The all purpose disclaimer: I own nothing except the idea, Disney owns the characters and settings (for the most part)
I'm accepting renters for the Caruthers house if you're interested.
I want to thank all those who reviewed the last chapter: CajunBear73, Shrike176, Soth11, Comet Moon, Michael Howard, Samurai Crunchbird and kim's1fan.
A big shout out to the all purpose CajunBear73 for his mad beta skills, his advice, and his willing to be the voice of reason when I wanted to do something else and he convinced me not to. It's all good.
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The house stood in the middle of a dead clearing. The summer grass had long since gone to the brittle brown remains that heralded the coming of winter. No tangles of thorns or moss covered remains, or anything that they expected in the vicinity of the Victorian house, almost a mansion, which stood before them. The house seemed to hunch upon itself, there in the middle of that clearing filled with the dead and decaying vegetation of seasons past. They could almost feel waves of discord and disharmony radiate from it; almost as if it was sending out vibrations that destroyed or warped anything nearby.
Kim studied the house carefully as they approached it. The two story house had an open air of menace about it. The low overhanging gables reminded her of eyebrows drawn up in displeasure, scowling. The windows under them resembled dark fathomless eyes, devoid of soul, staring at her with an open hostility; hinting of dark thing that crawled in the night; dreams turned into nightmares.
Over all the house had a leprotic look about it as if some wasting disease had robbed it of it vitality, a decaying skeleton, mummified remains of past events caught up in the very structure of the house itself. When they stepped on the wide porch Kim almost thought the house screamed at them.
Kim turned toward Ron; knowing how much this place was affecting her she almost expected him to run as soon as they got close to it. To her surprise he appeared tense but, alert, and very much in control of himself. Kim could see the strain in his body language and knew he was keeping himself under control just for her. He half turned to her and she could see the mixture of fear and resolve in his face.
At this moment in time Kim was never prouder of her boyfriend then right now. She knew he was terrified almost out of his wits but he was willing to go into this sitch just for her and her safety. On impulse she grabbed him, pulled him over closer to her and kissed him on the cheek.
Ron looked surprised as asked. "What was that for? Not that I'm complaining or anything."
"Just because," Kim replied with a smile. "just because."
Team Possible walked into the house and a cold shiver ran down both teens' spines. Even the decay and desolation of the outside was warm and friendly compared to what lay within. Cobwebs were everywhere. The miasma of desolation was ever-present and hung, like a pall over the interior. There was a subtle smell of rot that clung to the air and caused both of them to cough and wheeze. The ever present dust was thick and when they walked through it formed a cloud around them further worsening their breathing problems and caused their eyes to water as well.
Strange shapes lurked in the corners. Forgotten pieces of furniture were draped haphazardly with rotting fabric. The windows were once hidden behind heavy drapes but time had done its job on the elaborate fabrics; puddles of severed material pooled on the floor in unlikely resting places, forever discarded.
The dust on the carpet obscured the pattern that had been woven in. Kim glanced behind them; their footsteps had disturbed the dust occasionally reveling the pattern. The brief glances of disturbing images made her glad that she couldn't see well and she reverently hoped that Ron didn't understand what symbols had been briefly uncovered. The high narrow windows, even uncovered, gave little light. They were covered by a black substance that gave what little light there was a reddish tint. The pale colored walls combined with the weak October sunlight streaming through the black substance gave the impression that the room and they were covered in blood.
"KP?"
'Yeah Ron?'
"I think I saw this room on 'lifestyles of the Dead and Creepy'. Good try for the world's ugliest room however." Ron quipped.
Kim was about to reply when a sudden movement caught her eye. She scanned the room as she turned but saw nothing moving. She started to turn back to Ron only to catch a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. Again and again it would happen a sudden flash, hinting at movement, but gone when directly looked at.
Ron was having his own problems, he kept hearing children's' voices; small parts of conversations that seemed to last only seconds, sounds that would stop if he turned his full attention to them.
They began a systematic search of the first floor all the rooms were checked as well as possible. They found nothing but dust, decay, and the ever present smell of corruption the permeated the house.
