hsss-shhh
hsss-shhh
hsss-shhh
This noise, though the darkness.
Staggered heart machines, reading staggered beats.
hsss-shhh
hsss-shhh
His internal clock told him he had been conscious for one hour and roughly forty minutes. Too long for no contact. The situation parameters were changing; the new noise had been studied and catalogued as a respirator. Having checked his own breathing, he concluded it was Duo on the machine; which meant the other man's condition had only gotten worse.
hsss-shhh
hsss-shhh
hsss-shhh
This noise, through the darkness.
hsss-shhh
hsss-shhh
hsss-shhh
"We've been traveling though the Eastern lands, and Heero got injured. I've been looking for a healer for a week; he's only gotten this bad in the last couple of hours. So, yanno, thanks for that."
Duo gazed into the mesmerizing blue fire. It didn't give off the heady, thick smell of burning wood, nor did it crackle or jump like regular fire. Despite the eerie way it swayed – completely at odds with the breeze that flowed across the midnight grassland – it still gave off some warmth. Duo absently raised his hands to it, sitting on the ground. His one knee was raised, and the other leg was folded under him, pulling his simple black tunic flush across his tight stomach. Quatre hoped the fire would account for his blush as he handed a metal cup to Duo. The thin soup was at least somewhat nourishing, and Duo accepted it gratefully.
Trowa was sitting cross-legged on the far side of the fire. He watched Duo's movements, tracking him with his eyes. His dark green tunic and brown leather pants hung loose about his small frame, the colours morphing into a deep brown and muted purple from the firelight and ever-present dust. His shock of hair hid one of his eyes, but they still watched the stranger, Duo, warily.
Wufei was lying on the ground, silently asleep. His white pants and blue top, in the style of his heritage from the farthest reaches of the west, were muddled with the stains of traveling and from the fire. He had faith that the ranger and mage could contain the two strangers if need be, and he rather preferred his sleep to answers.
As the group sat in tense silence, the deep breathing of the warrior, Heero, could be heard over the rustling grasses. Trowa looked to Duo, trouble beginning to stir in his stomach.
"You say that you've been traveling through the Eastern lands; how far was the last town? We have need to reach there, and we are long overdue."
Duo sipped the soup before answering; it was an interesting combination of spices that made him think of home, but nothing he could put his finger on. Either way, he decided it was delicious, and he thought on Trowa's question as he sipped. "We came over the mountains," Duo gestured in the general direction of the Russet peaks that adorned one side of the horizon, "and then came though some of the villages, heading west." He took another sip before continuing.
"The first couple we came to were ok, but the farther west we moved…the more weird things came popping up."
Quatre leaned forward, interest and fear in his eyes.
"And the last village we got to…they were all gone."
Trowa shifted positions, and his voice was pinched as he asked "Gone?"
How odd, Duo thought. Trowa never would have moved like that. This is like a carnival fun mirror, but a helluva lot creepier.
"Yeah, gone. As in, dead; all of them. Mostly in their beds, some in the streets. There were at least three of them that looked like they had killed themselves, but the rest looked like they had choked on something. All covered in sores, too. The flies were incredible…"
Duo sipped on the soup again, and watched the reactions of the two travelers. Quatre hurriedly got up and began to tidy and rearrange things about the camp, fussing over packs and mumbling about checking on the horses. His brown robes shuffled and swished through the grass as he walked, creating a strange wave through the endless field.
Trowa sat completely still, but his face had blanched while his hands had turned red. His eyes were focused on the fire, and seemed almost haunted. His voice, however, was detached, cold; "There was no one alive, were there?"
Duo's cup stopped halfway to his lips, terrible familiarity gripping his heart and threatening to hitch his breath. He paused, thinking; Ah, the Trowa we all knew and feared for makes his appearance at last. Guilt? Check. Fear? Check. If this were our Trowa, I'd back off, play a fool, change the subject. But…maybe…he's different here…
Looking down into his cup, he said, "No, no one was. From when we crossed the mountains, to now, no village had remained untouched in some way. Whatever it is, though, it didn't cross the mountains yet." Duo risked a glance; Trowa still stared blankly into the fire. "But we came across from the north, not the east. I have no idea what lies ahead of you three. As far as I know, the eastern settlements could all be flying high…"
Quatre still fustled with his packs, Wufei still slept, Heero still healed, and Trowa still stared. Duo sighed, contented and sad. Here were the behaviors he knew, he missed, he had longed for and dreaded all the same. Each to their habit of dealing with stress; and he had was no exception.
"So, you had mentioned your journey lay to the east…Mind me asking what that might be?"
Silence
Well, well, not so different. Hey, that gives me an idea…
Duo stiffly stood up, raised his arms above his head, and stretched so far that a cat would be proud. His arched back cracked like a gunshot in the silence of the night, and Wufei started awake. Duo smirked, and twisted his back, popping each vertebra slowly, and with apparent pleasure. Wufei grimaced at the sky, biting his tongue. Duo bent down to touch his toes, setting new and previously untouched bones in a percussive accompaniment to his movements. Wufei finally sat up and glared at the braided interloper, who returned with an innocent and open smile. Scoffing, the warrior turned over and settled back down. Duo silently lowered himself back down, his performance done and secretly pleased.
Ahahaha, not so different at all! Same old quirks, same old looks from all of them. But far different stories. So why do Heero and I still remember? And where the hell are these guys trying to get to?
Duo opened his mouth to ask Trowa again, and found the woodsman had retreated into his own mind. Distant, his eyes, with dread fear in them. Instead, Duo turned to the dusty mage, still rummaging the packs near where Heero lay. Duo moved toward Quatre on quiet feet, not wanting to disturb incase the mage was making magic. Duo padded to the other side of Heero, into the mage's line of sight, and squatted by the prone warrior.
Quatre glanced up once, then again in shock as the black clad man had suddenly appeared on the other side of his patent. The man's eyes still captivated, and his pensive look at his traveling companion turned to a warm smile that fluttered something inside of Quatre. Duo whispered, "How's he making out?"
Quatre blinked a few times, his eyes shining, "I think…think maybe we got to him…just in time. I've never seen injuries quite like his, though. Poison, sure, but those bruises seemed to be from a fall, or from being crushed. So much full body damage rarely occurs…" He waited patently for Duo to fill in the blanks, give some clue to the injuries, but unspoken question was met with unspoken answer. Duo instead changed the subject.
"Your archer seems short on words, so I was looking for some more stimulating conversation. He said you were heading east…"
Quatre nodded and said no more. Two could play the withholding game.
"As I was saying, all the villages past the mountains seemed to be affected in someway, but we've only really seen a few on our way here, and we've not been this far south yet, so I don't really know what lies ahead. Or to the west, for that matter."
Quatre smiled sadly, "The west contains nothing until the end of the plains. Or the beginning, if you like, it all depends on where you're traveling. There is a bustling market town at the edge of the plain, and scattered settlements in the shadow of the mountains, but beside those, the way is barren of humans. We're heading east, to the towns beyond the plains, to perhaps lend a hand. At least, that's my mission. Both my companions are honour guards, although they feel far more like family now. Three months of wandering the desert will do that to a person." Quatre latched and buckled the pack he had been working with.
"Why don't you and he come with us? I know you said you were heading westward and south, but the place contains no resources. In fact, I'm not sure how you made it this far, with just what you have, but east might yet be your best option if nothing is holding you to your current course."
Duo, his mind already forming more questions, eagerly agreed.
The boys are back.