Disclaimer: All Pretender related ideas are property of NBC. Other characters are mine.
Author’s Note: This is the most far-fetched Pretender story I have written, so please hang with me on this one. This is a violence-action-horror-monster story involving our favorite characters. Oh and if you are a sweeper fan or just a plain people person...I advise you not to read this...peeps do get killed.
[If life got any more boring than it is, my head would explode. Literally.]
Running her tongue over her upper lip, she tossed the cigarette down to the dusty wooden floor and ground it out with her toe. Inhaling sharply, her narrow green eyes looked over to the man sitting in the corner of the dim lighted room, his head folded in his arms with his long blonde hair covering the rest of his face.
"Let’s go kill someone," he said suddenly, his voice muffled. She rolled her eyes simply and turned towards the table in the center of the room. "I mean-" he looked up- "Can’t we just go out and terrorize someone."
"You are such a moron," she snapped, leaning over the table to turn the knob on the lantern, lighting the room more with the dancing flames. "I told you, we have to keep low."
"Yeah, well," he said, shrugging, tucking his head back down in his arms that rest upon his drawn up legs. "Something to do," he mumbled.
Smiling evilly, she walked over to him, leaning down on her haunches so her face was level with his. "Darry told us to stay low for a while." She paused. "Don’t worry, our time will come."
He nodded softly, staring at her. "When will it be our time?"
"Soon," she purred, staring at him through her long dark eyelashes. "Very soon."
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"Hello, I’m Jarod Chandler," he said politely, reaching out a hand. The man looked up from his paper work at the outstretched hand and then took it, flashing his eyes up at the stranger’s face.
"You the new cop?" the man boomed.
Jarod nodded. "Yes I am. Please call me Jarod."
The man behind the desk gestured towards an old, fade chair that sat just behind Jarod, Jarod taking the sit softly. "You’re the fool who took the job, eh?"
Jarod blinked a couple times, briefly looking around. "Excuse me?"
The man shook his head, his eyes never straying from Jarod’s face. "All those blasted stories about ‘vampires and werewolves’."
Jarod titled his head to the side slightly, staring at the older man in confusion. "I don’t follow."
"Good," the man snapped, standing from his leather chair and walking around the desk. "Welcome to Hazelville, the smallest town in the middle of nowhere," he barked, his tone flat and expressionless. "I’m Dean Carter and I will be your supervisor."
Jarod slowly rose to his feet as he watched the man walk over to his office door and swing it open. Gesturing with his palm up, the man swung his arm out the door. Jarod exhaled slowly, walking out of the office and not looking back.
Jarod briskly walked into his office, shutting the door and exploring the new office with his eyes. It was a plain office, nothing too fancy with a file cabinet here, a plant there, and there was a large dark wooden desk at the far end. The room was rather dim, so Jarod crossed the room to pull the shades up from the window behind his desk. Sighing, Jarod blinked at the bright sunlight, scanning the view from his room. It was the first floor of the small police station, only seeing the poorly paved road and a couple cars driving on it. Old buildings, looking as if they’d collapse once someone bumped it, lined the cracked sidewalks that ran along side the road. No civilians occupied those sidewalks and Jarod’s brow furrowed at that. The odd behavior of this town is what brought Jarod to this place. People have become missing over the past two years and there was no evidence of where they had gone. And now, just recently have the people of this small little town blamed the mystery on make believe creatures that were said to suck the blood of unexpecting victims or grow hair and fangs like a canine.
Jarod snorted at that. How foolish. No such thing. But true, due to the fact that Jarod hasn’t been familiar to everyday life, he wasn’t sure about anything. But the logic part of his mind told him that believing in ‘vampires’ and ‘werewolves’ were just as foolish as jumping off a cliff and into the freezing rapids below during a snow storm. Common sense told him that this town knew more then they were saying. Vampires and werewolves was just a cover up to what they really believe. What they were afraid to believe.
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"God, Darry, where the hell have you been?" she hissed, stalking up to him and placing her hands on her hips. "We’ve been waiting for two fucking days!"
