Chapter 6
Emma screamed and backed away from the window, overturning her chair in the process. Her leg collided painfully with the metal leg of her desk in her haste to get away from the window, but she barely noticed the impact that would surely leave a bruise. All she could see was Regina, standing outside the station, ready to kill.
She closed her eyes, but she only saw Regina. Regina, Regina, Regina. Regina's dark red lipstick, her pale skin, and worst of all, her eyes. The eyes that had haunted her for many nights. The eyes that had caused her to wake up in a cold sweat, screaming with fear until her throat was hoarse. The eyes that had made it impossible to sleep through the night for several months after the attack.
She knew that it would be a good idea to grab a flashlight and her gun from her desk, but she was paralyzed with fear. All she could do was huddle in a ball against the wall farthest from the window.
She heard a whisper in the darkness. "Emmaaaaaa." Said a bodiless voice. Regina's voice was high, cold, and sinister. Emma forced herself to stay quiet to not alert Regina to her location.
"I know you're there." Regina said again. Her voice sent shivers down Emma's spine. "Come out and playyyyy…"
Then, she heard a creak. And another, and another. Emma's eyes flew open, squinting in the darkness, but all she could make out were various shapes and lumps of the furniture. And then there it was. A dark shadow by the door. Regina. She'd come to kill her. Emma tried to stand up, but her legs refused to move. Great. She was stuck here, in the darkness, completely vulnerable.
The shadow came closer and closer. "Emma?" It said. "You there?"
For a split second, Emma thought she felt the Evil Queen's cold hands tighten around her throat. She couldn't help it; she squeezed her eyes shut and screamed as loud as she could. Dimly, her mind registered that this time the voice sounded nothing like Regina's, but that didn't matter. Maybe if she screamed loud enough someone would come to her aid before Regina killed her.
Then, she heard the click of a flashlight. "Emma?" A concerned voice asked. "What are you doing?" It was Graham.
Despite the fact that this was incredibly unlike her, Emma immediately launched herself into her husband's arms. "Oh my God, it's you." She breathed heavily, her heart pounding with relief. "It's just you."
"What's wrong?" He asked, looking around the dark office. "Are you ok?"
"Regina." Emma gasped heavily.
"What?" Graham looked around, as if he expected Regina to still be there.
"I saw Regina." She said. "Sh-she was standing outside the window." Emma pointed at the window. "She was just standing there, watching me."
"Ok…" Graham said, obviously unconvinced.
"I'm serious!" Emma insisted. "And then I heard her whisper my name. She was there, Graham. I saw her."
"Em." He said, pushing back a stray lock of hair from her face. "There's no one there." He said soothingly, pushing back the blinds.
"She was there." Emma repeated.
"I think we need to get you home." He said. "You're obviously very stressed about the whole Archie thing."
"I'm not crazy. She was there."
"I know." Graham said in an attempt to placate her. "C'mon, let's go. You'll get some sleep and feel much better in the morning."
Emma knew it was no use to argue. She knew that if she protested, Graham would just pick her up fireman style and carry her to the car. As she followed her husband out, she knew that somewhere outside, Regina was watching her.
~Long Gone~
Regina snickered as she watched the happy couple walk out to their car. She couldn't believe that her little appearance had scared the little bitch so much. Seeing her scream, well, that was the most fun she'd had in weeks. Months, even. If Emma reacted so badly to this, the next phase would be even more fun than she thought.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Regina smiled icily from behind the tree. Sleep while you can, Ms. Swan.
~Long Gone~
Emma woke up from what was supposed to be a peaceful night. Instead, she'd been plagued with awful nightmares about horrible things. Henry dying, Graham leaving just like Neal had, her parents in the hospital with comas, and worst of all, Scarlett disappearing. There was this strange feeling that the dreams had been some sort of omen. She rubbed her eyes. That was crazy talk. As far as she knew, she didn't have any magic, so therefore any magic fortune telling abilities were out of the question.
"Hey." Graham said, draping his arm around her. She immediately cuddled close to her husband. "Have I ever told you how gorgeous you are?"
She rolled her eyes, but was secretly pleased. "Just everyday."
"You feeling any better?" He looked at her, concerned.
"Yep." Emma said, omitting any details of her strange dreams. She didn't need Graham on her case again.
"Good." Just then, they heard Scarlett crying.
"I'll get that." Emma pushed herself up and headed down the hall. "Which means you get to start breakfast."
