Chapter 9: Red Message

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the names of the WWE superstars mentioned, they are owned by Vince McMahon. This story is completely unofficial

Mark spat his gum out onto the dusty gravel. There was a restless atmosphere as he and Sara waited for the others outside the hotel. He was leaning back against his truck, eyes hidden behind square black shades, arms crossed over his chest. He was dressed as if heading for the ring; black jeans, loose black shirt, ankle length black leather coat, red bandanna circling his head. He was wearing his sister's colors - perhaps purposely. Sara stood scuffing a heel through the dust, a worried frown on her face as she lifted a hand to shade her eyes against the late afternoon sun, staring towards the town.

"Hey, ready to roll?"

Trish and Jeff slowed to a halt beside them, both appearing tired. An apprehensive silence descended upon the group. Sara studied Trish and Jeff, they both looked troubled, worried. She decided to break the silence.

"Get Amy to the hospital all right?"

"Yeah, they knew she'd be coming and had a bed ready, x-rays are being done today so she's had a night's rest" Trish glanced quickly at Jeff before continuing "She told us to tell you what happened on the way there, it was really weird, she was asleep in the back when suddenly she screamed and opened the door, trying to get out so I grabbed her and woke her up, she said in her dream she was Matt, in a cold room with her hands and feet tied up, she had blood on her and a bad headache, she said something about it being 'her and her mind games' and that Mark would understand"

Mark remained silent, unknowingly Amy had put him in a uncomfortable position - prompting him to reveal more. He was glad they couldn't see his eyes. "She's talking about my sister, she makes people forget as you know, Trish'll vouch for that"

Trish ruefully smiled, she still couldn't remember exactly what happened when she was attacked.

"She can do this thing with her eyes, kinda stare at them and make them forget she'd been there or as she's doing here, make em believe she's someone else: Amy, I don't know how she does it - when she was a kid, our parents had her examined by shrinks, as far as they could tell it was something she had learnt when she wanted to get out of trouble, she used to say ' my eyes are my power', I thought she was kidding, I can't explain it"

"Which is why the others can't remember who attacked them" Sara said slowly.

Trish nudged Jeff in the ribs. "We have our psycho for the teen horror movie" she muttered

Jeff smiled in spite of the morbid situation and that Matt was in the middle of it. He hid his misplaced amusement by dipping his head to adjust his clothing. It was unusually sombre; his trademark baggy black jeans, thick black jacket zipped up tight and a pale grey green bandanna circling his head and loosely tied back hair that seemed to glow it's acidic green against the dark clothing.

Sara's voice broke through his concentration. "Why don't you say her name? You always refer to her as your sister"

"Amy said something about 'her frozen name'" offered Trish frowning

"Because I can't" Mark stated simply "It.does things that I ain't willing to happen"

"What?" Sara was becoming increasingly exasperated with Mark's evasive answers to her questions "What are you trying to make this out to be? Look, I'll say it: Jezebel"

Trish turned to Jeff incredulously and mouthed the name at him in disbelief, Jezebel? Things were getting weirder and weirder like a bad practical joke that she wished someone would explain right now but she knew that wouldn't happen. Jeff nodded thoughtfully

"It suits her" he whispered softly

Sara looked at Mark challengingly, he stared back. She knew that look, she was forcing him to do something he didn't want to do, pleading with her with his eyes. She knew she was being a bitch, pushing him this far but she needed the truth, to know who or what she was dealing with. She brushed a black silky strand out of her face, not moving her gaze from him.

"I'll say it but don't say I didn't warn ya about the crap that happens when I do" he took a deep breath "Jezebel"

It was as if cold winds had entered their bones. Trish could barely clench her fists, she felt numb - it was one of the most terrifying sensations she's ever felt; not being able to control her body. Jeff tried to wiggle his toes, he couldn't, his skin felt as if he'd taken an aesthetic. Mark blew out his breath. Sara sat down suddenly, she felt complete shell shocked relief at being able to move. Mark waited a moment before helping her to her feet and held her in front of him so that she had to look at him.

