Mermaids
Catskills, Indian Head Wilderness…
"Kinda reminds you of those climbing chic's from 'The Decent', huh Sammy?" Dean panted as he climbed in the dark hole on the side of the hill. It was half as tall as a door and about as wide, the edges crumbling as he searched for a safe grip.
"Can you see anything?" Sam chose to ignore the movie reference and shined the light around his brother.
"Do rocks count?" Dean snarked finally inching into the side of the hill. He grunted, stumbled and slid on the loose gravel beneath his boots. It was like crawling into some deeply… mysterious… hole.
'You are crawling in a hole.'
Dean scowled and continued to move forward. Behind he could hear Sam crawl in after him the bouncing beam of light slightly making him nauseous.
"Gimme the flash light." He ordered reaching behind him. It was a moment before Sam handed it over and shining it on the rocks around them Dean slowly stood. He raised his arm overhead, wiggling his fingers but couldn't touch the roof of their tunnel. Unbidden images of some snake like beast slithering down from a stalactite entered his mind. He lowered his arm quickly, still glancing over head, wondering if the beast would still crawl out and take a bite at him.
"There's another tunnel over here." Sam called to his left, his own flashlight barely able to light the dark pit.
"No." Dean stated in his older brother- don't-argue-with-me voice. "I'm not getting lost in here so don't even think it."
"Dean-."
"No, Sam."
"We're already here. We can't just turn back and let more innocent people die." Sam retorted.
"Dude, what makes you think it's even in here?" Dean snapped. He shone his light at the bare rock walls in the cavern they'd climbed into. There was nothing, no symbols, scratches, not one single shred of evidence that could possibly convince him this was the Wendigo's lair.
"Dark places?" Sam reminded him still trying to urge Dean into the tunnel.
"This isn't a mine, Sam. It's a freaking hill! No- a hole in a hill and where are the signs of this even being a Wendigo we're hunting? 'Cus I sure as hell didn't see any." Dean argued. The sound of their voices echoed back to them just as Sam was about to yell, he took a breath and lowered his voice hoping they hadn't already given their prey warning.
"Look, we're not going to get lost." Sam glanced at the pack on Dean's back. "You still have the M&M's?"
"Wha- dude!" Dean exclaimed. "I'm not leaving no damn trail of crumbs for us to follow back."
"You did before." Sam reminded with slightly raised eyebrows. He didn't see a difference and the brightly colored candy would be easy enough to spot with their flashlights.
"That was-!"
"Ok, alright. Look, we can go down this tunnel and at least take a look. If it forks again we can turn back. Alright?" Sam shone his light into the tunnel. The shadows it cast seemed to swallow up the thin beam. It didn't make Dean anymore comfortable about agreeing but Sam would only bitch and moan if they didn't at least try.
"Bitch." He grumbled.
"Jerk." Sam replied almost absently as he lead the way further into the hillside.
W
"I'm starting to think it was just bears." Dean grumbled. Two weeks. It had been two weeks since he'd help close the gates to hell, since he'd made his deal and got Sam back. Two weeks and he'd spent the last three days trudging through the New York forest, accomplishing nothing except wasting his time. Time that was extremely valuable, time he could've spent on the road hunting down those demons and killing as many as he could get before his time was up.
Sam twisted around, Dean's light shining on the ground but it was enough to light his features. The dirt stained face hadn't changed since the last time he'd looked or the time before that.
Dean practically had a permanent scowl on his face, they were both dirty and disheveled, tired and he hadn't varied. He was either grumpy and snapped because he was camping out in the forest or he made snarky remarks and off-colored comments.
'I hate camping; hate the fucking tree hugging bastards who came out here in the first place.'
Because had it not been for those hikers the Winchester would never have spent the last couple of days in the Catskills.
"We agre-."
"I know!" Dean snapped. "I'm just saying, dude there's nothing." He stopped and so did Sam. "It's been two weeks since we closed the gates and all we've got is some hikers who got lost in the woods."
"Hikers as far back as-."
"Before the 20's. I know." Dean repeated.
"We should keep going." Sam said after a moment. He didn't wait for his brother instead started walking along the dark tunnel. He knew what was wrong, knew Dean was loosing time he'd decided to devote to hunting down demons. As many as he could find that escaped from hell.
Sam felt the guilt weigh him down again, anger burning its way up his throat.
