Piper Halliwell leaned against her hand, elbow braced on the kitchen table, and struggled to keep her eyes open. She and her sister Phoebe had wanted to speak with Prue, their third sister, about a couple of things, one of them being what they were going to do next. They'd been chosen, by powers yet unknown, to help make the world right for innocents preyed upon by more... supernatural beings. With a sigh, she folded her arms and put her head down, mimicking her sister, who sat up right then and leaned back in her chair.
"I didn't think it was going to be this late," Phoebe said, glancing at the clock on the microwave. It read 10:57. She took a sip from the mug in front of her and grimaced. "I wish my powers could heat this up again."
Piper turned her head to fix one eye on her. "Not for personal gain, remember?" she muttered, and Phoebe sighed, got up, and reheated the coffee in the microwave. Piper hid her face again. Five minutes later, their positions had only changed in that Phoebe once again had her head down, and Piper was sitting up. "Have you ever wondered if we don't use these for personal gain, how we're supposed to practice?" Phoebe asked. "I mean, do you think I'll ever be able to see the future on demand?"
Piper lifted her eyebrows. "I actually hadn't thought of that," she said slowly. "I don't know."
Phoebe sat up. "And what about Prue? She's got this... telekinesis. What if she could, in the future, move herself? You already stop time, so to say...." She grinned lopsidedly at her sister. "But I can't think of anything you... well, what if you could manipulate time? Like, make it go faster, or something."
Piper mock-scowled at her sister. "I don't want to do that," she said. "We have enough responsibility as it is."
Phoebe looked blankly through her, then shrugged. "Still, it's nice to speculate." She put her head back down on her arms. They sat still in silence for a little while longer.
"I think she found some traffic," Piper said quietly. Phoebe looked up from where her head rested on the kitchen table.
"I think you're right. And you know what else I think? I think I'm going to bed." She got up and put her mug in the sink, then started for the stairs. Piper followed her.
They had just reached the stairs when they both heard a thump on the front door. They exchanged glances, then started towards it. "I'll open it and you freeze... whatever's out there," Phoebe said.
"Oh, thanks, put me in the line of fire," Piper hissed to her sister, and focused her thoughts as Phoebe opened the door. They didn't see anyone until they looked down. Huddled at their feet was someone, hands on his head as if he were in pain, which apparently had been what caused the thump on their door.
"Are you okay?" Phoebe asked. She stepped over their mystery guest, crouched down and touched the arm. She flinched and gasped at the images that assailed her; of a woman kissing his forehead, then laying a hand on his chest, watching as he struggled - and died. The vision was gone, the shock wore off quickly now; under her hand on his arm, she could feel he was trembling.
"Come on, let's get you inside," Piper said, and Phoebe was quick to help him stand. He was taller than both of them, and slender, with short dark hair that shone wetly in the light from the hall. His clothes were in some disarray, and he smelled faintly sweaty, as if he'd just had an extremely hard work out. There was dirt on one leg of the thin, pajama style pants he had on. He stumbled forward, arms outstretched in spite of their grip on him.
"Careful," Piper said, shooting a questioning glance at her sister. Phoebe shrugged and turned to close the door.
"I... I'm sorry," he stammered. "I'm not used.... I can't see." His voice was deep and soft, and just a little scratchy, as if it had been well used recently.
"Oh. Well," Phoebe said, "let's not complicate things with stairs, then. Piper, grab some sheets. Do you mind sleeping on the couch?"
He stopped walking. "No, I can't stay." He pulled his arm from Phoebe's grip and turned around, tripped on the hall rug, and nearly went down again. Piper steadied him.
"You can't go," she told him evenly. "You can't see."
He gave a short chuckle that sounded a little too close to tears to them. "I didn't even know I was on a sidewalk until my head met your door."
The door opened, almost as if on cue, and Prue walked in, looking less than thrilled. "You would not believe the traffic," she said, and stopped. "Who is that?"
"My name is Kevin Richardson," he said. "I'm sorry to inconvenience you...."
Prue smiled. "It's not the first time, and it won't be the last," she said.
"We were going to put him on the couch," Piper said quickly. "He can't see."
"Oh." Prue nodded. "All right."
"But I don't... She's hunting me...." His trembling intensified. "I don't want you to get hurt."
The three sisters exchanged glances, then Phoebe took his arm again. "Piper, go and get those sheets. This way, Kevin," she said, and gently lead him into their front room and to the couch. "Now, explain what you mean."
He hesitated. "I won't blame you if you don't believe me," he said softly, and took a shaky breath. "My father told me, before he died, that she would choose one of us to help her return to... wherever she's from. He told me...." He shook his head. "I'd nearly forgotten until tonight." His voice slowly slipped into an accent none of them recognized. "We were at the arena, getting ready to leave, and everything started to go grey. I heard Brian say something about ‘not now'...." He paused a minute, confused, then shuddered. "Then I was... somewhere else, and her voice in my head told me "Run, Kevin, I like a good hunt." So, I ran.... and that's when my head met your door. After my shin met your step outside."
Piper had returned near the beginning of his tale, and now they had him move while she made the couch into a bed. "It's not the most comfortable," Phoebe told him as they sat him down again, "but it's warm and safe."
"Thank you," he said softly. "Can I borrow your phone?"
"Oh, sure!" Phoebe stood and went to get, holding it out to him until she remembered he couldn't see. With a grimace, she took his hand and placed the phone in it, making sure he had a grip on it before she let it go. He dialed clumsily, and the three women withdrew across the room.
"What did you see?" Piper demanded of her sister.
"Howie?" they heard, then a shout came from the telephone that they could hear from where they stood. "No! No, I'm fine. Really."
Phoebe described her premonition, punctuated by the half conversation Kevin was having. "D., listen! I'll call you tomorrow. I don't know where I am, so you can't come get me. I'm tired. I want to sleep."
They turned to look at him as he hung up and slumped against the back of the couch. "Not the best way to handle that," he muttered, "but at least it wasn't Brian. I don't want them here."
"Kevin, are you okay?" Phoebe asked, moving closer to him.
"Oh, yeah. Just... it's been a really long day."
"Why don't you go ahead and get some sleep. We'll see you in the morning," Prue said, and practically pushed her sisters towards the stairs. Half way up, Phoebe glanced back; his shoes were neatly next to the couch and he looked like he was already asleep.
"Book of Shadows, now," Prue said, and they quickened their pace.
Go on to Next Chapter | "Semi-Charmed Life"
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