Disclaimer: Crimson Peak is Guillermo Del Toro's property, Supernatural belongs to Eric Kripke, The Lodgers to Brian O'Malley. Emma, Constance and I are self-inserts. The old lady from Camden Market belongs to Chibimelodee.
Summary: Ghosts are real and everything happens for a reason. Is this why Marina and her friends find themselves trapped in Allerdale Hall a few days away from Christmas?
Author's note: This story was written for me by « Emma » and « Constance » from Chibimelodee as an Advent Calendar two years ago. Please note that all three of us are french and while we do know our way around English, we might still make some mistakes. Feel free to let us know! As the three girls are french and start to speak from this chapter, I'll put the translations of their sentences right next to them so you know what they say.
At the Candlelight
Chapter 8: We are not alone
The door brutally opened, forcing Bobby to stop his gesture… He was strangely used to see doors opening before he had knocked on them… Three oddly dressed women went out of the house, almost falling at the feet of the three hunters and the angel. The four men fixed them with incredulity from the doorstep… How could she have guessed they were here ?... English were known for their good manners but, their punctuality was beyond understanding ! Dean was about to take a step forward, wishing to greet these three mysterious dolls… The young women screamed… Dean screamed… The three women went back inside the house, slamming brutally the door !
Dean looked at Sam with confusion, his brother raising an eyebrow at his sibling's reaction.
« Don't tell me you're scared of three little women… ».
« That was scary ! » Dean retorted, pointing at the door to support his opinion.
Before Bobby could mumble, they heard loud screaming, sounding strangely like the ones they just heard few moments before and the door opened again, revealing for the second time the three shocked women. They closed quickly the door and smiled at them like nothing ever happened, like they were finally happy to see them ! The two brothers shared a more-tan-perplexed look before they turned to Bobby, who shrugged ostentatiously, meaning he had absolutely no idea of what had happened. Ah, women... what inconstant creatures ! Better not lose your time trying to figure out what could possibly happen in their pretty head ! Sean seemed to fix them with a boundless admiration, a sort of angelic awe… While the three young women got closer to them with the clear objective to feel protected, Dean took his time to look a them : a lovely tiny brunette with two pink locks of hair dressed in leather, adorably blushing each time their eyes met, a short blonde all dressed in red and gold who seemed to only have eyes for the new feathered douchebag who had forced them to take a fucking airplane and another brunette – who clearly was related to the first one – with a gothic outfit. She was glaring at the door with intensity, biting nervously her lower lip. Contrary to the others, she seemed to want to enter again in this haunted-mansion cliché…
Strange… Really strange…
Emma and Marina looked with wide eyes at the four men in front of them. One was obviously the eldest of the group, maybe in his fifties, a dirty blue and white cap seemed glued on his head. His beard that was cut short was greying, matching his short hair. The second man was quite handsome. He was quite tall, maybe more than six-foot. He had a strong jawline and bulging muscles which the friends could easily guess beneath his clothing. His hazel eyes were scanning the eldest of the three friends, several strands of his brown hair falling into his eyes. Emma elbowed discretely her sister, forcing her to pay attention to the new strangers. Her gaze fell on a giant with a stupid look and she rolled her eyes… Her mind returned to another giant with blue eyes… Had her sister told the truth ? Could it be that Thomas had wanted to « assault » them ? The third man Emma thought was the most handsome. His light brown hair was spiked up at the front. His green eyes were staring at her with such an intensity she could see flecks of brown in them. He had chiselled features, and his flannel shirt was fitted to his muscled frame. The last man seemed quite out-of-place, didn't know where to look at, but in Marina's direction. This later found herself growing fond of him quite instantly, even if she didn't even know him yet. Something in her was drowned to him.
For a moment, Marina and Emma forgot their ghostly problems, the youngest lost in her contemplation of the shy stranger, the other lost in the forest color of the eyes that didn't seem to want to look away from hers.
« Constance, je crois que j'ai zingé » Emma whispered to her sister, so quietly Constance had troubled to understand what she had said. (Constance, I think I "zinged")
But, one look at her sibling's face and she knew Emma was quickly falling over heels for a stranger they didn't even know. Constance looked pop-eyed at her sister… The fact that her own sister could fall in love with a complete stranger at this particular moment was totally incomprehensible… For what they knew, they could be psychopaths ! But they were here and, maybe just maybe, they could help them.
