Disclaimer- When will you learn?
Author's Note- Accents are being shamelessly and stereotypically overdone. Sorry if it offends anybody. This also takes place in 1998. Dates will be edited later in chapter two. Oh, and I've noticed 'X-Treme Measures' takes place before 'The Toad, the Witch, and the Wardrobe'. Well, let's just do the old switch-er-oo and say that Evan's not with the Morlocks but Wanda had her memory fixed. Kay? Kay.
Chapter Twelve
Tabitha Smith tossed around on her bed, the covers tangled around her limbs.
"No..."
*~*~*~*~*~*
"Tabby, sweetie, just do it for Daddy," her father said, leaning in close to her, his breath reeking of alcohol.
"I don't want to..."
"Please?"
"No! I don't want to steal anymore, Daddy!" Tabitha cried, backing into a corner. He backhanded her across the face.
"We need that money, Tabitha!" he hollered. She flinched.
"But Mommy said we didn't need-"
"Well your mother's wrong!" He slapped her again.
"Please stop hitting me," she begged, hugging her knees. He slapped her again. The door opened.
"Stop! How dare you hit her?"
"This... none of your business... woman!"
"It is my business! Stop hitting my daughter you good for nothing drunk!"
"You shouldn't... be talkin'... you can't keep away from those drugs..."
"Stop! Please! Stop Daddy!"
Tabitha screwed her eyes shut. She tried to drown out the fight, but unfortunately her senses seemed to become sharper, and she heard the brawl between her mother and father louder than ever. The thirteen-year old was frightened beyond her wits. Somehow, tears had leaked out of her eyes.
Then it was silent.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. The room was dark and the moon shown in from between the small gap in the curtains. There was no sound except for Tabitha's heavy breathing.
Tabitha placed a hand on the wall behind her and slowly pushed herself up in to a standing position. Her breathing slowed a little, but she suddenly felt alert. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, her every senses acute, picking up even the quietest of sounds. Her heart, which had been thumping wildly in her chest, gradually began to slow down.
She looked around the room. It was the room she was just in, where her parents were fighting. Spotting a mirror across the room, she walked to it and peered at her reflection.
A frightened fifteen-year old looked back at her and not a thirteen-year old. This was not a memory. Her face looked paler than it should be. She thought it was the reflection from the moon, making her face glow in the dark.
Looking into the mirror, Tabitha noticed that the door to the room was open, showing a reflection of the living room. Furniture had been cluttered everywhere, the window was open and cracked; the tattered curtain blew from a soft wind. It was an eerie sight, and it gave Boom-Boom chills.
She walked to another side of the room, where the window was. This window was also cracked, and the curtains had been ripped. Tabitha gazed out of it, seeing her dumpy neighborhood from her Virginian home. Her reflection shown in the window. She turned her head to her left and faced the mirror again. Something moved.
Her heart was beating wildly again, and her breathing quickened. Her wide eyes stared at the mirror and she started to back away from it. It had been a black figure, hidden in the shadows and then moved out into a small and cramped hallway.
She had to get out of there!
She ran as stealthily as she could to the front door. The knob didn't move. It was locked. Biting back a sob, Tabby looked around, getting the feeling that she was being stared at.
She walked towards the hallway, searching wildly for the figure that had moved.
There was nothing there. She kept walking, through the kitchen, where the chairs were upturned and rotten and spoiled food littered the floor and counters. A gigantic rat ran for cover.
She stood there in the center of the kitchen for a moment, breathing heavily, mist coming from her mouth.
Something grabbed her from behind, and she screamed.
Slamming her elbow into the thing's gut, she stomped on his foot and began to run away again when he released his grip.
It grabbed her wrist, and she swung it around, her wrist freeing from his grasp. She gasped.
"Daddy...?" she whispered in shock. He grinned. Tabitha shivered again.
"Whatsa matter, baby?" he taunted, "Why would you hit your own father?"
