Out somewhere in the world, great dark clouds are massing; Somewhere else light seeps into hearts unwanted and unknown by most.
Natsu sat kneeling on one knee pouring hydrogen peroxide on the wounded arm of a young man. 'It'll sting just a bit.'' he had told the man earlier but the latter still bounced around panicking. ''Your medicines are very foreign to me.'' the man said smiling at the clean white wrap on his mocha toned arm.
''Soon they won't be and everyone is this locality will be living an improved life. ''I'd like that a lot,'' an old lady leaning on a dead tree beside her rusted shack of a house said. ''All the children here, know how to do is fight, steal from each other, and lie.''
Natsu stood up and closed his bag before looking over to her. ''People will be arriving shortly after the repair crew to educate them,'' he informed her of the people who would shortly build houses, hospitals, schools, and prisons just for the reviving community. ''Why are you doing this for us?'' a little boy asked from his perch in a jícaro tree. ''What do you receive from helping us?''
''Happiness in my heart and light in my soul,'' Natsu smiled brightly, lifting his arms to the reluctant boy who accepted his offer to carry him from the tree and place him on the barren ground. ''It seems you have a problem here.'' Natsu carefully pressed his index finger against the small boy's bloated abdomen. ''Tell me child are you tired or vomiting frequently?''
''Yeah, how did you know?'' he was surprised by the knowledge Natsu possessed regarding him who he had just met. ''I assume you've been having diarrhea lately as well?'' ''Diarrhea?'' the word was unknown to him so he just sat there pouting, unhappy about the fact that there were many words he didn't know. Natsu chuckled lightly the little boy reminded him strongly of Romeo.
The old lady who previously leaned against the rusted shack approached quickly saying.
''Yeah he has been experiencing diarrhea and nausea, it's because everyone is drinking the dirty water.'' Natsu was about to inquire about the knowledge of the elderly woman when the boy in front of him began having a seizure induced by lack of sugar and the heat of the day.
''And there he goes again!'' a disheveled little girl sitting on a pile of dirt called. ''He always gets out of trouble and chores when he does that!''
Natsu picked up the boy and told the elderly lady to inform the village people that a doctor visited and is saying not to drink the water until clean water arrives shortly, then he ran off to meet Laxus and ten pregnant women plus the rest of the medical squad that came to help Nicaragua the day before he and Laxus arrived.
With a spring in his step Natsu bounced along a grassy path leading to where he needed to be at the moment, as usual his heart began to work harder and pump a worried feeling into his veins. His heart beat was as loud as thunder to him but at the same time soundless to the world and shifting grasses beyond him.
A zesty zing makes itself into my eyes and fills my ears when I am lonely and you wrap yourself completely around me holding me close and dear.
Lucy played hopscotch with the limbs of her sleeping friends Mira-Jane and Evergreen in an attempt to free herself from her hospital room and go see Jude at the police station even though it was nighttime it was the only time they weren't watching her like hawks, and she was a determined young lady who always found away. ''I'll kill you.'' Lucy froze and looked back at Mira-Jane who was murmuring death threats in her sleep. ''&#%!?.'' Evergreen replied sleeping soundly.
Lucy grabbed her shoulder bag full of clothes and slung it over her neck before covering her mouth and nose ceasing to breathe around the two who would definitely kill her if they caught her doing this again for the second night in a row. It was already nerve wracking how they stayed awake for as long as they could to make sure she didn't run off into the wilderness like a formerly caged wild animal or so they had said.
Lucy made her way out of the hospital room and after gently sliding the door shut she ran like Natsu was waiting for her at the goal and her demons were at her heels.
Maybe only Natsu or someone with the keenest of ears would have heard the little patter of her bare feet as she flew down the hall, around corners and down flights of stairs. ''Sorry, I'll be back before dawn,'' she whispered an apology and promise to her friends who back in her room slept there on the floor trying their best to guard her against outside threats.
