Disclaimer: I do not own Nightbreed, Clive Barker does. All characters belong to him except Kara.
From the Author: Ugh. Yeah, my life is pretty damn busy right now, sorry this took me so long to write! Its not that I didn't know what to write about (I've got the whole story planned out already) its just Im starting a chemotherapy treatment for my health crap so that and along with working and everyones graduating right now, I've been pretty busy. So anyway, sorry for the delay, and let me know what you think of the chapter!
"Time to present your final projects everyone."
Kara sat in her classroom chair scared out of her mind. She watched nervously as everyone around her took out their projects. One by one they were called to the front of the class to present them to everyone, and there she was with nothing.
"Oh god...my project!" She whispered to herself. Sweat was running down her forehead by this point, what was she going to do?
"Karoline, your up!" Her teacher announced, waiting at the front of the classroom. Wait, that was way too fast! Everyone turned to look at her, all of them staring right at her...waiting.
"Uh...yeah...I don't...have it." She gulped, trying not to freak out.
Her teacher just stood there, writing something down on his clipboard. His face was emotionless as the tension in the room became thick, she knew she was fucked.
"Well..." Her teacher slowly replied, "...Then you fail if you don't have your project."
"NOOOOO!" Kara screamed out, thrashing in her chair.
Kara forced herself to wake up, sweat rolling off her face as she thrashed at her makeshift blanket. Confusion hit her as she tried to remember where she was at first. "Fuck it was a dream..." She sighed in relief. But...then she actually remembered where she was now and what happened it her. Grumbling slightly she said out loud, "Fuck it WAS a dream..." What a horrible nightmare.
Her project, her school, her friends...all gone.
She lifted her head to look around, and pain shot through her cheek as she moved. Was Peloquin here? Why was it so dark in here? Bravely she reached over to feel beside her to see if anything was there. She felt a warm lump of a person beside her and quickly took her hand back.
"Had a nightmare?" She could hear him grumble beside her. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to answer him or not.
"...Y-yeah." She whispered softly. Just the thought of everything she was worried about before this hellhole hit her close to home, her emotions were running high and she wanted to cry from it. That was the nightmare she use to have a few weeks ago, why would she be having it now all of a sudden?
Kara could hear Peloquin making noise as he moved. "What was it about?" His eerie voice rang in the darkness.
"Why do you care?" Kara bravely replied, even if it sounded like her voice was breaking.
There was long silence that followed her reply, making her feel uncomfortable as she sat there in the dark. But finally, Peloquin answered her.
"You woke me up, Im curious." For the first time the sound of his voice did not send shivers up her spine. He actually sounded like he wanted to know what her dream was about, which scared her. The next thing she knew he could try and rape her again or something. Maybe it was okay to open up to him just a little, they were in the dark after all so it wasn't as awkward. Or so she thought.
Kara let out a heavy sigh as she hugged her legs to her chest. "It was about my photography class. I use to have this dream about my final project a few weeks ago. When it was time to turn them in and present them I didn't have mine and I failed the class..." She tried to look over at him, but the room was still way too dark to see his face. All she was able to see was a dark outline of him.
"The last time I had that nightmare was while I was planning my trip to..." She trailed off as her voice completely broke and tears fell down her cheeks. She would give up her soul to go back to her old life, if only she knew before what horrors this place held. Did she even have a soul anymore?
Peloquin's movement broke her train of thought as he lit up a cigarette. Kara was a little startled as light illuminated around the area of the lit match, she could see Peloquin's face as his cigarette dangled from his mouth. He slowly puffed on the stick as he stared her in the eyes. She stared right back at him, her cheeks shinny from her tears. She probably looked like a pathetic blob crying her eyes out. But the match burned out, and the light faded slowly back into darkness. All she could see was the small glow of orange from the burning tip of the cigarette.
There was silence once again as she could hear Peloquin puff the cigarette and blow smoke out before he spoke again.
"You want to go back..." His deep voice echoed in the room. It wasn't a question, but a statement of 'yes I know what your thinking'.
This time Kara refused to reply, if she said no he would know she was lying, if she said yes...well, she really didn't need to even say it. Silence was her answer as she tightened her grip on her legs.
"You can't go back to the Natural's world, you know that. Your heart no longer beats, what do you think they would do to you? You belong here with us, you can not go back. You are Nightbreed forever now." Kara could feel her anger and the overwhelming desire to just lay there and cry grow stronger.
This really was all his fault, wasn't it? A question rang in her mind at that thought that she had been wanting to know for some time now.
