Title: doppelgänger
Author: Kerri B.
Rating: T: For violence, brief torture, slight innuendo, and language (This rating is for the entire story, so all things listed may not apply to every chapter)
Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Sam or Dean, nor the CW
Summary: The title says it all. It began as a simple investigation into the death of a retired hunter. But a twist of fate (or was it dark magic?) leaves the Winchester brothers dazed and confused. Much chaos ensues.
Symbols:
-:- character or my narration
Note: Set somewhere during Season 2, nowhere in particular though. Spoilers possible, but they will be vague and nonspecific.
Well, I guess that's it. Let's see how fast this baby can go. ;-)
Prologue
She opened her mouth in a soundless scream, preparing herself for the endless pain she knew was coming. For hours she had been sitting, bloodied in the hard wooden chair her captor had placed her in, hands tied behind her back and feet roped to the chair legs in tight knots, cutting away her circulation as they dug deep into her soft, sensitive flesh. Her eyes were bloodshot and red, and her voice was raw from crying out during the interminable torture she was enduring.
This wasn't what she had in mind for the evening when she had woken up that morning, relaxing on her porch with a newspaper and cup of coffee in hand. The sun had been shining bright, filling the air with brimming illusions of a perfect day.
Lying bastard.
The knife was coming closer, not even a hairbreadth away from her cheekbone as it slid casually across her face with the skill and precision of a person who had done this often. The feeling of the sharp blade piercing the skin just below her right eye was devastating. Her painful shriek echoed around the empty warehouse she had been taken to, before fading away, only to be replaced by more screams of anguish and a harsh laugh coming from her source of the pain.
"Come on sweet heart. Just a little louder."
His efforts were rewarded as the curved blade sunk slowly into her left shoulder, bringing more screams and pleas for mercy. But he only chuckled softly. "If you tell me what I want to know, I promise, it will be quick."
She instantly clamped her mouth shut, biting her bottom lip to try and keep from trembling. She would say nothing. She would never betray them. They were her friends and she swore to herself that she would die for them. It wasn't until now that she realized it might actually come to that.
"Come on Danielle." The man smiled, though his actual face was hidden by the shadows that danced across it. "I know you're not shy."
The knife traced down to her torn jeans and Danielle sucked in her breath as it slowly circled around her knee, lazily prolonging the horror it was about to inflict. "And if you're not shy. . . that must mean that you are being difficult." The man slowly drawled. "Dani. . ."
"It's Danielle." she snapped through her clenched teeth, almost biting off her tongue for engaging with him.
"Danielle." He agreed in a low voice that sent a cold shiver down her spine. "Do you know how much damage this small piece of metal could do if cuts around your kneecap? A stab here, a slice there. . ." he continued as if savoring the idea. "I bet it would hurt. Or maybe. . ." he looked down to her booted feet. "How necessary are toes anyway?"
Danielle tried to control herself as her sobs sent small spasms through her body, her blonde hair, now stained by the dripping crimson liquid, fell over her forehead, casting dark shadows across her face. "G- go to hell you freakin' bastard."
The man burst out laughing and leaned closer to her face till his rank breath overpowered her senses. "Been there, done that. Now please tell me what I want to know. I don't want to hurt you." he raked his gaze down her perfect figure and raised an eyebrow as he reached out, cupping her face in his large hands. "And red really isn't your color."
Danielle tried to pull away from his hand but his grasp was firm and all she could do was stare into his eyes. His horribly dark eyes, glittering evilly though there was no light for them to be reflecting off of.
He gave another bone tingling grin. "You sure? Because I don't have to do this. It'll just be fun."
She shook her head and pursed her lips into a tight drawn line for her answer, attempting to ignore the unmistakable evil crouching in front of her and failing miserably.
"Alright then." His voice was so absent of any emotion or feeling that it felt eerily unnatural and Danielle couldn't help a small flinch giving away that thought as his hand took a small piece of her hair and tucked it behind her bloodied ear. "You should wear your hair back. That way I can see your pretty face while you scream."
He stood back and rifled around in a large duffel bag he had with him, obviously looking for something he kept for just such an occasion all the while humming a small tune that seemed unfamiliar to Danielle. It was soft, strong, and had a melody that pulled you right in. It was beautiful but haunting. . . Sounding of sorrow and a great loss. If she hadn't wanted to cry before, she sure as hell did now. . .
