(A/N: Nik, I'd like to say that M, G, V was just a dumb thing I put in to better suit the Noise Tanks, so I haven't the slightest clue. Sorry....)
~~
Ya know, it's weird what people will remember. They may not remember their first day of school, or their first crush, or even the first time they threw on a pair of skates, but it's always those little things.....those little, insignificant unimportant details that have no effect whatsoever......but you remember them. That's how this test was.
I hopped up onto the guardrail, momentum carrying me upward. I cut to the left at the top, jumping over the first gap. I'm not sure where I landed.....
This was the detail I should've noticed. Should've paid more attention to. That blinking light. That small, flashing green light. But no. I wrote it off as a figment of my imagination. An urban mirage. The word "bomb" never even crossed my mind. Until I heard the explosion.
After it went off, it was as if everything was going in slow motion. I rose up into the air like a huge helium balloon. Then my eyes seemed to flash, like looking into a camera when it goes off. or staring into the sun. And I was home.
I saw a woman I hadn't seen for many years. The woman who brought me into this world. She was yelling at me. Telling me to quiet down. Go to sleep. I was hiding under the blankets. She had marched straight up to my bed, ripped the comforter off, and grabbed me by the collar. She was yelling at me again. Telling me that she couldn't take it anymore. What was wrong with me? Couldn't I see that I was driving her insane. I didn't see it, but I sure as hell felt it. A huge fist trying to get through my face. She didn't of course, but it sure felt like she did.
When I woke up, she was gone. Her room was empty, and her dresser had been cleaned out. My sister's room was the same way. Now I was truly alone.
A few more random memories flickered across my head as I floated there, suspended in the sky. Fire blazed and jumped all around me, engulfing me. I was falling now. And it wasn't in slow motion anymore.
~~
Beta watched as the girl GG sailed over his Motebomb, pondering on whether or not to use it now, trying to decide who he hated more. Ultimately, he waited, sparing her life for now. She was of little importance right now, and Dreg was proving too lucky, escaping from his grasp twice. Finally, the girl finished her run, and signalled over to Dreg to try. It was a few minutes before he actually tried. Beta waited patiently, watching until the kid grinded right over the little bomb. Then Beta hit a button. Explosions rocked the Shibuya-Cho bus terminal, nearly flooring the Noise Tank. He stayed only to see Dreg's limp body hit the pavement. He turned, and began skating back to Benten. He was finally even.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I awoke to.....well, I didn't wake up for a long time, I was certain of that, but when I did, I saw a smiling nurse standing over me. She was an older woman, in her forties, who couldn't have been more than five foot. She was holding a needle in her hand. I hate needles. I opened my mouth to speak, but all that greeted my ears was a low, breathy moan.
"Don't try to speak," she said. She had an english accent. "You need your rest. Here. This will help."
She bent over me, and I felt a sharp pain in my arm. I tried to pull away, but found I couldn't even move. My vision began to blur. Damn, that stuff was fast....what had happened....to...me....?
~~
When I woke again, the nurse wasn't there anymore. I closed my eyes again, but sleep wouldn't come. I lay there for what seemed like hours. I heard footsteps. Two people were coming. I heard a doctor's voice.
".....second degree burns to his legs, arms, neck and face, seven cracked ribs, and a slight fracture to his skull. He should be healed in a few months....any word from the girl who brought him in?"
"No, doctor. Noone has seen her since she left him here."
I waited while they rattled on about statistics and numbers, insurance and ID, until I heard the footsteps begin again, trailing away from me until I could hear them no more. I was alone. Months? I was going to be here for months? Well screw that. I summoned up my energy, breathing through gritted teeth. There was no way I would stay in here any longer. I jerked myself up to a sitting position, grabbing onto the bedsheet beside me. Hey....that wasn't so bad. Then it hit me. The pain. Holy shit, the pain. Blinding pain, consuming me. I was being burned alive. I didn't feel myself hit the bed again. My entire body was numb. Maybe a few months wasn't so bad after all......
~~
It's hard to describe to you what happened over that period of time. I woke frequently, was given drugs even more often, and slept most of all. It felt like I was getting stronger every day, and tried not to think about what happened to me. What I looked like, if I would ever be able to skate again....who did this to me.
Then at last my day came. The nurse had opened a nearby window for me, and went on her lunch break. I knew an opportunity when I saw one, and I wouldn't pass this up. I grabbed the two rails on the sides of my bed, pulling myself up. This wasn't bad. The pain I felt was nowhere near what it was last time. It felt as if someone was prodding me all over with tiny, flaming pins. It sounds funny, but it hurt. A lot.
I looked down at my legs in horror. No longer were they tan, but now a sort of charred red and black, with burn marks up and down them. I glanced timidly over at each of my arms only to see that they looked identical to my legs. I carefully lowered my legs down to the bleached tile of the hospital, and stood. Surprisingly, I could walk pretty well. I made my way to the open window, hoisting myself up and climbing out, a section at a time. It took about twenty minutes, but I got through it. My feet hit grass, and for the first time in months, I felt sunlight. And it was good.
I straggled along the streets of Shibuya, ignoring the awestruck stares from the pedestrians, and the cries of the children. Bastards. I decided I had to see for myself. I crossed the busy street to a parking lot, making my way over to a nearby car. I worked up my courage, and looked into the tinted glass.
What I saw was horrifying. I couldn't even recognize myself. My entire face had burn marks and pocks in them, making it look like a huge hunk of swiss cheese. My hair and eyebrows had been completely burned away, and my chin had been fused with my lower lip. I was no longer Dreg. I was a monster......