His brother was going to die. The only family he had left and it was his fault.
"You sure we're not lost?" Dean grumbled at his back. His voice echoed with a curse as he stumbled over some loose rocks. Straightening he hefted his pack and kept following his little brother.
Dean couldn't help but think of Phade. Right about then she'd be leading the way perfectly able to see in the pitch black tunnel.
'Wonder what she's doing right about now.'
"We haven't found a fork in the tunnel, Dean. We aren't lost." Sam sighed.
"You know we're going down, right." it wasn't a question, he could feel the downwards angle and it got him to stop thinking of Phade.
Then Dean couldn't get the stupid movie out of his head and he sure as hell knew the blond psycho chic hadn't made it out of there alive.
Or had she?
W
It was dark, the walls of her home glowing a faint blue, a match for the pale blue drops that dripped onto the pool from the stalactites above. The rush of water from the far side of the cave would deafen anyone.
But… there was no one else…
Had she always been alone?
The sudden rush of water around her body was cool, it swirled the azure strands of long hair over her bare shoulders. Sliding deeper into the water so it covered her eyes she lay on the smooth rock, legs and arms held aloft by the water.
Her vision sharpened and looking straight up could make out the tiny veins threaded through each sharp spire pointed down on her.
In one quick movement she thrust both arms above her head, feet pointed and slid through the water fluidly. Twisting her hips she rotated bringing both arms into her chest and just spun.
She smiled, her spin slowed down leaving her afloat in the glowing pool. She was facing down, down to where the light couldn't reach. It was dark down there and the more she stared at the black pit the more she knew something was waiting…
"Something…"
The echo of her voice barely registered, the melodious tones strange because she hardly spoke. Why would she when she was alone.
"Alone…"
Words came to her, distant and strange words she could find no meaning to.
"…still those voices are calling from far away… wake you up… hear them say…pink champagne on ice…'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device'…" she kicked her legs pulling through with both hands, heading towards the darkness. "…check out anytime… can never leave…" still she sang, the water amplifying her voice…
W
"Would you stop." Sam snapped. "We haven't been walking that long."
"Yeah, I'm the one stumbling along behind you." Dean retorted, the beam of his flashlight bouncing with every word. "That's i-."
"Ssh." Sam held up a hand though he continued walking. Dean didn't give a shit what his brother was listening for, he wanted out of the hill. He wanted out now.
"Dean, what does that sound like?" Sam asked, his steps slowing down.
"Like we should turn around and go hunt something real." Dean snapped. "Or, you know, evil." Because there were a whole bunch more now that the gate was opened on their watch.
"Its'… water?" Sam wondered, he moved off ignoring Dean and the hissed commands to turn around. He wasn't leaving until they killed whatever was taking those hikers. He wasn't leaving until they could be sure no others would ever go missing. It was up to them to make sure the next hikers wouldn't have to deal with something evil. Some demon…
The faint cerulean glow lined the arched entrance, the sound now louder than before but it was the arch that drew his eyes.
Since when did underground caverns have arched entrances?
"What?" Dean asked pointing his flashlight to where Sam was looking. He frowned voicing the same question that Sam had been thinking.
He didn't answer, just tried to make out the faint carvings on the stone. He traced a finger along the smooth surface, felt the cool slick rock… Sam shook his head trying to get the long strands of hair out of his face. He frowned, turned towards the moist wind and felt his mouth open but no words came out.
"Whoa." Dean uttered next to Sam. Both men turned their eyes upwards; saw the spires pointing down on their heads. Shiny, sharp and glowing all over their heads; pointy spires of different sizes, big fat ones Dean had no idea how they hadn't broken off. Anyone of those could easily crush them and no one would know. The thin, spindly, icicle looking ones worried him more. They looked like even the smallest breeze would send one piraling down to impale either of them.
Throughout the cavern a dim glow cast a faintly blue tint on their skin and clothes. Shining his light at the walls only served to brighten the effect.
"Where's the light coming from?" Dean asked in a faintly hushed tone of voice. His feet took him closer to his brother while he continued to inspect their surroundings. Both could hear the rush of water and the misty breeze that came through the second arch. Dean shined the light on the glowing rocks closest to them as Sam moved in to inspect the wall. He peered close but couldn't see his reflection in its surface.
"Translucent…" he muttered stepping back. Sam ran his fingers over the walls face feeling the prismatic shapes beneath his fingers. "Quartz…? Maybe…?"
