Chapter 3
A month nearly passed before Nikki was able to talk to Goliath without flinching. Not that she visited the castle much.
Nikki and Lex soon became great friends, though they hardly saw each other more than once or twice a week. Lex was always staving off robbers from a jewelry store, or something like that, and Nikki preffered not to come along. She would chat with him for a few minutes after her shift at the diner had ended, then head home as Lex glided off to fight the bad guys.
There was no sign of Mike or his gang, for which Nikki was thankful. That didn't keep her from wearing the communicator Elisa had given her, though. You never knew with Mike. One second he could be nice and polite, and the next, he could be cruel and ruthless. And lately, Nikki had been having this odd feeling that someone was watching her-- in broad daylight. Was she being paranoid?
No.
Nikki woke early on an August morning, thinking that today would be just the same as any other day. She picked out fringed shorts and a tank-top for work, got dressed, had breakfast, and walked to the diner. Everything went fine until lunch.
"I'm gonna take a break," she stated to Joe. "I feel like sushi."
"You'd rather eat dead fish than my delicious grilled cheese?" he joked.
"I like sushi, FYI," she shot back, pulling a twenty out of her wallet and stuffing it in her pocket. "I'll be back in an hour."
Nikki walked out of the diner for what felt like the thousandth time and turned right, heading for the nearest sushi bar. She smiled happily as she listened to the buzz of city life; cars beeping at each other in the thick traffic, people shouting and laughing, and the tinkle of china from a nearby shop as a vase fell off it's shelf.
Sighing, she turned a corner and continued walking. Suddenly, she stopped. There it was again... that feeling that someone was watching her. Nikki turned sharply, but saw no one of interest. Narrowing her eyes, she walked towards the way she had come, looking in an alleyway. Nothing except old trashcans where in it. She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when a rough hand whirled her around.
"Dija miss me?" sneered Mike, wrapping an arm around Nikki's shoulders. He began to lead Nikki away from the alley, keeping a tight hold on her.
"Let me go, you moron," breathed Nikki, her heart racing.
"And why would I want to do that?" he asked. Nikki slammed her right foot down, hard, on his left. He yelped with pain and let go of her; Nikki raced through the crowd, pulling out the communticator. She pushed it hard as she ran and lifted it to her mouth.
"Elisa! It's Mike--"
A bunch of static, then-- "I'll be right there. Don't loose the communicator. It has a tracking device on it."
Nikki stuffed the communicator into her back pocket and continued racing through the crowd. She dodged into a narrow alley and watched Mike rush by. She waited for her breathing to return back to normal, then stepped out on the streets and collided with someone who had a green mohawk. She swore and scrambled up, but the guy lashed out and caught her wrist. Nikki was about to call out when she felt a prick on her elbow. Her world began to spin, and her eyelashes began to fall.
"No..." she whispered. The sedative took over depiste Nikki's struggles to stay concious, and she fell backwards into the arms of her captor.
She woke what felt like a few moments later, her wrists bound tightly to the legs of an overturned table. It took her eyes a few moments to adjust to the dim light of the building she was in. Dust lay thick upon the wooden floor, cobwebs hung from the ceiling, and the windows were boarded up. Nikki swore again. Where was Elisa? Shouldn't she have been here by now? With a jolt, Nikki remembered the thick traffic she had walked past on her way to the sushi bar. Had Elisa gotten stuck in it?
Suddenly, a floorboard moaned, and a door opened, creaking on it's rusted hinges. Nikki closed her eyes, looking at the room through her lashes. She could see a dark outline of someone, but she couldn't tell who; her vision was still hazey from the sedative, and the lighting was too dim. The figure knealed down next to Nikki, slid a hand under her head, and lifted it. She kept it relaxed.
"Wasn't the sedative supposed to wear off after ten minutes?" the figure asked; Nikki recognized the voice to be Mike's.
"It was." Another figure loomed up behind Mike's; probably that of the guy with blue hair, judging by the voice.
