Disclaimer: Teen Titans does not belong to me.
Casa Del Sangre—Part One
Author's Introduction: This is a short story I'll be working on for a brief while, just to take a slight break from my main series of fics. (Though I'll be working on those as well.) It, like my other fics, contains OC's—three of them, to be exact. So unless you've read my other stuff, you wouldn't know what's going on here. If you have, then read on, and I hope you enjoy!
The staccato taps of raindrops, pattering against the window of the T-Car, provided a lulling atmosphere in an already sleepy situation. They'd started out from the Tower at about noon after lunch… and here it was late at night and our intrepid heroes were still driving.
Cyborg, thankfully not a sleepy person by nature, managed to avoid falling asleep at the wheel, despite that fact that most of the car's other occupants were. In the seat next to him was Robin, reclined back on a pillow, snoring to himself although it couldn't be heard over the storm outside. His cape was thrown over his chest like a makeshift blanket, and his legs propped up (much to Cy's dismay) on the dashboard for comfort.
Starfire, Terra, and Raven were all asleep in the backseat; Star and Terra sort've half-laid over onto each other while Raven sat upright with her head against the cool window and her hood up, overshadowing her face. Cy knew she was asleep though, because she was breathing slowly and deeply, obviously out like a light…
A green dog about the size of a beagle was curled up between Terra and Raven, snoring and grunting to itself and occasionally kicking or scratching itself in sleep. Obviously, this was none other than Beast Boy. He seemed comfortable in his current position.
Cyborg jumped slightly as a streak of white lightning lit the atmosphere, producing a sharp crack like a wooden board being torn from a crate. He sighed heavily and wiped his forehead as he drove. What kept the storm from waking his friends was very much beyond him, but… they were sound sleepers; that was for sure.
Perhaps more so than that, they were exhausted. Anyone would be after being crammed into the T-Car for such a length of time.
'At least we'll have a good time when we get there…' Cyborg reasoned to himself, grinning slightly. 'We could really use a good vacation; everyone is so overworked…'
The Thunder rumbled softly in the distance, as though to answer him grimly...
'Hope this place is worth renting out… I mean, nobody uses it, but… I just hope it's in good shape and all.' Cyborg continued mentally.
Absentmindedly, he fumbled around on the dashboard for a small radio device. Taking it in his hand, he held it up to his mouth and whispered into it, so as to avoid waking his passengers… "Yo Smoke, everything still cool with you?"
… Smoke heard this over in his truck and picked up a radio on his dashboard that matched Cyborg's. "Yeah… real quiet over here." He said softly. "Everybody's asleep."
"Yeah, same here." Cyborg chuckled. "But can you blame 'em? We've been driving for hours…"
"Yup. Hey, when we get to this place, though… we'll be ready to enjoy some hard-earned free time." Smoke replied bracingly.
"Yeah… I heard that." Cy agreed.
Smoke paused. "… Hey Cy…"
"Yeah?"
"How much farther you reckon the house is?"
"Uh… Not sure. Lemme check the map…"
Cyborg reached out for the glove compartment, carefully avoiding Robin's outstretched legs, and opened it. He carefully removed the map after having searched through a bit, and tugged it out, unfolding it.
"Hmm… If I'm reading this right…" Cyborg said thoughtfully, focusing on the piece of paper in his hand. "We're only a couple minutes away…"
"Thank God for that!" Smoke sighed. "I'll be happy to get some good old R & R."
"Me too, Dawg…"
The two vehicles continued rolling lazily down the road, splashing noisily through puddles and mud… watched by a pair of black buzzards perched on an old disused telephone pole. One of them, its yellow eyes flickering, cawed loudly and pecked at the telephone pole a few times…
… Its partner mimicked it, pecking the telephone pole and flapping its ebony-toned wings… and then, giving the vehicles one last, mournful gaze, they flapped off into the night, disappearing into the inky blackness…
Seven Minutes Later…
Cyborg stared.
"No… way…"
He looked at the map and then back out the windshield.
A pause…
"…… No… way…"
He seemed at a loss for anything else.
Smoke, parked next to the T-Car, was thinking much along the lines of the same thing.
"… This can't be the right place…" He mumbled.
……….
The mansion before them wasn't even a mansion—it was a damned Castle.
