By Chustang Sundust
Chapter 3
"Hidden Scars"
June 15.
The rain came like a hint of sympathy.
Water streamed down of the steel roof, echoing a sadly eerie
ring through the house. The rain poured relentlessly over the edge of the
roof, like a waterfall. Sighing, Gene leaned back and watched the moonlight
glitter once caught in the rain. He gazed at the night sky through the
gaps in the waterfall, flecked with the stars. Dark cadet blue eyes sullen
with pain, he leaned back against the bed's headrest and gave a quick glance
at the clock. 7:15
Aisha and Suzuka had hit the town for the night, deciding to
get time to themselves. And so it was solemnly quiet in the whole of Starwind
and Hawking Enterprises. There was a faint gold glow from a light emitting
from downstairs, casting against the back of Gene's wild red hair. He could
hear them talking softly, almost worriedly. First Melfina's, soft and sweet
like a summer breeze, and Jim's answering one, childish and concerned.
Despite the slurred and muted quality of their words, he knew what they
were talking about. He settled more against the headrest, giving a listless
sigh, which came with a familiar roughness. Ever since that afternoon,
when… it had happened, he was beginning to drift away from himself. Almost
as if he was being erased.
With every breath, there came a painful echo, like another set
of lungs were trying to control his from the inside. It spiked now muted
pain into his entire body, for seemed like eternity before it would fade
away. But it was relentless in this pattern; hit, fade, and hit painfully
again a few minutes later with rising pain levels.
Gene closed his eyes, which had begun to alarmingly lighten to
white, and tried to compensate the blurring emotions and memories. His
hand lazily brushed against a fresh wound as he folded his arms across
his chest. It stung at contact, although he had taken out the bullet long
ago. A bullet he knew had pierced his heart.
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Hey, Mr. Hero
Walking a thin, fine line
Under the microscope of life
Remember your roots, my friend
They're right down below
'Cause heroes come and heroes go
Exert from Are You Ready by Creed
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Melfina was burdened immensely by the mystery of her identity
enough, but fate had more tests of faith in store for the confused soul.
It was like she had become a doll for destiny to toy with, cruel and misunderstanding.
With tired eyes, she relaxed against the blanket Gene had thrown on the
sofa. She sank back into the thick, dark blue quilt, which was still warm,
and lifted her gaze up to the table beside the couch. Jim was busy lining
up a few, small-yield jobs on the phone, talking softly.
Deeply immersed in thought, she settled back even further, draping
the quilt across her neck. Once she had become comfortable, she gave a
content sigh. Yet she knew it was a lie. There were so many things rushing
through her head, each more and more pressing and urgent. Melfina closed
her liquid brown eyes, shutting out the sleepy gold light from the lamp
nearby, and began to reflect on her problems.
She took a deep breath, and the air and smell not only brought
a cool relief into her body, but it… reminded her.
The bio android gave a content smile to herself. Gene.
An angelic warmth pulsed through her body at the thought. Inhaling
deeply, she could smell him and feel the warmness he had left behind in
the blanket. It wasn't like his scars; the image the smell conjured in
her mind. What she could see beyond the scarred and rebellious teenager
was at the same time comforting, and terrifying. She had seen his vulnerability
from the very beginning; she remembered the flight in space. She remembered
watching him, as he lay, unconscious, in the chair on the dark-lit Horace.
It was nice to know she wasn't alone in her weakness… but it seemed too
much to lay in, too much weakness for Gene to handle.
He's still up in bed, isn't he? Oh I wish I knew what was wrong…
what if it's me…?
"Hey Mel, whatcha thinking about?" Jim's genuinely curiously
blue eyes were highlighted against the mechanical black of his working
goggles, which tilted at a slant across his forehead, and his lit blonde
hair. Although soft, his sudden words seemed like a blast of sound, compared
to the previous silence. She could see his lips slightly twisted in concern,
as he pushed his rolling chair back to face her more. He tilted his head,
gazing at her inquisitively. "You seem really worried about something."
"Oh… it's okay Jim. It's really nothing to worry about," she
reassured weakly, with her eyes casting downward. She could feel an awkward
hotness in her face.
"Hmm," he mumbled to himself. Just about discouraged from probing
more, the young mechanic didn't reply. His eyes seemed to consider, and
he turned to the computer again, with the light glistening on the metallic
goggles. Melfina settled back into the silence and quilt again, nearly
falling asleep, when Jim's voice struck up again.
"Is it about Gene?" His eyes met hers, with a smiling tint to
them.
Melfina could feel the hotness in her face again, and she quickly
tried to resist blushing. With her hand against her cheek, fiddling with
the strands of ebony hair that hung there, she gave a nod. "I just was…
worried about him," she softly said, lifting her eyes to the top level,
watching the still silhouette of the outlaw. "When he came home, he didn't
look at all good."
"What do you mean, Mel?" Jim seemed almost afraid, his cute blue
eyes widening.
"Well… he came home pretty early for being Friday. It was like
he was just a ghost of himself. He didn't want to eat or even talk. Gene
just went up to bed, and he's been there ever since." Her liquid brown
eyes slanted downward, glistening with tears. "I think he might be sick,
but he won't talk to me." Jim could clearly see the sincere concern in
her eyes, as they grew blurred.
With a rueful smile, the blonde silently sat down beside Melfina.
He gently grasped her hands, trying to reassure her. "It's okay Mel. Don't
feel bad about it. Gene hardly ever gets more than a sneeze. He'll be fine,"
he said, smiling as she looked up and returned a slight tilt of her lips.
"Yes, I know," she said, "But's not like that."
Puzzled, Jim gave her a surprised look. "What?"
"He was breathing strangely, like he had two sets of lungs, both
trying to breath at different times. And his eyes were almost white," she
explained, clasping her other hand around Jim's in worry.
"Like he was dying…"
The window dripped, its jagged edges opening to the dark sky,
with rain. Glass was scattered like a maniacal piece of art, bred and created
by anger and angst. Every shred of the broken window glinted in the moonlight's
icy glare, flashing. The top-level room echoed with emptiness, and flowing
tears. Amongst the flood of rain, there was the faint reminisce of blood
across the floor and on the jagged edges. Melfina couldn't even breathe,
with her heart caught fearfully in her neck. Jim gave only silence, looking
painfully away. Damn it, Aniki.
The picture, broken and wet, lay on the floor.
Gene was gone. And in more ways than one.
*************
Author's Notes
I hope you guys like cliffhangers; cuz there'll be a lot of them. ^_^ Just to let you know, the last part was when Jim and Mel went up to check up on Gene. I'll probably be adding a lot of chapters because I'm on spring break. Please R&R!
Chustang