"She's still out cold," said Mike. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a syringe, fingering it with one hand. "Oh well. At least she won't struggle as much."
Mike rested Nikki's head back down on the flat of the table and pushed up the hem of Nikki's shirt so that it rested a few inches above her navel. As Mike leaned over her to inject whatever was in the syringe into Nikki, she kicked up with her right leg, her knee hitting Mike hard on his head. He jumped back, startled, as she did a backwards summersault and pulled her hands up. The loops of rope on the legs of the table slid off.
"Never underestimate the intelligence of the female race, Michael, darling," she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder mockingly. Suddenly, she sliced the air behind her with the edge of her right hand, only, she didn't slice just air. Another member of Mike's gang, the one with the green mohawk, had been sneaking up on her, but now lay in a heap behind her.
"What the--?" gasped Mike.
"Karate lessons," Nikki said, examining her finger nails. "Paid off. Now, you gonna show me out of here like a good boy, or are we going to have to do this the hard way?"
"Since when am I a 'good' boy?" sneered Mike, putting the syringe away. He raised his fists as if he were boxing, but it wasn't he who hit Nikki. Two members of the gang, the one with pink hair and the one with blue hair, tackled her from behind. They wrestled on the floor for a moment, the gang members finally pinning Nikki's arms by her side. She struggled, trying to kick them, but Mike sat on her legs. He pushed the hem of her shirt up again and fumbled in his jacket for the syringe.
"What's in that?" Nikki breathed, winded from struggling so hard. Mike grinned deviously.
"This? Oh, just a few deadly toxins and poisons," he said simply. "Three days of immense pain and suffering, and then, poof! you're dead. Isn't it just wonderful?"
"Far from it," Nikki said, her heart rate quickening. He shook the syringe in front of her face.
"It's a little present from us to you," said Mike evilly. "Hope the windows don't shatter."
Nikki started to struggle again, twisting and turning everywhichway, trying to avoid the syringe. Mike place a hand firmly on her stomach and inserted the needle an inch above Nikki's navle, slowly pushing the liquid out. It took a few moments for it to spread, and then she started screaming; first, it felt like her body was frozen solid, then the next instant, it felt as if she were being burned alive. Beads of sweat broke out on her face the same time she started shivering. Her bones screamed, her muscles ached, and her head pounded.
"Just think," sneered Mike, throwing the syringe to a corner of the room, "this is only the start of it."
Suddenly, the door of the room exploded open, revealing Elisa and several other officers, each of them pointing their guns at Mike and the other gang members. Mike held Nikki in front of his chest as a human shield while the other two raised their hands.
"You're too late," laughed Mike. Nikki felt like she was about to collapse. "She's as good as dead!"
"Put her down," said Elisa, advancing slowly on Mike as two officers handcuffed the other three.
"Shoot me, Elisa," croaked Nikki. "You'd be doing me a favor..."
"I'm not going to shoot you," said Elisa as Nikki fainted. One officer tackled Mike from the side, and Elisa ran forward to catch Nikki's limp body.
Nikki stirred, rustling the sheets of the bed she was resting in. Her father leaped up from the chair he was sitting in and grasped her hand in his two.
"Wha--" said Nikki groggily, blinking.
"I'm so glad you're alright," he whispered. "I thought you'd--"
"Daddy?" Nikki squinted up at him. "What-- where am I?"
"The hospital," answered her father. "Mike and his gang are in jail."
Nikki convulsed; the pain was starting to come back.
"What-- what time is it," she gasped, ignoring the stabbing feeling in her muscles.
"Nearly midnight," he replied, looking concerened. "And I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I've got to go. I was only allowed to come see you for a few hours."
"Another--" Nikki stopped, her stomach cramping. "Mission?"
"Yes," he said, kissing her hand. "I'll come visit tomorrow."
"How long--" she stopped as her head began to pound again "-- was I sleep--"
"A day," he answered, stroking her hair.
"A- a day!" Nikki tried to sit up, but the pain pushed her back down. "I only have-- another two days before--"
"They're working on an antidote right now," her father said soothingly. "They'll be done by tomorrow."
