Silver Haze (Mick/Beth, PG-13)
- allegrita
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Silver Haze (Mick/Beth, PG-13)
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's note: This is a fill-in-the-blanks story from Out of the Past. This little story wrote itself today... thanks very much to Phoenix for reading it over for me. I have no idea why it's in the second person... I was just taking dictation at the time.
Rated PG-13 for language.
Silver Haze
“I thought I told you to stay in the car.”
She doesn’t answer. She’s just staring at Lee Jay bleeding out. God… his blood… you can smell it, and you need it so bad. You wanna go lick it off this filthy floor, tear his throat out and gulp while his heart’s still beating. All that food wasted. Jesus, why won’t she just leave, so you can –
Crap, what are you thinking?! Get a hold of yourself, you idiot. Sure as shit, if you dragged Lee Jay or one of the others around a corner and started to feed, Beth would snap back into reporter mode, and come looking to see what you’re up to. No – you’ve gotta get away. Away from here, away from Beth. Get away fast, before the silver makes you so sick you can’t stop yourself from going after the dead. Or even worse… after Beth.
Lee Jay’s voice comes out of nowhere and you jump, sending shooting pains through your body. You’ve gotta get out right now, or it’ll be too late.
Beth’s staring at the TV now, still holding the gun in both hands, her stance sagging a little now from shock, and the weight of the pistol. You stagger past her and she never even blinks. She’s staring at Lee Jay’s image pontificating on the screen. Her face is white and slack, like she’s in a daze. Like she can’t believe any of this is happening.
Well, she doesn’t know the half of it.
You blunder down the dark hallway. Your night vision’s already starting to go south. God, he must’ve gotten you good. Two loads of silver buckshot, front of the right shoulder, back of the left. You can feel the poison circulating through your system, numbing and hurting at the same time. Your arms feel heavy, and blood’s dripping off your fingertips.
Finally you’re outside. The night air is cool, and you can feel your hair prickling as your scalp breaks out in gooseflesh. Gotta get home. Gotta get home. It’s a mantra running through your head, in time with your limping footsteps, your ragged breaths.
Thank god – she left the keys in the car. You fumble the door open and groan as you sit down, feeling the intolerable stabbing of smooth leather against your back. Try to start the car but your right hand’s not working, you can’t twist the key. Crap. Support your numb right hand with your aching left, ow, ow, oh god, it hurts so bad.
OK, she’s starting. Thank god for automatic transmission. It’s not far, not far.
Gotta get home.
Shit. There’s no blood at home. What the hell are you gonna do? Think, think. Your head is pounding, all you can think is gotta get home, gotta get home, gotta get home. But home won’t help if there’s no blood.
The morgue. OK, stop there on the way. It’s not too far. You can pick up the blood you ordered after you gave your stash to Josef, and Guillermo can help you get the buckshot out, too. OK, this’ll work.
Gotta get to the morgue, gotta get to the morgue, gotta get…
* * *
Oh no, who’s this? You don’t know him. OK, you can do this. Guillermo will have left you the stash. You just need to get it.
“Hey, where’s Guillermo?”
The guy looks up at you and his mouth drops open. “Christ, what the hell happened to you?”
You try to grin. “You should see the other guy.” You’re leaning against the door, trying to look casual. Keep it together, man, just stay cool. “So where’s G?”
“He’s off tonight, man. Anything I can help you with?”
You take a step forward, trying not to grimace. “My name’s Mick, I’m a PI. Guillermo said he had something for me... for a case.”
The guy frowns. “Oh yeah, he said something about… what did you say your name was again?”
“Mick St. John.”You fumble your wallet out of your pocket and show him your PI license.
The guy glances at the ID and nods. “Yeah, he said… hang on.” He goes into the other room and comes back with a package wrapped in brown paper.
“Thanks, man.” You take the package in shaking hands and walk away nonchalantly till you’re out of his sight; then you break into a lurching run down the green corridor.
