Chapter Three
She knew there were people in the house and she knew that whoever it was it wasn't anyone she wanted to meet. By the look on his face she had the feeling that Daryl knew them, whoever they were.
"We need to leave. Now," he said, his voice hushed and his grip on her arm almost painful. It was obvious that he wasn't sure where he was going. He wasn't taking them near the stairs that would lead them to the foyer. "There's a back set of stairs, right?" He asked, dragging her along with him. "In a house this big there would have to be."
She stopped him by jerking her arm out of his grip. "Who is down there?" She asked, careful to keep the panic out of her voice.
He met her eyes. "Some bad guys. I recognized one of them and if his friends are as nasty as he is then you're in some serious fucking trouble. So we need to leave."
The feeling that came over her didn't make any sense. It wasn't fear for her own safety, which seemed to be at the forefront of his mind. It was fear for the house. They were going to wreck this place if her and Daryl didn't do something to stop them. This filled her with a strange anxiety and a cold anger that surprised her. "I'm not leaving," she said, her voice strong, steely.
His eyes widened and he glanced behind them. "What the hell do you mean, you ain't leavin'? That asshole just got off a hefty prison sentence on a technicality. He's a fuckin' monster. If he finds you here and his friends are anything like him then there ain't a damn thing I can do to keep-"
Behind her a door swung open just as they heard two men reach the landing further down the other hall. They were laughing and talking but Carol couldn't make out what they were saying and before she could even try to listen he was shoving her through the door, pulling it shut behind him. He cursed when he realized why she wasn't moving out of his way. There was nowhere she could go. He had pushed her into a narrow linen closet and there were shelves pushing into her back. She hissed in pain but his hand came up, clamping over her mouth and that was when she realized something else.
She was standing in a pitch black closet with a very attractive boy pressed right up against her. She swallowed hard, her heart, that was already beating hard and fast, started beating harder and faster. She nodded slightly, letting him know that she understood that she needed to be quiet. He dropped his hand. As soon as his hand was away she tried to pull in a breath but found it hard. She tried again to pull air into her lungs but it seemed like there wasn't any oxygen in the tiny space.
"I can't breath," she whispered, feeling even more restricted because his body was pushing against hers. She was surprised the door was holding because he was squished between her and the heavy wood.
"You can breath, just be quiet," he whispered right into her ear.
Outside the door she could easily make out the footsteps of the men and then she heard their voices.
"There's at least one person here," a man said as they drew closer. "We found that bag downstairs and there's lights on. Nobody woulda left in that storm."
She tried once more to pull in a breath. She was starting to feel dizzy and a single bead of sweat slid down the hollow of her spine. "Daryl," she whispered desperately.
He shushed her again. "You have to be quiet."
"But I can't-" Her voice cut off when she felt his hands on her waist.
"You're havin' a panic attack," he breathed into her ear, not daring to raise his voice any more than he had to. The men were still in the hall, moving past the door from the sounds of it. "There's plenty enough air in here. You ain't gonna pass out. Just take a breath."
She closed her eyes, listening to the steady sound of his quiet voice, and managed to take one steadying breath and then another, breathing in through her nose and then out her mouth slowly.
~H~
He could still hear the men in the hallway, talking quietly. They had stopped walking but they were no longer right in front of the door. They were further down. All of this was registering in his mind but he would be a liar if he tried to say that he wasn't distracted. Because he was very distracted. He was in a dark closet, smashed right up against a girl. He was seriously hoping that nothing embarrassing happened because if it did there wasn't anything he could do about it.
He tried focusing on her breathing, now that she was actually able to pull air into her lungs. Unfortunately for him that meant that her warm breath was blowing right across his neck and it had his stomach lurching furiously. Then he felt her move, her head turning so now her lips were next to his ear.
"Thank you," she whispered.
He tried to think about something else. He tried to think about the danger she was in if the men out there found her. He tried to think about the fact that when they were in Sara Winchester's room, the door had opened on it's own. And then another door did the same, just in time, like the house was offering them a place to hide. He focused on these things instead of on her but then he felt her lips quickly press against his jaw.
He didn't come from an overly affectionate family. As a matter of fact, he was used to any touch causing pain. Add that to the fact that he was a fairly healthy sixteen year old, and was currently pressed right against a girl that he had just recently realized was pretty damn hot, and she had just kissed him, even though it was on the cheek, how he responded wasn't really his fault. He turned his head and he kissed her right on the mouth.
