Seeing Double
Zak rubbed his eyes, a couple hours of sleep was exactly what he needed. No nightmares, no sudden jolt to wake up, nothing but peaceful, sweet sleep…
"Zak" ,Aaron blurted as he swung the door wide open and stumbled inside. Zak sighed and closed his eyes, keeping his mind at ease, relaxation was all he needed right now, "Yes?"
"We kind of need you…"
"Can't you get Nick to handle it?"
"Well, he's already there and its not him that's needed right now."
"You both are in there, why do you need me?"
"Its Hannah…" Aaron said in a teasing voice. Zak's eyes opened wide and he sat up, worried, "Is she alright? She's not hurt is she? Where is she?"
"She's fine. She thinks she might have had a vision and has been calling for you."
Zak jumped as the mention of her name, going from a stand still to a brisk walk past Aaron and out the door, down the hallway and turning into the room where he had last seen Hannah. She was sitting on the bed, watching Ruby as she spoke to her, calming her down. He let out a sigh of relief, Thank God she's okay.
"Sorry we had to wake you" ,Nick said when he looked up to see Zak in the door way. Hannah's eyes looked past Ruby and locked with his for a second and then returned to Ruby again, listening to every word she said. She finally stood and walked past Zak, resting a hand on her shoulder, "She's a little shaken up, just listen to her. I think she really believes that she had a vision."
"What about" ,he asked her before she could walk away. Ruby shrugged, "She said she wanted to talk to you before spilling the beans."
Ruby turned and walked away, Zak listened for her footstep down the stairs before making his way towards Hannah and taking her hand, whispering but making sure the guys could hear him, "Are you okay?"
Hannah nodded, "Yeah, I'm just a little freaked out right now."
Zak looked over his shoulder at Nick and Aaron, both stood with their arms crossed, studying them. He raised an eyebrow and Nick nodded, "We should go and do that… thing."
Aaron shook his head, "I already took care of that."
"Well then lets go check on the other thing."
"What other thing? There is no thing we need to check."
"Yes there is" ,Nick said as he pinched Aaron's arm. He jumped and looked at him, "S*** man, what's wrong with you?"
"Come help me with… that thing!"
"Okay! You know, all you have to do is ask."
Zak shook his head and watched as they walked out, leaving the door open behind them. Hannah giggled, the first time she smile since she woke up from her dream. He looked at her, "They've lost their minds. They've lost their f***ing minds."
"They make for great entertainment" ,Hannah teased, giggling again. He smiled, looking down at his hand holding her's, "What happened?"
She pulled threads from the quilt underneath her, not knowing if she should tell him the whole story. He trusted her and she wanted to trust him to, but there were just some things she wasn't ready to tell him. She sighed and looked up at him, "Its was a vision, possibly from the past. There was a room and it was dark and cold. She screamed… so loud…"
"Its okay" ,Zak said as he began to rub her shoulders and back, doing as much as he could to soothe her, "did you know her?"
Of course I know her, it was Ruby. Then I saw you and everybody else… DEAD, she wanted to tell him, but there was no way it could lead to anything good. Hannah sighed again, "No, but I just keep hearing her scream. It was awful… He killed her without any second thoughts. He had no hesitation at all, like he had been doing this his entire life. How could someone be so cold-hearted? How could anyone want to hurt a human being like that? Its wrong!"
"Slow down, slow down, lets unravel this one step at a time" ,Zak said as he continued to soothe her, pulling her close as tears formed in her eyes. She hugged his neck and cried into his shirt, "It was horrible. I never want to see anything like that again."
"I know, sometimes those visions can feel so real. It feels like you're right there, only you can't stop it from happening. Having to watch someone die and being able to do nothing about it, there is nothing worse than the feeling of helplessness" ,he kissed her hair, continuing to hold her as she cried into his shoulder. Who is this girl, he though. Only a couple days ago she was laughing and dancing out in the fields. She seemed to strong and invincible, like there was nothing that could bring her down and now, that same girl laid in his arms, crying for someone she didn't even know. This girl that he so desperately wanted to run away with after kissing her. This girl that he hopelessly was falling for with every moment they spent together. This girl… she was becoming his everything.
Hannah sat up, still looking down at the quilt, tear sliding down her face, "It has to stop, Zak. I can't let this happen any more."
