Blood. Smell the lovely rich warm blood. So much noise and so little time. Got to get enough for the wall. The Wall. The Wall likes the blood.
Johnny smiled and quickly disposed of another irritant. They were so easily destroyed, so fragile. Humans were ill-equipped for survival, really. It was a miracle they'd survived so long. Their intellect had never really been that great to begin with, and with each passing day they seemed to lose even more of the precious few brain cells they still possessed. Johnny mused on this as he collected more blood, not really paying attention to what he was doing.
And then the thoughts set in. What am I doing? How can I have resorted to this? Where did I go wrong? He tried to block it out, but like floodwater it seeped through the cracks in his defenses and slowly permeated his brainmeats.
He stopped and crouched low to the ground, holding the sides of his head. The chained adolescent that cringed in front of him gradually relaxed as he realized that his captor was completely still and therefore not likely to kill him yet. Relaxation turned to uneasiness as the man still did not move.
"Uh, dude. Are you okay?"
A perfectly dim-witted question, but it had to be asked. Quite obviously a man who slaughtered humans like insects with alarming regularity in his basement was NOT okay, but something else was wrong with him. The madman didn't stir. His captive poked him with his foot, but the expected loss of the appendage never occurred.
"Um...Well, then. Uh...wanna talk about it?"
No answer. The man began to rock back and forth, muttering unintelligibly to himself. Small gasps of air accompanied the muttering, and the captive began to wonder if perhaps he was having a nervous breakdown.
Don't talk to me don't talk to me donttalktomedonttalktomedonttalktome.
Come, now, boy, why don't you get out of this stuffy old basement and have some REAL fun?
NO! GETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUT!
Stop bothering him, Eff. Listen to me, Nny. See that knife? Pull it across your throat. End your suffering once and for all.
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
Suddenly, a small, light step was heard above them. A young woman skittered down the stairs and into the room, her hair finally catching up with her and falling loosely about her shoulders. Her bright violet eyes took in the scene at hand, and she immediately released the captive.
"Get out of here. My father is in no mood to entertain."
Since she said this in French, the boy didn't understand a word of it, but her cold tone and generous action prompted him to get the hell out of the madhouse.
"Mon pere, c'est d'accord. C'est d'accord. Mon pere, can you hear me? It's okay, mon ami. Sit up. You're having another panic attack. You'll be f-"
The silver flashed across her chest, just below her throat. She gasped, and a river of scarlet was suddenly decorating the front of her shirt. Johnny looked up just in time to catch her as she fell, and the crimson dripping from his face jolted him out of his delusional reverie.
"ANNIE!" he screamed, voice hoarse. She wasn't talking, but her terrified eyes were all he needed to tell him that she was still alive.
Tsk Tsk, Nny. Now look what you've done.
"I didn't mean to-"
I want you to tell me something, Johnny C. Is this all a dream?
"Oh, God, please let it be a dream. It's got to be a dream!"
WRONG.
Johnny's panicked sobs diluted the scarlet on his face, tears further staining Antoinette's clothes as he carried her upstairs. The only phone in the house was so far away. He wouldn't get to it in time.
He stopped halfway up the next flight of stairs. Not knowing what else to do, he pulled Annette's shirt up over the wound and bound it as tightly as he could with the bandages from his left arm. Suddenly he was glad that the cheerleader he'd killed earlier had succeeded in injuring him. The bleeding slowed, but was still very severe. This close to the vitals, halfway between the heart and the brain, it was going to be a long shot.
You killed her, Nny.
You killed her.
You killed her.
You killed her.
You killed-
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
Johnny struggled up the steps, half-dragging the barely conscious teenager through the last door. He laid her down, not sure whether to elevate her legs or her head, and just decided to leave her flat on the ground. An endless sprint to the phone, and he dialed the number he never would have dreamed of needing.
"Hello, this is 911. What's your emergency?"
"Daughter-bleeding bad-knife wound GET SOMEBODY THE FUCK OVER HERE BEFORE SHE BLEEDS TO DEATH!"
"Calm down, sir. Your daughter was injured, you said?"
