Babysitting (Part 2)
Aya Faulkner
Side Note: This chapter is scary! You've been warned!
~*~v~*~
She considered herself lucky that the first room they stumbled into was a guest bedroom. On the first floor, it was the farthest away from the kids' room, another lucky circumstance as he had her leg up at her ear while he thrust heavily into her.
Their clothes were scattered somewhere between here and the hallway leading to the room, not having made it all the way on their bodies past the door.
She held tight to his hips, encouraging him on with the occasional slap to his ass. Both of them were covered in sweat and the only sound in the entire house was the occasional creak of the bed they laid on top of and music that was their rough fuck session.
Or rather, it was the only sound until the loud twill of the phone overshadowed them.
Darien didn't stop, pulling in and out of her in a delicious rhythm. She was nearly delirious, her orgasm on the tip of her tongue, and soon to be on the tip of his, knowing Darien and his desires. She wasn't even sure it was the phone at first, thinking he had managed to push her so hard her ears popped.
But then it rang again, and this time Darien growled in irritation. "Just ignore it."
He still didn't alter his movements, going even harder if anything. "It could...it could be the...parents."
Her breath was ragged but she got out her concerns at least. But Darien didn't seem to share them. "Then call...them back…we are almost done."
He bit her neck, considering the subject closed. But she couldn't help but giggle, still a bit delirious. "Aren't we...cocky…"
Letting out a 'hmph', he took her challenge seriously, pulling his hand out from under her ass where he had begun holding onto her. A second later his thumb was on her clit, pressing circles into her pink pearl.
The phone was still ringing, or at least she thought it was. She wasn't really sure. The sound of her screams, and the fact that everything else in the world dropped away, made it impossible for her to know for sure.
Her release began and so did his, she squeals matching his rough grunts almost like a song. With blurry sight, he slowed, releasing her leg and letting it lower back to the bed.
Her vision cleared, finding his smirking face in front of hers. "How was that?"
Along with her vision, her mind cleared as well. No longer in the world of 'Darien is a God' and under his control, she smacked her lips at him. "It was alright."
The phone rang again, close to its end and his smirk turned to an evil grin. "Just alright, huh? Do I need to remind you so soon?"
He ground into her, still inside her. Him still hard while she was sensitive from her orgasm, she whimpered while he chuckled before swiftly getting off of her and grabbing the phone off the nightstand.
He held it out to her, a frown on his face now. "I can't believe you brought this in here with you."
Snatching it, she glared back at him in the dark. Feeling she had caught it just before it was too late, she placed it quickly to her ear. "Hello?"
"...(dial tone)"
She slowly lowered it back down. "Who was it?"
Her eyes refused to leave the phone for some reason. "No one. I missed it I guess."
Darien laid back on the bed, his arms behind his head as he leaned against the headboard. No problem at all with his current lack of dress. "Oh well. If it's important they will call back."
"Won't that be a problem?" She lifted a lazy eye to him and smirked.
He gave her a wink. "Why, Serena, do you have some dirty thoughts about the two of us?"
Shrugging, she looked away and pretended as if she was going to get off the bed. Instead, she twisted, hopping up on top of him and straddling him. She merely giggled at the look of shock on his face. Then his hands shot out from behind his head, grabbing her hips to steady her. Tracing shapes into his chest, his eyes just watched her, full of curiosity.
A few kisses and suckles and bites later, she had him hard again and inside her. She was wiggling on top of him, just about to start, when the phone rang again. This time, it was within her reach and he couldn't stop her. But he did stop her from getting off his lap.
"Hello?"
"..."
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
"...(pant)...(pant)...(pant)..."
She couldn't stop herself from her revulsion, thrusting the phone outwards away from her ear as if it burned her. Darien grabbed it from her, asking as he did, "Who is it?"
The look on his face when he finally listened in told her that they were already gone. She had relaxed when Darien arrived, assuming the weird calls were from him, either a bad connection or him messing with her.
"Darien, did Mina give you the number to this place?"
His brows knitted in confusion. "No, why?"
The phone came to life in his hand, screaming out to him to be answered. She jumped, a reflex that had her apologizing to a still hard and waiting Darien beneath her. This time, Darien answered.
"Hello?"
"..."
"Okay, who is this? You are starting to piss me off!"
"...(soft dark chuckle)...(click)"
He tossed the phone towards the end of the bed and pulled her into his arms. "It's just some stupid kid playing a prank."
Attempting to warm her back up, he started kissing her shoulder, working his way up. "Darien….how did you get in here?"
He stopped, wrenching his face up to hers. "The garage door was open. I shut it behind me, though."
The blood in her body rapidly turned cold. "The alarm went off. About half an hour before you got here."
Picking her up, he pulled out of her and placed her gently on the bed next to him. Then hopped up in a fluid motion, twisting, and grabbed her hand to pull her up after him.
They picked up clothes as they moved, handing them to the rightful owner or pulling them on. Darien was back in his jeans, t-shirt, and hoodie when he pulled her close to him. Zipping up her skirt for her, he turned her and gently pushed her down the hall and back towards the living room.
He placed her on the couch and moved to leave her there. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to check out the house." There was no pause or hesitation, not even to look back at her as he made for the stairs.
"Like hell you are! You can't just go by yourself! Besides, you really think it is smart to just leave me here by myself? This is horror movie 101, Darien!"
He froze, turning to her with a chuckle, "Horror movie 101 huh? Then you're right, I absolutely can't leave you alone."
She really didn't like his tone, using her hands on her hips to show him just that. "And what does that mean exactly?!"
"It means, I can't leave a non-virgin all alone, they always die first."
Her fists were hitting his chest hard before she even realized she had crossed the distance to him. But he just laughed, a deep mahogany sound rattling her bones even in her fury.
He managed to catch one of her fists, taking it into his hand and pulling her along behind him. "Come on, Meatball. I'll protect your life and your good name."
