24Chapter 5: A warning realized…
Author's note: Ok look guys I'm really sorry for taking so long with this and with 'Why me' ( I actually forgot I posted that….sorry I'll try to update that soon too….didn't I already say that in the other chap…? Whatever I'm scatterbrained…sigh) I've been having writers block for a while now and I just got over it (I think…maybe…probably…?)not to mention I've been having some family issues for the past couple of months and have NOT had very many free weekends (summer is here though! so that should change…I think…maybe…hopefully…?) for this reason and others I will not promise when the next chapters will come all I will promise is that I will get them done ASAP and I will not give up on this story as long as you don't ether. Thank you all for your kind reviews and your enduring patience I never thought people would like this as much as they do
P.S in case you missed that…that was a hint I luv attention and reviews, I'm not going to beg but it would be nice to get some feedback…even flames… so I can figure out which writing style you all like so I can make YOU happy anyway enough chatter on with the overly delayed chapter five!
Disclaimer: what do you think?
Half an hour after Jake's departure found Sarah aimlessly wandering her small apartment, wondering what had happened to her that day and feeling like something was just not right with the whole situation. "There has to be some explanation for what happened….I couldn't have been out that long could I? I mean it's already starting to get dark and I left this morning…could I really have just been passed out on the stoop for…what would it be? Eight hours!" She sighed. There really was no use in trying to figure it out tonight she decided…but still, she'd been out for near to the entire day and (surprisingly enough) she wasn't a bit tired, despite her beat up appearance. "Hmm I wonder what I can do…" she mused to herself as she wandered uselessly from room to room, willing something to come to her. Laundry to be done…? No. Dishes…? No. Cleaning...? No. Anything at all involving minimal
movement and brain power but can be called an activity…? Didn't seem so. A thought assaulted her mind with the mocking intensity sea water has on a thirsty person. She remembered her car, her so loved, little white and rusted Subaru, still parked over at Fantasy Fables and More. She sighed and smacked a hand to her forehead "Crap….stupid, stupid, stupid! Jeff hates it when I leave my car there…Gah!" she took a deep breath, she had wanted something to do after all (though she would have much preferred something involving less than three miles of walking) she shrugged. "Whatever I wanted something to keep me busy and I guess this is it." She began trudging dejectedly to her room to get her keys when, at a sudden thought, a small smirk spread across her face. "Be careful what you wish for Sarah…HA! You'd think I'd have learned that by now." The smile soon gave way to giggles and her dejected trudge turned into a normal, bouncy walk.
She retrieved her keys from her nightstand; all the while laughing lightly at herself while somehow not being able to be annoyed by the recurrent memory…in fact somewhere deep within her unconscious mind…she was sorry that she was laughing alone, sorry that no velvet voice from her past had snidely agreed with her observation...sorry that she had driven him off. Still laughing quietly to herself and finding it rather odd that she should consider it that funny, she grabbed her long black coat from the hanger by the door and left the house…she only barely registered the chill that ran down her spine as she stepped into the descending night.
As she walked down through the parking area, she thought of how ridiculously, anal her boss was when it came to, what he dubbed, 'Self Appearance.' Jeff had the notion that leaving a car parked in front of a professional setting gave it the look of being a 'slum' – as he called it– and strictly forbade Sarah to leave her car parked there for more than one night. Regardless of the pain she felt…she would rather walk the three miles to the book store than have her boss angry with her and so here she was, dried blood still
caked on her arms, leg still throbbing (though notably not as bad) walking through the warm night with only the crickets for company.
Of owls could growl, the one watching Sarah leave her home and head for the path that would take her to her work, surely did. Still bleeding, pain burning through the whole of his body, Jareth resigned to just follow the girl and hope she got lucky. He couldn't afford to bring attention to her directly, or to the fact that he was in absolutely no condition to protect her…all he could do was follow quietly and hope that, upon sensing his presents, the creatures would hold off on attacking her until they could regroup. "Regroup. That's something I'll bloody well look forward to…" he thought with more than a bit of anxiety. The one he had fought earlier in the day had nearly killed him with its first strike…if he were to have to face a horde of the bastards…. He shook his head –as well as an owl in flight can do anyway– things were not looking good at all.