Going back to the main entrance Ron glanced up at the main staircase that lead to the second floor. Just as he was about to ask Kim if they should search it, movement caught his eye. Looking up he spotted a small form running away from the top of the steps.
"KP look somebody's here." Ron shouted has he ran up the steps. "It looks like a small child."
Kim turned at Ron's shout and started up the steps behind him shouting.
"Ron hold up! Let's not get separated!"
Ron ignored Kim as he ran up the stairs and turned to his left, spying movement along the hallway. Running quickly in that direction he came to a door that was ajar. Ron ran into the room to find blackness, an overpowering feel of nothingness. He turned back to the door only to find it gone. Then the sounds came. It began as a low chitterling noise that grew louder as it drew closer. Then he recognized the sound as the shuffling of feet, many feet, coming toward him; then a light appeared, small and indistinct at first, as if from a great distance, then it brightened just enough so that Ron wasn't in total blackness anymore.
The forms appeared next small indistinct shapes that took the form of small children as they drew near. There were too many to count wavering images of children of all ages with palled faces, clothed in rags that hung listlessly from wasted frames. Their eyes were the worst: dark, with a pleading, despairing look that told of unimaginable suffering and torment; the eyes of the damned. Then new figures appeared in his field of sight. Older men and women, dressed in clothing Ron had seen only in brief glances in his history textbooks; the styles ranged from homespun cotton to buckskins to the tattered remains of cast off clothing. All of them, young and old alike, had blank expressions, the same look of spirits trapped within a place of torment.
Ron regarded the silent spectral visitors that surrounded him when a small child stepped in front of the silent mass of apparitions. She was a small child no more than ten or twelve years old. She was dressed in a shapeless dress that had seen too much wear. Around her neck a glittering red jewel hung, suspended around her neck on a delicate chain. She looked at Ron and he realized that her eyes didn't have that dead, lifeless look in them. Her eyes were alive with focus and intent; she looked at him for a minute and finally spoke.
"They have been awaiting your coming for a long time Ron Stoppable. You are their last hope. The cycle threatens to begin again and more will suffer this fate unless it is stopped now!"
There came a pounding from behind them that made both of them turn around and glance in the same direction.
"Miss Possible is very upset with you Ronald." The girl then started to chant in a sing-song voice. "You're gonna get in trouble." In the same voice that Jim and Tim used to tweak both him and Kim from time to time.
A bright light blossomed behind the child; it grew brighter until Ron had to raise his arm to shield his darkness-adjusted eyes from the glare. Then Ron wished he couldn't see what was coming out of the light; feral creatures of every shape and size, monstrous creations, a mockery of all things living. There were things of nightmare, born of a madman's twisted dreams, slithering crawling and lumbering toward them. The silent circle that surrounded Ron gave forth a wail that drove deep into Ron's soul. A cry of lament from the damned bound to an unholy plane issued from the group. Then they began to dissipate, bodies that became mist that gathered in a great vortex of sound and fury with Ron in the middle. The creatures fell back and retreated into the light that they came from. Then the circle protecting Ron vanished, leaving not a trace of its presence behind.
The door finally gave way to Kim's assault on it and opened into the room. There she found Ron in a defensive position with the Lotus Blade in front of him, his eyes glowed a blue almost black and he muttered over and over:
"Bad road, very bad road....."
Ron sat in the front seat of the Sloth with his head hung low trying to get his breath back. Kim regarded her BF from her kneeling position beside him as she stroked his back in an effort to calm him down.
Ron, still breathless, from his mad dash out of the house and to Kim's car tried to speak between ragged breaths.
"I'm telling you...KP......I saw......something......."
Kim had listened to Ron's story with some disbelief until he mentioned the girl. From his description it was the same one she had met on the side of the road a few days ago.
"Ok Ron, just what did you see again?"
"I told you Kim ghosts, spirits whatever you want to call them. They were looking at me with the emptiest eyes I have ever seen!"
"What did the girl say to you again?"
