ONE TWO GUESS WHO'S COMING FOR YOU
The sun shone brightly in the blue San Francisco sky, but the air was cold. At the Halliwell manor the day hadn't begun. The early blue skies usually meant that San Francisco was in for a sunny day, but today it would be different, the clouds on the horizon were moving in at a heightened pace, rain could be expected in the coming days. The weatherman had once again crossed his wires and reported fog early in the day, but sun for the rest of the week.
Prue Halliwell awoke to the loud and obnoxious buzzing of her alarm clock. Reaching her hand over to the nightstand she fumbled around for the button marked 'off'…
"Shut up, stupid thing, all right, all right… I'm going!" She mumbled to the inanimate object. Piper had just gotten out of the shower when she sleepily climbed in. By the time she was through with her shower, Piper was downstairs preparing breakfast. The smell of french toast floated up the stairs and pulled her down and into the kitchen. "Good morning Piper…"
"Morning… what can I get for you? French toast, pancakes, eggs, bacon?" Today was one of Piper's few days off from work and she intended to make this day a 'Dan Day'. She would let nothing interrupt her good mood so she kept flipping pancakes and humming.
"Umm, toast is fine, thanks…" raising her eyebrows she scanned the kitchen area and listened for any signs of her other sister Phoebe. Phoebe was in the habit of going to bed late and waking up even later. "Have you seen Phoebe yet? She has a job interview today and there is no way she's missing it!"
"No, I haven't… you sit and eat, I'll go get her!" Piper dropped the toast onto a plate and set it out in front of Prue. Hurdling up the stairs she grabbed a small spray bottle and filled it with ice cold water. She tiptoed into the room and gently shook her little sister. "Phoebe, hey Pheebs, c'mon time to wake up."
"Phoebe not home, leave a message…" Phoebe mumbled as she rolled over. As she rolled, however; she was met by a few quick sprays of cold water. Whining Phoebe sat up and climbed out of bed. Piper went downstairs to start eating breakfast and reassure Prue that their baby sister was up and moving.
The girls heard the shower turn on, but unlike most other mornings there was no shriek from Phoebe who was always the last one to use the shower and be struck by cold water. They figured that by some odd chance there must have been some warm water left over for Phoebe that morning. The two were discussing how many interviews Phoebe had been on, and hoped that this interview would be the key to the 'right' job for her. As they continued their conversation Prue glanced down at her watch which read nine forty-five. Cursing she said goodbye to Piper and called up to Phoebe luck on her interview. About fifteen minutes later Phoebe came stumbling down the stairs in clean PJ's and slippers. She groggily made her way into the kitchen and slumped over the counter.
"Good morning sleepy-head… french toast?" with a subtle raise of her hand Phoebe declined the offer and tried to fall asleep again. Surprised that her bottomless pit of a sister didn't want french toast she listed out what else she could make for Phoebe on the day of her big interview. Phoebe again made the gesture as she had to the french toast and wandered over to the couch.
"Sweetie, what's wrong… are you sick?" Phoebe mumbled some gibberish about a bad dream, and Piper dialed the number for Buckland's Auction House.
"Buckland's Auction House, Prue Halliwell speaking… how may I help you?" Work had gone wrong from the start. When she turned on the car the gas gauge was on empty so she cruised down the hill to a gas station, after filling up she was getting in the car and noticed a run in her stockings. She arrived at work a couple minutes late to find her boss, Claire, waiting for her impatiently. There was a new client that would be coming by that afternoon and Prue was behind in her research.
"Prue? It's Piper…"
"Uh-huh… of course…" Prue wouldn't allow her tone to slip into the annoyed state of mind she felt when her sister had interrupted her work and her boss was in the room.
"Prue? Is Claire in there with you?"
"Yes I believe we can do that for you…" she glanced up to see Claire watching her every move and became quite uncomfortable.
"Right, anyway, I told Phoebe she didn't have to go on the interview okay? Look, I hafta go… Dan's at the door… we're taking the jeep to the park if you need me. Love ya!"
