chapter 6.
hello my dedicated fans sorry for the delay had to research symptoms, well done if you have worked out where im going but this chapter is a bit special. having a break from Rorshach this chapter is Daniel. hope you enjoy please comment or pm me. peace out.
Rorshach is in my home. he stayed for dinner ate a meal for once and was almost civilised and a pleasure to be around. i couldnt let him leave in this storm i was suprised he came this evening at all. he scared the living crap out of me i didnt hear him come in, hes usually quite but tonight i was thinking about other things and he was just there. if thats the effect he has on the bad guys before he starts snapping bones and twisting wrists and generally unleashing himself then god please never let me be in his bad books. i really dont think he has any idea how to unwind. he hasnt cleaned that dirty gash of a stab wound yet, and it does make me wonder if he ever really changes his clothes at all. considering he took a mighty kicking before he finished the last perp he dealt with he seems in good health but that stab wound was deep and nasty. i cant figure out how he didnt even notice it, well he claims he didnt notice it. i have never been so scared in all my life the night in the kitchen when he collapsed. i thought he was dead from blood loss but he was lucky. i patched him up best i could and let him rest in my room. goodness only knows why i didnt put him in the spare room first time around guess it was just a panic reaction. he was light as a feather to carry its like he never eats, i see him eat often enough hell ive caught him in my kitchen munching away in the dark but after the other night im beginning to think he only ever eats when hes here. the more i think on it the more i worry for my friend. his clothes still smell faintly of my fabric conditioner but his body odour is foul. i would never mention it i would hate to embarrass him, and the way he eats its like he has never eaten a decent meal. he eats like a ferral animal close to starvation. i had to strip off his layers to find that stab wound, i really didnt want to firstly incase he came round and found me undressing him that doesnt even bare thinking about. he would of kicked my ass. secondly it felt like i was violating him. i know he shuns any form of physical contact he only ever takes his gloves off to eat so for me to have to strip him of layers i felt guilty. he had many layers on, it suprised me actually he reminded me of one of those russian dolls, the ones that start big and the ones inside get smaller and smaller, and that is what it was like peeling away Rorshachs layers. coat suit shirt tshirt vest and finally pale flesh covered in blood. i could believe my eyes. this small frail bodied man was the terrible Rorshach. scurge of all criminals and underground mafiosos. i stared at his body just out of pure shock i have seen him pick up huge hulking muscle bound men and throw them like trash. this wasnt what i had expected. his layers served a purpose of making him look bigger. had to focus though on cleaning wound and gluing together. i didnt fancy attempting stitches as i didnt want to wake him. his breathing was steady and i knew it was blood loss. so he would be ok. i stripped his bottom layers shoes socks trousers. i left his mask on. i know i should of checked his pupils for dilation but even though the urge was strong i could not do that to him. if i was unsure about his state and thought he may die then i would have checked but i felt he would be ok. i decided to wash his clothes for him and before i crashed in the downstairs lounge i checked on him again. he was still out of it but breathing. i didnt want to leave him so left the door ajar and switched on the cctv in that room.i know i shouldnt of it was an invasion on his privacy but i wanted to keep an eye on him and the channel was hooked up to the tv anyway so i could watch tv and flip over with the remote to watch him occasionally. i fell asleep with a nature documentery and i woke up to hear him grumbling. i flipped over the channel and saw him touching his face. checking his mask, what a life he must lead if the first thing he does when he awakes is to see if his mask is still on. my heart fell at that point. he looked cold he was rubbing his naked arms so i grabbed a nightrobe and went in to see him. he had tried to get out of bed and was to weak i helped him up and eased him back into bed. i had to tell him i had taken his clothes to wash the blood out and he didnt argue with me. infact if he had been anyone else i would have said they were sulking, maybe he was but i suggested a coffee instead. i made it sweet and plain with lots of milk. he drank it down and the caffeine didnt effect him he fell asleep. i dried his clothes and returned them with a quick iron and he was still asleep, i didnt wake him. part of me was unsure if he was asleep but the pattern on his mask was moving slowly and seemed to be settled around his mouth like his breathing was causing the mask to shift its pattern. he may have been awake watching me but i didnt think so, he was not a man of many words but his body language was relaxed and he would of spoken if he was awake. i watched him " sleep " for a while just standing watching the mask swirl and form shapes over his face. i rarely had this opportunity as when hes awake he knows when im looking at him and i cant meet his gaze, i dont know where to look but other times i know when hes watching me. his mask is unsettling as the shapes truly do form split second images a butterfly a smile a bat a flower. i left him to rest.
when i went in to him a few hours later as soon as id woken up about 10.30 am he was still sleeping. he had not moved but i checked his pulse on his wrist and it was strong. i crept out of the room and heard him stir and i froze outside of the door not wanting him to know i was there at all,i held my breath as i heard him get up out of the bed and wince loudly as he went over to the window.i peaked through the gap and saw him physically pull back from the sunlight streaming through the window. i chose to go in and offer breakfast i hope it was subtle. he said yes and i was shocked to have him join me in the kitchen and eat breakfast with him. hes my friend and i want what is best for him. i chat away aimlessly filling the silence because i know he has nothing to say and is probably seething about the fact i took his clothes. i watched him eat as subtly as i could because i wanted to make sure he had a decent meal in his belly before he goes off and does whatever it is he does during the day. im going into the city to do some errands even if the weather is due to change. i made a point not to mention anything to him about the incident last night im sure... well im not sure its Rorshach after all and hes a walking not necessarily talking enigma of a man. but he is my friend and always will be. saw him off around noon he left with a usual nod and grunt. im glad he didnt thank me it would of been weird but i know hes grateful because well because he stayed.