Authors Pre-notes: There is MATURE content in this
^.^
As I stood on the empty void, with the iron gates and the man cloaked in darkness looming in front of me - I didn't feel afraid. I didn't feel anything.
"I've been waiting for you, Hiccup," the man said in a cruel, sinister voice. "My name is Pitch Black."
"Where are we? A-am I dead?"
"This is the other side." He said with a dark smile. "And, you're not the one that's dead - he is." The golden eyed man nodded to a ball of light breaking in the darkness.
The light-colored orb settled it's way just beside him. Slowly, it transformed into the demon from the abandoned building.
I stepped back. Pitch's golden eyes and, now, the red eyed demon were staring at me. A trickle of fear began to spread through my body.
Suddenly, the deformities on the demon began to melt away. It was like water was being poured over him and it washed away the twisted limbs and broken body. Now, an old and frail man stood in his place. He had white hair and light blue eyes.
His legs were weak and once the demon form left, he fell down on the black void. Pitch sneered at him as the man began to whimper.
"W-where am I? W-w-what happened to me?" He looked at me, his old and blue eyes now shimmering with tears.
"P-Please, h-help me."
I looked at the Pitch, "what are you going to do to him?"
"Very soon, it won't be what I'll do to him. But what will happen to you," He said in the cruel voice and hoisted the shaking man back onto his feet.
"Don't, please don't!" I stepped towards them, reaching for the man but, as if he was suddenly made of ashes and mist, he diffused away into the darkness.
The Iron Gates burst open and I felt my body twist with pain. First, my legs twisted back, and I shrieked, falling to the ground.
Then, my arms twisted, a sickening sound of bone cracking echoed through the void.
I was gasping, clenching my jaw tight so Pitch wouldn't get the satisfaction of hearing me scream.
This was Hell - I knew it.
Pitch laughed in the darkness as a disembodied voice cried out in pain - the blue-eyed man.
As he screamed, I screamed, closing my eyes. I felt the dark world fall out from under me and when I opened my eyes, I was no longer standing on that dark plane.
I was standing in the old abandoned building, in the back room.
But, it wasn't old anymore. There was a mix of antique and modern furniture throughout the bookstore, cabinets in neat rows lined with countless books. An open area was lined with couches and tables and desks. The back room was a quiet study area with small storage closet and washroom. It was perfect for a small meeting room or a small group.
Beside me, there was a mirror hanging on the wall and I stumbled back from the sight. Blue eyes stared back at me.
I looked at my hands, they were frail and withered, then looked back up at the mirror. I realized, I was the old man from the Gates. Or at least, this was a memory and I was seeing it through his eyes.
Something blurry appeared in the reflection of the mirror. I - we - spun around and Mr. Watson was standing behind me.
There was a cruel glimmer in his eyes and bared his teeth.
"How could you do that to me, Randy?" Mr. Watson pressed Randy - me - against the wall. The mirror chattered from the impact behind me.
I held up my hands. "I-I didn't know she was married to you. She never said once mentioned being married to you. I would never do that to you Robert."
"You lying bastard. No need, I'll deal with you the way I dealt with her," He dug into his pocket and pulled out a cloth, pressing it to my mouth. I struggled, but the moment I breathed in the strong chemical, the world bled black.
^.^
I awoke, tied to a chair. A part of me recognized that this was still the bookstore - the basement. I could see the racks of files and worn books they used as more storage. I looked around the room for an escape and found the flooring had been dug up.
And a woman's body was laying face down on the floor, a pool of blood surrounded her body. I recognized the foul smell and realized, she must have been there for a couple of days.
"J-J-Jessica." I whimpered and Mr. Watson - Robert, stepped out of the darkness. He was holding a metal baseball bat that he balanced it on his hand, admiring the gleam of it while I whimpered quietly.
"She didn't scream at all. I found it odd, that she cheat on me with an old man." I - Randy, didn't want to tell him that the first time he met Jessica, she was paid to be with him. The other times, however, it was due to a consensual relationship. She mentioned being in an abusive relationship with a controlling man who would beat her and force her to have sex. And that all he cared about was money, but Randy wanted to make her feel safe and loved. Never once did she wear a wedding ring, or ever mention a husband.
