Chapter 10
"Leave now." Nemesis hissed, having a snake-like face with beaded black eyes, the pupils completely gone, dressed all in black. "Do not test my patience, Brooklynn."
"I'm not leaving until I find out what happened to my sister."
"Your sister..." He cackled wickedly, knowing Brooklynn was the only one who could see him. "Would you like to meet precious Julia?"
"Where is she? Where's Julia, Nemesis?!"
"That is for me to know and you to find out, sweetheart." He snapped his fingers, a dark wind whirling around them, causing things to smash to the floor before disappearing.
Mark and Steve were both trying to stop John, who was writing on himself so hard, he was tearing at his own skin. "SOMEONE HIT HIM ALREADY!" He roared angrily.
Melina was restraining a shrieking Mickie; trying not to scream herself. They all had seen a lot of unexplainable things in their time, but this was beginning to get insane even for them. Randy finally brought a bookend on John's head, effectively stopping him and looked down.
"He just carved your name in his arm." He said flatly, looking at Brooklynn.
Brooklynn knew she could NOT lose it right now, trying to stay strong, nodding. "Kyle's with Nemesis, I just saw him. He told me to leave...and if I wanted to meet Julia..."
Now they knew, with no doubts, Kyle was with Nemesis and there was no backing down from that. He had to be put down, vanquished. If Julia had done the same thing...they would have to do the same thing to her, unfortunately.
"Kyle hurt her, I know he did. Beth, did you find out anything from the water?"
"All I could see was blood, a lot of blood..."
Whatever happened to Julia was barbaric and cruel, borderline torture. "Tear this place apart. I don't care what it takes, how long we have to be here. Look for everything, documents, jewelry, pictures..."
Brooklynn was pissed as she stormed past them, heading to the bedroom, kicking the door open as more dust flew at her and coughed. They weren't leaving until they came to some conclusion; something to help them move to the next step. Steve stared after her, then looked down at John, then at Mark whose green eyes were still acid.
"What do we do with him?"
"Help him down to your truck; Mickie...go with him, his arm is going to need to be tended to. And he'll probably have a concussion."
Randy, who had been about to start touching things, coughed guiltily, shifting down the hallway towards the bedroom.
"Mark, there was so much blood..." Beth had tears in her eyes, watching Randy go down the hall, shaking her head. "Randy's in love with Brooklynn." She blurted out quietly once everyone else was out of the room. "I just wanted you to know that. Don't hurt him." She walked out as well, wrapping her arms around herself.
"Do you think that was a smart choice to tell him?" Trish groaned, knowing they had to stick together and work as a team.
"If Randy knows what's good for him, he'll leave Brooklynn alone." Glenn's head was thundering with pain, rubbing his temples. "Mickie, do you have that brew?"
"Yeah, once we get back to the house, I'll give you some for the pain."
Brooklynn's back was turned to the door, looking through Julia's closet. Pulling down box after box, she didn't hear Randy enter the room behind her. She was too busy trying to find any piece of the puzzle, tears stinging her eyes. Something had to be here and she was going to find it, tossing the empty box behind her after emptying it out.
Randy knew she was in love with Mark; everyone knew she was in love with Mark and vice versa. They all had known for years now, it just seemed Brooklynn and Mark were now cottoning onto the fact. That didn't mean he couldn't love her; it just meant he couldn't make a move on her.
"Here." He said gently, pulling her backward, careful not to touch her skin since he wasn't wearing his gloves. "Just point and I'll touch."
Brooklynn nodded, knowing Randy could give her the answers that these meaningless objects couldn't. She could only see what spirits showed her, nothing more. That's why everyone had their own unique gift, they helped each other.
"Thank you." She whispered, looking to the bed and slowly raised a shaking hand, pointing at it. "Do you want me to hold onto you while you touch it, in case you can't handle it?"
When he told her to step back, Brooklynn obeyed and wrapped her arms around herself. Hell no, he didn't want her touching him! If he went off, Randy was very likely to hurt her again and that couldn't happen.
"If I DO go nuts, call for Mark." He ordered, with an attempt at a smile, knowing Mark would probably appreciate the chance to physically damage him a bit; a small warning.
