--Mwaha! Inspiration at last! C'mon, people, review the heck out of me. I need some feedback. Songs aren't mine. COTC, Micah, all them people aren't mine. I own Gabe and Edith. 'Nuff said.--
I need you now
Do you think you can cope?
You've figured me out
That I'm lost and I'm hopeless
I'm bleeding and broken
Though I've never spoken
I've come undone
In this mad season
--from Mad Season by Matchbox 20
Micah wheeled quickly up the hill towards the Come Sleep With Me Bed N' Breakfast. He had a dull sense of urgency stirring around deep in his chest, and he was entirely sure why -- after all, Ruth had stormed off, and Jedediah was sulking around in the cornfield. So why did he feel so worried?
"Micah?" The voice was coming from behind him; Micah glanced over his shoulder and brought the chair to a halt.
"Danny?" he said confusedly. The uneasiness in his stomach lurched -- Danny was alone.
"Where are you going?" The blonde boy trotted over, frowning slightly.
"I'm going up to the Inne -- er, where's Gabe?" Micah asked. He was trying not to let the growing panic in his voice show. Danny raised his eyebrows.
"You don't know?" he asked, clearly startled.
"No, I don't know!" Micah could feel his breathing becoming more ragged.
(don't worry)
"Did you see where she went?" he mumbled quickly.
(but where is she)
Danny shook his head.
"No -- wait." He glanced behind him briefly, seeming more than a little anxious. "She could be --" Micah followed his gaze
(please no)
and felt his heart plummet into his stomach.
"Why would she be in the cornfields?" he asked, hearing the panic in his voice and despising it.
"Gut feeling," Danny murmured, and motioned with a hand. "C'mon. Let's go check, just in case -- can you wheel that thing through the rows?"
(can't go can't go NOT IN THERE)
Micah bit his lower lip hard, almost hard enough to draw blood.
(not in there please not in there)
"Can you?" Danny insisted.
(but don't forget Gabe)
"I'll try," Micah responded promptly, and pivoted his wheelchair around. "Let's go."
The two boys lingered at the edge of the cornfields for a few long moments before finally heading in.
"Let's check that clearing over there," Danny said. Micah was unable to speak; worry was churning his innards into ghoulash, and if he opened his mouth he was afraid he'd get sick right there. There was no real reason he should be worried
(gabe's missing gabe might be in the cornfield)
but somehow he was
(gabe's out here IN THE CORN)
and he couldn't shake the horrible feeling. Micah wheeled with some difficulty over the loose soil. It was hard to fit the chair through the rows, and it was even harder to avoid crunching the tall stalks. But he'd rather crash his chair than damage any of the corn -- Micah was smart enough to remember that.
"Just past this row," Danny said. He had disappeared into the leafy stalks and was no longer visible, but Micah could still follow his voice. Struggling over a bump, he finally entered the clearing.
(oh my GOD)
Had his mouth been open then, Micah most certainly would've gotten sick, but he was lucky and got off with a dry heave into the palm of his hand.
"Gabe?" he whispered.
She was mounted on a cross made of lumber and corn stalks; her head, crowned with a ring of messily tied husks, hung limply on her neck. Gabe's arms and legs were bound to the cross with thick coils of rough rope. He had a very vague memory
(scarecrow with her eyes)
of something from his hospital days
(female Jesus)
that was unattainable, so he let go -- there was, after all, more important things to be dealt with. Like how pale Gabe was, and the thin trickle of blood that was sliding down her left temple. For one long, unbearably horrible moment, Micah thought she was dead. Then she raised her head slightly and spotted him.
"Micah?" she whispered. Her voice was nearly inaudible; after only a moment, she shook her husk-crowned head hard and mouthed, "Go."
"My God," Danny said in a hushed voice, and Micah finally remembered that the blonde boy was standing just a few feet away.
"Gabe!" The strangled word was out of his mouth before he could stop it. She shook her head even harder, her blonde hair flying around her face. The husk crown fell off her head and landed silently in the grass and littered stalks at her feet. Micah wheeled frantically towards her, no thoughts in his mind except the fact that he had to get her down. NOW.
"How did this happen?" Danny asked in disbelief. He hadn't moved from the spot he'd been standing in since they found her.
"Danny, help me!" Micah cried when he found he couldn't reach Gabe's bonds. For what seemed the hundredth time that day, he silently cursed his chair.