Randy wouldn't have fucked her that night if he knew. Robert and him were good friends and business partners. They both owned the bookstore. He didn't want to believe that Robert was that kind of man...
"I'll show you what happens when you screw with me," Robert said in a cruel voice.
"You wouldn't do this to me. Please, Robert, I'm being honest, I didn't know - AH!" There was a hard impact on my leg. I cried out as another one shattered my knee, then another shattered my arm.
'Make it stop, make it stop.' I begged. My body and the chair now lay in a broken heap on the ground. I was unaware how much time had passed, just that he had stopped for a moment from breaking my bones even further.
It didn't matter if I was untied, both my legs were shattered, my body bleeding and hemorrhaging. Randy continued to cry out, telling Robert of his innocence. And I knew, Randy wasn't lying. He truly didn't know. Blood and teeth would spray from his mouth from every hit of the bat as he cried out.
There was a final snap in his spine, and he lay completely broken and face down on the ground.
A foot stepped on his neck, pressing his face further into the concrete ground. I saw a part of it was dug up and knew it was going to be his grave. There was a click, and the barrel of a gun was pressed to his cheek, angled up into my head.
"Rot in Hell," were Robert's final words, I heard the hiss of the gun and then I felt nothing at all.
^.^
I appeared back on that black plane, eyes wide as I stumbled back and fell to the ground, breathing heavily.
"Now you know," Pitch said.
"W-what was that?" I gasped.
"Your gift - as am I," he bowed, but those golden eyes never left mine. "You're my anchor."
"Anchor?" My voice was shaky.
"I am your anchor to this side of death, while you are my anchor to life. I've been with you for a very long time, in fact, I brought your mother to you. With your help, of course." He grinned.
I swallowed. No, no, no.
This couldn't be happening, he must be lying. There was no such thing.
"Oh, but there is such a thing, Hiccup." He read my thoughts.
"Get out of my head." I growled, but there was no true bite to the words like I intended.
"You'll soon see, that you can do great things with my help. Until then, I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other again very soon."
I heard that laugh in the darkness of my mind before something sharp and wet hit my face back in the real world.
I gasped awake, now dripping wet. Jack was holding the cup of water which he threw on me and Merida was gently holding my shoulders. Expecting my legs and arms to be twisted, I slowly scooted up more, expecting pain the slice through my body. But, they were perfectly normal.
Something hit my gut as the memories of the vision tumbled through me and I started vomiting. The foul smell was gone, the air was clear and the coldness subsided. But, I continued to hurl, like something was passing through me. I heaved as I remembered what that cruel man had done. I felt like I misjudged the spirit - automatically making him the bad guy because he was dead. But, it was the living that was ultimately cruel.
Bunny was at my side, and when I finished, he passed me a napkin.
"Get him out of here." Jack said when I was finally finished. Bunny helped me up and we made it outside - to the light.
I never thought I would see it again.
^.^
"There we are," Merida said as I laid in the passenger seat of the SUV. Merida leaned over me and handed me a cup of water. I had a towel around my head and my hair had finally began to dry.
"What happened?" I looked as Merida watched Jack and Bunny converse. Zel was nowhere in sight.
"Well, there's something very strange happening here. Things aren't adding up. But, the strangest yet, is that the spirit decided to show itself to you," She mused.
"Maybe it knew I could help him," I said and closed my eyes. I didn't want to think about his face again - about Randy's blue eyes full of pain. Possibly from years and years of suffering. And the time he suffered during his death...
"Maybe," She didn't found confident, and when I took my arm off my face, she was already gone to talk to Jack and Bunny.
Someone moved just beyond the line of parked cars, and my eyes narrowed. My body stiffened, I clenched my teeth.
Robert Watson.
He was on his cell phone, talking frantically and pacing.
Red tinged my vision and I stormed over to him. He was shocked to see me in front of him and I ripped his phone out of his hand, throwing it across the sidewalk. I had never been so bold, but in those moments, I felt Randy's rage.
"What the in the hell -"
"You're a murderer!" I yelled.
His face blanched, "h-how dare you accuse me of such a thing!"
"I know what happened." I stared at him as he glanced around us.
