To Live To Suffer
Mind Work
The trees loomed all around, standing tall and dark as though they were menacing figures waiting motionlessly for lost souls. The night sky was just as black, like a suffocating blanket over the forest.
A gasp escaped his throat as he ran, four inhuman feet pounding on the earth at a pace faster than any two legs. But the pace was slowing, his strength thinning. They had been chasing him for so long now, their shouts and angry cries haunted his elfin ears, always close behind; the glints of black metal catching his sharp eyes as they cut off his escapes routes, as they lowered their guns –
His ability to climb things no normal personcould saved his life more times that night than ever before. The trees were dotted with deep bullet holes where they had missed their agile target by inches. How many times he had had to jump up the nearest tree to avoid his chasers and their metal weapons was uncountable. The loud, heart-stopping crack of the shotgun rang in his ears so many times. The feel of splinters hitting his tail or his feet as the wood centimeters from his fur exploded, convinced him he wasn't going to survive much longer. The fear that rushed through every vein spurred him on, pushing his exhausted body to the limit. Adrenaline. Fear.
And then his body just couldn't run any more. The energy to lift his elongated feet disappeared at last. His own effort to movie ceased, but he continued to tumble.
The black forest floor spun, the trees whirled about, gravity was from nowhere and suddenly from everywhere. And just as quickly, it stopped. Pain shot up his foot; aches attacked his limp form; and unbearable throbs beat unmercifully at his limbs. His chest heaved as he gasped for air; his eyes were closed in a desperate attempt to become invisible against the black night. He dared not open them in fear ofthe glowbeing spotted. He couldn't move. He was exhausted. He was too scared.
The shouts became louder. The fear increased. The thumping of their feet against the earth vibrated on his cheek, growing closer.
The click of a loaded gun . . .
. . . Extreme heat surrounded his body, thick air chocked his trembling form, jeers, shouts, cries of anger and disgust – rough, ion-grip hands shook him painfully, rope pulled across his chest so tightly, burning his hand, chaffing his fur.
Smoke, fear, gasoline, he could smell it so strongly. Hate, anger, horror, he could see it so clearly. He gagged, he cried, he begged and pleaded.
Heat, incredible heat. Light, dancing light. Fire, crackling wood, burning rope, melting clothes, screaming –
"Aaahh!" Jean gasped and shot up in bed. Her chest heaved as she stared wide-eyed at her mirror stood on the desk, opposite her bed. Her brilliant red hair was a mass of tangles from the constant tossing and turning. Her clothes were creased and damp with sweat, and her bed covers were untidy and crumpled.
A single beam of beautiful white moonlight shone through a gap in the long curtains, splitting the room's darkness in half.
Jean paid no attention to it. Her hair fell about her head as it lowered, her hands reached up to cover her face, her knees bent towards her body. And her chest shook again as she cried.
Monday morning was cool and muggy, and a thin but dreary mist hung about the town. It dampened everyone's spirits at the Institute even more so than they already were. None of the X Men wanted to go to school, but they didn't want to be seen missing all at once.
The Professor agreed on this, but he asked that one person remain off school so they could stay with Kurt. The boy would be feeling lonely, despite what he might try to convince them, and since his attack he had never been left alone by his friends. If they were to disappear, Professor X seemed sure Kurt would miss them, perhaps even feel afraid. His mind was still fragile, and he hadn't even begun to heal mentally.
Kitty stayed. As Kurt's best friend, they usually did a lot together, and this would go well with the story they had both caught a cold. She remained in the kitchen where they had discussed it as the rest of the team trudged upstairs to get ready for school. Ororo stood stirring a pan of soup while distantly staring down at it, Logan was hid behind his morning Newspaper with his usual coffee in hand, and Professor X watched the TV with mild interest.
"Kitty," Ororo said, turning around a minute later as she poured a small amount of soup into one bowl, and the rest into another. "Would you take these down to Mr. McCoy and Kurt?"
Kitty nodded and pushed back her chair to stand up. She took the two bowls as Scott and Jean walked through the kitchen door. Kitty stared at Jean. She looked tired.
"We're leaving now, Professor," Scott announced, one hand around the bag strap on his shoulder. His shades flashed as he turned to Kitty. "We'll bring your homework," he told her.
Kitty nodded, aware the two bowls were starting to warm her hands a little too much. She watched the two older teens leave the kitchen, and walked out after them. Logan abandoned his coffee and paper and followed Jean out of the kitchen.
The infirmary felt empty as Kitty entered it a minute later. That was mainly because Kurt was still asleep, and Hank seemed to want to drop off as well. He smiled gratefully when Kitty passed him his breakfast.
"Thanks, Kitty," he said as she placed Kurt's soup on his bed, balancing it on the uneven sheets. Hank took a spoonful of his own and savored the taste for a second, as though he hadn't eaten in days. Perhaps he hadn't, Kitty couldn't remember seeing him eat at all since Kurt's attack.