"THERE'S A HUGE FUCKING SLASH ON HER COLLARBONE!"
"Please calm down, sir. Your daughter was cut by a knife? Was it self-inflicted?"
"ARE YOU GETTING HELP, OR AM I JUST TALKING TO AN IDIOT!"
"I've sent for paramedics and the fire department. We've traced your call and already know your location, sir. Just calm down. You need to keep a clear head. Is she breathing?"
"Y-yes, she's breathing. With difficulty."
"Alright. That's good. Has she lost consciousness?"
"Not yet. B-but nearly."
"Good. Just stay with me until the paramedics get here. Can you see your daughter now?"
"She's right over here."
"Sir, I want you to monitor her condition. Now was the wound self-inflicted?"
"ANNIE DID NOT ATTEMPT SUICIDE!" He almost hung up, but the sight of Antoinette's dull eyes stopped him.
"I'm sorry, sir. Please try to calm down. It's just procedure to find out as much about the accident as possible. Now have you treated the injury in any way?"
"I-I tried to bandage it, but it's not very good. I think it's slowed the bleeding."
"Good job. The less blood lost now, the less chance that she'll need a transfusion later. Do you know her blood type?"
"Oh, shit. Hold on." Nny put down the phone and knelt next to Annette. "Annie, do you know what your blood type is?"
She tried to laugh, but instead she ended up coughing up blood. Trembling fingers drew an A in the air, and she gave a thumbs-up.
"Um, A-positive," gasped Nny into the phone, right in the middle of the operator's calls for him to stay on the line.
"Okay. The paramedics will be there shortly."
There was a knock on the door, and Nny dropped the phone. He wiped his face as best he could and sprinted to let them in.
"Sir, where's the girl?" one of them, a tall woman of some sort of Asian ethnicity, asked. She didn't even pause to look at Nny's blood-soaked form and never once broke her cool mask.
"O-over here."
He led both the woman and her three companions to where Antoinette lay. She gave a weak smile when she saw the terror in her father's eyes, as if to say that she would be just fine. Then one of the paramedics swore quite loudly, and they loaded Annette into a stretcher. The last Johnny saw of Annie was her calm eyes, dim but clear as day, and a trembling hand curled into a peace sign.
The door slammed shut again, and Johnny jumped. He hurried back to the phone and told the operator that the paramedics had taken Annette away.
"Alright, sir, she should be right as rain in no time. Are you going to be okay, or should I transfer you to a counselor?"
"I'm-I'm fine."
"Wonderful. I'm going to have to let you go now. Good luck."
There was a click, and the line went dead. Johnny slowly put down the receiver and crumpled to the floor.
"It was an accident," he murmured frantically. "The knife slipped. I didn't mean to do it. It was an accident. It was an accident."
Antoinette C. woke up in the hospital in the middle of a chillingly cold October night. The piercing sound she heard was coming from her throat. Her hands flew to her mouth, and nurses rushed into the room.
"Are you alright"? asked one, a nervous-looking woman of no more than twenty-two. "Did something happen?"
"Thank heavens you're awake," sighed another, an older woman with wrinkled caramel skin. "This young lady here is our blood-loss victim. You've been here for quite awhile, dear. How are you feeling?"
"Where-what-am I dead?" Annette's frightened eyes flitted about the room, searching for something, ANYTHING familiar.
"You're alive and well, Missie," laughed the older woman. "We had quite a scare back when you first came in, but you've been very healthy as of late."
" Where's my father? "
"Oh, dear. Honey, we don't understand French. Can you speak in English again?" The young nurse was positively trembling.
" Where is he? Let me see him! Where is he? "
"Sweetheart, go back to sleep. Everything will be alright."
The nurses checked her blood pressure and left, confident that she was just being difficult. Annette was alone again, and she shivered beneath the thin hospital blanket, no wiser than before.
The next morning arrived with a rude jolt. Annette bolted upright in the bed, sunlight flooding her eyes. Her thick, spiderweb-embroidered comforter slipped to the floor, and it was with a sinking feeling of disappointment that Annette realized she was indeed not in her room at home. Jack and Sally clutched against her chest, she ventured out of bed and slipped into her kimono. The familiar silky cloth against her skin comforted her to a certain extent, and the disappointment faded.
