So from this chapter on, I'm gonna give little fun facts at the end of the chapter about somethings from either the chapter itself or even behind the scenes writing facts. Since this is the First one I'm doing this with I'm gonna give two fun facts at the end.
Chapter 2:
Rachel was frozen on the spot, her friend's voices seemed distant and muffled as she stared at the body. The only thing she could hear was the pounding of her heart in her ears. She could barely registered anything that she was doing either. She was vaguely aware of walking towards the body.
"Rachel!" the sound of her name and someone shaking her snapped her out of it and the blonde was finally aware of what she was doing. She saw her fingers pressed against the body's neck as if checking for a pulse, her other hand seemed to have been inches away from her own handbag… What had she been doing?
"What the hell Rachel?" Glancing over and finally registering the voice in her head, Rachel had noticed that it was Katie who had been the one to run over to her side. She then looked back down at her hand and almost instantly the words just seemed to come out.
"... I was... making sure if they were really dead or not… just in case an ambulance was needed."
"Why?!" Katie exclaimed, though Rachel thought that she had answered that already… she actually wasn't even sure herself why that seemed to be her first reaction… it was also then she started noticing Eric's panicked ramblings in the background and Nick trying to tell the police exactly where they were… While Barry seemed to be getting closer to giving into his urge to punch Eric just to get him to shut up.
"..."
"Fucking hell. You see a dead body and your first reaction is to go up and get your fingerprints on it…" Katie sighed as she rubbed a hand down the side of her face. Rachel remained silent, staring down at the body before finally noticing something.
"... Why doesn't the shirt have any holes?"
"What?"
"Their shirt…. Shouldn't it… have holes in it?"
Katie looked on in concern for her friend before noticing the same thing. The person had clearly bled to death and there were a few darker areas on the shirt showing much more blood coating the area… but from the fact that the shirt didn't even have a single hole to show a bullet wound or even a knife wound was… off.
"Guys the police are on their way now… Eric calm down already!" Nick called to them, only to quickly snap at his panicking friend.
"WHY?! There's a dead body! The sun is still out! No police are even here! For all we know the killer could still be here! We might as well-" Eric shouted, having a major panic attack until Barry grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him just a little.
"Calm down for Pete's sake!"
It was one of these times the pink haired boy's friends were glad that he had a strict policy of "No punching or Hurting friends" otherwise Eric would have a broken nose… or even a lost tooth or two. Though at the moment… Rachel was more lost in her own mind with questions… yet no answers. Despite Katie being right by her side… it almost felt like she wasn't really there. The blond felt like she should be feeling something like the others.
Fear, shock, disbelief… but really she didn't feel anything.
Is… that why I feel alone at the moment? No… that's not it… the blond haired girl thought to herself, staring at the bloody body. Her eyes going darker as if the last bit of life in them was snuffed out as they moved away from the body and into the shadows of the alley.
Someone is watching me.
….
The rest of the wait was spent with unease as the small group was finally able to leave off the hook seeing as they only found the body and nothing else… though Rachel did have to tell them about checking for the pulse so they could rule out her fingerprints.
There was a tension that was strong though as none of them had seen a murdered body before… though Rachel couldn't help but feel like that wasn't true. That feeling was practically killing her with confusion.
"... Alright someone's gotta say it," Barry finally spoke up while throwing his hands in the air and wanting to get rid of the tension. "That was the most horrifying thing that's happened since the New Year's incident two years ago."
"... Y-Yeah you know what… it kinda was," Katie stammered, her right arm across her body and rubbing her left. A silence followed soon after once again enveloping the group in that uncomfortable embrace. The obvious attempt to try and get people to talk and move on from the incident… didn't really work.
"... Hey Nick…" Rachel spoke up, catching more than just the black haired boy's attention.
"What?"
"... Um…. Are you… still going to go for your law degree?" Rachel questioned. Before Nick could answer Eric butted in, his face still pale.
"C-Can we please avoid anything involving this topic?" Eric stammered, fear clear on his. Nick himself was quiet before he decided to speak up.