His hand held hers tight, not lacing his fingers with hers in an intimate manner, but more like a protective one. Halfway up, she dared to whisper, the tension so thick it was nearly unbearable.
"We should check on the children first."
He nodded but silenced her with a finger on his mouth. Once at the top of the stairs, he gave her the que to direct him. She stood back as he poked his head in, popping back out with a small smile and a nod. The kids were okay.
They searched room after room in silence but the only one that showed any signs of life, other than the kids' room, was the master bedroom from when she messed with a few things. The only sound she could hear in the house was her heartbeat pounding in her ears and the rough breaths both of them were taking. Along with the occasional squeak of a floorboard or door, there was nothing.
It wasn't until they reached the bottom floor again that any other sound reached their ears. The shrill squeal of the phone pierced the silence, making them both jump. Being behind Darien, she jumped and bumped into his back, walking so close she could hear both their heartbeats.
Taken the two steps it took him, Darien snatched the phone up from the coffee table where she last left it, leaving her to stand alone at the foot of the stairs.
"Hello!"
Darien's voice was tight with irritation and she silently prayed it wasn't the Hendersons calling.
He turned, looking at her with anger etched on his face. Not the Hendersons. "Okay, who the FUCK is this?" His eyes remained on hers, searching as if the answer resided somewhere in her. "Listen, asshole, if you don't stop calling…"
She watched as his face turned white, his eyes wide on hers. He hung up on the mystery caller before tossing the phone to the couch. His back to her, it stretched and rolled with tension. What did the mystery caller say to him?
Rushing over to her, he took her hand again, dragging her to the living room before dropping it again and moving to the windows. He pulled on the long curtains harshly, closing them off from the outside world. Looking out before the last of the night was covered, she noticed that it was raining, drops hitting and sliding down the panes.
He had just closed the last one when the phone rang again. Moving to grab it, she beat him to it, swiping it up off the couch in front of her and holding it up to her ear.
"Hello?"
"...(pop)...(pop)..."
"HELLO?!"
"...Se…...a…."
Darien tried to take the phone from her, but she dodged him, moving closer to the windows. "Who is this!"
"Serena? Can you hear me?"
A sigh escaped her lips, breath she didn't know she was holding. "Mina. Where are you? Are you still coming?"
"Hehehe, you really want me to?"
"What...what do you mean?"
"I mean a certain Doctor practically begged me to tell him where you were tonight! You saucy minx, I am so proud of you!"
Darien stood next to her, a hand on her arm that held the phone as if he planned to take it away from her any second now. "Look Mina, I don't know what is going on or what you think is going on, but I can't talk about it right now…"
"Can't talk huh?...Well I'm almost…I can turn around if you…Holy shit, this place is huge!"
"Mina? Mina are you still there?"
"Seren…...Ser…I can't…you the…"
"Mina?! Mina! Turn around! Don't come here!"
"...(click)"
"Great, I lost her, and she's almost here!"
He took the phone from her, holding onto it for safekeeping. "We will just tell her to go back home when she gets here. Come on."
Taking her hand, he gave her a tug. They had yet to make it out of the living room when the wind picked up and the lights went out. She did her best to stifle a scream but it still came out as a whimper. The sudden lack of lights seemed to rattle Darien as well, pulling her in tight to him with an arm around her waist. Her hands on his chest, she could feel his heartbeat as it beat as hard and fast as hers.
Even with the signs of his fear, he didn't show it any more than that, keeping his brave face on for her. Looking down, he offered her a small smile.
"Wind must have knocked a limb on the line or something. Come on, we need to meet Mina."
"We?"
He caught the confused look on her face and his smile only widened. "Pretty sure she already knows I'm here. And if she wasn't sure, my car in the driveway will give it away."
Pulling her close, he wrapped one arm around her shoulders while the other held up his phone. The flashlight on his cell lit up their path as they stumbled to the garage. As soon as they got the inner door open, wind hit both of their faces, almost knocking them back in shock.
The garage door was open again.
The rain poured now, beating on the smooth and perfect asphalt that made up the Henderson's drive way. It flooded the garage floor, the floor darkening where the water had marked it. They made it down the few steps into the lowered ground floor when Darien pushed her back slightly. His way of telling her he was going the rest of the alone. She could see out through the rain from where she stood, but just barely. Mina's old beat up bug sat in the driveway, looking still and silent even in its bright yellow paint. But she couldn't see inside the car. Whether it was empty or not, she had no clue.
Darien couldn't tell from where he stood, either. That was made clear when he rushed out into the downpour. Running up to Mina's car, he bent over at the driver's side window, peering in. After a second, he popped back up and ran back to her.
He was dripping wet, droplets falling from glistening strands down his face and neck. Once a loose, old t-shirt, now it stuck to his skin like a second layer and she was struggling to contain her hormones.
"She's not in there."
Only half paying attention, she found herself confused. "Huh?"
"Mina. She isn't in her car."
Her head shook, the ridiculousness of it all overwhelming her. "No, that can't be right. She just got here. Where else could she be?"
He shrugged, running a hand through his hair and showing off his thick arm. "I don't know, inside the house?"
"But…if she was inside the house…wouldn't we have seen or heard her? She would have found us and said something, don't you think?"
"I don't know, Serena. She is your friend. What do you think she would do?"
She wouldn't put it past Mina to try and scare her, but not Darien. Plus, it was dark and raining. No way Mina would play this game in these conditions.
"I don't think she is in the house."
Leaving him to his dripping, she found a linen closet set just outside the guest bathroom and rushed back to him. He took it gratefully, but he only rubbed down his face.
"Are you sure Mina isn't in the house?" She gave him a nod and he frowned hard, releasing an exasperated sigh. "Maybe she went around to the front door, just before the power went out. She's probably still standing there ringing the damn door bell."
"Oh, come on, Darien. She's not that dense…." He gave her a meaningful look and she relented. "You might have a point."
