Chapter 9— C-139
I froze, paralyzed. I closed my eyes and braced for the painful blow to my head and the sound of my bones breaking. And strangely, a pair of magnetically gorgeous brown eyes flashed in my head.
Suddenly, I was thrown off my feet when a strong force wrapped around my waist and pushed—no, THREW me backwards. I landed with a hard and painful oof! on the floor just as there was this deafening crash. It MUST be the spotlight. I didn't even thought of how strange it was that it was a few feet away from me. All I could think of was the HEAVY weight on top of yours truly. AM I DEAD? I didn't dare open my eyes, fearing that the heavy weight was actually a butt as a form of my eternal punishment or something.
All I could think of was how I haven't gotten my revenge on Ivanna yet, and how I haven't bought that uBer cool LeBron James shirt! And what about KERO? OMG, THAT STUPID FURBALL NEEDS ME! Who's going to order him to eat bald eggs (eggy and fatty) and pee into the shoes of unwanted bimbos? Who's going to tell him to nick the chocolates at the bottom of the stairs? And please tell me who is going to torture Li if I die? I am the ONLY one who is allowed to pi-!
"You… stupid… idiot!" a very VERY familiar voice coughed on top of me.
My eyes snapped open. Butts don't talk, right? LI? The guy's head was resting at the right side of mine. His body was on top of mine, panting with his left arm sprawled on my left side. Cautiously, I said, "uh… Li?"
He hoisted himself up using his arms and glared at me. His face, oh, I don't know, about a centimeter away from mine. "What the hell! Why didn't you move! You could've died! You could've been dismembered! You could've been muti-!"
Ignoring his incessant rant, I craned my neck and saw the huge hole that spotlight made and was currently occupying. Li pulled both of us up on a sitting position and demanded, "were you even listening to me?"
"Ahh… yes…?"
"What's the last sentence I said, then?"
"Err… I'm cute?"
Li's right eye twitched. "Stop being so cheeky! You weren't listening!" he accused. "The point is, are you okay? Any injuries? Broken bones? Fevers?". He narrowed his eyes and placed a hand on my forehead.
I reddened and shook his hand away. "FEVERS? WHAT THE HE-?"
"Okay, okay! Just checking!" he said defensively.
Eriol came up and knelt down between us. "Oi, you two okay? We all saw what happened! Shit, all of us aged ten years!" he exclaimed. To Li he asked, "She okay?"
Li frowned. "I don't think so. We'll do an X-Ray at the hospital just to be safe. Oh, and maybe and MRI, too. A CAT Scan won't hurt, either. Of course, there's always th-"
"What am I, a terrorist bombing survivor?" I demanded indignantly. "For God's sake, Li, if anything I should be worried over YOU!" I jabbed his chest with a finger.
"I'M OKAY!" he protested. "But YOU are not! Any incisions? How about abrasions? Broken bones? Contusions? How about s-"
"SOMEBODY GET DR. QUACK AWAY FROM ME!" I yelled desperately.
Unfortunately, everyone was too busy surveying the damaged spotlight to notice. Even Eriol, sensing an upcoming war, started edging away. I glared at him, who smiled warily.
He placed a hand on my chin and gently turned my head. "Fine. Just answer the damned question: are you all right?"
I looked at anywhere except his eyes… and his mouth. If I do, I'm pretty sure I'll do something stupid. In an effort to distract myself, I answered the question, albeit not without an act that would PROVE that I am really okay. "Fine! You want to me to show you I'm okay?" I asked. "I will stand up and walk around you! Sit! DO NOT FOLLOW!". I stood up slowly. Hmph, I'll show him I'm all right. bwahahahaha. She who laughs first laughs last laughs fi-.
Pain shot up my right leg when I put pressure on it. I keeled over in pain and toppled downward.
Okay, so maybe I'm NOT going to be able to show I'm alright. Sod off.
Li laughed. "So who's fine? Definitely not you!". He picked me up bridal style and made his way down the stage. On the left, of course, since the one on the right was where the hole was and, obviously, the rest of humanity.
