Finally, I can get around d to writing this. Chapter five is a little open
ended because I took the last part of it and made it into chapter six. As
for the storyline, the beginning part is about a conversation between
Roxton and Marguerite. Once again, I couldn't just talk about Veronica and
Malone without including them, it just wouldn't be right (also, its kind of
hard to because Veronica is dead). I tried to make it really subtle that
their relationship is growing. In other notes, Malone begins to be haunted
by strange nightmares about Veronica. As for the rest, you can read it
yourself. I will get the rest of this out as soon as possible. But either
way, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Note: Thanks for the reviews. I'm actually surprised by some of the enthusiasm. You definitely were an inspiration.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, not any. I wasn't old enough to claim complete ownership of anything when the Lost World started.
"I feel sorry for the boy," Roxton said as he turned to the Brunette walking beside him, "I'm surprised he hasn't completely broken down."
"I know," Marguerite replied with a look of sadness on her face, "he's changed."
"Yes, he has," Roxton agreed thoughtfully. He knew very well that the old Ned would have done one of two things, he would have either exploded into tears or he would have gotten angry and demanded someone tell him what happened. But the new Ned seemed to rein in those emotions, making his face completely unreadable. In some ways, this was an encouragement but he knew better than to think Malone wasn't hurting.
When he had woken up next to Marguerite that morning, he had thought that it was a good omen, but as soon as they found Malone the day's outlook took a turn for the worst. Roxton had approached Challenger after barely getting a response from Malone and whispered, "When did he get back?"
Challenger's only reply was, "last night" before he continued on with making breakfast. Once the food was prepared, the three of them sat and ate. To their surprise, Finn actually emerged from her room. Of course, she was a bit edgy when she saw Malone, not knowing who he was. Challenger had introduced him as Malone and Finn's eyes had immediately widened in surprise. A look of sympathy passed over her, and her eyes watered a little before she snatched a fruit and ran back to her room.
Challenger and Marguerite had watched Finn the whole time, surprised by her actions, but Roxton had focused on Malone's reactions. The younger man seemed to be interested in meeting Finn for a couple of seconds. Then, as he was about to introduce himself, he caught a glance of Veronica, and Roxton could almost feel his heart die inside.
Stopping himself, Malone had sunk back into his chair and continued his gazing into space. Even when Challenger had introduced Malone, the man didn't even react. He just stared straight in front of him with a blank face, obviously caught in his thoughts. He had continued like that all day. He didn't speak to anyone or seem to care about anything or anyone else but Veronica.
His despair had spread throughout the occupants of the tree house and Roxton had suggested Marguerite and him take this walk in an attempt to escape it.
Realizing he'd been lost in his own thoughts, Roxton looked over to see Marguerite walking along in a sort of a trance of her own. The last two days were weighing heavily on her and pushing her to her breaking point. First, she had lost Veronica and then, in some twist of fate, Malone had returned just in time to find Veronica dead. All of this had completely destroyed the facade Marguerite usually wore and left her a wreck.
"How do you think he is going to handle it," he said, waking her from her trance.
"I don't really know," was her only reply. Roxton could almost see the thoughts going through her mind. She seemed to be going through his possible reactions and the fact that she wasn't voicing her thoughts did nothing to quell the fear that was already festering inside him.
".and how are you holding up," Roxton said, trying to draw some of her attention away from sympathizing with Malone. He knew that dwelling on the subject would just sink them further into the despair that had overwhelmed the tree house.
She looked over at him a little taken aback by the quick change of subject. She seemed at a loss for words for a moment, then finally managed to say "I'm fine."
Roxton could easily see through the lie. Her eyes told a completely different story than her mouth. They were blood-shot and the pain she fought to suppress was easily readable. "Really?" he asked cautiously, "you don't seem like it."
She was struggling with her emotions and Roxton could tell. She needed to spill some of it but her pride and her built up defenses were preventing it. "I'm fine John, really," she persisted. As she spoke, Roxton could tell that she was trying to convince herself of it as well.
