Skinner woke to the feeling that his mouth had cotton balls stuffed inside it. He was sure it was some sort of awful, dry material that had his tongue feeling swollen and plastered to the roof of his mouth. He just wanted to swallow some spit in order to cure his horribly dry throat. It was so dry that it had gotten painful. Gently he pressed his tongue up to the roof of his mouth, trying desperately to drip any moisture from it down his throat, but nothing came from the tired muscle.
In desperation, he even tried to suck some of the dried blood off the scarf that gagged him. Nothing was working.
And then a different pain began. It started in his feet, slowly making its way up his legs. At first it felt like someone pricking him with a million needles, but then it changed. Now, as the feeling reached his kneecaps, he felt a stinging sensation in his thigh muscles and then a horrible heat in his groin area.
In response to this fire brimming in his lower region, he screamed against the gag, pulling his body away from the bed as if it were in flames.
As quickly as the pain came, it left him and soon he was able to breathe again.
But what had it been? What sort of strange shot had Mina given to him? He would rather have had sleep, maybe even a nice coma, instead of this hellish pain.
As he lay there, the blind fold still digging into the ridge of his nose, he wondered if he would ever really get free from this prison. They were immortals, even if he were to escape, they still had plenty of time to find and kill him. He would never get away from them. He was doomed.
Still, he pulled at his binds, his arms and legs feeling the material digging into his skin.
Then the pain began again. This time it started in his chest. First it felt like a horrible case of heartburn, but as it reached its peak of painfulness it spread out and seemed to press his ribs open so that they felt as if they were going to pop out of his skin. He gnawed into the scarf, grinding his teeth together as if that would stop the pressure.
It didn't help; in fact, he now had the urge to puke. How wonderful it would be to throw up into the gag and then have to swallow that back down, he thought lightly as he prayed to God to keep the vomit from rising.
His stomach churned in answer, his throat beginning to constrict, his tongue dancing with the feeling that something from below was making a visit. He closed his eyes behind the blindfold, his mouth now twitching with disgust.
"Please…" he begged against the cloth.
Five minutes later, a light sweat now covering his face, the feeling had vanished. He opened his mouth to breathe beyond the gag and was so relieved that he smiled.
But his smile faded when he heard a door open and then the familiar voice of Dorian Gray in his ear.
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"I see someone is awake." Dorian purred as he slid his lips very near Skinner's ear, then he pulled away, "Seems that Mina's little mixture was a bit faulty, hmm?"
Skinner didn't move a muscle on the bed.
Dorian walked to the wall opposite the invisible man and stepped up onto a broken dresser of Mina's, there he leaned on the wall and watched Skinner, "There is one hour left before you die, my friend. Do you have any wishes?"
Skinner moved, but uttered nothing against the gag.
Dorian turned to look at himself in a mirror that sat on the wall. He wet his finger, now smoothing it across his finely plucked brow. His brown eyes looked energized by his evil plans. He grinned lightly at himself, now lifting his hair to look at his forehead, "I believe I am getting wrinkles. Mina tells me I'm not, but I could swear to it. Do you have many wrinkles, Mr. Skinner?"
Skinner groaned and Dorian turned to see him pulled up against the restraints, all the veins in his arms now pressed against his flesh as if they were about to pop out, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Dorian said as he stepped down from the busted piece of furniture, now placing the tip of his sword on Skinner's knee, "I'd hate to have to use my weapon on you before midnight."
Skinner's mouth closed around the scarf, but his moan could still be heard. His body slammed up again, but this time his neck bulged with tension.
Dorian slid the silver edge of the sword up Skinner's thigh, grease paint and leg hair now gathering on the shiny metal surface. Finally, as he neared the top of his thigh, he paused.
Skinner immediately stopped in mid groan, his body falling back to the bed sheets.
"Hmm…" Dorian grinned lightly, "it's funny what can get one's attention nowadays."
Skinner seemed to be holding his breath.
Dorian turned the sword over, now wiping the hair and grease onto Skinner's gag, "Can't have a dirty sword, now, can I?"
Skinner sneezed lightly and said something against the gag that made Dorian grin wider.
Suddenly the door opened and in walked Basil.
He smiled at Dorian and held up…
"The Winchester." Dorian purred as he dropped his sword from Skinner's mouth, "Just what I have been waiting for. Well…" he turned back to Skinner, "seems Mina won't be finding what I sent her out to fetch. And that means, my dear Skinner, that at midnight I will be relieving your shoulders of your head."
