34
Time is like water.
She'd never understood that phrase growing up that her mum used to spout at her before Billy came along, but now she did. She'd never understood how it could be so, but now it felt as though time itself had become frozen, like what she was experiencing now was little more than a ripple.
Renee's little unplanned escape attempt at getting away from Everett's clutches turned into an incredibly short one as she reached the top step of the cellar and flung herself through the door, wishing she too possessed magic as Sirius and Lupin and Tonks did, she'd magic herself the hell out of here and far away from this creep.
She felt the wire trip around her ankle, but Renee was able to fall forward, slamming down onto the hard linoleum kitchen floor just as a horrible-looking sharp blade fell from the ceiling, wedging itself firm and deep into the door.
Renee bit down hard on her bottom lip to stifle the scream that threatened to escape, her mouth wide open in shock, heart-pounding relentlessly against its cage of bone and cartilage, terrified at how bloody close she had come to death, and a gory, bloody one at that.
Was this how Billy met his end? She thought, feeling hot tears mar and sting the edges of her vision, before Renee angrily shook her head and flicked away the single stray tear that escaped from her lid and rolled down her cheek, not wanting to let her emotions get the better of her.
She couldn't afford to lose her cool. Not now. Steeling herself, Renee exhaled a shaking breath as she began untangling herself from the wire she'd accidentally tripped and heaved herself off the ground, propelling herself forward while she looked for a way out of this haunted house or at least a place to hide from Everett in the hopes it would buy her enough time for someone—anyone at this point, it didn't matter who—to come looking for and save her from her demise.
Renee forced her breathing to come to almost a standstill as the young blonde Muggle forced herself to go slow, considering she'd just tripped over a stupid wire that had almost killed her, she wasn't eager to repeat that little experience, or she'd be seeing Billy a lot sooner than she thought.
She did her best to examine the darkened house by her feet and as well as occasionally bringing her head up as she moved stealthily through the old creaking house that Renee swore was…talking to her. Groaning.
Oh my God, what if this house is alive?! Can wizards and witches do that? Enchant houses? Did it eat me, this house? Is that what this is? Am I trapped in here with him forever?!
Her thoughts were a whirling dervish of a horrible panic that threatened to consume her wholly.
She knew she couldn't afford delays. Renee immediately shirked away from the back door of the house the moment she saw a large butcher knife that hung above it, swallowing hard, hoping he hadn't enchanted the intimidating-looking knife to fly straight at her or something of its own accord the moment she stepped forward. Determining it was way too risky, she decided to search for a side door, or even the door that led to the garage.
Maybe even wizards drive a car, she thought, hoping her mind would continue to allow her to think rationally as she struggled to fight back the worst of her panic. Hell, for all I know, they make them fly. Renee froze as she heard the basement door open, the door itself giving a barely audible creak, and her poor heart thudded loudly in her chest, threatening to burst out of her chest completely if she couldn't get a grip on herself.
Renee wasn't sure if she'd ever been so frightened in her entire life up until this point.
It was a feeling she didn't think she could explain away, no matter how hard she tried, even if Everett himself was to put his stupid wand to her throat and demand an explanation.
Well, then he'd just have to kill her because she couldn't. He's going to do that anyway if I don't get a move on, she told herself, panicked.
Renee gritted her teeth, wishing she'd thought to find some kind of a weapon. A cricket bat, something, an iron rod, to defend herself with.
You always find a weapon first, in those damn movies that Billy loved so goddamn much, she scolded herself. How many bloody times had Renee practically shouted herself hoarse while screaming bloody murder at the dumb blonde women that didn't think to grab a knife or an ax or something when the killer was chasing her?
And now, she was a dumb blonde bimbo doing the exact same thing she swore she'd never do!
"Damn it," she whispered through her clenched teeth, beads of sweat perspiring and dripping down the fronts and sides of her temples the moment she heard Everett's heavy thudding of his black damn work boots.
Thoughts of what the man might do to her when he finally caught her began to swarm her mind.
