“Please grandma… please stop this… I… I really can’t do this anymore…” Pleaded the girl in her cries as she sat at one corner of the room holding both her legs closer to her chest and rocked herself softly back and front like a little girl begging for forgiveness for a crime, which she did not even commit.
“Stop this? After what I have gone through? When we are reaching this close? Have you forgotten how your sister died? Have you forgotten what they did to her? Have you forgotten all this Selena?” Her voice had this one influential factor that made Selena shivered
“But… but I can’t go on and kill them… please… I don’t want to do this anymore… please…”
“You think I really want to do this Selena? I know its hurting you… you think I really want to hurt you? I will never let anyone hurt our family anymore… no more…” Said the old lady in a consoling mannered as she approached the poor girl and brushed her long brunette hair lovingly as she touched and wiped the tears away from her granddaughter’s cheeks.
Selena only watched as her heart gripped with fear, an unleashed fear.
“Then… then… why… why… why are you making me do this?” Asked Selena in her sobs.
“Hush now… I know… I have to make you do this for me… I’m sorry my dear… I… I’m just doing my duty as your guardian… I am doing my job and my responsibility to take good care of you as what I have promised to your parents before they died… to take care of you and Sabrina… Sabrina was such a nice girl… she never hurt anyone… she loves me… how could anyone be so evil as to kill my precious baby… she is so innocent… they killed her and I’m just punishing them for what they did!” Her grandmother’s calm and consoling tone changed in a split second into a loud and fiery one. It was darkened with vengeance.
Her grandmother stopped her loving touch on Selena’s cheeks, instead she stood up and walked towards Selena’s dressing table where she took out the sacred dagger out of the drawer.
“But she’s already dead grandma… even by killing them won’t bring her back… you know that and we all know that-”
“Shut up! You should be in this with me and not going against me… you have seen it yourself how I punished those people who are responsible for Sabrina’s death… anyone who is going against me will face the same fate, understand!” Selena had no choice but to nod in fear. She knew her grandmother too well to even think of going against her wish or command. The icy stare from her grandmother was enough to tie up all her intestines into one big knot.
Four years have passed and within those painful four years, Selena remembered how her grandmother changed. She spent most of her time locking herself up in the room learning and practicing black magic spells, which she had learnt during her younger days. Ever since she had her own family, she had promised Selena’s late grandfather that she will stop practicing those spells but because of Sabrina’s death, she broke her own promise.
In that four years too, Selena realized that she had not only lost her beloved twin sister but also her grandmother. The figure standing before her was no longer the cheerful, loving and forgiving sweet old lady who lived her life in simplicity but instead, the one standing in front of her was an old woman with evil plan who will go to any extent as long as her revenge be accomplished.
Selena was not sure how long she has been in a daze and by the time she faced the reality bites, she felt a sharp pain slicing through her palm. There was nothing much that she can do, in fact she was powerless and weak. The process of filling up the faded golden bowl was exhausting her and she knew sooner or later, she will die for losing blood. After having the bowl filled up with the sweet virgin blood of her twenty-one year old granddaughter, she pushed the helpless girl aside and walked out of the room with great satisfaction glowing on her face.
“Please… help me… please grandma…” Cried Selena but none of her cries or pleads were heard as the door was shut leaving her alone to console herself with her tears.
Selena forced herself up from the floor and looked out of her window, which was secured by metallic grills so as to prevent her from running away. Even if the window was bare and naked without any grills or wooden planks, there was no way she can ever escape from her grandmother. She had tried before and it turned out to be one fatal mistake. Everything was planned a few days before the attempt and she thought she had it well prepared.
She will go to her twin sister’s grave a day before the actual killing took place to make some offerings and chanted some mantras as a source of summoning her soul from the other world. After chanting and did the usual rites, Selena kissed her sister’s tomb as to bid her final farewell. She wanted to leave the house, the town and those dark memories. She wanted to start life afresh but just as she thought she was about to lead a new life, a sudden major punching pain began to attack her maliciously that she felt her eyeballs almost goggled out.
