![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
mage-apprentice.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
twispitefic2012-02-04 08:47 pm
A Day in a Peculiar Life: Part 2
Title: A Day in a Peculiar Life: Part 2
Author: mage_apprentice
Fandom: Twilight
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3314
Inspiration: The combination of Meyer’s desire to NOT develop any of her characters outside her precious Cullens and the entire Twi.Spite.Fic community’s writing fever.
Warning: Some graphic violence and detail.
Summary: Jessica makes a delivery that leads into finding out if her friend is guilty of murder.
Author’s Note: As noted by the tags, this will be part of a multiple chapter fic. If you haven’t read part 1 already, I suggest going to the fic titled “A Day in a Peculiar Life.” It won’t have a “Part 1” in the title.
The night’s stars above her and the Fork’s outskirts below, Jessica soars through the air on her broom. She glances down to a little house in a distance and lowers herself down as one hand steadies the package inside her tan satchel. Her iPod changes to a random song and elicits a casual smile from her. Jessica starts singing along as she lands.
Jessica spots a shadow moving around the garden at the house and aims for that side of the house. The shadow, however, disappears in the darkness. Jessica frowns at this and figures she could simply ask her customer about this. Once her feet touch the ground, Jessica turns off her iPod and knocks on the front door. “Granny Esme, your package of . . . herb seeds has arrived!”
The . . . herb garden rustles, causing Jessica to jump. She settles herself down, remembering what kind of plants are in that garden, and knocks again. “Granny Esmeralda? It’s me, Jessica Stanley! The delivery girl?”
Jessica goes over to the closest window and peers inside. Items, books, and various scorch marks litter the tiny living room with overturned furniture blocking the kitchen door. A trail of blood leads from the stairs to the attic to the kitchen after looping chaotically around and around in the living room. Jessica gasps and staggers away in horror. She goes back to the front door and twists the doorknob only to find the door locked. This pushes Jessica into going around the house to find a kitchen window. When she finally finds a small window leading into it, Jessica peers into it and discovers the horrible fate inside.
Bile chokes her and causes Jessica to bend over the garden. The offended plants rustle in protest against the vomit cast upon them, but Jessica pays them no attention. Her nerves snap and heavy sobs force their way out. The garden shifts and moves violently, finally catching Jessica’s attention. A shadow races from the house for the forest in the distance. Jessica glares at the figure and chases after the person on her broom.
The figure immediately spots Jessica and dives behind a tree. Jessica slows down for a sharp turn around the tree. The person desperately climbs up the tree and makes it to the third lowest branch when Jessica catches them. Jessica draws surrounding moisture with a spell and freezes the water into small icicles before sending the ice darts at the figure, hitting the figure’s right side. She hears a grunt before the figure jumps down from the tree.
Smoke explodes and covers the entire area. Coughing fits hinder Jessica’s efforts to catch the person, and can only cry out in dismay when she realizes that the person escaped. Jessica flies back to the house and stays there in silence before she pulls out her phone.
“Hello? Forks Police Department?” Jessica sniffs in another sob. “I need to report a crime . . .”
Although Mark allowed Jessica to stay home from school for a day after what happened at Esmeralda Jones’ house, she still had to attend the next school day. Truth be told, Jessica welcomes that school day. Any distraction from the sight of Granny Esme’s blood smeared on those warm saffron kitchen walls is a welcomed distraction. Even still, the images keep forcing their way back into Jessica’s mind.
As she heads out the door with her car keys, Mark stops her. “Wait, Jess,” he says, “let me drive you to school. You have been unusually spacey ever since the other night and, seeing how the roads iced over early this morning, I don’t want you behind the wheel with the way things are.”
Jessica frowns at her uncle as she considers this. However, she tosses the keys to him and says, “Okay, you drive. Pick me up after school when I call you.”
“Thank you, Jessica.”
As they drive down to the high school, Jessica asks, “How’s your research going lately?”
“It’s making decent progress.” Mark comments, “Thanks to the skin samples I obtained, I can make a report to the Council of Magicians over shining vampires.”
Jessica raises an eyebrow. “How did you get skin samples of shining vampires?”
“Anonymous donation.”
“Anonymous as in you don’t know or you’re not allowed to tell me?”
“The individual who donated the samples wishes to remain anonymous. That is all that matters concerning their identity.” Then Mark changes the subject, “Anything new with your friends?”
“Well, Lauren is going to host my birthday in a few weeks. I think you know that.”