Sarah walked on through the warm shadows, truly enjoying the sounds the night had to offer, the smell of the cooling earth. She sighed dreamily and looked around as if expecting something. Despite her seemingly reasonable excuse, Sarah couldn't deny that she had alternate motives for going out this late at night. Walking helped her clear her head and she needed time to think, the night offered plenty of atmosphere for phantoms to lurk and she wanted her phantom to appear even if just one more time, being locked up in a bright house with the walls of night crushing in on you was somewhat unnerving and though she could not explain it, Sarah didn't feel her apartment was the safest place to be at the moment.
She looked up at the moon, cloaked in misty clouds and remembered the night she had met Jareth, the night she had wished her brother away. "What would have happened if it had all gone different….?" She was jarred out of her thoughts by a noise to her right. Sarah jumped and whirled to face the cave of dark where the sound had come from. All around her the forest seemed to still, the sounds seemed to stop, even the wind held its breath. Images from earlier in the day came to her in flashes she barely understood. Running through a bright forest, wood and bark flying around her…something following her that she just had to get away from. Had that all been a dream…it sure seemed like it now but…it also seemed very real and right now seemed very dangerous. Her alternate motives gave her hope that the being stalking in the abyss of night was the one she wanted to see again, the alabaster haired Goblin King, the only one who, ironically enough, made her feel safe in her new and oppressive mood. She was too seasoned with disappointment, too smart, too knowing to reveal those thoughts and to trust them. Green beryl eyes freezing dark, slender lips curving into a scowl, eyebrows furrowing in annoyed confusion, Sarah planted her feet and readied herself to face this unknown entity the only way she knew how, with hardheaded determination and self defying stubbornness.
Blood-soaked wings refusing to hold him up any longer, Jareth had had to drop back away from the girl and land in an old Oak for a much needed rest…at this rate, if his healing powers didn't kick in, he would be dead by morning, he was sure…but he wouldn't leave her, not again. "I promised myself I'd never let anything happen to you…and I will win your trust…even if it kills me." The thought was not unaccompanied by the notion that Sarah truly wasn't worth all this and that he could probably find a hundred other women who would throw themselves at him rather than fight and run an unnumbered amount of times…of course where would the fun be in that? If he could have smirked he would have. He
had to admit he loved a challenge, and was this ever a challenge. Being a granter of forlorn wishes, he should have known better than to make one himself.
Shrugging off the pain, catching a helpful gust of wind, he was again consumed in flight, searching for Sarah and praying they could both get through the night alive. He hadn't gone but half an aerial mile when he sensed the sinister power…he could tell it was hunting just as he could tell it had found its prey. He cursed mentally and verbally gave a shrill warning screech "Best laid plans…" he thought spitefully. Apparently he was not getting off as easy as he hoped…there was more bloodshed to come.
Sarah clasped her hands to her ears in a futile attempt to block out that horridly strident sound. "What the heck was that?!" she asked no one in particular. "Gah that hurt!" she hissed in pain and tried not to think about the ringing in her ears…that noise had not been of this realm…but it had been familiar. Jareth was certainly the one who had made the noise, she was sure; for what reason she didn't know nor did she have time to work up the thought to care. That cry had confirmed her fears. Right now she was facing down not a goblin king but something she did not know, something she may not be able to handle, something that was glaring at her with blood red eyes.
The moment she caught sight of those eyes her strength failed, fear took her mind and body, icy claws tore at her lungs. On propulsion not her own, she backed away; heart beating fiercely, a cold sweat dripped down her back. She hit a tree. Stopped. Stared. The eyes were unmoving from her; black pupils trained to her every move, her every breath. The night began to cave in on her, to suffocate her. The dark became a hated enemy, concealing the predator. Scraping. Long and slow. It seemed to be coming from right beside her. She flinched and, gasping, backed away, up the path she had come. The scraping came again, faster this time and directly behind her. She whirled; a choked and hoarse scream tearing from her throat. Nothing was there. Again the scraping sound came, it prevailed every direction, came
from every bush, every shadow, a confused frenzy of scraping, shredding, snarling…it was snarling at her.
