-:- My Autistic Brother -:-
Author: deunan4eva
Summary: At his young age, Nate River was mis-diagnosed. Bored, Mihael Keehl wants nothing to do with the boy who screams and bangs his head on the wall. But slowly, through a poetry journal Roger forces him to keep, Mello begins to see that Near may need more help then he lets on…
BeforeNote:
HEY! HEY, ATTENTION FIRST, PLEASE!
I know lots of you are curious about the puzzle, but first I'd like to ask you all something.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS?
'coz I do ;D
if you think you know, then you'll certainly find out if you're right in this chapter – but I'm just curious to know what you thought it was, and if you're right or not. SO PLEASE. After reading this chapter, please REVIEW and let me know EXACTLY what you thought it was, and if you thought it was a fairly easy puzzle or not.
Coz I thought it was. -_o? Still. I want to hear what y'all think of it – the answer has ALREADY BEEN GIVEN TO YOU in a PREVIOUS CHAPTER!
So this isn't L-grade material. But I hope you enjoy this chapter, written outside of Mello's perspective, and this is where the fun REALLY starts….
PS! CHECK OUT THE AFTERNOTE IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN KNOWING MORE ABOUT THE WRITING OF MY AUTISTIC BROTHER!
- Mercy
…
I should note here – thanks for all your reviews, but also – something that's been brought to my attention:
I've had a few reviewers who like where the story's going, but they're not sure about this whole Mello/backstory arc, shifting the focus away from Near and his autism somewhat.
THIS shows you the dedication to some fanfiction readers! THANK YOU ALL for picking me up on this – I was going to mention it myself, so rest assured, Near and his autism has NOT been forgotten, we're just on our way back to it. ^_^
Chapter 37
7/28/97
-:-
They all looked into the room. There were several desks set up in a small, stall-like set ups so that the children couldn't see each other, but from a certain angle at the door, Dr Lenkov and Morven were able to see straight through from one corner of the room to the other, and they could see all the children. Some were fidgeting with their marshmallows that they'd been given, others were simply looking at them intently. Others were looking around to see if anyone was watching, then, thinking that no one could see them, they quickly pinched the marshmallow and swallowed it in one go. But there was one child who wasn't sitting at the desk they'd been given – right in the very back corner, Near was sitting against the wall, tracing circles on the wall with a finger, gazing at what seemed to be nothing at all.
Matt was standing next to the two doctors in the small conference room next door, watching the other kids. It was a test, something that L had devised for all the six-year-olds at Wammy's to take part in. Something for him to assess them on, and something to partly take their minds off Mello's kidnapping. But it wasn't working for Near. Sharon Morven had said, as she'd handed out the marshmallows to begin with, that if the kids were allowed to eat their marshmallows as soon as they'd gotten them – just that if they didn't, and if they held onto it, she'd give them another one when she came back in. Then, she'd excused herself and went to stand in the conference room with a see-in window between the two rooms. It was almost like an interrogation room, really. The children couldn't see through the window, but those in the conference room could see into the classroom.
'It's not working,' Matt said quietly.
'Actually, it is,' Dr Lenkov assured him. 'Just…just not for Near.'
'Poor thing,' Dr Morven had sadness in her eyes, and as Matt watched Near for a while longer, watched the boy trace his finger in circles on the wall, Matt remembered what that horrible night was like.
A moment, that's all it had been. Mello had been with him – his arm around his shoulders, a triumphant smile on his face – and then he'd turned to reassure Johanna that he'd gotten in safe. Matt had taken his word that he'd be okay, and he'd let his best friend go back out to the curb to wave to his sister. Matt had followed the other kids inside. He'd stopped on the steps to wait for Mello when he heard the screeching of tyres and Mello's yells for help behind him.
