Monday, December 19, 2005
It's 4:30 in the morning and I can't sleep. I've been trying for hours now, but it's no use. Maybe if I just tell you what happened, it'll be out of my system and I'll feel better. And if I die, then maybe people will know what happened to me.
I woke up at, like, 2:15 'cause I needed to use the bathroom. I went, and when I came back, she was sitting there in my bed. She had the covers pulled up to her chin and she was shaking. Not because she was cold, though. I could see the fear in her eyes.
She said, 'Please let me stay here.' Before I could respond, there was this loud BOOM that shook everything. It came from outside my room, down the hall.
She started crying. 'It's him,' she said. 'Please don't let him find me.'
Then the noise came again-- BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, like the footsteps of some horrible monster.
It was coming closer and closer to my room. I was scared stiff and she was yelling at me to lock the door before he got in. I snapped out of it and ran over and locked the door just as the knob began to twist and shake. I heard him shouting and growling on the other side.
I ran and jumped under the covers with her, and we held each other tight, shrinking away from his voice.
I wanted to call for help, but when I opened my mouth, nothing came out except a squeak. I didn't really hear it, though. I just felt my vocal cords vibrating.
The door started to come apart as he punched through. The wood splintered and tore, and light from the hallway began to come in. That's when I woke up for real, breathing hard and drenched in sweat.
Megumi sometimes found himself wondering if Ezra had two personalities-- who he was when they were alone, and who he was in front of everyone else.
Head down, he ate quietly, methodically, as if in the presence of royalty. He even took care to set the chopsticks down noiselessly.
He nodded his head. "Thank you so much. It was very good."
Megumi's parents did not acknowledge the compliment or admire the polite manner in which it was given. After a stony silence, Megumi's father turned to him and said, "Your mother and I need to speak to you."
Ezra put on his winter coat and scarf. He pulled on his galoshes and waved Megumi a cheerful goodbye.
"See ya at school, Megs." Then he was gone, and everything seemed grayer all of a sudden.
His footsteps down the hall were agonizingly slow and far between, until they stopped altogether.
I don't want to do this.
Your Mother and I Need to Speak to You. He dreaded those words. Their last such conversation had been when Father had announced Megumi would be transferring to an exclusive all-boys' private school.
Megumi chuckled to himself. I was so furious... But then again, that was where I met RaChan, so things turned out for the best, didn't they?
He took in a deep breath; sighed it out.
Okay, Father. I'm ready for anything.
The president was waiting by the school gate.
Ezra was in the school's photography club. The other members spent alot of time talking about the photos they'd taken and developed, and discussing the best cameras, films, and chemicals, who made the best such products, and so forth.
Ezra didn't like how they had to turn every little aspect of the art into a big discussion. He often walked in, developed his stuff, then walked out without any of them even noticing he was there.
Although his social skills were sorely lacking, he knew well enough how to be polite. He bowed, and faked a small grin. "Ohaiyo, Ikari-San."
He smiled back, "Ohaiyo, Ez'ra-Kun. Can I talk to you for a minute, please?"
"I'm sorry, what? I don't get what you're saying..."
"You have a real talent when it comes to photography. You have this gift for making the most mundane things look eerie and outlandish, even dangerous..."
He frowned. "Yet you want me to quit."
"It's not me... I'm sorry, but some of the other members... Well, they came to me. They are uncomfortable in your presence."
Ezra lifted his brows. "Uncomfortable?"
Shinji nodded. "Yes. Most of the girls, and a couple of the guys. I'm sorry..."
"You're kicking me out?"
"You haven't broken any rules, so I can't kick you out, according to school club protocol; however, I am suggesting you resign."
Ezra's eye twitched. "I thought school clubs were places we could go to to be among people who share our interests and be accepted. I try to be nice to everyone. I don't know what I did wrong..."
His eyes welled up with tears and he swiped them away, angry at himself for crying.
Shinji became alarmed. "Are you alright? Please don't cry, it's just a club..."
"But I really like it, I mean, I love photography. I know I'm not very professional about it and I know I don't talk to the other people, but they never talk to me either and I'm just, like, really shy, ya know?" He covered his face with both hands, his voice rising.
"Calm down, don't cry..."
Ezra started sobbing. "I... just wanted... to be in a... club... and have... fun!" He sobbed some more.