« On vient de se faire attaquer par une femme… plusieurs femmes ?... Dead !... Ghosts ! In this house ! Naughty Ghosts… right… there ! » Constance exclaimed to the strangers, not really knowing how to explain herself. (We just got attacked by a woman... several women?)
She knew she surely appeared as a madwoman but they just couldn't stay in this haunted mansion, even if she didn't really want to leave a certain dead owner !
« French women ? » The tallest one asked to Marina's object of affection with a raised eyebrow.
« It doesn't matter which country they come from ? » The eldest mumbled. « We have a job to do, so let's do it ! We got it… There are ghosts in there ! ».
He took the green-eyed man by the neck, forcing him to quit staring at Emma and go inside.
Shaking with fear, the three women followed them slowly. Constance repressed a shriek when she saw a tall man took out a gun and flannel-guy stripped out a bar of iron from his bag. Marina slammed the main door shut behind her, leaning against youngest gave a shriek of surprise when the psychopath from the attic appeared beside her and she jumped and ran, all but hiding behind the four men.
« You okay there ? » an Irish voice resounded while she dived into the blue eyes of her newfound crush.
Despite the situation, she could tell he was amused by her reaction.
« Yes, he just startled me. He tried to assault us in the attic… » She said, her eyes flickering over to the white pale ghost of the owner who strangely seemed to have only eyes for the tallest of the women. He had nothing of the scary man they had met moments ago… He was smiling sadly at the eldest of the two sisters and she thought she saw in his eyes something like hope… Without really knowing why, she felt her heart melt and started to feel affection for this curious ghost…
« Constance... » Thomas whispered softly, his hand stretched in an attempt to touch her, but, before he could reach her, flannel-guy hit him with the iron bar and Thomas vanished from view.
Ignoring her sister's shriek of surprise, Emma watched in awe at her savior, her heart beating far too fast from the normal at the mere sight of him.
Why when you see boys fight
Does it look so horrible
Yet... feel so right ?
I shouldn't watch this crap
That's not who I am
But with this kid... Damn...
Hey, mister no-name kid
So who might you be ?
And could you fight for me
And hey, could you face the crowd
Could you be seen with me and still act proud ?
Hey, could you hold my hand
And could you carry me through no man's land ?
It's fine, if you don't agree
But I would fight for you
If you would fight for me
Emma sighed in relief, only to scream when the ghost reappeared beside her. He set his eyes on her sister, his eyes full of incomprehension mixed with betrayal. Without a blink of her eye, flannel-guy pulled out a gun from his back and pulled the trigger, a salt pellet passing straight to the ghost's stomach and Thomas disappeared once again, with a scream of agony and wrath. Adrenaline rushing through her veins, Emma ran to hug the mysterious stranger, hiding her face in the crook of his neck, her pink locks of hair tickling him in the most delicious way.
Well, whoa, you can punch real good
You've lasted longer than I thought you would
So hey, mister no-name kid
If some night you're free
Wanna fight for me ?
If you're still alive
I would fight for you
If you would fight for me
Their moment was cut short by Constance's quiet sob, her eyes fixing the space where Thomas had stood moments ago. Her hands were hiding partially her face but all the horror she just witnessed was clearly written in her eyes, shining with tears only the rage could stop from falling. Then, slowly, so slowly it was kind of scary, she raised her head, glaring hard at the stranger her sister was clinging to. With cautious steps, she moved gracefully, posing purposefully at mere centimetres of him. She saw him paled a little, he opened his mouth, not knowing what to say and, not listening to her common senses, she dragged her little sister away and slammed violently her small fist hard on his cheek and began to slap his chest with a mannerism only a girl could do, not enough strong to hurt him and enough to scared him. The small papillon dog went running from nowhere, barking angrily at the flannel guy and started to nibble the end of his jeans.
« Vous… Qu'est-ce que vous venez de faire ? Vous… Vous… est-ce que vous avez entendu le cri qu'il a poussé ?... Vous l'avez blessé… alors que… Alors qu'il était là pour nous protéger ! Qu'est-ce que vous lui avez fait ? Vous êtes complètement malade, vous ! Il ne nous a fait aucun mal… Et vous, vous l'avez frappé… vous lui avez tiré dessus… Vous l'avez fait disparaître ! Où l'avez-vous envoyé espèce de monstre ? » She yelled, her face becoming red with anger.