"That I'm their last hope. What does that mean?"
"I don't know Ron, I wish I did." Kim was still s trying to soothe Ron when she looked up and saw a face staring at them from beyond the clearing on the opposite side of where they were parked.
Kim jumped up and shouted. "Hey, who are you?"
At Kim's shout the figure stood up and bolted into the surrounding woods with Kim in hot pursuit seconds later. Over and under branches and through thickets the figure dodged and weaved its course with Kim right behind him. Kim saw a clearing up ahead and put on a burst of speed to catch up. She made a flying tackle that would have made Ron proud and caught her quarry just as they reached the clearing.
Kim regarded her captive with a critical eye as he cowered before her.
He was a mess, dressed in bits of cast-off clothing that hadn't been washed in some time. And he smelled appallingly as if soap and water were somehow hurtful to him. His body odor, combined with the smell of his unwashed clothing made her glad she hadn't held on to him too long. But it was his face that captured her attention. Under the stubble and filth was the face of a child, screwed up in fright at what might happen to him. A frightened infant that had no idea what was about to happen to him and was confused by what had happened. His wide frightened eyes regarded her with terror. A frightened bleat came out of his mouth, filled with rotting teeth and foul breath.
"Waugh! Waugh!"
Kim came to the quick conclusion that the person she had been chasing didn't know anything and probably never would. He was mentally challenged and she had scared the living daylights out of him.
"Excuse me would you please get off old Paul? He's harmless I assure you."
This statement came from behind her. She looked up and was surprised to see the old woman she had seen days ago with the young girl. When the man saw the older woman he gave a frightened bleat and scurried over to hide behind her.
Kim regarded her with a wary eye. She was dressed much like she had been when Kim had seen her the first time. An old faded dress, hair done up in a bun and some rounded glasses that perched on her nose; like some exotic bird ready to take flight. Her clear blue eyes studied Kim with some amusement and something else Kim couldn't quite put her finger on. It was as if she knew a great secret that she wished to share, but was uncertain of the reception the news would bring. She seemed to radiate that feeling of warmth and gentle understanding that is the hallmark of kindly grandmothers everywhere. Kim was, in turns, puzzled why she would be out here and mystified to her connection to the decidedly odd person crouching behind her.
"We should wait for your young man, and then we can go to my cottage for a spell."
Kim was about to ask her a question when Ron crashed through the underbrush and stopped when he saw Kim.
Breathlessly he gasped "Kim...... Where.........going...?"
Kim went over to Ron and gently laid her hand on his back as he hunched over gasping for his breath.
"Ron, you OK?"
"Yeah.....sure..... Let......catch......breath." Ron wheezed.
As Ron paused to catch his breath, Kim watched the old woman turn around and walk deeper into the clearing without a backward glance at the two teens.
Kim helped Ron to his feet and followed the path the departing couple had made. The two teens walked for a short time when they came upon a small cottage, then followed the odd couple into the cottage. The inside could only be called 'homey' everything put away and spotless. A fire burned in the fireplace with comfortable chairs arranged around it.
"Please sit. I believe you may have several questions about that house. I have some answers that you will need if you want to survive anymore future contact with that cursed place."
"Cursed..." Ron began
"We had a briefing on the history of this area by another member of our team." Kim replied.
"I doubt that you tech wizard would know the information I will tell you." The old woman answered primly.
"How do you know about..." Kim began, but was cut off by Ron.
"What's you name anyway?" Ron blurted out.
"You may call me Granny McDonald, young Ronald."
During this conversation the older woman was keeping herself busy in the small kitchen preparing tea. She put the kettle on a hook over the fire. She then sat down and started speaking to the two confused teens; all the while placing a calming hand on the head of the strange man she called 'Old Paul'.
"I suppose that you know the general history of the house and the tales that surround it. I won't go into them. What I have to tell you is far more important and far less known by anyone but me and a few others."