"I'm going to run around the house, make sure she didn't trip or something along the way. You and Mina are a lot alike, you know that?"
She smacked his shoulder hard, "Hey!"
He chuckled, heading for the opening left by the garage door. "You should shut this behind me."
"Wait, you are really going? Alone?"
"No sense in both of us getting wet, Meatball."
"But…you are going to leave me...alone?"
He sighed, running another hair through his hair. "Yes, I am leaving you alone in a locked house. This place is like Fuchu Prison; no one in or out!"
"If that is true, then how are you going to get back inside?"
Looking back at her, he stared her right in the eyes. "I am going to knock really hard and you damn well better answer!"
A shiver ran up her spine; he was really going to leave her here all alone. "I don't think this is a good idea, Darien…"
"Jeez, what are you, five? I'm just going to be a couple of minutes." He was looking out towards the rain, but when he turned back to look at her, he physically jumped. "Come on, Meatball, don't give me that look."
She wasn't sure what look she was giving him. She just knew she was terrified of the idea of going back into that dark house without him.
Walking back to her, he lifted her chin with one finger, forcing her eyes to his. "Mina is most likely out there and I should make sure there isn't anyone else lurking around outside. I will be fine. You will be fine." With his free hand, he tapped on his phone that she still held in her hands. "The security code is 0630. You can use it for light, okay?"
He released her, returning to the edge of the garage while she turned the phone over in her hands, looking at it like it was made of gold.
"Now shut this after me and make sure it stays shut this time."
When she looked back up, he was gone. Watching the rain and his empty spot for several seconds, her breath became ragged as fear squeezed her lungs and heart.
With a heavy hand, she hit the 'close' button for the garage door, expecting it to be unmoving given the lack of power in the house. But after a half second, it shuttered and started downward. There must have been a backup battery to the door.
Her hands shook, making the light from the phone she held shake as well. It trembled terribly as she walked, deciding it best to stay in the living room.
The stairs loomed to her left as the couch came in sight, reminding her of her purpose for being there. The kids had yet to make any sounds; they were sleeping through it all and she envied them for in that moment.
Sitting on the couch, her shaky light made its way around the room, everything looking the same as she had left it.
Quaking all over the place, the light worked more as a distraction for herself than actually giving her insight. Almost finished with her pass, not sure what she was really looking for in the first place, something touched the edge of the light.
Flicking her wrist quickly, she tried to catch it in the light, but it was gone. A figment of her frightened mind? She continued to search for it, the light dancing back and forth around the spot she saw it last.
A scream pierced the air, making her jump off the couch and land on the floor, hard. Her knees banged against the coffee table. Now on the floor, she realized it wasn't a scream. It was a phone.
The one in her hand was silent, Darien's cell only being capable of being a flashlight at this point. It rang again, the sound coming from a close distance…the kitchen.
On shaky legs, she somehow found the courage to stand and walk slowly towards the sound.
Standing at the entrance for a second, she mustered another welp of courage before forcing herself into the room. She brandished the light like a weapon, sweeping from side to side till it landed on a beige colored phone stuck to the wall on the other side of the room.
It rang again, the sound causing her heart to meet the speed of its fast twilling. Stumbling, no longer able to walk, she made it to the phone and slowly raised it to her ear. Her back to the wall, she kept the light ahead of her, aimed at the door to the kitchen.
"He...hello?"
"..."
"Hello?!"
"...(chuckling)..."
"Who is this...? What do you want?"
Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but the caller couldn't know that. "...have you checked the children?"
"Wh...what?!"
"Have you...checked, the children?...(dial tone)"
Everything in her body went numb. Something smacked her hand and she looked down to realize it was the phone. She had dropped it and it swang back on its curly cord and hit her.
Racing to the stairs, she tripped and stumbled so many times she just knew her legs were going to be covered in bruises tomorrow.
She crawled up the steps, taking them four at a time, but it still felt as though she was going nowhere. Finally making it to the top, she tumbled into the door, struggling with the knob until she flung herself to stand beside the first bed.
But the room looked the same as it had before. Two lumps in two beds. Even their toys were in the same spots.
Maybe it was her fear crazed mind or maybe it was because to her, a child's room was a safe haven. But she found herself lingering, really taking in the room. Mostly, taking in the toys in the room. Mrs. Henderson told her the kids were 10 and 12 and the only reason she even hired a babysitter was because they were sick. However, the toys in the room did not look like that of a 10 and 12-year-old. And what 10 and 12-year-old would share a room?
No, no, no, this was not important right now. She was being hunted. Or at least messed with. Whoever was calling was clearly not even inside the house. Otherwise, they would know that the children had not been touched...right?
Glancing at the clock on Darien's phone, she guessed it had been close to seven minutes since Darien left. More than enough time to make his way around the front of the house and find Mina. So, where the hell was he? Had he knocked while she was upstairs freaking out? He was going to be so pissed if he left him and Mina outside in the rain all this time!
Turning on her heel, she moved a little faster out of the room, not making it to the door before a shadow moved in front of it.
Frozen again, she waited, looking for what she didn't know. Her brain screamed at her to run, or at least shut the door. But her body refused to move.
On autopilot, convincing her feet that she needed to go, she headed for the door. Then to the front door where Mina and Darien were surely waiting for her.
Leaving the safety of the kid's room, she walked straight legged into the dark hallway. Her brain clicking like a clock, she quickly manipulated Darien's phone, returning it to a flashlight and slinging it around. The hallway was empty.
Her foot slipped a few times on the steps, unease in her body reflected in her footing. There was a sound behind her, like a tiny pop of gum inside someone's mouth. Daring to glance behind her, she didn't even turn the flashlight, her fear making it unbearable to do so.
The dark remained, not that she expected that to change, but there was an undeniable shift in the black. A hollow spot that stood at the top of the stairs behind her. No matter how much she desired to deny it, there was someone standing right behind her.