“I already bought the decorations and am making arrangements with Mallorys.” Mark gives her a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry we can’t host it at our own house this year.”
“It’s okay. These things happen.” Jessica says, “Then Angela, Lauren, and I plan on going to Port Angeles to shop for a prom dress sometime. We haven’t really figured out when.”
“So far? By yourselves?”
“We’re big girls, Uncle Mark. We can take care of ourselves. Anyway, the new girl, Bella Swan—”
“Chief Swan’s daughter? I still need to thank him for going out to Esmeralda’s house so swiftly and taking you home.”
“Yeah, Charlie Swan’s daughter. Lately she’s been complaining about how Edward Cullen went missing from school. She thinks it’s her fault somehow. It’s really annoying.”
“Ignore her. She will either dismiss the issue or will continue to dwell on it.”
“That’s not all. When Edward comes back to school, they act like nothing happened. I’m really hoping it’s just Bella getting over herself and accepting that maybe it’s not about her.”
The car pulls over at the school’s sidewalk. Jessica gets out of the car and immediately slips on the ice. Mark asks, “Are you okay, Jess?”
Jessica gets back up to her feet. “I’m fine!” she says.
A strange swooping noise speeds passed their car and crashes into a nearby truck. Jessica whirls around and cries out, “That’s Tyler’s van! Tyler! Tyler, are you okay? Tyler!”
Just as soon as their own car is parked, Mark hurries over to the van as he calls, “Jessica! Call 9-1-1! I’m going to access the situation!”
“Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my . . . !”
“I’m already calling them, Mr. Stanley,” says Lauren as she dials on her cell phone. “You go make sure everyone’s fine.”
Mark nods at the girl and rushes to the van. He stops at the door and, as he tries to open it, mutters, “Level speed.” The door resists from moving no matter how much Mark tries to open it. Instead, Mark shouts through the door window, “Tyler! Are you injured?”
Tyler turns to Mark with wide eyes. “M-Mr. Stanley! Uh, my leg hurts, but Bella’s not good. I ran over her! I think I killed her oh god I killed her Chief Swan is gonna kill me oh god—”
“Tyler, slow down. What happened?”
“I hit the ice wrong! Bella was at her truck and I hit her! Oh shit, she’s dead! I killed someone!”
“Tyler, stay calm! The paramedics are on their way. I am going to check on Bella. Don’t move.”
Mark steps around the van and kneels down at Bella’s side. He sends a warning glare at Edward Cullen before checking over Bella’s unconscious body. During the examination, Mark raises his hand at Edward, and the hand glows a yellow light and pulses before dimming out. Edward scoffs, “It’s a bit late for that.”
“’A bit late’ is a bloodless corpse. How long has she been unconscious?”
“I felt that slow spell you cast over the area. It can’t stop me if I attacked.”
“Don’t be an ass to fully trained warlocks. The additional spell I just cast severely dulls your sense of smell for twelve hours. If human blood touches any part of your body within those twelve hours, you will incinerate. How long has she been unconscious?”
Edward snarls at Mark. The warlock gives the vampire a leveled glare. “Do not challenge me, Edward Cullen. Answer my question now.”
Edward snorts and answers, “She’s been unconscious for about two minutes. She hit her head when she fell. There aren’t any more injuries as far as I can see. She will wake up any second now.”
Mark turns away from the scene and approaches Lauren. “Lauren, I have additional information if they are still on the line.”
Jessica fidgets on the sidewalk and refuses to look over to the accident. She glances over at Lauren, desperate for any distraction, and notes the new bandages on the right side of her upper body. From her cheek to the base of her neck are thin slices either too shallow to need a bandage or deep enough to be covered. A sense of déjà vu creeps into Jessica’s mind as she tries to remember why they seem familiar. When the image of the figure at Granny Esme’s house flashes through her mind, she gasps and tries to calm herself before Lauren notices her.
Fortunately for Jessica, Lauren focuses more on Tyler’s wellbeing and less on the crowd. When the paramedics come, Jessica hides inside the crowd and watches the scene from there. Tyler, Edward, and an ever-complaining Bella are loaded on an ambulance with Charlie Swan in the ambulance with his daughter. When the police are done questioning Mark and Lauren, Mark glances around for his niece but fails to spot her. With that, he leaves the school.
Jessica hurries to her next class. Before the bell rings, however, Mike catches up to her and says, “Hey, you’re quieter than usual. What happened? Does the car wreck have you shaken up?”