"I --" Danny began, and made a sputtering sound. "Sorry, I'll help." He dug in his pocket, flipping out a pocketknife, and hurried to the cross Gabe was mounted on.
"Micah, get out of here!" she said, her voice a frightened hiss. Micah glanced up at her in surprise.
"No," he said, genuinely startled. After a moment, he placed a gentle hand on her bare ankle -- for some reason, Gabe had lost her shoes -- and stroked it very lightly with his thumb. "We'll get you down," he murmured soothingly. "We'll get you down, who did this?"
"Well, well, well," said a low voice from behind. "Look who's come back. Right back into the cornfield, where all his roots lie." Micah whirled as best as his wheelchair would allow, glaring at the one person he had been expecting.
"Jedediah," he growled, and was surprised to hear the rumbling anger in his tone. "You have gone too far."
"No," Jed said coolly as he waltzed towards the three of them. "I think I've gone just the right length to get you back here." He half-smiled, half-sneered. "I knew you wouldn't let anything happen to this little outlander whore of yours."
"Call her another name and I'll kill you." Micah removed his protective hand from Gabe's ankle to turn his chair fully towards Jedediah; Danny had freed her feet and was moving on to her wrists.
"My my my," Jedediah exclaimed in mock surprise, ignoring Micah. "It seems the Queen has lost her crown!" He stooped low and picked up the corn-husk crown.
"Jed, one more word..." It was killing Micah inside, not being able to do anything about the horrible insults. Jedediah had done so much to Gabe already, and Micah could to absolutely nothing. He was just as helpless as he'd been during Hemmingford's massacre.
"What are you going to do?" The brown-haired boy smirked. "Run me over?" Micah's anger bubbled over; he shot out a hand and just barely managed to grab the collar of Jed's shirt. He yanked the curly-haired boy merely an inch from his face.
"Best shut your mouth, Jed," Micah snarled through clenched teeth. There was a very long pause as they stared at each other.
"Jesus Christ, King of the Jews," Jedediah said mockingly, a small sneer playing on his lips. "Gabrielle Sterling, Queen of the Whores." That did it; Micah drew a hand back and gave Jed the hardest punch he'd ever landed. There was a sickening crunch as his fist met bone. Jedediah stumbled back, shielding his now bleeding nose, and staggered until he landed on his rear end. Micah struggled for breath -- the anger was so great it hurt his chest -- and rubbed at his fist. He'd hit him a lot harder than he'd meant to.
"Micah!" Gabe shrieked, her voice so high with terror that Micah twisted to see her. She was half-hanging from the cross; Danny had managed to get her legs and right arm free, but had apparently abandoned his job. Gabe gripped the cross with her free arm, unable to wiggle her left wrist from the bonds. "Micah, just go! He's not who you have to worry about!"
"Gabe," he said breathlessly, beginning to wheel towards her. "I have to get you down --"
"NO! You don't understand!" Her tone was so terrified that Micah winced. He'd heard that tone before.
"What don't I understand?" he asked confusedly.
"He's coming!" she screamed, and began to thrash wildly in her bonds. "Jed's not pretending, Micah! He's --"
"Slut doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut," Ruth said, amused. Micah glanced to her. The only thing keeping him from fainting away with fear
(he who walks behind the rows)
was the black, bubbling anger
(!HE WHO WALKS BEHIND THE ROWS!)
twisting in his heart.
"Why won't you leave us alone?" Micah asked, his voice strangely even. "Why won't you leave me alone?" Ruth walked slowly towards him. Her hands were laced neatly behind her back.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She smiled as she bent and picked up Gabe's crown. "I haven't seen you in months, Micah, simply months -- how can you tell me to leave you alone?"
"I've beaten you before," he said, and was alarmed to hear that his voice shook now. "I can do it again."
"Oh, Micah." Ruth shook her head disapprovingly. "It hurts when you say things like that. Besides --" She glanced at Jedediah, who was quietly nursing his bloody nose. "-- you've already done more than what was expected."
"I didn't think he'd hit me," Jed said sullenly.
"Run, Micah, RUN --" Gabe had begun to scream again, but Ruth shoved the corn-husk crown harshly in her open mouth.
"We're all tired of listening to you screech," Ruth said irritably. Micah made a wild grab at her, but she calmly stepped out of his reach.