"See why I didn't want to say it? I did warn you, another reason why she's so dangerous"

Sara smiled weakly and leant against his chest before pulling away. "Lets go before I punch you for being so smug"

"Ok" Mark chuckled deeply "You guys mind sitting in the back? It's about an hour from here"

"Sure we can handle it" Jeff replied, stretching his newly warmed muscles.

Trish just nodded, still shocked at what had just happened. She hoped Jezebel would remain just Mark's sister from now on.

* Light filled the room. It all seemed different from last night. Matt slowly took it in through half-closed eyes, he considered it a must to know your enemy; he now considered this room his temporary prison. A huge iron chair dominated it, he shivered involuntarily - he felt it would he icily cold to sit on. The bucket was still there, he dipped his hands in and splashed water onto his face in an attempt to wake himself up. As he sat back, definitely more awake thanks to the freezing cold water and ineffectually trying to wipe his face dry with his sleeve, the door opened and she came in.

She stood over him, enjoying the superior rush it brought her. "I brought you your breakfast sir" her sarcastic perkiness matched the twisted smile on her face.

He couldn't look at her, she reminded him too much of Amy to look at, he had to keep reminding himself she was so screwed up on the inside. He knew it was going to be hard being away from Amy especially since she was injured, seeing her did not make it easier.

She put the tray down in front of him and sat down on the chair. She leant her head back with a pleasured sigh and stroked the arms almost lovingly. It suited her, the cold hard iron twisted into a chair - a lifeless metallic beauty. "And now we wait"

Matt ignored her, turning his attention to the tray. The steaming mug of coffee seemed out of place in the freezing room, he cupped his hands around it and indulged in a smile. The hot china felt so good against his cold fingers. He carefully began gulping it down before starting on the food.

"We wait for your friends to arrive, then the fun can start" Jezebel continued undeterred.

"Fun?" Matt finally gave her his attention "You call hurting me and taking me here as bait fun?"

"It's the baiting part that's fun"

"Yeah? How about making me think about Amy yesterday? How much she's hurt? I know it was you" Matt's anger poured out in his charged up words. Jezebel gave her deep velvety chuckle and stood up. "Oh that wasn't me, that was my friend who drove us here and knocked you out, she's stronger at that"

"Why are you telling me this? When I escape I'm gonna use it against you" Matt realised he sounded brashly confident but he was gonna try to get to her anyway he could.

"If you escape, then I'm sure you will" she patted his head patronisingly "but that's the idea" she crouched in front of him "I want Mark to know everything"

Matt couldn't resist, he suddenly swung his hands into her face like a club. She fell to the ground with a surprised yell, he'd caught her off guard, he could do it again. She got to her feet, felt her freshly bleeding cheek. She smiled and licked her bloodied fingers provocatively, not taking her eyes off him.

"Mmmm" she moved to the door, evidently pleased with Matt's disgusted expression "I'd love to stay and play but I have to go out"She slammed the door behind herself. He heard her call goodbye to someone and two replies, he was not being left alone.

In a fit of frustration, he threw the mug across the room, it shattered into little pieces against the wall. Taking a deep breath, he lay back. He just had to wait. She was getting to him with her little mind games. She was Amy and she wasn't - that was what got to him.

*

Jeff's cell phone rang out from the back of the truck.

Trish raised an eyebrow at the unusual sound. "Interesting ringtone you got there"

"Hey, it's my band!" Jeff said defensively as he lifted the phone to his ear "Hello? Krista!? Hey girl" he retreated as far back as he could for a little privacy "Yeah I'm OK, how're you doing? ..cool.Matt? his cell phone's switched off? He does that when he wants some peace" Jeff crossed his fingers, Matt always kept his phone on in case someone needed him "don't worry about him, he's fine" I hope Jeff added silently "No, he's not travelling with me tonight.yeah he's with Amy" sort of "Listen I'll see you soon OK?..bye" Jeff sat down heavily next to Trish, he hated to lying, especially to his real good friends like Krista.