"How did I die Peloquin?" She sternly asked, trying to make her voice as less shaky as possible.
There was a slight pause at first, but after he took another huff of his cigarette, he answered her. "Do you really want to know?" He asked slowly.
Her anger was really starting to rise now from hearing his stupid tone, of course she wanted to know how she died and ended up here!
"Well yeah, all I remember is you..." But she made herself stop there, if she said ' I remember you chased me and then nothing after that, which means it was you that killed me.' he might get mad and do something to her, so she bit her tongue.
"Remember me what? Chasing you? Thats what I do when Naturals do not belong near our home. You hit your head on a rock and bled to death." He growled at her. She could tell he was getting angry, but so was she.
"Yeah because you CHASED me!" She snapped back at him, digging her nails into the fabric on her legs. Her head was turned to him but she still wasn't able to see anything.
Peloquin let out a small menacing growl, "I didn't push you to the ground if thats what you've been thinking. You tripped on your giant camera and bashed your skull on a rock. By the time I got you down here, you had already bled to death."
Whoa, was that...really what happened?
Kara felt like she couldn't breath all of a sudden. "W-what?" She whispered.
But she really didn't care what he was saying or doing anymore, shock was starting to hit her at the realization of all this happening because it was her own fault. She was starting to feel dizzy, and if she had any food in her stomach she would probably throw up right about now.
It was her own decision to come here for her project, she even tripped on her own camera...Peloquin only chased her, if she would of made it to the gates and to her car he probably would of left her alone. Oh god, it was all her fault!
Kara started to rock back and forth, still holding her legs. She couldn't stop herself from crying now, she was sniffling and moaning like a 2 year old. It was all really her own fault! If she wasn't so stubborn to be the best in her class, none of this would of happened! And now she can never go back, everything Peloquin told her was all truth!
Kara slammed her forehead into her knees in one swift move and started crying hysterically. Peloquin wasn't really sure of what to do, so he put his cigarette out and awkwardly put his arm over her shoulders to get her to shut up.
But that wasn't going to work, her mind kept telling her what a dumb piece of shit she was and how everything, EVERYTHING that lead up to this was her asshole fault, because she was a dipshit.
After a few minutes of her sobbing into her knees, she finally started to calm down a little. Realizing Peloquin had his hand on her shoulder freaked her out and she wanted him to get it off of her now.
"I need some fresh air." She sternly said as she shook his hand off her shoulder and got up. She wiped her eyes and blindly tried to find her way to the curtain door. 'Once I get out of here i'll just start over. Avoid doctors and check ups, maybe forge stuff to get in school again...I'll show him.' She bitterly thought to herself.
"Stop." The tone of Peloquin's demand was so fearful that it made Kara stop dead in her tracks and not move until he spoke again.
"I never said you could leave. Get back here." Her back physically quivered as she slowly turned around and very very painfully walked back over to him, sitting back down in her spot. Being around him was the last thing she wanted to do right now. Hating him would be so much easier if she still thought it was all his fault.
She didn't say a word the whole time, unsure of what she should even do or what he was going to do. And yet she waited for him to speak, do SOMETHING at all.
"Heh, I didn't think you would actually do it. I was preparing to run after you." Peloquin mockingly replied finally.
Ugh, what an asshole.
Kara shifted in her spot, mentally slapping herself for what she was about to say. "Yeah well, I think I learned my lesson by this point..." Her face felt flushed as she spoke. No sarcasm? No hostility? Just a casual tone like it happened all the time? What the hell was becoming of her?
'All part of the plan...' Her inner voice reassured her.
She had an overwhelming desire to fight with her inner voice, but that was just crazy talk. Lately though she was starting to wonder if she really was starting to snap just a little bit. Fighting with inner voices, talking to herself...hey maybe even soon she would pick a fight with her shadow? The possibilities were endless...
Snap the fuck out of it!
"Yeah Im going back to sleep..." Kara quickly turned over on her side and closed her eyes tight. Her inner demons were starting to freak her out. She needed an escape, even if it was going back to a nightmare in a dream.
She laid there, waiting for sleep to come. Unfortunately she wasn't able to turn a switch on to make her sleep at the drop of a hat. She was nervous, unsure of what Peloquin was doing at this point. She was going to inch away from him, but decided he would notice and probably do something so she played it safe and stayed were she was.
Agonizing seconds passed as she listened for any movement from Peloquin. Really, what was he going to do? He was awake, and knew she was awake as well, but he wasn't doing anything.
Her body stiffened as she felt a hand snake around her from behind. She jerked away trying to get up, but Peloquin pulled her close to him on the floor.