The facade, peeling and cracked with faded gray paint, loomed out front with an old and dusty round window situated on center of its top and just above that, a huge balcony stretching out the entire front length of the house… its edges covered in precarious railing fashioned from hard, carved wood. Just below the round window and the balcony, beneath the front arch, was a pair of huge oaken double doors with heavy brass knockers fashioned into the likeness of grinning lions with fluffed manes and large teeth…
The building spread out from the façade on either side for what seemed like a quarter mile, every feet dotted by rusty square windows, with curtains drawn thickly over the interiors so as to hide the inside. On the far left side, the walls connected into a huge tower almost as tall as Titan's Tower itself—and it was topped by a massive clock, the face of which was covered by moss but still revealed its hands, numbers, and pendulum. A clock tower.
On the far right, was what looked to be a huge greenhouse of sorts, or an atrium perhaps. The surface was made entirely of an old iron framework covered in-between by filthy panes of glass that gave whatever was inside (it was too dark and rainy to tell) a warped, distorted shape… it was bizarre…
Overall, the entire thing seemed to be the dilapidated set of some over-the-top 1960's low-budget horror movie.
"… We're supposed to stay HERE? For… a week?" Smoke said numbly. "… We're screwed. Ghost's not going to so much as set foot in this place…"
"No…" Cyborg agreed grimly. "We're gonna have to drag 'im."
"Ah… maybe he'll go in if Raven will…" Smoke mused with a snicker. "… Should we wake them?"
"… Yeah… yeah, I guess…"
Cyborg went and woke up Robin, Starfire, Terra, Raven, and Beast Boy from their slumber whilst Smoke awoke Blackfire, Sub-Zero, Ghost, Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo, who had little trouble squeezing into Smoke's big Humvee.
Once everyone was out of the vehicle and fully awake, they seemed to have similar opinions…
"This place… is a dump!" Blackfire moaned. "We can't stay here…"
"Looks like the Adams Family Mansion on crack…" Terra oh-so-astutely observed.
"…… I do not understand friend Terra's Adam reference, but… I believe it is a negative comment, yes?" Starfire asked.
"…… You could say that." Raven said flatly.
Beast Boy yawned. "Well maybe… maybe it's not as bad inside as it looks outside."
"And maybe……… it's a five hundred foot tall piece of shit." Mammoth grunted.
"Heheheheh…" Gizmo giggled. "This place looks like a good hideout. It's sure out in the middle of nowhere."
"Hideout?" Zero said doubtfully. "…… I can't picture staying here… more than a few hours…"
"…… We're……" Ghost looked like a dead man walking, pardon the pun. "… going… in there…?"
"… Yes. Don't worry guys. It might be a little… uh… unkempt… but it's still a mansion, and it even has electricity—so Cyborg can plug up the game station and the TV." Robin assured.
… And so they set off warily towards the imposing double doors that greeted visitors to the enormous complex called Thorne Mansion. Thus called because the original family that had built and lived in the house'd had the surname, Thorne.
The gates were, despite their jagged and sturdy appearance, unlocked and easy to simply swing open, as they quickly found out. They walked in tentatively…
The courtyard outside looked like a forest: huge, densely-canopied trees with gnarled, thick limbs and roots formed a sort've natural wall around most of the courtyard, with a leafy cobblestone path serving as the small road to the front doors. Weeds and mushrooms covered the entire place, tipping them off to the fact that no one had been here in a very, very, very long time…
Finally they set up the dull gray concrete steps that led to the double doors, the stone worn and beaten up by weather as well as normal wear and tear. They were steep and difficult to climb, even to be so small.
Robin reached out carefully and knocked on the door, using the Lionhead-shaped knockers. The sound echoed and reverberated through the inner halls, audible even outside.
"… Hello…?" Robin called. "Is… anyone there?"
No answer. However…
… The door slowly swung inwards with a long, shrill, agonized creak… pitch-blackness awaited within.
Everyone stared.
"Well… I guess… I guess we just go in." Robin said, although even he was unnerved by what had just happened.
… They walked slowly into the doors and Robin managed to find a light swich, flipping it.
All at once they were blinded by the light… When their eyes had adjusted once more, they gasped.
"… So this is Thorne Mansion, huh?" Robin mumbled to himself.
They found themselves in a monstrous anteroom, lined on all sides with suits of armor along the walls. Down the center of the room, a thick red-velvet carpet was rolled out, thick with the dust of ages… golden tassel lined the edges, but they too had faded with time, rendering them more of a dun yellow color. A chandelier with electric light bulbs lit the room brightly, hanging in obvious view due to its sheer size. The red carpet led to a staircase that spiraled upwards to the upper floors, while the back wall had a row of simple wooden doors with brass knobs that led to lower rooms.
