Chapter 21
Lies
Edward put the diary on his lap with a sigh. He looked to Hermione, who had a dreamy smile on her face. She had a hand over her chest passionately.
"I had no Idea Edward……" She said leaning in to him, her head resting right on Edward's chest. He blushed slightly, his temperature rising. His pulse raced erratically.
"Kellach was such a sweetheart! Oh it just makes me remember him so clearly!" She swooned, getting off of Edward.
"And here I thought she was talking about me….."Edward sulked to himself. But he brushed it off and just looked into Hermione's sapphire eyes. He held the book gently in his hands now, the tips of his fingers feeling the engraved cover. Edward then made an attempt to get up.
"Well we had better go to-,"
"No. Read one more entry, please." Hermione said swiftly, placing her hand on his knee, stopping his action. Edward hesitated on her action. Reading more into Kellach's secrets could scar her mind of him.
"But aren't you trying to get her to fall in love with you?" Edward's mind told him questioningly. He had to think this one over for a bit. Without warning, Hermione then wrenched the diary from Edward's hands. He gasped and looked at her with frightened eyes. She had frenzy in her face as she tore open the book, flipping through the pages. She suddenly stopped with a gasp. She looked at the date entry. It made her do a double-take.
"August 7th…….the day before he was….killed," She said wearily, her hands shaking as she held the book. Edward looked over Hermione's shoulder. He put his hand on her shoulder. It made her take her glance off the journal entry and into Edward's eyes. Her eyes were talking to him. "Should I read this?"Her eyes told him.
"Do whatever you feel will ease your pain," he answered her with a smile. Hermione answered with a nod. She then took her eyes back to the last sign of Kellach's existence.
"I have to know…….why he died," she said sadly, holding back tears. She began to read the entry out loud.
August 7th, 2009
It's official. I will die tomorrow.
Just by reading that, Hermione froze. A horrified look was planted on her features.
"He…..he knew it. He knew it, knew he was going to die….and he never told me," Hermione muttered with a shudder. Edward held her by the shoulders to comfort her.
"Hermione, stop. Put the book down and just st-,"
"NO! I HAVE TO KNOW!" Hermione shouted, pushing Edward out of the way with a force he never thought she had. He landed on his stomach in a tower of dusty tomes. The towers crashed down upon Edward, sending a large plume of dust in the air, masking his vision and his other four senses.
"Now with him out of the way, I can find out the truth," Hermione said with new determination. She continued from where she left off.
It's official. I will die tomorrow. I have known this for about two weeks now. My condition has been slowly getting worse since my incident. The medicine isn't even helping me anymore. I've been trying to keep this hidden from Hermione…..but it's getting harder with each passing day…..
"Hih…hih….hih….H'kSCHh!" Kellach sneezed into a crumpled Kleenex. His head was throbbing as he sat in the meeting room. He had a hand on his head, elbow resting on the table he was sitting at. His fellow Knights looked concerned for his health. Some backed away, hoping not to catch whatever their leader was infected with. Hermione put a hand on Kellach's back and rubbed it for comfort. Amy and Shadow looked at him as if he were an alien. Aang and Neji had a wise concern on their face. Arya and Knuckles were making out in the back, their legs and arms all over each other. Sasuke just "humph"ed. The knights were discussing motives to track down and find Dartz and his party. They had been missing and AWOL for almost half a year. Kellach and Neji were leading the cause. But now Kellach looked too sick to lead the knights. He sniffled and wrote something down on a large map rolled out on the large table.
"Kellach, please just get some rest," Hermione pleaded her boyfriend. She looked at him straight in the face. He looked terrible. His eyes were red and watery. His nostrils were beet red and his face was contorted in a melancholy frown.
"Hermione, this happens every year. It's just my hay fever acting up again," He muttered with yet another sniffle. Neji tapped Kellach on the shoulder to get his attention.
"The witch is right Kellach. Take some medicine and get some rest. I can take over from here." He insisted upon him, taking the pen from Kellach's hands. The wizard then gave Neji a disgusted look.
