#LIKE A SPOOKY GHOST LEAVING BITE MARKS ON PEOPLE OH NO

[snowmasscourier]

Oh. Oh uuh I meant, the screaming from, my nightmares? Dunno what other kind of screaming you meant, and even if I did I, definitely wouldn't bring them up. It's rude if you ask me.

Yknow, I remember ghost stories from back in the day, where ghosts leave marks on people when they wake up, I'm sure that's what those bruises on you guys were. Spooky stuff, huh? Might wanna get some packets of salt on the next supply run, for protection circles and shit. --D.M.

Oh, THAT screaming! Yeah, it worried us at first, but we kind of had to get used to it. It was just a side effect from working with the Animus.

Yes, those bruises….absolutely came from ghosts. Especially the one on Shaun’s neck that looked like a bite mark. Totally ghosts—we really should have put up protection circles to keep them away.

#roleplay account #becs is bored #feel free to interact #assassins creed

[phoradendron]

The Conjuring 2 is fantastic I recommend it

#this was the most enjoyable movie experience i had in a long time #it is so funny #i don’t even know where to start #like a kid is watching some silly thing on tv #but then the GHOST #which is a grumpy old man #keeps CHANGING THE CHANNEL #AND THEN HIDES THE REMOTE #CAUSE HE GETS SO TIRED OF THE KID TURNING IT BACK #HE JUST WANTS TO WATCH THE NEWS #AND SIT IN HIS CHAIR #BUT THESE DANG KIDS #THIS IS PLAYED AS A SUPER SCARY THING HAPPENING LIKE THE MAN JUST WANTS TO WATCH HIS DANG PROGRAM #OR LIKE WHEN THE OLD MAN GHOST BITES SOMEONE #LIKE A SPOOKY GHOST LEAVING BITE MARKS ON PEOPLE OH NO #ONLY HE LEAVES BEHIND HIS FALSE TEETH???????? #OR LIKE WHEN #THE OLD MAN IS JUST HAUNTING THIS KIDS LITTLE PLAY TENT PLAYING WITH A TOY FIRETRUCK #AND THE KID TRIES TO GET INTO THE TENT AND THE GHOST GETS MAD #CAUSE HE JUST WANTS TO PLAY WITH HIS TOYS #the scariest thing about this ghost is that he likes margaret thatcher #I haven’t even STARTED on Lorraine’s angel story OH MY GOD

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt.16

Keith was sitting on the front steps when Lance pulled into his driveway. Their meeting for a moment, before Pidge was leaning past him

“Get in, loser! We’re going out!”

Rubbing his ear, Lance didn’t appreciate Pidge’s loud voice abusing his eardrum

“I’m fine right here!”

“Don’t be like that. We’re going ghost hunting, get in the back!”

“Lance was going to drop me in town...”

“Why? Everything’s shut now apart from the bars. Stop being antisocial and come look for ghosts with us!”

That was how Keith ended up in the boot of Lance’s bronco. Lance could feel the tension from the driver’s seat, Pidge having climbed over into the back so she and Hunk could talk with Keith, who’d barely gotten two words in thanks to the pair of them trying their best to make him feel involved. Lance had seen it on Keith’s face when he’d pulled up. Keith looking up at him like he’d kicked him to the curb without good reason. If he stopped to think about it, Keith would fill that hole in the group that his eventual leaving with bring. Plus, Keith would be there to help Matt reconnect with his family whenever that eventually happened... A whole lot of roads seemed to be leading back to Keith, and Lance couldn’t put up stop signs fast enough.

Swinging by Pidge’s so she could collect her beloved camera, Lance stared up at the visitors centre before them. He’d had enough trouble last time they were here, and though there wouldn’t be any drunks this time, he was sure his friends would find a way to make trouble all over again

“‘Sup, Losers?! This is the Garrison Trio, coming at ya with a new video. Today we’re talking another look at arguably Garrison’s most haunted address! Yep, that’s right, your favourite visitors centre, and mine, it’s the old Garrison Hospital!”

Stuck in a silent “staring but not staring” battle with Keith watching Lance out the corner of his eye, he’d missed Pidge passing her camera off to Hunk so she could film her introduction

“Tonight we have our usual favourites, Me, Hunk, and Lance, but we also have a guest tagging along to see the work we do! Pan to Keith”

Hunk moved the camera, Keith not even noticing he’d been recorded. Lance had the feeling Keith wasn’t supposed to be being recorded. Anyone who saw his face online wouldn’t be able to forget him

“Yep! Our little trio has become a foursome! The awesome foursome. Now, if you click the link below this video you’ll be able to read up on the chilling history and the role the hospital played during world war three! Let’s just say, a lot of people died in a lot of not so lovely ways. Let’s head in!”

As Pidge took the camera from Hunk, Lance took her by the arm

“You can’t film Keith”

“What?”

“You can’t film him. It’s something to do with Shiro’s work. He works on things for the government, for like big bad multimillion dollar corporations that are up to dodgy things. I totally blanked on it, but Shiro will get in trouble”

Pidge raised an eyebrow

“I didn’t know you and Shiro were that tight”

“I was taking selfies and he caught me”

The lies hurt, but Keith’s face getting out their in there videos could bring trouble on all of them, not just Keith... Any vampires with a grudge would see their faces with his and they already knew where to come...

“Oh shit...”

Lance nodded, hoping his facial features portrayed the right emotions. Hunk was the one stole the role of genius from under Pidge’s nose

“I think you’ve got a dusk mask in the glove box from that colour run we didn’t end up doing... he could wear that?”

“Perfect. You two go ahead and I’ll get it. Don’t bring it up though, he’s super socially stunted”

Pidge fluttered her eyelashes

“Is someone getting protective of their “not boyfriend, boyfriend?””

“No, but you’ll have to get protective of that camera if you don’t stop bringing that up”

Pidge’s look turned to betrayal, then acceptance

“Fiiiiine. Do what you have to do. Hunk and I will go ahead. Come on, Hunk”

Rifling through his glovebox, Lance found the branded face mask. The colour run had two components to it, first you did a 5km walk/run, then in some weird kind of sales seasonal thing, there was a kind of sideshow at the end with live music, games, and seeing it was around Halloween, a corn maze and a haunted house. They’d paid, skipped the run, covertly let themselves into the corn maze, beaten that, then hit up the haunted house. Pidge deciding they all needed souvenirs, the mask being one of them... not that it was overly spooky. It was a simple black face mask with splatters of neon paint across the front, a few “teeth” on the right side and the fun run logo underneath. It was actually kind of “Keith”. Not that he was going there.

Keith had hung back as Pidge and Hunk unlocked the visitor centre and dealt with security. Forced to do the talking thing, Lance held the mask out to Keith who eyed it

“What’s that?”

“Pidge films these things”

“And?”

“And she puts them online. I didn’t think you’d want your face out there. If anyone saw the videos then you’d have your cover blown in further missions, making it harder for you to help the people who need help. I told Pidge that Shiro did covert work for the government so you needed to keep a low profile. I’m not sure she got it, but with Matt and Shiro being tight I think she was willing to let it slide. It hasn’t been worn, and it should cover most of your face. You can use my jacket too if you want, just keep the hood up”

Keith took the mask, staring down at as he tilted his neck. Lance automatically finding his eyes trying to find where he’d bitten the man. He’d never bitten anyone before so he didn’t know the trick of healing a bite to nothing. His own marks from turning were still there for the most part. Keith’s neck was smooth, Lance unable to see any blemishes. God! What was he doing...?! Nope... Fucking Keith

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because you got dragged along by my friends deciding they’re also your friends”

“I thought you said I was a useless hunter”

“No. I said you had anger issues, like right now you’re getting angry at me. Do you want my jacket or not?”

“No. This’ll be fine. She really believes, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah. That’s probably why Matt has kept his distance. She wants to be part of this world, and I’m not about to let that happen”

“So you sabotage her?”

“No. Most of what humans collect isn’t real or it’s reflections. I come along not only to show I support her and Hunk, but so nothing happens to either of them. There’s death in that place and I don’t want something bad to happen. I also don’t plan on telling her about Matt, you, or Shiro. It’s not fun lying, but it does keep them safe. If she ever finds out the truth, I know she’s going to be angry, and I’m prepared for that. You better come along, both my friends seem pretty keen on you, meaning if you hurt them, I will hunt you down myself”

“I’m not going to harm a human”

“Good. Keep it that way”

Pidge was already explaining various exhibits in the visitor centre when Lance and Keith slipped through the front door. A shudder rolled up Lance’s spine, earning him a jab in the side from Keith. What was Keith getting annoyed about? People shuddered all the time for no good reason

“What?”

“You shuddered”

“It happens”

“Don’t fob me off like that. There’s something here, isn’t there? Where is it?”

“Oh great, so vampires and werewolves aren’t enough for you now? You want to hunt ghosts to?”

What was Keith going to do? Stab it? The mental image of Keith stabbing a ghost was too funny, a snort of laughter escaping

“Look... if there’s something...”

“Relax. Yeah, there’s death here but I don’t want to see it. I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to acknowledge it’s presence”

“But you can see it?”

Lance shook his head. That’s what he had his trust glasses for

“Nope”

“You’re lying to me”

“I’m not lying. And keep your voice down, do you really want Pidge and Hunk to know about us?

Keith shot him an unimpressed look. Lance could have worded that better

“This isn’t over”

It could be, if Keith dropped the subject and kicked away like a bottle cap under the fridge that you couldn’t be bothered picking up, so it laid there undiscovered for another 6 months, when it and another dozen finally popped up to remind you how lazy you were about cleaning

“Oh, goody”

“Lance, come over here, you’re better at this side of things”

Lance rolled his eyes at Pidge. She was doing a bang up job making the visitors centre sound like the must visit spot as it was. Walking over to her, he eyed the shackles in the display case with disgust. He couldn’t really justify the shackling of mine broken soldiers, though some had to be chained down to prevent them from taking their own lives. He’d gone through a stage like that, not that anyone other than Coran knew. He’d had a mental breakdown with the stress of final exams the first time around. He knew too many answers and didn’t want to score a perfect score, that would have made him stand out too much. He aimed for above average on all his tests and exams, but sometimes he slipped up and got too perfect a score that drew everyone’s attention to him when all he wanted to do was blend in. He’d been beaten by a bunch of jealous classmates for his trouble, then broken down, taking himself to Coran who helped piece him back together again. Yeah, Coran would always be his go to guy

“Shackles...”

Letting the narrative of fear roll of his tongue, he talked about the deteriorated mental condition of the soldiers and how things worked when it came to getting them help and the legal issues faced by their families. Lance was kind of sure no one wanted to sit through this, because he was pretty sure he was the only one who nerded out over the law these days. Keith had moved to stand behind Hunk, who was filming, his arms were crossed, feet shoulder width apart, with an amused look on his face that Lance felt like punching.

“And thank you for that Lance, somehow you made all the legal stuff seem that much more boring than last time. Alrighty then, why don’t we go see if we can find us a ghost?”

Hunk was already skittering, letting out a squeak as Pidge motioned for him to follow her, leaving Lance to fall into step beside Keith. Great. He couldn’t just leave Keith in town once everything was over. Not with Hunk and Pidge on a mission to make the man their friend

“Are you usually like that?”

Lance had no idea what Keith meant. Sure, he might get a little technical, but it wouldn’t be the first time, nor the last

“Like what?”

“All technical? Doesn’t it turn viewers away? I mean, I don’t think they needed to know about the bylaws of Garrison”

“Oh, shut up. We don’t get many views as it is”

“You’ll get even less if you spend the whole time ranting”

“I wasn’t ranting, I was explaining. A soldiers mentality doesn’t end on the battlefield. Most of them never wanted to die. Most of them never wanted to wrapped up in war to begin with. They fought for us and for what they believed in, and as a whole, we failed them. If we don’t educated people on the past then there’s not much hope for the future”

“You, like, really believe in this, don’t you?”

“I believe in the belief people hold. If that’s what you mean?”

“I mean this legal thing... isn’t there anything else you’d rather be doing?”

“Like ripping families apart so I can feast on their children?”

Keith groaned at him, Lance internally smirking. Yeah, he remembered and wasn’t going to forget any time soon

“In my defence, your lot are mostly scum”

“And what about me? You listened in this morning”

“I... don’t want to talk about that”

“Why? Does it make me all that much harder to kill knowing I actually care about my clients?”

“As you rob them in fees”

Keith’s comment rubbed him the wrong way, Lance spitting in an angry whisper

“Yep. I’m so horrible that I charged a family a whole $50 for hours of my time. You on the other hand, if I charged at douche prices, would be paying me something like $10,000 for taking up so much of my damn time. I know I’m a monster, you can lay off with the damn mocking”

Starting to jog to catch up with Hunk and Pidge, Lance wanted to go home to bed. His arm was aching, as was his ankle. He hadn’t had the chance to drink since jumping out the window and his lack of routine was really getting to him. Catching up to him again, Keith decided he still wanted to talk

“Why law?”

“Why law, what?”

“You could have been anything”

“I could have, but I don’t think you’d understand”

“Try me”

“Well, I don’t want kids out there to suffer. I don’t want to see them caught up in fights that should stay between parents. I want to stand up for them. Yeah, go ahead and laugh. I’m lame and I know it”

“So your own childhood trauma pushed you down this path. What would you have done if you’d never made it into law?”

Lance didn’t miss the way his words had thrown been back at him. Shrugging it off, he wasn’t letting Keith under his skin

“I could have been a dancer. I did entertain the idea of being a hairdresser, but a vampire with scissors means risking a cut and an accidental turning. I like my job. Can’t say I don’t like the idea of yours, but it wouldn’t be my first choice of career choice”

“Will you two shut up? You’re scaring the ghosts away”

Lance’s eyes accidentally met Keith’s, both of them snorting and looking away from each other. If only they were, then they could all head home early

“Sorry, Pidge. Keith was telling me how scared he was”

“I did not!”

“Shhhh... didn’t you hear Pidge? Your big mouth is scaring the ghosts away”

“Mine? You won’t shut up”

“Both of you shut up, or you’re being sent outside to wait”

Hunk raised his hand

“Uh, can I go wait outside?”

“You’re the camera man, grow a back bone!”

Hunk gave Pidge a mock salute at her snap, which she flipped him off over. Lance made the motion of zipping of his mouth and throwing away the key. Keith gave a shrug. Apparently he didn’t hold a healthy fear of Pidge... well, that wouldn’t remain for long.

No. Keith barely lasted half an hour before he incurred Pidge’s wrath. Like a misbehaving school child, Keith was sent to sit at the top of the stairs, all because he accidentally tripped over the lip of the door frame. Pidge was sure she’d seen some kind of ghostly orb, sent fleeing by Keith’s stupidity. Making the mistake of snorting over Keith being taken down a peg, Lance was sent to sit beside Keith... both of them not looking at each other, to avoid bursting into laughter because being in a time out was ridiculous. There wasn’t anything there. The orb was a reflection of light from the camera, and that’s all that’d been to it. When Hunk moved, the reflected light disappeared, Keith didn’t deserve being yelled at... but fuck it hadn’t been funny.

#once bitten twice stupid #ashrathe rose #klance #a/b/o #vampire Lance #idiot keith #bottom Lance in future

[leviackermanscleaningbuddy]

BTS DRABBLE-Jin

Anon Request: Jin spends time with his daughters. 

Tags: BTS Drabble, BTS, Bangtan Boys, Bangtan Seonyedan, Bulletproof Boy Scouts, Beyond the Scene, Bts Imagines, BTS reactions, Dad AU, Husband AU, Kim Seokjin, Fluff, Jin, Seokjin, Seokjin x you, Seokjin x reader, Dad!Bangtan

Genre: Pure tooth-rotting fluff

Title: A Day Out

“Okay girls, what should we do first?” Jin asks his daughters as they enter the amusement park, the sounds of rides and the smell of cotton candy and popcorn washing over them all in a wave that oozes fun as soon as they step through the front gates. 

“Ooh, ooh!” Mishil bounces excitedly on her feet, gesturing across the large entrance square to a roller coaster on the other side, just within view. “Let’s ride the Jumping Dragon first!” 

“That’s a kid’s ride.” Hyo complains, elbowing her sister in the side, as she rolls her eyes and smacks her gum loudly. 

“Well, what do you want to do, Hyo?” Jin asks the eldest, distracted slightly from the girl’s bickering by the map of the park held in his hands, trying to orientate himself to where they are. 

“I want to ride the Fear Tower.” Hyo replies simply, pointing to a spot on her father’s map, that is marked with a tall tower and a ghost, with the name ‘Fear Tower’ etched across the space in red, dripping letters. 

“That ride is too scary!” Mishil groans, covering her eyes and shivering, even though there is nothing spooky to see. 

“Hyo, I think that ride might be a little too intense to start out with.” Jin finds himself agreeing with his younger daughter, as he stows the map in his backpack and adjusts his ballcap to keep the hot sun out of his eyes. “Can we start with some of the roller coasters and work our way there? I promise we won’t leave without you riding your ‘Scary Building.’“ 

“Fear Tower.” Hyo corrects in a grumble under her breath, as Jin grins at her, handing both girls caps from somewhere inside his backpack. 

“Put these on, kids. Mom will kill me if either of you come home sun burnt.” Jin waits, as Mishil excitedly pulls on her cap, Hyo following behind for a moment, complaining under her breath, as she situates her ponytail around the cap. “And look!” Jin says with excitement, after the girls have donned their own hats, pointing to his own and the words across the front that say ‘Team Kim SeokJin’ in bright pink letters. “We all match!” 

“Let’s just get this over with.” Hyo rolls her eyes, blowing a harsh bubble with her gum, as not waiting for her father or younger sister, she starts across the square toward the roller coaster Mishil had first pointed to. 

As the line moves slowly forward for the coaster, Mishil, leaning over the railing to look at the ride below, sighs, before saying morosely, “I wish mom could have come with us.” 

“I know, Mish.” Jin replies, putting an arm around her shoulders and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Mom always makes amusement parks more fun.” 

“But she couldn’t come because, first off, she’s sick,” Hyo interrupts dryly, not looking at her sister as she moves forward with a lurch of the line, “And second, if she went on any rides while she’s pregnant, it would scramble the baby’s brains like eggs.” 

“Is that true, dad?” Mishil looks at Jin in horror at her sister’s words. 

“Hyo.” Jin says warningly, shooting a sharp look in his eldest daughter’s direction, as she merely shrugs. “Mishil, mom can’t ride any rides right now because she needs to keep the baby safe. But the baby and mom will both be fine, because they stayed home. Okay?”

Mishil still looks worried, but she nods, as the three of them finally move to the front of the line and escorted onto the roller coaster. Once they are strapped in, Jin leans around his harness to catch a glimpse of the girls, seated next to him, and as the roller coaster slowly starts into motion, he grins and gives a thumbs up before yelling, “Let’s get this!” 

Mishil whoops and gives him a thumbs up in return, and Hyo rolls her eyes.

******

Several hours later, and the trio is sitting at a picnic table beneath the shade of a tree, tired and hot, but happily munching on a lunch of hot dogs and cotton candy and snow cones. 

“So.” Jin starts, taking another bite of his hot dog, and chewing, before continuing. “Did everyone get to do everything they wanted to?” 

“We still haven’t gone on Fear Tower.” Hyo pipes up from beside her father, swirling her straw around in the slush of her melting snow cone. 

“I know. We’re headed there after this.” Jin says, albeit somewhat reluctantly, as he exchanges a glance full of trepidation with Mishil from across the table. 

“I might throw up if it’s too scary.” His younger daughter says, before eating the last bite of her cotton candy, and licking the sticky residue from her hands. 

“Me too.” Jin jokes, as they clean up their rubbish and head toward the back of the park and the Fear Tower. 

As the tall tower comes into view, spookily decorated on the outside with ghosts and skeletons and haunted apparitions that move and howl and growl, Mishil grips tightly to Jin’s hand, as Hyo surges ahead, eager to reach the ride she has been waiting for all day.  

Jin clenches Mishil’s hand within his own, and they enter the ride behind the overly excited Hyo. 

They are seated and buckled into what appears to be a large elevator car, and as the car starts to move upwards up the tower, Mishil whimpers and closes her eyes against the view of the park spread out below them, the people now just tiny dots. 

“I’m scared.” She says, burying her face in Jin’s shoulder as much as their restraints will allow. 

“Me too, Mish.” Jin admits, pressing his face into her hair and closing his eyes. 

“Come on, You guys are babies. This is awesome!” Hyo cheers from beside them, hands thrown up in the air, not a care in the world, as the elevator car comes to a bumping halt at the very top of the very tall tower. 

“Get ready, you two!” Hyo glances over at her father and younger sister, an evil look shining deep within her eyes. 

“Oh no.” 

Jin barely has time to get the words out, and they are dropping, falling, weightless, plummeting toward the bottom of the tower, and everyone is screaming, some with hands thrown into the air, yelling loud whoops of joy, Hyo included, and some shrieking in pure terror for their lives, like Jin and Mishil. 

And then, they are coming to a stop at the bottom, and the ride attendant is unlocking the seats and motioning toward the exit with a bored expression on his face. 

Exciting the dark building, once again into the bright sunlight of the park, Jin takes a moment to lean against the railing and catch his breath, as Hyo bounces around her father and younger sister, a large grin on her face, the most animated she has been all day. 

“That was awesome!” She yells, skipping circles around them, before cackling and shoving her little sister with more force than necessary. “You were screaming so loud, Mishil.” 

“Ow.” Mishil whines, rubbing her arm, as she shoots a glare at her sister. “That wasn’t me. That was dad.” 

Hyo stops her movements, eyes going wide, before breaking into peals of laughter, pointing at her father, barely able to breathe, as she chokes out, “That was YOU? You sounded like a little girl!” 

“Guilty as charged.” Jin says, pushing off the railing, as he gives a shrug and pats Mishil on the back. “I am not ashamed of my show of emotion. That ride was scary as hell.” 

“Oh my gosh.” Hyo gasps out, bent over, tears gathering in her eyes. “I can’t wait to tell mom.” 

Jin’s face goes pale at the mention of you. “How about we just keep this our little secret?” He asks too quickly, as Hyo finally gathers herself together and straightens, raising a brow in his direction as he hurries to cover for himself. 

Jin knows, if you find out about the Fear Tower, that you will never let him live it down. 

“Nope.” Hyo sings out, smirking in her father’s direction, as she takes a step backward, toward the Fear Tower once more. “I’m telling her. Unless....” She shrugs slightly, motioning over her shoulder. “You and Mishil ride the Fear Tower with me again.” 

Jin considers her offer for a moment, Mishil already clinging to his hand once more at the mention of the ride, and rolling his eyes, letting out a deep sigh, he groans out, “Fine. We’ll ride the ride again. But.” He points a stern finger in a gleefully smiling Hyo’s direction. “You’re lips are sealed after this, correct?” 

Hyo nods, miming the sealing of her lips, and then skips back toward the ride, as Jin drags Mishil along with him to once again ride the terrifying elevator, muttering bitterly under his breath to himself, “You are your mother’s daughter.” 

#bts #bts drabble #bangtan #bangtan boys #dad!bangtan #bangtan seonyandan #magicshopnet #beyond the scene #bts imagines #bts reactions #anon request #anon ask #dad au #bts as dads #bts fanfction #fanfiction #fluff #bts text #bts text post #husband au #kim seokjin #jin #bts seokjin #seokjin #seokjin x reader #seokjin x you #kim seokjin x you #kim seokjin x reader #dad!jin

[fics-not-tragedies]

KINKtober: Day Thirty-One

as per @beyond-antares​‘ request we have #7 mixed with #10, mixed with #26 and #30 (since I wasn’t able to write them), mixed with a spooky twist since it’s Halloween after all 😈

Loud music was blasting from the speakers as John entered the club. He could hear a set of dark tunes blasting into the speakers, one after another. The whole place was decorated with Halloween stuff. There were pumpkins everywhere, bats hanging from the ceiling and few spider webs here and there. They really put loads of effort in turning the Continental’s underground club into a spooky dungeon and it worked out great.

John ordered his drink, wandering around the place looking at all of the people dressed up as various horror creatures. As he leaned his back onto the wall he saw an insanely gorgeous girl pushing through the crowd to get to the bar.

He kept piercing her with his stare until she caught his glance when she turned, leaning her elbow on the wooden table behind her. She swept his whole body with her gaze and lifted her eyebrow sipping her drink.

The girl that was now standing by the bar flashed him her fangs in a smile and John thought that they didn’t looked like the ones you can buy cheaply almost everywhere in Halloween season. Her beauty was hypnotizing, her long hair was falling in cascades onto her back until the length of her butt. The emerald dress she was wearing made her look like she came from a royal family.

She kept smiling at him like she knew he wasn’t just another guy who dressed up as vampire for this year’s Halloween party. Like she felt he was a real one. John smiled back exposing his own fangs making her shiver just by the sight of them. She quickly looked away, grabbed her drink and disappeared somewhere in the crowd.

That wasn’t the reaction he expected. It looked like she was frightened by him. But now he just wanted to play with her a little.

His mind was too busy with searching for the girl in emerald dress. He saw right through her and he really wanted to tell her he knows her badly hidden secret. Pushing through the crowd he was slowly sipping his Bloody Mary. He ordered it at the bar, but he spiced it up a little with his own ingredient.

When he finally saw her outside in the back smoking area his heart raced up a little. The moonlight made her look like she was really one of them, children of the night.

He passed through the door decorated with spider webs curtains and slowly walked outside. When she saw him she jumped at the sudden of how quickly he got close to her.

“You know my secret” she whispered into his ear, her eyes closed, heart racing.

“And you know mine” John said having a better look at her. There was a big black crystal hanging around her neck on a thick silver chain. He touched it lightly with his finger and nothing happened. Slipping his hand onto her neck he reached under her chin pulling it upwards. Pressing his lips onto hers he could feel the familiar coppery taste that he knew too well.

Pushing his tongue between her lips he became certain that she spiced her drink with the same substance he spiced his, but she wasn't needing it like he did. It was just a dedication to the role she was playing now.

“There’s not many of us here at this party” he said looking at her face. It was all a fraud, but he decided to play along. The navy blue eyes she had, the unusual shade caused by the contact lenses she was wearing, reminded him of the colour the ocean had at night.

John’s eyes looked now like they were the colour of freshly melted caramel. The look he was giving her was serious, but not overwhelming. The blood red beverage she was drinking colored her lips with a lovely crimson shade. His lips were in the same palette as hers and it reminded her of the bloody eclipse she saw this year.

“You only bite when the person’s really into it, huh?” she asked catching him off guard with her words. He blinked a few times and wrapped his hand firmly around her pale neck pushing her onto the wall.

“I only bite when I need to” he growled into her ear. The sound of his voice echoed in her head making her knees weak. He emptied his glass and placed it on one of the tables decorated with tea lights put inside small pumpkins.

Baring his fangs he growled again, pushing himself further onto her body, making her squirm under him. He slid his hand into her long hair, tugging at it harshly, making her tilt her head backwards, exposing the skin on her tasty neck.

“I feel your aura vibrating, I know what you want now” she pressed her thigh onto his.

“You have no idea what I want little girl” John whispered, fisting her hair, receiving a moan from her crimson lips.

“Perhaps if I call you something different it’ll do the job” he hissed through his gritted teeth, “how about that… daddy?” she licked her lips observing his reaction.

John’s stare changed, his eyes were almost pitch black right now. He grinned devilishly, his fangs still out in theirs full glory. The pale white teeth that formed into a Hollywood’s smile were standing out compared to his crimson lips.

“Do you want to play, daddy?” she asked accenting every word. Her hand wandered between them moving onto his crotch. She squeezed his cock through the fabric of his black suit pants making him gasp and he tugged at her hair again. “Oh, daddy… don’t be shy. I know how the real you acts. They've told me all of it. How’s the secret room in your flat doing? You’ve had someone there recently?” she felt his cock harden, he was probably having few flashbacks caused by her words.

“Still don’t know your name, ma’am” his free hand landed on her neck, caressing the porcelain skin. John licked its fragment right behind her ear making her moan obscenely.

“Do you have to know it?” she asked feeling his tongue on her earlobe.

“It makes things easier” he said nibbling on it lightly.

His face was now inches away from hers, she bit her lip hard, few drops of blood showing on it. John’s eyes widened, he growled biting her neck. Tightening the grip he still had on her neck he moved her closer to him gaining better access to the lovely blood vessels she had everywhere. Her hot blood fulfilled the hunger he felt, the little amount of the red liquid he had in his drink wasn't enough for him.

He didn't wanted to kill her, he just wanted to fed on her and then also show her that he’s not a man with whom you can mess.

“Don’t pretend to be someone who you’re not” John looked right into her eyes, her mind spinning, a rush of wetness between her legs, “you fooled me at first, little girl, but I’m not a fool.”

John spun her around, so she was facing the wall instead of him, pressing her into the cold bricks, the fabric of his well tailored suit pressed to her naked back that was exposed by the dress. A chuckle ghosted over her skin, his hand crept onto her thigh, moving the soft fabric aside, his calloused fingers touching her hip, drifting lower to between her legs. She stayed perfectly still, not able to move, crushed between the wall and his body, holding even as he touched her cunt. She was already wet.

She trembled, breath quickening, her lips quivering, hands clenched into fists and his breath ghosted across her warm skin, “Already so wet, you’re fucking naughty girl” the filth that was dripping from his dulcet tone wasn’t doing her any good.