He pressed a button near the door which lit up, and a few seconds later, a nurse rushed it with some pain pills.
"Here," she said, pressing them quickly into Nikki's palm. "Take these; they'll help reduce the pain."
Shaking, Nikki popped the pills into her mouth, took a drink of water, and swallowed. The nurse took her blood pressure and checked her pulse, then left with her father.
For a moment, she was left alone with the pain. The pills took a long while to work; nearly half and hour. By then, Nikki was extremely bored looking at the faded paint of the walls. Suddenly, she head a quiet scrathing noise on the roof window; she looked up and saw a dark sillouhette outlined above. She smiled up at it, lifting a hand and waving slightly. The sillouhette waved back, then vanished. It reappeared near the window by her bed; Nikki unlocked it and swung the window back to let Lex in. Without even saying a word, they hugged each other tightly.
"I hate myself," said Lex after they broke apart. "I should have been there."
"You couldn't have been there, Lex," replied Nikki. "It was daytime."
"I wish I could have been left to deal with him," growled Lex, his eyes glowing a bright white. "There wouldn't be anything left of him to go to jail."
"Lex, he'll get what he deserves," said Nikki.
"No, he won't," Lex said, eyes flashing. "You barely have a day and a half left! He--"
"They're working on an antidote right now."
"What if they don't make it in time?" Lex demanded. "What if--"
"Stop being so pessimistic," said Nikki. "Besides, you have plenty of other things to worry about."
"I know," said Lex. His eyes stopped glowing. "It's not as if this whole thing has stopped the Quarrymen from breathing down our necks. They think Gargoyles organized to have this happened to you."
"You didn't, though!" Nikki exclaimed. "I'll just tell my father to--"
Her eyes widened as she realized what she almost said.
"Tell your father what?" asked Lex. Nikki shook her head.
"Nothing," she lied. Lex stared suspiciouslly at her.
"Tell your father what?" he repeated firmly. Nikki gazed ruefully back at him.
"I didn't want to tell you before," she said quietly. "I thought you'd hate me for it..."
"Hate you? Why would I hate you?" Lex inquired. "I'd never hate you."
"Well, I thought you would, okay?" Nikki snapped. Sighing, she took Lex's hand in her own two and stared straight into his peircing eyes. "Lex... you know, when we first me, how I said my dad didn't like Gargoyles?"
"Yes?"
"That was an understatement." Nikki sighed and searched for a way to tell him. When she found none, she decided to just tell him straight out. "My dad... Lex, my dad's a Quarryman."
A thick blanket of shocked silence wrapped itself around the room she and Lex were in. Lex pulled his hand away from Nikki's, his eyes glowing with outrage.
"I trusted you," he growled. "I trusted you! I thought you liked me, but obviously I was wrong. You were spying for him this whole time, weren't you?"
"No! I would never, EVER do something like that!" Nikki cried with all sincerity. She nearly burst out sobbing.
"How do I know you're not lying?" Lex asked furiously.
"You can't," whispered Nikki. "You'll just think everything I do and say is a trick to get you to trust me again! Just go away and leave me. I loved you, Lexington, I loved you with every fiber of my heart, but not any more. Now leave me alone. With luck, they won't be able to produce an antidote in time, and they'll be one less Quarryman in the world. How happy you'll be."
Nikki turned her back on Lex, the one person she had ever truely loved, and heard him glide out of the window. She turned around, slammed the window shut, pulled the sheets of the hospital bed over her head, and cried herself to sleep.
The pain woke her. Her whole body was numb, burning and freezing at the same time, needles stabbing every inch... but Nikki could care less. She took the pain killers from the nurse and swallowed, but that was the only other movement she made besides crying for the whole day.
"She's depressed," the nurse whispered to her father, whom Nikki refused to look at. "We have no idea why."
For me to know and you never to find out, Nikki thought, remembering the sing-song jeer from elementary school. She almost smiled, but she didn't have the energy.
