Little Child Lost
Disclaimer: I don't own; I just drool.
Author's Note: Wow!! People reviewed!! Eyay-yay!! (Kourin feels special; can you feel the love people??) Thank you all so much! And soooo much thanks to R. Rhiannon Berger, for being very super-nice and offering to beta my stories. You are amazing and completely saved this chapter!! ^.^ I hope you know what you're getting into, but I love you!! Anyway, here's the next chapter... More of the odd movie flashbacks up first. Enjoy!!
*
Arthur stumbled down the hallway as quickly as possible with the aid of Kalina and Maggie, with Dennis' shouts of, "Come on, hurry up!" and "Go!" vaguely echoing in his mind. He didn't even know what had happened; only that Dennis had shouted a warning and then there had been ripping pain in his back and the caged ghost screaming in his ears. Then Dennis had thrown one of those flares, and now Arthur was practically being dragged into the library. The glass door slid shut barely in time.
He dropped into the chair next to the desk, leaning onto the hard wood. Maggie was whimpering fearfully next to him, but Arthur ignored her as he tried to catch his breath and control his reeling senses. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dennis press his forehead and hands against the glass, leaving smears of blood on the shining surface.
"I hate this job..." the boy whispered pathetically.
The woman, Kalina, looked over at where the thin psychic stood with an expression of disgust on her face. "They don't seems to like you much either," she informed him sarcastically. "I wonder why." She slammed her book down onto the desk, causing Arthur's breath to halt for a second as the jolt made the pain in his back flare up. This situation had rapidly become a nightmare. With his head resting on the desk, Arthur hoped his children were faring better than he was.
Arthur heard Dennis walk away from the door and Arthur looked up as the man demanded, "You got something to say; say it!"
"Alright," Kalina's voice was tight with anger. "Let's start with: This is all your god-damned fault!" Her voice rose to a shout and before Arthur could intervene, she continued. "If you hadn't caught them, we wouldn't be running from them!"
The boy shook his head, not wanting to admit that he had been responsible for these ghosts' capture and pointed frantically at Arthur. "It was his uncle that built the house!" he exclaimed in his own defense.
"And you helped him," was the growled response. Her tone changed to one of incredulous outrage. "How could you help him without knowing what he was doing?"
Dennis stumbled slightly, bending down to catch his breath and one hand wiped fruitlessly at the blood on his face. Had Arthur been able to think more clearly at that moment, he might have been worried. After a second, Dennis' blue gaze turned back up to the woman accusing him. "I had my reasons," he told her in a petulant tone.
"Money, you parasite," she spat back at him. "You stole people's souls for money! How depraved is that?"
"If you haven't noticed, I'm a little bit of a freak!" Dennis shouted at her, startling Arthur with his sudden frenzied motion as he jumped up to his feet. He glared at the woman, before pacing for a moment and then stopping to turn back and look at Kalina again. "I go within ten feet of anything dead, I go into seizures. I touch someone and a whole life full of shit just flashes in front of my eyes!" The boy was gesturing wildly as he spoke, seeming desperate to explain, stuttering slightly and close to tears.
Getting a hold of himself, Dennis continued with a bit of the attitude Arthur remembered seeing before. "So yeah, I'm depraved, but Cyrus was my friend and he accepted me, so..." He finished by plopping down into a chair and holding aloft his middle finger. It occurred to Arthur that what the psychic had said was actually very sad. However, Kalina did not seem to share his opinion.
She laughed in scorn, disbelief written on her face. ""He didn't accept you. You're so pathetic – he used you!"
This had gone on long enough. "Stop it, both of you!" Arthur said hoarsely, startling both the still-crying Maggie and Kalina into silence. "Leave him alone. What does it matter, anyway?" It was too late to change what had happened. The important thing was to make sure that they found his kids and got everyone out safely.
Kalina didn't respond to Arthur at all, looking back at Dennis with surprise. "You didn't tell him about the fourth ghost."
His bright blue eyes were desperate and guilty as he met her gaze. "No, I didn't tell him," he pleaded, "Don't do this."
"Oh God," Arthur moaned. What else could there possibly be? He was a math teacher, not a paranormal expert! "What didn't you tell me? What about the fourth ghost?"
Casting one last defiant glance at Dennis, Kalina turned resolutely to Arthur and said something that changed everything. "St. Luke's Hospital, six months ago."
Maggie's exclamation of horror didn't even register as he stared at Kalina. "You're saying that... my –wife's- spirit is trapped in this place?" He turned to Dennis, hoping the psychic would tell him it was false. Anger began boiling in his veins as he saw the wretched guilt and fear in the boy's eyes.