"Kurt won't be awake for some time," Hank spoke after a few more helpings. "I gave him a good sedative last night, to help him sleep." He looked up from his bowl. "Believe me, he would never have gotten to sleep otherwise. He should wake in a few hours, so I think you ought to leave his soup in the kitchen and warm it up later."
Kitty nodded and turned her eyes back to Kurt. At least there was no chance for him to have nightmares while he was sleeping. It was the one time he could be peaceful and painless. Kitty let her thoughts carry her away with her eyes on her blue friend.
School seemed a lot less fun than it usually was. With their negative moods, everything seemed to annoy or upset them twice more than it should. The group trudged about, silent unless spoken to, keeping to their work, and occasionally letting their minds drift. The hours had never been so slow, the classes never so stretched out. Seconds ticked by like minutes, because all wanted to return to the Institute. It felt like they had left Kurt unprotected in some alleyway where anyone could walk into him, even though they knew for certain he was safe.
A few people asked where Kitty and Kurt were, and Rogue napped unnecessarily at one student to mind their own business. Scott gave her a warning glance and she pouted angrily and steered her gaze away. Jean, Scott noticed, had been the quietest of the four, and he knew why.
When the bell rang to signal the end of the school day, the X team trudged to their lockers where they waited for the last person, Evan, to skateboard down the corridor halls. After almost colliding with someone, they left quickly and squashed into Scott's red convertible. Unfortunately Terran appeared to delay their return home, asking Scott about Chemistry homework. Jean, who didn't need her powers, could tell the girl only wanted to speak to Scott before he left. Terran had a fascination over the team leader than Jean could do without.
Her homework subject turned quickly to other things as she leant on the driver's car door, gazing at Scott with a smile. It was when Rogue announced she wasn't feeling well with a meaningful tone in Scott's direction that they actually managed to shake off Terran and started for the Institute, with Evan spinning his skateboard wheels for lack of anything to do. It wasn't often Evan caught a ride back home with everyone else, but he had told them he wouldn't have been able to focus on his skateboarding tricks.
Scott pulled the car up outside the steps leading to the front door of the Mansion, and let the other three jump out. They headed inside while Scott disappeared around the building to park his car in the garage.
"Man, I'm starving," Evan muttered as they walked into the foyer, dropping his skateboard at the side of the door. No one had eaten much at Lunchtime, and Evan had only drunk three milk cartons. He disappeared towards the kitchen as Jean and Rogue headed for their room to drop off their bags.
Kitty's voice was a gentle drone as Scott approached the infirmary. Her words became clearer as he walked up to the door. She was sat where she usually sits next to Kurt, with her back to the door. Kurt, Scott could see, was awake and listening a little more attentively than before when someone tried to talk to him. A small smile tugged at Scott's mouth, glad there was a change in his blue fuzzy friend. A small change, but at least there was one.
The teenager walked through the door and into the infirmary, and Kitty's voice stopped as she heard his arrival. Her ponytail swung behind her head as she turned to see who was behind her. Her lips, parted in curiousness, closed and smiled when she saw who it was.
"Hi," she said a little brightly, almost like her usual self. "How was school?"
Scott, still holding his backpack, slung it gently on the bed and leant on the edge of the mattress next to Kitty. Kurt's pale eyes watched.
"It was . . ." Scott said, looking for the right word. Behind his shades, his eyes fell on Kurt, who seemed to sense his gaze and blinked away. ". . . quiet." Scott remembered his bag and unzipped a front pocket. He took out a few papers sandwiched by textbooks and placed them before Kitty. "Here's your homework, as you requested," he smiled.
"Thanks, Scott," she said as she flicked through her work.
As she skimmed through the papers, Scott looked back at Kurt. "How y' been, Kurt?" He asked carefully, as though he was afraid it might upset him to speak too casually.
What should have been a whisper came out as nothing more than air as Kurt mouthed the word 'fine' and looked away again. He seemed to want the attention focused elsewhere instead of on him, but he wanted company. Scott sympathized for him.
Something caught his eye in the corner of his shades and he turned and saw Jean stood just out of view outside the infirmary.
"I'll be right back," he said to his two younger friends, and walked out of the room to Jean. She began walking as he neared, and he caught her pace. "So . . ." Scott began, "did you find anything today?"
He wasn't expecting a positive answer, but that was the impression he read from her features.
"I . . ." she said, and then paused, wondering where to start. "I kept picking up broken thoughts, they didn't seem linked to what I was trying to find . . . until one of them mentioned a demon." She walked in silence for a few seconds, her head lowered, her eyes on the floor in front of her. "That was all I managed to pick up." She stopped and turned to him. "Scott, Kurt's attackers are at Bayville High . . . I just couldn't lock on to whose thoughts they were."