"Why do you think its up to you? You're not alone in this, we're all scared" ,he tucked a curl behind her ear and kissed her forehead, "let me help you. You don't have to face your fears alone."
She looked up at him and smiled, "I'm trying. I'm just so use to doing everything myself… its like taking baby steps."
"I'll be holding your hand the whole way. I'll be there to catch you if you begin to fall, but you have to let me."
Hannah nodded, wiping her tears before they dripped off her chin, "Okay."
Zak smiled, leaned forward and kissed her softly. She held his face in her hands, kissing him back, savoring the few minutes she had with him. He pulled away and leaned his forehead against her's, "I should go let everyone know you're okay."
"Pull Nick and Aaron from that thing" ,Hannah giggled again. Zak chuckled, kissing her again, "I'll see you at dawn."
~0~
Hannah sat at the bottom of the stairs with Ruby as she showed off her rubber band ball, making Hannah laugh. Zak, Nick and Aaron sat around the couches, checking camera and voice recorders. Greg laid on the floor next to Sam and Kelly who sat at the far corner flirting with one another. Hannah was so happy to see Kelly coming out of her quiet shell. Bobby paced in a circle, he had been acting really strange the past couple of days. Hannah decided to watch him closely, something told her he was up to no good…
"Justine is gone" ,Andria said as she busted through the door of the manor, breathing heavily, black hair all knotted and tangled from running. They all looked at her, not knowing she was even missing. Zoë followed up behind her, "Ken is missing too."
Another strange figure Hannah had been watching closely. Ever since the first nights, her attitude had changed dramatically and not for the better. They had been there a full week and their numbers went down from twenty to ten, well now eight since Ken and Justine were nowhere to be found. Everyone else had just given up and gone home, or so that's what everyone said they did, but then again no one had actually seen them leave. The whole place was just weird…
"We heard truck tires a few minutes ago" ,Greg said as he sat up, "I'm pretty sure I saw them leaving."
"Justine wouldn't just leave like that" ,Andria said as she stepped outside and then jerked back in, "she would've waited for me so we could leave together."
"Sooner or later we all get our heart broken, sweet cheeks" ,Greg said as he leaned forward and hugged his knees, grinning up at her. Hannah picked up the Ruby's rubber band ball and chunked it toward Greg, hitting him in the back of the head. He cursed and looked over his shoulder, Hannah giving him her "you jerk" look. He rubbed his head and turned back around, Zoë snickered, "Yeah Greg, I'm sure your mommy still loves you…"
"Shut up, Zoë" ,he snapped back. The guys chuckled as they pretended to be checking their equipment, but Hannah knew they were paying more attention to the commotion around them. Greg snapped over at them, "Something funny?"
"No, nothing" ,Nick answered, a grin spread wide across his face. Zak and Aaron both just shook their heads, smiling to themselves. They all turned back to Andria, who still wore a worried look across her face. Her eyes were started to get clouded with tears, "What if something happened to her?"
"Whoa, lets slow down" ,Aaron tried to comfort her, standing to his feet and stepping beside her, "its probably like Greg said, she might have just left."
"But what if its like Hannah's dream? What if she witness Justine being murdered?"
"It wasn't Justine. I think it was more of a flashback" ,she lied, but at this moment was going to say anything to keep the room calm. Andria looked up at her, her eyes still foggy with tears, "You think she really left?"
She was asking Hannah, looking directly at her. Everyone turned to face her, waiting for an answer. Hannah sighed and looked down at her feet, "Yeah… she probably just left."
"I should call her then" ,Andria said as she turned and walked out, wiping the tears that began to spill over. Hannah hated to lie, especially since Andria was so fragile at the moment, but what else was she suppose to do? She couldn't just agree with her and set everyone in a panic, she had to keep the peace and find out what was going on. She needed some air…
Without saying anything, Hannah stood to her feet and walked out, headed towards the barn. So much had happened in the past week. Meeting everyone, stopping a few demons here and there, running into George, learning so much about this place, all was overwhelming.
In the barn, Hannah glanced over her shoulder multiple times before lifting her pants leg and grabbing the cross bow around her ankle. It fit perfectly in her hand, like a small handgun. She pointed it towards a rafter and pulled the trigger, stabbing a small metal arrow into the board. A few more target practices afterwards was still not enough. Her anger began to rise, her whole body shaking, her face and ears turning red.
