Katerina-PetrovaWinchester: Yea, this part seemed really important for me to incorporate into the story. Glad you liked it!
stupid-nickel: haha! I love your reaction (not that I like the fact that you "bawled"). I was trying to make it really sad the fact that he died, so I'm happy you responded accordingly. I'm also happy that you thought I wrote it well!
flyingmole: Thanks! And to answer your question, yes. The fact that other humans can see her is apart of her third phase of the cycle, and that's why she got the Revelation Candle as a brand.
Ooo a jellybean: I'm glad you liked the fluff! If I end up continuing you should definitely stick around, and yea, I was trying to bring up the fact that it was still a show with out just saying : This is a show. lol
OK Guys! This is it! This is the last chapter of Part I for The Hunt! Sorry for not posting this sooner! I was out of town and didn't get the chance to put it up. I have a lot more written down, but am still debating whether or not I should continue to post it, based on the response I receive for this last chapter. So if you want to see more, reviewreviewreview! I need feedback! (Please) This is a SUPER LONG CHAPTER so there should be more than enough to comment on. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the conclusion of this part, and remember to R&R!
15
Bobby helped us burn the body, and I blamed most of my tears on the harshness of the flames.
I was a failure. I couldn't change a damn thing or make one really good difference in this universe. Even the colt—our only weapon to kill the thing most likely responsible for John's death—had managed to walk off the face of the earth. My existence in this alternate reality was pointless, and I bet the brothers thought that way too.
After staying for almost a week at Bobby's, my left arm was already feeling much better from the sprain form the accident. Having nothing to do day after day except for think more about how stupid my quest was, I took Bobby aside. Zach and Dave were in the kitchen, pouring out drinks for themselves.
"I know this wasn't any priority for you," I told him. "But were you ever able to find something else on this whole alternate universe thing? I just want to know a little more about why I'm here."
"After I saw what you went through in the car back in Iowa, I wanted to read a little more about those brands you've been gettin'." He explained.
We walked over to his desk, and he pulled out a folded paper that looked as though it was torn out of a book, and handed it to me. I opened it to see "Gaining The Star" titled at the top.
"What is this?" I asked.
"If you keep readin', it'll tell you how you pass a phase and get a brand." Bobby explained returning to the brothers.
Eagerly, I read on, wanting to know more about these mysterious markings and why they were being burned into my skin.
Each symbol was listed in order, and at the top next to the Entrance Feather it read: This phase initiates the cycle of completely entering an alternate universe. The feather is the official symbol as it signifies the ease and simplicity of this phase.
After the feather was the Scroll of Truth that said I received it once I have become confident of my quest. The scroll was the symbol because it signified the knowledge I gained by discovering my quest, but apparently there was still more to learn about it along the way.
Following that, the Revelation Candle was the third phase where I was revealed to the inhabitants of the alternate reality other than those already known to me. The candle was meant to be the light that exposed me.
The final one was the Battle Scars that I was given once I was exposed to the non-humans of the alternate reality and had been in a conflict because of it. They were battle scars because of the "fight" (physical or spiritual) that I had gone through.
At the very bottom it told me that I had now completed the last phase of the cycle for entering a universe. So finding the meaning behind each phase completed my last phase and I could now leave and return at my own free will with the coming of the brand.
I wanted to leave now.
I folded up the paper and walked back into the kitchen where everyone else was seated. Dave finished his drink off, and got up.
"I'm going to get back to work on the car." He said leaving.
"I wish he would talk about it," Zach said once Dave was gone.
"You know your brother," Bobby told him. "He ain't the talkin' about it type."
"I'm going to keep him company." I said making my way to the fridge and grabbing a beer.
"How old are you?" Bobby asked.
"Relax," I said. "I don't drink. This is for Dave."
As I left the room I heard Bobby ask Zach,
"What does she mean she don't drink?"
I went down over to the garage to see Dave trying to fix something or another underneath the car. I made my way over to him and after showing him the beer bottle he rolled out and grabbed the drink, opening it against a worktable.
I didn't really want to say anything else because it was like what Bobby said; Dave wasn't the talking type.
"What are you doing?" I asked as he rolled back underneath the car handing me the bottle.
"Fixing the car," He replied.
"I know that," I said. "I meant what are you doing specifically."
"I'm specifically fixing the car."
"Brilliant," I sighed in resignation.
I just stood there for a while, watching Dave work, until Zach approached with his own beer.
"Do you need a hand?" He asked.
"And what? Have you working over here? No thank you." Dave replied. He came out from under the car and grabbed the beer from my hand.
"So what now?" Zach asked.
"Well, after I'm done repairing everything, I'll start to work on-"
"That's not what I meant," Zach replied. "Dave, we've got to talk about Dad."
"Oh no," Dave said. "We're not having this conversation."
"Dave,"
"Zach, I said I don't want to have this conversation."
"What about yellow-eyes?" Zach wanted to know.
"What about yellow-eyes?"
"We have to do something about him."
"We don't have a clue where he is, or how to find him and even if we did we don't have a plan, and our only weapon had one shot—literally—And now that's gone too! So what do you propose, huh?" Dave disputed.
"I'm just saying we can work out a plan," Zach tried. "We could start off by looking for him and once we track him down, we could work from there."
"How do you suggest we do that?"
"I don't know," Zach said. "We'll think of something."
"Yeah, whatever." Dave continued to work handing me his beer that was now significantly lighter.
"Can I ask you just one thing about Dad?" Zach asked somewhat cautiously.
"What?"
"What did he say to you when me and Ella left your hospital room?"
I looked at Dave wanting to know what his response would be.
"Nothing," He said avoiding looking at Zach by focusing on the car. "He just was telling me how he was happy I was back, and that he was sorry about what he did when Azazel took over."