"Randy slept with your wife so you killed her, then you killed him." Once the words were out of my mouth, his eyes widened. Shock and disbelief colored his expression and I continued on.
"You drugged them and took them to the basement, that's where you killed both of them. But, you didn't know she didn't want to be with you anymore. Jessica hated you and how you treated her. You use to beat her, so she went to Randy to feel loved -"
Robert stepped closer to me, growling under his breath.
"Don't you say another word."
I wasn't afraid of him. I didn't let his actions scare me. What he did - and how… It was too horrible to replay again.
"How do you know that?" He asked in a low voice and I jerked back as he reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a wad of cash. "How much to make you forget, kid?"
"What's going on over here, Hic?" Jack was behind us. His blue eyes taking in the scene very cautiously. Robert put the money back as he straightened his suit jacket.
"Nothing, just commending him for a job well done, right?" I only glared at him.
"Not quite, there's a couple things I want to bring up with you, Robert." Hearing Jack say his first name made me glance at him. Did he somehow know what I saw?
"Payment I presume, that's all companies like you want." I hated how smug Robert sounded. Hated how he thought we were all just a bunch of kids. I wanted to hit him, the urge burned in my veins but I knew if I did, I would only be as bad as he was.
"No. Just facts, sir. Correct me if I'm wrong but in 2006, this area went out of business due to two missing person's claims. One, being your wife at the time and another being your business partner. This shop also had significant renovations done to the basement during that time, odd, since it was out of business before the renovations started. As I've said before, I did a little bit of digging and found that since this building went out of business due to 'paranormal' activity' to which you have been making a profit off the investigations. Mostly by tampering with evidence that you've compensated from."
I glanced at Robert, whose eyes were wide.
"It also happens that while we were conducting our investigations, we found some unusual items in the basement, under the renovated floors, that looked like they could have been involved in a murder. Particularly, the one involving your late wife and business partner."
I recalled Jack's words earlier in the day.
'This should be a murder investigation, not a paranormal one.'
How did he know? Did he always know?
"You can't really prove that?"
Robert was challenging Jack, with those same hateful eyes he did before he murdered Randy. I stepped between them, giving him a fierce look. Blue and red lights illuminated the way and he broke contact to glance around.
"The police will be taking over the investigation now. So, keep your money, Mr. Watson. I'll be seeing you in court." Jack said smoothly as the police approached him. Robert yelled profanities at Jack while he lightly grabbed my arm and steered me away.
^.^
I didn't stick around too much after the investigation. In fact, Jack only came to see me once after the interviews were done and briefed me on where I was to be on Monday, then told me to go home.
I thought about the 'other side' for the rest of the weekend. Drawing those iron gates and Pitch Black on my sketch pads, trying to figure him out.
Absentmindedly, I began drawing the old man, Randy - drawing the glistening moisture in his eyes and when I realized what I had done, I had to get up - I thought I would be sick. I couldn't get those blue eyes out of my head, nor, could I figure out what happened to him after Pitch misted him.
Before I knew it, the weekend was over and I was already at my last class of the day for Monday.
"Do you still need a ride home? I need to go to the city for work." I reminded Astrid for the third time today. Jack gave me intrusions to be at the office no later than three-fifteen.
"No, I'll get a ride," She smiled at me, then frowned. "Hey, you were pretty off this weekend, everything okay?"
I hated lying to her, so instead I said, "yeah. Just had to do something for work on Saturday and didn't feel too good."
"Oh."
I left school early. The drive to the city was painless and when I pulled up to the office, the parking lot was full of cars. I didn't see Jacks though, but I didn't see his on the first day I came here either. Maybe, it was in the back or something.
The van was there, a silver Hyundai and a blue Nissan.
Opening the glass doors, a young, friendly girl was behind the reception desk. She had green eyes and brown hair that was in a bun on her head. She was talking on the phone, but the moment she saw me, her face lit into a smile and she waved at me.
Once she was off the phone, she said, "the camera breaker! How nice to officially meet you!"
I sighed, a smile at my lips, "thanks."
"My name's Anna. I'll be training you for the week."
I heard someone coming down the stairs, not entirely surprised that it was Jack. He was dressed in a off-white long sleeved shirt and grey pants.
