Disclaimer: I don't own it, and never will. (Sniffles) Just leave me alone okay?!
Rating: PG-13
Summary: It's "present time" at the warehouse, Astrea tries to ditch Jarod, and Broots goes looking for our favorite empath.
Feedback: (Shadow Elf has gotten over her fear of the wookiee, and is now traveling through space towards a new planet called Tatooine with the popular-but-hated Han Solo)
[Points at dashboard] "What's that?"
Han: (For the fifteenth time) A dashboard.
"And that?"
Han: Chewbacca.
"And that?"
Han: (under his breath) My god, she's worse than a five-year-old.
"Oooo, hey what that?" [CRASH!] "Oops."
Review Returns:
Molly Morrison: Yeah, I made a boo-boo with the coffee thing. I was looking for a synonym for coffee, and my computer came up with "hot drink" so I inserted that, and only after I'd posted it did I realize that it totally screwed up my earlier description of the beverage. I'm glad that you're reading this with such a scrupulous eye that you're able to catch things like that. Ten points to you!
Ann: You're welcome! ;)
Pez###?: Aw, you're just saying that. [Blushes and looks shyly away]
Lizz3: I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far, and believe me, I want Astrea to get better just as much as you do. Hope you like the next chapters as well!
P.S I was scared by "faked-nice" Cox too! ;)
Quote:
"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity."
--- Albert Einstein
***********************************ShadowElfBard***********************************
8:32 AM, Friday
Blue Cove, Delaware
Abandoned Warehouse Near The Docks
(Ms. Parker)
"I'm going to kill him!" I scream at the top of my lungs for about the third time in the past hour, kicking a doll and sending it flying across the room.
"Not if I get to him first," I hear my twin grumble, his arms folded as he sits on the floor at the back of the room.
Over on the blow-up couch, Sydney just sighs and shakes his head sadly.
I've been doing nothing since we got here besides paced, screamed, and raged. It's still such a shock that Jarod actually had the balls to do this to us. To me. I'm surprised that he actually went through with it, I really am. Because to lock us in this Dr. Seuss hell, this bright and cheery room of torture, he has sealed his fate. Just for this, I am going to hunt his ass down, catch him, beat him into a bloody pulp, and drag him to the sublevels and let Raines play with him. I am seriously that pissed off right now.
And I have good reason to be too! I remember I asked him about food, you know, what we'd eat. He said he left it in the toy box. Hah! What a laugh. We opened it last night, and we found his "food". Eight pounds of Pez and Twinkies. Pez and Twinkies for Christ's sake! That's lethal poison to someone like me! I can't even look at the stuff, much less eat it!
So now I'm bored, (because I sure as hell won't watch the "Care Bears" DVD's) I'm hungry, and the stupid "It's A Small World" song seeping out of the hidden speaker is driving me insane.
And I'm still locked in with Lyle.
Damn it.
"How many more hours Sydney?" Lyle moans.
The psychiatrist checks his watch. "I'm afraid we still have four and a half more hours of waiting before we receive the next clue."
"Noooo," he groans pathetically, futilely clutching his rumpled brown hair.
The toy that Wonder boy had referred to, the one that would turn on every nine hours and that would give us a clue on how to get out is, unsurprisingly, a talking Curious George stuffed animal. Jarod has messed with its voice box and inner mechanisms, and so now, in precise nine-hour intervals, it flashes to life, and stands and chants the clue in a badly rhymed poem. It had last turned on at the godly hour of four am, and will, if my math is correct, be coming alive to haunt us at eleven.
Oh goody, goody, gumdrops.
I can still hear that terribly cheery and cartoon-like voice in my head.
"Cree craw,
Toad's foot
Geese walk
Barefoot,
To place
Of glutton
Dig quickly,
Push button"
The place of the glutton. Oh how wonderfully clever Jarod. Well, we went to the toy box, (AKA 'place of glutton') and after digging through all of the candy we found that the toy box had no bottom. The bottomless box is super glued over a spot on the floor where, incidentally, a bright shiny red button is placed. We pushed it, and there was some whirring noise that momentarily drowned out the song from hell, but that was it. The doors didn't open. Which means, of course, that we'll have to wait here longer.
I'm gong to kill him.
"Ms. Parker?" Sydney calls over to me, causing me to whirl around. "I meant to ask you about what Jarod said to you earlier."