"What?" Dean grew more impatient with his brother. "Do you know why it's glowing or not?" but more importantly, did they need to know?
"Some… 'rocks' reflect light." Sam explained. Dean recognized the College boy tone immediately. "Others just have their own depending on their mineral structure. This looks like quartz, a prismatic composition but the way it reflects our flashlights… I think it's probably-."
"Dude, if I wanted a Geology lecture I would've gone to College." Dean cut in. He hated when Sam did that, talked all intellectual only this time there was no girl to impress, no fancy painting to discuss or un-haunt. They were inside a hill. They were arguing about glowing rocks inside a hill.
Dean was sure glowing rocks weren't part of the Wendigo's lair. They liked dark, dank places where they could hole up and savor their dinner without interruption. Shutting off his flashlight didn't affect his ability to see in the faint glow from the walls. Sam said nothing and clicked his off as well. Both were left in the glow of a blue tinted world deep in the hill Sam had practically forced them to climb into.
More and more, Dean convinced himself the hikers had done the exact same thing they were doing. They climbed into some hole in the ground (or hill) and went exploring only to get themselves lost. And when they tried to find a way out, only got turned around some more. They had all dropped dead with nobody ever knowing they hadn't been kidnapped or killed by some demon or evil monster.
'Yeah, that's how it went.' Dean told himself and it was looking like they would be next if he couldn't get Sam to turn around and go back the way they'd come before they couldn't remember which way that was.
"Hey!" Dean called to Sam's back but he walked through the arch. Grumbling, Dean followed but not before he reached into his jacket and pulled out a couple of M&M's and scattered them on the ground.
'Just to be on the safe side.' He told himself. Hurrying through the arch he slowed down, awed at the huge cavern they'd come into. The stalactites there were much bigger, massive and clumps of stalagmites grew from the ground. From the far wall, out of a dark crevice a stream of water dropped into a huge pool. The sound was deafening, neither brother could hear the other unless they yelled and somehow Dean didn't think yelling was a good thing. Not with the sharp, pointy, blue glowing icicles hanging over their heads.
'This is definitely not a Wendigo.' Dean thought as he walked closer to the water's edge. It lapped at the edge of the rock floor. He kicked a few pebbles into the dark water trying to peer into the depths but found it impossible to see the bottom.
Was there a bottom?
The water had to go out somewhere didn't it?
Dean frowned, glancing to the crevice where water flowed in a constant stream to the pool at his feet. It was coming from somewhere; there was no doubt of that because he could see it. The sound deafened him and the mist rising from the crashing pool dampened his face and hair. Looking around he tried to figure out where the water went out.
Sam walked the opposite direction from Dean, heading to the left side of the crashing water fall. He had to climb around a dense group of stalagmites, it was that or go swimming and not being able to see what was in the water or how deep it went Sam played it safe. His mind kept wandering back to his first questions; where had the arched entrances come from? Who had made them? And why? Why so deep in the earth…
The floor rose and then he reached three tiered slabs of rock, each like a giant stone stair. The first was just below his hips and climbing up found the second step not much higher. Finally at the top, Sam could see there was nowhere he could go except back. Water lapped at the other side of his steps and the stalagmites he'd climbed through grew so close at the edge of the pool they kept the water confined from the steps.
He sighed and dropped his pack onto the ground beside him. He noticed Dean walking along the water's edge a gun in hand and shook his head. It was just like him…
'Dean's right. There's no Wendigo.' But if it wasn't that then what was taking the hikers coming into the area?
Sam wiped both hands over his face and turned to the glowing walls. He reached up tentatively and rubbed at the surface. It felt smooth and rough, the quartz feeling oddly cylindrical under his fingers. He searched for cracks, maybe a fissure or break gouging with his fingers when a chunk came off in his hand. It fit in his palm, the blue glow slightly dimmed.
W
Dean held the gun and walked slowly towards the spray of water. The sound was so loud he wouldn't have heard his own voice even if he'd been yelling. All around the glowing cavern cast that eerie blue light at him and glancing at the black pool of water that was about as big as a lake, still couldn't see anything in there. Were there fish? Did they glow as well? Or was some monster hiding in those depths?