(You... What did you just do? You.. You... Have you heard the scream he let out? You hurt him while he was here to protect her! You're absolutely nuts, aren't you? He didn't do any harm to us! And you, you hit him! You shot him! You made him disappear! Where have you sent him, you monster?)
Raising his hands in a sign of surrender, he glanced at the other men, confusion written on his face.
« What's happening here ? Hey, ma'am, I don't understand a single word you're saying ! I… saved… you… from… a… ghost ! I'm the good guy here ! He cannot hurt you anymore… Everything's fine ! » he spoke slowly, articulating the best he could. « Sammy, a little help, please ? This French woman's crazy ! »
She kept slapping, hitting, scratching him, muttering about « her » Thomas while he discreetly tried to push away the pet who growled and tried to bite his ankle through the material of his pants. The tall man who had reacted to the name of « Sammy » had an amused smile plastered as he looked at the scene. Sighing, the older man went near the two other women, grumbling.
« Bloody women… Wonder if they're always like that… »
« Not us, but she is » Emma answered with a frown, clearly not appreciating her sister hitting to her savior.
The man looked at her, confused to not see her take the defence of the other she-cat… Decidedly, sisterhood was not what it used to be…
« I think she didn't appreciate him shooting her new ghost love, even if he is a psychopath who tried to kill us in the attic and who had loved to try again mere seconds before… She's completely crazy… Constance, arrête ! » she then screamed « Il nous a sauvé de ton fantôme psychopathe adoré ! »
(He saved us from your beloved psychopathic ghost!)
The eldest woman turned to her sister, out of breath, her eyes full of wrath:
« Thomas n'est pas MON fantôme… et il n'est PAS un psychopate ! ».
(Thomas isn't MY ghost and he IS NOT a psychopath!)
Quietly, Marina went to retrieve the dog who kept barking at the flannel guy, taking the pet carefully in her arms, whispering soothing words to the animal.
« Donc tu avoues que tu l'adores ! ... » Emma retorted, a look of defiance written on her face, « Et comment es-tu si sûre qu'il n'est pas un psychopathe »
(So you admit that you adore him! And how can you be so sure he isn't a psychopath?)
« Parce que… Parce qu'il me l'a dit ! » she yelled between two sobs.
(Because... Because he told me so!)
Marina came closer to her, putting a friendly hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her.
« Oh… S'il te l'a dit, ça ne peut qu'être vrai alors… Pourquoi te mentirait-il ? Inutile de remettre sa parole en doute… alors que quand Marina et moi te disons qu'il nous a attaquées dans le grenier… Tu refuses de nous croire… alors que je suis ta propre sœur ! Et tu es prête à croire un étranger complètement flippant et MORT en plus ! » Emma shrieked too, putting her hand on her heart to show how much the lack of trust of her sister hurt her.
(Oh, if he told you, then it must be true, why would he lie to you? No reason to put his word to doubt when Marina and I are telling you he attacked us in the attic... You refuse to believe us when I'm your own sister! And you are ready to believe a stranger who's absolutely creepy and dead on top of that!)
« Il était là pour nous sauver ! Et lui, il lui a tiré dessus ! On ne sait même pas qui ils sont ! Ce sont peut-être eux les psychopathes ! » Constance insisted, tears rolling freely now down her cheeks.
(He was there to save us ! And he, he shot him ! We don't even know who they are!)
« Constance, calme-toi ! Je suis sûre qu'il va bien… Il est déjà mort tu sais, alors ce Monsieur n'a pas pu le tuer… une deuxième fois ! et de plus, je suis pratiquement sûre que ce n'était pas eux qui nous ont attaquées au grenier » Marina said with a shaking voice before turning to face them.
(Constance, calm down, I'm sure he's okay... He's already dead, you know, so this Sir can't have killed him for the second time ! Besides, I'm almost certain they aren't those who attacked us in the attic.)
« Thanks for the ghost… I guess… Constance thinks he was there to save us… But, he kinda attacked us in the attic… Well, I think… I didn't see clearly the scene… I was hiding my eyes with my hands… but he was really frightening and clearly angry ! Emma saved us against him… Well, you still don't know who we are… I'm Marina, this is Emma, and her sister Constance… And you are ? »
« My name is Sean » the man with a funny way of walking said slowly.
He seemed to have trouble not to stare at Marina, his head cocked on the side while observing her.
« I'm an Angel of the Lord. These are my friends... My friends who don't listen very well. I told them to not scare you. This is Bobby, Dean and his brother Sam. They are hunters ».
