TWO| THERE ARE WORLDS
BEYOND OURS
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SHE HADN'T BEEN CAR SICK in years. When she was a little girl, Olivia couldn't be in the car for longer than five minutes without feeling the strong urge to puke. Even staring down at her shoes in a moving vehicle would cause her stomach to do flips. Usually, all she had to do was chew gum to help with the nausea, but as she grew up the annoying habit had gone away on its own. But now, as she sat in the backseat of the cab that was flying through the streets to find the missing woman, she had to find a steady breathing pattern to keep her stomach fluids where they belonged.
"There." John physically pointed out Liv's car in the distance from the backseat. After she bolted to god knows where, John oddly chose to sit in the back of the cab beside Olivia. He leaned forward in his seat with his arms draped lazily on the back of each headrest.
Chas pulled the cab off to the side of the road, and killed the engine. The cab was parked at a stop sign at an intersection adjacent to a railway. The streets were surrounded by trees on either sides. John sighed heavily almost out of annoyance before exiting the vehicle. The sound of another door closing caught his attention for a brief second. The petite figure of Olivia stumbling out of the car for some much needed air evoked an eye roll from the warlock. He headed straight for his late friends daughter with his hands stuffed into his pants pockets.
Liv slammed on her breaks stopping directly in front of John. "What is happening to me?!" She exclaimed as she got out of her car. Her eyes were drowning in fear. The blonde noticed how the brunette's arms shook at her sides.
"You're waking up. You're seeing the world for what it really is. Just like your father could." John told her vaguely as he walked off a bit, relocating their conversation to the abandon train track.
"Which means what?!" She replied tugging at her hair a bit out of frustration.
John rolled his eyes. "Impatience. The psychic disease of the twenty-first century. Where's the pendant?" Liv dug in her pockets and pulled out the desired item. Instantly, John clasped his hands around hers locking her in place. "Look around."
Liv studied her surroundings in awe. It was as if she was seeing the world in a new light which in a way she was. The sky had gotten gloomy. It was like she was seeing through a lens that had a blue tint. Her eyes jumped back and forth from people that suddenly appeared on the streets. They looked pale almost sickly. "What are they?"
"Souls." John answered. "Trapped. Searching for a way out."
"Can you see them?"
He shook his head. "No. What else do you see?"
Liv looked over Constantine's shoulder. Her eyes widened in fear. "There's a train coming."
John tilted his head. An amused smirk prominent on his face. "Is there?"
"Look, what are you doing? There's a train coming. Let go of me. Let go." Liv muttered tensely. She had begun to slowly panic when he tightened his hold on her restricting her from moving. Olivia watched curiously as the woman had attempted to tug her hands out of his iron grip to no avail. She didn't see any train, but the woman was convinced there was one.
"What are you doing?!" She cried, but John just refused to release her with that same smirk playing on his lips. "There's a train coming! We have to get off the tracks! Let go! Let go of me!"
The apparition of the train ran straight into them only to dissolve in the air like a drop of black ink in a glass of water. She gasped loudly searching the area frantically for any sights of the train, but it was long gone. She turned to John to find him laughing at her hysteria. "What just happened?" She whispered.
"Ghost train."
"How come I can see these things?"
John looked to his feet momentarily before meeting her intense gaze. "It appears you have your father's gift. When you touch this necklace, it focuses your ability to see what he saw."
"So, she's like Melinda Gordon from Ghost Whisperer?" Olivia asked him earning both John and Liv's attention. Neither of them were aware that she had been there for a while now. John flashed a smirk at his daughter. He couldn't help but be amused and a little proud of the idea that she had taken up his interest in all things supernatural just by her choice of television shows. But of course, she'd say it was an interest inherited by her mother since she was the one who got her hooked on those kind of shows. They would even watch them together.
John swayed his head side to side. "Sorta, but it's far more complicated than that, luv. There are worlds beyond ours. Parallel planes of existence. Jasper tried to teach me, but, uh, I didn't have his knack."
"So you were close?" Liv asked him curiously.
John's jaw locked and unlocked. The subject of his dead friends or loved ones was always a sore topic for him. He wasn't great at showing his emotions nor acting upon them unless the emotion was anger. That seemed to always come easy for him. "We can talk later. Right now we're prey. Leave your car at your mum's. You're coming with us." He dismissed her question without any remorse, but Liv wasn't gonna back down either. Mere minutes after they've gotten back into the cab, she approached him once more with the subject of her late father.