He ignored her, walking into the room and dropping his bag down on the table. Pulling it open, he reached inside and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Her eyes widened, snatching the pack from his hands. "Does that make it up?" he asked, chuckling.
She turned her back to him, scraping her claws on the wrapper, yanking the package open. Pulling out a cigarette, she placed it between her lips, pulling out a lighter from her pocket. Inhaling, she let the smoke flow around her teeth and tongue before exhaling slowly.
"Don’t hog, Tessa," he snapped, reaching over her shoulder and plucking the cigarette from her mouth, hearing her growl of anger.
"Darry?"
Darry turned around, smiling with the cigarette in the corner of his mouth as the blonde man came walking up to him from the other room. "Hey kid," Darry said, slapping the shorter man on the back. "Have a cigarette," he said, pulling it out from his mouth and placing it in the other man’s lips. Studying him, Darry frowned. "You need a hair cut, Curt."
Curt ran a hand through his long blonde hair, eyeing the taller, darker, bigger built man. Taking the weed from his mouth, he looked down at it, blowing a perfect smoke ring. "Yeah, well, haven’t got out much, since...well, since the stories."
"People will [make up] anything these days," Tessa interrupted with an evil laugh, coming up to the two men. Turning to the Darry, she smiled, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "So, Darry, when [are] we going to be able to stalk into the night again?"
Darry smiled knowingly, briefly looking over at Curt. "Tomorrow I should say. The newspapers haven’t said anything in a while and I think it’s safe."
"Great!" Curt said, rubbing his hands together.
"But-" Darry waved a finger at him- "no foolish business like before, alright?"
Curt nodded, smiling ear to ear. "Right, ‘when you bite, stay out of sight’."
Darry smiled, turning to Tessa. "Now, you’re going to the police station again." Tessa huffed, but Darry hushed her. "No buts. Try to find out what’s the fuss about...the stories...got it?"
Reluctantly, Tessa nodded.
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The doors hissed as she entered, taking only a couple long strides before she stood in front of her father and his bimbo of a wife. Eyeing the blonde’s stomach, she sneered, almost at the unborn baby, rather than the woman.
"Angel," her father said, wrapping his large arms around her, almost twice, and pulled her into an embrace. Kissing the side of her temple, he pulled away, smiling at her.
"Daddy, you wanted to see me?" Miss Parker asked, briefly flashing Brigitte a look.
"Hmm, yes," her father said, turning towards his wife and wrapping an arm around her. Brigitte smiled up at him, before popping the red sucker back into her mouth. "Your mother and I would like you to company us at dinner tonight."
Miss Parker was already shaking her head. "Daddy, I-"
"No excuses. I want us three to have a nice evening out."
Miss Parker snapped her mouth shut reluctantly, looking down to the carpeted floor, biting back the urge to roll her eyes.
"What do you say?" he asked, his eyes almost squinted shut as he smiled widely.
Miss Parker opened her mouth, hesitated and then shut it again. "I have a lot of things daddy, and I-"
"Oh, pish-posh. Those things can wait." He pulled the bimbo closer to him. "This is [family]."
[The hell it is], she thought. "Fine."
"Great," he said, smiling.
Miss Parker smiled, turned and left the office quickly before she lost her stomach. Pacing quickly down the hall, she made her way to the elevator, jamming her slender finger on the button for the doors to open.
"Miss Parker," she heard the voice of the nervous little tech behind her. She looked over her shoulder just in time to see Broots trotting up behind her, holding up a white piece of paper.
"What?" she snapped, eyeing the paper in his hand.
He took a breath. "I found a lead on Jarod."
She smiled, almost too widely, and turned away from the elevator, walking passed Broots and down the hall towards her father’s office.
"Wh-where are you going?" Broots asked, watching as she stopped, looking over her shoulder at him.
"I have a [dinner] to cancel."
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Vampire (vam’pir), n. In folklore, a corpse that becomes reanimated at night and sucks the blood of sleeping persons.