A whimper released from her lips as her knees buckled beneath her, the only thing keeping her from sliding the rest of the way down the stairs was her trembling hold on the banister.
The shadow stood still, unmoving even in its terrible power. And even with it still, she wanted to be far away from it.
Slipping down about five stairs, bouncing down three, she jumped across the last three and fell to her hands and knees at the bottom. Crawling and clawing her way through the hall towards the back of the house, she heard the creaks of the stairs and knew it was following her.
Pushing with all her might, she made it to her feet again, the phone somehow remaining in her hand and functioning, even after she had slammed it to the ground several times now.
One hand on the wall to steady herself, she found the small linen closet again. She had to duck and scrunch, but she made herself fit in the small alcove that existed between the floor and the lowest shelf before shutting the door with as much gentle softness as her frayed nerves would allow.
Her heart in her ears, she clamped both hands over her mouth to try and silence herself, the small whimpers escaping into her palms. The pounding was deafening, only hearing the footsteps of the shadow once they were right outside the door of her hiding spot.
It didn't even pause, just walked right on by, the soft clicks of its shoes on the hardwood floor softening with each step away from her.
Even with the footfalls long gone, she was frozen, feeling this was the best place to hide. Then a voice came from the back of her mind. But the children? And Darien and Mina who are still outside, waiting for you!
She literally had to force herself out, making her hand grab the knob and turn it so she was exposed. To get out of her spot, she had to roll out, putting her in the middle of the dark and silent hall.
Flashing the light side to side, she pressed her back against the other side of the hall, the now empty linen closet before her. There she sat for a moment, begging her heart to slow down and her limbs to stop shaking. Then the hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up.
Every muscle in her body felt frozen again, except for her neck, which instantly twisted to her right. There was her shadow again, standing completely still at the end of the hall, watching her. Had it been there the whole time?
This time, she felt the need to know, her arm listening in response to her demands. Flashing the light in its direction, they flinched, pulling an arm up to guard their face before moving towards her. They were moving slow, so she was able to scramble to her feet and stumble down the hall a way.
Twisting and turning down the hallways, she moved deeper into the dark house until all was silent again. Her breath pulled in and out past her lips in ragged and loud puffs while she searched desperately for a place to hide.
She had lost the shadow, but that meant she had no clue where they were either. And it had a habit of sneaking up on her.
Moving as slowly and quietly as she could, she continued her way through the halls, looking for any place to hide. This had her standing at the corner of a hall, trying to peer around the side and look down the hall without being seen by anyone looking for her in return.
Her mind scrambled as her body fell backwards, a force pulling her. Hands wrapped around her waist, a fact that took her terrified brain far too long to comprehend.
She was slow, too slow to let out her scream for when she finally got it past her throat, one of the hands that held her tight moved to her mouth. Her scream died in their palm.
Trying to get away, she kicked and bite at her capture, but they just held her tighter, practically dragging her backwards with them. They were wet too, their wetness seeping through her clothes on her back and dripping on her from above.
Finally getting her to where they desired, they turned her around and held her shoulders tight. Her mouth free, she was ready to release another piercing scream, but it died again in her throat this time when dark blue crashed on her. Without any other thought, she jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly. He hissed in response, faltering in his hold on her for a second until she released him.
"What happened? Where have you been? And where is Mina?!"
It was then that she noticed he was limping. Having pulled them into a large guest bath, he limped away from her and locked the door before leaning heavily against it.
"I don't know where Mina is. I searched all over the property until someone tried to push me off the side of hill. I would be dead for sure if I hadn't overpowered them. But I still slipped a ways and fell. Pretty sure I twisted my ankle. Banged up my right side too."
Without another word, she moved to his side, pulling up the wet materials and inspecting him. But he pulled away from her touch, pushing her hands down gently.
"I'm alright. Are you okay?" She gave him a silent nod, not trusting her voice in the moment. "Then we need to get out of…"
His voice faded away and the color drained from his face, staring off at something behind her. She managed to turn around before he could stop her, seeing what had thrown the mighty Darien so hard. The large mirror behind them had a message written on it, written in what looked like red lipstick. A small part of her wondered where they had gotten such a shade, but that was a small matter. What really mattered was what the message said.
If you can read this, it is already too late….
Her blood was cold already, but now her heart beat wildly forcing the ice to run through her entire body. She was shaking involuntarily and could not make it stop. Even after Darien wrapped his arms around her. Then she felt ill, needing to get away from him as fast as possible. Pushing off of him, she raced towards the toilet, but everything froze again. Even her protesting stomach stopped its motions.
In the back of the bathroom, next to the toilet, laid Mina's broken body. Dark marks on her neck, the rest of her covered by clothes or hair, it was impossible to see what else had been broken. But there was no doubt...it was Mina.
Everything started spinning. She barely registered the arms that wrapped around her again keeping her from hitting the floor. His breath was hitting her face. She had turned away from the sight on the floor and faced him, but she wasn't seeing anything.
"We need to get the hell out of here."
wWw
He was dragging her. Out of the bathroom and down the hall, her mind was still spinning, flashing at the sights before her and back to the image of Mina on the floor. Suddenly, they stopped moving, Darien pulling her up to face him. He was shaking her slightly, not enough to hurt but enough to gain her attention.
"Serena...I need you to calm down and focus…you're going to go into shock!"
She was pretty sure she was already in shock, but she gave him a nod just the same.
"We need to get the children and get out of here. But I'm going to need your help. I need you to focus on the children. Can you do that?"
She nodded again, but he wasn't satisfied, wanting to hear her voice. "Okay." Something nagged at the back of her brain, wiggling its way to the surface. "Darien...how did you get back in the house?"
He looked at her blankly for a moment, then shook his head at her. "Really, Serena? Do you not trust me?"
She remained silent, unsure on how to answer him. The silence stretched out between him until he caved, sighing deeply. "This place must be a smart house. When the power went out, it knocked all of that out and caused the whole house to become unlocked and open to the world."