"When Aaron Caruthers left San Francisco in 1865 He was on a quest to extend his life by what ever means he could find. That nasty bout of pneumonia instilled in him a great fear of dying. He wandered for years looking for any clue that might help him succeed with his goal. Some time in the 1870's he stumbled upon a scroll that told of a way to achieve his goal. He tracked down all the information that he could and prepared himself for the ritual described."
"One night he managed to call up a being of power, what you would call a demon, and made a deal with it. For every person he sacrificed he would gain an extended life. He went to a large town and kidnapped a small child for his first sacrifice. He reasoned that if he picked a child that the longer lifespan he would receive would keep him from doing it very often. After the deed was done the demon informed him that he would receive one year of extended life for whomever he sacrificed. He had intended to do the ceremony only when he had too, now he had to do it almost constantly. "
"He came to Colorado in 1880 to build a house and implement his plan. He reasoned if he could sacrifice a large number of people in an under populated area, like this state was at that time, he had a reasonable chance of getting away with it. He used his, still vast fortune, to lure people to this area and to his compound. After he did the deed, he then used the powers of his demon familiar to twist the house out of time. To make it unreachable by any method until the master of the house needed to fuel his unquenchable desire to feed upon the life source of others to extend its own evil life."
"Forty four years later, when its master needed to feed again, the house re-appeared. This time it was expanded upon and converted to an orphanage. His next set of victims would be the children that were accepted into the house along with all the social workers and clerical people that were employed there.
Eighty four people died that night to fuel his desire to live forever."
"Now the house has appeared again. Its owner needs to feed again on the life source of others to extend its own unnatural life. "Granny McDonald concluded.
"How does he plan to do this?" Kim asked with a skeptical tone in her voice.
"The present cities of Upperton, Lowerton and Middleton all are within the original boundaries of his old land holdings. He planted several jewels of mystical power at five equidistant points at the extreme edge of his original acreage. He plans to activate the jewels and connect them mystically with the major Ley Lines that all connect to the exact center of his property; where he built his house and where he carries out his obscene rituals. When he summons up his demon familiar and starts the ritual he plans to drain the life-force of everybody in the Tri-Cities area; over 300,000 people. And he plans to do it on Halloween night. If you can't stop him from completing his plans everybody in the immediate area will be dead by November 1st. "
"So, can we find these jewels?" Ron asked.
"No they cannot be found by anyone except, the one who placed them."
"Can we just, maybe, burn the house down?" Ron wondered out loud.
The house is protected until the pact with the familiar is broken. The only may to stop the cycle is to disrupt the ceremony itself."
"How do we do that?" Ron asked, certain he wasn't going to like the answer.
"The ceremony needs a trigger or focus for it to work. An innocent must be sacrificed first to bind the spell and lock the transfer. Then the life exchange is completed; a monster lives and everyone else dies."
"An innocent?" Kim questioned.
"Someone pure in both thought and spirit, find that one person and guard them, there can be only one, for they are the key to stopping this tragedy from continuing."
Granny McDonald stopped and regarded her visitor with knowing eyes. She could almost feel the waves of disbelief radiating from the young woman; only she was too polite to say anything about her skepticism of the story she had just revealed to the both of them.
"I see your doubt, child of the electron, you do not want to believe me or take my warnings seriously. That will change when you see the signs."
"What signs?" Kim asked with mistrust.
"People will develop an aversion to travel too far from their homes. Old habits will be disrupted, people who normally don't stay here for the colder months will suddenly, want to change their plans. He will want as many people around here as he can manage to hold."
The older woman looked out the window.
"It's getting late and you will want to return home before dark. These woods are not safe at night anymore. I will escort you back to your vehicle now. I have no desire to be out late myself."
Driving back to her house Kim pondered what Granny McDonald had said. She had a hard time believing in mystical magic stuff, Ron's abilities not withstanding, she would need a lot of further evidence to convince her of what the older woman had said was true. She would keep calm and try to keep Ron from jumping at shadows. She glanced over to her BF, noting the far away look in his eyes, and smiled at him. She saw him relax and look at her with a trusting look in his eyes. Everything world be alright, the look he gave said to her. As long as she was here; everything would be fine. Kim hoped his trust in her wasn't misplaced.
