A/N I am so sorry about deleting my original story, I was having problems with my computer and I…Kind of deleted the original story when it didn't register that I had altered it, I beg for your forgiveness and hope that you will re-read chapter 1. Just a warning it gets light hearted and then really dark! Please don't hate me Teefa….
Chapter 2: Realization
" Gallows, the color of blood doesn't match your eyes…." Whispered Virginia, her playful tone overshadowed by grief. Gallows' smiled faded and he blinked at Virginia a couple of times.
"Virginia…"
She draped her sleeve over her hand and wiped the blood off of Gallows' face gently. Gallows' vision blurred and then wavered, a tear rolled silently down his cheek and then fell down to the ground.
Virginia watched as the tear fell and was overcome by the emotion of helplessness.
(He's hurting so bad and I can't do a damn thing about it…)
She reached out a comforting hand and Gallows took it, his huge hand enveloping hers. A warm flame licked at Gallows torn heart and a true smile crossed his face, Virginia noticed this and smiled back, her eyes alight with kindness.
( I understand now Virginia….)
Gallows gently pulled his hand away and caressed Virginia's face, Virginia closed her eyes and accepted his touch. Little did he know, he was smearing blood all over Virginia's cheek, the fact that he had just killed two people had completely slipped his mind.
( The blood is so warm…)
The shudder that glided through her body was completely unintentional, and she opened her eyes
to gaze meaningfully at Gallows. It was too late, however, the involuntary shudder gave the entity the perfect opportunity to impress its views upon Gallows' already unstable confidence.
She is disgusted by you Gallows! Can't you see that?
(………)
Gallows pulled his hand away and glared at her balefully, his eyes darkening almost to black. Virginia gasped and stumbled backwards, nearly tripping on her own two feet in the process.
"Gallows, what's wrong with you?!' she gasped, trying to make her heart slow down. Gallows smiled coldly and pulled out his gun. Virginia reached up and touched her blood stained face, shuddering as she did so. Gallows pointed his shot gun at her head, his smile fading.
" Blood is your color dear.. you should wear it more often…" spat Gallows venomously, unlocking the safety. Virginia's eyes widened and then narrowed, she was not going to go down without a fight. She pulled out her two pistols and aimed them at Gallows head. A confused and slightly worried look crossed Gallows' face. The look in her eyes indicated that she meant business, and Gallows was quite aware of this.
" I won't die, not at your hands, I'll wipe the floor with you before you even pull the trigger.." seethed Virginia, unlocking both of the safety's on her two guns. Gallows raise an eyebrow and dropped the gun to his side, a small smile cracked his face and he whistled with admiration.
"Tough words, little lady, but can you back them up?"
(You damn fool! Of course she can back them up, she is one of the fastest ARM handlers that I know!)
I am intrigued!
"Well Gallows, it's time to put up or shut the fuck up, choose, I don't have all night!" snapped Virginia, snapping her wrist so that her guns clanked together menacingly.
( What has come over her? Why is she acting this way? Did you do something to her? Answer me!)
I did nothing to the girl, I think that's she's doing this because she hates you!
(…No…Virginia is not capable of hating…)
Why don't you ask her?
(Fine, I will, but don't expect her to answer the way that you want her to answer!)
Heh, fine….
Gallows dropped his gun to the ground and watched as Virginia's eyes followed it's decent. After if had hit the ground with a clatter, Virginia looked up at him and smiled a little.
" So, you want to talk, I'm happy!" she placed her guns in the holster and took a step closer to him, noticing that his eyes were brightening up a little.
" I'm.. glad…" whispered Gallows, looking mournfully down at his shot gun.
"You don't seem glad…." Said Virginia carefully, trying hard not to set him off again.
" I am, it's just that I have a lot on my mind…" snickered Gallows ruefully, pulling a strip of bloody fur from his chest. Virginia forced herself not to react to this disgusting act and continued to look at him steadily. Gallows, noting this intent look, flashed her a warm smile and dropped his hands down to his side.
" Are you all right?"
Gallows nodded his head 'yes', but his eyes said something entirely different.
" What's wrong Gallows? Don't lie to me and tell me it's nothing!" exclaimed Virginia, trying to mask her irritation the best that she could. Gallows closed his eyes and sighed a little.
"I'm losing my mind…"
Virginia shook her head and put her hand on his shoulder, he looked at her hand and said nothing.
" You are not losing your mind, Gallows, stop talking like that!"
Gallows opened his eyes and put his hand on top of hers, his breath catching in his throat.
"I'm….scared…"
"I know, Gallows, I'm scared too."
He removed his hand from hers and looked at it mournfully, a surge of emotion tearing at his heart.
"I've done so much , I've hurt so many, I really don't deserve to live…"
He felt Virginia's hand twitch on his shoulder and looked down at it, to his surprise it was shaking.
He looked at her and saw that there were tears in her eyes. A wave of pity crashed into him and reached out to put his hand to her face, and then, remembering that his hands were bloody, dropped it back down to his side. Virginia stared down at his hand and the removed her hand from his shoulder, causing Gallows to feel cold again, it seemed that her hand had produced the only source of warmth for him.
" Stop it…" sobbed Virginia, closing her eyes and bowing her head down and to the right.
"Do you hate me?" asked Gallows, not knowing what else to do or say. Virginia's eyes flew open and she looked at him with utter surprise. She had not been expecting that!
"No, Gallows, I don't hate you… and … I never will…" she said, walking up to him and pulling him into an unexpected embrace, ignoring the gore that pressed wetly against her white blouse.
