Ghost n Gears

Chapter 5

Darrion found himself in the kitchen, the air was warm and smelled of tomato sauce with hints of beef and chopped veggies, the smell of garlic rather prevalent as he looked over to spot Jewel, well and alive adding the diced flavor to the pot on the stove, “More garlic?” he asked, a smile as he waved the air, “You're gonna make the house smell like a vampire torture room.” he chuckled and stepped over to her with a hand on her shoulder.

The redhead laughed and nudged him gently, “Says the man who downed three garlic bread sticks at the Italian place last Saturday after painting them with garlic sauce.” she chirped back before putting the lid back on and resting the free hand on her waist around her stomach, “Besides, cravings said more garlic! You wanna argue with the child?” she asked, almost as a challenge.

Darrion beamed a grin, wrapping both arms around her as he thought back to all those attempts to no success, “Of course not. We’ve been lucky so far, don’t need to tick the little tike off.” he joked and rested his chin on her head, feeling a warm, sticky feeling with his right hand.

Jewel’s breathing became rather forced and raspy, but she kept her composure, “Oh honey now look at what you've done. You made the knife all dirty..” she cooed, leaning against him and seeming to lose her balance a bit.

The male froze, thinking for a moment, “What?” he asked, shining an awkward, confused grin as he backed up a few steps and looked down at his hand, spotting in his palm a kitchen knife coated in blood that stained and dripped fresh from his hand. Any joy or warmth he’d felt voided him instantly as he looked back up to find Jewel with the same wound he’d found her with, “No.. No no, please-”

The woman gently rested a hand on his shoulder, “It’s okay, honey.” she rasped softly, smiling still, “We can clean it.. up..” she trailed off before falling backwards, back into the same position she’d been in despite Darrion leaping in to catch her, his hand under her waist as he soon found himself in a dark, frigid blizzard.

No longer in the calm, comforting kitchen, he tried to lift her head with his left hand, but found he no longer had it as shuffling and snapping twigs drew his attention to behind him. His head whipped over his left shoulder to gaze wide-eyed at a bear twice the size he’d dealt with, it’s claws like steel sicles glimmering as brightly as its eyes and wide, gaping jaws which glittered with dangerous fangs like knives.

The bear growled and loomed over him, it’s paws on either side of him as he lay stunned with fear from beneath, watching it stretch its mouth in a roar, a black ooze dripping from its eyes and mouth, trickling down to his face and drowning his mortified screams.

Darrion then sat up, wide-eyed in his bed with a heavy pant as he rested his hand on his forehead. He took a moment to calm down before his eye scanned the dark room and peered into the doorway between his room and his attic workshop.

The brunette swung his legs over the bed’s edge and stood, walking slowly over to and into the room, flicking the light on and striding to the table, looking over the designs he’d sketched for the arms and left there to ponder later.

Imprescia meanwhile had been toying with her ghastly form, her clay body sitting in a chair while the spirit floated around and lifted things of increasing sizes, multiple at once and even moving around and doing mid-air twists and turns while she held them, staying over some couch cushions she’d laid on the floor to catch things she dropped. In the middle of a flip, the ghost stopped, hearing a scuffling noise down in the boiler room below.

She sunk down in that direction, gliding down to see the room and noticing a tall, human-like figure toying with the boiler settings in ways it was not meant. Jewel watched for a few moments, noticing the odd shape of the shadow’s feet and the occasional feather here and there, her heart sinking as she heard a bubbling noise from the water heater as the intruder hopped out the little window near the ceiling.