Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to all for the wonderful response, hopefully, you'll continue to enjoy!! A big thanks to Fredo for her encouragement and Louy for the beta.
Chapter 3
As Karen dropped down beside their friend, Frannie couldn't help but blanch. There on the floor, just beyond Mel was a body. It was a woman, her long dark hair spread out over what was once blue tile flooring. She lay in a pool of her own blood, her brown eyes wide and staring, her throat had been slit from ear to ear. A spray of blood graced one wall, covering even the hand dryer in a thin layer of red. The blood had dripped down the wall, leaving streaks of crimson, and was pooling on the floor.
Without thought, Fran, slipped from the shower area and headed for the bathroom. She quickly did a once over checking every stall before heading for the door leading out. Once there she flipped the dead bolt ensuring that the door couldn't be opened from the outside.
Even once she'd done this she couldn't help but jump a mile at every little noise as she rejoined her friends. Karen had wrapped her arms firmly around Mel as she worked to console the heavily weeping woman.
"Sh…it's okay, come on, Melanie, you're okay. We're here now," Karen repeated her voice steady despite the wide-eyed way she kept glancing toward the floor surrounding them.
At last, Mel's breathing eased and she seemed to become aware of where she was. Karen, obviously thankful to have gotten through to the pale-faced woman, grasped her arm and tugged, drawing Melanie with her.
Though Frannie didn't want to upset her, she couldn't help but ask, "What the hell happened, Mel?"
Melanie took a deep breath and seemed to steady a bit as she gained her feet. Then her gaze trailed over the floor and she was gone in a flash. The sound of her retreat, ended in what was obviously the bang of a stall door, and was then followed by a retching noise.
The sound had Karen paling and for a moment, Fran fought down the wild urge to laugh. Her friend was strong enough to have faced a dead body in order to comfort Mel, but the sound of someone retching in what was basically another room was going to be her undoing.
"You okay?" she whispered, unsure of why she hesitated to speak up. Frannie's gaze dipped to the floor before she wrenched her eyes away.
Karen reached out and gripped her arm, offering Fran something solid to lean against even though she hadn't realized that she'd wobbled for a moment.
With an audible swallow, Karen asked, "She's dead right? I mean you can't survive something like this."
It was Melanie who answered, her voice sounding as close to normal as it probably ever would, "There's no way she's alive. She would have bled out in minutes."
Karen seemed to take Mel's words at face value, still gripping Fran's arm she turned and walked toward Melanie who had reappeared.
The three of them left the shower area, keeping their eyes resolutely forward. None of them needed a reminder of what was on the blue tile floor just behind them.
"I locked the door," Fran said as they approached the long bank of sinks that lined one wall.
Karen started in surprise but nodded. "Good thinking." She then turned and faced Melanie who stood at one of the white porcelain sinks swishing around a mouthful of water. "Mel, can you tell us?"
Melanie's head dipped forward for a moment and Frannie found herself tensing suddenly afraid their friend was gonna take a nose dive. The moment lasted only a second and then Mel was straightening a look of determination stamped on her face.
"I came in to use the bathroom, but saw the sign for the showers," Mel said with an embarrassed shrug. "I wanted to check them out, I never saw a restroom with showers before."
Karen's grin was faint, but honest nonetheless. "We would have been right there with you."
"Anyway, I peaked in and a girl." Melanie shuddered, the movement shaking her entire body, and nodded toward the opening. "That girl was standing in just a bra and was using one of the hand dryers to dry a shirt. I think…I think she must have spilled something on herself.
Frannie interrupted as a tremor ran through her own body. "She was alive?"
Mel nodded, tears forming behind the dark framed glasses she wore. "Yeah, so anyway, I just nodded to her and came back in here to use the bathroom. I was in that stall," she said pointing to the first stall tucked into the far corner of the room.
