Pray

Spoilers up through Season 3 mid-season finale

AN: Standard Disclaimer! I own nothing (though I would love to get Abraham for a while...)

Inspiration Soundtrack: "Broken Tooth" - 'Dracula Untold' Soundtrack

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Pain.

Everything was pain. Red searing agony that curled her tightly into a ball.

She was afraid to open her eyes, to look down and see the truth of what had happened the moment she stepped through Pandora's Tree.

Afraid to see the flesh crisped away from the bones in her hands, like pork ribs left too long on the grill...

Minutes and a lifetime later, Abbie blinked away her tears to see the world had started to resolve into a slightly brighter shade of darkness.

Rock, black as fresh asphalt, stretched as far as she could see in large crumbled masses. Acrid smoke curled up from hidden vents and settled like blue fog between jagged peaks.

Is this Hell?

There was no movement other than the drifting smoke; she found it both comforting and terrible at the same time. The only feature that broke the endless expanse of black was the pale white tree she huddled under.

Pandora's Gate.

Is this where the witch pulled her monsters? What if there are more?

Fear trickled through her veins as she looked around for any signs of life. Finding only silence and stone, she relaxed slightly. At least nothing had tried to eat her yet.

Unable to distract herself any longer, Abbie dragged her attention back to her ruined hands.

Blackened and peeling, the fingers were curled into useless claws where they had held the Shard of Anubis. She tried to flex the digits through the blinding pain but nearly vomited for her effort. Fluid wept from cracks in her skin, pink with blood.

Unable to help herself, Abbie sobbed as she cradled her arms as gently as she could. Each movement magnified the agony until she was nearly screaming.

"Be silent!" growled a voice suddenly.

Abbie's head snapped up, panic flooding her body with fresh adrenaline.

"My, my," said the man. "Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony."

Looking around, her eyes landed on a familiar figure. "Abraham?"

The Horseman of Death bowed, his smile not reaching his eyes. "Leftenant."

"What are you...?"

His face immediately drew into a scowl. "I met a cloaked woman on the road, wielding magic I have not encountered before."

"Pandora."

"From the myth of the box?"

"Something like that. This one seems to be Sumerian. She, uh...has been giving us a hard time."

The Horseman looked pointedly at Abbie's burned hands. "Clearly."

"What are you doing here?" she snapped angrily. "This is Hell, isn't it? Why aren't you torturing lost souls?"

"I rather thought I was."

Abbie's mouth clicked shut, not wanting to give in to the sudden wave of tears that threatened to fall. Not in front of him.

"Go away."

A blond brow rose. "I think not."

"Why?"

"It should be obvious."

Abbie was in pain and tired of being played with. "Spit it out!"

The scarlet coat filled her vision as the Horseman brought his angry face down to hers. "Because you are the key. Ichabod could not stand for you to remain in Purgatory for mere hours. Do you not think he would move Heaven and Earth to find you once more? All I need do is wait and he will come to us."

"You're using me as bait?"

"As I said: obvious."

"You're horrible!"

"Perhaps, but I am the only thing standing between you and the denizens of this place. I have no wish to stay here and you are my best chance of making an escape."

Abbie felt tears track down her swollen cheeks. "Bastard," she muttered.

"Such language from a lady." He looked down at her hands. "What happened?"

"Piss off! Why do you care?"

Abraham's glare hardened. "Do you pray?"

"I...sometimes. Why?"

"Then you should pray that Ichabod arrives before you die of infection."

With that, he stalked away to examine the strange white tree.

"Can...can someone die while they're in Hell?"

"Do you wish to find out?"

"No."

"Then pray harder."

AN: I tossed this one together as a fever dream of what I would like to see in the Season 3.5 opener - but I'm honestly not holding my breath.

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