Last Sanctuary

Last Sanctuary
by Nika


A blonde young man sat in a chair in the middle of a barren room. The walls were stained a deep murky gray color and a one-way mirror lined the south wall. He looked to be in his early twenties, aqua eyes that twinkled with the knowledge of what he was about to reveal, and a mop of sandy hair that hung loosely in his eyes.

"Where should I start?" he asked, his eyes downcast as a federal agent circled him like a vulture stalking its prey.

"Wherever you want, Quatre," answered the man.

Quatre cleared his throat, indicating that he was about to begin. "The man with the long hair was too beautiful, the one with the deadly blue eyes too silent. Perhaps this was the cause for my apprehension of getting in the car.

"I had been walking along a deserted stretch of Montana Highway, trying to make my way towards Seattle by hitchhiking. The night had been a little too dark for my liking, making it hard to see anything in front of me.

"A pair of headlights appeared on the horizon, flashing in the distance, their yellow light stood out against the blackness. I stuck my thumb out, indicating that I would appreciate a ride.

"The car slowed to a stop in front of me and the head of a fey young man leaned out the window. 'Need a ride?' he asked in a sing-song voice. His chestnut colored braid hung precariously out the window and his eyes... his eyes were the most remarkable ones I had ever seen in my life. They were a deep amethyst, reflecting the bit of amusement he found in me.

"Beyond him sat another, darker man. His cold Prussian eyes held the promise of death as he looked me over. His dark hair was in a natural state of disarray and he stared at me, waiting for an answer.

"'Come on,' said the purple-eyed youth, opening the back door of their four-door coupe. I silently slid into the back seat, noting that both men were observing me with great interest.

"'Where are you headed to?" asked the darker man, finally speaking.

"'Seattle. I have family there.'

"The braided one turned around fully in his seat to look at me. 'We can take you as far as Boise. After that, you're on your own.'"

"I nodded, then thanked them both for picking me up. 'No problem. We'll be stopping at the next town for something to eat, so just sit tight." The braided one winked one violet eye at me, then turned back to face the front."

Quatre paused for a moment before continuing...

~*~*~*~*

We stopped at the next town, like they said we were going to, and pulled into a small restaurant. It was the only one left open at this time of night. Both men slid into one of the vacant booths and picked up a menu. I followed them, sitting across the table from the two of them.

"So," said the braided man. "What was your name?"

"Quatre. Quatre Winner."

"Quatre..." He mulled over my name, letting it flow over his tongue as if it was a piece of melting chocolate. "I'm Duo. And this is Heero."

I smiled lightly at the two of them. "I really do appreciate you picking me up, but you don't have to buy any food for me," I said. They had already been generous enough in giving me a ride. I wasn't asking for any more than that.

"Nonsense. We /want/ to, right Heero?"

"Hn." Heero had been staring directly at me, as if trying to figure something out about me. "Right." Not wanting to disagree with them, I hastily picked up one of the menus on the table and looked over the list of food.

There wasn't too much to choose from, but all three of us chose our food and ate it without much complaint. Afterwards, I excused myself to the restroom.

"We'll be waiting outside for you, Quatre," said Duo, yelling across the room.

The bathroom was an almost vomitous waste of space. It looked as if nobody even bothered to clean it anymore. I stepped over to the sink where a dirty mirror stood. I rinsed my hands quickly, then looked at myself in the mirror. Dark bags lined the space beneath my eyes, making me look far older than I actually was.

As I stepped out of the bathroom, I heard a muffled yell from outside. Nobody else in the restaurant seemed to hear it, or at least they didn't seem to care. I quickly went out there, following the sounds of a scuffle until I reached the place Heero had parked the car. On the side of the building, in the shadows where no one else could see, Duo was beating the stuffing out of someone.

Heero just stood there, watching the spectacle in amusement. Then, he pulled a long knife out of a sheath that had been hidden somewhere on his body. He stalked up to the man that was lying helplessly on the floor, pulled him up by the hair, and slit his throat, then, making sure to wipe the handle off, dropped the knife beside the body.

I had never seen so much blood in my entire life. It just poured out of the gash in the young man's throat. Every one of his breaths came out like a gurgled sound. I made a strangled noise in the back of my throat and Heero and Duo turned sharply my way.

"Quatre," said Duo in a tone that was too happy, considering what he had just done. I looked over towards Heero who had a small smirk residing on his face.

Both of them neared me. "Stay away," I said quietly. I'm not sure I could have screamed if I wanted to because I was in so much shock. I ran over to the hapless man on the ground. I don't know why I picked up the knife. It just seemed a natural reaction to check it out. As I listened for a pulse in his wrist, blood had managed to get on my clothes, staining the white shirt I was wearing.

I heard the sound of sirens blaring in the distance. Someone must have alerted the police that something strange was going on. Duo looked up into the distance, obviously alarmed at the noise, then turned quickly to me.

"Quatre, you /have/ to come with us." He held his hand out towards me, but I just swatted it away.

"Don't you realize what you've done?!" I cried. "You just killed this guy!"

"You don't understand..." said Heero in a dangerously low voice. "Either you come with us, or you don't."

"Just think about what will happen if you don't, Quatre."

The sirens were getting closer and closer. They gave each other a look, then Heero said, "So be it." The two of them sped away in the car, leaving me behind, bathed in the sticky red liquid.

You can just imagine what the cops must have thought when they took a look at me. "Stay still!!" they yelled at me. I must have looked like a deer caught in some headlights, for I hadn't even realized that they had arrived. I stood up and raised my hands in the air. It was then that I realized that I still held the knife in my hands. This wasn't going to look good.

Guns were pointed at me, threatening to shoot if I didn't surrender. "Officer, you have to help," I started.

"I said FREEZE!" he answered, the gun never wavering from its target on my body. Heero and Duo had left me to take the blame for the entire incident. They /knew/ that this would happen, and they had offered to help me, but I didn't even listen to their reasoning.

Maybe I should have...

Next Part
Back to Fics
Home