Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/12199716.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      Rammstein
  Relationship:
      Christoph_Schneider_|_Doom/Original_Female_Character(s)
  Character:
      Christoph_Schneider_|_Doom, Christian_Lorenz_|_Flake, Richard_Kruspe,
      Till_Lindemann, Paul_Landers, Oliver_Riedel, Original_Female_Character(s)
  Additional Tags:
      Supernatural_Elements, ghost_-_Freeform, Mystery
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-09-27 Updated: 2017-10-09 Chapters: 2/? Words: 8666
****** Feuer und Wasser ******
by Em_i_a
Summary
     Adeline Muller is an seventeen year old outcast, who lives on a day
     to day regime of going to school, and coming home to her passed out
     mother everyday. To the community she is an unknown, to her
     classmates she is non existent, but when a missing case arises, and
     she awakens to find the victim in her bedroom, questions begin to
     come up in her mind. Will she be able to solve the mystery, or will
     it just slip through the cracks like any missing person's case?
Notes
     Okay guys! New story! Very excited, I have a lot of ideas for this, I
     even have the ending written out already (That's how excited I am for
     this thing!). I hope you guys enjoy, and tell me your thoughts in the
     comments!
***** Snowfall *****
 I sat on my bed, staring out the window, watching the snowfall in front of my
eyes. I had been up since the night before, awaken by another nightmare about
me dying, this time it was me accidentally getting t-boned by a drunk driver.
These things were frequent, and most of the time I would stay up until the
morning, which was when I had to get ready for school. I turned my head to my
alarm clock, seeing the bright red numbers shining 5:54 am. School started at
8:00, so I had some time to spare. I decided to get up from my bed with the
blankets draped around me, and grab my towel off my dresser, making my way to
the bathroom so I could take a long hot shower before setting out on my quick,
and cold journey to school. I opened the door of my bedroom and dragged my feet
across the dark hardwood floor to get to the washroom directly across the hall.
I stepped in and closed the door behind me, I felt along the wall, switching on
the dim yellowy light.
 I stared at myself, my dark green eyes, a mix between my mothers bright green
eyes, and my fathers dark brown one's, starring back at my reflection, I looked
like a child, even though I was seventeen. My hips were non existent, my chest
could be compared to a flat board, I could probably would be mistaken for a guy
if I didn't have my long, dark red hair, that accented my pale freckle filled
skin. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, letting out a long yawn. Maybe I
should take some sleeping pills tonight so I could get a good night's sleep. I
walked over to the shower, reaching behind the curtain to turn on the water,
the light, soothing sound of the water hitting the tub rang through my ears,
bringing me slight relaxation, as I moved away from the shower to take my t-
shirt and underwear off, folding my blanket as well. I placed the clothes onto
the towel rack so I wouldn't forget them when I got out of the shower. I
stepped into the bright white bathtub, letting the cold water flow freely over
my face and my neck, all the way down my chest. I pushed my hair back with my
hands, as I grabbed a bar of soap, running it over my body, making sure to not
miss an inch. I scrubbed hard, trying to wake myself up so I wouldn't fall
asleep during class. I could tell I was going a little overboard when my skin
began to turn a cherry red, so I decided to stop before I did anymore damage. I
rinsed the soap off my body, and grabbed the bottle of shampoo for my hair,
putting a generous amount into the palm of my hand. I lathered the soap into my
hair, dragging my nails over my scalp. I let out a small sigh, as I dipped my
head down, and rinsed the shampoo out. I turned off the water, and straightened
out, squeezing all the water out of my hair, before reaching out and grabbing
my towel, wrapping it around myself before stepping out of the shower. I
proceeded to walk out of the bathroom, closing the light and the door behind
me, holding my t-shirt, blanket and shorts against me, ignoring my reflection
this time. My damp feet left small wet footsteps on the floor, as I went back
into my bedroom. I grabbed my army jacket, a pair of black tights, a regular
fit t-shirt, and some underwear, completely forgetting about the bra, since I
didn't really need one. I pulled on every piece of clothing that I gathered,
tightening my watch around my wrist. Throwing my towel into the hamper before
pulling on my muddy Converse. I can't remember when the mud got on them, but it
gave a completely new character to them, which I enjoyed quite a lot, I didn't
like the bright white anyways. I grabbed my light blue backpack, a small red
stain, probably from my hair dye, I threw the bag over my shoulders, taking one
last glance at my room, a small sigh escaped my lips, as I closed the door,
making my way down to the main level, seeing my mother passed out on the couch,
a few empty liquor bottles scattered across the coffee table. I slowly tip toed
over to her, hoping that I wouldn't wake her as I gathered the empty bottles in
my arms, and successfully I didn't.