Enough beating around the bush, he thought to himself and quickly grabbed a hold of one of her forearms and brought her around to face him. She gazed at him, in surprise. Before she could object, Roxton continued. "You don't have to wear the mask in front of me Marguerite."
"What mask," she replied in an effort to deflect him but Roxton had seen her weakness and was determined to get find a way in.
"Your mask, Marguerite, the one you always wear." She continued to stare at him in refusal.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said in a harsh tone, as she tried to wiggle loose from his grip. Her defenses were kicking in and she was rapidly turning into her uncaring self. Roxton had one chance at this and he knew it. If he didn't break through her wall on the first try, it would be too late and her defenses would be too strong to get through.
Increasing his grip, Roxton forced her to look into her eyes. "Enough of this Marguerite. We've both been through too much to play this game again. I know you're hurting and keeping it inside is just going to tear you up. Veronica deserves better than this." A balance of anger, sympathy, and guilt, it was perhaps the only way to approach the subject with Marguerite.
At first, she looked angry at his bold statement, glaring at him with fury in her eyes. But, to Roxton's surprise, that same anger seemed to subside just enough for tears to become barely visible in her eyes. She tried to choke out something, but stopped and gazed down at the ground. Roxton knew she was fighting as hard as she could to keep her tears at bay. Her pride wouldn't allow her to seem weak. The last thing he needed was Marguerite being too prideful to admit it.
With a hand, he reached for her chin and brought her face up once again to meet his. He did his best to look as sympathetic and caring as possible. A couple of silent moments passed between them, as they stared at each other, each one seeming to be trying to peer into the other's soul. Marguerite's defenses were slowly weakening and a lone tear burst free and dripped down her cheek. With a crack already broken through, the defenses of a lifetime slowly crumbled into rubble.
"It's our fault, John, she died to save us." Her voice crackled as more tears dripped down her cheek. "Of all the people to save, she saved me! Don't you understand, I killed her!"
He stepped closer to her, until he could look directly into her eyes. "That isn't true and you know it."
"But, why," she staggered out, "why?!"
"Isn't it obvious, Marguerite. She wanted us to live. She gave herself for that and blaming yourself is only mocking what she gave up."
He peered into her eyes and saw all the pain as it bubbled to the surface. Sobbingly, her legs gave out and she fell onto Roxton's chest. He grasped her around the waist, stroking her hair to comfort her. To his amazement, he actually felt a tear in his own eyes. Wiping it away, he continued to sooth her. The two continued like that for what seemed like hours, with Roxton praying to the heavens that nothing else would happen.
"Veronica," Malone screamed as he made into the same clearing he had seen before. Once again she emerged from the light and once again Malone screamed to her. She just continued to stand where she had come out, looking at him with a completely emotionless face. "Veronica," he persisted, "what's wrong?" He continued to walk closer to her until he was within a couple of yards.
"Ned," she said, almost emotionless. "Why didn't you come?"
"What?" His only reply was stunned and a little worried at her meaning.
"I waited so long and you didn't come." Her once emotionless contorted into pain and sadness. "I needed you Ned, and you weren't there."
"I tried to get to you, honestly," he said pleadingly, "I was coming home, I just couldn't." he cut off as his gaze drifted to the floor in shame.
".you couldn't save me," she continued his sentence. "I needed you to save me and you wouldn't."
"No! No! I didn't know," suddenly he was at a loss for words, with tears in his eyes. "I didn't know," he repeated, unable to say anything else. His knees gave way, and he fell to his knees before her feet in defeat.
She gazed down at him with pain written all over her face. Then, suddenly, as if triggered by some other force, she looked back at the ray of light and turned to Malone to say, "Ned, I have to go." With that she turned to walk back to the light.