Lucy's brief point of view.
I kind of felt like I was in an action movie as the lead heroine sneaking out of the hospital past all the nurses and doctors who worked late. One of the questions in the back of my mind was how I was going to sneak back in with my face being as known as it was, but right now I was a girl with a mission so I ran to the nearest convenience store bathroom and got into my clothes and running shoes.
The cashier looked at me strangely but I guess I couldn't blame her, I mean I did look a bit mental after the night wind blew my dry hair up into the open air and she did see the attire I was wearing before I changed.
''I want to buy this,'' I said placing two bottles of water, a ready-to-eat lunch and a box of chewy granola bars on the counter, I figured I should buy something or she might get extra suspicious of me.
''$6.50, but do you have the money?'' she eyed me even more curiously, ''If I didn't then I would have robbed you.'' I joked but she didn't take it that way I could tell. ''I'm sorry I do.'' I opened my bag and grabbed my wallet before placing my rewards into my bag and exiting the convenience store after adding toothpaste and a toothbrush on my list and annoying the rude cashier if I might say so myself.
I hide in the dusk and wait in the moonlight when twilight rises above everything else I am still here standing in the bitter cold waiting for your hand.
Lucy's voice was hoarse from crying herself to sleep more than once each passing day before but in her golden heart, there was more light than ever to share with others.
Running cheerfully towards a place she couldn't wait to be, to see her father's face and set him free and put away Crawford the disgrace for as long as he had left in his bones.
Lucy hid in the bushes behind Magnolia police department feeling nothing less than a criminal. 'Aren't I taking my role too seriously?' she asked herself stepping out of the bushes remembering she wasn't a criminal. 'Ha we'll see who suffers now!!' she walked down the gravel filled walkway towards the entrance past all the police vehicles,
When suddenly she stopped to catch her breath she spotted a figure in the reflection of a police car..Ivan? Lucy wasn't about to find out and the figure seemed to realize she knew it was there, chills ran down her spine and shivers left her body. Next, she was dodging an attack and running for her life into the police station.
But the figure didn't follow her in there like darkness could not live where the light shone. ''Someone is chasing me!'' she yelled running inside from the cold April night. ''Who?'' the cops at the front desks inquired lazily. ''I don't know but they're still outside!'' she yelled desperate for help only then did two lazy cops get up and go 'try' to catch the perpetrator.
Lucy sat by the stainless steel cooler sipping water trying to calm her nerves and aching throat when the cops who left for a bit came back inside with snacks instead of the person who chased her. ''He got away.'' one of them said pulling out her chair to sit down again. ''What?! but then you came back with food?'' ''That was after he got away, a fast guy really.'' the second cop scoffed. ''So, what were you here for originally?''
I am well accustomed to walking into the darkness alone and cold, a thousand years I have ventured and soon I will be free to see the day.
I knew this place was super sketchy by the fact that Papa was still here and the investigation weren't going anywhere but I had to find my father and talk with him.
Clearing my throat loudly I said I was here to see Jude Heartfilia. ''And who are you?'' the female cop asked eyeing me. ''I am Lucy Heartfilia, his daughter,'' I replied picking up my bag. ''Hand that over before any decision is made.'' the second cop said taking my bag from me.
''I have to look through this.'' he looked through my bag and I felt a bit hot in the face because some items were girl-only items. ''I see nothing strange.'' he declared handing my bag back. ''This way.'' the lady cop said opening the door I was standing beside leading me down the corridor. I felt a bit unnatural in my heart because of all the criminals behind one-way mirrors, the fact that I was attacked just a few minutes ago and the two cops with me were beyond lazy.
''Here we are.'' the male cop said turning a key into door number 34. I walked into the room slowly looking around at the darkness that consumed everything before the light was turned on. ''Huh?'' I saw my father lying on the floor with one blanket near a table with two chairs, seeing him my eyes began to fill and my heart became unsteady.