Werewolf (wer’woolf’), n. In folklore, a person changed into a wolf, or one who can assume the form of a wolf at will.
Jarod stared at the screen, tilting his head in confusion. ‘In folklore’. These things aren’t real, just beliefs. Why are people scared of something that isn’t real? Sighing, Jarod looked away from his laptop to the clock that hung over his office door. 9:35am it read. Exhaling slowly, Jarod leaned forward and rubbed his tired eyes.
"Knock, knock," someone sang from his door. Jarod snapped his attention over at the brunette that stood in his doorframe, smiling at him. Sitting up straighter, he watched as she approached him, her hand extended out in front of her. "Hi, my name is Tessa Florence and I am reporter for a local newspaper. May I interview you about what’s happened recently?"
Tessa watched as the handsome dark haired man fought with an answer, his gorgeous lips parting slightly.
"What’s happened recently?" he asked, his innocence charming.
"You haven’t heard?" she asked, lifting perfect eyebrows.
Clenching his teeth, Jarod shook his head. Licking her upper lip, she sat down, eyeing his nameplate that sat in the front of his desk. "May I call you Jarod?" He nodded. "Great. Well, Jarod, recently there have been [silly] stories about ‘creatures’ living around here. Stupid, huh?"
Jarod flashed her a dimpled smirk, looking away towards his computer screen. "Not stupid, but uh...[odd] beliefs."
"Yeah," Tessa said, nodding her head softly. "Beliefs."
"So...Miss Florence, you still wanting to interview me or-?"
She smiled widely. "Call me Tessa, and no. But, I would like to ‘chat’ over dinner. What do you say?"
Jarod blinked a couple times, obviously taken off guard by her invitation. "I don’t know you."
She giggled at his innocence, punching him lightly in the arm. "That’s where I am going to get to know you silly- over dinner."
Jarod swallowed, looking away and smiling. "I would love to, Tessa."
"Great," she said, raising to her feet. "I will see you tonight then?"
Jarod looked up at her. "Tonight?"
"Well yeah." She shrugged. "Why not? Around eight okay?"
Jarod ran his tongue over his lower lip considering quickly. "Alright."
"Great," she said, spinning and walking towards the door. Stopping at the door, she looked over her shoulder. "I will be here at eight. We’ll decide where to go from there."
Jarod nodded. "Okay, see you later."
Flashing a farewell smile, she disappeared from his view. Turning back to his computer, Jarod thought of how odd and forward that woman was, and yet intriguing at the same time.
Just another odd civilian.
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"I am so brilliant!" she said, smiling as she entered the dark room. Lifting the pack of cigarettes from the table, she slid out one, lighting it and sticking it in her lips.
"Oh?" Darry asked, leaning against the doorframe. Spinning around, she plucked the cigarette from her mouth to smile at him, realizing he was in the room.
"Yeah, Darry baby. I [am] brilliant. I got a full proof plan that is going to bring our [lives] to the way they were."
Darry didn’t look convinced, strolling into the room as he pierced his lips, eyeing the pack of cigarettes on the table. "Yeah? What’s the news at the police station?"
Frowning, she turned towards the table, tapping the end of her cigarette on the ashtray before bringing the burning weed back to her red full lips. "Nothing much-" she sighed- "Although, there’s where my plan comes in."
Darry lifted his eyebrows, reaching down and opening the pack of cigarettes. "And what is your ‘full proof’ plan of yours?"
She smiled knowingly. "Alright, listen," she began, taking a seat at the table and pulling the ashtray towards her. "There is this [really] cute cop there and he-"
"Oh, Tessa," Darry groaned, turning away from her. "Not one of those again. If I didn’t know any better, you enjoy the sex better then the meal."
"It’s not one of those," she growled. "He could be...the [one], you know."
Darry narrowed his eyes. "The one what?"
"The one that could spread our kind."
"You mean get you pregnant?"
She bit her lip. "Why not? He’s cute and charming."
"Sure," he said sarcastically, lighting his cigarette and sticking it in his mouth. "Just what we need is a cute and [charming] guy in our team."