"No," Malone said as he rose to his feet and ran at her, "I'm not loosing you again." He reached with both arms to wrap her waist. But, instead of meeting the flesh of her beautiful stomach, his hands passed through her body. His momentum carried him through her and the lack of resistance caused him to lose his balance and trip. He sprawled onto the ground, turning himself to face her as she bent over him. The whole world seemed to distort again but the last thing he heard her say was perhaps the most damaging.
"You've already lost me," she said as her face finally evaporated before his eyes and the world around him disappeared into darkness.
"No," Malone screamed as he woke to the sound of the late evening. Looking around, he immediately recognized the tree house. He fought to control his ragged breath, eventually succeeding. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of her and it startled him until he realized that it was no longer a dream. Not a dream, a nightmare, he told himself as he wiped the sweat from his brow and turned to face her directly.
The whole day, he had been plagued by nightmares bordering the same thought. Though they didn't seem as real as the first dream he had, they were absolutely horrifying. In every one, Veronica disappeared before his eyes, leaving him alone, with no strength left. But lately, they had turned even worse. In the most recent ones, she had blamed him for everything that had happened, one time going so far as to tell him she hated him with all her heart, another time telling him she never even liked him.
The dreams made sleeping into torture and as a result he usually only got about ten to twenty minutes of sleep in before waking up in a cold sweat. It was as if every time he dreamed he was forced to feel his heart die over and over again. Part of him wanted to object and say it wasn't his fault, but the guilt of not being there for her was sending him further into the depths of despair.
He knew everyone was worried about him, mostly because he was hardly sociable and barely even tolerable. He had refused to move from the chair in front of Veronica, regardless of what the others tried to do. He just couldn't abandon her, he wouldn't leave her, not again.
Challenger and Roxton had had what they thought was a private conversation on when and where they should bury her, but Malone had learned to be very perceptive from his journey. He had easily read their lips and knew exactly what they were talking about. Above all things, his first instinct was to walk over to the two men and hit them both as hard and as fast as he could. He didn't want to admit she was gone, he didn't want to let go of one of the only things left that truly drove his life.
Luckily for the two men, he reined his emotions in before he could act on his impulse and continued to sit silently in front of her. The rest of the explorers seemed almost weary to get close to Malone, probably because he was constantly caught in a trance. His thoughts were always somewhere else and even when someone tried to get his attention, he only nodded or glanced at them.
The result was that everyone had gone out on their own for the day, leaving Malone with Veronica. Challenger and Finn had gone off on some excuse that they had to check the windmill and Roxton and Marguerite had conveniently decided it was time to take a leisurely walk through the jungle. But, to Malone, none of it mattered. He felt like the entire world could come crashing down and he wouldn't notice or wouldn't care. But life, it seemed, was just going to carry on, with or without him.
Challenger finally reached the elevator to the tree house as darkness ascended over the plateau. He and Finn had spent the whole day doing assessments of the damage the event had caused. Luckily, the windmill and the utilities for the tree house were still intact. After that, they had just decided to go on a walk, in hopes of avoiding the tree house.
Lately, Challenger could almost feel an aura of doom around their home. Malone hadn't taken Veronica's death well at all. He never spoke, and kept shutting everyone out. Then again, the boy's been through more in the last few days than I'd want to experience in a lifetime. A flood of sympathy washed over him as he thought of how Malone looked all that morning and afternoon.
The elevator finally reached the top and Challenger stepped out to find Malone once again sleeping in his chair. He slowly approached him and stared briefly at the reporter. No matter how much he wanted to help, he had to let Malone come to terms with Veronica's death by himself. Until that time, Challenger vowed that he would do everything he could to help. "I just wish there was something I could do," he said mostly to himself as Malone muttered something to himself.
"What?" Finn asked from behind him, by the stairs.
"Nothing," he replied as he turned to follow her down to their rooms. Before he disappeared down them, he took one look back at Malone, thinking to himself sarcastically, life, isn't it kind. With that, he made his way down to his room and joined the rest of the explorers in unconsciousness.
