TITLE: A Life In Reverse 7/7
AUTHORS: Sam (Lestrade42)
RATING: PG-13
FEEDBACK: I have an enormous amount of fic stuffed into my head because I haven't had time to write. Please tell me you still love me.
DISCLAIMER: All established characters (Micki, Ryan, Jack, Johnny, Lewis etc....) belong to Frank Mancuso, Jr. Nick O' Malley, Kate Benson and SU2 belong to Evan Katz. Kate Brannigan is a creation of Karen. All others belong to me.
EXPLANATION: Stuff bad, shop crew good.
This story came to me (literally) as I bent over to pick up a newspaper in the driveway. I think it's a combined frustration due to a haunted computer, a semi-broken A drive, a corrupted disk, a dusty 'Back To The Future' DVD and the fact I'm out of new "Stargate SG-1" episodes.
Includes excerpts and characters from Karen's (Coe42) "Past and Future" and "Blast From The Past" and my stories "Too Much Television Is Bad For Your Soul" and "Witches and Warlocks."
_______________________________________________________________________
"Caleb wakes!" Cole raised the knife high in the air.
"No!" Ryan jumped to his feet. Johnny and Jack remained hidden and slowly began to move away.
"Ah, Ryan. We miss you amongst our number." He pointed the knife at him. "You could have been great." He smiled. "Asteroph would have given you the power of a god. Well," he traced his hand along Kate's arm, "maybe she will be more open to the suggestion."
~*~
The disfigured form moved closer to Kate. "What, no kiss for your husband?"
Kate reached out behind her and grabbed a poker from the fireplace. She held it out in front of her. "How does 'hell no' grab you?" She swung it at the thing's head.
The skeleton's head snapped back to look at her. "Is that the best you can do?"
Kate screamed and launched herself at the creature. She brought down the poker time after time, all the frustration of the last two days finally taking their toll.
"Kate stop!"
Kate stopped, her arm raised in the air. Underneath her, the figure moved.
Johnny's eyes met her. "Kate, what did I do?"
Kate's arms dropped. "Johnny? I..."
Johnny grabbed her arms and threw her across the room. Kate's body hit the fireplace and dropped to the floor. Johnny's eyes blazed as he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. "Stupid bitch." He looked to the ceiling. "Now Cole!"
~*~
The charred figure next to Cole stirred. "Now Cole!"
"Forgive me, Ryan. I have a messiah to raise!" He lifted Kate's hand. The silver knife slashed across her wrist, blood pouring from the open wound.
"No!" Ryan leapt over the boxes he had been hiding behind and ran to the altars.
Johnny and Jack, on opposite sides of the room, signaled to each other. Johnny quietly pulled one of the coven members back and hit him over the head with a plank of wood. Jack did the same.
Cole held out the knife, blood dripping from the end. "Get them!" He dropped the knife and clasped Kate's wrist to Caleb's. Blood poured into his body, red light emanating from his chest. "Caleb awa..." Cole was cut off as Ryan's body crashed into him.
~*~
Kate screamed as pain ripped through her arm. The Johnny creature smiled and lifted her wrist to his mouth. Red liquid filled his lips, covered his teeth. "How sweet you taste." He squeezed again.
Kate struggled against the grip on her neck, trying to ignore the pain in her useless left arm. She threw herself backwards, throwing Johnny off balance. She kicked out and caught him in the stomach. As he leaned forward, she brought her knee up connecting with his jaw. He dropped her to the ground. She grabbed the poker and took him out at the knees. As he rolled over to get back up, Kate plunged the poker through his heart.
Johnny lay there shocked, a hand gripping the poker. With a sigh, his head dropped to the ground.
Kate slowly turned her back on it and made her way to the door. A sudden sound made her stop.
Johnny was on the ground, laughing. He pulled the poker out and threw it across the room. Slowly he sat up, a gaping hole in his chest. The face began to morph. The head was covered in scars and tattoos. Blue eyes, burned pointed ears, long dirty hair...
"Oh my God. Asteroph's coven leader. You tried to kill Ryan!"
"Caleb," he bowed mockingly. "But I don't need Ryan now. I have you."
Kate backed into the door and threw it open.
"It doesn't matter where you run," Caleb called to the half open doorway, "you can't outrun your mind."
~*~
Ryan fists connected with Cole face, rage filling him. Suddenly something launched itself at Ryan's back. A woman scratching and biting at him, desperate to save her leader.
Johnny swung at another coven members head, the board connecting with a sickening thud. Only a handful were left. They seemed too afraid to actually approach him or Jack. Johnny swore he had even seen some of these faces before.