« Hi, nice to meet you » The old one interrupted, outstretching his hand. « Bobby Singer, paranoid bastard. »
« You're what ? » Marina asked disbelievingly, ignoring completely Bobby, her eyes fixed on the blue ones of Sean.
« An Angel of the Lord. And they are hunters » he said again, taking a step near Marina.
« First, ghosts. Then an Angel ? And, what about you, you hunt what ? Bambi ? » Emma asked sarcastically.
« You don't shoot Bambi, idijts ! » the man named Boddy grumbled. « You shoot Bambi's mother… »
« We hunt supernatural creatures » Sam interrupted, his voice slow and deep. « Ghosts, vampires, shapeshifters, werewolves, demons… They are all real and our job is to kill them. You know, saving people, hunting things : the family business… »
« And on Thursdays, we're teddy bear doctors ! » Dean cut with an adorable smile that made Emma blushed hard. His remark made Sam elbowed him, his joke clearly not been appreciated by his sibling.
« So, you want us to believe that Twilight, The Blackbeard's Ghost and all this crap are real ? » Emma tried to pull herself together.
« Not Twilight… Definitively not Twilight… These are not vampires… These are douchebags ! How was that possible it was a worldwide bestseller ? » Dean said, shaking his head in disapproval.
« Quelqu'un va me dire ce qu'il se passe ? » Constance interrupted, pulling at Emma's arm to have her attention. « Je ne comprends rien… Pourquoi tu parles de Twilight ? Il y a peut-être plus important que de parler de Twilight ! Et puis d'abord, tu peux me dire pourquoi tu leur parles ? Ils viennent juste de tuer Thomas ! »
(Can anyone tell me what's going on ? I don't understand anything ! Why are you talking about Twilight ? There are more important things to discuss than Twilight ! And first, can you tell me what you're telling them about ? They just killed Thomas!)
« Constance, calme-toi… » Marina said softly, trying to relax her friend. « Ce sont des chasseurs de fantômes et autres créatures… A part celui-là… Celui-là est un ange du Seigneur… »
(Constance, calm down. They are ghost hunters, they also chase other creatures. Except for this one. This one's an angel of the Lord.)
« Mais bien sûr ! » Constance exclaimed, not convinced at all. « Et vous dîtes que c'est Thomas qui est un psychopathe ? Il vous est arrivé quoi là-haut ? Vous vous êtes cognées la tête dans votre chasse aux fantômes ? J'en ai vraiment assez de toutes ces bêtises… Je monte… Hors de question de rester avec des malades mentaux ! Et de vous voir roucouler avec les Ghostbusters et l'autre Blues Brother en mission pour le Seigneur ! »
(But of course ! And you say that Thomas is the psychopathic one ! What happened to you upstairs ?! Did you hit your heads while ghost hunting ? I'm sick and tired of this nonesense ! I'm going up. No way I'm staying with madmen ! And to see you swoon over the Ghostbusters and the other Blues Brother one who's on a mission for the Lord!)
« Où tu vas encore ? » Emma yelled, seeing her sister leave quickly. « Oh, laisse-moi deviner, tu vas dans ta chambre qui n'est en fait pas TA chambre ? »
(Where are you going ? Oh, let me guess, you are going to your room which isn't, in fact, your room?)
« Je vais essayer de trouver Thomas ! » she replied, almost running. « En espérant que ces dingues ne l'aient pas tué… »
(I'll go try and find Thomas, hoping these demented ones didn't kill him...)
« T'oublie un truc, il est déjà MORT ton copain ! » Emma retorted to her sister who was almost out of hear-reach. She then turned to face Dean, smiling shyly, a faint blush on her cheeks
(You're forgetting one thing, your loverboy is already dead!)
« It's okay, she is just pouting… You did quite a number on her new boyfriend… I hope she didn't hurt you ? Since we're here, she's completely crazy ! She even threw me a vase at my face ! Can you believe it ? »
« Wait, that ghost is your sister's boyfriend ? » Sam asked, disbelief, a point of jealousy in his deep voice.
« Well… Not exactly… He had appeared to her in a dream, shared a moment or two… I think he must have messed up with her brain because there's no way she would be with a ghost… By the way, can a living date a ghost ? » Emma asked, still looking at Dean.