You know, I just noticed something. That's the first time Finn has actually had dialogue with another character. It never dawned on me that Finn has always been either mourning or just out of the scene whenever there's a conversation. Ironic, isn't it. Anyway, the next chapter should be out soon because its almost written. Oh yeah, if you want to review go ahead and tell me what I did wrong or right. I hope you like this so far
Note: Thanks for the reviews. I'm actually surprised by some of the enthusiasm. You definitely were an inspiration.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, not any. I wasn't old enough to claim complete ownership of anything when the Lost World started.
"I feel sorry for the boy," Roxton said as he turned to the Brunette walking beside him, "I'm surprised he hasn't completely broken down."
"I know," Marguerite replied with a look of sadness on her face, "he's changed."
"Yes, he has," Roxton agreed thoughtfully. He knew very well that the old Ned would have done one of two things, he would have either exploded into tears or he would have gotten angry and demanded someone tell him what happened. But the new Ned seemed to rein in those emotions, making his face completely unreadable. In some ways, this was an encouragement but he knew better than to think Malone wasn't hurting.
When he had woken up next to Marguerite that morning, he had thought that it was a good omen, but as soon as they found Malone the day's outlook took a turn for the worst. Roxton had approached Challenger after barely getting a response from Malone and whispered, "When did he get back?"
Challenger's only reply was, "last night" before he continued on with making breakfast. Once the food was prepared, the three of them sat and ate. To their surprise, Finn actually emerged from her room. Of course, she was a bit edgy when she saw Malone, not knowing who he was. Challenger had introduced him as Malone and Finn's eyes had immediately widened in surprise. A look of sympathy passed over her, and her eyes watered a little before she snatched a fruit and ran back to her room.
Challenger and Marguerite had watched Finn the whole time, surprised by her actions, but Roxton had focused on Malone's reactions. The younger man seemed to be interested in meeting Finn for a couple of seconds. Then, as he was about to introduce himself, he caught a glance of Veronica, and Roxton could almost feel his heart die inside.
Stopping himself, Malone had sunk back into his chair and continued his gazing into space. Even when Challenger had introduced Malone, the man didn't even react. He just stared straight in front of him with a blank face, obviously caught in his thoughts. He had continued like that all day. He didn't speak to anyone or seem to care about anything or anyone else but Veronica.
His despair had spread throughout the occupants of the tree house and Roxton had suggested Marguerite and him take this walk in an attempt to escape it.
Realizing he'd been lost in his own thoughts, Roxton looked over to see Marguerite walking along in a sort of a trance of her own. The last two days were weighing heavily on her and pushing her to her breaking point. First, she had lost Veronica and then, in some twist of fate, Malone had returned just in time to find Veronica dead. All of this had completely destroyed the facade Marguerite usually wore and left her a wreck.
"How do you think he is going to handle it," he said, waking her from her trance.
"I don't really know," was her only reply. Roxton could almost see the thoughts going through her mind. She seemed to be going through his possible reactions and the fact that she wasn't voicing her thoughts did nothing to quell the fear that was already festering inside him.
".and how are you holding up," Roxton said, trying to draw some of her attention away from sympathizing with Malone. He knew that dwelling on the subject would just sink them further into the despair that had overwhelmed the tree house.
She looked over at him a little taken aback by the quick change of subject. She seemed at a loss for words for a moment, then finally managed to say "I'm fine."
Roxton could easily see through the lie. Her eyes told a completely different story than her mouth. They were blood-shot and the pain she fought to suppress was easily readable. "Really?" he asked cautiously, "you don't seem like it."
She was struggling with her emotions and Roxton could tell. She needed to spill some of it but her pride and her built up defenses were preventing it. "I'm fine John, really," she persisted. As she spoke, Roxton could tell that she was trying to convince herself of it as well.
Enough beating around the bush, he thought to himself and quickly grabbed a hold of one of her forearms and brought her around to face him. She gazed at him, in surprise. Before she could object, Roxton continued. "You don't have to wear the mask in front of me Marguerite."
