Author's Note: I would really like to apologize for taking so long with this story. This is exactly why I dislike writing as I post. I've been in such a … rut lately and I've had no inspiration for writing at all. My life is just so chaotic right now that I haven't even had time to sit at the computer for several hours and pound out a chapter. However, here it is: Chapter Four. I'm only planning on two more chapters after this, and the last one will probably be very lengthy.
I'd like to thank all the readers who reviewed my story, Longsama, Aquarius, Keiran, Shaeric Draconis and Silver Thorns, A Bloody Rose. Though I've had few reviewers with this story, every review means so much to me. It's amazing to get such wonderful feedback and know that people are enjoying my hard work. Also, I'd like to thankmy beta for going over this AFTER Iposted it...teehee. Iluvyou Reve! (FSF-FSF-FSF-FSF-FSF-FSF-FSF!)
Haunted Essence
By Praevisum
"Catch me as I fall
Say you're here and it's all over now
Speaking to the atmosphere
No one's here and I fall into myself
This truth drives me into madness
I know I can stop the pain if I will it all away"
Chapter IV: Whisper
"Alright, what do we have here?"
A stumpy grey-haired man in a white overcoat pushed back the vomit-inducing yellow curtain that hung loosely around an invisible bubble that encircled Wufei's hospital bed. Trekking closer to the moaning youth, clipboard beheld in a leathery tanned hand, the doctor smiled sympathetically at the boy, lines creasing a once young and square face.
"Puncture wound to the thigh, eh?" He read over the paper clipped to the brown board as he tilted his head up to peer through the lower half of his bifocals. Lowering his head once again and looking normally through the lens, his smile faded just slightly. "Well, let's have a look-see."
Wufei tried to hold still as the doctor rolled up the hospital gown he had been helped into earlier, much to his embarrassment.
"Ooh, and how did this happen?"
"A screwdriver," Wufei grit out painfully.
"I can tell." The doctor furrowed his brows at the orange plastic protruding out of his young patient's leg. "And how did this screwdriver come to puncture your thigh?"
"Quatre fell on me."
Here, the doctor looked suspicious.
"It was an accident," Wufei affirmed.
"Well, you just missed a main artery, lucky boy." The doctor still prodded around as blood leaked out around the metal in Wufei's wound.
"Lucky? I have a fucking screwdriver in my leg. How am I lucky?"
"I understand your stress, but you are lucky by means of being saved the horror of bleeding to death. If this screwdriver had been moved half an inch to my right, you would be dead right now, Mr. Chang."
"No!" A female voice called out from the hallway. "Sirs, you can't go in there! Sirs!"
The nauseating curtain was swung open further and one paled Quatre flew into the room with one apologetic Trowa flanking him.
"Excuse me, gentlemen, but—"
"What's wrong?" Wufei cut in.
"Well, I just called work, to let them know that there had been an accident at the site. And, well, Une asked 'what site' and I told her the Baxter Mansion. Then she said 'what are you talking about' yadda yadda, 'the Baxter Mansion was demolished a few months ago' blah blah, 'there were no new assignments this morning'."
"WHAT!" Wufei's face paled.
"I know. How can we have been in a mansion that was torn down? I don't know. But, this is more serious than we thought. If Heero and Duo are still stuck in there, and the place doesn't exist, they might not be able to get out." Concern dripped off Quatre's compassionate features as his eyes locked onto Wufei's cold, yet warm, ones.
"You're in no condition to go back there, but Quatre and I are," Trowa spoke up swiftly, his own wound in clean dressings. "So, we're going to go get them."
"And leave me here? Like hell."
"Wufei, they don't have much time. There's only about six hours until midnight. If we don't find a way to help them—"
"And just what exactly is going on here?" The doctor, having listened to the conversation, had assessed that the youths in the small enclosed area belonged in the mental ward on the eighth floor.
"Nothing that concerns you," Wufei snapped as he tried to sit up further, the pain shooting sparks down his nerves and exploding in his thigh with a burning numbness.
"As you are my patient—"
"We'll be back, we swear. We're not going to leave you here. They have to fix you up and by the time that's finished, well, I just don't know how long that will take. But, time is of the essence. Trowa and I have to figure out how to free Duo and Heero." Quatre's eyes pleaded with Wufei, begging to reason.
With a mighty sigh Wufei nodded his head in defeat.
