Surrender
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By Guardian795
Author's Note/Disclaimer: I do not own CT, any of its characters, etc. Wish I did.
This ff is rated PG-13 for violence, sexual themes, and other REALLY BAD stuff. Have fun.
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Chapter 1: The Pit
It had been four long grueling hours of running, but Jennifer thought that she finally found the exit. According to what she read, the "door" was under the fountain in the large garden of the Barrows Castle. Whether it was a door to the outside or a door straight to death and heaven…it didn't matter.
Jennifer stepped off of the ladder and walked down a small pathway to an iron door laced with a strange dragon…or demon symbol. She reached down to open the door, and she heard a scream from beyond the door.
"Edward…please…I know you're a good boy!" It was Kay's voice. Jennifer laid her ear against the door to listen.
"Edward, why?" Kay said again. There was a pause as Jennifer listened.
Kay knew she wouldn't be allowed to live. "AAAAAGGGHHHHH!" she shrieked. There was a sound of metal, and then silence. Jennifer knew it was over – Kay was dead.
Scissorman was in that room…and Edward had been too scared to help Kay. Jennifer wanted to run, but she held back the urge. She had to help Edward. She quickly opened the door and went inside.
The next room was all red rock. A strange mural was plastered over the back wall, and on the far left was a bridge leading to an altar. Close to Jennifer, however, were Scissorman and Kay's body, but…no Edward. Scissorman caught sight of her as she approached, clicking his scissors together as he stood over the dead woman.
Kay had been facing Scissorman, like she had been talking to him…And the pieces all came together. Why Helen had seen Edward at the library, and then there were 2 scissormen. Harris was one, and now he was dead. It explained why Kay was pleading with Edward. And now, it explained Helen's words to Jennifer earlier.
"You, Harris and Edward all went missing."
Jennifer walked towards Scissorman and stopped a few yards in front of him. He looked at her, but made no move to attack her. He had hesitated. "So…it IS you, Edward," Jennifer said. She smiled, almost to the point of laughing. Edward, a 10 year old boy, had been Scissorman all along.
Scissorman nodded, and even giggled a little behind the mask. "Yeah, that's right. I guess the truth is out."
Jen almost laughed again. The situation was ironic at best. Her greatest fear was 10 years old. "But Jennifer…" She looked over at him. He seemed to be almost laughing.
"My name isn't Edward," he said. "It's Dan."
Jennifer's eyes widened. "D…Dan?" she asked. She took a few steps back. "Then…no…it can't be!" she cried.
Scissorman, Daniel Barrows, Edward Steinjer, laughed and brought his scissors back up. "You remember me, don't you? You killed my brother, destroyed my mother and ruined my life." He began to advance on her and she backed up again. "Let's play, Jen!"
"Don't touch her!" Nolan came running down a path that brought him to Scissorman's side. "Come on, ugly, I'm not afraid!" Nolan yelled. Scissorman swiped angrily at Nolan, actually cutting across his shirt in a line, barely missing his skin. Nolan let out a yelp of surprise.
"Nolan!" Jennifer yelled, moving towards him. Dan turned back to her and she froze. Suddenly, with a yell, Nolan was on Scissorman's back, punching him. Jennifer turned and ran to the altar. She could hear Nolan struggling with Dan behind her, but she put it out of her head.
She stopped at the altar and put down the strange black statue that was found at the mansion murders. She took out the piece of paper with the door spell on it and turned around. She started to read it, but suddenly saw Dan there, scissors out at her. "Don't you want to play, Jen?" he asked maliciously. She screamed and ducked as the scissors nearly slashed her open.
She quickly got away from him as she looked down at the words. "N-ha Ee Sh" Jennifer yelled. Suddenly, the mural on the wall broke into pieces, and a black piece of wall was there. It opened up like a door, and began to draw in anything it could.
Dan began to scream violently, trying to get out of the rift currents that were dragging him in. Jennifer grabbed hold of one of the bars and held tightly. Dan looked back at her and swung his scissors into the bar she was holding. She screamed. "You did this! I'll kill you!" he screamed at her.
"Jennifer!" Nolan yelled. He was holding onto the bridge railing and trying to make his way to her.
Dan grabbed Jennifer's leg and tried to pull her to him. She screamed again. "LET GO!" she yelled. She kicked him in the face, tearing off the mask and exposing Edward's face. He looked at her angrily. Taking his scissors, in a last ditch effort, he slashed them up at her and caught her in the side. Jennifer screamed in pain, kicking him. Edward let go and went flying into the void.
Nolan grabbed Jennifer's hands before she fell in too, and the black door closed. Nolan gathered Jennifer up in his arms and led her quickly into one of the adjoining passages as the ceiling began to come down. Rocks fell in front of their path and behind, closing them in.
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"How long do you think it's been, Jen?" Nolan asked. Jennifer looked at him. Her red jacket was off now, a few pieces wrapped tightly around her waist where the cut remained as the final proof of Dan's existence. She had worn a black turtleneck under that jacket, but it wasn't enough now, and she and Nolan were now pressed together with his jacket around both of them to keep them warm.
"What do you mean?" she asked. "It hasn't been too long…maybe, at most, a night."
There was a pause and she glanced down at the rocks. "Maybe…maybe we'll rot down here," Nolan said.
"Don't say that," she said. "Helen will find us, I know she will!" But the words sounded empty. Helen had been thrown in a box once, Dan could have found her and killed her off again. The others were practically useless…she had realized that she was the only one capable of finding out how to defeat Scissorman. She had gone through it before, seen deaths before…so she was the only one able to defeat him once more.
But she had been scared, and no one seemed to understand how traumatizing this experience was for her. No, they all thought that she could handle it. She was the only one who had been through this game they called murder and come out on top. Most of her friends, when coming to the castle, had become broken like puppets once they had fully realized their predicament. Even Nolan had cracked…but who wouldn't. He had found himself in a room with the bones of children in it.
She suddenly felt Nolan's hand on her shoulder. "You know…Jen…you're tough."
She smiled a little, and it almost turned into a sly grin. "No, you're just weak," she said. He smiled, and brought his head down just a little way, and she brought hers up. Their lips brushed gently, then came together in a soft kiss.
A loud noise of rocks moving alerted their attention to the side. Jennifer looked up and suddenly saw blond hair…
"Helen!" Jennifer yelled.
"Jennifer? Jen?" Helen called down. Jennifer could finally see her.
"Helen, I'm here!" she called, stretching out her arms. Hands grabbed hers and pulled her out through the hole, right up to Helen's side. "Helen!" she cried, as her caretaker hugged her.
"Oh, Jennifer…I thought I'd lost you!" Helen said. There were tears, and sobbing, and hugging. Jennifer couldn't tell where her tears ended and Helen's began.
And for those long moments…she felt free - like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders because Scissorman, Daniel Barrows, was dead. And now, she had a family. She had Helen here, who was actually worried for her. She had Nolan as a friend…or a boyfriend. She had people to care for her, and to keep her safe.
And that's all she ever wanted.
Jennifer smiled up at Helen, who took her hand and led her to a police where Gotts was waiting with Nolan and Tim. They all climbed into the car, putting on the heat to keep them warm. Nolan and Helen sat on either side of Jennifer, and they all had blankets to keep them warm as well. Jennifer smiled at Nolan and rested her head on his shoulder, falling asleep.
It was finally over.