Passersby began to stare, most of them frowning at the crybaby. Shinji became embarrassed.
"There, there, it's okay, you don't have to quit the club!"
He stopped and looked up at Shinji, eyes glittering with tears.
"I'm president of the club and I have to keep everyone happy. How about I give you a set of keys to the club lab and you can use it freely after school Tuesdays and Thursdays?"
"You mean I'd have it all to myself? That seems kind of unfair."
"No, no, it'll be fine. I'll have the set of keys for you before the school day ends."
Ezra smiled. "Thanks, Mr. President."
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to class. You should get going, too." He bowed and walked away.
Ezra smiled to himself, thinking, I can be pretty manipulative when I want to be!
Megumi did not come to school. When the clock struck 3, RaChan couldn't tear out of the classroom fast enough.
No one came to answer the door when he knocked. He knocked and rang the bell and called out to Megumi. His knuckles grew sore and red.
He glared at the door, hating it for standing between him and his true love, resisting the temptation to kick the fucker in.
He lowered his head and forced himself to breathe. There's some sort of perfectly rational explanation for this. Just calm down.
Eyes closed, he became aware of a faint sound that did not belong: flowing water.
It sounded like a stream, but there were none around. Ezra wondered if maybe a big pipe had burst somewhere inside the house and was flooding the place. He walked around to the backyard, glancing in all the windows as he passed.
As he neared the backyard, the sound swelled. Then he saw it-- water flowing everywhere, covering the backyard. Ezra wondered if there had been a flood.
The water did not reach the level of the porch, so Ezra stood there to look out over the water. It seemed to be coming from under the house, flowing back towards the patch of trees behind the property.
Where the hell is it all coming from?
His breath caught on his throat as he caught sight of a human figure-- a man standing where the trees began. He was tall and slender, with dirty blonde hair. Although he was facing the other way, Ezra knew who it was. His heart lurched when this person turned and looked at him with inhuman eyes.
Please, no...!
But yes, the eyes recognized him and the feet started to move, transporting the hulking flesh across the yard, closer to the house.
Ezra stood frozen for a second or two which felt like at least ten or twenty minutes before terror woke him enough to make him turn and run into the house. He closed the doors, and felt like an idiot-- the doors were rice paper, they wouldn't keep him out!
He turned away from the doors, looking around the stark interior. "Megumi! MEGUMI!!"
The house seemed empty, as if they'd abandoned it. RaChan was suddenly reminded of Roanoke and felt horribly alone. Everyone vanished.
He fell to a squatting position on the tatami mats, hands covering his tear-soaked face. "Megumi, Megumi, Megumi!"
He gasped as his feet were enveloped in sudden cold wetness. Opening his eyes, he saw mossy-looking green water streaming around his feet. The doors had been saturated and torn open. This disgusting green water was flooding the room. Before Ezra could process what was happening, it as up to his waist. He barely had enough time to suck in one last gasp before he was immersed. Up and down lost meaning; he was flailing and cursing Megumi's absence.
Hands came out of nowhere, huge and hot and strong. He knew who it was, but did not struggle, so terrorstricken that he froze, his last gasp of air escaping in a flush of bubbles. The hands grasped his face and a hot mouth closed over his, a tongue forcing its way in.
Tears seeped out and were lost in the green water as RaChan hated the kiss, feeling weaker, knowing that this kiss was draining his life force, unable to stop it.
Please just end already! I'm so sick of you!
After a time, the kiss vanished, and there was only a quiet blackness that seemed to last only long enouogh for him to wonder if he was dead. At that time, lips were sealed over his, but these lips were different; rather than sucking his life force, breath was being sent into him.
He heard a panicked voice: "Come on, come on... Fuck!"
He wanted to say, It's okay, I'm alive, but he could not move until something in him spasmed and he started coughing, which felt very unpleasant. He felt a wamed liquid coming out of his mouth and splashing over his chin. He felt himself breathing normally once again and slowly opened his eyes.
Megumi was over him, looking down at him; his brow creased in great consternation. "RaChan."
"What's going on?"
"I found you lying facedown in the koi pond, that's what. What the hell were you doing? Why did you fill it?"
Megumi's words alarmed Ezra. He knew what he would see-- his heart froze as he saw that the pond was filled with disgusting-looking green water.