"You bitch," he spat. "You filthy bitch --"
"Flattery will get you nowhere." She smiled smugly and gave his wheelchair a kick, jerking it sideways. "The time for flirting will come later." Ruth turned on her heel. "And you --" The accused, Jedediah, raised his eyebrows.
"What? I got him in the cornfield!"
"I know, I know." Ruth paused, then smiled silkily and slithered towards him. "But you made one tiny, itsy-bitsy mistake." She said this as she slipped an arm around Jedediah's neck; the brown-haired boy swallowed.
"What?" Micah twisted in his wheelchair, but he couldn't see Gabe for the odd angle he was tilted at. He could only hear her coughing, probably choking on a corn husk. Ruth, meanwhile, was leaning dangerously close to Jedediah -- so close they were nearly nose-to-nose. She still had that small smirk on her face.
"You... let the boy ESCAPE!" she suddenly screamed, and shoved the flat of her palm into his already injured nose. Jed howled and fell backwards, hands flying to the fresh blood pouring down his face.
"Mi -- Micah --" Gabe was coughing steadily now; he hoped she wasn't really choking, maybe just had a slight case of hayfever. "Get -- get out of -- just go --" Micah struggled to get his chair to turn, but it was no use. He was stuck in a rut, one probably made by a tractor. Or a Harvester.
"Not without you!" Micah gave his wheels a mighty shove. Useless. "Ruth -- He Who Walks Behind The Rows -- whatever the fuck you are --" He tried again. "-- you know you're not going to win, so just let us go!"
"Nice try, my valiant cripple," Ruth said, voice full of malicious laughter. When Micah glanced up, she was right in front of him. "I'm going to have some fun with you and your little whore." Now that she was close enough, Micah grabbed a handful of her blonde curls and pulled hard. She didn't so much as wince.
"Call her a whore again and I'll rip this rabid sheep right off your head," he hissed.
"Micah --" Gabe gasped raggedly.
"SILENCE!"
Both Ruth and Micah fell silent; Jedediah, who was sitting meekly on the ground struggling against tears of pain, snapped his head up. Aside from Gabe's ragged fit of coughing, there was total silence.
Because there, at the edge of the clearing, stood Lacey.
Her eyes were pitch black.
I need you now
Do you think you can cope?
You've figured me out
That I'm lost and I'm hopeless
I'm bleeding and broken
Though I've never spoken
I've come undone
In this mad season
--from Mad Season by Matchbox 20
Micah wheeled quickly up the hill towards the Come Sleep With Me Bed N' Breakfast. He had a dull sense of urgency stirring around deep in his chest, and he was entirely sure why -- after all, Ruth had stormed off, and Jedediah was sulking around in the cornfield. So why did he feel so worried?
"Micah?" The voice was coming from behind him; Micah glanced over his shoulder and brought the chair to a halt.
"Danny?" he said confusedly. The uneasiness in his stomach lurched -- Danny was alone.
"Where are you going?" The blonde boy trotted over, frowning slightly.
"I'm going up to the Inne -- er, where's Gabe?" Micah asked. He was trying not to let the growing panic in his voice show. Danny raised his eyebrows.
"You don't know?" he asked, clearly startled.
"No, I don't know!" Micah could feel his breathing becoming more ragged.
(don't worry)
"Did you see where she went?" he mumbled quickly.
(but where is she)
Danny shook his head.
"No -- wait." He glanced behind him briefly, seeming more than a little anxious. "She could be --" Micah followed his gaze
(please no)
and felt his heart plummet into his stomach.
"Why would she be in the cornfields?" he asked, hearing the panic in his voice and despising it.
"Gut feeling," Danny murmured, and motioned with a hand. "C'mon. Let's go check, just in case -- can you wheel that thing through the rows?"
(can't go can't go NOT IN THERE)
Micah bit his lower lip hard, almost hard enough to draw blood.
(not in there please not in there)
"Can you?" Danny insisted.
(but don't forget Gabe)
"I'll try," Micah responded promptly, and pivoted his wheelchair around. "Let's go."
The two boys lingered at the edge of the cornfields for a few long moments before finally heading in.
