Hey guys, thanks so much for your amazing reviews and I just want you to know I've done a video for this fic. It's on my youtube, the address is on my profile. Please let me know what you think and read the chapter before watching.
JJ X x
New York – 1935
Diamonds dust the black vialled sky; she could see them through the thin box window too high for her weak body to reach. She'd weep if only for the burn of her throat and the tired sting of her eyes, so instead she sat on the moth-eaten mattress sprawled onto the cold, stone and blood painted walls.
"Pretty, pretty, pretty…" a slurred voice bounces off the empty walls
She doesn't look up, doesn't bother to hide… what's the point?
"Where is my friend?" she questions without thought, her only priority was food and her lover
Looking over the girl before him he answers in a mocking tone "Gone"
She looks at him through the layer of dulled, knotted, bloody and greased hair hanging limply in front of her face "what do you mean gone?"
"We had some guests and it was only proper to offer a tribute and your precious little pet caught the eye of someone very important" he smirks, like it was a proud moment
The chain on her ankle clanks, pulling her to the ground as her rage fueled body leaps across at her owner "Now that wasn't very nice was it? I even brought you some dinner…"
Two lesser vampire's carry in a bound well-tailored gentleman, throwing him to her… so hungry the wendigo doesn't hesitate to feast on her screaming, squirming meal. Filling her belly with warm, delicious flesh
He chuckles to the sight before him "you really are just a rabid beast, shame because you're quite the pretty thing… once she's done have her cleaned up, I don't want blood getting on my sheets"
He doesn't look back to the savage beauty dawning his caller, doesn't see as she rips off the pinky finger of her meal… it's amazing what you can use to pick a lock, safety pin, a small blade… even a finely cleaned bone…
Barry, Wales – Present Day
The moment the door opens Sunny exhales "It's so good to be home!"
She and Tom fall onto the couch in glee, Annie placing Eves basinet on the other couch "Anyone for tea?"
"Annie you're an angel" Tom breaths and puts down his bag, slouching down beside his friend
Walking in last Hal takes a long hard look around the house "something the matter mate?"
At Tom's question the pink haired girl lifts her head to see his pensive expression "I'm not sure… do you two sense something off at all?"
Just then there is a booming knock on the door and Sunny stands "Nope… hang on I'm coming"
"Hello?" she asks with a smile to the ginger haired man and his blonde friend
The two men look at her and the ginger one question's "Myrtle Clayton, also known as Sunny Clayton?"
With a fold of her arms and a raised brow she looks back to her wondering friends to the men before her "who's asking?"
"I'm DC Phillips and this is my partner DC Brill, may we come in?" he introducers them showing his badge. Sunny isn't stupid and doesn't invite them inside, simply steps aside and opens the door. The two men walk in without worry, so not vampires; that's good
Annie and the boys stand looking at the two officers, the ghost nudging the wendigo "well offer them some tea or something"
"Um, would you like some tea?" Sunny asks with an unsure voice, because there were police in their home, human police wanted to speak to her and she was torn between eating them and running
"Yes, please… Black two sugars for me and milky two sugars for him, thank you" the older and more ginger of the men smile
"Tom…" she nods the werewolf who looks and her for a moment before Hal chimes in with his usual annoyed tone "Tea, Tom!"
"Oh yeah right, sorry" he stands and walks into the kitchen
Brill walks over to the basinet and smiles "well hello there, aren't you a cutie… yours?"
She shakes her head as Hal storms over, hesitantly as he smiles "Um no, mine…"
"What's her name?" he questions just as Tom walks in with the tea and a smile "Eve"
"Pretty name" he says before joining is partner on the worn couch
Tom sets the tea before them and Phillips eyes the two men, unable to see Annie sat at the bar "if we could talk to you in private, Miss Clayton"
Taking a seat facing them she shrugs "I'll just tell them later so this is as private as it's going to get"
Nodding Brill takes a sip of his tea "Alright then, well the reason we're he is to talk to you about your ex-boyfriend, Michael James"
Groaning with an irritated sigh she rolls her eyes "what did he do this time?"
"He was murdered" her heart stops in her chest then, all eyes widened in shock
"He weren't, when?" Tom can't help but ask, curious and inquisitive
Sharing a confused look Phillips answers "last Friday, him, his mother and his girlfriend. You didn't know?"
"No, no we just got back from a short holiday. How did it happen?" Hal asks with a reassuring hand on Sunny's shaking shoulder
With a raised brow the ginger detective asks "that explains why you've not been answering the door and phone. You're Hal Yorke, correct? And that makes you Tom McNair?"
