Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own it. Rub it in, whydon'tcha.
Not Long At All
Prologue
The moon cast a silver glow across the pavement. A light breeze made the leaves on the surrounding trees dance and rustle. The street was quiet and still, a typical scene for three am. Not a soul could be found outsidethe sleeping houses lining the road. No one was there to witness a shadow slipping among the trees. No one heard the gentle thud of boot heels on dirt. No one saw the shadow disapeer as a white owl rose above the trees, wings a crescendo into the night.
Chap.1
She sat bolt upright in bed, an unknown sound yanking her from slumber. Sarah looked about her darkend dorm room, Rain pelted against her window, and as she turned her head, Sarah saw lightening streak across the sky. Slowly, she through back her sheets, swinging long legs to the floor, and climbed out of bed. Tiptoeing so as not to disturb her room mate, Sarah made her way to the window and peered out. Suddenly, she was thrown into a flashback of her old room, back home. She could see the street outside her house and the clear sky and moon. She saw a shadow in the street before her.
The sound of thunder brought her back to the present. She watched the angry sky, her eyes traveling down to the street below. Someone stood there, looking up. Stifeling a gasp, Sarah brought her hand to her mouth. The figure was clad in black, a hood concealing its face in shadow. Sarah squinted, and in a flash, the figure was gone.
I was imagining it, she told herself. Her dark eyes scanned the view from her window once more before she returned to her bed. Laying back down, she pulled the blankets up around her chin. Sarah closed her eyes and erged herself to sleep. But her mind was alive, and she couldn't shake the feeling that something was happening, something big. Soon,sleep rolled through her brain like a fog, enveloping her. Her body relaxed and her breathing slowed. A pair of cold eyes flashe before her. Sarah twitched in her sleep. The mismatched eyes stared at her with cruel intensity. Sarah squirmed under their glare. She couldn't make out the face around the eyes, for it was cast in shadow. The eyes themselves, however, seemed to glow with inner light. And then they were gone.
"Hey! Hey, lazy bones, get up! You have class."
Sarah grumbled and rolled away from her roommates voice.
Lindsey laughed. "Fine, but you know McCoy doesn't excuse absences."
Sarah opened her eyes. She felt as if she hadn't slept at all. She sat up and climbed out of bed. Her head throbbed, and her muscles hurt as if she had been running for hours. She groaned and grabbed her head, massaging her temples. Sarah opened a dresser drawer and yanked out a pair of underware. She obtained a teeshirt and jeans from her closet and disapeered down the hall to her bathroom. She could hear Lindsey laughing from their room.
"And I thought I was the one with the hangover!" She called, still laughing. In spite of her self, Sarah couldn't help but smile.
All the showers but one were full, and Sarah smiled again at her luck. She hung up her clothes and her towel and went into the stall. She could hear the girls around her laughing and gossiping. Sarah stood under the hot stream of water and wished she had girlfriends. Lindsey was really the closest thing to a friend she'd made since she started college. Sarah was quiet and withdrawn in most social situations, unusual for a theatre major. But on the stage, she transformed. Sarah could play any part her drama teacher put before her. She alwasy auditioned well, always getting the part she wanted. The other theatre majors despised her, especially the girls. The director apllauded her.
Sarah finished washing her hair and turned the shower off. Wrapping her towel around her body and squeezing out her hair, she opened the door carefully. Slipping out, she dried off and transferred her towel to her head. Dressing quickly, she left the bathroom and went back down the hall to her dorm.
Sociology was her favorite class. It was a shame she nearly always missed it. McCoy was a good teacher, strict, but good. Sarah yawned, lack of breakfast and caffine making her sleepy. She dozed off and awoke to her classmates getting up to leave. She hurridly grabbed her books and ran out the door. Sarah couldn't couldn't shake the feeling she had felt last night, that something was about to happen. That each moment was spiraling down, down closer to something huge that would change her forever. Shaking her head at herself, she ran across the campus towards her building. The rain began to sprinkle down just as she reached the doors and pulled them open. Her sneakers squeaked as she jogged up the stairs to her hall. Padding along the carpet, she made her way to her room and unlocked the door. Once inside, she threw down her books and flopped onto her bed.
"What's wrong with me?" she groaned out loud.
The phone next to her bed rang, jarring her from her thoughts. She stared at it for a moment before answering it.
"Hello?"
"Hi Sarah!"
She smiled. "Hi Tobi."
"Sarah, are you coming home for my birthday?" She could see him jumping up and down, so much energy trapped in such a small body.
