Guardians of the Watchtower: North

Chapter 10

Ivy woke in the middle of the night, still sleepy and glanced over at the clock it was three a.m., rubbing her eyes she turned over and snuggled deeper into her cocoon of blankets telling herself it was too early. No school, I need to go back to sleep, but the bathroom light was on.....I didn't leave that on.....Ivy crawled out from under the covers, pulling her t-shirt back down where it had risen up in her sleep and slowly walked to the bathroom. Wiping her eyes so she could see as she pushed the door open, a gust of steam washed over her instantly sending a chill down her spine and dampening the stray baby hairs that framed her face. Barely able to see into the bathroom she tried to peer through, squinting her eyes, she saw a dark figure sitting on the side of her bathtub with their feet in it. Ivy called out but was choked by the steam she coughed harshly and put her hand to her throat. She tried to step further into the bathroom and realized she couldn't feel her feet she looked down to see she was sinking into the marble floor. Ivy began to panic trying to grab for the doorknob or the towels that hung from the shower, that's when the figure got up and turned. The thing was tall and huge with black globs falling off of it like to much ink on a quill pen, splattering once it hit the floor. It crawled up the walls around her, spreading out like scattered black webs to trap her. It was coming towards her and her fear spiked, she had this feeling that it was coming after her with the intention of hurting her. It was too late Ivy's hands faltered, she slipped and was falling towards the floor, t it opened up, thousands of black ink covered hands shot out, grabbing her arms and hair, ripping her down into the darkness. Their screams filled Ivy's every fiber as she began to scream, trying to fight back but the marble swallowed her.........Ivy woke up screaming, fighting against her covers stuck in a fear-filled state of mind, fighting for her life. So when she fell out of bed she had no chance to try and catch herself and landed with a hard thud, on her side knocking the wind out of her. She lay there looking up at the ceiling, gasping for air, as she struggles to not panic at not being able to breathe. A knock on the door made Ivy look in its direction.
"Miss Fomalhaut your breakfast is ready, I heard a loud thud are you, okay ma'am."
Still unable to get a full breath Ivy strained to gasp out,
"Just .....Ivy.....damn it."
"Ma'am?"
"I'm......okay.......I fell out of bed."
"Do you need help ma'am?"
"No, I'll be out shortly."
"Yes, ma'am."
Ivy was left in silent pain, to drag herself from the floor slowly. Grabbing only her robe she left it untied and pulled her hair up into a messy bun. She could hear someone in the sitting room as she approached the door ready to go in and eat breakfast. Ivy stopped when she heard more than one voice talking about her birthday. She pressed her ear to the door but still couldn't make out what they were saying. Finally tired of straining to hear what they were saying, Ivy pulled the door open hoping to catch someone mid-sentence but was fully embarrassed when she found it wasn't just one or two people but six people sitting in her sitting room. Except for her mother, John, and Sylar the others were complete strangers. They all turned from where they sat at the table to look at her as soon as the door handle hit the wall. Ivy was instantly scarlet red as she tried to play it off and straighten her robe Walking to the table in short quick strides she sat down, Bridgette instantly walked up and poured her morning glass of fresh orange juice. Ivy avoided everyone's eyes as they turned back to their conversations, everyone but Sylar.
"Good morning Sunshine!" Sylar half laughed as he bit into a fork full of pancakes, but Ivy's quick glare of death cut it off at the bud.
Shanon patted Ivy's hand in an I'm sitting here but not really paying attention to what you're doing, kinda way, a typical motherly action for her when she was distracted by adult conversation. Shanon didn't notice the sideways awkward glance Ivy gave her, but it was there and right before Ivy pulled her hand back into her lap. Bridgette placed all the uncovered silver trays in front of Ivy as she always did and left taking the trolley cart with her. The short stack of pancakes was perfect like something you'd only see in a commercial or in a picture about how amazing someone's restaurant food is but it never quite looks like the pictures on the menu. They smelled delicious but Ivy was still distracted by the dream, the things that had happened at school before break, and the fact that Sylar knew about the note. Sneaking a quick look at Sylar, but of course, he was already staring at her so he noticed her looking him, she quickly looked back down at her pancakes. The fact that she couldn't shake the feeling of all those hands grabbing her and trying to pull her into a black hole she was sure she'd never come out. Her mother's words fell on deaf ears.