---
The week progressed and Kim was becoming more concerned as Granny McDonald's prediction seemed to be become reality. All around town people were suddenly canceling long made plans of travel to stay close to home. The older population, who usually left Colorado for the warmer climates of Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern California for the winter, suddenly deciding to stay the winter, put her on alert. The comment, "We just don't feel like traveling this year" was heard around town as friends inquired about radical changes in behavior.
Kim's unease grew as the week went on. There were just too many odd occurrences that were happening for her to simply dismiss the strange behaviors as chance. What was really, well ok, spooky was the way Ron was reacting to the whole sitch. He was unusually calmed, solemn, quiet, and extremely thoughtful to her the whole week. His never-be-normal behavior was still there but, muted somehow, she couldn't puzzle it out.
October 31 Halloween
Kim was ecstatic at the end of the night. Middleton had defeated the Easton Eagles in the last regular season game of the season. The win had qualified the Mad Dogs for the playoffs and Ron had been a one man wrecking crew. He had rushed for three touchdowns and had caught passes for two other scores. Kim was meeting him at her house after the game to celebrate the win and to indulge in some post game cuddling with her BF.
Kim sat by the phone fidgeting; it was 10:00 P.M. and Ron had yet to show up. She debated with herself about calling him and then picked up the phone. She was just about to dial Ron's number when the phone went off in her hand, causing her to jump with a nervous reaction.
"Hello?"
"Kim is Ron there?" Ron's mother asked in a worried voice.
"No, I have been waiting for him to call....wait....he hasn't been home from the game yet?"
"No, I thought he went home with you. Haven't you seen him at all?"
"No, not since the game." Kim answered with a worried tone developing in her voice. "Don't worry Mrs. Stoppable; I'll get on it right away."
"Thank you Kimberly, I hope nothing has happened to him. He's usually so considerate about checking in with us before he goes over to your house." The worried tone of Ron's mom echoed within Kim's mind as she hung up the phone.
She pulled out her Kimmunicator and signaled Wade.
"What's up Kim?" Wade asked as his image appeared on the small screen.
"Wade I need a lock on Ron's chip fast!"
"Kim you, yourself, told me to deactivate that chip months ago." Wade protested.
"Did you?"
"Well No." Wade confessed.
"Then give me a signal lock, like now! He hasn't been seen since the game."
"Ok. Ok, locking onto signal, G.P.S. lock confirmed. Kim! His chip says he's at the location of the Caruthers House
---
Ron awoke to a splitting headache, a foul taste in his mouth, and tied, spread-eagled, on a cool metal table. The one thing that made this sitch different for the other times he had woken in this position he always had Kim nearby to call for help, and he usually had an a idea who had tied him up; plus he was missing his shirt. He wrinkled his nose as a semi-familiar smell hit him; he wondered where he had encountered that smell before. Then it came to him, the haunted house! How did he get here anyway? The last thing he vaguely remembered was showering after the game, dressing, and leaving the locker room. He recalled being in a hurry to go home and tell his mom that he would be at Kim's house until late. Ron wrinkled his brow as he struggled to remember, someone..... coming up to him.......wanting to shake his hand....... then nothing.
He tried to raise his head to look around and discovered it was secured; he had very little capability to move his head. He tried his bonds to find them very secure and with little or no slack in them. Ron stared at the ceiling for what seemed forever and wondered at the source of light in the room. What he could see, everything was illuminated by a gentle glow, like it was cast by a lot of candles just out of his line of sight.
Ron's musings were interrupted by a figure walking up to stand by the table he was strapped on. The figure was backlit so Ron couldn't see his face. Then the figure spoke.
"Welcome Mr. Stoppable. It's been quite awhile since our last meeting hasn't it?"
Ron stared at the figure until it moved and its face was suddenly lit by the glow all around them.
Ron gasped as he recognized the face before him. "You?"
---
Kim was upstairs changing into her mission clothing when she heard a scratching sound at her window. She went to investigate, looking down, she saw a very agitated Rufus trying to get her attention. Kim opened the window and the naked mole rat practically flew to Kim's shoulder; chittering loudly.
