Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize is mine, which is a damn shame.
Warnings: Nothing too serious. I've rated it T for language, but that's about as bad as it's going to get. There aren't any major spoilers for anything, and I will warn you if one suddenly pops up. My muse is whimsical like that.
Author's Note: I am working on this story, I truly am. I really can't promise frequent updates, but I'm almost done mapping this out and finishing off the end, so they shouldn't be too far apart. Thanks to all of my ladies for encouraging me to pick the pen back up. -grin-
Thank you to Jules for my awesome beta job. I just can't keep well enough alone sometimes, so any mistakes left over are mine.
I hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 1 - Sangre
"What are we even doing here?" Mandy asked, trying to keep her voice steady as she wrapped her arms around herself.
"Come on baby, don't you want to see if they exist?"
"Don't 'baby' me. We all know they don't exist. You know those stories aren't even real," she scoffed. "Just a bunch of stupid kids sitting around making up a bunch of stupid stories about a bunch of stupid ghosts."
Jesse wrapped a broad arm around his girlfriend's shoulders, laughing as he felt another chill ripple through her small frame. "They aren't real, huh? Well, then, why are you scared?"
"I'm not scared, I'm cold. It's like thirty degrees out here."
"Sure thing, sweetheart. Add about twenty more degrees onto your estimate, and the fact that you're wearing three layers; it's not that cold." Jesse cocked an eyebrow, laughing when Mandy simply answered with a roll of her vivid green eyes.
"Shut up, jerk, it's not funny. We're going to miss the kick off to our own party." With an exasperated sigh, she flipped a lock of her bright auburn hair over her shoulder. Two of her best friends were throwing a birthday bash for the two of them, something they had done for the past three years. It was one of the many things she shared with the love of her life; their birthdays were only a week apart.
This year's present was a ski trip, and their own private log cabin, paid for by the couple's parents, a celebration fit for any new adult. She was after all eighteen now, old enough to be staying a weekend on her own, old enough to look forward to college in a few months.
"No, we won't. This won't take long." Jesse ignored his own long blonde hair, leaving it to hang over his deep blue eyes. Unconsciously he burrowed deeper into his own letterman's jacket, hating to admit it but his girlfriend was right. During the course of their discussion, the temperature had dropped dramatically and the wind had picked up considerably. They had both left their heavier ski jackets in the car, not wanting to break them out just yet, settling for being clad in their lighter layers.
They wound their way around the small path, the heavy thicket on either side grabbing at their clothing. With another frustrated sigh, Mandy jerked her arm free, wincing as she heard the material tear.
"Damnit Jesse, let's just go."
They had been about twenty minutes into their hour-long drive when Jesse had suddenly pulled off to the side of the road. There was an old abandoned cabin about half a mile into the woods, and he had always wanted to check it out. Come on, it'll be fun, he had argued when Mandy had protested. The fact that it was dark out did little to dissuade the swim team captain, but for safety he had tucked his newest toy into the back of his jeans – a small snug .45, a very "adult" present from his father.
He actually hoped that something would try to attack them; he was itching to pull the pistol out and test his marksmanship. He'd be Mandy's hero for the rest of their lives. Jesse's chest swelled with excitement at the thought of taking some big bad bear down, and he could hear the tales being told at graduation. That is, after they dedicate it to me, he mused silently. Hell, maybe he'd even end up on CNN.
His chest quickly deflated as they rounded their last corner, and the house came into sight. Stories and the imagination did not do this place justice. It sat about two stories high, and beckoned visitors with its large, rotted wrap-around porch. Nothing was left of the windows but large gaping holes, and a huge chunk of the roof was missing, creating an illusion that even the house was screaming. Two cars sat rusting in the elements, their body styles dating them back to the early fifties. The driver's side door was open in the farthest car, almost as if someone had forgotten to close it.
"This place must have been so beautiful at one point," Mandy breathed, her statement breaking the reverie Jesse had found himself in. Her next statement had his chest swelling once more. "I don't like this. Jesse, please, let's just go back to the car."
"Oh, come on, honey, just a quick look around. Then we'll go, I promise. Until then, I'll protect you." He pulled her close, and they both fell into step as they neared the decrepit house. Deciding he would cut their adventure shorter than originally planned, Jesse cast a quick, concerned glance at his girlfriend. It bothered him that she didn't have a snappy comeback. He decided not to rib her about how scared she was until they were safely on the road once more.
