattle prod out, it kept zapping softly, and her face was hard. "Don't you ever walk up behind me again." she warned.
And then she set it down, out of his reach, she smiled and fixed her skirt, "now, I'm going to go out, take care of this Penny situation." Amy turned on her heal, marched to the door.
Sheldon realized what she meant, "No please! Leave her alone!" Sheldon tried to crawl to the door, but the chain around his ankle stopped him, he stopped as the door shut. Sheldon realized what he'd just done, he collapsed on the floor.
~.~
Penny was trying to not fear the worst, but it was hard. She'd heard murmurings from the police about draining the LA canal, it was raining a lot and it was full, they wondered where else someone could dispose of a person in this city.
But Penny refused to let those thoughts win, he wasn't gone… he couldn't be.
It was dark out and she was going to head out again, looking for him, handing out fliers, checking places. Penny walked into the cool night air, and she felt her hair stand on the back of her neck. Something wasn't right. Penny stopped for a moment, then she shook her head, her nerves were just on edge.
She continued to walk to her car, she stumbled a little bit, dropped her keys, Penny rolled her eyes, she knelt down to pick them up and lace up her combat boot. The pop sound that followed and her driver's side window shattering made Penny drop to the ground, she let out a scream.
She knew that sound, it was a gun was going off; someone had just shot at her. Penny heard a car driving away fast so she stood up, jogged out to the street, adrenaline making her not fear whoever was shooting at her.
All she saw was the back of small brown car as it quickly sped around the corner.
Penny was breathing heavy; she was terrified and confused, what had just happened. And where had she seen that brown car before…
~.~
Sheldon was sitting at the dining room table, he was staring blankly at the ugly flowered pattern of the table cloth… his face was hard set and emotionless. Waiting for Amy to return, all he was thinking about was Penny… and what he'd just done to her.
When the door slammed open, he didn't look up, when a small box was dropped onto the tabletop before him; he jumped, as his eyes took in what was in the box.
"Now that blonde tramp won't ever come between us." Amy said as she set a bloody knife in the sink, she removed her hoody, some blood stains on it.
Sheldon's hands shook as he reached to open the box, he saw blood smeared on the sides, the box opened and he wanted to throw up, he didn't want to touch it, but his fingers gently touched the piece of blonde hair that stuck out.
Sheldon sat back in the chair, his hands shaking, silent tears in his eyes, he'd done this.
Amy was humming happily to herself as she washed the dinner dishes.
Sheldon glanced at her; he no longer looked sad, shocked, upset. He narrowed his eyes at her. He made up his mind.
~.~
Police tape surrounded the parking lot outside of the liquor store, a few onlookers waited and watched.
Two cops stood near a body.
"So this lady was scalped?" one officer asked.
"Yeah, she was shot first… what do we think… a john of hers gone crazy?" the second officer asked.
Detective Ramirez got off his cell phone, he walked back towards the scene, he was a shorter, older man with a mustache. "I think this is connected to my missing person's case." He stated.
The first cop was confused, "how, isn't that a rocket scientist who went missing?"
Ramirez nodded, "his friend, the blonde girl, Penny? She was shot at about an hour ago." He said.
All three looked down at the dead hooker… part of her blonde hair… and scalp had gone missing.
"What the hell are we dealing with here?"
~.~
Sheldon had stayed silent; he didn't utter a word to Amy as she told him to move to the sofa, as she told him to get ready for bed. As she locked him in his room, telling him that she would make everything better.
He was thinking, he knew what he had to do. He had to get out of here, so he did as he was told, in the morning, the morning he would deal with all of this.
For Penny.
~.~
Penny had been shaken up, more so when Ramirez told her about the other dead woman they found.
Penny's phone rang soon after Det. Ramirez left, she didn't recognize the number, but noticed that the area code was from Texas.
"Hello?" she asked carefully.
"I recall the most peculiar phone call about a month ago." An older woman said on the other end.
"Meemaw?"
~.~
Sheldon was up and dressed, he sat on the chair and waited for her to unlock the door. The chain was around his ankle, it was long enough to reach certain areas… just not that front door.
He'd counted seven days now. He'd been gone seven days. Penny was gone; he wasn't going to play this game anymore.
The door opened, Sheldon looked up from fixing his sleeve, "good morning, Amy."
Breakfast was quiet; he'd watched her make everything and knew she hadn't slipped anything into his eggs, so he ate in silence. He waited… she talked.
Acting as if this was all normal.
Sheldon gripped the glass his orange justice was in, it was heavy, and he drank the rest of the juice. He sat it down.
Amy kept talking.
But he wasn't listening.
Amy stood up, with her plate.
Sheldon was quicker, she never saw it coming.