She had started to move when something tugged at her arm. There was a needle firmly planted in her arm, and a small tube trailed out to a bag of liquid on a rolling metal stand. it was simple enough to roll the thing along, but the kimono made it rather uncomfortable to have the thing in her arm.
One creative solution later, the kimono had been passed over the entire stand and the tube was safely protruding from the right end of the sleeve. The entire endeavor had taken roughly thirty seconds, but those thirty seconds were enough to alert a passing nurse of her state of consciousness.
"Up already? My, aren't you an early bird!" That same older nurse who had been so irritating the night before entered the room, fussing over Annette's hair and kimono. "Wherever did you get that thing? It wasn't here yesterday!"
" Nny must have left it last night. "
"Hmm. Well, visiting hours end at sundown, and I didn't hear of anyone coming in after-hours. I'll ask around and see if one of the nurses delivered those things."
" Nobody delivered it. Nny must have come in last night and left it. He wouldn't have come in through the front door anyway. "
Of course the woman didn't listen. "Oh, my. And they left a blanket, too. I don't think those are allowed-"
" You will NOT touch that comforter. "
The nurse jumped. "Okay, then. The blanket stays. Are you hungry?" Annette nodded. "I'll go get you something to eat, then."
She was alone again, so she took the opportunity to check the dolls. Both knives were still in place. No one had "delivered" her things. Johnny somehow snuck in while she was asleep and left them for her. Then again, she didn't really expect anything less of him.
The "food" the nurse brought to her was far less then appetizing. Hell, JOHNNY cooked better stuff. Counting the things that exploded. Annette looked with disdain at the browned...potatoes?-and the blackened slab of meat that might have once been chicken.
" Why am I eating meat at this hour? " she queried, wrinkling her nose.
"This is all we have right now, Missie. I'm sorry if it's not to your liking. Just try to eat a little of it. You desperately need to get some food in you."
And with that, the nurse left her. Again. Those people sure weren't very attentive. Perhaps Annette should have killed her. No, that would just cause a scene. So Annette sat down and picked at the food, forcing down as much of it as she could before her nausea stopped her.
Annette wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep, but she knew she sure as hell wasn't going to repeat the experience. In fact, staying awake a week in a row seemed quite fitting to get her back on track. She dropped the plate of...food on the floor and left her room to go exploring.
There wasn't much to see. Just scrubbed floors and sickly patients. A few of the latter glanced at her as she passed, but none really paid attention to the chick in the kimono. Soon she found herself at the main desk, far away from her room. She wrenched out the IV and attempted to sign herself out. A nurse caught her, though, and she found herself back in her room-WITH the IV firmly in place.
It was very dark. That was the first observation Johnny's numbed mind made when he regained consciousness. He wasn't sure how long it had been since he had slept, but apparently it had been long enough to warrant a full twenty hours of rest. That is, if it was only one day later.
Slowly he rose, feeling for the first time the aches and pains of the nights before. It seemed as though he had a few broken bones. Just ribs, though. Nothing major. It fascinated him how a desperate human could suddenly gain formidable strength. The last one had almost gotten away. Maybe Johnny was just getting old.
And then it came back to him. Two weeks ago, he had almost killed her. He stopped and took a deep, shuddering breath. It had been like this with Devi. Too many emotions welling up at odd moments. But maybe Annie would forgive him. Devi never could, he knew that. But it would kill him if Annie couldn't.
The thoughts were drowned out with an almost scary ease, the kind of ease that can only come from practice. Johnny smiled and stretched. Time to get back to work. He had been rather lazy as of late.
His chosen victim was a rather old creature, an adult who looked to have even surpassed Nny's age. Gray hair was sticking straight up around his face, and the beginnings of wrinkles showed themselves when he opened his mouth to scream. This creature had been one of the worst ones. Even Johnny didn't want to think about the things this man had done.
"How to deal with you?" he asked, calmly burying all emotion. "You've been very bad. Do you understand? VERY bad."