Tessa narrowed her eyes, tilting her head a little. "I like him."
"So what," Darry said, blowing smoke out of his nose. "There is nothing ‘cute’ and ‘charming’ about what we do."
Tessa raised her eyebrows, getting up slowly. "You- [the] Darry is admitting we are on the evil side?" She let out low laugh, no humor in the sound. "Getting soft, are we now, Darry?"
"Shut your pie hole," he snarled. "All I am saying is that we can raise our own little devils."
She threw her head back and laughed. "You mean-" she chuckled, pointing between him and herself- "you and me?" He crooked an eyebrow, causing her to laugh harder. Resuming her composer, she shook her head. "You’ve got to be kidding."
After he was silent for a moment, staring at her with raised eyebrows, she let her jaw drop, stepping away from the table to gesture widely around the room. "Hell-o Darry baby! Do [you] see any little ‘devils’ around here? I thought we declared that there was nothing between us! And besides," she said, her voice softening to a purr, walking up to him and grabbing his collar. "I’d like to have another member to our ‘team’. He’s built for the work, I must say."
Darry huffed, staring down at her. "Fine. When?" he snapped impatiently.
She smiled all teeth, sticking the cigarette in her mouth and sucking on it. "Tonight around 8:30ish."
Darry nodded, inhaling sharply. "And what’s the copper’s name?"
Tessa smiled. "Jarod."
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"Parker?"
"Hmm?" she murmured, turning from the plane window to look at the older man. Sydney smiled, looking over at her.
"How was your ‘meeting’ with your father?"
Miss Parker exhaled slowly, briefly closing her eyes. "He didn’t seem [too] disappointed. Although he did declare that I [was] going to go next time he asks." She glanced over the Broots who was fast a sleep in the chair across from her, before looking down at her watch. "When are we landing?" she asked, changing the subject.
Sydney lifted his eyebrows briefly, shrugging. "In about an hour, I suppose." She leaned her head back against the chair, catching Sydney’s concern. "Is everything alright, Parker?"
She briefly looked over at him, piercing her lips. "Fine, Syd. Just that I have been thinking about my father recently." She paused, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her index finger and thumb. "He seems to care, but when I’m around him, he seems- I don’t know- he seems he could care less." Sydney was already nodding his head, sticking his bottom lip out. Miss Parker looked over at him, waiting. "Are you going to give me your I-know-what-you-should-do shrink bull shit, or is this a case of follow your own damn instincts?"
He looked over at her smiling. "Parker, your father does care, he is just afraid to show it. Maybe you should open up to him more as well."
She stared at him. "That’s the best you can come up with?" she asked dully. "Couldn’t you at least say, ‘put a gun to your head and demand his attention’?" She let out a huff of frustration and weariness. "I’m going to ask the pilot when we’re landing," she declared, getting up from her seat.
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Jarod tried with all his power to not loose his stomach as the woman across from him ate...ate....that...[meat].
"Rare!" she literally had screamed at the waiter and this is what the man had come back with. Hell, is looked as if it was freshly cut from the animal itself and just thrown onto the plate. And yet, there she was scoffing it down so furiously that he thought she was going to choke on her own fingers.
Pausing, she looked up from her meal and noticed him staring at her with a look between disgust and shock. She licked her lips, set the bloody piece of meat down on her plate and reached for a napkin.
"Sorry," she mumbled, dabbing at her mouth with the blue napkin. Clearing her throat nervously, she set the cloth down by her plate. "So...Jarod, tell me about yourself."
Jarod lifted his eyebrows slightly, looking down at his own steak, which was medium rare, and found himself oddly not hungry anymore. "Not much to tell," he said, stabbing his fork into the meat.
"Really?" she said, seeming rather interested as he used his knife to cut a bite sized piece of the steak. "No family?"
Jarod lifted the piece up with his fork, staring at it for a minute before bringing it back down to his plate. "I lost contact with them a long time ago."
"I’m sorry," she muttered, staring at his plate. After a moment, she licked her lips, looking back up his face and found him staring at her with shock again. Sitting up straighter, she fidgeted in her chair, looking around the small little restaurant.