"Look, just because I'm under the weather doesn't mean that I'm not fit to lead the team," He said quickly. He stood up with a huff, "It's been like this every summer. Give me a freaking brea…….eh….ih……" Hermione groaned and quickly handed Kellach another tissue. He swiped it out of her hand faster than she could pick it up.
"Ahhktchuu!" Kellach sneezed violently into the tissue and to everyone's astonishment, the tissue suddenly morphed into a wave of fire. It blew outward, toasting all of the Knights but Kellach. Kellach sniffled, putting a hand behind his head. His voice came out garbled.
"'Scuse be," he chuckled lightly. Sasuke looked at Kellach angrily. Sasuke along with the rest of the Knights were charred black. They also mimicked Sasuke's glare.
"GO TO BED!" They all shouted, pointing to the door. Kellach put his head down. The rest of them sat down. Kellach suddenly had a plan. He turned to Hermione, his last hope.
"Herbione, go ub du by broom abd ged by bills," Kellach asked her, congested. Hermione understood him though.
"What color are they?" She asked him, heading for the door to the hallway leading to the stairs.
"Bingk!" Kellach shouted back.
"What?!" She asked, not getting that last part. Kellach slapped his forehead, reaching for another tissue. He blew his nose and tossed the gunk into the trash.
"PINK!" He shouted to her yet again. But Hermione was already out of the room.
Hermione was then in Kellach's room. She knew what she was looking for. She began her search for Kellach's Allergy Medication on his bookshelf. She pushed books to the side, only finding piles of old dust and rotting pages. She moved to another shelf. This didn't pose very promising. Just a bunch of vials, some empty and some with multi-colored fluids. She brushed her hands through the shelf to clear things out of the way. Her hand accidently knocked against one of the vials. It tumbled to the carpeted floor, spilling its contents. The red tinctured potion mixed with the blue carpet, leaving a purple stain. She groaned, ignoring the mess.
"You're just going to have to freaking deal Kellach," she muttered to herself. She then walked to Kellach's headboard bedpost. On the shelf were two bottles of pills. Hermione picked up the first one. It was Kellach's SingulAIR pills. She unscrewed the bottle's lid and shook out a couple pills. Sure enough, they were a hot pink color. Hermione looked pleased with her work. But upon a second glace. She saw that there were two bottles of pills. She had spilt it onto the floor while quickly grabbing the first bottle. She looked at the floor, and saw a scattering of blood-red spherical pills. They almost looked like marbles. Hermione bent over and picked up one of the pills. She was right. It had the texture of clay, flaking bits of red powder onto her fingers as she rolled it between her fingers. This was when she noticed the bottle on the floor. She took a look and examined it.
To a mister Kellach Masons.
Kimitrex. Take one daily in the morning.
Uses: Relieves
Coughing, tightness of chest, buildup of blood in lungs, intense headaches, fevers.
WARNINGS
Ask a doctor or pharmacist before use if you are
Nursing, Pregnant or about to become pregnant. Frequently being intimate, experiencing a high or low blood pressure.
SIDE EFFECTS INCLUDE
Vomiting, Weakened Immune System, Dizziness, Bouts of Anger, Abdominal Pain.
STOP USING IF
Bloody phlegm persists; you begin to vomit blood as this could be signs of a serious blood disorder.
Hermione dropped the bottle and backed away from the pills. She had tears welling up in her eyes. Her hands were running through her hair viciously. She was shaking madly.
"Why the hell are these in his room?" She thought, her imagination going into overdrive. "He could die tomorrow," She thought, still freaking out at the possibility that she could no longer be in his arms anymore. No, she wouldn't let it happen. I mean…they never had even had……well; she had to do something about it. She snatched the Allergy Medicine off of the bed shelf, put the red pellet pills back in the other bottle, and ran for her own room faster than her smooth legs could carry her. When she got to her door, she wrenched it open without a thought. Quickly she tore for her notebook and a pen. With steady fingers she tore out a blank page. Still moving quickly, she took out a thick colorful scrapbook from under her bed. She placed it on the desk in front of her. She then scribbled quickly and nimbly on the Notebook paper a little message.
MEET ME ON THE ROOF AT MIDNIGHT. PLEASE DON'T BE LATE. I'LL BE WAITING.