"Fine, go. Just promise me you'll get them out—"
"Where is he?"
"Ma'am! Please, there's already—" The woman in the hallway's voice filtered into the little corner where Wufei was stationed.
Briskly, a Chinese woman wearing a red blazer and matching dress pants stepped into the room, jet-black hair tied into two tiny tufts at the back of her head. With hands on her hips she shook her head. "Oh, Wufei, what did you do this time?"
"This time!" Wufei shrieked. He didn't understand "this time" since there had never been another time as he was not accident-prone at all. That was Duo's department, not his.
"That's it. Everyone out!" The doctor's face turned a light shade of red as his voice rose, causing the occupants of the cubicle to jump due to surprise.
Trowa and Quatre nodded to Wufei and, in passing, said their goodbyes to Meilan as they made their way out, bent on returning to the Baxter Mansion (if it was still accessible as it was supposedly demolished) and freeing their friends.
"Well," Quatre heard as he shut the curtain behind him, "I'm his fiancée so I'm not going anywhere."
xx
A low grumble, that of a gurgling pit, slowly echoed in the otherwise silent and dusty room. With one brow quirked, Heero turned to his friend and placed the diary he was reading next to him.
"Getting hungry?"
Duo nodded as he looked down at his watch. It was a little after six in the evening and he hadn't touched a morsel of food since breakfast.
"Starving to be more exact. They've been gone a while, maybe I should go look for them and get some food while I'm at it." Duo went to stand, but was abruptly pulled back down to the hard floor.
"You're not going anywhere without me. If we get separated…Well, I can only assess that the house has lost the others. I won't risk losing you."
"Ah, c'mon!" Duo blushed as he looked away, refusing to make eye contact with Heero.
That boy obviously had no idea what his little statement had done to Duo, and how could he? As far as Duo knew - which was pretty far seeing as they had known each other since the middle of grade school - Heero had never had a crush on anyone or had never been affected by someone on that level. As far as he knew, little statements or glances never stirred in Heero the same emotions that were stirred in Duo every time Heero's name was mentioned. As far as Duo knew, Heero didn't have those sorts of emotions to stir and, therefore, would never understand why Duo always hoped for double meanings in things Heero said.
"I'll be fine on my own."
"Yeah, like Wufei was, and Trowa and Quatre. Don't kid yourself Duo. You go nowhere without me, got it?"
"Yeah, whatever," Duo grumbled.
As much as he was silently relishing in the protective manner in which Heero was bestowing upon him, Duo didn't want to be treated as a child. He wasn't about to let Heero go everywhere he went, especially if that everywhere was to the washroom. Duo had a hard enough time going in public restrooms when stalls separated him. How was he to go with someone standing over his shoulder?
"I mean it."
"I know, I know. Anyway, what have you found out?"
"Well, this one is useless." Heero tossed the diary he placed between Duo and himself behind him. "It's just Carl going on and on about the estate and how sick his father is and how he has to get married but doesn't want to because he's in love with Kallias. I have a half-assed theory on who killed Carl, though. See, Parthenia loved Kallias and Kallias loved her. Maybe she killed Carl so she could marry Kallias."
"But if that's the case then we can rule out Kallias being afraid of Carl's murderer, cuz he loved her so he wouldn't be afraid of her."
"That's true." Heero reached for another box, "but we don't know Kallias' nature. Maybe, after he realized what Parthenia was capable of, he grew to fear her."
"I don't know, Heero. All of our theories are so far fetched and just based on our guesses. I'm starting to wonder if we'll ever figure out how to get out of here. I'm starting to wonder if these journals have any meaning at all. What if we've wasted all this time on nothing?" Duo's helpless eyes begged for reassurance.
His entire visage was a contortion of worry, and it pained Heero. Duo's usually bright and enrapturing eyes were so lost in a sea of chaos that Heero feared Duo would drown himself.
"I…" Heero took in a deep breath. "I swear I'll get you out of here. I promise—"
"All these promises, Heero. We're in serious shit! And I doubt these stupid diaries have any real clues!" Duo whipped one of the diaries across the room; it hit a dresser drawer and thudded on the ground. "We've wasted so much time! Even if we did figure anything out, how the hell is that going to help us get out of here? What, 'we've figured our all your secrets, mighty ghost! Lead us out of this place!' No, Heero, it doesn't work like that. Admit it, we're fucked. We're totally and royally fucked!"