"All right, you're welcome ma'am. Take care, uh-huh, bye." Claire was about to speak when she was called away to another office. Pausing for only a second to regain her composure she dialed home.
"Come on, pick up, pick up… I know you're there… PHOEBE!" When the message machine picked up it only took a bit of coaxing to get Phoebe to pick up the phone.
"Hmm?" Phoebe mumbled into the mouthpiece.
"Pheebs? Listen, you have to do this interview okay? I'll be home in, G-d, like 20 minutes…" Prue dropped her phone back on its resting-place and leaned back in her chair. 'Could this day get any worse?' she thought.
Back at the manor Phoebe set down the phone and returned to the couch. She had just put her head down when she started to dream. A dark mist surrounded her, there were tall trees all around her. Looking up she felt like she was in a calm twister. Suddenly she was in the air, floating above the trees. Everything was calm in the sky but she had a very eerie and uneasy feeling. The clouds that she touched were ice cold, only warmed by the black speck that were clouding her vision of the trees. She saw heat coming up from a cluster of rocks and started descending into them. The sky was no longer calm, it was broken up by shrieks from children who were surrounding the rocks. They were shrieking in joy as she fell into the hot, fiery rocks. The heat surged through her body as she fell pray to the shrieking children. They surrounded her with their big eyes and put their hands into the hot rocks. Screaming in pain she awoke to find Prue coming through the door.
"Phoebe, what? What happened, are you okay?" Prue dashed over to her sister and wrapped her arms around her quivering baby sister.
"There were these people surrounding me, children… I was in rocks… hot… burning up through my body… they just watched, smiling." She buried her head on Prue's shoulder and sobbed out her fears and anxiety's.
"It's okay, Pheebs, it was just a dream, just a dream." The doorbell rang and Prue opened it to find Jenny standing on the porch looking concerned. "Jenny, hi, um… I what do you need?"
"I heard a scream so I wanted to come over and make sure everything was okay with you guys." Prue assured her that everything was fine and that Phoebe was watching a horror flick and it had frightened her. Ushering her back down the steps she closed the door and let out a long sigh of relief. Prue was certain that it was just a dream, or a fear of Phoebe's, but she called in sick for the rest of the day anyway to stay with her sister… just in case. After only a few minutes Phoebe was back in dreamland. Prue watched over her until she was interrupted for the second time that day with a phone call from Piper.
"Hi… Prue? What are you doin' home? Umm, anyhow, Dan got a call from work… and he has to go on a job, so do we need anything for lunch?"
"No, I think we're fine here, how soon will you be home?" Prue asked as Phoebe began to stir on the couch. In the blink of an eye Phoebe's turning had turned into aggravated, panicky, jerks. "Piper, I need you here now!" Phoebe cried out to the ceiling and sat up just as she had before. Prue turned off the phone and threw it into a corner… scooping her sister up in her arms much as she had done only minutes before Prue tried to help her sister calm down.
"Prue, Prue… the children, the children… they were evil, chanting like devils all around me." Phoebe looked around the room, trying to search for what had caused her such great pain. It couldn't have been a dream she thought, it wasn't possible… she had only been asleep for a few minutes at a time. Logically and scientifically Phoebe knew that what she experienced couldn't have been a dream. Although logic wasn't something the sisters had been exposed too much these days it still held some form of importance during a mysterious occurrence. This, Phoebe knew, was a time where logical thinking didn't make any sense at all. Phoebe's head began to ache after Prue had gone to make lunch so shutting her eyes she placed her hands over her face and was suddenly transported back into her state of dreaming. She was flying, lower this time, than the times before. The tree branches began to brush up against her body, tickling at first touch, but as she descended into the rocky place they were scratching and cutting her. She fought against the children's glee and song trying desperately to pull herself out of the rocks.