HERMIONE ^_^
When she finished, she took the note, folded it, and placed it in the middle of the scrapbook. She made sure to stuff it deep near the binding too. Kellach was going to tell her everything. All the lies he had been throwing at her face. She had to know.
Was her boyfriend going to die on his birthday?
Later that day, I went up to my room to discover that my pills had been moved. Hermione had found out. It tore me apart to know this. She didn't need my burden on her shoulders. I knew I would then have to face her. But when?
Hermione had to stop reading this for a second.
"So I was right. Either way……even if they didn't come, he would have died. Right in my arms," She said solemnly. Her heart was slowly being opened up to the truth, and she didn't like it. But she had to know more. It wasn't enough for her. Hermione then heard coughing and sputtering from behind her.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Edward blared, is fists in the air angrily. He dusted himself off. "Girl has the power of a bulldozer," He thought while wincing.
"Oh have your temper tantrum somewhere else," Hermione shot back to him, hiding her despondency from him. Edward yawned, stretching his arms out wide.
"I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed….." Edward said walking for the closet exit, "we have a huge day tomorrow and we need our rest if we're going to find Twilight Town." He said yawning again.
"No!" Hermione gasped suddenly, shocking Edward. He was sort of taken aback, "please, stay." She asked him, with no one else to turn to. He had done the taboo of his people. He had brought her back from the dead. And she was forever grateful. Edward shrugged and walked back to Hermione and sat beside her.
"Alright, but just a little more, you seriously need some rest girl," He pleaded to her, bags were already drifting on his eyes.
"Yeah, just one more page. That's all I need," Hermione said confidently to Edward. With her determination, the two turned the page. She looked at the page, and held back a scream. The whole two-spread of paper was spattered with blood. It was as if someone had dipped a paintbrush in a can of red paint and flicked it at the pages. The words written were still visible, but she could not keep her eyes off the spots of red. She knew what it was.
"Read. Now." She commanded Edward. She couldn't look at the diary anymore. Edward gave Hermione a look of concern. He paused for a moment.
"Are you sure you want to-,"
"YES! I want to! Read now!!!" Hermione snapped quickly, her stomach queasy.
"Alright. Don't say I didn't warn you. Ok. Where did we leave off?
I knew I would have to face her. But When?
It is 11:56. I'll be fifteen years old in four minutes. The tower is asleep. All but me. I can't stop coughing blood. Alas, some of it has spattered my pages of writing. It is just a confirmation of my doomsday. Even today the signs arose…..
Kellach was staring at the mirror in the bathroom; he was in a blue robe, his hair damp from just getting out of the shower. He checked himself out at his reflection. His eyes were still a bit red, but not as bad as earlier today. He had color back in his face and he could breathe again. The pills had worked. His chest had been burning ever since he got out of his shower though, an uncomfortable feeling whenever he breathed. He looked healthy; he looked fine actually, better than he had in days. He grabbed his toothbrush and began to brush his teeth. Kellach then heard a sudden knock at the door.
"Occupado!" He shouted out, continuing to scrub at his teeth.
"It's me Kell," Hermione said sweetly from behind the door. She was hiding her concern about her discoveries behind her face smile.
"Oh hey Mione," Kellach responded. He continued with his duties. Hermione had plucked up the courage. She had to tell him now. What if he didn't survive through midnight? But she chickened out.
"Hey a bunch of us are going to watch "I Love You, Man" downstairs. Wanna come down?" She asked him, still behind the door.
"Sure dear, I'll be down in about a few," Kellach said with a smile, opening the door and receiving a hug from Hermione. He kissed her back on the cheek.
"Thanks. See you soon!" She said with a wave, and headed downstairs to join the others. Kellach waved back, closing the door to the bathroom. The burning in his chest reached a fever pitch. He then lurched forward, his hands on the sink counter. He then coughed violently into the sink. Blood dripped from his lips and landed like deadly rain in the sink. He continued to retch and cough crimson in the bathroom sink. He used his right hand to reach for the faucet handle to rinse out the blood from the sink. He continued to cough. Still spewing blood into his hands and onto the floor. It was worse than usual, lasting a good three minutes. Usually it was thirty seconds. His condition was getting worse. He cleaned up the stains on the floor with a paper towel. He grabbed a swig of water to clear out his mouth. He was sweating heavily, his heart pounding painfully. He had an angry look on his face.
