The Evil Lurking in the Darkness
Chapter 2: Untitled
written by NemKess
Heero awoke slowly, fighting the urge to shiver in the nighttime chill. Damn, what a dream.
His body went rigid as the breeze seemed to caress his hair, smoothing it back from his face. There was a fuzzy moment as his mind registered the fact that, though most of his body was still in contact with the pebble strewn ground, his shoulders and head were pillowed against something. Something very soft and cool.
Dark blue eyes flew open and met the soft blue that hovered above him.
"It's about time you woke up, silly. I was afraid you stay unconscious until you caught a cold since I can't exactly go tell someone to come out and get you."
It was almost more than his poor grief stricken mind could grasp. Not only was he looking at Relena- who was very dead, he'd been the last to leave the graveyard after they'd buried her that afternoon- more importantly, he was looking through said dead woman. It only took a moment for Heero to scuttle away from the apparition.
A hurt look crossed her features before they settled into exasperation. "Really, Heero. You certainly have nothing to fear from me."
His own face hardened into a mask of indifference. "Relena Darlian is dead. Either this is an elaborate scheme against me, or I'm having a nightmare." His grip tightened on the gun and he swung it towards her reflexively.
As unafraid of his gun in death as she had ever been in life, the shade rose up on her knees and crawled towards him. The touch on his cheek felt like a cool breeze; the one to his lips was more real, but still feather light and chilled.
"Does that feel like a nightmare? Or like someone out to harm you?"
His eyes closed, unable to look at her any longer. Another tear escaped despite his best efforts to contain it. "I saw the body."
"Oh Heero. I'm sorry to have brought you to this. It was never my intention to hurt you in any way."
That took the cake. A deep cleansing rage washed through him. Nightmare, imposter, or real ghost, it ceased to matter. He fixed her with his coldest look. "Maybe you should have thought of that before you committed suicide."
"What would you have rather I did, Heero? Let that monster drive me insane? Let it kill me or worse? Tell me Heero, what would you have done?"
A growl was emitted from his throat and he tried to grab her shoulders, but she seemed to dim and his hands went straight through her rather than grasp anything solid.
"You can't touch me if I don't want you to. A definite advantage of being dead, don't you think?"
"Dammit, Relena. It was just a stupid nightmare. I should have taken in account how afraid you were, but it was still just a nightmare."
The pair glared at one another for a moment before Relena let out a weary sigh and sat down next to him. Her eyes were shadowed as she stared out to sea. Another sigh, this time of resignation, escaped. "What if I can prove it wasn't a nightmare? Or a delusion?"
"And how the hell do you expect to do that?"
Tremors overtook the shade and she glanced at him for a moment before turning away again. "The night Sally drugged me, it came and told me a little of what it planned to do... Who it's next victim would be." The tremors stopped as she glared at him. "That's why I couldn't let you do anything stupid. I couldn't do anything about the monster, but you can."
"Gee, your concern for me is touching. Keep me alive long enough to slay your nightmares." He knew his voice was fairly dripping sarcasm, but he couldn't help himself. He didn't know how she expected to prove to him that she hadn't lost her mind. On the other hand, he thought with a wry grin, who was the one sitting in the Peacecraft garden talking to a dead woman? Oh well, what did he really have to lose at this point? "So, I suppose you have some sort of plan?"
The shining smile she aimed his way was contagious and he found himself returning it in spite of himself. He supposed if he was going to go crazy too, there were worse ways to go.
It sat completely still, awaiting the darkness that had been its home for so long.
The recent hunt had been everything it could have hoped for when it had chosen the victim. If only she hadn't chosen death as the better option. Her fear could have provided such delightful entertainment for a long time to come if she hadn't made the decision to stop being afraid.
It did so hate the ones who did that. As sweet as that short lived fear was, it much preferred the ones who allowed themselves to be cowed, who would live in fear until it drove them insane. The ones who feared the unknown element of death more than they feared the creature.
That was all right. Its next target had great potential.
If it could have laughed, it would have.
If only the creators could see it now.
TBC