"Shhhhh." He calmly, almost lovingly, whispered in her ear. Her head was right next to his, and all she wanted to do was smash into it with the back of her skull.
"Peloquin please, I just want to go to sleep!" Kara struggled in his grip, hysteria coming over her again. But he held her in place with both of his arms.
"Please don't! I haven't done anything wrong!" Her voice started cracking as her eyes wondered around looking at pitch black. She could hear and feel Peloquin chuckle from behind her, his body mashed up against hers.
"Who says you have to do something bad to have fun?" She felt him lick her ear and she cringed. If she just got it over with then he would leave her alone. But 'give in' wasn't in her vocabulary, mostly when it came to rape.
"Fun? You think this is fun for me? What the hell is wrong with you! GET OFF ME!" Kara screamed out, thrashing as much as she possibly could. But once again Peloquin was able to overpower her. He moved on top of her and held her arms and legs down with his body.
She wasn't able to see him in the darkness, only a very faint silhouette of him. Kara could tell that his face was inches away from hers. She could feel his breath on her face, but she didn't know what else to do.
"It may not be fun for you." Peloquin's deep inhuman voice whispered to her as he inhaled her scent by the side of her cheek. "But its fun for me..." Kara let out a small whimper of defeat and stopped putting up a fight. What was she going to do now? Just lay there like a dead fish? That actually sounded like a good idea, maybe if she was a dead fish he wouldn't feel the need to violate her. It was worth a shot anyway.
Peloquin smashed his lips onto hers in a forceful kiss, but she didn't resist or give into it. She did exactly as she planned, which was to pretend to be dead. Her whole body went limp as he kept trying to assault her mouth. It seemed like her plan was working, since he stopped kissing her and lifted his head away from hers.
But nothing else came after that, what the hell. She could hear him turn over while making a weird growling sound.
'Oh my god it worked!' Her mind happily said. Kara cracked a smile and turned over on her side. Her plan was in motion, be obedient and when he tries something then you play dead. Awesome!
It was a little while before she could fall back asleep, her mind was running a mile a minute on how she was going to pull her life back together when this was all over.
Before she knew it though, she was woken up by screaming children running by. "Little shits..." Kara sleepily grumbled as she slowly got up. Peloquin was no where in sight to her relief, and there was light again. That struck her as odd though, if everyone slept in the day time then why was it dark in there? Kara shrugged it off while running her hand through her hair.
What was on the agenda today? Since Peloquin was gone she figured it would be okay for her to go exploring, maybe even go visit Rachel and Babette. Who knows, maybe she knew of a secret way to get out besides the entrance.
Kara walked out of the house hut and into the open, she wasn't really positive of where Rachel lived but she was pretty sure she could find it. Walking forward she ignored the other Nightbreed that were out and about, no doubt they were giving her 'the look' like they had been the entire time she had been there. How long was it now? A week? A month? She wasn't even sure anymore. But one thing was for certain, she was getting out of there soon.
After a few moments of wandering around the place, she felt like she finally knew where she was at. She wasn't too far from Rachel's place now.
"Hey there sweet cheeks! Your looking glorious today!" A high pitched annoying voice rang out from across the way. Kara inwardly shuddered as she kept walking forward.
"Go away Narcisse, Im not in the mood." Kara flatly stated. He walked out infront of her and held his arms out.
"Don't I get a Hello hug? We haven't seen each other in so long!" His voice sounded as if he was acting, which of course he was.
"What are you talking about? I just saw you yesterday you dirty hobo." Kara just pushed him aside and kept walking. She was really not in the mood for his games right now.
"So where are we going?" Narcisse replied while catching up to her.
Kara stopped in her tracks and let out a huge sigh. No point in trying to ditch him, he was like a puppy or something. Might as well make use of it.
"Im going to visit Rachel, do you know where her house is? I can't really remember." She could see his face light up as he rubbed his grimy dead hands together.
"Right over there! Come, Ill show you!" Narcisse sounded a little too enthusiastic about it as he grabbed her arm and pulled her along.
They really weren't that far from her place it turned out, it was only a few feet away.
Kara awkwardly stood at the entrance with Narcisse standing beside her. She wasn't really sure of how to get rid of him, but something told her she was able to trust him.
"Rachel? Babette? Anyone home?" Kara yelled out, not really wanting to just barge in. She finally heard someone softly say "Come in!" Which had to be Rachel.
