Mommy Dearest: Chapter 3 and 4
Title: Mommy Dearest
Author: Solarbaby
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything but the plot.
Words: 687
Chapter 3 Summary: What is the true nature of the beast?
Chapter 4 Summary: Scorpina thinks and Casey panics.
Spoilers: None.
Notes: After some serious writers block, I finally have this chapter finished. does the chapter 3 happy dance It’s a little short but I promise they will get longer.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Chapter 3/?
Hush now baby, baby, don’t you cry.
Mother’s gonna make all your nightmares come true.
Mother’s gonna put all her fears into you.”
-Pink Floyd
There was blood everywhere. It was on the walls, seats, and even the floor was soaked with it. A squishy sound was made as he padded barefoot across the floor, tracking it down the stairs. He was just as bloodied as his surroundings, having it caked in his hair, on his face, soaking into his clothes with every step he would take. Almost none of it was his own.
He looked down at the body lying in his path as he reached the bottom of the stair. The once blue shirt was now an obnoxious shade of purple in most places, stained by blood. He leaned down on his hunches and tisked at the once proud jaguar. Pulling himself to his feet, he unceremoniously kicked the body out of the way.
Continuing his decent into the room, a noise caught his attention.
His grip tightened on the curved set of blades in his hands. Smirking, he called out. “I know that you’re here. Why don’t you come out and play?” He closed his eyes and listen. Ah, there it was. The faint sound of breathing came from his left. His pray had been spotted.
Not even trying to be quiet, he approached the corner. Leaned against the wall, bloody and clearly warn out, the man had his eyes clinched tightly shut.
“Oh, how the mighty have fallen.” He was slightly disappointed that he wouldn’t get more of a fight from this prey.
The man gave a jerk and his eye’s snapped open, panicky. Gasping breaths, he seemed to push himself farther against the wall. “Ca… Casey. Why?”
Casey laughed and sat down on his knees. “Come on RJ, this has been a long time coming. Every clue I gave. Every time I tried to make you see. Didn’t any of this give you clue to the fact that something was clearly wrong?” He leaned forward till he was literally a breath away from him. His eyes were glinting gold and RJ flinched away. “I am what I was always meant to be. My mother’s son.”
“Casey…” RJ’s voice was quiet. “But why? Lily… Theo… god, even Fran…”
“Why not? They were in my way.” He gave a nonchalant shrug.
“They were your friends. I was your friend.”
“Friends are a waste. A weakness. And I refuse to ever be weak again.” He leaned in and licked away a fresh stray line of blood that was traveling down RJ’s cheek. Casey’s breath brushed against his ear as he whispered, “Goodbye, RJ.”
And he buried the blades into RJ’s gut.
oOoOoOoOo
“NO!” Casey jarred awake as he hit the floor gasping, his blankets still tangles around his legs. Above him, his hammock swung innocently. “Oh god!”
“Casey?”
He looked up to see Lily’s worried face hovering above him.
“Shhh…” Casey hugged the young woman closer as she continued to cry. “It’s going to be alright, Lil.”
“But Fran… Who could do such a thing?” She buried herself further into his embrace, taking the comfort he was so freely giving.
“Don’t worry, the pain’s going to stop soon.” Then with one quick slash, his blade crossed her throat. Casey stood up, dumping the body to the floor and giving a stretch. He leaned down, quickly wiping the blade off on her yellow shirt and moved to go wash his hands.
“Casey, what’s wrong?” Lily reached down to place a hand on his shoulder, only to have him flinch away. “Casey?”
He could barely breathe. The feeling was still there. The blood was all over him. On his hands, his face, he could even feel weighing down his clothes. He looked up to see her reaching toward him once again. Casey shot out of her reach and flew into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.
“Casey!” Her voice was muffled through the door. “RJ! Theo!”
“What?!”
There was a conversation of voices outside the door, but he didn’t care. Casey slid down to the floor and buried his face in his hands. His mother’s voice echoed inside of his head.
“What will happen when your nature gets the best of you?”
Chapter 4/?
“So you don’t think that I’m crazy for wanting to go to a human academy.”
“Oh no, I think that you’re delusional. However, Mom did say that I could have your room after you leave.”
“Thanks. Your faith in me is priceless.”
“Hey, you’re not the one who has had to share a refresher with Dallina for the past eight years.”
-Casey and Sorani, three months before he started at the academy
Scorpina hated times like this, when everything was quiet, peaceful. She reached up and touched one of the delicate flowers that hung from the vine beside her. At her touch, the flower closed up and receded back toward the vine. It was obviously alien in origin and seemed familiar to her. If she thought on it harder, she might have been able to place where she had seen it before. But she didn’t particularly care.
There was nothing to do but wait. It was these times that there was nothing to do but think and she hated that. Thinking caused thoughts unwanted, unbidden to enter her mind. It gave her time to second guess herself.
That was why she preferred living a fast paced life. One where she barely had time to breathe much less anything else. Even when her children were small, they caused enough chaos and havoc for her to move at that speed.
