Devil Take The Hindmost •Sequel To Life Is But A Dream•

•The Hounds of Baskerville: Part Seven•

"Aspen?" John called, and I turned around, folding my arms.
"Yeah?" I asked, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.
"Um..." He began, looking down. "I understand if you don't want to come tonight, but Sherlock has a plan for this case. He's really confident, though I'm not easily supporting his- hypothesis." He breathed the last word, anxiety filling his words.
"What?"
"Henry, Sherlock and I are going out onto the Moor, to see if anything... 'attacks' him, as Sherlock said." He croaked. I could feel my pulse elevate at the thought of being in the woods, at night, and potentially at the mercy of a hellhound.

"Now reflecting on this afternoon, and Sherlock and your state, and I'm a doctor, so believe me when I say that it's not in my best interest that you come with us." He warned, sensing my shift in mood.
"Okay." I said, "but, I'm okay now John, I really am." I said, keeping my voice steady.

"No, you're just saying that. Because Sherlock complained about how much you bring us down, and you don't. You and I, Aspen, we're not Sherlock. Don't believe him when he says how much he ignores emotions. Avoiding emotion doesn't mean you don't know how it feels. You of all people should know that." John conveyed, his voice thick.
"John." I started, then embraced my uncle. A knot had formed in my throat, shutting my eyes.
"You're not going. Your my niece." He said

I opened my eyes while pulling away from my uncle.
"John, you know I have too. I'm your niece." I said, making him smile. I did so as well, trying to cover the knot of unease that was growing.
"I can do this. I can handle myself." I assured.
'Let's hope I'm right'. I thought.
*
"Okay, Aspen do not leave my side." John told me. He handed me a flashlight as the sun set behind the four of us. "Now Sherlock and Henry will be right there behind us, so if I do so happen to wander off, they'll be there." He instructed. I tried to focus on his voice rather than the animal noises in the distance.
I looked back to Sherlock and Henry, seeing the young man with the detective. His eyes were filled with a silent fear, meeting my identical ones. The both of us had fears we felt were waiting for us within the Moor. I twitched my lips into a smile, to try to lighten his nerves. He did the same, but his was less lighthearted.

Not long after we reached the woods was it completely dark around us. I found myself standing closer to my uncle and his flashlight.
"Aspen!" I heard in the distance. I stopped for a moment, while John continued to walk.
"...aspen!" The voice was again, this time more clear. It was an all too familiar voice, one I couldn't help but move towards. I wouldn't be long. John was still there anyway.

The voice continued to call my name, making me more nervous at who and where its origin was.
"Who's there?" I called, now moving downhill, into a fog.
"Aspen!" I heard once more, this time as if the person was right next to me. The fumes of the fog were sweet, and for a moment I thought my senses were clouded, but then came into a clearing, near a ditch. I thought I saw a body curled up, the epicentre of the voice.

"Hello?" I asked, and bent down to touch his shoulder. Right when this happened, the man of Moriarty sprung up and pushed me down, the ground cutting through my knee. I could feel blood lightly flowing out, and turned to face him.
"You're not real." I said, my mouth working faster than my mind.
"I'm real in your head." He teased. Coming to my side and at eye level. "Why'd you wander off Aspen? To investigate a silly voice? The voice in your head?"
"Shut up!" I yelled, crawling back, but stopping to investigate my knee.
"You knew I wasn't here! Look at you! I don't need to destroy you, like Sherlock. You're doing it yourself."

This wasn't real. None of this was. I had to get him out of my head. Let's see...
"Aspen!" I heard the familiar voice of Wyatt call. "I've been following you!" He said, helping me up.
"Oh god." I gasped, hugging him.
"Oh god! Aspen I'm so disappointed in you!"
I heard Moriarty's voice ring once again.
"What was that?" Wyatt asked, his brown eyes confused behind his glasses.
"Nothing, come on." I said, then took his hand, and ran through the fog.
"Can you separate what's real versus what's not anymore?" I heard him question.
"Get out of my head!" I insisted.

"Aspen!" I heard, then slammed right into Sherlock. The three of us went tumbling to the ground, my mind still hazy from what had just happened.
"For god-sakes Aspen, can't you do anything right?!" He yelled, his voice shaking. I could tell he had just as much a fright as I had.
"Sherlock, we saw-" I started, pointing to Wyatt, but then noticed he wasn't there anymore.
"Who's we?" Henry asked.
"I- I thought-" I started again, then saw John emerge from the clouds.

"Aspen! Oh thank god." He said.
"John I saw him." I said, and the three men looked at me.
"I saw Moriarty he was right there- look!" I insisted, then pointed at my knee, scanned and bleeding through my jeans. "He did that! I saw him and he spoke to me and then Wyatt came and-"
"Aspen slow down its okay you were just-" John started, his voice trying to calm me down.
"No! I'm serious! I saw him, and he was here and so was Wyatt and there was all of this fog and oh my god." I vented, then fell to the ground. The knot had grown to such a size where I had to let out a sob.
"I knew you shouldn't have come." John said, walking over to me, and placing a hand on my shoulder. Somehow my body had taken it as a threat and flinched back.

My eyes met Henry's, and his look was one that was not angry nor irritated; it was of fear and understanding.