A/N: So hello everyone. I haven't posted on here in roughly a millennia, but as part of a personal mental health journey I'm returning to writing. For me, the first step was re-reading things I had written in the past and in doing so, I felt the stirrings of creativity again. I'm hoping to channel this into working on my original fiction, but fanfiction has proved to be a good practice realm.
For anyone who has stumbled across this story, this is the third installment in my "Welcome..." series featuring Ty Falkner. I started writing these fics just after the Season 1 finale, so my spin on things went a little differently than they ended up on the show. As a result, this has become slightly AU and you'll need to read the other 2 fics for this to make sense.
That being said, if no one else reads this, I'm okay with that. I'm mostly just writing for me. But if you do decide to read and feel like writing a review (good, bad, or other), I appreciate the feedback.
I don't own anything, but my original characters. The story title comes from the song by the same name by Depeche Mode. The chapter title and opening lyrics are from the song Blue on Black by Kenny Wayne Shepherd (although the Five Finger Death Punch cover also kicks ass).
Chapter 1: A Dead Man's Touch
Night falls and I'm alone
Skin, yeah, chilled me to the bone
You turned and you ran, oh yeah
Oh oh, slipped right from my hand
Blue on black
Tears on a river
Push on a shove
It don't mean much
Joker on jack
Match on a fire
Cold on ice
A dead man's touch
Whisper on a scream
Never change a thing
Doesn't bring you back
It's like blue on black
Blind, oh, but now I see
Truth, lies and in between
Wrong can't be undone, oh no
Well it slipped from the tip of your tongue
Blue on black
Tears on a river
Push on a shove
It don't mean much
Joker on jack
Match on a fire
Cold on ice
A dead man's touch
Whisper on a scream
Never change a thing
Doesn't bring you back
It's blue on black
"Alex!" Ty called. She didn't wait for him to look before tossing the shotgun in his direction.
The other hunter spun and caught it, immediately pulling the pump handle and chambering a rock salt cartridge. He pulled the trigger just as the angry spirit lunged towards him with its arms outstretched, blasting the ghost apart, at least temporarily. He backed towards Ty, shotgun still at the ready and eyes searching for where the ghost might reappear. Ty followed suit, her hands wrapped around an iron bar, until the pair stood back-to-back. Unfortunately, the derelict farmhouse they stood within seemed to be composed almost entirely out of shadowy corners and piles of rubble that, in the dark with only the headlights of Alex's truck outside and the flashlight Ty had dropped on the floor to illuminate them, loomed like shadowy threats themselves.
"I thought you said you had a plan." Ty snapped over her shoulder.
"I did. I do." Alex replied. He paused to fire another shot as the ghost attempted to manifest again, "This is all according to plan."
"Well, no offense," Ty also had to pause to swing the iron bar through the ghost's form, "but in that case your plan sucks."
"How was I supposed to know it's a Gjenganger?" Alex griped, digging in his pocket for more ammo, "I don't think anyone's even seen one since the 70s."
"Well, I can't even pronounce it so I'm still thinking this is your bad." Ty snapped back, "How do we kill it since obviously burning the bones did a whole lot of nothing?"
The ghost, evidently back but deciding to remain invisible for the moment, flung an old chair across the room, striking Alex in the arm. The impact knocked him off balance and he dropped to one knee, but managed to keep a firm grip on the shotgun.
"Not true." he grunted as he climbed back to his feet and kicked the chair debris away. He winced as he rotated his shoulder, "I'm pretty sure it pissed him off."
Ty opened her mouth to deliver a scathing remark, but before any words could leave her mouth, the vengeful Scandinavian spirit appeared right in front of her, his hand reaching out to grasp her arm. Ty found herself staring into dark, hate-filled eyes in a weathered pale face. The Gjenganger looked essentially human, albeit in old-fashioned dress, but the murderous rage that radiated from it was almost palpable.
"Ty!" Alex cried in alarm, letting go of the shotgun with one hand so he could grab her other arm to yank her out of the way, "Don't let it touch you!"