~~
Ya know, it's weird what people will remember. They may not remember their first day of school, or their first crush, or even the first time they threw on a pair of skates, but it's always those little things.....those little, insignificant unimportant details that have no effect whatsoever......but you remember them. That's how this test was.
I hopped up onto the guardrail, momentum carrying me upward. I cut to the left at the top, jumping over the first gap. I'm not sure where I landed.....
This was the detail I should've noticed. Should've paid more attention to. That blinking light. That small, flashing green light. But no. I wrote it off as a figment of my imagination. An urban mirage. The word "bomb" never even crossed my mind. Until I heard the explosion.
After it went off, it was as if everything was going in slow motion. I rose up into the air like a huge helium balloon. Then my eyes seemed to flash, like looking into a camera when it goes off. or staring into the sun. And I was home.
I saw a woman I hadn't seen for many years. The woman who brought me into this world. She was yelling at me. Telling me to quiet down. Go to sleep. I was hiding under the blankets. She had marched straight up to my bed, ripped the comforter off, and grabbed me by the collar. She was yelling at me again. Telling me that she couldn't take it anymore. What was wrong with me? Couldn't I see that I was driving her insane. I didn't see it, but I sure as hell felt it. A huge fist trying to get through my face. She didn't of course, but it sure felt like she did.
When I woke up, she was gone. Her room was empty, and her dresser had been cleaned out. My sister's room was the same way. Now I was truly alone.
A few more random memories flickered across my head as I floated there, suspended in the sky. Fire blazed and jumped all around me, engulfing me. I was falling now. And it wasn't in slow motion anymore.
~~
Beta watched as the girl GG sailed over his Motebomb, pondering on whether or not to use it now, trying to decide who he hated more. Ultimately, he waited, sparing her life for now. She was of little importance right now, and Dreg was proving too lucky, escaping from his grasp twice. Finally, the girl finished her run, and signalled over to Dreg to try. It was a few minutes before he actually tried. Beta waited patiently, watching until the kid grinded right over the little bomb. Then Beta hit a button. Explosions rocked the Shibuya-Cho bus terminal, nearly flooring the Noise Tank. He stayed only to see Dreg's limp body hit the pavement. He turned, and began skating back to Benten. He was finally even.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I awoke to.....well, I didn't wake up for a long time, I was certain of that, but when I did, I saw a smiling nurse standing over me. She was an older woman, in her forties, who couldn't have been more than five foot. She was holding a needle in her hand. I hate needles. I opened my mouth to speak, but all that greeted my ears was a low, breathy moan.
"Don't try to speak," she said. She had an english accent. "You need your rest. Here. This will help."
She bent over me, and I felt a sharp pain in my arm. I tried to pull away, but found I couldn't even move. My vision began to blur. Damn, that stuff was fast....what had happened....to...me....?
~~
When I woke again, the nurse wasn't there anymore. I closed my eyes again, but sleep wouldn't come. I lay there for what seemed like hours. I heard footsteps. Two people were coming. I heard a doctor's voice.
".....second degree burns to his legs, arms, neck and face, seven cracked ribs, and a slight fracture to his skull. He should be healed in a few months....any word from the girl who brought him in?"
"No, doctor. Noone has seen her since she left him here."
I waited while they rattled on about statistics and numbers, insurance and ID, until I heard the footsteps begin again, trailing away from me until I could hear them no more. I was alone. Months? I was going to be here for months? Well screw that. I summoned up my energy, breathing through gritted teeth. There was no way I would stay in here any longer. I jerked myself up to a sitting position, grabbing onto the bedsheet beside me. Hey....that wasn't so bad. Then it hit me. The pain. Holy shit, the pain. Blinding pain, consuming me. I was being burned alive. I didn't feel myself hit the bed again. My entire body was numb. Maybe a few months wasn't so bad after all......
~~
It's hard to describe to you what happened over that period of time. I woke frequently, was given drugs even more often, and slept most of all. It felt like I was getting stronger every day, and tried not to think about what happened to me. What I looked like, if I would ever be able to skate again....who did this to me.
Then at last my day came. The nurse had opened a nearby window for me, and went on her lunch break. I knew an opportunity when I saw one, and I wouldn't pass this up. I grabbed the two rails on the sides of my bed, pulling myself up. This wasn't bad. The pain I felt was nowhere near what it was last time. It felt as if someone was prodding me all over with tiny, flaming pins. It sounds funny, but it hurt. A lot.
I looked down at my legs in horror. No longer were they tan, but now a sort of charred red and black, with burn marks up and down them. I glanced timidly over at each of my arms only to see that they looked identical to my legs. I carefully lowered my legs down to the bleached tile of the hospital, and stood. Surprisingly, I could walk pretty well. I made my way to the open window, hoisting myself up and climbing out, a section at a time. It took about twenty minutes, but I got through it. My feet hit grass, and for the first time in months, I felt sunlight. And it was good.
I straggled along the streets of Shibuya, ignoring the awestruck stares from the pedestrians, and the cries of the children. Bastards. I decided I had to see for myself. I crossed the busy street to a parking lot, making my way over to a nearby car. I worked up my courage, and looked into the tinted glass.
What I saw was horrifying. I couldn't even recognize myself. My entire face had burn marks and pocks in them, making it look like a huge hunk of swiss cheese. My hair and eyebrows had been completely burned away, and my chin had been fused with my lower lip. I was no longer Dreg. I was a monster......