Author's Note: I think I have finally settled on an ending for this, rounding it out to a solid thirteen chapters (unlucky?) perhaps but it is a horror. So four more chapters after this with the last to be posted on Halloween. Excitement I know, so rarely do I read fan fics for that holiday and I so love it. So enjoy loyal reader, as once more I stick it to poor Heero, our hero.
Bringing Out the Dead
Chapter 9 – Conversation and Plans
Five men sat silently in the ruined living room, having righted the couches, they had dragged the table between them gathering the notes together Relena had been working on. The good doctor had point blank refused to tell them anything after laughing in their faces she had told them just that. Followed by lashing out and throwing insults to all of them. So now she sat tied to a chair gag in her mouth. "What are we looking for?" Quatre asked flipping through yet another book, "I have no idea," Heero wheezed he was looking worse for wear, the last tackle had busted a rib or two, his knuckles where still torn, and his neck now bore two black and blue handprints. Duo was sitting between his legs, sifting through papers. His braid had come loose, unraveling wispy tendrils where curling about his face. He looked too cute for words, but his face was serious and drawn like the others. Heero could barely keep his eyes open, he rested his forehead against the warm back of his now lover. Long arms looped loosely around his waist. He was drifting in and out.
"How can he sleep?" Quatre looked amazed with everything going on he felt as though the last thing he wanted to do was sleep. Heero grunted hearing the question, raising his head he looked at him sleepily trying to formulate an answer. "Got this one," Duo said turning softly. Nodding he rested his head once more closing his eyes, being lulled by the gentle vibrations as he explained to the others. "He can't help it, he needs to recharge so to speak." Trowa was looking at him over steepled fingers, "Like a battery?" Duo nodded, "Yeah! Just like a battery, Heero is like a high volt battery and the dead are attracted to him because of that. The more often he meets them, interacts with them, whatever the more of a drain it becomes on him. The dead use his energy to interact with him and the world of the living." Quatre was filming again, "We have had quite a bit of interaction with the dead today," Trowa said the others nodded. "Yeah, his napping used to get him in trouble at school, the teachers couldn't figure out why he would just drop and sleep the afternoon away."
Zechs joined the conversation; he had moved Wufei into the room with them the other not waking though the excitement. The man was cocooned in blankets on a small cot he'd rolled him out on. "What do you mean by at school?" Duo smiled a little melancholy at that, "That's where we met for the first time. When we where children we went to a special school for the 'gifted'. Most just called it a school for freaks." Heero snorted, "Yeah like my dad," he mumbled shifting to snuggle closer.
"Anyway, the school was full of people like me and Quatre, but Heero's gift was beyond them. They spent three years trying to understand him." He gently stroked the hands looped at his waist, "Anyway they come to find out the school building where we were used to be a court house." Zechs winced, "I can imagine," Duo was nodding, "So anyway he was always sleepy in the afternoon and the teacher used to get pissed." Laughing gently he leaned forward on his arm, "It was so funny, they all wanted to understand what Heero was seeing, what his gift was. Pushed him so hard, and when they finally did see inside they where terrified."
Quatre was spellbound, "Why? They wanted to know didn't they?" Heero laughed mockingly, "Who wants to see the dead?" They said nothing more for a while each deep in thought save Heero and Wufei who slumbered on.
It was getting late, passing six, Quatre's stomach grumbled loudly. "Ummm can we maybe break and eat?" Nodding Zechs stood "Good idea I'll go make some sandwiches," "I'll come with," Quatre piped up, "Don't think we should go anywhere alone." The pair returned shortly there after food in hand. "Should we wake him?" Trowa asked softly looking to where a tousled head appeared behind Duo's shoulder. The slimmer man was sitting between his legs the other draped on his back like a two hundred pound cat, "In a bit let him sleep little more." They ate talking quietly as they sifted through the paper work, all of a sudden Duo felt Heero shiver before his head rose. Sleepy blue eyes looked to something on his left. "Heero?" Duo asked softly craning his neck to see him, "Thank you," Heero said groggy He looked as if he was talking to thin air, "Hope your ok," he continued pausing as if listening for the answer. "We can't figure it out," he waited again, turning his head again to look to the opposite side of the room. "He knows?" he asked aloud. They all waited Duo shivering with cold, wondering if the others felt it to.
Heero was suddenly moving pushing up onto the couch, and walking towards the study. Moving stiffly he disappeared inside the room, the others paused for about a heartbeat before rushing after him. He was standing in the back corner looking at nothing, as they watched several books flew off the shelf smacking the far wall. Quatre video camera in hand jumped with a gasp, "As if that's the scariest thing that has happened here." He muttered Trowa laughed quietly, Heero had something in his hand a small dusty note book, "I owe you," he said softly there was a pause then Heero smiled sadly, "How much time?" the others worried when Heero finally turned back to the book.