Ty stumbled behind Alex as he unloaded another couple rounds into the ghost and shattered its corporeal appearance. Regaining her balance, she straightened and turned to place her back against Alex's again, "What? Why?"
"Dødningeknip, Dead Man's Pinch. If he pinches you, he infects you. Infection reaches your heart, you die." Alex explained quickly.
"That's how he's killing people?" Ty exclaimed, unable to keep herself from glancing over her shoulder at him incredulously, "Fatal goosing?"
As ridiculous as it sounded, it made sense. Alex and Ty had caught wind of a possible case when they saw the report on two survey crewmen who had suffered mysterious deaths after exploring an old plot of land whose deed had passed to the state. Both bodies had mysterious spots of necrotic tissue, but the cause of death was ruled as a heart attack. Pretty unusual for two fit, middle-aged guys. From there, it had been simple to track down the location of the property where both victims had last been in contact with each other. Ty's archaeological expertise proved useful in deciphering their survey field notes, so they had an idea of what they were looking for before they even hit the road to the site.
Almost as soon as they pulled up in front of the collapsing farmhouse, Alex's EMF meter had started going off. Taking that as confirmation that this was some kind of vengeful spirit, Alex had announced his plan to distract the ghost while Ty checked the spots the surveyors had indicated on their plans that seemed to have some kind of underground anomaly to see if any of them might be a burial. Ty thought things had gone pretty smoothly when she'd located the body and torched it, but when she got back to the farmhouse to find Alex still under attack, she kicked herself for allowing that thought to cross her mind. Since when did things ever go smoothly in her life? She should have known that was a clear indication of impending disaster.
Alex ignored her comment, instead answering her earlier question, "Burning the bones won't stop a Gjenganger. You have to bury them in a churchyard, on consecrated ground, with Christian rites. Only way to put them down for good."
The ghost had yet to reappear again, but neither hunter believed for a moment that it was gone. The unnatural stillness around them hummed with tension and Ty felt goosebumps rising on her bare forearms. If Alex was right and that was the only way to stop this thing, then they were in serious trouble. Unearthing the old Scandinavian farmer's body from its hidden grave on the property and burning the bones with salt and lighter fluid had not created a hot enough fire to fully cremate the skeleton, but it had certainly made any further attempts to move the bones without losing any pieces that might allow the man's spirit to linger much more challenging. Unless there was some way to contain this thing, there was no way they could spend the time to carefully extract all the remains and rebury them Christian-style.
'Sure could use another pair of hands,' Ty thought ruefully. She refused to allow her thoughts to turn to the pair of hands she'd been missing for months now. That name was no longer in her vocabulary.
"Okay." Ty said, thinking quickly, "how do we put it down short-term, long enough to pull off the rest?"
Alex paused, raking his brain for every last bit of information he'd ever heard about Gjengangers, "I think I've got an idea. I don't know if it'll work, but it's all I got."
As uninspiring as that comment was, Ty didn't hesitate, "Do it."
Alex nodded, passing the shotgun back to her to cover him while he hurried back to his truck for more supplies. Ty kept her eyes peeled for the ghost as she backed out of the house after him, sweeping the barrel back and forth while she scanned their surroundings. Still nothing. What was it waiting for?
"Okay." Alex said, reappearing at her side, shaking a can of spray paint with one hand, "I'm gonna mark the doors and windows. Cover me."
Ty raised an eyebrow, wondering what type of wards or sigils Alex had in mind to contain this thing, but didn't waste time asking and he didn't stop to explain. He started with the main entry, aiming the spray just above the door frame. Ty allowed her eyes to flick back to him periodically, checking his progress, and saw that he was painting what looked like a stylized cross on the rotting wood of the house. Christian symbols must have some power against this thing, too.
Moving quickly, Alex shifted around the exterior, painting more crosses over each opening. Ty knew he was going as fast as he could, but this was still taking way too long.
"Alex…" she began apprehensively.