"You are going to the doctor, Kinomoto, do you hear me? Bitch about it and I'll drag you if I have too!".
He cares? Ohhhh yeaaahhhh… he WAS the one saved me, right? GAH! I can feel my blood pressure exploding. Humph. I never ASKED to be saved. Nooooo…
"Why do you care anyway?" I mumbled, unable to resist resting my head on his chest (I'm TIRED! PFTTT…) and looked up at him, frowning.
He flicked his amber eyes at me and for a minute there, our eyes met. There was a small half-smile playing on his lips. I quickly looked away.
"I just do".
Pfft. I never said he has gorgeous eyes.
OoOoOoOoOoOoO Eriol's house- bedroom OoOoOoOoOoOoO
I just do.
Oh, freakin' crap.
Why did I say that? Why? WHY? I watched as she slept peacefully at the bed. The doctor had a few tests and confirmed that it was only a sprain. But whatever. He advised her to avoid walking around and just lie down for 2 days or something. Pfft. After what happened, I'll tie her to the bed if I have to until she heals. I'll never let her out of my sight. EVER!
God, what am I thinking?
Sakura gave a grunt and turned around, muttering incoherently. I studied her face intently. She looks so… well… angelic, far from the swearing tomboy that she is. I watched as a lock of hair fell on her face. She wrinkled her nose and brushed it away, only succeeding in making it drift towards her nose. She twitched irritably and slapped it off, saying, "bugger off".
Okaaaayyyy, so maybe she IS still the swearing tomboy I know in her sleep.
Okay, fine, I admit that I've taken a fondness for her after some time. Don't ask me why because I don't know, either. It just that she's so FUN irritating, right? The way she scrunches her face up and growls in a pissed way… woooo, she looks soooo cute… hahaha…
Oh, shit.
Everytime I see her crazy antics, I always wonder WHAT happened to her. WHAT made her become this way? Let's face it, she's not really this way. It's not her nature to be Ms. Ice Queen 24/7. Plus, even if it is-which I doubt-, I've never seen her smile. NOT ONCE. Duh, even a tomboy smiles once in a while.
Of course, remember the time when I asked her if she's been kissed before. I never really meant it seriously. Seriously, it wasn't like I'm going to KILL the guy who kissed her or something (well… not exactly. Just going to tort-I mean, whatever. Blah)! I was just teasing her! But, hell, I saw her face. For a split second there, I swear I saw naked pain mar the features before it went back to it's usual cocky expression.
Pain. Then it hit me: it wasn't a WHAT… it was a WHO.
If I ever find out who that guy is, I'll kill him… incinerate him.. nah, first I'm going to have him paired up with Eggy for a month and THEN I'll kill him. no, wait, I'll have him kiss a pig first then I'll have him date Eggy and Fatty who'll (hopefully) rape him or something and then I'll break his limbs one… by… one…
THEN I'll kill him.
Of course, I'll have his bo-
"You really shouldn't think too hard, you know. Your puny brain might explode."
Sakura was quirking an eyebrow at me. Once again, I remembered the chilling expression on her face a few hours ago and felt my knuckles cracking threateningly. A strained smile landed on my face and I countered, "uh-huh… so, dear Kinomoto, what are you going to do while you recuperate?". He smirked.
Her cocky demeanor vanished. "Don't remind me," she grumbled sullenly.
"But I can't resist!" I drawled. "It's so fun irritating you!"
"Go to hell."
"Only if you come with me," I countered. She reddened and huffed. Ah, it's always good to have the last laugh. Now THIS is the Sakura I know. Much better.
There was silence. Until…
She cursed and looked at me with pleading eyes. "Lemme outta here! How can I play at the interschool tournament next week if I don't practice?"
I rolled my eyes. "After what happened, I don't think so. In fact, if given my way, I'd lock you in here for a month".
She sighed and sank back to the pillows. "I should've sicced Ivanna on you."
I mocked horror, looking at her with wide eyes. "No! Her manicured friends will castrate me with their uBer powerful lipsticks and hair curlers! Thou will haunt you armed with a shampoo If I die"
"Well, I'll persuade Okinawa to be your wife!"