But why was she second guessing herself now? Of all the times? She knew what she was doing, which was what she had always done. She was protecting her child. Still so young, there was no
way he could know what he was getting himself into. Humans were nothing but a nuisance. Sometimes useful nuisances but nuisances none the less. All they caused were pain and degradation, and they were nothing but shallow and manipulative creatures. Their father was the best example.
Just thinking of the man sent the flames of rage coursing through her vanes. Who knew that one who could look so innocent would be so full of treachery? And Casey seemed to be falling into the same trap that she did. But she would be damned is she would let that happen to him. Any and all thoughts of second guessing herself were gone.
Scorpina stood and headed back inside. It was time to see what was taking Camille so long.
oOoOoOoOoOo
“I’m worried about Casey.”
“I’m sure that he’s fine.”
“That’s not true and you know it RJ. He’s barely eating, he’s not sleeping, he’s preoccupied and he’s been so jumpy.”
“Has he been that bad?”
“Yesterday, Fran touched his arm and he jerked away so hard that he fell to the floor, knocking over a table and two chairs.”
“I see. I’ll talk to him.”
oOoOoOoOoOo
The knife glared menacingly in the light. It seemed to almost shine with an inner light as it moved through the air, slicing through its prey with practiced eased. Casey felt a panicked shiver travel up his spin as he watched the juices drip off while the hold paused in her ministrations. “Casey.” She greeted pleasantly.
He looked up to see her smiling face and pushed the panic back down. “Hey, Fran.” Casey tried to give a smile but he wasn’t sure how well it came off. The look she sent him clued him into the fact it didn’t really work.
“You okay?” She sat the knife down beside the peppers and wiped her hands off.
“Yeah. Fine.”
She shot him a look that told him that she didn’t’ believe a word of that. He just shrugged it off and tried for another grin. This one must have worked better because she seemed to relax some. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. I need your help.”
“Sure.”
“I need you to finish chopping these while I get the last of the dishes.” She gestured toward the counter.
Casey glanced at the knife quickly. “Not a problem, Fran.”
“Thanks. We need them done before the next rush.” Fran picked up the knife from the counter and held it out for him.
He gripped the handle when an image flashed through him mind:
It sung through the air, stopping the terrified scream before it came out. Blood splattered on the floor and the counter, staining the uncovered food. There was a grim sense of satisfaction as the body hit the ground. He stuck the knife back in the block and headed for the door.
Casey ignored Fran’s lifeless open eyes as he pushed the body out of the way; there were still some customers left to serve.
“No!” Casey let go of the knife and snatched his hand back as if it had been burnt. It fell to the floor and slid off toward the refrigerator.
Fran had a startled look on her face. “Huh?”
“I can’t.” He was aware that at this point he was shaking; his eyes were still on the knife. Bile began to make its way up his throat. “I’m sorry Fran. I just can’t.” Casey backed away, glancing up at her for the first time since the flash. She took a step for him and that was all it took.
He took off like a bat out of hell.
“Casey!”
The red ranger ignored Fran’s pleas and RJ’s startled face as he shot passed him up the stairs.
oOoOoOoOoOo
“I can’t do this.” Casey leaned against the wall, trying extremely not to hyperventilate. He thought it was over, but that nightmare was everywhere he turned. Maybe his mother was right., caring for human’s caused you nothing but heartache. He wasn’t scared of a lot of things, being his mother’s son. But right now he was afraid of himself. Casey heard the balcony door open and someone step out.
“You alright?”
He looked up from where he had his head buried in his arms. “I’m fine.” Casey lied.
The jaguar shook his head, he wasn’t stupid. His friend was lying through his teeth. If the tiger wasn’t so completely obvious, his current state would have given away the fact that all was not well. “Casey, seriously what has gotten into you?” There was silence for a few moments and Theo had to wonder if he was even going to get an answer.
“Theo, I need you to promise me something.” Casey turned to his friend, deadly serious.
“Um, okay. What’s going?” Theo sat down beside him; his worry was steadily getting worse.
“Have you ever wondered what would happen if you turned?”
The worry immediately transformed into full blown panic. “Casey, where is this coming from?”
“I want you to promise me that if something happens to me, that if I ever turn, you’ll stop me.” Casey asked of him. He could still feel the blood; it was as if he was drenched in it. There was no way he was ever going to let that happen.
Theo rolled his eyes, trying to wave away the worry. “You’re not going to turn. What’s been going on with you?”
“Just promise me.”
“Fine, I promise.”
“You are the only one I can trust to do this.”
A weird look crossed his face. “If something like that ever happens, which it won’t, we’ll all be there.”
Casey sighed and leaned back against the wall, shaking his head. “You don’t understand me Theo. If I ever turn, if I ever become like that, I don’t want you to try and save me.”
He sent the cub a confused look. “Then do you want us to do? Just leave you?”
It was Casey’s turn to look confused. “No. Of course not.” It wasn’t like Theo to be this dense.
“Then what?” Theo asked, exasperated. The young tiger’s next words were curt and to the point, and the effect they had on the blue ranger was instantaneous.
“I’m asking you to kill me, Theo.”