Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of it's characters, I do however, own those characters which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!
Sorry this chapter is mostly dream/vision-I wanted to slow the action down; a kind of anti-climax i guess! Just wanted to show how all of them are feeling at that point.
Thanks for all of your reviews, don't forget the little game/challenge mentioned in chapter 11 I really want you guys to take part *pouts* xx x x ENJOY!!!!!
Alice took Melinda by the hand as they walked through the infinite fog that was surrounding them. Suddenly Alice stopped and looked Mel straight in the eye "I was eighteen" she began "I went to a party with three of my best friends Megan, Josh and Ryan. This was the first major party we had ever been invited to, we were freshmans in college. Ryan was driving, he borrowed his brother's car because he thought we would look better you know, arriving in style."
Alice wiped away tears that had fallen from her eyes before continuing. "They had a keg, they had .....everything. I had never even seen drugs before that night, but it turns out that everyone was trying something new. About an hour after we arrived I went upstairs to use the bathroom, I walked past a bedroom and I saw Josh, Ryan and some other guys doing lines of cocaine. I couldn't believe it, they were always so centred and down-to-earth. I was so stupid. "
"I didn't even think that it was wrong of them to do it, I was just upset that I wasn't included. I asked if I could join in and they told me to bring Megan up and we could hang out with them. I know it was crazy but.....anyway a few hours later it was time for us to leave and we were all out of our heads; beer, vodka, cocaine and weed. We got in the car and Ryan started the engine, we didn't think about how dangerous it would be".
Alice squeezed Mel's hand as she asked "Melinda, have you ever felt like a freak" Melinda looked into her eyes, which were streaming tears, as she broke her silence "yes" she whispered. "And if you had an opportunity to fit in?" Alice asked, as though she were seeking Melinda's approval of her past behaviour "I would have done anything, I understand Alice.....I don't judge you." Melinda said wiping the tears from Alice's face.
"Ryan was driving way too fast, he was swerving all over the place and......." Alice began to sob, finding it too hard to tell the story aloud she touched Mel's cheek and decided to show her instead.
-Melinda watched as four teens laughed and cheered while driving insanely fast along the freeway. Suddenly the boy driving, Ryan, lost control of the car and it skidded on its side across the road, flipping at the end. She heard the piercing screams of the young girls, a chilling harmony with the shouts of the boys. The car crashed to a halt, a flame ignited underneath and then all was silent. Melinda was stunned as she watched all four of the teens crawl out of the car and stand beside it as it burned. As she stared into the flame Melinda's world dissolved around her and she was once again with Alice.-
"Oh my God, how did you all survive?" Melinda asked Alice "We didn't" she replied sadly "But, I don't understand...I saw them."Mel said, confused. "That's exactly what I said. You see Melinda we all stood and watched as the car burned, none of us understanding what had really happened, I called an ambulance and when they arrived everyone ignored my friends. They looked straight past them, all rushing around me. I was completely normal that morning, but by that night, I was seeing ghosts."
" Ryan, Megan and josh had all been killed instantly, I was the only survivor...the lucky one" Alice looked up and despite the sadness in her eyes she gave a small laugh "You know, it's funny how the definition of luck changes according to how bad yours is. Anyway, from that day until the day I died, I had the ability to speak to and see spirits who haven't moved on yet. Just like you." Alice and Melinda, still hand in hand, were walking once again, though they weren't really going anywhere; since each place looked the same as the last.
"Last Year I started getting all kinds of cryptic warnings from the spirits I was trying to help, all of them said the same thing 'he's watching you'. I didn't understand until I started getting phone calls, they were always very vague, he was being evasive. One day he showed up at my office, he told me his name was Marcus. He thought that we were meant to be together and threatened to kill my husband Dan if I didn't comply. He introduced himself to all my friends as an old college friend, he started to follow me to work, meet me for lunch. "
"He would get angry when I went out with Dan, said I was cheating on him. I know you probably don't understand why I didn't just find way......he knew my secret, he knew that I could see the dead and he threatened to tell the world if I ever did anything he didn't like. One day I was walking home from work, remember what I showed you, he was angry because I said I wanted to be left alone, that...that was the first time h..he hit me."
Melinda was now crying too as she listened in silence to Alice's heart breaking story. " He took me away from my home, he made me write a letter to my husband, breaking up with him. He took me to his house and treated me like a queen......when I was good, if I ever got upset or disobeyed him or just mentioned Dan's name he would take me to the basement and 'teach me a lesson' ..h...he would hit me so hard. My period was late the month he took me and it didn't go unnoticed...D..Dan and I had always wanted children. "
"When Marcus found out he took me to the basement and beat me so bad. He hit me over and over and over, he screamed at me, he kicked me while I tried to curl up on the floor. He tied me up and kicked me again and again in the stomach, he said he wanted to make sure he killed my baby" Alice broke down and her body wracked with sobs as she remembered all the pain and torture she went through.