* * *
Home at last. You pick up the parcel off the seat and tear the brown paper off the bags, stuffing them into your coat. Keep it together. Almost there. It’s torture to take the key out of the ignition. You leave a huge smear of blood on the upholstery.
The elevator crawls up to the penthouse and you stagger out, fumbling for the remote. Don’t drop it. You almost fall, leaning against the wall. Why won’t it open?!
Finally the beep and the door clicks. You stagger toward the couch and fall to your knees, dumping the blood bags on the table.
Gotta get it open. Fingers won’t work. Don’t pop it.
Finally… the tube’s in your mouth and you’re sucking so hard you’re afraid the plastic will collapse. Squeeze the bag. More, more, more. You can’t get it in fast enough. It’s running down your chin. Don’t waste it.
Oh, god – what’s that??
“Mick?”
No, no… please… please. Not Beth. Not now.
<>
Author's note: This is a fill-in-the-blanks story from Out of the Past. This little story wrote itself today... thanks very much to Phoenix for reading it over for me. I have no idea why it's in the second person... I was just taking dictation at the time.
Rated PG-13 for language.
Silver Haze
“I thought I told you to stay in the car.”
She doesn’t answer. She’s just staring at Lee Jay bleeding out. God… his blood… you can smell it, and you need it so bad. You wanna go lick it off this filthy floor, tear his throat out and gulp while his heart’s still beating. All that food wasted. Jesus, why won’t she just leave, so you can –
Crap, what are you thinking?! Get a hold of yourself, you idiot. Sure as shit, if you dragged Lee Jay or one of the others around a corner and started to feed, Beth would snap back into reporter mode, and come looking to see what you’re up to. No – you’ve gotta get away. Away from here, away from Beth. Get away fast, before the silver makes you so sick you can’t stop yourself from going after the dead. Or even worse… after Beth.
Lee Jay’s voice comes out of nowhere and you jump, sending shooting pains through your body. You’ve gotta get out right now, or it’ll be too late.
Beth’s staring at the TV now, still holding the gun in both hands, her stance sagging a little now from shock, and the weight of the pistol. You stagger past her and she never even blinks. She’s staring at Lee Jay’s image pontificating on the screen. Her face is white and slack, like she’s in a daze. Like she can’t believe any of this is happening.
Well, she doesn’t know the half of it.
You blunder down the dark hallway. Your night vision’s already starting to go south. God, he must’ve gotten you good. Two loads of silver buckshot, front of the right shoulder, back of the left. You can feel the poison circulating through your system, numbing and hurting at the same time. Your arms feel heavy, and blood’s dripping off your fingertips.
Finally you’re outside. The night air is cool, and you can feel your hair prickling as your scalp breaks out in gooseflesh. Gotta get home. Gotta get home. It’s a mantra running through your head, in time with your limping footsteps, your ragged breaths.
Thank god – she left the keys in the car. You fumble the door open and groan as you sit down, feeling the intolerable stabbing of smooth leather against your back. Try to start the car but your right hand’s not working, you can’t twist the key. Crap. Support your numb right hand with your aching left, ow, ow, oh god, it hurts so bad.
OK, she’s starting. Thank god for automatic transmission. It’s not far, not far.
Gotta get home.
Shit. There’s no blood at home. What the hell are you gonna do? Think, think. Your head is pounding, all you can think is gotta get home, gotta get home, gotta get home. But home won’t help if there’s no blood.
The morgue. OK, stop there on the way. It’s not too far. You can pick up the blood you ordered after you gave your stash to Josef, and Guillermo can help you get the buckshot out, too. OK, this’ll work.
Gotta get to the morgue, gotta get to the morgue, gotta get…
* * *
Oh no, who’s this? You don’t know him. OK, you can do this. Guillermo will have left you the stash. You just need to get it.
“Hey, where’s Guillermo?”
The guy looks up at you and his mouth drops open. “Christ, what the hell happened to you?”
You try to grin. “You should see the other guy.” You’re leaning against the door, trying to look casual. Keep it together, man, just stay cool. “So where’s G?”
“He’s off tonight, man. Anything I can help you with?”