"John was going to tell me about Jasper." Liv stated boldly. Olivia had chosen to sit shotgun while John lounged about in the middle of the backseat. He sunk back lazily with his hand covering his eyes. The blonde thought this whole time he was sleeping.
"I want to know how he died." She asked the Englishman. Olivia had to admit she was rather curious herself. She turned her body sideways as far as her seatbelt had allowed her to in order to get a better look at her father.
"Yeah, how did he die?" She chimed in much to Constantine's annoyance which is also partly why she asked. John dragged his hand over his face then looked at his smirking daughter with a vacant expression.
"Bravely." He said once again vaguely and Olivia scoffed at his lack of answers. She thought Liv deserved to know at least that, but clearly John wasn't gonna give her any answers.
"You were there?" Asked Liv.
"That's enough of that." John sighed before closing his eyes once more.
"She has the right to know, you know? I mean, he was her father. Wouldn't it be fair for her to know her dad?" She told John with a quirked brow. His eyes snapped open immediately finding hers. His brown eyes swirled with vexation and guilt.
"Olivia, drop it." He demanded using his parent voice again. It still made her feel odd.
"I was just thinking that whatever's after me, maybe it wants revenge for something my father did." Liv said and to Olivia it was a good theory for why some unknown entity was suddenly so hellbent on ending her life.
"I'm not concerned with the why." John dismissed her yet again, and Liv groaned. Even Olivia was frustrated with his stubbornness. "I just want to send it packing, square my debt with your dad and be done."
Randomly, the car stereo had begun to get louder and louder. The noise irritated the blonde so much. She clamped her hands down on her ears, her eyes slammed shut. She always had sensitive ears since she was a baby it was something she hated so deeply. It was something that after all these years John still remembered.
"Turn it down." He told Chas who was already struggling to fumble with the uncooperative radio while simultaneously drive. Every time he turned it down it'd raise back up until the point where it refused to let him turn it down at all.
"I can't." Chas shouted over the music.
"Chas!" John shouted when a truck swerved into their lane ramming into them head on.
She wasn't sure how long she had been out cold. Despite the fact that she was met with absolute darkness, her mind was very much conscious. Olivia pried her eyes open having to blink a few times to cure her blurry vision. The sounds of the those around her were muffled. An irritating and loud ringing in her ears had drowned out the noise around her.
A sticky warmth on her temple was the first thing she noticed when her mind had begun to finally register the situation she was in. She slowly rose a hand to the source, her fingers and strands of her hair were coated in crimson. She glanced around her surroundings in a daze. She was fighting hard to get her mind to focus.
"John, get me out of here! John, get us out of here! Help us! John, help us!" Liv cried frantically, earning the blonde's attention. Her body lied flat on the grass, but she didn't remember being tossed out of the cab. Her head was facing the now clear vehicle.
"Olivia." A familiar voice softly called out to her. The sky had suddenly darkened above her until she realized it was her father's shadow casting down on her. John knelt down on the damp grass. His figure towering over his still daughter. He could see she was awake, but her lack of movement pumped fear throughout his body.
With difficulty and pain, Olivia turned her head to face forward looking directly into her father's eyes. He had blood trailing down the side of his head. "Dad?" She said in a mix of fear and confusion. She wasn't aware of her choice of words until after they tumbled out of her dry mouth. It was already in the air and she was sure he heard it, so there was no taking it back now. John released a deep sigh of relief. His eyes had fluttered shut momentarily.
"John! My foot's jammed under-! Do something, please!" Liv's cries can still be heard through her struggles. She tugged at her foot harshly.
John gently slipped one of his hands behind the back of his daughters head. He placed his other hand on her side pulling her up into a sitting position. John quickly checked her for anymore injuries. He cupped her face softly studying her eyes. She was in a slight shock. Thankfully the gash on her head wasn't deep and it happened to be the only injury that made itself present. He made sure she was able to sit on her own before stumbling to his feet.
"All right, keep your hair on." He mumbled. Chas had found a way out of the cab, and he now was trying to help free Liv. A cable from the power line came to life and began striking the cab each time getting closer to the young woman trapped within it. Olivia couldn't believe what she was seeing with her very eyes. Actually, she couldn't believe anything that she had experienced in the past few days.