 
 She began drinking sometime at the beginning of the year after my dad left, I
remember coming home and seeing all the bags packed, my mom crying and
screaming that he couldn't leave her, not at a time like this. I was so
confused, yet when I went to comfort her she just ignored me, and she's been
ignoring me ever since. I've at least made an attempt to speak to her, but she
gives no reply. I walked to the kitchen, placing all of the bottles in a line,
from largest to smallest on the island in the center of the kitchen. I wish I
could hide the alcohol sometimes, just so she would start talking to me
again. I hopped over to the cupboard, grabbing a granola bar from one of the
boxes. I took one last look into the living room, longing for her to possibly
wake up and say goodbye to me, yet she doesn't and my heart sinks just a little
bit. I shook myself out of my thoughts, and opened the wrapper of the granola
bar, while I exited from the back door of the house, making sure to close, and
lock it properly. The cold winter air blew my hair across my face, causing me
to move it out of my sight. I turned around, and walked down the wooden porch
steps, huddling into my large green army jacket, craving the warmth. I took a
large bite of the granola bar, slowly savoring the sweet and salty flavor, the
white chocolate melting on my tongue, I placed the bar between my teeth, while
I unlocked the fence that led to the football field of the school. I was pretty
lucky that my backyard was basically the school. The woods was probably the
biggest thing that I liked about it though, since it was the easiest escape
from my usual home life. I zipped up my jacket, all the way up to my neck, as I
set off on my journey towards the fairly large building, that was dark and
ominous through the heavy snowfall. Snow crushed beneath my feet, soaking
through the canvas and dry mud that my shoes carried, I cringed slightly at the
feeling, as I took yet another large bite of the granola bar, I got closer and
closer to my destination, looking down at my wrist watch. Going to arrive right
after the announcements. I continued to walk, keeping my ears trained on the
crushing sound of the snow. I had never seen this much snow coming down at the
beginning of December. I could feel my hair freezing on the ends, the top of my
scalp soaking up the small snowflakes that fell onto it, a second shower in a
sense. I stepped off the football field, and began walking through the parking
lot where most of the teachers parked either their shitty, run down cars, or
their sports cars, you could tell which one's had been teaching longer from the
cars. My eyes fixated on a bright red car that had a dent on the side of
it, must've been a rough night. I finished the granola bar completely, throwing
the wrapper out into the nearest garbage that I walked by. My eyes leered over
to the smoker stairs, seeing them blowing out large wads of smoke, and even
though I was about twenty feet away from them, I could still smell the harsh
scent of tobacco, mixed with the strong scent of marijuana. At this time in the
morning? I don't know how I would survive if I was high during some of the
lectures that the teachers give. I got a little closer to them, and walked
right by them, they were completely unfazed, like they didn't even notice
me, which was something that I grew accustomed to over time. 
 I walked up the front steps, taking a deep breath in, and out before opening
the door and entering the school. My nose went into overdrive, many scents
hitting me all at once. The spicy smells of cheap and expensive colognes mixed
together, some body odor laced with it. I missed the morning rush, which was
awesome, even though I was later than usual. I walked by a few people, bumping
shoulders with them, no apologies were exchanged. Teens had no manners these
days. I skipped a few steps as I went to my morning class, which was biology,
the teacher rarely closed the door, knowing that most of us would be late since
it was the morning, and it was also the cold days of winter, so traffic was a
factor as well. I entered the room, going all the way to the back of the class,
where nobody was. I put my bag down on the seat beside me, and pulled the dark
red chair out from under the long table, everyone looking over at me
immediately like I murdered someone, even though it was just the scratching of
the chair dragging across the white lament floor. I guess everyone hated the
noise. The biology teacher usually let us do whatever we want, it was pretty
much an easy A as long as you did the homework, and studied when you needed to.
The class lasted an hour and fifteen minutes, once in a while Mr. Milton would
ask if we were okay with the content, and most of the time we wouldn't even
give an answer, we just stayed silent. This went on the whole day, for every
period. No one would talk, and it was pretty much a study day. I guess it was
the weather that caused everyone to go into lazy mode, hell even teachers were
lazy during this time of the year. Hibernation season. 
