I'm guessing this is AU... I dunno. I wanna write other Sleepy Hollow stories but I have no ideas as of now... sigh.
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When darkness became her home, it leaked into her very soul and tainted every inch of her.
She only screams now when the agony is too great. When the torturing strays from physical to mental. She only screams then. She has watched those she cares for destroyed so many times - Luke, Captain Irving, her sister - she has become completely numb to it. They've been murdered so many different ways in the mental mind games her master plays. The games in which she wakes up, not in her hellish, black prison but 'home', the trance would go on for weeks...months. Then something horrible would happen, the horseman would cut off Jenny's head, Captain Irving would be Implied by wooden spikes, Luke would get the life sucked out of him by some demon. Then she would wake up here, in her prison, surrounded by darkness, screaming her head off.
But after awhile, it wore off. She had stopped caring. She would feel nothing as Jenny was ripped into pieces by a hound beast, as Captain Irving would be buried alive, as Luke would be stabbed in his sleep. She wouldn't feel a thing. She barely twitched when it became her doing all these things.
It was the betrayal mind games that got her. The ones featuring Ichabod Crane and a choice. The choice between saving her and saving Katerina. Those were the ones, the ones that came in all kinds of shapes and types, that ate her like a parasite, that got a hold of her with long, black, bitter claws, and with each swipe of those claws tainted her with hate.
Those were the times when she would scream and the agony would malformed into rage.
Her hands bleed as she angrily pounds them against the metal walls of her prison, her own blood sprays into her face. The woman barely blinks.
"Stop your rage."
Her body freezes and she takes two steps back away from the wall, her head bowed. The voice is like an echoing hiss, hitting her from all sides. An icy chill races over her skin and deep seeded fear wiggles under her skin.
"Save your rage."
Her bleeding hands fall limply to her sides, she forces the tinges of rage from her, pushing them once again below her surface.
"For all those that will deserve it."
Lights flicker on so suddenly the woman screams, eyes that had only been subjected to darkness for nearly a year, suddenly assaulted by light burns deeply enough to cause agony. The naked woman sinks to the ground holding her bleeding hands over her face.
"Weak..."
Her master's displeasure is thick. It's frightening. She can feel it in every fiber of her being. Her fingers fall away from her face and she looks up, squinting, she gets to her feet.
Abbie forces her body to stop shaking.
(L)
These creatures bodies are as black as oil, and as flimsy like a wet napkin. But Abbie isn't fooled. She couldn't make out her attackers in her black prison, but the woman was certain, these creatures were the ones. The ones who picked her up and twisted her body and broke her bones.
Though flimsy, they were not weak.
Now, they move around her in flickery jerks, like afternoon shadows along the wall as she moves down the torch lit hall. Guarding her, being her guards, she was unsure.
Two of them move forward, bleeding through a set of double wooden doors. A second later they open into a large area full of nothing. A window stretching from wall to wall, directly in front of her looked out over a forest for as far as the eye could see.
Now she wears a long cloak, dark blue in color, it's hood always around her head.
"Come in..." Her master summons her inside, appearing before the window. This creature is female, human looking in all characteristics that mattered, but a complete contrast in the ways which count.
The female is tall, six foot something, slender, blonde... in human terms a model beauty. But that was all a mask one to hide a true beast. Abbie had yet to see the beast, but the woman had no doubt it was there.
Abbie moves forward, coming to stand beside her, her gaze on the landscape outside. Her gaze moves and lingers on the clear blue horizon. At one time, the woman was certain she would never see it again.
"It is something, is it not?" The voice now is outside her head. A soft famine, human, voice. "This world is truly something..."
Abbie nods once.
Her master laughs a soft laugh. "Your kind is destroying it. With their filth and greed. Don't you agree?"
"Yes." Abbie answers without even a seconds hesitation.
"I have a friend... it appears he has decided now was a good time to make his presence clear."
Abbie body tenses as she feels something other then the black creatures inside the large area. She only has to turn her head a little to see him. The horns, the pale skin.