The thought brought with it a new sense of reality…this was no dream, not even a nightmare. This was truly happening; there was something in this forest, something out to get her. Again Sarah found herself pressed against a tree, fearful tears burning at her eyes, the scratching sounds never stopped…and they were getting louder.
Something dripped on her arm. She froze, fear burning painfully in her chest. It trickled slowly down to her hand, pooled at the end of her finger, and dripped off into the nothingness of night. Thick, warm, as yet another drop followed the path the first had taken. Gulping for silent breaths, she stayed still; the sounds had finally faded…now it was the dripping that was a constant. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the tree, teeth gritted, the tears fell from her face…she had a good idea of what was dripping on her. With an effort greater than any she had made before, she wrenched her eyes open and forced herself to look up. Glazed and golden eyes stared back at her. The owl was tangled in the tree's lower branches, both wings obviously broken, its feathers saturated with blood. The creature was dead. Sarah screamed through her tears.
One thought came to her frantic mind. How fast would she have to run to keep her life? Pushing against the tree for speed, Sarah ran faster than she ever had…and something was keeping up with her, staying just behind her and out of her sight. Again memories came from earlier in the day. She had been running, lost to all human thought and in a primal state where her only purpose was to live; preservation of life the only thing keeping her going. She was almost in that state this time, only simple thoughts surfacing in her mind. If she could only get to her car…
She met the ground with a shaking crash. She had never seen the root, never expected her foot to stop while her body kept going, never expected sharp claws to dig into her back while sharper teeth took
hold of her shoulder, never expected to die like this. Breath not making it to her lungs, the only thing she could do was look to her side, look at the creature with a hold on her shoulder. A black muzzle, filled with serrated fangs glared back at her. Blood, her blood steadily surged through that throng of teeth, leaked onto the dark ground, pooled, warm, around her neck and face. It growled and began violently shaking, attempting to tear her arm from her body. A renewed fire flared in her spirit. She would not lay there and die, not without a fight.
"Get. Off!" rolling over she took hold of the back of the thing's neck and with more strength than she should have had, threw it off. Panting she looked at the creature who seemed to be calculating her right back. It was different than the one she had seen that day, whereas that one seemed more human shaped this one looked like a medium sized dog with an over sized mouth. She tried to push herself up but pain swarmed her bleeding shoulder, bile rose in her throat, she began to feel faint. Out of breath and still looking terrified she watched as it came in for another strike, this time aimed for her jugular. Her conscious mind only had time to form one coherent thought, it was not one of defense, nor was she contemplating her own death, she did not consider escape, but instead, as she watched that monster leap into the air and bear down on her with jaws at the ready, her one coherent thought ripped itself from her very throat in a desperate and sobbing plea. "Jareth!" within that one word she found hope, comfort, and a world she longed to go back to, a world built on dreams in which something as dark and deadly as this could never exist, a world where childhood innocence could live on forever if it so wanted, a world where everything was right.
Mid air, focused solely on its death blow, the shadow dog never had a chance to evade the talons of the enormous and battle scared barn owl. Emitting yet another angered screech, Jareth grabbed the thing, mid pounce, by the spine and flung it into a rock with bone breaking power. The thing fell dead to the ground, its dark purple blood sizzling and evaporating as it leaked from the smashed in head and torn
out spine. Jareth came to the ground as a Fae, landing in a crouch and glaring hatred at the corps of the monster that had nearly killed Sarah. Only after he was certain it was dead and there were no more waiting in the wings, did he allow himself to wince in pain and look over to pallid girl.
Sarah stared in awed horror, scarcely believing what she was seeing. She had never thought her childhood enemy capable of such brutality, furthermore she hadn't even though he was still alive. She realized for the first time that when she had seen the dead barn owl in the tree, she had thought it had been Jareth…and she had been distraught over his loss, though given her current situation she hadn't time to think on it. Still trying to catch her breath and wondering if she were not just imagining the blond Fae sitting in front of her, emotion began to beat down on her.
