A/N:Holy Sposky! An update!
I own nothing.
Haunted
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Linda hurtled around a corner, and stopped to catch her breath. Karen's plan had worked all right! There must be a thousand Goblins following them. She couldn't help but be impressed by her magical abilities. They had been cornered by a dozen of the smelly little buggers, but Karen had just frozen them in place. She couldn't help but wonder when they were going to be able to get to Sarah. There was no telling what Jareth might be doing to her at that very moment.
Karen came running around the corner, grabbing Linda's wrist as she passed. Linda found herself being dragged forcefully along.
"What's wrong?" Linda asked, wrenching her hand free. She kept at an even pace with her companion. Behind them, she could hear the familiar clamoring of the goblins.
"Apparently, goblins do not like it if you shower them with boiling oil! Keep running!" Karen called to her.
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Jareth paced around his now empty throne room. How on earth could Karei have found out about Linda? They must be stopped, he would not lose Sarah to them. He had had enough of his sister's meddlesome ways. She would have to be punished, that was a given. But perhaps if she begged him for mercy, he might be lenient. He might even be willing to return Toby. He loved the lad, but he was no longer necissary to make Sarah behave.
As for Linda, who would miss her? She had been missing from the human world for five years now, what difference would eternity make? Saah needn't know of her mother's imprisonment. She might rebel in a rage, and he would have to resort to violence again. Yes, there was no choice: Linda would have to die.
He thought for a moment to the girl. Had he behaved too rashly? Perhaps he should have tried to reason with her. But he had tried that, hadn't he? He had tried reasoning with her several times, and she had only thrown it back in his face. He may not be particularly proud of what he had done, but it was necessary. He refused to let himself be insulted by a weak human child, no matter how lovely she may be, no matter how much he desired her. He wanted her love, but first of all, he wanted her fear. He didn't want her forgetting that there were consequences if she defied him.
He sighed, and desended into his trophy room. He needed to check on the goblins progress. He didn't look back, but if he had, he'd have seen the girl who tormented him so run through the throne room, clutching her brother tightly to her chest.
He carefully climbed down the stairs, still lost in thoughts of his delicate bride to be. At the bottom, he threw the door open, and went to his model of the Labyrinth. He could see the goblins running about, but there was no sign of Karei and Linda. No, he'd found them. They were just outside the junkyard! There wasn't time to call the guards back, they'd be here soon!
He dashed back up the stairs. Sarah had to be hidden until he'd dealt with them. Sarah wouldn't escape him again, he'd keep her with him forever, right were she belonged.
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Sarah carefully snuck through the goblin city. It was deathly silent, but she wasn't about to be fooled like she had been during her last trek through the Labyrinth. She and Toby soon reached the gates. She tried to pull them open, but without Ludo, she was unable to do it.
"Oh, that's not... right!" she sighed. How were they going to get away now? How long before Jareth noticed they were gone?
"Ma! Ma!" Toby said, squirming in her arms.
"Shh, quiet Toby!" Sarah admonished him.
"Ma! Ma!"
"Toby, hush!"
She looked up, and to her surprise, they were no longer inside of the gates of the Goblin City. She and Toby had somehow been transported to the edge of the forest outside the Junkyard.
"How in the world..?" she mused.
"Ma! Ma!"
"I think we lost them!" she heard in the woods behind them. She was surprised to realize that she recognized that voice. Karen!
"Toby, did you do that?" she asked, looking at him in amazement.
"Sarah is that you?" Karen asked. She looked around to see her stepmother running up behind her.
"Karen, what the heck are you doing here?" she asked.
"I'll explain later, for now, let's get out of here!"
"Karen, are you talking to someone?" another familiar voice said from nearby. Sarah was even more shocked by the speaker than before. It couldn't possibly be...
"Mom?" There was the sound of running, and then her mother, unkempt and disheveled, appeared from behind a tree.
"Sarah!" The woman ran at her, and threw her arms around her. Toby squealed in protest, and even though Sarah was immensely happy to see her mother, she wished to do the same. Her mother smelled as though she hadn't bathed in years.
"Come on, let's get out of here," Karen said. Sarah tore away from her mother, and found herself standing in the front entrance hall of her house.
"Sarah, are you all right? He didn't hurt you did he?" Linda demanded. But Karen didn't need to ask, she could see the tell tale trail of dried blood on the inside of her leg.
"Oh mom, he... he..." she said, breaking down into heavy, heaving sobs.
"I hate to interrupt, but we need to get out of here! Sarah, go pack a few things. Hurry!" Karen yelled. Sarah gaped at her stepmother.
"Karen, what's your rush? Sarah's safe, that's all that matters!" Linda said, stroking Sarah's hair comfortably.
"Do you really think she's safe? He'll notice she's gone soon enough, and when he does, this is the first place he's going to look! Now move it, Sarah!"
Sarah handed Toby to her stepmother, and ran upstairs and into her room. She threw some t-shirts and jeans into her backpack. She wished she could change out of her skimpy attire, but Karen had been right. Jareth could show up at any second.
"So this is where you've run off to, my naughty little darling..." an ice cold voice drawled from the window seat.
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A/N: Speak of the Devil! Two more chapters left! I'm excited and sad at the same time...
Sorry about the long wait. Damn this real life crap! I thought that since Halloween is tomorrow, it would be an appropriate time to update!
Please review!