 I took the long way home that afternoon, going through the snow filled town. I
kept my eyes on my shoes the whole time, only stopping when I accidentally
stepped on my own shoelace and untied it. I let out a grunt of frustration,
crouching down to tie my shoe, my back cracking loudly like ice when it cracks
under the weight of feet. I leaned against a lamp post, quickly tightening the
shoe lace, making a double knot so it wouldn't come out this time. I stood back
up, grazing a piece of paper, a poster with big, bold, red lettering catching
my eye. Missing: Christoph Schneider. My eyes ran over his photo, he had bluish
grey eyes, which was framed by a light shade of eyeliner. His hair was a medium
length, just above his shoulders, and was curled, the dark brown color casting
a small shadow on his cheeks. Age: 43. He definitely didn't look 43 at all, in
fact he looked fairly youthful. Height: 6'3ft, Weight: 185lbs, Specific
Features: Drummer of Rammstein. If there is any information on this case please
contact the police urgently. 100% confidentiality guaranteed. Yet another
missing person, only this time it's someone really special apparently, someone
who is part of a band, if that is the guys 'special feature'. I stared at the
picture for one more minute, feeling a sense of Déjà vu, it felt like just
yesterday that there was a different photo of a young woman, who probably
hasn't been found, she was around my age. I proceeded to flip up the man's
picture, seeing Cassidy Elmer, the previous person who was missing. I remember
her acting up the day before she went missing, I overheard her saying that she
felt like someone was watching her, and I guess that someone was...Especially
after she went missing. I let Christoph's photo fall in front of her's, not
wanting to go through the whole pile of Missing posters. I then continued my
journey home, walking by the local stores, right by the cigar shop, that had a
few men sitting outside on the metal benches, huddled up in their coats as they
took long drags from their expensive cigars. I adverted my gaze from them, not
garnering any attention from them. They seemed quite dangerous, probably
retired military officers, or cops. I was quite small, about 5ft 2, so of
course they were intimidating to me. I could see a few people from my school
sitting outside one of the corner stores, they were all laughing, as they
smoked some cheap cigarettes. A girl from my Biology class sat on Ben Kilgners
lap, her arms draped around his neck, as they stared longingly at each other,
breathing smoke into each others faces. How romantic. Ben had been in my class
since grade nine, and only spoke to me for that year, until he got ripped to
shreds by a few people for even speaking to me. I walked by them, once again my
gaze avoided their's. Not like they would even look at me anyways, they were on
a whole different level that they didn't even look at someone that was lower
than them. I wanted to tell them off, but I knew that it wasn't my place to do
so. If, and when it does happen though, they will deserve it. I turned down my
street, stepping into the untouched snow, my feet getting soaked in the
process. The mud was still clearly on my shoes, and was definitely never going
to come off, since I had been walking in the snow for a good fifteen minutes,
and the dark brown mud didn't even fade. I looked around at the houses of my
street, some people were outside shoveling their driveways, as kids jumped into
the piles of snow, throwing handfuls of the fluffy snow into the air, letting
it gracefully fall over their wool hats. Their laughs filled my ears, the joy
warming my heart. Their innocence and purity was fascinating, they didn't have
a care in the world, no stress, no worry, they just focused on whatever was
happening. They weren't drowning in alcohol, or smoking like chimneys, they
were just...Living. I got to the end of the street where my dark bricked house
was located. There was no car parked, but it looked like my mom had a struggle
to get over the mountain of snow that was piled heavily in front of the long
winded driveway. I gracefully hopped over the snowbank, and walked towards the
large steps that led to the large, dark wooden door, that had a black see
through screen in front of it. I gripped the cold metal railing tightly,
holding myself against it so I wouldn't slip on a patch of ice and fall down
the stairs, knowing that my mother probably didn't put any salt down, since she
was probably a little hungover, and dazed from the prior night of drinking.
 I got up to the landing, taking the key out of the side pocket of my bag,
unlocking the door, pushing it open. I stepped into the house, the toasty
temperature engulfing my ice cold flesh. I took off my shoes, wiping my damp
feet on the carpet, I put the keys back into the side pocket, as I walked
across the living room, towards the kitchen. Immediately noticing the empty
bottles that I had put on the counter, broken and scattered across the floor. I
let out a small sigh, placing my backpack on the counter, grabbing the mini
duster and dustpan from under the sink, walking over to the pile of glass,
dragging the brush across the floor, swiping it into the plastic pan, the sound
of the glass scratching across the floor making my ears ring. I threw the
shattered glass into the garbage can, putting the brush and dustpan under the
sink. I let out a small sigh, slowly standing up. I grabbed my bag, throwing it
over my shoulder before making my way up the stairs quickly. I entered my
bedroom, gently placing the light blue backpack on the floor, as I unzipped my
jacket, throwing it onto my dresser. I took my tights off as well, exchanging
them for shorts, as I shuffled over to my unmade bed, grabbing the knitted
quilt off the ground. I wrapped it around myself before dropping onto my bed,
my head hitting my soft pillow. I let out a light breath, a sigh of relaxation
as my sleepless brain began to doze off. 
 ------
 The loud booming sound of thunder awoke me during the night. Immediately I
shot up from my bed, breathing heavily. My room was pitch black, I couldn't
even see my own hand in front of me. The pang of rain hitting the roof top
echoed through my room, surrounding me. I felt a breeze brush by my
nose, must've accidentally left the window open. I placed my face in my hands,
catching my breath against them. I dragged them down my cheeks, letting out a
little sigh, when I finally calmed down, another crash of thunder, accompanied
by lightning shot me back into panic, but not because of the sudden noise, it
was what I saw. A silhouette at the edge of my bed, casting a shadow onto my
wall. I placed my hand on my mouth, hoping that the person didn't notice me. I
slowly moved towards my bedside table, reaching for my lamp, or pocket knife,
hoping to god that I wouldn't make a sudden noise. I lifted the pocket knife,
and raised my hand to the switch to turn on the light. I took a deep breath
against my hand, quickly turning on the lamp, the dim light shining providing
me the sight I needed to scope out the situation completely. I was about to
scream, seeing who the intruder was. It was the man who was missing. His hair
was dripping wet, his t-shirt soaked with the rain from outside. He looked
distressed, and scared quite frankly, probably just as much as me.
 "Please! Please don't scream!" He begged, his thick German accent ringing
through my ears. I felt tears weld up in my eyes, as I flicked open the knife
so the blade was exposed. I stared at him, my hand shaking. His grayish blue
eyes observed the knife, my stomach turned with fear, and anxiety, and I could
tell that he was feeling the same way, I mean...I was holding a knife up at him
basically threatening his life.