"I heard the door open and I almost called out. I mean I came this close," Melanie said holding up her thumb and her forefinger about an inch apart. "I figured it was one of you girls." Here she paused, obviously thinking of what could have been if she had called out.
"But something, I don't know what, told me not to. Instead, I peeked through the crack on the door and saw a man."
"He moved out of my line of vision but I heard his steps," Mel said, her shaking now constant.
Acting on instinct, Fran moved forward flanking Mel on the left. Karen mimicked her movement brushing up against the redhead's right. "We're right here, Mel, go on," Frannie reassured the traumatized woman.
"I heard him rounding the corner, then, nothing. I was afraid to come out, so I pulled up my legs and stayed that way."
"You did the right thing, Mel, you did what any of us would have done," Karen stated firmly, correctly interpreting Melanie's guilt.
"Right, well, when I heard him return I just froze. He never bothered to check and see if anyone was in here, he just walked out the door." Here Mel's voice grew stronger and she slipped both hands under her glasses to wipe the tears that had fallen. "Once I was sure he was gone, I went back into the shower area and found her, lying there. I know I should have run and found someone, but, I…I just couldn't leave her. So I waited, I knew you two would come for me."
Frannie squeezed her friend's arm and reassured her, "Of course we would, and we're here now."
Karen nodded her gaze darting toward the locked door. "Most likely it was someone she knew. That's why he didn't bother checking the rest of the stalls, he was only looking to…hurt her."
That made sense in some twisted sort of way. "Karen's most likely right. There's no reason to believe we're in danger."
Melanie snorted, some of her color returning to her cheeks. "Then why'd you lock the door?"
Fran started guiltily. "I wasn't sure what had happened. I didn't think anyone should come in until we got things straight."
This time a full-throated laugh erupted from Melanie. Obviously shocked by her own outburst she slammed a hand over her mouth. It took a full five minutes for her to gather herself enough to say, "You thought I had something to do with it."
The blush that stole across Frannie's fair face only confirmed Melanie's words. "Well, it's not as if I thought you took a knife to her, I just didn't know what happened."
Instead of being offended, Melanie seemed to size Fran up with a ghost of a grin. "Well at least I know who to call when I have a body to bury."
Feeling better than she had since she entered the bathroom, Fran tipped Mel a wink. "So we should go get someone right? Maybe Flo?
"I dropped my purse by the…by her," Karen said, "I'll be right back. Do not leave this bathroom without me."
"Trust me I don't think I'm going anywhere alone ever again," Mel said shuddering.
Frannie concurred, offering her friend more re-assurances, "I'm not going anywhere, we'll be right here."
Karen nodded and turned heading back down the short hall that led to the showers. She was only out of sight for a moment, when Fran heard her cry, "Holy crap!"
888
Karen couldn't believe the sight before her, with a curse, she stepped forward unable to process just what she was seeing. It was all gone, the blood, the body, it was if they'd never existed, and for one strange moment, Karen actually doubted her own sanity.
At least she did until she heard Frannie and Melanie slam into the room behind her, their cries of fear turning to confusion.
"She's gone, right?" Karen asked still not wholly trusting her own eyes.
"Holy crap," Melanie said, echoing Karen's earlier curse.
"Do you think it was a joke, some kind of twisted game?" Fran asked as she approached the area where the body had been. Regardless of the fact that all was now gone, the blonde seemed reluctant to step on the spot where the woman had laid dead.
"Weird frickin' game," Karen muttered as she picked up her purse. It was right where she'd left it. "I'm about ready to go, how about you two?"
Frannie nodded and began backing out her eyes darting around the echoing blue room. "I'm past ready."
All three turned tail to go, all intent on reaching the safety of the van just as quickly as possible. They were nearing the bathroom exit, Karen in the lead, when the wooden door swung open.
Frannie, Melanie and Karen all skidded to a halt as a young girl with long brown hair and matching brown eyes walked in. The front of her shirt was soaked and she held it away from her body, obviously not wanting the material to touch her skin.
