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The bitch might make it look like she's giving you options, but I know all too well that she doesn't.
David was wrong. There was always a choice. Always. Thomas had options, even if the ones Amaris had chosen to give him were not particularly pleasant. He had a choice. And he knew exactly what he was going to choose, despite the consequences. Here, at the end of the road with the gun to his head, he chose.
The moment Thomas had stood in the hospital hallway to hear that not only did Amaris still have Paige captive, but she had taken Abby and Mara too, he knew he couldn't sit by and let his friends take care of it. The lives of his sister and his niece were at stake. Peter had gone to find Lucian, seeking out Aurelia's relatives in the hope that they would know where to find this elusive homestead Amaris now occupied. But Thomas' memory had been filling in the gaps ever since he had sat in the dark and Abby had talked him through his experiences. He remembered. He knew where to go. And he didn't wait for Peter to follow, which was his first mistake. Thomas Littleton, as sure of himself as he was of his love for his family, was running headfirst into death. Again.
Strength had started to return to his body, thanks to the attention of Dr Lucian, and though Thomas was still underweight, he could survive the separation of his IV. He cast it away and stole Peter's car for the drive, sure that Peter would forgive him this. Peter probably wouldn't be thinking too much on the car anyway when he found that Thomas had turned himself over to the demon bitch to save his friends. Thomas could listen to Spectre's pleas that he remain strong and that turning himself in wouldn't help, until it was himself or Abby and Mara. Those were not lives he would allow to be messed with.
Mara was only ten years old.
Thomas was still thinking about her when he caught sight of the hulking white house as he crested the hill. The tyres of Peter's car crunched over the gravel of the drive, but Thomas wasn't trying to be covert. He wanted Amaris to know he was coming. What he hadn't counted on was Amaris hoping for the same thing.
Thomas leapt out of the car and he ran for the door, pulling his shirt more tightly around him. The air was bitterly cold, though seeing that house again would have chilled him to the bone no matter what the weather threw at him. Amaris had told him he would regret escaping his fate. She had said she would make him regret leaving that house. And though he had protested that she was wrong, she had been right. He regretted it. Somewhere, deep beneath this hellish home, his little sister and her daughter were experiencing the torment that had been his world for two weeks.
"Amaris!" Thomas threw open the front door, which was unlocked. It crashed heavily into the wall behind it and Thomas left it that way, uncaring about the state of the plaster. "Amaris, goddammit!" Though Thomas was not the powerful man he had once been, he was still able to search the entire ground floor of the house with incredible speed and agility. Those traits were innate and he had not lost them to her devil's tricks.
Thomas raced through what happened to be a sadly disused kitchen when he heard it. A bloodcurdling scream tearing through the silence of the home that had, until a moment ago, seemed utterly devoid of life. Thomas felt his stomach knot in fear and he turned towards the noise. His mission here was not self-preservation, but self-sacrifice and instead of doing what any normal person would do, Thomas rushed toward the horrifying sound as fast as his legs could carry him.
A scream from below echoed up to him again and Thomas knew then that Amaris was down with her now, not enjoying her peace and quiet while the captives suffered in their own rooms of misery. The knowledge that Abby and Mara could be in pain at that very moment only made him move faster until a familiar voice cut through his panic and caused him to freeze.
"Thomas!"
Thomas turned to face his best friend, and he frowned and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Peter."
"I leave you alone for one bloody second..." Peter rushed to his friend's side and the look on his face was distinctly disapproving. "How is this going to help, hmm? You think Abby and Mara want this on their conscience? Go back to my car and wait!"
"You're going to go in alone?!" Thomas pushed Peter back from the door that would lead them both to the basement, the screamer, the demon, and their doom. "Peter, you're not immortal anymore either!" Peter could die just as easily as Thomas could.
"I'm in better shape than you are!" Peter hissed, and for the first time in their long history together, that was true. Thomas was no longer the powerhouse, built like a brick wall, shielding Peter from the more dangerous things that came to rip him apart. This time Peter would have to serve as the shield. If that were even possible. "I'm not going in alone! Deirdre and Razvan are on their way. Rosa too, she went to find them. I only came to stop you! Is she down there?"
"Abby's screaming." Thomas' voice broke and his eyes were pleading. "Peter, my Sunshine was screaming."
