The Gift
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Abby, better known as Bela Talbot, or the Seether song 'The Gift'. I wanted to see if I could give a slightly more in depth look at what her experience with the Crossroads Demon might have been. A special thanks goes to FastFuriousChick, who went through the story to help me pick out any glaring mistakes I might have made.
Warning: Just to be safe, I'm going to say 'mildly disturbing themes', although most of it is merely alluded to.
"I'm so afraid of the gift you give me
I don't belong here and I'm not well
I'm so ashamed of the lie I'm living
Right on the wrong side of it all…" – Seether, 'The Gift'
She's always loved the swing set.
Abby sits on the old wooden seat, swinging gently back and forth. The Stepfather has gone, left some time ago to pick up Mother from her doctor's appointment. So it's just Abby, for now; alone, like she's always been. It's how the Stepfather prefers it.
She stares intently down at her feet, which might be the reason she doesn't notice the other girl until she says, "Hello."
The voice, the intrusion on her sanctuary, sends a jolt of fear through Abby, and her whole body seems to come alive as she looks up, ready to flee. But it's just a girl, younger even than Abby. She's climbed up onto the back fence, her feet on the lowest railing and elbows resting on the highest. She smiles apologetically.
"Did I startle you?" she asks in a sweet voice. Abby just shrugs.
A couple of seconds tick by, and then the other girl begins to climb the rest of the way over the fence. Abby immediately rises to her feet, saying as she does, "You shouldn't do that. You're not allowed."
The girl smiles again, but there's something different about it this time. Or perhaps it just seems different now that she's balanced perfectly on the thin railing.
"I can do anything I please," the girl states, and for some reason, Abby believes her. She sits back down on the hard swing seat, her fingers tightening around the chains that it's hanging from.
"Alright, than, do as you please," she says, her face a mask of indifference.
"Wouldn't you like to?"
Abby starts, turning to the swing beside her. The girl is sitting there, but that's impossible, she was just-
Shooting a wild look over at the fence, she sees nothing but the trees beyond it. And she suddenly wonders where the girl came from in the first place.
"How did you-?" She turns back to the girl as she speaks, unable to even finish the sentence. It's too bizarre.
The girl continues to smile. "How did I…?"
Abby swallows. "You… you were… and then…" She can't process it. She just continues to stare at the girl.
"I told you," the girl replies. Then she leans forward, and finishes in a hushed tone, "I can do anything I please."
For Abby, the hidden meaning of this statement only now begins to sink in. Her eyes widen slightly.
"Anything?" she echoes, not daring to hope. It's too wicked to think about, and yet… How can she not?
The younger girl's smile takes on a far more sinister look suddenly. She reaches out and lays a comforting hand on Abby's shoulder, a move that causes Abby to recoil unexpectedly. But Abby has become adept at covering up such involuntary actions; she quickly digs her heels into the dirt beneath the swing, leans back, and then plunges forwards through the air as she lifts her feet from the ground.
She swings back and forth a couple of times, telling herself to just ignore the other girl and to put such silly thoughts out of her mind. If the Stepfather ever found out- But no, that will never happen. For all his threats of knowing what she's thinking, knowing when she's been bad, she doubts he can actually read minds.
Except… what if he can? Is it really such a stretch? And if he were to find out she'd been thinking about freedom, even for a few seconds…
"I can take care of it for you," the younger girl's voice breaks into Abby's thoughts. "And it won't even cost you anything…" She slows to a stop, turning a disbelieving look towards the other girl, who merely continues smiling, "… for ten… whole… years."
For a second, Abby could swear that the girl's eyes flicker red. But it's gone again before she really knows what she's seen, and she supposes it was just a trick of the light.
Swallowing, she asks the question that's been weighing in the back of her mind for the last couple of minutes: "Who are you?"
The girl shrugs. "Oh, no one special," she says. "I was just in the neighbourhood to see a… old friend. I asked around, looking for anybody who needed help. Hearsay led me to you."
Abby mulls this statement over in her head for a moment, finding it to be an odd thing for a little girl to say. Her eyes widen suddenly as she comes to startling realization.
"You… you're an angel?" she asks.
The younger girl- who Abby is almost certain now is not actually a girl- looks surprised for a moment, and then she smirks.
"Hardly," she says. Then her face turns serious. "But what I am isn't important, Abby." It doesn't seem as strange as it should that she knows Abby's name. "What I can do for you – that's what we should be talking about."
Abby is silent for a long time after that, alternating between staring at the girl, and staring at her feet. She knows the Stepfather will be back soon. She knows, somehow, that she has only until that time to make a decision. That is, if this isn't all some elaborate joke played by the Stepfather himself to torment her.
But Abby's almost certain that it's not. In fact, she is certain. She can't explain how, but she knows this offer- an offer that, technically, still hasn't really been voiced- is genuine.
Taking a deep breath, she lifts her head to meet the other girl's eyes, feeling a strange sadness in her heart. But at the same time there's a sense of uncertain exhilaration. And the understanding that she is minutes- maybe even seconds- away from freedom.
"What do I have to do?" she asks slowly.
The girl's smile returns, and again, Abby thinks she sees the other girl's eyes flicker red.
"You don't have to do anything," she says, rising to her feet, "except…" She walks over so that she's standing in front of Abby, "… give me one, small kiss."
As she says this, she reaches out and strokes Abby gently on the cheek. The touch turns Abby's insides cold, but she nods nonetheless, and now she's sure that the girl's eyes are red – they're not flickering anymore, just staring at her. Dark red with pinprick pupils. And now the girl takes Abby's head in both hands, leans forwards, lips parting…