The cold was suddenly gone, the warmth was back "Is he gone?" Quatre asked into the dusty stillness Heero nodded, "Keleb?" He nodded again, "He came to warn us, there's not much time left." He said softly, opening the book glancing through the pages he whistled through his teeth, "What?" Duo asked softly moving to stand near him, "Something that I think is more your expertise." Violet eyes widened, "Is this…" Heero handed it over. "What? What we find?" Quatre panned the camera on the pair, "Not sure, let me read it a bit." Returning to the table they sat quietly as Duo went through the journal wide eyed. "What else did Keleb say?" Zechs asked, he looked tired a worn out his glasses had cracked when he got tossed, and his usually neat appearance was rumpled. "That we where running out of time, whatever is here is coming for us." They all froze at that, "What is coming?" Heero shrugged, "He also said your boss knows more then he's telling us." Zechs blinked, "I know all that he does," shrugging Heero leaned back on the couch, "You sure?" opening his mouth to retort Zechs stalled, the play of emotion across his face was interesting. "No," he finally ground out sullenly.
"This is…this is dangerous." Duo said softly gaining their attention, "Wait, wait!" Quatre got out his camera charger, "Battery is dying," running a cord from his power unit he plugged it in returning. "Why you filming all this?" Trowa asked, the blonde shrugged focusing on Duo, "Well either we will get out of here and no one will believe us without evidence. Or we all die and hopefully someone will find this so they know what happened." Heero smiled wryly "Good point." Nodding he focused on Duo still starting at the book. "Whenever Duo, ready," Heero sitting close leaned into him, "Is it what I thought?' Nodding vigorously curls bounced around his face, "It's Barbara Thornton's Diary," There was a muffled yell and the scraping of a chair, Relena looked at them wide eyes, sound muffled by the gag. "I will take the gag off but you be quiet and listen." Trowa said to her softly, nodding she held still as he removed it. "Thank you," she said softly.
"So what have we learned," Zechs asked, "Barbra was into some heavy shit," he flipped through the pages until he got to a page with symbols and drawings on them. Things where scratched out and notes had been written in margins, "This is, this is Satanism. Working with demons and evil." The other recognized pentagrams, but the other symbols where beyond them. "That sort of stuff exists? Like the devil? I thought that was only movie stuff." Quatre was focusing on the pages documenting the diagrams, "Yes and no…there are those out there who believe in good and evil. You cannot believe in heaven without hell, is the standard line. I recognize maybe three of these symbols max this looks arcane. There are only a hand full of people who would understand this." Zechs looked apprehensively at the pages. "This is dangerous, to speak any of these names gives power to them." Heero flipped another page, the date was faded and hard to read but the writing was legible enough, "I have come to the end. I am tired of him flaunting those girls around this house. I will have my revenge in this life and the next." The room was silent. Duo flipped further into the book, "Another failure, the girl must have lied to me she was not a virgin." Quatre looked up at the long haired man, "You mean like a virgin sacrifice?" his voice was quiet and soft, "Could be I'm not a demonologist, I'm not sure. From what I cans see these are more then likely summoning spells."
Trowa gave a low whistle "Why would you want to summon a demon?" Quatre spoke up then, "For the record when we are talking about demons we are talking…" he waited for Duo to elaborate, "A super human, immortal being that is the servant of Lucifer." All eyes turned to Relena, who looked unfazed by all this. "I am having a hard time swallowing all this, I mean demons? Evil? This stuff can't possibly exist." Zechs nodded vigorously agreeing with Trowa's dumbfounded statement. Heero smiled, "I see the dead, and I have problems believing all this." Trowa sent him wry smile, "We have gotten our asses handed to us by things we cannot see." There was a bang of a door closing, hurried footsteps and a haunting laughter. "The party is starting again," Quatre said, "Relena you know about this? Or something about this?" She shrugged best she could restrained, "Somewhat, there where rumors that Barbra was into the occult, séances and the like. It was part of what happened after her illness why they said she was no longer right."
"Do we know why she was trying to summon a demon?" Duo asked looking at the women, Quatre grinned "I know this one, revenge. She wanted to get vengeance on her husband for cheating I would assume." Duo looked at him blinking, "That makes sense," Relena spoke again, "Yes that was story, she had some sort of a special room built in the house dedicated to this Satanism and her dark arts." Heero perked up at this, "The 'heart' of the house." Relena looked around sullen and silent now, "The 'heart' of the house." Zechs echoed he could vaguely recall a conversation that his master and the doctor had before this little adventure about a special room? Wracking his brain he tried to remember why that was important.
"Is this sandwich for me?' Heero suddenly spotted the plate with food on it. Duo nodded absently still going through the diary, ravenous the other dug in. Trowa turned back to the now calm doctor, "We need to work together and get out of here. I will untie you. Are you ready to work with us to get out." He undid the rope the Doctor rubbing her wrists, sent them all a mulish look. "I think we need to find this room," Duo said, Heero nodded "That's what Keleb said," Zechs spoke up again "If we are dealing with a demon what does that mean?" Heero swallowed his mouthful, "It means all kinds of bad."