"Your birthday is in two weeks. I will be out for the summer by then, silly." She cringed. Finals were next week.
"Yay! Mom is letting me have everyone from the rec center over! It's gonna be soooo cool! You have to be there!"
Sarah smiled. Tobi was turning five, and Karen had enrolled him in a preschool class down at her home towns local rec center. Tobi was a bright kid, with a large vocabulary for being not even five yet. Karen had also insisted that he take violen lessons, which to Sarah's amazement, Tobi found quite fun. Sarah would have been bored out of her mind at that age.
"I can't wait, Tob. I will defiantly be there."
"Did you get my present yet?"
"None of your business, nosy!" She laughed. The truth was, she hadn't. She was having trouble finding the right one.
"Okay, well, Mom's calling me. I can't wit for you to come home!"
"Bye, Tobi, I love you."
"Love you too! Bye!"
The phone clicked off. Sarah hung up her end and lay back down. She was about to fall asleep when Lindsey barged through the door in a whirlwind of laughter and perfume.
"You will never guess who asked about you in my art history class today!" She dropped her book bag and beamed at Sarah as she checked her reflection in the mirrior on the wall above her desk.
Sarah sat up, curiosity getting the better of her. "Who?"
"Matt Johnson! Can you believe it? He is in your acting class right? He's so dreamy. You should go out with him." Lindsey flopped down into her computer chair and sighed. She grinned at Sarah.
"I don't really know him. I've never even talked to him."
"So what? That will give you something to talk about on the first date."
Sarah shook her head. "There won't be a first date. I don't know him and I'm leaving soon, anyways. There wouldn't be a point."
Lindsey widened her eyes. Leaning forward to emphaisze her point, she said, "There most certainly is! Whether or not you have payed him any attention, he has definatly noticed you, and it would be mean to leave him hanging. Besides, why not have a little fun before we all leavve for the summer. He's coming back next year, you know. And, he did mention this really cool band that's playing tonight at the Bag of Bones. He asked if I was going and if I'd bring you. Well, I'm going, so what'll it be?"
Sarah looked at her. "I don't know. What do you think I should do?"
"I think you should come. What do you have to lose?"
Sarah sighed. She wanted to hold her ground a bit longer, but could already feel herself giving in. She didn't really want to spend another Friday night alone in their room. "Okay. You are right. I'll go. But I don't really have anything to wear to a club."
Lindsey threw her head back, laughing. "Don't worry. I think I can help you with that."
Eight o'clock rolled around. The girls stood in front of Lindseys mirrior, adding the final touches. Sarah stood back and looked at herself, rolling her eyes. She wore a black mini skirt and a velvety navy blue tanktop. Black stilletos were strapped to her feet. Lindsey laughed.
"Don't look so mortified! You look hott!" Lindsey fluffed her blond hair and grinned at her friend.
"You put way to much make up on me."
"No, I didn't. Trust me."
"Are we meeting them there?"
"Yeah. Come on. We need to wait for our cab. Some one else might snag it."
They made their way down the hall to the elevator. Once outside, they got into their waiting cab. Sarah could feel her heart beating faster than usual. Matt was the first boy to show any interest in her since she broke it off with her last boyfriend. That was five monthes ago.
The club was practically jumping off its foundation. The blue neon sign in the shape of a cat arching its back glared down at her. They got out and Lindsey handed the cabbie some money through the open window. Hooking her arm through Sarah's, the two girls pushed their way through the crowd of smokers and into the club. A large man in a tight black tee shirt stopped them, and after checking their I.D.s, snapped pink armbands around their wrists to show they were under 21. Lindsey groaned and muttered something about wishing she had worn a long sleeved shirt so as to hide the embarassing marker. Sarah grabbed her hand, and they wove through the crowd by the bar and down the stairs into the pit.
Sarah stared at hte band on stage. The lead singer had a green mowhawk and a bolt through his chin. Sarah was facinated by the throbbing, jumping crowd. She and Lindsey stood on the edge of the crowd, watching for Matt. Presently, Lindsey squeeled and began to jump up and down. Sarah crained her neck in the direction of her friends frantic waving.
Matt was attractive, sure enough, but Sarah sighed as he approached. She just wasn't interested. Taking in his dark brown curls, green eyes, and tall build, she mentally shook her head. Far to attractive to be any good. Why was she here? Matt flashed them a smile, making a path through the crowd, with two friends trailing behind him.
"Hey Matt!" Lindsey said loudly, to be heard over the lead singers wailing. Leaning in towards him, she said, "Look who I brought."
