Summer Solstice by Denny
Being Human fic: Summer Solstice by Denny
Rating: R
Word Count: 1670
Characters: Annie, Nina, George, Mitchell
Summary: Can a Sorcerer Help George and Mitchell Save Annie?
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. Not may characters, just playing around.
Spoilers: Through Season 3
___________________________
"Let’s Make A Deal, Mitchell"
He takes a whiff of the air. He can smell it. The sweetness of human sweat, the aroma of human desire. He knows exactly where he must go to taste it. To fill his belly with blood. He glances at Nina first, sensing her fear, her anger and her love. He doesn’t want George to know anything either. He has to protect him, too. Neither one of them can ever know why he’s choosing this path. They’ll think he’s a fool, or maybe a god. Their savior. Because only fools or gods make such deadly decisions.
Annie on Channel One
I was lying at the bottom of the winding staircase, thinking I’m not dead. It was only a moment ago that I was walking, smiling and talking. Making love, drinking tea and eating berry pies. But now, when I tried to move I couldn’t. My neck was broken and the girl I had been was gone. Nothing left of her but a twisted body, empty of life, lying on her back at the bottom of the stairs.
That was two years ago, and since then I’ve learned who I am. What I am. I learned to see what was real from what was fantasy. I might be a ghost, but I was not an empty shell.
For two years, I learned to cope. To figure it all out. My two best friends helped me, and my enemies could not harm me.
So, why wasn’t peace of mind my reward for being a good ghost? For staying innocent in a world of horrors, and cruelties so immense they made a werewolf cry and a vampire insane.
When our little world went wrong, I was lost. Caught with no way out. Dragged through a one-way door, kicking and screaming. Was this to be my eternity?
I don’t like being in this in-between place. I wanted to be in the pink house in Bristol. I wanted to make tea. As George would say, so much tea, there was never any tea when he wanted it.
It’s so scary here. Much scarier than when I died - the first time. God, I hope they find a way to get me out.
* * *
Hellish Way to Start a Day
“Tell me you’ve found a way to reach her?” George had to pace. It was the only way to keep from losing his mind. “You swear that this Sorcerer is certain he can suss out a way to save her?” Silence. Long numbing silence. The room exploded with the lack of response. Was he speaking to thin air? “Mitchell?” He called out. “Nina?”
The vampire sat with his feet on the kitchen table, ankles crossed, holding a mug of coffee in his hand, staring at it blankly. Nina, George's girlfriend, the love of his life, stood next to the stove, a hand on her hip with her lower lip curled into an angry snarl. Lately she was always angry.
Still neither one of them said a word.
“Are you just going to sit there like a lump?” He shouted at Mitchell. Nina was too twitchy to attack head on.
Mitchell let out a long, exasperated breath.
Was he finally going to speak? George’s eyes widened in anticipation.
“What do you think, George?” Mitchell’s voice rose oddly. “Is she watching us on the telly? Sitting in a big room with other ghosts, watching Dr. Who, and dreaming about teleporting out of hell?”
George thought he would scream. They’d been down this path a dozen times. When was Mitchell going to understand Annie wasn’t at a garden party? She’d talked to them through the fucking telly. Didn’t that register? She was in hell. So why ask what she was doing? “She’s in hell and she’s suffering you blimey fool! And if we don’t get up off our arses, she’ll be in hell for eternity.”
The hairs on George’s neck stabbed into his flesh like daggers. “We’ve got to save her, do you hear me?” He wanted to smack Mitchell’s feet off the table and beat some common sense into his thick skull. So, what was stopping him? He moved toward the kitchen table, but suddenly Nina grabbed him, stopping him in his tracks.
“Leave him alone, George.”
Nina’s strength surprised him more and more each day. Unable to move, he stared at the vampire whom he used to think he knew better than any other creature on Earth. Well, except for Nina. Until lately. He glanced at her, but she wouldn’t look him in the eye.
“Nina’s right, you know?” Mitchell swung his legs from the table. “You should stay calm, and leave me alone right now.”