Peter reached out for Thomas' hand and he started to pull Thomas away from the basement door. "They're coming, Thomas. They're coming and Amaris doesn't stand a chance against three demons. This isn't the way. Letting her kill you is not a solution, it's...dumb." No one ever said Peter Kemp didn't get tell it like it was. "Don't be a bloody fool." If Amaris really were downstairs, she would undoubtedly have felt Peter's slightly angelic presence by now. That was what he got for being an ex-angel. It made it harder to sneak around. "We have to go!"
"I-"
"Thomas!"
Thomas' mouth opened in an involuntary gasp of emotional pain as Abby cried his name. Her voice sounded far away, but she had screamed for him. And Thomas interpreted that as a cry for help, though Abby had not meant it that way in the least. She had been afraid for him. Without another word to Peter, he flung the heavy basement door open and he ran down the stairs. He very nearly tripped himself running down them, but he managed not to plunge to his untimely death, landing on the concrete floor of the basement passageway with the definite thud of heavy boots.
"Goddammit! Thomas, you fucking idiot!" Thomas could hear Peter swearing behind him, starting his own descent. Quickly the language Peter swore in switched to German and Thomas was filled with a momentary burst of affection for his best friend. Only Peter would swear at him in a language he couldn't understand so that his feelings were spared while Peter still managed to get his own out in the open. Thomas didn't have time to spare on that, however, he had more important things to do now.
The confusing rabbit-warren of claustrophobic corridors that made up the Wentworth family's basement were not easy to navigate even when you knew where you were going. And Abby did not call his name again. Thomas was running blind, Peter hot on his heels, when they both turned the corner and found themselves staring down the barrel of a gun.
"Whoa, shit!" Thomas skidded to a halt and Peter slammed into his back, causing Thomas to fall to the ground. Quickly, Amaris moved the gun to Abby's head and she smiled at the new arrivals. "Hi, boys!"
Thomas quickly scrambled to his feet and he took in the scene in front of him. Abby was clutched in the demon's grip, her eyes red and fearful. She was sweaty and dirty and her dark brown hair was mussed. Thomas could see a line of shiny red up near her scalp that made his own blood boil. Amaris had already caused his sister injury. Abby's arms were bound behind her back with silken rope, and Abby had clearly been gagged after calling Amaris' name because the edges of a rough looking rag stuck out behind a thick strip of duct tape. Amaris had a small gun trained on Abby's temple. "Cain left this behind. I knew it would come in handy some day."
Thomas growled. He hated Cain almost as much as he hated Amaris. But no one compared to the demon. Amaris' wings were spread, black as pitch and leathery. They were so large they blocked out the small lights that lined the hallway behind her. They made Thomas feel so small, and as he stood at 6'3" that was not an easy task for anyone. "Just...let her go. I came here, just like you asked. You said I had your word."
"I'm a demon, Thomas." Amaris rolled her eyes at him and then they faded into ebony as she laughed. "I knew you'd come if I got my hands on this bitch." Amaris cocked the pistol at Abby's head and Abby let out a whimper of fear.
"No, nonono!" Thomas held up his hands. "Don't, don't do that. Please. Amaris, please don't do that. You know you want to shoot me instead. Amaris, shoot me instead." Thomas ignored the look of incredulous anger that crossed Abby's face, and he was glad then that she couldn't say what she was thinking. Thomas could imagine it well enough and he grimaced at just that.
"I told you, Thomas. You don't get to make up the rules." Amaris glared at him, her black eyes offering no solace. "Peter, I haven't gotten to play with you yet."
"The pleasure's been all mine." Peter quipped bitterly.
"Step forward and kneel against the wall then, Bozohair, or I'll blow the skinny bitch's brains out."
"Bozohair?" Peter asked, but he did so as he complied. He didn't want Abby's brains anywhere but in her skull where they belonged. He knelt against the wall and he looked up at her. He had been at the mercy of far more terrifying people than Amaris, but there was something about her that made this seem so much more dangerous. Amaris was unpredictable. One moment she wanted someone to suffer and the next she wanted them to die. At least all Svetlana had wanted was a family... "Why don't you just explain what the rules are then." He asked, his voice remaining calm. It was one of Peter's strengths.
"Easy." Amaris uncocked the gun and she laughed as Thomas had the audacity to look relived. "Don't get happy yet, Monk Boy. You get to choose again."