"Oh," Zach replied, a little disappointed it wasn't anything more important. "I'm going inside to see if Bobby can help us out with finding Azazel."
After Zach left I looked at Dave disapprovingly.
"What did I do now?" He wanted to know.
"You shouldn't lie to your brother." I said causing his expression to drop. "Especially if it's as important as what actually happened."
"Look," Dave said. "I don't need your opinion on how I should treat my brother."
"Actually, yeah, you do." I said setting the beer down. "And if you would just take me seriously for two seconds maybe things would be different."
"You know what? I did listen to you, and my dad is still—"
Before he could say it I punched him, which was actually a really big mistake because I didn't know how to fight at all, and while I was wincing in pain, Dave simply staggered back, and then asked if my hand was okay. Definitely not how I pictured punching someone would turn out.
"Don't talk to me!" I grumbled going back towards the house.
"Cru!" Dave called. "I didn't…" He paused. "I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry, okay?"
Whatever, no way was I talking to him ever again. I made my way inside the house, and got Zach's attention.
"Hey, Bobby gave me a way to track down Azazel." Zach told me, pausing after seeing the look on my face. "Are you okay?"
"Just dandy." I replied.
Dave lurched inside panting like he was out of breath.
"Hey," Zach said. "Bobby said there's a way we could track down Azazel."
"Sweet, let's do it." Dave said. He turned to me. "Cru,"
"No." I snapped.
"Aw come on! I was just angry." Dave said.
"Well I'm glad that you found one way to express your grief." I muttered.
"What's that?" Zach asked.
"Nothing," Dave and I said simultaneously.
"Well anyway, there's a place we could go to called Harvelle's Roadhouse in Nebraska." Zach said.
"If it's still standing." Bobby mused.
"Right. There's someone there that's familiar with hunters that could help us look for him." Zach continued.
"We're going to need to borrow a car, Bobby." Dave said.
"That's fine." Bobby replied. "Just be careful when you get there," He warned. "They're a little feisty there."
Which was a complete understatement. "Feisty" is word to describe people who are a touch aggressive. These people were much worse than "feisty".
This roadhouse in Nebraska looked rather abandoned when we arrived. There was only one car parked on the gravel and when we entered there wasn't a soul in sight.
"Hello?" Dave called. "Zachie go check in the back."
Zach obeyed and disappeared behind the double doors, while Dave wandered closer to the bar. He crouched down and I couldn't see him behind the counter. I was waiting by this closed off corridor when all of a sudden, someone came from behind, and before I could get a good look of who it could be, they used the blunt end of their gun to knock me out.
"There's been a misunderstanding," I heard Dave's voice say as I was starting to come to. "Why don't you let my brother explain?"
I lifted my head up slightly and could see the Savage brothers with their arms up and guns pointed at them by two women. I remembered them. Ellen and Jo. They were awesome. Why did they have to hurt a poor crippled 18 year-old girl? Never again was I going to wear a leather jacket to meet new people.
"Cru, are you okay?" Dave asked.
I only groaned in response.
"You didn't have to do that," Dave said to Jo. "She's just a kid."
"Look," Zach began. "We're just here to talk to someone."
Ellen's gun clicked, making Zach shrink.
"Talk to who?" Ellen wanted to know.
"I don't know," Zach tried explaining.
Ellen raised her gun ready to shoot.
"Wait!" Dave cried. "Look I'm Dave, and this is my brother Zach. We came here—"
"Zach and Dave?" Ellen asked. "Savage?"
The brothers looked at each other and nodded, clearly confused that this woman knew them.
"You aren't John Savage's boys are you?" Ellen asked.
"That would be us." Dave replied.
Ellen laughed and lowered her gun. Zach and Dave took this as an okay to let down their arms.
"Well, hey, I'm Ellen and this is my daughter Jo." She said with a cheerful look on her face.
"Mom you know these guys?" Jo asked setting her weapon down.
"Not them," Ellen replied. "I know their daddy. How is he by the way?"
"Not alive." Dave replied.
Ellen's lively spirit changed at the news.
"Oh," she replied.
After deciding it was safe to, I helped myself up from off the cold wooden ground.
"Oh sweetheart," Ellen said making her way to me. "Let me help you up."
I smiled faintly as I dusted myself off.
"Sorry about that." Jo said from her highchair.
"It's okay." I said rubbing my head.
"Who is this?" Ellen asked about me.
"Our sister." Dave replied.
"Your daddy never mentioned no girl in your family." Ellen said suspiciously.
Dave and Zach shifted uneasily and tried thinking of something that could save them. Luckily Ellen was concerned about one thing.
"Well, can we trust her?" She asked.
"Absolutely." Zach said. "She's just someone we take with us."
Jo gave me a disdainful look, and Ellen simply scowled at this explanation.
"As long as I don't have to worry about her." She said taking out some drinks, and setting them down on the counter.
"About this person we're looking for," Zach started.
"Now we get a lot of folks in and out of here, so I might not be able to tell you who it is." Ellen warned.
"Well, this person would be able to help us track someone down—"
"Jo, honey, go call Ash." She said. She turned to the brothers who took a seat at the counter. "Ash stays with us." She explained. "He's a dropout from MIT of all places, and he uses his talent here, helping other hunters."
"You guys get other hunters?" Dave asked.
"Who sent you here?" Ellen wanted to know.
"Bobby Singer."
"And he didn't tell you that this is a hunters roadhouse?"
"He left that part out." Dave said.
Jo came back from the passageway that was at the far end of the bar with a man in a sleeveless band t-shirt and torn jeans.
"I hear you kids are here to see me?" Ash asked walking in grabbing Dave's beer and talking a drink.
Dave was clearly wondering how this guy came from MIT.
"We need your help tracking down a demon." Zach said handing Ash a folder full of his father's papers. "We know his patterns and how he works we just want you to help make it easier for us to get him."