Would he kill her? Torture her for information? Would she be used as bait to get to Sirius and Lupin and Tonks? A shudder went down her back at that thought, thinking she would have to do whatever it took to not squeal.
She had to keep Sirius and her friends safe. No matter what.
Even if…even if it meant her own life. She shuddered at the very idea of sacrificing herself for her friends' freedom, their very lives, but Renee Barreau was no bloody damn coward.
What sort of sick nutjob was capable of the things that Everett had done to those poor folks?
Though before Barreau could so much as make a beeline for the closed door that she hoped led out to the garage, and more importantly, to her freedom, she froze and halted in her movements the moment Renee saw a dark, looming figure at the end of the hall.
She blinked owlishly, too stunned to process how the hell he'd gotten from one end of the house to the other when she'd left him in the cellar, before she had to remind herself that her regular patron to the Broken Spoon Café was a wizard and he'd probably used his magic, then.
Now she knew there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell she was going to get out of this. Not without a miracle. Everett stood there, still as a statue, unmoved and not speaking.
Renee stared, open-mouthed and gawking at him, at his shoulders that were broad and strong, the man heaving to catch his breath slightly at probably having bolted up all those stairs.
Magic, you git, she reminded herself meanly. He used his magic to get up here so damn fast, and now you're going to suffer.
His head was cocked to one side, and her heart lurched within the confines of her chest the moment she saw Everett take a step forward.
Oh, God… It was a truly terrifying sight to behold. And as she saw the sharp point of his wand in combination with his hulking, looming body, glinting eyes, and truly deadpan, listless stare, no emotion in his burning green eyes, Renee knew she had to try to reach the man.
If she didn't, she'd be dead anyway no matter what stupid escape stunt she decided to pull off.
Renee took a deep breath, squeezing her eyes tightly shut as she lifted her head towards the ceiling, shooting a silent prayer to God, for a brief, inappropriate moment wondered if all these witches and wizards of the world had some deity they prayed to.
Maybe Merlin from the King Arthur stories? Would he have been real?
The young blonde shook her head to clear it, and then pounced in Everett's direction, throwing herself forward. If she were going to bloody die tonight, she might as well try to kick the crap out of this jerk in the process, prevent him from taking innocent kids like her brother off the streets of London if she could help it.
Everett reacted and copied her movements, but a half-second after her that moved by so fast, she barely had time to blink, much less for her mind to process just what the hell happened.
Renee grunted and gritted her teeth with the effort to crawl away from London's notorious and most wanted man the moment she felt his fingertips grazing the skirts of her black lace dress, and it was that moment that she cursed herself for choosing her own kid brother's wake to wear a stupid black lace dress.
If she would have known she would have been kidnapped and fighting for her life, she would have thought to wear a pair of pants and a blouse instead, but no.
She'd had to wear a stupid dress and was now paying the consequences for it.
"Ngh—get—off—of—me!" Renee shouted, screaming in agony as she tripped on something, likely Everett's foot as he kicked his leg out as she attempted to scramble on her hands and knees.
She looked down towards her right kneecap and immediately wished she hadn't, finding what looked horrifyingly like one of his knives lodged into one of her shins, and it hurt like hell.
Renee felt tears come to her eyes as she yelped in pain, reaching down for the blade's hilt with the effort to yank it out and try to stop the bleeding, but Everett was already looming over her, like the hulking black shadows that she knew him to be.
Renee screeched, feeling more like a banshee as she kicked out at Everett's burly chest with her unwounded leg. The heel of her foot landed squarely in the stones and the man fell to his knees, his shoulders hunched over as he shouted.
Renee had always seen it, in those countless stupid scary movies Billy had made her watch with him because he was too scared to watch them on his own, how the girls in those movies were able to do amazing things in times of trouble, or that the adrenaline was able to propel your body to keep pushing forward when you were wounded or otherwise incapable of making yourself go, but she'd never truly understood what the human body was capable of until this exact moment.