Jessica stares at Mike for a second before nodding. “Yeah, the car wreck. I’m really worried about Tyler and Bella.”
“I’m worried, too. We can visit them after school! Lauren’s doing that.”
Jessica nods again. Mike frowns at her for a second before glancing around at the students around them. He asks, “Is this about what happened the other day? I heard you saw something really bad during your job. Are you having flashbacks?”
Jessica frowns deeply and rubs her eyes. “Sort of . . . How much did you hear?”
“Just that something bad happened. If you’re having trouble, you could go to the councilor’s office.”
“I can get through the school day. Thanks, though.”
“Just looking out for ya.”
The day goes by slowly for Jessica, especially lunch period where Lauren sits at the same table as Jessica. Thankfully, Jessica’s friends give her space and comfort after seeing her distress. It isn’t until the end of the school day when Angela goes up to Jessica at the car lot and says, “Jessica, what’s going on? Is there anything you’re not telling me?”
Jessica looks at her friend and glances around for Lauren. With her not around, Jessica whispers, “Angie, you remember what I told you about Granny Esme? Well, that night, I saw someone running away from her house. It was too dark for me to see them clearly, but I could see them enough to chase them down.”
“Jessica, that’s dangerous! What if they killed you like they killed Granny Esme?”
“I know, I know, but listen! I used a spell to make darts out of ice and I hit their right side. And here’s Lauren with her right side all cut up!”
“Lauren said she fell down off her bike.”
“Right after what happened to Granny Esme?”
“Well, Lauren does go biking a lot.”
“I’ve seen her scrapped up from falling off her bike, and she never looked like this before.”
“Do you really think Lauren killed Granny Esme, Jess? Do you really?”
This causes Jessica to pause. “I . . . I don’t know . . . I have to find out, though!”
“Just ask her.”
“Do you think she’ll tell the truth if she really is the person I chased down?”
“I think you’re overreacting.”
Jessica goes silent and sighs after a few seconds. “Maybe. I just can’t shake this feeling she was involved.”
“Then tell the police.”
“But . . . it’s Lauren!”
“Murder is murder. If the police find Lauren suspicious, then let them take care of it. We have a justice system for a reason.”
Jessica turns downcast and turns her attention to calling her uncle. Then she asks, “Lauren will be checking on Tyler at the hospital after school, right?”
“Jess, I care about you and I want the best for my friend. That is why if you start stalking Lauren or interrogate her at the hospital, I’ll tell your uncle about what you’re up to.”
“Relax; I’m not going to do anything that stupid.”
Two hours later, Jessica hovers high over Lauren’s house on her broom, supposedly on a delivery to Port Angeles.
This is petty, Jessica will admit. This is stupid, untrusting, and deceitful. However, Jessica just had to know, even if it means being in the cold. And betraying her uncle’s trust. And abusing her powers as a witch. And possibly harming one of her friendships. And being a creepy stalker.
Jessica pushes her nagging conscious aside as Lauren leaves her house and rides down the street on her bike. Jessica follows Lauren down the road. Later, Lauren diverts from the main road and turns into a forested area, going deeper and deeper until the lights from Forks were visible only to Jessica and her bird’s eye view. The bike stops and Lauren leaves it leaning against a tree. Jessica lowers herself until she is just overhead and hears Lauren muttering.
“. . . qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo, divina virtute in infernum detrude. Amen.”
After a pause, Lauren marches to a small ruined stone cottage, long forgotten by society. When Lauren disappears, Jessica lands and sneaks up to cottage. The last rays of sunlight fade away as Lauren approaches a half-buried coffin with peeling black paint and slowly pulls out a jagged piece of fence post. She cautiously lifts the coffin lid up as the cottage becomes overcast in a dark shadow.
The coffin lid flies open and a black figure tackles Lauren to the ground. As the two fall, Lauren shoves the fence post deep inside the figure’s chest. An inhuman high-pitched shriek pierces the air. The figure retreats to the other side of the cottage and stays there as the black shapes take on a more detailed form. The vampire materializes as a tall, impossibly thin, and red-eyed person. The garbs on the monster appear to be robes that dimmed any possible surrounding light. The very air chilled to unbearably cold degrees.
It bares its long fangs as Lauren pulls out a silver hatchet. Lauren charges at the vampire, but misses as the vampire ducks under her arms. Its fingers wrap around her neck and hoist her high in the air.