Heero reached a hand and placed it on Duo's trembling arm that, surprisingly, seemed to instantly calm the youth. Calmly, he spoke.
"Look, yes, we are in trouble. But whatever happens to you happens to me too." Heero grabbed Duo's chin, forcing their eyes to lock. "We're in this together and no matter what happens I won't let anything happen to you. Now, you need a break from all this. Let's go find you some food."
Heero stood up and outstretched a hand for Duo, who took it gladly and was helped to his feet. Together, the two of them left journals and pictures in an array in the large bedroom and walked down the hallway towards the staircase.
xx
"Hurry, Trowa. There's not that much time!" Quatre frantically checked his watch for the fifth time in twelve seconds.
The forty-five minute drive from the hospital to the Baxter Mansion was taking far longer than it was supposed to. Granted, the site was only five minutes out of town, but the Hospital was in the heart of the large city in which the boys resided and, therefore, took much longer to travel between the two.
"Quatre, I'm driving as fast as I dare right now." Trowa signalled, then switched lanes on the five-lane highway in order to make the next exit.
"I know. I just wish you dared to drive a little faster. I'm really worried about—"
"And I'm not? Have you ever thought about the crazy way we fell out of the sky, Quatre?" Trowa gave a tiny sharp glance in Quatre's direction. "The house practically kicked us out. Whatever is going on, Heero and Duo are going to have to face it alone—"
"You're giving up on them!" Quatre looked incredulously at Trowa, folding his arms across his chest and huffing.
"No, don't be ridiculous. I want to help, I really do. They're my friends, too. I'm just saying that whatever is going on, it involves them and not us. The house is seeing to that. We'll be there for them, don't you doubt that, to give them all the support they need, but I'm just not sure how much we'll be able to do for them." Trowa took one hand off the steering wheel and patted the part of Quatre's hand that wasn't tucked in his arm.
That small effort was enough to relax Quatre and he soon unfolded his arms, shyly daring to look Trowa in the eyes as they pulled off the highway. Quatre smiled just slightly when he noticed that Trowa was making no effort of taking his hands back, and he even blushed when he felt the sweet small caress of Trowa's fingers against his own.
It wasn't long before Trowa drove up the winding dirt road, shaded by giant maple trees, until they reached the large gates of the manor. Getting out of the car quickly, Quatre ran towards the gates and pushed with all his might until they swung open enough to drive through them. He trotted after the jeep as Trowa parked behind the fountain of Diana.
Relieved that the manor still stood, Trowa slid out of his vehicle and joined Quatre at the boarded window.
xx
"So, do you have any clue where the other three went?"
Duo took each step down the staircase one agonizingly slow step at a time.
Heero sighed. "Actually, I have no idea but I know they're just gone."
"Gone?"
"Yeah. They're gone. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I know we won't find them."
"Ever again?" Duo's voice dulled to a whisper.
Heero gave Duo a pointed look. He reassured his friend that, somehow, they'd find each other again though all logic and reason told him otherwise. Heero knew there was a chance that whatever was happening may prevent himself and Duo from seeing their friends, or the outside world, ever again. However, Heero knew that, no matter what was to come, he wouldn't let Duo face it alone. They were in it together and he would stay by Duo's side regardless of the circumstances.
It was then Heero noticed just how much he was protecting Duo and just how many promises he made himself and Duo that they were going to stay together. It was then Heero noticed how much he meant every word. It was then Heero realized he had a burning longing to reach out and encircle his arms around Duo and hold him safe. And so he did.
Reaching slowly, but not as slowly as Duo was trudging down the stairs, Heero's fingertips grazed Duo's shirt as he snaked his arms around his ribcage. Duo jumped at the sudden contact, and lost his footing on the stairs. He began to tumble forward, brining Heero with him, as he fell down the last four steps. Heero, falling with him, added to Duo's momentum and they crashed into the wall at the bottom of the stairs, giving way to a hidden staircase that ascended.
Crashing down to the floor at the bottom of the first hidden step, Duo turned on Heero.
"What the hell was that for? You pushed me!"
"I…I…" Heero didn't have the courage to tell Duo he was attempting to hug him. "I tripped, sorry. I didn't mean to push you."
"Well," Duo started, obviously irritated by Heero's clumsiness but not wanting to seem like an ass and not forgive him when Heero looked so blatantly apologetic, "just watch where you're going next time."