"Sure," He said looking at the material. "This is going to take a couple of days, though. All of this is just omens and signs. I need to somehow turn this into an equation. You wait right here," Ash said leaving. "Let me get my stuff."
"I like the hair, by the way." Dave commented on the mullet.
Ash grinned and I suddenly remembered this line.
"All business up front," He said pointing to the top.
He turned back to point where his hair was long.
"Party in the back." We both said at the same time.
He grinned.
"Exactly," He said. "I like you."
He came back within a few minutes and right away Zach and Dave gave him the rest of the information they and their father had collected overtime, while Ash typed away ferociously on his laptop.
After a while, Zach retreated to his own laptop, which he had brought in earlier, and appeared to be engrossed in something on his screen. I stayed seated at the bar (without a drink of course), simply swinging my legs, my mind still dwelling on John's death.
"Hey, Dave." Zach said distracting me from my train of thought. "Come take a look at this."
I went too, and saw a few articles Zach had pulled up about a family in Nebraska where both parents were killed in their bed after coming back from a carnival. I slightly started to recall this episode, but couldn't quite put it together.
"And look at what the girl said. Some clown came inside to play but then vanished into thin air." Zach pointed out. "The cops think it's some sort of trauma but I think we should go check it out."
"Seriously?" Dave asked. "A psycho-carnival-clown?"
"It looks that way." Zach replied.
It didn't take much to convince Dave to go back to work so I helped them pack their things up and load the car. Jo followed us out.
"I want to come with." She said.
Dave was about to protest when her mother soon followed after.
"Jo, get back inside." Ellen ordered.
"But Mom—"
"I said back inside." She scolded.
After Jo rolled her eyes and dragged her feet back into the roadhouse, Ellen turned to us.
"I'm sorry, she's just like her daddy." Ellen explained. "Always eager to go on a hunt."
We drove off in the much roomier van that Bobby lent us, and headed to the carnival in Wisconsin. It was a nine-hour drive, and we'd left around 11 at night, so we would arrive there around 7 in the morning.
"I don't get it," Dave said. "How do we know it's not an actual carnival clown aside from the whole, vanishing into thin air thing?"
"Because," Zach said. "Everyone working at the carnival has alibis that all check out, and the cops have no practical leads. Plus, there were a couple murders just like this back in the eighties. It was with a circus, but the same style, and everything. Kill the parents, leave the kid."
"If it were a ghost wouldn't it be bound to one place?" Dave asked. "How's it moving from town to town?"
"Could be attached to an object that the carnival carries with it." Zach considered.
"I don't think it's a ghost." I said. "I kind of remember this, and I don't think it was a ghost."
"Well let's hope not," Dave said. "I don't want to be going on a scavenger hunt like we did back in Arizona."
"It wasn't that bad." Zach said.
"Are you kidding me?" Dave asked surprised. "Freaking toes, man." He muttered to himself. "And you're just saying that because of your irrational fear of clowns."
"What about your irrational fear of planes, huh?" Zach challenged.
"Planes crash!"
"And apparently, clowns kill!"
"Whatever," Dave said. "I don't even get why you're taking this case. I mean aside from the whole fear of clowns thing, I thought Azazel was priority number one."
"He is," Zach said. "I just think we should do this job. It's what Dad would've wanted."
"What Dad would've wanted?" Dave asked. "That's definitely not like you."
"Look, I get it," Zach said. "I'm making up for being angry at him my whole life a little too late. But at least I'm dealing somehow, which is more than what I can say about you."
"Not this conversation, Zach." Dave pleaded.
"Fine, but you started it," He said. "Jerk."
"Bitch."
When we finally arrived at the lot where the carnival was taking place we found that there were a few police cars parked on the grass, and detectives that were preoccupied with carnies. Dave left Zach and me behind to do a little investigating himself.
"Hey look," I said. "A help wanted sign."
"That'll make a great cover," Zach said. "It'll make it easier to sweep the place at least."
"Yea, well we're going to need a plan." I said. "What are our talents?"
"Another murder, with a vanishing clown, and two dead parents ripped to shreds." Dave told us upon returning.
"Ella found us a cover," Zach said pointing to the sign.
"Nice work, Cru." Dave said walking into the closest tent.
Zach followed him in, with me last in line, and we found a man standing on a platform throwing knives at a target, impressively close to the bulls-eye.
"Hey," Dave said. "We're looking for Mr. Cooper."
I suddenly remembered something. Uh-oh.
"Wait!" I cried right after Dave already asked,
"Have you seen him around?"
Crap.
The man turned around and took off his sunglasses. Of course Dave had to say that to a blind man.
"What are you, some comedian?" The man asked.
"Oh, God. I'm sorry," Dave tried.
"You don't think I would give anything just to see Mr. Cooper, or something?"
"Help?" Dave pleaded.
"Yea," I said. "Next time let me speak."
"Is there a problem?" A three-foot tall man asked angrily from behind.
Dave was about to say something until I cut him off.
"There's been a misunderstanding," I said. "I was just wondering if you could direct my brothers and myself to Mr. Cooper."
The man's demeanor changed and he smiled.
"Of course I can," He said leading us out of the tent and towards a trailer that had a plaque with Mr. Cooper's name on it.
"Thank you so much." I said with a smile.
"You're welcome." The man replied heading back to his station.
"We should probably let her do all the talking now," Dave told his brother.
We walked up the wooden steps and knocked on the trailer door. An elderly man opened it and welcomed us in once I informed him of our interest in the help wanted sign. We took our seats in front of his desk and began our conversation.
"So, you obviously heard about the murders and thought by working here you could get all of the news firsthand." Mr. Cooper guessed.
"Not at all," I replied. "My brothers and I have actually been working in carnivals for a few years now."