He smashed the glass as hard as he could across the back of her head, she fell forward and Sheldon shoved her rest of the way down, he knelt down and felt around her sweater pockets. He pulled out her keys and spotted the one for the chain around his ankle.
Sheldon was filled with fear and excitement, he could get out of this, and he could. This would work. He got the keys, he unlocked both locks. He pulled the heavy door open and stepped out. And he froze.
It was a giant walk in freezer, there were many objects in the room, but what stood out to him were the men… seven of them, either on the floor of the freezer or hanging, inside.
Sheldon was in complete shock.
Amy was behind him, she swung the bat and hit him across the back of his head, and he dropped the ground.
Amy had blood dripping down her face, her glasses were broken, but she seemed calm. "I was hoping you wouldn't have to meet this same fate… they didn't listen to me… I have one more trick, however." She spoke carefully, she looked at the freezer, and then at the other door on the opposite end of the freezer. She smiled satisfied.
~.~
Penny was pacing back and forth behind Howard as he sat on his laptop. "Are you sure his grandma said the girls name was Amy?" he asked.
Penny nodded, "she was asking about his favorite dish… and she said she was his girlfriend." Penny said bitterly.
Howard nodded, and then his eyes got wide. "Oh my god… oh my god." He quickly clocked on a couple of things.
Penny rushed over, "what?" she asked quickly.
"Remember when Raj and I set Sheldon up?"
Suddenly it all flooded back to Penny, "oh my god… no." Penny wanted to scream. It was so obvious… although not really.
"I don't have a home address for her… but I've got where she works…" Howard looked over at Penny, waiting for their next plan of action.
Penny looked at Howard, "do you still have that van?" Penny asked.
~.~
When Sheldon woke up, he was on his back, there was a bright light over him, he was strapped down, and his head was killing him. He had something in his mouth. He looked over and saw the monkey's in cages again. They were silently watching him.
Amy appeared over him, her broken glasses fixed with tape, "I have to head out, but when I get back, I'll fix you… I'll fix you like I did him." Amy pointed before she patted Sheldon's chest and left the room.
Sheldon looked over, he spotted one monkey, playing with blocks, he had some sort of contraption attached to his skull with screws, Sheldon wanted to scream and he struggled.
But there was no way out.
~.~
"So we should sit here for however long that she'll be at work?" Howard asked.
Penny nodded as she just stared at the entrance to the building.
They'd gotten there at 5am, and waited and watched, until she saw that brown car, Amy climb out and enter the building.
"If we call the police, she won't tell us where she is keeping him… we're going to follow her back." Penny said sure of herself.
Howard couldn't argue with that logic. He knew Bernie would be pissed that he wasn't telling her where he was all day. But if it meant finding Sheldon, or at least giving Penny a piece of mind… he'd do it.
Five hours later…
The VW van followed the brown hatchback out of the parking lot and down the street.
What they expected… they were not sure.
~.~
The house was just behind a greenbelt, it was the only house for a couple acres, night had dropped and so they were cast in darkness, the distant lights of LA were just in view.
They sat and waited. She had parked, she had gotten out and then she went around the house.
"Should we call the police now?" Howard asked, his voice was tinged with fear.
Penny nodded, "yes… I think it's safe to say he is here." Penny replied.
They were quiet for a moment, the night surrounded them.
"I need to pee." Howard finally said.
Penny looked at him, "are you kidding me?!" she whispered harshly."
Howard shrugged, "sorry, it was that Big Gulp." He smirked, then he undid his seatbelt, he opened his door, let it click shut and he made his way around back.
Penny shook her head, she almost smiled, she glanced at the rearview mirror at her side, she saw a body just move out of sight. Penny's heart started to race.
"Howard?" Penny asked, she debated on getting out of the van, she took a deep breath and exited the van, she carefully walked to behind the van, she wasn't sure what she was going to find…
Her eyes got wide and she gasped when she saw Howard on his back on the forest floor, she rushed over, she knelt down over him.
"Howard!" she felt blood on his chest, before she could get anything to press to his wound, she was hit across the back.
~.~
Sheldon had spent most of the day trying to break free from his restraints, to no avail, and trying to block out the screams of the monkeys in their cages.
And then the door opened, he wanted to scream, this was it. But then she was removing his restraints, she removed the gag from his mouth, he sat and had a gun pointed at his head.
She shoved him into the living room, he did as told, and then his eyes scanned the room and he nearly had a heart attack. He rushed over, ignoring Amy telling him to stop.
Penny was on the floor, knocked out.
Sheldon knelt over her and gently touched her face, he wanted to cry, she was alive, he dropped his head to her chest and let out a shocked sob.
Amy watched the display, she rolled her eyes.
Penny started to stir, "what the fu-" she stopped when she was looking back into big blue eyes.