"Fun." Graham groused as he got up as well. "But at least it'll be edible." He winked.
She opened the door to her daughter's room. "Hey, Scar." She said, expecting the toddler to be standing up in her crib, waving cheerfully out like usual. But the sight in the room stopped her short.
Instead of a happy Scarlett, Emma saw the worst sight of her life. The curtains were slashed, the windows smashed in, and broken glass was everywhere. Scar's toys were ripped up and strewn carelessly around, and the crib lay in pieces. What'd happened in here? Had there been burglars? Or a kidnapper? Emma looked around frantically for her baby. But she was nowhere to be seen. Emma sifted through layers of debris, barely noticing that she'd cut her bare feet on all the glass. All that mattered in that moment was finding her baby.
"Scar!" Emma called, hoping her daughter would just look up and reach out to her. But all was quiet. She looked out into the hall, hoping that Scarlett had somehow gotten out into the hallway. But there was no one there.
Then Emma saw it. Saw Scarlett lying in the middle of the mess that used to be her crib. "Scar!" She cried, rushing towards her daughter. But the sight made her stop short. Scarlett lay on the floor, dead, a pool of blood around her, gushing from the deep wound on her head, soaking her beautiful curls.
"Scar! Oh My God, Scarlett!" Emma picked up the toddler, tears pouring down her cheeks. "Scar!"
Dead. Her daughter was dead. Emma had failed to the number one thing a parent was supposed to do: protect their children.
"Scar. I'm so, so sorry." She said, cradling her daughter. Tears dripped down onto the toddler's face.
She sat, her back against the wall, feeling numb, as she held her daughter's body. Dimly, she wondered why no one had come in yet, especially since the door was open. Her vision swam as she sobbed. Her daughter was dead. Her beautiful baby girl was gone. Dead and gone.
Suddenly, she saw two black heels appear in her line of vision, along with a huge cloud of rose perfume that nearly made her choke.
"Regina." She gasped.
The Evil Queen had a cruel smirk on her pale face. "Why, hello, Ms. Swan."
"You did this." Emma said. "You killed my daughter."
Regina merely continued to smile. "You're next." She said simply, and was gone in a puff of purple smoke.
"No! Get back here, you bitch!" Emma screeched, but it was no use. Something red appeared in her vision. Emma looked up to see the words YOU'RE NEXT scrawled on the wall in dripping bloodred paint.
The words swirled around and around her, making it impossible to see anything. Emma screamed as Regina appeared again, her hand outstretched towards her heart, a spine chilling glare on her face. Emma closed her eyes, preparing for her death….
"Emma!" Someone came barreling in. Graham. "What's going on? Are you ok?" He looked quite ridiculous in his World's Best Mom apron and spatula in one hand.
Emma opened her eyes, fully expecting to see Regina, but all was calm. She blinked in confusion. The room was back to normal, everything in its place.
"I…Regina…Scar dead!" She gasped, looking around frantically. But Scarlett lay peacefully in her crib, blinking up at her mother, her bear clutched under one arm.
"Emma." Graham placed his hands on her trembling shoulders. "Calm down."
"I can't!" Emma shouted. "There were these words scrawled all over the wall. Scarlett was dead. Regina…she was here!"
"That's impossible." Graham said. "She was sent through the portal with no way back."
"Well she must've found a way back!" Emma snapped. "She's here, Graham. She's here." She insisted. "Regina's here, and she's out to get me."
Graham just stared at her.
"Don't give me that look!" She said angrily. "I know what I saw. I'm not crazy." She hated how weak she sounded.
"Em…" He said worriedly. "I think all the stress is getting to you." He placed his arm around her shoulder, but she wrenched away.
"I'm not crazy. Or stressed!" Emma said. "I saw her. She was here. Everything was messed up and Scarlett was dead. I know what I saw!"
"Ok, ok." Graham said. "Still, I think you need some sleep." He placed his hand on her forehead. "You're burning up, Em." He said, leading her back towards their room. "Get some sleep."
"I'm not sick." She insisted, but then sneezed. Again and again. Emma stared incredulously at the door as he closed it and headed back down the hall. How dare he not believe her? Soon after they got back together, they'd made a pact to never lie to each other.
She knew Regina was back, and she was determined to prove that to Graham. Above all, she knew she had to do whatever it took to protect her family.
Author's note: See that lovely little box? That's for reviews. Y'all know what to do!