"Moloch..." The woman introduces, "I'm sure you've two have met before." Abbie's tormentor walks around her, yellow silk dress fanning out around her. "I told you I could do it." The woman says to Moloch. "I can do anything."
"It appears..." Moloch hisses. "That you have broken her spirit, but..." He takes a deep sniff of the air. "is her soul truly yours... her heart, will it still beat fo - "
"Whom do you assume that her heart would still beat for." The female interrupts sharply.
"Ichabod Crane..." Moloch growls.
The female lightly scoffs. Abbie blinks.
"I assure you. She is mine."
(L)
Ichabod Crane adverts his gaze from Captain Irving and Miss Jenny as they share another long, touchy kiss. He feels awkward although they always do this to him. Invite him over and end up wrapped in a passionate embrace in front of him.
He wasn't even sure why he bothered anymore.
"It was lovely," He begins to stand from the couch, "you make a delightful casserole, Miss Jenny." He quickly shrugs on his coat. "I'll see you both tomorrow." He quickly heads towards the apartment's door. He had a bottle of whiskey calling his name back at his place.
"Hold up, Icky." Jenny calls after him, halting him half-way out his door. He mentally sighs and turns back around. Jenny shares a look with Irving, a heated look, a silent argument.
"What is it, Miss Jenny?" He asks as silence flows.
The woman shrugs Irvings hand from her shoulder and takes a step forward. "Have you been rendered unconscious recently... as in had a convo with your wife about... about Abbie?"
Ichabod's shoulders sink a little, and his brows lowers a smidge. A dulled out ache inside him blossoms into a piercing slash at the mention of his missing partner. His hands are shoved into his pockets as he gently shakes his head.
"I have... but... it appears.. Katerina tells me that their is no way for her to reach Miss Mills. There is no trace of her." His blue eyes darken, his face is indifferent. It had been two years since his fellow witness and friend went missing. Two years since he began fighting to stop the apocalypse without her. "How about your travels? Anything on the creature I saw... that night?"
The only present Mill daughter shook her head, a heavy frown settling over her features. "Nothing..."
"Then I'll be take my leave now." Ichabod says quietly. Jenny and Irving watches him carefully as he turns to leave. Though his near psychotic guilt and anger had calmed in two years, the man still showed signs of the mess he once was in those first few months. His shoulders were always tensed and he was usually distant, countless hours spent in the archives alone, only appearing when there was an issue that he needed help with. Which was how they got him to come to dinner usually.
As he's shutting the apartment behind him he hears, "I told you not to ask him. Now we won't even smell him for days!"
(L)
Abbie briskly walks down the cold damp tunnel, her gaze locked in front of her. She could hear raised voices in front of her. A twitch in her indifferent features behind her hood are the only indications of her annoyance.
"I told you to get the asian one!"
Abbie enters into a large circler room and stops short. Her gaze briefly takes in whats going on around her. The idiots are here, nearly finished setting up, five of them, sick freaks who have no idea what they are getting themselves into.
The woman is also here, unconscious, doused in blood, on a ground covered in broken glass, the fifth woman. Her stomach extends prominently. The fifth pregnant woman in her last trimester. Abbie's gaze lingers on the woman before tearing her gaze away, she begins walking around, gaze quickly scanning over the pentagon drawn into the ground.
"What in the hell does it matter?" It was two males who were arguing, both covered in tattoos and pricing. "Does it matter, Abbie?" The one with the glasses asks.
Abbie only removes her hood and continues to study their work, not even offering them a glance.
"I told you it wouldn't matter." Glasses says snottily to the bald one.
"Man, the asian one was hot." Baldy complains. "I wanted a piece of that before making her demon chow."
Abbie backs away from the circle and back around a rock being used as a table, her fingers trail over a few of the blades on it.
"Be my guest, man." Glasses grumbles, "I had no idea pregnant women were your thing."
"Shut up," baldly snaps, hands going to the button on his jeans. "I think I will, we have another half hour."
He had only taken a single step forward when he heavily dropped down to the ground after Abbie had pulled a long blade from his neck, his blood squirts out, hitting a stunned glasses in the face.