 "And why shouldn't I?" I replied, my voice coarse, and shaky, like I hadn't
used it in so long. He moved towards me holding his hands up still. I backed
away from him, my back pressed up against the headboard, with the knife in
front of me still.
 "Because I'm already dead, and there's no point in making yourself look like a
crazy person." He reasoned, dead? I slowly closed the knife, eyeing him
suspiciously. He sat down on the foot of my bed, and I could feel it shift
down. 
 "What do you mean by...Dead?" I raised my eyebrow, watching the droplets of
water fall off the tips of his hair. He glance over at me, blinking several
times, thinking about the answer. This gave me enough time to take in the
features of his face, just in case he tried to steal something, or attacked
me. Light stubble, his blue-grey eyes, the hair. 
 "I have no heart beat...I can..." He paused for a moment and took in a deep
breath.
 "SCREAM AS LOUD AS I WANT!" He yelled. My ears ringing loudly.
 "And...Nobody can hear me..." I stared at him, placing my hands on my temples.
 "Then why can I hear you?" I asked, eyeing him. He raised his shoulders.
 "I don't know...Maybe it's because you saw or acknowledged my Missing
poster...I don't know...Like at all. The only thing I know was that I could see
a beacon of light right where your house was...So I followed it...That's all."
He explained, completely confused about what he was saying, like he didn't
understand it. He let out a shaky breath, shivering because of how cold he was.
I got up and quickly closed the window, locking it tightly.
 "Here...I'll go grab you some dry clothes...I think my dad might've left some
things behind." I muttered, walking out of my bedroom. I tip toed to my mothers
room, opening the door slightly. I poked my head in, scanning the room,
checking if the coast was clear, which it was.I stepped in, working quickly to
gather some clothes. I found a shirt, some track pants, boxer short, and a few
extra blankets that the man could use. I couldn't even remember his name.I
exited my mom's room, closing the door behind me gently. I made my way across
the hall, entering my bedroom again, pushing the door until it clicked behind
me. The man turned around his eyes scanning the clothes.
  "Oh thank goodness, I'm freezing." He exclaimed, prying his soaked shirt off.
I caught a few glances of his slightly toned muscles, that were covered with a
few deep wounds. I winced, tearing my eyes away from him. I turned my head
towards the doorway, so I wasn't staring. Maybe he already noticed them?I felt
an article of clothing being taken off from the pile. 
 "What's your name?" He inquired curiously. I felt a small warm breeze flow
across my bare legs from the vent that was right beside me. 
 "Adeline...Can you remind me what your's is?" Two pieces of clothing was taken
out of my arms, as I heard a few things dropping to the ground. I kept my eyes
fixated on the dark wooden door. 
 "Christoph, but you can just call me Schneider...Everyone does...Or did at
least." He croaked, I felt the extra blankets being taken off my arms, which
indicated to me that he was finished changing. I turned my head back to him.
Schneider picked up his wet clothes and held them up.
 "Where do you want me to put these?" I shrugged, holding my hand out.
 "I'll go throw them into the hamper." He carefully handed the wet clothes to
me. I glanced up at him briefly, causing him to turn around and grab the spare
blanket off my bed. I quickly hopped over to my mother's room throwing the
soaked clothes into the hamper, and made my way back in record time. I
returned, and closed the door behind me, noticing Schneider sitting on my
window sill, the blanket wrapped around him. I climbed into my bed, with my
back against the headboard, as the roaring thunder shot through my ears, the
power going out in the process. I let out a small groan, turning onto my side
to face the window. Lightening flashed through the window, my eyes being able
to observe Schneider, without him really noticing. His breath fogged up the
window. If he was dead...Then how was he able to interact with the world like a
normal human...Was he some sort of ghost? Is this all just a dream...A figment
of my imagination?I could hear him begin to snore, which was a sign for me to
get some sleep as well, or at least try to.I kept my eyes on Schneider for as
long as I could keep them open, until my heavy eyelids began to droop,
engulfing me in the darkness of my dreams. 
***** Ghost *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
 I shot up from my bed instantly, drowning in a puddle of sweat. My heart was
racing, beating a thousands times a minute. I was gasping for air, my chest
feeling like it was caving in on itself. Immediately I reached over to my side
table, tapping around for my puffer in sheer panic, I gasped for as much air as
I could, hoping that I wasn't going to pass out. I finally managed to grab it,
taking the small rectangular cap off, I breathed heavily, taking deep breaths
in and out as slow as I possibly could, before pressing down on the top button,
emitting the bitter puff of medicine into my mouth. I coughed loudly, putting
my arm over my mouth to shield it from echoing through the room. I took another
deep breath of the puffer's air, and put the cap back on, a little more relaxed
than before, but still quite tense from the nightmare that just came to haunt
me in the depths of my mind. 
 "You okay?" Schneider's booming voice asked sleepily from the window sill that
he still occupied. I almost forgot that he was there, I probably would've if he
didn't say anything to be honest. I glanced over at him, a faint look of
confusion painted on my face like I was trying to figure out my own feelings. 
