Author's Note: Ummm... It's a horror fic... I'm posting as I'm writing, so this might take a while. ^_^;; Bear with me, please?
Thalia: And for the record, we muses had very little to do with it. It's not our fault.
Eros: It's weird. You've been warned.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. _ Wah! Thoughts are between * these * and ~ these ~ are for emphasis.
PROLOGUE
He stood alone in a place he hadn't been before. The sun beat down terribly, oppressive heat and light radiating off the dune beneath his feet. A hot, dry wind kicked dust and sand at him, stinging and prickling his skin. He turned around slowly, examining the scenery. It was the same in all directions, empty desert and sky.
* This is a dream,* he realized, surprised and unnerved. He hadn't dreamt in a long time, and this dream felt... different. Significant.
Then he heard a sound behind him. Jingling, tinkling. He whirled, drawing his gun from his waistband.
The girl was shorter than him, with ice-blue eyes set in a gentle, round face. Her long blonde hair was tied in many small, thin braids, which in turn were woven through with ribbons, beads, bells, and feathers. Her only garment was a faded, dirty blue sundress, but she made up for it in jewelry. Each finger had at least one or two rings, as did a few of her unshod toes, and bands and bangles encircled wrists and ankles. Her ears were pierced seven times each, with an accumulation of shining metal practically dripping off of them. There were so many strings of beads and necklaces around her neck and spilling over her petite chest that he found himself wondering how her waif-like frame could support the weight.
He aimed his gun between her eyes, though he had a distinct feeling that she was not a danger. She smiled at him, meeting his eyes with hers. He repressed a shiver, despite the sweltering heat. Those eyes... they could see his very soul...
"Who are you?" he demanded. She looked familiar. He couldn't place the resemblence.
"Look behind you," she said in a quiet, sweet voice that carried currents he couldn't fathom. Her dress billowed in the wind. Her glittering ornaments made sounds like wind chimes, throwing reflected motes of light dancing across him and her and the dunes.
The wind howled hungrily across the desert. There was something different now. Something wrong. Something...
He spun, his heart thudding in his chest.
Where there had been nothing now was a large rocky plateau. It was topped by a huge mansion that should have looked out of place, it being done in a reasonable facsimile of the late Victorian style. Instead it seemed to have grown out of the desert itself.
* Malgnant. *
There was something... evil about it. Its many windows stared out across the sands like so many soulless eyes, hungry and haunted. It seemed to soak up all the heat and light, creating a strange sort of void around it. But there was no difference that he could ~see~... He knew it was there, but it wasn't there at all. It was thick like a blanket, and ominous. It held his gaze.
With a conscious effort, he ripped his eyes away to look at the girl. She was gone, her tracks stretching across the dunes as far as he could see. He frowned in annoyance and quelled a sudden irrational panic. He did ~not~ want to be left alone with that... ~presence~ at his back. He was about to follow the trail when he noticed a shining thing in the sand where she'd been standing.
It was a ring. Much too small for any of his fingers, it was plain gold with a single black oblong stone embedded in it. He closed his hand around it, feeling the metal bite into his skin.
He woke with the taste of dust in his mouth and sweating like a winded horse, his skin feeling raw and sensitive. He did not remember the dream, or even that he ~had~ dreamed. But something was hot in his hand, hard and digging into his palm. Something half-remembered, something important... He uncurled his fingers, but found nothing. He turned over in his bed and went back to sleep.
But had he looked closer at his hand, he would have seen a small red indentation shaped like a ring.
END PROLOGUE
Errr... Review?
Thalia: And for the record, we muses had very little to do with it. It's not our fault.
Eros: It's weird. You've been warned.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. _ Wah! Thoughts are between * these * and ~ these ~ are for emphasis.
PROLOGUE
He stood alone in a place he hadn't been before. The sun beat down terribly, oppressive heat and light radiating off the dune beneath his feet. A hot, dry wind kicked dust and sand at him, stinging and prickling his skin. He turned around slowly, examining the scenery. It was the same in all directions, empty desert and sky.
* This is a dream,* he realized, surprised and unnerved. He hadn't dreamt in a long time, and this dream felt... different. Significant.
Then he heard a sound behind him. Jingling, tinkling. He whirled, drawing his gun from his waistband.
The girl was shorter than him, with ice-blue eyes set in a gentle, round face. Her long blonde hair was tied in many small, thin braids, which in turn were woven through with ribbons, beads, bells, and feathers. Her only garment was a faded, dirty blue sundress, but she made up for it in jewelry. Each finger had at least one or two rings, as did a few of her unshod toes, and bands and bangles encircled wrists and ankles. Her ears were pierced seven times each, with an accumulation of shining metal practically dripping off of them. There were so many strings of beads and necklaces around her neck and spilling over her petite chest that he found himself wondering how her waif-like frame could support the weight.
He aimed his gun between her eyes, though he had a distinct feeling that she was not a danger. She smiled at him, meeting his eyes with hers. He repressed a shiver, despite the sweltering heat. Those eyes... they could see his very soul...
"Who are you?" he demanded. She looked familiar. He couldn't place the resemblence.
"Look behind you," she said in a quiet, sweet voice that carried currents he couldn't fathom. Her dress billowed in the wind. Her glittering ornaments made sounds like wind chimes, throwing reflected motes of light dancing across him and her and the dunes.
The wind howled hungrily across the desert. There was something different now. Something wrong. Something...
He spun, his heart thudding in his chest.
Where there had been nothing now was a large rocky plateau. It was topped by a huge mansion that should have looked out of place, it being done in a reasonable facsimile of the late Victorian style. Instead it seemed to have grown out of the desert itself.
* Malgnant. *
There was something... evil about it. Its many windows stared out across the sands like so many soulless eyes, hungry and haunted. It seemed to soak up all the heat and light, creating a strange sort of void around it. But there was no difference that he could ~see~... He knew it was there, but it wasn't there at all. It was thick like a blanket, and ominous. It held his gaze.
With a conscious effort, he ripped his eyes away to look at the girl. She was gone, her tracks stretching across the dunes as far as he could see. He frowned in annoyance and quelled a sudden irrational panic. He did ~not~ want to be left alone with that... ~presence~ at his back. He was about to follow the trail when he noticed a shining thing in the sand where she'd been standing.
It was a ring. Much too small for any of his fingers, it was plain gold with a single black oblong stone embedded in it. He closed his hand around it, feeling the metal bite into his skin.
He woke with the taste of dust in his mouth and sweating like a winded horse, his skin feeling raw and sensitive. He did not remember the dream, or even that he ~had~ dreamed. But something was hot in his hand, hard and digging into his palm. Something half-remembered, something important... He uncurled his fingers, but found nothing. He turned over in his bed and went back to sleep.
But had he looked closer at his hand, he would have seen a small red indentation shaped like a ring.
END PROLOGUE
Errr... Review?