With his other hand John spread her legs even wider, letting his fingertips wander closer to her entrance.

“Think only of me now, little girl” those words spoken with such warmth sounded honeyed and sweet, unlikely for that bloodthirsty creature that he really was, they filled her body with simmering heat, low and dark. It seemed like the whole world around them stopped and now it was just John and his lustful prey.

He was feeling kind tonight, or rather took pity on how desperate she for the pleasure, though he continued to tease. She didn’t know when he leaned in closer, his fangs scraping delicate skin on the nape of her neck. His hand skimmed lower, framing her hips and dipping between her legs again. His groan vibrated through her skin and to her very core when he felt how wet and aching she was.

She cried out in surprise, two of his fingers tracing her entrance, embarrassment flared when she could hear the slickness of her juices.

Her body fluttered and pulsed around his fingers, her juices coating him; she gasped and jolted at the brush of his thumb over her clit, it sent a heated spark through her, right into her core, sending her to ghost closer an edge she wouldn’t be allowed to fall over.

A third finger teased and slid easily into her, making her moan loudly, too loudly for his liking and he raked the nails of his other hand through the flesh of her thigh. He didn’t stopped even when she screamed in pain, so he pressed his fangs closer to her neck, letting them cut her skin, then dipping them further into her flesh, like he was trying to silence her that way.

Dizzying pleasure filled her and she desperately tried to hold onto something, but for her luck the way he was pressing her still onto the wall was helping her to stand up. She heard and felt his moans in her soul and almost collapsed when his fingers began to pump in a fast pace in and out of her dripping cunt. Her body felt like it has been engulfed in fire. Pleasure radiating from where his sharp teeth cut her, skin taking her blood and where his skillful fingers were taking over her body.

“Don’t fight it” John mumbled into her skin, moving to other place on her neck when he bit her again. He raked his nails over her hip, making sure to leave a mark for the morning after that hopefully will teach her a lesson. Then he moved to the other side of her neck, his nails leaving tiny pin pricks all over it, drawing droplets of blood from them which he greedily licked right after they showed up, “I told you, don’t fight it,” he left another harsh bite mark on the other side of her neck, feeling how her walls clench around his fingers, her whole body trembling, obscene moans falling from her lips, “good girl.”

He pressed his fingers to her lips in a silencing manner, but that wasn’t his intention, he just wanted to feel them under his fingertips, to mess up her lipstick a little. She parted her lips subconsciously, letting his finger slide past them, then sucking on it harshly, making him dig his fangs into her flesh even deeper.

She was desperate and he kept fingering her all the way through her orgasm, bringing her to the verge of another one, but stopping there, his hand moving from between her legs with a disappointed sigh.

Spinning her again he made her face him, her hands clutching onto the lapels of his suit jacket. John gripped her wrists tightly, his long nails digging onto their skin, as he pressed his knee between her legs, letting her get off by rubbing herself on the fabric of his pants.

It didn’t took her long, just a few quick movements of her hips, her soaked folds rubbing against his pants and she came hard once more, a soundless scream leaving her lips.

“Your blood is sweet… tastes like cherry wine” John breathed into her ear right after his tongue lapped at her neck, licking all the crimson leftovers from it, feeling how her body quivered again and he pressed his hand under her chin, lifting it up, making her look into his black eyes, “I will find you again, you can be sure” his hot breath enveloped her, leaving her absolutely breathless and in a wink of an eye he was gone.

She was alone, her lipstick ruined, dress perfectly intact, harsh red marks on her inner thighs and her neck to discover later.

#KINKtober 2019 #KR KINKtober 2019 #KINKtober 2019 drabbles #keanu reeves #keanu reeves fanfic #keanu reeves fic #keanu reeves fanfiction #keanu reeves smut #keanu reeves imagine #keanu reeves drabble #john wick #john wick fanfiction #john wick fanfic #john wick fic #john wick smut #john wick imagine #john wick drabble #john wick chapter 2 #John Wick Chapter 3 #vampire!John #John Wick!vampire AU #vampire AU #kr:drabble

[phantomwarrior12]

Darkest Part

Prompt: Darkest Part by Red

Word Count: 2,444

Warnings: Real sketch situation, creepy vibes, mention of blood, intimidation, innuendos

Summary: Sometimes a rescue doesn’t go as planned and a girl has to take matters into her own hands to save her rescuer’s life.

A/N: Hi folks!

Ah, here we are, two weeks after it was promised, the third chapter of Dark Returns. I suppose it fits since it’s spooky season. :)

Please leave a like/comment and let me know your thoughts!

Enjoy!

~Phantom

No Escape (Ch. 2)

Intensify (Ch. 4)

-------------

I never wanted you to see

The darkest part of me

-------------

"I've been here almost three months. The boys are no doubt onto you, so, for the love of all that is holy, unholy, or otherwise, tell me why the hell I'm here."

"I'm a little disappointed you haven't figured it out yet."

You don't like the patronizing lilt in his voice, the arrogant glimmer in searing whiskey as they rake over your tense form. You're tired of the cryptic one liners that never make any sense, the carnal glint in every gaze, the mocking mantra whenever he returns.

"Then how about you give me a clue?"

You know he can hear the growing aggravation in your voice, the exasperation in your eyes as you meet his gaze boldly.

"Nope, no can do, sweetcheeks."

There it is, a shadow you could recognize anywhere. He slips up, not often, but just often enough that you can't help but hope that the spell you've found will actually cleanse his grace.

That's probably what sets him off the most, those scrutinizing eyes studying every action, every word for traces of his former self. For reasons beyond your comprehension, he loves your attention, especially when he gets to flaunt the control he has over you. Sometimes you want to wring him up by his feathers and see how long it takes for a corrupted archangel to escape a demon's trap with holy fire and warded cuffs.

"Oh, the things that float through that pretty little head of yours. You're kinkier than you like to admit."

You shake your head to clear the rather vivid image from your mind before you meet his gaze.

"I thought we established boundaries?"

"Old me did, new me doesn't care," he ventures closer.

You fold your arms across your chest, leaning against the counter. You look calm, yet you know he can sense the growing apprehension.

"New you should get with the program." It's harsher than you intend, a silent betrayal of the facade you've fought to keep up with the ever-dwindling space between the two of you.

"Aw, you still have a rebellious spark," another pitiful tilt of the head, another downward twitch to the corner of his lips as if he actually feels some shred of sympathy for you, "That's adorable."

"I'm sure it is," given his expression, he understands the meaning of the deadpan as you lift your head, squaring your shoulders beneath the weight of his gaze.

"How long until you cave, sweets? I'm getting impatient." His eyes rake over your form, steadily pacing closer.

"Bite me."

"Only if you ask nicely."

"Perv."

"I think I like you better when you're scared."

"What?"

"The quiver of your lips, every muscle, every tendon trembling the closer I get," he's inches away and you wish you could retreat a few more steps to put more space between you, a wish thwarted by the edge of the counter pressing hard against the base of your spine, "I can hear your heart pounding, your mind racing and," there's a devilish grin tugging at the corner of his lips, arms resting on either side of the counter, "there it is. The fear, the adrenaline--oh, yes...it's intoxicating."

You divert your gaze as his lips press against the side of your neck, fighting for any semblance of control over the flood of unidentifiable emotions.

"Not as into it as I am, are you?" There's a reluctant twinge somewhere beneath the depths of his gaze.

"No."

He recoils, "Dear Dad, the things I'd do to you if those pesky--" he stops himself, abandoning your frame altogether.

"Pesky what?" You're slow to step away from the counter, cautious and bold all at once.

"Morals. Fragments. Unimportant," he paces away, rubbing at something absently on his wrist.

You dare a few steps closer, reaching for his shoulder before he turns to face you abruptly, gripping your wrist. Your breath catches in your throat, y/e/c locking with dark rims of hazel as they drift from your hand to your eyes and he releases his hold

You force back the fear, the blaring alarms in the back of your mind as your fingers smooth over his forearm in the first touch you've initiated since his resurrection.

He watches as your eyes fall to his arm, gingerly prying the material of his jacket away from his wrist to reveal a deep laceration. The ache in your chest reminds you of a time before midnight consumed honey, a time when you played nurse to a battered archangel after the battle with Lucifer.

"What happened?" You ask at last, inspecting the extent of the damage.

He arches an eyebrow, but decides to humor you, if for no other reason beyond entertaining himself, "Skirmish."

"With what?"

"It's not important."

"Gabriel." You warn, leading him to the couch before grabbing the first aid kit under the end table.

"You're adorable when you're trying to be stern," he goads, allowing you to clean the wound.

"Fine, don't tell me. Why isn't your grace healing you?"

"Corrupted grace, remember?" He deadpans, amusement dissipating, "Doesn't work as well as it used to."

"What if I can cleanse it?" you look up, meeting his gaze, "What if I could help--"

"You can't," he returns sharply, "I am how I am, Y/N. Whether you like it or not, this is what i am now."

Your shoulders sag, relenting for the time being as you redirect your attention to the stitches you're securing.

It's silent, an uncomfortable silence, but silent nonetheless. You can feel the weight of his gaze, the heat of the back of his hand against your thigh as you gingerly bandage the stitches, trying to ignore how damned familiar this all feels.

"Stop staring."

"I'm not."

"Thought you didn't lie."

"I'm musing, there's a difference, sweetcheeks."

"I'll bite, what are you musing about?"

You know he can sense the annoyance, but if it bothers him, he doesn't let it show, "The first time we met."

"That's...a little sappy for a corrupted archangel." You steal a glance towards his face, catching the tail end of an expression you can't quite identify.

"It'll fade."

"What drew your attention to that memory?"

"Deja vu," he nods pointedly to your hands on his wrist.

You fall silent, securing the bandage in place and waiting another two minutes before you speak, "Gabriel?"

"What?" He flexes his wrist, testing the durability of your work.

"You said that what you are now is what you'll always be, right?"

"Yep, meaner than Dean with his little mark."

"But this wasn't your choice...was it?"

He snorts indelicately, a wrinkle of the nose you can only attribute to a subconscious tendency to not humor obvious guesses, "Nope."

"But could you have made a choice to refuse this?"

"When someone is resurrected, it's usually against their will, sweets. I didn't want--" he stops himself, catching the slip before it takes him too far, "never mind."

"You didn't want to come back, at least, not like this."

"This is Gabriel numero dos, new and improved," another barrage of the archangel's charm, another scrap you long to see, "I'm back and better than ever."

"Personally, I'd call this a downgrade." You fold you arms across your chest, slouching against the back of the couch.

He pauses, something you can only assume is confusion or perhaps indignation glinting in his eyes as he shifts his gaze to you. "You have too many opinions."

"And you're not as much of a dick as you could be." You return promptly, a shadow of a smirk tugging at the corner of your lips until he leans closer.

He's hovering over you, holding just short of your face with arms on either side of the couch cushion, "Say that again," it's not a playful lilt, not like it used to be. His eyes are lost to the inky chasm, the edge in his voice setting off every alarm, every hunter's instinct you have.

"Gabe--"

"Don't. I said, say it again." You're pressed as far back as the couch allows, heart pounding, skin crawling as you fight to meet his haunting gaze.

"I'm sorry," you manage, y/e/c dropping to the dwindling space between your frames.

"I feed you. I protect you and this is the thanks I get? Heckling, endless questions, and scrutinizing looks? Dear Dad, you really are a Winchester." His eyes flicker over your features, glee creeping into his stern glower, "But, you are trembling, which means you're learning your place."

You press harder against the back of the back of the couch, setting your jaw as his fingers reach out, easing their way beneath the material of your shirt. His warped grace ghosts over your skin, leaving an almost burning sensation in its icy wake. You can't escape it, crimson wisps steadily trailing closer to the band of your jeans, moving in tandem with his lips over your collar bone.

"I can taste your fear, Y/N." He fiddles with the button of your jeans, hoping no doubt, for a whimper or another plead, "Who's not much of a dick now?"

"Gabriel--"

"Y/N!"

Gabriel jerks back, midnight shifting to the new arrival with a mixture of fury and amusement, "Cassie? I must say it is a surprise to see you here. However did you find us?"

He's patronizing again, but you're grateful it's on someone else, another out for his wrath.

"How doesn't matter. Why are you holding her here?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Castiel?" You start to stand, only to be shoved back down onto the couch.

"Sit down, sweets, Cas and I have some business to attend to," Gabriel straightens up, turning to face his younger brother, "You know, I can't have you telling tweedledee and tweedledum about Y/N's little place here," he gestures around him.

"Gabriel, this isn't you. The resurrection was--"

"A gift. What is it with you people?" He begins to pace, Castiel keeping him at a safe distance, "This isn't you. I can help, yadda, yadda, yadda." He mocks, gesturing between the two of you before he jabs his thumb into his chest, "I like how I am."

"No, you don't--"

"Says who?" He bites back, circling closer to his little brother.

"You do." Castiel returns boldly, stealing a glance towards your confused form, "It's why she's here and not on Earth. You're afraid, terrified of how she'll see you if she saw the full magnitude of what you're doing."

"Shut up!" Gabriel's angel blade slips down his sleeve, "She's here because--because I said so, dammit!"

"You're still attached, Gabriel, emotionally tied to Y/N just as you always have been," Castiel draws his own angel blade, preparing to block.

"Wow, where'd you get that one? Sam-heart-on-my-sleeve Winchester? I don't give rat's ass what she thinks. She'll be my queen, and then she'll understand why I've done all this--"

"You'll show her the end result, but you hide the process because you want to protect--"

"The her in question is sitting right here!" You manage to reclaim a fragment of courage, y/e/c darting between the brothers.

"As much as I enjoyed your visit, Cassie, it's time for you to leave," Gabriel moves forward, prompting the angel to retreat a step.

"Not without Y/N."

"Suit yourself."

You barely scream a warning before Gabriel lunges, knocking Castiel back against the wall. The cabin trembles, walls vibrating, windows rattling as a storm gathers above. It's relentless, an onslaught of rain and thunder as the angels battle, grace flying, blades clashing and you're helpless to stop them.

Your protests are lost to the cacophony above as you beg for them to stop as Gabriel lands a laceration to Castiel's arm. Blades abandoned, they resort to fists and the younger angel is no match for the fury of a warped archangel. 

He's a bloodied mess beneath his brother's knuckles, beaten into a state of unconsciousness as you scramble to pull Gabriel off.

With a flick of the wrist, you're sent hurtling against the far wall, shattering frames and tables alike. Every muscle screams in protest as you lift yourself to your elbows, mind racing as y/e/c searches for a solution.

You notice the crimson seeping from your palm. You don't have a choice, Castiel can't handle anymore. He could die.

It's all you can tell yourself--how you can justify painting the banishing sigil onto the wooden boards beneath you.

"Gabriel!"

He stops long enough to look over his shoulder at you, eyes widening when you slam your palm onto the sigil.

The flare of light fades and Castiel is gone, leaving only the corrupted archangel kneeling on the floor.

"Son of a--" he rubs his chest forcefully, as if he's willing sharp flare of pain echoing across his flesh to fade.

"You--you didn't disappear." You stammer, fear gripping hold.

"Guess I'm not as angelic as you thought," another hollow laugh that sends a chill down your spine and pools in your stomach.

You scramble back against the wall as he rises, an uncertain sway in his steps as he moves closer to you. All you can hear, all you can feel is the pounding of your heart in your chest, eyes locked on his frame when he kneels in front of you.

"Banishing Cas, huh? You delayed the inevitable, that's all." He reaches out, his bloodied knuckles ghosting over your cheek, a soft whimper slipping free as you shy away from his touch, "When I find him...it won't be me who kills him, sweets. It's you."

He stumbles to his feet, clutching his side as he all but collapses onto the couch, leaving you a quivering mess in the corner of the room.

"You know, I never wanted this. You. To see me like this. The monster drudged up from the Empty with a lust for death." his gaze flickers towards you, studying your trembling frame, "You always saw the best in me, didn't you? Even when dumb and dumber warned you off, you always thought there was some shred of decency in the old Trickster."

His features soften, and for a brief moment, he's the same broken archangel you'd met years ago on one of his just dessert escapades. For a brief moment, he's Gabriel. Your archangel. Your feathers.

And then he's gone, swiftly replaced with a callous flare of midnight that consumes the soft honey you've grown to love.

"Too bad he's gone. Now, it's just you and me, sweets, for the rest of eternity."

"I won't give up," you manage, slowly unfurling from the ball of fear.

"You will, you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because we have nothing but time."

---------------------

Chapter 4

Taglists are open! Send me an ask/message/comment to be added!

Gabriel Squad: @thewhiterabbit42 @erisunderthemoon @stuckoutsideofthebox @nuvoleincielo @lyselkatz @high-church-of-the-holy-dick @fand0maniac @lovelyhexbag @shaylybaby2032 @soul-fandom @archangelgabriellives Forevers: @heaven-hell-imagines @a-mess-of-many-fandoms @currentlyfangirling99 @bofa-deans-nuts @emiwrites3reads Dark Returns: @idabbleincrazy

#gabriel spn #gabriel x reader #archangel gabriel #gabriel #supernatural #spn #phantom writes

[plumblossomkun]

Headstones

word count: 1602

synopsis: in which the boys dare you and Haechan to explore an abandoned house, because it’s supposed to be haunted and they want a little bit of Halloween fun.

warning[s]: this might be a little spooky? idk the last line had ME spooked and i’m the writer... horror isn’t my thing, but i think if i tried it, i’d be pretty good at the gross details. yikes. 

a/n: anyway, i had this song on repeat the whole time i was writing this. there are no spoilers for Gaenari in this, but you might be able to see just how much Hyuck cares about you as his noona, i guess.

“Hyuck, I don’t want to go out there.” You cross your arms and plant your feet firmly on the floor as he tries to drag you out the door by the sleeve of your hoodie (well, it’s his, really, but you took it so long ago that he’s probably forgotten it belonged to him at all).

“Are you afraid, noona?” he teases, dangling your phone in front of you.

“Hey, when did you steal that?” You lunge for it, but he yanks it away. “Give it back!”

“When you were talking to Jisungie.” He tucks it into his jacket pocket. 

You reach into it to grab your phone, but he tangles his fingers with yours instead, grinning when he captures you. 

“Gotcha.”

“Let me go!” you squeal, but he doesn’t budge, only drags you out the door again, which is being held open by Chenle. He grins and waves goodbye as Donghyuck hauls you towards the taxi waiting outside.

“Jaemin and Jeno are waiting for you there,” he calls after you, giggling.

“Where are we going?” you mumble sullenly, resenting the way Hyuck’s hand still holds yours captive as the taxi ascends a steep, one-lane road up into the mountains. “I don’t like this.”

“It’s an easy bet, noona.” Absentmindedly, he strokes his thumb across your hand. “We get it done, and then Jeno and Jaemin will buy us dinner all Halloweekend.”

“You dragged me into this bet for food?” you hiss incredulously as the car comes to a stop in front of a dingy iron gate. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, why else would I make you come out to the dorms on a Saturday?” he hums. “You told me not to bother you on your days off unless it was for good food.”

“I meant actual good food, Hyuck,” you complain as he helps you out of the taxi. “I don’t want to have to work for my food.”

“...isn’t that what you do, as an adult?” He pushes the gate open and leads you through, starting up a hill so steep you can’t even see what’s at the top.

“Ugh, you know what I meant!” you huff. “...you still haven’t told me where we’re going. Why are we hiking up this hill?”

He doesn’t answer you, at least, not until the two of you near the top. Even he is a little breathless when he speaks. “A real haunted house,” he gulps, wiping sweat from his brow.

You lean on your knees, wheezing. “I’m too old for this.”

“If you’re old, that makes me almost-old.”

The house at the top of the hill is dilapidated to the point of almost collapsing, sways in the wind like a reed, but that certainly doesn’t stop Hyuck from approaching. He pulls a pair of tiny flashlights out of his pocket and hands you one, without ever letting go of the hand he has already clamped onto yours.

“Are you ever gonna stop holding my hand?”

He flashes you a grin. “Nope.”

The door swings open in the wake of the autumn breeze, and you squeal. “I don’t wanna go in!”

Hyuck peers inside. “It’s just Jaemin.”

Jaemin’s blonde head peeps out from behind the battered door frame. “Hi, noona.” Just behind him, you see another flash of platinum, and then Jeno, too, is grinning back at you, the two of them bouncing on the creaky, unhinged floorboards. 

“Please don’t tell me you guys are going to be trying to spook us the whole time we’re here,” you sigh.

“Oh, no,” Jeno assures you, “I’m staying outside. This place gives me the shivers.”

“Anyway,” Jaemin chirps, stepping down from the front onto the wispy grass lawn, Jeno on his heels, “there’s nothing dangerous in there, not really. Just don’t go upstairs; I don’t think it’s safe to go up there, seriously.” He waves the two of you off as Hyuck moves forward, and you are forced to follow.

Hyuck’s eyes gleam in the dark at the prospect of danger, and you warn him, “If he says it’s dangerous, we really shouldn’t go up there.”

“How bad can it be?”

“We could die,” you suggest, gritting your jaw as you duck underneath a fallen post. “That looks like it was a load-bearing post. I don’t want to be upstairs looking at debris and then become debris.

Hyuck snorts, but doesn’t make a beeline for the stairs just in front of the entrance like you thought he would, instead taking a sharp right into what looks like it might have been a kitchen. The room on the left is a living room, but it’s in such disarray that there’s no picking through it.

“Look at this island,” he marvels, flicking his light towards the marble counter top, which is the only thing that seems to have survived the carnage of the elements. “Bet you this place belonged to rich people and they just kind of forgot about it.”

“Shame. It has a nice view, too,” you say, looking out the window to forget the pungent smell of some sort of animal’s living quarters, and the line of creepy-crawlies that is surely just beneath the rotting wood. “God, don’t touch anything, Hyuck.”

He laughs, but takes his hand away from the shambles of a dining table. “Look at the silverware. It’s like someone was about to eat, but something went wrong.”

“Oh, no no no. Don’t you start weaving some creepy narrative about this place.” 

Suddenly, something creaks loudly on the floor above. You glance outside; Jeno and Jaemin are still waiting out there, talking animatedly about something. “...did you hear that?”

“Yeah. Let’s go check it out.”

“No!”

“Why not? If we fall I’ll catch you.”

“As if!”

“Come on, noona. We’ll go upstairs and check it out and then we’ll come back out and tell Jaemin and Jeno that there’s nothing spooky about this place, and we win the bet~!” He pouts, then leans down to look into your eyes. “Noona, if you’re really scared, we should do it so we can get out of here sooner.”

“...nngh.” You can’t deny that. “Fine.”

The second floor is just as horrifying as you’d imagined it to be. Floorboards coming apart, doors unhinged, windows all broken and glass on the inside, like something outside had torn into the house. There are even bite marks and gashes from claws in one of the door frames.

“Hyuck, I don’t like this.”

He stares at the clear teeth markings. “Yeah, me either.”

Still, he tiptoes towards it, flashlight held tight in his hand. He doesn’t seem to notice that he’s unconsciously shielding you with his body, pushing you behind him, or that his breath has audibly quickened.

Quickly, you glance at the bottom of the stairs, where Jaemin is looking up at you for the signal.

So, with an exaggerated gasp, you drop your flashlight, and shriek. It actually goes better than you intended, because you inhale so violently that you end up choking on your own breath.

Hyuck immediately whirls to look at you, and you point at the window and whisper hoarsely. “There’s a hand!”

And there is a hand, hanging limp over the windowpane, covered in [fake] blood. It’s Jeno’s hand, and he’s on a ladder probably giggling his head off, but Hyuck doesn’t know that.

He takes your hand, and pushes you towards the stairs, fumbling with his flashlight. “Uh, let’s get out of here.”

Right on cue, Jaemin throws a stone through the front entrance, and it crashes into the marble countertop with a loud CRACK. 

Hyuck shrieks something unintelligible, and then he’s hauling ass down the stairs, tugging you behind him. It’s all you can do not to burst into laughter as he practically throws you over the threshold of the house, sprinting out onto the lawn and only stopping when he realizes that Jaemin is on the floor not because he’s been incapacitated by a ghost, but because he’s crying of laughter, and that you are kneeling beside him, pretending to try and shock him back to life.

Jeno comes around from the back, ladder tucked under his arm, grinning proudly. “Did I do good, noona?”

“You did good, Jeno,” you giggle, looking up at Hyuck, who is still white as a sheet.

“Who did the bite marks?” is all he says, massaging his jaw.

“Oh, those were already there,” Jaemin wheezes, sitting up. “The house is pretty cursed, but I didn’t see any ghosts or anything while we were scoping it out yesterday.”

“They didn’t tell me about it till today,” you say disapprovingly, swatting at him, then standing to wipe leaves off of your jeans. “I said, you think we can spook Hyuck? They said, only if I helped. So I did.”

“Noona,” Hyuck whines, draping his arms around your shoulders and burying his head in your neck. “That was spooky.”

“Says the boy who constantly stands behind doors trying to scare me into dropping my coffee,” you reply testily, though you pat his head reassuringly. “Happy Halloween. What was the agreement, Jaemin?”

“That he’d buy us jokbal [pig’s feet] for two weekends.”

Hyuck groans. “Next Halloween can we just have a potluck? I don’t want to do this again.”

“Neither do I,” you shudder. “Are we done, guys?”

“Yeah, I’ll call the car.”

“I call shotgun!”

“Be my guest. I don’t wanna talk to the driver.”

You glance over your shoulder, one last look at the house, and you swear you see something moves in the doorway, see the silhouette of a small child flash past. You shiver. 

“Then let’s get out of here.”

#neotober #cznnet #haechan fic #haechan oneshot #lee donghyuck oneshot #lee donghyuck fic #nct fics #nct 127 fics #nct dream fics #lee haechan #haechan #donghyuck #lee donghyuck

[white-chalk-sapphomet]

alright, tagged by @lucifgual-lich for a horror thing

Slasher Film: What are some of your favorite scary movies? Poltergeist, Trick R Treat, and Hereditary are p good out of what I’ve seen so far

Jump Scare: What is a fear that you have? Awful phobia of needles. Terrified of losing my life without being happy enough to compensate for bad things.

Haunted House: How much would it cost to get you to stay in a haunted house? I’d do it for free, but I’ll get as much money out of it as I can, unless it’s like a nice place rent free.

666: Do you have a lucky number? I like 13 a lot

Bloodbath: Baths or showers? I sometimes shower w the plug in and hybrid between the two

Found Footage: Have you ever posted a video on YouTube? nah, I’ve done twitch streaming before tho. Watch my shit sometime

Scream Queen: Are you dressing up for Halloween this year? I hope I have money for it this time honestly

Pumpkin Guts: Do you like pumpkin spice lattes? They’re p good

Grave Robber: Have you ever tried to talk to a ghost? I had a meltdown and yelled at my dead mom if that counts. I miss you’s and shit for other people and animals

Claw Marks: If you could own an exotic pet, what would you choose to have? shit uhh. idk, a tibetian mastiff or a lion or some shit probably. a bearded vulture? oh fuck some bats would be cool actually

Cryptid Sighting: What cryptid fascinates you the most? man idk, jersey devil is p cool

Cult Gathering: Are you a part of any organizations? I don’t have a cult themed girl gang yet, but I’m working on it

Friday the 13th: Do you like to go out or stay in on Friday nights? If I’m not working, yeah

Devil Horns: Are you an angel or a devil? Lucifer was an angel

Bloody Mary: Do you have any urban legends specific to where you’re from? There’s a haunted historic preschool or whatever

Spooky Scary Skeletons: What’s your favorite dance craze? Fortnite dance 

Vampire Bite: Have you ever had braces?I wanted them bc i thought they were cute, but i never got them

Butcher Knife: Can you cook? yea

Possessed Doll: Are dolls creepy or cute? depends

Witches’ Brew: What would be put into a potion to summon you? blood, juniper berries, heather, lead, cloves, and fir leaves If mutuals wanna do this, ur enabled, just tag me 

#tag game

[dreadhaus-literature]

{Collection} A Haunted Haus : Day One

Welcome, spooks and ghouls, but most especially a gooey warm welcome to the star of this collection, our very own resident zombaby, Monica~♥

This is the first day of Spooktober 2019, a 31 day celebration of my favorite time of year, Halloween! As detailed in the Prompt List, there’s a multi-faceted collection taking place this month, prompts on weekdays and chaptered short stories on weekends. Diving a bit deeper into that, I’ve decided to follow Monica’s oh-so-tempting route and am making the prompts linear, so everything written in the next month will be connected by a single plot point.

A plot point that we’ll be introducing tonight, so give me tonight to set up the plot and then we’ll get to the really good stuff in the later prompts. And like any witch’s cauldron, you can expect a wealth of ingredients to this spooky concoction--

Mystery, murder, monsters--oh my!

My witty alliterations aside, I hope this collection is enjoyed. ♥ I went back to our roots and made it Family-centric, as I feel there’s no better time to celebrate Family than the holidays. That’s why we have them, right?

So you can expect the usual cast of characters, but reader beware...

Day One, Start.

“If you say let’s split up, Gun, i swear to god.”