Jessica charges in and throws a fireball at the monster. The vampire sidesteps away from the fire, distracted long enough for Lauren to hack off its free arm. It hisses in pain, but the arm grows back as if the creature was nothing more than mist. The vampire knocks the hatchet out of Lauren’s hands and towards Jessica. As Jessica dodges the hatchet, the vampire bites into Lauren’s neck and licks at the blood leaking from the punctures with an impossibly long and pale tongue. Lauren screams in pain and disgust. Her hand grapples for something in her bag and accidentally drops a full water bottle.
Sensing the powerful aura inside the bottle, Jessica dives at the water bottle. Just when she grabs hold of it, a third arm snatches her up and holds her up. Jessica screams as the vampire roars in her face with blood dripping from its tongue. She desperately twists the water bottle’s cap off and flings the water at the demon’s face. Scorching blisters form from every spot where the water touched it and the vampire drops them both to nurse its wounds.
Lauren races for her hatchet and charges right at the vampire. She swings her arms back and hacks the vampire’s head off. Despite losing its head, the vampire’s body rises from the ground and grabs Lauren’s arms. Jessica screams again and throws whatever remaining water at the vampire’s body. The body cringes, and then turns on Jessica. It catches hold of her neck and strangles her. Suddenly, the body dissipates as another high-pitched shriek fills the air. Lauren is seen emptying another water bottle on the head until it burns up, leaving nothing but ashes behind. The air gets warmer and the cottage lightens up just a bit despite the dusk. Jessica sits in the dirt, gasping for air, as Lauren administers first aid to her neck. Several moments pass before either of them breaks the silence.
“What the hell were you doing here? Why did you follow me?” Lauren snaps.
Jessica shouts, “I thought you were the one who killed Granny Esme! I saw you when she died!”
“Yeah, I was the one you saw, but I didn’t kill her! It was this vampire! I was chasing him when you attacked me!”
“I didn’t know that! I didn’t see a vampire! I saw you!”
“Yeah, I figured that one out when you shot icicles at my head!” Lauren snorts and continues pressing against her neck wound. “Stupid garden. I could’ve caught up to Ms. Jones’ killer if those . . . herbs didn’t hold me down!”
A second’s pause goes by before Jessica says, “You got bit . . .”
Lauren shrugs. “It takes consistent multiple bites to transform into that kind of vampire. I’ve been bitten before, too, so I know how to take care of this.” Then Lauren comments, “Looks like I’ll be wearing scarves and turtleneck sweaters for a while.”
“I didn’t know you’re a vampire hunter. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Why should I tell you?”
“You’re my friend! And I’m a witch so it’s not like I’d tell everyone!”
“Don’t forget you stalked me when you thought I killed Ms. Jones.”
Jessica grimaces.
Lauren sighs, “I guess it’s partially my fault. I should’ve showed myself to you when you saw me at Ms. Jones’ house. It would have saved us a lot of pain. Still, you shouldn’t stalk people.”
“I’m sorry, Lauren.”
“Me, too. I’ll be straight with you for now on.”
“Angela, too. Her family raises dragons.”
“Angela’s father already knows that I hunt vampires. I just told him not to tell anyone. Where do you think I get the holy water?”
“But her family is Lutheran, and I heard you say a Catholic prayer.”
“When you fight evil spirits, it’s best not to mess with details over which denomination of your faith is technically correct.”
“. . . What are we going to do now?”
“Well, first,” Lauren says, “I need you to call my parents or your uncle, whoever’s faster. I need to get to the ER.”
“I’ll call my uncle. How am I going to cover up the stalking thing, though?”
“I’d say tell him the truth, but that would be hypocritical of me since I didn’t tell you the truth about Ms. Jones. Tell him I called you.” As Jessica starts dialing, Lauren adds, “Promise me you’ll never follow me anywhere without my say, and I’ll let this one slide.”
Jessica gives a nervous, shaky smile. “I promise, Lauren. I’ll never do that again.”
“Good. Now start calling someone before my vision gets fuzzy.”
Jessica hits the call button. “. . . Wait, what about the Cullens? Isn’t kind of obvious to anyone involved with the supernatural that they’re vampires?”
“I already investigated them. The Cullens are just pretentious asses. What kind of threat are they when we have real vampires running around?”
no subject
no subject
no subject
I love this line! :D
no subject
Please, tell me you'll continue! I wanna see Lauren and Jess vs. the Cullens or... well, really I just wanna see more of this 'verse, in general!
no subject