The look of horror that dawned on Thomas' face then, was such as he had never before worn in his forty years of existence. He had to choose. Choose. The last time Amaris had made him choose, Christina had ended up dead, and Thomas couldn't stand to lose someone else he loved. Not after Christina. And to make him choose between Abby and Peter...his two best friends... "No-"
"You don't make the rules. You make the choice. You know as well as I do that my hands are as good a weapon as any gun." She said, her acidic voice laced with warning. "If you try anything stupid, I'll snap your sister's neck like a twig. Now." Amaris held the gun out for Thomas to take. "Either you shoot your stupid, heroic friend with the annoying hair, or I kill Abby. Your choice."
Thomas glared at her and he shook his head. "Not a fucking chance in hell." Thomas moved to stand by Peter and he put a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "No."
"Thomas..." Peter's voice was strange and Thomas knew he heard a hint of resignation. He couldn't stand it. Peter Kemp couldn't give up! Peter didn't give in like this! Peter couldn't make him choose...
"I won't do it!" Thomas refused and then his voice broke. "I can't..." He should have seen this coming. He should have known Amaris wouldn't ever have a simple death in mind. She liked to see the torment of choice on people's faces. She was a sick woman with the twisted mind of a demonic spirit further poisoning everything she did. He had been tricked into 'choosing' Christina and he had fallen for Amaris' games again. This was the trump card. This was checkmate.
"Take the gun!" Amaris screamed at him as what little patience she possessed grew thin. Her hands twisted at Abby's bonds and Abby cried out in pain.
"Okay, okay!" Thomas took the gun into a trembling hand and he stared at it with dread. It was so small. It felt heavy and cold and final. His breath rushed out of him as if it had been yanked from his lungs when he realised what he was supposed to do now.
Peter was watching him as Thomas flicked his eyes nervously in Peter's direction. Peter didn't look afraid, but Thomas knew better. Thomas knew Peter better than Peter knew himself. He knew Peter was kneeling there, repeating his children's names in his head to stay strong. He was trying to keep his face schooled into stone so Thomas wouldn't feel guilt for this. Peter loved him, even now, and Thomas choked out a sob from his uncooperative throat. "Peter..." Thomas wailed.
"Put the fucking gun to his head, I don't have all day!" Amaris growled, even though she did.
Thoams raised the gun, his hands shaking wildly. He held the handle with both hands, and for a moment he couldn't breathe for fear of being ill all over the floor. His stomach was still clenched in horror, though the need to vomit passed when Peter smiled at him. "Oh, don't do that!" Thomas cried in lament. "Peter, don't do that."
"Thomas, it's okay." Peter understood. He knew how much Thomas loved him. How much Thomas always would. But Abby was his sister and though Thomas and Peter had been inseparable since they were 18, Abby and Thomas had been inseparable since Abby had been born. She was family, and that trumped every card Peter had to play. "I understand."
Thomas sniffed and he shook his head violently. "Peter, STOP IT!"
"Choose one of them or I'll rip her head off anyway!" Amaris screeched, twisting her free hand into Abby's long hair.
That was the moment Thomas knew this wasn't going to go away. Deirdre, Razvan and Rosa had not yet arrived. They were not going to show up in time. Amaris was done waiting, and no one was going to save them from this. Thomas had seen Christina die in front of his very eyes, and he was all too aware that Amaris didn't just make threats, she followed through on them. He had to choose. Peter or Abby. Brother or sister. His heart or his soul.
The bitch might make it look like she's giving you options, but I know all too well that she doesn't.
If only David were right. But he was wrong. There was a third option and Amaris handed it right to him. If he had known her better, he might had assumed she had done it on purpose, but that wasn't Amaris' way. She wouldn't have foreseen this.
You don't get to change the rules, Thomas. I make the rules.
Thomas swallowed roughly and he closed his eyes. His breathing became rapid and shallow. Terrified. He wondered if it would hurt more than the last time he had died. He had felt nothing when Svetlana had broken his neck, but this was different. He had to be careful. He had to be quick. If he wasn't right about this, more people were going to suffer for his choice. He was changing the rules.
"I love you, Peter. I'm sorry..."
Peter closed his eyes too, understanding in an instant. Thomas had chosen Abby. He nodded, and he opened his mouth to say he forgave his best friend but he was silenced by the sound of his world collapsing with just one, well-aimed bullet.