"What mask," she replied in an effort to deflect him but Roxton had seen her weakness and was determined to get find a way in.
"Your mask, Marguerite, the one you always wear." She continued to stare at him in refusal.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said in a harsh tone, as she tried to wiggle loose from his grip. Her defenses were kicking in and she was rapidly turning into her uncaring self. Roxton had one chance at this and he knew it. If he didn't break through her wall on the first try, it would be too late and her defenses would be too strong to get through.
Increasing his grip, Roxton forced her to look into her eyes. "Enough of this Marguerite. We've both been through too much to play this game again. I know you're hurting and keeping it inside is just going to tear you up. Veronica deserves better than this." A balance of anger, sympathy, and guilt, it was perhaps the only way to approach the subject with Marguerite.
At first, she looked angry at his bold statement, glaring at him with fury in her eyes. But, to Roxton's surprise, that same anger seemed to subside just enough for tears to become barely visible in her eyes. She tried to choke out something, but stopped and gazed down at the ground. Roxton knew she was fighting as hard as she could to keep her tears at bay. Her pride wouldn't allow her to seem weak. The last thing he needed was Marguerite being too prideful to admit it.
With a hand, he reached for her chin and brought her face up once again to meet his. He did his best to look as sympathetic and caring as possible. A couple of silent moments passed between them, as they stared at each other, each one seeming to be trying to peer into the other's soul. Marguerite's defenses were slowly weakening and a lone tear burst free and dripped down her cheek. With a crack already broken through, the defenses of a lifetime slowly crumbled into rubble.
"It's our fault, John, she died to save us." Her voice crackled as more tears dripped down her cheek. "Of all the people to save, she saved me! Don't you understand, I killed her!"
He stepped closer to her, until he could look directly into her eyes. "That isn't true and you know it."
"But, why," she staggered out, "why?!"
"Isn't it obvious, Marguerite. She wanted us to live. She gave herself for that and blaming yourself is only mocking what she gave up."
He peered into her eyes and saw all the pain as it bubbled to the surface. Sobbingly, her legs gave out and she fell onto Roxton's chest. He grasped her around the waist, stroking her hair to comfort her. To his amazement, he actually felt a tear in his own eyes. Wiping it away, he continued to sooth her. The two continued like that for what seemed like hours, with Roxton praying to the heavens that nothing else would happen.
"Veronica," Malone screamed as he made into the same clearing he had seen before. Once again she emerged from the light and once again Malone screamed to her. She just continued to stand where she had come out, looking at him with a completely emotionless face. "Veronica," he persisted, "what's wrong?" He continued to walk closer to her until he was within a couple of yards.
"Ned," she said, almost emotionless. "Why didn't you come?"
"What?" His only reply was stunned and a little worried at her meaning.
"I waited so long and you didn't come." Her once emotionless contorted into pain and sadness. "I needed you Ned, and you weren't there."
"I tried to get to you, honestly," he said pleadingly, "I was coming home, I just couldn't." he cut off as his gaze drifted to the floor in shame.
".you couldn't save me," she continued his sentence. "I needed you to save me and you wouldn't."
"No! No! I didn't know," suddenly he was at a loss for words, with tears in his eyes. "I didn't know," he repeated, unable to say anything else. His knees gave way, and he fell to his knees before her feet in defeat.
She gazed down at him with pain written all over her face. Then, suddenly, as if triggered by some other force, she looked back at the ray of light and turned to Malone to say, "Ned, I have to go." With that she turned to walk back to the light.
"No," Malone said as he rose to his feet and ran at her, "I'm not loosing you again." He reached with both arms to wrap her waist. But, instead of meeting the flesh of her beautiful stomach, his hands passed through her body. His momentum carried him through her and the lack of resistance caused him to lose his balance and trip. He sprawled onto the ground, turning himself to face her as she bent over him. The whole world seemed to distort again but the last thing he heard her say was perhaps the most damaging.
