Hi everyone! Here's a little One-Shot for you while I put the finishing touches on the next chapter of LLtI and finish this new story I have! My fellow FF author, KestrelMoon14 and I are going to be working on a series of One-Shots that I will be publishing here. I hope you enjoy this little story and don't hate me for not publishing in FOREVER! Love you all! Happy Halloween!
xoxoxo, IMP91
It was abnormally cold that night as the rain fell in a mist around the car. The woman had been driving for several hours and was close enough to home that she grew restless. She turned up the heat and the volume of her music, trying to stay alert.
Why did I decide to make this drive in one day? she thought, running a hand through her long, black hair. She laughed to herself and began to sing along to the music. Rei sang perfectly along with Annie Lenox; I Put A Spell on You, how fitting for such a haunting night, and on Halloween no less.
As Rei was slowing down to drive around a sharp curve, the radio signal began to get fuzzy. She furrowed her brows and tapped her index finger on the tiny screen.
"Weird," she murmured. She glanced at the radio and turned the dial, trying fruitlessly to recover her station. Just as Rei was rounding the curve, the steering wheel jerked in her hands, causing her to snap her eyes back to the road and slam on the breaks before hitting the person standing in the rain.
Rei's eyes widened in horror and her heart fell into her stomach, she said a silent prayer that she wouldn't hit the person. Someone upstairs must have loved her, for the car stopped just inches from the girl. Rei closed her eyes and set to work on slowing both her breathing and her rapidly beating heart.
The tapping on the window reminded Rei as to why she had stopped so suddenly in the first place. She rolled down the window just enough to hear the girl speak. You never knew who could be a crazy ax murderer these days.
"I'm sorry, could you please help me? My car crashed into a tree and my husband is missing," the girl said.
Confusion flooded Rei; this girl didn't appear to have been in an accident. In fact, the only indication that she had been hurt was the small gash on her forehead and her dirty white dress. She narrowed her eyes and tried to get a better look at the girl through the darkness of the night and the misty rain. She was short and thin, dressed in a white dress that could have been beautiful once. Her silver-blonde hair hung down to her waist in damp waves.
"Please," the girl begged. "I have to find him."
Rei pondered for just a moment on if it would be a good idea to allow this strange girl into her car. What if she was just trying to gain Rei's trust so she could kill her? What if she was leading Rei to her death? But then Rei thought that what if the girl really needed help? Maybe her car did crash, maybe her husband was missing. Sighing, Rei pushed the button on her door to unlock the car.
"Get in," Rei said. The woman seemed relieved and rushed to the passenger side of Rei's car.
"Thank you," the woman breathed when she sat in the passenger seat. Once the door was closed and the girl was settled, Rei put her foot on the gas pedal and proceeded to drive down the slick, winding road.
"Where is your car?" Rei asked. She stole a glance at the small woman sitting silently in her vehicle. She fidgeted nervously with her hands in her lap, seeming to consider her situation.
"It's a few miles up the road, around some sharp curve near the lake," the girl answered quietly. She took in the appearance of the woman who came to her rescue, from her long dark hair to her hard violet eyes. The girl was grateful, but weary around this person. However, she couldn't be all that bad if she was willing to help, right?
"What happened?" Rei asked.
The blonde looked at Rei with unease swirling in her eyes. "It was pouring rain, it came down so hard and thick we could barely see two feet in front of us. My husband was driving and he lost control. I think I hit my head and when I woke up he was gone."
Rei glanced in shock at the blonde next to her. How long was she unconscious after the accident? It just didn't make sense that she could be so…so…okay. Despite Rei's confusion, she listened to the girl talk about her husband and her hopes that he was okay—wherever he was.
"He's tall, about six foot, maybe more. And he has black hair and dark blue eyes, just like mine. He's as sweet as could be and I'd be lost without him. His name is Darien Shields," the girl paused and looked at Rei. "Have you heard of his whereabouts or anything?"
The poor woman looked hopeful, but beneath that her worst fears were swirling within her. Rei slowed her car and pulled off on the side of the road where the woman had mentioned her accident occurring. It didn't dawn on Rei to bother with introductions, but something about that name was familiar to her.
Where have I heard that name? she wondered.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I haven't heard anything." Rei had decided it best to keep the familiarity of this girl's husband's name to herself. At least until she remembered where she had heard it.
"Oh!" the woman exclaimed. "How silly of me, my name is Serena Shields. I can't believe I've forgotten my manners. It must be from all of this insanity tonight."
The girl named Serena smiled at Rei with genuine kindness. Rei returned her smile, admiring the strength Serena must possess to find it in her to be nice to a complete stranger when she had been through something so stressful and traumatic.
"I'm Rei; it's a pleasure to meet you, Serena." Rei glanced at the ditch outside Serena's window, her expression suddenly turning grim. "You did say your accident was here, right?"
Serena looked at Rei with confusion. "Of course, I—" when Serena looked out the window, she couldn't believe her eyes. "My car is gone," she mumbled in disbelief.