I tried not to stare at how lean he was where that shirt was tucked in, or that I could see the silver on his belt buckle.
He handed Anna some papers, "get these typed up before I leave, please, Anna"
Then he turned to me, those blue jewels turning mischievous. "Ah, Hic, good to see you on time. However, unlike on the field, I want to see you in business casual when you're here."
I took it my faded denim and black graphic t-shirt didn't fit in.
"Sorry, I have school."
"Pack it and change here. Also, you'll be working under Anna for now. She'll show you some of the program's we use for the administration and documents."
"So, I'll be a receptionist?" I felt a little disappointed. Hadn't I proved to him that I could be out there with Bunny and Merida? Well, maybe not, but I still found the entity when no one else could.
A feline smile, "for now."
^.^
By 6 o'clock, my brain felt like it was melted. I was a pretty decent computer guy, but this was on a whole other level of complexity. Anna had to answer the phones, leave messages, fill out reports, officiate and edit reports, file reports, print stuff…
It was a lot of work. And, by the time I learned how to lock everything up and was in my car, I let out a sigh and closed my eyes.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I jumped up, peering outside my car window, expecting to see another demon, but instead saw Jack. Quickly, I rolled down the driver side window.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack," I accused. His smile only broadened.
"I figured since I gave you a ride, you can return the favor."
I blinked. "What?"
"Merida has my car right now," He clarified.
"O-okay, I guess that's fair. It's kind of messy in here though," It really wasn't. Astrid was a neat freak about the car. My backpack had been recklessly thrown into the passenger seat, my books and sketches spilling out.
"I don't mind," He shrugged and made his way around while I frantically cleaned off the seat, throwing everything in the back.
Except for my drawings of Pitch and Randy.
Before I could grab it, Jack picked it up and took a seat, staring at it.
"Where did you see this?" His eyes flashed as they met mine, holding out the drawing.
"I-I just drew it. I don't know," I flushed and grabbed it from him. I knew bringing it with me today would have been a bad idea, but I didn't want to risk leaving it at home, alone.
"So where do you live?" I pulled out my GPS. We had an older car, so we didn't have any fancy technology.
"321 Bakers. Hiccup, I wanted to talk to you about what happened on the weekend." Internally, I sighed. I plugged in the address, it was on the other side of town, and began driving. I knew this was coming, it was just a matter of when.
"I think you were right about something. Whatever was there only responded to you and I think I know why," He said.
"Why?" I glanced at him, not entirely expecting that. He was staring straight ahead, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Have you heard of the term PK?"
"No."
"Psychokinesis: it's an interference of a physical system without physical interaction - such as communicating with spirits. I believe that since there were many attempts at making contact with that spirit, it knew how to block certain people out. However, it only made contact with you. Something about what you told me made me think, that maybe you're right."
At a red light, I met his baby blue eyes. "Maybe, it's not that you belong to the darkness, but that you help those from the darkness."
I thought about what he said. Is that possible? Can I have some kind of latent PK?
'Maybe it knew that I could help him.'
"I don't think I have a latent psychic ability, just out of the blue," I said, feeling flustered.
"It's just an observation. Anyways, thank you for helping on the case. As you know, you can't speak about anything that happened beyond our group."
I nodded.
After a few moments of silence, I decided to ask something that was on my mind.
"Do you have any kind of talents?"
I started to pull up to a gated community. Jack pointed me over to the side of the street, just in front of the main gates. The condos were all modern and sleek, with light grey tones and manicured lawns.
"I have many talents," Jack gave me a feline smile and I rolled my eyes, shifting the car into park. Jack took off his seat belt and then hesitated with his hand on the door for a moment.
"I was once able to use psychic powers," He said almost so quietly, I thought I imagined it.
The seriousness in his voice made my blood turn cold. Something dark loomed behind his words, making me think this was a topic that he didn't talk about lightly.
He didn't say anything else as he smoothly got out of the car and said, "thanks for the ride, Hic."
^.^
Authors Notes:
How interesting that Pitch is involved huh? And, Hiccup has some very strange abilities... I wonder how this will help him with this particular group...Tell me your thoughts, I would love to hear them :)
See you in Chapter 5! And please, follow, rate and REVIEW :)
Cassie