Sarah rolled her eyes. Could her friend get any more obvious? "Hi, Matt."
"Hey, Sarah. These are my friends, Josh and Cedric. Guys, Lindsey, and Sarah."
Josh, with his blonde crew and grey eyes, gave a non-commental wave and looked around, doing nothing to disguise his obvious bordom. Cedric smiled openly, boasting perfect teeth and dimples. His brown hair was spiked up in the front and his dark brown eyes were laughing. Sarah liked him immediatly, but her interest in Matt and his other friend was waining. She turned away, tranfixed once again by the band and their fans. Suddenly, she felt hands on her shoulders and jumped. Whirling around, she saw Matt jump back, the look on his face saying that hadn't been the reaction he was hoping for.
"Sorry," they both said in unison.
"Do you like the band?" he asked, trying not to look embarrassed, though it was plain on his face.
"Yeah, they arent bad." She smiled, suddenly feeling bad. He wasn't evil, he was just a boy who like her. How wrong could it be to have a little fun.
The five of them stood, swaying to the music for half an hour. Matt and Sarah managed to make conversation. She couldnt help but smile to herself as he casually slid an arm around her shoulders. She turned to catch Lindseys eye as the arm dropped to her waist. Lindsay gave her the thumbs up sign, and both girls supressed giggles.
Suddenly, in the midst of a song, Josh elbowed Matt. "Dude, Kim's here."
Matt looked over his shoulder. "Shit," was a whisper Sarah barely heard above the music.
She looked behind them to the balcony at the curly red head who stood there, surveying the crowd. She saw them and gave a tentave wave.
"You ex?" Sarah asked.
Matt turned, and without waring, grabbed the back of her head and kissed her. He kissed her hard and Sarah gave a muffled cry of surprise. She shoved him hard and he let go of her. Turning to Josh, he grinned.
"Did she see?" He asked hopefully. "That should show her."
Anger flared up through Sarah. She shoved him hard again, and Matt nearly fell, giving her a startled look. "You asshole," she snarled. "How dare you!"
She turned and shoved through the crowd, running up the stairs. She found a hall where signed for the bathroom hung on the wall. A door at the end of the hall promised escape with a glow of it's exit sign, and she ran for it. Shoving the door open, Sarah emerged into the night air. The door slammed shut behind her and she collapsed by the railing, tears streaming down her face. Matt had been using her all along, just to make his ex regret breaking up with him.
"I should have known." she groaned into the chilled air. Climbing up to perch on the railing, she swung her legs over the edge and stared down into the empty lot. After a few minutes, she heard the door behind her open. Turning around, she was surprised to see Cedric standing there.
"Lindsey wanted to come after you, but she thinks you are mad at her."
"I'm not mad, not at her."
Cedric hesitated before coming to stand by her. He smiled sadley. "I'm sorry. Matt can be an idiot sometimes. He doesnt mean anything by it. He just a jerk, I guess."
"Yeah, I noticed." Her tone was biting, but she couldn't help it.
"Kim just dumped him like two days ago, and he is really hurting. I know that doesn't excuse it, but I really am sorry."
"It's not you who needs to apologize," Sarah growled.
Cedric sighed, and Sarah felt a little guilty. After all, he was only trying to help. She looked up at Cedric, whose eyes held sympathy. "Thankyou," she said softly, "for coming up her to talk to me."
Cedric looked at her. He reached up and carefully wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "No problem. Now, what do you say we go back in there and enjoy the rest of our night?"
Sarah paused. "Okay."
Cedric helped her off the railing and gently cupped her elbow, leading her inside. Weaving through the mass of bodies, they came to stand on the club balcony, looking out over the pit. Sarah swayed gently to the music, willing her good mood to return. To her right, she saw a figure running towards them. She turned to smile at Lindsey as her friend ran up panting.
"Sarah, I'm sooo sorry! I had no idea..."
"It's okay," Sarah said, cutting her friend off. She smiled and slid her arm around Lindsey's waist.
"That boy is scum!" Lindsey spat.
"Yeah, he is. But someday, he'll get what he deserves."
Cedric stood on Sarah's left, watching the crowd below. Sarah's hand rested on the railing, and he gently placed his hang over hers. She turned her head and smiled up at him. The band ended a song and waved good night as a new band readied themselves. They began with a slower song, one that seemed to mesmerize the audience below. She watched the lead singer as his liquid blue voice filled the room. He was beautiful, with his deathly pale skin, blue black 'hawk, and black leather jacket. He rocked with his own sound.