"What are we gonna do when we get there?" he said to Mark, voicing a nagging thought of helplessness.

"Guess we'll decide when we get there"

Mark's conversation had dwindled during the journey. The closer he got to his sister, the curter his answers became. He never took his eyes off the road, his mouth set in a firm line, his thoughts were not questioned with such a stony look of determination and anger masking them.

"What's her place like?" Trish asked, leaning forward to listen

"Yeah, it'd be good to have an idea of our boundaries" Sara turned from unwrapping her sandwich to give her full attention to Mark. He sighed as he turned a corner.

"Haven't been there for a long time; not since I went to see if I could find her in Baltimore about seven years ago, I was just frantic to find her because she'd cut me off completely, found the house but she'd moved on again"

"So what's it like?" Sara looked at him expectantly as she licked a blob of ketchup off her finger.

He couldn't say why, but that movement made Mark distinctly uneasy, unnerved almost. It was probably Jezebel getting to him, starting to make him freak out but the prickles down his back didn't disappear."Dark and grey, I looked in the window, there were thin veiling curtains - everything looked shapeless and unreal, I could tell she'd been there"

"How?" Trish reached for Sara's sandwich as she spoke, her hunger getting the better of her. Sara batted her hand away.

"Could just tell" the way Mark said it made it clear the subject was closed

Jeff squirmed about in his seat, staring at the cell phone in his hand. He really didn't like lying about what was happening to Matt since he didn't know the truth himself. It made him feel like things were spinning out of his hands, he hated not having some grasp on what was going on around him."How long do you think it'll take us?" he asked, "to get Matt out?"

"Couldn't tell you" Mark stared at Jeff in is mirror "depends if she'd there or not"

Jeff sat back against his seat, tired and nervous. Despite his peaceful night's sleep, he felt drained just thinking about how to get Matt out without being seriously hurt. Trish seemed to be having the same thoughts as he plucked her sweater away from her skin so she could finger her scar. Jeff pulled a packet of Skittles out of his pocket, offering them to her with a smile knowing how hungry she was. She grabbed a handful and popped a couple into her mouth, mouthing her thanks to him. The car began slowing down, Mark tensed, his eyes zoning in on each house they passed.

"It's on this road" he said, not taking his eyes off it.

Everyone else became tense at his words, the atmosphere becoming knife-edge sharp. Sara swallowed the last of her sandwich and pulled her hair back into a long shining tail, the simple gesture accenting the change in atmosphere, everyone has become serious and focused.

"It's that one" He pointed to one in a grey block, the others leaned forward to scrutinise it.

"How can you be sure? It hasn't got a number on" Trish pointed out

"That's why I'm sure"

There was no sound except the rumbling hum of vehicles as they got out of the truck. They stood observing the house, each one feeling the need to take in every detail. There was no movement form it; no curtains flickered, no people moved by the window, no voices sounded from inside.

"I think we lost the element of surprise" Jeff spoke up suddenly. He gestured with a black fingernailed hand towards the door. The others looked.

"I can't see anything" Trish said, squinting at it

Jeff began walking up the drive, limping slightly, he beckoned the others to follow him. When they neared the door, he stopped and pressed a finger to his lips, pointing again at the door with the other hand. They could clearly see now. In front of the door was a large slab of stone serving as a doorstep. Chalked on in red letters were the words WELCOME MARK AND FRIENDS. That wasn't what silenced them. Jeff crouched down and touched one of large trails and splatters that peppered the step. He didn't have to tell them what it was, it was clear it was blood.

Read, enjoy, review. Thanks to my reviewers for keepin' the faith, please continue reviewing for me! Anyone recognise Krista? She features in Fallen Angel's ace story 'Empty Place in my Heart', check it out! Thanks Fallen Angel for your constant encouragement, I hope I do the same for you. Comments, criticisms, compliments all welcome.