Thomas pulled the trigger with a shaking finger and it happened so fast, though, to Thomas, it felt like an eternity. When Svetlana had killed him, he had not had a chance for his life to flash before his eyes, but this time it did. He saw himself laughing with his brothers. He saw a tiny Abby, crawling into his bed for comfort when their father left. He saw a young Lavinia, crying in horror because her children were suffering and she couldn't do a thing to help. He saw a young Peter, smile at him for the first time, so dreadfully shy. He saw their blossoming friendship. Their innate understanding of one another. He saw his first death, and the first time an angel had brought him back to visit. The look in Peter's eyes of absolute joy. He saw Spectre wake up to him in the morning, all sleepy smiles and stolen kisses. He saw the porcelain curve of Mary's hip. He heard the beautiful sound of his son's laugh. Marie's insistent babbling. Stephie's determined tough facade. Tasha's kindness. He saw it all, experienced it again with bittersweet nostalgia. I don't want to die, I don't want to die, oh god I don't want to- and then the pain cut his memories and his fear off abruptly as the bullet tore through his head. His second chance at life had been ended by his own hands because he could not choose between Peter and Abby. He had, instead, chosen himself. Thomas' skull cracked and the wall behind him was sprayed with his blood and brain and splinters of bone.
Peter heard Thomas' body fall and he let out a howl of rage. He didn't see Abby. Abby who looked confused for an instant while Amaris stood beside her, dumbstruck that Thomas had broken the rules.
Abby heard the voice in her head and she knew at once it was Thomas'. Trust me. And then she understood. This was part of the plan. Thomas wasn't done saving them yet.
And then large white wings burst from Abby's back, shoving an unsuspecting Amaris hard into the wall behind her. With her brother's beautiful soul joined to hers and her newfound angel's strength, Abby broke her bonds and she pulled the tape from her mouth as the hallway exploded with noise again.
"You fucking bitch!" Peter screamed at Amaris, tears streaming down his face. Peter the pacifist proceeded to empty the gun's clip into Amaris' head. The demon slumped down the wall and still Peter fired, stalking closer and closer until he was inches away from her and the gun was empty. He stood above her, shaking with rage and he continued to dry fire it until Abby pulled it from his trembling hands.
"Peter!" Abby shook her head in horror.
"That fucking bitch! She killed Thomas!" And then Peter slammed a hand across his mouth as his face was overcome with horror. Thomas was dead. Thomas was dead. Peter slipped to his knees and he cried into his hand, his body overtaken by heavy sobs.
"I'm right here, Peter!" Abby insisted, and Peter looked up at Abby in surprise. He noticed then, for the first time, that she had wings. He could feel her. She was an angel. Abby was an angel. And he was sure she hadn't been a moment ago.
"T...Thomas?" Peter asked, his voice weak with grief.
"Had to be done." Abby looked pained, but Thomas' self-assured speech patterns still emanated from her lips even if it was in Abby's voice. Thomas could explain it more later. Explain that he had done it on purpose, hoping his sacrifice was enough to allow him to stay as an angelic spirit. To join with Abby to save her from Amaris' hands. "We have to help the others.
"But...but you're..." Peter looked back to Thomas' broken body. Half his head was missing and Peter had to cover his mouth again to keep from being ill.
"You can clean up that mess later, Peter. There are people who you can save now."
That was all that got Peter up. He stood, shakily, and he followed Abby and Thomas' lead. Too much had just happened. Amaris was unconscious and she would remain that way as long as no one with a soul touched her. If she couldn't heal herself, she was going to stay just like she was.
And Thomas was dead.
Abby shoved her way into the room where everyone was gathered. "We have to go!" She announced to all of them. She didn't think any of them were bound to protest.
David was wrong. There was always a choice. Always. Thomas had options, even if the ones Amaris had chosen to give him were not particularly pleasant. He had a choice. And he knew exactly what he was going to choose, despite the consequences. Here, at the end of the road with the gun to his head, he chose.
The moment Thomas had stood in the hospital hallway to hear that not only did Amaris still have Paige captive, but she had taken Abby and Mara too, he knew he couldn't sit by and let his friends take care of it. The lives of his sister and his niece were at stake. Peter had gone to find Lucian, seeking out Aurelia's relatives in the hope that they would know where to find this elusive homestead Amaris now occupied. But Thomas' memory had been filling in the gaps ever since he had sat in the dark and Abby had talked him through his experiences. He remembered. He knew where to go. And he didn't wait for Peter to follow, which was his first mistake. Thomas Littleton, as sure of himself as he was of his love for his family, was running headfirst into death. Again.
