Always…
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye!
Chapter Six
Buzz… Buzz…
Lisa jumped; startled by the sudden noise cutting through the air. What was going on?
Buzz…
Was it her alarm clock ringing? Damn, the darkness!
Buzz…
Nope, not the alarm clock. She was not in her bed. She was on the couch. So what could it be?
Buzz…
The gate! Someone was at the gate!
Lisa quickly lifted herself off the couch and rushed towards the door. She was not moving very quickly because she sleepy and pregnant women just did not move very fast to begin with. She reached the video surveillance screen just as the gate buzzed again.
"I'm coming!" she hissed at the continuing buzz. She was going to kill Jackson for installing that stupid gate.
Lisa looked at the video and noticed Jackson's silver Beemer in front of the gate with him sitting in it, looking rather annoyed. He must have forgotten the code to the gate. For a manager, he certainly had a bad memory. Maybe it helped him forget the evils that he had done.
Lisa buzzed the car through and shook her head before returning to the couch. Only Jackson…
She listened to the creaking of the garage door as it opened and then closed. At least he remembered to put the car away. A few moments later, the door from the garage opened and Lisa managed to make out a shadowy figure. She stayed still and quiet, hoping to scare Jackson as retribution for waking her. Sleep was hard to come by these days and it was common knowledge that she needed it. Being pregnant had made the people-pleasing hotel manager rather cranky.
He slipped past her, heading for the stairs. Now was the time.
"What, no goodnight kiss for the wife you woke up?" Lisa teased and he froze.
"Oh, Lisa…I'm sorry about that…" he muttered and she stood up again and waddled towards the stairs.
"I was only kidding, Jackson. I know you've got a lot on your mind."
"Yeah, true, true," he agreed and started to climb the stairs again.
"Jackson, why are you in such a hurry?" Lisa questioned, following him.
"I've got a lot to do in the morning," he replied, quickening his pace.
"Hey, it's not fair to have a foot race with the pregnant woman!"
"I'm sorry Lisa, I'm just exhausted…"
Jackson, exhausted? Since when had he ever been tired? Usually he was the one still awake when she feel asleep and the first one up and moving about when she woke the following morning. Sometimes she had wondered if he had ever slept or if he just stayed up all night keeping watch over her like a loyal guard dog.
"Jackson, wait!" she called after him as he reached the top of the stairs.
He stopped and spun around to face her. In the dim moonlight provided by the window, she noticed a pair of glasses upon his face. Since when did Jackson wear glasses?
"When did you get glasses?" she asked.
Fear, delicious fear. He could smell it; taste it. Lisa Rippner had fear.
"Jackson?" she called and then repeated her question. "When did you get glasses?"
"I've always had them," Jonathan Crane replied with a smile.
Fear! Fear! She had fear!
Scarecrow wanted to feel her fear and he yearned to gas her and drink it in. He desperately wanted control over Jonathan so he could torment Lisa. Scarecrow knew she was fearful but of what? Jonathan was not entirely sure, but Scarecrow knew. And Scarecrow wanted to taste her dread.
"Oh, I guess I've never seen them before," she said hesitantly, as if she knew something was wrong. As if she knew he was not Jackson like he was letting her believe.
Fear! Fear!
"I'm not a big fan of them." He said chillingly.
"They make you look…different." Lisa remarked.
Her fear was growing and she was worried now. Had she remembered that Jackson was dead? Or was she thinking that he was impersonating her dead husband?
Lisa's voice quivered as she spoke. "You're not Jackson, are you?"
Shit, she knew. And she was afraid. Very afraid. He could feel Scarecrow rising up and wanting her fear…
"Scarecrow." he smirked, shoving her into a wall and placing a hand on her throat.
"No, no…"
Terror was consuming her.
"No…Jackson, don't. Please don't!" she pleaded with him.
Her fingernails dug into his hand and wrist. He tightened his grip and she thrashed; growing more fearful with every passing second.
Fear, Scarecrow loved fear. This was the first time in a long time that without the benefit of the toxin that he was able to draw fear from a person and feed off of it.
"Tell me what you fear, Lisa. Tell me all about your fears. Are you afraid of me?" he hissed, a smile plastered upon his shadowy face. He was consumed by darkness on the inside as well as the outside.
"Yes, Jackson, I'm afraid. Please, please don't hurt me. The baby…Jackson, think about the baby!"
Scarecrow wanted to hear her scream. He wanted to toss Lisa Rippner down the precarious flight of stairs. He wanted to continue to feel the waves of horror that radiated from her.
Jonathan fought against Scarecrow's hold. He could not permit Scarecrow to hurt her. He had promised himself not to hurt the baby. Hurting Lisa now would undue his silent oath and he owed Jackson that much. He owed it to his brother to let his child grow up, even if it was without a mother, because in a few months, he would relish driving Lisa insane.
He yanked his hand from her throat and stalked away, leaving Lisa gasping for breath in the hallway.
Author's Notes:
I thought I'd try and get a chapter out before I leave for a few days. I probably won't get another chapter up until April 3rd or 4th at the earliest. I'll write when I can, but I won't have internet or the time to update until the middle of the first week of April. And thanks to emptyvocies for convincing me to post this! Enjoy!