Each time the pain attacked her, it was like having the hole drills drilling her temples at the same time. It was then she realized, her grandmother had discovered her plan and put her on a spell. The only way to relief the pain was to go back home to her grandmother. Knowing how precious she was in that crucial project, her grandmother did not punish her for trying to run away from home, instead she was locked in her room for days without food as a sign that nothing escaped from her grandmother’s eyes.
Those were the moments she hated most in her life. To be kept as prisoner in her own home and to be used by someone whom she trusted most was like having a sharp knife stuck at her back for the rest of her life.
Selena released a soft sigh as she stared at the dark sky outside. It was beautiful glittered with thousands of stars. Selena used to wish upon those stars but not anymore. She has lost all her hopes for a miracle and there was nothing left to wish for. Even if she makes a wish for each star high up in the sky, she knew none would come true.
Slowly she wiped off her tears. It was not the first time she felt that way of being hurt and betrayed but each time had always been a first-time for her. If it was not for the pain that gave her a constant reminder of her living in death, she would have lost sight of herself. Even the reflection on the mirror showed a stranger instead of her. Sometimes she wondered how much more tears she had to shed before everything will finally be over.
She shook her head lightly and stared at her palm. The blood had dried up but that did not bother her at all as she focused on other visible ugly marks and scars to prove what kind of a life she had as a teenager. While other girls of her age had all the time to enjoy and savour all those precious moments with their friends, school and family, she was being outcast simply because her grandmother wanted to protect her from suffering the same fate as her twin sister. She shook her head again and steadied herself to her bed. The jabbing pain in her head had stopped and in a slow motion she laid her head down on a soft pillow. The cut was left unattended. Perhaps she was too hurt in her heart to even mind the cut. In her tears too, she slowly fell asleep.
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The moment they stepped inside the hospital, almost all eyes went on them. There were a few patients waiting at the lobby for their turn to be consulted by the doctors on duty, a few nurses stationed at the reception area and two security guards making their usual rounds before they went back to their respective patrolling station in the hospital. Sam and Dean exchanged looks before Dean raised his eyebrow as a signal for them to move on.
Even though it was the first time they were in that hospital, they were treated with wide smiles and warmth friendliness from some of the staff there.
“Night Doctor…” Greeted one of the nurses who was believed to be in her mid thirties.
“Oh good night…”
“Angie.”
“Oh yes… night to you too Angie…” Dean reciprocated with a smile.
“Thanks… I’ve never seen you both in here before… who are you and which department are you from?” Sam turned to Dean who gave him a raised in the eyebrows as he tried to shoot for a name on the department part.
“Oh… we’re actually from eerr…” By this time, Sam knew Dean needed help.
“We are from the Health Records Department. I’m Doctor Maney and this is Doctor Steve.” Sam replied as he showed his ID.
“Right right… so you guys are from the Health Records Department… but I thought the HR Department has closed for the day?”
“Oh yes they… I mean we do but we are here on an assignment… we are from Alexander Hospital actually… we were sent to look at the recent killing cases. You know how they want us to submit a report and stuff… I hate reports.” Dean said in his casual mannered. It was not the best acting from him but enough to convince the nurse.
“I see… well, then I guess the best person to show you around would be Professor White but he’s not in at the moment… why are you coming this late? Can’t wait for tomorrow?” She asked again, not leaving the suspicious stare away from the brothers.
“I wish we can but the reports kinda urgent… they want to finish up with the other records and stuff… you know these people, they can hardly wait. If they want it that day, then you need to finish it up on that day itself… not a minute later. So where can we find this Professor?”
“Well… Doctor Steve… you can take the lift here and go to the 2nd floor and turn to your right. You will then see a Post-Mortem Laboratory… I think he should be back in half to one hour’s time… maybe you guys can take a rest first at the cafeteria?”