"So, tell me about [yourself]," Jarod said, picking up his glass of water and taking a sip.
She shrugged, still looking around the deserted restaurant. "Lived here all my boring, pathetic life."
"Boring and pathetic, huh?" Jarod asked teasingly, looking around for the waiter with their check.
"Yeah. Hazelville is a boring town."
"I wouldn’t say boring," Jarod said, watching as the waiter approached their table with a white piece of paper in his hand. Muttering a thank you to the man, the waiter disappeared again. Jarod turned to Tessa, and smiled. "I’d say more like, ‘interesting’."
"Interesting?" she repeated. "What’s so interesting?"
"Well, for one, all those [wild] stories."
Tessa froze, staring at him for a long moment. "What stories?" she asked innocently, reaching over and plucking her glass of water from the table.
"You know, the stories. The ones you wanted to interview me on. Werewolves...vampires. I looked them up. Very odd."
She choked on her gulp of water and forced a laugh. "Oh, [those] stories. Just foolish talk. People will do anything for a good conversation of gossip, believe me Jarod."
Jarod nodded, although not convinced as he lifted his glass and took a sip. Setting his glass back down, he sighed, glancing down at his watch. "Well, it’s getting late. I enjoyed the dinner-"
"Can you drive me home?" she asked, watching as he stood.
He looked down at her and crooked an eyebrow. "But, your car is at the station."
"No it isn’t," she said.
"Then how did you get to the police station?"
"I walked."
"Don’t you live way out in the country?"
"I like to walk."
Jarod stared at her for a minute, before nodding reluctantly. "Alright, I-I will take you home then."
She smiled widely. "Thank you so much, Jarod."
"No problem," Jarod said slowly, pulling out a couple bills from his wallet.
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It was already pitch black outside by time they reached the paved country road of Miller. Jarod gripped the wheel, and watched the odd behavior of the woman next to him in the corner of his eye. Why was she staring at him like that? Jarod bit the inside of his cheek, forcing himself to concentrate on the road.
"Jarod...?" she began, the sudden sound of her voice sending chills down his spine. He looked over at her briefly, acting as causal as possible. He watched the odd smile spread cross her face. "Have you ever been close to death?"
At that, he shot her a look that he didn’t even know what it meant. "Excuse me?"
"Doesn’t it feel good?" she purred, scooting closer to him.
"What-?" he began, swallowing hard.
"I mean, the feel of death’s wings squeezing you. The feel of his powerful hand grasping your heart," she whispered into his ear. Leaning back a little, she said louder, "Can you feel it?"
Jarod gasped, unable to breathe suddenly, bringing a hand to his chest. The car swerved on the deserted road, as Jarod desperately tried to slow the vehicle down.
The brake! The brake won’t work!
Jarod gasped again, trying to get air into his lungs but was unable to. His frantic gaze looked over at the brunette next to him, who was smiling widely.
A white blur burned into his eyes and...then...CRASH.
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"Three little speckled frogs, sitting on a speckled log, eating the most delicious bugs! Yum, yum! One jumped in the pool, where it was nice a cool! Now there is only two speckled frogs," a child sang, her little voice echoing.
Jarod opened his eyes slowly, the moon and the top of the trees in his line of view. Jarod’s brow furrowed in confusion, watching the dark clouds move slowly through the star lit sky as the child giggled, the sound echoing in his head.
Slowly turning his head, he saw the child from afar, her hair in long curls and wearing only a white dress that reached her ankles, feet bare. She giggled again, skipping along the paved road towards him. In one hand she held a flower, where she stopped now and then to bring the daisy to her nose, closing her eyes and inhaling the smell of it.
"Twinkle, twinkle little star!" she began, stopping a couple feet from where Jarod lay, looking down at him and then throwing her arms up above her head, titling her head back towards the sky. "How I wonder what you are!"
"Who-" Jarod croaked, his voice weak and rugged. "Who are you?"