Strength had started to return to his body, thanks to the attention of Dr Lucian, and though Thomas was still underweight, he could survive the separation of his IV. He cast it away and stole Peter's car for the drive, sure that Peter would forgive him this. Peter probably wouldn't be thinking too much on the car anyway when he found that Thomas had turned himself over to the demon bitch to save his friends. Thomas could listen to Spectre's pleas that he remain strong and that turning himself in wouldn't help, until it was himself or Abby and Mara. Those were not lives he would allow to be messed with.
Mara was only ten years old.
Thomas was still thinking about her when he caught sight of the hulking white house as he crested the hill. The tyres of Peter's car crunched over the gravel of the drive, but Thomas wasn't trying to be covert. He wanted Amaris to know he was coming. What he hadn't counted on was Amaris hoping for the same thing.
Thomas leapt out of the car and he ran for the door, pulling his shirt more tightly around him. The air was bitterly cold, though seeing that house again would have chilled him to the bone no matter what the weather threw at him. Amaris had told him he would regret escaping his fate. She had said she would make him regret leaving that house. And though he had protested that she was wrong, she had been right. He regretted it. Somewhere, deep beneath this hellish home, his little sister and her daughter were experiencing the torment that had been his world for two weeks.
"Amaris!" Thomas threw open the front door, which was unlocked. It crashed heavily into the wall behind it and Thomas left it that way, uncaring about the state of the plaster. "Amaris, goddammit!" Though Thomas was not the powerful man he had once been, he was still able to search the entire ground floor of the house with incredible speed and agility. Those traits were innate and he had not lost them to her devil's tricks.
Thomas raced through what happened to be a sadly disused kitchen when he heard it. A bloodcurdling scream tearing through the silence of the home that had, until a moment ago, seemed utterly devoid of life. Thomas felt his stomach knot in fear and he turned towards the noise. His mission here was not self-preservation, but self-sacrifice and instead of doing what any normal person would do, Thomas rushed toward the horrifying sound as fast as his legs could carry him.
A scream from below echoed up to him again and Thomas knew then that Amaris was down with her now, not enjoying her peace and quiet while the captives suffered in their own rooms of misery. The knowledge that Abby and Mara could be in pain at that very moment only made him move faster until a familiar voice cut through his panic and caused him to freeze.
"Thomas!"
Thomas turned to face his best friend, and he frowned and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Peter."
"I leave you alone for one bloody second..." Peter rushed to his friend's side and the look on his face was distinctly disapproving. "How is this going to help, hmm? You think Abby and Mara want this on their conscience? Go back to my car and wait!"
"You're going to go in alone?!" Thomas pushed Peter back from the door that would lead them both to the basement, the screamer, the demon, and their doom. "Peter, you're not immortal anymore either!" Peter could die just as easily as Thomas could.
"I'm in better shape than you are!" Peter hissed, and for the first time in their long history together, that was true. Thomas was no longer the powerhouse, built like a brick wall, shielding Peter from the more dangerous things that came to rip him apart. This time Peter would have to serve as the shield. If that were even possible. "I'm not going in alone! Deirdre and Razvan are on their way. Rosa too, she went to find them. I only came to stop you! Is she down there?"
"Abby's screaming." Thomas' voice broke and his eyes were pleading. "Peter, my Sunshine was screaming."
Peter reached out for Thomas' hand and he started to pull Thomas away from the basement door. "They're coming, Thomas. They're coming and Amaris doesn't stand a chance against three demons. This isn't the way. Letting her kill you is not a solution, it's...dumb." No one ever said Peter Kemp didn't get tell it like it was. "Don't be a bloody fool." If Amaris really were downstairs, she would undoubtedly have felt Peter's slightly angelic presence by now. That was what he got for being an ex-angel. It made it harder to sneak around. "We have to go!"
"I-"
"Thomas!"
Thomas' mouth opened in an involuntary gasp of emotional pain as Abby cried his name. Her voice sounded far away, but she had screamed for him. And Thomas interpreted that as a cry for help, though Abby had not meant it that way in the least. She had been afraid for him. Without another word to Peter, he flung the heavy basement door open and he ran down the stairs. He very nearly tripped himself running down them, but he managed not to plunge to his untimely death, landing on the concrete floor of the basement passageway with the definite thud of heavy boots.
"Goddammit! Thomas, you fucking idiot!" Thomas could hear Peter swearing behind him, starting his own descent. Quickly the language Peter swore in switched to German and Thomas was filled with a momentary burst of affection for his best friend. Only Peter would swear at him in a language he couldn't understand so that his feelings were spared while Peter still managed to get his own out in the open. Thomas didn't have time to spare on that, however, he had more important things to do now.