Abbie wipes the bloody blade on the bottom of her hood, she looks around at all the others, now staring at her. "Lets get this over with."
No one argues, no one voices outraged over what had happened. No, they all began their ritual to summon a demon as Abbie watched, arms folded over herself.
As one of the girl's finishes her long chant, the ground begins to shake. A few of them begin to voice their happiness. The ground underneath the ok drawn pentagram opens up, swallowing the now conscious woman whole. Blood squirts from the hole, a second later a pale, clawed hand appears from the hole, then the hunched over body of a hairy man like creature, with long fangs and black fur.
It growls, red irises sweeping across everyone. In a blur, it is before Abbie, frightening everyone around but the woman herself. It's clawed hand is raised to strike, but is frozen inches from her face, his gaze lands on a light blue and gold crescent moon pendent around her neck.
In a blink, he leaves her, attacking the next closest human. In less then two minutes all of the idiots are fleshy ribbons on the ground.
Their screams still echo inside her head as she turns to face the feasting demon.
"Who are you?" His voice is a raspy whisper. "You are human... no?" His head leans to the left, quizzically.
Abbie's expression remains indifferent. "Are you finished?" She asks.
He gets from his hunched over position to a full stand, he towers over her. "Who are you?" He asks again barring his fangs.
"I serve who you serve." Abbie calmly says. "That's all you need be aware of." Fed up with being in a room covered in blood, she heads towards the opening. When she's half-way there and the beast hasn't followed, a sigh escapes her. She turns half-way. "Are you not coming?"
He gazes at her for a long time before following.
(L)
"Obviously a very big animal that happens to look like a man would draw attention." Jenny unhappily says. "Especially when it tears people into pieces. I don't understand why you're complaining at all."
Irving groans into his coffee cup, "because I'm responsible, which means I'm getting calls 24/7 about a man eating dog! Why haven't you and Ichabod Crane taken care of this yet?" His hands slam onto his desk. She blankly stares at him for a while.
"Ichabod, well, he's been distracted lately." Jenny tells him slowly.
"Distracted? Why in the hell is he when there's a demon terrorizing Sleepy Hollow. "This is his responsiblity... and yours!"
Jenny huffs and shakes her head. "Remember what I told you last week?"
Irving looks at her for a while before nodding, "the Abigial sighting." He guesses correctly.
"Exactly," Jenny confirms.
Irving sighs, leaning forward in his desk. "Well, tell him I want to find Abbie as much as him, but he needs to take care of the mutt."
"Yes sir," she mockingly salutes.
(L)
"I can't help but feel like I should of brought a dog biscuit."
Ichabod lightly shuts the car door as he exits, his gaze on the trees around him. "I highly doubt this beast would be quelled by dog treat. It's more man then beast anyhow."
"Then how are we going to find it?"
"It enjoys to feast on unborn children." He gives her a long side eye, "Unless you and Captain Irving have been keeping something from me, the beast will not come to us."
Jenny nearly slips as they head into the woods. "Ha ha ha, Ichabod." She nearly spits at him, openly glaring. "Your sense of humor has certainly took a twist lately. Too much late night television?"
"I assure you, Miss Jenny, that thing is turned off before nine." He lightly says, throwing her a smirk as he clicks on his flashlight.
(L)
"There are less pregnant women walking around in this time." Arol says in-between eating his meal. "Why is that?"
Abbie eyes flicker around them. "I dunno..." She quietly says, "people aren't as stupid?" She folds her arms over herself. "Can you hurry up?"
He gets to his feet, a satisfied sigh leaves him. "She was a good one." The beast growls. "Tomorrow, she was expecting."
Abbie thinly presses her lips together behind a yellow mask. "Now that your finished, we can go."
"But I smell something..." He loudly sniffs the air. "Not a pregnant woman... but this odor is sweet..."
Abbie growls under her breath, ready to make the beast follow her back. But the odor he was describing wiggles underneath her nose as well. She frowns.
"Don't you have a thirst you want to quench?"
"We leave now." Abbie growls, turning to the beast. "Now."
