The Vampire Heero
Part Ten
By Lady AngelFiren
Around lunchtime I came out of a restful nap filled with soft dreams only half remembered, and realized that I was ravenously hungry despite everything I'd eaten only hours earlier. I woke Heero with a firm kiss to his sweet lips. He sat up and wrapped his arms around me, then kissed me properly, but efficiently.
"Lay back down; I'll go get you some lunch."
"No, Heero, you're too motherly! I can walk. And I can go to the big bad caf all by myself. Honest! But you can come along to keep me company if you want." I grinned at him, and my stomach growled impatiently. "Besides, we've both spent way too long holed up in this sunless, airless little room. Lets get out of here."
He looked at me queerly for a second, and I could just see him thinking that he liked the room airless, and especially sunless, but he pushed whatever he was musing over away and got up with a determined, businesslike set on his strong features. He stood out vibrantly against the room's austere décor, and I swear there was a smile on his lips. His eyes sparkled blue, the silver luminescence barely detectable. I got up and went over to the bathroom to make sure I didn't look too bad and straightened out my clothes a little. Heero had donned a thick black sweatshirt with a hood on the back and a pocket in the front. I thought he looked almost normal wearing that thing, even though it was way too warm out for it. Why the hell should he care if he's warm? I thought he'd be more comfortable that way anyway.
I slipped my hand into his as we started down the hall. He squeezed gently. His skin was warmer than usual, and he seemed to be ok. I really wanted Heero to know that I was sorry, and I that I wasn't in the least bit scared of him. I still felt like I'd kicked a puppy, but he seemed to have forgotten the whole incident.
However much he'd gained in strength and speed and whatever else as a vampire, he must have become somewhat simpler too. Emotions were a raw extreme for an instant, and then they were almost gone, only seconds later. This kinda explained why he cried so easily and so often; his pain was built up over an impossibly long time, and he was only now learning to confront it or express it. I told myself that patience was mandatory if I was to was to remain close to him. And I _definitely_ wanted to be with him. No matter what I had to go through, I figured it would be worth it if only I could be close to, and get inside of this complex creature. I wanted to teach him love and warmth, and maybe even happiness. Simple things like walking hand in hand down a deserted hallway now brought me more happiness than I could ever remember feeling. It was wonderful in a peaceful, quiet, comfortable way. Heero filled me in all the right places, and I steeled my resolve to get him through whatever it took to weaken his guilt.
~~~~~~~~~~
We walked into the caf and I immediately went over to the most deserted part of the giant room to sit at one of the long tables. Heero parted, however reluctantly with me, to stand in line and get me some food. He was wary about leaving me alone, but I argued fiercely that I didn't want to stand pointlessly in line when I could save us a seat at one of the tables, and that I wasn't a child, regardless of how much older than me he was. After a few more points as to why I could sit all by myself, he complied and parted with me, dropping a slight kiss on my cheek as he left.
Despite my nap, I realized that I was still feeling tired and drained, and my headache had returned. I put my head gingerly on my folded arms and tried to ignore the general din of the room, caused by the bustling array of students who all barked raucously at one another. I began to regret being so insistent that I was ok after sitting at the table for a good ten minutes. My head really hurt! I stared at the wall ahead of me, feeling blood pulse under through my temples and circulate through my throbbing head. My eyes felt dim and tired. They fluttered closed briefly.
Where was Heero? He'd been gone for nearly twenty minutes by now, and the wait in line for food usually took about ten. Maybe fifteen if it was busy. I looked towards the other end of the caf, where only a few teenagers waited for food. I studied the people and could not see Heero. Alarm sparked up in my chest, where was he? /Did I miss him through all the other people in this room? No, I could see everyone clearly, and he's been gone for way too long, oh shit/
I started to think of where he could be, absently scanning the other people in the room to see if maybe he was making his way through them and told the panic rising in my chest to go away. /He's immortal, its not like someone could hurt himcould they?/ I bit my lip and stood up slowly, feeling dizzy and lost. /He should have been here, am I going nuts?/ The noise blurred in my head and insisted that I was anything but sane.
A thick hand slapped onto my shoulder and squeezed, roughly turning me to meet Karl's heavy chest pressed almost to my back. I hadn't even heard him coming. I squeaked before I had a chance to stop myself and tried to duck out of his grasp. He wouldn't let go of me, in fact the hand tightened, and I swear I could feel my bones crunch together with a slow grinding whine. His face was a mess of white bandages and he had one arm in a sling, but he still managed to grin evilly down at me, the yellow of his teeth pronounced by the blaring white of the bandages. Karl's breath was hot, reeking of foul decay and ripe mold. He ground his teeth into one another, and looked for all the world like he was going to bite me.
