Warning: Rated 'M' for horror-genre violence, adult situations and adult language.
The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.
Certain characters have been adapted from 'The Stand,' by Stephen King, and he is the copyright holder of these.
Certain characters are based on 'Hikaru No Go' by Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata. I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.
Brief references are made to a character from 'Watership Down,' by Richard Adams, and he is the copyright holder of this character.
Saturday
After flipping off Odd after lunch, Ulrich went out to get his 'Yumi fix.'
He ran the few blocks between Kadic and her house. He turned the corner just before her house, anxious to see her, to tell her, at least a little, how he felt.
As he rounded the corner, he stopped. There she was! She had her back to him, and was talking to someone.
William Dunbar, one of Yumi's classmates.
From his point of view, Yumi and William were standing very close together. Too, close, in Ulrich's mind.
They were having a conversation of some kind. William had a hand on Yumi's shoulder, looking like he was about to draw her into his embrace.
Again! Ulrich raged in his mind. She did it to me again!
Ulrich turned away and ran, not caring where he went. After a bit, he stopped, winded, then went on at a walk.
He wandered, not bothering to notice where he was going. Familiar places changed to unfamiliar. Nice changed to upscale, then back to nice, then downscale, then run down.
He walked, just walked, for hours. When he finally became aware of his surroundings again, he was in a part of town he had never been in before.
It was an old neighborhood, one with old bars and clubs up and down the street. The sun was setting, and the buildings started changing from run down to ominous.
As Ulrich walked down the street, he saw the storefronts. They were advertising Girls! Lovely and Lusty! Three shows every night! Watch What Bambi And Rita Do Together!
In front of the clubs, there stood men calling to everyone passing by to come inside for the night's entertainment. Each man was trying to outdo the other hawkers on the street, making each claim more outrageous the the previous one.
And then there were the women.
There were women of every shape, size and color imaginable. The all were in various stages of dress, or undress, standing on corners, against buildings, in alley ways. They too were calling out to the passers by on the street, promising them The Time Of Their Lives. Dark shadows further back in some of the alleys showed some of the women making good on that promise.
Ulrich wasn't spared their charms, either. More than a few offered to make his First Time One To Remember. And then they would laugh as he stumbled on, picking up his pace.
As he went on, Ulrich came across something that caused him to stop. There, just down the sidewalk from him, was Yumi!
No, it can't be her! I left her at her home!
He looked closer and found that it wasn't Yumi after all. But it could have been her twin sister.
The woman was bent over, talking to someone in a car parked in front of her. She was dressed exactly as Yumi had been in his dream last night. The woman even had white makeup on her face and arms like he had dreamed. As he watched, the woman ended her conversation with the occupant of the car and moved on. The car drove away.
She had not gone two steps when a man stepped out of the shadows, grabbing her. She was startled, but acted like she knew the man. They started talking back and forth. He was acting angry over something, and she was cowering like she was in trouble. He finally let her go, gave her a backhanded smack! in the face, knocking her down, and walked off.
Ulrich stood there, frozen, as the scene unfolded. The man walked right by him as he left the woman. Noticing Ulrich, the man gave him a little self-satisfied smirk as he walked past. Ulrich recognized the man.
It was the man in the cornfield.
Ulrich turned and ran. Ran past the man, past the prostitutes, past the strip clubs and bars. Into the darkness.
He ran for a while, then stopped, thinking he was far enough away. He then looked around him again, and realized he was totally lost.
He had never felt so lost and alone in his life.
He just stood there, looking slowly all around him, hoping that something would look familiar to him. That there was something that could lead him to safety.
"You look like you're lost," someone said to him. Ulrich jumped.
There, off to his left, was an old woman, sitting on her front porch.
Ulrich looked at the woman. He could swear she looked familiar somehow, but couldn't quite place her.
"You've got a phone with you, don't you?" the woman asked him.
Of course!
"If you're lost, call someone and have them pick you up. There's the street signs right there," she said, pointing at the signs on the light post at the corners, "they shouldn't have any trouble at all finding you."
Ulrich turned to the woman and started to say something, but she continued before he say a word, "I know you're scared, boy. I've been right where you're at right now, and I was plenty scared myself. But I always had someone I could call, day or night, to come help me when I needed it. Now you just go on and call and get someone to come get you. I'll sit right here and make sure nothing happens 'til they come and pick you up."
Ulrich reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed the only number he could think of, Yumi's. Her voice answering was the sweetest sound he ever heard.
A half hour later, Mrs. Ishiyama pulled up, with Yumi sitting in the back seat. He got in back with her, thanked Mrs. Ishiyama for coming to get him, and they drove off.
On the drive back to the school, Ulrich told Yumi everything. He spoke softly and low, so Yumi's mother couldn't hear what he said. By the time he was done, he was almost in tears, for fear of what Yumi would say.
Yumi didn't say anything. She just wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. If her mother noticed anything, she kept it to herself.
Mrs. Ishiyama did notice, however. Without saying a word, she altered her course so they wound up taking the long way back to the school.
Yumi held Ulrich as the dam of his emotions began to break. She held him as he softly started sobbing in her arms. She held him until they finally reached the front gates of the school.
She got out with him and used her sleeve to dry his eyes. She gave him one last hug, kissing his cheek as she did, and whispered in his ear that they would talk more later.
Ulrich, after watching Yumi get back into the car and drive off into the night, turned and walked back to the dormitory, and went to bed.
That night, Yumi dreamed of standing before the gates of Kadic Academy. They were locked, and Ulrich was behind them, holding the key. She called to him, begging him to open the gate, that this was the last one, then they could always be together. Ulrich just stood there. Then, as Yumi watched, the man from the cornfield came up and started talking to Ulrich.
Ulrich, in the meantime, dreamed of walking down the street of bars and clubs again, but it was different this time. This time, it was his street. He ran everything here. The people walking down the street nodded respectfully at him. Some would stop and ask him something, and he would direct them to a girl or boy that would provide the necessary services. He stopped at one point when Sissi Delmas called to him, wanting to spend a little time with him. He told her, later on at his place, and walked on. He finally found the one he was looking for, and confronted her. Yumi had been falling behind on her quota of late, and needed a talking to. She cowered when he found her, and he told her to get over to his place, now, so they could work the situation out. As she ran off, he thought to himself, Yumi and Sissi in one night. Maybe together. It had possibilities...