Waiting for the Storm
(When reading, feel free to point out any mistakes you think I've made. My proofreading skills are somewhat lacking. Enjoy.)
*
The sky was awash with a palette of grey clouds. In the light of the early evening the world looked dim and somehow sad. The rain was gentle and inconsistent while the trees swayed as one, hypnotic in the wind. Leaves whispered softly and urgently to each other as the shadows started closing in, stealing silently along the ground, invisible in the gathering gloom.
A lone figure stood, vaguely detached from the entire scene, as a frigid breeze ripped through the isolated garden, casting a chill over her weakened frame.
She stood out in the open, away from the shelter of the house, staring blankly up into the clouds. No one could say how long she had been there, rooted to the spot. Both her hair and her clothes were plastered to her skin and she was trembling, although she barely seemed to notice. The atmosphere was shifting as it swirled around her, casting out a net that ensnared her mind and stripped her of any remaining vestiges of free will. She didn't know what was happening. She wasn't even aware that anything was happening. Something was reaching out to her, clawing at her heart and wrenching forcefully at both her mind and body. Something was calling to her, such a sweet melody, it was calling and she desperately wanted to answer.
In the kitchen a light came on, spilling the invitation of sanctuary and warmth out into the darkness, offering her a lifeline; one last chance of salvation.
The line fell short and the girl ignored it.
*
Muttering to herself Karen walked into the kitchen, absently flicking the light switch as she passed, plates precariously balanced in one hand. With the utmost care she slid them onto the work surface, once again amazed that she had managed to not drop one. She then briskly brushed her hands together and turned to the sink to start running the tap. Sighing she eyed the leftover food. Merlin would feast tonight; Sarah had barely touched her meal. In fact she was tempted to say that the girl hadn't eaten anything at all, just pushed everything around the plate. Karen frowned, that was almost three nights in a row now and she hadn't had anything for breakfast that morning. Reaching for her washing up gloves Karen wondered whether she should be worried. She knew Sarah wouldn't appreciate it if she got involved, perhaps she should speak to Robert...
A shiver travelled, unannounced, over her skin and it was with some surprise that Karen noticed the back door was open.
Puzzled, she dropped the gloves back in the sink and went to shut the door. Not for one moment imagining that anyone would be outside on such a night Karen was startled slightly when she thought she saw a familiar outline silhouetted against the glow from the kitchen. Squinting out into the rain and the rapidly vanishing light Karen found that her sight had not misled her. Her stepdaughter was standing in the garden, head raised to the sky and, considering the weather, no doubt drenched to the skin.
"Sarah?" Karen called. "Sarah what are you doing out there? Come inside."
If she heard her stepmother's cry the girl gave not sign.
"Sarah!" Karen barked, louder this time. Still no response.
Sighing in frustration the woman pulled the edges of her cardigan more firmly around herself before casting a wary glance at the murderous clouds overhead and stepping out into the rain, ducking her head as she went.
"Sarah? Sarah!"
Cursing the cold as well as her stepdaughter Karen scurried across the lawn until she was within arm's reach of the girl, seizing her firmly by the shoulder and spinning her around.
"Sarah what on earth are you doing?" she shouted, over the suddenly increased howl of the wind. "Come inside at once."
The teenager didn't rely. She seemed dazed, surprised, so Karen took her by the arm and effectively frogmarched her back into the house.
*
Once safe, huddled within the warm embrace of the kitchen, Karen slammed the back door shut and turned the key before rounding fiercely on her Stepdaughter.
"Sarah what were you doing out there? It's raining and you're soaked, look at you," she said, indicating the girl's dripping clothes. Sarah looked obediently, but her eyes held a half empty, glazed expression that gave Karen a cause for concern.
She raised a hand and brushed aside Sarah's sodden hair to press it again her forehead. "What's wrong with you? You look terrible. You're pale," she said, fretting as she tried to gaze into the girl's eyes. They didn't seem to want to focus and so far Sarah said hadn't said a word.
"Sarah, look at me," Karen instructed firmly. She didn't seem to understand. "Look at me Sarah," Karen demanded, grabbing her shoulders again and shaking her vigorously. "Sarah!"
That did it.
Sarah blinked. Her gaze skirted around the room for a moment and then settled on Karen who was observing her closely. Her brow puckered slightly and she shook her head.
"Karen?" she murmured uncertainly, lifting a hand and placing against her temple. "What-?" She didn't seem to know how to finish her sentence.
Cautiously Karen released her, still wearing a guarded expression on her face. "Sarah, how are you feeling?"
"I..." she trailed off. Her eyes clouded again for a moment but she brought herself out of it. "I..."
Whatever she might have been about to say was interrupted by a piercing wail that came from upstairs.
"Toby!" she cried anxiously, a sudden clarity coming to her face as she made to go to him, Karen stopped her.
"Sarah, Toby's fine. He's been fussing all day." She turned her head towards the kitchen door, still having to physically restrain Sarah from leaving. "Robert!" she called. "I'm a little busy; can you take care of Toby for me?"
There was the sound of shuffling in the living room and then the plod of feet going up the stairs. A minute later the crying stopped and Karen felt Sarah jerk and tense under her hands. She wondered what it was that had the girl so wound up. The footsteps retuned with a murmuring voice. Moments later Robert appeared, a blonde haired boy cradled in his arms.
"Never fear," he reassured, smiling at the two women. "All has been taken care of, hasn't it ?" he asked looking down at Toby and tickling his stomach. The boy giggled, squirming in his father's arms, completely oblivious to the tension that permeated the room.