"Ah, here we go." his voice made her jerk back as she realized she hadn't been paying attention and her captor was now leering in front of her with a horrendous looking knife that reminded her of a sawfish as it had a straight blade with sharpened hooks protruding from both sides. "Now tell me," he continued as he leaned closely to her restrained leg enjoying the look of pure panic emanating from his victim. "Where are they? Where are the hunters?"
"I- I don't know what you're talking about you freak."
"Don't lie. That's a sin, and God knows how many you've already committed. You don't want to go to hell do you?" The grin was back and as taunting as ever though his face was yet to be revealed to the girl in the chair. It wasn't time yet.
"I always did like to keep my options open." Danielle spat, surprised at herself for being a complete smart-ass while staring into the face of all the fears and pain she had ever imagined.
He raised his head up and brought it threatening close to her own before dipping it down beside her neck in what could have been interpreted as a nuzzle. His mouth was practically touching her ear as he whispered harshly, his hot breath searing across her neck. "I always did like a girl with spirit. Maybe if you tell me about the hunters. . . I wouldn't have to kill you, and we could do something more. . . pleasurable."
Danielle jerked away as best she could, seething at the suggestion. "Over my cold, dead body."
Another grin. "That can be arranged." he lifted his knife back up and began to flip it between his fingers like a cheerleader with a baton, except that knife was a lot sharper then a baton and he was probably the farthest thing you could get from a cheerleader.
She gritted her teeth tightly and held her breath, awaiting the fearful pain she knew was coming, but. . . nothing. It took a moment to realize she had clenched her eyelids together and slowly peeked from behind her damp lashes to see what the hold up was.
Her captor was merely staring at her before he crouched down one final time and stared into her eyes with a pleading expression on his face. But there was something about his eyes that seemed so damn familiar. . . "Are you sure you won't tell me?"
Now that she thought about it, his voice was strangely familiar too. "W- who are you?"
"You don't recognize me? Too bad." he leaned forward and stared her down, his voice lowering to a deep growl. "'Cause I sure as hell know you."
All Danielle knew then was pain. It came in sharp blinding waves, rolling up and down her body, unable to pinpoint the source. "Oh godཀ" she cried out, horrified at discovering small amounts of blood clawing its way up her throat as she fell into a coughing fit.
"God has nothing to do with it."
Her vision began to spin and her head felt light. . . no, heavy. . . wait. . .
Her mind was working slowly, unable to latch onto anything solid as it flew around in different directions, teasing her and her inability to think clearly.
The man stepped back, standing to his full height, chuckling softly to himself.
It was then that Danielle realized the saw-knife was embedded to the hilt in her abdomen, allowing her precious blood to flow freely from the wound. Mixed between her cries and groans were loud whimpers; the only sounds she could seem to get past her lips.
"Do you want me to take it out?"
Danielle almost nodded her head before remembering that the knife had hooks. It would only do more damage if it was removed. Tears streaked down her face as she realized she was going to die. There was nothing she could do about it.
A hand brushed softly against her cheek. "Oh, Danielle. Don't cry. Just because I'm going to find your friends anyway and you will have died for nothing. . . But hey. At least you're doing the honest thing, right?"
Danielle looked up to face her captor and her eyes widened when she saw the most unexpected thing. "Y- you? Why are you d- doing this?" she wished desperately that she had the use of her hands, but only met the resistance of the thick ropes as her vision darkened and knew that she fading.
"Because. It's my job." And with that statement the man walked over and placed his fingers on her temples, closing his eyes as if in deep concentration.
Danielle cried out as an even sharper pain went driving through her skull like a knife, probing around mercilessly for anything it could find. Her mind flashed back to distant memories. Memories of her childhood. . . her first car. . . her boyfriend. . . her house. . . "Noཀ" she screamed out as a last attempt to stop this freak from finding everything. But to no avail.
Lifting his now buzzing fingers from the lifeless skull in front of him, the man stood, soaking in all the new information Danielle's memories provided, leading him to his next target. "Thank you Dani. And don't worry about the knife. You can keep it."
Side note: Danielle is a character completely created in my overly active imagination. She will be mentioned on and off in the story but she is - for lack of a more sensitive word- dead. That means all those interested in romance will be severely disappointed, and those who like our boys as loners can completely relax. - Kerri