"That's right" the young werewolf smiles with pride
"Miss Clayton your relationship with Mr. James, how was it the final days before his passing" the blond detective questions with gentle eyes
With a lick of her suddenly dry lips Sunny fights to regain her composure "Um, not good. Mick cheated on me with Jess, I broke it off but he kept coming around. He was a knob like that"
Phillips pulls out a small pad "we have a witness saying you saw him the day of the murder and that you, Mr. Yorke had a fight with him"
Nodding Hal answers in his calm and charming way "Yes, he was a vulgar man with no respect and frankly I found him to be extremely foul and distasteful"
"I didn't like him either, no man should speak to a lady like he did, especially one as nice as Sunny" Tom smiles and looks to his friend
Leaning over she takes his hand and squeezes tenderly "Thanks Tommy."
Annie walks over and carefully looks over the infant "Can someone take Eve upstairs please, I'm not comfortable with her hearing all this"
"I think Eve needs a change, you alright Sunny?" Tom stands, taking the savior in his arms
"She'll be fine, thank you Tom" Hal says without looking to the wolf, Annie giving the pink haired girl a kind smile before following the wolf
Sunny offers him a smile as they leave the room, turning back to the detectives "so, um, was their anything else?"
"Do you know anyone who would want to hurt any of the victims?" Brill asks with a tilt of his head, Phillips looking them other thoughtfully
She can't help the bitter laugh "everyone they met. Mick took after his mum, loud mouthed and two-faced, Jess was the same… but he… he wasn't all bad…"
Her head falls in remembrance, because he wasn't all bad, he could be good, sweet… sometimes he could be everything she wanted. Hal looks to her grief stricken face and takes her hand "I think that's enough question's, don't you?"
It wasn't a question, more of a 'ok, get out' and the officers stand "alright, but if you hear anything please give us a call and we'll be back for some follow up questions"
Hal walks them out because the moment Sunny goes to stand her legs give way, but half way to the door Phillips turns to her "sorry just one more question… there was also two other bodies found over the last seventy-two hours. Young women, early twenties, blonde, five foot two, blue eyes… both dressed in Victorian style dresses, left in flower fields with their hearts ripped out. I only mention it because of the heart thing; you see despite the fact the three victims had their limps torn off and were disemboweled, they all had their hearts ripped out. Does this mean anything to you?"
Her face falls, lump in her throat as she shakes her head and Hal quickly ushers the men out at his friend's obvious distress.
The moment the door closes the tears break through, he was a knob head, but he didn't deserve that… "Oh, Sunny"
Hal stands unsure of what to do before she propels herself up, but instead of into his arms she races up the stairs in tears. She shouldn't mourn him, but he was a part of her life, she'd cared for him… now he was dead. Just then Annie rent-a-ghosts in with folded arms and a stern frown "What the bloody hell did they say to Sunny?"
Once the coppers where down the drive the blonde looks to his partner "was all that really necessary, girl just found out her ex had been brutally murdered"
"Yeah and two girls matching her description wound up dead" Phillips groans as they reach the car
Looking his partner in the eye the ginger makes his case "look, I'm not saying she did it, but her ex, his mum and girlfriend are all basically dismembered by some nut job then not one but two girls that look uncannily like her are found dead, laid out all neat and proper… like the killer actually cared about them. You think all that is some coincidence?"
"What about the hair? Her hairs pink not blonde" he questions with a raised brow
Opining the door with a pointed finger Phillips smiles "its pink now, maybe our perp doesn't know that… she's connected, I know it"
Back inside the house Sunny sits with tear stained mascara cheeks in front of her mirror when a light knock echo's "Sunny, can I come in please?"
"Um, just a second" she shouts, rushing to grab a wet wipe and clean herself up "C-come in"
The door opens and there's Tom; sweet, caring, lovely Tom "I brought you a cuppa and I managed to get Hal to give up the last custard creams"
She can't help laughing, he was just such a darling "Thanks Tommy, you're a sweetie"
She takes the tea and biscuits as she sits of her bed under the watchful eye of her friend "it's ok Sunny, we'll figure it out, you'll see"
"I know; it's what we do right? I just, I never… come on Tom, I've got recordings of 'Don't Tell the Bride' for Hal to complain about" she smiles, because it was what she did…
She slapped on a smile and endured, because what happened was horrible, but this was her life now, with their dysfunctional little family, watching and complaining about crappy TV, drinking tea and eating biscuits in the dingy little B&B in Wales with her friends. It was the closest thing to normal she's known in over two hundred years. So she blocked it out, the fear, the grief, the familiar smell of vanilla and sage… because it wasn't possible, was it?
That night the lights flicker over the crowd in the packed club, music deafening to passes by, a line down the street just to get in as two people fumble out past the bouncer with a giggle, the fresh water air bubbling with the alcohol in their veins as they pull in for a drunken kiss "My place or yours?"