"I know Rufus, Ron's in trouble." Kim said as she tried to calm him down. "Don't worry we'll go rescue him."
Kim gathered her gear and ran downstairs to her car and then roared off into the night.
Ron regarded the sitch he was in and the man who was doing unrecognizable things just somewhere out of his field of vision.
'Care to tell me what's going on dude? Why am I tied down to this table with no shirt on? I mean if you wanted to admire my pecs. I could just send you a picture and all."
The man answered from the shadows.
"Still with the unusual sense of humor I see. You are here, Ronald, because I desire something from you, a service if you will. You like helping people don't you?"
"Well KP and I do the 'Save the world thing' from time to time......" Ron trailed off.
"Precisely," The man replied. "I just want you to save my world for me, that's all."
"Well KP and I are always ready to help people. Just let me go and I'll get her and we can help you. How's that sound?"
"You can help me just fine from your present position Ronald, just fine indeed. I can see you are wondering why you are in this, sitch, I believe you and Kimberly call it. We have time until conditions are right so let me tell you a story...."
"Say Mr. ....." Ron began until he was interrupted.
"That's not n my real name Ronald, just a handy alias I happened to adopt. My real name is Aaron Caruthers."
"Aren't you supposed to be dead? I mean according to the information Wade dug up you should be like, a hundred and fifty years old by now."
"I'm one hundred and seventy- seven years old actually."
"Dude you don't look a day over eighty, tops." Ron replied
Aaron smiled down at the restrained hero.
"I was born in 1831 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I came out went in 1849 to seek my fortune during the California gold rush...."
"Wade already told us this, got rich, got sick, and got scared of dying, yadda, yadda. yadda...."
Aaron smiled a tight little smile and continued.
"Did he tell you what happened after that?"
"The details got sketchy after that." Ron admitted, struggling to find some slack in his restraints. "I suppose that you are going to tell me aren't you?"
"Indeed I will. It all started when I made my fortune and moved to San Francisco. Now that was an exciting time. I was living the good life I had always dreamed about....."
Ron began to tune the guy out after awhile. What is it about villains that make them rant at the drop of a hat?
Ron tried again to get some slack in the straps that held him down tightly.
Come on Ron you got to get free somehow. I have the feeling that whatever this nut has planned for the Ronster can't be good. Kim where are you?
---
Kim parked the Sloth as close to the house as she could and began to make her way through the woods. The darkness was almost absolute; her flashlight didn't pierce the gloom more than a few feet. She ran as quickly as she could, guided by her memory and the unshakable belief that Ron was in trouble and needed her help.
Kim ran for awhile then suddenly stopped, warned by some instinct to get off the path and turn off her light. She waited for a few seconds and her caution was rewarded when a lumbering shape moved onto the path out of the darkness. Kim hoped that whatever it was it would pass her by but, it stopped and looked directly at her through the inky blackness of the night that surrounded her.
Kim turned the light on hoping the sudden light would blind it, and wished she hadn't.
A nightmare stood before her. A large misshapen body with a tiny, almost human like head, perched on top of it. Fangs, easily six inches long, protruded from its upper jaw. Eyes that took up half of the improbably small head were a blood red in color and regarded her with malice. It had huge misshapen arms and legs that were out of proportion to each other and knotted with corded muscles. It was if the thing in front of her had been hurriedly put together with spare parts that didn't match.
The huge arms reached out to grab her. It moved far faster than its lumbering form suggested and Kim ducked hurriedly out of the way. She dropped into a defensive crouch and hit the beast with a quick left jab to the face, followed by a roundhouse with all her forward momentum behind it to the side of its head. The creature 's head snapped back slightly and then it regarded her with an impassive look until it roared a challenge of rage and shock, then charged straight at her. Kim ran straight it the creature and then leapt up and placed her hands on it shoulders as she flipped over it to land behind the monster. She then landed on her hands and kicked out with both feet to strike at the back of the creatures knees. The sudden impact caused the thing's knees to buckle, sending it down and allowing it to land on its knees. Kim again, took the offensive, as she delivered a kick to the back of the creatures head; causing it to fall forward on its face.