"Last year we went through Texas and Arkansas," Zach explained.
"We were doing a little bit of everything," Dave said.
Suddenly, someone burst into the trailer. Jo stood in the threshold for a moment and then walked over to where we were seated.
"I am so sorry," She said clumsily taking a seat. She turned to Dave. "Honey why didn't you wait for me outside of the bathroom like I asked you to?"
"I'm sorry," Dave replied growing annoyed. "I was a little more concerned about getting us work."
"Who's this?" Mr. Cooper asked.
"I'm the Mrs." Jo answered before I could say anything. She grabbed Dave by the arm and rested her head on his shoulder, as he gave a somewhat disdainful smile.
"You all have never worked a show in your lives, have you?" Mr. Cooper asked.
"Nope," Dave said and before he could continue, Jo went on.
"We do great maintenance work, and we could really use the money." She said.
"You all don't belong here." Mr. Cooper said. "This place is a refuge for outcasts, for those folks who don't fit in nowhere else."
Well I fit the criteria already.
"You all belong in a nice home, with school and kids, living regular." He said.
"Mr. Cooper," I said. "We've tried a home, and we've tried school. We've tried regular and it just doesn't work for us." I told him. "This does."
"How old are you?" Mr. Cooper asked me.
Taken aback I replied, "Eighteen."
"So no liability with you?" He asked.
"None whatsoever." Dave replied for me. "You can throw her in a pit of fire, no legal consequences I swear."
"Alright I'll tell you what," Mr. Cooper said leaning back in his chair. "You three look like you got the build for dealing with the maintenance, but you," He said turning to me. "Well, no offense, but you look like you belong here." He gestured to my hair, and only visible brand.
Right. I almost forgot about my two-toned hair.
"And to your luck, we're looking for an assistant for Mr. Mills and his target show. He prefers smaller girls." Cooper explained.
"That sounds pedophilic." Dave muttered.
"I'm sorry, who's Mr. Mills?"
"He's the blind man," Mr. Cooper explained.
"And what's this target show?" I asked wanting a clarification.
"You know," Cooper said. "For his knife-throwing act."
"Oh, right," I said with a nod, even though I was freaking out. "What was he doing before he had a… small girl?"
"He had that kid that came here to be a magician. I told him I wasn't looking for one, but I sent him down to the blind man so he could assist him. Poor guy, Mr. Mills couldn't stand him, so I had to get rid of him. I traveled with his father before I started my own place, so I felt bad. He's still staying with us until we can find something useful for him."
"I see," I replied not actually that interested in this other man. I just wanted someone else to take my place.
"You can go in and see him," Cooper told me. "One of the carnies will be happy to take you."
"Right," I said leaving the trailer with the other three following me.
They were stopped and Mr. Cooper handed them each a red windbreaker with his name printed on it.
We stood outside while more and more people began showing up.
"Jo, Ellen is going to kill me, you have to go back home." Dave disputed.
"Ellen is my problem," Jo argued. "I'll deal with her when I have to."
The three quit arguing and turned to me.
"So are you excited?" Dave asked with a cheeky smile on his face.
"Leave me alone," I said heading towards Mr. Mills tent.
"Have fun getting hacked to death by a blind man!" Dave called.
I heard Zach and Jo give him nudges to get him to shut up. At least they felt bad for me.
I gingerly walked inside of the tent and found the blind man growing frustrated with himself. Upon my entrance he perked his head up.
"Who's there?" He wanted to know.
"Excuse me, Mr. Mills?" I asked in the sweetest voice imaginable.
"Who wants to know?"
"My name is Ella, I'm your new assistant." I explained, and before I could say anything else Mr. Mills cut me off.
"Sing." He ordered gesturing for me to sit down on the chair in front of him.
"Uhm,"
"That's not a song, you're fired."
I would've been overjoyed had it not been for the hunt that we were on. Immediately I burst into song, with Guilty by Al Bowlly. Oh God this was so embarrassing. I didn't sing in front of anyone, ever. Now I was forced to sing in front of a grumpy old man who was going to be throwing knives at me any minute.
"Guilty ooof lovvvinng yoouuu,"
"That's enough," He said holding up his hand for me to stop. "That song is one of my favorites, and you're not half bad," He told me. "I would look for someone better, but you're heaven-sent compared to that buffoon that was working for me before."
"Thank you?"
"Go off to Cindy," He ordered. "She'll measure you up for costumes. Come back here though," He told me. "We've got to get to work. The show's tomorrow night."
Smashing.
On my way to "Cindy's" I bumped into the Zach who had his windbreaker on and was picking up trash.
"Hey," He said. "So while we were outside waiting for work, we heard this girl say she saw a clown. But it seemed to have disappeared, so we've got Jo tracking her down. How's it going with you?"
"I have to go get my measurements." I said. "This knife-throwing thing is tomorrow by the way. And he wants me to sing for him, which is really weird." I complained.
"Yea, sorry about that." Zach condoled. "We should probably dye your hair to its original colour."
"Which is brown, in case you were wondering."
"Well we didn't think it was white." Dave said coming from behind. "Here's an EMF by the way so you can sweep the place and dance."
He looked absolutely ridiculous in his windbreaker so I took this opportunity to laugh at him. He only glared at me. Whatever, he deserved it.
"So what did Stevie Wonder say?" Dave asked.
"Nothing," I said. "I have to go get measured for costumes." I said leaving.
"Wait!" Jo's voice called.
I turned around to see her running toward us.
"That girl who saw the clown," She started. "She's leaving in a few hours. At least that's what her parents told her before I ran to you guys."
"So what do we do?" Zach asked.
"We could just drop our work and follow her." Dave suggested.