She cried herself to sleep again that night, and woke the next morning to pain. Again, the only movements she made were to take and swallow the pain pills, and cry.
Just this one day left, she reminded herself. It'll be all over tonight...
But that one hope was dashed when the nurse came in near ten in the morning, carrying a tray and looking cheerful.
"Great news, sweety," she said, brandishing a syringe. "This is the antidote."
Oh, joy, thought Nikki miserably. She managed a weak smile and said, "I'm glad they made it in time."
"So is your father," said the nurse. "Now, hold out your left arm and make a fist."
Nikki obliged and felt a slight prick on her elbow. The nurse left, and Nikki felt more mirserable than ever. Now she'd have to live with herself for who knows how long.
That night made her wish even more that she were dead. He father had come to drive her home from the hospital, and he was asking her strange questions in the car.
"There've been some strange rumors going around, Nicole," said her father sternly. Nikki gazed unfixedly out at the city rushing by.
"Mhm," she loftily replied.
"Nicole," her father warned. Nikki sighed, deciding to play along.
"Alright; what rumors?"
"Rumors saying that you've been seen several times associating with the monsters." Nikki could hardly care less that she and Lex had been spotted. Maybe the Quarrymen would kill her.
"Not rumors," Nikki murmured. "And they're not monsters."
"Nicole, I am very dissapointed in you," said her father. "When we get home, you are going to tell me everything you know about them."
"Just because I'm suffering doesn't mean they have to," she retorted. "They didn't help Mike, whatever you think."
"I refuse to believe that," her father replied stubbornly. "You will tell me what you know, Nicole Ruben, or you will face severe consequences."
"Over my dead, cold body," Nikki shot back. "And I mean it."
Nikki's father fumed for the rest of the journey home, and Nikki could care less. She dragged herself up to her room and flopped onto her bed. She stayed that way until seven in the morning, when she drudged out of bed for breakfast, then climbed the stairs back up to her room, where she stayed all day, coming out only for lunch and dinner. Maybe she could live the rest of her life out this way...
Or maybe not.
A month nearly passed before Nikki was able to talk to Goliath without flinching. Not that she visited the castle much.
Nikki and Lex soon became great friends, though they hardly saw each other more than once or twice a week. Lex was always staving off robbers from a jewelry store, or something like that, and Nikki preffered not to come along. She would chat with him for a few minutes after her shift at the diner had ended, then head home as Lex glided off to fight the bad guys.
There was no sign of Mike or his gang, for which Nikki was thankful. That didn't keep her from wearing the communicator Elisa had given her, though. You never knew with Mike. One second he could be nice and polite, and the next, he could be cruel and ruthless. And lately, Nikki had been having this odd feeling that someone was watching her-- in broad daylight. Was she being paranoid?
No.
Nikki woke early on an August morning, thinking that today would be just the same as any other day. She picked out fringed shorts and a tank-top for work, got dressed, had breakfast, and walked to the diner. Everything went fine until lunch.
"I'm gonna take a break," she stated to Joe. "I feel like sushi."
"You'd rather eat dead fish than my delicious grilled cheese?" he joked.
"I like sushi, FYI," she shot back, pulling a twenty out of her wallet and stuffing it in her pocket. "I'll be back in an hour."
Nikki walked out of the diner for what felt like the thousandth time and turned right, heading for the nearest sushi bar. She smiled happily as she listened to the buzz of city life; cars beeping at each other in the thick traffic, people shouting and laughing, and the tinkle of china from a nearby shop as a vase fell off it's shelf.
Sighing, she turned a corner and continued walking. Suddenly, she stopped. There it was again... that feeling that someone was watching her. Nikki turned sharply, but saw no one of interest. Narrowing her eyes, she walked towards the way she had come, looking in an alleyway. Nothing except old trashcans where in it. She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when a rough hand whirled her around.
"Dija miss me?" sneered Mike, wrapping an arm around Nikki's shoulders. He began to lead Nikki away from the alley, keeping a tight hold on her.
"Let me go, you moron," breathed Nikki, her heart racing.