The gasp that left her shook her entire body, continuing to quake her long after. Darien walked over to her side in a flash, holding her tight to him and stroking her back that was still wet from the last time he held her.
"It's okay, Serena...or it will be. I won't let anything happen to you. Have I ever let you down before? Think about it, all we have faced already. I mean...if we can survive a ghost…"
"You said that was just a trick of our overstressed and terrified minds!"
"Yeah and we made it out of that together just fine, didn't we?!"
He turned them both around, facing the end of the hall, and all the bravado he had instilled in her vanished in a second. The Shadow was back, standing in between them and the staircase. They not only could not reach the children and they couldn't leave, either.
It stood still, watching them while she looked it over. All she could make out was the slight shape of a person, a darker spot in the black night. The only light was slight, coming from the small slits in the windows behind it in the living room. But the difference was very small, like black and faded black, the tiny portions of light only adding to their inability to see properly.
There was one thing that managed to show through the darkness; the big, fat, gleaming butcher knife it held in one of its 'hands'.
Darien pushed her behind him and she numbly let him. Then the Shadow ran towards them, not making a sound even by its feet as it ran. Darien stood still, even as she tugged on his wet clothes on his back. Just as the Shadow raised its blade, aiming for Darien's heart, he stepped to the side. The action pushed her aside harshly into the wall and Darien's arms rose swiftly, one to press and hold her chest into the wall and the other to catch the Shadow's chest and knock it to the ground. It fell with a loud thud but no sound came from its 'mouth'. It lay still and silent on the floor where Darien had thrown it.
She must have been staring because Darien was dragging her again, pulling her off the wall and down the hall. Her eyes remained on the shadow on the floor until she could no longer see it.
Before she realized what was going on, she was standing in the living room again. Darien was digging in the pocket of her skirt, pulling out his phone. Messing with it, a second later letting out a curse, then returning it to its flashlight function.
Then they were in the kitchen, the phone still dangled from where she had dropped in moments ago. Darien picked it up and returned it to the cradle, only to pick it up a second later.
"What are you doing?"
Her voice sounded strange, even to her own ears, and to Darien's as well given the look he gave her once she spoke. "I am calling the police."
Not missing a beat, he had the phone to his ear, waiting. It took only a second before he began speaking again. "Hello? I need the police, there is an intruder in the house. I have them subdued but I don't know for how long."
Her feet began to move on their own. Not sure why, but for some reason she had to look at it again, look at the shadow on the floor just to see it there and know where it was. Neither of them had even bothered to look at its face. Giving it a human face would calm her some, or at least, she thought it would.
Darien's voice was fading in the background, until she heard something pop and arms grab her again, trying to pull her back. But it was too late.
The Shadow stood before her, inches from her face. But this time, it didn't hesitate, moving right up to her even as Darien yanked her back. But then it stopped, looking at the two of them curiously, or what she thought looked like curiosity.
Without any lingering hesitation, it stepped into the light and pulled its hood off of its head.
"Lita?!"
Lita gave a nervous chuckle, "Yeah, its me."
Everything was spinning; Lita, the floor, Darien. "Serena? Are you okay?"
She was being held up again, no clue by who this time, but Darien's voice was the closest as he screamed at Lita. "Of course she isn't okay! You scared the shit out of both of us!"
"Sorry. God I'm so sorry. I knew we were taking this too far!"
"WE?!"
On cue, Amy, Raye, and even Mina, stepped into the light. "All...all of you? You did this?"
The room was tilting, slowing in its spin and slowly righting itself again. All eyes were on her and she could feel their guilt bellowing out of them. "Yeah, Serena, we all thought we would play a little prank on you. But clearly we took it too far."
Raye gently rubbed her cold arm, her blood still frozen in fear. "Amy wanted to call it off when the power went off. We should have listened."
"And...and Mina?"
Their eyes found one another, tears brimming in Serena's while Mina's held guilt. "We all split up as soon as we got here. I went to the bathroom, wrote the message, and put some eyeshadow on my neck to lay down. I hadn't spoken to anyone in an hour. I didn't know you were so freaked out until Darien was dragging you out."
Amy walked over to her, looking at her eyes and checking her pulse while Darien continued to hold her up. "I knew the lack of light would be too much for you, Sere. We should have stopped then."
"You should have never started in the first place! Fuck, I thought you guys were her friends!"
They all ducked their heads to the floor, unable to look at her or Darien as he ranted.
"And just which one of you thought it would be funny to try and throw me off the mountain huh? You could have killed me!" Their heads popped up, confusion on their faces as they each looked at one another. Serena watched them, looking each of them over carefully. "And then running at us with a knife? Are you guys insane! That was going way past some stupid prank!"
She stood back, looking Darien over as well, his clothes and hair still dripping wet. She looked at the girls again and then back at Darien who was seething.
"Darien...they're not wet…"
At first, he looked at her with irritation, but then realization flooded him. His eyes going wide, she could actually see as he came to terms with her words. His head snapped back to the girls, all of them shifting uneasily on their feet.
"In the hall, I clipped one of you…"
Lita shook her head hard, the others shaking their heads as well. "We agreed to stop after Serena found Mina. That was our big scare anyways."
"And the calls? The one where you asked me to check on the children?"
They all looked at her again, even Darien since it was the first he had heard of the call as well. This time, Raye shook her head the hardest. "Serena, none of us have had cell service since we got here. We have had no means to make any calls."
"So…" they all looked to Mina, who took a step closer into the safety of the group, "not only were we running around the house. But there was someone else here the whole time as well?!"
A loud thump came above them, something hitting the floor above their heads hard. The girls all squealed, grabbing onto one another. Serena grabbed onto Darien, hard.
"The children!"
Her fear resurged inside her with a vengeance. Darien pulled away from her, bounding out of the room as she scrambled to follow after him. Her last move before disappearing after him was to turn back to the girls and order them to call 110.