She punched him in the jaw. He glared at her, raising his right hand up and Tabitha's eyes widened as she realized what he had been holding for the first time.
A butcher knife.
Tabitha screamed and ran again, her father chasing her with his arm still raised.
Sometimes, out of fear, you feel a burst of energy and you run as fast as you can. And many times also, it hardly lasts and you feel yourself sag down as if your arms were lead. Or, your not thinking clearly and you trip over your own feet. That is exactly what Tabitha Smith did.
She landed flat on her face. Twisting her body around to see where her father was, her eyes widened when she saw that he was bringing his arm down, hand clamped tightly around the handle of the knife.
Tabby immediately rolled to her left, went into a crouching position and swung her foot out to trip her father. He gave a surprised yell, and fell flat on his back. Tabitha, wasting no time, quickly scrambled up to her feet and began running.
Through doors, jumping over furniture, Tabby escaped.
She stopped abruptly in a room she did not recognize. The walls were covered with mirrors. She backed in to the wall and slid down, moving one of the mirrors slightly.
Something gripped her shoulder. Her head snapped to her left to see a sickly greenish-gray arm coming out of the mirror, giving her shoulder a death grip.
It started shaking her.
The door to the mirror-room slammed open and her father stood there, blood dripping out of his mouth, the knife raised in his hand. He gave her a sickening smile before stepping forward. He licked the blood from his lips, as if he were hungry.
He advanced forward, and the arm from the mirror was still shaking Tabby violently. She tried to escape but the hand would not let go.
"Your mine, Tabitha," he whispered, but it was not her father's voice. It was cold and eerie and sent shivers down her spine.
Her father halted just before her, and she raised her brown eyes to him just as he raised his knife. He gave her a wicked grin just as he brought it down and Tabitha Smith let out a blood-curdling scream.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Tabitha bolted upright in her bed.
Her sheets had been tangled around her legs, sweat laced her whole body, her pillow had been tossed on the floor during her tossing and turning, and a hand gripped her shoulder, which had just abruptly stopped shaking her.
Tabitha turned her head to see Amara's concerned stare. She broke down into sobs. Small arms wrapped around her in a soothing hug and started to rock back and forth.
"What happened?" The alert voice of their fearless leader came from the doorway. Scott spotted the both of them, and said quietly, "I'll go get the Professor."
He left, but only to be replaced by a few more New Recruits, X-Men, and even some of the Brotherhood (who had not been happy when ordered to stay there for the time being).
"By Goddess, what happened?" Ororo came up, an elegant lilac purple robe covering her nightgown.
"Tabitha had a dream," Amara whispered. Ororo paled slightly, then nodded. She then walked over to the bed and gingerly sat on it, rubbing circles on Tabitha's back.
Pietro suddenly appeared at the foot of the bed, his icy eyes wide with fright. His face was paler than usual. "Did you hear it? Did you hear the voice?" he asked, his words full of panic.
The tears had stopped now, and Tabitha had started to concentrate on controlling her heartbeat and breathing. She glanced at Pietro, who looked so terrified she couldn't face him. Her eyes moved to the doorway of Amara's bedroom, where a crowd of mutants was standing.
They parted suddenly, and the Professor wheeled in; Hank McCoy, Scott, and Jean right behind him.
"All right guys, come on, go back to bed!" Jean ordered the students, and they grumbled, too tired to protest. Yawning, they trudged back to their respective bedrooms. Except for Pietro.
"Did you hear it, Boom-Boom? Did you hear the voice? Didyouhearit? Didyouhearit?" He asked again, his body shaking now with trepidation.
Somehow, knowing what he was talking about, she slowly nodded. He gave a cry and practically flew back away from her, a bead of sweat suddenly forming on his brow. His breathing became labored, and he looked around the room as if a mad-axe man was just about to pop out of the shadows and behead him. He let out a whimper and ran out of the room in a gust of wind. In the distance, a door slammed shut.
The Professor, who had been staring at Pietro, now turned to Tabitha.