You take a step forward, trying not to grimace. “My name’s Mick, I’m a PI. Guillermo said he had something for me... for a case.”
The guy frowns. “Oh yeah, he said something about… what did you say your name was again?”
“Mick St. John.”You fumble your wallet out of your pocket and show him your PI license.
The guy glances at the ID and nods. “Yeah, he said… hang on.” He goes into the other room and comes back with a package wrapped in brown paper.
“Thanks, man.” You take the package in shaking hands and walk away nonchalantly till you’re out of his sight; then you break into a lurching run down the green corridor.
* * *
Home at last. You pick up the parcel off the seat and tear the brown paper off the bags, stuffing them into your coat. Keep it together. Almost there. It’s torture to take the key out of the ignition. You leave a huge smear of blood on the upholstery.
The elevator crawls up to the penthouse and you stagger out, fumbling for the remote. Don’t drop it. You almost fall, leaning against the wall. Why won’t it open?!
Finally the beep and the door clicks. You stagger toward the couch and fall to your knees, dumping the blood bags on the table.
Gotta get it open. Fingers won’t work. Don’t pop it.
Finally… the tube’s in your mouth and you’re sucking so hard you’re afraid the plastic will collapse. Squeeze the bag. More, more, more. You can’t get it in fast enough. It’s running down your chin. Don’t waste it.
Oh, god – what’s that??
“Mick?”
No, no… please… please. Not Beth. Not now.
<>
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Re: Silver Haze (Mick/Beth, PG-13)
This is great, and I don't remember seeing anyone tackle that particular sequence of events. And it's so crucial. We've almost all written what happened shortly after this, but it's always been a question--how did he get home, where did he get the blood (and if it was from Guillermo, why not have a first snack in the morgue, hmmm?)? You've covered that brilliantly.
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Re: Silver Haze (Mick/Beth, PG-13)
Oh Alle! This is delicious! Such magnificent spying into Mick's psyche, his view of events... not to mention, ANY view of these events!
You've imagined them perfectly! It HAD to be this way!!!! I think he whispered to you tonite!!!!!
You've imagined them perfectly! It HAD to be this way!!!! I think he whispered to you tonite!!!!!
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Re: Silver Haze (Mick/Beth, PG-13)
Masterfully told - even in second person, or maybe the result of - either way, as Lucky points out, this answers questions that I don't think have ever been answered before - and done perfectly.
Brilliant. I love how you wrote this -- what can I say? You always seem to notice the obvious that is overlooked - of course - he would have, if he'd been alone -- classic Allegrita.allegrita wrote:She doesn’t answer. She’s just staring at Lee Jay bleeding out. God… his blood… you can smell it, and you need it so bad. You wanna go lick it off this filthy floor, tear his throat out and gulp while his heart’s still beating. All that food wasted. Jesus, why won’t she just leave, so you can –
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Re: Silver Haze (Mick/Beth, PG-13)
Alle, this is wonderful - the second person feels like your inside Mick's brain as he's frantically trying to get away from Beth before he does something he'll regret.
The way you've written this, the reader feels the tempo shift from panic (gotta get away, fingers won't work) to in control (car has started) back to panic (not Guillermo in morgue) to relief (made it home, drinking blood) back to the ultimate panic that Beth has found him. You made the reader feel what Mick was feeling. By the time I got to the end, I was breathless, even though I knew in advance what the end was....and that's meant as a compliment.No – you’ve gotta get away. Away from here, away from Beth. Get away fast, before the silver makes you so sick you can’t stop yourself from going after the dead. Or even worse… after Beth.
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Re: Silver Haze (Mick/Beth, PG-13)
Wonderful work, Alle!!! This is so believable! I, too, wondered how he got home, where he got the blood in his hand, why he didn't drink Lee Jay's blood (altho that one is obvious, since Beth is there).
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Re: Silver Haze (Mick/Beth, PG-13)
Loved this filling in the blanks. I liked the part where Beth was staring at the TV in a daze. She let Mick slip out. But in good reporter form, she caught him later!