Hunched over, John raised a hand towards the cable. "The sacred cross commands you. The Star of David commands you. The Omkar, the Lotus, the Shahada command you. Flee this place. Be not and be gone!"
The cable fell limp onto the ground just as Chas was able to free Liv. "Get her out of here!" He shouted to John. Liv slid off the hood and into John's steady arms. He wrapped one of her arms around his neck and hoisted her up.
Olivia regained control over her mind and body and pushed herself up and onto her feet. She then watched in horror as Chas was impaled from behind and through his chest by a cable. He groaned loudly in agony. Blood coated his teeth and mouth dripping down his chin as he took his last breath. This was now the third dead body she had seen in a course of a week. But this was the first time she actually witnessed death itself.
"Chas!" Olivia shouted as she brought her hands to her head. She gripped her hair tightly as tears burned her eyes for a man she barely knew. But he was kind to her in a short period of time. And she still had some little memories of him from when he would join John on his visits to see her when she was a kid. "Oh, my god. No. No. No. No."
"Olivia, we have to go!" John shouted. She turned her head to look at him. His eyes pleaded for her to follow them quickly. She gave Chas's body one last glimpse before forcing herself to leave him behind.
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Olivia took slow sips from her bottled water with shaky hands. Her breaths were shallow as she relived the car crash and Chas's death in her head on a continuous loop. John seemed to be okay, like his best friends death didn't mean a thing to him. Like it didn't faze him. It blew her mind, and made her angry which is why she chose to distance herself from him. When he sorted through some books as Liv pummeled him with questions, she passed out of exhaustion on the couch. When she awoke Liv told her that he had left to speak with another old friend.
Olivia leaned forward over the kitchen counter. Her head rested in her palms. Her blue eyes were shut as she tried to clear her mind. If she was being honest, she didn't want to feel anymore. All her emotions were running on a high and it was overwhelming.
The sound of clanking metal filled her ears. John came down the stairs with a brown paper bag full with food in one hand and a duffle bag in another. A nonchalant half-smile on his lips. "You guys hungry. I bought groceries."
Liv pointed to the reflective surface mounted on the wall with shaky hands. Her eyes were wild. "I saw a man in the mirror over the fireplace. Is that?"
John's stopped his movements. Pure annoyance on his face. He sighed heavily. He really didn't want to talk about her father. The death of those he cared about were always so hard for him to deal with. He chose to pretend like it didn't bother him, that he made peace with them dying. Anything rather than feel the absence of their loss. Talking about them continuously deepened the burden and made it real.
"Jasper. Sounds like him."
Liv stepped in front of the Englishman to prevent him from getting any further. She had questions, so many questions, and she was tired of him barely answering any of them. "Is that his ghost?"
Constantine looked straight into her eyes. His face still void of any kind of emotion. "No. Time's out of joint in that mirror. You were watching the past. You'll find lots of dodgy business like that in this place."
John walked passed her before turning around swiftly, tossing the duffle bag at her chest. "Here." Liv caught it with butterfingers having to huddle over to keep the bag from falling onto the floor. "I grabbed some clothes for you."
"Well, how did you get into my apartment?" She asked him, but not surprisingly, of course, he ignored her question.
John placed the bag of groceries down on the counter with a loud thud. Olivia peeked up at the sound. Her hands slid lazily down her face. John turned to his daughter with a smirk. "Do you still eat blueberry yogurt?" He asked her randomly. His ever so confident tone had shifted into a timorous one.
She looked at him with narrowed eyes. He pulled out a decent size container of blueberry yogurt. "You, uh, you used to love it when you were a kid...." Olivia didn't understand how for a man who didn't want to be her father still managed to remember the small details. The things of little importance.
"Yeah, I do...." she confirmed easing his mind. He seemed less tensed by her soft tone. He was expecting her to still be cold towards him. He couldn't blame her though. He was never truly there for her in the past. Not when it actually mattered. A part of him knew he did all of it to keep her safe, which was the truth. But the other side of him did it because he was afraid. He let his cowardice interfere with getting to know his daughter, and now due to how twisted fate can be at times, he was given a second chance to know her. Maybe this time he should actually try and build a relationship with her before it's too late.
