In Death
I own nothing but my own ideas
She shouldn't be here. She really should have stayed far, far away. Left while she still could. Left the City, State, even Country to get away. Instead, after days of managing to cut contact and staying away, she was knocking on the door. She had tried to cut because she felt guilty about lying to kids who wanted protection. They were nice kids, but dangerous, and Gwen didn't want to be involved in whatever would happen. The whole situation gave her a bad vibe, and she wanted out.
However she couldn't leave with a guilty conscious. So she was here ,with muffins, ready to help. She knocked on the door and took a deep breath.
No one answered.
She clutched her Muffins to her chest, and rang the doorbell. Simon swung the door open, and Chloe appeared behind him. "Hey guys" Gwen smiled "No doughnuts this time- I learned my lesson- but I brought some amazing muffins. You can eat these, right?" She asked Simon.
"Um sure" Simon backed up and shared a confused look with Chloe. She stuttered "Andrews b-..been trying to get in touch with you." Chloe stuttered out.
Gwen felt sort of bad for ignoring the messages, but she was here now to make up for that. No need to let them know her reasons. "I know." She explained "Work. You know how it is." She let out a shaky laugh "No I guess you don't, lucky kids. Enjoy it while you can, because the truth is-" She leaned in to whisper like she was giving away some great secret. "-Grownup life sucks"
Gwen straightened "But I'm here now, and ready for action. Andrews message said we were leaving for Buffalo today?"
Chloe nodded
"Great. I'm just in time then. Come on lets chow down on these Muffins, they are Amazing!"
Thankfully she had managed to surprise Andrew and Margaret. Andrew looked like someone who had found an unexpected fifty in his pocket. Margaret looked like someone who had ordered diet, and gotten regular.
They went into the living room and agonized over a floor plan. No one could agree what route to use, or even what entrance to use. They decided they would need the full group to plan this, and several days of onsite surveillance. They needed to see what they were up against.
Margaret would call the guests, probably to make an impression and take charge of the mission. Gwen and Andrew were told to go make themselves useful.
She only sat twiddling her thumbs for a few minuets, before Margaret called for her. That was an awfully short phone call, did Russell agree to pass the message?
"Gwen!" Margaret called again
"Coming" Gwen answered. "What dose Margaret think I'm a puppy or something?" She muttered.
"I need to speak to Chloe." Margaret demanded.
"Yah sure you old Bitch. I'll just pull her out of my pocket for you" Gwen thought. Instead she just waited for Margaret to continue.
"I brought a Necromancy book for her, Simon says she is up here. You look in the front, ill look at the back"
Gwen started to walk in the direction Margaret had pointed in. She hadn't gone more then a few strides in that direction, before she felt a pair of hands around her neck.
Her world went black
She woke up standing over her body.
That was weird, she was a Witch, not a Shaman. Had Russell done something?
On closer inspection, she had bruises on her neck, finger shaped bruises.
A sack of bricks hitting her could not even begin to describe the feeling. She was dead. DEAD! Never to see her family, friends, or boyfriend again. Never to eat ice cream or muffins, or even a taco. Nothing to look forward to. "Why, oh why did I come back?"
She stared at her body. She was right, it had been a bad idea to come here. She should have stayed away. She had been right about her so called conspiracy with Margaret and Russell. No one would come for her now.
"I have to warn Chloe." She might as well finish her self assigned mission. Chloe was the only one she could warn. Chloe and Margaret were the only ones who could see her. Which was a sobering thought for someone used to attention.
The dead must have Necromancer senses or something because Gwen felt a slight tugging sense pulling her. It felt young, powerful, she felt compelled to answer the call. She followed it to a shut door.
"Chloe?" She loudly whispered, then winced. Too loud. "Chloe?" she tried again, whispering under her breath. "Please be up here. PLEASE"
There was no answer and Gwen sent a prayer she wouldn't walk in on Margaret before trying again. "Chloe? I know your in here. " She walked through the door into the room.
"Please Chloe" Gwen whispered. "Why did I come back?" she muttered "What was I thinking?" Beside the closet she spotted a glow. A bright pulsing glow full of life. The necklace she wore tried to dim it, energy around it sucked in the glow like a black hole, but it was a bright glow, bright like the sun.