"I'll set you up with Akira!"
We bickered all the while. It was quite nice fighting with her, really. It was a nice relaxing break from all those who cower when at the receiving end of my arrogant remarks (when I feel like being arrogant, which was almost always all the time).
Uhm, more cheers to her.
"Soooo… I guess we're even then," I said, leaning back on my chair and putting my hands behind my head.
"Huh?"
"You know, you saved me from the hideous advances of the hideously hideous Okinawa and I saved you from being turned into a pancake…?"
"Yeah, I guess".
Insert awkward silence, please.
I gazed lazily around the room. "What made you decide to become a lawyer, anyway?".
She yawned. "Oh, I don't know. It seems as if it's the only course that does not insult my intelligence," she answered, smirking.
"Cheeky, eh?"
"Whatever. If I DO become one, the first thing that I'm going to do is to force the Supreme Court to create a law that prohibits the forcing of women to be subjected to the torture of being with Eggy."
I snorted. "Ain't gonna happen".
"The next thing that I'm going to do is the force them to create a decree which states that 190 lbs. men are prohibited from going 20 feet near a stage" she said evilly, her eyes gleaming. "Then, I'll hoodwi-".
The tension immediately dissolved after that. I leafed through the pages of the book and came across an interesting topic. Keeping my eyes trained on the bold and capitalized letters, I asked a question that I never thought would affect her so much: "well then, if lawyers would have more power by the time that we become one, what punishment would you give to those who commit parricide, homicide, rape, child abuse… you know, the crimes in which the victim's either permanently or temporarily damaged mentally, emotionally or physically?"
I didn't mean it. I really didn't. I never thought it would affect her so much. That's why when I looked up to see it, I froze. It was like a scene in a movie played in slow motion. Her whole face changed and darkened, a cold sneer forming slowly on her face. A turmoil of emotions graced her green eyes, her jaw become with rigid with fury. I looked at her hands and saw it was shaking.
God, it was… disturbing.
"You know, I never considered them as part of the human race," she said coldly. "The law never gave fair punishments to those bastards. Slip the judge money under the table and they're free to go and do the shit they like to do," she hissed. "If one has the money, they can walk home a free man. They're manipulative little bastards who don't deserve to live freely and to die quickly. If I were the one to hand out the punishment, they'll be screamin' like the cowards that they really are," she laughed derisively, her eyes cold. Cold.
Silence.
"I'll have them locked up," she said quietly, a twisted sneer on her face, " in a room where their only companion is a simple gas". She looked up and clarified, "C-139".
OoooOooOOoO
"Do you think I've done the right thing?" Yelan asked, looking out on the view of the estate as she placed on her hands on the railing of the balcony in her room.
"What did you do?" her friend asked.
"When I told my son to try and change her".
"But whichever way you look at it, you're doing the right thing. You and I both know that what she shows is not what she really is. It is for the best that she discards.. her… ah… stupendously obtuse and ticked attitude before it consumes h-".
"But I found out what happened to her!" Yelan burst out. "It was horrible! Don't you think she'll throw herself into deeper depression once she finds out all this was a ploy to change her? What if she thinks she's been used?
"And as if that is not enough, I'm afraid my son has developed quite a fondness for the young visitor. If it develops into something more, the results may be disastrous."
"Why?"
Li Yelan turned her head and met her friend's piercing stare. "Let's say she finds out my punishment, aren't you afraid she'll think that Xiao-Lang's unusual teasing and insults are just part of the plan to get her to warm up just enough for him and his friends to attack?"
ooOoOOoooOoooOo
"So what's this C-139?" Tomoyo asked. I told them about what happened. They were astonished, really. When I mentioned the nerve gas, Tomoyo did not know what it was… but Eriol did.
"I read it in a novel and used it as a research project for Mr. Terada" Eriol said. "It's one of the deadliest- if not THE deadliest- nerve gases out there. Its full name is Clow-139, named after the scientist who developed it. Most nerve gases out there cause death within 30 seconds to 5 minutes after skin contact. Unfortunately, C-139 is not THAT merciful".
