Chapter 2: "A Nightmare"
_________
12 year-old Nate "Near" Rivers woke up with a start. He stared with wide, dark eyes at the ceiling for a moment, breathing in and out in a steady rhythm. Trying to calm himself. In and out. In and out.
He had been having a recurring nightmare lately; that all the leaders of the world had all gathered together in a conference. There they had decided that the best solution to the world's problems would be to simply put it out of it's misery and nuke it into oblivion.
In his dream Near was the only one who cared, who didn't want to die. It had ignited a feeling of intense panic in him, as each person he confronted seemed absolutely fine with the situation. Didn't seem to care that they were all going to die. Of course now, awake in his small white room, he knew how ridiculous the whole idea was and it was easy to shake the images of burning flesh from his mind.
Hearing no noises from outside his door that indicated others had risen, he rolled over onto his side to look at the alarm clock that sat on his bedside table.
"5:21 AM"
Near retreated deeper into his blankets. He closed his eyes, savouring the warmth and softness, trying to go back to sleep. The blinking red light of the clock seeped through his eye lids, however, and he found that he could not ignore it. Frowning in annoyance he sat up and pushed the blankets off, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.
Briefly he wondered what one did at five o'clock in the morning when they couldn't sleep. He gazed around his room at the dark shapes of his toys, robots, books and puzzles, all a dark, muted red in the light of the alarm clock. None of them particularly drew him tonight. He wanted something new.
After a brief moment of thought he decided on exploration and slid off the bed, shuffling over to the drawer where he kept his socks. After he slipped them on he wriggled his toes around inside them, thinking about where he would go. Deciding on the gardens, he got to his feet and, ignoring the pair of shoes by the door, began his venture.
He wouldn't get even as far as the kitchens.
As he passed the doorway that led into the mess hall he stopped, noticing that the light was on. Pushing the door lightly he poked his head curiously into the room. At one of the white tables sat Mello, staring vacantly into a mug of hot chocolate that wasn't steaming any more.
"...Can't you sleep either?" Near inquired softly.
Mello's head snapped up and his eyes met those of the small,white haired boy standing in the doorway. Near didn't understand the look in them. They were red-rimmed and shining, like he'd just been... 'Sad?'
"Mello?" he asked, his voice concerned.
"What." The blonde spat, glaring back into his hot chocolate.
"Are you alright?" Near asked timidly. His friend wasn't usually so harsh like this. Not with Near anyway.
"What the fuck is it to you?" Mello stood now, fists shaking angrily. "I- well I-" Near's stomach made a little twist of uncertainty as he met Mello's furious eyes. There was a long, tense pause as Mello waited for an answer, taking a few slow, aggressive steps forward. "I...couldn't sleep..." Near whispered, clutching the door-frame tightly.
Mello paused, examining Near for a moment. Reading the fear and confusion in his eyes. There was no one around... everyone was still asleep... But he couldn't bring himself to- Near took the opportunity to give a small, timid but kind smile.
That familiar, odd smile. Gritting his teeth in some internal struggle, Mello turned from Near."Just go away and leave me alone."
Near frowned in confusion and worry. "Are you sure you're-" Mello quickly span, grabbing the front of Near's shirt violently.
"GET THE FUCK OUT!!!!"
"Mell-!" Near was silenced by a hard punch to the nose, which made his eyes water and his head spin.
"SHUT-UP-YOU-LITTLE-SHIT-THIS-IS-ALL-YOUR-FAULT!" Every word was punctuated by another punch. Near fell to the ground under the rain of blows, but Mello did not stop.
Mello attacked Near with fierce abandon, tears leaking out of the corner of his eyes, teeth gritted. He left no part of Near's pale skin unmarked. Every energy he spent only on putting the other boy in as much pain as he could. Near barely made a sound, his mouth partly open in shock and pain, but silent. After one hard blow to the mouth, Near feebly tried to push his attacker away, as blood stained his white lips.
"I hate you." Mello sobbed as he landed a kick in Near's chest, causing the smaller boy to stumble and fall through the door, bashing his head against the hallway wall. Only after another kick brought a loud crack from Near's abdomen and he let out a wrenching scream of agony, did Mello stop his assault.
Once Mello had moved back, hands still shaking with adrenaline, did the small boy in white try to move. He managed to drag himself onto his hands and knees, one hand clutched to his ribs.
"What-...for... ?" He whispered as blood dripped in strings from his mouth, staining his white knees.
Mello said nothing, but fled, as the discreet camera in the corner of the room looked on impassively.
xXx
Near had calculated in his head how far he would have had to drag himself to get to the infirmary, but as he tried to move a searing pain shot through his chest and he fell, biting back a scream. Instead he lay, alone in the hallway softly crying, praying someone would wake up soon and notice him.