She hastily exited Rei's car and ran down into the muddy ditch. She started screaming her husband's name, looking around frantically and tugging on the hair at her scalp. Rei caught up with her just as the poor girl started hyperventilating. Rei, never one to deal well with the emotions of others, awkwardly patted the distraught woman on her shoulder in the hopes that it would calm her down.
"Serena, I promise you we will find Darien," Rei soothed. That's when she finally realized where she knew the Shields' name. Several years ago she had read about them in the local newspaper, an article she would much rather forget having ever seen.
Serena looked at Rei with worry and tear filled eyes.
"Really?" she sniffled.
"Yes," Rei assured. "Come on, let's go into town and see if he managed to get there for help."
Serena nodded and walked dejectedly back to the car. The two women drove in silence as Rei navigated the dark, winding roads leading to town. The silence was filled with tension and awkwardness. Rei had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind telling her that something just wasn't right. But there was another, more dominant part that told her that Serena needed help more than anything.
"Maybe Darien had found someone to tow the car while I was walking around? Maybe he is out there somewhere looking for me, too?" Serena said, breaking the silence.
"Do you need me to take you to the ER, Serena? You did say you hit your head…" Rei responded.
"No, I think I'm fine, I just need to find Darien." Serena sighed and turned her gaze to the trees and the first few buildings passing by outside her window.
"Why don't you tell me about the accident? What do you remember?" Rei asked.
Serena scrunched her nose and seemed to think hard for a moment before answering Rei's question. "There was champagne, and kissing. We were celebrating something, but I don't remember what. We had gone to a masquerade party, all dressed up and everything. I remember a lot of people dressing in sparkling gowns and tailored tuxedos, but I can't place what the occasion was. It had gotten cold, maybe I had run outside. I was upset; I think Darien must have teased me. He was always playfully teasing me. The next thing I knew, we were driving home and then I woke up in a smoking car and he was gone." Serena stopped speaking and looked sadly out the windshield.
First there was the part about the pouring rain; Rei was perplexed, the weather had been drizzling all day. From the start of her drive that morning in West Virginia to her destination in South Carolina, it had been eerily misty. The second thing that bothered her was the fact that the car was missing. It would have taken a few hours for a tow truck to show up, and why would Serena's husband leave without his wife? Sure, there were burn markings on the trees from where the car had hit, but that was the only indication that an incident had even occurred.
Rei bit her lip and shook her head of those thoughts. She decided that she would drive Serena to the one place she knew Darien to be.
"I know where your husband is," she said.
Serena whipped her head to stare in disbelief at Rei. "What did you say?" she asked, eyes narrowed.
"I know where Darien is."
"Were you going to tell me, or were you just going to watch me go insane in worry all night?"
"It's not like that, Serena. I didn't know where he was until about a half hour ago when you told me your name. I read about you and your husband in an article a while back. That's all." Serena visibly relaxed when she understood that Rei was not trying to play any sick games with her. Then something Rei had said stuck in her mind.
"What article? We've never been featured in any articles."
Rei chose to stay silent and continued to drive to their final destination. Within moments, they were pulling up a hidden drive; large, iron gates loomed above them reading Memorial Park.
Before Serena even spoke a word, Rei could feel her bristle and grow angry. "A cemetery?! What kind of twisted joke is this, Rei?!"
Rei cringed at the blonde's high pitched shrieking and cursed her radio and interior lights for flickering again. She vaguely reminded herself that she would have to get that checked out soon. Rei threw the car in park and remained silent while she navigated the graveyard on foot. Rei led Serena to a pair of moderately sized granite gravestones near wilted rose bushes. The headstone on the left was obscured by the bushes, but Rei knew that Serena could see the inscription on the one on the right clear as day. She could see the tears pooling in Serena's eyes as sadness and realization dawned on her.
"What—" she started only to fall to her knees in despair.
Darien Shields
Beloved husband, son, and friend
3 August 1991-31 October 2010
Gone, but never forgotten
"I don't understand," Serena sobbed, "what is the meaning of all of this?"
"The article, it was about a terrible accident on Halloween six years ago, killing both passengers in the car. He's one of them."
Serena's face suddenly sobered up before she crawled on her hands and knees to expose the name of the person buried next to her husband.
Serena Shields
30 June 1992-31 October 2010
Taken too soon, always loved.
She stood and stared, gaping at what she knew to be impossible.
"Serena, I'm so sorry. You died on Halloween 2010 in a fatal accident on State Highway 401." Serena let Rei's words sink in. As the truth finally made sense to her, she flickered and wiped her eyes.
"I'm…I'm a ghost?"
Rei smiled kindly at the poor soul. "It's time to move on. It's been six years; I'm sure Darien is waiting for you on the other side."
Serena took a step towards Darien's headstone, gazing lovingly and forlornly at the granite. When she looked up into the trees behind the graves, she saw him. He was as beautiful as the day he died. He reached out towards his wife, silently pleading for her to come to him—for her to follow him into the afterlife. Rei watched in awe at the spectacle before her. Who knew that she would have helped a real ghost move on, especially on the six year anniversary of her death? On Halloween?
Rei chuckled to herself and walked away from the dark cemetery and the secrets it held.