The confusing rabbit-warren of claustrophobic corridors that made up the Wentworth family's basement were not easy to navigate even when you knew where you were going. And Abby did not call his name again. Thomas was running blind, Peter hot on his heels, when they both turned the corner and found themselves staring down the barrel of a gun.
"Whoa, shit!" Thomas skidded to a halt and Peter slammed into his back, causing Thomas to fall to the ground. Quickly, Amaris moved the gun to Abby's head and she smiled at the new arrivals. "Hi, boys!"
Thomas quickly scrambled to his feet and he took in the scene in front of him. Abby was clutched in the demon's grip, her eyes red and fearful. She was sweaty and dirty and her dark brown hair was mussed. Thomas could see a line of shiny red up near her scalp that made his own blood boil. Amaris had already caused his sister injury. Abby's arms were bound behind her back with silken rope, and Abby had clearly been gagged after calling Amaris' name because the edges of a rough looking rag stuck out behind a thick strip of duct tape. Amaris had a small gun trained on Abby's temple. "Cain left this behind. I knew it would come in handy some day."
Thomas growled. He hated Cain almost as much as he hated Amaris. But no one compared to the demon. Amaris' wings were spread, black as pitch and leathery. They were so large they blocked out the small lights that lined the hallway behind her. They made Thomas feel so small, and as he stood at 6'3" that was not an easy task for anyone. "Just...let her go. I came here, just like you asked. You said I had your word."
"I'm a demon, Thomas." Amaris rolled her eyes at him and then they faded into ebony as she laughed. "I knew you'd come if I got my hands on this bitch." Amaris cocked the pistol at Abby's head and Abby let out a whimper of fear.
"No, nonono!" Thomas held up his hands. "Don't, don't do that. Please. Amaris, please don't do that. You know you want to shoot me instead. Amaris, shoot me instead." Thomas ignored the look of incredulous anger that crossed Abby's face, and he was glad then that she couldn't say what she was thinking. Thomas could imagine it well enough and he grimaced at just that.
"I told you, Thomas. You don't get to make up the rules." Amaris glared at him, her black eyes offering no solace. "Peter, I haven't gotten to play with you yet."
"The pleasure's been all mine." Peter quipped bitterly.
"Step forward and kneel against the wall then, Bozohair, or I'll blow the skinny bitch's brains out."
"Bozohair?" Peter asked, but he did so as he complied. He didn't want Abby's brains anywhere but in her skull where they belonged. He knelt against the wall and he looked up at her. He had been at the mercy of far more terrifying people than Amaris, but there was something about her that made this seem so much more dangerous. Amaris was unpredictable. One moment she wanted someone to suffer and the next she wanted them to die. At least all Svetlana had wanted was a family... "Why don't you just explain what the rules are then." He asked, his voice remaining calm. It was one of Peter's strengths.
"Easy." Amaris uncocked the gun and she laughed as Thomas had the audacity to look relived. "Don't get happy yet, Monk Boy. You get to choose again."
The look of horror that dawned on Thomas' face then, was such as he had never before worn in his forty years of existence. He had to choose. Choose. The last time Amaris had made him choose, Christina had ended up dead, and Thomas couldn't stand to lose someone else he loved. Not after Christina. And to make him choose between Abby and Peter...his two best friends... "No-"
"You don't make the rules. You make the choice. You know as well as I do that my hands are as good a weapon as any gun." She said, her acidic voice laced with warning. "If you try anything stupid, I'll snap your sister's neck like a twig. Now." Amaris held the gun out for Thomas to take. "Either you shoot your stupid, heroic friend with the annoying hair, or I kill Abby. Your choice."
Thomas glared at her and he shook his head. "Not a fucking chance in hell." Thomas moved to stand by Peter and he put a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "No."
"Thomas..." Peter's voice was strange and Thomas knew he heard a hint of resignation. He couldn't stand it. Peter Kemp couldn't give up! Peter didn't give in like this! Peter couldn't make him choose...
"I won't do it!" Thomas refused and then his voice broke. "I can't..." He should have seen this coming. He should have known Amaris wouldn't ever have a simple death in mind. She liked to see the torment of choice on people's faces. She was a sick woman with the twisted mind of a demonic spirit further poisoning everything she did. He had been tricked into 'choosing' Christina and he had fallen for Amaris' games again. This was the trump card. This was checkmate.