"Look," I butt in, "I'll work with Mr. Mills for two hours and you guys do what you're doing for two hours, and after that I'll ask Mr. Mills for a break, and you can ask the same thing from Mr. Cooper."
"That plans not half bad," Jo commented. "But if they tell us no, I'm leaving anyway."
"Don't you think that would be a little reckless?" I worried.
"It doesn't matter," Jo said. "We're not going to let those kid's parents die because we didn't want to be reckless."
"Right," I said turning back to walk the long line of tents.
Luckily my eye caught the sign that was sticking out of the ground that read "Cindy's" in big red flashy letters. I took a deep breath before entering, and found a woman that looked like something gypsy out of a Madonna music video.
"Who are you?" She wanted to know.
"Ella." I replied. "I'm Mr. Mills new assistant."
"I see," She said coming up to me.
She unexpectedly thrust a measuring tape behind me and started to write down my measurements, but not without muttering a few complaints under her breath.
"What does he think?" She asked herself. "That I'm some sort of magician? How can I finish your costume by tomorrow?"
"Please don't make it too… revealing." I decided to let her know.
She gave me a look and laughed.
"You know the reason they got rid of that magic man, right?"
After I gave no response she laughed even harder.
"They need a young girl to appeal to an audience." She explained. "People like seeing women in fancy costumes, singing and holding apples on their heads for someone to slice from fifty feet away. Now keep still, I want to know if I should give you a hat as well."
Yuck, a hat.
Once I was done, I quickly left before she could find any reason to keep me. I was drawn towards Mr. Cooper's trailer where I heard some dispute taking place. This fight was no doubt attracting more people than just me, as a small crowd began forming outside of the trailer.
Suddenly an angry middle-aged man burst out of the door, with Cooper following out.
"I don't want to just sit here doing nothing!" The man cried. "I'm good at magic, and if you aren't going to let me put on a single show then I want to leave."
Oh, so he was the old assistant. Yeah, he definitely would not have looked that exciting in a fancy costume.
Poor Mr. Cooper was trying to calm him down in order to avoid a scene. Too late.
All of a sudden I had a memory flash of this moment. I'm sure I was going to come on to something if Mr. Mills hadn't called my name out.
"Eleanor!" He yelled.
Oh my God he made me sound like I was his doting fifty year-old wife—not his young assistant.
"It's just Ella," I mentioned making my way towards him.
I'll give credit to the guy. For someone who was blind, he was pretty good at this target thing. I mean, okay fine—he did use fake prop knives and everything, but they still didn't come close to hurting me. It was still a difficult routine considering my left arm was only halfway through healing, not to mention I could have been branded any moment now.
I did try to use my EMF while singing, but Mills caught on, and hated the stupid buzzing noise, and demanded I put it away.
Of course on top of that, he wouldn't let me stop singing. It was strange. He would be muttering numbers to himself, and if I paused even for a moment, he would get frustrated and we would have to start over again. I had to have everything in sync.
"I don't get it," I told him after some point. "Why do you need me to be singing?"
"It helps me with my pacing." He told me. "I know my next move based on your lyrics. Don't worry it's just for now. At the show I'll have the song playing. "
"Oh," I said, slightly surprised it was more sensible than simply a little "extra entertainment".
Suddenly I remembered the girl who saw the clown.
"Mr. Mills do you think I could have a break for about an hour?" I asked.
"An hour?" He said growing frustrated. "It's almost nightfall! What are you planning to do with all that time anyway?"
"I'll practice, I swear." I told him. "It's just I really need to go right now."
"Alright, but you better be a pro by the time you get back." He told me as I ran out of the tent.
I found the three jumping in the car and starting it, and I raced towards them before they could leave.
"Next time, don't make us wait." Dave advised as I climbed in.
We followed another car out of the lot and to the house watching inconspicuously as the family entered their home. While we were waiting across the street from the house Dave got a phone call from Ellen who was more than a little angry with Jo. Dave tried handing his phone to Jo who refused to take it, and ended up receiving Ellen's scolding.
"She's not budging." Dave said over the phone. "Believe me, I've tried sending her back but she wont listen."
He nodded a few times in response to Ellen and took a deep breath before turning to Jo.
"Your mom wants to know why you're being such a child." He said.
"Well maybe if she stopped treating me like one, I wouldn't act like it." Jo argued.
"D'you get that Ellen?" Dave asked. "Yea, I know. I won't let her get herself in too much trouble."
"You're not in charge of me," Jo complained as Dave hung up.
"Look, just don't do anything stupid—"
"Guys, shut up." Zach said, poking his head out the window. "I see a clown."
Dave readied his gun and turned back to Jo and me.
"Don't screw us up you two," He told us.
Jo only rolled her eyes.
"Don't make me punch you again," She threatened.
"I'm just saying," He told her as we all exited the car.
We crept up to the house, and heard the soft voice of a young girl talking to someone. We leaned over to see the clown responding silently through gestures. The clown dressed in an oversized polka dot suit, with red curls and a more than creepy grin distorted on his face by nothing make-up could simply accomplish.
A killer-clown creature. You would think this would spark a memory or two in mind, especially as Dave approached the thing, and shot it, only to find that it hit something solid revealing that it was therefore not a ghost after all. Unfortunately the bastard vanished into thin air before one of the Savage's could jump him.
The lights from inside the house flickered on, as a young girl began sobbing by her window. Her parents quickly came to comfort her, and asked if she had seen what made that loud noise.
"They killed my clown!" She cried pointing down to us.
"Okay," Dave said. "Time to go."
We bolted from the lawn as an angry couple burst out of the house and chased after us shortly.
We got back in the car, and drove off. Both brothers looked at each other and were wondering the same thing. If it wasn't a vengeful ghost, what was it? Jo reluctantly suggested they call her mother, saying that Ash would probably be able to figure out what it was.