And prayed to God in heaven that he didn't get a boner. Cause, Jesus, if he did, she'd know and he'd die. Or want to anyway.
Her lips parted in surprise and her hands went to his shoulders. She didn't try to push him away so he took this as a good sign. He tried not to think about the fact that he'd never kissed a chick before now. It couldn't be that hard to figure out. Besides, Merle was his brother and Merle had all kinds of game. Surely Daryl had enough to get through one stupid kiss.
It was quick. He didn't try to shove his tongue in her mouth or anything because she wasn't that kind of girl. Or he didn't think she was anyway. So he was taken completely by surprise when she gripped the sides of his head and pulled him right back down. The next thing he knew it was her tongue in his mouth. And he had no problems with that.
After a few minutes of that he realized that he hadn't heard anything from the hallway so he reluctantly broke the kiss, turning his head so he could listen. They couldn't stay in this cramped closet all damn night. Before he turned his head again to tell her to stay there so he could see if the hallway was empty he felt something warm and wet hit his cheek.
He frowned, reaching up to wipe it away. It felt sticky, whatever it was. Another drop hit the back of his hand and he had the strange urge to grab Carol and bolt right out of the closet. But just because he couldn't hear the men didn't mean they weren't still out there. He reached behind him and gripped the cold doorknob in his hand.
"I'm gonna slip out just real quick and see if they're gone. If they are we can try to sneak around and get the fuck out of here. This place gives me the creeps," he whispered.
She cleared her throat quietly and he could hear how nervous she was even in that small sound.
He turned the knob and then eased his way out. The hallway was empty so he glanced down at the back of his hand where he had felt the drips land. He stared and then reached up with his other hand, wiping his cheek.
Blood.
He threw the door open, momentarily forgetting about the men that they were suppose to be hiding from. He yanked her out of the space, his eyes scanning the shelves. He cursed, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of him when he saw it.
There was a body crammed into the top shelf, the eyes wide, the mouth hanging open and blood, thick and crimson, slowly dripping from between the parted lips. It was Mr. Daniels. Carol spun around when she saw the look on his face. Before she could scream he reached around and covered her mouth with his hand. They watched as the door slowly closed on it's own. She tore his hand away from her mouth and spun around.
"We need to get out of here," she hissed, tears on her face and a frantic terrified look in her eyes that froze the sweat trickling down his back.
"Well look what we have here."
Both their heads shot up at the sound of a man's voice. Daryl turned and shoved her behind his back. It wasn't Ralph standing there so that was a plus but the guy was grinning wickedly, beer in hand.
"We were just leavin'," Daryl said, sounding a lot tougher than he felt.
"What?" The man frowned. "You can't leave just yet. Not with this party just starting and all. We were just talking about how we should have invited more pretty girls to hang out. Looks like I just found one."
"Nah, we're leavin'," Daryl said, turning and giving her a small push to get her moving. He wanted out of this creepy fucking house and he wanted to get her away from these men. He didn't feel good about having the man behind them now but if he could get them to the back stairs and out through the kitchen area then he could get them to the woods and lose those assholes.
He heard the footsteps walking towards them from behind but then they stopped when someone stepped into the hall from the other end, about thirty feet in front of them. It was three more men. The ones that had probably walked past the closet door. He stopped and then Carol gripped his hand. The men smiled and the one behind them started walking towards them again.
To their right, a door opened up, like it was beckoning them to take refuge there. All Daryl could think about for a second was the body in the closet. What would be behind this door? He didn't have time to make a decision on whether to try to find sanctuary behind the door or face the men because Carol was pulling him towards that dark space.
Once they were inside the door slammed shut and suddenly, someone in the hallway screamed. It didn't sound like the men. This was the sound of a woman screaming and then the scream faded and a feminine laugh buffeted his ears. Him and Carol backed away from the door, both jumping when a crack of thunder shook the windows behind them.
He turned, looking for something he could use as a weapon. He knew there was no point in fighting a ghost, and goddamn he knew it was a ghost, but he could use something to fight the men if they made it into the room. Once the thunder trailed off a strange silence filled the room. It filled the whole house. It felt like it filled his head.
The two of them stood there and finally he could make out the sounds of their heavy breathing. And that was all.