"Jarod said a lot of things Freud," I hiss. "What are you asking about specifically?"
He looks at me like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm asking about the reference to the gift Ms. Parker. The one he said would be under the tree."
I roll my eyes upward. "What are you talki-" My eyes go wide as it comes back to me in a flash.
His eyes then twinkle in an almost alluring tenderness, as he looks straight at me, all mockery gone from his face. "The present's under the tree Ms. Parker."
"I'd forgotten," I whisper, mostly to myself.
And I had. I'd forgotten the strange comment reserved for me, and I'd forgotten the look he'd given me when he'd said it. But, what am I going to do about it now that I've remembered?
"Presents?" My brother questions from the side of the room. "The lab rat bought gifts?"
I glance over at the Christmas tree, and see three neatly wrapped gifts. "Yep. He's a regular Saint Nick."
"Well are we going to open them?" Lyle stands up, extremely interested now.
I look over at Sydney but he shakes his head. "It's your call Parker."
"Of course it is," I mutter irritably. "It always is, isn't it?" Sighing, I throw my hands up in the air. "All right kiddies, go on. Santa's come a day early."
We approach the tree and the gifts underneath hesitantly, not totally sure what to expect. Syd checks the nametags on each one and, sure enough, there's one for each of us. How perfectly predictable.
Once every gift has gone to its respective owner I turn to my brother. "Why don't you open yours over there Lyle?" I suggest with a sneer, pointing to the other side of the room. "Jarod might have placed a bomb in it and I just got my hair done."
"Har, har, har. You're a riot," my twin says with overdone sarcasm, rolling his eyes towards the ceiling.
Freud has ignored out little exchange and is already halfway done to unwrapping his gift. Interested, Lyle and I watch.
Suddenly Sydney's face breaks out in a grin. "Hah, hah! A Beethoven collection!" he holds up the CD's thoughtfully. "I've been searching for one, but they've all been too expensive."
I suppress a groan, realizing that Jarod has probably used Centre finances for every gift he's purchased. "That's great Syd. Let's let Mr. Thumbs go next."
Lyle's lip curls at my nickname, but he opens his present without complaint.
When it's fully unwrapped and held up for all to see, I burst out laughing. Syd tries to stifle his amusement, but it's not done very well and I can see the smile that threatening to burst free.
Because my brother was given a thumb. A rubber, fasten on, life-size toy thumb…with its fingernail painted red.
I turn away from the sight, trying to calm down as Lyle shakes with rage, and then look at the small parcel in my hand. I can't help it, I'm intrigued, and I pull at the silver ribbon. Then, carefully, I strip off the beautiful white and blue Christmas paper, and find myself faced with a plain, ordinary, and undecorated brown box. For some reason my heart is pounding now, perhaps from excitement, and I pull up the lid of the small package and dig through the bubble wrap.
With a shaking, trembling hand I hold up the small ceramic figure inside.
And my heart melts.
It's Faith. Right down to her kind and innocent smile. Her hair, her eyes, her…. Everything! It's her, fully and completely. And…and she's an angel. She has small, white wings, and a golden halo atop her head. She smiling, she could even be laughing, and I feel the need to do the same. I hold up the bottom of the figure, and notice that something's inscribed on the underside. I wipe frantically at tears that could form at any moment as I read it.
Have faith Ms. Parker. Have faith.
~~~Jarod
Maybe… maybe I won't kill him just yet.
9:26 AM, Friday
Blue Cove, Delaware
Holiday Inn
Room 109
(Jarod)
I found her asleep in the snow. The poor thing was shaking as she slumbered, and bits of ice on her cheeks showed that she'd cried herself to sleep. Her lips were blue, her face was a sickly pale white, and she seemed to be shivering herself into hypothermia. I carried her back in to the hotel with a fatherly reverence, and scattered crowds raised hands to their mouths as they saw how cold she was. When she'd run out she'd been wearing nothing more than jeans and a t-shirt, and the effects of the choice in attire were evident. After all, it was eight below outside.
And so I'd carried her into the room, even despite the annoying voice in my head that warned against this, saying that she was still dangerous, and I let her sleep on the bed. She was still in wet clothes however, but I wasn't exactly sure how to deal with that and reasoned that she wouldn't be asleep for much longer so she could take care of it then.