The man in question allowed his jaw to snap shut audibly, effectively trapping the predicted sentence from escaping and inciting Brendan’s wrath. The shorter male had the decency to look sheepish at being caught in his cowardice, but it didn’t change the fact that he did want to suggest splitting up. The fact of the matter was Gunnar couldn’t get far enough away from his current location. He’d be surprised if he ever felt safe again.

Around Brendan and Gunnar the October night sky was inky and dim, stars hidden behind clouds but there was no obscuring the orange sliver of the moon as it sat in it’s perfect crescent shape, as if winking down gleefully at the start of All Hallow’s Eve. It may only be the first of the month but the air was beginning to bite with crisp frost that caught at the mens’ jackets like wolves’ teeth, leaving them shivering from cold just as much as fear. Being on the outskirts of New Senzannini was normally not a scary experience in and of itself; the streets were well-lit and traveled, the populous continent was typically abuzz with life at any given time of day but tonight seemed unusually quiet. Neither of the men were the least bit surprised by this, given they’d had a very unusual past few weeks. Coincidences were one thing, but Gunnar’s battered face and the limp that kept Brendan’s right leg from fully straightening out were just a few telltale signs these two-bit thieves had had a rough time of it as of late.

The reason behind their sour luck was clutched like a lifeline in Brendan’s dirty hands, wrapped in a sheet tied with rope because neither man could stand that thing looking at them anymore.

“Well if you don’t wanna fuckin’ split up, then what do you wanna do?!” Gunnar demanded in a hissed whisper, dark blue eyes glancing at the sheet in Brendan’s hands unconsciously, as if he couldn’t stop himself from checking to make sure it hadn’t moved.

“I don’t...” Brendan exhaled in a rush, teeth worrying his lower lip. “I don’t know, just let me think.”

“We ain’t got time for you to think,” Gunnar shot back immediately. “Besides, it was your dumbass thinkin’ that got us into this fuckin’ mess.”

Brendan’s head snapped up as if pulled by an invisible string made taut. “The fuck it was! I wanted to leave after the first room, you were the one who thought this thing would be worth a fortune and decided to grab it!”

Gunnar whirled away in agitation before he hauled off and hit Brendan--and for what? Being right? It had been Brendan’s idea to do the job but Gunnar had taken one look at the ugly but valuable artifact now wrapped in the sheet and his sticky fingers hadn’t been able to help themselves. He’d known he’d made a mistake the second he’d picked it up--it had felt wrong, like entering a room that was supposed to be full of people only to find it dead silent and empty, but he hadn’t had time to think twice about it. Being a thief was about being opportunistic and being fast; he and Brendan had done countless jobs together since dropping out of high school decades ago but this was the one that went south and not in a way either of them could have predicted.

It had started from the second they’d gotten into their get-away car and driven away from the darkened manor and it hadn’t stopped since.

The larger homes in New Senzannini were often owned by old money and with that came the understanding that a family legacy could be worth millions if thieves could pinpoint which families had heirlooms worth lifting. This particular manor had been non-descript, just some old coot who was a recluse with little to no family left but more money than anyone would know how to spend. The manor had no security guards and a minimalist security system that could be easily patched into from a low-tier smartphone. The job had seemed too easy to these seasoned criminals but low-hanging fruit is often hard to ignore. They’d decided to go through with it anyway and initially it had seemed a great mark. They’d loaded up on valuables ranging from fine antiques to electronics and even cash, but Gunnar had felt something...odd from a room with a quadruple pad-locked door. He and Brendan had initially decided that what was out and easy for the taking was more than enough to justify the breaking and entering but Gunnar hadn’t been able to resist that pull. The more he stared at that ominously locked door, the more he wanted to open it and get what was inside. Brendan had put up a few weak arguments to the contrary but Gunnar couldn’t be dissuaded and after prying the door open with his crowbar, Gunnar had come face to face with a stark room that was completely barren with the exception of a grotesquely hideous looking figurine sat right dead in the center of the room. Gunnar’s flashlight beam threw the thing in such stark relief it had nearly taken his breath away. It had no real discernible facial features but it did have a place where a face should be; instead there just seemed to be an endless void with two pits for eyes and a gaping mouth that seemed capable of fitting his entire fist inside it. The “head” was misshapen, almost as if someone had stepped on it repeatedly, but had been unsuccessful in completely destroying it. It had four arms, not two, and all four of them were twisted in obscene ways, in ways no arm should ever be contorted. They were thick from shoulder to wrist and the “hands” were just three prongs, like a fork--sharpened so that Gunnar was certain a slight poke would draw blood. It’s “legs” were arranged in a tripod, the knees bent at such sharp angles it seemed ready to pounce on the first thing that moved.

It had been difficult to explain why Gunnar felt so put-off by the thing. It just looked...wrong, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself from entering the room. Like a car accident leaving bodies twisted and mangled on open display he couldn’t stop himself from wrapping his fingers around the torso of this toddler-sized talisman and picking it up. It was heavy, like lead, and the closer he brought it to himself the sicker he felt. What...was this thing? Gunnar turned it over, to the left and right, and marveled in almost horror at the way his flashlight beam seemed to be swallowed up by the black obsidian this thing was made of. Why had it been so tightly secured? It seemed so ominous, that the locks were positioned on the outside as if to keep the thing inside...but that was just silly, right? Gunnar was a grown man, a hardened criminal who was here to rob some rich old man so he could support a few vices. He didn’t have time for ghost stories or “bad vibes” from some weird collector’s item. He’d just take it and pawn it with the rest of the shit--with his recent good luck gambling streak maybe it would turn out this thing was ancient and worth more than the house it was currently being kept in. He could make a killing and pay off his debts and then some. He’d move, maybe give up this criminal shit, be comfortable enough to give life a proper go instead of sleeping in crack houses or in the back of Brendan’s truck when it wasn’t safe to go home--

Gunnar had nearly dropped the thing when it’s head turned toward him with an audible snap!

...It had no eyes but Gunnar would have sworn on a stack of bibles the thing was looking at him.

A split second later, Brendan had stuck his head in to see what Gunnar had found and audibly voiced his distaste for the thing, demanding Gunnar “leave that ugly shit here, it can’t be worth a goddamn.” But Gunnar wasn’t going to hear it. There was a reason this thing was in this house and there was a reason it was so tightly locked down when nothing else had been.

Gunnar had been right, of course, he just had the reason wrong.

Once outside in Brendan’s pick-up, their loot in the backseat, the two had been clipped by a run-away semi-truck that had come barreling out of nowhere. Then in the hospital, Brendan’s stitches got infected and Gunnar’s medication got swapped out for high-dose insulin three times, nearly sending him into a coma. Once out of the hospital, their luck only got worse. Brendan’s wife left him, for some reason fed up with his thieving ways when before she’d been more or less passive, and Gunnar’s dog ran away, never to return. While that could be explained as “bad luck” or “coincidence”, as the days ticked by luck began to be the least of their problems. Brendan started hearing voices in his ear at night, as if something was leaning over his bed and whispering horrible things to him.

“You’re gonna die soon.” “I’m going to kill you.” “Open your eyes, Brendan. Look at me. LOOK AT ME!”

But there was never anyone there.

Gunnar was seeing things. Demons, monsters, ghosts--he didn’t know what they were but he hated them. Their faces were always wrong, half-melted or oozing pus from their eye sockets or so horribly twisted their heads were on backward. He’d be washing his face and straighten up to see one in the mirror behind him, or roll over in bed and find one lying beside him.

It hadn’t taken the men long to realize the one piece of loot from the old man’s house they couldn’t unload was the cause for their waking nightmare. No pawn shop would take it, no street level trader wanted anything to do with it, no one wanted the thing and when Gunnar got fed up and threw it away, he woke up the next morning to a frantic call from Brendan that the thing was on his kitchen table. So Gunnar threw it into the ocean, only to wake up the following day and find it lying next to him in bed, one of those sharp-armed prongs so close to his eye if he’d coughed it would have blinded him. Whatever material it was made of was like stone and wouldn’t burn, and even locking it in the trunk of Brendan’s car did nothing to stop their horrible visions, the whispers, and the god-awful luck--bad luck that was beginning to turn life-threatening. What started as inconveniences like runaway dogs or mild infections was now people “accidentally” pushing Gunnar off the crosswalk into on-coming traffic or Brendan’s brake lines failing for no discernible reason. As days turned to weeks with this horrific doll in their lives, Brendan and Gunnar knew they were going to die, that it was only a matter of time.

The final straw happened at 9:37PM on September 30th, nearly seven hours ago. Brendan and Gunnar had been drinking beers at Brendan’s kitchen table, the doll tied up in a bedsheet on the table in front of them when they’d heard it. The doll itself never made a noise, and while it moved it rarely did so while they were looking at it, so the men knew what they were hearing wasn’t coming from the doll...but it was coming from Brendan’s upstairs hallway.

Thump...thump...sliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide.

Thump, thump...sliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide.

They still didn’t know what it was. Gunnar had just gotten to his feet when Brendan let out a shallow cry of terror at the distorted face that loomed into view. The creature was like something from a nightmare, glistening gore and elongated limbs, teeth made for tearing into something until that something never moved again. Brendan took off like a shot, only just having the presence of mind to grab the doll before he was gone and as Gunnar took off after him, the creature made the most horrible sound, a cross between a wounded animal and the rage of the predator tearing it to pieces.

Brendan’s house was now blocks away but any time the men slowed down, the creature caught up. It just kept coming! It left them with no idea what to do; they had to get rid of the doll but just tossing it aside didn’t break the curse. They didn’t know what it was and thus had no idea how to transfer ownership. They’d stolen it, thus taking possession of it, and they needed to unload this onto someone else before they were ripped to pieces by the thing chasing them down the darkened streets of New Senzannini.

It was Gunnar who saw the creature first, letting out a bellow of surprise before turning and shoving Brendan in the opposite direction with a fierce, “Go, fuckin’ GO!” and the men took off, running as fast as they could with the terrible knowledge that that thing would never get tired. It wasn’t human, it wasn’t natural, so it couldn’t be stopped. They were running on borrowed time and they’d become so sleep-deprived, so battered down by the doll in Brendan’s hands, that they were on their last leg. They weren’t going to last much longer.

Desperation can make a man do things he might not, otherwise.

That thought was the reason Gunnar slid to a stop in front of the massive gate on a very notorious bridge, reaching out to catch Brendan’s jacket.

“Wait, here!”

Brendan turned and drew up to his full height, chest heaving with exertion. He took one look at the gate before glancing at Gunnar in disbelief. “Are you out of your fucking mind?! Do you know where that bridge goes?!” Without waiting for an answer, Brendan gestured with one hand toward the foreboding, starkly lit gate. “The Stone Spider Family lives there, we can’t fuckin’ go there!”

Thump, thump...sliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide.

Gunnar glanced over his shoulder, hearing the creature dragging itself ever closer with that god-awful sound and he turned back to his partner. “We don’t got a choice, Bren. We gotta unload this cursed piece of shit or we’re gonna die.”

“And what’re we gonna do, go up and knock on the door and offer it to one of them like a house-warming present?! We’ve tried gettin’ rid of it before!”

“We’ve tried tossin’ it away, like trash, but givin’ it away is what we ain’t tried.”

“Yes we did, no one would take it!”

“Willingly,” Gunnar stressed, pushing Brendan toward the gate. “But I got an idea. I know your leg’s fucked so I’ll give ya a boost up but we gotta go, Bren.”

Brendan had never experienced true fear before this moment. At their back was some unspeakable evil, a creature that shouldn’t exist according to natural law, running them down like dogs with the desire to break them, rip them into unrecognizable pieces and for what? Because of this doll clutched to his chest. Brendan didn’t dare drop it, risk angering it even more, but he still didn’t understand what Gunnar was planning. The Stone Spider Family were infamous in New Senzannini, people you just did not fuck with. Gunnar and Brendan had been thieves since they were teenagers and never once had they ever had the desire to even attempt to rob anyone even remotely affiliated with this powerful Family. And now Brendan was scaling their security gate with a cursed doll, waiting to be shot dead at any moment for trespassing. He might welcome that, especially with the thing bearing down on hm and Gunnar--and he definitely didn’t want to face any one of the Family members. He’d heard enough horror stories to put him in an early grave, if this damned doll didn’t do it.

But as he landed on unsure feet on the other side of the gate, nothing happened. No gunshot rang out, no security camera swiveled to their position and demanded identification. Gunnar landed next to him and gave him a hard shove toward the bridge but Brendan didn’t feel a sense of relief putting the formidable gate between himself and the creature.

If anything, heading toward what was known as the Stone Spider Haus seemed the greater of two evils and Brendan didn’t know how to feel about that.

The bridge was high over the ocean, connecting the Family island to the mainland. It was not a trafficked road, only utilized by those affiliated with the Family, but given the late hour the bridge had not a single car on it. It was well-lit but the fog rolling off the ocean kept visibility lower than either man would have liked. Brendan hoped Gunnar knew what the fuck he was doing because he himself had no idea what he would do if asked who he was or why he was there. He couldn’t explain why the security cameras hadn’t followed their movements; this Family was infamous for a reason and it wasn’t for lax security. No one trespassed, no one broke-in, no one fucked with this Family and there was a myriad of reasons for that and Brendan had no desire to find out any of those reasons...it was just bothering him that he and Gunnar had gotten in so easily. Were they so over-confident they didn’t care who approached their island? That didn’t seem right. Brendan glanced down at the silent sheet he was holding onto and some part of him wondered if the doll didn’t have something to do with that. He couldn’t hear the creature chasing them, anymore, either. Was the doll happy with this turn of events? Had Gunnar made the right choice?

The bridge was lengthy, likely over a mile and by the time the two men reached the other side they were nearly spent. Lungs burned and legs ached, Brendan’s already injured so badly it nearly gave out when he finally slowed to a stop. He braced himself against the steel barrier that separated the end of the bridge from the drop off to the ocean below, trying to catch his breath. Gunnar had his hands on his knees, drawing in deep gulps of air but he’d noticed the creature didn’t seem to be chasing them, anymore--he didn’t feel out of the woods, yet, but almost as if the doll was waiting to see what they would do. Either that, or he’d been driven insane by the goddamn thing and was now making up thoughts for the inanimate object. He didn’t know and at this point, he didn’t care. He just wanted it gone.

“So...” Brendan managed between puffs of desperate air. “What now?”

Gunnar’s battered face looked haggard under the two lights that illuminated the edge of the bridge. Before them, the bridge bled into a single, lone road that wound into a forest so dense neither man could see anything between the trees. It was as if there were black sheets draped between the huge trunks and the wind that whipped through them seemed kissed by the ocean and felt like icicles in their lungs. No matter what was chasing them, neither man wanted to set one single, solitary foot into those woods.

“We’re gonna bury it.”

Brendan lifted his head in confusion. “Bury it?”

“Yep.” Gunnar reluctantly reached for the sheet and Brendan hurriedly handed the doll to him. He would never, for as long as he lived, forget the heavy, dead weight of the thing in his hands.

“...Will that work?” Brendan couldn’t even be ashamed of the hope in his voice. He wanted that thing out of his life.

“Dunno,” Gunnar stepped off the bridge, a few more steps off the road, to the base of one particularly large tree. “But this ain’t our land, and maybe if we bury it here it’ll latch onto them instead.”

Brendan hesitated. “That don’t seem right, Gun.”

“What, like all the shit we’ve done our whole lives has been? Don’t grow a fuckin’ conscience on me now, not when we got a chance to get rid of this cursed piece of shit.” Gunnar all but spat from the side of his mouth, dropping down to his knees at the base of the tree. He dug at the soft earth, found the soil rich and yielding as it settled beneath his fingernails. He didn’t know if this would work, but he thought he remembered some shit from his church-going youth, something about planting evil like a seed and letting it sprout where it lay. Maybe this thing would take a liking to this Family, find some tastier prey to fuck with than two low-life thieves who’d made the biggest mistake of their lives.

Brendan moved a little closer to Gunnar, glancing around nervously. The creature might not be chasing them anymore but he felt eyes on him all the same. They shouldn’t be here, doing this, and they both knew it.

“Maybe...” Brendan faltered, trying to find a way to make himself feel better. “Maybe they’ll be able to handle it?”

“If anyone can, they can,” Gunnar muttered.

The doll, still wrapped in it’s sheet, was dropped in the shallow grave and hurriedly covered, buried like a horrible secret at the base of a tree that could never tell a soul. Gunnar straightened up, brushing the dirt off his hands with finality. He didn’t feel great about it, but thieves aren’t known for their honor. Better someone else than him, as far as he was concerned.

“Do we just...go?” Brendan asked.

“And hope it don’t try to follow.” Gunnar replied, turning away from his dirty deed with the slumped shoulders of a defeated man. Brendan fell into step beside him, the men moving back onto the bridge with ever intention of quietly slinking home with their tail between their legs--

Thump, thump.

But that dead, beating pulse resonating from the buried doll sent them sprinting away into the fog, to the creature still waiting for them at the gate.

The doll was done with them. It had found a new Haus to call home.

- x -

“If you say let’s split up, I swear to god.”

“...Well I wasn’t wasn’t going to say that.”

There’s something to be said about a “disappointed Mom tone”. Helen Brigham usually hears Monica tell Dot she has it, but Monica had it too, and it was truly to the delight of everyone except the one she’s disappointed in, to hear it. The loving amusement in the Shadow Reaver’s green eyes was uncharacteristic and would surprise anyone who knew her, but given the person she was looking at, should be self-explanatory. Seated in her home office, behind her hand-carved desk (made from wood blessed centuries ago), Helen was hard at work going through the field reports handed in by Beauregard Frenzy, her Junior Detective for The Society. He’d had a busy week, what with the seasons changing and the barrier between dimensions waning and all. Helen preferred to read his reports personally, and if asked she stated feeling responsible for the young man--but the truth was she had a soft spot for him and that had everything to do with Monica.

The beautiful young woman in question was seated in a comfy, plush panda bean bag chair, surrounded by snacks, while Beau sat cross-legged beside her in his own wolf-faced bean bag. The two were playing a co-op video game, survival horror in nature, and it amused Helen to no end the decisions that Beau made (or attempted to make) in-game. It was partly so amusing because Monica was having none of it.

“Why the hell would we split up?! I know you’ve seen horror movies, Beau. We all watch them all the time.”

“Because this isn’t a horror movie,” Beau reasoned, holding up one finger to accentuate his point. “It’s a horror game.”

Monica stared at him.

“...So the...logic is...different.” Beau finished, a lot weaker than when he started.

“We’re not splitting up.” Monica declared definitively as she turned back to the screen.

“I concur.” Helen chimed in, her accented voice softer than usual as it was whenever she spoke to Monica. The young woman smiled, a little nervously perhaps, but all that did was warm Helen’s heart. The Reaver turned back to the current report she was reading, perusing a few lines.

“Ms. Helen,” Beau called over his shoulder, eyes never leaving the screen. “Have you gotten to the part where I shot the Bigfoot in his big butt?”

“...No, I haven’t.”

“...Oh, okay.” A pause. “Because I shot a Bigfoot in his big butt.”

Helen, by the grace of a nameless god, was able to keep her poker face firmly in place. “You don’t have a firearm, Beau, what did you shoot it with?”

“Jax’s slingshot.” Beau sounded incredibly proud of himself. “And some of Usopp’s stinkbombs that I think I actually got from Wade. Who I’m pretty sure he said were just his burrito farts but--”

Helen downed the contents of her wine glass in two gulps before speaking. “No off-regulation weaponry, Beau, and for god’s sake do not use anything Wade Wilson gives you.”

“Monica does,” Beau said by way of defense.

Monica had finally stopped laughing enough to turn to him. “Don’t tattle!”

“What?! She’s not Diesel, she’s not gonna take them away!”

“Take what away?”

Beau and Monica both froze as if realizing too late that too much had been said.

“D-Don’t you need more wine?” Monica turned, gesturing toward one of the Haus servants standing obediently nearby. “She needs more wine!”

Helen didn’t take her eyes off Monica as the servant rushed to fill her wine glass. But Beau was right, Helen wasn’t Angelo, and she let Monica get away with anything and everything, freely and happily, because that little girl was the source of Helen’s smile. She was an angel and could do no wrong, and so the Reaver turned back to the report, now dreading getting to the “Bigfoot’s big butt” part.

The start of any Holiday season was always cause for celebration amongst the Haus and October was no different--it was the beginning of Halloween and the hallways and rooms had been decorated accordingly, with the Staff working for the past week to ensure October 1st greeted each member of the infamous Stone Spider Family with cobwebs, hanging spiders, bats and ghosties and even the Haus menu items reflected the time of year, from Frankenstein Franks for lunch or Dracula’s Devil Food Cake for dessert--Helen wasn’t sure which Dracula that particular dish was named after but she figured, ask any one of them and they’ll likely claim it. That was the overall feel of the Haus; it was a Family, the Family, infamous and known to all of New Senzannini and while Helen had never had much use for family prior to the merging that brought literal thousands of people together, she found she wouldn’t know what to do without it, now. It was a sentiment shared by every other member that lived in this happy halls, and the reason? The reason was currently kicking quite a bit of zombie ass on screens broadcasted throughout the Haus.

Monica was, rightfully so, the center of the Family. She often found herself too shy to really think too hard on that, and perhaps other days found her mood lacking and allowed the thought to slip to the back of her mind--but all she needed to do was look around and she’d be reminded just how much she was loved. It was in the way the Family supported her, took care of her, loved and adored her and desired to be apart of every single aspect of her life. Case in point? The right side of the screen she was playing on had a running chat with the Family all chiming in with words of praise and encouragement for Monica as they watched her play her game. That was her life, day in and day out, and Helen was among the countless others who took up protective vigilance to make sure her world was always happy and safe--

Thump, thump.

Helen felt her pulse still, her entire body stiffening like a predator who just noticed another in it’s territory. Centuries of life lived knowing danger was just around each and every corner meant Helen was always hyper-aware of her surroundings and even at home, at the Haus, she never let her guard down. It was this vigilance that allowed her to hear that dead, hollow beating like a dying heart, that insidiously crept into the walls of the Haus. Monica and Beau missed the sound, so entrenched in their video game and conversation, and Helen was grateful for that. The sound reminded her of the wet splatter that breakable bodies make when they connect with solid concrete from a 100 foot drop. It reminded her of the last gurgles of a drowning victim, the desperate fight for air when only water is filling the lungs and mouth.

It was the sound of imminent death and it chilled her to her bones.

Helen remained still as a statue, her entire body attuned to the surrounding environment as she listened for the sound, again. What the bloody hell was that? As much as she didn’t want to hear it again she desperately needed to, to place the sound and the feeling of horrible dread creeping up her spine like frostbite. But only silence greeted her, the whisper and whip of autumn wind and the trees dancing in the October night air, shaking their leaves loose in preparation for snow. Around her, the fireplace was aglow with warmth and the wine in her belly met the heat evenly. Monica and Beau were laughing, enjoying the entertainment on screen and the Haus itself was alive with it’s usual activities. The world kept spinning, seeking to put her at ease but she’d heard something. Something that told her their world was no longer happy and safe.

“Ms. Helen, did you get to the part yet?” Beau, childlike exuberance on full display, couldn’t help but ask again. But when silence met his excitement, he turned and the smile dropped off his face immediately, replaced with uneasy concern. “Ms. Helen?”

Monica turned when Beau did, the two watching as Helen stared, still and silent, out the window. She didn’t seem to hear them, and Monica was surprised to hear that Helen’s heart wasn’t beating. Her entire body had gone completely stone still and Monica, gifted Supernatural that she was, could tell Helen was poised, waiting for something. Listening...but for what?

Knock, knock.

“Ms. Helen?” Thomas Grady, long-time partner and Head Detective at The Society, was all concern as he politely knocked and then let himself in to the spacious office. He spared Monica and Beau a smile that was meant to reassure, but Monica caught the uneasiness in his ocean blue eyes. The Detective stepped fully into the office, shutting the door before clearing his throat. He didn’t want to bring attention to an unsettling prospect, especially in front of Monica, but felt he had no choice--especially since Helen was now looking at him expectantly. “...Did you...happen to feel that disturbance a few minutes ago?”

Monica and Beau exchanged a glance. “Disturbance?” Monica asked, looking between Thomas and Helen. “What happened? I didn’t feel anything.”

Helen looked from Thomas to Monica with an expression the young vampire had a hard time reading. She seemed...relieved, but concerned at the same time. The Reaver was breathing again, her heart once again beating steadily, strongly, but she took a moment to consider her words before she moved to speak--

Only to be interrupted by an automated voice overhead. It was JARVIS, and he sounded concerned.

“Ms. Helen, I beg pardon for the interruption but I’ve received several reports from members of the Haus who have heard or felt something peculiar in the last few minutes. I thought it pertinent to bring it to your attention. Would you like to see the recordings?”

Helen glanced down at Monica and Beau momentarily, as if weighing the pros and cons of having them present for these unsettling recordings of that horrible noise she’d heard, but Beau was training to handle these types of scenarios and shielding Monica wouldn’t necessarily protect her. Still, she held out her hand to the younger woman, and was relieved when Monica stood and came over. Helen gingerly took Monica’s hand, guiding the shorter woman onto her lap, where she could provide a safe, protective presence for what was sure to be an ugly reveal. Anything bad happening on Haus property was never, ever a good sign and the Reaver was not pleased with this turn of events. Not pleased at all.

“Go ahead.” Helen finally gave the all-clear and JARVIS’s overlay took command of both Helen’s computer screen and the game screen Monica and Beau had be utilizing, allowing Helen and Monica to watch on the computer while Beau and Thomas watched the television.

The first recording was the Patriarchs, Angelino and Atamu, who were seated in their den with several other members of the Council of Elders. The group were sharing drinks and stories, enjoying one another’s company, laughs and loud conversations abound until something unseen and unheard happened--it seemed Atamu heard it while Angelino felt it, as the werelion’s dreaded head snapped toward an unheard sound, while the vampire placed a single large hand on his chest as if gripped by some unknown emotion that was openly hurting his heart.

The second recording was of Cavon and Ewan, sharing drinks in Ewan’s “shed”. Ewan was sprawled on the ground while Cavon was half on the couch, half-off, the two fully relaxed until the same unheard and unseen thing happened--then Cavon was on his feet, ready to fight but with no target to be seen, while Ewan had his hands over his ears as if the sound was over-amplified by his blood alcohol content.

The third recording was of Stephen Strange, who was in the process of flipping through one of his magic tomes when the sound reached him. It was subtle, but very telling, in the way he froze and then slowly, slowly turned to look out the window at something the camera couldn’t pick up.

The fourth recording was of the Fancy Club, but not everyone in the room seemed to be aware of the unheard, unseen disturbance. Zaos noticed, his long ears wiggling, bending at the tips as his entire body went rigid, tea cup poised in it’s saucer as the sound washed over him, through him, like a wave of nausea. But Savon, who was in the middle of talking to Renee, hadn’t seemed affected by whatever happened, and could be heard asking, “Zaos? What, what is it?”

The fifth recording showed one of the playrooms in the Nursery, or more specifically, Alma and Alessa, who were having a tea party. The unseen sound seemed to freeze both little girls in their tracks and as Monica watched, their teacups were rattling in their saucers. Whatever the sound was, it was so loud, so physically present, it was shaking inanimate objects--but a little ways away, Little Walter was napping undisturbed, snuggled in his blanket, unaware of the sound.

The sixth recording was down in the Haus Labs, where most of the “Science Bros” were currently working. Bruce Banner was standing at a whiteboard with William Birkin, the two computing some hellacious looking equation together when the sound seemed to hit them both the exact same way--they jumped, shrinking back as if physically attacked by something coming from the same direction...but of course, there was nothing there.

The seventh recording was from the adjacent lab, where loud rock music was blaring while Tony Stark and Franky were working side by side on what could only be described as a Mecha Suit--though for who still remained to be seen. Monica somehow doubted either of them would be able to hear anything over the music but what startled her was the music went dead. One moment it was playing and then it was just dead silence and it was in that moment that Tony’s reactor seemed to flare to life as if his pulse spiked, the man yanking his goggles off his eyes to look around the room as if for an assailant. Franky’s massive arms were raised, guns cocked as the sound finished rumbling up his spine like an earthquake.

But of course, there was nothing there.

The eighth recording was of one of the training rooms, where a lot of the younger superheroes could be seen training. A combination of mutants, spiderlings, robins, and super-babies combined were sparring, practicing, but the same strange phenomenon occurred--some of them reacted, like Doreen Green shrieking and putting her hands over her furry ears or Jason Todd very loudly asking “What the fuck?!” as he yanked his distinctive red hood off. Miles Morales was perched in an intricate web that was shaking but he couldn’t seem to tell why, while Jon Kent nearly fell out of the air where he’d been hovering nearby, hands flying to his ears to block out a sound that none of the recordings had picked up.

“I’ve many more similar recordings, Ms. Helen, from many different areas of the Haus. But none of the recordings have picked up on what so many are obviously hearing or feeling. I’m afraid I’m at a loss.”

Thomas turned from the screen to look at Helen. “Did you hear it? Or feel it?”

“Both.” Helen replied.

“I felt it.” Thomas supplied without Helen having to ask, knowing she wanted to know. He patted his chest, his other arm supporting the move. “And it was...awful.”

“I don’t understand,” Beau stood from his seat, looking around the office. “What was it? Why didn’t Monica or I hear it? Feel it?”

“You were distracted,” Helen ventured carefully. “I believe it didn’t necessarily want to be felt or heard.”