Heero stood from the entanglement of limbs on the floor and helped Duo to his feet. Both boys faced the stairway, gazing up at its tremendous height and noting how it got darker and more foreboding the farther it went.
"Well? What do you think is up there?" Duo motioned to the stairs with a nod of his head, as if he needed to point out the object of his inquiry.
Heero shrugged, suddenly realizing how odd their fall had been. The more he thought about it, the more he remembered feeling as if he may have been pushed down the stairs, rather than tripping.
"I don't know, but I have a feeling we were meant to find out. C'mon." Heero began to ascend the stairs, Duo looking up after him.
"Aw, but…I'm hungry," the braided boy whined. "You promised me food! Heero, I'm serious I…oh, fine." Slowly, Duo ascended the stairs after Heero, stomping slightly with every step. "But, don't think I'm okay with this."
Once the two boys reached the top of the stairs they were faced with a large wooden door about three times as wide as any other door and two times as high. Perplexedly, Heero knocked and tapped on the door, trying to find a handle or some sort of way to open it.
"What the hell could possibly be behind that thing? It's massive."
Heero's hand caught on the door. The concave dip was so subtle that it was almost invisible. With a mighty heave, Heero slid the door into the wall and revealed a dark and stuffy room.
"Something tells me this room wasn't part of the tour when they displayed this house as a museum." Duo brought his hand up to his head and raked his fingers through his bangs, surveying the room.
Heero turned to Duo then turned to the room and started to enter.
"Something tells me you're right."
Duo followed Heero into the dusty and dirty room. Cobwebs hung form the ceiling, so saturated in dust they looked like pieces of thin rope. The floorboards creaked with every step and every step created prints in the dust blanket that clung to the wood.
"I wonder what this room was used for."
"Confinement."
Puzzled, Duo faced Heero, his brow furrowed.
"Why do you say that?"
"Look."
Duo's gaze followed Heero's slim and pointed finger and his eyes settled upon a small soiled coloured bed that was moments from falling apart. Though the bed proved nothing of confinement, the shackles chained to the wall above did. Disgusted, Duo moved closer for a better look.
"What kind of sickos lived in this house?"
"Carl."
Duo nodded. "Mmmm, point taken."
Exploring the room further, Heero came to stand at a huge circular window that overlooked the front yard. Below, Heero could see the iron gate and the fountain and…Wufei?
"That can't be right," Heero mumbled to himself.
The figure flickered out of sight just as soon as Heero saw it, but he swore he saw Wufei. Did that mean the others were safe, outside the house? Had they found a way to get out? Did that mean the door had returned? And, if it had, why didn't Wufei return to alert the others? It just didn't make sense.
Suddenly, there was a loud shrieking creak, like that of wood against wood. Heero turned to look over his shoulder just in time to see a wardrobe from the other side of the room detach itself from its position and fly towards him.
"HEERO!"
Just in time, Heero moved out of the way and the wardrobe crashed into the wall with a tremendous thud that would have crushed anyone standing in the way.
"Goddamn it, Yuy, you're right!" Duo ran over and stood by Heero, one hand on his hip and the other on Heero's shoulder. "You okay?"
All Duo got for a response was a nod.
"Something is trying to separate us. Something is trying to take us from each other. Well, I'm not going to stand idly by! That's it!" Duo grabbed Heero's shoulders tight and turned him so they were face to face. "From now on, I'm not going to permit you to let me out of your sight. Wherever I go, you're taking me with you. Whatever I do, we're not doing it alone—"
"Finally you agree—"
And Duo did agree, finally. He had to admit that he was starting to freak out a little. What if Heero hadn't moved out of the way? He suddenly pictured a very squished Heero pinned between a wall and a wardrobe. As his morbid mind was apt to do, he always pictured his beloved ones injured.
"I'm serious, Heero. We're stuck together now."
"Duo, that's what I've been trying to tell you—"
"Nope. I won't have any arguing now. You're just going to have to deal with the fact that I'm sticking to your hip like glue."
Heero shook his head in exasperation, not that he minded sticking to Duo like glue. Actually, he was rather fond of that idea.
"I'm frightened by what I see
But somehow I know that there's much more to come
Immobilized by my fear
And soon to be blinded by tears
I can stop the pain if I will it all away."
TBC