 "Yeah...I guess." I replied, leaning back against the headboard, feeling a
bead of sweat dripping down the small of my back. I could feel his gaze burning
into the side of my face. I turned my head, our eyes meeting, my eyebrows were
raised in reaction to his facial expression. From the reflection of the bright
white snow that was outside, shining into my room I could see a look of
concern, and disbelief drawn across his face. 
 "What...You don't believe me?" He shook his head, turning his head back to the
window. 
 "I don't think someone screaming bloody murder, and having a panic attack in
their sleep would recover as quickly as you just did...That's why I don't
really believe that you're actually okay." He commented. His accent was quite
intriguing, we barely got visitors from other cities, let alone other
countries. 
 "Well...I can say that I've experienced worse. So I'm fine. No need to
worry..." I confirmed, earning a snort from Schneider. He turned his head to me
again.
 "You're the only person that can actually help me solve what actually happened
to me...So I do have to worry." He informed. This sparked several thoughts into
my mind, like any normal person, I was asking myself why I was so important in
solving this thing, and why the hell didn't anyone else who was missing come to
me as well. Something was fishy. I quickly turned over turning on the lamp,
emitting the dim yellow light into the room. I faced him yet again, with my
feet now placed on the floor, the comforter hanging over me loosely. I
immediately began shaking my head.
 "It doesn't make any fucking sense. I've looked at other missing people's
photo's, and I don't think I see a fucking line up outside my door...So why is
it specifically you?" I asked, motioning to him. 
 "Listen, I don't know. Believe me. If I did know I would've told you,
especially because I basically broke into your room without any sort of
explanation...The only thing I know is that you need to help me. The only
person who has actually given me some type of instruction is an unknown voice.
'The light will provide you with the help needed'...That's what it said, and so
I followed it, and the light led me here..." My confusion was even worse now,
mind flooding with even more questions, like the ultimate flood in the Noah's
Arc storyline of the Bible. Only this was a flood that was going to ultimately
destroy my psyche.
 "Are you a...Ghost?" I asked, not trying to sound like a complete idiot. He
let out a small sigh, turning to face me, mirroring my sort of position, with
the spare blankets loosely hanging over his shoulders. A faint smirk across his
face. 
 "I don't know...Do I look like a ghost?" He replied, turning his head from
side to side like I was taking a photo of him. I shook my head, taking time to
observe the slight colour in his skin. He didn't even look dead. I've never
seen a dead body before in person, maybe in law class, but those were only
pictures. Most of the time the person was pale, leaning towards the grey side
almost, and Schneider was far from that. There was no visible evidence that I
had seen that proved to me he was dead except for those stab wounds, which only
gave me a small clue about what happened to him. God only knows what must've
happened to him. His gaze met mine, the mix of the green and blue boring into
my soul, a small sigh escaping from his lips.
 "All joking aside...The only thing that is certain is that I'm dead, and there
is definitely no coming back from that." He murmured, averting his gaze, he
must've had family, kids, people that actually missed him. Things began to dawn
on me, he was a drummer of a band, all those fans...They're expecting him to
come back...His bandmates are expecting him to be alive and well, they just
think he's lost. My heart broke so badly thinking about all the hurt and pain
that the devastation will cause. 
 "How long have you been missing for?" I pressed, hoping that he would know the
answer. He shrugged, shaking his head. How could he not know? He died. He
placed his head in his hands, rubbing his face, probably in frustration since
he couldn't remember. I got up, clutching the blanket around my shoulders as I
walked towards him, slowly taking a seat beside him on the cold window sill. 
 "I'm sorry I'm asking all these questions...I know it must be hard..." I was
about to put my hand on his back to comfort him, but my hand went straight
through him, he yelped in pain immediately standing up from the window sill,
touching where my hand went through. I began apologizing, over and over again,
until he raised his hand up, signalling me to stop.
 "It's okay...Not even I knew that would happen." He replied calmly, still
rubbing his shoulder, looking over at me with an unreadable expression. 
 "I'm sor-." Immediately he hushed me, glancing over at my bedside clock.
 "Don't you have school or something?" A small confused look appeared on my
face. 
 "It's a Saturday." I giggled, Schneider's face instantly turned red with
slight embarrassment, taking a seat on my bed. I stared at how the bed
contorted to his body, the whole thing still making my brain go in knots from
thinking about it too hard. I scratched the back of my neck, pushing my wavy,
tangled hair over my shoulder. He stared back at me.
 "So...You're a student?" I nodded, noticing that it was now my turn to answer
questions.
 "And you live with your parents?" He pressed a little more.
 "Just my mom, my dad moved out at the beginning of this year. I never found
out why, and to this day my mom doesn't talk to me and gets drunk almost every
night just to avoid me, and her existing problems. So I'm assuming that I will
never get the answers that I want." I explained, not really being bothered by
it anymore, and you could sense he noticed this. I ignored his reaction,
getting up from the window sill, walking by him. 
 "I'm going to go wash up quickly. Are you getting hungry or something?" I
asked, so I could dodge anymore more questions that he would probably start
asking, as well as trying to be a good host, especially because I'm probably
going to be stuck with him for a while. I glanced over at him, seeing him
staring down at his stomach. I raised my eyebrows waiting for his answer. He
shrugged.
 "I'm okay I think..." He paused for a moment as if he was thinking.