"I didn't know you, I didn't know her," the psychic told him. "I didn't know she had a husband... Then, I met you and I've been trying to help you!"
"Help me?" His hand shot out, almost of its own accord, striking Dennis hard in the face and the boy yelped as they both fell over. "She's right," Arthur growled as Maggie helped him back up. "This is all your god-damned fault."
Dennis just sat back up, one hand held up to his bleeding nose. The boy didn't even argue, just watched Arthur with a pained gaze. The punch must have caused just that much more impact by combining visions of Arthur's own pain with a swift right hook. The part of Arthur that had made him hit the boy was glad, the rest of him was confused disgusted with his own actions.
He didn't even have time to think about it as Kalina began explaining the purpose of the house and the twelve ghosts trapped inside. His mind was spinning with all of the information, things that the math teacher had never encountered. He didn't know what to do and struggled to comprehend what was going on. He tuned back in slightly as Dennis protested, saying something about another ghost. Lucky number thirteen, eh?
It took him a minute to understand that he had to sacrifice himself to Hell to save his children. The important part there, however, was that it was to save his children. And there was no question in his heart as to what he would do. If only his head were as sure of the situation as his heart. He crossed to the window, ignoring the protests of both Maggie and Dennis.
The psychic came up behind him. "Don't do this," the boy implored. "There's got to be another way..." He turned, glancing out the window to see what Arthur was staring at so fixatedly.
"I don't even know if my children are still alive..." Arthur whispered brokenly. That was the hell of it. If anything had happened to them...
"Then let's go find out," Dennis said firmly.
*
Arthur sat up, breathing hard, phantom pains dancing up and down his back. The evening before he had been able to put the whole thing out of his mind, and just enjoy spending time with his kids and Maggie. Everything was good for them recently, and it was nice to see his children happy. They had told him excitedly about their afternoon at the library, how big it was, and the photo album had been quite far from his mind. Sleep, however, had decided to return him to a horrible night when he'd thought his children were dead. The wrenching sorrow of the situation and knowing that his wife had been captured were still strong in his mind and the math teacher couldn't get rid of the look of Dennis' eyes after he had punched the boy.
Pushing himself out of bed, Arthur glanced over to where the clock read 3:00AM. Despite the hour, he knew that he would get no more sleep for the night. He quietly left the bedroom, going down the hall to his study. He closed the door softly behind himself and went over to his desk.
The battered photo album was sitting in his drawer exactly as he'd left it. It looked so innocent, as though it were simply another album full of someone's happy memories. Picking the book up, Arthur felt the small jolt of power from the contact. After he'd placed the album on the desk, Arthur sat for a moment, merely staring at the book and trying to decide what to do.
The photos clearly held and even transmitted Dennis' memories. The question was, how? Had Dennis looked through the pictures too often, or had his psychic powers managed to cause the pictures to actually capture then emotions instead of the moment? Or did all photographs have that, and it was Dennis' amazing talent (or rather curse...) that set it loose? In the end, it really didn't matter, and Arthur turned to the next picture. He had to find out about the psychic's life. He owed the boy that much.
A small boy with surprisingly blue eyes and fine light brown hair was playing with the little girl from the first photo, although she was older by a year. Both were laughing in the carefree manner that small children have, and the boy seemed to be unsteadily walking over to his sister. He couldn't have been more than eighteen months, and the girl was probably about four years old. With a slight smile, Arthur reached out to the picture, hoping that Dennis had kept that happiness for a time in his childhood. There was a flash and Arthur was in the Rafkin household twenty- four years earlier.
*
"C'mon, Denn..." Emily cooed to her baby brother, giggling as he wobbled his way over to her. He'd taken his first steps a week or so ago and had been steadily gaining confidence. He was adorable.
Their mother watched from the doorway of the room with a contented smile. Her family was just so perfect. She felt an arm slip over her shoulder and twisted slightly to kiss her husband. He took a snapshot of the two oblivious children, chuckling softly at their antics. A feeling of contentment permeated the entire house and all four inhabitants were very happy.
Life was good.
*
The same warm and homey glow that had filled all of the memories in the photo remained in Arthur's mind even as the picture faded. It hadn't been much, but it was nice to feel the pure love associated with very young children. He would see more later, but for now the picture had granted him the calm peace of mind it would take to fall back asleep. He knew that it wouldn't last, for him or for the young Dennis.
*
Well, that was odd. A bit more of Dennis-type angst next chapter. But he deserved a bit of happiness in his early life, right? Poor Arthur, though, I'm making him relive all this stuff. What do you think? (I know that was kinda short...)