He lay there for an hour, slipping in and out of consciousness, trying not to breathe too much. He was pulled back to reality when he heard soft footsteps coming up the hall, and a familiar, impatient tongue-clicking. Near almost cried out in relief. Roger was coming. The footsteps drew nearer and soon enough the old man was standing over him. Something like horror flashed in his eyes but then it was gone, replaced by utter disgust.
"Ro...ger..." Near sighed in relief, but Roger was shaking his head in frustration.
"I don't have time for this!" he burst out angrily, and continued to dash down the hallway, leaving the little white boy bleeding on the carpet.
"R- Roger?" Near choked, still too shocked to be hurt.
Another half hour passed and the shock wore off.
Near came to with a pair of tinted goggles hovering over him.
"Jesus Christ, Near, what happened to you?" the redhead murmured, chewing a toothpick thoughtfully. Near opened his lips but all that escaped was an unintelligible whimper. "That so?" Matt replied lightly. "Well I guess you're having a bit of a hard time getting to the infirmary. Want some help?" Near only gave a weak smile.
"You got it." Matt responded, slipping his arms underneath the younger boy, lifting him gently from the ground. He carried Near down the hallway, quietly talking to him all the way to the infirmary.
"Actually, better not tell what happened, you know, cause shit like this would make for one EPIC war story later, you know what I mean? Like involving ninjas, or mutants or something like that. All the younger kids'd believe you too, I mean, come on, your word is like law for them." Near was silent, only breathing shallowly, "Why all the modesty? You know it as well as I do." The redhead joked as they rounded the corner into the little room that smelled of bleach.
"Ma'am?" he asked the fat infirmary lady who was on the phone. "Injured soldier here." he said, gesturing with the boy in his arms, causing Near to flinch.
"On the phone, sweetie." she said shortly to him, before turning her back on him, continuing to speak into the phone. "I know darling, but she said-"
"Um, seriously Ma'am, he's like, delirious from blood loss or something-"
"Patience is a virtue, boyo." she snapped. "Oh, not you, it's nothing darling, there's just some kid here-"
"Its not fucking nothing! Look at him!!" cried Matt, his voice rising in indignation.
"Oh, for Christ's sake!" she let out an explosive sigh. "Just chuck him on one of the beds over there, I'll take a look at him in a minute! Stop bothering me."
Matt gaped a little at the woman for a moment before carrying Near into the room where two hard, white mattresses stood. Matt lay him down on one of them gently, propping his platinum head up on one of the plastic-covered pillows.
"You'll be okay without me, right soldier?" Matt asked seriously. Near grabbed the sleeve of his stripy shirt, managing to whisper.
"Don't...go..."
"Sorry man, big test today, I'll be in shit if I don't show. Tell you what though, I'll come back and visit you later, make sure she takes care of you, yeah? Hey, I'll even bring Mello." Matt smiled proudly at the idea, missing Near's silent "No". "Anywho, see you later man. Try to like, heal...and stuff..."
With a wide grin of encouragement splashed across his face he saluted the pale boy on the plastic-covered bed and was gone.
"Don't...go..." Near pleaded to the empty room.
xXx
"No one remembered to inform Matt." L observed to Watari over his shoulder, his tone displeased. He tipped the ninth spoonful of sugar into his half-full teacup. "See to it that someone does. As soon as possible, please."
Watari came to stand behind him, looking over his shoulder at the monitors that played the video message sent by the Kira impersonator to Sakura TV two days ago. In silence, Watari muted them and looked at another screen, the sole monitor that did not show the pseudo-Kira's message, but instead showed an injured boy trying in vain to go to sleep.
"How long has he been lying there?" Watari asked, a catch in his voice.
"About an hour. He is holding up quite nicely. I am considering upping the anti a little when-"
"L, the boy needs treatment."
"And he shall get it. After I am satisfied that-"
"This is wrong."
"Ethically, perhaps. Strategically, no." L's wide, dark eyes did not leave the screen as he brought the tea cup to his lips. Watari followed his gaze. His own eyes couldn't help but sting a little, watching the boy's tears trickle steadily from the corners of his eyes, down his bruised face.
"That's exactly how you looked when I found you." Watari murmured.
"So what are you worrying for? I turned out perfectly fine, did I not?" L said, his voice and face expressionless and he rose from his chair, leaving Watari alone in the room.
"I hope so, my son." he whispered, picking up the empty teacup. "Though now, I'm not so certain..."
A/N: Whoo! Another chapter down and out of the way! And now we see that the plot thickens!! Do let me know what you think of the new developments. Reviews are nommier than sugary tea and also encourage me to write faster~ ^^ Ciao for now!
~CANDY