"Nice, right?" she complained as she squeezed by the ladies and headed for the back of the bathroom.
Jaw hanging open, Karen watched her disappear out of sight, her intention obviously to slip the shirt off and dry it under one of the hand dryers.
It wasn't until she was completely out of sight that Karen realized her arm hurt. With a glance at the offending appendage, she realized that Frannie had gripped her tightly. So tightly, in fact that Karen was sure she would have the bruises for months. "Fran, hon, let go."
"Shit, frig, I'm sorry," Frannie said as she pried her fingers off Karen's arm.
"Can't say as I blame ya, we ready to go?"
Fran seemed more than ready as she reached out to grab the door handle.
"Wait, we can't just leave. We saw that woman die. What if it was some kind of omen, she could—"
"Sh…" Karen said suddenly her gaze glued to the door, "someone's coming."
Running on instinct alone, Karen grabbed Fran and Mel and stepped back, her back hitting one of the stall doors knocking it inward. With another jerk she pulled the girls back and into the bathroom stall. So tight was the fit that she feared she wouldn't be able to get the door shut.
Unconcerned with niceties, she pushed against Fran's back and shoved the door closed. She then put her back to it and put first one foot, then the other on the edge of the white porcelain toilet. Fran, who stood to the left of the fixture, did likewise. Melanie was a bit slower to catch on but the sound of the door opening was enough for her.
There they crouched, each one pressed against a wall of the tiny cubicle, their feet balanced precariously on the toilet seat. Barely daring to breath, they stared at one another and waited.
At the sound of footsteps making their way across the tile floor, Mel's eyes nearly leapt from her head. It was obviously the same man from before. She made one fierce gesture toward the stall door that Karen now blocked, indicating her desire to get the man that was even now stalking the poor brunette.
Karen ignored the gesture. Selfish or not there was no way she was going to put herself and her friends at risk to grapple with a knife wielding maniac, besides the whole thing felt a little too surreal to her. She kept waiting for someone to pop up at the top of the stall and yell, 'Smile! You're on candid camera'. The cry never came, instead, the only sound she heard was the gasping breath of her two friends, and the tread of heavy steps as the killer strode back out of the bathroom.
As the door slipped shut, Karen released a pent-up breath and set down a foot, trying to ignore the way her legs shook from the strain. It took five minutes of dancing about before the three of them managed to exit the tiny cubicle.
Once there, Frannie reached out and shot the dead bolt on the door closed, just as Mel turned to her and asked, "You said the door was locked before."
"It was, I mean I locked it, that girl shouldn't have been able to open it."
Mel didn't say a word, she just turned, her destination obviously the shower area. As much as Karen dreaded following, she couldn't allow the redhead to go it alone. Falling into step, she was unsurprised to see Frannie right behind her with a look of determination on her face.
888
"You boys getting a bite to eat?" Flo called out just as Dean reached the opening that led to the bathrooms and the restaurant.
Dean paused a step and turned to face the older woman. Careful to keep the gun out of sight he nodded and said, "Yup, we're gonna try a piece of that pie after all."
A broad smile lit up her face. "Good, you'll enjoy. Carl's one hell of a baker."
With a polite nod, Dean and Sam continued out the doorway, keeping their eyes peeled for Earl. It wasn't hard to spot him, not when he lay in the center of the entry, a pool of blood seeping from his slit throat. "What the hell, Sam?" Dean spat as he raised the shotgun.
Human or spirit, the rock-salt rounds packed one hell of a punch, as Dean had found out first hand not too long ago. It would dispel a spirit or knock a person off his feet, either scenario worked just fine for him.
"Got me, but I'm thinking poor Earl here never stood a chance. Whoever did this must have snuck up on him."
Dean glanced around the large open space, finding nothing but the entrance to the Panhandle restaurant and two doors that were marked as bathrooms. Tapping Sam on the shoulder, he indicated the men's room with a nod of his head, and headed that way.