“What didn’t?” Monica asked quietly, her tone prompting Helen to rub her back in a gesture designed to comfort.

“I’m not certain yet, dear. It could...perhaps only have been a passing disturbance.” But Helen didn’t believe it; she was a realist, not an optimist. The words weren’t meant to be hollow but rather to provide Monica an alternative to much bleaker possibilities--that something wicked this way comes.

The office door opened a moment later and in strode the Patriarchs, their faces matching and grim. Atamu immediately crossed the expanse of the office to scoop Monica up--whether for himself or her, neither could truly be certain. The male simply needed to hold her, to reassure himself that she was fine and his protective instincts were absolutely in over-drive. He’d heard something and though he didn’t know what it was, he knew what it sounded like and it was not a sound meant to set anyone at ease. Helen didn’t protest, though her long fingers lingered down Monica’s back before Atamu moved away, his little one held in a vise-like grip to his strong chest.

“What was that?” Atamu asked, deep voice a rumbling growl. The werelion was close to shifting, agitated by the disturbance he couldn’t put a name to. His strong fingers were stroking through Monica’s hair in a gesture meant to comfort--himself or her, again, was left undetermined.

“I’m afraid I don’t know, not yet.” Helen moved to rise from her desk. “But, I will be ordering a sweep of the Haus and it’s grounds for any clues as to what was heard, or felt.”

It went unsaid that on such a huge property, that was going to take time.

“For now,” Helen offered by way of reassurance, “staying vigilant is going to be our best defense should this turn into something.”

“Though we hope it won’t,” Thomas couldn’t help but add. Ever the optimist, he found Helen’s abrupt, realistic plans too jarring when situations were bleak or uncertain. He even turned to give Monica a handsome smile, wanting her to know that no matter what, everything would be okay.

Helen, for once, didn’t chide him or even send him a withering glare of censure. Typically she found such optimistic musings like adding flowers to a grave. What was the purpose? But with Monica here and so much uncertainty in the air, for once she allowed the flowers without complaint. It was the way of families, she’s learned, to take care of one another in times of uncertainty and crisis. Love and optimism have their place in families, even if she isn’t the one to provide such comforts.

Perhaps, if she were to be proven right about what she felt, that familial bond would be just what the Haus will need in the coming month.

Beau seemed to pick up on that, looking around the office with a smile of reassurance. “Yeah! Yeah, I’m sure it was nothing, we’ll be fine--”

It was a nice sentiment, but it seemed a little deliberate that in that moment, every light in the Haus burst, plunging the Family into collective, oppressive darkness.

Day One, End.

#{collection} : spooktober 2019 #{theme} : for monica

[purple-spring]

Apparitions - a SH fanfic

Author’s note: And so here it is, my labour of love and early Christmas present for the SH fandom - the sequel to ‘Tomorrow’ and ‘Coming Home’. I owe a debt of gratitude to so many people. To @jandjsalmon​, my beta/meta/co-pilot, thank you, as always, for reading and reworking and questioning and pushing this to become what it is now. Erin is my tribute to you. To @theatreofexpression​, who also read and beta’d and cheered me on, you are a gift, and I treasure our conversations. To @oleekingcole​, @gingerheel​ and @a92vm​ for all your support - I am grateful for our friendships.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. While it is based on a number of real-life events (Riverdale auditions, shooting of Riverdale 1.06, the SH San Francisco trip), it is purely speculative, and was not intended to upset or offend.

Summary: Lili is haunted by Cole, and by her fears. When the time comes to banish her ghosts, will she fold? Or will she follow her heart?

Read below, after the cut, or on Ao3. 

“Do you believe in ghosts, Lili?”

The voice that Cole put on was ridiculous, and Lili rolled her eyes at him to indicate that she thought as much. He laughed as he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her in against him, kissing the top of her head affectionately. He’d been in a good mood ever since they landed - gleeful, even. As though by simply moving away from the confines of Vancouver, the context of work, he was immediately freed to be this - happy, carefree, relaxed Cole.

Luggage in hand, they looked up at the gaudy pink facade of the Queen Anne Hotel - apparently one of San Francisco’s most haunted spots, which looked anything but spooky in the garish light of day.

Cole turned to her. “You ready?” She nodded excitedly.

When he’d first suggested it for their weekend away, she was reluctant. Having been accustomed to their getaways in the wild woods of British Columbia, San Francisco felt like a strange, random choice. Throw in a haunted hotel, and it seemed downright bizarre. But Cole’s stubbornness, and his powers of persuasion, were the stuff of legend; he’d once spent three days locked in a bitter stalemate with Roberto over what breed Hot Dog should be, and lost, but just barely, and not for lack of trying.

While Lili was proud of the fact that she was less susceptible to Cole’s nagging (one of the advantages of being his actual girlfriend and being on the receiving end of his pleas all too often), she was certainly not immune to being swayed by a pair of piercing, pleading blue eyes and countless sleepy conversations in the morning while she was still enveloped in his arms. This, he knew, was totally unfair on his part: she was completely undone in his embrace.

“But it would be so good, Lils,” he said, nuzzling her bare belly with his nose, right where he knew it tickled. She giggled and kicked at him half-heartedly. He looked at her with a glint of mischief in his eye before biting down - gently, but firm enough to leave a mark - causing her to sit upright, cussing up a storm, before whacking him soundly with a pillow.

“Not cool,” she mumbled, rubbing gingerly at the spot where he’d bitten her, before lying back down. He smiled before bending down to kiss it apologetically, getting a sarcastic little pat on the cheek in return.

“Seriously, though,” he said, resting his cheek back on her stomach and looking up at her. “It would be intriguing, right?”

“I don’t know, Cole. I mean, why would I want to stay overnight at a haunted hotel? That’s just asking for it.”

“Asking for what, exactly?”

“Like, asking to be haunted, I guess?”

Cole’s head popped up as he gave her a skeptical look. “You don’t believe in that shit, do you?”

“Hey, might I remind you that your own brother believes in that shit? Remember when he freaked out at the Chateau Marmont?”

“Yeah, but that’s Dylan. Which reminds me, I need to send him my monthly text message asking him if he’s felt any more of that weird energy he was harping on about.” Lili smirked at that. Round infinity of the Sprouse Roast Battle. “As for you, though, I thought you’d be more of a skeptic about that sort of stuff.”

“Me?” Lili paused, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully. “I don’t know. I’d say that I have a healthy dose of fear and superstition. Like, say, if someone read my tea leaves or something and said that they saw misfortune in my future? Eh. Whatever.”

Cole grinned at her, the dimples over his top lip deepening in the laugh that threatened to spill out of him. “Alright, ‘fess up, Lils. Who read your tea leaves? Was it Mads? It was totally Mads, right?”

“No!” Lili laughed. “She’s a vegan, Cole, not some earth goddess.”

“Oh, come on, like she wouldn’t be reading your tea leaves.”

“Okay. First of all, no-one read my tea leaves, I was making a point. Secondly, you know I don’t drink tea. It’s basically —“

“Flavoured hot water, yes, you’ve said so a million times.”

“Exactly. And thirdly, leave my beautiful precious vegan bean alone.” Cole laughed and settled his head back on her tummy. “Anyway, that sort of stuff, I wouldn’t sweat. But staying overnight at a hotel that’s actually known to be haunted? Come on. That’s some serious, next-level insanity.”

“I’m just saying,” he mumbled, face down on her bare skin. “It would be interesting.”

Lili narrowed her eyes. “Okay. Out with it, Sprouse. What’s your angle? Why are you pushing so hard for this?”

“No angle.” Cole slung his arm over her waist and looked up at her. “Just, you know, a fun weekend with my girl. And the pictures would be cool, don’t you think?”

She pushed a lock of hair away from his eyes. “There are cool pictures to be taken anywhere, and you of all people should know that.”

“Okay, fine then. It would be an adventure. And you love adventures, don’t you?”

Lili smiled, still bashful over his reference to her birthday greeting. “Yeah, but to somewhere that potentially houses a ghostly presence?”

He sat up and stared at her levelly. “Wow. You honestly don’t remember?”

She racked her brain desperately. Nothing stood out. “Sorry. I’m out.”

“Come on. The abandoned mental hospital? Season 1 shooting in Coquitlam?” He looked mildly hurt. “I thought you would’ve made the connection, Lils. It’s coming up to a year.”

Shit. Of course. Lili wanted to smack herself in the face. Did she really forget? Wait. That didn’t sound right. She made the calculations in her head.

“Cole, that was in November. We’re planning for this weekend in October.”

“It’s close.”

Lili laughed. “It’s barely close!”

“It’s close enough.”

“Well, you made me feel like shit for forgetting. And I didn’t.” Her eyes softened at the memory. “Come on. How could I forget that?”

Indeed, how could she? Riverview Hospital. Filming Episode 6. Cole, surrounded by the debris of a decrepit asylum, his hands cupping her face, the two of them emotional but also laughing at the absurdity of having a moment in the midst of an abandoned mental hospital, of all places.

As they now stood in front of the Queen Anne, his arm around her shoulder, hers wrapped around his waist, she recognised that perhaps it had slipped her mind momentarily because all of that felt like a whole lifetime ago. In that moment, as they lay in bed, caught up in travel plans and each other, those days of secrecy and second-guessing and sneaking kisses around the set seemed like ancient history.

It was his question, unintentionally, that brought it all back. It reminded her of the days when she was unsure about what she meant to him, or even what he meant to her. When he was nothing but an apparition that lurked in the corners of her mind and made her heart clench in its tender, invisible grip.

Do you believe in ghosts, Lili?

She sure did.

He was once one of hers.

…

It was at auditions for Riverdale that they’d first crossed paths. She’d been engrossed in her script, running over lines in her head with her earphones plugged in, barely conscious of the fact that some guy she had never met before had been nudging her foot repeatedly to get her attention. One last, hard nudge did it: she finally looked up, startled, as he motioned for her to remove her earphones.

“Hey, are you Lili?” She nodded and replied in the affirmative. “I think they’re calling your name.”

Her first thought was, oh, shit. She scrambled to get all her things together, willing herself to stay calm.

Her second thought, as she conversed briefly with Foot Nudge Guy, was, oh, hey. Kinda cute?

But she had no time to extend that thought as she hurriedly said goodbye to her friend Israel (who was trying out for both Archie and Jughead) and rushed off into her audition. It wasn’t until later when Israel came over to catch up and debrief over dinner that she realised who it was.

“You are bullshitting me.” She froze while rummaging in the kitchen drawer. “Cole Sprouse? Like, Cody Martin Cole Sprouse? You’re telling me that he was the guy who was nudging my foot?”

“Yeah, it was definitely him. They called his name out and everything,” replied Israel. He laughed suddenly. “Everyone in the room was falling all over themselves to get a glimpse of him, and you were literally the only person he spoke to, and you barely noticed him.”

Lili shrugged sheepishly. “Well, I was prepping for my audition.”

“Fair. Also, I think he might’ve been auditioning for Archie as well. Just my luck.”

“Aw, come on. You totally should’ve just psyched him out, Izzy. Stared him down, or pushed him as you walked past or something.”

Israel laughed. “Fuck, dude. Like I’m really gonna psych out Cole Sprouse. The guy’s been acting since he was in diapers.”

“Yeah, I know,” Lili paused thoughtfully. She thought of the guy that she saw at the audition - completely unassuming, determinedly normal - and felt a pang of sympathy for him, an actor who was just trying to book a job, but with all the added pressure of everyone staring and speculating and wanting a piece of him. “I wonder what drew him back to acting.”

“Who knows? Didn’t he and his brother go to college for a while?”

“That’s what I heard.”

Just then, Israel’s phone buzzed on the table. He gave Lili a nervous glance before picking it up. He read it quickly, then his face fell. “Shit. My agent. I didn’t get the part.”

“Aw, Iz.” She walked over and consoled him by patting his shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Israel visibly relaxed. “Actually, you know what? This is good. I don’t think I told you - I auditioned for this other film, which went really well, and I was kinda nervous that I’d have to pick between that and Riverdale if I got this one, too.”

“That’s awesome. So I guess the universe made that decision for you, huh?”

“Totally.”

“And, you know, worse comes to worse, you’ve always got my famous curly fries to give you solace.”

“More like your frozen bag specialty curly fries.”

Lili beamed as the oven timer sounded. “Hey, don’t hate. Haters don’t get curly fries.”

She was pulling the fries out of the oven when her phone rang. Israel glanced at her. As working actors, they knew what a phone call meant, as opposed to a text message.

“Lils?”

“Yep. I know.” Lili took a deep breath and held her phone in her hand as it kept ringing. She faced away from the room, keeping her face close to one of the kitchen walls. Inhale, exhale. Repeat. She finally answered the call. “Hi, Lili here.”

The next few moments were a blur, out of which she could only remember the most mundane details. The heat emanating from the open oven. The tired, pale pink paint of the wall she was facing. The distinct smell of fries. And the way she looked down at her shirt to check if it was puffing out from how hard and fast her heart was beating.

She hung up and turned to Israel, tears in her eyes. He knew. And she would remember what he was about to say to her in that moment for a long time. She would mark it as the veil that divided her life into Before and After, foreshadowing not only Riverdale, but everything else - Vancouver, the long days and nights of shooting, the thrill and loneliness of her sudden skyrocket to fame, the comfort of unexpected friendships.

And, of course, Cole.

“Lils,” Israel said in a half-whisper. “I literally just watched your life change.”

…

That was the beginning. Back then, Cole had been a half-formed spectre that dipped its toe into her head every now and then, making the occasional ripple.

And then she took his jacket home by accident, and things started to change.

Roberto had called her not long after her agent did, warmly congratulating her on getting the part and looking to arrange a meeting with her and the guy who booked Jughead’s role.

“We haven’t confirmed it with him just yet,” Roberto said, laughing. “So we’ll hold off letting you know who it is for now. It’ll be a good surprise on the day.”

Despite the uncertainty, Lili was excited. She knew that the show had only been green-lit for a pilot episode at that point, but the prospect of working on a potentially big project - one that could mean a new life as a full-fledged working actress - thrilled her. And she was also excited to meet one of her future castmates.

Walking into the production office that day, Lili regretted not bringing a cardigan. It was an unusually hot spring day in LA, and as a result, the building was blasting its air conditioner at full strength. She’d dressed carefully for the meeting, mimicking an outfit she saw on Betty in one of the special edition Betty comics - a red, strappy sundress with yellow flowers printed on it. She found it at a thrift store, and couldn’t believe her luck. She knew that Roberto, being the creative director of the comics, would recognise it immediately and appreciate the reference.

What she wasn’t expecting was the fact that the guy playing Jughead would recognise it, too.

Or that said guy was Cole Sprouse.

What. The actual. Fuck. She recognised him and silently cursed Israel for getting the guy’s audition details wrong. He said Cole was auditioning for Archie! How am I supposed to deal with this now?

Cole was already seated and reading (she caught a glimpse of Hemingway on the book spine), and suddenly she feared doing something stupid or awkward as she walked into the reception area. Somehow, she managed not to trip over herself, or make a strange noise, or stare longer than necessary, and for that she quietly congratulated herself.

She couldn’t help it, though - she stole a quick glance. Lili realised that she had only been partially right about him seeming normal. Because while he did look the part - dressed as he was in dark khakis, a plain white shirt, worn tan jacket, with a large backpack sitting at his feet - her keen eyes recognised that he carried with him the aura and glow of difference, of being just a little more special than everyone else. It was in his eyes - they were bright, active, perpetually amused. They carried the playful air of a prince pretending to be a pauper.

Lili sat down two seats away from him, unsure whether she should initiate a conversation. As it turned out, she didn’t need to worry - he spoke to her first.

“Betty comics, number 12, 1994,” Cole said, startling her out of her apprehension. She looked up, and he was looking at her with a subtle, half-formed smile. “Right?”

“Uh, excuse me?”

“Your outfit. It’s Betty’s. From the special edition Betty spin-off.” He looked away and chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully. “Or maybe it was number 11?”

“Number 13, actually. ‘Paper Caper.’” Lili smiled at him. “But good try.”

“Ah, damn it. Knew I should’ve crammed for the impromptu Archie universe quiz.” Cole leaned over and offered his hand. “I’m Cole, by the way.”

She took his hand and shook it. It was warm to the touch, and his handshake was firm while the skin was smooth, though slightly calloused at the knuckles. A craftsman’s hands. She remembered that he was a photographer now. “Hey, Cole. I’m — “

“Lili, yeah. From auditions. I remember.”

What the hell? He remembers me? She masked her surprise by laughing at the memory. “That’s right, I think I have you and your foot to thank for getting me to my audition in time.”

“Damn straight. My foot will now take a small cut of all future earnings as a token of your gratitude.”

She laughed. “Sweet. Does it take AMEX?”

“This is a cash-only operation, kid. Sorry.”

“Cash-only, huh? And here I was thinking this was completely legit.”

“Whoa, hey. Cole Sprouse, Foot and Co is a totally legitimate outfit.”

There it was. His name, his famous, well-known name - though couched within a joke - was now released into the ether. She felt it hanging in the air between them - an unwanted phantom reminding them that they weren’t just two random strangers who managed to hit it off immediately, that his fame made it a little more complicated than that. She could tell that he knew it, too, and that, like her, he was regretting the awkward halt to their spitfire banter. She decided to change the subject. “So... you know comics, huh?”

Cole beamed. Lili was touched to see his relief at the distraction. “Oh, yeah. I worked at this huge comic book store on Sunset Boulevard for a while.”

“You mean Meltdown?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.” His eyes lit up. “You know it?”

“I do,” Lili said. “I, um, actually have this thing for special effects make-up, and I’ve been there a few times to pick up some inspiration.”

“No kidding. You got any pictures of your work?”

She felt shy all of a sudden. “Yeah. Did you wanna see them?”

Cole got up and settled into the seat right next to her. “I do, actually. I’d love to.”

She unlocked her phone, opening to the album containing all of her work before leaning over to show him. This close, she caught his scent; a mix of pine, laundry soap, and the faint undertone of cigarettes. She wasn’t sure why, but she consciously committed it to memory.

“So, um, these are a few that I did on some friends…”

She swiped through, showing him pictures of cosplay makeup she had done during Comic Con season, some prosthetic work (which fascinated Cole the most), and some Halloween looks she had experimented with. She was in the middle of showing him her 2D Wonder Woman look when he paused, seemingly intent on something, before gently placing his hand on her forearm.

It was a jolt to her senses. It was so sudden, yet so innocent and unassuming. She looked up at him, and their eyes met. They were close enough that she could take a closer look at him, count the freckles and moles that formed a constellation on his face.

“Goosebumps,” he announced matter-of-factly. “You’re cold.”

“Um, yeah,” she conceded. This close to him, she could barely think straight. “It’s freezing in here.”

Cole stood up and shrugged his jacket off. “Here, put this on.”

“What? Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly --”

“Lili. Honestly, it’s fine.” She felt a small, unexpected thrill at the sound of her name coming out of his lips. It sounded both foreign and familiar, as though he’d known how to say it his entire life, and she was hearing him say it for the first time today. “Besides, I’ve been numbed and hardened to the cold by many a bitter New York winter.” As he said this, he put on an old man voice, which cracked her up. “This jacket is purely for aesthetic purposes.”

She took the jacket from him and put it on. Aside from the extra bulk, it felt like a second skin - warm, well-worn, comfortable, protective. She looked down at her outfit. “Not much of a Betty now, though, am I?”

Cole shrugged and smiled. “Still looks good.”

Lili froze while her mind went overdrive. Was that a compliment? Wait, is he flirting with me? Are we FLIRTING? But before she had time to think this through, a door had opened and a PA was inviting them to step in. Cole picked his bag up and gave her a bemused look before gesturing ceremoniously towards the door.

“Well,” he said. “Shall we?”

The meeting was fairly casual, with Roberto wanting his first two co-stars to meet each other properly and to get a glimpse into the planned narrative arcs for their respective characters (if the pilot was successful). The entire process was fascinating to both of them - Cole had obviously been out of acting for a while, and Lili had never worked on anything as large-scale as Roberto was planning for Riverdale to be. A whirlwind of storyboards and script teases and sketches made time pass quickly, and soon Lili found herself being ushered back out to the waiting area with Cole. Both of them were buzzing with anticipation.

“Well…” Lili started. The sentence trailed off and finished in a grin. There was no other response, no words for how excited she felt about working on Riverdale.

“Yeah.” Cole nodded. He seemed to be in a daze as well. He caught her eye and she couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing. He did, too. Out of pure mirth. As if they couldn’t believe their luck.

“This is crazy, right?” she said.

“Absolutely fucking crazy.” A short pause settled into their conversation as Cole seemed to mull something over. “Hey, you doing anything right now?”

Lili’s joyful mood dissolved as it gave way to nerves. Is he…? No. Don’t be ridiculous, Lili. Anyway, you’ve got something on. Gah. “Um… I am, actually,” she said. “I’m catching up with a friend over dinner. I haven’t seen her in ages.”

“Ah.” Cole nodded. “You live around here though, right? LA?”

“Yep. I’m an Ohio girl, though.”

“Awesome. We should hang out sometime.”

It was a statement, not a question, and from anyone else, at any other given time, it would’ve sounded arrogant. But not from Cole. Because Lili knew, as well as he did, that he was just following through to the natural conclusion of the afternoon they just had - the banter, the ease, the strong, natural pull between them. It was beyond chemistry. It felt… spiritual. Supernatural.

Still, given who he was and how closely they’d be working together in the next few months, she was naturally hesitant. And so she was surprised to hear herself replying:

“Yeah, we should.”

Lili knew, from the moment they exchanged numbers, from the way she watched the deft movement of his fingers as they entered her contact details into his phone. She knew when he pulled her in for a hug before saying goodbye and felt her body melting into his. She knew when she jumped into her Uber and realised, with a surprise, that she was still wearing his jacket. And that he didn’t ask for it back, either.

She knew. It was a foregone conclusion.

She was haunted by Cole.

...

The next few months passed by in a golden blur. Slowly, Lili’s days filled up with preparing for Riverdale. And with Cole. He texted her often, and called most nights. She met Dylan, as well as Cole’s entire social set from the West Coast, and soon became friends with them as well. He took her around to where he was staying in LA - at Debby’s - where they’d watch sunsets and pet her cats while talking about everything and nothing at all. He gave her unnecessarily detailed lectures on how to use her camera. She sent him memes.

At first, it was fine. She figured that whatever she felt for him at the production meeting was a fluke and would eventually dissolve with time. Except... they didn’t. Instead, she could feel something taking root in her heart. Whether it was infatuation or love, she couldn’t quite tell just yet. But it was there. And it made her panic.

When he told her how he felt for her, his confession whispered in the early hours of morning as they lay together on the couch at Debby’s place, that panic was replaced by euphoria, which was only heightened with each frenzied kiss, each extended ‘good night’ over the phone. They kept things between them for the time being, wanting to preserve and protect this still-undefined thing that they had, away from all the noise. They carefully avoided any talk of the future, living day to day just as Cole had promised: tomorrow, he had said. Tomorrow, you’ll still have me. And, faithfully, Lili held onto that.

But with each day that passed on the Riverdale set, the harsh black and white of reality slowly seeped into the technicolor dream that was her world with Cole. The hours were long, the schedule was gruelling, and she found herself mentally and physically exhausted by the demands of playing Betty Cooper. She started feeling more moody and brooding, despite Cole’s best efforts to make her laugh, as well as his constant insistence on pulling her into some unknown corner on set to sneak in a secret kiss. At first, she put it down to simple fatigue, and took naps whenever she could. But as the weeks wore on, she felt essentially the same, and it worried her.

One morning, after a night of tossing and turning, Lili turned up early to the Riverdale stages, where they were filming for the day. She’d woken up at 5 after finally drifting off to sleep only four hours prior to that. Frustrated at having gotten so little sleep, she threw off her covers and picked up her phone to check the time, and saw that she missed a text from Cole.

“KJ still shredding his guitar at 2 am. He claims that the apartment is sound-proof but clearly it’s not inconsideration-proof. Tempted to call cops on ourselves. Live with me? Please? KENETI SUX (don’t tell him I said that).”

It should have made Lili smile. Except that she noted the same strain of worry tugging at her, making her feel anxious. She tried to shrug it off, but as she got up to get ready for the day, she felt it sticking to her ribs and crowding her lungs.

“Lili?” Madelaine walked into out into living room, bleary-eyed and still in her pajamas. The two girls were sharing an apartment in Vancouver, which Lili was grateful for. They were both homebodies, happy to bunker down and watch old episodes of Friends while everyone else was out partying. “What the hell? Are we due on set this early?”

“No, babe. Go back to sleep. We’re due in at 9.” Lili got a mug out and starting spooning coffee granules into it. “I just woke up early, that’s all.”

Madelaine gave her a look as she eyed the coffee container in Lili’s hand. “Uh, Lils? You don’t drink coffee.”

“I know.”

“And that’s my organic, shade-grown, vegan-certified coffee.” She considered Lili carefully. “Are you okay?”

Lili picked up the container and looked at the label. “Huh. Didn’t realise. Should do me fine, though.”

Madelaine walked over to her. “Hey, look at me.” Lili turned, and Madelaine gasped in fake horror. “Okay, whoa, we are gonna need some face masks tonight because those eye bags are killing me, girl. Those are Cole level eye bags.” Lili gave a short, humourless laugh at that. “Honestly though, are you alright? You haven’t been yourself these past few days.”

“I know, Mads. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, don’t be sorry. That’s you, and that’s how you feel. Doesn’t matter what it’s about. Don’t apologise for that.” Madelaine rubbed her back, and Lili felt tears welling up in her eyes. She was tired and worried for no apparent reason, and Mads was being so kind and maternal, and it took all of her energy and willpower not to burst into frustrated tears. She turned to her and gave her a quick hug.

“Thanks. I’ll be okay. And, um…” Lili looked pointedly and regretfully at the mug of unmade vegan coffee.

Madelaine rolled her eyes and laugh. “Yep, I’ll get rid of this.”

Lili smiled and headed out the door. “Love you, Mads.”

“Love you too, Lils.”

Lili drove in to the studio lot. There was hardly anyone at the stages when she walked in. Britta, one of the series writers, waved at her happily and came over. “Hey, Lilibeth,” she said, using the crew’s favourite nickname for Lili. “Shit, what time is it? I didn’t know you guys were due to come in already.”

“Nah, you’re fine. I got up early, actually.” On cue, Lili stifled a yawn. “Thought I might as well come to set, get some prep work in.”

“Yeah, well, don’t work yourself too hard just yet. It’ll probably be a while before we start shooting. Have a walk around for now. Hair and makeup should be getting set up soon.”

“Thanks, Brit.”

“No problem. Oh, and hey, is Cole around?”

Lili went still. Why was she being asked about Cole ? Did they know? For some reason, this bothered her more than it should have. “Um, no...? Why?”

“Oh, I’ve just got something on script he needs to check. No biggie. I’ll catch you later, okay?”

Lili picked up a hot chocolate from craft services and walked around the stages, stopping to chat and say hi to people here and there. As sleep-deprived as she was, she was enjoying this - seeing the cameras rolled out across the floor, the set designers hard at work adding little details to each interior, the script supervisors flipping through the scripts and marking things off their lists.

This was the life she had chosen, since age 14. There was no Plan B for her - she decided that for herself a long time ago. It was going to be acting or nothing. And now here she was, in the midst of a dream come true, and yet something was niggling at her, and she couldn’t figure it out.

As Lili walked past the Cooper house stage, she slowed down.

She and Cole would be filming there the next day - their first onscreen kiss. She remembered, with a smile, how they had received the script and read over it together in her apartment, kiss included and all. He played the role of director too, joking that each kiss wasn’t good enough (“Come on, I’m just not FEELING it, Lili.” “Shut up, Cole.” “Make me.” And she did).

Standing here now, though, she felt none of that pure elation and only felt… apprehension. They had joked about it all week since reading the script, but now that they were coming up to it, Lili felt more and more nervous, almost as if…

Hang on.

She stopped in her tracks. The truth finally crashed over her.

It was simple. So simple she couldn’t believe that she hadn’t seen it coming. Her reaction to Cole’s text that morning, Britta’s innocent query regarding his whereabouts...

She was running scared.

It was staring her straight in the face, literally, as she faced the exterior of the Cooper house stage. Here, her work, her dreams, and all the sweat and toil she had invested into them, were about to intersect with a relationship that was still taking its first, tentative steps.

And she had no idea what was going to happen.

Because this wasn’t how the story was supposed to go. Not in her mind. Not when she started out on this path. She had landed the biggest role of her career and the trajectory of her life was meant to be straightforward and predictable from then on.

Cole, however, was an unexpected twist in the tale. She didn’t see him coming, and now that they had collided head-on, she was reeling from the impact.

The questions came to her mind, fast and unbidden.

What if we hold each other back?

What if this doesn’t work?

What happens when people find out?

What happens when we fight?

What if he loses his focus?

What if I lose mine?

And, most painful of all. What if I lose HIM?

Lili walked up the steps to the Cooper house in a half-daze, and she sat herself down on the doorstep to collect her thoughts. The euphoria and afterglow of being with Cole had kept all these questions at bay, but now, as reality was setting in, they were being unleashed, and she was powerless to stop them.

Suddenly, everything she took for granted in the past few months was overshadowed by the cold sting of fear.