"Johnny!" Jack pointed over to the altar space.
Johnny ran over and grabbed the woman clawing at Ryan.
~*~
Kate ran down the country road. Her wrist continued to bleed, no amount of pressure seemed to stop it. God, she was tired. She turned a corner around a tall tree... and found herself standing on Druid Avenue in Chicago. The abrupt change of scenery disoriented her for a moment. Her legs buckled beneath her as her head swam. "God, I'm going to bleed to death."
"Yes, you are." Caleb walked slowly behind her. "And in the moment of your death, I shall arise. And then, Asteroph will come back to us."
"You couldn't bring him back last time." Kate spat at him.
"No. You and your insipid friends had to stop it. But that doesn't matter now. Thanks to your.. comic book, we now know everything about Lewis's store. Every way to get in and out, the objects contained inside, how to open the vault and most importantly how to deal with your friends."
"No!" Kate tried to stand up, but fell to the side.
"Everything you talked about here, we know. But, it doesn't have to end like this." Caleb knelt down next to her. "You can stay here forever. Live this life like it was your own. Just let yourself go. Stop fighting death." He motioned behind him.
Ryan, holding Elizabeth, walked up to her. "We miss you, Kate."
Kate shut her eyes.
~*~
Johnny threw Rebecca over the Jack, who cracked a candlestick over her head.
Cole got to his feet, the knife back in his hand. "I'm tired of you people!" He swung the knife at Ryan's hand, slicing it open.
Johnny ran to Kate's body. Her face had gone almost completely white, blood still dripping from her wrist. "Kate! Oh God..." He ripped the bottom of his shirt and wrapped the wound.
~*~
"The life you never got to have can be yours. Husband, child, career, parent's... life. Just let yourself go."
Kate looked at him. "Go back to hell." She rolled over and picked herself up. She made her way to the door of 'Curious Goods'.
"You die quietly here or watch yourself die out there! Either way, you will not see another day."
Kate sighed as she leaned on the door handle. "Hell, I could use the rest." As the door cracked open, a brilliant white light hit her in the face. She blinked...
~*~
Kate blinked. Her head rolled over. "Joh...," her voice cracked.
"Kate. Don't talk. We'll get you out of here." He pulled out a pocket knife and opened the blade.
~*~
Caleb shook. "No! Cole, stop him!"
~*~
"Stop him," the corpse screamed.
Cole reached for Johnny's neck. "No!"
Johnny cut the ribbons connecting Kate and Caleb. A scream pierced the altar room.
Ryan grabbed Cole by the hood and whipped into a pillar. The knife clattered to the ground. Ryan picked it up and turned away.
Cole, with a strangled cry, launched himself at Ryan.
Ryan spun around, the knife raised. The two of the crashed to the floor.
"Ryan," Jack yelled.
Cole's body stiffened for a moment, then turned limp. Ryan pushed him off. The knife had gone through the center of his heart. He winced as he pulled himself off the floor. "Kate?"
Jack began untying her arms and legs. "We need to get her out of here. She's lost a lot of blood."
Ryan was about to respond when a door at the opposite end of the room burst open. "Mr. Marshack!" Detective O'Malley ran into the room, gun drawn.
"Over here."
O'Malley scanned the room quickly. "Anyone still alive?"
"Unconscious mostly." Ryan kicked Cole's side. "This one's dead."
"We've rounded up some people trying to run. We'll get the rest of the ones up here."
"O'Malley, we need an ambulance." As Johnny reached over to pick Kate up, Caleb's body rose up and reached for him. Johnny grabbed his pocket knife and drove it into his chest. Red light exploded from the wound. Slowly, the body crumbled into dust, a scream piercing the air.
O'Malley eyes widened. "There's something you don't see everyday."
Johnny lifted Kate's body off the altar, Ryan holding her wrist tight. "Ambulance!"
"Right." O'Malley pulled a radio from his pocket. "O'Malley. We need the ambulance standing by."
~*~
Kate slowly opened her eyes. Sunlight poured in from between the curtains. The room was filled with the scent of flowers... and antiseptic. Hospital room. "Uh..."
A body next to her moved. "Kate?"
Kate slowly turned her head.
Micki's red hair came into focus. "Mmm..."
"Hang on." She grabbed a cup of water and a straw from the bedside table. "Here. Just a little bit."
"Thanks," her voice cracked slightly. "How long?"
"Have you been here? Two days. You lost a lot of blood. They did a transfusion and put stitches in your wrist."
"No wonder it itches." She held up her bandaged wrist.