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Basil looked upon Dorian with excitement running through his every pore. He could see that Dorian was very pleased with him. Maybe pleased enough to give him seductive praises that would leave him weak at the knees. Or, better yet, a long massage of his aching shoulders.
Neither came as Dorian turned from hiding the Winchester, "And where is Mina?"
"She went to find Tom." Basil said softly, his excitement simmering back down into his stomach, "He wasn't in his room."
"But you were." Dorian grinned as he walked over and began to stab at the logs with a gold poker, "Very good job, Basil."
"I'm glad you think so." Basil said, very aware that the room was getting too hot for him. He cleared his throat and moved on the chair in order to relieve his behind from some of the sweaty stickiness between his pants and his flesh, "We really must talk about your shadow."
Dorian turned to look behind himself, "Why? What bothers you about my shadow?"
"Have you not noticed that it is missing. It has been missing ever since we boarded this ship." Basil said, now standing up. He was happy not to be so near to Dorian now.
"And what does that mean, Basil?" Dorian looked a bit peeved for a second, his dark eyes boring holes into Basil, "Don't tell me that I have to worry about that too now."
"It means that I couldn't stop it from happening. When I brought you out of the painting, your shadow got loose also." He paused, his brow heavy, "I thought that taking some of the burden upon myself, you know, by living as half human, half animal, would stop the shadow from escaping, but it didn't. I was so sure that it would."
Dorian slammed the poker into a log sending violent flames out around his body. For a moment he looked like the devil, standing there in the bright firelight, "And what does my shadow mean to do?"'
"Well…" Basil said as he backed himself over to the piano, "it means to return you to the painting so it can be free."
"What will it do?" Dorian turned slowly, now leaning himself on the mantle, "What must I do?"
Basil stared at him for a moment. His heart fluttered in his chest as he watched Dorian's eyes slide down his body and then back up to his eyes. He wanted to walk over to him and kiss his jaw line. Oh God, just to feel his skin!
"Basil!" Dorian startled him out of his wicked thoughts, "What must I do?"
"It must gather three shadows and incorporate them into itself. If it accomplishes this task, you will automatically return to the painting. But, if you finish your plan first and get the league into the painting, then you will be free."
Dorian grinned lightly, his arms dropping from the mantle as he approached Basil, "My plan will be accomplished, dear Basil." He seated himself beside Basil, his fingers finding the keys, "I will never be put back in that painting, ever again."
Basil sucked in some of the heavy air, but hardly had time to exhale when, all of a sudden, Mina came bursting into the room.
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The clock on the mantle showed that it was ten before midnight. Mina slammed the door and was just about to make her case, when she noticed the man sitting with Dorian, "And who is this?" she asked, her eyes roving Basil's face.
"A friend to help pass the time." Dorian said easily enough, "Seems you might have forgotten that bringing me that Winchester would save poor Skinner."
Mina still stared at Basil, "I know your eyes." She said softly.
"Mina, my love." Dorian purred as he walked toward her, "I pray you have the gun."
"Seems that he moved it." She said, but her eyes stayed on Basil.
Dorian grinned, "Well, then I guess I will be RE-moving someone's head."
Mina slammed a hand onto Dorian's arm, pulling him back and throwing him to the wall. He only grinned at her as he stood back up, "You'll have to do better than that, lover."
She walked toward him, her fists clenched at her sides, "I won't let you kill him." She hissed as she picked up a small table from the floor. Dorian only brushed off his suit and eyed her softly.
This made her even more angry. As he stood there, his eyes staring at her, his lips curled into a slight smile, she moved toward him slowly gaining more and more anger. Soon, the piece of furniture still grasped in her clutches, she slammed the four legs into the wall around Dorian.
He laughed, "You and Basil are both so very dramatic, aren't you?"
Mina turned to look at the other man, "Basil." She whispered. This gave Dorian the edge he needed. Quickly he dodged another blow from her as he grabbed his sword and vanished into the other room.
Mina followed, only to stop upon seeing Dorian with his sword buried deep in the mattress of the bed.
She gasped, her brow furrowing, "No blood?" she asked.
And then, in one brutal blow, both her and Dorian were thrown back against the wall.