"Wouldn't you love that Ivy? Ivy?...."
Ivy looked up right as she was shoveling a bit of syrupy pancakes into her mouth, completely oblivious to anything anyone at that table had said to her or about her. Ivy quickly improvised.
"Mmm hmm ya hmmm" but the mumbles were met with chuckles from Sylar.
"Don't talk with your mouth full Ivy," Shanon said shortly as if this behavior was abnormal for Ivy
Choking partially, Ivy swallowed her mouth full and replied without even realizing her words were a bit pointed, even for her.
"Well then don't talk to me while I'm eating!"
"IVY!"
Instantly Ivy felt guilty, at her mother's scolding words between a bite of food and a sip of ice cold orange juice, Ivy mumbled her apology.
"You'd like a big party, right? With a big pretty dress and lots of food, right honey?"
Her mother's words were accompanied by another hand pat, making Ivy miss stabbing the little sausage that was running away from her on the side plate. Not even bothering to look up Ivy's reply was short and simple.
"No."
Everyone stopped talking and just stared at her, making it extremely uncomfortable as she looked around. Ivy felt like she was the sausage and they were the fork. She looked at Shannon then.
"Mom I don't have any friends here, I don't know anyone here who is gonna wanna come to my birthday..."
"Oh don't be foolish you have tons of friends, Ivy."
"Yeah back in Denver."
"We already have a guest list with tons of friends of your fathers and the families who have children your age that would love to come help celebrate your birthday with us!"
"I don't want a pity party mom. I don't want to be around a bunch of people I don't know!"
"Hedera, it's your birthday you have to..." Ivy cut her off.
" I don't have to do anything, I don't want a party!" before her mom could think of a reply Ivy was already up running barefoot down the hall, her robes flowing in a flurry of greens and black behind her, as she rounded the top of the stairs and skipped two stairs at a time.
"You can't make me throw a party for complete strangers mother!" Swinging around the ebony banister at the bottom of the staircase and sliding across the floor, risky business style, to the kitchen and out the back door to the labyrinth. The frosty grass had no effect on her bare feet her heart was rushing boiling blood to every end of her body as she ran wholeheartedly.
"You're acting like a child IVY!!!" her mother was yelling from the balcony of her bedroom.
"You can't make me!!" was the last she yelled as she ducked into the labyrinth. Her bare feet squished in the mud where the snow had melted.
Ivy ran to the beautiful angel, her stone face forever trapped in tranquil sadness would never demand anything she didn't feel comfortable doing. Why couldn't her mother understand where she was coming from? She'd moved Ivy to the middle of nowhere and automatically expected her to have tons of friends. It was like her mother had become this completely different person, not the person that used to stay up late eating microwave burritos and listening to music all hours of the day with her. The mother that once cared more about being an individual than being one of the sheep, being led by the wolves. Not this woman who was changing everything about herself and becoming a complete stranger to her own daughter.
Ivy sat down on her knees at the edge of the wading pool that surrounded the angel. She became lost in her thoughts, about how to talk to her mother, how she'd been feeling or if she even cared at this point. The only thing Shanon seemed to care about anymore was everyone but Ivy. She wondered if her mother had been attacked by body snatchers and replaced by an alien. All Ivy wanted to do was to go home, this place was strange and mean, not like her in any way, and for the first time, she was angry with her father. How could you leave me in a place like this? I needed you and you left me behind daddy. No matter how hard Ivy fought, the tears flowed from her eyes and fell into the pool, causing the surface to ripple and destroy the image of the angelic face.