She looked down at him suddenly, eyeing him evilly for interrupting her song. "The devil," she murmured. Her little green eyes narrowed down at him. "The devil my sweet, sweet Jarod."
Jarod quirked his lips, staring up at her. "You? But you’re a little-"
"I’m not little!" she screeched, clenching her fist around the flower she held.
Looking down at the flower, she opened her fist, staring at the abused daisy.
Jarod merely smiled at her. A child, a small little girl like this was no devil. Had to be no more then five. No devil. This was a foolish child that took a walk at night with bare feet on a road that had no one around. Just taking a walk to pick flowers, just taking a walk. No devil. But- how did she know his name?
"Up above the clouds so high!" she suddenly began again, throwing her arms up into the air and twirling around. "Like a diamond in the sky!"
"Why are you singing so loudly?" Jarod asked softly, watching the little girl spin around towards him again, staring at him.
She bent down on her haunches suddenly, her little sharp knees pinning into Jarod’s shoulder. "You all bloody," she said, looking him over casually. "You gonna die." It was more of a statement then a question.
Jarod stared up at her, watching her blond curls circle around her plump face as she leaned over him. "I’m not going to die."
"Do you like my flower?" she asked suddenly, jumping from each subject to the next.
Jarod’s brow furrowed again, looking towards her tiny hand that held a daisy in his line of view. "It’s nice."
"Nice?" she asked, looking at the flower herself. "I was killed for this flower."
Jarod stared at her. "Excuse me?"
She merely smiled down at him, a dimple in each round cheek. "You’re loosing consciousness."
Jarod stared at her for a long moment, before asking. "How would you know that I am loosing-"
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"He’s awake!" Jarod heard someone shout as he forced his eyes open. Jarod looked up at the outline of a stranger in a daze. They seemed to be crowded around him, their beady eyes staring, looking, watching him.
Slow motion. Everything seemed to be in slow motion.
Blink.
Where is the little girl? What happened to her?
Blink.
"We’re loosing him again! Tom, did you call the police?" he heard someone shout. Jarod groaned, closing his eyes, hearing a faint muffled reply from the other person from far away.
"Pain," Jarod murmured.
"Yeah, they’re coming, buddy. Don’t worry. You’re going to be okay," he heard a soft voice say above him.
Jarod wanted to open his eyes again, but it was too hard to focus. Settling back into the darkness, Jarod allowed his body to relax.
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"What?" Darry screeched.
"We slammed into a tree, Jarod was thrown from the vehicle and he was [so] close to dying when this god damned car pulled up behind the accident and two half witted men jumped out and ran to Jarod’s side. Luckily, I got away without notice."
Darry spun around and punched the wall, the wall crumbling under the impact. Tessa blinked a couple times, staring at the indent on the wall.
"Easy there, Darry baby. We’ll get him," she said, inhaling the smoke of her cigarette and blowing the smoke out of her pointed nose.
"I know we will," Darry said calmly suddenly, spinning towards her again and running a hand in her hair. "But, he’ll tell people about you," he growled, clutching his fist in her hair.
She stood there calmly as he pulled her hair, her green eyes narrowed at him. Reaching up, she pressed the burning ember of her cigarette onto his hand that held her hair, causing him to rip away with a yelp.
"Tell me," she began, sticking the cigarette back in her mouth, inhaling and blowing the smoke in his face. "Would you believe a man that claimed a woman tried to kill him by her ‘evil powers’?"
Darry smiled. "Not if you have evil powers yourself."
Rolling her eyes, she turned away from him, seeing Curt in the doorway. "Hey kid," she said, walking over to him and wrapping her arm around his shoulders.
"You smoke too much," Curt murmured, plucking the cigarette from her fingertips and placing it in his mouth.
She threw her head back and laughed. "Yeah, I should be worrying about my [health], shouldn’t I?" she looked over at Darry, still smiling. "I might die...again."
Curt shrugged off Tessa’s arm and titled his head back, blowing a smoke ring into the air. "What are you two so happy about? Someone die?"