Suddenly, the singer looked up. He crooned into the mic, but his eyes locked on Sarah's. She felt her self being pulled to him, into him. His eyes seemed to glow. They were a bright, piercing blue, and Sarah couldn't look away, couldn't even wonder why he'd found her of all people in the club. Then she knew, a thought whispered across her brain from an unfathomable source. He was calling to her, trying to tell her something. His eyes screamed at her, but she didn't understand the message. Then, he looked away, and the tie was broken. Sarah blinked and stepped back, away from the balcony. He hand slid from under Cedric's. He and Lindsey turned to look at her. Sarah felt dizzy. She reached our her hands for support, but there was nothing to hang on to. She stumbled back. Then it came, a sharp stabbing pain in her gut. She gasped. It came again, as if a knife had been pulled out, only to be thrust back in. She doubled over, clutching her stomach.
"Sarah? What's wrong?" Lindsey became scared.
"Sarah? Are you okay?" Cedric asked and reached out to her.
The pain came a third time, and Sarah fell to her knees with a cry. People, began to notice something was wrong, and all around her were sounds of alarm as she crumpled completely, her vision swaying in and out.
"Sarah!" Lindsey's voice was high with panic.
"Some one call an ambulance! Cedric yelled.
The bartender jumped into action. Cedric was on the floor next to Sarah.
"Sarah, can you hear me?" Cedric brushed the hair from her face.
Sarah could see his features clearly, see his brown eys full of fear and worry. But there was a ringing in her ears that drowned out all other sound. She lifted her hands, covered in blood. She tried to speak, but blood bubbled up from her throat. She could see the panic on Cedric's face. She opened her mouth again, but the warm, saltly liquid came up again before she could speak. She saw blood spurt from her lips and wondered how one could lose so much blood from a wound that wasn't there. She could see Lindsey, who had backed up against the railing. Tears streamed down her face and she was biting the nails off her left hand.
Pain encompased her entire being. Sarah's eyes rolled back just as the paramedics showed up. She lost all awareness of the world around her as she was swalloed in blackness.
A persistant beeping punctured the fog that had filled her mind. Her eyelids felt heavy, her head throbbing. Sarah opened her eyes very slowly. The white tiled ceiling above her hospital bed glared down at her and made for very little entertainment. She looked around and found that she was hooked up to several moniters, one of which was the beeping one. She glared at it, but then the red button on the arm of her bed caught her eye. She pressed it, and shortly after, a nurse appeared with a water pitcher and a pink plastic cup.
"Finally awake, I see." She said this as if Sarah's sleeping form had been offering her some kind of personal annoyance. The stout woman poured some water into the cup and handed it to Sarah.
Sipping the water, Sarah watched the nurse. "When can I go home?" Her voice cracked and she winced at the sound.
"When the doctor says you can." The nurse checked the moniters, jotting things down on the chart on her clip board that Sarah doubted was as important as she made it seem.
"Well, when can I see this doctor?" Sarah asked, voice still scratchy.
The nurse eyed her. "He is making his rounds. He'll be with you in the order you came in."
Sarah grumbled and sipped her water. The nurse left and closed the door behind her. Sarah set her cup down and lay back. She closed her eyes and drifted off.
Sarah felt a breeze tumble acroos her face. Odd, since when did hospital rooms have breezes. She opened her eyes and gasped. She was no longer laying down; she was standing now. In fact, she was standing before an all to familiar castle. The castle that had haunted her dreams since she was 15. The Castle beyond the Goblin City. She trembled in its wake, the intensity of it's very presence radiating all around her to make her knees shake. She stepped towards the great doors, reaching for them. The doors swung open before she even touched them. A gust of wind pushed her inside. The doors slammed shut behind her.
Sarah stood in the throne room, a room she thought she would never see agian. She sensed a movement to her left, and whirling, she saw the stone stair case she had ran up three long years ago. On those very stairs was a man she had spent those three years convincinh herself didn't exist. He smiled coldly at her as he decended.
Sarah felt the breath leave her body. Time seemed to cease moving. He walked towards her, stopping about four feet from where she stood.
"It's been a long time, Sarah." His voice gave her chills.
"Wh-what do you want?" she stammered, her voice breaking.
"I need your help. My kingdom is under attack." He cocked his head and folded his arms, his eyes boring holes into her own.
"That has nothing to do with me," Sarah said.
"It has everything to do with you!" He snapped.
Her eyes narrowed, her venom matching his own. "How?"