Leaning further over the edge of the pool, Ivy gazed at herself, distorted on the surface in the ripples, the girl looking back at her was red-eyed and nothing like the girl she used to see in the mirror. Her hair tumbled over her shoulder and fell into the water. Ivy watched as it flowed gracefully in the water, before sitting back on her feet and trying to ring it out. A chill went down her spine as the cold began to nip at her bare toes and wet hands. Placing her hands on the stone border to lift herself up, the stone gave way. She was falling face first into the icy water. Ivy's screams were cut short when she smacked her head against the side of the pedestal the angel kneeled on. A warm trickle slid down Ivy's face and into the water, scarlet against its dinginess. Dazed and fuzzy headed from the blow Ivy grabbed onto the angel's arm knowing she wasn't going to stay conscious. The world was fading at the edges, and she began to sink into the murky waters betrayed by her saving grace. Goddess help me! was the last thought Ivy had before she slipped below the surface of the water, into a black abyss of darkness that devoured all the happiness in her world.
Ivy woke up gasping for the second time that day. This time the pain was real as she automatically reached for her head. Gasping, she felt the shooting pain streaking across her face as her fingertips barely grazed the wound. When she pulled back her hand to look, sharp pains shot spikes down the sides of her face, making the throbbing in her head worse. The sight of her hands, stained with her own blood, made her stomach turn and twist in a way she wasn't prepared for. Looking around she was alone, not a soul in sight. Drenched from head to toe Ivy got on her hands and knees slowly. The world around her rippled like the surface of the wading pool she couldn't hold the queasy feeling back anymore and threw up every bite she had eaten before ending up in this situation. Ivy tried to steadying herself to get to her feet but found trying to stand futile. Looking around again for any sign of help, Ivy wiped her mouth clean then spotted the white edge of a book and plastic, near the pool. Shaking her head a little, Ivy tried knocking some of the stars loose that she saw swirling through her vision. She crawled closer to see beneath the stone that had given way, it was hollow, a secret storage place. Inside was a thick black book, wrapped in plastic to protect it. Ivy reached for the book and inched closer to it to grab it and not be too close to the water, her hand sliding in the new mud, she grabbed the book and pulled it to her chest as she inched her way back away from the pool altogether. Her family's crest was on the cover, could be seen through the plastic. Ivy tried to wipe her eyes and knew she was going to pass out again if she didn't get help. She tucked the book into the secret pocket that was sewn on the inside of her robe and began screaming for help. She screamed so hard that her voice cracked and made her choke for a second but it was enough to get the job done because by the time she had stopped coughing she could hear men and women yelling her name. Some were far, some closer. She yelled out one last time and laid down on her side. Holding her stomach and the book close, she knew it was something she had to protect.
"She's here!!!"
Ivy looked up to see a blurred version of Sylar running towards her, his face a mixture of worry, relief, and pain as he tried to figure out where the blood was coming from and trying to get her to stay awake.
"It's okay Ivy I'm here I'm gonna get you help."
He scooped her up in his arms, half tossing her up to get a better hold, causing Ivy to cry out in pain as her head slammed into the firmness of his arm. Sylar held her close to his body as she went limp in his arms, slipping in and out of consciousnesses only catching glimpses of what was going on around her. He hurried with her back out the entrance of the labyrinth to get her help. Sylar rushed with Ivy in his arms across the terrace, up the steps, and through the back kitchen doorway, she had escaped through earlier. He yelled for someone to clear the table, and the first one through the door was Bridgette. She immediately cleared everything from the table so he could lay Ivy down as gently as he could on it.
Ivy grabbed the sleeve of his shirt as she slipped from his muscular arms onto the surface prepared for her, barely enough strength to do even that,
"Don't leave me Sylar," she whispered as she blacked out again.
The maids were running to get hot water and towels as Sylar yelled for John, who was there in a moment examining Ivy's wound and checking to make sure she had no other. The maids quickly shooed everyone from the room to give John space. He diligently tried to stop the gushing blood by applying pressure to the wound as the maids tried to cover her half soaked and frozen body in warm towels as she began to go into convulsions from the shock. She was shaking like a leaf in the wind. The last thing Ivy remembered was a ghostly purple light, like the one she saw floating by the lake, but this one was so bright it was blinding her, stealing her vision from her as she slipped from this world into the land of the babes. She prayed that no one would find her secret book.