“Thank you so much for your assistant… we really appreciate that!” Dean said as she took the nurse’s hand and gave her a warmth handshake. Pleased by Dean’s action, the nurse gave him a pat on his shoulders and shone a smile at Sam.
“Do look for me if you need any help.”
“Sure we will! Thanks!” Dean gave a short wave and led Sam to the lift. The moment they were inside the life, Sam gave a short relief sigh.
“What was that all about? Alexander Hospital? Where did that come from?” Sam asked as he continued to breathe in deeply.
“I saw the name from one of the files… speaking about me, where did that Health Records Department come from?” Chuckled Dean.
“I watched ER alright.”
“Haha… someone is watching TV afterall.” Dean teased his younger brother as they walked out of the lift.
“Haha… is that even supposed to be something amusing?” Sam asked as he rolled his eyes.
“Well… at least to me!” Dean said as he fastened his pace and walked ahead of Sam.
After following the earlier directions given by the nurse, the two brothers walked on until they came across a medium-sized green board with dark green letterings of “Post-Mortem Laboratory”. Sam kept a lookout while Dean used his expertise to break in the laboratory by just slotting a card.
“You sure the body is still here?” Sam asked as he closed the door softly behind him.
“There’s only one way to find out.” Dean said as he walked towards the movable metallic bed at the centre of the room. Occasionally he would stop and turned back at Sam wondering sometimes why he had to do the dirty job. Sam gestured with his hands for Dean to move on and Dean reciprocated that with a “I know” kind of smirk. Then he took out his EMF meter and pointed to all directions to detect for any paranormal activity in the room. The reading indicated the temperature to be as normal so Dean kept the portable instrument back in his pocket.
“Quick Dean! We don’t have all night!” Sam had no intention of interrupting but if Dean continued to take his own sweet time, he afraid that they might be caught for trespassing and worst still if they had to spend the night in the cell.
“I know I know… don’t hurry me!” Whispered Dean as he pulled up the white cloth.
Watching a pale dead body was never a beautiful sight for both of them. They had seen blood splattering around and body parts been dismantled but the sight before their very eyes indeed took them by surprise. Dean studied the motionless figure lying cold on the operating table with stitches on the body and compared it with the picture he had brought along with him earlier on.
Weird how the man in the picture who once looked so suave and full suddenly became deflated as if something else has sucked his entire flesh. Even though it was merely left with thin layer of skin covering the white bone, still he cannot figure out how his death was linked up to be the cause of sudden heart attack or hypertension of blood pressure. In fact his lips were purplish and his eyes were all white. Not a sign of a natural death to them. Dean turned to Sam and Sam shared that look as they both knew something else killed him.
“I don’t think… any doctors can verify the actual cause of his death huh?” Whispered Sam.
“Come on Sammie! You don’t expect them to go all out and say “the victims were being sucked up by some supernatural force”? All these are just cover up… you know to keep the record clean.” Continued Dean.
“So… what do you think we should do now?”
“I think for a start… maybe you can take pictures of this body and…we’ll see what we can find from there.” Suggested Dean as he walked around the table and took the report file hanging next to the bed.
Without protesting, Sam took out his digital camera and began to snap pictures of the dead body from all different angles. Once in a while he would stop to gain more composure of himself. He wondered how much have Dean seen in his so-called short hunting trips. How many dead bodies have he witnessed and how many demons have he killed.
“Sammie? Sammie! Are you alright?” Dean asked when he saw Sam stood still looking at him.
“Yeah I’m fine… so, what do you get from there?” Sam asked as he continued with his photographing.
“Not much… just some scribbles here and there… I wonder how people can actually understand a doctor’s handwriting?” Dean was busy browsing at the information when suddenly the door opened.
“Who… who are you people? How did you get into my lab? What are you doing with my corpse? And you… put the report down before I call for the security!” Threatened the old man as he pointed at Dean with his walking stick.
“Look Sir… please… we can explain-”
“Explain what? You barge into my lab without my permission and that is enough to land you both into deep trouble!” Said the man as he continued raising his voice in a threatening mannered.