"Merciful!" Tomoyo exclaimed, aghast.
"It's not just a killer," Eriol said, "that's damned painless in comparison. C-139 is what most military strategists call a demoralizer."
I piped up, "It passes through the skin and enters the bloodstream, migrates to the brain and instantly causes irreparable damage".
Eriol nodded. "For about 4 to 6 hours, the victim retains full use of his limbs and retains his normal strength. It's only his mind that suffers."
"He becomes mentally unstable," I said. "Confusion, rage, fear, add the feeling that everybody's going to mutilate him and combine all these with the powerful urge to kill everybody within 20 feet and voila! you now have a mindless killing machine for 4 to 6 hrs."
Tomoyo shivered. "So if Sakura wants whoever he is to be locked up in an impenetrable room with C-139, chances are, since he has no one to kill vent his urge to kill, he'll likely attack the only one present… himself" she whispered.
I nodded. "Exactly."
"Well," Eriol continued, "the second stage is the terminal stage. It lasts somewhere between 5 to 10 hours. It begins with the deterioration of efferent nerves and sums up to the paralysis of the nervous system."
"And in English?" Tomoyo asked patiently.
I said, "it means that in the 2nd stage, C-139 destroys the ability of the brain to regulate the automatic functions of the body. The victim experiences irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath and the destruction of every gland and organ in the body. There would be vomiting, muscle spasms and joint pains… and if only the efferent nerves were damaged, the nervous system still intact, there would be excruciatingly cruel pain".
"Until the heart stops," Eriol added, "or until the victim suffocates".
"5 to 10 hours of hell," Tomoyo said softly.
None of us spoke for a few minutes. Each of us was lost in our own little world. I looked out of the window and furrowed my eyebrows in thought. C-139's administered only to those psychopaths whose criminal activity and brute violence are way too much, ones who lead lives of destruction; the ones who ruin and destroy the lives of their family, friends and countrymen, who inflict pain and trauma not only to the victims but to the witnesses as well. Not even lethal injection, electrocution or beheading can compete with it, since the pain on these punishments is quite brief compared to it. So far, I've learned of only 2 people to whom it was given and it was because they really WERE a threat.
"Do you really think that, whatever the hell this guy did, he deserves such a thing?" Tomoyo asked quietly, tucking a loose strand behind her ear.
Eriol shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. "I dunno…," he trailed off. "I mean, it's barely even approved as a weapon for punishment."
They looked at me and I crossed my arms. "Maybe…" I said quietly.
I'll have them locked up… in a room where no one can touch them. A room with a nerve gas…
I looked out of the window.
C-139…
Yeah. He deserves it, all right.
a/n: Elo, ppl! i've finally edited! okay, to answer some questions:
Heart's Door: Ohhh.. Tomoyo and Eriol definitely won't be in the background crowd for long. you see, Eggy is gay, right? so.. there is a field out there that he doesn't know squat about. A field that is VERY important for a lady (at least for me). clue: he's been there and screwed up and we start noticing it by the time we hit puberty.
SakuraMiaka: nope. Law is for people who are smart and can debate and stuff. unfortunately, i can only debate when i'm out of my mind or drunk (i.e. i can't) and i'm definitely not smart (i bet you are!). mum is studying law so i nicked a few books from her shelf. hehe.
Tomoyo-chan and Sakura-Miaka: Actually, C-139 is a false nickname. the real name is Timoshenka-139 or something. i read it in a book report of my friend and decided to use it and make it's effect more...uh... morbid? i don't know whethere it's an actual gas cause i haven't check it out yet. (sheesh, i hope not. i wouldn't want a real 'Dawn of the Dead' or something. i'm a scaredy-cat. ohoho...)
Keetra: (Nods head in agreement). tsktsk. so true.
one-whose-penname-i-forgot: what mistakes? please point them out for me!
ahaha... so i hope you enjoyed the chapter! sorry for all the mistakes! oh, and thank you to everyone who reviewed! i lubshoo all! (wipes tears dramatically). read and review please!
Later and Lotsa Love,
CalCarrie