A sly, wicked, charming smile answers the pink haired stranger "Mine"
It was a decision the human girl wouldn't live to regret. Not for long anyway.
A short while later the girl lay's lashed to a table whimpering and begging "Please, please just let me go. What do you want from me?"
Her capture growls in rage "you can't be what I want, you can't be her. She's sweet, funny… my perfect princess"
"Then why am I here, please I won't tell anyone I swear, please" but the girls sobs meant nothing to the eyes staring down and stroking her hair lovingly, but it wasn't her hair being caressed with tender care… not in her captors mind "Hey I picked out a dress just for you… let's say I got inspired. It's this white dress with a cerise rose pattern, you'll just love it Princess"
"I'm not your fucking Princess!" the girl screams in fear only to splutter as a hand pulls out her heart life the big crisp from the bag
Looking down to the body laid out the person holding her heart sighs "no, you're not…"
The next morning they Sunny wakes up and walks down stairs in her star print boy shorts and pink sting shirt with a smile "Good morning all"
She sits down to the smell that had woken her, a pile of meat on her plate with a glass of orange and a can of dr. pepper "I love you people"
She tucks into her food beside Tom, who slurps at his cereal and facing Hal, eating his finely sliced egg toasty when Annie smiles over from the couch, feeding little Eve "Sunny after breakfast it's your turn to take Eve the park alright?"
Her mouth to full to answer she just nods and with sip of his juice Hal smiles over to the girl before him "Sunny, I was wondering if I could accompany you, I was hoping to visit the craft shop you acquired my model at."
"You haven't finished it already have you?" she smiles with a swallow of her food
Tom looks between the two as Hal smiles "Not quite, the ship itself is near complete however the small canons and such I would like to add, for the full effect"
With raised brows she laughs "well, you don't waste any time"
"Can I come?" Tom chirps eagerly
"You have the Dinner shift at the café remember, besides Tom it's not really your thing, if you want you and I can do something tomorrow?" Sunny smiles with a wink to her friend who nods in agreement
"So we're going to the shops?" Hal questions, unsure what with the interruption and all
Sunny smiles brightly "only if you show me your model"
Annie laughs from the couch and shakes her head "what, it sounded dirty"
The air is chilled as they push the pram up the high street, Hal getting annoyed as Sunny keeps stopping to look at various shop windows, insisting she needed a new dress and Eve needed new shoes…and a hat… a coat…and anything that seemed to catch the Wendigo's eye.
By the time they actually get to the model shop the handles of the pram hammered with bags, not to mention the vampire is carrying a few bags while the pink haired beauty happily pushes the pram talking in a high pitched tone to the amused infant "You are aware she can't understand a word your saying?"
At his raised brow she doesn't look at the vampire "it doesn't matter what your saying, she likes the squeakiness, don't you Eve? Yes you do little Princess Eve, yes you do!"
Hal shakes his head and rolls his eyes as the girl looks over to him "don't you remember anything from 'Three Men and a Baby'?"
"I remember the overwhelming urge to stake myself, but unfortunately Annie protested" he smirks while looking into the cabinets for his figures and getting a light slap on his arm from the girl
"Can I help you?" the shop assistant asks, pulling Hal's attention from the girls
Turning from him she smiles down to Eve, such a little thing with such a big destiny. Just in that moment, only for a moment out of the corner of her eye she saw something, no, more like felt it. Her blue gems catch the silver of a smile and familiar watchful eyes and suddenly she can't breathe, can't move or think… it's impossible…
"Sunny?" she jumps out of her skin at the hand on her shoulder
With one hand on her heart the other slapping Hal lightly she groans "for fucks sake Hal… you scared the crap out of me"
A playful smile bites at his cheeks as he nods "sorry, I'm done. So on to the park?"
Drying to quench the dryness in her throat the pale blush haired beauty swallows hard before looking back to the vacant window, gone… "Um, right the park. Well let's go then"
She's jumpy, nervous, looking over her shoulder and licking her lips with twiddling fingers to suppress the restless bile bubbling in her belly. Hal looked at her with a raised brow as they walk, getting the odd glance and comment she would normally tease her for, but she was shaky.
"Sunny is there a reason you seem so distressed?" the ancient killer pondered
Leaning onto the buggy handles she looks around "I thought… but I… it's nothing"
With a hand on the small of her back the vampire presses "Sunny you can trust me, I'm your friend"
She looks into those eyes; the caramel kissed chocolate glistening in the sunlight to deliver flecks of emerald jade. He was beautiful, her friend "I just… I thought I saw something… it was nothing really"
"It doesn't seem like nothing" he keeps pushing so Sunny does what she's best at
With her brightest smile she leans into him, her angelic fingers grazing his firm arm before beaming her namesake "Hal I'm Sunny Clayton, I'm not some whinny little girl. And I'm also the cutest girl you'll ever meet."