 "Actually...I don't know for sure, we'll see if I'm hungry once you get out of
the shower." He replied softly, taking a seat on my bed. I walked out of the
room, closing the door behind me, I made my way to the washroom, still
clutching the comforter around me. Quietly I entered the bathroom, gently
hearing the door click. I turned on the light, the bright fluorescent white
punching me across my face. I squinted, rubbing my eyes due to the irritation
that it caused, hanging the comforter up on the hook. I pried my shirt, shorts
and underwear off, hanging them up as well. I twisted the cold metal knob of
the shower, listening to the pang of the water hitting the tub. I stepped in
quickly, letting the cold liquid hit my body, willingly engulfing every inch of
me. I smiled, turning around, so it could run down my back, causing the
satisfying shivers that I somehow enjoyed. I grabbed the bar of soap, rubbing
it along my shoulders, over my ribs. I winced, feeling a tinge of pain,
immediately I pulled my hand back seeing my hand covered in blood, I felt my
breath hitch in my throat, sheer panic shooting through me. I shook my head
back and forth quickly, closing my eyes tightly, hoping that this was just a
dream. I opened my eyes hoping that the blood was gone, which it was. I glanced
down at my ribs, seeing no sort of cut of an incision. I let out a shaky sigh,
continuing to wash up, trying to push the image into the back of my mind,
passing it off as a hallucination due to lack of sleep. A faint feeling of
discomfort stayed with me as I rinsed myself off, my mind still in panic mode.
All of the sudden the door busted open, then slammed shut. I instantly
screamed, still shaken up by what I just saw a minute or two prior to this.
 "Jesus Christ Schneider! What the fuck are you doing?" I exclaimed, poking my
head out from behind the dark, sea-themed shower curtain. Schneider's back was
against the door, his breathing was heavy, his chest rising and falling
rapidly, his wavy hair hung over his face, covering the slight embarrassment he
was in. 
 "I heard something, like a crash...Several crashes. I fucking panicked, what
else was I supposed to do?!" He asked, trying to look at anything but me. Even
though I didn't hear anything, I let out a small groan, knowing that the
crashes were probably in relation to my mother accidentally dropping things
because of her drunken clumsiness. I pulled back and moved the shower curtain
to cover the tub completely as I finished rinsing myself off. I turned the
water off, squeezing my hair out, before reaching to grab one of the towels,
feeling it being handed to me.
 "Thank you." I murmured, pulling the soft fluffy towel into the tub with me,
drying myself off quickly, wrapping my towel tightly around myself. I slid the
shower curtain to the side, carefully stepping out onto the slightly slippery
wet floor. I looked over a Schneider, then at my reflection, letting out a
small sigh.
 "Y'know...It was probably just my mom dropping a few bottles. She's done it
several times." I informed him, combing my hair out with my fingers. He didn't
say anything back, my eyes glanced over at him, noticing his absent expression
like he was blanking out. I kept my gaze on him, a concerned look slowly
appearing on my face. Out of nowhere, I began to see blood dripping down his
stomach, my body threw itself into action, grabbing a towel. 
 "Schneider. Schneider,you're bleeding." I informed worriedly trying to snap
him out of his daze. I looked up at him, seeing droplets of blood streaming
down his cheeks, coming out of his eyes. His nose began to bleed as well.
 "Schneider! Please stop!" I begged, the whites of his eyes turning a bloody
red. Suddenly I remembered what I could do to possibly snap him out of it, even
though it might get him really angry, I ignored it though, quickly walking up
to him and putting my hand through his chest. He let out a scream, I pulled my
hand out, wishing that I could catch him when he dropped to his knees. I looked
at the tips of my fingers, seeing blood on them. Holy shit. Holy
shit. Schneider leaned against the door, coughing loudly. He lifted his hand up
to his face. wiping the streams of blood off his cheeks, a light glaze of sweat
forming on his forehead. 
 "Jesus Christ what happened?" He asked, looking at the crimson red blood on
his hands. I rinsed my hand off, drying it with the towel I was holding
before, not wanting to mention the blood to Schneider. I glanced over at him,
and motioned to the shower.
 "Clean up." I instructed, ignoring his question because I didn't have an
answer for him, unless he wanted to hear me freak out about how fucking scared
I was. He didn't press me for an explanation, he just nodded and slowly got up
from the ground, moving out of my way so I could get out. I exited the
washroom, hearing the door close behind me. I leaned against the wall, holding
the towel against me. What the fuck just happened? I looked down at my hand,
seeing the light tinge of red on my fingertips, and dried up blood under my
fingernails. Something was really wrong.
 ------
 I stood under the warm flowing water, letting it run down me, thinking about
what I saw. Bondie Lake had some sort of connection with these missing posters.