"AGH!!" Kellach growled in sad rage, pounding his fists on the bathroom tile. The tears ran from his face without warning. He was dying. He couldn't, he needed to stay with Hermione, with the Knights. He would never see his brother or family again. Life was fading away before his eyes.
"Damn you….Kimimaro," Kellach muttered, the tears slowly going away. He then remembered why Hermione had come to him not too long ago. He cleaned up his tears, and headed into his room to change into PJs. Once he was dressed, he went downstairs to be with his friends one last time.
That was the moment I knew I wouldn't live to see sixteen. It's a crushing feeling. I would never drive a car, I would never taste alcohol. I would never be able to bring pleasure to the one I truly loved. I would be gone from the world before my own father. It just shows how suddenly life can be taken away. Hermione, If you are reading this. It means that I am dead. But I have one favor to ask of you. Please…..please stay strong. It is not your fault that this happened. I never wanted you to even know of this burden, but I'm guessing you caught on. Just please, remember that I will always be with you in your Dreams, chasing away the sorrows from your Nightmares. Don't forget me Hermione, but be brave. I know this has probably taken a horrible toll on you, but please...keep your joy. Keep that smile that always brightened my day. Keep the smarts that set you apart from others. Keep that humor that made me laugh. Keep your sanity, it will keep you safe. And most of all, Keep your Friends, for they are the greatest gift you have of all. Keep that, and I will keep you in my heart. I love you Hermione.
Stay strong.
And goodbye.
"It ends there," Edward said, closing the book. Hermione did not know what to say. Kellach had left a death note in the diary, just for her. She had been a mess since he had passed on, angry, distraught. She pushed her friends away, and it was wrong of her to do. From now on, she was going to treasure her life. It would be what He wanted her to do.
"Alright," Edward said quietly, "now we should really go to bed. We have a long day ahead of us and-," But he was interrupted by Hermione. She had knelt beside him, and embraced him. Tears struggled to escape her eyes, but they did not come. Edward didn't know what to do, let alone what to say. He accepted the hug.
"Thank you Edward, for giving me back my life," She said smiling. She still hugged him, not letting go. When she finally let go, the two were smiling. Now knowing the truth, their hearts were a bit lighter. Hermione had newfound strength. Edward had a new determination to save the Knights and his brother.
"Well, it's time to go to bed," Hermione said, getting up from the stone floor. She helped Edward up by holding her hand out. She stared at Edward, and he stared back at her. Maybe it was because of her lack of sleep, but when she turned to look at the Alchemist, she found herself staring at Kellach. He was smiling at her with those sapphire eyes and straw blonde hair.
He actually opened his mouth to speak to her.
"Hermione," He said. It was really his voice, sweet like strawberry sunshine. She kept her gaze on Kellach, "Hermione, It's me, Kellach. You can still save me. Trust Edward. He knows what he is doing. He wants to help you. Just trust him, and please…….save me. I love you, and I know you will do the right thing. Hermione, my dear. Hermione, my sweet. Hermione……..Hermione…..Hermione…."
"Hermione….Hermione……Hermione!" Edward had shouted at her, bringing her back to earth, "are you going to help me up or what?" He asked her.
"Oh, yeah. Right, sure." Hermione responded, a bit flustered from the sudden hallucination….at least, she thought it was a hallucination. She helped Edward off from the floor. And holding hands, the two made their way out of the closet. They were both exhausted, and had no Idea of what was in store for them in the next days. But whatever they faced, they knew they had hope.
The book had been left propped open on the stone cold floor. The room had a presence of serenity, renewal, and clarity.
"Thank you Hermione, I hope to see you soon," Said Kellach with a lighter heart and brighter spirit. And with his leave into the beyond, the diary's pages flipped slowly, closing. Ending the chapter on a good, happier tone. All was silent.