Renee gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, fighting down the warm acidic bile that rose in her throat, not wanting to look at what she was about to do, but she knew if she didn't try to pry the knife out of her knee, she was as good as dead anyway, and maybe, she stood a chance against Everett if she had a weapon with which to defend herself. Maybe.
A hell of a long shot, but there was no time to waste. Reaching down, Renee ripped at the knife embedded in her kneecap, horrified, and pained screams still leaving her moth as the blade grated against the bone and torn flesh and slid it out of her leg. If she weren't so bloody high on adrenaline as it pumped and surged through her veins, she might have otherwise thought it stupid how surprising the difficulty was in pulling an embedded blade from a body part actually was.
In those horror movies Billy loved so damn much, it always seemed so easy, but this seemed like it was lodged in there deep, permanently stuck in her body. But it finally wrenched free, and letting out a pained scream, she dropped it.
Renee propelled herself forward with as much strength as she could muster, limping through the damned spook house Everett had brought her to, breathing, heavy, gasping, ragged breaths, tears in her eyes as she desperately tried to find a way out.
The doors were out of the question, so Renee moved towards the stairs, but to do that, she had to go through the living room. She started to climb the stairs, when her vision hazed, blurring at the edges, and she heard a male voice that did not belong to anyone she recognized in her mind.
"… To me… Come back to me… Barreau, can you hear me? Don't panic. You're all right. You're not insane. My name is Ollie, Ollie Brennan, a friend of Tonks. I'm an Auror at the Ministry alongside Tonks. I know you might not understand what that means. I'm a Dark Wizard catcher. We'll get him, don't worry, Miss Barreau. I'm a Legilimens. To put it in layman's terms, all that means is that I can read your mind. I know where you are now, thanks for passing along the living room, there was an old magazine that had the address on it, so I know where to find you, Barreau, and we're coming, but hide. I know you're scared, but I need you to try to stay calm, can you do that for me, Renee?"
Renee let out a muffled whimper. "Wh—what?" she whispered, feeling her blue eyes widen in shock. Oh, God, now they had wizards who could read your mind too and invade your privacy?!
Was there no end to their magic and limitations? Could they truly do anything they wanted, these wizards and witches? But before Renee could mull this over at the most inappropriate time possible, the man's smooth, melodious voice erupted in her mind, sounding like a burst of static when you'd turn on a radio or television before the message came through clear and resolute, and his voice sounded as though he were standing next to her.
The stranger's voice in her mind came again, this time more urgent and desperate.
He's coming. Hide. My wife is on her way, I hope. She—she's his brother. Tonks and Sirius and Remus are on their way, too, so am I, but right now, what I want, what I need, is for you not to panic and hide. Stay calm, find a place to hide, and wait.
If it were at all possible, Renee's tear-filled blue eyes widened even further at the revelation the monster who'd kidnapped had a sister—a normal sister—and she felt hatred swell within her veins.
Renee quickly gave her head a violent shake as an abrupt bitterness settled in her stomach as she realized what she was doing to herself and to that poor woman whenever she arrived to hopefully put a stop to her brother's insane madness.
If the lady got here in time to try to calm Everett down. Everyone was someone's brother or sister, daughter or son, father or mother, and this man, sadly, was no exception to that rule.
The young blonde blinked to clear her mind and started to climb the stairs. She didn't have much time, she wondered if hiding like the stranger's voice in her mind had suggested was a remote possibility, if he would give up on looking for her.
But even as the thought flitted across her tormented mind, Renee knew that was bloody stupid as hell. Everett would find her, no matter what.
The man—this wizard—had all the time in the world and it was only going to make his job easier, if not slightly more annoying, to play cat and mouse with her, and this little mouse was gravely wounded. The blood seeping from the gaping hole in her knee was telling enough, leaving a trail of sticky garish crimson in its wake.
Renee could not feel the pain in her leg, thank God, her leg had gone kind of numb, but she could feel the warmth of the blood oozing from her skin.
She'd never imagined putting on this damned black dress to wear to her own kid brother's wake, and this was how her already shit day would end.