"Tabby, I need you to tell me what happened," he asked gently. Tabby shook her head violently, a sudden look of fear showing in her eyes.
"I don't- I don't want to-to talk about it," she shivered, and then rested her forehead against her knees.
"Could I see?" Charles asked, wheeling in closer to the bed. She nodded.
Charles leaned forward, resting his fingertips on her temple, and searched. He watched as the dream replayed before him, he heard, "You're mine, Tabitha". He assumed it was the voice Pietro had been asking frantically about.
He removed his fingers from her temple, sighed, and wheeled back a bit away from the bed. He steepled his hands, and stared at the blonde intently.
"That...was disturbing. Just like Pietro's. This cannot last." He said. "Try to go back to sleep for now, Tabby. I doubt he will come again."
Tabitha, who had no desire at all to ever sleep again, nodded, and lay back down, curling up into a ball. Amara gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, and then went back across the room to her own full size bed.
Ororo gave Tabitha a pat, before rising and exiting, followed by the Professor, Beast, Scott and Jean.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*Sighs* The dream didn't exactly come out the way I pictured it but I guess it will have to do. Sorry for the late update. Well, late for me. I hope they don't cut down Boom-Boom's scream to "AH!"
The Hog of Hedges- Ah, yeah, sorry about the accent. I'll tone it down. It's just that I could read it fine, but I'll tone them down anyways. I'll fix that koi thing later. Thanks for your review!
bitrona- Sub categories? Oh, are those the things that say "Horror" and "Angst" and stuff like that? Well, I think I had drama instead of angst, but I put in angst instead because it gets...angstier. But it's still a horror. Oh, there's a little romance, but that's really between Scott and Jean and maybe Kitty and Lance. A little flirting from the Cajun...That was just Remy being his usual flirtatious self. Thanks for your review!
Also thanks for reviewing- soulstress, zephyr, Pauline L., Wind Rider 2000, I Am The Anonymous Reviewer, sPoOkZ13412, and rosie. Sorry if I miss anybody!
Like it? Hate it? Either way, review!
Author's Note- Accents are being shamelessly and stereotypically overdone. Sorry if it offends anybody. This also takes place in 1998. Dates will be edited later in chapter two. Oh, and I've noticed 'X-Treme Measures' takes place before 'The Toad, the Witch, and the Wardrobe'. Well, let's just do the old switch-er-oo and say that Evan's not with the Morlocks but Wanda had her memory fixed. Kay? Kay.
Chapter Twelve
Tabitha Smith tossed around on her bed, the covers tangled around her limbs.
"No..."
*~*~*~*~*~*
"Tabby, sweetie, just do it for Daddy," her father said, leaning in close to her, his breath reeking of alcohol.
"I don't want to..."
"Please?"
"No! I don't want to steal anymore, Daddy!" Tabitha cried, backing into a corner. He backhanded her across the face.
"We need that money, Tabitha!" he hollered. She flinched.
"But Mommy said we didn't need-"
"Well your mother's wrong!" He slapped her again.
"Please stop hitting me," she begged, hugging her knees. He slapped her again. The door opened.
"Stop! How dare you hit her?"
"This... none of your business... woman!"
"It is my business! Stop hitting my daughter you good for nothing drunk!"
"You shouldn't... be talkin'... you can't keep away from those drugs..."
"Stop! Please! Stop Daddy!"
Tabitha screwed her eyes shut. She tried to drown out the fight, but unfortunately her senses seemed to become sharper, and she heard the brawl between her mother and father louder than ever. The thirteen-year old was frightened beyond her wits. Somehow, tears had leaked out of her eyes.
Then it was silent.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. The room was dark and the moon shown in from between the small gap in the curtains. There was no sound except for Tabitha's heavy breathing.
Tabitha placed a hand on the wall behind her and slowly pushed herself up in to a standing position. Her breathing slowed a little, but she suddenly felt alert. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, her every senses acute, picking up even the quietest of sounds. Her heart, which had been thumping wildly in her chest, gradually began to slow down.