Kim then followed up with a kick to the head that would have made the place kicker on the football team green with envy. Kim then danced back from the thing laying before her, hoping it was down for the count. That hope proved to be in vain as the creature let loose with a growl and heaved its grotesque body up on its feet again and wildly charged the young woman again. As it charged it swept out it long arms; trying to catch its elusive prey and crush the life out of the small thing that had hurt it. Kim, using her quick reflexes and athletic ability, along with her sixteen forms of kung-fu, dodged the creature's mad rushes all the while landing blow after blow upon the freakish thing that was wildly charging about trying to catch her. The creature grew more enraged and tried charge after charge that Kim nimbly avoided, all the while the creature was trying to drive her from the relative safety of the path and into the darkness that surrounded it.
Kim faked a charge to the right and when the creature moved to intercept her, she charged straight at it. Stepping into the creature's long reach Kim delivered a vicious sweeping roundhouse punch that connected with the creature's jaw snapping his head suddenly to the side then she delivered a equally hard punch to the other side of its jaw snapping its head back the other way. Kim followed that up with a monstrous two handed uppercut to the underside of its jaw; the impact throwing its head back. Then Kim followed up with a spin kick that should have taken the ugly things gross head right off its body. The creature fell momentarily stunned but started to raise again, the look of rage it threw at Kim increasing with every second.
She was getting concerned; she was tired and even with her gloves on, punching that thing was like hitting concrete! She was worried that eventually she would wear herself out beating on it, and then it would be all over for her. Kim readied herself for one more attack and ran to the creature that bellowed its rages and began to run just as fast toward her. Kim then jumped forward, landed on her hands, and kicked forward with all her might right on target for the things jaw. Both feet impacted with a satisfying crunch on the thing's face; the force of the kick flipping it backward into the darkness. It fell and Kim heard a crash and then a sound that sounded like a banshee announcing the early death of a loved one.
Getting up Kim carefully walked forward until she was at the edge of large pit that had been freshly dug and then covered with vegetation to blend perfectly with the forest floor. Down in the pit the creature was struggling and emitting some of the most ear splitting shrieks and moans that Kim had ever heard. Kim looked closer and, to her horror, saw the bottom of the pit had been lined with sharp stakes and that her opponent was impaled on them. What added to her horror was the sudden thought that the thing had been herding her in this direction to drop her into that death trap.
Kim watched the creature struggle to get itself off the spikes and regarded the path once again. She would have to be more careful than before following it. Whoever was running the show around here was playing for high stakes, and didn't mind murdering people to achieve it.
Kim tangled with three more of those constructs and managed to avoid four more traps before she got to the house. She scouted the land carefully before running, bent almost double, across the open space to her destination. Kim regarded the house with a wary eye. It seemed to glow with reddish light; there were lines of softly glowing red that led to the house as they pulsed and twisted with unknown energy. She crouched on the porch and opened the door slowly then walked in when nothing appeared to bar her way. She stood in the entrance way, in front of the grand staircase, trying to decide which way to go when Rufus popped out of her pocket with eyes that glowed so blue they were almost black. He jumped out of the pocket and ran across the room and into the kitchen, and then he ran through an open door and was lost from sight. Kim followed him without question as he ran down some stone steps and stopped at the bottom to wait for her.
Kim paused at the bottom of the stairs to regard her surroundings carefully. She found herself in a stone lined chamber, softly lit by hundreds of candles that gave a cheery glow to the place; so very much in contrast to what Kim saw next as she shifted her position for a better look and cover.
Ron was strapped, spread-eagle, on a table. A man was standing next to him the faint sounds of conversation echoing softly in the room. Kim shifted her position for a better look and gasped as she recognized the man who was holding a dagger in one hand while doing something to Ron's chest with the other; all the while talking in a slow even voice.
"What is HE doing here?" Kim wondered.