He'd watched his best friend get kidnapped right before his eyes – and what had he done? He'd stood there, frozen, and he'd watched. As Mello had been stuffed into that car and how they'd taken off with him. How Johanna had so bravely run into the road to try and stop them, and how she'd had to dive out of the way to avoid getting hit. How the van Beyond was driving roared after them – Matt had just stood and watched it all unfold before him. Mello was gone. Three, four days had passed – the police said that kidnap victims didn't have much of a chance after that, and they'd packed up from looking for evidence throughout London and put Mello's kidnapping case on the 'backburner' as they'd said, along with all the other recent child kidnappings. It burned in Matt's throat every time he thought about the police giving up on his best friend, but what could a little, seven-year-old kid like him do? He knew Johanna and Beyond had been scouring the entire city and surrounding areas thoroughly for the passed few days, but every time he'd sat on the steps and waited for them to return – every time, every single time – they returned with frustrated scowls and empty hands.
No Mello. No luck.
Beyond – creepy as he was, Matt knew that he was still looking for Mello, still blaming himself for allowing Mello to be kidnapped – still reassured Matt that he'd find him – that he'd bring Mello home to Wammy's. If it was going to be the last thing he did, he'd do it. Matt was glad of that. He was glad that Johanna and Celicia were just as dedicated, too.
What he wasn't glad about, though, was that Near seemed to have reverted almost completely back to his former self – before Mello, before the autism was discovered, and before the operation to remove the brain tumour.
'Matt?' Dr Morven was crouching down next to him, a hand gently on his shoulder.
He looked up at her.
'I'm sorry,' she whispered, and drew him into a hug. 'Let's get Near out of there, okay? We'll try something different next time.'
He nodded, and then followed her and Dr Lenkov back into the classroom. Dr Lenkov allowed him to help hand out another marshmallow to each of the kids that hadn't taken theirs, while Dr Lenkov and Dr Morven began to take down the makeshift-stalls. Then, after Dr Lenkov had dismissed all the six-year-olds, only Near remained, sitting in the corner, and he began to gently bang his head against the wall.
-:-
'Well, I'm not sure what else I can do for him – I've tried everything,' Dr Lenkov sighed as he emerged from the small session room. Inside, Matt and Dr Sharon Morven were sitting with Near, who was kneeling by the wall, slowly and purposefully knocking his head against the wall.
'Can we get him to stop that?' Johanna asked, looking concerned as the bandage around Near's head looked like it was in danger of coming undone. 'I don't want him to hurt himself in there…'
'None of us do,' Dr Lenkov reassured her with a tired, weary smile. 'But there's nothing more I can think of that might help him come out of this state he's in.'
'It's almost like he's totally reverted to how he was before Mello became his guardian,' Celicia said softly, watching the small, white-haired boy with the sad, numb look in his eyes. There was a pair of dice in his limp hand – and it looked like he'd almost forgotten that they were there. All around Near, there were puzzles, his favourite toys, cards with colourful words and animals and pictures on them, but none of them seemed to capture his interest.
'It's like he could just go on like that forever,' Johanna sighed, and Dr Lenkov shook his head sadly.
'I've seen this before. It's a state of shock – and I think we're out of time to get him out of it.' He said. 'My daughter is the same way, in hospital – she just sits and rocks herself back and forth all day. No response to any sort of stimulus – she even has to be spoon fed.'
Leaning against the wall opposite them, Beyond was silent, arms folded, sunglasses on, head down and fringe hanging over his face.
'Poor Roger,' Celicia said. 'He's at his wits end. And even the police have packed up and gone. We've got nothing to go on with Mello – where he is, who took him – I just don't –'
'Oh there you are!' suddenly, Mrs Potts was hurtling down the hallway towards them, her arms flailing and carrying a piece of paper. 'There you are, dears! Is Near in there?' She was puffed and out of breath from running.
'Yes – why, what's wrong?' Dr Lenkov asked, and Mrs Potts handed the paper to Johanna – the closest person. She unfolded it and raised an eyebrow at what was written.