"Ah" ,Hannah screamed and punched a stall door, sending splinters into her knuckles. She punched it a few more times, picked up a loose board and began banging the walls, the windows, the tables. Tools hanging on the wall fell to the ground, rotten wood peeled off the wall, Hannah's hands began to bleed. She tossed the board and watched as it slammed a wall and fell to the ground, collapsing to her knees and breathing heavily. All her anger and frustration, the stress from this case, it was all too much.
"Got it all out" ,Philip said behind her. She spun to her feet and face him, his green eyes watching her, his lip pushed to a straight line in all seriousness. He leaned against the barn door, arms folded across his chest, revealing his muscular arms and chest, still attractive as the day she met him. She shook her head, "There's more."
"Well let me know before you go on a rampage again so I won't be in the line of fire. You really shouldn't be so careless" ,he was referring to her shooting off the crossbow into the rafter. His eyes drifted towards the target and then around where she had left chipped wall, dents and impression out of her frustration. Hannah shook her head, "I don't know what to do. I've hit a wall… and where the heck have you been? I've been waiting for your information for days now, how long have you known about the one survivor? Jakob has been working his butt off, doing double time for us and you decide to come make a field trip here?"
"Whoa now, don't pin this on me. I've been working just as hard as anyone else" ,he pushed himself off the wall and walked in her direction, hands raised in complete innocence, "I have information, but its not something I can necessarily give to you over the phone. Now will you please let me take a look at your hands."
Hannah rolled her eyes and stuck her hands out, palms down, revealing her bloody knuckles. Philip grabbed her right hand and began pulling splinters out, "For someone as pretty and angelic as you look, you sure quiet the hard a**."
She snickered, "You're just now figuring that out?"
Philip smiled, "I've known for a while, just now coming to terms with it I guess."
He dropped her right hand and began working on her left hand, "Paying close attention as he pulled the wood chippings out of her skin. He looked up at her once and watched her, looking directly into her eyes. She met his eyes, almost got her breath taken away, but it was just Philip.
Philip, a stuck up pretty boy throughout high school that became a master hunter when he was just fifteen. The guy Hannah had secretly dreamed for but couldn't be more happy to rid of. He gave her more knots and butterflies than anyone, at least he use to until she met Zak. The difference with Philip and Zak, he only cared about himself where as Zak practically ran to her side when even a hint of danger crawled around her. He cared, in ways Philip couldn't even imagine…
"Sometimes I wonder what happened" ,he said, breaking the silence, still holding her eyes. Hannah shrugged, "What?"
"With us" ,he stepped closer, still holding her hand, "I look at you and can't seem to see anyone else. You've had me under your spell since eighth grade Algebra, but I never told you that."
"You choose now to hit on me" ,Hannah rolled her eyes. Philip chuckled, "When would be a better time? You're stressed and upset, why not take a little good news?"
"Because its not something I want to hear right now" ,she said as she locked eyes with him again, "not now."
He stepped closer and touched her face, raking the back of his fingers against her cheek, "There's no time like the present."
She didn't need him right now, didn't need this right now. As much as she needed to say no to him, a part of her didn't want to. It would be so easy to give into him, this guy she ever so desperately wanted…
Zak, she thought and snapped out of her phase immediately. She had Zak, and that was all she needed to break away from Philip. Just the very thought of his name made her smile, only Philip believed she was smiling for him. As he leaned in, Hannah stepped back, giggling, "No. I use to think the same thing about you, but not any more."
He clinched his jaw and looked down at his feet, "What changed?"
Zak changed me, she wanted to say, but knew it would jeopardize her mission and piss Philip off. She just shrugged, "People change."
His eyes converted past her and looked into the distance, "Pull out your bow."
At the sound of footsteps, Hannah turned and grabbed the other crossbow from her ankle, pointed at what Philip now saw. She raised an eyebrow, "Zak?"
He stood there, watching from the shadows. Hannah looked closer at him, not sure what his expression was. It wasn't shock, but anger. Bitter hate flamed from his eyes as he looked at her. She wanted to run to him and began to lower to crossbow, "Zak… its me. Is everything okay?"
He just stood there. Philip shuffled his feet behind her, "Hannah, that's not Zak."
"Of course its Zak, who else could it be?"