What I hadn't counted on was that she might try to leave.
"Are you sure she was asleep when you checked on her Arthur?"
"Yes I'm quite sure, sleeping like an infant she was." He rubs his chin. "Then again, I really didn't check that closely…"
I moan and grab at my hair, frustrated that I hadn't foreseen this. Now what do I do? Where would she go? Heck, why did she leave?
"All right, we need to check outside the building. Arthur, you search the east side and south side, and I'll check the north and west side."
He nods. "All right." Then he pauses, furrowing his brow. "Um, which ways are those again?"
I point out the directions and he smiles and sprints out of the room.
I follow after, jogging out into the hall, and I then turn left towards the exit. I run past various people and maids and apologize for quite a few run-ins, but am then past the main office and out into the frosty air. I scan my surroundings, trying to think of where I'd go if I was trying to leave out this way, and then realize she'd take for the element she knows best: the forest. There's a relatively large patch of woods past the parking lot and field, and as I begin moving in that direction I notice with delight that there are fresh footprints in the snow that are a good match for one of her build.
After two or three minutes of running, I'm in the middle of the forest, and I've reached a sudden and abrupt end to the footprints. I stand still for a moment, breathing in and out, and feeling ten times as tired as I normally would as a result of the rigid air. That's when it falls into place. I give a small smile and look up into the branches of a tree, spotting Astrea sitting on one of the thicker branches in a feral crouch.
"Hello Astrea," I say to her, immensely relieved that I was able to find her.
She stares at me with her large and enchanting eyes, her face betraying no more emotion then a cat would.
"Why did you come to look for me Jarod?"
I wrinkle my forehead in confusement. "Because I was worried about you."
"What reason would you have to be worried about me?" she says incredulously.
"You're my friend." I respond, wondering why the answer wasn't as obvious to her as it is to me.
She looks at me in disbelief. "Your friend? Jarod, I tried to kill you."
I smile and shake my head. "No you didn't. You were just caught up in the blood scent. You were put into a frenzy yes, but you wouldn't have killed me."
Suddenly her eyes seem to burst aflame and she jumps down what seems an immensely long way and ends up standing in front of me, on the verge of tears.
"And how would you know?! You didn't go through it Jarod, you don't know what it's like."
I laugh. "I don't need to go through it Astrea, I can pre-"
"No." the austerity of the word cuts off my laughter. "No Jarod, you can't. Not everything can be pretended." She exhales harshly. "You of all people should know that."
I'm baffled by her words and, surprisingly, slightly angry. "So what were you planning on doing huh? Running away?"
She narrows her eyes. "I was going on my own. This problem of mine is mine alone and I shouldn't have tried to drag you into it."
"Well it's too late for that isn't it?" I sneer, trying psychological tactics and hoping she won't see through them. "This 'problem' of yours is now both of ours. You brought me into this, and I'm staying. You can't boot me out."
She gapes at me.
"Besides," I continue, "you want me a part of this. Otherwise I wouldn't be here right now."
"What?" she hisses angrily.
I fold my arms. "I wouldn't have found you here if you didn't want finding. You're too good of a pretender, especially with those added on feral skills. Either subliminally or conscientiously you wanted me to find you."
She clenched her fists at her sides. "I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't be that selfish."
"It's not selfish to want help with a problem!"
"It is when the problem can get the helper killed!"
We stare each other down.
A breeze picks up and swirls the snow.
And she sighs.
"Jarod, I don't want you to come with me because every time you do, you get into trouble. You came close to losing your very soul last time."
"But I didn't," I point out softly. "Because of you."
She raises a hand to her forehead and holds it, like she wants to tear out the words from it. Then she looks straight into my eyes, her heart almost bleeding before me.
"But the danger is different this time Jarod." She speaks in a choked voice, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. "The danger isn't Lyle, or Raines, or losing you memory, this time it's me."
She lowers her head, clenching her eyes shut. "If I let my transformation take over right now, if I let that savage creature out of me, I'd attack you. And if you keep acting this way, completely ignoring everything I've said, I'd kill you."
I bite my tongue to keep from saying something in defense. She's partially right, but I can't let her do this by herself. I have to switch tactics.