Adeline must know where this place is, especially if she's lived here for a
while. From what I can remember, there was several splashes, like something was
being thrown in, there was also screaming, and yelling, like someone was being
murdered. If there was a place to start, this was definitely it. I peeked down
at the light pink water, watching it go down the drain, was this going to be a
frequent thing? I turned around, putting my head under the water, letting it
slowly flow down my face. I grabbed the bar of soap, running it over my
shoulders, and chest, seeing the suds turning a light pink as well. I rinsed
myself off, and squeezed my hair out, noticing that the water was a light
brown. I glanced at my hands, a dark brown, muddish substance slipping through
my fingers, dark drops staining the usual white tub. I put my head under the
water, rubbing the dried up mud out of my hair. Where in the fuck did I get
this from? I sighed, massaging some shampoo into my scalp, a small green leaf
falling into the tub. I bent down, bringing it up into my vision, seeing small
splatters of blood on it. A clue perhaps. I placed it on the brink of the tub
so I could grab it after. I worked quickly, rinsing myself off as fast as I
possibly could. I turned the water off, reaching out to the side of the shower,
grabbing one of the spare towels from the side shelf. I stepped out of the
shower, drying myself off quickly, tightly wrapping the bath towel around my
waist before making my way to the mirror, wiping away the heavy condensation.
There was streaks of red on my face, outlines from the dried up blood that
flowed down my face. I rubbed it off quickly with my hand, staring at myself. I
looked like a wet poodle. I pushed my hair out of my face, and grabbed the
green leaf, before making my way out of the bathroom, turning the light off
behind me. I made my way to her bedroom, giving a gentle knock on the door just
to give her a warning. I could hear the floor creak beneath my feet, hearing
the handle twist and turn. My eyes immediately meeting hers. She wore a red and
black plaid shirt, which was accompanied by a black tank top beneath it, and
black jeans, probably her casual get-up. She was towel drying her long wavy red
hair, her eyes shining with such interest and confusion, glancing down at the
green blood splattered leaf. 
 "What's that?" She asked, backing up out of the doorway to let me in. I
entered the cosy room, placing it gently in the palm of her hand. She lifted it
up, examining it closely. I stared at her, watching her eyes roam over it.
 "Where did you get this from?" She pressed, placing it down on her bedside
table, as she continued to towel dry her hair. I took a seat on the window
sill, holding my towel tightly against me so it didn't fall when I sat
down. That would be embarrassing. I shook my head slowly, and shrugged.
 "I don't know. I was showering and it fell into the tub, there was also loads
of dried mud in my hair..." She glanced over her shoulder, as she tied her hair
up into a fairly large bun, not saying anything because of how weird it sounded
probably. 
 "I...I think that this place...Bondie lake....Has something to do with it." I
added, automatically seeing her tense up at the mention of the place. Bad
memories? I kept my eyes glued to her as she went over to her dresser, and
pulled out the top drawer, digging around for something. I waited a few
moments, finally seeing her lift up a large, dark blue sweater. She slid into
it, pulling it down so it wasn't puffy and baggy. Her gaze met mine. 
 "Do you want to go there?" She asked, leaning against the dresser, her arms
crossing over her chest. 
 "Well...It wouldn't just be me...I need you to take me there." I mentioned
under my breath, noticing reluctance in her eyes. She didn't say anything, like
she was thinking about it. My stomach turned, and knotted, hoping that she
would say okay, or at least give me a sign of a yes. She averted her gaze,
looking down at her sweater, then back up at me, looking directly at me. It
stayed silent for a few more moments, keeping our eyes on each other. A few
seconds past, and I began to feel nervous, like she was really going to say no,
until I heard the most reluctant and forced sigh, a sigh that made it seem like
I was holding her against her will.
 "Fine...I'll take you, but we are not staying for that long." She said coldly,
like a mother scolding her child. I nodded, not wanting to press her for more
information, since it seemed like a touchy subject to her. I heard her take in
a deep breath, and push off the dresser. 
"I'll go get you some more clothes, and I'll sneak some food for you." She
murmured, walking out of the room. I looked down at my towel, dragging my hand
across the fluffy white material. She came back in quickly, placing the spare
clothes onto the unmade bed, they were folded neatly, like they hadn't been
worn in ages. She picked up a pair of socks, and her green army jacket, before
exiting the room, leaving me to change. 
 -----
 I pulled on my ankle socks, and jacket, making my way downstairs slowly,
noticing that my mother was nowhere to be seen. She probably went to work.
Judging by the fact that her dress shoes were not in the doorway. I saw a
broken wine glass on the coffee table, I roamed over the mess, some dark purple
wine dripping from the broken glass. That's probably what Schneider heard. I
cupped my hand, lifting up the large pieces of the thin glass, the scent of the
strong wine hitting my nose. I repulsed it, not just because of the smell, but
mostly for what it did to my mom. I loved her, but not that version of her. I
carefully walked over to the kitchen, making sure my every step was taken with
caution just in case she dropped anything else onto the floor. I got to the
garbage bin, pulling it out from under the sink, immediately being hit with the
stench of even more alcohol, like she had poured out a bottle of beer, or broke
it and attempted to clean it up. I tied the bag up, and went into the garage,
throwing it into the garbage bin.
 "Schneider! You can come down if you want! My mom's not home." I yelled,
closing the garage door behind me. Immediately I heard footsteps coming down
the stairs. 
 "Where is she?" He asked curiously, I shrugged, walking over to the fridge to
grab some orange juice, checking the expiration date.
 "She probably went to work." I replied, twisting the cap off the two liter
bottle, as I reached up for two glasses, placing them both down on the counter.