I shivered and glanced to where Heero was so glaringly absent, my fearful shudders threatening to hinder my ability to stand. I bit my tongue in my chattering, trying to tell myself that fear was stupid and weak and..and..it was unavoidable. There was no way out. Heero wasn't here to save me from this monster anymore, and I was getting a very horrible feeling about it. Had I not spent years training under Professor G? Wasn't I stronger than this? And if I gave Heero anymore reasons to watch over me, I'd be under his relentless attention for the rest of my life. I had to be strong herebut I wasn't doing very well. I cowered unintentionally when Karl's voice growled low, and he began to speak in a cruel, commanding tone..
"Hey there slut, I figured I'd finish what we started the other day, when your friend 'accidentally' interrupted us. I'm sure he's very sorry now, he shouldda left us alone."
A group of tough, well-known bullies had surrounded Karl, flanking him and watching over the proceedings with avid interest. Some of them chuckled to themselves, and I almost laughed at the ugly display of brainless amusement, but I was trying to control my bladder, which had decided maybe peeing myself was a good idea. So far I was winning the battle, but I feared it would be a long war. There were both men and women, and one very thickly built woman with a short black crew cut and squinty little eyes stepped forward, bringing her massive breasts and dirty overalls way too close to my face. She actually _piched_ my cheek and smiled before giving it a little slap.
"Don't worry Duo, we'll take good care of you. Wanna see your friend? Come with us." She grinned wide and wicked, stepping back to give four huge guys room to take my arms and secure me in their grasp. The two that held most of me were even bigger than Karl, but didn't look quite as mean. That wasn't saying very much, they were nasty fuckers, and all I wanted to do was get away. Self defense had evaporated into something intangible. I whimpered dejectedly and let myself be half dragged, half marched out of the caf. That really made me scared.
If whatever these goons had planned was too sick and perverted to be witnessed by the passive students at the school, then I was in for something more severe than I'd thought. The fear was becoming a horrible, uncontrollable thing, but I hoped that I would at least be able to keep the goons and especially Karl from seeing itthat was up near the top of my list of Things-I-Don't-Want-To-Happen-Ever. I was silent and co-operative as the beast-like, muscular men (ok, they were probably just a little older than me, but they were just so massive and tall that I could only see them as men) 'guided' me along.
After winding through a few random hallways, we ended up in the muddy grass field that lay behind the school complex. It was bright and sunny, but as the day waned, it had become too cool to be outside minus a jacket, and the sun was quickly approaching the trees that would hide it just before it sank completely out of view and night settled in. I was brought through deep puddles and rotted, moldy grass towards a thick wall of gnarled old pine trees that marked school boundaries. My breath caught in my throat at the stench of the field, and I could only think that Karl must eat this sludge for breakfast, lunch and dinner; his breath was identical. The goons managed to 'drop' me on my face a few times, so I was horribly disheveled and very cold by the time we all made it through the grass. My braid dripped and my bangs clung to my face, mimicking my clothes as the stuck to the rest of my body.
Upon entering the treeline, I noted the drastic drop in temperature and was not pleased to hear my teeth chattering in my skull. The sunshine barely penetrated the thick sweep of prickly canopy, much less did it provide any sort of warmth or comfort. At least it was dry, but I was far too wet and cold to feel it. Debris from previous seasons littered the earth beneath my feet and all around the small band formed by Karl, his goons, and myself. Pine needles, branches covered in fungus, a few actual leaves, and lots of bark formed the thick carpet I was dragged through.
The further we went into the trees, the more I feared. If my captors had actually coaxed Heero out here, then I was in for nothing short of gang rape and murder. My heart began to knock against my ribs and everything seemed cooler, even to my already numbing body. I worried at the soft flesh inside my mouth, tearing it some and letting the small pain distract me from what was actually happening. The fear had gained a life and personality of its own, wrapping tight around me and squeezing. I could barely breathe anymore!
That's when I heard the first crack of a whip and the painful silence that followed.
"What the hell was that?" I asked, forgetting my fear for an all-too-brief moment. Karl turned to me, leering gleefully.
"That's your whore friend's punishment. I've had enough of you; I'll find a new fuck toy. In fact, I already have someone in mind First, I'm gonna get rid of you and your friend just for fun. I like to have fun, Maxwell. And I won't have to worry about you anymore; you'll both be dead and gone; nobody's going to find you. Ever."
He grinned now, and I was filled with horror at the gleam in his eyes. He was a killer, and I would not be his first victim. I'd seen this look in people before, and it always chilled me straight through. I was already frozen, so I just shook harder in the thick grasp of my captors.
Another crack of the whip sounded. A woman laughed, mercilessly. Suddenly the situation had gone from bad to worse.
/Oh god, Heero please be ok. You still have to save me! Andneed you/
I was dragged into a clearing, and what I saw before me made me want to scream
and cry hysterically.