The man chose this moment to spit at him. Johnny impatiently forced his victim's mouth open and snatched out his tongue. For awhile, all he could do was dribble blood on the floor.
"Much better. Now let's see. Which do you prefer? Scalpel or spork?" Nny held up both instruments, but lowered them when he noticed that his victim wasn't paying attention. "Am I talking to myself? I could have sworn there was someone here with me. PAY. ATTENTION."
Johnny hurled a spork at his victim, but for the first time in a LONG time, his aim was off. Instead of hitting the man in the trachea, it caught him in the shoulder. Then again, the man was thrashing wildly, so it wasn't surprising that he had missed. Still, it aggravated Johnny.
"Are you listening now?" He casually relieved the victim of two small flaps of cartilage on the sides of his head. "Much better," he murmured when the man screamed.
"Emmie o!" screamed the man.
"Let you go? But it'd be mean to let you live like this. So deformed. Wouldn't you rather end your suffering sooner than later?"
The man was sobbing now, and he nodded. Johnny's lips curled into a sneer, and he kicked him hard in the chest. The chains with which he was bound shifted, cutting deeper into the flesh. Disgusting filth.
"You make me ill. You fucking coward. Who knows? I might have had some respect for you if you'd answered no. Something that does not wish to cling to life shouldn't be allowed to exist in the first place!"
The scalpel delicately resting in his hand, Nny went to work. The ease and precision of a practiced surgeon shadowed his movements, some unseen force guiding his tools. He was almost at peace in the midst of blood and screams, of torn flesh and rotting bodies. In this hellhole, he had complete control.
He was jolted out of his reverie by another scream, this one from shattered vocal chords. Scarlet flooded the floor, and his victim went limp. A sense of disappointment rose up. The man had died so soon. Next time, Johnny thought, he probably shouldn't cut that part of the brain stem right away.
" Where is Nny? I want to see him. "
The nurses ignored the annoyed chatter and concentrated on taking another blood sample. The girl strapped to the bed let out a string of what seemed like curses and spat at the woman who tried to clean her arm. A needle went in, and a small amount of scarlet traveled up a tiny tube and into a plastic jar.
" Are you listening to me, you god-awful bitches! GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF THIS BED AND LET ME SEE MY FATHER! " Annette suddenly wrenched her shoulder upward, breaking restraints and successfully dislocating the limb. " STOP STICKING NEEDLES IN ME! I'M PERFECTLY FINE! I'VE NEVER BEEN BETTER! JUST-LET-ME-GOOOOOOOO! "
"Feisty one, isn't she?" commented the old nurse cheerfully to a new intern. "Okay, girls, let's get her arm set right. One, two, THREE!"
Four nurses jumped on Annette while two more...relocated her shoulder. Amidst screaming, cussing, and spitting, the team dove for the door, none of them wanting to stick around for the aftermath.
A tall boy slipped into the room, accompanied by a much shorter girl and another female with bright red hair. A dark-haired woman and one with dark skin and cornrows followed, shutting the door and locking it.
"How's our little Frenchie?" asked Kayako, draping her tiny frame over a chair.
"Yeah, Annie, how're you doing?" added Ben.
"What happened?" was Devi's contribution.
"How's your spleen?" Tenna piped up.
"Calm down, guys, let her talk." Wolfgang gave a steely glance at the others before turning to Annette. "Now go ahead. We're listening."
" I'm fine, thank you. And I got cut. Badly. With a knife. "
"Shit," breathed Ben once she'd sorted out the French. "How'd it happen?"
"I can bet you anything Nny did it," growled Devi.
" No! Well-not intentionally. He didn't mean to. I startled him. He was having a panic attack and I scared him. It's my fault. But I'm fine. Where is Nny? I want to see him. "
"Annie, getting slashed with a knife is NOT something to shrug off. That guy is unbalanced." Ben stared directly at her. "Maybe you should think about moving out."
" I WILL NOT LEAVE! " Annette's eyes glowed violet. " You cannot make me leave! No one ever bothers to help him! What will happen if I'm not there to- "
"Annie, calm down." Wolfgang gingerly put a hand on her shoulder. "We aren't trying to make you leave. We're just worried about you."