"You'll be here another two days or so. They just want to make sure there's no infection."
"I need to talk to Jack."
"He's back at the shop. Is it important?"
"Very."
Micki pulled the phone from the table onto the bed.
~*~
Jack nodded. "All right, Kate. I'll see if Detective O'Malley can help us out."
"Jack, I'm sorry."
"Oh Kate, there's no need to apologize. There's no way you could have known. Just rest. I'll stop by and see you tomorrow."
"Okay."
~*~
Ryan tapped on the door. "Hey."
Johnny poked his head out from behind Ryan's shoulder. "Make that two."
Kate smiled. "Hey twice then."
"I come bearing sugar and art supplies," Ryan said. "Oh, and the boyfriend brought flowers."
"My heroes." Kate smiled slightly.
"How are you feeling?" Ryan sat on the edge of the bed.
"Not too bad. A little itchy, a little tired, and very bored." She rubbed at her wrist. "I guess I'm still adjusting."
Johnny took her hand. "adjusting?"
Kate pulled her hand away slowly. "Ah, yeah. Nevermind."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Kate took a deep breath. Of course she wasn't going to talk about it. It was just too freakish, too strange. Hell, it was almost traumatizing. She opened her mouth to say no.
~*~
"And then this big white light flashed up and bang. I was awake with a slit wrist tied to a corpse." Kate settled herself back into her pillows.
Johnny rubbed his eyes. "Wow."
Ryan sat silently at the end of the bed. "I..." He sighed.
"Yeah. Lot's of weirdness, most of which is still stuck in my head. So you'll have to excuse the tender moments of me not being me. I mean, don't worry. I'll get over it... eventually."
Ryan numbly nodded. "Yeah. Understandable. I kinda know what you're going through, if just slightly less twisted."
Johnny nodded. "Yeah, I... well, I actually have no idea. Now death, that I can discuss."
Ryan gave him a sideways glance.
"What? It's true. Everyone of us in this room has been dead at one point or another."
Ryan rubbed his eyes. "Yes, how blessed are we that we can discuss the pleasure of returning from the dead. It's like something out of a Hammer film."
Slowly a smile crossed Kate's face.
"What", the men asked in unison.
"Now I know I'm back in reality." She held her outs out. "This is my life..." She sighed. "Such as it is."
___________________________________end_________________________________
AUTHORS: Sam (Lestrade42)
RATING: PG-13
FEEDBACK: I have an enormous amount of fic stuffed into my head because I haven't had time to write. Please tell me you still love me.
DISCLAIMER: All established characters (Micki, Ryan, Jack, Johnny, Lewis etc....) belong to Frank Mancuso, Jr. Nick O' Malley, Kate Benson and SU2 belong to Evan Katz. Kate Brannigan is a creation of Karen. All others belong to me.
EXPLANATION: Stuff bad, shop crew good.
This story came to me (literally) as I bent over to pick up a newspaper in the driveway. I think it's a combined frustration due to a haunted computer, a semi-broken A drive, a corrupted disk, a dusty 'Back To The Future' DVD and the fact I'm out of new "Stargate SG-1" episodes.
Includes excerpts and characters from Karen's (Coe42) "Past and Future" and "Blast From The Past" and my stories "Too Much Television Is Bad For Your Soul" and "Witches and Warlocks."
_______________________________________________________________________
"Caleb wakes!" Cole raised the knife high in the air.
"No!" Ryan jumped to his feet. Johnny and Jack remained hidden and slowly began to move away.
"Ah, Ryan. We miss you amongst our number." He pointed the knife at him. "You could have been great." He smiled. "Asteroph would have given you the power of a god. Well," he traced his hand along Kate's arm, "maybe she will be more open to the suggestion."
~*~
The disfigured form moved closer to Kate. "What, no kiss for your husband?"
Kate reached out behind her and grabbed a poker from the fireplace. She held it out in front of her. "How does 'hell no' grab you?" She swung it at the thing's head.
The skeleton's head snapped back to look at her. "Is that the best you can do?"
Kate screamed and launched herself at the creature. She brought down the poker time after time, all the frustration of the last two days finally taking their toll.
"Kate stop!"
Kate stopped, her arm raised in the air. Underneath her, the figure moved.
Johnny's eyes met her. "Kate, what did I do?"
Kate's arms dropped. "Johnny? I..."
Johnny grabbed her arms and threw her across the room. Kate's body hit the fireplace and dropped to the floor. Johnny's eyes blazed as he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. "Stupid bitch." He looked to the ceiling. "Now Cole!"