He laughs with a shake of his head "if your ego where any bigger you would implode"
"You say ego, I say delusions of grandeur" they laugh and Sunny is grateful for the distraction, because it is impossible, the dream of a wanting heart only
That afternoon she sits with Annie and the savior; poor little Eve, Hal had left to join Tom at the café. It was a pleasant evening, fresh batch of cakes cooling in the kitchen with a cup of tea and the telly. It was almost normal…
"Sunny are you alright? Been quiet all day" the mothering ghost questions from beside her friend
Shrugging she doesn't take her eyes off the TV "just one of those days you know"
She looks to her then, the pair sharing a smile before Annie chimes "Oh and I love those ladybird pajamas, she looks so cute in them I was thinking of getting matching slippers"
They laugh together as a shrill cry escapes the monitor and with a sip of her tea the wendigo mumbles "I changed her the last two times… you turn!"
With a blink Annie is nowhere to be seen, but can be haired soothing the infant over the monitor. Laying back Sunny pulls on the sleeves of her shirt to comfort her dead body… speaking of which…
"Breaking News: Another body found in Barry" her neck could snap off with how fast she jolts to see an image of a young girl appear, she looked like her… her breath catching without thought for the tea now dribbling down her chin.
She doesn't think before turning it off, no, this wasn't happening. She flew up the stairs and fell to the floor of her bed, tears streaming as her fingers bury into the carpet. She didn't understand what was happening, why it was happening.
Prague – 1865
It was cold, bitter to the human touch but not to Myrtle, not as the screams and pleas of her latest victim bounced through the air.
The blonde beauty watched as the light of blue eyes that rivaled her own faded, now empty and forgotten. She cradled her close with the child's broken heart in her hand "sshh, it's alright now… you're free"
It was intimate, the way her murder clears away the snow on the flower field, cleaned her up, careful to remove all trace of the staining tears and presenting her with respect and dignity… she was a masterpiece, her signature. Her soul laid out for all to see in the form of an innocent…
Just like the last one. And the one before her…
And the one before her…
And the hundreds before her…
Present Day –
Her eyes widen tenfold… it was then she saw it, sat alone in the moonlit room she called her own. She crawls, knees scraping over the harsh carpet before her feather light fingers glide over the smooth oak of her jewelry box, lifting the lid she gasps; because her most treasured possession had vanished from sight and in its place was a small fold of paper she almost rips open to read
'65 Princess Drive.'
She felt sick, angry, confused and didn't even realizing she was moving until her arms where slipping into her jacket and she called out with the slam of the door "Back later!"
She doesn't know how long the taxi drive is… it doesn't matter, she just has to know.
The house is old and worn with bay windows and vines climbing up the crumbling bricks. Her lifeless heart races with a quiver of her lip as she pushes the open the door, the screech of floorboards follow her into a room lit only by a roaring fire, making the diamond ring resting on the able before it glitter before she rushes over to slip it onto her finger, letting out a reassured breath from her tightened chest "after all these years and your still carrying that old thing around."
Sunny turns slowly with wide eyes it was impossible, standing she lets out a sob to the face smiling with adoration to her with wonder in her blue moon sized orbs "my god…"
New York – 1935
They came for her late in the night, her owner's henchmen; ready to clean and deliver the bound beauty to her master's bed.
They didn't make it out alive.
The vampire Lord stands in is champers, undressing in preparation for his 'guest'. With the creak of the door he smirks "about time"
But the moment he turns he is met with a blood soaked wendigo, holding the chewed off head of his best guard in her hand "Where?"
He falls back as the rage filled creature tore across the room, pinning him to the wall with her long blood stained talons slicing into his throat "Where?"
It took four hours before she got her answer, Europe… she walked barefoot and flesh filled before smiling up at the stars fondly in remembrance "I'll find you… always"
Present Day –
"… what, no hug?" the smile never leaves as Sunny wearily nears
Her shaking hand reaching out to feel the cooling skin while tears of anguished joy leak over the edge and asks with a shaky breath "is it really you?"
"It's me Princess, I'm here, I'm right here… and I have missed you so much" the voice sobs while nuzzling into Sunny's offered palm
Without warning the pink haired girl embraces the killer, thankful and longing as she breaths in a scent she had never thought she'd know again "I missed you to, oh god I missed you so much"
A soothing hand caressed her hair and held her tight "it's alright, I'm here now, Darcie's here"