Before she could say another word, a murderous face appeared in the long broken window Alex was working on. The Gjenganger reached through the opening for Alex. Alex hadn't seen it yet, his head bowed as he bent down to draw the ward below the window sill. The ghost's fingers were brushing the collar of Alex's shirt when Ty fired.
"Jesus Christ!" Alex yelped, dropping to his knees on the ground and instinctively covering his head at the sound and feel of the shot passing just over his head. His brown eyes were wide as he looked up at Ty.
"Move it!" Ty snapped.
Still wide-eyed, it took another second before Alex snapped out of his shock at the close call and leaped back to work on the crosses. Ty had to shoot the ghost once more, as it made a last-ditch effort to escape the trap as Alex finally completed the last one.
"Done." Alex announced, flashing her a grin as he wiped his forearm across his forehead, "Won't hold the bastard for long, but should give us some more time."
Almost as if in response to Alex's words, an angry howl began from inside the house. It swiftly grew in volume, and the whole structure started to shake. The building was half-collapsed already. It was definitely not going to be able to withstand much more of this.
"Shit." Ty swore, turning to sprint back towards the burial site, "Alex, grab a bucket or something!"
"On it!" Alex yelled back.
Ty slid to a stop next to the spot where she'd unearthed the old farmer, grabbing the shovel she'd left planted in the ground. They'd have to just shovel out the body and the dirt under it and take it all, just to be sure. Burned bones were brittle and could easily break. She couldn't risk missing anything.
Alex appeared a moment later with a large bucket and another flashlight that he aimed down at the pit where Ty began digging out the skeleton. As much as her whole body was shaking with adrenaline and she knew that they didn't have long before the ghost escaped, she had to force herself to work slower and more carefully, making sure not to let anything miss the bucket and doing a thorough job of taking out the whole burial layer.
Alex was practically hopping from one foot to the other as he impatiently waited for her to finish, repeatedly glancing over his shoulder back at the farmhouse. Ty briefly allowed herself to think, 'Well, now he knows how I felt waiting on his stupid graffiti job,' before refocusing on her task.
"Okay. That's everything." Ty announced after briefly double-checking the grave. She turned and held her hand out for Alex to help her out of the pit.
Alex pulled her up with one hand and grabbed the bucket with the other. The pair then raced back to the truck. There was a small church not too far up the road from the farmhouse, situated next to a small lake on the side of a hill, the associated cemetery climbing steeply up the side. Ty wasn't sure what kind of church it was, but it would have to do. She chucked the shovel in the back, then jumped in the driver's side while Alex dropped the bucket on the floor of the passenger's side before climbing in after it. She didn't even wait for his door to close before she gunned the engine and threw the truck in gear. The tires spun for a second on the loose dirt before gaining traction and hurtling them back towards the road.
Ty barely slowed as she yanked on the steering wheel, turning the truck off the main road and into the gravel lot of the church. She slammed on the brakes as she reached the edge of the lot, nearly driving right onto the cemetery lawn. Shoving the gear shift swiftly into park, she left the truck running as she jumped out one side and Alex swiftly exited the other.
"I got the shovel!" Ty called, snatching it up again.
Ty was grateful that her recent stint at an archaeological field school had built up her arm muscles for digging. Shovel in hand, she ran after Alex who had found what looked like an empty space among the gravestones. She kicked the shovel into the dirt with her boot and began digging out a grave, while Alex began reciting last rites over the bones.
It still kind of rankled everytime they had to use Christian rites. While some things like exorcisms were fine, you just had to know the prayer, other rites, like last rites or sanctifying, specifically required a priest. Ty had tried getting ordained online, but the stupid sexist ideology somehow prevented it from working for her. It was really aggravating, especially since her Latin was better than Alex's. Ty tried to channel her annoyance into digging faster.
"Shit!" Alex suddenly swore, making Ty's head snap towards him.
An invisible force flung Alex away from the farmer's remains and he disappeared over the edge of the hill.
"Alex!" Ty shouted, dropping the shovel and scrambling after him.
