Sanity
Chapter 9
Shun Her
By: Rachel*
Rated: PG-13
Gender: Romance/Suspense
E-mail: PeachGirlKiley@aol.com
Web Address: www.Spike-Faye-Shrine.cjb.net
Thanks for all the reviews! Hope you like this chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy bebop
Spike closed his eyes and waited for Faye to gather their final necessities, and opened the door. He stood in the doorway. Leaning out and shifting slightly to the left, and then to the right he nodded his head, and took hold of Faye's hand tugging her into the hall. He started into a quick-paced jog towards the elevators.
Faye had trouble keeping up. She was shocked, his injuries were bad, and he still wasn't in any shape to be running at such an exhilarated pace. How'd he do it? "Spike, you should slow down." He did the exact opposite, and sped up.
When she looked at him, again his eyes resembled those of a serpent's preparing to strike. Also, his eyes were not the eyes of a hungry serpent hunting down its evening meal; but the eyes of an extremely agitated one… The gaze he had just given her was the kind that if you made one faulty move, it would surely lead to your death.
"I'm used to this. You should get used to it too; we'll be running from them the rest of our lives." He glanced back at her with a ridiculous look plastered on his tanned face. The sarcasm that Faye wanted to have pouring out of her mouth refused to spill over her paling lips. She was afraid that the serpent would return, this time not staying at a distance, not appearing to be deadly. That he'd come at her full force with enough rage to tear them both apart. Faye wet her lips.
She kept quiet and subdued while proceeding to gawk at him for another minute. Spike acted like this was a game of hide and seek. Sure maybe she would have played along if she were the one who was seeking, and not the one whom was hiding like some scrawny mouse hiding from a deathly huge poisonous snake.
Faye peered down at her feet and forced her body to keep up. "Even though you're hurt?" the serpent left giving up on its terrified pray.
"I've been trained to be like this since I was ten." He stopped and pressed the down button on the elevator. Spike leaned against a wall. He wasn't even bothered by their jog down the long, endless hall. His breathing was calm, while Faye took deep puffs of air and held her left side as she got a cramp. Spike looked at her. "Even though it hurts," he mocked her. Faye closed her eyes and pushed back the searing pain in her chest. He didn't know how much that had hurt. Like a small child teasing another kid in their class for not have the money to wear a different outfit each day of the week, or for being the only person who didn't get a partner for group work. Faye chewed on the side of her cheek. "Breathe through your nose; you'll conserve more energy that way."
He looked around them. The hall was empty. The red carpet laid curled back near the door in front of them. Spike glanced at it for a moment, and then looked around again. He'd just finished looking around when he did a double take on the ceiling. Neatly placed three feet away from their elevator was the root of all evils, the one thing that would kill the mouse, and snake in one fleeting gulp. A black security camera lens stared at them, smiling its devilish grin.
Spike's brown eyes shook in fear. Moving so quickly that in the back of Faye's mind superman came a across her brain, Spike grabbed a chair from around the corner. Dragging the wobbly piece of furniture above their devil incarnate, he stumbled up, and turned it away from them. He looked back at Faye who stared at him with perplexity. "What, it's just a camera—"
"They know we're here." He thought for a moment as he jumped down and replaced the camera to its rightful place. "We stick with the elevator, if they were watching they noticed that I noticed them. They'd expect me to change my plan and take the stairwell." Faye gawked at him again with the same perplexity she had given him when Spike had warded off their devil just a second ago.
He was a different person. Not the Spike she used to know, nor the Spike that she thought loved her. This Spike was living in fear every second of every living day. This was Spike that lay in a pool of blood and carnage, the Spike with the serpent eyes... The elevator made several beeping noises before sliding open.
Sighing Faye took a step into the while and silver elevator. The tiles were pure white; well…at least it was at some point in its life. It now was covered in dirt and a blue sticky substance that vaguely resembling a Seven-eleven slurpy. The walls were frosted silver, covered with fingerprints and the handles were the railing covering the space was in the same condition. Spike jerked her back and looked inside. Standing in the doorway, he looked up and on either side of the hallway. It was still safe. He nodded his head and let her in while he looked around the hall again. No one was around he sighed and walked in letting the doors slide shut.
An eerie silence wracked their brains. The serpent was gone after Spike took a deep breath and slumped against the wall. Faye, feeling bold took Spike's hand. He tensed, and clenched down on his jaw. The muscles in his face constricted. Faye looked down. "I'm sorry." She let go, and bent her head down similar to the look of a wilting flower. Her hand fell to her side and tapped against the fingerprinted walls.
Spike's eyebrows knit together. He shook his head and looked at her his stare bemused with confusion. "What are you talking about?" Spike pressed a button for the ground floor on the poolside, and then pressed another to the basement floor. The poolside, Spike hoped led to a back door.
"What you must have gone through…" She shook her head zoning into her own wonderland imaging the horror of his childhood. "I mean you don't even give things a second thought, you just act on your instincts. You move so flawlessly, and your speed is…" She stopped when she saw Spike starring at her. He looked away with a shrug of his shoulders.