Darien was halfway up the stairs by the time she made it to the bottom of them. She watched him pull their door open without fear as she made it to the top, starting in after him as he grabbed the covers off the beds. She stood in the middle of the hall as he stood with her back to her, holding both sets of covers in his hands now.
"Is this some kind of joke?"
She didn't understand, trying to look around him to see what he was looking at, when he spun to face her. His face was ashen and full of fear.
"Serena, GET OUT!"
The bedroom door slammed shut and she raced to it, her body slamming against it in her haste. The knob refused to turn, slipping in her hands over and over again but not budging. She could hear the fight inside the room, things shattering as they hit the floor of the wall. And grunting, loud, painful grunting.
She pounded her fist on the door, not sure what she would do if it opened. "Darien! Darien!"
The hairs on her neck stood up again, the sound of Amy and Mina's voices coming from somewhere below. They were screaming at someone downstairs.
In her rush to the banister, she almost flung herself over it, holding on tight to the rail as she leaned over as far she could. In the dark and the distance, she could just make out Raye and Lita wrestling a Shadow to the ground.
A click echoed out behind her, her entire body feeling like lead as she turned around again. The door was wide open, but it wasn't Darien standing in the doorway like she had hoped.
The Shadow watched her, not moving, enjoying watching her quake with fear. It took two steps towards her, the knife in its had again but this time, it was marred with bright red blood.
At the sight, a whimper escaped, and she nearly crumpled to the ground. Somehow, she knew it was gloating at her, smirking in its darkness, and rage replaced her fear. In her manic stage, she lunged forward, her fist connecting perfectly with its 'jaw'. Her hand stung from the pain, her knuckles and wrist almost numb from the pain. But the Shadow merely chuckled. All she had managed to do was knock its head to the side, its face to the ground as it laughed at her weakness.
Then it popped its head back to her, raising the knife above both of them. Darien's blood dripped heavily from it, a light and sick slop on the floor. It took a step closer towards her and she could now see the grin it held on its face.
Then its face disappeared altogether, along with its entire presences. Thumping and grunting followed and she ran through the now empty space to the staircase. A combination of black and shadow tumbled down the steps, rolling over one another again and again until they were both still lumps at the bottom.
After the stock wore off, she slipped down the stairs, the girls coming out of the kitchen a few seconds later and tugging another figure behind them tied up in what looked like cooking twine. Lita gave their Shadow a harsh shove to stand a few steps away from all of them.
She reached the pile of body parts first, throwing arms and limbs off a very still Darien. Mina and Raye helped her drag him the rest of the way away from their attacker and left her to tie it up. Or beat it some more, she wasn't really sure. She was busy trying to get Darien to open his eyes.
"Darien…Darien, wake up!"
She slapped his face, hoping to get him mad enough to open his eyes. A groan came from his lips and his eyes opened slow at first, then went wide before he sat up quickly. A louder, more pained groan told her he regretted the movement, grabbing his left arm at the elbow and then reaching back to rub the back of his head. That was when she saw the long red line that was still releasing more blood down his forearm, off his elbow, and to the floor below.
"Oh God, Darien, it cut you!"
He turned his arm, looking at the cut and shrugging. "It's just a scratch."
Jumping from her spot on the floor next to him, she flung her arms around his neck, holding him as tight as possible. "I thought you were dead…when it came out of the room...instead of you. I saw the blood on the knife."
"Yeah, well...I might be dead yet…if you don't loosen your hold!"
She released him instantly, going back to sit on her heels. "Sorry!"
He chuckled, reaching up to brush a strand of hair out of her face. "Takes a lot more than a creep in a hoodie to be rid of me, Meatball Head."
She had the urge to smack and kiss him at the same time but resisted both as one of the girls cleared their throats and the sound of sirens slowly filled the distant air.
"Should we see who is under the mask?"
She was reminded of the situation, looking to see Mina looking around at the group with curiosity on her face. "I don't think I want to know. It will haunt me."
Lita tilted her head at her, "Won't it haunt you now regardless?"
Darien had reached over to her thigh, rubbing it gently out of the sight of the girls. "I guess. But I don't think any of us should touch them again."
Standing carefully, Darien got to his feet, dragging her up shortly after. "Meatball is right. The cops are almost here. We should let them handle it."
Standing awkwardly, they all glanced around at one another and the silent couple that watched them from their bindings. It wasn't long till a handful of cops surrounded the place and flooded the room.
wWw
She currently sat in the back of an ambulance, Darien a few feet away from her in the back of another one. The girls were each being interviewed by a cop while she sat silent, the first responder checking her over. A man in a suit with a badge around his neck appeared in front of her, blocking Darien from her view.
"Alright, Ms. Tsukino. You were here to babysit, were you?"
He wasn't looking at her. Instead he looked at the notes he held in his hand. She waited until he flashed his eyes at her to give him a nod. At her response, he tilted his head to the side, quirking an eyebrow up as he did.
"You were hired by the Hendersons for this?"
She nodded again, "They asked my parents. Where are they? My parents?"
He turned his eyes back to his notes. "They are on their way. How many times did you check on the children?"
She reached deep, counting her memories. "Five...six times?"
"And each time they were asleep in their beds?"
"Yes, as far as I could tell."
"You didn't go in the room and physically look at them?!"
She started to shake again, the EMT taking her vitals again and glaring at the detective. "No...no, their mother told me not to. She said...she said they were sick!" the detective started scribbling away on his notepad and shaking his head. "Oh God, I should have checked! I should have watched them better!"
There was shouting behind the cop and suddenly dark blue eyes found hers, his arms around her in a second. Darien's EMT followed behind shortly, fussing at him to be still and let him finish cleaning his wound. But Darien ignored him, sitting down next to her and daring anyone to challenge him.
The detective looked him over and grimaced. "I take it you are the boyfriend?"
They both remained silent at the comment and the detective returned his focus to her.