"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Devi. "I mean, from what we heard, you nearly DIED."
" I'm fine. "
"Give the chick a break, guys. She's getting all skittish again. Leave her alone." Kayako smiled and stretched. "Let's talk about something else, okay? I'm sure Annie would like that."
The subject turned to all things nice, to things less painful. Music and talk of concerts flitted through the air, and the sounds of three languages wove their way out of the room and into the hall. Laughter and excited chatter gave the lights an extra few watts of energy. Annie was at peace amidst the noise and the warmth and the friendly eyes of those who had become her family.
Suddenly, a harsh voice shouted something from behind the door. Apparently the nurses had returned for some new and horrible test. Devi let them in, taking the brunt of the reprimands. The shock of seeing five people in the room who were quite obviously not cleared for entry-Kayako was wearing many sharp and potentially lethal objects openly, and Wolfgang just had that homicidal look about him-caused the old nurse to launch into a screaming tirade that lasted for what seemed like hours. The five were forced to leave-though they opted for the window-and Annie was alone with the nurses once more.
"My goodness, child, who on Earth were those people?" gasped the woman.
"Mes amis," was the stony reply.
There was a knock at the door. Apparently whomever was outside hadn't seen the doorbell. Johnny mumbled a curse and ambled to the door, all-too aware of how much...er, how much "stuff" had accumulated on the floor. Hopefully he wouldn't have to kill another police officer today.
"Nny? Nny, let me in!"
Johnny immediately threw the door open. Devi stood shivering at the threshold, looking pissed as hell. He stepped aside, and she dodged in, looking horrified at the carnage in the living room.
"You are sick, Johnny," she croaked, hugging herself and standing in one of the few spots not covered in half-dried blood. "How could you try to kill her? She's a KID. And she won't hear a bad word about you. That gullible bitch goes into hysterics if anybody tries to make her think about not going back here. How could you do that to her?"
"I didn't mean to-"
"Oh, FUCK THAT. You didn't mean to! Well you said you didn't 'mean to' try skewering me on the end of a knife, didn't you? I'm not buying it. You're sick, Johnny. You need help. Badly."
"So why exactly did you come here? To scream at me about a mistake I made in the past?" Nny adopted Devi's pose, but he leaned against a wall, not really caring how clean it was.
"I came here to tell you that you'd better not pull anything like that again. Or I WILL tear out your throat and watch you suffocate in the blood."
"Violent. I'm really sorry Devi. I honestly didn't mean to hurt her. I was...not well. She frightened me. I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to make it go away. I'm really sorry." Nny stared off into space, eyes unfocused.
"You'd better be." Devi turned to leave. "And by the way, Nny, clean up the house. It'd be mean to make Annie get rid of all the corpses when she comes home."
The door slammed shut, and Nny was alone again. Not knowing what else to do, he dug out a mop and set to work. Devi was right. It would be cruel to make Annie get rid of the blood and bodies after being in the hospital for weeks on end.
"Time to go, hon," called the old nurse late one morning. She breezed into the room, holding a bundle of clothing from the lost and found. "Here, put these-"
The bed was empty. No lights had been turned on. A dripping IV trailed on the floor, and everything that belonged to the patient was gone. The little bitch had decided to check out herself.
"Oh, good Lord," muttered the nurse, dropping the clothes. "I swear, I am SO happy she got her skinny white ass out of here. World of trouble, that girl."
Meanwhile, a skinny teenager in a kimono was walking backwards down the road, thumb out, a blanket and two dolls on her back. Motorists stared openly, but none stopped to pick up the obviously insane hitchhiker. Half an hour and a few miles later, no luck.
Then a large, multicolored van sputtered to a stop in front of her. The side door opened, and a thin cloud of smoke trailed out. There were several women and men with long hair and odd clothing inside. One, a very tall, emaciated-looking woman, smiled and beckoned her in.
"How's it hangin, child?" she drawled easily, taking in Annette's foreign dress. "You looking for enlightenment or something?"
"No, I'm just trying to get home."