Suddenly, she wasn’t sure she wanted this kiss to happen.

…

Lili felt out of sorts for the rest of that day. Thankfully, it was a light day, shooting-wise - just a few filler scenes before they got around to the heavier sequences over the next few days.

Cole arrived on set later in the afternoon, just as Lili was finishing. He was on his way out of the makeup trailer when she stepped in for her clean-up. She was so lost in her thoughts that she bumped into him on the steps leading up.

“Whoa!” he said, laughing as he steadied her by the shoulders. “Has someone been drinking the acetone?”

“Cole,” she breathed out. She felt spooked seeing him, as if her thoughts had materialised this apparition standing in front of her.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” Lili racked her brains for something, anything, to say. “So, ah, you’re shooting today?”

Cole gave her a funny look. ”Yeah. I work here, Lils. Not just a pretty face, you know.” He smirked at her, eyebrows raised, lips slightly puckered - a deliberate ‘pretty’ pose. Despite the fact that it was so ridiculous and put on, it still melted her.

“Of course, yeah. Stupid question.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “You sure you’re alright?”

“Totally.” She forced herself to smile. “Oh. Hey. I’m sorry I didn’t reply to your text earlier.”

“Which one?”

“KJ shredding guitar at 2 am. Hang on, you sent me another one?” She slipped her hand into her pocket, looking for her phone.

“Yeah, just a few hours ago. I figured you’d be filming.” He chuckled at a sudden memory. “Oh, and as for KJ, I ended up throwing a carrot at his head. Not my most impressive enactment of a visual metaphor - because ‘carrot top’, of course - but it got the message across.”

“You guys actually have carrots at your place?”

Cole rolled his eyes. “KJ juices.”

“Oh. Right.” Despite herself, she giggled at the mental image she had conjured of KJ chopping up vegetables and throwing them into a blender (“Carrots. Pineapple. Ginger. Legends.”).

He smiled at the sight of her laughing. “Hey, so, the text I sent you. Apparently, this place we’re  shooting at in two days? Is haunted as fuck.”

“Really?” She slid the lock button on her screen to open his message, and there it was - a screenshot of an article he’d been reading on Atlas Obscura. She looked at the description and read it out loud. “’Riverview Hospital, historic insane asylum… what untold stories could be uncovered from the relics of an institution that has witnessed the torment of so many personal demons?’ Holy shit.”

“Right?” Cole looked as though all his dreams had come true. “So you in?”

“Am I in? For what?”

Cole gave an enigmatic little grin. “A little urban exploring adventure.”

On any given day, Lili would have jumped at the opportunity. But not today, not after her earlier revelation on the steps of the Cooper house. She wasn’t sure she could take some extended alone time with Cole right now. “Look. It sounds great. But honestly, I am way too much of a wuss for that.”

Cole scoffed. “You? Seriously? Come on. And anyway, I’ll be there. I’ll bring my camera and everything. It’ll be fun.”

“Cole.” Lili was starting to fret inside. She had to dissuade him somehow. This would be in two days. It was going to be the day after their kiss scene. She wasn’t sure how that was going to work, what the aftermath would be.

“What?” His face fell slightly. “You don’t wanna come?”

“Can I just… can I let you know closer to the day?”

Cole shrugged, obviously a little disappointed. “Alright then. Just let me know soon. I want you there, Lils.” He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping. “It won’t be much of an adventure without you.” He looked around quickly before swooping in to kiss her playfully on the cheek, and walked off in the direction of the stages.

Lili felt the outline of his lips on her skin as she watched him leave, and knew that it would stay there for a while.

Don’t do that, she thought. Don’t make me fall harder for you than I’m falling right now.

…

The morning drive felt like a meditation. Lili had woken up extra early to prepare herself for the scene, reading over her script again, reciting it out loud to herself, then repeating it without the paper in front of her.

But that was just a distraction. After all, she was always pretty good with memorising dialogue. On her drive to the set, she was focusing on an entirely different set of words.

It’s just another scene.

It’s just another scene.

It’s just another scene.

She repeated it to herself like a mantra as she drove, and if she had a little bit longer - an extra day, perhaps - she would have eventually believed it. But as she pulled into the parking lot, she felt her palms sweating on the steering wheel, her stomach filling with butterflies. She wondered whether Cole was feeling the same.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t messaged her that morning, hadn’t brought the kiss up in conversation in the past few days. Maybe I’m overthinking this. Maybe it would be fine.

But as she slipped on her costume for the day - Betty’s usual jeans paired with a light, cream-coloured V-neck sweater - she became aware of the same questions plaguing her mind from the day before. What if we hold each other back? What if this doesn’t work? What if I lose him?

It was going to be a long day.

Cole was already at the Cooper house stage when she arrived, drinking coffee and laughing with some of the film crew. He caught her eye as she walked in, and he gave her a soft smile and raised his cup at her by way of greeting. Looking to avoid him, she gave him a quick nod and a wave before finding a spot on a couch on the other side of the room, lying down and closing her eyes.

She wasn’t even aware that she’d dozed off until one of the crew tapped her on the shoulder. She got up, had her ponytail fixed quickly, and nervously ascended the stairs to Betty’s bedroom.

She didn’t even get a chance to speak to him properly before shooting started. Steven, their director, was at the bottom of the ladder outside Betty’s window, talking Cole through the scene. He did the same with her earlier, and as she waited, she stared at the bits of duct tape on the floor that marked her blocking cues. They had blocked the scene fairly quickly, and in that time, she and Cole were both bristling with a nervous energy that prevented them from saying too much to one another. They both sensed the significance of the scene. Roberto, who had written the episode, was taking a rare break from working through scripts and was standing next to one of the cameras, eager to see how the scene would pan out. It was a big day for the series: the birth of Bughead.

The scene as it was scripted would be fairly simple: Jughead would knock on the window, wait for Betty to open it, and say his line. He’d climb through, they’d have their exchange and turn to face each other. After that, it was onto the kiss - bold, swift and immediate, just as Roberto and Tessa had written it in the script. She’d be startled, she’d remember Jason’s car, and they’d end it with their sleuthing dialogue. Easy.

Well, easier said than done, Lili thought.

Soon enough, Steven was standing behind the camera, and the scene was ready to be filmed. “Quiet on the set!” someone yelled. Lili sat at Betty’s vanity, fiddling with her necklace. A chorus of voices signalled the start of shooting.

“Roll it— ”

“We’re rolling.”

“Thirty-three, take one, and—”

“Action!”

A tap on the window. Lili turned around, performing her first beat perfectly. Cole stepped through into Betty’s room, and they moved seamlessly through their blocking - Betty walking ahead of Jughead, turning to him every now and then as they went through their dialogue.

Betty was meant to be distracted in this scene, and Lili played that up, making sure to avoid looking at Cole. But as he said the line “they’re parents, they’re all crazy,” she couldn’t help it - she looked up briefly, and noticed that his own eyes were downcast. That they seemed to be avoiding her.

Well, that’s different. In rehearsals, Cole usually delivered the line straight, with a confident, knowing smirk. Here, Lili could feel a different energy emanating from him, but she couldn’t name it, couldn’t be distracted, not now when was being swept up in the mood of the scene.

“Also…”

Well. Here we are. Jughead’s big line. The prelude to the kiss. She braced herself.

“What?” she replied.

She looked expectantly at Cole. He should have been kissing her by now. Instead, his gaze flitted anxiously over her, his eyebrows drawn together as though in confusion.

Oh my god. Did he forget this part? The air thickened with tension. Lili grew nervous as she felt the room weighing in on them, and she racked her brain desperately, trying to think of what to do as the cameras kept rolling. She decided to cue him in again. It was technically off-script, but never mind - he’d thank her later for stepping in.

She repeated her line, a little more forcefully. “What?”

And then, there. In that flash of a second, she saw it.

Doubt. Hesitation. Fear.

All in his eyes. All mirroring her own.

In that moment, it shocked her. Cole - confident, self-assured Cole - was standing here in front of her in such vulnerability.

And she saw the truth that had eluded her in these past few days, the one she would’ve guessed at, had she been paying attention.

That she wasn’t the only who was afraid.

That he was haunted, too.

But before she could process any of this properly, she was startled back into the present as he visibly switched gears, stepping in swiftly to close the distance between their lips, right when she least expected it.

It was unlike anything they had ever rehearsed or even done in real life. It wasn’t what the script called for. It started out like a cymbal crash, but turned tenuous and tender - a quiet question mark rather than the decisive full stops or passionate exclamation marks that characterised her kisses with Cole.

And she was hopelessly lost, enveloped in this secret part of him that he was unknowingly letting her into. It felt intimate, to be staring into this fissure that he had exposed. It didn’t scare her; it felt right. It threw her into blissful relief, to feel the tentativeness in that kiss, to feel her own uncertainty mirrored and marked onto her lips by his own.

As they parted, she smiled, purely out of reflex. Cole’s hand was still cupping her face, and he released a deep sigh that seemed to take up his whole body.

“Cut.”

Steven’s voice was like a temple bell cutting through the transcendence of the moment, calling them all back to reality. Lili was confused. The scene wasn’t over yet. She turned to the crew and saw that they were all transfixed. Roberto’s eyes were misting over behind his glasses.

“Guys, that was….” He was momentarily lost for words. “That was it. That was the take.”

Britta, who was the script supervisor for the scene, cleared her throat. “Roberto, that wasn’t how you and Tessa planned it on the script here. You okay with that?”

“Am I okay with it?” Roberto shook his head in incredulity and turned to their director, who looked just as moved as the rest of the crew. “What do you think, Steve?”

Steven looked over to Cole and Lili, taking them in thoughtfully, as though he was seeing them in a new light. “I know we still had a few lines to go, but I had to stop it there because I wasn’t sure how you’d play the next beat, and quite frankly, I wanted to make sure that we preserved that on film.”

“Preserved what?” Lili asked.

Steven smiled at her. “Magic.”

…

Before Lili knew it, the scene had wrapped. She was desperate to speak to Cole, but Roberto had already cornered him in what appeared to be a fairly intense conversation. She loitered around for a few minutes, but gave up after they sat down on the couch, apparently settling in for a long discussion.

It was her only scene for the day. Lili made her way back to the makeup trailer in a pensive daze, watching her feet as they measured out her steps. She had no idea how she ended up seated in front of the mirror, with Erin, the head makeup artist on the show, handing her a cotton ball soaked in cleanser.

“Alright, you beauty,” she said, smiling. “Let’s get you cleaned up and on your way home.”

Lili complied, methodically wiping the makeup off her face. She loved this. For her, it was an important part of her day, this literal stripping away of character. And she especially loved doing it with Erin, who had become a close friend to her in the months that they’d been doing Riverdale together, and who was one of the few people who actually knew about her and Cole. Often, she’d sit in the chair long after her makeup had been taken off, having long talks with her and sharing skin care tips and chocolate.

Erin busied herself with cleaning her brushes while Lili wiped off her eye makeup. “So. Everything go alright with the big scene today?”

Lili paused, the cotton ball poised over her eyelid. “Yeah. It went really well, actually.”

“Great.” Erin smiled warmly at her before turning back to her brushes. This was another reason why Lili loved her. She knew when to leave her be.

They were both quiet for a few moments, with nothing but the sound of running water echoing in the empty trailer. Erin tapped the brushes dry over the sink, then turned around and smiled at Lili through the mirror. “All done, then?”

Lili nodded. Erin took the cotton ball from her and threw it in the bin, before handing her a warm towel.

Lili dangled it loosely in her hand, thinking to herself. “Erin?”

“Yes, lovely?”

“What do you do when…” Lili’s voice trailed off, and she pursed her lips, unsure of how to complete that sentence. Erin stood by, waiting patiently.

“What do you do,” she started again, “when you’re absolutely sure that you’re right where you want to be, and you want to move things forward, but for some reason… you’re just scared shitless?”

Erin pulled up a chair right next to her and sat down. “Are we talking about a certain young Jeep-driving photographer here?”

“Well… yes. Partially. But it’s to do with everything else as well.” Lili exhaled a long breath. “Riverdale. Our careers. Everything.”

“Okay.” Erin nodded. “What do you think is making you scared?”

“I don’t know. I keep running through all these questions in my head - questions that maybe I should have been asking myself months ago, but didn’t. Or couldn’t.” Because I was crazy about Cole and still am and everything feels irrelevant whenever he says my name or his hands are on my skin. “Either way, I think they’re all essentially asking the same thing.”

“And what’s that?”

Lili turned her gaze on Erin, her eyes full of worry. “What if this breaks us?” she asked, her voice small. “What if it breaks me? ”

Erin sighed, and took Lili’s hands in hers.

“Lili, how did you get started on all this?”

“What, on Cole?”

Erin chuckled. “No, not Cole, honey. We all know how that started. The boy is very charming. And he was always nuts about you.” Lili smiled at that. “I mean acting. Your career.”

“Well… a lot of auditioning. A lot of getting knocked back.”

“I mean before that. Why did you audition? Why did you keep getting up, even when you got knocked back?”

Lili gave a short laugh. “Because it was the only thing I was good at?”

Erin swatted her arm lightly. “That isn’t even remotely true and you know it. Come on. Tell me.”

Lili paused thoughtfully. “It was the only thing I ever really wanted to do. It’s where my heart was. Or is.” She sighed. “It’s where my heart is.”

“Well.” Erin patted her hand. “Isn’t that your answer, then?”

“My answer? How?”

“Lili. Think about it. Your heart led you to acting. In that process, did it ever betray you?”

“No.”

“Did it ever fail to warn you of danger? Or lead you to the wrong door?

“No.”

“Did it ever leave you high and dry? In all those times when you were auditioning and failing and starting over, did it ever leave you short of passion, or tell you to give up?”

“No.”

Erin leaned forward, making sure that she listened. “Then follow it, Lili. Trust it. It hasn’t led you astray yet, and it won’t start now.”

Suddenly, Lili knew what she had to do.

“Erin…” She had no words. She’ll just have to express her gratitude later. “I’ll be back.”

She stood up and hugged Erin fiercely, before running out of the trailer.

Lili ran to the parking lot, to check if Cole was still around. By sheer luck, she caught him just as he was opening the door to the driver’s seat.

“Cole!”

He turned around, startled. She sprinted to his car, which was on the far end of the parking lot. She hadn’t run for a long time, and soon her legs and lungs were on fire. But she couldn’t stop. Somehow, her body was pushing her forward, propelling her to the only person that mattered right now.

But what was she supposed to say? Now, as she stood in front of him, out of breath, all coherent thought abandoned her.

“I, um…” She put her hand to her chest to control her breathing.

“Lils.” His eyes were wide as he took her in. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just… give me a sec… one moment…”

Cole was caught between looking amused and worried. Wordlessly, he took out a water bottle from his car and offered it to her. She shook her head.

Lili straightened up after a while. “Sorry. Were you leaving?”

He shook his head. “I was just grabbing something out of the car.”

“Oh. Right.” She looked him in the eye, and she was suddenly nervous. “Um. Are you still exploring the abandoned asylum tomorrow?

He looked surprised. “Yeah, I am.”

“Is anyone else going with you?”

Cole smirked. “Nah, I think it’s just me and the ghouls tomorrow. Why’d you ask?”

“Just… I would love to come.” She said it tentatively, worried that things had changed since their scene earlier. “Does my invitation still stand?”

Cole looked surprised at that. “Yeah, of course.” She breathed a sigh of relief. They were fine. Thank god. “But… Lils, I thought you were scared?”

“No,” she replied, smiling. “I’m not scared. Not anymore.”

…

Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam was a sprawling expanse of old, decrepit buildings that extended over a wide acreage of land. It had served many purposes since its inception as The Hospital of the Mind, but had been largely abandoned since the mid-1990s, and was mostly used as a filming location.

Many of the Riverdale crew had already worked there at one point or another, and all of them agreed: while it looked beautiful on film, it was definitely haunted, and none of them liked going anywhere near it.

“Place gives me the creeps,” said one of the lighting guys to Cole as he assembled his camera. “I have no idea why you two are so crazy about going in there. It’s dripping with ghosts.”

But nothing could dissuade Cole, and Lili had her heart set on following him. So as the crew set up the shoot, they went poking about the place, looking for an entrance. Cole was accustomed to urban exploring, while Lili was not, so he ran on ahead of her, rattling various doors and looking for windows they could climb through. Finally, he found one, and Lili felt a rush of affection for him as he poked his head from behind a loose door, his face spread widely into a grin, his hair dishevelled with bits of debris in it.

The entrance he found had a slightly precarious drop, as most of the staircases had crumbled away over time. As Cole took Lili’s hand to help her step in, he said quietly, “You know, there’s like a billion spiders in here.”

Lili yanked her hand away and smacked him on the arm. “Fuck off. I’m out. Seriously, Sprouse. I’m done.”

“Jesus. I was kidding.” Cole’s laugh echoed throughout the empty room. “Anyway, I thought you weren’t scared.”

“Cole, you know I hate spiders.”

“Alright, I’m sorry.” He smiled at her, and she cursed him silently for that smile - that perfect, heartbreaker’s smile that made everything immaterial in its wake. “Shall we?”

Together, they stepped into the room and were hit by the decades-old funk of pent-up dust and refuse and god knows what else. She knew she should have been scared, but somehow she only felt a heavy sort of sadness for what had transpired in the place - this was a mental hospital, after all. Cole seemed to feel it, too, as he suddenly turned quiet and pensive. He lifted his camera and started shooting as they delved further into the building.

They walked through the hospital, exploring long hallways and empty rooms. Cole shot some beautiful images, which he showed her.

“These are brilliant, Cole.”

“You think?” He examined one that he had taken of her standing in a doorway. “Ah. I can do better than that.”

“You’re too hard on yourself.” She gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. “Honestly, these are beautiful. As always.”

Cole shrugged to himself, and she followed at a short distance behind him as he kept shooting away.

Now or never. She took a deep breath. “Cole?”

“Mmm?”  

“We, um… we never got to talk about our scene yesterday. The kiss.”

He lowered the camera, turning to look around at her. “What about it?”

“Well, for starters, that wasn’t how we rehearsed it.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, half-smiling. “Well, at one point we were rehearsing it on your couch, with you straddling my lap. So, yeah,” he laughed, “definitely not how we rehearsed it.”

She reddened and smiled at the memory. “You know what I mean. It was off-script. I had to cue you in twice, remember? I mean, it was definitely beautiful, and Roberto obviously loved it...” She crossed her arms. “But why? Why’d you play it differently?”

“I don’t know, I just...” He sighed and looked down. “It felt right, you know? It came out of what I was feeling at that exact, precise moment.”

“Which was…?”

“A whole fucking lot.” He laughed nervously while running his hands through his hair. “I mean, Jughead’s never kissed Betty, right? But you and me, we’ve kissed. We’ve done more than kiss. So, going into the scene, Steven and I were talking, and I realised that I had to access some part of myself that was in the same nervous, anxious place that Jug was at during that point.”

“And what place was that?”

“Can I be honest?” Lili nodded, encouraging him to go on. “It’s this.”

“What, me and you?”

“It is, but it’s more than that.” He scratched his cheek, frowning. “Look, the way I see it, shooting that scene was like a metaphor.”

That wasn’t what she was expecting. “A metaphor?”

“Yeah. For us. And for Riverdale.” He sighed. “There’s me and you, and that’s obviously surreal and incredible. But there’s also everything else - all the pressures of a schedule, the artifice of the set, the scrutiny of everyone around us. You know what I mean? All the noise.”

Lili nodded. Of course she knew what he meant. It was the same thing she’d brooded over on the steps of the Cooper house stage.

Cole went on. “I guess I was just hyper-aware of all of that heading in. The noise became a distraction, and suddenly what was supposed to be a fun scene where I got to kiss this gorgeous girl that I really liked turned into this overwhelming commotion.”

Despite the gravity of their conversation, Lili had to look down to suppress a smile. He called me gorgeous. It never got old.

“That’s why I hesitated, why you had to cue me in twice. I was just caught up in my own head.” He looked at her, his eyes filled with a soft tenderness. “But your voice called me out of that, Lili. When you cued me in the second time, it was... like air. Like breath. And suddenly there was this clarity amidst all the doubt and fear that was clouding my mind.”

Fear. There it was again, that word, lurking over them like a watchful spirit, waiting to see who’d slip up first. The truth, which she had guessed correctly in those tentative seconds after their lips parted, was that they were both scared. They were both calculating the risk, aware that with each day that they found themselves in each other’s arms again, the stakes were being raised, and the questions were stacking up. Is this worth it? Will this stick? Will it stay?

And she was done with it.

Today, she had the answer to silence all her questions. Here, of all places, where fear lived, she was banishing hers.

She took a step towards him, closing the gap between them. “Cole, I need you to listen to everything I have to say without stopping me. Okay? Because if you stop me, I don't know if I can say it all.”

He nodded, and they were both silent. Lili brought her hand up to touch his chest, to feel his heart beating in the palm of her hand. It was strange to see him so still. Cole was always in motion, always talking, always on the move. His heartbeat - steady, constant and faithful - was a reminder of that. But right now, she needed him to stay put.

“When you first told me how you felt about me, back in LA, I was afraid. I was scared of my own feelings, afraid of how much I felt for you, and terrified of where that would take me.”

Cole nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on her.

“But I shouldn’t have been, because every day with you since then has been an adventure. You’ve made me laugh. You’ve given me the craziest stories to tell. You’ve taken me to some of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.” She looked around them. “Except this. Honestly, this place is a mess, Cole.”

He laughed at that, and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.

“A few days ago, I was afraid again, for all the same reasons that you were afraid. Because suddenly everything became real, right?” Cole nodded. “Yesterday’s kiss wasn’t just an onscreen kiss with some random guy. It was a kiss with you. And yes, we were professionals about it, and the scene turned out amazing, but still - the fear was there because I didn’t want any of that noise to get to us.”

She exhaled and looked up at him. “But the noise is always going to be there, right? If it’s not Riverdale, it’ll be something else. And so it’s pointless to be afraid, to run scared. Otherwise, we’d be running this whole time.

“I don’t have all the answers to my questions. And I can’t say that I’ve resolved everything in my mind and that everything will be fine. But... I’m okay with that now. Because being with you has only made me bolder, Cole. It’s given me more courage to be myself, to pursue my passions, to dream bigger dreams. And if I follow where that leads - where my heart leads - I know that it won’t lead me astray. Because it will only lead me to you.”

Lili was tempted to tuck her face into his chest, to look anywhere but into his eyes. But she forced herself to keep her gaze on him - two pools of black, ringed by ocean blue.

“I love you, Cole.” She spoke it in one, swift sentence, and paused as she felt his breath hitch against his ribs. “I think I have for a while now.”

Silence. She could feel the weight of it filling the room to the brim, light driving out darkness.

“This isn’t a bribe, or an ultimatum, or a bargain. You don’t need to say it back. I just…” She shrugged helplessly. “It can’t be helped, and it can’t be kept in. I wanted you to know. You deserve to know.

“So there. I love you. Out of this uncertain but hopeful heart... I love you.”

“Lili? Cole?”

Voices in the distance. They were due back for the scene. The moment was gone, the bubble had burst. Lili was a little disheartened, but grateful that she was able to express herself to him. Maybe it was best this way - to leave their little secret whispered into the walls of the asylum, never to be uncovered.

Except Cole had other plans.

He seized her hand, and before she could ask him what he was doing, they were sprinting down the hallway and further into the building, past rooms she had never seen, past crumbling walls of plaster, eerie chambers that echoed their racing footsteps, broken windows and splintered doors and emptied ceilings.

Finally, they came to a stop in the middle of a large, light-filled room. He turned to her, panting from the run, his ocean blue eyes raging with a passionate storm.

“Lili.” There was something about the way he whispered her name, between ragged breaths, that stirred something deep and urgent in her.

Who started what, they couldn’t tell. But it was Lili who pulled him in by his shirt and Cole who pushed her up against the wall, one hand leaning for support, another flush against the skin on the small of her back. When their lips crashed in the middle, it was anything but tentative or tenuous. It was bold and bruising, frenzied and desperate. It was driven by a need that was both body and soul.

He brought his hands up to hold her face, and she felt him shaking. It startled her. She pulled back and he looked down at her in protest at the lack of contact. She took his hands in her own and brought his palms to her lips, soothing and calming him, wanting to say that it was okay, that this was where fear ended, that she loved him, she loved him, she loved him.

She tilted her head up, closing her eyes, wanting to kiss him again, but she was met with nothing. She glanced up at him.

“What?”

“However long you’ve know,” he said, his voice barely a whisper, “double it. Triple it.”

She stared at him. “Cole, what are you --”

“One day, I promise, I will make it up to you, for not saying it when I knew. For not being as fearless as you are.” He paused to take her in. “Because I love you, Lili Reinhart. I love you with every fucking thing I’ve got.”

His words crashed into her like a wave, pulling her under the current. This time, she was shaking. And crying.

Their small, tear-soaked kisses would gradually deepen into a longer, more searing one, and they stayed that way for a while - oblivious to time, unheeding of the space they were in. Until it felt like there was nothing left to give. Until they had filled themselves with each other. Until the same voices from earlier echoed in the distance, calling their names, calling them back to reality.

They looked at each other. “Well,” he said, “what now?”

She smiled at him. “I suppose we have to go and film.” She kissed the tip of his nose, and he wrinkled it at her. “After that? I don’t know. We’ll see.”

He smiled back at her, and he took her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers.

As they walked back out, passing through the hallways of the abandoned asylum, she felt giddy like a teenager, wanting to etch their names into the walls. Maybe not their initials - too juvenile. But she understood the need: she wanted to mark this place as it marked them.

But what would she write?

Here lies fear, she thought. Here it lies, conquered by love.

…

“So, remind me again why we’re still awake at 3 am.”

Their room at the Queen Anne Hotel was darkened save for a small, antique lamp beside their bed, which illuminated Cole’s bare form next to her. He turned to face her, and as he moved, most of him became obscured by the shadows. But it didn’t matter. Lili had already memorised his face. In some ways, she knew it better than her own.

“Well,” Cole started, “besides the fact that someone wanted toast and eggs at 1 in the morning—”

“Which someone else also enjoyed, leaving me with only HALF of said toast and eggs.”

“True. But yes, besides that fact...” She could sense him smirking in the darkness. “Do I really need to provide a blow-by-blow account of what happened here?”

Lili rolled her eyes. “No, because you’re only going to be gross about it and I don’t want you to ruin my night.”

“Fine then, be boring,” he said. “But to actually answer your question - don’t you remember what I said yesterday? About the witching hour?”

Lili slid under his arm and closed her eyes as she settled her head against his hard, muscled shoulder. “No. Remind me.”

“You never listen to my stories,” he whined.

“Yes, I do. But the witching hour doesn’t sound like something I want to remember while trying to sleep in a notoriously haunted room.”

“Ha. Fair point.” He cleared his throat dramatically. “Okay, Lili, picture it. Prague, 2014. The days were glorious, and the dig was on—”

“And as much as I love a Golden Girls reference, I’m about to fall asleep and you’re about to lose me here.”

“Alright, geez.” He sat up, and forced her to sit up with him. She groaned, but complied. “So a guy I was working with on this archaeological dig in Prague, he’s from Ireland, right? Comes from an extremely superstitious family, whereas he was a little more enlightened. Anyway, on our last night in the lab, we’re both up until 3 in the morning bagging rocks--”

“Sounds like a real rock star lifestyle you had there.”

Cole paused. “Did you just… with that rock pun…? You know what, I’m gonna store that in the back of my mind and comment on its magnificence later. So we’re up at 3, in this dark, dank little lab, and he freaks out a little looking at the time. I asked him if he was okay, and he says to me--”

“Oh my god. Are you about to attempt an Irish accent? Please say yes.”

“Lili, no.” She giggled. “He says to me, ‘Sorry, man. I just get a little creeped out around this time - the witching hour, you see. My ma always went on about it. Kinda hard to get rid of the habit.’”

Lili yawned, but she was intrigued. “So what was it?”

“Apparently, the witching hour - between 3 and 4 am - was usually the most active time for witches, spirits and demons. Something to do with the absence of canonical prayers at that time. But I looked it up afterwards, and it’s a real thing - people swear by it. They say that most ghost sightings happen around that time.”

Lili could have slugged him. “So... you’re telling me... that you’re keeping me up at this ungodly hour... to see if we could sight a ghost?”

Cole smiled sheepishly. “You were up anyway…?”

“Cole!” She was freaking out now. “This isn’t funny!”

“It’s not meant to be!”

They were half arguing, half giggling themselves silly. Lili dove underneath the covers, and Cole followed her in, tickling her mercilessly as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

A loud thump from the other side of the wall terrified them, and they both froze. A series of mumbled swear words from another disgruntled guest put them at ease. Not a ghost. Lili sighed in relief.

“Surrender?” Cole asked.

“Surrender,” she conceded.

They lay back down on the bed, still breathless from laughing. He turned to her, and took her hand in his, holding it against his chest.

“Hey. I love you,” he breathed out. “You know that, right?”

Lili turned to look back at him, and smiled. A year of this, and still it gave her a small thrill. What is it about us and saying ‘I love you’ in haunted places? To anyone else, it would have seemed bizarre. But to her, it made perfect sense. Because when they first met, Cole had been nothing more than an apparition that haunted her dreams - a vague half-entity that she knew so little of, that held no form other than the jacket he left her with.