Or, judging by the look on her face, he might not tease her at all. The way things were going, it would take a miracle for him to even get some action this weekend. He would be lucky if she didn't spend the rest of the weekend making him look like the ass he was beginning to feel like.
They reached the bottom of the porch, and Jesse reached for Mandy's hand.
"Do we really have to go in there?" she asked, her voice low.
"In and out. Promise."
Mandy squeezed his fingers in response as her breath quickened. She didn't care if he made fun of her later, or called her out on her earlier skepticism: she was scared out of her ever-loving mind.
They picked their way up the stairs, avoiding the large gaping holes and missing planks. The wood creaked beneath their combined weight, announcing their presence to whoever might be listening. The thought momentarily stopped Jesse, and damn if he wasn't creeping himself out. Missing his slight pause, Mandy pushed forward, her own curiosity driving her across the ancient porch.
"Do you hear that?" she whispered as they neared the door.
"I don't hear anything."
"Exactly. It is dead silent here; you can't even hear the wind." They both strained, listening for even the smallest hint of life besides themselves. A large curtain billowed out from a nearby window, the yellowed lace fluttering violently before settling back in a twisted lump, the action startling the young couple. Their eyes met and they laughed nervously, gripping each other's hand tighter.
"Wait a second. Jesse, if there's no wind, how did that just happen?"
"Maybe the house is just blocking the wind from us, but there's an open window on the other side." It seemed logical enough.
Mandy studied the dead tree near the corner of the house; its gnarled branches were disturbingly still. "Can we just go already?" Her own curiosity was wiped out now, replaced by a sudden feeling of alarm. The feeling of being watched was too strong to ignore.
"We're here; we might as well go inside at least. We'll just take a quick peek, and then we'll go, I promise."
They nudged the front door open, and stepped into the foyer. A large chandelier was the first thing to catch their eyes, long clear crystals hung from delicate golden chains. The faded red carpet that ran from wall to wall sponged beneath their feet, and each step disturbed a molded dust.
Mandy glanced from the carpet to the faded green walls, then back up to the chandelier. "Jesse…do you notice anything weird?"
"Yeah," Jesse nodded. "Why is the chandelier so clean while the rest of the house is falling apart?"
"My mommy likes it to be pretty. Everything has to be pretty for Mommy."
Mandy let out a shriek as the small child's voice echoed around them. She stumbled, twisting in Jesse's arms as he struggled to keep her from falling.
"What the hell was that?" Jesse stammered.
"Let's leave now, please Jesse, let's go, please," Mandy begged.
"Okay, okay, we'll go." They turned towards the door, stopped short by the small figure standing between them and freedom. Her long black hair hung in clumps down the front of her tattered dress, dull in comparison to dark eyes that glittered above hollowed cheeks.
The couple was struck speechless as the child continued. "Daddy will be mad that we're awake, but we must find the doll. The doll is what keeps Mommy happy." As she spoke her already ashen skin began to darken, and a large chunk of her scalp slid to the floor with a wet smack.
Mandy screamed again, pushed off of Jesse and ran for the door. Jesse was close behind, grunting with pain as he tripped over a rise in the carpet and landed hard on his knees. He scrambled to his feet, and rushed outside.
Jesse had made it to the tree line before he realized he could no longer see Mandy. In fact, he hadn't even seen her running across the clearing, and he had only been a few feet behind her.
"Mandy!" he screamed, but his desperate call was swallowed by the dark tree line, disappearing unanswered.
A long, drawn-out scream came from the house. "Mandy!" he cried again, rushing back towards the house. He burst through the front door, completely unprepared for the weight that slammed into him and sent him to the ground.
Mandy straddled his hips, a large knife gleaming in her hands as she raised it above her head. "You selfish bastard!" she screamed. "You think you can just get away with this? I did everything you ever asked of me, and look what happened!! You won't kill me again!!"
Jesse fought to recover from the unexpected attack, struggling to draw in a breath after it had been ripped from his lungs. He raised his arms to defend himself, and the knife plunged deeply into his palm. He let out a scream of pain as she stabbed again, this time cleanly slicing through his ring finger, leaving it hanging by a chunk of skin.
Angrily she swiped his hand aside, and thrust the knife into his chest. His second scream caught in his throat, the vocalized air unable to reach his gaping mouth before the flow of blood.
Bright red blood bubbled from his lips, mixing with the dark crimson the spewed from his chest with each arc of the knife. She continued to force the knife into his chest, stomach, and shoulders, not caring that he had stopped breathing after the fifth strike, that his heart had stopped after the seventh.