Renee managed to hobble towards what looked to be an old office of some kind, making a beeline for the window, and finding it locked. She was unable to pry it open with how bad her hands shook.
She threw her head back and cried out in frustration, curling her hand into a fist, and smashing her trembling fist against the paned glass, what fat lot of good it did her. Renee turned, looking for something she could use to try to break the glass and escape out the window.
She lunged to grab a lamp that rested on a small nightstand next to an old rotten desk and hurled it at the window with as much strength as she could muster, but the moment the lamp contacted the window, a faint purple glow seemed to emit from the pane of glass and merely bounced off of it like the lamp was rubber-made or something.
She let out another shout of frustration and tried again, with the window not letting the lamp anywhere near it, for each time she tried, it glowed that faint purple hue and sent the lamp hurtling backward, where it hit the opposite wall.
Renee darted to pick it up again, readying herself for another attempt.
There had to be some kind of way to break this stupid spell, wasn't there? Though she halted in her efforts the moment she heard heavy footsteps in the hallway.
"Damn," she swore through gritted teeth. She knew she didn't have much time left or the strength in her to fight, considering how badly her leg was bleeding.
Renee swore she could almost feel the blood draining from her face. She moved instead to rummaging through the desk drawers, praying she could find something, even if it were nothing more than a pocketknife or a pen to defend herself with.
At least that, she could stab it into his trachea or his eye if Everett got close enough. Renee squeezed her eyes shut and thanked God Himself if the deity was even looking out for a worthless waste of space like her as she found what looked like a bowie knife tucked away in the top left drawer, hidden underneath an old stack of notecards.
"Yes!" she cried triumphantly. Renee had seen in God knew how many countless movies now, how when the victims in all those scary movies would decide to throw their knives at their attackers, it was as if they'd suddenly become expert marksmen in an instant.
She knew if she threw it, she was bloody done for, and her best hope of survival was to hang onto it, so she gripped it in her dominant left hand, holding it out in front of her defensively.
Everett lingered in the doorway, looking calm and composed, cool as a cucumber, and to say it frightened her was an understatement. When he spoke, the man's voice was unbelievably cold.
"Put it down, Barreau," he murmured, the beginnings of a light little smirk tugging the corners of his mouth upward. "You won't do it."
As if to emphasize his point, he rapped his wooden wand held tightly in his hand against his thigh, causing Renee's gaze to drift downward. To her horror and furious rage, the man's smile widened. He…he was enjoying this, the sick creep and pervert that he was!
Her eyes widened the moment his wand hand lifted, and he pointed the weapon squarely at her chest, and she took a faltering step backward, gritting her teeth at the throbbing pain in her bleeding leg. It was a bloody miracle this much adrenaline was coursing through her veins and she couldn't feel it at all.
She wondered if she might be able to get him to circle with her, like those duels she'd seen in the movies, and she'd be able to escape out the door when the moment was right, but Renee knew she didn't stand a chance to outrun him with her leg.
Renee could barely stand to put any weight at all on her left leg. It would give out beneath her immediately, and it was only then that the pain returned in full force, as the man had violently pelted her a harsh blow across her face.
She let out a pained gasp and shot out a hand, her knuckles bone white with the effort to steady herself as she clung to the wall behind her for support.
"S—stay away from me, Everett. Don't think about coming near me, man. I'll—I'll kill you," she whispered hoarsely, feeling tears prick at the edges of her vision, her voice trembling.
If anything, Everett's smile widened, but it was cold and smug and victorious, thinking he'd won.
He took a step towards her, like a panther stalking its prey in the shadows, into the room, and shut the door behind him. He stood still, silently waiting and observing her in curiosity.
Her arms trembled and the knife she clutched tightly in her hands shook. Renee didn't know how much longer she could keep standing up like this, how her adrenaline could possibly win out, but she knew she couldn't dare to approach him.
She needed Everett to make the first move or she was most certainly dead and done for. "What the hell are you waiting for? Come get me, then," she said through gritted teeth, jabbing the knife she held in the air in front of her. "Come on, then, I'm right here!"