But as time went on, the apparition put on flesh, and he became more real with each memory they created, each adventure they embarked on, each kiss that they shared. And then it wasn’t him that haunted her, but the fear of the uncertain, which they banished with finality at the abandoned asylum.

And now, here they were, in another haunted spot, celebrating a milestone while waiting for actual ghosts. We are the weirdest, she thought. And I love us.

“Lili?”

She snapped out of her thoughts and turned to him. She brought her hand up to caress his face, marvelling that this was real - that it felt real to her beyond what her fingers could touch. That she could feel it in her lungs and in her heart and in her bones.

“Yeah, I know, Cole,” she finally replied. “I love you, too.”

He turned over so that he was looking down at her, then kissed her bare shoulder. “So you staying up with me for witching hour? Could be interesting, right?”

Lili chuckled. “I thought you said you didn’t believe in that shit.”

“I don’t,” he said. “But I’m a skeptic willing to be proven wrong. Just don’t tell Dylan.”

She laughed and nodded and pulled him down for a firm kiss. Why the hell not. “Sure,” she replied.

They snuggled underneath the covers, Cole rattling off anecdotes at random, Lili listening, willing herself to stay awake. Not to witness the supernatural, but to experience the tangible. To experience Cole.

Let the ghosts come, she thought, as he put his arms around her.

She had nothing left to fear.

#sprousehart #sprousehart fanfiction #sprousehart fanfic #riverdale rpf #paperlesscrown writes

[carmillatranscripts]

The Carmilla Movie

Air date: October 25, 2017

Length: 1:34:27

We open with static, which disappears to be replaced by Laura against a plain white background.

Laura: Okay!  Don’t know how many of you are new, and how many of you have been with us from the start, but I am Laura Hollis.  Yes, the Laura Hollis, who recently got famous, or “internet famous”, because my university pals and I vlogged ourselves saving the world.

Brief footage from 3x33, of Dean!Perry opening the Gates of Hell

Laura: See, back in my freshman year, we discovered that our Austrian university was actually being run by an evil dean and her vampire cult.  Naturally.  They’d been sacrificing girls to this monstrous creature under the campus, and I was next.  Really should’ve gone to that safety school.  Anyway, the Dean sent ... Carmilla,

Footage from 1x2

Carmilla: I’m your new roommate, sweetheart.

Back to Laura

Laura: A 300-year-old vampire with a checkered past and centuries worth of victims to kidnap me.

We see Laura and Carmilla kissing from season 3

Laura: There was just one small snag with that plan.  (back to Laura) Carm and I fell in love.  Carm turned her back on the evil dean, and with a little help from our friends: LaF, Perry, Kirsch, Mel, and Danny, we saved the school!  And the world.  For stopping the apocalypse, Carm earned herself a magical human life.  A vampire no more.

Footage of Laura discovering Carmilla’s heartbeat at the end of 3x36

Laura: A chance to start again, and leave the crimes of her past behind.  And for us to figure out ... whatever happens next.

New scene.  Exterior: An old manor, on a stormy day.

We see Laura, waking up inside the manor, dressed in 19th century clothes, lying on a couch.  She gets up.

Laura: Okay ... weird.  (looks at her clothing) Old-timey and weird.

Laura notices a mirror and looks into it.  She does not see her own reflection, instead, she sees another woman, dressed as she is, copying her moves.  A door creaks open, and Laura turns towards it

Laura: Hello?  Ghost-lady?

Suddenly, a woman dressed all in black, with a veil over her face, appears behind Laura, and taps her shoulder.  Laura runs in fear out the room and down some stairs, looking behind her.  At the foot of the stairs, she runs into the same mysterious woman.  The woman lifts her veil, reveiling herself to be Carmilla.

Carmilla: You’re wearing my broach.

Laura: Carm!

Carmilla: Did I scare you, my pet?

Laura: You think?  Sneaking around, dressed like Lizzie Borden?  Wait, why are you dressed like Lizzie Borden?

Carmilla: You mustn’t be afraid

Laura: Why would I be afraid?

Carmilla: We shall die, as lovers may ... (Carmilla kisses Laura) Die together, so that we may live together.

Carmilla’s fangs appear, and she bites Laura, drinking from her, Laura looking terrified

Suddenly the scene changes, and we see Laura waking up from a nightmare, her head on Carmilla’s lap.

Carmilla: Welcome back, creampuff.

Laura (moving up from Carmilla’s lap to lay her head on Carmilla’s hsoulder, we hear screams and chainsaw sounds from a TV offscreen) I think your horror movies are giving me nightmares

Carmilla: Oh, well, life’s rough like that sometimes.

The camera zooms out, giving us a broader view of the living room

Carmilla: Come on!  How long does it take to kill one limping teenager?  Is this guy on a coffee break?  (to Laura) So, what happened?  Did you get scooped up by that talking goat again?

Laura: No, I dreamed you were a vampire.  (Sitting up)  It was very ... blast-from-your-gothic-horror-past.  There was this old house, and then you ... well, you were actually kinda scary

Carmilla (concerned): Did I hurt you?

Laura: In a dream.  Come on, it was probably a ... subconscious fascination with Victorian murders.  Or, uh ... corests.

Carmilla: Mmm!  Well, no need to go digging around in the past.  We have it much better now.

Laura: No arguments here.  (looks at TV) So long, hammer horror!  (to Carmilla) Hello, rom-com

They start to kiss, when suddenly a loud scream and chainsaw sounds come from the TV.  Carmilla turns off the TV, and they begin kissing, and we fade out to the opening credits

New scene: Another dream sequence, Laura’s running in fear through the same mansion as before.  She opens a door and sees Carmilla being placed in the coffin of blood, she closes it and keeps running, opening another door where we see Carmilla covered in blood 

Laura wakes up, breathing hard.  She’s in bed next to Carm.  She kisses Carm’s forehead and gets up.  We see her making coffee and pouring it into her Tardis mug.  She snaps her fingers to wake herself up and sits down in front of her laptop.

Laura (with exaggerated enunciation): How now, brown cow?  How now, brown cow?

She turns on the laptop, and we see her from the POV of her laptop, with a “Laura Hollis” logo in the lower left corner.

Laura: Happy anniversary, faithful viewers!  I know!  Iknowiknowiknow I’m behind in my posts, but, I would never miss this!  Because 5 years ago, today, (copy of the Voice of Silas on screen with headlines “Students Save Austria From Apocalypse” and “Girls  Sacrificed to Giant Anglerfish!”) a ragtag bunch of undergraduates stopped the dean of their evil university from unleashing Hell on Earth!  Or, mostly stopped.  You can’t really blame us for Antarctica.  And where are they now, you might ask?  Well, let’s check in with a very special 5-year retrospective.

Laura looks off to the side with a dramatic gesture.  And then her face turns neutral

Laura (mumbling): And then we will cut to ...

Super cheesy graphics with phrases like “tiny, gay and mighty” and “Hollis Five Year Retrospective”

Back to Laura narrating

Laura: First up is LaFontaine and Perry who, as you’ll recall, transferred to Occult Studies at Berkley and then started LaFerry Industries, where they’ve been revolutionizing life for the supernatural with products such as their Hemo-Soy vegan vampire sumplements ever since.  They’ve got this huge meeting with a megacoporation that wants to buy their start-up.  I’m so proud!  Speaking of super-successful people, you guys remember Danny?  My Lit TA, turned stalwart ally, turned repentant vampire?  Has turned into ... a vampire rights advocate.  And, what retrospective would be complete without a look at how Mel and Kirsch and I leveraged our coverage of the almost-apocalypse into a career in local news?  And, if you’re morbidly curious, here are some clilps!

Clip 1, Laura in front of a flower shop, with “Luane Horlis Reporting Live” at the bottom fo the screen

Laura: Today, we explore the fast-paced world of floral arrangements.

Clip 2, Laura on another street, in front of a bakery, with the name “Lauren Horley”

Laura: Cranberry bannock

Clip 3, another street, name displayed as “Laura “The Puff” Hollis”

Laura: Ceramic cephalopod

Back to Laura’s narration

Laura: So, yeah.  Not quite achieved Lois Lane-dom.  But never fear!

Laura runs off screen, and comes back with a big board with various goals on it

Laura: It is all part of my 5-year plan!

Some of the goals are marked with stars, and others with X’s.  Some are sensible goals like “Meet Christiane Amanpour” or “200 hours volunteering in the library”, while others are nerdy, like “Buffy marathon with Carmilla”.  Laura looks wistfully at he board for a moment and then pulls herself away

Laura: Yeah, um, after Carm and I took our glorious gap year, it was time to start real life.  We moved town to TO, I finished my degree, stuck my foot in the door, now I’m just waiting for my big break!  Busting open some huge Woodward-and-Bernstein-style scandal and being moved up to the city desk.  Admittedly, I have been waiting a while for that one.  But, uh, you know ,that’s what you do in life.  You pay your dues.  Unless you’re a former vampire with 300 years of sunshine and culinary history to catch up on.  So, what has our Carm been up to as a living, breathing, human?

[Scene of Carmilla walking around in broad daylight]

Laura: She’s definitely taking advantage of ye old vampire trust fund.

[Carmilla walking out of a bakery with a pastry]

Laura: Bakery-based gluttony, check.

[Carmilla lying out in a bikini on a patio in the sun]

Laura: Sun-tanning sloth, check.

[Laura in front of a computer, eating a strawberry, Carmilla comes by and takes a bit of the strawberry with a seductive look at Laura]

Laura: I-have-a-pulse-now lust ... well ... actually I can’t complain about that last one [Laura and Carmilla exit scene]

Back to Laura narrating

Laura: Yeah.  Unless you count starring in my spooky dreams, it’s been a bit more pastry than purpose lately.  But!  Today’s retrospective is all about perspective.  We are going to get our heroine back on track.  But, where to start such a conversation?  Where else?  [Laura pulls a cake into camera view]  With desert!

Carmilla walks in

Carmilla: Mmm ... have you been baking?

Laura: Happy rebirthday! [kisses carmilla several times]  It’s, um ... like a ... like a birthday, but for your rebirth.  Because, five years ago, you got a life.  Not like 90s ‘get a life’, but you know, um, literally.

Carmilla: Hmm, how very Lewis Carol.

[Carmilla turns the webacm off and closes the laptop]

Laura: So ... speaking of five years, I was thinking that we could talk about five years in the other direction.  [Carmilla looks faintly exasperated]  Cause you’ve been through a lot.  Not just Silas, but death.  And the French Revolution.  So, it’s completely understandable that you’re feeling a little lost

Carmilla: Lost?

Laura: Okay, maybe not lost, but maybe a little ... aimless?

Carmilla: Laura, are you staging an intervention because you think I’m wasting my life?

Laura: No!  [Carmilla gives her a look like “really?”]  Maybe.  It’s just ... you aren’t immortal anymore.  And I know that you want to make the most of our lives together, but -

Carmilla: Is there something wrong with those lives being fun?

Laura: No!  But I think it’s possible to have fun and ...

Carmilla: And did I go to that supernatural therapist?

Laura: One time.  You siad you couldn’t take advice from someone born after the moon landing.

Carmilla:  Mm-hmm, and do I pester you because you’d rather spend your days in a news cubicle instead of on a beach in the South of France?

Laura: No, you don’t.  It’s just ...

Carmilla: It’s just, you like making plans.  And I love that about you.  But, I don’t know, it’s my rebirthday, so ... I want to spend it enjoying our lives.  Preferably [wipes a bit of chocolate icing on Laura’s lip] somewhere with a patio and an extensive wine selection?  [they kiss]  And chocolates

They wander off-screen together, tightly embracing, the camera zooms in on the cake; Carmilla runs back on camera to blow out the candles, and then they both leave the scene again.

Several city scenes, a sunset, night time, then back to their home.  Carmilla’s in bed already, and Laura puts some moisturizer on her hands.  They snuggle together on the bed.  Laura falls asleep, and it’s another dream sequence.  She’s in bed, and she sees Carmilla crouched at the foot of the bed.  In the background is a painting of Carmilla.

Laura: Carm?

Carmilla: Shhh.  You’re dreaming.

Laura turns on a lamp, and Carmilla winces, covering her eyes

Laura: Oh.  Right.

Carmilla crawls onto the bed towards Laura, in a scene shot to resemble a famous illustration from the original publication of Carmilla

Carmilla: You are mine.  You shall be mine.  You and I are one, forever.

Laura: Something tells me I’m gonna like this dream.

Carmilla strokes Laura’s face, and then her fangs appear, and she bites Laura.  Laura’s eyes snap wide open.  She’s back in the real world now, and the real Carmilla is biting her neck.

Laura: Carm!  What are you doing?!  [pushes Carmilla off her, Carmilla hisses, her fangs exposed]  Carm!  Hey!  Hey!  It’s me!  It’s me!  [snaps her fingers]

Carmilla comes to, and looks horrified

Carmilla: Laura, your neck!  Oh, God!  [she moves towards Laura, and Laura backs up, still afraid; Carmilla pulls back, looking completely horrified]

Laura: What is going on?

New scene: Back in the living room.  Carmilla’s sitting in a chair with some kind of electrodes on her forhead.  LaF and Perry are there.  LaF is holding some kind of electronic tablet, while Perry has some notes in front of her.  Laura is standing watching, with bandaids on Carmilla’s bite mark

Perry: Have you been in close proximity to any vampires or vampire by-products in the past two or three months?

Carmilla: Oh, you mean when a Sumerian goddess turned me again last week?  Must’ve slipped my mind.

Perry: I see that sarcasm hasn’t suffered.

Laura: Thanks for taking some time out of your meeting prep to help us.

LaF: For you guys?  Anything.

Perry: Of course!  We’re probably over-prepared.

LaF: Something’s definitely off with Carm.

LaF’s scanning her with their robot eye, we see various graphs and the like, a light glowing above Carmilla’s chest, and the words “lifeforce: flickering”, among others

Laura: For those of us without a fancy cyborg eye?

LaF: Right.  Um, this is Carm [LaF turns their pad around for Laura and Perry to see; it shows an abstract form of a female body, with a glow in the chest]  And she’s, well, dead, except ...

Perry: Except, the resurrection spell is still running inside her, making her a living human

LaF: It makes her heart beat, hair grow, and all the other things a regular human body does

Laura: Yeah, like a magic battery

Carmilla: I thought we agreed we wouldn’t call it that.

LaF: My vote’s still with life-force

Carmilla: No, that’s even worse!

Perry: Oh!  What about her, um, what about your spark?

LaF: Hmm, it does work pretty much like an ignition

Perry: Spark it is!  Spark, spark, spark!

Carmilla: I hope you’re enjoying yourselves.

LaF: Uh ... Carmilla’s spark is ... going out.

Laura: What’s wrong with it?

LaF: It’s producing a sort of electrical discharge that’s making it flicker, and, since it’s what’s keeping her human, when it flickers, she ...

Laura: Vamps out.

Laura sighs and sits down

Carmilla: Okay, so ... how do we get my .... spark to stop flickering?

LaF: We’ll have to run some more tests.

Laura: And in the meantime, Carm just keeps randomly vamping out?  What are we supposed to do about that?

Perry pulls out a bunch of garlic.  Carmilla sighs.

Montage of scenes, mimicking the ones earlier where Laura was talking about Carmilla’s “aimlessness”, but twisted.  First we see Carmilla lying out on the patio, but instead of enjoying the sun, she’s trying to cover up, with a bottle of hemo-soy beside her, then we see her biting a strawberry that Laura was eating, but accidentally biting her hand, then we see her drinking a squirrel’s blood at the same place we saw her getting a pastry before

Then we see their bedroom again.  Cloves of garlic in the foreground.  Carmilla’s lying on the bed, looking sad.

Laura (applying moisturizer): [Unclear dialogue, something about Mel?] ... Kirsch, of course, is jazzed, like ‘Oh, there’ll be blueberry pie, right?  I’m into the bluebs”, and then to top it all off, I get to the fridge, and it’s just ... Carm?  You okay?

Carmilla: Sure.  Just grappling with an aversion to daylight and cravings for blood.

Laura: Hey, LaF is going to figure something out.

Carmilla: I know.  It’s just ... this was supposed to be done.  You know?  The bloodlust, the self-loathing.  The sleeping tied to a chair in my own bedroom.

Laura: That one might be overkill.  You’ve never had a problem controlling yourself before.  [Carmilla nods]  Unless you count dream-Carm chasing me through discount Transylvania all “you are mine, you shall be mine”

Carmilla: Wait ... what did you just say?

Laura: “You are mine, you shall be mine, you and I are one forever”

Carmilla gets up and runs into the living room, searching through the bookshelves

Laura: Carm, what is going on?  It was just some silly Dracu-poetry my brain coughed up for atmosphere [Carmilla opens up a chest]  What are you looking for?  [Carmilla takes out a book from the chest, looking through it, and finding a photograph, which she shows Laura.  It’s the mansion from her dreams]  That house!

Carmilla: This is where Elle and I lived.  Is this the manor in your dreams?

New scene; Laura, Carmilla, Mel, Kirsch, LaF, and Perry are all in a park

Perry: So, this place Laura’s been dreaming about, the manor, it’s real?

Carmilla: Not just the manor.  

Laura: Carm thinks that, from what I’m describing, the house, the clothes, what she says, that I’m dreaming things that really happened.  [Perry and LaF look thoughtful] .... A hundred and fifty years ago [Mel and Kirsch look thoughtful] ... to Elle.  

Perry, LaF, and Mel all look at Laura shocked; Kirsch has no reaction, he notices everyone else’s reaction

Kirsch: Am I supposed to know who Elle is?

LaF: Elle?  The girl Carm turned on her mother and stopped being evil for?

Kirsch: That wasn’t Laura?

Perry: Carmilla’s epic first love?

Kirsch: Also not Laura?

Laura: Remember first year at Silas, those weird dreams I was having?

Kirsch: Only those weren’t dreams!  They were warnings from Carm’s ... [look of realization]

Mel: So, you think the dreams are from Elle?  Didn’t she, like, sparkle off into floaty white nothingness after Carmilla killed the giant anglerfish god?  ... How is that a sentence I ended up saying?

Laura: Only one way to find out.  We go back to the scene of the crime.

LaF: If it’s ghosts, we can test out the new spectrometer.

The conversation fades out, as Carmilla starts staring at Laura’s neck, the sound of pumping blood; Laura turns to Carmilla

Laura: Carm?

Carmilla shakes her attention off Laura’s neck.

Carmilla: Yeah ... I’m gonna go crack another bottle of hemo-soy

Carmilla gets up.  Laura, Mel, and Kirsch look at each other.  Laura gets up and follows Carmilla

Laura: Hey.  Sorry about the whole “scene of the crime” thing.  I know what happened between you and Elle was complicated, and I shouldn’t’ve said that.

Carmilla: No.  Scene of the crime is exactly what it is.  You saw those dreams.  You know I ... hurt her.  Hurt you.

Laura: You didn’t mean to.  Maybe there’s a silver lining in all this.  If this is Elle trying to warn us about something, maybe you can ... help her?

Carmilla: I’m done being a vampire.  I’m done dredging up the past.  I’m done with ... well-meaning therapists saying “close your eyes and think of those you’ve wronged, while I light up this funky incense”, and ...

Laura: That’s right.  We have plans.  And goals.  And a color-coated chart [Carmilla smiles, laughing softly] None of which features some mystery from your past stealing the life that you earned.  So, we are going to figure out who or what is doing this, and then we are going to -

Carmilla (looking way too cheerful): Gruesomely murder them?

Laura: Stop them.  (Carm rolls her eyes)  We’re going back to Styria!

Transition scene; cheesy image of a world map, showing their flight, with voiceovers

Kirsch: Where are we going?!

Laura: Styria!

Kirsch: Why are we going?

Laura: To stop Carm from re-vamping!

Kirsch: Okay, but really, why go back to the bad place with the monsters?

Laura: Because of Elle’s manor?  It’s in my dream, it’s all connected?  And it’s our only lead!

Montage of various foods

Kirsch: Oooh, schnitzel ...

New scene; all six walking dramatically along a path, looking determined, then the music stops, and they’re all looking exhausted

Kirsch: How much further till we get to this place?

Carmilla: It’s just ...

Laura (dropping her bag): Right around the corner

Laura and Carmilla walk towards the manor, ahead of the rest

Kirsch: Oh, yeah, it’s cool, Laura!  I got your bag!  Yeah.

Laura: You don’t have to do this if you don’t want.  You can just stay here if it’s too much.

Carmilla: Hmm.  And leave you alone to explore the mystery mansion?  Hard pass.

Laura and Carmilla walk up to the entrance.  We see a brief glimpse of someone in an upstairs window

Laura and Carmilla enter the manor; we see them entering from inside the building; on the wall in the foreground is a portrait of the same woman Laura saw in the mirror in her dream

Laura (entering the manor with Carmilla): Hello?

They look at each other, and continue in.  Carmilla’s attention is drawn to the portrait for a long moment.

Kirsch: Hello?  Knock-knock?  Elle’s manor’s pretty cool!

Mel: I guess.  If you dig the Harenhal vibe.  Hello?  Anybody?

LaF: I’m calling it.  This place is totally haunted.

Perry: You don’t know that.  Maybe it’s just ... creaky.  It’s a lovely example of a 19th century schloss.

Kirsch: Heh, schloss.

Laura: This is exactly like my dream.  Beautiful.  I mean, abandoned and dusty, but beautiful.

Perry (putting rubber gloves on): Well, we can deal with the dust.

Mel: Tell me you did not bring an entire bag of cleaning supplies?

Perry: Of course I did!  Do you know what dust does to expensive equipment?

LaF: We have EMF detectors, geiger counters, various spectrometers

Mel: You didn’t think maybe we’d need some actual weapons?

LaF: Well, knowledge is really the best -

Mel (pulling out a crossbow): I’m pretty sure weapons are the best weapon.  Look at this princess.  Carbon-fiber lens, 80-pound drawweight, capable of shooting 160 feet per second. I call her, Gertrude.

Perry: How excessive

Mel: Excessive?  Do you remember senior year?  You were possessed by Carmilla’s mom, the evil god who forced the entire student body, including me, to dig a pit to the literal gates of hell, or how about that time LaFontaine got brain-sucked by the giant anglerfish monster?  Or how about that time that the evil baron tried to execute Carmilla?  Or that time that Laura sorta, kinda, I don’t know, died?

Kirsch: We do have a lot of back-story.

Sounds of thunder and strange crashing noises, spooking everyone

Perry: Fine, fine, haunted.

Mel (to Laura and Carmilla): Tell me at least you two packed some heat?

Carmilla heads over to look at the portrait in the hall

Laura: Uh, I know krav maga.  I am a weapon.  I brought walkie-talkies and flashlights for everyone.  There’s no cell service out here, they’re gonna come in handy!

Carmilla’s approaching the portrait slowly

Mel (off screen): How ‘bout you, Jughead?  [sound of a beer can opening]  Oh, Vincent van Bro brought beer.

Mel looks over at Carmilla and turns to Laura

Mel: Is that her?

Laura: Yeah.  [long pause]  Let’s search this place!

Mel: For a ... girl who died 150 years ago?

LaF: Better not keep her waiting.

We see a sequence of search scenes, first Mel and Kirsch looking in a room with flashlights, then Perry and LaF with flashlights and EMF detectors, then we see Laura and Carmilla entering a room.  Laura sees the portrait of Carmilla that was in the background of one of her dreams.  The portrait is lying on the floor, slashed.  Laura picks it up.

Laura: Is that you?

Carmilla: It was.

We switch to LaF and Perry

Perry: We should be safe to push the meeting to next week, don’t you think?

LaF: Do we have to talk about this right now?

Perry: Single most important meeting of our professional careers?

LaF: Perr, we are searching a haunted castle for ghosts.  This is literally the reason we started the company.

Perry: But if we had more resources, then -

LaF: Hold on, I think I’ve got a hit!  Nah, it’s gone now.

Perry: Well, now, see, as part of Intrigue, we’d have all the equipment, we could scan the house in like two seconds.

LaF: Yeah, I get it.  But we’re not selling out right this second, so can we focus on the task at hand?  Let’s check out the next room.

They leave the room. The door closes, revealing a ghost in 19th century clothing.

We’re back to Laura and Carmilla

Laura: Looking forward to seeing her?  Elle, I mean?  Wouldn’t blame you if you were

Carmilla: Honestly, I’d rather not.  I mean, what am I supposed to say?  “Sorry I lied to you and sacrificed you to a giant fish-monster”?  I doubt there’s a hallmark card.

Laura (walks over to Carm, and strokes her hair): It wasn’t all your fault.

We switch back to Mel and Kirsch.  Something moves in the foreground, and Kirsch spins around to look at it, but it’s gone before a clear sight can be made.  Mel raises her crossbow as they both back up.  Kirsch backs up into another ghost, and starts screaming.

We get back to Laura and Carmilla.  Laura’s walkie-talkie beeps.

Laura: Told her these were gonna come in handy

Kirsch (over walkie-talkie): Ghosts!  The schloss is full of ghosts!

Laura and Carmilla look at each other.  And suddenly another ghost shows up.  They start running.

Laura: Ghosts!  Ghosts!  Everyone, come on!

LaF: Haunted house!  Totally called it!

Perry: Run, weirdo!

Everyone’s running towards the front door.  Laura and Carmilla reach it first, but the door won’t open.  It’s completely stuck.

Laura: It’s stuck!

The ghosts continue to approach them.  They run to another room, running into another locked door, the ghosts surrounding them.  They turn to face the ghosts, who’ve stopped right in front of them.

Laura: Um ... hi.  I’m Laura.  These are my friends.  And we’d be thrilled if you’d abandon your plans to gruesomely murder us.

One of the ghosts, Emily, speaks

Emily: Hello, Miss Karnstein.

Carmilla (confused):  Hello?  Wait ... I know you.  How do I know you?

Emily (turning to another ghost, Charlotte): Oh, dear.  Well, this is awkward.  We imagined you’d recall ...

Charlotte: Killing us.  I’m Charlotte.  This is my sister Emily.

Laura: Carmilla killed you?

Emily: Oh, no, not quite, exactly.  Her mother did the actual deed.

Laura: You’re the girls who were sacrificed to the Deep One.

Lightning.  We pan over the various ghosts.

Charlotte; Yes.  We are the victims of Carmilla Karnstein.

Emily: And we’d like to invite you to a dinner.

New scene.  Dinner table, a roast pig in the center of the table.  Emily and Charlotte are at the ends of the table.  One side are Carmilla, Laura, and Kirsch, with Perry, LaF, and Mel on the other.  Kirsch is eagerly digging in, while the others seem more suspicious

Emily: It’s wonderful that you’ve all been able to join us.  And, naturally, we’re so glad you’ve arrived in time.

Charlotte: We’ve been waiting for weeks.

Laura: For us?

Emily: For Miss Karnstein.  We hoped once she realized what had happened she’d return

Mel: Hold up.  Did you just confess to flipping the vampire switch on our girl Carm here?

Emily: Oh!  Goodness, no, we couldn’t have.  What little research we have been able to perform suggests it was Miss Karnstein’s life-force that pulled us into the physical world.  Until a few weeks ago, we were trapped in a nightmare land, doomed to endlessly repeat our greatest regrets.

LaF: This nightmare afterlife, is it more of a Jungian unconscious, or a “Through the Looking Glass” style situation?

Perry: Stop that!  It’s not polite to pry into other people’s unspeakable suffering.

Laura: Why would you be connected to Carmilla’s human life?

Emily: Ah, w-we think it ... might be ... because  ... it was Miss Karnstein who ...

Charlotte: She’s the reason we died

Carmilla looks uncomfortable.

Emily: Yes.  The family here offered my sister and I a place to lodge

Charlotte: They neglected to mention the vampire cult

Mel: Same thing happened with my college acceptance letter

Laura: Y-you said you knew the family.  Does that mean you knew Elle?

Both Emily and Charlotte look confused

Carmilla: Miss Sheridan.

Emily: Ah, yes.  We knew her.

Laura: But she isn’t here with you?

Charlotte: No.  She isn’t with us.

Emily: But, we’re thrilled that you are!

Carmilla (sighs and puts down her wine glass): Okay, that’s it.  What’s with the Stepford act?   I got you and your sister killed

Emily: Yes, but you’re here now.  And according to this spell book, we need you, Carmilla, here to perform the ritual that will let us move on.

Perry: I don’t ... suppose I could take a crack at deciphering the book?

Emily: Oh, please, do.  I’ve deciphered what I can, but I’m hardly an adept.  Ah, from what I can tell, if we move on, your vampire symptoms will go away.  I assume that’s why you’ve come?  Haven’t you?  Because otherwise you’d be trapped here with us forever?

New scene: The gang is in a bedroom, talking and getting ready for bed.

Mel: So ... they’re obviously evil.

Kirsch: Nah, I though they were kinda nice

Carmilla: More importantly, is this ritual of theirs even gonna fix me?

Perry (reading the spellbook): Well, it looks promising.

Carmilla: Promising?  Are you telling me you were possessed by an evil goddess for, like, six months -

Perry: Eight.  It was eight months.

Carmilla: And you can’t get more specific than that?

Perry: The whole book is written in code.  But, if the family’s notes are correct, it seems as though it’s two birds, one stone.  The ghosts move on, Carmilla stays human.