As she reached the crest of the hill, she saw that Alex had already tumbled down the other side onto the lakeshore. He was just pushing himself up out of the water lapping the shoreline, his eyes meeting hers as he glanced up the hill, when that same invisible force seemed to yank him by the leg back into the water. Alex cried out, but it was cut off when he was pulled underwater.
Ty only spared a second to glance back at the unfinished burial. They needed to put this ghost down, but she couldn't do it without Alex. She had to save him first and hope the ghost didn't kill them both while she tried.
Ty sprinted down the hill towards the still surface of the dark water that showed no sign of her hunting partner, not bothering to slow when she hit the bottom, but launching herself into a dive. Alex should have come up by now. That thing must be holding him under. And between the dark night and the murky water, Ty couldn't see anything. She had to search by feel, praying that her fingertips would brush against the fabric of his long-sleeve shirt or the denim of his jeans.
Ty's lungs burned but she fought the need to resurface, kicking deeper instead, arms sweeping the water frantically. Finally, just as she was feeling like she had to go up for more air or risk drowning herself, her hand touched something. Latching on, Ty quickly reached her other hand over to grasp onto what she hoped had to be Alex. Kicking for all she was worth, Ty pulled the weight with her towards the surface. After what felt like forever, her face broke through the water and she immediately gasped, sucking air into her aching lungs. A moment later, she leaned back, pulling whatever she'd latched onto up to the surface as well. Relief washed over her as Alex's head appeared above the water and he coughed and sputtered, but breathed deeply.
"Don't...do that...again." Ty panted, treading water for a moment while they both caught their breath.
Alex shook his head, not quite able to respond just yet. He coughed once more, then managed to get out, "Don't...let go."
"What?" Ty asked, confused. Was he hurt? What was wrong now?
Alex looked back at her and his normally spiky dark hair hung in wet strands against his face, making his sheepish expression even more pathetic, "Can't swim."
Ty stared back at him incredulously, "Seriously? And you didn't think to mention this before we came to the land of 10,000 lakes?"
Alex didn't reply. Grumbling, Ty adjusted her grip, wrapping her arm around Alex's chest, before pulling him back with her towards the shore. Of all the stupid...how could he not have mentioned this before now? And how could he not know how to swim? You'd think being raised by two hunters, he'd have every survival skill in the book. When this was all over, she was going to murder him.
Thankfully, nothing tried to stop them from reaching the shore and Ty was able to get them both back on solid land. Pushing her wet hair out of her face, she turned to her water-logged companion.
"Okay, new plan. I'm going to try and keep him busy. You finish the burial."
Alex only paused a second before he nodded. That was one thing Ty appreciated about hunting with Alex. He rarely questioned her abilities or tried to play the overprotective male card.
'Unlike some people,' she grumbled mentally, before again shoving thoughts of him out of her mind.
The pair squished and slogged their way back up the hill. Ty grimaced at the feeling of her wet socks in her boots, but kept her focus on what she needed to do. First off, she needed a weapon. Second, she needed to think of a way to keep this thing focused on her and not Alex. Her mind raced as she quickly reviewed everything she knew about this ghost while her body automatically made a bee-line to the back of the truck. Her first impulse was to grab the shotgun again, but she changed her mind and dug further into their haphazard pile of gear for something else instead.
"Where'd you go, you son of a…" Ty swore as she searched through the weapons and assorted other equipment that had been tossed about in the truck bed. Her hands closed on what she was looking for and she yanked it out, triumphantly, "Ah! Gotcha!"
Spinning back around, she jogged back to Alex, who was not wasting any time waiting for her but was quickly deepening the burial pit. Between the dunking in the lake and the dirt he was flinging, his familiar form was rapidly disappearing under a layer of mud. She'd tease him about it later, provided they made it out of this and all, but for right now she had her own fairly gross task to see to.
With a grimace, Ty stuck her hand into the bucket of remains, sifting through the dirt, ash, and bone until she found something more round and firm. Shaking it loose from the rest, she lifted the skull out of the bucket.