"There you are." She told Chloe "Thank God"
"Got to hurry" she muttered. She stepped in front of the dresser , towards the glow. " Come on Chloe. Quickly!"
Chloe rose and stammered "I-I was l-looking for- "Gwen cut her off, before she could waste time stammering. "It doesn't matter. You need to find Simon and Tori! Do you know where they are?" Gwen demanded.
"In the basement, but-" Gwen wasn't interested in the reason "Hurry" she cut the stuttering girl off. Gwen reached for Chloe, the glow calling her, but stopped. 'I'm dead' she remembered, and pulled back embarrassed.
"You have to warn them!" She shock her head , this was a waste of time "Just come on!" She tried the doorknob, but it was still locked. "Open the door please, Chloe"
Chloe reached for Gwen. Gwen tried to move, but Chloe wanted her and the call acted like a force of gravity. Chloe's hand went through her arm. Chloe clamped her hand over her mouth.
"Don't scream, Chloe. Okay? Please , please don't scream." Gwen begged. Chloe nodded, and Gwen gave her a moment to take it in. "Margaret" Chloe whispered.
"Seams the old bag is a lot nastier then I ever gave her credit for" Gwen muttered. "I didn't like the way things were going. I-… I heard things, Margaret and Russell. That's why I took off when Andrew called. I didn't want to get involved, but I couldn't do it. I had to come back, thought I should warn Andrew, help him watch out for you kids. Bad idea obviously. Never even got to the warning part"
Chloe whirled towards the door. "Derek!"
Gwen stepped in front of her. This was so not the time. "Is he someplace safe?" Gwen asked anyway. Chloe just walked through her. It felt really weird, and it pissed her off that Chloe was ignoring her.
None the less she tried again. "Chloe, is he someplace safe? because if he is, you have to leave him there" She wouldn't ask where, it didn't matter, and someone might overhear somehow. She was feeling paranoid. " You need to warn Simon and Tori. You said Margaret sent them to-"
"-The basement for chairs." Chloe interrupted "For the others coming this afternoon"
'Oh God, that was not what I needed to here right now ' , Gwen thought. 'What would the others do if they came, burn my corpse?' "No others are coming ,Chloe." She stated sadly.
That got Chloe's attention. She immediately raced to the door, and unlocked it. Gwen, pleased to have her in action, stepped through the wall.
"Careful" Chloe whispered "Margaret-"
"Can see me, I know" Gwen finished. Mentally she added ' I know a bit about Necromancers, kid.' She looked ahead for Margaret, then gestured for Chloe to go to the next room and hide. They made their way to the rear stairs like that. It felt a bit like a bad spy movie to Gwen.
They were almost at the back stairs, when Gwen heard something. She motioned for Chloe to hide and listened as Margaret's heals clicked down the hall. She seamed to be going away from them, to the front hall. Gwen felt relived at that, until she heard Margaret, call a name. Russell. Oh God, Russell was here too.
This made the mission even more urgent, something she hadn't previously thought possible. She should have expected it, of course. Margaret and Russell were in the plan together.
Chloe made it to the bottom of the stairs, with careful steps. Both girls carefully listened for a break in the conversation or footsteps. Nothing happened, until they weren't far from the basement. Typical.
Margaret's heals clicked against the floor. Chloe looked like she was debating running for the basement, but instead went and pushed open the nearest door.
Gwen wished she hadn't. Another thing ghosts don't mention to necromancers is that they can sense the aura of the dying. Gwen had never felt it before, but it wasn't something a ghost could mistake. Someone in that room was dying. It wasn't an ideal hiding place, Margaret might come to finish the person off.
"No" she whispered, and gestured wildly for Chloe to get out .
Mid gesture she felt herself being pushed behind some sort of veil. Margaret.
She could still see the scene, but was reduced to being a watcher now.
So she watched as Chloe walked in on Andrew, unable to warn her about the blood that made her slip. Had to watch Margaret finish off Andrew , and drug Chloe.
She walked up to the Ghost of Andrew, staring at his body like a lost puppy. "Oh God!" he was whispering to himself. "What have I done?" he began to cry "What have I done with myself. I just wanted to make it right."