"Look, Ms. Tsukino, I didn't mean to upset you. The truth is, the Hendersons don't have any children. According to our records, they use to have children, two. But they died years ago. Apparently, they left their five and seven-year-old kids with a babysitter who did a poor job of watching them and the two drown in the pool. The babysitter was charged with negligence and got a suspended sentence. But she was murdered a year later."
"Detective…what are you saying?"
She dared a glance at Darien and then looked back at the detective, both of them giving him their full attention. He let out a long and sad sigh.
"What I'm saying, Dr. Chiba was it, that the Hendersons lost their shit after that and started killing off their babysitters by calling young girls over to watch children that no longer existed."
She jumped up, running away from all of them before they could stop her. She didn't stop until she stood in front of the car that held one of the Shadows, their dark hood removed long ago. Eyes slowly turned to face her as Mrs. Henderson looked back at her through the glass. They both stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity until Mrs. Hendersons' blank face began to change, her mouth turning upwards slowly until she had a cruel but gleeful smile on her face.
Darien reached her, the rain pounding against her the entire time, only noticing it once he held an umbrella over the both of them.
The car that held Mrs. Henderson slowly began to roll away but they both kept their eyes on one another for as long as possible. That is until Mr. Hendersons' car rolled by, a dark grin matching his wife's in his face as he slowly passed. They had just enough time to drink one another in before their cars disappeared into the rainy night. But their faces would be forever imprinted on her mind.
wWw
It had been hours, the sun had risen and set again since her father brought her home. All she could manage to do was lay in her bed wide awake. They had all survived. Her friends, Darien, herself. But the Hendersons, aka the Johnsons, the Smiths, the Turners, the Kens, the Jones, and their real name the Yeomans had killed so many before.
The names and faces of the victims the cops had shown her, the ones her father begged them not to let her see, remained in her mind. And then the last two victims, the youngest of all, the Yeomans' two children. Kyle was five while Susan was seven. The two of them snuck outside to the family pool while the babysitter was busy with her boyfriend.
The two of them got child negligence charges but received probation. And their records would have been sealed, never affecting them in the slightest.
But both the babysitter and the boyfriend were found murdered a year later. For the next five years the Yeomans hired babysitters, girls just like her, and tortured and murdered them. The cops spared her the details on their deaths.
She could have been one of them. Even though Mrs. Henderson told her not to bother the children, she should have looked closer. If Darien and the girls hadn't been there, she would be just another victim, another dumb and worthless babysitter.
Glancing at her clock, she saw that it was 1am. It had been over 24 hours since the last time she slept and yet, she couldn't stand to close her eyes for longer than a few seconds. It wasn't that she was scared. Her parents were just across the hall and the killers were locked tight.
It was just that, every time she closed her eyes, faces flashed across them. So many faces.
She rolled over, turning herself from her door towards her balcony. The window sat open, freezing cold breeze sliding in against her wishes. She didn't remember opening her window, it was below freezing outside. But there it stood wide open.
Maybe she should have cared more but she just felt so numb. So when the shadow in her room moved towards, she didn't even flinch.
"Can't sleep either, huh?"
"Darien, what are you doing here?"
"You aren't answering your phone…again!"
"And you are just showing up, again!"
He sat on the edge of her bed, making sure not to sit on any of her limbs. "I wanted to make sure you were okay?"
Turning again, she laid on her back facing the ceiling. "Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Maybe because last night we faced a couple of serial killers? Barely surviving."
She huffed, "We barely had even a scratch."
"Speak for yourself!" He held up his bandaged arm close to her face. She knew underneath there was a nasty jagged cut held together by nine stitches.
"I'm sorry, Darien."
He lowered his injured arm, resting it on his elbow next to her head. "What are you sorry about?"
His face hovered over hers, so she turned away, unable to handle his deep blues. "You were there because of me, weren't you?"
A chuckle started low and slow in his chest, increasing in ferver until it was wild enough to shake her and the bed. "You really think that was your fault?!"
He had tears in his eyes and so did she. "Hush, you are going to wake my parents!"
"Serena, you are 18 and after the night you had, they would probably thank me for getting your mind off of things for a while."
"You don't know my father." Darien rested his other elbow on the other side of her face, a smirk deep on his lips. "Is that what you are here for? Sex?! Because if it is you should just leave no…."
"I told you I am here to check up on you."
He laid down next to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into him. Confused and shocked, his mouth was at her ear, warm puffs settling across her shoulder. She didn't know how to feel, the sudden acts of affection from Darien were becoming more and more frequent. She could have just blamed the near death experience on it, but this had happened before. And she had a feeling it would be happening again.
There was one thing she did feel for sure and that was gratitude. He had every opportunity to leave her at that house last night and yet he not only stayed, he had risked his life to save hers. The rest of her confused emotions could wait. More than anything, she wanted to lose herself in thanking him.
Rolling over in his loosened hold, she faced him. His closed eyes popped open and looked right into hers. "Now…if you want to do more, then I won't object."
His cocky mouth was starting to get on her nerves. So, she shut it with her own, pressing her lips against his in an effectively silencing manner. For a moment, he resisted, remaining motionless against her movements. But he soon caved, his lips working against hers.
She pulled back, releasing his lips to look him square in the face. "You have to be quiet."
The look on his face was one of offense. "Me?! You are the one who squeals like a female pig every time I fuck yo…"
She pressed her hand to his mouth, silencing his cockiness once more. "I'm going to stop you there before you say something that gets you kicked out of my bed."
He chuckled under her fingers and she pulled them away, pulling her long sleep shirt up and over her head. Fighting with it for a few moments to get it free of her hair, he managed to strip down to his briefs by the time she was done. Now the both of them laid under her covers in only their underwear.
He pulled her into him, rolling her onto her back and kissing her fiercely. It was short but full of passion as he left her lips to move down her cheek to her jaw, stopping at the spot where her neck met her shoulders. His hands roamed her back, making their way to her stomach before going their separate ways. One went North and the other went South.