He takes a step away from her. "No... I think I want to see this..." He takes off in a blur.
Abbie curses loudly, her fingers twisting around strands of her hair. "Fuck...fuck..." She couldn't leave him. Her orders were to protect him, allow him outside to get his fill. If something happened, she would be held responsible. All punishment would fall squarely on her shoulders.
But... following him towards that unmistakable odor...
Another slew of curses leave her as she takes off after him.
She's much slower, much, much slower actually then the beast is. She's fast though and she is half-way there when the first gun shot echoes out through the night.
Another gun shot echoes out as she quickens her pace. The woman slides to a stop right as another gun shots echoes out and Arol drops to the ground right in front of her. His hisses in pain. Abbie grabs him, lugging him to the left as another gun shot echoes out.
"There's two of them, Ichabod." Abbie bites her lip at the familiar voice.
"What is this? It feels like hot lead." Arol groans as Abbie yanks him back into the bushes.
"That's because that's what it is." Abbie growls. "Stay here." The woman darts right, quickly, noiselessly around. She could see only Jenny, Ichabod was yelling however, running towards them.
She quickly darts out, grabs Jenny's gun touting arm and yanks it backwards easily breaking the arm. The weapon drops. Abbie feels nothing as her sister screams in agony. She then pushes her down and steps over her quickly vanishing into the bushes.
"Miss Jenny!" Ichabod's voice greets her as she finds Arol. "What happened?"
Abbie lugs Arol onto his feet, tugging the beast to a run.
(L)
"You were meant to protect him."
Abigail bows her head, sweaty hair falling into her face. Her master paces in front of her. All around her is darkness again, and she hates it.
"He may not make it." The female explains, "His kind is highly allergic to lead. What is it you suppose I do if he falls?"
"Punish me accordingly." Abbie tells her plainly. "If I fail, I must be hurt."
The female comes to a stop. "Why did you not finish your sister off?"
Abbie blinks at the ground hearing the question.
"You only broke her arm..."
"There was no time." Abbie looks up, into darkness. "Ichabod Crane was coming."
"Time has never been an issue for you before."
Abbie bites her lip and swallows dryly. "I feel that there was no time." Abbie quietly says again.
Abbie is approached, a black and gold mask is placed in her view. She instantly takes a step back in fear, her head begins to shake. "I..."
"Put it on, Abbie."
Abbie's body shakes, she makes no move to take the object. "I... anything else. I will take any other punishment you find befitting. Anything... but that."
"Take it."
Abbie takes the light mask into her hands. Her insides churn. Her hands shake.
Having no choice, the woman places the thin mask over her face. It instantly latches on with a spark, agony shoots through her body, down every inch of her skin, burning her very cells.
She collapses to the floor as a scream bubbles out through her mouth.
"I need a book, unfortunately it has fallen into the wrong hands."
(L)
She falls softly to the ground. Her gaze lands on the building in front of her, it glows brightly in the night. A wave of memories hits her at once, but the mask over her face easily keeps the emotions at bay.
The archive is dark, which hopeful means that it is empty.
She uses a flashlight at first to look around, but eventually flips on the light. It looks completely how it had, a few dirty coffee mugs and fast food bags added, but identical to how it was. Her fingers trail over a few of the books as she takes her time. Her hand comes across an open book, she bends over it.
"Spells to find the missing..." She quietly reads. She frowns behind her mask.
Hearing voices outside the archives door, she quickly hides right as it opens.
"Icky, remember when I taught you how to turn off a light?"
Abbie bends low, peering below a row of books at the familiar pair. First Ichabod walks in, followed by Jenny with a casted arm.
"I did." Ichabod quietly says frowning. He looks around, brushing his fingers through his hair which was flopping into his face.
"Obviously you didn't." Her younger sister states. "Now I forgive you. Let's find the ass-hole who broke my arm."
With one last look around, Ichabod nods. "You said it was a female?"
"Yeah, felt her boobs when they rubbed up against my back when she broke my arm." Ichabod only stares at her. "You don't have to look at me like that. I'm being honest is all."