".....and so Ronald the drama comes to an end. By sacrificing you, one who is 'pure in spirit' I shall achieve my greatest wish; to cheat death itself! The gems I planted at the boundaries of my old property have been activated and the life forces of every living thing in the Tri-Cities area will be mine! Your death will seal the life forces within me, granting me eternal life!"
Kim expected a Ronnish comment over that statement but her BF was strangely silent.
Has he drugged him? Kim wondered
Kim gathered herself to lunge at the man when she felt herself grabbed by unseen hands and lifted into the air, dangling in full view of the occupants of the chamber.
"Hello Kimberly Ann." The man smiled, "You find cuddlers in the most unusual places don't you?"
"Just what is your damage Mr. Paisley? Why are you going to kill Ron?"
Jonas Paisley smiled that pleasant grandfather smile of his that Kim remembered from the first time she met him; clutching his Flamingoat after she had turned off the McHenry laser grid.
"That wasn't a typo you know." Paisley explained to Kim. "I influenced Mr. McHenry to type you web address. I wanted to judge myself who was worthy to be sacrificed. I needed a person pure in spirit and uncorrupted by the world. Your Ronald is still filled with child like wonder; the perfect choice."
Kim struggled with her invisible bonds.
"What did you do, drug him?"
"To get him here yes, I doubt he would have come willingly to his death after all. But not recently, perhaps he fainted. He's not the bravest person on the planet you know."
"Ron's a lot braver than you think!"
"Ah yes, defending you lover. Well he doesn't have to be awake for this to work my dear; just alive."
"You would kill everybody in three cities just to keep from dying?" Kim asked with disbelief in her voice.
"Oh much more than that, Miss Possible, much more."
"You're pathetic, you know that?"
"Perhaps Miss Possible perhaps, but I shall still be alive in a few moments; which won't be the case for you or your friends and families."
Paisley then began to chant and make several cuts along Ron's shoulders and stomach as he did so. He closed his eyes an increased the volume and tempo of his chanting. The room grew darker as the volume rose and the room was soon bathed in the subtle red glow that had covered the outside of the house. Then the temperature began to drop it, got so cold that Kim's teeth began to chatter. A deeper red glow formed around Paisley and Ron's bodies the light turning a blood red that bathed everything in a sickly glow that resembled blood.
Kim felt herself growing tired, confused, and unable to concentrate. She knew that her life force was being drained away like everybody in the Tri-Cities area. She hung loosely in her invisible bonds, all thoughts dwelling upon her impending death.
Mom, dad, tweebs, I never said I love you as much as I should have. Ron, we never got to share the rest of our lives like we wanted to.... Ron I love ......."
Kim last thoughts passed freely through her as she succumbed to the draining force of Paisley's spell.
The red glow deepened again as the ceremony reached the apex of the spell. The chamber was bathed in the rich red glow as the temperature dropped even further. Everything, with the exception of Paisley and Ron, were starting to get covered with a thin layer of frost.
Kim's red hair was now streaked with frost; giving her a much older appearance. The ceremony progressed and her vibrant red hair lost its luster and started changing from red to grey to white. Fine lines appeared on young cheeks which turned into wrinkles. Her young body lost it tone and started to sag and hunch up in a preview of what she would look like as she had aged naturally. Her gums receded from her teeth; the vibrancy of youth was being drained from her body. She was slowly transforming into the mummified remains that were found when this ghastly ceremony reached its horrifying conclusion.
Paisley chanted the ritual words; he could feel the stolen life forces flood his body; filling him with life and vitality. He altered his pitch slightly, reaching the final stanza. His timing must be perfect, everything had to be completed at the proper time, and all parts must align perfectly.
He reached the crescendo of the ceremony and raised the dagger in his hands higher preparing to start the killing stroke that would ensure his continued existence and end the life of the sacrifice. His hand moved in the stroke gaining force as it traveled the distance from the apex of is flight to it destination. The dagger traveled the arc downward with all of his strength behind the blow........
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A/N As I write this Ohio State is crushing Michigan! Go Buckeyes!