The man merely proceeded to smirk at her and tilted his head, his bright green eyes glowing.
Renee faltered in her courage, lowering the knife in her hand just slightly. That…wasn't good at all.
"Be a man, Pisscloak," Renee snapped in a moment of unbridled anger, and the man's satisfied smirk dropped so abruptly, it made her stomach turn and give a painful little lurch. "Come for me."
Slowly, Everett took a somewhat cautious half-step towards her, and Renee automatically took a fumbling step backward in an attempt to retreat. Renee cringed.
She wasn't sure if she should try to keep goading him or not, in the hope that the creep would make a mistake in his anger, or if she should try to backtrack and think of something else.
No, she thought to herself, grinding her teeth. You gotta play it safe or all in this, baby, and you need to make up your mind, and fast.
Renee had no idea if goading Everett like this a smart move was or not, but it was the only thing she could think of, if it would cause the wizard to lose his concentration or if it would do the exact opposite of what she wanted and give him focus.
But still, trying to supplicate it seemed just as more of a risk, if not more, with an even bigger toll on her pride. Sirius and Tonks and the others were counting on her to stall long enough until help arrived, if this guy's sister ever showed up.
He might still kill her either way, no matter what she tried, even if she cried and apologized and got down on her knees and begged for her pathetic life. If only she could find a way to get to the cops, maybe…maybe they could gun him down if she could just get to his wand in his hands and break it. Or if Tonks and the others arrived in time, then the other wizards could deal with this bastard.
"Big strong man, aren't you? Scared of a woman?" she hissed as Everett stood towering over her, nearly snarling, his muscles trembling.
The Morning Killer's black shirt fit him tightly, but not snug and Renee could see the bloke had a solid, defined layer of pure, hard muscle under it.
There was no doubt in her mind he could overpower her fully. Renee didn't stand a chance.
She just needed a good, fast, deadly jab at the creep in the right spot before he could have a chance to get at her, and maybe she could get out.
Maybe. Renee let out a squeal as he lunged and she jabbed at him with the bowie knife in her hands, though she couldn't tell if it contacted penetrating his skin or not as the pair of them tumbled to the hardwood floor that was steadily turning garish crimson with the blood that seeped from her wound. Renee needed to bandage it or there was a possibility she could die from blood loss, or a minimum, lose her right leg entirely.
The weight of him pressed against her practically threatened to crush her, and an agonizing pain shot through her shin. Her injury hadn't been that deep, thank God, but the bone had definitely been compromised, and despite Renee's best efforts to contain her heart-wrenching wail of pain, she couldn't do it.
His hand went to cover her mouth, but his broad, calloused hand closed over her mouth and part of her nose as well, cutting off any chance Barreau might have had of getting in fresh oxygen to her poor panicking and burning lungs.
Tears left her lids and poured relentlessly down her cheeks as she basked in her utter failure. Again. First, it was Billy, now she couldn't even manage to save herself. Her leg hurt more than Renee thought was possible, beyond her brain's ability to cope with such horrible, burning pain.
Renee continued to pound against Everett as she fought against the man, but it did her no good at all.
The moment she felt his knee rub between her thighs, Renee had a horrifying moment of clarity and realization as she felt this creep press himself even harder against her that because she had insulted him and told Everett he wasn't a man, that the Morning Killer was going to show her that he was a man. But he made no move at all.
His hand remained closed over her face, almost smothering her to death, and her mind and vision began to turn foggy and her lungs continued burning and screaming for oxygen to return to her. She was sure she was going to die.
This was it.
Renee knew she'd be seeing Billy again soon. She could only pray that the next time she saw her brother again, that billy would forgive her for failing him so hard as a sister, and now he was dead, because of her.
One of the last emotions that Renee felt before her vision started to leave her was a horrible, cold, unending shame.
She's not dead, I promise! Just passed out! The next chapter was a real treat for me to write, as we get to get into of my favorite OC's head's (Renee's) and she and Everett have a bit of dialogue, but will she have the strength within her to stall enough for a time until help can arrive?