"Gotta finish what I started. Besides… I think I should head home anyways," Nick sighed as they stopped at an intersection crosswalk. The Red light telling them to not walk was clear and no one made a move to push the button after Nick spoke.
"You don't have to leave Nick!" Barry exclaimed.
"Barry's right… Why...?" Katie asked clearly wanting to say more but the words not coming to her.
"I-I think I'm going t-to head home as well…" Eric stammered, his arms wrapped around himself with a shudder. Barry whipped his head over to the brunette male, but Katie seemed to keep her focus on Nick. The boy turned his brown eyes to meet with her hazel.
"... I'm going to be going to meet with Reverend Black… you know get somethings off my mind," Nick explained. Barry shuddered at the mention of the priest, while the other three just simply nodded not knowing to much about the Reverend who their friend talked about sometimes.
"I still don't get why you visit him…" Barry muttered, looking kinda uncomfortable as he spoke while Nick turned to Barry with a deadpanned expression on his face.
"For the last time Barry, his church isn't haunted. You just had a prank pulled on you," Nick stated while Barry shook his head.
"You didn't see it Nick!"
"Um… haunted?" Rachel asked, confused just as much as both Eric and Katie as the two boys conversed.
"You never said anything about your church being haunted before Nick," Katie pointed out, with a raised brow while Nick groaned.
"It's not. Ghosts don't exist after all."
"Do so! Guy looked like he must have been killed!" Barry argued, Eric shivered again at this and promptly said a quick good bye… wanting to be as far away from the topic as possible as he left. Guy never could handle horror movies let alone horror stories… especially ones involving ghosts.
However the two girls were curious about it… after all Barry never did tell the story and it seemed to them that this would be a great way to get their minds off the murder victim.
….
Nick had actually parted ways with his friends a little while ago… he heard the story before and had even been there when the pink haired boy freaked out over it, he didn't need to hear the bull shit again. He had called his sister to pick him up nearly twenty minutes ago and she hasn't arrived at his location yet. Then again that's to be expected he supposed… it was a nearly fifty minute drive if there wasn't much traffic.
Sighing to himself he pulled out his phone and decided to play around on there, while walking around the nearest store to wait. He didn't really pay much attention on what store it was, just that it was the closest to where his sister would be picking him up. About ten minutes had passed before he finally did… taking quick note he was in a bookstore of all places.
What are the odds? Nick mused to himself as he browsed the store shelves to see if he could find something to keep himself busy. Once he did find a book he found a place to sit close to a window and began flipping through the pages. Even as he did so his mind kept wandering back to what he had seen.
Nothing he was doing was getting the image of the murdered victim out of his head. Nick knew he had to try and get over it… be the responsible one and show the others that it's not something to worry over. Sure he was a year younger than the others… but even then he's always been the rational one.
How long have his hands been shaking now? Nick didn't know, but now it was really messing up his reading to the point he just closed the book and looked out the window.
The building across the street didn't seem as busy as it probably should have been… but that was just from an outside view after all. Unless one could get a better look inside no one would know for sure. From Nick's view point, he could only see so much and the setting sun's gaze didn't help that much either.
It was a red sunset after all… and the image of the blood pool came back to the forefront of his mind. Nick closed his eyes tight at the thought.
Don't think about it… stop thinking about it…
Ring Ring!
Jumping at the sound of his phone Nick quickly answered.
"H-Hello?" Nick cursed himself internally from stammering.
"Where the hell are you?" It was his sister… and she didn't sound happy.
"The… The bookstore on the corner of 7th and Sycamore…"
"Jesus Christ…. Hurry up I don't want to pay for parking."
Nick didn't say anything as he sighed. Hanging up he went to put the book he grabbed back and then left the store. Ignoring how some people had stared at his shirt for a bit as he hurried to his sister's waiting red "death wagon" he and Barry called back when she first got it since it looked rather worn down.
"Aren't you normally Mr. Punctual?" His sister ask. Her normally long wavy black hair was tied up into a braided ponytail, showing off her pierced ears, painted lips and annoyed brown eyes. Nick was quick to notice she was dressed rather nice like she was heading off to a party or a fancy restaurant. Not that she could completely afford going to a fancy restaurant or anything.
"Aren't you to fancy for this junkheap?" he quipped as he slid into the passenger's seat. His sister just flipped him off.
"I was just getting ready for a date, you jerk."
That would explain her attitude. Nick thought as he buckled up and his sister began driving.
"Did Barry do something stupid again to make you ask for a ride home?"
"Not this time Joan… I need a ride to Reverend Black's. There's something I need to talk to him about."
Joan groaned but kept her eyes on the road.
"More like play chess all day… Couldn't you have asked mom or dad to drive you? Or Hell even Barry?"
"They were busy. Plus you know Barry's a wimp when it comes to the Reverend."
"Of course…" She moved one hand from the wheel and turned the radio on, knowing this was going to be a long drive.
….
The trio had now made it back to the girl's apartment and were getting settled in. A silence had come over the small group all on the way there. Katie had sat on the sofa with Barry joining her and Rachel went to grab her second pill for the day and some water.
"... So what happened?" Barry asked, the silence making him uncomfortable again.
"... What?" Katie asked, quirking a brow at her pink haired friend.
"Between you and Eric… You guys were on much better terms before graduation."
"... It's nothing…"
"Bullshit."
"Seriously Barry… it's nothing. I thought we were going to talk about ghosts not this…"
"I'm not going to tell until Rachel's ready… What happened?"
"Just drop it Barry," Katie muttered as she avoided Barry's gaze. Rachel came walking back in at that moment.
"... You don't have to tell if you don't want… Just… Know we're here," Rachel said as she took a seat on a chair for the small dining room table they had. Katie glanced up at the blond for a moment before giving off a grin.
"Hey, don't worry alright? It's nothing!" Still holding onto her smile, Katie turned to Barry. "What are we waiting for? It's storytime!"
Both Rachel and Barry didn't seem convinced but Barry sighed and gave in. Katie has always been stubborn after all.
"Alright… It was four years ago, I was bored and I wanted to hang out with Nick. He said he was going to his church to visit with the Reverend. I remember asking him why if he didn't actually believe in God. He just said that the old man didn't treat him like he was just some kid… Pretty sure that wasn't exactly how he said it but, probably pretty damn close. Anyways moving on, I followed him to this gothic looking church, and DAMN does it look like a place out of a horror movie," Barry laughed before shuddering. The two girls glanced at each other for a moment before Barry continued his story.
"So we went in and I'm pretty sure I was making a few jokes here and there about vampires or something when some of the people there, other priests I think, said hey and told us the Reverend was in the back. Well more like told Nick that and I just followed. Pretty sure I almost kicked the door open to the room because DAMN that would have been awesome… but Nick stopped me ya know."
"Pretty sure you don't want to get kicked out of a Church anyways," Katie snickered, knowing full well that's what would have happened following the door kicking. Rachel simply sighed at that.
"I think Nick said the same thing actually! Moving along, I was actually surprised that the old man was in a wheelchair! Don't see many priests like that after all… guy also had a few almost healed scars if I remember correctly. I almost wanted to fight him but quickly realized how much of a dick move that would have been, so I punched myself instead. Not my best idea cuz I'm pretty sure the guy thinks I'm crazy now."
"You? Crazy? I would have never guessed," Katie fake gasped with Rachel trying to hold back a light giggle. Barry pulled off a large grin in response.
"I know right? Totally the sanest guy in the world right here! Eighth wonder of the world and all!" Barry laughed while Rachel had a pondering look.
"I don't know… Nick might be more sane than you." The hint of a smile is what really made Barry laugh.
"Alright Yeah he probably is… Where was I again?"
"Punching yourself in the face," the blond provided earning her a thank you from her pink haired friend.
"So yeah, pretty sure he thinks I'm crazy now. So a little later Nick and the guy sit around this table… and set up a chess set. I got bored really quick and decided to explore the church. I found this really big Library and decided to see if it really had every Christian book known to man there or not. I found a Syfy series on the tenth book I pulled out. I wanted to know how many other books there were that weren't speaking about God so I got to work…. I accidently knocked over a vase in my search and heard footsteps coming my way. I panicked and grabbed the closest book and opened it at random."
"Good job Barry," Katie clapped once before noticing the uncomfortable look Barry had and stopped as she was halfway to her second clap. The brunette glanced over to the blond, who had a worried look as she leaned in a little more.
"I had heard... A man's voice. 'Ah, excuse me. I heard something break in here... Did you break something?' he asked me… He sounded polite but I shrugged it off and kept pretending to read. 'Nope, just reading.' I heard the guy laugh a little… it was kinda creepy. 'An upsidedown dictionary?' God was I embarrassed at that. I put the book down… only to actually see the guy. The guy looked like some kinda doctor covered in blood… he had… he had slashes on his clothes… but his eyes… God those eyes freaked me out! W-When he saw my eyes… h-he had this creepy ass smile before vanishing. I had never run from anything as fast as I did then."
Barry had pulled his knees up to his chest by this point. Neither girl had ever seen Barry this shaken up before, nor the spark of fear that clouded his blue eyes. The closest they had ever seen that type of fear was earlier that day… and even then it wasn't as much as he had now. Rachel got up and moved to the other side of Barry. Both she and Katie placed a comforting hand on each of Barry's shoulders and felt him trembling.
"... I told Nick about it but… he didn't believe me. I… I had nightmares for weeks… each one featured the bloody doctor with that creepy smile… I did try going back to the church on my own once but... I looked through one of the windows… and I swear I saw him again. I never went back… and no force in the world will get me to even go back to the STREET there."
Barry felt his own heart pounding in his chest just talking about this. He swore the girls could hear it as well with how loud it sounded.
I guess… that would explain his freakouts at ghost movies. But… why can't I shake this uneasy feeling that… something seemed familiar? Rachel thought to herself, just as Katie pulled Barry into a full on hug. The blond felt a headache beginning as she tried to think about what felt so familiar…
He mentioned the eyes… something about the eyes that truly terrified him… eyes… bloody doctor…! Rachel's eyes widened as a sudden sharp pain shot through her head. Green and Red, a twisted smile, eyes… so many eyes.
"Rachel… your peepers are truly the most beautiful."
"Ah how I long to live by those peepers forever!"
"Rachel… How about I take YOUR peepers!"
"-chel…?"
"They're waiting for you… in hell!"
"Rachel?"
"Oh I was just catching him up to speed… he knows everything now!"
"RACHEL!"
Katie and Barry both quickly got up and over to Rachel as she fell forward, her eyes fogged and unseeing as she fell. Barry being the closest was able to hoist her up and see the unseeing look in her eyes.
"..." she seemed to mumble something quietly before her eyes closed and she went completely limp, shocking both her friends.
"W-Was that one of her blackouts?" Barry questioned, his already pounding heart not slowing down thanks to his worry. He had never really seen one of Rachel's infamous "blackouts" but he knew both Katie and Nick had seen enough of them to know. However Katie shook her head, her own eyes wide.
"I-It was similar… b-but she's never passed out like that before!"
The two were to preoccupied with their panic neither of them completely thought about the words she mumbled… even though only Barry heard them due to his close proximity, his mind wasn't cognitive enough to think much on the name she had muttered.
Doctor Danny.
….
Nick stepped out of the car, giving a quick thanks to his sister before turning to the large gothic church. His family visited the church itself every Sunday since he was a baby, though now that he and his sister were older they didn't have to be dragged to the sermons every time anymore. However Nick still went, not for the sermons, but to talk to the Reverend of the building.
Reverend Black had always been a kind of mystery to the church itself. The black haired boy remembered a time a little more than six years ago when the wheelchair bound priest was able to walk around. He had a slightly more intimidating aura to him that prevented the boy from ever wanting to get close to the man. Not to mention he would disappear for a few weeks at a time back then with little information on when he would be back.
After the man's accident though… it was almost like he was a different person. He wasn't as intimidating now, but he still didn't seem to get to close to others until the day the other priests had had enough of Nick asking so many questions about God. The injured man had wheeled over to him and listened to his questions… and answered them in a very surprising fashion.
"...I'd like to believe God is as flawed as any human." was the main line that had surprised Nick, and how he seemed to be open to the different interpretations of God that existed. Nick actually found that he enjoyed talking with the old man… an old man who didn't completely treat him like a kid and actually listened to him.
After about two or three weeks, the Reverend had brought him to a back room that had a bunch of board games the church had for kids. He did ask him if he knew how to play chess… to which Nick responded with a negative. The rest was kind of set in stone as every time he visited they would do a round or two of chess and talk. Sometimes Nick would even ask for advice and he would usually get it… mostly in riddles which Nick didn't mind at all. Kept him thinking and "Using that big brain of his" as Barry would put it.
Taking a slow breath Nick went right into the church and wasn't really surprised to see a few of the people who normally worked there, leaving for the day. The only one who ever really stayed was Reverend Black. More likely than not because he actually had a home there… or at least close by. Nick was never really sure which one it was.
Nick knew of a few places where one would normally find the Reverend. One was the main area where the sermons would be held on Sundays. Another was the Library, this was one of the more common places to find the old man usually. His office was an option, though surprisingly he's not seen as often in that area as he is the main two. Finally was the small building out in the back of the church. No one was really allowed in there often except for funerals… and even then only a few people ever go in, the main one being the Reverend himself. No one really knows what the building's truly for though.
Not seeing the man in the main area, Nick wandered down the halls to find the door to the Library. That was one of the other areas he could think of where the Reverend was. The Library itself wasn't that big but it was sizeable enough for at least thirty people to all sit in there and enjoy the silence. There was no sign that the person Nick was looking for was in there, so he sighed and left the room.
It took him a few more minutes to walk to the Reverend's office. It wasn't that spectacular looking, with a simple desk, a bookshelf on the far left corner that had few books and more decorations… but no pictures. The Reverend never had pictures in his office, none of himself, none of his family, nor his friends… not even decorative photos were on the walls. There were a few potted plants here and there, but the biggest thing he had were a few candle stands around the walls. Still no sign of the Reverend though...
"Nicolas… You're here rather late don't you think?" Nick jumped, but let out a sigh from the familiar voice. He moved away from the doorway and let the older man wheel himself in. The wheels surprisingly silent on the wooden floor.
"I… I just needed to talk something out…" Nick started not looking towards the older man at all. He heard the tell tale sigh from the Reverend.
"Yet you come here to a place of a God you believe not. Do you not have peers to converse with?" Nick could feel the older man's gaze on him. This was a common question by this point whenever the black haired boy came by more than twice a week.
"... They… They know what it is already… I… just need someone who doesn't know… to tell," Nick answered, his voice sounding like he was close to breaking. The shivering came back and he wanted to curse himself for letting himself seem so weak.
"... Very well then."
Nick turned his head back to the man. The serious look on his angled face, his slicked back greying hair showing it off well. The scars from the accident he was once in were now faded and barely noticeable from the long purple coat he usually wore as well as his well dressed suit. His clear colored eyes, ones that many had once mistook for as being blind, staring right at him.
"Tell me what is troubling you, Nicolas."
…
Katie paced across the floor to her apartment. Rachel had been taken back into her room leaving both her and Barry alone with their thoughts and worries.
"M-Maybe we should have called an ambulance…" Katie stammered, worry coming to the forefront of her mind. Barry shook his head.
"S-She's going to be fine… she's… she's had blackouts before…" Barry responded, nerves all on end.
"She's never fainted from one Barry!"
"Well maybe… maybe she did something different?"
"What could she have possibly…!" Katie started before realizing something. The brunette stopped her pacing and hurried into Rachel's room. She saw her friend was still passed out, her expression making it seem like she was having some kind of nightmare.
