The Mermaids Scar…Gundam Style
Chapter 8
Heero stared at her in bewilderment. Is she serious? He thought numbly. Mariemaia was no longer looking at him, just lying limp beneath him.
The corner of her mouth twitched, and she drove her hand upward, and Heero screamed in white-hot anger and pain as two of her fingers tore through his right eye.
He fell back, holding his hand to his eye and writhing on the floor in agony. Blood gushed through his fingers, and he desperately tried to sit up and face Mariemaia. As Heero flailed angrily on the floor, Mariemaia stood, cautiously studied the bright red blood coating her fingers, and then licked at it like a kitten to her milk.
The sweet salt of his blood further stimulated her thirst to kill him. She ignored him completely as he struggled to sit up; she concentrated solely on licking her fingers clean.
Still studying her fingers to see if she'd missed any, Mariemaia smiled and sighed. "You're too trusting, Heero. You really should have killed me, because there will be no such hesitation on my part." She told him gently. "And Heero, I full well know the curse of being alone. I've been alive for eight hundred years, dear boy."
Heero finally won his battle to sit up, and he continued to hold one hand to his face. His jaw dropped open slowly. "Eight hundred years…?!" He gasped. "Oh God, how many people have you killed with that cursed flesh?!"
Mariemaia chuckled. "I really have no idea…. There have been so many." She emphasized on the 'so', and Heero felt his blood boiling. "I think the first one was my mother."
Momentarily, Mariemaia remembered all those years ago, with her beautiful blonde mother. She'd been sick, and Mariemaia's discovery of the mermaids' flesh gave the small child hope that her mother would heal.
Mariemaia shuddered involuntarily, recalling her horror when she laid sight on her first Lost Soul, first of very many to come. "I don't even know if that was my real mother," She added thoughtfully, "It's just been so long. I tried to take care of myself, but the world is no place for a child on her own, is it?"
His eye had finally healed, but there was a dull throbbing in his head. His gaze lowered to the floor. "What happened to all of them?" He asked bitterly.
"Most of them became Lost Souls like Relena," Her face clouded slightly, and Mariemaia assumed she actually was a little sad about losing Relena. By far Relena had been her favorite candidate for the flesh. Oh well, she mentally shrugged. "But some of them lasted a while, Une for the longest."
"Why Duo?" He demanded. Despite the fact that he was beyond worry and concern for the braided boy, he smiled inwardly at what he was about to say. "Duo can hardly take care of himself, let alone another human!! Especially a child!!"
Mariemaia shook her head. "Duo is completely cosmetic. People need only see him, and have some explanation of him. It will really be me taking care of him." The child smiled coldly. "That's the way it is. I had almost complete control over Une." But the smile shattered, leaving behind an ugly sneer. "Une got away a lot, she was strong willed. Whenever I'd catch up with her, a good beating would keep her line for another few years. I have to kill you because Duo is so attached to you. The mere thought of you makes him stronger. If I kill you, he'll be far easier to control." And once again, her expression vanished, and she wore a look of hunger. "It's a real shame I'm stuck in the body of a child. Duo's quite the catch, wouldn't you say?"
With a low snarl, Heero jumped up at her. Mariemaia's hands reached around to her back, and produced a large handgun. "Guess we'll have to do this the hard way." She commented as she fired.
The bullet hit him in the lower right, and Heero fell backwards and hit the wall. Perspiration poured down his face and his face was a frozen mask of pain. "So you really will kill me…" He stated in amazement. He'd seen so many people in their fiery craze for Immortality, but none had been as determined as this child, this little girl!!
Mariemaia nodded perkily and smiled. "Oh yes, I am!"
And she fired again.
~~~~~~~
Duo discovered that he could move. Crawling like a snake and ignoring the painful throbbing of the barbs tearing his skin, he moved along slowly. It was a long, strenuous job, and by the time he was finally making his way down back to the road, the moon was high in the sky.
He was covered with mud, grass stains and blood, his long brown hair was sticking out of his braid. Not that it was a braid anymore anyway. At some point it had come partially undone. He had all sorts of plant life embedded into the chestnut masses (most likely some insect life, too, considering how he itched) and it was slick with sweat from his labors.
He grimaced, thinking of what he must look like. But it doesn't matter, he thought harshly. Just get to Heero and save him.
The road leading back up to the mansion was in sight. Duo's breath caught in his chest and he moved faster, leaving a small trail of blood.
Sweat dripped into his eyes, and as his vision blurred, he felt his body suddenly slip, and Duo shouted loudly as he body fell down the hill for the remainder of the trip.
He tumbled out onto the asphalt road, hitting hard and adding road burn to his previous list of injuries. He lay there for a moment before looking up. Five yards away was a dimly lit gas station. A short man stood nearby, cleaning someone's red motorcycle. He was staring at Duo like he'd seen a ghost.
Duo's patience had long since run out, and he gave the attendant a furious glance. "Hello?! A little help here?!" Duo screeched angrily. The man got up and began walking toward him uncertainly. "Move it!!!!"
"Yeah, sorry…" The man gushed apologetically as he quickened his pace and raced toward Duo. The wire was carefully untied, and some had to be cut off with some huge scissors that had made Duo *very* nervous to have so close to him. Once it had been taken care of, Duo remained on the road for only a moment to breathe with relief.
In a quick movement, Duo kicked the attendant over and ran toward the gas station as the man gaped in surprise. "Thanks!" Duo shouted as he raced away on the motorcycle, which he had decided to borrow.
The moon was getting higher. Please God…don't let it be too late…
@-------
::sighs:: Do I even have to ask?