Constantine cleared his throat. His posture straightened up. "Oh, uh, do you have allergies?" He asked her as he tried to distract himself with taking the food out of the paper bag. His cocky demeanor making a reappearance.
Olivia shook her head. She turned her body around to face him leaning her hip against the counter. "Nope. No food allergies that is. I am however, allergic to-"
"Wasps." John finished for her, and she leaned back like she was physically slapped across the face. Her brows shot up in surprise. He glanced over at her with soft eyes. "I remember."
Olivia smiled shyly. "S-so-"
Liv suddenly screamed loudly earning the attention of the two blondes. Olivia and John were on guard wondering what had managed to follow them inside a place that was heavily guarded through magic. The brunette woman collided into the chest of deadman Chas Chandler. He quickly grabbed her by her forearms to steady her when she stumbled back out of shock.
Olivia instinctively pulled out a kitchen knife out from the wooden holder. She held the sharpe blade out towards what she believed to be either an apparition or something demonic. "What the hell!" She yelled. John rolled his eyes before reaching out to gently lower her hand before taking the knife out of her grasp completely.
"Liv? It's okay, it's okay. I'm all right. Sorry to startle you both." Chas assured her in a hushed voice.
Liv shook her head in disbelief. "But you're- you were-"
"Dead." Olivia said for her. "You were dead. We watched you get impaled by a cable from a power line. No one can survive that."
John smirked at his stubborn daughter. He shrugged nonchalantly. "He clearly did."
Chas winced. "I didn't die. Not exactly. It's complicated." Liv stared at him bug-eyed as he headed into the kitchen. He tapped John's shoulder gently basically telling him he's taking over with cooking dinner. John didn't fight him on it. Chas was always the better cook between the two.
John crack opened a beer. "There's a reason why Chas is my oldest friend. He has survival skills."
"No, no, nobody can survive what we saw." Liv said firmly as she gestured between Olivia and herself with her pointer finger.
"Excellent." Said John. He sat down at the table and soon after Olivia joined him to give Chas enough space to cook. "If you're not confused, you're not paying attention." He turned to Chas who was currently preparing their dinner, a dishrag rested on his shoulder. It brought a smile on Olivia's lips. He looked like a mom. "Now, time for your famous rack of lamb."
He rose to his feet. One hand placed on the back of his daughter's chair. He took a swig of his beer with the other. "One should never battle demons on an empty stomach."
"Wait." Liv said. She now sat on the couch. "We're going after that thing tonight?"
John looked at her like the answer to at least that question was obvious. "Live in the now, I always say."
"Great." Olivia beamed sarcastically. "What's the plan?"
John chuckled. "Whoa, Whoa, whoa, you aren't going anywhere."
"Why not?"
"I'm not letting you get involved with things you don't understand." John stated firmly. His mind had been made, but she doesn't give up so easily. A trait she inherited from him. She was determined to get him to change his mind.
She leaned forward in her seat slightly. "I'm already involved." She told him in a hush whisper with a faux smile. "In case you forgot, I've witnessed so much shit today alone. And now that you're my parental guardian, if this is your "life"," she put up air quotes, "that means from now on it's my life too. Besides I've been involved since my mother died, I just never knew it until today."
John looked at her with furrowed brows. "What are you talking about, luv?"
Her face was crestfallen. She shook her head. "Nothing. It doesn't matter." She forced an expression of contentment. "I wanna come with."
John groaned before pointing a finger at her. "Fine. But you're staying in the car with Chas."
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Olivia lounged in the passenger seat. She was bored out of her mind. Chas tried to help by striking up conversation. He asked her questions about herself and her life. He clearly wanted to get to know the daughter of his best friend. She was grateful that he made an attempt to know her especially since he didn't have to. She came to the conclusion that he was a good man. She liked Chas, but even he couldn't help cure her of her boredom.
The side of her head lied against the cool window. She watched the cars bustle around the city from the parking lot when a unexpected power outage occurred. She sat up then glanced over at Chas with arched brows. "The plans working so far." He mumbled.
"Right, the plan I have no clue about." She muttered bitterly. She wanted to know more about what John had told Chas about on the way over. What he called the rising darkness. She can't help but think that it was responsible for what happened to her mother. She couldn't quite put her finger on why she felt this way, but she just did. It was like a gut feeling.
