Yep, here's the next chappie. It's nowhere's near as long as the last two, but nonetheless here it is. Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing, I appreciate it. XD I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Twenty-Three: The Depths of Her Broken Heart
"Officer Andrews to dispatch, I am at the LeCroix residence."
When the police department had first been notified by the school that Mercy had missed a full week of classes, they weren't sure what to think. The school officials explained to them that everyday of Mercy's absence they had called wondering where she was only to receive no answer and have to hang up. Hoping that nothing had happened to the girl, they requested that an officer be sent to her home to check on her. Agreeing, the local law enforcement obtained a warrant to enter her home and take a look around and see if Mercy was there. And Officer Andrews, one of the men who had first questioned Mercy when she was suspected of the murder, was sent to her home to make sure everything was in order.
"Alright, proceed with caution."
Andrews got out of his car, briefly stretching as he closed the door to his car and headed to the door of the home. When he was standing before it, he knocked loudly since he couldn't find a doorbell. He then paused, waiting for someone to answer the door. Sighing, the officer knocked a few more times only to produce no such luck. He then tried the doorknob only to discover that the door was locked. Left with no other option, Officer Andrews went on with breaking the door open and slowly proceeded inside.
"Mercy?" he called out, "Mercy are you in here?"
He waited for a response but got nothing. Quickly glancing around the living room and kitchen of the home, Andrews saw that Mercy was not in either of the two rooms and proceeded down the hallway. The first room he came upon was an office type place, and looking inside he saw that Mercy was not in there either. Continuing down the hall he soon came across a room where the door was closed. He rapped his knuckles on it asking gently, "Mercy are you in there?"
A small groan caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stick up as he opened the door only to reveal Mercy inside, collapsed on the cold bathroom floor. Andrews quickly went to her aid and gently rolled her onto her back, "Mercy, what happened? How long have you been here?"
"I dunno," she slurred, eyes barely open.
He put a hand to her forehead only to flinch, "My God, you're burning up!" Quickly he pulled out his two-way radio and barked into it, "Andrews to dispatch, I am in immediate need of an ambulance!"
"Understood, an ambulance is on its way."
The officer returned his two-way radio to his belt and asked, "Mercy, when was the last time you ate something?"
"I…don't remember."
"What about drank something?"
"I…don't know."
"Well, you're going to be alright, there's an ambulance coming."
"No…I want to stay here."
He stroked her cheek gently seeing the pain and discomfort in her eyes as well as the tears building behind them, "Everything is going to be okay."
"I want to die," she moaned before whispering harshly, "Everything hurts too much."
"Hush Mercy, you're very sick, you need to save your energy."
She closed her eyes and sighed heavily. She had been in the bathroom for so long, days had gone by, though she wasn't sure how many. Her systems were completely drained of energy; she had been hovering in and out of stasis throughout the week. She had emptied out anything that had been inside her "stomach" during that week as well, and now she was suffering from dry heaves. Her ankle was still locked in place, swollen and sore, even though she spent as much time off it as she could. But above all that, her heart hurt the most. It was still broken and lying in shattered pieces throughout the inside of her chest. If a doctor were to x-ray her, they'd most definitely find the pieces of her heart but even they couldn't put it back together again.
Officer Andrews heard the sirens from the ambulance and he looked to Mercy saying, "Hold on, I'll be right back."
She didn't say anything as she opened her eyes and watched him leave the bathroom. "No…I don't want to go…" she breathed as she slowly sat up, painfully wincing as she did so. Using the wall, she gradually managed to get to her feet. She hobbled a few steps forward, tears leaking from her eyes as pain traveled through her injured ankle and dizziness started gnawing at her. "Stupid virus," she cried softly, "Leave me alone."
Just as she got to the doorway she met the officer. A whimper escaped her lips as she looked down to the floor, the EMT's behind him with a stretcher. "Mercy you shouldn't be on your feet," exclaimed the officer softly.