Looking down at the bed, he bent down and touched a pillow, his blue eyes widening almost instantly. All eyes turned to the hallway when the bedroom door slammed shut; red light pooling from beneath it. Brooklynn swallowed hard, backing up from Randy as far as she could possibly go, seeing the room was bathed in a dark red glow. It was blood; she simply knew it and trembled slightly.
"W-What do you see Randy?" She asked hesitantly, hearing him growl out, stumbling back until her back hit the wall. "Randy, try focusing and tell me what you see..."
Brooklynn winced when he smacked himself across the face. Randy could NOT pull his other hand off the pillow, slapping himself again, trying to snap himself out of it. His eyes were still unfocused as he stared at something only he could see, not realizing his mouth was open.
"He's seeing Julia, sweetheart. He IS Julia. Watch."
Randy started screaming, his shirt beginning to tear right down the middle, angry red welts appearing on his chest.
"NO! Randy!" Brooklynn felt Kyle behind her, restraining her from moving toward him, struggling. Kyle was far too strong to break the hold! "Kyle, let go of me!" She watched the angry red welts begin to slowly bleed, eyes widening in sheer horror and watched Randy flop on the bed on his back, smacking himself repeatedly before punching himself in the gut. "NO! RANDY!"
Randy COULDN'T stop at this point, his shirt in tatters, his back touching the bed, his head. He couldn't stop himself at all.
"I think we'll give him internal bleeding, sweetheart. Maybe even see if we can't get him to punch a hole in his own stomach, wouldn't THAT be interesting?"Nemesis crooned cruelly, eyes flashing.
Mark was having a HELL of a time getting down the hallway; the wind had picked up into what felt like a damn hurricane, forcing them all back as they tried getting to the door.
"NO! Kyle, please don't do this! MARK!" She screamed out helplessly, hearing him bellow. It was useless; Kyle had a lot of anger and energy coursing through him cogently. She could feel it. "Randy, fight it! You have to fight it!"
"What the hell is going on?!" Mickie shouted, being blown back along with Mark. "Mark, we have to get in there!"
Glenn dropped to his knees, holding his head as it pulsated with pain, clenching his teeth. "T-They're in t-trouble..."
Trish was crying hysterically, getting visions of a woman being beaten and raped in a bedroom, knowing it was in this apartment.
"RANDY!"
"Randy! Randy! Randy, claw your eyes out!"
Randy's hands curved, fighting with everything in him not to do as commanded.
Mark knew he was about to be in serious pain when him and Mickie both ignited in shields, hers white, his black, representing the different paths they walked and reached through his for her hand. Steve grunted as she touched his, all the rest of them flying backward as a mini explosion occurred, forcing the bedroom door open. Leaving Mickie standing there looking shocked, Mark was currently lying with his feet in the hallway, the rest of him through the wall.
Brooklynn had nearly gone through the window, having cracked her head on the wall. She was on her knees now while Randy was rolling on the floor. Immediately getting to her feet, she rushed over to him, trembling violently, seeing the welts on his chest and blood coming from his mouth and nose.
"Randy...Randy, can you hear me?"
She saw his hand, out of the corner of her eye, try to touch her, knowing that would be a mistake. Brooklynn grabbed the lamp off the nightstand before smashing it over his head, effectively knocking him out. Mickie made her way into the room and began casting cleansing spells, hearing Steve trying not to laugh from behind her in the hallway. He helped Mark out of the plaster and debris he had gone through. Mickie wanted to help Brooklynn and Randy, but first, she had to make sure they weren't in any more danger.
"What happened to him?!" Beth screamed when she finally got into the room, dropping down beside her best friend.
"H-He touched the bed and reenacted what happened to...Julia...K-Kyle held me back...I tried stopping him...I tried fighting..." The red tint was completely gone that happened as soon as Randy's hand connected with the pillow.
"Oh, my head..." Randy grumbled, holding it as he stared up at Beth, who was crying over him, checking his injuries.
Glenn's migraine had gone down considerably, though he was afraid it would start back up again while Mickie finished her charms and spells.
"You're bleeding, Lynn." Trish rushed over to her, seeing the blood on the back of her head when she bent over. "You could have a concussion."
"I'm fine." Brooklynn went to stand up and immediately stumbled back right into Steve's arms, feeling dizzy. "Mark..." Her eyes closed, instantly passing out.
"Oh shit!"