Something drawn her to him, like two magnets. It was hard, even painful, not to be at arm-reach or to look at him. She had met him barely a few minutes ago and she was already addicted. Marina was actually in the same state with Sean. Their eyes were locked in a curious look. Her brain didn't seem to function when she looked at him. Marina was that kind of person who always knew what to say, but, in front of him, no words would come in her mind.
Bobby cleared his throat loudly, making them jumped, turning their attention away. Emma and Marina blushed furiously, staring at the wooden floor before Marina said :
« We shouldn't let Constance alone… Who knows what this Thomas can do to her ? Emma, you come with me ? Let's have a girl talk with her… ».
With that, they went upstairs, avoiding the best they could to look at the strangers.
Dean's stare lingered on Emma's frame as she followed her friend to join her sister, a goofy smile on his face. Bobby went behind him and slammed him on the back of his head.
« We just arrived in a goddam haunted house and you're already ogling a girl ? Seriously ? »
« I… I think I'm in love… » Dean whispered, his eyes still fixed on the stairs.
« It's wonderful » Sean sighed. « Me too… »
« You're what ?... You know what ? Nevermind… Now, we've done feelin' our feelings? 'Cause I'd like to get outta this room before we start growin' lady parts. » Bobby mumbled, taking some steps away, ignoring the angel.
« I'm serious Bobby ! I've never felt this before…
I thought I found a love but she was just a fling.
And then I met [this] girl,
and felt a different thing.
It's like your hit in the ring like you're pulled by a string.
Can't breathe like you're choking on a chicken wing. »
« What a poet you are Dean… » Sam chuckled.
« Dean, I love you like my own. I do. But sometimes you are the whiniest, most self-absorbed son of a bitch I ever met. » Bobby answered. « We've got a job to do, remember ? Stopping Lucifer to break free ? Avoid the Apocalypse ? Does that ring a bell out of ya ? Now let's get a tour of the house ! Maybe you can find something interesting… »
Shaking his head to oust his romantic thoughts, Dean sighed and followed Bobby and Sam, who seemed lost on his own thoughts. He bent towards his brother and whispered to his ear, his voice full of awkwardness and incredulity : « You think she's really into this ghost ? »
Dean stared at his brother for a while before answering, a sly smirk on his face :
« Jealous of Casper, Sammy ? ». Sam blushed furiously and he lowered his head, hurrying to join Bobby.
Coming near the wrecked stairs, Dean finally turned around and realized Sean had not moved. « Hey, Lucky Charm ! You're not coming ? »
« Oh no, it's not safe there, there're ghosts upstairs. » Sean said, a shiver rolling down his spine. « I hate ghosts… Last time I dealt with some, they killed me… Drown me and even took my leg !... By the way, I think I know what you're feeling… I'm feeling it too…
It was a thing called a zing.
And I wanted to sing,
and listen to the ballads of a man named Sting. »
Dean chuckled at the angel before heading upstairs, his thoughts back on a certain brunette. Maybe this case wouldn't be this bad after all...
Constance ran upstairs, climbing the stairs fast, leaving no time for her sister to answer. She absolutely needed to find Thomas… to know he was alright… She went to the room and stopped abruptly at the realization of what she felt. Could it be she worried for him ? Could it be she cared about him ?... All of this was truly beginning to be ridiculous…
Their journey in England was getting weirder at every minute they spent on this house. They had been attacked by ghosts… She had dreamt of a guy who was actually dead and so-he-said in love with her despite the fact that they had only met twice, counting with that stupid dream… And now this… He had just been assaulted by an American stereotype who shoots first and thinks afterwards… And say that Emma and Marina thought that Thomas is the actual psychopath… It's so much easier to make eyes at the crazy with a gun than to use your brain… She couldn't believe her sister and Marina actually fell on this pathetic attempt of an explication the strangers had said. Hunters ? Angel ? Really ?... She took a deep breath and put a trembling hand on the doorknob, anxiously imagining what she could find on the other side.
The young woman entered discreetly in the bedroom and was surprised to find herself alone. She had been so sure to find him here… What if she was right… What if this moron had succeeded to make him disappeared… What if Thomas was… No ! No ! It was impossible… Because he was already… And we can't kill a ghost, right ?... And yet, the scream he had yelled when this monster had fired…
Struggling to stop her tears to fall, she let herself fall on the soft mattress. There should be another explication… There should necessarily be another explanation ! A sudden cold wind made her shiver and she quickly got up, nearly falling when she spotted Thomas at mere inches from her.