~*~
The charred figure next to Cole stirred. "Now Cole!"
"Forgive me, Ryan. I have a messiah to raise!" He lifted Kate's hand. The silver knife slashed across her wrist, blood pouring from the open wound.
"No!" Ryan leapt over the boxes he had been hiding behind and ran to the altars.
Johnny and Jack, on opposite sides of the room, signaled to each other. Johnny quietly pulled one of the coven members back and hit him over the head with a plank of wood. Jack did the same.
Cole held out the knife, blood dripping from the end. "Get them!" He dropped the knife and clasped Kate's wrist to Caleb's. Blood poured into his body, red light emanating from his chest. "Caleb awa..." Cole was cut off as Ryan's body crashed into him.
~*~
Kate screamed as pain ripped through her arm. The Johnny creature smiled and lifted her wrist to his mouth. Red liquid filled his lips, covered his teeth. "How sweet you taste." He squeezed again.
Kate struggled against the grip on her neck, trying to ignore the pain in her useless left arm. She threw herself backwards, throwing Johnny off balance. She kicked out and caught him in the stomach. As he leaned forward, she brought her knee up connecting with his jaw. He dropped her to the ground. She grabbed the poker and took him out at the knees. As he rolled over to get back up, Kate plunged the poker through his heart.
Johnny lay there shocked, a hand gripping the poker. With a sigh, his head dropped to the ground.
Kate slowly turned her back on it and made her way to the door. A sudden sound made her stop.
Johnny was on the ground, laughing. He pulled the poker out and threw it across the room. Slowly he sat up, a gaping hole in his chest. The face began to morph. The head was covered in scars and tattoos. Blue eyes, burned pointed ears, long dirty hair...
"Oh my God. Asteroph's coven leader. You tried to kill Ryan!"
"Caleb," he bowed mockingly. "But I don't need Ryan now. I have you."
Kate backed into the door and threw it open.
"It doesn't matter where you run," Caleb called to the half open doorway, "you can't outrun your mind."
~*~
Ryan fists connected with Cole face, rage filling him. Suddenly something launched itself at Ryan's back. A woman scratching and biting at him, desperate to save her leader.
Johnny swung at another coven members head, the board connecting with a sickening thud. Only a handful were left. They seemed too afraid to actually approach him or Jack. Johnny swore he had even seen some of these faces before.
"Johnny!" Jack pointed over to the altar space.
Johnny ran over and grabbed the woman clawing at Ryan.
~*~
Kate ran down the country road. Her wrist continued to bleed, no amount of pressure seemed to stop it. God, she was tired. She turned a corner around a tall tree... and found herself standing on Druid Avenue in Chicago. The abrupt change of scenery disoriented her for a moment. Her legs buckled beneath her as her head swam. "God, I'm going to bleed to death."
"Yes, you are." Caleb walked slowly behind her. "And in the moment of your death, I shall arise. And then, Asteroph will come back to us."
"You couldn't bring him back last time." Kate spat at him.
"No. You and your insipid friends had to stop it. But that doesn't matter now. Thanks to your.. comic book, we now know everything about Lewis's store. Every way to get in and out, the objects contained inside, how to open the vault and most importantly how to deal with your friends."
"No!" Kate tried to stand up, but fell to the side.
"Everything you talked about here, we know. But, it doesn't have to end like this." Caleb knelt down next to her. "You can stay here forever. Live this life like it was your own. Just let yourself go. Stop fighting death." He motioned behind him.
Ryan, holding Elizabeth, walked up to her. "We miss you, Kate."
Kate shut her eyes.
~*~
Johnny threw Rebecca over the Jack, who cracked a candlestick over her head.
Cole got to his feet, the knife back in his hand. "I'm tired of you people!" He swung the knife at Ryan's hand, slicing it open.
Johnny ran to Kate's body. Her face had gone almost completely white, blood still dripping from her wrist. "Kate! Oh God..." He ripped the bottom of his shirt and wrapped the wound.
~*~
"The life you never got to have can be yours. Husband, child, career, parent's... life. Just let yourself go."
Kate looked at him. "Go back to hell." She rolled over and picked herself up. She made her way to the door of 'Curious Goods'.
"You die quietly here or watch yourself die out there! Either way, you will not see another day."
Kate sighed as she leaned on the door handle. "Hell, I could use the rest." As the door cracked open, a brilliant white light hit her in the face. She blinked...
~*~
Kate blinked. Her head rolled over. "Joh...," her voice cracked.
"Kate. Don't talk. We'll get you out of here." He pulled out a pocket knife and opened the blade.