'What's "Top Quality Path"?' she inquired, and Beyond straightened up and reached over, plucking it from her hands to read it for himself – Celicia peered over his elbow to see as well. Mrs Potts was leaning against the wall, taking long, deep breaths to try and calm herself down.
'It's…something – I just had – oh my Lord…Mello – he said – Near had to…'
'Mello?' Beyond's head snapped up, and he was immediately attentive to the receptionist. Dr Lenkov held up a hand to him, though, signalling that Beyond should hold his questions for when Mrs Potts got her breath back.
'Hang on – Mello?' Johanna said, not taking the hint. 'What about him?'
'I just had a…a phone call from him…'
'A call?' Beyond was suddenly gripping Mrs Potts by the lapels. 'Where is he? Did he say? Tell me, woman!'
'Beyond! Get off her!' Celicia cried, dragging on his arm to pull him away – Dr Lenkov also stepped in, placing his hands firmly on the teenagers narrow, bony shoulder and giving him a gentle push back.
'Easy, Beyond – just give her a moment.' He said, and then turned to Mr Potts – she was definitely frightened of Beyond, it was clear to see, and she was shaking a little bit – not just from the exertion of running to find them. 'Now, Mrs Potts,' Dr Lenkov continued, calmer now and giving her a gentle smile. 'What about this phone call from Mello?'
'He said – oh dear me, he said he had to talk to Near. He wouldn't say where he was – just that he was hurt and he needed Near to do something for him – he told me to tell Near…this "Top Quality Path" thing that I've written down…' she gestured to the piece of paper, which Johanna had taken back from Beyond. Johanna looked down at it, her eyebrows knitting together, and then she looked into the session room, to where Dr Morven and Matt were still with Near, but were now looking at the commotion in the hallway. Dr Morven got up and came over.
'What's going on?' she asked softly.
'Mello,' Dr Lenkov said. 'He managed to get us a message for Near – hopefully it'll be something useful to help us get him back.'
Relief washed over Dr Morven's face.
'Oh thank God he's alive – did he say if he was hurt?'
'Yes,' Mrs Potts said, her lower lip wobbling and her eyes beginning to get red with unshed tears. Celicia put a comforting arm around her.
'Top Quality Path,' Johanna murmured, and Beyond cast a glance over the piece of paper again. 'What could it mean? Why would he ask to talk to Near? Why didn't he just tell you where he was?'
Mrs Potts shook her head.
'I don't know,' she cracked up and began to sob, dropping to her knees. Celicia knelt beside her, pulling a handkerchief from her pocket and offering it to her. Mrs Potts blew her nose, loudly, and Matt looked up from where he was sitting with Near at the sound.
Johanna watched her little brother for a moment – the way he was absently trying to comfort the autistic boy that Mello cared so much about. Then, an idea came to her.
'What if he mean this as a riddle? A puzzle of some sort?' she wondered, and she stepped into the classroom, followed by Beyond, Dr Lenkov and Dr Morven.
'What do you mean?' Dr Lenkov asked, confused. Johanna showed him the piece of paper.
'I think he's trying to get a message to Near that we're not supposed to understand – but Near is. If he knew that he couldn't tell us his exact location, then what if he's simplified it so well that we can't even recognize it? But someone like Near – perhaps an autistic person – who doesn't see the world the same way that the rest of us do – what if someone like Near can see it?'
'You're right,' Beyond murmured, and plucked the paper from her hands again. He stepped over to Matt and Near, squatting down next to them. He handed the paper to Matt. 'You think Near can decode this?'
Matt screwed up his face. 'What is it?'
'A message. From Mello.'
Near's eyes lifted, and he stopped banging his head for a second to look up at all of them – he gazed at them curiously, as if he'd only just realized that they were all standing around, watching him. But then his eyes settled on Beyond.