Mitchell and Nina understood each other better than George did, he mused. Their meeting of the minds started before Annie vanished. The two of them bonded after Mitchell went on a killing spree, murdering a dozen or more human beings. If George weren’t so focused on getting Annie back, he might be bloody jealous. “Will one of you say something that remotely resembles common sense?”
“What would you have us say, George?” Nina rounded the table, moving from the stove to his side. “In order to save Annie, we’ve cut a deal with a Sorcerer.”
George fought the urge to squeal like a woman. “You want to play with magic? None of us know shit about magic.” He pressed his fingers to his temples and squeezed his eyes shut. American television flashed across his mind’s eye. Danger Will Robinson. Danger. “It won’t work, I tell you. Won’t work at all.”
Jumping to his feet, Mitchell circled the kitchen table, his steps lighting fast and his face a scowl. “Nina invited the Sorcerer here. We’ll meet him in two hours and see what he has to say. That’s all we’re doing George. Having a go at a meeting.”
Mitchell’s eyes were dark circles, filled with dreary pain. When he stopped walking, he steadied himself by placing a hand on the tabletop. “I’m going out for a while,” he announced.
“Where?” George asked.
“I need a drink.”
“Coffee? We’ve got plenty here.”
“I need to go out.”
“You can’t!” George shouted. “You’ve got to stay here. All three of us should be here when the Sorcerer arrives.” George looked from Mitchell to Nina who was back at the stove, busying herself with pots and pans.
Mitchell chuckled humorlessly. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill anyone unless I can’t get out of here right now.”
George rushed at Mitchell, his eyes flaming, and pressed a forearm to the vampire’s throat. “You can’t leave.”
“I just need fresh air, okay?”
George increased the pressure to Mitchell’s windpipe, a pointless gesture, but he couldn’t stop himself. “We have to stick together to save Annie. We can’t let what’s happened in the past few months destroy us.”
Mitchell’s eyes took on another shade of black. The pupils expanding until the whites of his eyes were gone.
Then all of a sudden Nina was between them, her small frame barely reaching George’s chest as she shoved them apart with one thrust.
“Let him go, George. He’s telling the truth. He won’t kill anymore. He can’t. His heart isn’t in it anymore.”
Mitchell rubbed his hands over his eyes, as they returned to normal. The pain in his face made George want to weep.
“The Sorcerer will be here in an hour. Will you be back by then?” Nina held Mitchell’s hands in hers and looked up into his face. “Promise you will return in an hour.”
“I promise.” He backed out of the kitchen, grabbed his coat off a hook near the back door and strode out the front door of the cottage.
Watching the door close behind Mitchell, Nina tucked the hairs hanging in her face behind her ears before turning to George. “The Sorcerer said we must get her out before the Summer Solstice. That gives us three days.”
“Summer Solstice? The next thing you know you’ll say we need to find a witch.” George waved his hands in frustration. “It’s bad enough to follow the instructions of a Sorcerer, which is just a fancy title for a man witch?”
“Wizard, George. A male witch is a wizard.”
* * *
"I Never Intended to Live Forever."
“I can save her?” Mitchell lifted his head to gaze up at the sky. The clouds rolled by thick and black.
“If the others find out what you're planning to do,” the Sorcerer said. “I cannot guarantee her safety.”
Mitchell shifted his weight. The park bench was hard and unyielding. “But what should we tell them?”
The Sorcerer swiped at his nose. It had started to rain and they were sitting in the middle of a treeless garden. “Don’t worry about them. They are focused on getting through the door. We will be going in another way.”
Mitchell stood up, a melancholy came over him so powerful it felt like a dagger was being plunged into his chest. “How old are you?”
“One thousand years old.”
“Is it true? Does age bring clarity.”
“You’ll have to answer that question for yourself.” The Sorcerer rose. He was very tall, but other than that nondescript. No fiercely built physique or glowing red eyes. A willow of a man weearing a long trench coat and black leather gloves.
“I will meet you here tomorrow morning?”
“You will meet another,” The Sorcerer replied. “She will lead you.”
Mitchell shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “When you bring Annie back, don’t forget to keep her out of the weather. She won’t be able to tolerate the rain and the wind in the beginning.”
“I know,” The Sorcerer sighed. “It’s hard being human.”
The End.