"You can't go this alone. You just can't. I know better than anyone right now how much you need the information in the Centre, and I know better than anyone how to go about getting it. You could be exposed and captured if you go by yourself, and if that happens then I'm in trouble too."
She stares up at me and I try to press on gently, knowing that I'm slowly progressing in this argument and trying to keep what ground I've gained.
I smile softly. "Besides, you know how stubborn I am. You couldn't just tell me not to follow you and expect me to do it. You can ask Ms. Parker about my mulish behavior." I wink at her. "She'd give you an earful."
I am graced with a grin that she tried to suppress, and realize that I've almost won. It's time for the coup de grace.
"Please Astrea, I'm going to go no matter what you say, but I'd like for your condolences. You called me, asking for my help, and I see that choice as the wisest thing you could have done at the time, and if you still hold true to that request, then I think that you'll benefit greatly."
She lowers her gaze, as if considering what I'm saying, and I step close and carefully embrace her. She returns my gesture, and I put my head on her shoulder, to whisper softly into her ear, "and besides, you left your present for Broots here. How do you think he'd feel about that?"
She laughs at this, and she sobs, and she surrenders.
And I just sigh silently in relief, and hold her closer as the wind picks up.
11:03 AM, Friday
Blue Cove, Delaware
The Centre
Somewhere In The Sublevels
The Air Ducts
(Broots)
"Angelo?" I call out in a whisper for about the fifteenth time. "Angelo are you there?"
Receiving nothing, which has been the pattern for the past hour, I groan softly and shine the flashlight into the direction I'll be heading next.
I still can't fully believe that I'm doing this. Raines will slit my throat and throw me to his dogs if he finds out what I'm doing, but I'm not sure which is scarier: facing Raines, or facing Willie. The way that sweeper was acting freaked me out. It was worse than when Bridgett tried to coerce me into going against Ms. Parker. The way she tried to seduce me still gives me the shivers.
I wonder if Willie actually meant to leave the door open when he left Raines' office. I mean, he did say he wanted me to give Astrea the info, but did he guess that I might need to leave to get it? Well, if he didn't, then I'll just consider it a lucky break and leave it at that.
God where is that empath?
"Angelo!" I nearly shout, growing frustrated. "Where are you?!"
I give up. I lie down as best I can in the metallic tunnel and just close my weary eyes. I can't take this anymore. If Angelo doesn't want me to find him then fine. Willie will just have to deal with the fact that I can't inform Astrea of her sister, and I'll just have to pray that he doesn't put a bullet in my skull.
Suddenly a distant scampering catches my attention. I move as much as space allows me into a crawling position, and begin moving off in the direction of the sounds.
"Angelo? Is, is that you?"
I pause and squint my eyes in the darkness, scanning the small and enclosed area, and see a flash of a shoe before it slips around the corner up ahead. A grin breaks out on my face and I begin crawling more rapidly through the channel.
I can tell I'm getting closer to him, but at the same time I wonder if I'll be able to catch up with him. He knows these passageways better than some fathers know their children, and if he truly doesn't want to be found then I'm sure not going to be able to change that.
Realizing this and becoming desperate, I kick up the speed of my scuttle. Sweat pours out and dampens my face and clothing, and my thoughts are bouncing around as wildly as five-year-old's with pixie sticks. I reach another corner and as I turn I open my mouth to call out for the empath once more, when Angelo's face pops up in front of mine and I come to an abrupt halt.
His intense and slightly insane blue eyes bore into mine and I roughly swallow back saliva, shocked at his sudden appearance.
"Um…Hi," I manage weakly, trying to regain the ability to think clearly. I scratch the back of my head nervously. "I've been, uh, well I've been looking for you."
He blinks once. "Angelo knows."
"Oh." I fall silent, not really sure what to say next.
Luckily, Angelo fixes that little problem.
"Knew that you'd come asking about ex-Elf." He bobs his head like a bird. "Knew that you'd come."
"Well… great!" I say, finally relaxing slightly, though surprised that Angelo knows about Elf 17's name change. "Then you'll be able to-"
He shakes his head and the action cuts me off. "No," he says sadly, "cannot contact."
My mouth opens slightly and my eyebrows go up faintly in surprise. "But… why? I know you can contact her; you've done it before. Why won't you now?"
He gives me a look of regret and sorrow. "Must run its course. Angelo's interference not allowed."