"Its not him Hannah, trust me on this one…"
"Zak, come on, what are you doing" ,she asked as she stepped closer to him, "this isn't what it looks like. Please, don't be like this."
"Hannah, stop…"
"Philip, shut up" ,she said over her shoulder, walking closer to Zak, dropping her cross bow and holding her hands up, "come on, its me. Will you come to me?"
He just stared, his expression never changing. She was only a few feet away, smiling up at him, "Zak…"
She looked closer, his eyes so dark with fury and hatred, there was no possible way he was human. He wasn't Zak! Hannah stopped and looked at him, "Zak?"
His lip curled upwards in a snarl, his eyes turned black and he jumped at her. Hannah screamed as she was slammed to the ground, the Zak copy on top of her, raising his hand like a claw, ready to attack. Hannah reached for the knife at her hip and thrust it upwards into his gut. He stopped, eyes blank as they returned to normal. Blood seeped out of his mouth and dripped onto Hannah's face. His body fell forward and evaporated into a thick gray fog around her. Hannah laid on the ground for a second, shocked.
Her hands began to shake as she stood to her feet, tucking the knife back into her hip, under her pants, "Philip…"
She turned, alone. He had gone running out of the barn like a coward. Hannah shook her head and mumbled, "Thanks a lot…"
"Hannah" ,it was Zak's voice she heard. He came running through the open doors and pulled her into his arms, holding her tight against him, "are you okay?"
She hugged him back, tucking her face into his chest, "I'm so glad its you."
"Who else would it be" ,he teased. She looked up at him, "I saw you… you were right here and you were so angry. You were angry at me."
"You saw me, but yet it wasn't me?"
She nodded, "I think it was a demon. It just evaporated into a fog and there is no trace of it."
Zak looked at her, still holding her in his arms, "The same thing happened to me on the first night. I saw a woman and then poof."
Hannah stood on her toes and kissed his lips, "I'm so glad its you…"
"Is that blood on your face" ,he said as he began to wipe her face clean with his hand, chuckling. He looked down and saw her hands, "what did you do?"
"I blew off some steam" ,she smiled up at him. He shook his head, "Next time try a punching bag, not a wall."
"I'll remember that next time" ,she said as he kissed her knuckles, looking at her the whole time. He leaned down and kissed her again, "I hate being separated from you. The past two nights have been killing me, not being able to be near you."
"I know, me too" ,she grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him again, "I wish so desperately to be with you all the time."
He pulled her in and hugged her again, holding her tightly as if she would disappear in front of him. She hugged him back, kissing his neck over and over, glad for the moment she had alone with him. He pulled away and stepped past her, crouching down to the ground and reaching for something, "What is this?"
Hannah gasped, she had dropped her crossbow and forget to collect it. Zak held out her bow to her and looked it over, "I have an arrow that looks like it could fit in here. Where did this come from?"
"I don't know" ,she lied, "I haven't seen it till now."
He pushed the wings in like he knew how to work it and tucked it into his back pocket, "I think we should keep this safe, incase something else shows up."
Hannah nodded, watching as he tucked it away, kicking herself mentally for being so careless, "Good idea…"
"Everything okay" ,Ruby asked from the open door. Everyone had piled in behind her. Hannah guessed Zak had told everyone to stay behind just incase, and now everyone was letting their curiosity get the best of them. Zak looked up at them, "Yeah, coast is clear."
"Well we figured that when we didn't hear any more screams" ,Nick said as he walked in, followed by everyone else. They all stood in the barn, looking at all the fallen tools and chipped walls. Aaron asked the question everyone was thinking, "What happened?"
"There was a minor show down" ,Hannah answered, showing off her bloody knuckles. Nick nodded, "I'd say you won."
"Game, set and match" ,Aaron said with a smile, making Hannah giggle. Sam looked at the chipped walls and nodded, "Very nice."
"You're a beast" ,Ruby teased, "now lets get out of here."
Everyone agreed and began walking out, Zak and Hannah last to leave. He pulled her to him, hiding behind the one closed barn door and kissed her again, "Had to sneak one in."
She smiled and kissed him again, stepping out and pulling him out of the barn, following everyone up to the manor, willing to forget all that happened in the barn.
Happy Birthday to FallenAngel1129! I hope you like your bithday present