"Olivia." A familiar voice whispered.
The blonde whipped her head around. She was trying to find the source of the voice. "What's wrong?" Asked Chas when he noticed her sudden odd behavior.
"You don't hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"Someone is calling my name." She told him slowly as she heard that voice call her again.
"Okay," Chas chuckled emptily, "your little joke was funny. I'll give you that."
"I'm not joking around I-" Olivia saw a faint streak of light flowed through the wall of the building that John and Liv were inside of. The familiar voice called her once more, but this time far more louder than before. The light. The voice. It was all familiar. "Mom?" She mumbled earning a look of pity and confusion from Chas.
Olivia felt the urge to follow her voice. Without warning, she shoved the car door open and bolted into the building. The cries of Chas calling her to come back faded the further she got inside. She halted her movements abruptly when she spotted the dim light from earlier. The only light in the dark and eerily quiet building. Despite seeing a floating ball of light, after everything, she didn't feel any fear. She simply allowed it to lead her to the roof.
She reached out to grab the cold handle of the rooftop door. She exhaled a shaky breath before swinging it open. A loud smack echoed as the door made contact with the cement wall. "Olivia?" Liv called out in a mix of relief and fear. She feared for the young girls life, but she was happy that it was her instead of another monster of some kind.
The blonde looked over to her father that was on the verge of tears. In the center of the roof was a drawing of sorts that was inclosed by a ring of fire. And standing directly in the middle of the chaos was a sickly, demonic version of her father. A little black girl who looked maybe seven held tightly to his chest. But there was something about the both of them that was unsettling. The little girl didn't look right to her, despite her pleads to John for help.
"What is this?" She said aloud.
"Are you really gonna fail her again. Like you failed so many others. Like you failed your daughter." He sneer was animalistic. His sight drifted towards her. A sinister smile on his lips that made her heartbeat quicken out of fear.
John's shadow of himself (at least that's what he perceived it to be deep down), turned back to Constantine. "Release me, and her soul is free."
John looked over to Jasper's kid shamefully. "I'm sorry." Liv glanced at him sadly mouth agape. He raised a hand to the ring of fire, and began to chant an incantation to release him. Liv then touched her pendant and looked closely at Astra.
"Stop." Olivia said forcefully when she was able to somehow see passed the glamor. The girl, who she learned was supposedly Astra, looked like she was a skeleton. The creases around her eyes were so hallow. She had no eyeballs. It was truly a terrifying sight. "John, that's not her."
Liv looked to Olivia with eyes wide like saucers. "You can see it too?" Olivia nodded, and the brunette turned back to the warlock in a panic. "Stop, John! It's not Astra! It's not her!"
John silenced himself. He looked from Liv to his daughter. "It's not her, John." Olivia confirmed Liv's statement.
John chuckled angrily as he pieced everything to together. He almost allowed himself to be tricked. His breath was shallow. "Oh, you think you can mess with my life?! Well, I got news for you, mate!" His voice broke as he said, "I'm coming for Astra! And then I'm coming for Nergal! And you can pass that along! In hell!"
John began to chant another incantation. The demons began to burn up. Their shouts and cries brought more tears burning in the back of Constantine's eyes. Olivia knew that regardless if it wasn't Astra it still hurt him to hear her screams all over again. They then combusted. The flames rose and shot up into the night sky like a beacon before vanishing all together. John fell to his knees in exhaustion. The candles he used for the ritual died out. They were left in a tension filled silence.
"Are you okay?" Liv asked him timidly.
"I have a colleague down there. He'll drive you home." Was all he told her. His voice defeated. He looked straightforward dully. Liv took a small step forward when he stopped her harshly. "Go!" Liv flinched but did what she was told. The metal door closing shut was the only proof for the two blondes that she was really gone.
Olivia stood behind. She just watched her dad silently. She felt melancholy. She too was very well acquainted with the pain he was feeling. "John?" She whispered softly. He glanced upward at her now towering figure. His face once again void of emotion. He didn't understand how she was able to see passed the glamor when he couldn't. Liv has a gift but even then she needed the pendant to truly see. But she saw straight passed it effortlessly.
"Go, Olivia." He said softly. She opened her mouth to protest when he spoke again, voice fragile, "please."
She nodded. "Okay."
A/N
This chapter was very long and very boring.
And for that I apologize.