The son of a bitch needed to die.
.:.SN.:.
"I already talked to my lawyer." Mandy crossed her arms over her chest, refusing to tell the story again, even if the young man across from her was gently urging her on with soft smiles and caring words. She had already told the stone-faced old crow posing as her legal council about a dozen times, and he wasn't making any real progress. He was a vulture with a news crew in his face, and he was using her as a stepping stone to a greater career she was sure.
"I know, and I apologize. But as Mr. Eppy's aid, I've been sent down here to do a follow up and to catch any information he might have missed. Plus, it's all part of being the guy's lackey."
Mandy leaned forward in her chair, placing her arms on the table. The ice-cold handcuffs dug into her wrists, reminding her why she was there. The man seemed friendly enough; his eyes were genuine and full of concern. It helped that he only appeared just few years older than her, maybe twenty-three or twenty-four, unlike her dinosaur of a lawyer.
She really didn't want to relive this nightmare, but her parents had warned her against withholding any information from her legal counsel. In fact, her lawyer was the only one she was allowed to talk to about exactly what had happened that night.
The media, the town, and Jesse's family, were crying for the death sentence. Mandy's eyes filled with tears as she thought about how warm and friendly her town had once been, how loved she had once felt. Now they were just one big bloodthirsty mob looking to string her up. Even her so-called friends were hanging supportive death sentence posters around town.
Taking a deep breath, she recounted all she could remember. She had decided to leave out the little girl, remembering how her lawyer had told her they were already past the insanity plea.
"And what made you run?" the man softly interrupted.
"What?"
"Well, you both were alright with being in that house up until the point where you said you were freaked. What scared you?"
Mandy rolled her eyes. "You'll just think I'm insane."
"Try me."
Catching his eyes and reading the steady look in their depths, Mandy wasn't sure why, but she figured he might just believe her. Plus she decided she couldn't deny this man anything, there was something about him that reached out and safely drew her in.
"There was a little girl. She had long black hair, and we could just tell she was dead, ya know? Like some freaky ghost or something. Well, when she just appeared behind us, I freaked out and ran as fast as I could. I thought Jesse was right behind me, so I started running across the field. I got about halfway across, and I sort of blacked out. When I came to, I was…oh God…" Mandy began to gag, but waived off the offered garbage can from the lawyer's aid.
"That's been happening a lot lately."
The man nodded in sympathy, and placed the small can back on the floor. His compassionate hazel eyes returned to hers, and she couldn't break the contact, sinking into that splash of color in the otherwise devoid room.
"Anyway, I was sitting over my boyfriend, and his blood was everywhere. He was dead, oh God he was dead. I don't remember what happened, but I swear to God I didn't kill him. Please, you have to believe me. I loved Jesse with everything I had." She began to cry when she realized she was rambling, her chest heaving with pain. The aid sat quietly, waiting until she could pull herself together. Maybe she wasn't as numb as she thought she was.
"I'm sorry," Mandy said through a humorless smile, wiping a hand across her eyes. "The story isn't getting any easier to tell."
"I don't think it ever will. Is there anything else you remember? Anything at all?"
Mandy thought for a moment, blinking in surprise when a memory resurfaced. Why hadn't she remembered it before now?
"Yeah, the little girl. She was talking about everything being pretty for Mommy, and Daddy being mad but she needed to find a doll."
The aide's face scrunched in confusion, but he seemed to make a mental note of it. "Thank you Mandy, we'll be in touch with you again soon. Hang in there, okay? We're going to figure this out."
Hopelessness flooded her once more. The guy didn't believe her; he wasn't going to be able to help her. "Thank you so much Sam. I hope you and Mr. Eppy have everything you need now."
"She's pretty much screwed," Sam said as he dropped into the passenger seat of the Impala, his fingers already reaching to loosen the constricting tie and the buttoned collar.
"Yeah, you can't really provide a good defense when you're covered in the victim's blood and a knife is found with your finger prints all over it. She say anything about the ghost?"
"Not the ghost I thought she was going to talk about. She said there was a little girl. The Emerson's daughter, maybe?"
"Could be," Dean said, pulling out of the lot and heading for their motel. "But she didn't see Daddy dearest at all?"
"She didn't mention it."
"Well, that's a first."
More to come soon. Anyone else seen the previews for the next episode?? O...M...G...!!
Kris