"You've already lost me," she said as her face finally evaporated before his eyes and the world around him disappeared into darkness.
"No," Malone screamed as he woke to the sound of the late evening. Looking around, he immediately recognized the tree house. He fought to control his ragged breath, eventually succeeding. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of her and it startled him until he realized that it was no longer a dream. Not a dream, a nightmare, he told himself as he wiped the sweat from his brow and turned to face her directly.
The whole day, he had been plagued by nightmares bordering the same thought. Though they didn't seem as real as the first dream he had, they were absolutely horrifying. In every one, Veronica disappeared before his eyes, leaving him alone, with no strength left. But lately, they had turned even worse. In the most recent ones, she had blamed him for everything that had happened, one time going so far as to tell him she hated him with all her heart, another time telling him she never even liked him.
The dreams made sleeping into torture and as a result he usually only got about ten to twenty minutes of sleep in before waking up in a cold sweat. It was as if every time he dreamed he was forced to feel his heart die over and over again. Part of him wanted to object and say it wasn't his fault, but the guilt of not being there for her was sending him further into the depths of despair.
He knew everyone was worried about him, mostly because he was hardly sociable and barely even tolerable. He had refused to move from the chair in front of Veronica, regardless of what the others tried to do. He just couldn't abandon her, he wouldn't leave her, not again.
Challenger and Roxton had had what they thought was a private conversation on when and where they should bury her, but Malone had learned to be very perceptive from his journey. He had easily read their lips and knew exactly what they were talking about. Above all things, his first instinct was to walk over to the two men and hit them both as hard and as fast as he could. He didn't want to admit she was gone, he didn't want to let go of one of the only things left that truly drove his life.
Luckily for the two men, he reined his emotions in before he could act on his impulse and continued to sit silently in front of her. The rest of the explorers seemed almost weary to get close to Malone, probably because he was constantly caught in a trance. His thoughts were always somewhere else and even when someone tried to get his attention, he only nodded or glanced at them.
The result was that everyone had gone out on their own for the day, leaving Malone with Veronica. Challenger and Finn had gone off on some excuse that they had to check the windmill and Roxton and Marguerite had conveniently decided it was time to take a leisurely walk through the jungle. But, to Malone, none of it mattered. He felt like the entire world could come crashing down and he wouldn't notice or wouldn't care. But life, it seemed, was just going to carry on, with or without him.
Challenger finally reached the elevator to the tree house as darkness ascended over the plateau. He and Finn had spent the whole day doing assessments of the damage the event had caused. Luckily, the windmill and the utilities for the tree house were still intact. After that, they had just decided to go on a walk, in hopes of avoiding the tree house.
Lately, Challenger could almost feel an aura of doom around their home. Malone hadn't taken Veronica's death well at all. He never spoke, and kept shutting everyone out. Then again, the boy's been through more in the last few days than I'd want to experience in a lifetime. A flood of sympathy washed over him as he thought of how Malone looked all that morning and afternoon.
The elevator finally reached the top and Challenger stepped out to find Malone once again sleeping in his chair. He slowly approached him and stared briefly at the reporter. No matter how much he wanted to help, he had to let Malone come to terms with Veronica's death by himself. Until that time, Challenger vowed that he would do everything he could to help. "I just wish there was something I could do," he said mostly to himself as Malone muttered something to himself.
"What?" Finn asked from behind him, by the stairs.
"Nothing," he replied as he turned to follow her down to their rooms. Before he disappeared down them, he took one look back at Malone, thinking to himself sarcastically, life, isn't it kind. With that, he made his way down to his room and joined the rest of the explorers in unconsciousness.
You know, I just noticed something. That's the first time Finn has actually had dialogue with another character. It never dawned on me that Finn has always been either mourning or just out of the scene whenever there's a conversation. Ironic, isn't it. Anyway, the next chapter should be out soon because its almost written. Oh yeah, if you want to review go ahead and tell me what I did wrong or right. I hope you like this so far