''Papa it's me,'' I called to him and he sat up alert through obviously stinging eyes. ''Lu?'' ''Yeah.'' I ran into his waiting arms and he hugged me in his comfortably crushing embrace. ''I'm sorry for not listening to you.'' I couldn't hold my tears and I snuggled into his shoulder making it a bit damp. ''It's okay nothing can change how fate moves.'' he sniffed letting me go for a breather.
''I'll make sure to obey next time.'' I sat beside my father and he wiped my tears away. ''Why are you here so late?'' he asked stretching his definitely sore arms and legs. ''I wanted to bring you something to eat but I was in the hospital so I just bought something easy.'' I began to ramble grabbing my bag and opening it.
''Are you really okay?'' he asked brushing the wound on my lip. ''It won't scar because it's only minor.'' I smiled trying to maintain my happy face with all my might. ''Why is the food all shaken up?'' he giggled accepting the items I brought for him.
I waited for him to finish eating to answer. 'How should I say this to him?' ''I saw Ivan earlier..'' I whispered. ''So they caught the snake?'' he asked sitting up straight. ''Then I shouldn't still be in here.'' ''No they didn't.'' I maintained my hushed voice ''How did you see him?'' Papa's expression was worried and his eyes studied me carefully, even if I tried to lie to him he would be able to see right through me.
'What did I even have to lie about?' I subtly placed my finger to my lips to warn him to be quiet. ''They're watching us through the glass.'' he kept his eyes on me and didn't look to the glass instead he smiled happily acting well for the cops watching us.
''He was outside of the police station and he attacked me.'' I could tell my father was about to shout something so I widened my eyes and brought my finger to my lips again. ''Shh...I'm alright he didn't get me.'' I scooted closer to him. ''I think the police are not to be trusted because they didn't try to catch him or even investigate either of our cases,'' I furrowed my eyebrows at him and continued. ''Don't show any signs of this knowledge until I find some evidence.'' ''I taught you well didn't I?''
Papa said beaming and I returned the smile I inherited from him back to his warm eyes. ''Jean-Luc Neville, my friend he should have come by with the evidence I left with him by now.'' ''Please take someone with you wherever you go, and inquire with Neville for me.''
''I will.'' I stood up to stretch my legs when the door opened and the same two cops came inside informing me that it was time to go. If I noticed anything about them two was how annoyed their expressions looked when I grabbed my bag, probably because my father and I whispered the entire time. ''Bye Papa!'' I called to him and walked out the door stopping to use the phone in the lobby.
''What the heck are you doing over there?'' Mira-Jane yelled into the phone when I asked her to pick me up. ''I need to you to hurry,'' I whispered into the receiver afraid that the cops were more corrupt than I thought and that Ivan could show up and attack me again at any given second.
The sky is a lonely glassed over marble reflecting only the sea who in turn reflects the stars and the moon, tiny ripples appear as people dive into both.
Mira-Jane and Evergreen picked Lucy up from the police station while both on their guard against Ivan, Lucy had whispered as much as she could over the phone before hanging up and waiting in the lobby a bit until they arrived. ''He is too much, I always thought he was secretly evil but I wasn't expecting all of this.'' Mira huffed her sentence out and turned into the hospital. ''I always thought the police were lazy but that just crosses all lines.'' Evergreen groaned.
''We have Aquarius on our side though don't we?'' Mira-Jane looked for the silver lining before cupping Evergreen's mouth shut and ushering the two girls out of the car. ''Huh? what's wrong?!'' Lucy got scared by Mira's quick actions. ''Never forget our cars could be bugged,'' she said when the three walked into the building. ''The hospital room as well, so be careful of what you say and always be on alert ladies.''
Give me your patience, honesty, love, and care I'll make sure to take them from you and return them tenfold so return it again to me in a cycle.
Mira-Jane plopped herself onto the couch in Lucy's hospital room while Evergreen fluttered onto her pillow stack on the floor, and Lucy laid gently down on her bed and peered imaginary holes into the ceiling so she could see the dusty silver stars above.