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Re: Silver Haze (Mick/Beth, PG-13)
This is such a great story!! You've answered all those nagging questions I've had for such a long time. This is so believable. My heart was racing as I felt Mick's emotions and his thoughts spinning. To me, this is a masterpiece!!!!
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Re: Silver Haze (Mick/Beth, PG-13)
Great missing scene, alle! You cover all the bases, from the huh-moments of how did he get home and why didn't G help him with the buckshot already and where did he get the blood and why didn't Beth follow him outside, to the panic he must have felt and the relief when he finally got to his den, a wounded predator out of control. And then Beth comes in - and we know how it goes on.
There was so much missing in that particular spot, and still it was memorable enough to get me hooked on that show, and on poor hurt Mick and pushy danger-loving Beth.
Thank you so much for this. I think it might become part of my personal canon on how it happened.
There was so much missing in that particular spot, and still it was memorable enough to get me hooked on that show, and on poor hurt Mick and pushy danger-loving Beth.
Thank you so much for this. I think it might become part of my personal canon on how it happened.
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Re: Silver Haze (Mick/Beth, PG-13)
Lucky, thank you so much--such high praise from you makes me feel very proud. I'm so glad you liked this.
wpgrace, I think maybe he did! Imagine my shock. I swear, somebody was telling me this story...
lunalux, thank you--I'm honored and thrilled at your praise. I thought about poor Mick, dying, surrounded by so much life-giving blood he didn't dare touch. How horrible for him!
darkstarrising, thank you so much. It means so much to me that you felt Mick's emotions, that you followed along with his reactions, even though you knew the outcome. I feel that way every time I watch that episode... it never fails to grab my by the throat. That's what I was trying to capture, and you got it.
wollstonecraft61, it's funny, but I didn't think of Mick being tempted by Lee Jay's blood till I started to write this. I always just thought of the blood bags. But to smell that much fresh blood, especially when he was so injured... it must have been torture.
mitzie, I'm really humbled by your high praise... and I'm so happy you liked this story!
francis, Oh my gosh--I couldn't ask for anything more than that. Thank you!
wpgrace, I think maybe he did! Imagine my shock. I swear, somebody was telling me this story...
lunalux, thank you--I'm honored and thrilled at your praise. I thought about poor Mick, dying, surrounded by so much life-giving blood he didn't dare touch. How horrible for him!
darkstarrising, thank you so much. It means so much to me that you felt Mick's emotions, that you followed along with his reactions, even though you knew the outcome. I feel that way every time I watch that episode... it never fails to grab my by the throat. That's what I was trying to capture, and you got it.
wollstonecraft61, it's funny, but I didn't think of Mick being tempted by Lee Jay's blood till I started to write this. I always just thought of the blood bags. But to smell that much fresh blood, especially when he was so injured... it must have been torture.
mitzie, I'm really humbled by your high praise... and I'm so happy you liked this story!
francis, Oh my gosh--I couldn't ask for anything more than that. Thank you!
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Re: Silver Haze (Mick/Beth, PG-13)
This is great, alle - a wonderful answer to a few important questions. And this:
Red
oh what I would have paid to see that. Perfect.allegrita wrote:You try to grin. “You should see the other guy.” You’re leaning against the door, trying to look casual. Keep it together, man, just stay cool. “So where’s G?”
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Re: Silver Haze (Mick/Beth, PG-13)
*squee* Thank you, Red...
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Re: Silver Haze (Mick/Beth, PG-13)
this is absolutely rivetting. the insight into his thoughts seemed amazingly accurate - I could hear his voice. even though I know what's going to happen, how it has to end, I was on the edge of my seat as I read this. now that's good writing.
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Re: Silver Haze (Mick/Beth, PG-13)
Alle this is wonderful. Mick was so desperate with the blood and having G off that night makes perfect sense. The pain, the fear the wanting the blood to make it better. I really like the part where he wanted to eat Lee Jay. That's true vampire instinct. I agree with francis I'm making this my personal canon.
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Re: Silver Haze (Mick/Beth, PG-13)
Glad you posted!
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