"I have yet to say a thing, Miss Jenny." Jenny shrugs walking around Icahbod.
"Spells to find the missing? Really, Ichabod?"
"We have to find her." Ichabod plainly says.
Jenny looks at him for a long time, before nodding, "yeah."
"Miss Jenny," Ichabod frowns, "do you... hear anything." He turns again, his eyes once again sweeping the archive.
Abbie mentally curses. She was stuck. She couldn't leave and return empty handed, and she couldn't... The woman frowns behind her mask. What was it exactly she couldn't?
The choice actually left her hands as Ichabod walks towards her hiding area. Sliding a hand into her hood, her fingers wrap around a blade's helt. A breath later, she's plunging the blade into Icahbod's shoulder. He cries out as she forces her shoulder into him and yanks the blade back out, causing the man to tumble to the ground. Without missing a beat, Abbie turns intending to make her get-away only to freeze upon finding her sister pointing a gun at her head.
She barely manages to duck out of the way as it is fired. She leaps over a desk as another gun shot is fired. As she once again ducks, she tries to remember if there was another way out.
But as she turns again another gun was being aimed at her, being held up by an arm belonging to Ichabod Crane. Behind her, her sister has appeared. She's trapped.
"Who are you?" Ichabod asks shakily. "Why are you here?"
Abbie holds her hand up and slowly turns sideways to have a view of both Ichabod and her sister. She quickly weighs her options.
"He asked you a question." Jenny hisses.
Ichabod steps forward, which is all she needs. She twisted her body, using speed which should not belong to her, she gets behind Ichabod, her blade against his throat. Blood seeps down his neck.
"Fuck!" Her sister shouts.
"Drop your gun... both of you." Abbie orders tightly. Ichabod already stiff body, stiffens even more at hearing her voice, his head moves a little as if he's trying to look at her. Her blade cuts deeper. "Stay still."
Jenny frowned, her head lowering and tilting a little in confusion. She had heard what Ichabod had. "Wh - "
"I said, drop your weapons." Abbie finds herself saying. "Now."
Ichabod hold up his hands first, he carefully tosses the gun onto a nearby table. Abbie's gaze locks with Jenny until the woman also lowers her weapon, laying it on the ground at her feet.
"No - "
"Miss Mills?" Ichabod interrupts her, his voice cracks, "Abbie...?"
Abbie's teeth dig into each other. She would have to come back for the fucking book later. She quickly pushes Ichabod forward, plunging her blade into the back of Ichabod's un-wounded shoulder before trying to make her escape.
"No!"
Abbie had just turned and heard Ichabod's cry when she felt, then heard, one bullet hitting her leg and another hitting her abdomen. Her legs collapses underneath her, not truly feeling any pain but her leg gave out anyway.
As she falls her mask also cracks and falls away, leaving her with the exact body wrenching agony it had when it latched onto her face. A scream falls from her lips. The mask seeps into dust.
As blackness begins to seep into her vision, she couldn't understand why her mask had broken.
"You shot her!" Ichabod yells at his friend as he tries to get to his feet, his wide blue eyes on the unmasked intruder, who is panting and sweating on the floor. It was Abbie. It was her. Once on his feet he moves to her, his astonishment clear.
"Yeah I did." Is the woman's only response as she also stares in shock at the woman on the floor.
Ichabod watches as Abbie's eyes close as she falls into unconsciousness. "We have to get her into a hospital." He's already beginning to attempt to lift her, but winces as the wounds in his shoulders tear.
"I don't believe that would be wise, Ichabod." Jenny says calmly, standing over both of them. "She tried to kill us."
Ichabod looks up sharply, a frown on his tensed features. "No..." He licks his lips, looking back down at the unconscious woman. "What are we going to do then? Let your sister bleed out on the floor?" He asks, his anger flaring.
She bends now, examining her sister.
"No, I'm going to call Irving while you find me that box of medical supplies."
(L)
"Do you think it's a spell... curse thing?" Irving asks, a deep frown on his features as he watches Jenny begin to cut the hood off Abbie. "Why else would she attack you?"
