Disclaimer: The Pretender is the property of Steven Long Mitchell and Craig Van Sickle. All non-canon characters belong to the author. Song lyrics are the property of the respective song writer(s)
Rating: PG-13 (T) for dark themes and content.
Summary: A series of unfortunate events threaten to send Lyle over the edge; Miss Parker discovers a Centre secret more bizarrethan she ever dreamed; and Jarod's next pretend just maybe his last...
Author's Note:This is a repost of the original story which was deleted (I cannot apologize enough to the adminstration of this site for my carelessness which led to the removal of the story!). Please be aware that this is a stripped-down version of the original. For more information about the original version, please see my bio.
Since I lost the original reviews for Tourniquet, new ones would be so appreciated.
Prologue: Haunted
"You're the treasure I cherish so sparkling and bright, you were touched by the holy and beautiful light… Like angels that sing a heavenly thing, And you're daddy's little gi---"
The thunderous splintering of plastic and glass abruptly ended the mellifluous song as the radio lay shattered on the cold tile floor, broken by a glass paperweight. The room was deathly quiet, arctic and callous to its captive. In time, a still rustle- skritch, scratch- was the only sound in the expansive area.
The Centre was nothing if not cryptic, filled with secrets, lies, and dead end upon dead end. Within this hollow space encompassed by stark gray walls and a locked door was another of its enigmas. Granted this one was far more visible than most were. Typically dressed to the nines when showcased to others, he was once at the top of the chain-of-command.. Sinister, vile, malevolent were just a few of the nasty adjectives used to describe him. He was known as the go-to-man, the one who got the job done, and the one who cleaned up the messes. But Time had not been kind to him, his power and rank removed from him and he was now prisoner of this room, let out only when his services were needed.
Skritch, scratch, skritch, scratch. The sound came in rhythmic waves. He heard a new song rising from the broken radio. Or was it coming from his own head? It made no difference...he heard it anyway- the haunted, lonely melody:
"I tried to kill the pain but only brought more... I lay dying and I'm pouring crimson regret and betrayal...
I'm dying praying bleeding and screaming... Am I too lost to be saved? Am I too lost...?"
Background: Tourniquet is set in the fourth season immediately after "Risque Business" and before "Road Trip". The reason for this will be made clear later on. When I initially wrote these opening chapters, I could not decide where I wanted this story to fit in the Pretenderverse and so there are desrecpancies with the fourth season- I plan on rewriting those chapters in the future.