Finally acknowledging the prickling at the back of his neck Dean stopped and looked up at the huge flow of water. He'd never seen anything like it and this close couldn't even make out the crevice the water flowed from. Clumps of greenish blue stalagmites grew in close to the base of the waterfall. His eyes searched the cascading water finding a slight glow centered behind it. Taking a couple steps closer he lost it. The light was suddenly not there and he wondered if maybe he'd just been seeing things.
He was turning back, heading to the place they'd come in ready to drag Sam out of there by force if he had to when Dean noticed the glowing light in the black water. He squinted trying to get a clear look. He gripped the gun tighter ready to shoot if it came at him but more curious about the thing swimming in that lake. Dean took another step, his boots now in the black water but he didn't notice.
There was a clump of rocks two yards away from where he stood; the glow disappeared behind them for an instant. It was enough to make Dean feel as if he'd lost something important. He wanted to know what it was, what it was doing so far in the earth then the tip of it peered around the rocks.
Dean waited; he held his breath without realizing it and leaned further into the water. There was a definite shape, all of it glowing a bright cobalt and then something reached out of the water to clutch at the stones.
His eyes widened, watching as the thing slowly rose from the water. It tentatively reached around the rock until Dean saw it really was… it was shaped like a human.
The hand, long tapered fingers were connected by a thin see through webbing. The skin was tinged a pale cerulean with hints of green and as it pulled itself out of the water Dean noticed the sharp fins lining its forearm up to the elbow. They glittered silvery-aqua blue with darker sapphire specks and he realized they were scales but it was the face as it broke the surface that caught his breath.
The face was framed by those same shimmering scales like a crown; they outlined the aqua colored eyes, a faint smattering over the bridge of the nose. The long hair was a deep azure with indigo tints and it spread about the shoulders like a cloud floating in the water.
They stared at each other for what seemed hours then Dean watched as it rose from the water further, almost as if it were walking. One arm draped around the rocks easily pulling itself to sit on the slab of rock.
"A girl…" he muttered, his voice drowned out by the cascading water. Dean couldn't help but look. He'd never seen anything like what they'd found in that caver and he wanted to commit this to memory, wanted to be able to recall the details…
His eyes roamed over what he could see of her. The face, so like a human except for the scales and admired the eyes; she had a nose and Dean wondered how she'd managed to stay under water. The full lips were slightly parted and glancing lower saw the shimmer of scales outline her neck, her hair covering the thick patch he could glimpse. A thin line decorated her collar bone, more forming a patter at her shoulders and then following the line of muscle down her arms. The fins shimmered, long and no doubt sharp. She removed her arm from around the rock and placed both hands on the ledge where she sat.
Dean couldn't help noticing the lack of clothes and even so she didn't appear to be naked. More scales wove an intricate pattern over her breasts, giving her skin the glow he'd noticed in the water. It lapped around her hips obscuring his view of the tail… she was a mermaid wasn't she?
W
She was curious. Never had there been another in her home. No one but she had ever lived there. As long as she could remember.
It was a strange creature, pale and deformed. It walked upright, its skin different colors and not at all pleasant to look upon. The deformity on its back- she wondered if it was painful, the bulky black mass looked to weigh it down. Curious she leaned towards it, head tilting and found it copying her action. Intrigued she decided to get closer. As quick as the thought flitted into her head she dove into the water not seeing the startled reaction from the thing.
Almost immediately her webbed feet touched on the pebbly bottom and her head broke the surface. She felt the water slide down her body as she walked towards it, curiosity making her forget caution. But caution of what? Nothing had ever come down there; she had no concept of danger and then it raised its arm, the shiny appendage pointing at her.
She stopped, blinked and looked from the deformed hand to its face, head tilting. Its eyes were green. She could see that clearly and how did she know that was green?
Her brow furrowed at the disturbing question. Had she ever seen anything green? Looking down at her hand she studied it, noticed the difference and raised her arm mimicking it.
She took another step, her eyes searching, looking for answers in its face, wanting to know… know what?
The echo of voices came to her, sounded in her head. The words jumbled together making no sense. Broken bits, half phrases…
"…get a glimpse …beyond this illusion …hear the voices when I'm dreaming…" her voice echoed above the crash of the water fall. It sounded with the melody of the words and startled it.
"…wayward son …peace when you are done …weary head to rest … cry no more…" She wondered if it knew the meaning of what she said. Could it know? Would it tell her-.