She looked around the room. It was the room she was just in, where her parents were fighting. Spotting a mirror across the room, she walked to it and peered at her reflection.
A frightened fifteen-year old looked back at her and not a thirteen-year old. This was not a memory. Her face looked paler than it should be. She thought it was the reflection from the moon, making her face glow in the dark.
Looking into the mirror, Tabitha noticed that the door to the room was open, showing a reflection of the living room. Furniture had been cluttered everywhere, the window was open and cracked; the tattered curtain blew from a soft wind. It was an eerie sight, and it gave Boom-Boom chills.
She walked to another side of the room, where the window was. This window was also cracked, and the curtains had been ripped. Tabitha gazed out of it, seeing her dumpy neighborhood from her Virginian home. Her reflection shown in the window. She turned her head to her left and faced the mirror again. Something moved.
Her heart was beating wildly again, and her breathing quickened. Her wide eyes stared at the mirror and she started to back away from it. It had been a black figure, hidden in the shadows and then moved out into a small and cramped hallway.
She had to get out of there!
She ran as stealthily as she could to the front door. The knob didn't move. It was locked. Biting back a sob, Tabby looked around, getting the feeling that she was being stared at.
She walked towards the hallway, searching wildly for the figure that had moved.
There was nothing there. She kept walking, through the kitchen, where the chairs were upturned and rotten and spoiled food littered the floor and counters. A gigantic rat ran for cover.
She stood there in the center of the kitchen for a moment, breathing heavily, mist coming from her mouth.
Something grabbed her from behind, and she screamed.
Slamming her elbow into the thing's gut, she stomped on his foot and began to run away again when he released his grip.
It grabbed her wrist, and she swung it around, her wrist freeing from his grasp. She gasped.
"Daddy...?" she whispered in shock. He grinned. Tabitha shivered again.
"Whatsa matter, baby?" he taunted, "Why would you hit your own father?"
She punched him in the jaw. He glared at her, raising his right hand up and Tabitha's eyes widened as she realized what he had been holding for the first time.
A butcher knife.
Tabitha screamed and ran again, her father chasing her with his arm still raised.
Sometimes, out of fear, you feel a burst of energy and you run as fast as you can. And many times also, it hardly lasts and you feel yourself sag down as if your arms were lead. Or, your not thinking clearly and you trip over your own feet. That is exactly what Tabitha Smith did.
She landed flat on her face. Twisting her body around to see where her father was, her eyes widened when she saw that he was bringing his arm down, hand clamped tightly around the handle of the knife.
Tabby immediately rolled to her left, went into a crouching position and swung her foot out to trip her father. He gave a surprised yell, and fell flat on his back. Tabitha, wasting no time, quickly scrambled up to her feet and began running.
Through doors, jumping over furniture, Tabby escaped.
She stopped abruptly in a room she did not recognize. The walls were covered with mirrors. She backed in to the wall and slid down, moving one of the mirrors slightly.
Something gripped her shoulder. Her head snapped to her left to see a sickly greenish-gray arm coming out of the mirror, giving her shoulder a death grip.
It started shaking her.
The door to the mirror-room slammed open and her father stood there, blood dripping out of his mouth, the knife raised in his hand. He gave her a sickening smile before stepping forward. He licked the blood from his lips, as if he were hungry.
He advanced forward, and the arm from the mirror was still shaking Tabby violently. She tried to escape but the hand would not let go.
"Your mine, Tabitha," he whispered, but it was not her father's voice. It was cold and eerie and sent shivers down her spine.
Her father halted just before her, and she raised her brown eyes to him just as he raised his knife. He gave her a wicked grin just as he brought it down and Tabitha Smith let out a blood-curdling scream.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Tabitha bolted upright in her bed.
Her sheets had been tangled around her legs, sweat laced her whole body, her pillow had been tossed on the floor during her tossing and turning, and a hand gripped her shoulder, which had just abruptly stopped shaking her.