"Let's check that clearing over there," Danny said. Micah was unable to speak; worry was churning his innards into ghoulash, and if he opened his mouth he was afraid he'd get sick right there. There was no real reason he should be worried
(gabe's missing gabe might be in the cornfield)
but somehow he was
(gabe's out here IN THE CORN)
and he couldn't shake the horrible feeling. Micah wheeled with some difficulty over the loose soil. It was hard to fit the chair through the rows, and it was even harder to avoid crunching the tall stalks. But he'd rather crash his chair than damage any of the corn -- Micah was smart enough to remember that.
"Just past this row," Danny said. He had disappeared into the leafy stalks and was no longer visible, but Micah could still follow his voice. Struggling over a bump, he finally entered the clearing.
(oh my GOD)
Had his mouth been open then, Micah most certainly would've gotten sick, but he was lucky and got off with a dry heave into the palm of his hand.
"Gabe?" he whispered.
She was mounted on a cross made of lumber and corn stalks; her head, crowned with a ring of messily tied husks, hung limply on her neck. Gabe's arms and legs were bound to the cross with thick coils of rough rope. He had a very vague memory
(scarecrow with her eyes)
of something from his hospital days
(female Jesus)
that was unattainable, so he let go -- there was, after all, more important things to be dealt with. Like how pale Gabe was, and the thin trickle of blood that was sliding down her left temple. For one long, unbearably horrible moment, Micah thought she was dead. Then she raised her head slightly and spotted him.
"Micah?" she whispered. Her voice was nearly inaudible; after only a moment, she shook her husk-crowned head hard and mouthed, "Go."
"My God," Danny said in a hushed voice, and Micah finally remembered that the blonde boy was standing just a few feet away.
"Gabe!" The strangled word was out of his mouth before he could stop it. She shook her head even harder, her blonde hair flying around her face. The husk crown fell off her head and landed silently in the grass and littered stalks at her feet. Micah wheeled frantically towards her, no thoughts in his mind except the fact that he had to get her down. NOW.
"How did this happen?" Danny asked in disbelief. He hadn't moved from the spot he'd been standing in since they found her.
"Danny, help me!" Micah cried when he found he couldn't reach Gabe's bonds. For what seemed the hundredth time that day, he silently cursed his chair.
"I --" Danny began, and made a sputtering sound. "Sorry, I'll help." He dug in his pocket, flipping out a pocketknife, and hurried to the cross Gabe was mounted on.
"Micah, get out of here!" she said, her voice a frightened hiss. Micah glanced up at her in surprise.
"No," he said, genuinely startled. After a moment, he placed a gentle hand on her bare ankle -- for some reason, Gabe had lost her shoes -- and stroked it very lightly with his thumb. "We'll get you down," he murmured soothingly. "We'll get you down, who did this?"
"Well, well, well," said a low voice from behind. "Look who's come back. Right back into the cornfield, where all his roots lie." Micah whirled as best as his wheelchair would allow, glaring at the one person he had been expecting.
"Jedediah," he growled, and was surprised to hear the rumbling anger in his tone. "You have gone too far."
"No," Jed said coolly as he waltzed towards the three of them. "I think I've gone just the right length to get you back here." He half-smiled, half-sneered. "I knew you wouldn't let anything happen to this little outlander whore of yours."
"Call her another name and I'll kill you." Micah removed his protective hand from Gabe's ankle to turn his chair fully towards Jedediah; Danny had freed her feet and was moving on to her wrists.
"My my my," Jedediah exclaimed in mock surprise, ignoring Micah. "It seems the Queen has lost her crown!" He stooped low and picked up the corn-husk crown.
"Jed, one more word..." It was killing Micah inside, not being able to do anything about the horrible insults. Jedediah had done so much to Gabe already, and Micah could to absolutely nothing. He was just as helpless as he'd been during Hemmingford's massacre.
"What are you going to do?" The brown-haired boy smirked. "Run me over?" Micah's anger bubbled over; he shot out a hand and just barely managed to grab the collar of Jed's shirt. He yanked the curly-haired boy merely an inch from his face.
"Best shut your mouth, Jed," Micah snarled through clenched teeth. There was a very long pause as they stared at each other.
"Jesus Christ, King of the Jews," Jedediah said mockingly, a small sneer playing on his lips. "Gabrielle Sterling, Queen of the Whores." That did it; Micah drew a hand back and gave Jed the hardest punch he'd ever landed. There was a sickening crunch as his fist met bone. Jedediah stumbled back, shielding his now bleeding nose, and staggered until he landed on his rear end. Micah struggled for breath -- the anger was so great it hurt his chest -- and rubbed at his fist. He'd hit him a lot harder than he'd meant to.