Beast Boy glanced over at a stuffed moose head on the wall, leering at the doorway. "… Uh… Can we go home now?"
"No." Sub-Zero said sternly.
There was a pause and then, his eyes fell on a huge fireplace on the left side of the spiral staircase, burning hotly with orange-red flames, like a Hellish furnace. Embers and sparks leapt from the live coals, and thin wisps of smoke, seeming to take on a shape of their own, drifted out…
"Actually…" He gulped. "… CAN we go home now…?"
"No!" Robin repeated his earlier remark. "… We came here to enjoy a well-deserved vacation and that's what we're going to do. It'll be nice to get out of the Tower for a while, trust me."
"Yeah… I understand that… s'just that…" Smoke eyed the surroundings. "Well, couldn't we have stayed at a Holiday Inn or something?"
"Now you're just being cynical." Robin snapped.
"……." Smoke blinked. "… Huh?"
"Nevermind…" Robin groaned.
"… So… Where are we gonna sleep?" Raven asked, glancing around.
"Well, there's supposed to be bedrooms upstairs…" Robin started.
"If there's not enough, I can share with Ji—"
"There's plenty, Zero." Robin said exasperatedly.
"Darn…" He and Jinx murmured simultaneously.
"Anyway…" Robin continued. "There should be more than enough. I don't see why everybody can't just have a look around and take their pick."
"I need one with an electric plug for my charger." Cyborg said.
"I need to have one that's isolated…" Raven said.
"I need to have a room with… a night light…" Ghost gulped.
Raven reached up and patted his shoulder bracingly. "Don't worry. There's a full moon tonight, so you could just open the window…"
Unfortunately, this only succeeded in making him even shakier looking...
"This room looks good." Sub-Zero said, looking at the large window—good for letting in cool air in case of getting too warm. "What d'you think, Darling?" He asked Jinx.
"Looks all right to me." She said, nodding. "And it's got two beds and a bathroom."
They'd finally convinced Robin to let them share a room on the promise that they wouldn't, ah… keep anyone up…
"Who knows?" Jinx said. "This place might not be so bad. I actually kind've like it."
"I'll admit, it IS very, eh… majestic, isn't it?" Zero agreed. "I want to get a look inside that clock tower… I've never actually seen one before."
"Neither have I." Jinx admitted. "So we can go together, I guess." She yawned and peered out the window, out at the huge dome-shaped Greenhouse. "… I wonder what's growing in there?"
"A gaggle of weeds, I expect." Sub-Zero chuckled. "No one's been here in a while, from the looks of things."
"I want to go look around that, too." Jinx said absent mindedly while beginning to unpack her clothes—a bunch of identical black dresses with purple-pink frills and matching striped stockings and platform boots. Other than that, there were a few pairs of pajamas, some gray, some purple, and one pink set.
Sub-Zero nodded. "Sure. I don't see why not…" He reasoned as he removed his armor, sitting it with a clank on a wooden dresser. "Who knows? Between the clock tower, and the gardens… this place may grow on me yet." He said with a lopsided grin.
"You and your cheap jokes…" Jinx groaned, rolling her feline eyes. "… But then, I love you anyway." She paused, grabbing one of the gray pajama-suits and bundling it up in her arms. "I'm going to go ahead and get a bath… What are you going to do?"
"Well… I'm feeling a bit, eh… hungry. Maybe I'll go get some food out of Smoke's truck…"
Robin yawned, plopping down on the bed and groaning. How he was still tired after sleeping all that way here was beyond him, but… he was.
After putting a little thought into it, he'd decided no harm could come from allowing his friends to room in pairs… the only one left by himself being Cyborg, who planned to start charging—or sleeping, as he jokingly referred to it as—as soon as possible, after sleeping all that way. He'd had no trouble finding a room with electricity with which to plug in his equipment.
Other than that, the rooming was as follows: Robin with Starfire, Beast Boy with Terra, Cyborg alone, Raven with Ghost, Blackfire with Smoke, Jinx with Sub-Zero, and Gizmo with Mammoth… a good arrangement if he didn't say so himself.
"……" He was silent, a thousand or more thoughts running through his head. He didn't know why, but… he just had a funny feeling—a hunch, if you will—that something was amiss…
"Robin…? Robin, are you there?" A voice called from outside the doorway. It was Starfire.
"Yeah… come in. The door's open." He yawned in response, rolling over onto his back.
The knob turned slowly, and the door swung open with a barely audible creak, revealing Starfire carrying a couple bags—pink with floral patterns—of clothes, most of which were identical to the ones she usually wore, the only difference being a few light pink nightgowns.