''I seem to have forgotten spring.'' Lucy sighed testing to see if her girls were still awake which they both were. ''What do you mean?'' Evergreen's soft irises searched the ceiling for answers. ''It's just that lately my life has been drifting downstream.'' Lucy rolled onto her side to face her 'sisters' ''Like glass my life is being shattered.''
Mira-Jane sat up on the couch and smiled understandingly. ''No, this is only a small dent in your titanium heart.'' Lucy smiled in Mira's direction, her words always could cheer a person up quickly. ''We're going to get these fools regardless of what they throw our way.'' Lucy ran over to sit on the couch near Evergreen's pillow stack. ''Yeah I guess you're right but sometimes I feel like all of this is too much,'' she said softly accepting the embrace Evergreen offered.
''Hey, sometimes I feel like I am just a useless piece of dust floating pointlessly in the air too,'' Evergreen admitted garnering looks of disbelief from the other two girls. ''What? I am a human too, but I don't think too much about it because I know nothing can change how destiny and fate work.''
Ding-Evergreen's phone chimed in an old fashioned way. ''Is it a message from Elfman?'' Lucy teased instantly making the mood much lighter.
''Of course not!'' Ever said flustered checking her phone and then blushing in a new response. ''What did he say?'' Mira jeered at the girl. ''He is telling me something is weird about the police station but I clearly already know that.'' she texted her response to his long explanatory text confirming his suspicions.
Evergreen giggled first and then filled the puzzled girls in on her conversation. ''Elf, is asking if you lost your marbles,'' she told Lucy but the latter ignored the accusations of insanity and shot back. ''Elf? he has a nickname now I see.'' Evergreen hid her face in her hands and beneath her long brown hair. ''It is really not what you think!'' she yelled shy about her slip up.
''HEY! CAN YOU THREE SHUT UP FOR ONE SECOND?!'' an old lady shot from nowhere scaring them, she was much louder than the three of them combined. ''We're sorry ma'am,'' Lucy said quickly hiding her eyes feeling as if she could fall into an endless pit. ''Oh my goodness,'' Mira whispered and Evergreen snickered before going quiet wary of the old lady trying to sleep.
''I gotta pee, can you hold my phone for me?'' Evergreen handed her phone over to Lucy but Mira stopped her urination operation. ''We need to stick together you don't know what's out there, don't you think so Lucy?'' Lucy didn't answer her at first but just peered down at Evergreen's phone. ''I know it's a weird phone case right?'' she took her phone back and hid the Frog case in her pocket suddenly as embarrassed as Elfman was about it.
''Let's go out of here.'' Lucy ushered the three out of her room and into the hallway to search for the best ladies room. ''Stop pushing I can walk!'' Mira snapped at her. ''I remembered something,'' Lucy whispered between her friends. ''Is it a piece evidence?'' 'Please let it still be there somehow.' ''Yes, crucial evidence.'' Lucy's jaw tightened with anger when she said so. ''It's my phone's recording Crawford took for me.''
Blurred decisions and measly serious thoughts cloud my young mind, I know I'll improve but I can't help but dive into many day dreams to escape.
I held my breath unconsciously and gave Mira-Jane's hand a tight squeeze to let her know of my fear, the three of us walked down the slowly darker hallway pretending to search for a restroom.
''I actually really need to pee..'' Evergreen slowly hissed walking ahead of the two of us. ''I might pee on myself at this rate..'' she whined starting her potty dance which consisted of some rather impressive footwork. ''Okay, Okay, but we've got to go together,'' Mira-Jane told her and walked ahead of me as well.
She left a beautiful scene in her wake as her white strands bathed in the equally pale moonlight dancing by the window, so beautiful was the sight of my two friends that I felt surreal. ''Wait for me.'' I hurried into the bathroom feeling as if I had just narrowly escaped the clutches of an impending monster.