"Come back to me, Sarah, and I'll show you." His voice had grown soft again.
Sadness swept over Sarah befor she knew why. She looked at her feet, then back up at him, and the expression in his eyes was the same as the one that welled inside her. "Stop." Her voice was quiet. He was influenceing her, making her feel his pain.
He blinked, and the swelling sadness was gone. Sarah rubbed her arms, feeling the chill of its wake.
"I can't just leave. I have a life." She looked him in the eye, trying to keep her lip from trembleing.
He sighed and shook his head. "Sarah, if you won't help, then your friends are doomed. We all are. They will die, and the Labyrinth will crumble."
Sarah felt the air around her wavor. She reached out a hand to the Goblin King, wanting to touch him, wanting to see if he was real. But the King stepped back, away from her touch. The motion broke the dream, as everthing shattered around her. She felt the ground give way as she fell through it.
"Miss Williams?"
Sarah opened her eyes and stared at the doctor that stood looming over her. He frowned.
"Bad dream?"
"No." Her tone was biting. "Can I go home?"
"The nurse said you were impatient. The good news is, yes, you can go hiome, because there is nothing wrong with you. At least nothing we could find out right. What exactly did you feel was happening to you back there?'
For a second, Sarah thought he had been talking about the castle and wondered if she had been talking in her sleep. Then she realized he meant the club.
"I felt like I had been stabbed in the stomach. A lot." She looked down at her stomach and realized she was dressed ina green hospital gown. Looking back up at the doctor, she asked, "Where are my clothes? Di you have to throw them away?"
The doctor, Dr. Reed, as his name tag read, looked at her quizzically. "Um, no. The nurse undressed you when you got here. She folded your clothes and gave them to your friends. Why would she throw them away?"
Sarah snorted. "Well, um, I think they are pretty unsalvagable. I mean, blood isn't an easy stain to get out."
Dr. Reed gave her a puzzled stare. "Blood?"
"I was coughing up blood when the paramedics came. I remember that much." Sarah didn't like the way Dr. Reed was looking at her, as if she had sprouted a second head.
"Miss Williams, were you intoxicated in anyway? Because there was no blood on or around you at all. You were not physically injured. You must have been hallucinating. I believe this whole episode was some kind of panic attack. Have you been under a lot of stress?"
Sarah looked at him, invisioning her hands around his neck. Shaking of the image, she gave him a sickly smile. "Dr. Reed, I'm a college student. You tell me."
He laughed as if he didn't no what else to do. His unease was obvious. Sarah didn't like the idea that he thought she was crazy, but she didn't care.
"I think I'm better now," she said, not bothering to hise the saurcasim in her voice. "Since you found nothing wrong, I would like to leave."
"Yes, of course." He moved towards the door. "I'll send the nurse in with your release forms. Take it easy for a while. No more clubbing." He shut the door.
"And lay off the ecstacy," she finished for him, rolling her eyes and flopping back on her pillows.
Sarah stood in the lobby, waiting fo Lindsey. She pondered her dream. Or was it a dream? Was it a vision? A message? Surely the Underground wasn't in danger. Was it?
She was pulled from her thoughts by someone touching her shoulder. She turned to see Lindsey. The two hugged fiercely.
"Worst night ever!" Lindsey exclaimed as they broke apart.
Sarah laughed. "You're telling me!"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I really am. The doctor has no idea. He thinks it was a drug induced panic attack cased by to much stress or something. He also thinks I'm a loon, but he didn't say that part out loud."
"Ha ha. Doctors are the loons. And that was a hell of a stress attack. I thought you were dying! Thank god for Cedric! I just freeze up when I panic."
The two girls walked out to Lindsey's car.
"Yeah, I need to thank him," Sarah said as she climbed in to the passenger seat.
"He is a life saver. And a hottie." Lindsey grinned as she started the car.
"Stop it."
"Well, he is. And he likes you, that's obvious."
"How do you figure?"
"Um, well, he only gave you his undying attention last night, when he'd only just met you. Not to mention, he was heartbroken he couldn't come with me to get you. He had a test that he couldn't make up if he missed it."
"Oh."
"Yeah, oh. Gah, you drive me crazy, Sarah. You never say a word, yet men fawn over you. I can't seem to shut up, and I have better fashion sense, and they never so much as look at me." Lindsey pulled into traffic.
"No one fawns over me. And everyone looks at you. I don't know what you are talking about."
Lindsey sighed. "Yeah, but you have mystery. Guys like that."
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Let's just go home, okay?"
They drove in silence.