"But Angelo!" I cry desperately," I need this info!"
He simply shakes his head once more to affirm his previous response, and then scurries off. However, I make no move to follow and simply watch as his form slowly disappears into the darkness of the channel, trying to push aside the chill that's crawled up my spine as a result of Angelo's ominous and unexpected words.
*****
"Darn empath. Darn frustrating empath," I grumble softly to myself as I continue my slow crawl back towards the sublevels.
Is he incapable of providing a straight answer? His speech is more confusing than a politician's, and reveals just as much information. Couldn't have just said 'no' could he? It had to be this prophecy like wording that makes no sense at all but that leaves the marrow in my bones frozen. The way he was talking almost made it seem as though there were higher forces involved, what with the whole: 'running it's course' and 'interference not allowed' thing.
I curse under my breath and shake my head, as if to dispel the previous thought. I have to stop thinking like that. Too many years at the Centre have made me paranoid. I have every reason to be of course, but I'm taking it to the point of obsession and I worry for my sanity.
I reach what I think is the vent I used to enter, and I stop and begin pushing against the opening, barely suppressing my grunts as I heave my weight against the grating.
The door swings open slowly and the squeaking of the hinges proclaims that I am now able to leave the claustrophobic tunnels. I squirm out; trying to push my body through a hole not made for humans, and finally make it. I close the door and stretch my muscles. Then, after dusting off some residue from my unpleasant trip, I start walking down the hallway towards Raines' office. I wonder if I left door unlocked. I sure hope so.
I think upon that for a moment or two as I continue my steady pace, trying to keep from focusing on my failure to communicate with Angelo, when I hear noises coming close. I ignore them at first, only hearing a far-off conversation, but then I freeze. Because what I hear next, scares me more then Angelo's messages ever could.
Because what I hear, is the familiar and unmistakable sound of squeaking wheels.
The wheels of Raines' oxygen tank.
I stand there, petrified, and my thought process comes to an abrupt halt. For a few terrifying seconds, with my mind held by fear, I'm even unable to breathe. And when time speeds up again, and I regain what little control I have, it's too late. Raines comes around the corner, walking side-by-side with one of the five most frightening people I know.
Mr. Cox.
What the hell is he doing here?
The two come fully into view and Raines cuts off in conversation, and just stands there. He closes his mouth and it forms a tight-lipped white line. His eyes narrow. Cox just raises a brow with mild curiosity.
I give the weakest and most pathetic smile of my life, and kick my wits into full gear. I have to think like Jarod… or try to anyways. Okay, give a believable reason as to why you're here. Give a believable reason as to why you're here. Give a believable-
"What, exactly is your reason for being here, Mr. Broots, and not working in my office." Raines demands in a surprisingly low but deadly voice.
I think I have something and I mentally gulp as I prepare myself for what must be the single best acting performance of my pitiable life.
"W-Working?" I question with as much false bravado I can muster. "I was go-going home sir."
If at all possible, Raines looks even more enraged, but for a moment I could have sworn I saw the beginnings of a smile on Cox's faces.
"What made you think you could go home?" Raines asks in an almost fiery rasp.
"You uh, you said so sir."
"WHAT?!"
I clear my throat silently and prepare for the worst. "Re-Remember sir? You said that I could spend Friday and S-Sunday with my daughter."
The veins are almost popping out of his neck now and he speaks in a lucid and concise voice that seems to be almost lethal in its extremity. "That, was Sunday and Saturday, Mr. Broots."
Beside him Mr. Cox hides a grin of amusement.
"It was? Are you sure?" I feel as though I'm drenched in sweat, and my knees are knocking together, but luckily it isn't visible to the man in front of me.
In response to my question Raines just glares.
"Oh," I say as sheepishly as I can. "I- I guess I'll be going then now."
And then, risking life and limb, I walk forward, and past Raines and Mr. Cox, my face drained of color and my heart pounding out the "Mmm Bop" song in my chest.
After finally reaching the office, and closing the door behind me, the enormity of what I just did sinks in, and I pass out.
************************************************************************************
H-Hope you enjoyed it, and… [Holds up a large silver shield and proceeds to hind behind it]
*From behind the shield in an extremely fast voice* give me feedback, read my other works and please for the love of all that is insane don't kill me for being late and short!!!!!!!!
---Talk to you later!