~*~
Caleb shook. "No! Cole, stop him!"
~*~
"Stop him," the corpse screamed.
Cole reached for Johnny's neck. "No!"
Johnny cut the ribbons connecting Kate and Caleb. A scream pierced the altar room.
Ryan grabbed Cole by the hood and whipped into a pillar. The knife clattered to the ground. Ryan picked it up and turned away.
Cole, with a strangled cry, launched himself at Ryan.
Ryan spun around, the knife raised. The two of the crashed to the floor.
"Ryan," Jack yelled.
Cole's body stiffened for a moment, then turned limp. Ryan pushed him off. The knife had gone through the center of his heart. He winced as he pulled himself off the floor. "Kate?"
Jack began untying her arms and legs. "We need to get her out of here. She's lost a lot of blood."
Ryan was about to respond when a door at the opposite end of the room burst open. "Mr. Marshack!" Detective O'Malley ran into the room, gun drawn.
"Over here."
O'Malley scanned the room quickly. "Anyone still alive?"
"Unconscious mostly." Ryan kicked Cole's side. "This one's dead."
"We've rounded up some people trying to run. We'll get the rest of the ones up here."
"O'Malley, we need an ambulance." As Johnny reached over to pick Kate up, Caleb's body rose up and reached for him. Johnny grabbed his pocket knife and drove it into his chest. Red light exploded from the wound. Slowly, the body crumbled into dust, a scream piercing the air.
O'Malley eyes widened. "There's something you don't see everyday."
Johnny lifted Kate's body off the altar, Ryan holding her wrist tight. "Ambulance!"
"Right." O'Malley pulled a radio from his pocket. "O'Malley. We need the ambulance standing by."
~*~
Kate slowly opened her eyes. Sunlight poured in from between the curtains. The room was filled with the scent of flowers... and antiseptic. Hospital room. "Uh..."
A body next to her moved. "Kate?"
Kate slowly turned her head.
Micki's red hair came into focus. "Mmm..."
"Hang on." She grabbed a cup of water and a straw from the bedside table. "Here. Just a little bit."
"Thanks," her voice cracked slightly. "How long?"
"Have you been here? Two days. You lost a lot of blood. They did a transfusion and put stitches in your wrist."
"No wonder it itches." She held up her bandaged wrist.
"You'll be here another two days or so. They just want to make sure there's no infection."
"I need to talk to Jack."
"He's back at the shop. Is it important?"
"Very."
Micki pulled the phone from the table onto the bed.
~*~
Jack nodded. "All right, Kate. I'll see if Detective O'Malley can help us out."
"Jack, I'm sorry."
"Oh Kate, there's no need to apologize. There's no way you could have known. Just rest. I'll stop by and see you tomorrow."
"Okay."
~*~
Ryan tapped on the door. "Hey."
Johnny poked his head out from behind Ryan's shoulder. "Make that two."
Kate smiled. "Hey twice then."
"I come bearing sugar and art supplies," Ryan said. "Oh, and the boyfriend brought flowers."
"My heroes." Kate smiled slightly.
"How are you feeling?" Ryan sat on the edge of the bed.
"Not too bad. A little itchy, a little tired, and very bored." She rubbed at her wrist. "I guess I'm still adjusting."
Johnny took her hand. "adjusting?"
Kate pulled her hand away slowly. "Ah, yeah. Nevermind."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Kate took a deep breath. Of course she wasn't going to talk about it. It was just too freakish, too strange. Hell, it was almost traumatizing. She opened her mouth to say no.
~*~
"And then this big white light flashed up and bang. I was awake with a slit wrist tied to a corpse." Kate settled herself back into her pillows.
Johnny rubbed his eyes. "Wow."
Ryan sat silently at the end of the bed. "I..." He sighed.
"Yeah. Lot's of weirdness, most of which is still stuck in my head. So you'll have to excuse the tender moments of me not being me. I mean, don't worry. I'll get over it... eventually."
Ryan numbly nodded. "Yeah. Understandable. I kinda know what you're going through, if just slightly less twisted."
Johnny nodded. "Yeah, I... well, I actually have no idea. Now death, that I can discuss."
Ryan gave him a sideways glance.
"What? It's true. Everyone of us in this room has been dead at one point or another."
Ryan rubbed his eyes. "Yes, how blessed are we that we can discuss the pleasure of returning from the dead. It's like something out of a Hammer film."
Slowly a smile crossed Kate's face.
"What", the men asked in unison.
"Now I know I'm back in reality." She held her outs out. "This is my life..." She sighed. "Such as it is."
___________________________________end_________________________________