Tabitha turned her head to see Amara's concerned stare. She broke down into sobs. Small arms wrapped around her in a soothing hug and started to rock back and forth.
"What happened?" The alert voice of their fearless leader came from the doorway. Scott spotted the both of them, and said quietly, "I'll go get the Professor."
He left, but only to be replaced by a few more New Recruits, X-Men, and even some of the Brotherhood (who had not been happy when ordered to stay there for the time being).
"By Goddess, what happened?" Ororo came up, an elegant lilac purple robe covering her nightgown.
"Tabitha had a dream," Amara whispered. Ororo paled slightly, then nodded. She then walked over to the bed and gingerly sat on it, rubbing circles on Tabitha's back.
Pietro suddenly appeared at the foot of the bed, his icy eyes wide with fright. His face was paler than usual. "Did you hear it? Did you hear the voice?" he asked, his words full of panic.
The tears had stopped now, and Tabitha had started to concentrate on controlling her heartbeat and breathing. She glanced at Pietro, who looked so terrified she couldn't face him. Her eyes moved to the doorway of Amara's bedroom, where a crowd of mutants was standing.
They parted suddenly, and the Professor wheeled in; Hank McCoy, Scott, and Jean right behind him.
"All right guys, come on, go back to bed!" Jean ordered the students, and they grumbled, too tired to protest. Yawning, they trudged back to their respective bedrooms. Except for Pietro.
"Did you hear it, Boom-Boom? Did you hear the voice? Didyouhearit? Didyouhearit?" He asked again, his body shaking now with trepidation.
Somehow, knowing what he was talking about, she slowly nodded. He gave a cry and practically flew back away from her, a bead of sweat suddenly forming on his brow. His breathing became labored, and he looked around the room as if a mad-axe man was just about to pop out of the shadows and behead him. He let out a whimper and ran out of the room in a gust of wind. In the distance, a door slammed shut.
The Professor, who had been staring at Pietro, now turned to Tabitha.
"Tabby, I need you to tell me what happened," he asked gently. Tabby shook her head violently, a sudden look of fear showing in her eyes.
"I don't- I don't want to-to talk about it," she shivered, and then rested her forehead against her knees.
"Could I see?" Charles asked, wheeling in closer to the bed. She nodded.
Charles leaned forward, resting his fingertips on her temple, and searched. He watched as the dream replayed before him, he heard, "You're mine, Tabitha". He assumed it was the voice Pietro had been asking frantically about.
He removed his fingers from her temple, sighed, and wheeled back a bit away from the bed. He steepled his hands, and stared at the blonde intently.
"That...was disturbing. Just like Pietro's. This cannot last." He said. "Try to go back to sleep for now, Tabby. I doubt he will come again."
Tabitha, who had no desire at all to ever sleep again, nodded, and lay back down, curling up into a ball. Amara gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, and then went back across the room to her own full size bed.
Ororo gave Tabitha a pat, before rising and exiting, followed by the Professor, Beast, Scott and Jean.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*Sighs* The dream didn't exactly come out the way I pictured it but I guess it will have to do. Sorry for the late update. Well, late for me. I hope they don't cut down Boom-Boom's scream to "AH!"
The Hog of Hedges- Ah, yeah, sorry about the accent. I'll tone it down. It's just that I could read it fine, but I'll tone them down anyways. I'll fix that koi thing later. Thanks for your review!
bitrona- Sub categories? Oh, are those the things that say "Horror" and "Angst" and stuff like that? Well, I think I had drama instead of angst, but I put in angst instead because it gets...angstier. But it's still a horror. Oh, there's a little romance, but that's really between Scott and Jean and maybe Kitty and Lance. A little flirting from the Cajun...That was just Remy being his usual flirtatious self. Thanks for your review!
Also thanks for reviewing- soulstress, zephyr, Pauline L., Wind Rider 2000, I Am The Anonymous Reviewer, sPoOkZ13412, and rosie. Sorry if I miss anybody!
Like it? Hate it? Either way, review!