Ash ended up picking up the phone, saying Ellen was more than a little angry, and Dave described everything he could about the monster we had just encountered. Ash lived up to his reputation, giving us a name for it, within minutes.
A Rakshasa was a creature that every couple of decades fed on human flesh, and that had the ability to take on whatever form it wanted to. Human to blend in, and clown to get themselves invited into the home, as that was the only way they could enter and feed. It slept on a bed of bugs and the only way they could kill it was with a brass knife.
Zach immediately came up with the theory that it was Mr. Cooper. Pulling out the old file, he pointed out how the killings corresponded to where the carnival went, and after he had done some snooping earlier on, he found that the carnival he worked for before creating his own, was in the same place as the killings back in the eighties.
"There's no way that it can't be him." Zach explained as Dave pulled back into the lot of the carnival.
"Well, since it didn't feed tonight," I said pulling the EMF out of my pocket and handing it to Dave. "Maybe it'll wait until tomorrow to feed again."
"The problem is that it already knows who we are." Jo said. "It knows to watch out for us."
We stopped walking to discuss this further.
"Jo's got a point." Dave said. "We have to work tonight."
Zach turned to me.
"Maybe you could get a brass knife from Mr. Mills." He suggested.
"Look, the man is crazy." I exaggerated. "The only way I'm taking a break from practice is by going to the bathroom. He's not going to let me leave especially after this."
"Well, I heard some carnies talking about there being some sort of big rehearsal in the main tent." Jo told me. "Maybe that's your knife act, and if it is, I'm sure we could look for a knife in his personal trailer while you're there."
"I don't know," I replied. "What if I can't get his key from him?"
"He's blind! It can't be that hard." Dave conjectured.
"You'd be surprised." I muttered.
"I'm sure there's someone else we can ask for help." Zach said.
"Try his old assistant," I suggested. "He might still have a key."
"Alright," Jo said. "I'll grab the knife, with Dave covering."
"I'll check Mr. Coopers trailer." Zach said. "Just to make sure it's him, I'll check under his bed for the dead bugs."
"He might be at the big rehearsal anyway." I said. "Once he comes back you can kill him."
"Ella!" I heard a shrill voice cry from behind.
Startled, I spun around to find Cindy racing towards me with a bedazzled costume in her hands.
"You are more than a little lucky," She told me excitedly as she approached. "I found a corset and pair of stockings and garters for your costume! I practically did nothing except dig around the wardrobe a little!"
Everything she dumped in my hands was black and white, to match my hair I imagined. As I examined the clothing I was mortified. I was pretty sure I specified not revealing. This was the exact opposite of not revealing.
"Uhm," I started before Cindy cut me off.
"I'm about to look for a pair of shoes in your size, and if my luck as good as it feels right now, I will be able to find the matching skirt." She said with a grin.
"How long is this skirt?" I asked, hoping it would make up for the other lack of clothing I was forced to deal with.
"Oh, it's just a few inches above the knee really." She told me before leaving.
I could hear Dave snort from repressing his laughter.
"This isn't even clothing!" I cried. "It's underwear!"
Dave burst out in laughter and Jo couldn't help but giggle herself.
"You'll be fine," She told me. "Maybe we could leave before the actual show."
Before I could explain to her in detail about how much my life sucked, and how nothing ever went my way, Mr. Mills hollered out my name.
"Eleanor!" He cried. "Is that you?"
I sighed and made my way towards his tent.
"Yes," I replied.
"Well get your costume on," He ordered. "We're having a dress rehearsal in half an hour."
"But-"
"I told you that an hour was too long, but you wouldn't listen to me!" Mr. Mills argued. "You had to go at that moment, and for an hour no less."
"But-"
"Jump into your costume, make your face pretty, and lets get moving." He said.
"Where?" I asked in resignation.
He directed me to Cindy's trailer where all the make up was and about halfway through I not only had trouble putting the damn corset on myself, but I couldn't even feel the circulation in my legs from the stupid garters. Luckily Cindy walked in (with a skirt—hooray!), and helped me out, although a part of me wished she hadn't because I was now having trouble breathing. Not to mention I looked like a Grade-A stripper.
Even though I was angry at my situation in this universe, I highly doubt that this was what the Great Realm had in mind when they had placed me here.
Cindy sat me down at her table and began making me look scarier than that clown that we were hunting, with the layers of make up I could feel her cake on to me. She described it as "gorgeous", but once I looked at myself in the mirror, I was sure we had a different idea of what we considered beautiful.
Looking at the clock I saw that I only had 10 more minutes with Mr. Mills to prepare, before having to start the rehearsal. This was awful. I only had two other hours of practice. What was I going to do with two lousy hours of practice? This was such a bad idea. Why couldn't Jo be the knife assistant? Oh, right, because she actually looked like a normal person.
I tied my hair into a half ponytail, and pulled a robe over what I was wearing, bolting out of the trailer to the main performance tent.
"Quickly!" I heard voices urge as I entered.
It was rather lavish, with colourful lights shining on the main floor, and music echoing through out the entire arena. I made my way to the center of the room where a seven-by-twelve wooden board stood. Tape marked the place in front of the massive canvas where I had to stand while the knives were being thrown at me.
I took my place, and Mr. Mills walked in, making his way to the display of his knives. Hesitantly, I took off my robe, and felt eyes darting my way. Could this be over now? I looked over to the left, as the music suddenly stopped and a man set a needle against a record and Al Bowlly's voice flooded the room.
Out of nowhere three knives landed in a line right next to my face. I had to do a couple of twirls and jumps and just like how we practiced, a series of knives almost killed me. While performing this strangely natural routine, this episode suddenly hit me.
Mr. Cooper was not the Rakshasa.
Oh my God when was this song going to end? I needed to get to the Savage brothers as soon as possible and tell them not to kill the harmless old man before they made a rather grave mistake.