She took a step back from him, bottom lip quivering as the EMT's came over to her and escorted her over to the stretcher where they helped her onto it. After strapping her down onto it, they quickly wheeled her out to the ambulance. Immediately they began testing her blood pressure and taking her temperature. It was an unsettling 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
It was one of the worst rides of Mercy's life as they quickly took her to the hospital. Once they got there though, things didn't get much better. Mercy was immediately taken to the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital where a doctor had an IV waiting for her. Taking her arm he tried to press the needle into the vein on her hand, but had no such luck as the needle suddenly bent. He raised his eyebrows, "Get me a thicker needle."
Mercy groaned, "Let me go home."
"No Mercy," piped up another doctor tending to her, "The hospital is where you need to be. You're very, very sick."
"I don't care."
"You're staying here."
"No!" she shouted suddenly, startling the nurses and doctors that were tending to her, "I don't have to be here! I don't want to be!"
"Mercy, calm down! This is for your own good!"
"My own good?" she wailed, "Like hell it is! I want to go home."
Two of the doctors exchanged glances before one finally said, "We don't have time to deal with this. Bring some restraints and the anesthesiologist. She needs to temporarily be sedated."
"Just leave me alone," growled Mercy weakly, "I don't want to be here."
The nurse came with the restraints and the anesthesiologist all too quickly. Mercy was restrained to the bed despite how she struggled not to be. She was too weak to put up a fight against anyone. She squeezed her eyes closed and bit her bottom lip as the anesthesiologist took out a syringe, the needle thicker and longer than usual and normal, and she grimaced as she felt it go under her metallic flesh. "Please don't kill me…" she breathed.
The doctors exchanged glances, not sure what Mercy was thinking they would do to her. However, she was afraid that they might discover her well kept secret, that she wasn't a human. That was why the first needle had failed to enter her flesh. And the anesthetic that had been given to her…if that were to harm her or make the virus worse…they would start to suspect something. If the potential IV they gave her made her worse…wouldn't they start to assume that something wasn't normal with her? And if they were to x-ray her, would her circuitry be revealed?
"I can't stay here," she breathed, exhaustion and darkness seizing her, "It's not safe…"
And she drifted into an unsettling slumber.
The first thing Mercy heard when her systems came back online was the annoying ticking of the clock that was hanging on the wall in her room. Looking at it she saw it was nearly eight o'clock that evening. She sighed figuring her systems had temporarily gone back into stasis while she slept. The girl didn't feel much better, she still felt like she had been hit by a car about five hundred times. She still felt like she was going to throw up at any minute. And her heart still ached and throbbed like there was no tomorrow. And it was still all his fault.
"Did those blood tests reveal anything about what's wrong with Mercy?" came a voice suddenly not too far from her door.
Blood tests? They took a sample of her blood?! Mercy felt panic sear through her as she strained to hear the other voice's muffled reply, but she couldn't make it out. Her fingers fumbled against the bed sheets that had been laid over her. If they took a blood sample then…then that would reveal everything. She didn't have human blood anymore, she had oil and mech fluids…oh she needed to get out of there before they discovered anything else out…even though there wasn't much left for them to discover.
Glancing around she noticed she was in a hospital gown, during her sleep the nurses must have changed her outfit. Mercy knew she couldn't runaway with that on, she'd be an obvious target when people came looking for her. And to her surprise, the restraints had been removed.
Looking over she spotted a chair next to her bed and on it were her clothes. She sighed with relief knowing she had chosen a good day to wear a hoodie. Slowly though, she got up from the bed and made her way over to her clothes. Once she had them, she went into the bathroom and quickly stripped from her hospital gown. Wincing, she tugged on her jeans and then her shirt, followed by her hoodie. She proceeded to tuck her hair into it and pull the hood up so that nobody could see her hair; it'd be an obvious giveaway. And even more slowly however, she slipped on her shoes and tied them.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Mercy wasn't exactly sure how this was going to go down. She sighed heavily knowing that she would have to try, because she couldn't afford to stay here any longer. Leaving her hospital gown behind, