A shiver tingled along Quinn's spine as she huddled against her knees on the cold ground. She'd been sat there for nearly an hour. After she couldn't cry anymore, her mind once again became blank. She didn't even stir when the occasional car roared past, spraying her with water from the small puddles that had accumulated beside the road. Quinn was at a loss. She couldn't think properly, she didn't know what to do and she had no idea of what was going to happen to her.
The beam of oncoming headlights blinded her as another car made its way along the road. Though to her surprise, this car started to slow down until she realised that it was going to stop right by her. She stood up and noted the vehicle as it slowed and eventually stopped. It didn't look like any of the cars that her friends owned and she was starting to feel the clench of unease overrule her previously bleak thoughts.
A blacked out window started to roll down, revealing the driver. Quinn knew the person behind the wheel. It was someone she loathed with a burning passion, someone she had absolutely no time for- especially now. She glared at Dr Shepard. Out of all the people it could have been, it was her least favourite.
"Hello Quinn," the man greeted pleasantly with a small, generic smile.
"Dr Shepard," Quinn nodded curtly in return.
He reached over to the passenger side and pulled the handle, nudging the door open. "Need a ride?" It was a simple question and if it had been anyone else, Quinn would have said 'yes' in a heartbeat, but this wasn't just anyone. Eventually Quinn picked up her bag and sighed as she walked around to the passenger side and hopped in without a word.
"Where to?" Dr Shepard asked as he started to drive. Quinn hadn't really thought about that. Where could she go? Who would take her in? The psychiatrist waited patiently as the blonde chewed her lip in thought. Her phone was dead. Maybe he'd let her use his? She sighed with frustration. She was reluctant to ask for this man's help, accepting the lift had already pushed it. Eventually, she managed to shove her pride to one side.
"Could I borrow your phone please? I need to ask a friend if I can stop at hers but my phone's dead," Quinn asked through nearly gritted teeth. For a moment, she thought that Dr Shepard wasn't going to answer her and she began to doubt that he had heard her at all, but then she noticed something peculiar. The man's eyes narrowed slightly and Quinn noticed how he started to grind his jaw. Then, in a second it was all gone.
"I'm sorry Quinn, but I've left my phone back home. Do you know the way to your friends?"
"I think so. It's in Lima Heights Adjacent. Do you know where that is?"
"Yes," was all he replied and the car was plunged into a thick silence that made Quinn's hairs stand on end.
The teenager shifted her gaze towards the window and started concentrating on the light that flooded the car every time they drove past a lamppost. Then she felt it. A tingle trickled its way down the blonde's back. The same feeling she received every time something wasn't right. She swallowed thickly and turned more towards the window so Dr Shepard couldn't study her face. The feeling started to spread throughout her whole body, now hitting her in crippling waves. Something was wrong; she needed to get out of this car now.
Without turning to face him, Quinn said, "I can get out here, it's not that far and I don't want to really make you drive all the way there. You've already helped me out," she said calmly, holding her nerve. She couldn't stand to be in this car anymore, the feeling of unease was crushing and she felt like she was about to suffocate under it.
The psychiatrist started to chuckle. "I'm sorry Quinn, but I must insist that you remain in the car. You're very important to me you see."
Quinn's eyebrow's shot up and she now turned to face the man. As she turned towards him, she started to feel dizzy, as if the car was spinning in circles. "What-"she stopped, trying to get a hold on herself. "- what do you mean?" She slumped back into her seat, unable to sit up properly. She let out a shaky breath as her efforts to move were thwarted by the numb feeling occupying her muscles.
"All in due time Quinn, I promise." He sneered the last word, sending another shiver rippling throughout the blonde's body. She tried to look at him but her vision started to darken and her body felt heavy, too heavy to move. Hell, even breathing seemed to be effort for her at this point.
"I think, I think something's wrong with me," she managed to husk out.
Her eyes shut on their own accord and her head lolled against her shoulder. "Don't worry Quinn, I'm a doctor," were the last words she heard before everything that was real seemed to vanish, being replaced only with darkness.
When Quinn began to stir, the first thing she realised was that her hands and feet were bound with strong, black tape. Even though she could feel her strength and energy returning, it still wasn't enough to free her. Beads of sweat began to form on her brow, her breath grew rapid and desperate, her muscles ached with strain and then it all stopped. Quinn stopped. A sense of familiarisation washed over her as she realised that she knew where she was.
She was tied up in the house. Rachel's house. The house that started it all and the one place she'd rather be anywhere but now. Quinn frantically tugged at her bounds, desperate to get free. She couldn't be here, not now especially. It was well after dark, how long would it be before the spirit realised? And what had happened to Dr Shepard? Had he done this? Was he dead? Questions bombarded the blonde's running mind and she had to close her eyes tight, letting out deep breaths so she could calm down enough to think.
Quinn picked up the unmistakable tread of footsteps heading towards her and then she heard the door squeak open and a body shuffle through it. Quinn didn't know who to expect but she sure as hell didn't expect to see Dr Shepard, unscathed and standing right in front of her.
"What- what happened?" Quinn asked, feeling a dull pain tear along the back of her throat.
Dr Shepard smirked and perched on a dusty window ledge, folding his arms. "You passed out Quinn," he said casually as though nothing was out of the ordinary about having a teenaged girl tied up in front of him.
Quinn's eyes widened and she scoffed, shaking her head- locking eyes with the psychiatrist. "Did you drug me?" she angrily accused. Dr Shepard chuckled to himself and shook his head. "What's going on? Why have you done this?" For some reason that grasped his attention and his stare fixed on Quinn. There was no more laughter or any sign of kindness in his expression. Now it had become, steely and cruel. Quinn gulped and suddenly realised that she might not like what he had to say.
"No Quinn. I didn't drug you. And as for why I've done this, let's start from the beginning shall we?"
"What could I have possibly done to y-"
"Shut up!" the man spat, effectively shutting Quinn up. She didn't like the vibe he was giving her. It was a familiar, dark, malicious vibe and she felt like if she didn't get away from him and this house soon then she was going to completely loose it.
"I've been watching you for a while now Quinn. Ever since you decided to intrude my house. You are different from all the other mindless delinquents that enter through its doors. There's something special about you Quinn, and you know what I'm talking about." He looked at her expectedly.
"Now you believe me?" she whispered angrily but the man in front of her simply laughed to himself again.
"I've always believed you Quinn. I knew what you could do as soon as you walked through the door and so could Rachel. You're like a ghost beacon. Ever wonder why you saw so many ghosts Quinn? We can sense what you are and naturally we want your help but some -like myself- find ways to take it." Everything else except one thing had pass right over Quinn's head.
"Rachel? What have you done to her? Where is sh-"
"Relax Quinn. I'd never hurt my own daughter," he said with a sinister grin.
"D-daughter," Quinn said dumbly, hearing nothing in her head but the pounding between her ears. "But, she's dead, she's a ghost and you're-"
"Alive?" He chuckled again. "I can assure you Quinn, I've very much dead and Rachel is very much my daughter.
"But she said her dad's left town, that she died in here after falling down the stairs, she-" the ghost held his hand up to silence her.
"Is that what she told you? Well Quinn, allow me to enlighten you. I used to live in this house," he gestured around with his arms. "I lived here with my wife and three children. Then one day, I found out about my wife's infidelity with the local blacksmith. So in a rage, I killed her and our three children." He clucked his tongue in thought and began to pace around the room. "I then killed myself. The only thing I didn't anticipate was me being trapped here, but you Quinn; you're the answer to that."
"You're out of your goddamn mind," she hissed through gritted teeth.
"I'm not done yet," he chided and resumed pacing. "For some reason, I wasn't the only one who couldn't seem to escape this house. When I came round from my death, I realised that my eldest daughter Rachel was still her and like me couldn't leave. I tried everything to set me free but nothing worked and then you walked in. You see Quinn, I instructed Rachel to draw you in so you'd keep coming back here. I found that by feeding off of your energy I was starting to become more human. One day I could actually taste food and the next I could feel pain. After eighty long years can you imagine that Quinn? To be able to taste and feel again? It's exhilarating and by killing you I will be human again and I will be able to leave this place. For now, I'm powerless and trapped during the day but once you die, that's all going to change."
Quinn sat on the floor in silence. She felt as though someone had punched her square on in the lungs, sending all the air shooting out of her body. Rachel would never do that. She was her friend, she was- they'd- Quinn shook her head angrily. "Shut up! You're lying!"
"Am I?" Dr Shepard asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Why don't you ask Rachel, I'm sure you've got so many burning questions that you're just dying to get answers for." He laughed menacingly one last time before leaving the room, his shadow becoming that of at certain brunette ghost.
Quinn lifted her head and locked on to Rachel with a steely glare. The ghost swallowed and cast her guilty eyes away from the blonde's.
"Is it true?" Quinn asked, though her voice sounded hoarse and barely more than a whisper. When Rachel didn't respond with words and just looked at Quinn with a pleading expression as tears dotted along her eyes- Quinn received her answer. The blonde wouldn't look at Rachel. Instead she chewed her bottom lip in thought, tasting the metallic print of blood as she bit down too hard. "Was it all a lie? Didn't you feel anything for me Rachel?"
"He made me do it Quinn! I didn't have a choice," Rachel explained, hoping Quinn would understand but that was a very slim chance. Anger flashed in Quinn's eyes.
"How could you do this to me Rachel? I truly cared for you, I wanted to help you and all the while it was a trap so your psychotic dad could live again. Everything you told me, everything you said to me, it was all just a lie? I guess it makes sense why you didn't help me that night your daddy tried to kill me," she scoffed.
"He made me Quinn I-"
"I love you Rachel!" Quinn stopped short of her outburst, wishing she could recall the words. Rachel looked more shocked than anything if not hurt. "I'm going to die Rachel, do you know that? He's going to kill me." Rachel remained silent and refused to look at the other girl. She knew. Of course she knew. She knew from the start. "Please leave me alone now," Quinn stated.
"Quinn," the ghost said softly.
"I said leave me alone!" Quinn shouted and before she could blink, the ghost was gone. Quinn broke down. She didn't care if Rachel or that bastard doctor could hear her. She needed to vent. She needed to empty herself of the feeling of betrayal, despair, humiliation but most of all heartbreak. How could Rachel have done this to her? Did the ghost care nothing for her at all? What they had, what they had shared had all seemed so genuine and Quinn lapped everything up that the girl told her like a naïve little puppy. She hated this house, the doctor and Rachel.
Quinn began to yell. Angry words turned into even angrier shouts that were twisted with agony. She stopped only when her throat felt as though it would tear open. She didn't have the energy, she just wanted to close her eyes and let this all be over. She could feel the life draining out of her. She'd felt it for weeks but it was only now that she realised she wasn't being possessed as Rachel had earlier lead her to believe. No, she was being fed off and it was slowly killing her and filling Shepard with life. Her life. And it was all Rachel's doing. Quinn had actually believed she'd found a friend. Someone to talk to, to laugh with, to love. She'd found all of that and now it was all gone. It was just a fabricated string of lies.
"Believe me now girl?" a voice interrupted her from her thoughts. Dr Shepard sneered at her with an arrogant look plastered across his face. "She was never your friend Quinn, let alone anything else. She was just following orders. She lured you in and you fell for it, walking straight into my trap. And do you know the best part?" He walked over to the exhausted girl and whispered in her ear, "You're all alone. Nobody but a couple of ghosts knows where you are. You're going to die here Quinn and there's nobody coming to save you now."
"Why am I not dead then? Why have you kept me here tied up instead of killing me straight away?"
"I've told you Quinn. All of your energy needs to be harvested. If you die, that means so does the rest of your life and if I'm to become human then I need it all. It's a good job I didn't actually manage to kill you and your friend that night."
"Go to hell," Quinn said, spitting at him.
"If I wasn't trapped in here then I'm sure I'd already be there," the ghost responded smugly. Quinn said nothing else and waited for him to get bored and leave. "You have about twenty four hours left until you die. The after life's not so bad though, and after a few years, you get used to this place. And you'll have my charming daughter to keep you company."
"Does Rachel know?" Quinn perked up.
"Know what?"
"That she's going to be still stuck here whilst you get to be free?"
Shepard guffawed as though it was the funniest thing he'd heard all night. "Of course she knows. She's too scared and weak to do anything about it though. Do you know what I am Quinn?"
"A twisted, psychotic, sociopathic son of a bitch?" Quinn said, feigning a chipper attitude which was rewarded by a brutal kick to the gut. She doubled over and desperately gasped for air as her lungs burned, igniting fire along her nerve endings and muscles.
"I think I've put up enough with your obnoxious, snarky attitude don't you? But to answer my question, I'm a demon. You see the humans that commit the most heinous acts in life are consumed by evil and darkness in their afterlife. They become demons, normally sent straight to hell to rein torture there but as you can see, I never quite made it."
Quinn spat out a mixture of saliva and blood. She didn't care anymore. She didn't want to listen to his voice; she didn't even want to feel presence. She just wanted to be alone. If she was going to die, she didn't want to spend her last hours listening to this head case.
When the demon realised that Quinn wasn't going to respond he smirked and disappeared from the room again. Quinn let her defensive shoulders slump. He was right. No one knew where she was. She was going to die here and there wasn't anything anyone could do about it. Her parents had kicked her out, her friend's didn't even know she needed help and the one person she thought had her back for sure turned out to be a liar and a coward.
Hope you liked this chapter! I know there wasn't a lot of action and a lot of explaining but don't worry, next chapter's going to be exciting :D