“Please let me explain… we’re from Alexander Hospital and we were-”
“I knew it! I knew it!” Interrupted the old man as he shook his head.
“Sorry?” Dean asked again.
“I knew those people over there thought we were fabricating stories about the dead bodies here and thought I am not doing my job just because I am going to retire soon… they thought I can’t handle these stuff… what a joke! I’ve been in this line for more than twenty-years and yet they still send some… fresh amateurs to look at the things here.” He continued without giving Dean a chance to finish up his explanation. The situation would have not been in their favour if its not for that crucial give-away.
“Sorry to make you feel that way but… you know, just like you… we are merely doing our job… it sucks that we need to drive all the way here just to see these fleshless corpses… but… we do have a few questions for you if you don’t mind…” Dean wet his lips as he approached the older man.
“What is it?”
“After looking at the body, we realized that… its not a typical symptom of someone dying due to lack of oxygen in the head or heart attack as per to the report we received the other time.” Dean tried to be more careful with the information he gave so as not to arise any suspicious thoughts from the old man. The old man shook his head and limped his way to the body.
“You boys are still young… there are many things that you need to know when you get into this line. Things that you need to know as to when and how to cover up so that the media as well as the higher authority can stop bugging us with questions as to why and what all the time. And you… you are right my boy… that is not a typical symptom of lacking of oxygen in the head or heart attack but due to the blood being sucked out in one great force.” The explanation fascinated Dean as it proved his guess was right all the while but what could have caused that. So far he has not heard of any demon capable of doing that, or maybe there is now since the evidence was clear-cut right in front of him but what was it and how to kill it.
“Blood being sucked up in one great force? That doesn’t make sense to me.” Sam said.
“Of course… its not something that a man can do… its more like… I know this sounds a little bit stupid and silly but…”
“Its okay… you can say it, we’re listening.” Sam continued.
“Its just something that a supernatural force can do… killing someone without causing much pain but at the same time, sucking all the air and blood from a victim’s body… that alone cannot be determined by any Scientific reasons or medical explanation.” Explained the old man with full of hands gestures.
“So in other words, can I take it that the other three victims were suffering from the same thing as well? Air and blood sucked out from the victims?” The old man hung his glasses down from the beck of his nose after getting that question from Sam. He smiled at the brothers.
“That’s what I figure out. I’ve been in this line for more than twenty years… and this is the first time I am seeing such corpses… ironic that these victims were friends in life and suffered the same fate in death.”
“You know them?” This time, it was Dean who asked.
“Of course… I mean not personally till the day I got to cut them up for post-mortem.” Laughed the old man as he walked back to his table with the brothers followed him from behind. “I know them since the day they were put on trial for the raping and killing a young girl.” As though they could understand each other through telepathy, both brothers gave each other a quick smile before they turned back to the old man.
“You mean as… the girl being raped and murdered by these four victims?” Dean asked to confirm.
“Yes but I guess it pays off to have an influential parents in the town so they managed to escape from the gallows or life imprisonment.” Then the old man paused. His short pause cause a weird atmosphere in the room, as if the air was filled with regrets and grieves.
“Are you alright?” Dean asked.
“I’m fine… its just that… now that you mention about the case… I can practically see the poor girl lying on that same bed.”
“You mean…”
“Yeah… I was in charged of making the post-mortem report on the girl. She was raped and killed. I took the DNA and sent it over for process but…”
“What happen?” Sam asked again.
“But I was told that the only strong evidence has been tampered with and that its tainted with other DNA that the Court ruled that out as part of the evidence. The five of them went on trial but managed to escape when the magistrate decided to dismiss the case… now, four years later, four of them are already dead…”
“So you think its something to do with that case?” Dean let Sam did all the questioning until he can find a question himself.
“I don’t know young man… I’m not a magician or someone who can tell you what or who caused the deaths of these men but as a human being, I could have that as my first guess.”
“You know the name of the girl who was raped and murdered?” Dean took out his pen and waited for the old man to mention a name.