"Prue, Phoebe? I'm home? Pru-ue… what's the big emergency? I got here as quick as I could… nearly scared Dan half to death with how I drove!" Piper walked further into the house and Prue came out to greet her. Prue looked pale and frightened, it made Piper prepare for something terrible. "What is it Prue? What happened? Is it you, Phoebe… what?" Tears were beginning to show in her eyes when they heard a bloodcurdling scream and a loud thud… thud.
Rushing into the living room they found Phoebe face down on the floor next to the couch. The coffee table had been knocked over… by Phoebe, they speculated. She must have rolled off of the couch and hit the table before she fell to the floor. The sisters gently shook Phoebe while softly calling her name. She awoke slowly, and when she was fully conscious she tried to explain what she thought was going on.
"What… you think that every time you close your eyes you aren't dreaming asleep but having a really extended premonition?" Prue asked her doubtfully.
"No, wait, it kind of makes sense… I mean, when she has a premonition normally… not that they're normal… she is just there, but when it's about us she is much more than there. Maybe if it is a premonition about herself, it lasts longer and is more vivid." Piper tried to explain what she thought Phoebe was having when she closed her eyes, but that could mean that she might never be able to sleep and that they were in real danger. Phoebe sat on the couch and tried to keep her mind focused on something active. Piper brought in some coffee and sat with her sister, trying to figure out what she had seen.
"This, these were the um, the rocks I saw. And there was a big circle around it that they made. I don't know how they made it!" Phoebe trembled as she put down the sketch and held the warm coffee mug in her pale, delicate hands. Just then Prue walked into the room holding the phone sideways in her hand and stopped with a confused look on her face.
"What, what is it?" Piper asked, her eyebrows moving closer and closer together as her eyes narrowed trying to read the expression on her sisters' face.
"That was Claire, she said that the client I was supposed to meet with is intent on meeting with me so she is bringing the client to our house!" she placed the phone down on the table and stood in a daze for a moment while she pondered what to do in this predicament. Suddenly her eyes were wiped clear of their glazed look and Prue rushed about the house trying to clean up, while Piper frantically tried to think of a way to get the client in and out of the manor without Prue losing her job.
"Hello Prue, glad to see you're feeling better…" Claire said snidely. She looked Prue up and down and barged into the manor.
"Yeah, it was just a little migraine, it's going away though!" Prue lied as she was brushed aside by her boss and a shy, motherly looking client. She was dressed all in black and constantly brushed tears away from her eyes. In a quiet voice she introduced herself as Mrs. Carmichel, she wanted to sell her valuable collections. Apparently her children had been fascinated by merry-go-rounds and so she had acquired many antique pieces from different locations around the world. Her children had died from sudden and unexpected illness, and the woman was trying to free herself of all the memories she held of them… including the collection. Claire, who knew her way around the house showed Mrs. Carmichel over to the couch where Phoebe was curled up in a ball. Embarrassed Prue said that maybe they should try the kitchen and Piper led Mrs. Carmichel in while Claire stopped to have a word with Prue.
"Why is she lying there?" Claire said in a hushed voice so that Phoebe was just able to hear what was being said. "I told you that we had a client who wanted to meet with you. It seems to me that whenever you are staying home sick it has something to do with your sister here… oh what's her name?"
"Phoebe, and it isn't Prue's fault, she asked me to move, but I was being stubborn thank you very much." Phoebe said hoarsely, trying to be as clear as was possible after having screamed too much in her dreams, so that the client and Claire would leave them alone.
"Look, Claire, I have a migraine and my sister Phoebe is feeling ill so it really isn't a good time for this to happen." Prue said this loud enough to hopefully get Piper and Mrs. Carmichel's attention.
"Oh, I don't want to disturb that poor little girl on the couch if she's ill… we can just do this a different time." Mrs. Carmichel said as she reentered the living room. She reached out to pat Phoebe on the head just as she had started dozing off again. "Feel better my little one."
"Excuse me, Mrs. Carmichel, but I am sure that Prue wouldn't mind going somewhere else to have this conference. We had an appointment for today at this time, and I know Prue would never break an appointment, would you Prue?" Claire giving her the evil eye was frozen from the kitchen and Piper ran into the room.