"Take the gun!" Amaris screamed at him as what little patience she possessed grew thin. Her hands twisted at Abby's bonds and Abby cried out in pain.
"Okay, okay!" Thomas took the gun into a trembling hand and he stared at it with dread. It was so small. It felt heavy and cold and final. His breath rushed out of him as if it had been yanked from his lungs when he realised what he was supposed to do now.
Peter was watching him as Thomas flicked his eyes nervously in Peter's direction. Peter didn't look afraid, but Thomas knew better. Thomas knew Peter better than Peter knew himself. He knew Peter was kneeling there, repeating his children's names in his head to stay strong. He was trying to keep his face schooled into stone so Thomas wouldn't feel guilt for this. Peter loved him, even now, and Thomas choked out a sob from his uncooperative throat. "Peter..." Thomas wailed.
"Put the fucking gun to his head, I don't have all day!" Amaris growled, even though she did.
Thoams raised the gun, his hands shaking wildly. He held the handle with both hands, and for a moment he couldn't breathe for fear of being ill all over the floor. His stomach was still clenched in horror, though the need to vomit passed when Peter smiled at him. "Oh, don't do that!" Thomas cried in lament. "Peter, don't do that."
"Thomas, it's okay." Peter understood. He knew how much Thomas loved him. How much Thomas always would. But Abby was his sister and though Thomas and Peter had been inseparable since they were 18, Abby and Thomas had been inseparable since Abby had been born. She was family, and that trumped every card Peter had to play. "I understand."
Thomas sniffed and he shook his head violently. "Peter, STOP IT!"
"Choose one of them or I'll rip her head off anyway!" Amaris screeched, twisting her free hand into Abby's long hair.
That was the moment Thomas knew this wasn't going to go away. Deirdre, Razvan and Rosa had not yet arrived. They were not going to show up in time. Amaris was done waiting, and no one was going to save them from this. Thomas had seen Christina die in front of his very eyes, and he was all too aware that Amaris didn't just make threats, she followed through on them. He had to choose. Peter or Abby. Brother or sister. His heart or his soul.
The bitch might make it look like she's giving you options, but I know all too well that she doesn't.
If only David were right. But he was wrong. There was a third option and Amaris handed it right to him. If he had known her better, he might had assumed she had done it on purpose, but that wasn't Amaris' way. She wouldn't have foreseen this.
You don't get to change the rules, Thomas. I make the rules.
Thomas swallowed roughly and he closed his eyes. His breathing became rapid and shallow. Terrified. He wondered if it would hurt more than the last time he had died. He had felt nothing when Svetlana had broken his neck, but this was different. He had to be careful. He had to be quick. If he wasn't right about this, more people were going to suffer for his choice. He was changing the rules.
"I love you, Peter. I'm sorry..."
Peter closed his eyes too, understanding in an instant. Thomas had chosen Abby. He nodded, and he opened his mouth to say he forgave his best friend but he was silenced by the sound of his world collapsing with just one, well-aimed bullet.
Thomas pulled the trigger with a shaking finger and it happened so fast, though, to Thomas, it felt like an eternity. When Svetlana had killed him, he had not had a chance for his life to flash before his eyes, but this time it did. He saw himself laughing with his brothers. He saw a tiny Abby, crawling into his bed for comfort when their father left. He saw a young Lavinia, crying in horror because her children were suffering and she couldn't do a thing to help. He saw a young Peter, smile at him for the first time, so dreadfully shy. He saw their blossoming friendship. Their innate understanding of one another. He saw his first death, and the first time an angel had brought him back to visit. The look in Peter's eyes of absolute joy. He saw Spectre wake up to him in the morning, all sleepy smiles and stolen kisses. He saw the porcelain curve of Mary's hip. He heard the beautiful sound of his son's laugh. Marie's insistent babbling. Stephie's determined tough facade. Tasha's kindness. He saw it all, experienced it again with bittersweet nostalgia. I don't want to die, I don't want to die, oh god I don't want to- and then the pain cut his memories and his fear off abruptly as the bullet tore through his head. His second chance at life had been ended by his own hands because he could not choose between Peter and Abby. He had, instead, chosen himself. Thomas' skull cracked and the wall behind him was sprayed with his blood and brain and splinters of bone.
Peter heard Thomas' body fall and he let out a howl of rage. He didn't see Abby. Abby who looked confused for an instant while Amaris stood beside her, dumbstruck that Thomas had broken the rules.