"… This house is very fascinating." Starfire observed as she walked in. "It is certainly larger than the Tower, is it not?"
"It's big all right." Robin agreed. "Maybe once we've all had some sleep… we can start hooking up the TV and stuff, tomorrow morning."
"I am still amazed at the amount of things friend Smoke could fit into his vehicle…" Star said with a smile. "… I hope the ride was not uncomfortable on friend Mammoth. He is very, um… voluminous, after all…"
Robin couldn't help but snicker at that. "Hehe… yeah. He fit in a bunch of food, Zero's rum, the TV, the gamestation, everybody's baggage, and all his weapons and stuff… dunno why he brought them. We're on a vacation, not going to Vietnam."
"I believe perhaps it is an egotistical issue." Star observed. "… Smoke feels awkward without them."
"Yeah…" Robin said, but he couldn't manage anything more because he was overtaken by yet another huge yawn.
"… You are tired." Starfire said, more of a statement than a question.
Robin nodded, rolling onto his side and pulling the blankets over himself—he hadn't even bothered to change into his red pajamas, but he seemed tired enough to sleep in full uniform tonight.
Starfire smiled and patted his head rather like a dog. "Sleep well. I will retire to bed as well, shortly…"
Robin mumbled something in response and, within about a minute, starting letting out muffled snores, prompting a string of giggles from Starfire.
"Good night, Boy Wonder…"
"Beast Boy, you can't be serious… you're going to go wandering the halls by yourself?" Terra asked doubtfully.
"I can't help it… I slept the whole way here; I'm not even tired now…"
"I'm not tired either, but what if something happens to you?" Terra asked. "Old houses can be dangerous."
"I promise, I won't go far." Beast Boy said. "I just want to have a look around."
She opened her mouth to stop him, but when she turned around, he was already gone...
Sub-Zero shuddered as he walked out the door into the courtyard of the mansion, where the T-Car and Desperado were parked. Why he had a craving for ice cream and rum this time of the night, he had no idea… but he did. And there was a freezer of both in Smoke's truck with his name on it.
He drew his flowing cape around himself, shivering. It was cold tonight. Granted, he liked the cold, but… this wasn't normal… it was like… a different kind of cold. As though something in the very air was sapping away all the warmth for itself.
As the trees swayed back and forth, their leaves hissing and flicking in the wind, the knight ducked under several limbs, getting knocked in the head several times. The wind was unusually strong out tonight, and the howling of the wind through the trees was giving him the creeps…
Finally, he found Smoke's truck and opened up the door, shoving some stuff aside to get to the freezer. He smacked his lips and yanked open the top… flooding the entire truck with frigid air, which actually felt quite refreshing to him—unlike the strange… inner cold that filled Zero from the night air…
'…… Join us…'
Zero's head snapped up. He had distinctly heard an airy, wheezing voice…
"… Hel… Hello…?"
'Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh…'. Only the whistling of wind through the trees.
"…" Sub-Zero's crimson eyes darted about, straining for some sign of life in the darkened courtyard, looking for anything that might be moving between the swaying, writhing trees…
"Wind… just wind…" He muttered to himself, grabbing a brown bottle of rum and a small tub of French Vanilla ice cream and tucking it under his arm. He began walking slowly towards the front doors again…
'Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhjjoinuuuuuusss……shhhhhhh….Joooin usss…."
He stopped dead in his tracks.
'…Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh…' Just wind.
He began walking a bit faster now…
As he walked, everything seemed to warp in the darkness, the trees seeming more like giants brandishing staves… the cobblestone path seeming more like a giant, flat-bodied snake stretched out before him…
'Sshhhh…One… of… ussss… One… of you… One in the sssaaame…'
At that moment, the white hairs on the back of his neck rose up and even he, cold as he was, felt the blood seem to freeze in his veins.
He stood statue-still for a split second… and then, dropping his food, drew his blade and whipped around to face the night itself.
"… I… I know… I know you're there! Come out!…"
At that point he realized—it stopped. Everything. The trees stood still, upright in position, no longer being pushed by the wind. Even the wind itself had gone silent… the leaves on the ground, rather than being whipped around and blown about, lay there limply… the night had become silent as the grave…
He turned… and grabbing up his precious alcohol and frozen confections, started hauling pale ass towards the front doors.
He heard his own heart pounding in his chest, in his very ears, and felt his head throb with the force of it. He heard his boots tapping against the smooth cobblestone… he heard…
… The snapping of twigs and leaves behind him.