(Note: There may be more...but we'll see.)
Rating: R
Word Count: 1670
Characters: Annie, Nina, George, Mitchell
Summary: Can a Sorcerer Help George and Mitchell Save Annie?
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. Not may characters, just playing around.
Spoilers: Through Season 3
___________________________
"Let’s Make A Deal, Mitchell"
He takes a whiff of the air. He can smell it. The sweetness of human sweat, the aroma of human desire. He knows exactly where he must go to taste it. To fill his belly with blood. He glances at Nina first, sensing her fear, her anger and her love. He doesn’t want George to know anything either. He has to protect him, too. Neither one of them can ever know why he’s choosing this path. They’ll think he’s a fool, or maybe a god. Their savior. Because only fools or gods make such deadly decisions.
Annie on Channel One
I was lying at the bottom of the winding staircase, thinking I’m not dead. It was only a moment ago that I was walking, smiling and talking. Making love, drinking tea and eating berry pies. But now, when I tried to move I couldn’t. My neck was broken and the girl I had been was gone. Nothing left of her but a twisted body, empty of life, lying on her back at the bottom of the stairs.
That was two years ago, and since then I’ve learned who I am. What I am. I learned to see what was real from what was fantasy. I might be a ghost, but I was not an empty shell.
For two years, I learned to cope. To figure it all out. My two best friends helped me, and my enemies could not harm me.
So, why wasn’t peace of mind my reward for being a good ghost? For staying innocent in a world of horrors, and cruelties so immense they made a werewolf cry and a vampire insane.
When our little world went wrong, I was lost. Caught with no way out. Dragged through a one-way door, kicking and screaming. Was this to be my eternity?
I don’t like being in this in-between place. I wanted to be in the pink house in Bristol. I wanted to make tea. As George would say, so much tea, there was never any tea when he wanted it.
It’s so scary here. Much scarier than when I died - the first time. God, I hope they find a way to get me out.
* * *
Hellish Way to Start a Day
“Tell me you’ve found a way to reach her?” George had to pace. It was the only way to keep from losing his mind. “You swear that this Sorcerer is certain he can suss out a way to save her?” Silence. Long numbing silence. The room exploded with the lack of response. Was he speaking to thin air? “Mitchell?” He called out. “Nina?”
The vampire sat with his feet on the kitchen table, ankles crossed, holding a mug of coffee in his hand, staring at it blankly. Nina, George's girlfriend, the love of his life, stood next to the stove, a hand on her hip with her lower lip curled into an angry snarl. Lately she was always angry.
Still neither one of them said a word.
“Are you just going to sit there like a lump?” He shouted at Mitchell. Nina was too twitchy to attack head on.
Mitchell let out a long, exasperated breath.
Was he finally going to speak? George’s eyes widened in anticipation.
“What do you think, George?” Mitchell’s voice rose oddly. “Is she watching us on the telly? Sitting in a big room with other ghosts, watching Dr. Who, and dreaming about teleporting out of hell?”
George thought he would scream. They’d been down this path a dozen times. When was Mitchell going to understand Annie wasn’t at a garden party? She’d talked to them through the fucking telly. Didn’t that register? She was in hell. So why ask what she was doing? “She’s in hell and she’s suffering you blimey fool! And if we don’t get up off our arses, she’ll be in hell for eternity.”
The hairs on George’s neck stabbed into his flesh like daggers. “We’ve got to save her, do you hear me?” He wanted to smack Mitchell’s feet off the table and beat some common sense into his thick skull. So, what was stopping him? He moved toward the kitchen table, but suddenly Nina grabbed him, stopping him in his tracks.
“Leave him alone, George.”
Nina’s strength surprised him more and more each day. Unable to move, he stared at the vampire whom he used to think he knew better than any other creature on Earth. Well, except for Nina. Until lately. He glanced at her, but she wouldn’t look him in the eye.
“Nina’s right, you know?” Mitchell swung his legs from the table. “You should stay calm, and leave me alone right now.”
Mitchell and Nina understood each other better than George did, he mused. Their meeting of the minds started before Annie vanished. The two of them bonded after Mitchell went on a killing spree, murdering a dozen or more human beings. If George weren’t so focused on getting Annie back, he might be bloody jealous. “Will one of you say something that remotely resembles common sense?”