"Uh, what do we do?" Piper asked, her voice thoroughly doused with concern. "We can't risk your going somewhere and something happening…"
"Yeah, Piper, but I kinda need this job. Okay, what if we just went somewhere close by, you and Phoebe could be there too! Just be out of sight, okay?" Prue yelled out to her sister as she ran back into the kitchen to make some coffee.
They all ended up in the park around the area that Piper and Dan had been earlier. Phoebe carried a canteen of coffee to try and keep her awake while they were there. Right after Prue, the client and Claire had left Phoebe was awake and screaming… it had been the same dream, only this time there were more children, and they were chanting something that Phoebe couldn't make out.
"So, where do you think the rocks were in your premonition?" Piper tried prying more information out of Phoebe so that they could determine what was happening. Meanwhile Phoebe was searching the Book of Shadows trying to find something reminiscent of what the children had said. "Hello-o, earth to Phoebe!"
"Oh, what? Sorry. Look, I think this is what they were." Phoebe lifted the old book so that it sat in between their two laps and Piper looked at the description of the culprits.
"The children of witches, they have been wrongly killed both past and now. They seek revenge on witches that are still alive, and chant their song to hold the witches in place as they burn the witches soul and distribute it among themselves so that someday they may be reborn as evil. So whatever we do we can't listen to their song." Piper concluded.
"When I saw them more clearly it was after Mrs. Carmichel had patted me on the head." Phoebe recalled. Getting up Piper and Phoebe followed the others into a more secluded section of the woods. With every step Piper became more and more suspicious of poor Mrs. Carmichel. They entered a clearing and saw s group of rocks and little footprints that surrounded them, though there were none leading to or coming from the rocks. With a sudden blow to the temple Claire was knocked out and Prue reached out to catch her before her body fully collapsed to the ground. Waving her hands in the air Mrs. Carmichel levitated Phoebe off the ground and threw her around through the trees and placed her into the rocks.
Panicking Phoebe tried desperately to free herself from the binding rocks. Piper cried out to Phoebe to cover her ears, but she was unable to move her limbs. Prue ran to Piper to help her in whatever they had to do.
"Pheebs, don't listen to them!" Prue screamed to Phoebe when the saw the children hobbling around Phoebe to capture her soul.
"Come home to me my child, give me thy soul, thy soul, thy life, thy love and thy hate… I shall have it, my children shall live through you." Mrs. Carmichel chanted over the children and Phoebe could feel the flame start to burn through her. Piper showed Prue the passage in the Book of Shadows and the chanted the words aloud to the children.
I FREE THEE,
MY CHILDREN…
THOU ART FREE TO GO.
I FREE THEE,
MY CHILDREN…
I GIVE LEAVE TO THY SOUL.
I FREE THEE,
MY CHILDREN…
RETURN TO YOUR HOME.
I FREE THEE,
MY CHILDREN…
FLOAT AWAY TO YOUR HOME.
GO NOW, LEAVE HERE,
BE FREE, BE FREE…
I RETURN YOUR SOULS UNTO YOU.
The children disappeared into the heavens and Mrs. Carmichel withered and broke into dust as the souls of the children were taken from her body.
"It was her, she took their souls, she was indeed their mother." Commented Prue as she went back to check on Claire. Piper had called for an ambulance and it arrived just as Claire was beginning to regain consciousness. Phoebe had collapsed over the rocks and was cut badly in many places from the sharp edges. She had a high fever from the fire that had burned up through her. Claire was diagnosed with a slight concussion, and fortunately in the shock of the event she had forgotten what had happened that day.
"Well, now I'm never going to sleep again…" Phoebe said when her sisters got her home.
"What, do you actually think "Freddie" is going to come and get you?" Prue questioned.
"Well, you never know… he could be real!"
"One, two Freddie's coming for you…" Piper and Prue chanted as Phoebe grabbed a pillow and started swatting at them.