Scott watched her out the corner of his eyes as they walked slowly down the corridor. "What were the thoughts you picked up? What were they about?"
Jean thought for a second. "Just personal stuff, one boy kept thinking about his little brother. His brother was ill, if I remember. And his dog . . . called Rolo . . ." she frowned and Scott smiled despite the subject they were here to talk about. "There were a few jumbled thoughts, and then I heard him mention 'demon' . . . wait – I remembering him remembering something . . . about woods . . . Yes . . . he was really steamed about something . . ." she trailed off and after a second of silence shook her head, remembering no more. "Perhaps he was mad we got there before he could finish Kurt off," she added quietly.
Scott's brow furrow in silent anger. It turned to a frown as he looked at Jean. "Did we?" He asked. "We arrived when they were still . . . ?"
The redhead nodded, still staring at the floor. "They saw the X Jet and ran . . ." She looked up into Scott's shades, her face suddenly scared. "What if we hadn't made it in time, Scott? What if we had been a minute too late? They could have . . ." she couldn't finish.
The same thing rolled about inside Scott's head, filling him with fear. Kurt really had been close to death that night. If they had been a minute late, he probably wouldn't have made it . . . Scott shuddered inwardly and wiped the thoughts out of his mind quickly.
"But they didn't," he said as quietly as she had spoken. "We got there in time." His hand found hers and he grasped it gently. "Thanks to you."
She raised her green eyes to his face and smiled. Her telepathy had saved one of her best friends . . . but it also unlocked something in his mind that now haunted them both.
The image of fire flared up in her mind as they walked towards the kitchen. Jean's smile was gone.
Kitty winced as the bloodied gauze bandage was removed, revealing a deep, horrible gash on Kurt's chest. The fur around the area was red with damp blood that was beginning to harden. His wound was still leaking blood, despite the many stitches holding it together. Hank reflected Kitty's expression as he pulled back the tape as gently as he could.
Kitty took her eyes off it to rest them on Kurt's face. Hank had given him a light sedative to ease the pain for when he redressed his wounds. The tape pulled at the skin and fur, making it incredibly painful for the elf. Kitty was holding his limp hand as Hank removed the old dressings and replaced them with fresh ones. Kurt's expression was pretty sleepy, and he couldn't move very much. But Hank needed him to be still. The beast of a man usually changed Kurt's wrappings when he was asleep. It made it much easier.
Hank exhaled softly as he examined the wound. It didn't look good, and it was still leaking blood. Kurt's other wounds had stopped bleeding altogether, and were starting the healing process. But Hank was worried about this gnash on the elf's chest. It was going to leave one hell of a scar. But the good thing was, Kurt's fur would hide it pretty well once it had healed and scarred.
Kurt groaned, his brow creased together as Hank did his best to peal the sticky tape off his fur. There was some feeling around his chest after all, but it was nothing except pain.
"Almost done," Hank assured him, taking a clean gauze bandage from its packet and very gently laying it over Kurt's chest. He was quick at taping it back down, and was finished a minute later. Both Kitty and Hank breathed easily as though it was their pain that had been relieved.
"How long will it take for them to heal?" Kitty asked as Hank crunched all the empty bandage packets in his large hands.
The man grimaced as though it was a questionthat heshouldn't really answer. "Well, most of them . . . probably three to four weeks, maybe five." It was Kitty's turn to grimace slightly. "Stitches should come out in about eleven days. Depends how the wound heals."
Kitty looked down at Kurt. His eyes were closed and his mouth parted. He had fallen asleep. Kitty turned back to Hank.
"What about that wound on his leg?" She asked. "You said it was serious."
"Yes," Hank answered. "It was . . ."
"Was?" Kitty repeated.
Hank's eyes found Kitty's face. "His wounds have begun to heal, and even though it's only been three days, they're starting out quite well. I think his leg may be alright . . . but I'm not totally sure."
Kitty felt a smile tug her lips in hope. Both mutants turned to Kurt.
"He's quite a healer," Hank said, sounding a little proud.
AN: He's healing, I tell you! Kurteth will be fine ... well, maybe not fine... maybe a little less than maybe not fine. Well, maybe I'll just shut up and write it so you can find out for yourselves. I appreciate everyone's comments and opinions, you guys have been really nice. So my thanks, as usual:
TheDudeLordOfFantasy: Heh, no nutin' to do with his stepbro. Thank you for the review.
Denielle: Thanks, I love adding tons of emotion, tho I can overdo it and it sounds way horrible.
Zero-Vision: Yep, poor guy, but what are evil authors for?
TD85: LOL, yeah let Logan get hold of them, that wud be so much fun. Thank ya
Snitter: Hell yeah, Logan's gotta be in it all the way. Like Prof X, it's not evo without Logan.. um, even tho I haven't added him much so far... but he'll be back. Thanks too much