"What the hell are you…" Alex began to ask, pausing in his task to stare at her.
"Pissing him off." Ty answered, "Keep going."
Alex nodded and redoubled his efforts on the grave. Skull in hand, Ty moved away from him, looking around for any sign of the Gjenganger.
"Come on, you grumpy old asshole." Ty grumbled. Raising her voice, she held the skull up and waved it around, "Come on, you dead bastard! Come and get me or I swear I'll play hackysack with your freaking head!"
As if in response, the ghost reappeared in front of her. Again, he looked solid, whole, like a living person. But then his mouth opened, twisting in fury, and he screamed at her, an unholy sound that should never come from a human being. Ty involuntarily flinched at the sound and fought the urge to cover her ears. The ghost seemed to flicker in and out of existence and suddenly it was right in front of her, its hands about to close around her throat.
Ty jumped backwards, flinging her other hand up. Water from the jug she'd grabbed out of the truck splashed everywhere. Steam seemed to rise with a hiss from every part of the ghost the water touched and it recoiled. Ty grinned as she recovered her footing, aiming another splash of holy water at the spirit, glad that her hunch that holy water would work had proved correct. Ty casually tossed the skull in her other hand and caught it again.
"What's the matter, grandpa? You throw us in the lake but you don't like getting wet?" she taunted.
The ghost let loose another scream of rage, then vanished. Ty's grin slipped as she spun around, trying to find where it had gone. She knew it would try to come at her from behind if it could, so she tried not to stay still long enough to give it the chance. But even so, she needed it to keep focused on her. She couldn't let it go after Alex. Ty took a deep breath, closing her eyes briefly to throw up a brief prayer to anything that might be listening to be on her side for once, before she stopped moving, deliberately leaving her back open. Lifting the skull again with one hand, she lifted the jug of holy water in the other and gave it a jiggle.
"How about I clean off this cranium of yours, huh?" she ventured, resisting the urge to look behind her, "Not sure what that'll do to you. Want to find out?"
She'd been expecting it, but it still made her cry out when she was struck from behind with enough force to knock her off her feet. Ty lost her grip on the skull as she instinctively threw her hands out to catch herself before she face-planted into the ground. It rolled away from her, out of reach. Ty scrambled after it, but something grabbed her leg and pulled her back. Ty kicked viciously, trying to shake herself loose, and rolled onto her back for more leverage. The ghost released her leg, but lunged at her, falling on top of her. Ty cried out as one of its hands wrapped around her left wrist while she struggled to find the holy water jug with her free hand. The ghost's face was just inches from hers, teeth bared in a snarl. Ty turned her face away, stretching her fingers as far as she could until finally she felt them brush against the jug.
Whipping the jug up, she lashed the ghost with another spray of water. With another boiling hiss, it vanished again. Wishing she had a second to catch her breath but knowing she didn't, Ty flipped over and quickly crawled over to grab the skull again.
"Ty!" Alex called urgently, drawing her attention over to him. He gestured quickly for her to give him the skull.
Lifting herself up on one knee, Ty pulled her arm back, "Catch!"
"Don't…" Alex began to protest, but it was already too late. The skull sailed through the air towards him. Alex quickly rushed to intercept it, managing to catch it. He spun back to the grave and tossed it in with the rest of the skeleton. He quickly signed the cross over the burial and finished the rite, "In nomine patris, et filii, et spiritus sancti, amen."
The ghost reappeared over the burial and Alex jumped back in alarm. It issued another shriek, but then seemed to be sucked down into the pit, disappearing into the pile of bones. For a moment after it was gone, in the resulting stillness, nothing moved. Finally, Alex released the breath that he realized he'd been holding. His lips pulled up in a grin and he turned to shoot his partner a rebuke for throwing a skull at him now that it was all over. His grin vanished immediately.
"Ty?" he asked in concern.
Ty was still kneeling on the ground, her gaze fixed on her left wrist. A dark mark, roughly in the shape of a hand, marred her skin.