"I try not to think about it." He ran his tongue over the roof of his mouth. The elevator was reaching the ground floor when he looked at the numbers as they wound down. "Stick with me, don't stray off."
Faye rolled her shoulders back; Spike had ruffled her feathers. "I can take care of myself Spike…" She piped, narrowing her green eyes, as she looked him over. Spike swallowed, and stepped to the side. When she looked away, he let a smile curve across his thin lips.
"Get over there, and just stick with me, you don't know these guys, they'll hit anything that moves." Faye grimaced with a roll of her eyes. He grasped her hand again. "If I get hurt, run." He looked back at Faye. Her eyes darted to his, and she pulled away.
"Spike," Faye eyed him shocked. "No, I won't." Her face was chalk white, her lips slightly parted and dry.
"Run, I want you to run as fast as you can. At least one of us gets away, if not both, right?" He smirked. Faye was sickened. He amused himself with those words, and then peered ahead of them.
Faye looked down at the ground and then back up to him as he looked down either hallway. "I love you, I'm not leaving." Spike let out a breath of air and rolled his lips inward before chewing on his lower lip. Not looking back, or saying another word, he released her hand as started to run to the left.
Faye yelped and darted after him. The smell of chlorine consumed them. Faye's eyes were burning and she wanted to cry. Spike stopped abruptly. Faye ran into the back of him. He stumbled, a step forward.
"Freeze!" a voice shouted. Spike swallowed. Holding his breath, he threw Faye to the ground, while he grabbed the nail file and threw it forward. Faye's eyes shook in fear as she watched in horror as the file into the man's neck. The person fell to the ground his gun tapping, and sliding to Spike's feet. They both watched as a small pool of blood surrounded the fallen figure before them.
Spike stood and dragged Faye to her feet. Looking down at him for a moment Spike bent down and picked up the gun.
Faye gaped in shock as he just kept going, he didn't even hesitate. He had just killed a person and took his gun, and didn't so much as look back at her. "Spike, you just—"
"Stay quiet." Spike demanded looked back at her with dulled eyes. Some unknown force took over him, a hatred she prayed never to see in him again. Spike gritted his teeth as two men came slithering around the corner. He fired and they both fell. Faye stopped. Spike turned back, and looked at her. He didn't say it but the look in his was asking her what was wrong. He took her hand and jerked her forward. "Don't stop, I said." His tone was sharp. They reached the back door.
"Go to the left, we can cut through a store across the street and head for the park." Spike stopped and looked past the row of shops.
"A park?" he had no idea there was such a place on Mars, where were they?
"It's the only major woodland area on Mars…I saw it on the news. Twenty-five miles of trees, animals, cliffs, rivers—"
"I get the idea." He nodded his head and they opened the back door all the way. Men snickered and Spike bent down and fired in front of himself and to the right. He took a second gun, letting go of Faye's hand. "I'll cover you, get yourself into the store, I'll follow behind you." He watched as Faye took a gun from one of the fallen men.
"I'm not helpless Spike." She wrinkled her nose together and shot the man at the end of the alley before he shot Spike. His brown eyes widened and he looked back at Faye.
"Impressed are we?" She smirked, a gleam of satisfaction in her voice.
"No, shocked that I didn't notice him." Spike said nothing more as he dodged behind a dumpster and ran out into the open street. Faye's eyes danced around as she watched him extend his arms out to either side, and in a spinning, motion began to fire. A blanket of night held everyone captive to the dim light and crisp air. She watched the little red sparks flew out of the barrel of his two guns with each calculated shot.
The few people who outside screamed and ran into nearby stores that were still open as they heard the shots fired. Each bullet hit an intended target, killing the person, or sending them to the ground. Not a shot missed his intended targets, and no stays flew into the small crowd of people who still dared to watch this twisted spectacle of light and danger. Faye's eyes fixed on him. She was amazed by his skill and awareness of the situation. She made sure no one was behind her before she ran up to him.
Spike's eyes blazed with fury and he shook his head. "No!" Faye shouted. "I'm staying with you Spike!" She shot at one of the gunmen. He fell backwards screaming in pain.
"Faye, damn it, run already!" he stopped firing long enough to shove her away. Faye stumbled, but remained standing. Spike fired again, as he heard Faye scream as a stray bullet from one of Spike's targets grazed her leg. Spike's mussels tensed as she fell. He ducked down and took out one of the last men standing nearby. "Faye!" She shook.
Faye lay on her side, gritting her teeth she forced back the tears and turned, looking over at Spike. His brown eyes were scared, and he staggered over to her side. "It hurts." She choked.
Spike nodded and looked around. A man fired from the roof of the hotel. Spike narrowed his eyes, and for a second had that serpent after its pray look again as he aimed, and then fired his last shot. Faye closed her eyes as he plummeted to the ground below. His body slammed into a parked car, and sent off a chain reaction of alarms from the surrounding cars, and screams from the onlookers. Sirens rang in the distance. Jack came running out of the hotel with men chasing behind. "Where is he?" Jack seethed with hate as his eyes scanned over the fallen men and the pools of blood that streamed down to the sides of the road.