"And why would I want to do that?" he asked. Nikki slammed her right foot down, hard, on his left. He yelped with pain and let go of her; Nikki raced through the crowd, pulling out the communticator. She pushed it hard as she ran and lifted it to her mouth.
"Elisa! It's Mike--"
A bunch of static, then-- "I'll be right there. Don't loose the communicator. It has a tracking device on it."
Nikki stuffed the communicator into her back pocket and continued racing through the crowd. She dodged into a narrow alley and watched Mike rush by. She waited for her breathing to return back to normal, then stepped out on the streets and collided with someone who had a green mohawk. She swore and scrambled up, but the guy lashed out and caught her wrist. Nikki was about to call out when she felt a prick on her elbow. Her world began to spin, and her eyelashes began to fall.
"No..." she whispered. The sedative took over depiste Nikki's struggles to stay concious, and she fell backwards into the arms of her captor.
She woke what felt like a few moments later, her wrists bound tightly to the legs of an overturned table. It took her eyes a few moments to adjust to the dim light of the building she was in. Dust lay thick upon the wooden floor, cobwebs hung from the ceiling, and the windows were boarded up. Nikki swore again. Where was Elisa? Shouldn't she have been here by now? With a jolt, Nikki remembered the thick traffic she had walked past on her way to the sushi bar. Had Elisa gotten stuck in it?
Suddenly, a floorboard moaned, and a door opened, creaking on it's rusted hinges. Nikki closed her eyes, looking at the room through her lashes. She could see a dark outline of someone, but she couldn't tell who; her vision was still hazey from the sedative, and the lighting was too dim. The figure knealed down next to Nikki, slid a hand under her head, and lifted it. She kept it relaxed.
"Wasn't the sedative supposed to wear off after ten minutes?" the figure asked; Nikki recognized the voice to be Mike's.
"It was." Another figure loomed up behind Mike's; probably that of the guy with blue hair, judging by the voice.
"She's still out cold," said Mike. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a syringe, fingering it with one hand. "Oh well. At least she won't struggle as much."
Mike rested Nikki's head back down on the flat of the table and pushed up the hem of Nikki's shirt so that it rested a few inches above her navel. As Mike leaned over her to inject whatever was in the syringe into Nikki, she kicked up with her right leg, her knee hitting Mike hard on his head. He jumped back, startled, as she did a backwards summersault and pulled her hands up. The loops of rope on the legs of the table slid off.
"Never underestimate the intelligence of the female race, Michael, darling," she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder mockingly. Suddenly, she sliced the air behind her with the edge of her right hand, only, she didn't slice just air. Another member of Mike's gang, the one with the green mohawk, had been sneaking up on her, but now lay in a heap behind her.
"What the--?" gasped Mike.
"Karate lessons," Nikki said, examining her finger nails. "Paid off. Now, you gonna show me out of here like a good boy, or are we going to have to do this the hard way?"
"Since when am I a 'good' boy?" sneered Mike, putting the syringe away. He raised his fists as if he were boxing, but it wasn't he who hit Nikki. Two members of the gang, the one with pink hair and the one with blue hair, tackled her from behind. They wrestled on the floor for a moment, the gang members finally pinning Nikki's arms by her side. She struggled, trying to kick them, but Mike sat on her legs. He pushed the hem of her shirt up again and fumbled in his jacket for the syringe.
"What's in that?" Nikki breathed, winded from struggling so hard. Mike grinned deviously.
"This? Oh, just a few deadly toxins and poisons," he said simply. "Three days of immense pain and suffering, and then, poof! you're dead. Isn't it just wonderful?"
"Far from it," Nikki said, her heart rate quickening. He shook the syringe in front of her face.
"It's a little present from us to you," said Mike evilly. "Hope the windows don't shatter."