In an attempt to get some life back into the frightened girl and hide the fear that had claimed him, Jareth flashed her his biggest smirk.
"You called darling?" his suave approach was somewhat undermined by his current position, sitting cross legged on the dirt, leaning on his knees, but that didn't seem to register to Sarah.
The smirk, the voice, the annoyingly sarcastic way he had called her darling, his tone, pleasant and light, like nothing had even happened…it shattered her resolve…it was really him. He was alive, she was safe, he would make it all better. Without thinking, ignoring the pain she faced, Sarah launched herself into his arms and sobbed into his chest, clinging to him as if he were life itself. The startled Fae stared down at the girl a moment before he was able to react. Gently he held her to him, stroking her hair and murmuring softly in her ear. Keeping one arm firmly around her, he used his teeth to pull off the glove of his other hand and began to carefully massage her injured shoulder, she gasped from pain and her sobbing became a bit more frantic, but it only took a second before his magic began to work its way into her skin and heal the gashes from the inside out.
His gentle actions and southing voice did nothing to betray the hate filled rage burning inside him. Sarah was a remarkably strong girl; he knew from experience, nothing could match her determination, her wit. But now…this physically powerful, mentally authoritative, individual, this girl who had met his change and beat him at his own game, had been reduced to a quivering, sobbing child, seeking naught comfort from a nightmare come to life. His grip on her tightened even as his own wounds rendered him too weak to move. "Sarah…love look at me…" he whispered and then waited for her eye contact, "Are you alright now…you weren't hurt other than your shoulder, correct?" the blood on her face was making him worry but he could seen no visible injury.
Sarah looked dumbly up at him, unable to comprehend his closeness, not wishing to comprehend her situation; she said the first thing to come to mind. "Y-your alive aren't you?"
Jareth quirked an eyebrow, the only thing keeping him from laughing being the severity of the situation and the danger they may still be in. He answered with an earnest and contemplative voice, "Truth be told I have had better days…I trust I look rather horrid…but yes to the best on my knowledge I am still alive…at least last I checked I was." He punctuated his comeback with a smirk and waited for Sarah to react to his talking down to her, what he got instead both worried and delighted him.
Upon hearing his statement, Sarah nodded once then leaned her head lightly against his chest. "I'm glad…"
Jareth didn't quite know what to make of this, he was grateful for her concern, however diluted her senses were, and he relished her proximity, but he worried over her state of mind. Sarah was not one to need support, she was not one to look for help, she was not one cling to something as if trying to cling to sanity…Jareth worried that, with the attempts on her life, with her two latest traumas, her will had been shattered, her fiery spirit dashed, her strength taken. He looked down at the girl in his arms, still trembling and weak from pain, still crying from fear…she was worse off than he was and she wasn't
even bleeding anymore. He knew she wouldn't be able to stand just as he knew he had to get her out of that forest and back to her apartment. It would be safest there. He stroked her hair from several more minutes while gradually gathering his strength and lulling her into, want he hoped was, a restful sleep. Sighing, forcing his weary mind and body to ignore the pain, he picked the girl up and cradled her protectively against his body. Urged by the stress and strain, blood began to poor once again from his wounds, his abused muscles screamed in protest. One look at her blood smeared, tear streaked face and he cared no more for himself but for her safety. "Sarah…I won't allow you to be hurt because of me again. My folly should not be written in your blood." With what power he could summon, Jareth enveloped them both in a protecting pail light; he did not have the strength to teleport them, until sun-up he would not have the strength to heal himself or to get back to the Underground, at present all else he could do was make sure the girl lived through one more night and hope he lived to see her through the rest of this ordeal.
Knowledge of what may be stalking them burning in his mind, awareness that his condition was dangerously past that which his body could endure, a fierce drive to see Sarah safe and at home, pumping from his heart and through his blood, Jareth began the long walk back the way the girl had come.