"Could be a spell..." Jenny nods, glancing at a silent Ichabod. "She could not even remember us." She tears the last of the hood off, revealing a black and grey tunic under it. As she finishes removing the hood, she halts. "Damn..." She whispers upon seeing scars littering nearly every inch of her sisters arms, mostly claw marks. "Oh man..." They vanish up her sleeves which means more are likely present underneath the clothing.
"She's covered..." Ichabod whispers now standing closer. "What has she been through?" He looks helpless.
"You two should leave." The younger sister says. When Ichabod frowns at her, she give him a blank look. "I have to remove her clothes."
He looks as if he understands as he nods, glancing back at Irving.
Both of them are allowed back in thirty minutes later after Abbie had been re-dressed her sister in sweats.
"Yeah, she's covered in scars." She quietly confirms. "All of them are old, she has no new wounds besides the two quickly healing gun shot wounds."
"Exactly what is it you mean by 'quickly'?" Irving asks, come to stand closer.
"As in, it's only been two hours but the wounds look days old..." The woman says dryly.
"Alright," Irving nods. "So what exactly does that mean?" Jenny gives him a less then impressed look. He ignores it bending over Abbie. "Why is she unconscious then?"
"No idea..."
As if on que, Abbie's eyes spring open and she quickly springs up and lands her fist into Irving's face. He falls to the ground feet away. She goes to stand but her legs, won't allow it. Falling back down to the ground, she haggardly pants looking up at the two people tensed around her.
She hisses at them and once again tries move, only to flop once again to the ground, once again unconscious.
The tree of them look at each other, Irving holding an obviously broken nose.
"I think we have to tie her up."
(L)
When Abbie wakes up again, she instantly looks down at the metal cuffs around her wrists, both connected with long chains imbedded into the walls of the archives. She had been moved onto a mattress, a heavy blanket on top of her.
She gives the cuffs a test tug as the adults quiet their low conversation, turning their attentions to her. She barely offers them a glance as her attention remains on the cuffs.
"Abbie..."
This time the woman tugs with strength, but nothing budges. She curses.
"Abbie..."
"What?" The woman finally responds lowly, shooting her sister a glare. "I heard you the first time." Her gaze breifly slides to Ichabod who takes a step in her direction. "Uncuff me now."
Jenny lightly scoffs. "Will you attack one of us again?"
Abbie's attention returns to the chain. "I dunno..." She lightly responds.
"Miss Mills," Abbie tenses, "I do not understand."
She continues to tug at the chain. She takes a break and lightly touches the necklace around her neck, relief flooding her upon finding it there.
"That necklace," it is Jenny who finally says something, "I found it in this book." Abbie tenses, stopping her fruitless tugging. "You'll die if the necklace is removed." Her sister matter of factly states. "It's why your fast. It's why you heal so quickly. Who gave it to you?"
Abbie looks at her sister. "If I don't tell you... What will you do? Torture?"
Her sister presses her lips together. "No," her sister shrugs. "We wouldn't hurt you."
Abbie only raises an eye brow.
"Hello..." Everyone's attention turns to Irving as he answers a phone call. "What?" He loudly exclaims. "Alright, alright..." He hangs up. "You," his looks directly at the youngest of the two siblings, "come with me. You," he looks at Crane, "you stay here."
"What is it now?" Jenny asks, her annoyance clear.
"I'll tell you on the way." Irving says, his words clogged because of his nose. "Lets go."
With one last look at Abbie and Ichabod a pat on the back, both Jenny and Irving leave.
Abbie's attention returns to the chains.
"I don't wish for you to be chained up like this, Abbie." He tells her sincerely.
"Then unchain me," Abbie lightly suggests, voice heavy with sarcasm.
He is quiet for a few seconds. "Do you remember... us, Abbie? It is I, Ichabod Crane."
The woman finally looks at him. "I don't have amnesia Crane, if that's what you're trying to say. I remember you just fine."
"Then, I want to understand," his voice trembles, his blue irises boring into her. "I don't understand."
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