LaFontaine: That makes sense.  When I scanned them, the energy from your spark was flowing straight to them.

Mel: Look, for all we know, they lured us in and trapped us here.  Are we seriously gonna trust them?

Laura: What happened to them wasn’t their fault.  They were girls just like you or me with their whole lives ahead of them.  If this ritual helps them and keeps Carm human, we have to try it.

Later that night.  Laura and Carmilla are lying in bed.  Perry’s working on a laptop, sitting on the floor by the couch LaF is scanning the room with an EMF detector

Kirsch: Sweet!  Is that a Gameboy?

LaF: Even better.  It’s an EMF alarm.  It might be nice to get a heads-up if any ghosts come calling.

LaF puts the EMF detector up on a mantle and sits down on the couch.

LaF: Psst, Perr, about before ...

Perry: Oh, I’m glad we postponed the meeting.

LaF: You are?

Perry: With all the data we’ve collected here?  We’re in a much stronger bargaining position.

LaF: Really, Perr?  I know this is the big leagues, but why are you so pumped to sell our company?

Perry: Do you even know what I do all day, while you’re off playing in your little lab?  [LaF looks upset] I balance our budgets.  Get our products approved.  Handle the reckless endangerment lawsuits.  I mean, at Intrigue there’d be a legal ... [Carmilla clears her throat, Perry reduces her volume] ... there’d be a legal department, LaF

LaF: I see.  And, uh, by “playing” you mean the research that makes our company possible?

Perry: Oh, that is not fair, you -

LaF: You know what?  I am too tired to deal with this right now.  [LaF lies down on the couch, pulling a blanket overthemself.  Perry goes back to her computer]

New scene.  Kirsch is making a sandwich, and Mel approaches him, startling him, causing him to drop his sandwich.

Kirsch: On, man, we killed my sandwich.  [Kirsch picks up the sandwich] Tutti abal tutti.  [to Mel] Five-second rule.  [bites into sandwich]

Mel: Have we, or have we not, had multiple conversations about not wandering away in the haunted house?

Kirsch: I know.  It’s just the ghost ladies are so nice.  And you know how I feel about leftovers.

Mel: Kirsch, if your stomach gets me dragged into some kind of black girl dies first bullshit, I am gonna come back from the dead and haunt your bar fridge.

They hear a noise coming from another room, and go to check it out

Charlotte: They aren’t going to go along with it.

Emily: They’ll get caught up in the surprise.  You’ll see.  It will all come out exactly as we planned.

Charlotte: Why aren’t we just telling them?

Kirsch’s stomach growls, alerting Emily and Charlotte to their presence.  Kirsch and Mel hurry off to hide, while Emily and Charlotte leave the room, locking it behind them.

Back to the bedroom, Laura and Carmilla are asleep.  Laura has another dream.  Laura notices the nightgown from before

Laura: Ugh, this again?  Really?

She hears Mattie from another room

Mattie: You would do well, little sister, to finish your task here.  We live for the eternal moment, chérie.  We are power.

There’s further talking but it’s indistinct, Laura notices some creepy paintings as she walks through a hall

Mattie: Faîtes attention, chérie.  You would do well, little sister, to finish your task here without further delay.

Laura peeks into a room and sees Carmilla dressed in all black, holding a book.

Laura: Did you ever think that our part in this, that what we do might be ... unforgivable?

Mattie: You must stop reading the romantics!  [takes book away from her] We live for the eternal moment, chérie!  We are power, pleasure [Carmilla walks away from Laura’s sight, while Mattie walks into her sight] and are only accountable for our desires.  And maman, who is growing impatient.  Faîtes attention, chérie.  Votre mère vous met en garde contre l’assassin.

Mattie walks towards the door.  Laura runs off.  Carmilla and Mattie leave the room.

Laura enters the room Mattie and Carmilla just left.  She sees a broach on a plain table.

Carmilla (faint voiceover): You’re wearing the broach

There’s a sound of girls laughing, and then a thunderclap, and a ring of paper dolls appears, surrounding the broach.  Laura looks at the paper dolls.  Suddenly the laughing changes to screams

Woman: No!  I don’t want to go back!

The dolls start to burn and are replaced by a ring of ash in seconds. Carmilla’s gloved hand touches Laura, and suddenly she wakes up in the real world.

Carmilla: Hey, you all right?

Laura: Another nightmare.  You and Mattie were talking and she said something about an assassin, and then these paper dolls disintegrated, and I don’t know.  It seemed more coherent when it was happening.

Carmilla: You’re still havin the dreams?  But we’re here, I mean, why would you still be having them, unless ...

Mel walks in

Mel: Something else is going on.

Carmilla: Knocking, still not a thing.

Mel: The Hunger wanted a midnight snack and while he was getting it, we caught our ghostesses talking about some kind of surprise we aren’t gonna like and sneaking into a locked room.  So they’re hiding something.  Or someone.

Daytime.  Laura, Carmilla, Mel, and Kirsch confronting Emily and Charlotte.

Emily: Hiding something?  How could we possibly -

Mel: What’s behind the door?

Charlotte: Why should that concern you?

Mel: Maybe I don’t like surprises.

Charlotte: You look like a woman who can cope.  [Mel and Charlotte share a long stare]

Laura: This could all be easily resolved by just showing us what’s behind door number one.

Emily: Of course.  If you insist, but ... you’ll ruin the surprise.

Carmilla: We’ll risk it.  [Emily turns to unlock and open the door] We’d kind of like to know if you’re planning to ... [They walk into the room and see all kinds of party preparation] ... to throw a party?

Laura’s looking around excited, while Carmilla looks confused

Emily: To thank you for helping us.

Carmilla: You’re throwing a party?

Charlotte: The ritual can’t be performed until the Ash Moon, and Emily always loved to dress up.

Mel (to Charlotte): I can’t imagine you’re a slouch in that department.

Carmilla: You can’t be serious

Laura (looking at a bottle of champagne): I think it’s sweet.  It’s like a pre-ritual going-away party, before they go away.  Permanently.

Emily: Exactly!  And, we would be honored if you would attend.

Laura: Yeah, of course!  [she notices a closet with ball gowns]  Oh, my gosh!  [she takes out a gown] Ball gowns?  Are we gonna get our strictly ballroom on?  Aaa!  Best haunting ever!  [she gives Carmilla a quick peck on the cheek and runs out excitedly]

Exterior of mansion

Carmilla (off camera): How’s it going in there?

Interior.  Carmilla’s sitting on a couch already in a dress while Laura’s struggling to get her dress on behind a dressing screen.

Laura: BBC period dramas do not spend enough time on how complicated these clothes are.  I swear, I’ve been in here for 40 minutes.  Hey, thanks for going along with this, by the way.

Carmilla: Well, what’s to go along with?  I like a canape as much as the next girl.

Laura: Still, it can’t be fun hanging out with you ....

Carmilla: Former victims?

Laura: No matter how nice they are.

Carmilla: Hmm, yeah, well, I’d appreciate it if they took it down a notch.

Laura: You’d prefer a roaring rampage of revenge?

Carmilla: Well, all this forgiveness is making me twitchy.

Laura (putting a choker on around her neck) You think maybe that’s cause deep down you still don’t think you can be forgiven?

Carmilla: I see we’ve reached the amateur psychoanalysis round.  See, this is why I blew off that therapist.  You know, some things are just too much to talk about in an office full of crystal dolphins.

Laura: I think maybe that’s the point of the talking

Carmilla: Yeah, except it wasn’t just talking, there was this manifes-

Laura steps out from behind the dressing screen.  Carmilla is completely dumbfounded by how Laura looks.

Laura: You aren’t saying anything.  Did I put it on wrong?  I look ridiculous.  I do.  I look ridiculous, I -

Carmilla gets up from the couch and approaches Laura.  They kiss.  They separate and Carmilla takes a long look at Laura.

Carmilla: Forty minutes to get you into that, hunh?  Bet I could get you out of it faster.

They kiss again.  Carmilla turns Laura around, her hand around her waist, kissing her collar

Laura: We’re already gonna be late for the ball

Carmilla: So let us be late.

Carmilla unzips Lauras dress, removing it, exposing her corset, Laura turns back around to face Carmilla, as they kiss.  Carmilla turns around and Laura removed her dress.

Laura drops to her knees, kissing Carmilla as she does.  She kisses the inside of Carmilla’s thigh, as Carmilla gently plays with her hair.  Laura stands up, briefly kissing Carmilla, and then breaking away to lie down on the bed,  Carmilla joins her on the bed, she kisses Laura, and then moves down her body, kissing her left breast.  Carmilla lifts up Laura’s skirt, and dives under it.  The camera focus on Laura’s face as she gasps in pleasure

Carmilla wipes her mouth as she goes in to kiss Laura.  Laura flips them over so that she’s on top.  Carmilla removes Laura’s corset leaving her topless (seen from behind), Laura drops back down to kiss Carmilla as Carmilal’s hands run along Laura’s back, scratching it, as Laura’s hand moves off screen, Carmilla moaning

We see Laura and Carmilla dressed fully again, with masquerade masks running down the stairs, Laura in the lead

Carmilla: I’m coming.

They reach the ballroom.  An unnamed ghost greets them.  There are several pairs of ghosts dancing, as well as LaF and Perry.  Mel is standing in the background watching, next to Charlotte.

LaF: Looking good, frosh!

Carmilla looks at Laura

Laura (laughing): What?

Carmilla: May I have this dance?

They go out on the dance floor, giggling, and start dancing

Perry: I’m sorry about the way I handled things last night.

LaF: It’s alright, I know you didn’t mean any of it.

Perry: I may have been a little harsh, but that doesn’t mean I was wrong.

LaF: Let’s not fight in front of the ghosts, honey.

Charlotte looks bored.

Mel: It’s not your thing either, hunh?

Charlotte: Emily has always wanted to belong to society.  I understood life differently.  [Mel looks at her]  If you have to conform, you never belonged.

Mel (smiling): Okay, how did you fall for Vampirella’s schtick?

Charlotte: I didn’t.  My sister vanished.  I went looking of her.  She’s never forgiven herself.

Mel: What about you?

Charlotte: I didn’t leave her then, how could I now?

Mel: You wanna try this stupid dance?

Charlotte: Obviously.

Mel and Charlotte dance.

We see several dancing couples, including Kirsch with another unnamed ghost-lady

Laura (slow-dancing very close with Carmilla): This is nice.  Kinda like that grad ball we never got ‘cause our school was a supernatural death trap.  [Carmilla chuckles]  I missed this.  I mean, not the pulse-pounding terror, but ... the parts where we help people.  Though, I do wish we’d figure out why the ghosts were here in the first place.

Carmilla: Hey, Laura ...

Laura: I know, no need to keep prying.  The ghosts will move on.  You will get your life back and ... we can go back home.

Carmilla: No.  I, um ... I think at that therapist’s appointment, I may have, um ...

Laura notices the table from her dream, and has a brief flashback to the dolls disintegrating and other scenes

Carmilla: Laura?

Laura: Sorry. Weird déjà vu.

Suddenly she sees dream!Carmilla for a brief second.  She backs away from Carmilla

Carmilla: Hey, what’s going on?

Laura: I though ... I thought I saw ... the woman in black, the ... you!  The you from my dreams, but that’s impossible, right?

Carmilla: Come on, let’s sit down.

Laura sits down on a chair

Laura: I’ll get you a drink, okay?

Laura has a dream-vision.  Carmilla, all in black, with a woman dressed in white with purple fringes.

Carmilla: Come with me, loving me, to death, or else hate me and still come with me, hating me through death and after

Laura snaps back to reality, LaF is next to her.

LaF: Are you okay?

Carmilla arrives with two glasses of champaign.  Laura notices a woman dressed in black, with a mask.  Laura gets up, rushing to where she saw the woman, but the woman is gone.

Laura: Where is she?

Carmilla: Hey ...

Laura: She was right here!

Mel: What’s going on, Hollis?

Laura: The woman in black, the one wearing a mask

Mel: Everybody’s wearing a mask.  [to Charlotte] Do you know who she’s talking about?

Charlotte (to Laura): Maybe if you’re not feeling well, you should sit down.

Laura: I’m dreaming things while I’m awake now.  What’s next?

A light glow fills the room.

Emily: It’s almost time!  The Ash Moon has begun.  Gather round for the ritual.

Skip to all the ghosts plus Carmilla in a circle around a black table (the same one from Laura’s dream), Laura and the others are standing outside of the circle.

Emily: Before we begin, I want to say how grateful we are.  Whatever you’ve done in the past, you’ve come to help us now, and I think that shows a strength of character that is quite remarkable.

Carmilla: Yeah, sure.

Charlotte: It’s time, Emily.

Perry: It’s your last night on Earth.  Are you sure you don’t want another drink before you go?

Charlotte: The ritual must be performed before the Ash Moon ends at sunrise.  Otherwise, we’re trapped here forever.  So, no.

Emily begins reciting some foreign language and places a broach in the center of the table, the one from Laura’s dream

Carmilla: Wait, that’s the broach that I ...

Emily and Charlotte place her hands on the broach, and she gasps, frozen.  The ghosts join hands.

Laura: Carm?

A glowing light appears from Carmilla’s chest, moving into the broach.

LaF: That’s Carmilla’s spark!  It’s leaving her!  Wh-why is it going in to the broach?

The ghosts start shaking and seizing

Kirsch: Uh ... guys?

LaF (looking worried) Did that spell say anything about spirit entanglement?

Emily: It’s not supposed to happen like this!

Laura: Something’s wrong!

She starts to approach the circle, but is stopped by Perry

Perry: Laura, stay back, it’s dangerous!

Laura: We have to stop the ritual!

Emily: I can’t!  It’s out of control!

Suddenly Emily disappears, in a brief flame, which spread through the circle

Unnamed ghost: We’ve been tricked!

Charlotte: I don’t want to go back!

LaF: We need to disrupt the circle!

LaF rushes towards the circle to try to break it.  They free Charlotte from the circle, but get caught themself, pushing Charlotte back into Laura before they disappear.

Perry: LaF!

Laura rushes twoards Carmilla

Perry: Don’t touch Carmilla, it will take you too!

A masked woman appears, the same woman we saw earlier, humming.

Woman (to Carmilla): Did you think you’d get away with it?  Summon us up to ease your mind and then just waltz away?  Did you really think there’d be no consequences?

Laura: It’s you.

The woman removes her mask, revealing herself to be Elle.

Elle: Surprise!  Not the brightest little ingénue, are we?

She grabs the broach.  There’s a bright light and a high-pitched ring as everyone falls back.  When the light fades, everyone’s on the floor, geting up.  Except Carmilla, who’s not getting up.  Elle takes something from the table and leaves.

Kirsch notices a pile of dust where LaF had been

Kirsch: Is that pile of dust LaFontaine?

Perry: They’re j-... they’re just ... they’re just gone

Mel (to Charlotte): Are you okay?

Laura (off screen): Carm?

Charlotte: I need to hide

Charlotte runs off

The camera shifts to Laura and Carmilla, Carmilla’s on the floor, not moving

Laura: Carm?  Carm?  [Checks Carmilla’s pulse]  Carm!  [Laura starts shaking her] Carm!  Hey!  Hey!  C’mon, hey!  [slaps Carmilla’s cheeks trying to wake her up]  Carm!  Hey!  Hey!  Hey!  Hey!

Carmilla opens her eyes

Carmilla: Hey ...

Laura pulls her up and they embrace.  Laura’s eyes widen in shock

Laura: Your heart.  It’s not beating.  You’re a vampire.

The camera shifts to Elle at the front door, trying to get out, but the door is still stuck.

Elle: Nooo!!!!  Why won’t it work?  I’ve sent all the ghosts away!  [takes out broach and starts chanting in foreign language again; she tries again with no success]  Did one of them escape me?

Back in the bedroom, Kirsch is changing, while Perry reads the book.

Kirsch: So, did I miss something, or did that go radically not as planned?

Laura: It was Elle.  She was at the masquerade.  She knew about the ritual, she knew exactly what was going to happen.

Kirsch: How could she have known?

Carmilla: Because Emily and Charlotte lied to us.  They had to have known she was here

Laura: You think vacuumed, screaming back to a hellish nightmarescape was part of their plan?  [Perry and Carmilla look at her]  Sorry.  We will figure this out.  We will find LaF.  Why would Elle do this?

Carmilla (holding a bottle of hemo-soy): You heard her, to punish me for what I did by stealing my life.  [drinks from the bottle]

Laura: But she can’t steal anything, she’s trapped here just like us unless all the ghosts move on.

Perry: But the ghosts are gone.  All of them except Elle and Charlotte.  Elle can’t leave until Charlotte is also sent back to the nightmare land, like all the other ghosts.  LaF thwarted her plan

Carmilla: And now that my spark’s in the broach and Elle has the broach, if she gets rid of Charlotte, she could become human and leave.

Laura: We have to find her.  Now.

Mel (entering the room): That’s easier said then done.  Miss Sheridan is gone, girl.

Carmilla: Not to mention we don’t exactly know how to extract a life force from a magical broach.

Carmilla sets down the now-empty bottle of hemo-soy, and picks up another one

Mel: You may want to go easy on those, that's the only case

Carmilla: Terrific.

Laura: But, Elle must have the spell already.  I mean, that’s her escape plan, right?  So we have to find Elle before she gets to Charlotte, then Perry can find the spell to put your spark back -

Perry: Laura, what are you talking about?  We have to find LaF first.

Laura: Of course, of course, we have to find both of them, but if we lose Elle now, then all of use are trapped -

Perry: We have to find Elle later, LaF comes first!

Laura: We can’t just let her take Carmilla’s life!

Awkward silence as everyone looks at each other

Kirsch: We could start in the study

Mel: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but beefcheeks is right.  We don’t have much time.

Mel, Kirsch, and Perry leave the room.  Carmilla approaches Laura, touching her arm.  Laura pulls away

Laura: I need to get out of this dress

Carmilla: It will be easier if you let someone help

Carmilla reaches for Laura, Laura spins around facing her angrily

Laura: Did you summon up the ghosts?  Because that’s what she said, Elle, that you summoned her up.

Carmilla: I think it’s ... possible.

Laura: Possible?  How do you not know whether you summoned up the ghosts of your former victims who maybe want some light, refreshing revenge?

Carmilla: Because, it was just something stupid that happened at the therapist’s appointment!

Laura: What?

Carmilla: She ... said I could never move forward unless I dealt with my past, so ... she had me think about Elle and the others, and, you know, there was the usual “manifest your issues” crap, but ... I had completely forgotten about it until my issues actually ... manifested

Laura: And when were you going to share this little piece of information with me?

Carmilla: I was waiting for the right moment.

Laura: You know what would’ve been a good moment?  Any time before the ghost of your former lover killed you!  (starting to cry)  She killed you.  I thought she killed you.

Carmilla: Hey [opens arms] come here [Laura embraces her, sobbing against her] I’m still here.  OK?  I’m still here.  We’re gonna get my life back, okay?  And all those things we want, every single point on your five-year plan, we’re gonna do them, okay?  Okay, let’s get you out of this thing.

We switch to Mel, Perry, and Kirsch in the study

Perry: Either Emily decoded the spell wrong, or Elle tricked her.  The spell she did cast used Carmilla’s spark to force the ghosts off to the nightmare land that Emily described.

Mel: You think that’s where the braniac ended up?  [Perry nods]  You think you can get them back?

Perry: I think the real moving-on spell might do it.  But, that means we only have till sunrise to find the code key.  [Mel looks out the window at the moon]  And I’ll need Carmilla’s spark.

Mel: Well, that makes getting the broach back priority number one.  Hollis’ll be chuffed.  [looking at Perry] Perry, LaFontaine knows you’re looking for them.  They know.  It’s what we do.

Mel slaps Perry’s leg in comfort.  Perry returns the gesture

Back in the bedroom, Laura’s in her regular clothes, and Carmilla’s putting on a shirt.  A humming sound is heard, and Laura flashes to another dream sequence.

Carmilla enters a room, looking very happy, dressed in white

Carmilla: It’s done!  We leave tonight.  In three days, we’ll be on an ocean liner headed for New York.

Elle looks less than thrilled.  She stands up from where she was sitting

Carmilla: You’re gonna love New York!  It’s full of ... concerts, and theater, and ... life.  Your life life is gonna be so much bigger than you ever imagined!

Elle has now been replaced by Laura.  Laura!Ell turns aroung to face Carmilla.

Carmilla: Wh-what are you doing?

The humming returns.  Elle appears creepily sliding up Laura, she takes Laura’s right hand, a knife now in it, and slices her left palm open.

We suddenly return to the real world, Laura’s completing the slicing motion

Carmilla: Laura!  Hey!  Are you alright?

She looks down and sees Laura’s palm sliced open.

Laura: What in Stoker’s name is going on?

Time-skip.  Perry and Mel are now present.  Perry is getting gauze out of a first aid kit while Mel supports Laura’s hand.

Mel: So Elle can dream-kabob you in real life?  Is that a normal ghost thing?  Are we supposed to know they could do that?

Laura: She’s sent me dreams before.  This is the first time she’s reached out and slashed me.

The camera focuses on Carmilla, looking broodily out the window

Perry: Oh, dear

Laura: No, no, no, no, no.  Not “oh dear”, we do not need an “oh dear” right now.

The conversation becomes slightly muted, as we hear the sound of beating hearts

Perry: Well, I mean, I’m still deciphering, but there’s several spells in this book which might make ghosts much more powerful, especially in the dream world.

The camera shifts back to Laura, Mel, and Perry

Laura: Right, so Elle’s faster, better, stronger.  Can we undo that?  Use the book to soup ourselves up?

Perry (reading): “Side effects may include ... anxiety, insomnia, dream contagion, and ... death”

Laura: So ... no.  Wait ... dream contagion?  Is that like ... sometimes in the dreams it’s like she can’t completely control them, like I’m seeing things that she wouldn’t want me to see.  Like just now, I saw you getting ready to leave for New York.

Carmilla: No one’s going anywhere until we find Charlotte.  The Craft here will keep researching.  You, Mel, and frat-boy can ... [notices that Kirsch isn’t around] Where’s the frat boy?

Mel: That burrito-chomping, protein-powder-snorting, gullible, mush-brained ...

We see a pile of ash with a sandwich on it

Mel: ... dope.

We pan up to see Carmilla, Perry, Laura, and Mel looking at what used to be Kirsch.

Mel: I told him

Perry: It’s the same as LaF.

Laura: Okay, we have to find Charlotte and get that broach back before Elle finishes this little re-enactment of And Then There Were None.

External view: The moon in the sky

Laura (voiceover): Search every nook and cranny, Charlotte has to be somewhere

Carmilla: Be careful.  Elle knows this place better than we ever will.

We see Laura and Carmilla searching.  They enter a room, and Carmilla looks at the books on a mantle.  She pulls one out as Laura watches.

Another flasback-dream.  Laura (as Elle) lying on Carmilla’s lap as Carmilla reads from a book labelled Le Fanu Poems

Carmilla: “Girls are caterpillars while they live in the world, to be finally butterflies when the summer comes.  But in the meantime, there are grubs and larvae, so says Monsieur Buffon”

There’s a thunderclap, and then we see Elle standing behind the couch

Elle: To think of the trouble I went to, [Laura gets up, running for the door] warning you, [Elle blocks her escape thinking you’d learn from my mistake.

Laura: Yeah, cause Carm’s the villain here.  Aren’t you the one zapping innocent people for no reason?

Carmilla: I’m doing it to keep what’s mine.

Laura: That life isn’t yours.

Elle: It’s what I’m owed.  And I wouldn’t waste it on some banal five-year plan.

Laura notices LaF drawing some kind of symbol on a mirror.

Laura: LaF?

The dream sequence ends abruptly, Carmilla’s still in the middle of taking the book out

Laura: LaF! I saw LaF!

We skip ahead, Laura sitting on a couch with a pad of paper, Perry and Mel on either side, and Carmilla behind them

Laura: Drawing some sort of symbol, looked like this ... or maybe like this.  [Laura’s drawing two versions of the symbol she saw in her dream]

Mel: How did you get past second grade?

Laura: I saw it for half a second in a ghost-induced nightmare, give me a break.

Carmilla: Any idea what it means?

Perry: No, but if LaF thinks it’s important enough to send from beyond the vale ... if I could just identify it, maybe it could hep decipher the moving-on spell.  I’ll try to figure this out, while you guys go get a life.

Laura gets up and moves toward the door

Carmilla (to Mel): Go with her, keep her safe.

Mel: What are you going to do?

Carmilla: Well, young lady stole my life and turned me back into a vampire?  So, I’m gonna remind her what that means.

Mel (to Perry): How about you?

Perry: Oh, I’ve got the EMF.  If it so much as chirps, I’ll shriek.

Mel gets up to follow Laura.  We see Mel and Laura heading down some stairs, as Perry studies the spell book, and the EMF detector produces static noise, and then starts beeping, Perry looks up.

We switch scenes to Carmilla entering a room, where Elle waits, facing away from the door.

Elle: I used to think you and I would spend our lives reading to each other.  If only I’d known how brief one of those lives was going to be.

Carmilla: Hello, Elle.

Elle: Is that all you have to say to me?  After what you did?

Carmilla: I never meant to hurt you.

Elle: Oh, don’t apologize.  [Elle turns around to face Carmilla]  It costs you nothing.

Carmilla: So, what?  This is about me paying for my sins?

Elle: You never even stopped to think if you deserved this life.  I’ve watched you.  All these years.  You've never thought of anyone but yourself.

Carmilla: Well, that’s some big talk coming from the girl who sent her friends to a nightmare land.

Elle: Me?  Oh, no, I’m just thinking about myself.  Oh, wait, I wonder who taught me that?

Carmilla rushes at Elle to hit her, but Elle vanishes and reappears by the door.

Elle: Oooh [chuckles] Not very ladylike, Miss Karnstein.

From off screen, Laura’s scream can be heard

Carmilla: Laura!

Elle: Better run, Carmilla.  These old house are so dangerous, after all.

We see Carmilla running with her supser-speed to the study, where Laura and Mel are already present

Laura: Damn it! [camera pans to the pile of ash that used to be Perry, there are various notes around her, the only one that can be seen clearly says “... is a giant trap??”]  Perry.  You never should’ve left her alone

Mel: No sign of the spell book, either.  [to Carmilla] I take it your little chat with the ghost of girlfriends past was a bust?

Carmilla: Yeah, I’m getting pretty sick of this haunting crap.

Charlotte: Imagine how we feel.  [All three turn around to see Charlotte in the room with them]  I’m wondering if we might be of assistance to each other.

Charlotte’s sitting on a couch with the others around her

Charlotte: Miss Sheridan said you would never go along with the spell if you knew she was with us.  I should’ve known that she only wanted your life for herself.  It was all she ever talked about.  The wide world that she’d been denied.  As if the same thing hadn’t happened to us all.  (to Mel)  I’m sorry about your friend.  I didn’t know what would happen when they pulled me back.

Laura: Can you help us get them back?

Charlotte: I don’t know.  But we have to stop Miss Sheridan.

Mel: You got any thoughts on the stopping front?

Charlotte: It’s me she wants, so perhaps ...

Another dream sequence.  Laura and Elle are alone in a room.  Laura’s sitting in a chair while Elle approaches her, pulling out a knife.

Laura: Do we really have to do this Nightmare on Elm Street crap?

Elle: Fine [turns around, then turns back, now holding a tray with a tea pot and tea cups, the room gets brighter] Let’s speak as reasonable women.  Elle sits down in the chair net to Laura’s, setting down the tea tray.  So.  Your friends are trapped beyond the veil.  You, Carmilla, and your ... trigger-happy accomplice are next.  Sugar?

Laura: ... sure

Elle: But, if you hand over Charlotte, and let me keep this life -

Laura: It isn’t yours to keep

Elle: That’s beside the point!  Let me keep it ... and I’ll bring your friends back.  You can all ... leave this place.

Elle hands Laura a tea cup, she accepts it warily

Laura: What happens to Charlotte?

Elle: Well, I’m afraid poor Charlotte will have to ... follow her sister.  But, you know that was always going to happen, so.

Laura: She’s just like you.  They all are.  Don’t they deserve a chance to move on?

Elle: Oh!  [laughs]  Oh, you haven’t figured it out yet.  The only way that Charlotte and Emily can reach their ... everlasting rest, is if Carmilla sacrifices her human life.  [Laura looks shocked]  So, let’s not pretend that you’d sacrifice Carmilla’s life for a few wayward spirits, any more than I would.

Laura: You can’t just leave them trapped in a nightmare!

Elle: You’d let your friends die in here to ... help them?

Laura: There has to be another way!

Elle: Ugh!  You’ve had your chance.  [the room darkens again, thunder cracks]  Whatever happens now is your fault.

Laura’s back in the real world, gasping back to consciousness

Carmilla: Elle?  Are you alright?  Did she do anything to yo uin the dreamscape?

Laura: No.  I just wanna get her out of my head.  I wanna get your life back.

Carmilla: Well, we think we can lure her out into the open by using Charlotte as bait.

Laura: You’d do that for us?

Charlotte: There’s only a few hours left of the Ash Moon.  If Emily and I want to move on, it’s our only chance.

External shot of mansion, shots of various rooms.  We see Charlotte coming down the stairs

Elle: There you are!  You know, it’s impolite to cause your host so much trouble.