“Now… you need to give this old man some time to remember…” The old man then stared hard in the empty space in front of him as he creased his forehead and then bit his upper lips to recall the name. “I really need to apply for an advance retirement I guess… let me see…” He laughed and stopped abruptly to put on his thinking cap again. Sam and Dean forced a short laugh as they exchanged glances and waited anxiously.
“Well… you know what… I think its okay Mr….” It was Dean now who tried to remember his name as mentioned by Nurse Angie earlier on.
“Just call me Professor White… everyone calls me that in here.”
“Yes yes… Professor White… I think its getting late and we better make a move first… if we should need anymore information about these… we’ll get back to you again.” Dean stretched out his hands for a shake.
“Sure… just come in and perhaps a knock beforehand the next time you come in would be nice.” Said Professor White in sarcasm but still with a wide smile on his face.
“Yeah sure… sorry about that… we’ll definitely give you a knock first before we enter next time.”
“By the way… what’s your name?” Professor White turned to Dean.
“I’m… I’m Doctor Steve… and this is my colleague, Doctor Maney. Thanks so much for your time… I think we better get going now and won’t disturb you with your work… ”
“Sure… no problem at all…”
Just when Sam and Dean made their way out of the post-mortem laboratory, Professor White called out to them.
“Doctor Steve… just out of curiosity… how did both of you get in here without my key?” Dean looked at Sam and Sam gave him the you-are-on-your-own-dude kind of look.
“Oh… we… the door was not locked earlier on.” The professor gave Dean an unconvincing look on his face.
“It was not lock?”
“Yeah… we asked around and someone showed us to your room and said you most probably be in and that’s when we went in. We were surprised too that its not lock.”
“Oh… I am really getting old now… I need to retire early before I forget to do anything else…” Mumbled the old professor as he closed the door behind him.
The minute the door was shut, they both released heavy relief sighs. Dean could still feel his heartbeat drilling to the maximum rate whereas for Sam, each time the old professor turned to him, he felt a long pause in his heartbeat.
“That was good.” Dean said as he patted on his brother’s shoulder.
“Yeah right… we were this close just now… this close of spending the night in the station.” Continued Sam as he shook his head.
“Oh come on Sammie! Everything just turned out fine isn’t it?”
“And its all thanks to your smart-butt talking cap!”
“Yeah, thanks to my smart-butt talking cap that it saved your butt and mine earlier on.”
“You should cause you are making me put my butt in this one!”
“Right… talk as if I’m not putting mine in it-”
“Night Doctor Steve… night Doctor Maney.” Greeted one of the nurses who walked passed by them.
“Night…” Dean and Sam greeted in unison. Her sashay attracted Dean as he continued to look at her without a blink.
“Did you see that?”
“What?” Asked Sam anxiously.
“Nice butt!”
“Oh stop it Dean-”
“Hey! We are still in the hospital so call me Doctor Steve.”
“Yeah yeah yeah whatever…” Said Sam as he rolled his eyes and fastened his pace to exit the main lobby and walked out towards the parking lot. Dean walked and making full use of the attention he got by some of the nurses at the reception counter as well the ones in the main lobby before he finally got himself out of the hospital and walked to his car with a huge grin on his face.
“Let’s go!”
“Where are we going?”
“We’ll go back to our room, take a hot shower… enjoy supper and sleep well for tonight before we go and pay Annie a visit to know more about this guy… and then we’ll work things out from there.”
“Sounds logical to me.”
“As always.”
“I know I shouldn’t have said that.” Sam said as he rolled his eyes for the second time that night and shook his head lightly while Dean laughed at him. After spending three weeks on the road together, in a way they both managed to adapt to each other’s way of handling things. Dean felt their relationship as brothers became closer than before while Sam began to realize what he had missed in their relationship as brothers.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Chapter 4 is up and i hope to hear more of your reviews/comments on my story so that i can improve more on it. Your reviews are highly appreciated and thanks in advance for spending some time reading this!