Narcisse moved aside and bowed down, "Ladies first!" Kara rolled her eyes and walked through the doorway. It was a little smokey in the hut, but there was Rachel sitting at a wooden table. She smiled warmly at both of them as they walked over and sat down at the table with her.
"Well, Hello! What brings you here?" Rachel warmly said, mostly looking at Kara.
"Oh...you know, I just got bored and thought I would give you a visit." Kara nervously rubbed the side of her neck, it was a tick she had developed ever since she got here. People around other people started making her nervous, did Peloquin really have that much of a hold on her?
Narcisse made a weird coughing noise and fidgeted around in his seat. Kara let out another huge sigh, "Narcisse just found me outside and started following me, so thats why hes here." He grinned at Rachel and wiggled his eyebrows.
"How are you doing Rachel? Looking pretty as ever!" He was starting to get on Kara's nerves, but Rachel didn't seem to mind him at all. She was probably use to him by now. Rachel just smiled at him and gave him one of her knowing looks.
"Im just fine Narcisse, I do hope your staying out of trouble." Narcisse only made a weird noise with his tongue and let out a weird giggle.
"Where's Babette at? I don't see her around anywhere." Kara quietly spoke.
"She is playing somewhere, she gets bored being here with me so I let her leave to go play." Rachel replied. Looking around the room as if she could see Babette playing.
It had gotten quiet and awkward by this point, and Kara was starting to feel weird being there.
"So Kara...How have you been?" Rachel spoke out of the silence. It interrupted her thoughts as she looked at Rachel. Her eyes had a sort of sadness to them, as if she already knew what she had been through since the last time they saw each other.
It took her a few moments to answer back, not really sure what to say.
"Im...not...okay." She slowly let out. "I...need to ask you something." Kara leaned forward as if making sure no one else could hear it. "And it can't leave this room or get back to Peloquin in any way." She said while glaring at Narcisse.
"And I mean it." Narcisse put his fingers to his lips and made a zipping sound. "My lips are sealed!" He tried to say seriously.
Kara looked back at Rachel, her face was paler then normal and she had a pretty worried look to her. "I need your help, and your the only person I can really trust." Rachel leaned forward and took Kara's hand into hers. "Go on child." She replied. Kara knew that she really could trust her with anything, and this was the perfect person to go to in order to get out of there.
Looking dead in her eyes, and with every bit of seriousness she could muster, Kara explained her plan to the both of them.
"I want to escape, I can't take it here with Peloquin anymore. I have to go back my world and live my life like I use to. This place is absolute torture to me and its killing me slowly from the inside. I need your help, do you know of any secret back way to get up to the surface and out of Midian? Like, without having to open up the gate? I have to leave when Peloquin isn't around so he wouldn't be able to track me."
It took Rachel a moment to reply, "...There is a few ways to leave here, old tunnels that have not been used in years...but do you really think you can escape here? You are Nightbreed, no matter where you go you will always belong here." Kara violently shook her head, as if trying not to hear her.
"I don't belong here Rachel, and even if I did then I definitely don't belong to Peloquin! I have to leave, I have to get away from him! You know what he..." She stopped short of that, trying to block it out. But Rachel knew what she was talking about and rubbed her hand.
"I will help you any way I can..." Rachel softly spoke to her.
"Me too sweet cheeks! I know all the paths out of here, I even know when Peloquin leaves, we can figure it out." Narcisse grinned at her from across the table, trying to grab Kara's other hand-to which she kept moving it.
"Why are you going to help me? I thought you were his friend." Kara glared at him, un trust still lingering with him.
"It is pretty boring here, and this is exciting! Helping someone escape from the evil clutches of the raping Fire Crotch! Its like a game, and I love games!" Kara had burst out laughing, unable to breath as tears rolled down her eyes. Peloquin's new name in her mind was forever going to be 'Fire Crotch' thanks to Narcisse, and she loved him for it.
"Just make sure you send me a post card from where ever you go." Kara wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and gave him an actual smile for the first time.
"Thank you...both of you, I really mean it." Kara almost felt like crying from joy instead of pain for the first time since...well for the first time.
Finally, she had actual friends, and she was going to miss them. Was it really worth it though? Making friends? People she trusted? Her whole life after she came here was nothing but people (or person) shitting on her, making her life a living hell. For all she knew Narcisse could run off and tell Peloquin all about her little plan.
But something told her he wasn't going to betray her. For once she had a good feeling about this escape. She was going to make it out of here, she just knew it.
Okay, this chapter was a little short, but I thought since its taken me so long I might as well just post it finally. Anyway, let me know what you think and thanks for reading! Leave a review!
