Fic: Waiting to Reappear
I should be packing. But as you can see... I'm doing everything I can not to. So instead, my first fic in what feels like ages.
Title: Waiting to Reappear
Author: Rinny
Fandom: The Inside
Characters: Rebecca, Paul
Word Count: 439
Prompt: Faith
Summary: Not happy or pretty.
She stood over a body, or rather, the grotesque smears of blood, bone and viscera mutilating the sacred alter of the cathedral. The flicker of candle light made the blood gleam gold, and moving as if of it’s own accord.
Moving, as if he refused to give up life while she stood still and breathless.
“You’re sure?” She whispered.
“He had ID on him,” Paul replied crisply, brown eyes studying her closely. “Forensics will be able to indentify DNA eventually, but he’s been known to frequent here.” He exhaled, “You should be glad, Rebecca.”
Glad? Was that how she was to feel?
He’d haunted her dreams for more than ten years and played cat and mouse with her for the last month. He’d taunted and threatened, hunted and evaded.
“How…who called it in?”
Paul let out an impatient huff, “Does it matter? It’s over. It’s done.” He stepped closer, hand heavy on her arm, “Aren’t you happy? He’s dead.”
She tore her eyes from the body to look at him. “This isn’t dead, this is…”
“Dead,” he laughed, the sound somehow more profane than remains spread over a holy shrine. “Oh, he’s definitely dead.”
She told herself it was the candlelight that made his eyes glow manically.
“The others-you paged them too, didn’t you?” She could feel his hand tighten on her forearm, drawing her nearer. “Web. Web should know. Danny and-“
“Danny.” Paul growled and Rebecca knew she’d made a mistake. Knew she should have trusted the instinct to call the others before leaving her apartment. Should have known it would come to this. His nails dug into her arm, “I’ve seen the way you look at him, Rebecca. I’ve seen how you stand close and brush up against him. He doesn’t even notice.”
She cringed, shaking her head, “It’s not like that. I would never-“
“He didn’t find this sad fuck for you, did he?”
Her heart raced.
“He didn’t kill him to save you.”
She swallowed the bile rising in her throat, searching Paul’s face for any sign of the man she used to know. The man with the beautiful smile and a quick quip and intelligent eyes.
He was gone and all that was left was a stranger who held her paralyzed.
“I did. It was me.” His voice echoed in the church and she prayed someone would here. “I did it. I saved you.”
“We should call the others,” she whispered. “We need to close the case.”
“Right.” He transformed in an instant, a sick smile sliding slick across his mouth as he dragged her up to the altar. “Case solved.”
Title: Waiting to Reappear
Author: Rinny
Fandom: The Inside
Characters: Rebecca, Paul
Word Count: 439
Prompt: Faith
Summary: Not happy or pretty.
She stood over a body, or rather, the grotesque smears of blood, bone and viscera mutilating the sacred alter of the cathedral. The flicker of candle light made the blood gleam gold, and moving as if of it’s own accord.
Moving, as if he refused to give up life while she stood still and breathless.
“You’re sure?” She whispered.
“He had ID on him,” Paul replied crisply, brown eyes studying her closely. “Forensics will be able to indentify DNA eventually, but he’s been known to frequent here.” He exhaled, “You should be glad, Rebecca.”
Glad? Was that how she was to feel?
He’d haunted her dreams for more than ten years and played cat and mouse with her for the last month. He’d taunted and threatened, hunted and evaded.
“How…who called it in?”
Paul let out an impatient huff, “Does it matter? It’s over. It’s done.” He stepped closer, hand heavy on her arm, “Aren’t you happy? He’s dead.”
She tore her eyes from the body to look at him. “This isn’t dead, this is…”
“Dead,” he laughed, the sound somehow more profane than remains spread over a holy shrine. “Oh, he’s definitely dead.”
She told herself it was the candlelight that made his eyes glow manically.
“The others-you paged them too, didn’t you?” She could feel his hand tighten on her forearm, drawing her nearer. “Web. Web should know. Danny and-“
“Danny.” Paul growled and Rebecca knew she’d made a mistake. Knew she should have trusted the instinct to call the others before leaving her apartment. Should have known it would come to this. His nails dug into her arm, “I’ve seen the way you look at him, Rebecca. I’ve seen how you stand close and brush up against him. He doesn’t even notice.”
She cringed, shaking her head, “It’s not like that. I would never-“
“He didn’t find this sad fuck for you, did he?”
Her heart raced.
“He didn’t kill him to save you.”
She swallowed the bile rising in her throat, searching Paul’s face for any sign of the man she used to know. The man with the beautiful smile and a quick quip and intelligent eyes.
He was gone and all that was left was a stranger who held her paralyzed.
“I did. It was me.” His voice echoed in the church and she prayed someone would here. “I did it. I saved you.”
“We should call the others,” she whispered. “We need to close the case.”
“Right.” He transformed in an instant, a sick smile sliding slick across his mouth as he dragged her up to the altar. “Case solved.”