“What would you have us say, George?” Nina rounded the table, moving from the stove to his side. “In order to save Annie, we’ve cut a deal with a Sorcerer.”
George fought the urge to squeal like a woman. “You want to play with magic? None of us know shit about magic.” He pressed his fingers to his temples and squeezed his eyes shut. American television flashed across his mind’s eye. Danger Will Robinson. Danger. “It won’t work, I tell you. Won’t work at all.”
Jumping to his feet, Mitchell circled the kitchen table, his steps lighting fast and his face a scowl. “Nina invited the Sorcerer here. We’ll meet him in two hours and see what he has to say. That’s all we’re doing George. Having a go at a meeting.”
Mitchell’s eyes were dark circles, filled with dreary pain. When he stopped walking, he steadied himself by placing a hand on the tabletop. “I’m going out for a while,” he announced.
“Where?” George asked.
“I need a drink.”
“Coffee? We’ve got plenty here.”
“I need to go out.”
“You can’t!” George shouted. “You’ve got to stay here. All three of us should be here when the Sorcerer arrives.” George looked from Mitchell to Nina who was back at the stove, busying herself with pots and pans.
Mitchell chuckled humorlessly. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill anyone unless I can’t get out of here right now.”
George rushed at Mitchell, his eyes flaming, and pressed a forearm to the vampire’s throat. “You can’t leave.”
“I just need fresh air, okay?”
George increased the pressure to Mitchell’s windpipe, a pointless gesture, but he couldn’t stop himself. “We have to stick together to save Annie. We can’t let what’s happened in the past few months destroy us.”
Mitchell’s eyes took on another shade of black. The pupils expanding until the whites of his eyes were gone.
Then all of a sudden Nina was between them, her small frame barely reaching George’s chest as she shoved them apart with one thrust.
“Let him go, George. He’s telling the truth. He won’t kill anymore. He can’t. His heart isn’t in it anymore.”
Mitchell rubbed his hands over his eyes, as they returned to normal. The pain in his face made George want to weep.
“The Sorcerer will be here in an hour. Will you be back by then?” Nina held Mitchell’s hands in hers and looked up into his face. “Promise you will return in an hour.”
“I promise.” He backed out of the kitchen, grabbed his coat off a hook near the back door and strode out the front door of the cottage.
Watching the door close behind Mitchell, Nina tucked the hairs hanging in her face behind her ears before turning to George. “The Sorcerer said we must get her out before the Summer Solstice. That gives us three days.”
“Summer Solstice? The next thing you know you’ll say we need to find a witch.” George waved his hands in frustration. “It’s bad enough to follow the instructions of a Sorcerer, which is just a fancy title for a man witch?”
“Wizard, George. A male witch is a wizard.”
* * *
"I Never Intended to Live Forever."
“I can save her?” Mitchell lifted his head to gaze up at the sky. The clouds rolled by thick and black.
“If the others find out what you're planning to do,” the Sorcerer said. “I cannot guarantee her safety.”
Mitchell shifted his weight. The park bench was hard and unyielding. “But what should we tell them?”
The Sorcerer swiped at his nose. It had started to rain and they were sitting in the middle of a treeless garden. “Don’t worry about them. They are focused on getting through the door. We will be going in another way.”
Mitchell stood up, a melancholy came over him so powerful it felt like a dagger was being plunged into his chest. “How old are you?”
“One thousand years old.”
“Is it true? Does age bring clarity.”
“You’ll have to answer that question for yourself.” The Sorcerer rose. He was very tall, but other than that nondescript. No fiercely built physique or glowing red eyes. A willow of a man weearing a long trench coat and black leather gloves.
“I will meet you here tomorrow morning?”
“You will meet another,” The Sorcerer replied. “She will lead you.”
Mitchell shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “When you bring Annie back, don’t forget to keep her out of the weather. She won’t be able to tolerate the rain and the wind in the beginning.”
“I know,” The Sorcerer sighed. “It’s hard being human.”
The End.
(Note: There may be more...but we'll see.)