The moment the routine ended, I didn't wait for Mr. Mills' "okay" for me to go. I took off towards the blind man's trailer and saw Dave waiting outside of it. He looked at me and was suddenly taken aback.
"What the hell are you wearing?" He asked.
There was no time for this.
"It's not Mr. Cooper." I told him.
"What do you mean?" He asked. "Who is it then?"
"I don't know." I replied. "But I remember that you guys made this mistake before, and it's not him."
Zach came running to us just as I explained to Dave how it must have been someone who was traveling with Cooper.
"Well it's not him." Zach said, giving me a strange look after glancing at my attire.
"We know." Dave said. "Cru remembers. She doesn't know who it is though."
"It would have to be someone who has been everywhere Cooper has." Zach said. "Can we think of any one?"
"The only person Cooper mentioned was the magician's father," I said, and as soon as I did we all realized.
It wasn't the magician's father who was traveling with Cooper it was the magician himself. He was the Rakshasa
"Jo," Dave said. "She went to his trailer to see if he knew about any brass knives."
Without another word the two ran towards the other trailers. I on the other hand went inside Mr. Mills trailer, digging somewhere for the right knife. Mr. Mills unexpectedly came in.
"Where'd you run off to?" He asked. "And what are you doing?"
"Mr. Mills," I said. "Do you have a brass knife?"
"What are you-"
"I need a brass knife!" I cried taking him aback.
"They're my special knives." He said. "They're in the chest in a wooden box."
I opened the chest, and found the box tucked underneath books. I pulled out a heavier-than-normal knife, gave Mr. Mills a quick kiss on the cheek and ran to the trailers stopping at the only one that had the lights on. Dave had kicked the door open and found Jo unconscious on the floor. He was by her side, trying to get her awake, and she slowly opened her eyes.
"No," She muttered. "It's a trap."
"What?" Zach asked.
"Dave!" Jo cried all of a sudden her eyes struck with fear and directed towards me.
Within that very second something grabbed me from behind and covered my mouth.
"Cru!" Dave cried pulling out his gun.
"You can't kill me with that," The man said with a laugh. "If you make a move I'll break her neck in an instant."
He moved his hand from my mouth and instead set me down, using his arm to put me in a headlock. My arms were stuck behind me, and my left one was aching miserably from my sprain. It was also a little unfortunate that I left my handy knife in Dave's car.
"What are you doing this for?" I wanted to know. "Revenge?"
"You think I have motive?" He laughed. "I'm not doing this because they wont make me a magician. I'm doing this because it's in my nature. My motive is that I'm hungry, and you are conveniently here."
If he would just let go of my hands, I would have been able to grab the knife I had tucked into my stocking against my inner right thigh. Instead he tied them with rope, still securing me in his grip.
"Although," the man continued, "I certainly love playing with my food."
I stumbled forward as he let me go and Zach caught me, straightening me up. I turned around only to find the magician had disappeared. All of a sudden, his invisible fist sent Zach to the floor, causing Dave to stand up.
"Alright," he said. "I'm going to have to kill you now."
The magician made himself visible in order to fight with Dave who apparently didn't stand a chance against the Rakshasa. He was bruised and bleeding on the floor, and so was Zach who had joined. Jo knew she couldn't defeat him but obviously wasn't going to go down without a fight.
Hello? If someone would have just untied me right then I would have been able to get to the stupid brass knife. Everyone was just too damn busy trying to fight something they couldn't.
Zach strode towards me while Jo was fighting. He shoved his hands between my legs, and to be honest for a moment there I was sure something had possessed him making him super-crazy-rapist at a time like this. Luckily he was just the only smart one to actually catch on to the fact that I had a brass knife and he was simply reaching for that.
He pulled it out of its sheath and stabbed the magician before it could get the worst of Jo. The magician's now bloodied clothes dropped to the floor as he disappeared for good.
Zach untied me and we collapsed to the floor to take a breath.
"Sorry about the whole groping you thing." He said.
"That's okay," I replied. "I'm just glad you found the knife."
Mr. Mills got his special brass knife back, and let me turn in my costume to Cindy, telling me that I didn't need to perform. It clearly wasn't my thing, and he would probably find that magician kid to help him. Right.
Jo decided to ride with us back to the roadhouse but felt she should at least talk to her mother. Surprisingly, Ellen was so angry with her daughter that she was now refusing to speak to her over the phone, and according to Dave said she didn't want to see her daughter leave this life the same way her husband did.
At this, Jo rolled her eyes, and slumped back into her seat as we drove on.
I suppose we all underestimated how angry Ellen actually was because when we dropped Jo off, she wasn't even speaking to the brothers and advised that the sooner we left the better.
"Look," Dave tried. "Jo did good, her dad would be proud."
"Don't you even dare," Ellen hissed. "Don't you start telling me about my husband."
Zach gestured to his brother that it was best to leave and Dave took a deep breath, exiting the roadhouse. I heard Ellen mutter "like father like sons," but I didn't look much into it.
We stayed by the van that we had and waited for Jo to return. She stormed out soon enough glaring at the brothers.
"What happened?" Dave asked.
Jo gave no reaction whatsoever. She just walked on with Dave stopping her once again.
"Whoa, there." He said. "Talk to me, Jo. What's the matter?"
"Get off me." She snapped.
He simply gave her a look and turned around.
"Turns out my dad had a partner on that hunt that got him killed." Jo said, causing Dave to turn back to her. "It's strange 'cause they both usually worked alone, but I guess Dad thought this guy could be trusted."
I knew exactly where this was going.
"Your dad screwed up, Dave." Jo said. "He screwed up, and he got my dad killed."
"Jo," Dave tried.