"Micah!" Gabe shrieked, her voice so high with terror that Micah twisted to see her. She was half-hanging from the cross; Danny had managed to get her legs and right arm free, but had apparently abandoned his job. Gabe gripped the cross with her free arm, unable to wiggle her left wrist from the bonds. "Micah, just go! He's not who you have to worry about!"
"Gabe," he said breathlessly, beginning to wheel towards her. "I have to get you down --"
"NO! You don't understand!" Her tone was so terrified that Micah winced. He'd heard that tone before.
"What don't I understand?" he asked confusedly.
"He's coming!" she screamed, and began to thrash wildly in her bonds. "Jed's not pretending, Micah! He's --"
"Slut doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut," Ruth said, amused. Micah glanced to her. The only thing keeping him from fainting away with fear
(he who walks behind the rows)
was the black, bubbling anger
(!HE WHO WALKS BEHIND THE ROWS!)
twisting in his heart.
"Why won't you leave us alone?" Micah asked, his voice strangely even. "Why won't you leave me alone?" Ruth walked slowly towards him. Her hands were laced neatly behind her back.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She smiled as she bent and picked up Gabe's crown. "I haven't seen you in months, Micah, simply months -- how can you tell me to leave you alone?"
"I've beaten you before," he said, and was alarmed to hear that his voice shook now. "I can do it again."
"Oh, Micah." Ruth shook her head disapprovingly. "It hurts when you say things like that. Besides --" She glanced at Jedediah, who was quietly nursing his bloody nose. "-- you've already done more than what was expected."
"I didn't think he'd hit me," Jed said sullenly.
"Run, Micah, RUN --" Gabe had begun to scream again, but Ruth shoved the corn-husk crown harshly in her open mouth.
"We're all tired of listening to you screech," Ruth said irritably. Micah made a wild grab at her, but she calmly stepped out of his reach.
"You bitch," he spat. "You filthy bitch --"
"Flattery will get you nowhere." She smiled smugly and gave his wheelchair a kick, jerking it sideways. "The time for flirting will come later." Ruth turned on her heel. "And you --" The accused, Jedediah, raised his eyebrows.
"What? I got him in the cornfield!"
"I know, I know." Ruth paused, then smiled silkily and slithered towards him. "But you made one tiny, itsy-bitsy mistake." She said this as she slipped an arm around Jedediah's neck; the brown-haired boy swallowed.
"What?" Micah twisted in his wheelchair, but he couldn't see Gabe for the odd angle he was tilted at. He could only hear her coughing, probably choking on a corn husk. Ruth, meanwhile, was leaning dangerously close to Jedediah -- so close they were nearly nose-to-nose. She still had that small smirk on her face.
"You... let the boy ESCAPE!" she suddenly screamed, and shoved the flat of her palm into his already injured nose. Jed howled and fell backwards, hands flying to the fresh blood pouring down his face.
"Mi -- Micah --" Gabe was coughing steadily now; he hoped she wasn't really choking, maybe just had a slight case of hayfever. "Get -- get out of -- just go --" Micah struggled to get his chair to turn, but it was no use. He was stuck in a rut, one probably made by a tractor. Or a Harvester.
"Not without you!" Micah gave his wheels a mighty shove. Useless. "Ruth -- He Who Walks Behind The Rows -- whatever the fuck you are --" He tried again. "-- you know you're not going to win, so just let us go!"
"Nice try, my valiant cripple," Ruth said, voice full of malicious laughter. When Micah glanced up, she was right in front of him. "I'm going to have some fun with you and your little whore." Now that she was close enough, Micah grabbed a handful of her blonde curls and pulled hard. She didn't so much as wince.
"Call her a whore again and I'll rip this rabid sheep right off your head," he hissed.
"Micah --" Gabe gasped raggedly.
"SILENCE!"
Both Ruth and Micah fell silent; Jedediah, who was sitting meekly on the ground struggling against tears of pain, snapped his head up. Aside from Gabe's ragged fit of coughing, there was total silence.
Because there, at the edge of the clearing, stood Lacey.
Her eyes were pitch black.