W
Sam examined the quartz in his hand, turned it over and passed it to his other palm. The glow didn't diminish anymore. He bent, reaching for his bag and pulled a shirt to wrap the quartz in then set it back in his bag. Looking up he found Dean aiming his gun. Sam yelled, called to his brother but the sound of the water fall drowned it out.
'That's it! The thing that's been killing the hikers.'
There was no doubt in his mind, no hesitation as he reached into his bag and pulled out the shotgun. Jumping down from his position he found the second step angled out over the black lake getting him a couple of feet closer and below that another slab of stone spread further into the lake. Sam carefully stepped onto that seeing the water cover his feet, the bottom feeling slippery. He managed to keep his footing, shuffling as close to the edge as he dared. Taking aim, Sam tried to focus but in the dim light he couldn't be sure of his mark. He waited, afraid to hit Dean when his brother lowered his gun, the look on his face… Sam couldn't remember ever seeing Dean look that way. It wasn't exactly peaceful… but Sam had no other word to describe it.
His brother shifted and it moved, drawing towards Dean. It was then Sam took his shot, felt the kickback but no sound, nothing louder than a slight pop reached his ears.
W
Dean flinched. It wasn't that her voice… her voice. It was like nothing he'd ever heard before. The sound cut through the deafening roar of the water fall, quieted all the noise around him, all the worries, the little things he hadn't even know were bothering him. Her voice soothed, brought him a measure of peace and the words-. Dean recognized the words, knew the song well… How did this creature know it?
He watched her hold out her hand but couldn't look away from the aqua colored eyes. There where swirling sapphire rings that expanded and contracted and somehow he knew it had to do with her emotions.
Dean lowered the gun, unafraid of the strange creature he had thought a mermaid but there was no fish tail. A mermaid would have a fish tail not two legs… Dean had seen her walk, watched her body rise from the dark depths at his feet and been amazed to see more skin than scales. They clustered low on her hips dipping to her navel but there a belt of shells obstructed his view and dangling from it a filmy material that clung to her upper thighs.
"…surely heaven waits for you…" Her voice, it echoed in his head, vibrated inside him with some indescribable quality. Dean heard the melancholy, knew she'd been alone in this place and it pulled on him.
Suddenly she lurched towards him, a pained cry screeching through his head. Dean stepped further into the water, one hand clutching at his head the other reaching towards her but stopped short.
Her eyes bore into him, sapphire blue and full of pain, little flecks of aqua swimming in those depths. Her face bore the confusion, both arms clutching at her chest. She dropped to her knees the water lapping around her reaching above her stomach.
Dean watched her stare at the webbed hand, fingers covered in blood, a dark stain almost black in the faint light of the cavern. She shook her head obviously not understanding what happened.
But he did.
Dean knew and all he could do was watch as she reached out to him. The bloody hand was a louder voice for her pain and confusion than if she'd spoken again.
He couldn't help her, couldn't do anything and the shimmering tears tore at him.
That was a strange emotion for Dean, feelings like that just didn't- it wasn't like him. Yet there he was, the unbearable need to help… her.
W
The pain. Nothing like it had ever happened to her, nothing had ever happened there. And what was this?
She looked at her hand, it was wet, a dark sticky stain on her pale blue skin. It coated the webbing between her fingers and sharp searing pain lanced through her chest. It made her eyes burn with tears and still she looked to this new being for answers. It had seemed to know where the words had come from; recognition crossed its features…
The water felt ice cold to her fevered skin, the sticky wetness sliding down her chest. Closing her eyes she let her body drop into the icy water, her eyes snapped open at the harsh prickling that bit into her skin.
"Ou'd vai…"
It was not her voice, not her who spoke and still she knew the words.
"Je'tah luhna id Fury..."
The faint glow beneath her expanded, she could see… could see the beautiful woman float towards her. It was her voice she'd heard, telling her not to be afraid, offering a sense of security.
"It hurts…"
The bright green-blue eyes bore into her, the seaweed hair enveloping her cold body, offering warmth.
"Fury… this moment will fade… breathe…"
But it hurt. It was painful to draw in a breath, the cold seeping into her… She tried, opened her mouth and the blinding light suddenly engulfed her.
The pain faded, she felt neither cold or warm and the darkness was gone.
Catskill Mountains, New York…
Dean opened his eyes and had to squint against the sun blazing down on him. The chirping birds had his fingers itching to grab at his gun.