"Dan came looking for me, even though I asked him not to. He went to Marcus' house to ask if he had heard from me and Marcus' was acting all shifty, he kept looking over to the basement where I was laying, dying. Dan waited outside and When Marcus left for work he broke into the house. He picked the lock on the basement door and came down the stairs. I remember his face when he saw me, like he had just been hit by a brick wall, the shock, the terror, the pain.
He sat with me and cradled me in his arms as I died. Marcus had forgotten his wallet so he came back about ten minutes later. He came down to check on me and found Dan. You know it had been two whole months since I left Dan, but he never stopped looking. He was so good to me..a...and I never got to say thank you, I knew I was dying but I was just so grateful that Dan's was the last face I'd see. When I passed out of my body I couldn't leave...... I watched them fight and then Marcus pulled his gun, he laughed as he pulled the trigger, shot Dan in the head. Gave new meaning to the phrase 'over my dead body' huh?" Alice joked morbidly.
"Melinda, you can't fight him. You have to do what he tells you. He preys on those with the gift, he became obsessed with finding women who did what I did. He found another...her name was Olivia. Melinda, she was sixteen years old." Alice said quietly.
"Oh my god! Sixteen, that poor girl, what happened to her?" Melinda asked, shocked. Alice looked sadly up at Mel "She went through everything I had, the threats, the guilt, the pain, the torture. He eventually killed her too, she was too disobedient. I tried to help her but she wouldn't listen, she wanted to fight."
"The police are at your house right now Melinda, Marcus called them and said he was a concerned neighbour, he said that Jim abuses you.....they arrested him. I'm so sorry, I tried to stop him but there's really not much I can do. He broke into your house and cut the phone wires, he put the scissors in Jims work bag. When CSI finds them they'll think that Jim did it to stop you from calling for help. Jim broke the phone, he got angry that it wouldn't work, he punched the wall so he's gonna have bruised knuckles. It's not gonna look good Melinda. The entire police unit and all of Jim's paramedic friends have been told about it, some of them don't believe but...."
"But some of them do."Melinda finished, shocked.
"Alice I have to go, I need to help Jim. What should I do?" Melinda was sobbing frantically now, realising how much trouble they were in "It's too late. Even if you tell them that it's all lies, they won't believe you now, they have too much evidence against Jim." "What evidence!?" Melinda yelled. "You remember when you fell out in the woods, you hit hour head and got all bruised up? Well Jim had left the firehouse early so nobody can really say that they knew where he was that night. Marcus said that you guys got into a huge fight and then Jim shoved you into the car-the police think he tried to kill you and then dump your body."
"They have no evidence, except for your word, that Jim didn't do it. Marcus told them that you guys fight all the time and that if it got physical you wouldn't stand a chance because Jim's so much bigger and stronger than you are. Tonight when they arrived Jim had wrapped you in a sheet and laid you on the backseat of your car, his best friend, Bobby, yelled at him about how perfect you are and 'how could Jim do this'- It looked like he was going to drive you away to dump you somewhere, that's what they all think. The police took Jim away and the paramedics have you in the ambulance right now. CSI and some of the police are in you r house gathering evidence, like I said before......It doesn't look good. You have to go back now Melinda, just remember, even when you give up the fight, never give up the hope-
Alice disappeared and the sound faded back in accompanied by the blinding pain in Melinda's head, which she couldn't move. She was strapped down to the ambulance board, still wrapped in the blood soaked sheet with a brace on her back, a collar on her neck and her head held firmly into place with two hard foam blocks.
There was an incessant ...beep. coming from somewhere in the ambulance, monitoring Melinda's heart and breathing. The ambulance pulled into Mercy Hospital car park and Melinda fought to remain above the pool of dark unconsciousness, trying to avoid falling in. "OH MY GOD! MELINDA!,.. LET ME GO WITH HER SHE'S MY FRIEND!" came a voice from a few feet away. Melinda opened her eyes to see Rick Payne's face hovering above hers as he ran to keep up with her gurney "You'll be okay sweetheart" he said and with that, Melinda's mind lost it's footing and slipped into that pool of darkness, Melinda was unconscious. Again.
In the hospital car park sat Marcus. Crying.- she's hurt, she's in pain and I can't help her. She's going to tell them if I go to see her now. She'll tell them everything and we'll never be together. I must leave her for a while. I'll let her recover and then I'll go visit, I'll take her flowers, roses ....she likes pink roses. They will let Jim out when she wakes up. I hate him, why is he allowed to speak to her when I can't? Why can he hold her when she won't let me? Why can he love her while I only dream?- Marcus sobbed as he looked at the picture of Melinda that he had stolen- I will give her some space, she'll see how much she misses me then. My love. My Melinda.-Marcus leaned his forehead against the window as he watched her being wheeled out from the ambulance. All of a sudden there was another man running alongside her- No. No way. If Jim's not allowed and I'm not allowed then why is he?-Another sob wracked his body as Melinda disappeared through the hospital doors.