"Sheldon!?" Penny screamed, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him close. Penny squeezed him tight, she'd never been so happy. And then she opened her eyes and saw Amy standing there, gun in hand. Penny's joy was short lived.
She gently pushed Sheldon away, "what the hell did you do to him!?" Penny shouted, she stood up, Penny wasn't afraid of anyone.
Sheldon stood up and tried to pull her back, stop her from doing anything brash.
Amy seemed surprised. But she brushed it off, "you should worry more about what I plan on doing to you two." Amy stated.
She turned to Sheldon, "I will make you watch me as I perform some experiments on her… for science." The maniacal grin she had unsettled them both.
Sheldon gently pushed Penny behind him, "you will let Penny leave her, I will stay." Sheldon said.
"Sheldon, no!" Penny said, she was shocked.
"That's what you want right?" Sheldon asked, ignoring Penny.
Amy nodded, "it is… but she knows where we are… she can't live."
Sheldon shook his head, "please, let her leave… please." Sheldon slowly moved towards her.
Sheldon took another step. "Okay... I'll... I'll do better." Sheldon said.
Amy started to lower the gun.
And then Sheldon threw his body at Amy, tackling her, grabbing for the gun.
Penny almost went to help him.
Sheldon held Amy down, "run! Get out!" Sheldon screamed as he tried to keep the gun away from his head.
Penny started to run to the door, but then she stopped, she spun around and grabbed up the cattle prod, she took it, and jabbed it into Amy's side.
Amy screamed and then Penny grabbed Sheldon up, dragged him away and towards the door.
"C'mon!" Penny yelled and he followed.
The freezer made Penny pause and Sheldon had to grab her hand and pull her out the exit door. They ran up the stairs and into the night air.
Sheldon breathed it in, he thought he'd never breathe in the fresh air again, until Penny pulled his hand and they started to run together. It was dark but the full moon above lit up their path and while neither knew what direction to run in.
They ran until a shot rang out and Penny stopped because Sheldon stopped.
She spun around and found Sheldon holding his side.
"Shit! Can you run!?" Penny yelled. She darted back to him; he was bleeding from his side.
Sheldon dropped to his knees, "Penny, run... please. You need to stay safe!" Sheldon said in pain.
Penny shook her head. "No... No! You're coming." Penny tried to help him up, but Sheldon was too heavy.
Penny dropped to her knees next to him; she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Please... just get up." Penny whispered.
"You should have listened." Amy said as she walked up to them.
Penny and Sheldon looked up stunned.
"You should have listened and now he'll get to watch you die." Amy still had the gun in her hand.
Penny stood up. "What the hell is wrong with you!?" Penny shouted. She didn't care anymore.
"I want a boyfriend! Do you know how hard it is for a girl like me to find a guy!?"Amy was mad. "He should have loved me! I was going to make him love me... that's how it works!" Amy almost laughed.
Penny shook her head. "You're sick! You're sick and awful! You might kill me, but you won't get away with this!" Penny threatened.
"Oh please! I've finally won!" Amy pointed the gun, Sheldon tried to crawl to grab Penny... and Penny cowered only slightly.
And then the '64 VW van smashed into Amy, coming to a stop right on top of her.
Penny fell back in shock. Sheldon pulled her closer.
Howard climbed from the driver's seat, holding a towel to his shoulder. "Hey... you found him." Howard said as he waved at Sheldon.
Penny and Sheldon sighed in relief… it was over.
Police sirens were heard in the background, Howard had already called them.
~.~
Five months later...
Sheldon was checking his mail in the lobby, his eyes flicking through the small stack, his mind would on occasion go back five months, and he'd started to let it go, once his mind became occupied with something else… something better…
A hand gently rubbed against his back. Sheldon jerked for only a second before he melted into the touch and leaned down. Penny sidled up beside him; she pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips.
"Hello." Penny said sweetly.
Sheldon smirked only slightly as he went back to his mail. "You're home early."
Penny shrugged. "It's Friday and I wanted to get home."
Sheldon nodded at her. "So what's on the agenda tonight?" He asked, although he already knew.
"Hmmm... well I was thinking pizza dinner and snuggling on the couch." Penny said as they both started to ascend the stairs.
Sheldon nodded. "And this evening won't be interrupted?" He asked.
"Nope... Howard and Bernie are visiting with her parents; Raj and Leonard are in Vegas..." Penny trailed off.
Sheldon nodded, "I see, and what will we be watching while snuggling?"
Penny thought about it, "maybe Star Trek NG?" she asked.
Sheldon pouted, "Oh… I thought we'd be spending the night kissing…"
Penny wanted to laugh, she pressed a kiss to his cheek and then whispered in his ear, his eyes got wide and then she darted ahead of him, up the stairs.
Sheldon narrowed his eyes before he gave chase, Penny giggling ahead of him as he quickly caught up.
~.~
Fin