"That's why John never mentioned us. Because he couldn't even look Ellen in the eye, and face the fact that he made the mistake that killed my father." Jo stated bluntly, and folding her arms. "So just leave, okay? Just get out of here, please."
Dave stood there for a moment, while Jo walked away, and I guess I forgot that I wasn't watching this as an episode, because the next thing I said, I was probably the most shocked by out of everyone there.
"Bitch, please." I muttered, immediately smacking my hand over my mouth.
Both brothers looked at me like I had lost my mind, as Jo slowly turned around. Holy shit I was going to die today.
"Excuse me?" She asked.
"Nothing." I replied quickly.
"No," Jo urged. "I didn't catch that, how about you repeat yourself?"
"Look," I started calmly.
"What?" Jo hissed.
"All I'm saying is that you can't be angry at them for what their father did." I argued growing a little angry. "It's not their fault something went wrong on your dad's last hunt. They didn't even know you existed until a few days ago, and you're going to start blaming them for something that happened because of their father? You don't think they're already going through enough after he died?"
Jo looked at me clearly not knowing what to say, as the brothers exchanged looks.
"You've got something against John Savage? Well, get in line, sister, because you aren't the only one." I told her.
Jo simply looked at all three of us and continued to walk away.
The drive to Bobby's was worse than awful, and he didn't even live as far from the roadhouse. Dave kept lecturing me on how I shouldn't have said what I did to Jo, and he was right. She was just upset and needed to blow off some steam but I remembered that when I had first watched that scene I was so angry with her for resenting them for something they had no knowledge of. I had to say something.
Near the end of the drive, Zach pointed out how I was right about one thing. Jo was definitely not the only one who held something against John. He wanted to talk about how it was strange that so many people ended their relationship with him so poorly. Even Bobby had a falling out with him before joining him on that last hunt. Dave obviously tried cutting this conversation short, but Zach was not having it.
"No," Zach replied firmly. "I'm not going to just let this one slide. I get that I'm dealing with this whole thing like it's a big mess, but at least I'm willing to talk about it, Dave."
"Good for you," Dave said. "I think there's a box of Kleenex in the glove compartment."
"Don't patronize me, Dave." Zach scolded. "You miss Dad, and you're just as angry at him for being gone, and you're just as frustrated for not knowing why."
As we pulled on to the gravel of Bobby's house Zach turned to his brother.
"I don't care how you deal," He said. "As long as you deal somehow."
We all got out of the car, and Zach went inside. I was about to follow him, but saw that Dave was headed towards the garage where his Impala was, so I decided to go after him. Maybe I could get him to feel a little better after the big argument that happened the last time we were here.
But as soon as I was about to speak, I saw Dave grip the tire iron he had picked up, and he began to repeatedly smash his car in with it. That anger and frustration Zach had mentioned was being taken out right at this moment, along with a number of other things.
Zach rushed out, clearly startled by the noise and wanted to stop his brother from ruining his most prized possession, but I stopped him.
"This is how he's dealing, I guess." I said. "I think we should just let him continue."
So we just stood there watching as Dave took apart everything he had so carefully put together. It would've been strangely poetic if not for the horrific pain that began scorching the skin of my wrist, as I reflexively began screaming.
My brands! I had completely forgotten about them. The page that Bobby gave me said that I had just completed my final phase, but how come it took so long to get my next brand? I would've been more prepared had I remembered, and instead I was taken by surprise, and basically thought I was dying as Zach and Dave hauled me into Bobby's house and up the stairs to one of the rooms.
At first I couldn't tell whose arm it was, but later found that I was digging my nails so deep into Dave's skin that he was bleeding because of it. I couldn't help it though. Apart from screaming, and crying and clenching my teeth until I couldn't feel my mouth anymore, I had no other way to deal with this sickening pain.
The smell of my skin burning was beyond gross.
"I'll go get the alcohol," Zach said. "You stay here."
Dave cradled me against his body, as Bobby continuously wiped my sweat away, muttering to himself about how he should start carrying morphine, or tranquilizers.
I was screaming so much it was becoming a struggle just to breathe. Zach returned and shoved a towel in between my teeth, and then bandaged Dave's arm. I used all the strength I had to squeeze Dave's hand until it turned white, as the amount of pain fluctuated.
"You'll be fine, kid." He told me, pushing my head back against his shoulder.
The pain was way too excruciating to believe him, and I felt every combination of bad. I was nauseous, I had a headache, I couldn't feel my entire right hand, or my entire body for that matter. All I could feel was severe sweltering of my skin as a star started to take its shape underneath my thumb.
Actually to be perfectly honest I could hardly remember what it was like beyond what I just explained. It was too much for me to take and a lot of it just became a blur.
All I remember was that after it was over Dave was lying next to me on the bed with his arms around my waist. I blinked my eyes open and turned over to face him. He half smiled.
"How you doin' kid?" He asked half asleep.
I swallowed and my eyelids grew heavy.
"Better." I said finding my voice. I paused to find us both tucked underneath the covers. "I thought you weren't the spooning type."
"I make an exception for people who threaten to kill me for trying to sleep in a separate bedroom." Dave replied making me slightly smile.
I remembered forcing him to stay.
I glanced down at my wrist and saw it was bandaged.
"Courtesy of Dr. Zachary Savage." Dave told me. "Now get some sleep. You've been through hell."
This was true, so I didn't protest. I kissed Dave on the cheek, causing him to make a very displeased expression, and then rested my head back on the pillow, surprised at how easily I was falling asleep.
The problem was when I woke up I didn't feel Dave's arms secured around me anymore, and it wasn't because he had gotten up early to go get breakfast downstairs in Bobby's kitchen. It was because there was no Bobby's kitchen.
The problem was that I had woken up in my dorm room, in a building that was conveniently built next to a train station, and I knew that this time I wasn't just dreaming.
End of Part I