One hand on her breast, he rolled it around in his palm, her nipple drawing shapes into it. The other, drew shapes into her, his fingers curling in and out of her core. Having slipped his hand inside her panties, he pressed the heel of his hand against her clit, making her feel as if her underwear would burn off to ash from his touch.
She was struggling, struggling to keep her wits about her enough to keep from making any sounds. No way in hell was she going to let him know he was right. She would never hear the end of it.
He helped keep her quiet, covering her soft mewling with his mouth. But then he released her, grabbing her remaining stitch of clothing and pulling it down to her knees.
She kicked them the rest of the way off under the covers and quickly grabbed his briefs, pushing them off his hips. Before he could do anything else, she grabbed him, squeezing and pulling. He strained against his own skin, so hard and hot, it felt as if he might burst. She felt the same.
Rubbing her thumb against his tip, his head fell back on her pillow, and strained groan coming out a bit too loudly. She "hushed" him harshly and then rolled him the rest of the way into his back and climbed on top.
His tip at her entrance, she rocked back and forth, wiggling only an inch of him inside of her. With a pained face, he glared up at her.
"You sure you can handle this? Can you be quiet?"
His brows furrowed but then turned quickly to a smirk. "I can if you can."
Swiftly he sat up, shoving her the rest of the way onto him. She threw her head up as she was impaled on him.
Neither one of them moved, not trusting their ability to contain themselves. She kept her eyes on the ceiling, afraid to look at him. Tugging on her braid, he pulled her sights back to him and found him smirking again.
"You sure you can handle this?"
She smirked right back, twisting her hips and thrusting onto him. Both of them went slack jawed but didn't stop. She rolled her hips again, pulling him out a little and pushing him back in, forming a rhythm.
Suddenly, he flipped them both over, forcing her under him. He took a moment, pushing a few stray hairs out of her face and watching her in the dim moonlight.
"You know," she didn't dare raise her voice above a whisper, "I'm pretty sure there are some popsicles in the freezer downstairs…"
A broad smile broke across his face. "I'll be sure to get us a few after I'm done fucking you...this time."
He rammed into her, his balls smacking loudly against her. Part of her worried her parents would hear them, even as they contained their grunts as best they could. And the other part of her didn't care as long as he continued to thrust furiously into her.
She lifted her leg up onto his hip, giving him more access. He took hold of her knee, pressing it up even higher.
Darien created a slow but powerful system; pulling all the way out of her, rubbing his tip through her folds, then filling her up again all the way up to his hilt in a hard thrust.
Pulling all the way out, she waited for him to enter her again. Instead, he grabbed her knee tight and sat back, flipping her over into her stomach. Laying down in top of her, he grabbed her hips and plunged into her. The new angle fed her fire even more.
His mouth was at her ear, then at her neck leaving heavy kisses, down her shoulder blades nipping hard, and then back at her ear again. Hot breaths mixed with low groans that were barely controlled while she kept her face buried in her pillow. Continuing his slow but powerful rhythm, the whole bed began to rock, finding not a care in her body if they broke it.
His hand smacked the headboard just above her head, grabbing hold of it only so he could fuck her harder. His other hand grabbed the pillow next to her face, fisting it tightly in his hand.
It felt as if they both were sitting on a trigger, neither of them wanting it to end. She grabbed the hand near her face and placed one of his fingers in her mouth, sucking and pulling it in and out of her mouth just as she had his cock last night. A louder groan escaped him, and his mouth returned to her ear.
"Unless you want me to wake the whole house, you better cut that out."
Glancing at him over her shoulder, she watched his face as she took in another finger and sucked hard.
He picked up his pace, slamming into her harder and faster and the heat between them grew to astounding levels. They weren't going to break the bed, they were going to melt it.
Releasing his fingers, she threw her face back into her pillow, screaming into it as she came. Her whole body tensed up in an overwhelming release of energy.
Darien's face fell to the pillow next to her, yelling his release into it a second after.
His full weight on top of her, they planted into her pillow. One of the curtains rustled, the wind picking it up, reminding her that the window was open. But she was glad for it now, the two of them hot as irons and sweating.
Rolling off her, he pulled out in one swift motion, and laid next to her on his side. The size of her bed wouldn't allow for him to do much else.
She remained on her belly, twisting her face in the pillow to watch him. "So…still wondering...if I'm okay?"
He looked at her for a moment, just watching her, then quickly reached over and smacked her ass. "Nope, I think you will be just fine."
Shoving him, he fell off the bed with a grunt, the sound making her heart race even as she giggled. "Shhhh!"
His face appeared, hanging on the edge of her bed. "Then don't knock me off the bed!" She responded with more giggles that she tried her best to control. "Well, that was pretty good, for 'thank god we are alive sex', don't you think?"
She frowned, and his smile melted at the sight of it. "I was going for, 'thank you for not leaving me to die and risking your life to save me' sex. Why, was that not obvious?"
He stood suddenly, pulling on his clothes in a rush while she sat flabbergasted. Fully, but shabbily, dressed, he turned to her with his cocky grin again.
"Guess I'd better get a few of those popsicles, then. We have a lot to be thankful for tonight."
She threw her pillow at him, but it hit her door as he dashed silently out of it.
oOo
This was our last Halloween chapter! Woohoo! We made it through the month! And so did our favorite couple 😉
I gotta be honest about this one…it took me a while to read and beta it. My biggest fear is an intruder in my house. So, I might be biased in how terrifying this chapter was that Aya wrote but I seriously had to take a few breaks while reading it. Whew!
Go check out Aya Faulkner's page! Her The Customer is Always Right and Blood Countess: Vein Deep….I know I keep talking about these, guys. But seriously, they are sooo good!
Next week, we'll be back to our regular scheduled chapters! We hope you enjoyed the Halloweenieness that was October!