"What the…" Dean wondered. He scrambled to his feet searching the small clearing knowing it was impossible to be standing under the sun when just a few moments ago he'd been inside a hill deep in the bowels of the earth.
Hadn't he?
Glancing at h is feet Dean saw the wet cuffs of his jeans, his boots clinging with leaves.
"Sam!" he yelled.
Sam heard his brother, rolled to his side scrunching his eyes against the bright sunlight. He gave soft shout and scrambled to his feet realizing it was impossible.
"Dean!" he slipped on the leafy ground, his shoes soaking wet and caught himself on the tree. Strong hands clamped on his shoulder and arm jerking him up.
"Sammy, what the hell- are you ok?" Dean asked looking him over. Finding nothing physically wrong with Sam, Dean looked around their piece of forest.
"Yeah, Dean-. Wh-. How did we get here?" Sam questioned feeling bewildered, questions filling his head.
"Got no idea, Sammy." Dean replied. He left Sam still beside the tree and rifled through his bag. Finding what he was looking for Dean stood and held his hand out. Sam frowned as he watched his brother who stopped and pointed to the right.
"We go that way." he grabbed up his bag hefting it over his shoulder. "Right back to civilization."
"What?" Sam shook his head. "We can't just forget about this hunt-."
"What hunt?" Dean yelled. "You killed- it." He forced himself not to feel, not remember what she'd brought out in him. "It's dead, alright. You got it. The hunt's done." He didn't wait for Sam to follow him, not this time. Dean marched out of the Catskill, the swimming sapphire and aqua eyes ever present in his mind.
'Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man,
Though my mind could think I still was a mad man,
I hear the voices when I'm dreaming,
I can hear them say…
Carry on my wayward son,
There'll be peace when you are done,
Lay your weary head to rest,
Don't you cry no more…'
Palomas, Chihuahua…
Dreams… That's all they were, what she kept telling herself every time she woke from another one; cold, drenched in sweat, the sheets soaked and short of breath. There was nothing but vague hazy pictures of the dream and by the time she oriented herself to where she was the dream was gone, all but a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Tonight was no different. The dream catapulted her from the bed and tangled in the drenched sheets landed on her knees in the bluish gray rug. The only sound in the hotel room was that of her short gasps and the soft whine of the dog.
Glassy brown eyes rose to meet the puppy blue-gray one's and received a cold nose in her face for comfort. His whine shortened to a huffing sort of bark as he shoved his head into her body. With a tired smile, she threw an arm around his neck and buried her face in the gray coat. She hugged him tight for a moment before her breathing evened and then she sat back resting against the bed.
Loyal to her, the dog took his place by her side, head resting on her stomach while his paw was thrown across her lap. Her head dropped back, one hand scratching at his head and tried to ignore the echoes of voices in her head. Every time she managed to get away, to forget a little of the past, she heard them again. All of them, somehow accusing, as if she'd failed only no one said how.
Sleep eluded her and again thoughts, memories of the past threatened to overwhelm her calm. The barrier she had erected to keep those memories from torturing her crumbled just a little and she was there again…
The wind shifted, pulling on her skirt and to her left one of the wreaths tilted dangerously. The black suits moved in unison, all reaching for the wreath but she knew they'd never save it. The rest were held by more of the black suits and everywhere she looked the suits were faceless; there was no face beside hers.
The slight tug on her hand had her moving forward, to the looming pit in the ground and the black shiny box set before it. Ever so slowly the box opened, fear gripped her making her sick but the tug on her arm kept her moving forward. Her feet felt heavy, as if they had weights around her ankles and the closer she got the more she could see inside the box. She tried closing her eyes but her face loomed in front of her, eyes open and staring at the sky, face wet… and it was all her fault.
"Your fault, you I was coming back for… you…"
But the bags, she hadn't done it on purpose. The bag broke; she couldn't just leave it there. All the stuff they'd bought-. But that's why it was her fault.
"…my fault…" she cried almost silently, never wiping the tears as she sat in the dark hotel room.
It wasn't the first time; it certainly wouldn't be the last no matter where she went, her voice always sounded in her head.
"…your fault…"
W
AN: I worked on this all day yesterday because I felt I'd left too much unexplained. All the chapters will be at least 10pages long from here on so it will take a while for me to get them posted. Patience is a virtue...