Disclaimer: I don't own; I just drool.
Author's Note: Wow!! People reviewed!! Eyay-yay!! (Kourin feels special; can you feel the love people??) Thank you all so much! And soooo much thanks to R. Rhiannon Berger, for being very super-nice and offering to beta my stories. You are amazing and completely saved this chapter!! ^.^ I hope you know what you're getting into, but I love you!! Anyway, here's the next chapter... More of the odd movie flashbacks up first. Enjoy!!
*
Arthur stumbled down the hallway as quickly as possible with the aid of Kalina and Maggie, with Dennis' shouts of, "Come on, hurry up!" and "Go!" vaguely echoing in his mind. He didn't even know what had happened; only that Dennis had shouted a warning and then there had been ripping pain in his back and the caged ghost screaming in his ears. Then Dennis had thrown one of those flares, and now Arthur was practically being dragged into the library. The glass door slid shut barely in time.
He dropped into the chair next to the desk, leaning onto the hard wood. Maggie was whimpering fearfully next to him, but Arthur ignored her as he tried to catch his breath and control his reeling senses. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dennis press his forehead and hands against the glass, leaving smears of blood on the shining surface.
"I hate this job..." the boy whispered pathetically.
The woman, Kalina, looked over at where the thin psychic stood with an expression of disgust on her face. "They don't seems to like you much either," she informed him sarcastically. "I wonder why." She slammed her book down onto the desk, causing Arthur's breath to halt for a second as the jolt made the pain in his back flare up. This situation had rapidly become a nightmare. With his head resting on the desk, Arthur hoped his children were faring better than he was.
Arthur heard Dennis walk away from the door and Arthur looked up as the man demanded, "You got something to say; say it!"
"Alright," Kalina's voice was tight with anger. "Let's start with: This is all your god-damned fault!" Her voice rose to a shout and before Arthur could intervene, she continued. "If you hadn't caught them, we wouldn't be running from them!"
The boy shook his head, not wanting to admit that he had been responsible for these ghosts' capture and pointed frantically at Arthur. "It was his uncle that built the house!" he exclaimed in his own defense.
"And you helped him," was the growled response. Her tone changed to one of incredulous outrage. "How could you help him without knowing what he was doing?"
Dennis stumbled slightly, bending down to catch his breath and one hand wiped fruitlessly at the blood on his face. Had Arthur been able to think more clearly at that moment, he might have been worried. After a second, Dennis' blue gaze turned back up to the woman accusing him. "I had my reasons," he told her in a petulant tone.
"Money, you parasite," she spat back at him. "You stole people's souls for money! How depraved is that?"
"If you haven't noticed, I'm a little bit of a freak!" Dennis shouted at her, startling Arthur with his sudden frenzied motion as he jumped up to his feet. He glared at the woman, before pacing for a moment and then stopping to turn back and look at Kalina again. "I go within ten feet of anything dead, I go into seizures. I touch someone and a whole life full of shit just flashes in front of my eyes!" The boy was gesturing wildly as he spoke, seeming desperate to explain, stuttering slightly and close to tears.
Getting a hold of himself, Dennis continued with a bit of the attitude Arthur remembered seeing before. "So yeah, I'm depraved, but Cyrus was my friend and he accepted me, so..." He finished by plopping down into a chair and holding aloft his middle finger. It occurred to Arthur that what the psychic had said was actually very sad. However, Kalina did not seem to share his opinion.
She laughed in scorn, disbelief written on her face. ""He didn't accept you. You're so pathetic – he used you!"
This had gone on long enough. "Stop it, both of you!" Arthur said hoarsely, startling both the still-crying Maggie and Kalina into silence. "Leave him alone. What does it matter, anyway?" It was too late to change what had happened. The important thing was to make sure that they found his kids and got everyone out safely.
Kalina didn't respond to Arthur at all, looking back at Dennis with surprise. "You didn't tell him about the fourth ghost."
His bright blue eyes were desperate and guilty as he met her gaze. "No, I didn't tell him," he pleaded, "Don't do this."
"Oh God," Arthur moaned. What else could there possibly be? He was a math teacher, not a paranormal expert! "What didn't you tell me? What about the fourth ghost?"
Casting one last defiant glance at Dennis, Kalina turned resolutely to Arthur and said something that changed everything. "St. Luke's Hospital, six months ago."
Maggie's exclamation of horror didn't even register as he stared at Kalina. "You're saying that... my –wife's- spirit is trapped in this place?" He turned to Dennis, hoping the psychic would tell him it was false. Anger began boiling in his veins as he saw the wretched guilt and fear in the boy's eyes.