Spike grabbed Faye, and dragged her to her feet. "Come on." He ordered her, and they started in a quick-paced walk. She swallowed back a cry as they pushed past the doors and entered a dimly lit clothes shop.
The store right away was labeled as a very revealing launderette shop. In the back was a clearance wall lined with red stickers screaming sale, and to their left was a counter. The cashier screamed as Faye fell down in pain holding her bleeding leg. "Don't let them in!" Spike pointed towards the line of cars. Men shouted, guns held out looking around franticly for what they had lost.
She blinked and extended her arm pointing to them. It began to shake. "You…You're the two that are on television." She stammered with her speech as she pointed up to the small television screen hanging from the ceiling.
Spike rolled his eyes. "Please, don't listen to what they're saying. Just lock the doors and close the store until we leave!" He gritted his teeth and looked back as they dashed by. Spike ducked down and covered his head, shielding Faye.
She hesitated. There were four other people in the store. There was an older woman with a man who appeared to be her husband. The other two people were the store clerk, she looked about twenty years old, and then there was the little girl who looked like she about four or five years old. Spike looked at the clerk again and noted that the little girl was her daughter. "Please, let us go…I was just going to by something for my wife's birthday!" The man quivered in fear.
Spike arched an eyebrow up at him. "You're safer in here if you ask me buddy." Spike sighed as the girl ran over to the front of the store and locked the door. She was tall with pink, dyed hair. She wore a black fishnet top. Her pants were black and baggy, with various tassels, and buckles. "Thank you," He helped Faye up and sat her on the counter.
He shoved the baskets of lip-gloss and hanging bracelets off and gave himself some room to look at her wound. The older woman approached Spike and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I used to be a nurse."
Spike looked her over. Her nails were long and blue, and her hair was platinum blonde. The little girl poked Spike in the side. She had her thumb stuck in her mouth, and smiled at him, waving. Spike smirked and waved down at her. "Hey, what's your name?" He knelt down. As long as the kid wasn't crying they'd spare themselves some time.
"Kiki," she slurred her words together. Kiki's hair was long, with flowing blonde curls. Her eyes were crystal blue, and her cheeks were spotted with small little freckles.
"That's a very pretty name—" Faye cried out and clawed at the counter as the woman tore at her pants so she could get a better look at her injury. Spike looked up at Faye who wiped away a few stray tears.
"What's yours?" She plopped herself on the ground and stared up at Spike with a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes.
He blinked for a moment. "Spike," he sighed and looked over at the man who clutched a pink blouse in his hands. "We're not going to hurt you…" He muttered and stood taking one of the shirts on sale and handed it the man's wide who wiped away some of the blood from Faye's wound.
She bit down on her tongue. "It hurts, please just—" She screamed as the woman pressed down hard on the wound. Spike gritted his teeth and jolted to his feet and over towards Faye, and covered her mouth. He closed his eyes as she bit down on his hand. Her breathing was harsh, but as long as she wasn't alerting anyone to where they were, he was fine with it.
"Miss," the woman looked at the store clerk. "You might want to take your daughter to the back while I take care of this."
She nodded and took Kiki's hand and without a word complied with her request. Faye looked back at Spike with pleading eyes. "It's okay," he soothed, and pulled his hand away from her mouth. She leaned into his chest. Spike sighed and cradled her, waiting for the woman to finish.
"She should be fine, but I'd take her to a hospital." She looked to the girl again as she walked back without her daughter. "Do you have a first aid kit?"
The girl nodded and walked behind the counter and pulled out a white tin box with a red cross on the top. "Here," she handed it to her.
The woman flipped back the lid with a light clang, and took out the bottle of rubbing alcohol. "Hold her still." She looked at Spike. Faye squirmed and tried to get away from her impending doom with pain, but sighed as Spike held her hands and forced her to look away by pressing his cheek against hers.
"Close your eyes Faye," Spike breathed. He glanced to his right; they would look inside the store soon. Faye kicked her right leg and screamed squeezing the death out of Spike's hands. "Stop it! It'll be okay…Just, don't scream…" Spike sighed and moved his hands to her face wiping away her tears.
She winced again. "It—"
"It's okay," he cut her off. "We'll be going in a few minutes." She took deep breaths and nodded her head.
"Leaving, she can't walk in this condition—"
"Yeah I can lady." Faye smiled as the clerk handed her a glass of water and two Advil. The woman wrapped the wound and handed Faye the kit.
"Take this and go then." She rippled her lips together. "Rest every hour or so, and change to wounds as it bleeds through, or twice a day at the very least."
Spike bowed his head. "Thank you."
Read + Review! What's in store for them now?! Bwahaha! +_+ ::glimmer of excitement in her eyes::