He sensed more than saw Sam follow, his own gun at the ready. Dean seriously hoped they wouldn't run into anyone inside the restroom or they were likely to start a panic. That's if the bloody body that lay in the vestibule didn't start one first.
As he pushed the door open, Sam standing just behind him, he moved forward, signaling to his brother to go past while Dean covered him. As his brother began to go down the line of stalls, carefully checking each one, Dean followed, his finger resting lightly on the trigger. Whatever had done Earl in had been quiet and fast, two characteristics that made him nervous as hell.
Sam, at last, gave an all clear and then began to approach the opening that was marked showers. Dean hated letting the younger Winchester lead but he wasn't willing to let someone or something sneak up on them either.
"It's clear, Dean, no one here and there's no other exit," Sam said as he returned to Dean's side, his expression puzzled.
"Ladies next," Dean said with a grim smile as he ushered Sam back out of the bathroom.
888
Melanie stood staring down at the dead woman on the floor, a frown marring her features. Her friends flanked her, Karen on the left and Frannie on the right. Both seemed every bit as perplexed as she was. It wasn't that the woman was dead, again. They all agreed that this was what they'd find. The problem was the scenario. The body lay at the same angle, not close to the same angle, but, the exact same position. The blood, even down to the spray that had arched over the wall, was the same down to the last drop. Every thread of the girl's hair lay in the same position, her slashed throat a perfect match.
"Deja vu," Frannie said as she shuddered at the sight of the poor girl.
"It's exact, I mean this is what we saw," Karen said the disbelief in her voice, making it clear she had no clue what was going on.
"What if it was some kind of warning? Like a vision, given to us so we could stop this from happening," Mel asked as she studied the tableau before her.
"Well if it was, we royally screwed up," Frannie replied, her voice full of cynicism.
Mel really couldn't deny the logic in that statement. If they'd had some kind of mass hallucination, sent to them by some higher power then they had messed up. "I told you, we should have done something, anything. We should have stopped this."
Karen visibly bristled at her words. "I'm sorry, but there's no way I'm going to let you two get yourselves killed by playing Laverne and Shirley and jumping on the back of some drugged up, truck stop killer, wielding a knife."
Fran smirked and despite the trouble even Mel had a hard time keeping a straight face. "Playing Lavern and Shirley?"
"Yeah, you know, one of them ends up in trouble and the other jumps on the bad guys back and starts hitting," Karen said earnestly.
"Lavern and Shirley was a classic show. Remember the robot one, Lavern's pinned to the floor by the robot and Shirley's whacking the thing with a doll?" Fran replied her smile becoming full-fledged.
"It really was just the funnies—"
"Come on," Mel cried. "I'm serious here."
Karen's smile disappeared in an instant. "You think I'm not. I won't have it, you can believe what you want, but, I will not let you two get yourselves killed. So there's gonna be no going toe to toe with some psycho," Karen's tone made it clear that she wasn't kidding.
Despite knowing that Karen was simply worried, Melanie bristled at the implication that she was unable to look out for herself. "Is that right, Mom, you're gonna make all my decisions, keep us safe."
Up came the finger and Mel knew Karen was pissed for sure. The brunette pointed at Mel and said, "You can call me Mom all you want, but, I'm not gonna face Barry and Patty, and tell them that you're dead because you decided to be a hero."
At the mention of her father and stepmother, Mel backed down. She knew Karen well enough to know that it wasn't cowardice that kept her from facing the killer, it was her sense of responsibility. "You're right. I'm sorry."
Karen actually did a double take at Melanie's agreement. "No, I'm sorry, it's just…" Karen's words trailed off as the two woman stared miserably at each other.
"You know this caring and sharing has been a blast, but did either of you bother to notice that the body just disappeared," Fran said, her eyes wide with fright.
"What the hell?" Mel cried, certain that she looked just as scared as Fran.