He didn't turn to look. He wanted to, but he didn't; he kept running… he gasped in breaths of air, suddenly no longer cold… but hot, thick, unbreathably humid air…
The snapping of twigs grew louder, sounding like someone snapping tree limbs… rustling and rhythmic tapping behind him, growing steadily more rapid, steadily louder…
… And the breathing… the breaths against his shoulder…
The crackling of leaves and weeds was behind him, a foot and a half behind him, drawing ever closer while blowing out hot air against his neck and shoulders, gasping and wheezing, and sighing out the grim syllables…
'Join us. Join us. Join us. One… of… ussssss….'
The next thing Zero knew… he… was slamming the door… slamming the doors to the house, locking it tightly and stumbling to the ground, gripping tightly on the bottle he held…
… He laid there… what felt like five or six minutes. Just… listening. Waiting. Trembling…
… Silence. Stillness.
Without thinking, he stumbled to his feet, shaking, and broke into a clumsy run down the hallway.
Jinx sighed contentedly, almost purring, as she sank down into the warm, bubbly, foaming waters of the tub. After spending so much time scrunched up into Zero's side while riding in Smoke's truck (which, although definitely not unpleasant, got uncomfortable after a long time) this was a big relief on her tired muscles.
The bathroom connected to her and Sub-Zero's room was remarkably clean and well-kept to have been unused for so long. It had a white porcelain toilet with an old-fashioned pullstring flusher, and a golden sink with pearl-encrusted handles marked 'H' for hot water, and 'C' for cold.
The tub was made of the same white porcelain as the toilet, but was much larger than any typical tub. It was about five feet deep, and about seven feet long. The legs it sat on were crafted and sculpted into the shape of elegant clawed talons, giving it a luxurious look. Though it had thick purple curtains surrounding it, she hadn't bothered with them—she was too occupied with admiring the bejeweled water faucet and handles.
For the longest time, she lay there stretched out, every inch of her slender body submerged in water except her head, just relaxing and half-asleep… her hair, taken down from its usual horn-like styling, hung loosely down her back in a fluffy pink mass.
Her felinesque eyes, tired and glassy, fluttered downwards… slowly closing… her vision blurring and dimming, as sleep began to slowly, but surely, overtake her…
….
…….
…………
….. The door slam in the next room—their room.
She sat bolt upright in the water, gasping as her eyes snapped open.
… "… Hello?"
She heard shaking, uneven breathing in the next room…
Her voice caught in her throat. Was that… Sub-Zero…?
Slowly, she stood up, shivering as the air brushed against her bare body…. Reaching for a towel on a nearby shelf…
Once she'd wrapped it around herself, she stepped out of the tub, reaching nervously for the door knob. Her hand shook slightly as she heard the strained, hoarse breathing more and more clearly.
Her fingers clenched the knob, and she took a deep, shuddering breath as she turned it slowly… eventually she felt it click and lock in place, unable to turn further. She stood there, listening for a minute or so, the situation suddenly surreal.
… She yanked the door open.
There was Sub-Zero, all right. He was lying on his side, back facing her, on his bed with an empty bottle on the nightstand beside him, and a tub of ice cream in a small cooler in the corner. He was shaking violently all over, trembling and convulsing, and the whole time letting out deep shuddering gasps.
Jinx abruptly forgot she was wearing nothing more than a thin, sheer towel.
"… Zero…?"
He flinched as though someone had struck him in the back, and turned to look at her.
His face had always been extraordinarily pale. But now, it was… different. It had lost that slight tint of ruddiness and now seemed more like a white sheet. And she might have been mistaken, but… No… she was right.
Tiny clusters and clumps of frost were on his face, just underneath his crimson eyes. He had been… crying?
She hurried over and sat on the bed next to him, trying for several minutes to discover what was wrong, but… he seemed far too shaken to even say anything. Finally, she began running her hand through his hair and rubbing the backsides of his ears, trying to soothe him and lull him to sleep… she couldn't help but notice how… cold… he was. He was always cold obviously, but… now he was utterly clammy.
Sure enough, about five minutes later his breathing slowed and became deeper, more even, as he fell asleep and Jinx wrapped the sheets and blankets around him. And as she made a mental note to demand him tomorrow to explain what was wrong, she laid down next to him and pulled some of the sheets over herself, keeping one arm firmly around Sub-Zero's chest.
… She slept in a bath towel that night, but it was unlikely either of them noticed.
TO BE CONTINUED….