Frowning at this Katie wished she knew some way to get rid of those nightmares… if only to help her friend. However she shook this off and went back to her mission. Strolling over to Rachel's bedside table she grabbed the orange pill bottles and shook each one before finding the one with the pills in it. Looking over it along with one of the empty ones… she noticed there was a slight difference between the current medication and the old one, along with the instructions.
Taking that along with the empty ones to be thrown away Katie cast one last concerned glance over to her friend, before leaving the room.
Acquired Rachel's Pills.
"... She got a new medication last month…" Katie said as she walked back to the confused Barry, holding out the medication she took.
"Okay, so what?"
"She's had more blackouts since then, that's why!"
….
The rain was falling once again. Rachel didn't recognize where she was at all. She was clearly on a sidewalk in a city… but why did she have this uneasy feeling in her gut? The people's faces that passed her by seemed blurred or were covered by hoods or umbrellas. Some seemed like they were talking but she couldn't hear it… only the sound of the rain falling.
What's… going on? Where… where am I? Rachel thought, wanting to hurry out of there and find a way home… but something seemed to be stopping her. Or rather it was like her body wasn't responding to her.
"Ray hurry up would ya," her head turned to the voice to what seemed to be a man in a hoodie… his face was covered in shadows and voice was distorted. He seemed to tower over her as she only made it up to the middle of his chest in height. She felt his hand grab her wrist and he quickly started to drag her.
"What's wrong?" the words slipped out of her mouth. That wasn't what she wanted to say at all… she wanted to know what the hell was going on… and why she felt so comfortable with this guy. She couldn't see his face but she could tell he was angry… and scared?
"Are you a fucking idiot? Move your ass and run!"
Something was very wrong… she felt her own fear rising of its own accord. What's going on? Why are we running?
Who is this guy…?
That's when she heard sirens going off. Her own eyes widened at the sound while the man she was with swore.
"Take the left quick!" she exclaimed.
"Don't gotta tell me twice!" They turned quickly down an alleyway and kept running. For some reason she felt like something was going to go wrong… very wrong...
Rachel opened her eyes, confused on where she was and how she got there… and why she felt like she was in a cold sweat. Looking down at herself she saw that she wasn't dressed for bed… and wasn't under her own covers for that matter. Glancing over to her bedside table she saw the time was 9:56 pm… and her pill bottles were gone.
Maybe… I cleaned up?... but… why did I sleep in so late? Confused she got up carefully and left her room. Outside the room in the living room there was Katie and Barry.
"... Alright I'll… I'll see what I can do," Barry spoke. Rachel watched as Katie handed something to the pink haired boy, who put the item in his pocket.
"... Um…" She spoke up, causing both her friends to look over in her direction in surprise. Katie was on her immediately as the blonde found herself pulled into a tight hug.
"You okay? Everything alright? Do you remember what today's Date is?" Katie questioned after pulling out of the hug, her hands still on Rachel's shoulders. Lifeless blue eyes stared with confusion into concerned hazel.
"I'm fine… It's Saturday the… XX of XXX right?" Katie sighed in relief at her answer… only to blink at Rachel's next question.
"... Why is Barry's hair pink?"
Fun Fact 1: I actually first got the idea for Things Forgotten as well as some of chapter one planned out almost a year before the game was actually translated into English. I had found the Angels of Death series by complete coincidence after leaving Collage and even though I knew very little at the time, I was hooked and knew I wanted to write a fanfic for it. Needless to say I screamed for joy the minute I saw that it had been released and fully translated.
Fun Fact 2: My Best Friend and I are always using the characters we made for this story as well as Rachel and Zack to plan out many ideas for where Things Forgotten could go... as well as making AU's of this AU. In fact we have three AU's of Things Forgotten that we greatly love and visit sometimes. We call them the "Scooby Doo AU" "Kindergarten AU" and our personal favorite "Zack Lived Bitch AU". Sadly I don't see either one of those three getting written anytime soon... but there is a little hope for the "Zack Lived Bitch" one.