Abby heard the voice in her head and she knew at once it was Thomas'. Trust me. And then she understood. This was part of the plan. Thomas wasn't done saving them yet.
And then large white wings burst from Abby's back, shoving an unsuspecting Amaris hard into the wall behind her. With her brother's beautiful soul joined to hers and her newfound angel's strength, Abby broke her bonds and she pulled the tape from her mouth as the hallway exploded with noise again.
"You fucking bitch!" Peter screamed at Amaris, tears streaming down his face. Peter the pacifist proceeded to empty the gun's clip into Amaris' head. The demon slumped down the wall and still Peter fired, stalking closer and closer until he was inches away from her and the gun was empty. He stood above her, shaking with rage and he continued to dry fire it until Abby pulled it from his trembling hands.
"Peter!" Abby shook her head in horror.
"That fucking bitch! She killed Thomas!" And then Peter slammed a hand across his mouth as his face was overcome with horror. Thomas was dead. Thomas was dead. Peter slipped to his knees and he cried into his hand, his body overtaken by heavy sobs.
"I'm right here, Peter!" Abby insisted, and Peter looked up at Abby in surprise. He noticed then, for the first time, that she had wings. He could feel her. She was an angel. Abby was an angel. And he was sure she hadn't been a moment ago.
"T...Thomas?" Peter asked, his voice weak with grief.
"Had to be done." Abby looked pained, but Thomas' self-assured speech patterns still emanated from her lips even if it was in Abby's voice. Thomas could explain it more later. Explain that he had done it on purpose, hoping his sacrifice was enough to allow him to stay as an angelic spirit. To join with Abby to save her from Amaris' hands. "We have to help the others.
"But...but you're..." Peter looked back to Thomas' broken body. Half his head was missing and Peter had to cover his mouth again to keep from being ill.
"You can clean up that mess later, Peter. There are people who you can save now."
That was all that got Peter up. He stood, shakily, and he followed Abby and Thomas' lead. Too much had just happened. Amaris was unconscious and she would remain that way as long as no one with a soul touched her. If she couldn't heal herself, she was going to stay just like she was.
And Thomas was dead.
Abby shoved her way into the room where everyone was gathered. "We have to go!" She announced to all of them. She didn't think any of them were bound to protest.
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Date: 2009-02-27 03:01 pm (UTC)From:With cracked lips she tried to speak but she didn't have any words to find. Abby was there and the door was open and she could see light again but she knew there was an angel. She kept a tight hold on Carla and Annette, and wondered what was going on.
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Date: 2009-02-27 03:04 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2009-02-27 04:20 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2009-02-28 05:04 am (UTC)From:Abby frowned and she glanced to Kay, shaking her head sadly. "Thomas..." she whispered, and then she glanced to Carla. "When we leave the room...don't look left. We're going to turn right and keep walking."
no subject
Date: 2009-02-28 10:49 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2009-02-28 10:51 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2009-02-28 11:12 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2009-02-28 11:55 am (UTC)From:"Make sure you don't look," she reminded Autumn. "There's nothing left we need to see here." Crystal was torn, but in the end, the instinct to look at things she was specifically told not to look at won out. It almost made her sick again, but she squeezed her eyes shut, forced the feeling back, and kept going.
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Date: 2009-02-28 12:05 pm (UTC)From:"Sure, Peter." Abby nodded, and she looped her arm around Flynn easily. "Come on. Let's go."
"Thomas?" Flynn asked, in horror and awe.
"You get two in one now, Kid." And though the voice was Abby, it was most assuredly Thomas who had said it. And Flynn, who hardly ever cried, burst into tears as he clung to Abby on their way out the door.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-01 05:43 am (UTC)From:Abby searched the lower levels of the house with Thomas' help, until she found a room with light emanating from under the door. Quickly, Abby reached for the handle and she yanked it open. The room was swirling with debris, and Abby could hardly make out that there was a girl in the middle of it all. "Paige!" Abby yelled over the din ot crashing odd and ends. "Paige, I'm here to help! My name is Abby! The Amaris bitch is taken care of!"
The debris rained to the floor with a mighty sound that caused Abby to cover her ears. And then the girl in the middle of it all gave her a last look before collapsing to the ground. Abby picked her way through the mess and she took the girl into her arms. She weighed barely enough, and she was pale and exhausted looking. Quickly, Abby bundled her out of the house and into the car. She would be at the hospital, to safety, soon enough.