(Ah, damn it, that's gonna be one nasty stain!)
After a couple of shocked seconds, Gallows returned the embrace, trying hard to ignore the ranting in his skull. Trust me, my friend, that was a TREMENDOUS task, considering that he entity was strong.
"How can you not hate me after all of the things that I did?" whispered Gallows into her hair.
(Tainting.. I'm tainting her…tainting…disgusting…)
"Gallows, I know that it wasn't you pulling that trigger, I also know that you are to kind hearted to be truly evil! You are Gallows, not a demon, not a monster, just good old Gallows.."
"…. Virginia …."
"Gallows, you can go through the rest of your life regretting what you have done, but that won't change the fact that you did it…"
Virginia pulled away and smiled at the downtrodden young man.
" Although, in my opinion at least, you really have nothing to regret!"
Gallows said nothing and let his smile do all the talking.
Oh come ON, you aren't taking her seriously are you? You…
( Shut up…) Thought Gallows pleasantly, happy that he had some degree of control.
"Your words are so pleasant…I really don't want you to stop talking…"
Virginia laughed and pushed a strand of wayward hair from her face.
" I wish that Jet thought like that! He always says that I talk too much!"
Gallows face darkened and Virginia realized that she had made a mistake.
"Jet is a fool…" growled Gallows, tightening his hand into a fist.
( NO! I'm losing him again!)
"I'm sorry Gallows…" whispered Virginia nervously, stuffing her shaking hands behind her back.
" You shouldn't be sorry for someone else's incompetence! Jet is a punk and you deserve better!"
Like who Gallows? You? Don't make me laugh, a woman like her would never love a murderer and a whore like you! And even if she did, the love would be short-lived, you would be better off with that slut Claudia! Gallows winced at the harshness of the entities voice and then started to get angry.
( I don't recall asking for your opinion….)
The voice said nothing but Gallows felt a wave of indignation flow through him.
"You really think so?" asked Virginia, snapping Gallows out of his train of thought.
"Yes, you do, I don't know who would be perfect, but I'm sure you will find someone…"
There was silence and then:
"What do YOU think about me?" inquired Virginia, trying to hide her shaky voice in a whisper.
(Now, how do I answer THAT one?)
Simple, tell her that you think she is disgusting and be done with it!
(There you go expressing what you feel, and here is me not giving a DAMN!)
Again, there was silence and then a pang of rage from the entity.
" I think that you are a great woman…." Responded Gallows, choosing his words carefully.
"Really?" said Virginia, bowing her head nervously.
"Of course! I wouldn't lie to you, now would I!?" laughed Gallows warmly.
Virginia sheepish expression fell into a frown and she looked at Gallows.
(I don't know any more, what ever has you is changing you…piece by piece it's ripping your soul and humanity away, just like a vulture would peck the meat from its preys bones…) She shuddered at the gruesome analogy and blinked at Gallows, trying her best to read him.
"No Gallows, I guess that you wouldn't…"
Gallows noticed the lie right away, he wasn't stupid, and the fact that she was trying to pull the wool over his eyes made him angry! He glared at her and then smiled a smile that could have frozen the Devil's blood.. Virginia looked at him uneasily, quite aware that she had screwed up yet again..
"You think that I would, huh?" Growled Gallows, his hand reaching out to grab Virginia's throat, Virginia snarled and jumped back! She knew that murderous look in his eyes…
(I don't think so!)
"Not this time!" she snapped, shooting out her leg in a swift kick and catching Gallows in the knee! Gallows knee, popped out of place and with a scream, he feel down to the ground. With an angry curse, she shot her hand out and grabbed his hair. All of the sudden Gallows eyes….transformed, there was no other way to describe it, the pupils dilated so that only the icy blue of his eyes were showing, the whites of his eyes glowed with an inhuman light. Virginia gasped and let go, completely forgetting the reason she was angry. Gallows looked up at her and smirked, and then looked at his leg with the same twisted expression. Still smiling insanely, he grabbed his knee and relocated it, sending a sickening crack through the cold night air. Virginia watched in horror, her blood frozen in her veins, there was no way in HELL that the real Gallows could do something like that without wanting attention! No, this wasn't Gallows, this WAS NOT Gallows Carradine! She pulled out her guns and aimed it at his head, He shook his head and stood up slowly, his face twisted into a gargoyle expression.
"You have just fucked up, sister…" snarled Gallows (?), removing his gun from its cradle.
(Yeah, just screwed your self royally….Oh yes you did…….YOU STUPID BITCH)
(Ah, blood shed…..love it….
(Virginia, damn it, RUN!)
Virginia and Gallows stood in the state of checkmate, Gallows had his gun pointed at her stomach, while she had her guns pointed at his head. Whoever made the first move would live and the runner up would get the lovely prize of death. Their eyes met and locked, the animosity between the two, radiated in angry waves around them, both felt the rush of adrenaline and each had their reason for living….
( I won't lose to this DEMON! I don't care if I DO have to kill Gallows, I'll win….and he won't…)
(If I kill her, I will be free! I will go to Simulacrum and purge the evil that lurks there and then go home, bathed in the blood of my enemies, and if need be, my allies! You will not STOP me, Virginia!)
(Kill me Virginia, protect yourself….you mean more to me then anything in this cold world…I just wish that I could have told you……Then….then……)
Yeah, I know, a little short…I promise the next Chapter will be much longer and gorier…and yes, Gallows is going to get hurt A LOT more! ^ ^ Bye!