"Nope," Tessa said, smirking, strutting over to the table and lifting the package of cigarettes. "But someone will."
"Yeah?" Curt asked, looking over at Darry. "Who?"
Darry shrugged. "Some guy."
Curt smiled. "Well, point him out and I’ll do the honors."
"No way," Tessa snapped, after lighting her cigarette. "He’s mine."
"Oh I see-" Curt grinned- "One of those."
Tessa huffed and looked away, crossing her arm over her chest while the other reached up to the pull the cigarette out of her mouth to exhale.
"Well? What’s the plan?" Curt asked, looking between Darry and Tessa.
Darry shrugged, looking over at the brunette. "Poison? Neck injury? Fire?"
Tessa quirked her lips. "It has to be clean."
"Like a car crash wasn’t," Darry stated sarcastically, rubbing his aching fist.
"Wait? You guys already tried to kill this dude?" Curt asked, tilting his head. "And you didn’t tell me? I’m ashamed."
"Nothing personal kid," Darry said, crossing the room to ruffle the younger man’s hair. "You really need a hair cut."
Ignoring him, Curt turned to the brunette who was crushing her butt in the ashtray, watching the two with amusement. "So when we act?" Curt asked.
Tessa smirked, her eyes gleaming with mischief.
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"This has to be the smallest hospital I have ever seen," Broots mumbled looking around the tiny waiting room. "I mean, my bathroom is bigger than this."
"Hello?" Miss Parker called, leaning over the counter and hitting the bell three more times. "Damn," she whispered to herself, turning on her heel towards the other two. "This is where Officer Carter said they had taken Jarod, right?"
Sydney nodded, running a hand over his face. "Said he got in a car accident."
"How bad, did he say?" Broots asked, turning from a picture he was studying that was hung on the blue-green wall.
"He didn’t say," Miss Parker snapped, looking over the counter again. "Hello? Is anyone here?" Ding, ding, ding. "Hello?"
"What?" a short woman snapped, placing a hand on the bell and dragging it towards her and out of Miss Parker’s reach.
Miss Parker stared at the tiny little blond that was half hidden behind a pair of goggles. "Is there a man named Jarod ‘Chandler’ staying here?"
"Family?" she asked, pushing her glasses up her nose with her index finger. "Yes," Miss Parker snapped. "Is he staying here?"
The woman chewed her gum while staring at Miss Parker, finally reaching under the counter to bring out a huge, but thin book, placing it on the counter in front of Miss Parker. "I don’t know. Why don’t [you] look," the woman sneered.
Miss Parker eyed her dangerously, watching her return to the back, before opening the book and scanning the names. Albert, Andrews, Bailey, Buck, Carter, [Chandler]. Jarod Chandler! Room F9.
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She leaned over him, smirking slightly. "You gonna die?" her little voice echoed in his head. Jarod watched her through his eyelashes, too weak to answer her. "You gonna die?" she repeated. After, her small eyes stared at him for long moment, she said again, this time a statement more than a question. "You’re gonna die."
Jarod closed his eyes, shutting out the image of her long curls surrounding her face, the way her small eyes stared down at him in such a fashion that scared him.
"The Devil you know, will have to grow, stronger inside you each sin," she chanted slowly. "But not even he, can forgive thee, as for what [you] have become within." Jarod opened his eyes slowly, looking up at her with confusion. She smiled at his unasked question. "The devil is watching," she whispered, leaning her face down towards his more. "The devil is watching...and waiting, Jarod. He’ll come for you soon."
"To," Jarod whispered hoarsely, lifting a hand up to her soft round cheek. "You’re no devil. You are merely a child," he whispered with a slight smile. "Just a child that sneaked into my room."
She shook her head. "The Devil you know, will have to grow, stronger inside you each sin."
Jarod’s brow furrowed. "What does that mean?"
"But not even he, can forgive thee, as for what [you] have become within." The little girl stood straight, her gaze still on his face as she stood there, hovering over him. "The devil will come."
"Wait, where are you going?" Jarod whispered, watching the child turn and walk out of his sight. "No, wait."