Nikki started to struggle again, twisting and turning everywhichway, trying to avoid the syringe. Mike place a hand firmly on her stomach and inserted the needle an inch above Nikki's navle, slowly pushing the liquid out. It took a few moments for it to spread, and then she started screaming; first, it felt like her body was frozen solid, then the next instant, it felt as if she were being burned alive. Beads of sweat broke out on her face the same time she started shivering. Her bones screamed, her muscles ached, and her head pounded.
"Just think," sneered Mike, throwing the syringe to a corner of the room, "this is only the start of it."
Suddenly, the door of the room exploded open, revealing Elisa and several other officers, each of them pointing their guns at Mike and the other gang members. Mike held Nikki in front of his chest as a human shield while the other two raised their hands.
"You're too late," laughed Mike. Nikki felt like she was about to collapse. "She's as good as dead!"
"Put her down," said Elisa, advancing slowly on Mike as two officers handcuffed the other three.
"Shoot me, Elisa," croaked Nikki. "You'd be doing me a favor..."
"I'm not going to shoot you," said Elisa as Nikki fainted. One officer tackled Mike from the side, and Elisa ran forward to catch Nikki's limp body.
Nikki stirred, rustling the sheets of the bed she was resting in. Her father leaped up from the chair he was sitting in and grasped her hand in his two.
"Wha--" said Nikki groggily, blinking.
"I'm so glad you're alright," he whispered. "I thought you'd--"
"Daddy?" Nikki squinted up at him. "What-- where am I?"
"The hospital," answered her father. "Mike and his gang are in jail."
Nikki convulsed; the pain was starting to come back.
"What-- what time is it," she gasped, ignoring the stabbing feeling in her muscles.
"Nearly midnight," he replied, looking concerened. "And I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I've got to go. I was only allowed to come see you for a few hours."
"Another--" Nikki stopped, her stomach cramping. "Mission?"
"Yes," he said, kissing her hand. "I'll come visit tomorrow."
"How long--" she stopped as her head began to pound again "-- was I sleep--"
"A day," he answered, stroking her hair.
"A- a day!" Nikki tried to sit up, but the pain pushed her back down. "I only have-- another two days before--"
"They're working on an antidote right now," her father said soothingly. "They'll be done by tomorrow."
He pressed a button near the door which lit up, and a few seconds later, a nurse rushed it with some pain pills.
"Here," she said, pressing them quickly into Nikki's palm. "Take these; they'll help reduce the pain."
Shaking, Nikki popped the pills into her mouth, took a drink of water, and swallowed. The nurse took her blood pressure and checked her pulse, then left with her father.
For a moment, she was left alone with the pain. The pills took a long while to work; nearly half and hour. By then, Nikki was extremely bored looking at the faded paint of the walls. Suddenly, she head a quiet scrathing noise on the roof window; she looked up and saw a dark sillouhette outlined above. She smiled up at it, lifting a hand and waving slightly. The sillouhette waved back, then vanished. It reappeared near the window by her bed; Nikki unlocked it and swung the window back to let Lex in. Without even saying a word, they hugged each other tightly.
"I hate myself," said Lex after they broke apart. "I should have been there."
"You couldn't have been there, Lex," replied Nikki. "It was daytime."
"I wish I could have been left to deal with him," growled Lex, his eyes glowing a bright white. "There wouldn't be anything left of him to go to jail."
"Lex, he'll get what he deserves," said Nikki.
"No, he won't," Lex said, eyes flashing. "You barely have a day and a half left! He--"
"They're working on an antidote right now."
"What if they don't make it in time?" Lex demanded. "What if--"
"Stop being so pessimistic," said Nikki. "Besides, you have plenty of other things to worry about."
"I know," said Lex. His eyes stopped glowing. "It's not as if this whole thing has stopped the Quarrymen from breathing down our necks. They think Gargoyles organized to have this happened to you."
"You didn't, though!" Nikki exclaimed. "I'll just tell my father to--"
Her eyes widened as she realized what she almost said.
"Tell your father what?" asked Lex. Nikki shook her head.
"Nothing," she lied. Lex stared suspiciouslly at her.
"Tell your father what?" he repeated firmly. Nikki gazed ruefully back at him.