Charlotte: I’m sure I’ll find a way to repay you.

Elle grabs Charlotte’s neck, pushing her up against a wall.

Laura appears, followed by Carmilla, and then Mel with her crossbow, surrounding her

Elle: A trap?  You aren’t serious.

Carmilla: Vampire, warrior, journalist.  I like our chances.  Let’s have a little chat about taking things that don’t belong to us.

Elle: You first

Elle zooms over to Mel, vanishing her into Ash

Charlotte: Mel!

Elle: Best get the broom out.  [kicks the pile of ashes, then zooms over to do the same to Charlotte]  Look at that.  Then there were three.  [to Laura]  You should’ve taken up my offer, sweetheart.

Carmilla: Offer?

Elle: Your life for you friends.  Don’t worry, Laura declined when she discovered that Emily and Charlotte can’t move on without destroying your precious spark.

Carmilla: You’ll never be able to enjoy it.  You’ll spend the rest of your days looking over your shoulder  [Rushes to grab Elle’s arm]  Wondering if it’s my step you hear at the door.

Elle attempts to slice Carmilla with her knife, but Carmilla dodges too quickly.

Elle: I’ll take my chances.  I’ve got the broach.  There’s nothing you can do to stop me.

Carmilla: Maybe not.  But she knows krav maga.

Elle: What?

Laura grabs Elle’s arm, wrestling the knife out of it, they fight

Laura: Why do people always forget that?

Elle, Laura, and Carmilla fight for the broach.  A bright glow appears from teh light, and they all disappear.

Laura appears in a blank white space

Laura: Hello?  Carm?  Carm!  [creepy whispers and howling wind are all we can hear]  Pull yourself together, Hollis.

Laura finds herself back in a dream version of the mansion.  She sees Carmilla’s rebirthday cake on the same table that they’d performed the ritual at before.  The cake then turns into the broach.  Laura picks it up.  She hears herself, speaking in a sad, almost-monotone, fashion

Dream!Laura: Oh, crap, we’re live?  [Laura turns and sees a version of herself dressed in grey, with a microphone for news 9 (the same as in the “local news” clips from the beginning).  Behind her is a twisted version of her 5-year plan, with all the goals turned into failures]  Today, on Toronto News 9, it’s harsh reality.  Abandon your childhood dreams for the dubious security of  a subpar paycheck.  Spend your days glorifying clickbait and your nights letting fear and misery drive away friends and loved ones.  Accept that life is an unbroken chain of mediocrity stretching on and on and on.  This is Laura Hollis reporting live from a failed career.

Laura notices Elle approaching and runs down the stairs away from her

Elle: I want my life, you little thief!  I want my life!

Laura opens a door, and appears in a brightly-lit room with dream!Carmilla and dream!Elle

Laura: Doors are arbitrary.  Wonderful

Dream!Carmilla: Oh, you’re gonna love New York.  There’s theaters and conerts and ... life.

Laura: Wait, I know this.  I dreamed this.

Dream!Carmilla: Your life is going to be so much bigger than you’ve ever imagined.  What are you doing?

We see Dream!Elle taking out a knife.  The real Elle appears, grabbing Laura and dragging her out by the ears

Elle: You don’t belong here!

Laura runs off, with Elle continuing to follow her.

She appears in another room, with a weeping Emily being held by Charlotte

Dream!Emily: She laughed.  Miss Sheridan, she laughed at the very idea of ... Why did I trust her?  Why did I not ... I was supposed to keep you safe.

Laura: Oh, God.  Poor Emily.  Poor Charlotte.

Elle appears in the doorway.

Elle: Do you know what will happen if you die here?

Laura: Let me guess.  I die in the real world too

Elle: Worse.  You’ll be trapped, in this hell made of dead minds.  I wonder if you’ll feel so sympathetic then?

Laura: Is that what happened to you?

Elle: I don’t want your pity.  I want my life!  [Elle grabs Laura] I can take it from you living, or I can take it from you dead.

Laura: You’ve seen my dreams.  [she kicks Elle in the stomach] Have I ever gone down without a fight?

Laura runs off.  She runs into another room, which is the same one from before

Laura: Stuck in an endless loop of someone else’s damage.  Classic me.

Dream!Carmilla: Oh, you’re gonna love New York.  There’s theaters and concerts and ... life.

Laura notices the real Carmilla behind a couch, watching

Laura: Oh, Carm!  Carm!  [she runs over to real Carmilla]

Dream!Carmilla (partly overlapping with Laura): Your life’s gonna be so much bigger than you ever imagined!  What are you doing?

Dream!Elle slices her left palm.  Dream!Carmilla looks away

Dream!Elle: I met a woman in the village today.  She said strange things about you.  [Dream!Elle raises her palm, lifting it towards dream!Carmilla]  What’s wrong?  Why won’t you look at me, Carmilla?  LOOK AT ME!

Dream!Carmilla looks up, for a brief second, her fangs appear, she hisses and moves towards Elle, before she stops herself.  But it’s too late.

Dream!Elle: She was right.  You’re a monster.

Dream!Carmilla: I can explain ...

Dream!Elle: Oh, I’ve heard enough of your lies.  All your promises.  All your talk of a new life.

Dream!Carmilla: No, not lies, in the colonies, things’ll be different!  No one will know us! You’ll see that!

Dream!Elle: As if I would go anywhere with you now.  No.  My new friend is waiting in a carriage below.  She is going to take me travelling  She’ll show me the wonders of the world.

Dream!Carmilla is horrified, shaking her head

Dream!Carmilla: No, you can’t go with her.  Elle, I know, I know I lied, but the horror she has planned for you is much worse than -

Dream!Elle: Worse?!  Worse than saying that she loved me ... [whispered]  while she drank my blood?  [loud]  WHILE SHE DRANK MY BLOOD?

Dream!Carmilla (on the verge of tears): Please ...

Dream!Elle: Don’t worry.  I’ve told her where you are.  She’ll send someone to deal with you.

Dream!Elle leaves the room, as dream!Carmilla falls to her knees sobbing

The camera then pans to Dream!Elle in the room as at the start

Laura: What, is this on repeat?  How many times have you watche this?

Dream!Carmilla (entering the room): It’s done.  We leave tonight.  In three days, we’ll be on an ocean liner headed for New York.

The real Elle appears, Laura and Carmilla hide.  Elle leaves

Dream!Carmilla: You’re gonna love New York  There’s theaters and concerts and ... life!  Oh, your life’s gonna be so much bigger than you ever imagined!

Laura leads the real Carmilla out of the room.  They’re now in a staircase.

Laura: Hey!  Hey.  It’s okay.  Hey, you are not there anymore.  You are here, with me, right now.  And I have the broach.  [she places the broach in Carmilla’s hand]  If you can just ... absorb it.  [Nothing happens]

Carmilla: Nothing.

Laura:  Of course not.  Of course we still need some stupid spell! 

Carmilla: Maybe I should give her my life.

Laura: What?   Carm, you can’t!  She’s unhinged!

Carmilla: Not to her ... to them.  Laura, everything you saw in there ... it’s everything I’ve been avoiding for years.  Pretending like being human meant I didn’t do all of those awful things.  How is it fair that I get this life while they’re just trapped here?  After everything I’ve done?

Laura: Okay.  [sniffles]  Okay, [sniffles] A, let’s acknowledge that Ell and your mother share some of this blame, and B, we will figure out another way, a way that doesn’t involve you giving up your life.

Carmilla: You mean find a way to avoid responsibility?  Mmm-mm [shakes head]  You heard Elle, there’s no other way.  It’s my life for their freedom.

Laura: What about our life together?  Our future?  You’re just gonna give up on that?

Carmilla: Laura, I’m not giving up on that - 

Laura: Cause, we’re supposed to have arguments over who does dishes, and cupcakes to celebrate big days at work, and grandkids.  What is that gonna look like if you can live like you’re 25 forever?

Carmilla: You think I don’t want those things, too?

Laura: Please don’t give up on our life.

Carmilla: I’m not giving up.  But I can’t keep running away.  Not after what I’ve done.

Laura: Okay  [they kiss, then in barely a whisper:]  Thank you.  [normal volume]  Let’s go save some ghosts

We see Elle, pissed off by the front door.

Laura and Carmilla walk through a passageway.  A hooded figure in black passes them by, the same ifgure from the dream where Laura saw Carmilla being lowered into the blood-coffin

Laura: Seriously?  People can’t just dream about being audited?

They see LaF standing the hallway.

Laura: LaF! [runs to LaF, huggin them] How did you --- ?

LaF: Escape my personal hell?  I’ve been through, like, three apocalypses, I can tell the difference.

Laura: Have you found any of the others?

LaF: Funny you should mention that.  [LaF opens a door]  I’ve been trying to wake her, but she keeps confusing me for ... me.

Perry is watching herself doing paperwork, with Dream!LaF beside her

Dream!Perry: That’s form 83-B done.  [a pile of papers appears beside Dream!Perry]  Just filing a hundred of these daily ...

Dream!LaF: You don’t mind taking care of these right?  There’ll be just, like, 5 or 6 million pages.  You can do this alone; you don’t need me.  See you in six years.

Laura wakes the real Perry

Perry: Laura?  What are you doing in my ... strangely bureaucratic nightmare?

Laura: Elle zapped us into nightmare land.  We have to do the spell before sunrise which is coming up fast.

Perry: Well, I had to read the pages before Elle zapped me, but without the code key to decipher the spell -

LaF (clearing their throat): I've got the code key.

Perry: Oh!  Yes, the symbol!  Do you have the full thing?

LaF: Uh, yeah, I’ve literally got a photographic memory [LaF points at their cybor ete]

Perry: Oh, I could just kiss you on your robot eye!

Sadly, there is no kiss.

The four walk down a hallway, rescuing others from their dreams

Laura (to Mel): You’re safe

Kirsch: Why are people always hunting me for sport?

Perry (leading the others to the room where the ritual is to be performed): Okay, circle up.  We don’t need to hold hands or anything, the spell is much more powerful.  But, it might be more cozy that way.

Mel: So, what happens to us after the ghosts move on?

Perry: Oh, um, well, we’ll either find ourselves back at the schloss, or cease to exist entirely.

Mel: It’s better than our usual odds

Emily: I’m sorry, not to criticize any plan that would clearly be so much to our benefit, but ...

Charlotte: Doesn’t that mean you have to give up your human life?

Carmilla: Yeah.  Well, I’m responsible for what happened to you, so ... this is how I can help.

Carmilla sets the broach down.  It turns into Carmilla’s rebirthday cake.

Kirsch: Woah, what happened to the, uh ...

Laura: It’s a cake now.  Don’t ask.

Kirsch: Okay.

Carmilla: Alright, uh, let’s get this ritual started before I change my mind.

Perry pulls out a piece of paper and starts chanting in an foreign language.  Carm leans over, to blow out the candles on the cake, when Elle suddenly grabs her from behind with a knife

Laura: Carm!

Elle: You think I’m gonna let you do this?  Steal everything from me again?!

Laura: But Carm really isn’t the one who you blame for that, is she?  I’ve seen that moment between you two over and over again.  You had everything that you ever wanted and you gave it up because you were afraid.

Elle: They lied to me.  Carmilla, her mother, they betrayed and murdered me!

Laura: You’re right, it isn’t fair what happened to you, but that’s not an excuse. Everything that you’re doing right now, hurting everyone else, hurting yourself, it’s just because you’re afraid of what comes next, but you don’t have to be.  We can help you, we can help you find the peace you’ve always been looking for!

Elle: No!  No, I don’t want your platitudes!  I want my - 

Elle is suddenly stopped by an arrow shot by Mel

Mel: Your life.  You want your life.  Yeah, we know.  But it’s not all about you.  And you’re a part of this.  So, stay put.

Elle slides to the ground, injured, the arrow in her shoulder

Carmilla: Nice shot!

Mel: I’ve been waiting to do that since we got here

Laura and Carmilla embrace.  The circle is reformed, as Elle sits quietly in the background

LaF: So, you’re kinda rocking the fieldwork these days, hunh?  Think if we got more admin help, you’d be able to come out more?

Perry: I think I could ... find some time to play.

Charlotte (to Emily): We’re almost free of all this

Emily: You shouldn’t have been drawn into it to begin with.

Charlotte: It was 1872.  If we hadn’t been killed by vampires, it would’ve been, I don’t know, tuberculosis?

Laura: Oddly specific

Charlotte: Each day was made better because you tried to make it such.  I don’t regret a thing.  [to Mel] Thank you for the dance.  I wish there could be another, but ...

Mel: I get it.  You gotta leave with the one that brung you.

Charlotte: Would you like to ... ?

Mel: Obviously.

Charlotte and Mel kiss.  Everyone looks happy for them, except Elle who just looks annoyed by the delay

Elle: Ugh, can we please just move on already?

Perry resumes the spell.  Carmilla blows out the candles, all but one.

Someone: Ah, it’s working!

Charlotte and Emily vanish in glowing sparkles, followed by Elle.  Then Mel and Kirsch vanish, followed by LaF and Perry, leaving just Laura and Carmilla.

Carmilla: What the hell now?

Laura: I guess with all the ghosts gone, there’s no reason for this place to exist anymore.  So ... it worked.  Hooray.  [looking at Carmilla]  Sorry about before.  I think I’ve been so focused on chasing after your life cause it seemed a lot easier than trying fixing my own.

Carmilla: Hey, you’re Laura Hollis.  [chuckles]  And I’ve watched you fight vampires ... and gods and even that lady who tried to butt us in line at the craft fair. [they bloth laugh] So, you’re gonna figure it out.  Whatever happens next, we’re gonna do it together.

Carmilla prepares to blow out the remaining candle

Laura: If this goes Romeo and Juliet on us, I’m totally gonna haunt your ass.

Carmilla: Of course you are.

They kiss, and then Carmilla blows out the remaining candle.

They find themselves lying on the floor, sunlight coming, holding hands.

Laura: Well, that was a kick.

Laura’s walkie-talkie beeps

Perry (on walkie talkie): Where are you guys?

LaF (on walkie talkie): Is everyone okay, over?

Laura: Affirmative.  Laura and  Carm A-OK.  Over.

Laura and Carmilla get up

LaF: Front door’s unlocked

Perry: Oh!  Meet you outside

LaF: You’re supposed to say over

Perry: Over.

Carmilla: Let’s get the hell out of Styria.

Laura and Carmilla walk out of the schloss, joining the rest.  Kirsch hands them their bags.

Kirsch: I call dibs on window!

Montage: Walking down the path, then taking a train, then a plane landing, then back to Toronto.  The group is having a picnic, and we see Danny in the background talking to Kirsch.  Laura and Carmilla are sharing a bottle of champagne

Carmilla (holding champagne bottle as if microphone): And, how does it feel, Ms. Hollis, to officially be a freelance journalist at large?

Laura: I made a huge mistake!  What have I done?  I quit my job!  I gave up my cubicle!  I don’t have a plan!  What’m I supposed to do without a plan?  [Laura starts laughing, joined by Carmilla]  Only about half of that was actual panic, so pretty good, right?

Carmilla: Yeah.  I’m  just gonna go get some blood, babe.

They kiss.  The camera pans over to LaF and Perry, looking at some kidn of electronic device.

LaF: So ... this is a blueprint?

Perry: Yep, these are the blueprints they sent over.  And, oh, check this out.  They have an industrial-sized cleaning closet, and I was thining we could put your reactor over here in this corner.

LaF: That is a beautiful thing.

Carmilla: Selling out going smoothly?

LaF: Uh, we’re retaining executive control over LaFerry at Intrigue.  And they’re giving us a thorium reactor.  A thorium reactor!

The camera pans over to Kirsch and Danny

Kirsch: It was really scary.

Danny: It sounds a little cushy.

Kirsch: But it was a totally legit adventure.  You know, there were ghosts and this haunted mansion and then, you know, this weird netherworld

Danny: And comfy beds and midnight snacks, and a masquerade ball

Kirsch: Look, I even have that mark where I was ghost-zapped.  Look.  No, seriously look!

Danny: No, I see it

Kirsch: It’s there, look!

Danny: Okay, I see it, you can put it away now.

The camera pans over to Mel.  Laura’s standing by her, with a sympathetic look

Mel: Okay, don’t give me pity eyes, Hollis.  Like you never had a crush on a dead girl.

Laura: That does sound familiar.

They touch foreheads

Mel: Thanks

Laura walks over to Carmilla

Laura: So, Carmilla Karnstein, a vampire again.  What’s next?

Carmilla: I’m thinking ... maybe my PhD in Philosophy.  Hey, attend university for 70-odd years, and you rack up a few credits.

Laura: I’m so proud of you.

Carmilla: You’re not worried about how we’ll spend our lives together?

Laura: I figure any two people in a relationship, their lives move at different speeds.  That isn’t the part that matters.  This, here, right now.  This is what matters.  And I love you.

Carmilla: I love you too.

They kiss, and then look at the cityscape together as the credits begin

Credits scenes

Montage of various scenes of Laura reporting from various locations

Laura: I’m Laura Hollis and this is a web exclusive for Creampuffington Post.  We’re talking today with veteran dragonslayer Elizabeth Spielsdorf about the great apocalypse of 2015

Laura: Hi, I’m Laura Hollis on assignment in Graz where we’re just in time for the ribbon cutting ceremony on the JP Armitage Memorial Library

Laura: I’m Laura Hollis reporting live from the Geneva Summit on the Rights of Were-People

Laura: I’m Laura Hollis reporting to you live from Iceland where scientists have made a breakgthrough discovery of the first drinkable Fountain of Youth

Laura: A scandal brewing tonight on the steps of the capital as the President, who last month was revealed to be an as-yet unidentified species of lizard creature with very small hands, refuses to produce his long-form hatching certificate.  This is senior correspondent Laura Hollis for MSSSN-BCD

Credits roll.  Pictures of Laura and Carmilla with a baby

Post-Credits scene

Laura and Carmilla asleep in bed.  Carmilla wakes up.  She yawns, and gets up, walking to the kitchen.  She opens the fridge and pulls out a bottle of hemo-soy.  Mattie shows up

Carmilla: Hey, Mattie. 

Mattie: Hey, sis.

Carmilla: Why are you ...

Mattie: Back from the underworld and lounging in your charmingly Bohemian pied-a-terre?

Carmilla: For starters.

Mattie: You and I and the little ingénue that could are going on a road trip.  Turns out the anglerfish was female.  Before it died, it laid eggs.  Just an alarming number of eggs.

Carmilla takes a sip of hemo-soy

Carmilla: Alright, let’s get going.

Title card reading “To be continued ...?

#carmilla #carmila movie #this took forever

[quiescentgale]

A Monster In the Manor

“When you can’t look on the bright side of things, I will sit with you in the dark.”

The road was dark and empty, the stone paving cracked and broken. Trash and grimy bits of tossed away and unwanted things littered the edge of the abandoned path. The tiny eyes of rats glittered in the shadows as the small creatures scuttled along through this dark, abandoned part of the town.

Patches of shifting amber light lay splashed across the buildings and road; ever disappearing behind thick rain clouds. At the end of the twisted, overgrown pavement beyond the woods, stood a large house. Formerly a manor owned by some rich man in years past, now it was a rotting corpse that the locals tried to forget about; tried to cover up underneath signs and broken boards. Even in the fading, patchy twilight it was easy to see that the once lush and beautiful rose bushes that had lined its walk were withered, dead and blackened. The beautiful ivy that had before, cradled the home in its arms was now twisted and clutched the house in a tight, thorny grasp. The manor had long since been abandoned, condemned and then forgotten. Yet, there was a light on in it; an eerie white light shone through the ragged, moth-eaten curtains covering a large broken window on the main floor of the manor. Had anyone come wandering up the crooked pathway that lead to the spooky looking house, they would’ve likely turned and run in fright. The light however, was not from some ghost or poltergeist. No unearthly spirit wandered the empty halls or painted things upon the walls. It was not an undead soul bound to the home in some cruel and twisted ritual and no murder victims laid beneath the floor boards. The light came from a simple turn crank LED lamp – the same kind you’d get from the hardware store for camping.

It was a fairly large one, sitting on a once lavish coffee table in a tarnished living room. The white light cast its glow over the room, reflecting off the mirrors hanging on the walls and the dusty glass figurines sitting on shelves and in cabinets. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, from the floor to the furniture and to the broken decorations. But there were places where the dust had been disturbed, unsettled. Old foot prints from visitors months past and newer ones still from local teenagers.

There too, was something else that disturbed the quiet of the manor more recently and that was the reason Ventus was there. Yensid had asked him to visit the Old Manor in Twilight Town, apparently there’d been rumours of something dark and dangerous lurking within it. One teenager from the city had barely escaped with his life and when questioned, all he could babble about were these horrible yellow eyes.

Naturally, Yensid was quick to assume just what this dark entity with yellow eyes might be and asked Ven to go take care of the problem before more people got hurt messing around with something they couldn’t hope or even begin to understand.

“Whoa…” Cautiously, Ventus touched his hand to a tear in the manor’s old wall paper. It was more than just a simple rip; there were four long gashes carved in the paper and deep into the wall below. He looked around the room a little more cautiously. There were similar marks on the other walls, in the floor and even some of the furniture. All looking violently and recently done.

He hoped it was still there in the house.

A Heartless out in the city would be bad, but from the story Yensid heard and just from looking around the room, this particular Heartless, whatever it was, was all kinds of bad news. It had to be taken care of right away, before innocent people got hurt.

But the Manor was big, how was he supposed to find it? There came the sound of breaking glass and the room was suddenly plunged into darkness. The lantern light having abruptly gone out. Ventus whirled around, Keyblade appearing in his hand with a flash, but his eyes were taking their sweet time adjusting to the sudden change in light. He couldn’t see anything! Was that something moving in the dark? What about over there? Drawing in a breath, the Keyblade wielder pressed his back to the wall, and held his weapon in front of his body, ready and waiting as gradually, he began to see in the dark room. There was still some light outside, even with night falling and clouds obscuring the sky. There was still some small chance that he might see the monster before it got to him.

Too small. It was too dark and growing darker. Licking dry lips, Ventus let out his breath slowly and evenly, eyes darting about in the failing light. He didn’t anything. No movement, no dark creatures, no — There was something on the coffee table where the lantern had been. What was that? Eyes narrowing, Ven stared at the black shape, trying to discern what it was but – There was a small flash of yellow and the shape was gone! To the left up in the air? No! On the couch to the right? No! On the broken piano! The keys screaming in protest! Ventus took a step forward and then the yellow eyes were right in front of him, sitting over a sinister grin of a mouth full of sharp teeth.

“Wha–?” A strong hand closed tightly around his throat as he was slammed back against the wall, sharpened nails biting into his skin. Gurgling Ventus clutched at it, eyes flying open as there came a sudden pressure against his chest and the sound of claws scratching on metal. Yelling, he swung his Keyblade, striking whatever had hold of him hard with the hilt.

The monster didn’t let go. Ventus hit it again and kicked out with his foot, spots flashing in front of his eyes from the tight grip on his neck. His leg connected with something solid and he struck with the Keyblade again, flames exploding from the Fire spell he cast with the blow!

Gasping, the blond grabbed at his neck, suddenly free from the hold and he tried to find the creature again. It was a few feet in front of him! The to the right! To the left! In the air! Yelling, he swung out with his Keyblade and dodged to the right. Feeling the thunk of his weapon striking the beast. It fell away from him and he jumped back several feet, watching those awful yellow eyes, trying to keep them in view as whatever it was darted around the room. It was too dark and growing darker and this was seriously bad!

Calling some magic to himself, Ventus flung it towards the ceiling with his Keyblade and it stayed there, a glorious, glowing ball of light that shone over the room, illuminating it enough for him to see the gashes in walls, the broken, dust covered furniture and the— The Heartless laughed at him. It was a terrible sound that went straight into his bones and made every hair on his body stand on end. The creatures touch had been awful; the cold burn of darkness against his flesh that had slowed his blood and strangled the energy from his limbs. But not even the memory of that black hand wrapped around his neck or the wicked giggle that fell from its mouth could compete with the shock of seeing it in the light. “Sora.” The name crackled up Ven’s bruised throat in a gasp that was somewhere between disbelief and pain. Everyone had been looking for the Hero and now he’d found him. Or rather, he’d found what was left and it hurt so much to look upon. It couldn’t be true; it couldn’t be real. This couldn’t be the same, small boy that had taken in his broken heart and put him back together again. But there was no denying that twisted, blackened visage would’ve been the same as Vanitas’ if there’d been a shred of light within it. Ven’s palm was sweating inside his gauntlet and he squeezed his Keyblade a little tighter.

“̴Ye̕͟s͏ I ̷̕a̸̛m̷͡ ̸͡Ś͏̴ơ̴͢r̶̴͝a̵̴.̨͢͝"̶

Oh god, it sounded so wrong.

Ventus didn’t know what Sora’s voice was supposed to sound like, having never been awake to hear it, but that wasn’t it. He just knew that wasn’t it. That malefic voice sent chills down his back and froze the sweat on his skin to hear it.

“Hey um…” He winced and swallowed, his own voice hoarse. “How about you… You come with me?” He couldn’t kill this Heartless. He had to take him home.

He had to put the broken pieces back together.

The monster; the Anti laughed again, completely void of any sanity and it leaned forward from its perch on the back of the couch, clawed hands shredding the fabric easily.

"̛͏N̵̵͡o.̛҉̵"̡̨͟

And then it had darted to the left, jumped off the wall, back onto the piano, Ventus swung his Keyblade, the Heartless ducked underneath and pain exploded in the blonds arm. Anti’s sharp teeth had found the blank space on his bicep where there was no armoured plating. The Keyblade dropped from his grip with a clatter. Nails dug into his side, tearing through the thick black weave as the monster held onto him.

And again, claws scratched at his chest plate; directly over his beating heart.

Balling his other hand into a fist, Ventus plowed it into the side of the Heartless’ head and was rewarded with the sharp teeth releasing their hold on his arm. Instead of letting him go however, Anti laughed again and held on tighter those teeth coming straight for his face. Why the heck had he taken off his helmet!?

Instead of tearing off his face off, the Heartless bit into his wrist guard and the two of them grappled around the room; Ventus struggling to pry the monster off himself and to keep from falling over and Anti seemingly trying to gnaw through his wrist guard and tear his ribs out.

Summoning up his strength, Ventus pushed back hard against the Heartless’ mouth, forcing the dark head backwards, and leaving it scrabbling for hold on him briefly, then planting his feet solidly on the ground, the blond jerked his arm forward, throwing the monster off of him.

His own red blood splattered against the wall and floor as the dark claws were ripped from his side and groaning, Ventus quickly pressed his opposite hand to wound. Soothing green light appeared under his touch and over his bleeding arm, healing the torn flesh and bone. “Sora! I don’t want to hurt you!” His Keyblade was quickly back his hand and raised up, protecting his face (why had removed his helmet!?) as the Heartless jumped at him again, this time the gnashing teeth closing around the blade. Strong, dark hands clawed and pounded at his chest plate, desperately trying to get through it and to his racing heart beneath.

Round and round the decrepit room they went, jumping, running, darting, slashing, clawing and biting! Periodically, Ventus tried to reason with the Monster; sometimes he just yelled names of the Hero’s friends and other times he tried pleading with it.

Anti just laughed.

Finally, Ventus’ back hit the floor as he fell off balance and stars exploded before his eyes as a dark hand slammed the side of his face against the floor, claws scratching his forehead, cheek and jaw.

“No-!”

The other black hand struck straight down and with a loud, metallic crunch, pierced through his chest plate. Pain flared briefly in his body the sharp nails tore through his flesh, fully intent on removing his heart the hard way.

Later, when asked about it, Ventus couldn’t say clearly what happened next.

There was a brilliant flash of light, but he didn’t remember casting Faith. However, he knew he must have because the pillars of light tore Anti from him and threw it away, white beams of lightning crawling over its still body long afterward.

Those last minutes in the manor were blurry; Ventus was exhausted and sore from fighting Sora’s Heartless.

Curaga might close the wounds, but the fatigue was still there. The Faith however, had done a number on the Monster, but somehow, it hadn’t destroyed it. It should have; that was one of his strongest spells, but it was one he didn’t remember casting. He was hoping Yensid would know what had happened and carefully and cautiously, Ventus had scraped the Heartless up off the floor.

He had to bring Sora home; no matter how damaged he was.

“Ventus, is that… Is that Sora?”

Brow furrowing in deep confusion, Yensid looked into his crystal at Ventus. The man was flying one of the smaller Gummi ships and had just called in to report on the findings at Twilight Town, only he wasn’t alone.

Ventus himself had his face pressed into one hand and was holding the controls with the other. The reason for his ire was apparent – clutching tightly onto him and chewing on his shoulder, was a Heartless.

One that bore a striking resemblance to the fallen Hero.

“Yeah. Yeah it is.”

// OKAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN! THIS TIME TYPO (hopefully) FREE! 8D

#corruptedkey #Gift #tw; gore #tw; violence #tw;blood #tw; long post #((Thank you so much Soap for writing this <3 #it is a wonderful birthday gift #I was so so hooked into reading it I got lost in your beautiful writing #You brought the entire setting into life #vivid description of the entire scene #the last part made me laugh xD #Anti chewing on Ven and Yen Sid is just wtfing lmao #Thank you my friend <3 #I'll send you lots of love~)) #submission