 "Work? Isn't she an alcoholic?" I looked over my shoulder, cringing at the
word alcoholic. I poured the orange juice into the first glass.
 "It's not like she can't work. She still needs to make money to support both
her and I. She sobers up a little when she needs to get work done." I informed,
sliding a glass of orange juice to him, pouring myself one as well, putting the
bottle back into the fridge. I could feel his eyes following me, as I opened up
the cupboard where we had all the cereal. 
 "What do you want to eat?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder at him. He took
a sip of the orange juice and shrugged, gulping the liquid down.
 "You only have cereal?" He commented, rubbing his forehead. I rolled my eyes.
 "Does it look like we're in a fucking restaurant Schneider? Yes I only have
cereal." I confirmed. He chuckled lightly at me, and let out a long sigh.
 "I'll take the one with that Captain on it..." Captain Crunch.I took the box
out from the top shelf, and took some Corn Pops out for myself, bringing it
over to the island. He grabbed the box, sliding it to him, his eyes scanning
over the cartoon character. 
 "How...Immature." I grabbed two bowls, handing one to him.
 "Maybe you're just old." I insulted jokingly. Taking a carton of milk out of
the fridge, placing it in front of him, watching him slowly shake some of the
cereal into the dark green bowl. I was fascinated by how gentle he was with the
box, placing it back onto the counter. I took the Corn Pops box, quickly
shaking out the sugary cereal, pouring some milk onto the puffs, before handing
it off to Schneider. I scooped a spoonful of cereal out of the bowl, shovelling
them into my mouth. The sweet sugar danced across my taste buds, as I let out a
small satisfied sigh. 
 "I feel like a child." He murmured, chewing on the crunchy cereal. I shot a
gaze at him, and leaned up slightly. 
 "Well, get used to it. You're gonna be with me for a while buddy." He glanced
over at me, his face turning a slightly darker red. I smirked. We continued
eating in silence until we were finished. I put the empty bowls into the sink,
and wiped my mouth off with the back of my hand.
 "Come on, let's go. Are you ready?" I asked, looking over at Schneider. He
nodded rapidly, getting up from the stool, a light shadow casting over me due
to his height. I walked to the front door, slipping on my muddy Converse.
Schneider followed behind me, my eyes noticing that his shoes were already on.
I quickly tied the shoelace, and opened the door, letting him out of the house
before grabbing my keys and joining him. The cold winter air hitting my face,
my blood freezing instantly. Schneider bundled up slightly, as the both of us
made our way down the steep steps that led up to the front door. We stepped
over the large piles of snow, getting onto the sidewalk. Schneider followed me
as I walked carefully, hoping that I wouldn't slip and fall on any ice, but he
didn't seem to have a care in the world, knowing that he probably wouldn't
break a bone if he fell. 
 "You seemed very reluctant when I mentioned Bondie Lake...Any reason?" He
asked curiously, trying to make conversation with me. I shrugged, shoving my
hands into my jacket pockets, taking in a deep breath.
 "I've got a few memories that I would rather not relive." I murmured, looking
down at my feet, it wasn't anything too serious, I just didn't enjoy going
there, they were just heavily repressed things that I decided to not think
about, and in all honesty I couldn't even remember it, I just had a discomfort
whenever I would go there.
 "Are they bad?" He asked stupidly. I glanced up at him, my eyebrows raised.
 "What do you think? I just said I have a few memories that I don't want to
relive. Piece those hints together." He raised his hands up in a defensive
manner.
 "Hey. I was just asking." I sighed, feeling slightly bad about being so
hostile towards him. It's not like he asked for this.
 "Sorry..." I averted my gaze, as we continued our journey to the lake, my
heart beginning to pound as we walked by the bright green sign that had Bondie
Lake spray painted in a dark blue. It was a heavily wooded area that we would
have to walk through to arrive at the water. Our bout of silence was filled
with the sounds of cracking sticks and the crunching of the packing snow
beneath our feet. It didn't take us too long to make it to the almost frozen
water. I could imagine how cold it must've been if you fell through it, and it
definitely made me shiver on the inside. I looked up at Schneider, seeing his
eyes scanning the atmosphere, squinting at the lake. I watched him closely,
seeing the whites of his eyes turning a light pink, the pink slowly fading into
a crimson red. My heartbeat began to increase, a feeling of fright creeping up
on me. He dropped down to his knees, gasping, as he raised his head, looking
out onto the lake still.
 "There's a link here...A huge link, I can hear screaming, don't you hear it?"
He asked, glancing up at me. I shook my head rapidly, not hearing what he was
hearing. 
 "Someone died here, and somehow it ties into my death." He wiped his eyes,
blood staining his hands from the whites of his eyes. I bit the side of my
cheek, thinking about what he meant by that. 
 "Maybe you know the person?" He shook his head, looking up at me. 
 "I don't know anyone that has been murdered here...Or murdered in general for
that matter." He replied. I glanced down at him, biting my lip now.
 "Maybe the person that killed you...Killed that person as well." I theorized.
He raised his eyebrows, pointing at me.
 "Now you're using that brain of yours." He commented. 
Chapter End Notes
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