''I felt like my abdomen was about to blow up.'' Evergreen laughed washing her hands. ''My feet are about to merge with the tile because you took so long.'' Mira-Jane scolded her for taking her sweet potty time. ''Well, I couldn't just go fast with you guys listening to me,'' Evergreen replied sheepishly.
I looked at my reflection with my head half lowered watching the main door to the ladies bathroom slowly open, looking closely I caught the glint of a familiar eye. I brightly smiled walking toward Evergreen who returned my smile. ''Wow amazing, look at what you dropped all over the floor!'' I said shifting my sight to the floor and squatting down low indirectly beckoning her to follow.
''What did I drop?'' she asked me then I dropped my smile when Mira joined us in the huddle. ''Ivan is at the door,'' I whispered and I could read the horror on Mira's face, I didn't expect Evergreen to be frightened which she wasn't but I was surprised at myself for not feeling fear at all.
Ivan had followed and attacked me earlier and now he was here in the hospital obviously trying put a stop to our operations like I would let him. ''Oh, I see what you're pointing at it's here.'' Ever said using the same tone she had been using all along. ''What're we doing in this bathroom for so long? It's so late and I'm tired.'' Mira-Jane threw her rhetorical question in, purposely alerting Ivan of our 'next' move and I saw the fool move away from the door to the left.
We started up our usual talk but no one was really paying attention to it, the chatter was just to string him along. Evergreen moved her pink blouse aside and pulled her pistol out of her waist holster before charging the door and slamming against Ivan who wasn't suspecting a thing. ''Drop the weapon and stay on the ground!'' she screamed pointing her gun in his face.
''Drop it now!'' Ivan dropped his cloth and bottle of possible chloroform. ''Drop the other ones as well,'' Mira added pointing to his pocket which promptly emptied so he wouldn't upset Evergreen further. The lights in the hospital were shining brightly and hospital staff, as well as curious patients, were gathered in the hallway beginning to freak out.
''I'll take him to the station myself,'' Evergreen said sheathing her gun in its holster after cuffing Ivan Dreyar. Looking at him right then and there to me he looked absolutely insane his once tidy black hair was disheveled and his face was twisted into a scary smile. ''You guy's think you can bully me into submission don't you?!'' I snapped at him when his eyes met mine. ''You're playing on my fear but it's not going that way, I won't ever cave in or hide away.''
''You all think you're winning don't you?'' I asked him when Evergreen lifted him off of the floor. ''Even now you think I will be intimated by your silence like I am unaware of the truth? but it's you who needs to beware!'' I screamed scaring the surrounding people but not the man in front of me who continued smiling with nothing to say.
I hated him and the rest of my enemies to death and I could feel the rage hidden behind my eyes, even if Ivan was not cuffed I could still fight him this I knew deep in my mind.
Right now particularly I was glad he was going away with Evergreen because if he didn't I would have killed him with the syringe I was holding under my sleeve. I quickly hid the empty weapon back where I had found it, my heart was racing and I was now deeply scared of myself and in dire need of a comforting voice...I wanted to call Natsu now more than ever..maybe I can do that and not let him now of my struggles?
More naturally than the stars in space, I hold my place and stare down like a star upon the people who wish I would lose my shine eventually.
Chapter end._
Fun fact: The passages in the story that are written in bold but have no clear meaning or relevance to the story are the feelings Lucy or Natsu fight on a daily.
-I am an insomniac and go to sleep after 5:00 AM for the first time without taking naps every morning nowadays. (It's 1:03 AM currently..)
I hope you enjoyed this late chapter, please your thoughts on the story so far.
Thank you all who have stayed with me patiently and those of you who have maybe just viewed this chapter.
Please excuse my spelling and grammatical errors.
{I am a broken girl who wears a RCS Cardiac monitor on her waist...}
My family and I are not prepared for Hurricane Irma...right now before the storm there is..
-Peace