"I thought I could help them too, keep them safe, warn you, maybe." She told him. 'Not one of my brighter ideas, huh?"
He stared at her "Gwen, your dead too?" he asked unnecessarily.
"No" she answered sarcastically "Witches can see the ghosts of Sorcerers now" It was meant to lighten the mood, but ended up being another time for him to give her the 'Gwen this is no time to be kidding' look to be shot at her. "Sorry" she whispered. Why couldn't he take a joke?
There was a long silence. It felt like there was nothing to say. Finally Gwen, who hated long silences, broke it. "So what do we do now? Follow them?'
"Might as well. I want to see this through."
"Ok then! Lets follow the yellow brick road!" He glared at her again "I mean the bright sunshiny glow of Chloe." She amended. She felt him glare at her back.
Another new thing Gwen learned about being dead that day , was that ghosts can sit on or in moving vehicles. Who would have thought. "What next?" she asked Andrew.
"Follow her around I guess. Maybe she will summon us to scout, or something. When we can show up again ,we can ask her to go back and bury our bodies. I never gave much thought to what I would do when I was dead." That was worth the 'Duh' look and she gave Andrew the best one she could muster, but it fell flat. He laughed and added "I thought I still had time to think." That reminded her of what she left behind, and she couldn't look at him for the rest of the trip.
She had , had her whole life in front of her. Her boyfriend. Marriage. Kids. Grandkids. She hadn't wanted them at the moment, but she had always assumed she would have them when she wanted. Now the options had been taken away. Her chance at life was gone. And it wasn't coming back.
Gwen, after following Chloe around all day, fearing for the young Necromancers life, her sunny glow being blotted out forever, life ending, Chloe had been extremely reckless, and had almost died several times, not to mention, freed a Demon. Anyway Gwen and Andrew , had managed to corner Chloe in the woods.
It was supposed to be Chloe's alone time with Derek, and they were doing what teenagers typically do in the woods. Gwen honestly felt a bit jealous, but she and Andrew were finally through the veil, and Gwen was in no mood to beat around the bush.
She walked up , and Chloe backed away from Derek and stared at Gwen. "Chloe?" Derek asked, looking extremely confused.
"Chloe!" Gwen called out, hoping to regain the attention of the Necromancer. "Chloe, I have a favor to ask you!" Without waiting for a response Gwen blurted out "Could you go back and burry us. I know you cant now, but…"
"Andrew and your bodies?" Chloe asked
"No Lady Gaga and the Popes, Chloe. Of course I mean Mine and Andrews. Please Chloe?'
She nodded. "Yes. Can we please have privacy now."
Gwen left.
It took awhile before Chloe got around to it, they had many errand including mailing a letter for some reason, but they did get around to it. Andrew had told Chloe to publish his book for money. After a lot of protesting they agreed to send it to Chloe's Dad to publish for them. Her bank account was still open, and she was the main sores of money. As the earth surrounded her body, after the impromptu funeral, She felt at peace. Her last day was over.
She was fading, maybe to the place where most ghosts spent the after life, perhaps Limbo, Heaven, or Hell. Who knew? Who cared? She was at peace for now
Well this fic is finally up! I meant to put it up in October.
Please review readers, I see you on the traffic Graph. I know your reading this, and I would like to hear thoughts , critiques, and opinions.
Why is this the first Gwen centered fic? In fact why are most of the non main characters ignored? Id like to know what motivates Margaret, Perhaps hear about what their parents are up to, or Chloe's friends. What was Chloe's dad enduring the whole time? What was It like for Chloe's mom to have a kid? What was Kit doing the whole time before he caught up to his kids? What was Lyle house like before Chloe came? Perhaps with Amber and Brady. What happens to someone who is "Rehabilitated"? Perhaps Ill find a plot Bunny and give an answer but I have always thought fan fiction was meant to explore possibilities and write stories about characters. So why are there no stories for a lot of the minor characters? This is horrible timing but Since this is a series about a necromancer so I am offering an October challenge to any author who wants, no formal rules except writing from the POV of a dead person in the month of October. The person doesn't have to be dead at the start of the fic, they can die during it, but they have to narrate dead. It can be literally anyone. : )