"I didn't want to tell you before," she said quietly. "I thought you'd hate me for it..."
"Hate you? Why would I hate you?" Lex inquired. "I'd never hate you."
"Well, I thought you would, okay?" Nikki snapped. Sighing, she took Lex's hand in her own two and stared straight into his peircing eyes. "Lex... you know, when we first me, how I said my dad didn't like Gargoyles?"
"Yes?"
"That was an understatement." Nikki sighed and searched for a way to tell him. When she found none, she decided to just tell him straight out. "My dad... Lex, my dad's a Quarryman."
A thick blanket of shocked silence wrapped itself around the room she and Lex were in. Lex pulled his hand away from Nikki's, his eyes glowing with outrage.
"I trusted you," he growled. "I trusted you! I thought you liked me, but obviously I was wrong. You were spying for him this whole time, weren't you?"
"No! I would never, EVER do something like that!" Nikki cried with all sincerity. She nearly burst out sobbing.
"How do I know you're not lying?" Lex asked furiously.
"You can't," whispered Nikki. "You'll just think everything I do and say is a trick to get you to trust me again! Just go away and leave me. I loved you, Lexington, I loved you with every fiber of my heart, but not any more. Now leave me alone. With luck, they won't be able to produce an antidote in time, and they'll be one less Quarryman in the world. How happy you'll be."
Nikki turned her back on Lex, the one person she had ever truely loved, and heard him glide out of the window. She turned around, slammed the window shut, pulled the sheets of the hospital bed over her head, and cried herself to sleep.
The pain woke her. Her whole body was numb, burning and freezing at the same time, needles stabbing every inch... but Nikki could care less. She took the pain killers from the nurse and swallowed, but that was the only other movement she made besides crying for the whole day.
"She's depressed," the nurse whispered to her father, whom Nikki refused to look at. "We have no idea why."
For me to know and you never to find out, Nikki thought, remembering the sing-song jeer from elementary school. She almost smiled, but she didn't have the energy.
She cried herself to sleep again that night, and woke the next morning to pain. Again, the only movements she made were to take and swallow the pain pills, and cry.
Just this one day left, she reminded herself. It'll be all over tonight...
But that one hope was dashed when the nurse came in near ten in the morning, carrying a tray and looking cheerful.
"Great news, sweety," she said, brandishing a syringe. "This is the antidote."
Oh, joy, thought Nikki miserably. She managed a weak smile and said, "I'm glad they made it in time."
"So is your father," said the nurse. "Now, hold out your left arm and make a fist."
Nikki obliged and felt a slight prick on her elbow. The nurse left, and Nikki felt more mirserable than ever. Now she'd have to live with herself for who knows how long.
That night made her wish even more that she were dead. He father had come to drive her home from the hospital, and he was asking her strange questions in the car.
"There've been some strange rumors going around, Nicole," said her father sternly. Nikki gazed unfixedly out at the city rushing by.
"Mhm," she loftily replied.
"Nicole," her father warned. Nikki sighed, deciding to play along.
"Alright; what rumors?"
"Rumors saying that you've been seen several times associating with the monsters." Nikki could hardly care less that she and Lex had been spotted. Maybe the Quarrymen would kill her.
"Not rumors," Nikki murmured. "And they're not monsters."
"Nicole, I am very dissapointed in you," said her father. "When we get home, you are going to tell me everything you know about them."
"Just because I'm suffering doesn't mean they have to," she retorted. "They didn't help Mike, whatever you think."
"I refuse to believe that," her father replied stubbornly. "You will tell me what you know, Nicole Ruben, or you will face severe consequences."
"Over my dead, cold body," Nikki shot back. "And I mean it."
Nikki's father fumed for the rest of the journey home, and Nikki could care less. She dragged herself up to her room and flopped onto her bed. She stayed that way until seven in the morning, when she drudged out of bed for breakfast, then climbed the stairs back up to her room, where she stayed all day, coming out only for lunch and dinner. Maybe she could live the rest of her life out this way...
Or maybe not.