"Where you headed? We can afford ta go a few miles outta the way."
The driver, a man in a fringed vest and faded jeans, turned to look at her. His rose-tinted glasses obscured his eyes, but Annette wasn't at all uneasy. She smiled and struggled to wrap her tongue around the English syllables as she answered.
"Just into town. Ever heard of the House of Heaven?"
"Man, whaddaya think? Course we heard of it. That place has MAJOR bad karma. You live there?"
"Near it. But you can drop me off there. Thank you all; I appreciate the ride. It's very cold."
"Yeah, chica, but cold don't stop an earth child, does it?" the tall woman grinned and reclined back against the side of the van.
"Um, no I suppose not. I'm, er, going to see my father. How about you?"
"That's beautiful, man. We're out to search for answers. Answers and love. Love makes the world go round, man." The van's stoner occupants broke out into song, and Annette soon felt rather uncomfortable.
"Join in, little sister," laughed a tiny woman with hair almost as long as she was tall. "It doesn't matter if you know the words. We should all just learn to sing in harmony, man."
"That's lovely, but I believe I'll just be content to listen to your beautiful music. Er, pardon me, sir, but where exactly did you pull out that guitar from?"
The man whom the question was directed at, the driver, handed the guitar to the tiny woman next to him. He grinned and said something that Annette didn't understand. She asked him to repeat it, but it was no clearer the second time around.
"When you need something, the great Mother provides all, man. She takes care of her true children, little sister."
Finally, the van pulled up to house number 777. Annette thanked the strange people again for the ride and disembarked, but all four people followed her.
"Um, really, there's no need to come with me the rest of the way," murmured Annette nervously.
"No way, little sister. We take care of our own, right? Which way to your pad?" The tall woman looked up and down the street, eyes unfocused.
Thank the higher power that Nny chose that moment to leave the house. His expression went from shock to anger to happiness to cool indifference in less time than it takes to blink, and he abruptly changed course. Quietly, he strode up to Annette, wondering why she was with a group of stoner hippies.
"Nny!" cried Annette, hurling herself at him and enveloping her father's slim figure in a hug. "I checked myself out of the hospital this morning. These strange people were nice enough to give me a ride I'm so happy to see you!"
Johnny cringed and allowed himself to return the hug for a moment before breaking free. Annette's grin was wider than he'd ever seen it, but the expressions on the faces of the people behind her had shifted to confusion. It wasn't too dramatic of a change.
"Uh, sister, this is your paternal unit?" asked the tall woman, blinking slowly.
"Yes, well, he's nice enough once you get to know him..." Annette's smile faltered slightly. "Er, Nny, meet...these nice strange people. Nice strange people, meet Nny."
"Nice to meet you," murmured Nny, bowing low. "I'd advise you to leave shortly. I'm not in the mood to entertain."
"Father, be nice. Let's at least invite them inside for tea."
The stoners' expressions simultaneously jolted to terror, and they quickly jumped back into their van.
"Here's our Email, little sister!" called the tall woman, handing her a slip of paper before the van took off. Annette read out loud, trying not to laugh. "Those people are strange."
"Let's go see a movie, Annie." Johnny started off toward the theater district. "I was just on my way to the indie theater on 42nd."
"Could I change first? This kimono isn't exactly fit for the weather."
"Oh. Of course. But make it fast. I don't want to get caught in the dinner rush."
Annette smiled and dodged into the house. She was pleasantly surprised to find it almost spotless. Perhaps Nny could manage well enough on his own after all. Then she saw the kitchen, and she decided that she'd better stick around.
Minutes later, Annie appeared in a trench coat and a long black dress. She smiled at Nny and sprinted off, Nny following close behind.
"Last one there pays for Brainfreezies after the movie!" she called.
Author's note: Here we are again, visiting the world of Nny and Annette. I'm not entirely sure how many more of these I'll do. It depends, I suppose, on when exactly I get bored with them. Hope you enjoyed this one, and sorry to anyone who didn't. Please drop a review and let me know what you thought of it. Pleasant something, people.
-Raven, your Friendly Neptunian Pyro