'Mello?' he whispered. His voice was soft, hoarse, almost, from a screaming fit he'd had last night. Every night that Mello had been gone, Near was either unable to sleep, or always woke in screaming and sweating fits, tossing and turning and crying from nightmares. Matt was hardly able to help – he didn't know what to do and he didn't know how Mello coped.
Beyond nodded, his sole focus on Near.
'That's right. Mello. He sent you a message. But we don't know what it means. Do you?' he turned the paper in Matt's hands so that Matt was holding it up for Near to see. Near studied it, then looked up around to all of them again, and then back to the piece of paper. In the hallway Celicia was craning her neck to see what was going on as she comforted Mrs Potts.
'Can you do it, Near?' Matt asked softly, and Near pulled a face and turned away.
'Not Mello. No.'
Beyond took a deep breath – it was clear to see that he was beginning to lose his patience. He tapped Near on the back of the hand – just like he'd seen Mello do, so many times before – and Near turned back to him.
'No, it's not Mello. But he needs you to decode this message he sent. He wants you to solve this puzzle.'
Near stared blankly at him for another moment, then, he slowly took the paper from Matt's hands, clambered to his feet, and stumbled from the room. Then, he was off like a shot – running down the hall way and towards some of the other classrooms.
'Where's he going?'
'Don't just stand there, follow him!' Matt urged, tripping on his way up to follow Near. Confused, the others chased after him – and Celicia and Mrs Potts watched in surprise as they all dashed passed them.
They found Near in a classroom – one of the early learning areas for the younger children. He had a permanent marker in one hand and the piece of paper with Mello's message on it in the other. He had his back facing them, and he was writing shakily on the whiteboard – his handwriting was atrocious – worse than most six-year-old genius', but everyone could make out what he was writing. First, he wrote, in big, bold, underlined letters;
TOP QUALITY PATH
And then, beneath it, he scrawled;
HIGH WORTH TRAIL
Johanna, Beyond, Dr Lenkov and Dr Morven watched in silence and awe as Near carefully drew a very wobbly line through the word 'high' and then the word 'trial', leaving the word 'worth' in the middle.
'What…exactly is he doing?' Johanna whispered, and there was a smile beginning to creep across Dr Lenkov's face.
'He's solving the puzzle,' he said softly. 'To him, it's like one of those word puzzles you see in the comics and crosswords section of the newspaper.'
Near continued to scrawl about on the whiteboard. Next, the white-haired child wrote;
SUMMIT WORTH WAY
Then, crossing out 'summit' and 'way', he left then wrote;
PEAK WORTH LANE
'Lane? Like in…the road, maybe?' Beyond murmured, and Dr Morven blinked.
'What if it's a street name? What if that's what he wants us to know?' she asked, and Johanna nodded encouragingly.
'Yeah – yeah, that could be it…' she trailed off. 'But there are no streets in London that I know of with names like this…'
She was about to go on, but Near was still writing. He stopped for a moment, though, his sleeve in his mouth and the marker hanging limply in his other hand. Then, he looked down at the piece of paper one last time, then crossed out the word 'peak'.
Beneath all his previous attempts, he proudly wrote in rather squiggly letters;
HEADSWORTH LANE.
And then, Near turned to the others and said, quietly, but quite clearly,
'Want my Mello, now.'
They couldn't do anything else but stare at the little genius before them, and the puzzle he'd so cleverly solved on the whiteboard behind him.
AfterNote:
In Relation to the PS note:
I've recently been asked if I'll do a Questions and Answers for My Autistic Brother, and I have agreed. So please, if you've got any questions, queries, wonders or whatnot about the story now that it's finally coming to an end, please leave a review and ask, and I will answer the questions in some of the AfterNotes of upcoming chapters, since I still have a few chapters to get out. PLEASE, though – must request that you DON'T ASK for spoilers, because I WILL NOT ANSWER those sorts of questions. ^_^ Anyway – please, feel free to leave your questions in a review!
– Mercy