Glenn shook his head, watching as Mark tried to push away from the unbroken wall Steve had leaned him up against, holding up a hand. "You're bleeding from the head too." He sighed, that made a grand total of four concussions. John, Randy, Brooklynn and Mark. Tonight had NOT been a good night. "Steve, get her in the truck, I'll get Randy."
"What about him?" Melina pointed to Mark. "If you think we can..."
Beth snorted, flexing her muscles. "Between you, me and Mickie I'm sure we can think of something."
"Whatever, we gotta get the hell out of here."
Mickie, Steve and Trish helped get Mark out of there, though the man shoved them away, stumbling of his own accord, demanding to know where Brooklynn was. They tried telling him, but Mark couldn't hear anything. That blast had knocked him nearly completely out.
Somehow, they managed to pile everyone back in the cars, Mark's bike being ridden by Glenn. Mickie couldn't believe what happened, looking up at the apartment, shaking her head sadly. They would have to come to fight another day. She was still trembling from the amount of darkness Mark coursed through her when their hands joined. That was a feeling she NEVER wanted to experience again as long as she lived.
Mark NEVER wanted to feel Mickie's white light ever again either. It felt like he had been electrocuted or something WHILE standing in water, no less. He held Brooklynn in the back of her Focus, refusing to let her ride without him and checked over her head to make sure she was all right. He tried ignoring Trish's attempts at keeping him awake, wanting nothing more than to close his eyes and get forty winks. It wasn't happening since she refused to shut up.
"How's Randy?" He asked gruffly.
"He'll live, providing he doesn't touch anything for a while."
"We have to find a way to destroy this thing, Kyle, whatever you wanna call it, before he ends up killing Brooklynn." Beth said quietly, sitting in the far back of the van, Randy's head resting on his lap while she ran her fingers through his hair.
"I agree; no more of this searchin' shit." Steve was fed up, cracking his neck, having been blown back from Mark and Mickie joining forces, but he wasn't injured, having shielded Trish as well.
Brooklynn lay prone in Mark's arms, the laceration on the back of her head not serious enough to go to a hospital. She would need it bandaged though. Mark would probably take care of it considering he wasn't allowing anyone else to touch her.
All in all, it could have gone worse…perhaps.
John had a concussion from being knocked out and would probably have Brooklynn's name scarred onto his forearm for the rest of his life. Mark had a mild concussion, a slight gash on the back of his head and a healthy respect for Mickie and her brand of magic. Randy was going to need bed rest for a few days to recover, not only from the psychological trauma he had put himself through, out of his asinine love for Brooklynn, but the injuries Kyle had inflicted on him. And Brooklynn was in the same boat injury wise with Mark.
"Not one of our better nights..."
"No definitely not." Steve agreed, having a beer in hand, scrubbing a hand over his bald head. He still couldn't believe what happened with Nemesis, knowing they had a hell of a road ahead of them to solve this. "Need another one, big man?"
Glenn grunted, catching the beer with one hand and cracked it open, both of them sharing a moment. Trish walked in moments later and grabbed a beer, something she didn't normally drink, but after today she needed one. Steve pulled her onto his lap and Glenn decided to take his leave, wishing them both a good night. Trish looked into Steve's blue eyes and blinked, tears sliding down her cheeks.
"Sshhh it's gonna be all right, honey." He murmured, setting both of their beers down, kissing her forehead softly.
Trish sniffled, clinging to him for dear life, nodding. "I love you." She whispered, looking up to stare into his blue eyes and kissed him with every ounce of feeling she could muster up, sighing softly.
Steve immediately returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist, knowing she was scared about what happened. He wanted to take that fear away somehow and suddenly lifted her up in his strong arms, carrying her out of the room. The beer didn't matter, only her, their lips never leaving each other.
"You have to promise me something." Trish whispered, feeling him gently lay her down on the bed, pulling him down to hover over her as their eyes locked.
"What is it, honey?" He sealed his lips to her neck, running his hands up and down her sides, just wanting to completely lose himself in her. "Anythin' for ya."
"If you sense danger approaching, get out and don't worry about me." She pulled back to where their eyes met again and cupped his face with her hands, needing him to agree with her on this. "Please Steve, if there's no hope for me, just save yourself."
"Why are you talkin' like this?" He demanded, knowing she probably had a vision and kissed more tears away that fell.
Instead of answering her, he kissed her and made her forget momentarily about everything except them.