"I didn't know you, I didn't know her," the psychic told him. "I didn't know she had a husband... Then, I met you and I've been trying to help you!"
"Help me?" His hand shot out, almost of its own accord, striking Dennis hard in the face and the boy yelped as they both fell over. "She's right," Arthur growled as Maggie helped him back up. "This is all your god-damned fault."
Dennis just sat back up, one hand held up to his bleeding nose. The boy didn't even argue, just watched Arthur with a pained gaze. The punch must have caused just that much more impact by combining visions of Arthur's own pain with a swift right hook. The part of Arthur that had made him hit the boy was glad, the rest of him was confused disgusted with his own actions.
He didn't even have time to think about it as Kalina began explaining the purpose of the house and the twelve ghosts trapped inside. His mind was spinning with all of the information, things that the math teacher had never encountered. He didn't know what to do and struggled to comprehend what was going on. He tuned back in slightly as Dennis protested, saying something about another ghost. Lucky number thirteen, eh?
It took him a minute to understand that he had to sacrifice himself to Hell to save his children. The important part there, however, was that it was to save his children. And there was no question in his heart as to what he would do. If only his head were as sure of the situation as his heart. He crossed to the window, ignoring the protests of both Maggie and Dennis.
The psychic came up behind him. "Don't do this," the boy implored. "There's got to be another way..." He turned, glancing out the window to see what Arthur was staring at so fixatedly.
"I don't even know if my children are still alive..." Arthur whispered brokenly. That was the hell of it. If anything had happened to them...
"Then let's go find out," Dennis said firmly.
*
Arthur sat up, breathing hard, phantom pains dancing up and down his back. The evening before he had been able to put the whole thing out of his mind, and just enjoy spending time with his kids and Maggie. Everything was good for them recently, and it was nice to see his children happy. They had told him excitedly about their afternoon at the library, how big it was, and the photo album had been quite far from his mind. Sleep, however, had decided to return him to a horrible night when he'd thought his children were dead. The wrenching sorrow of the situation and knowing that his wife had been captured were still strong in his mind and the math teacher couldn't get rid of the look of Dennis' eyes after he had punched the boy.
Pushing himself out of bed, Arthur glanced over to where the clock read 3:00AM. Despite the hour, he knew that he would get no more sleep for the night. He quietly left the bedroom, going down the hall to his study. He closed the door softly behind himself and went over to his desk.
The battered photo album was sitting in his drawer exactly as he'd left it. It looked so innocent, as though it were simply another album full of someone's happy memories. Picking the book up, Arthur felt the small jolt of power from the contact. After he'd placed the album on the desk, Arthur sat for a moment, merely staring at the book and trying to decide what to do.
The photos clearly held and even transmitted Dennis' memories. The question was, how? Had Dennis looked through the pictures too often, or had his psychic powers managed to cause the pictures to actually capture then emotions instead of the moment? Or did all photographs have that, and it was Dennis' amazing talent (or rather curse...) that set it loose? In the end, it really didn't matter, and Arthur turned to the next picture. He had to find out about the psychic's life. He owed the boy that much.
A small boy with surprisingly blue eyes and fine light brown hair was playing with the little girl from the first photo, although she was older by a year. Both were laughing in the carefree manner that small children have, and the boy seemed to be unsteadily walking over to his sister. He couldn't have been more than eighteen months, and the girl was probably about four years old. With a slight smile, Arthur reached out to the picture, hoping that Dennis had kept that happiness for a time in his childhood. There was a flash and Arthur was in the Rafkin household twenty- four years earlier.
*
"C'mon, Denn..." Emily cooed to her baby brother, giggling as he wobbled his way over to her. He'd taken his first steps a week or so ago and had been steadily gaining confidence. He was adorable.
Their mother watched from the doorway of the room with a contented smile. Her family was just so perfect. She felt an arm slip over her shoulder and twisted slightly to kiss her husband. He took a snapshot of the two oblivious children, chuckling softly at their antics. A feeling of contentment permeated the entire house and all four inhabitants were very happy.
Life was good.
*
The same warm and homey glow that had filled all of the memories in the photo remained in Arthur's mind even as the picture faded. It hadn't been much, but it was nice to feel the pure love associated with very young children. He would see more later, but for now the picture had granted him the calm peace of mind it would take to fall back asleep. He knew that it wouldn't last, for him or for the young Dennis.
*
Well, that was odd. A bit more of Dennis-type angst next chapter. But he deserved a bit of happiness in his early life, right? Poor Arthur, though, I'm making him relive all this stuff. What do you think? (I know that was kinda short...)