Sarah's body relaxed and Karen did also, casting a curious glance towards her. They needed to talk.
"Everything alright in here?" Robert asked, having only just noticed the rather strained feel that was lingering in the air.
"Everything's fine, Sarah and I were just talking," his wife gave what she hopped was an encouraging smile. "If you'll just give us a minute to finish off, then I'll put Toby to bed."
Robert returned her smile but didn't leave immediately. Instead he turned to his daughter.
"Sarah?" She glanced at him, almost as if surprised to find him there. "Everything ok?"
Karen felt the sting of betrayal, that her own husband wouldn't believe her but she repressed it and also turned to look at Sarah.
There was confused frown on her face, as if she were straining, having trouble forming coherent thought. In the end she just nodded, still looking perplexed, her mind elsewhere.
"Ok..." Robert said indecisively. Apparently he didn't believe his daughter either which came as some comfort. Unsure of what else he could do, except to do as he was told; he left, muttering to Toby about women and their ways. "You're never too young to start learning kiddo."
*
Alone once more the two women faced each other, Karen scrutinizing her Stepdaughter closely while Sarah kept blinking and shaking her head, like she was trying to clear it.
"Sarah," Karen began cautiously. The girl's eye darted up to focus on her. She was acting like a spooked cat. "What were you doing outside?"
"Outside?" Sarah twisted her head around to stare out of the window. It was completely dark now, the only thing visible being the small patches of grass bathed in the light from the house. "I was outside?" Her voice was distant, barely more than a whisper.
"Yes," Karen said kindly, opting for a new tactic. "I found you standing outside in the rain."
"Yes!" Sarah's eyes lit up as she remembered, her gaze still directed at the window. "I was..." she stopped; her train of thought lost. Karen didn't know whether to press her or not but then she spoke again. "I was...waiting."
Karen waited, but she said no more. Reaching out she gently touched a hand to Sarah's arm. The girl jumped, frightened. Then she relaxed again, her eyes drawn to the darkened glass. "What were you waiting for Sarah?"
The question seemed to confuse her. Her brows drew down and she began to shake her head violently from side to side. An almost irrational fear rose in Karen's throat but just as suddenly as she had started Sarah stopped. Her body went almost limp and her voice, when she spoke, was like a faint echo, musical yet hollow at the same time. "For the storm."
Karen shivered involuntarily. She knew Sarah liked to act; she had played more than one rather spiteful trick on her since they had first met, calling upon her acting skills but instinct told her that this was no game. This was real and there was something very, very wrong.
Some miles away a rumble of thunder peeled across the heavens. Sarah's body jerked viciously and her face went completely ashen. Startled, Karen took a step back, not having expected such a fierce reaction.
"Sarah what's wrong?" she asked, watching as the girl began to shake uncontrollably. "It's ok Sarah," she tried to comfort her. "It's just a little thunder; nothing to worry about. You've heard worse storms than this.
She spoke softly and with great care but nothing seemed to get through to the girl. A second later when a distant flash of lightning cast itself across the sky Karen saw what she thought to be true terror dancing hysterically on her face.
Without saying a word Sarah ran. She shot past her Stepmother and fled up the stairs. A door slammed shut moments later and try as she might Karen couldn't bring herself to follow. The storm was drawing closer, Toby was crying, frightened by the noise and Karen remained standing in the kitchen, rooted to the spot; wondering at the spark of madness she had seen in Sarah's eye.
*
In her darkened bedroom Sarah lay, curled upon her bed, her body trembling wildly. The storm was angry. It was drawing closer. Closer and closer and she knew it was angry. The mournful baying of the wind at her window made her whimper; tightening the death grip she had on her knees. She began to chant under breath, her voice feverish in its intensity, growing louder when she heard the whisper of her name, over and over in the back of her head.
Sarah. Sarah. Sarah.
Thunder exploded directly above her and she screamed; the slim hold she had on her mantra slipping through her fingers. Her last protection, gone. The whisper continued.
Sarah. Sarah. Sarah.
Lighting sparked outside, blinding her. She screwed her eyes closed, frantically searching for the line. The one line she needed.
Sarah. Sarah. Sarah.
Stumbling around in the increasingly dense fog of her mind Sarah felt the storm trailing close behind her. Why could she never remember the line? Without it she was lost.
She felt a breath on the back of her neck
SARAH.
There. There it was. She seized it, cradling it like an injured butterfly, close to her heart.
She opened her mouth, her voice dry.
"You...have...no -,"
Thunder erupted simultaneously with a flash of lightning, the elements banding together in order to scare her. It worked. She felt the line slipping again, slipping away. No. It was her only hope. She wouldn't let it go.
She caught it, them, and felt a wave of unparalleled relief. She was going to be alright. Everything was going to be alright.
She opened her mouth again and said the words.
They were the wrong words.
"I...wish..."
*
Ok...Well that turned into something slightly darker than I had intended. Isn't it funny how some stories have a tendency change themselves while you're the one written them. Strange. Anyway this is just a one shot I started ages ago but never finished until today. Again I must offer my apologies to those of you who are reading Make Your Move it's not going anywhere at the moment but I WILL finish it, have no fear. In the mean time feel free to tell me what you think of this one.
Nightzchild
P.S. The MINI series that started with Apologies is also still in the works. I meant to do a Christmas update but couldn't write it in time. Bear with me folks, I'm trying.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Labyrinth or any of its characters. If this surprises you I suggest you keep it to yourself otherwise you'll be inclined to look a bit of a fool.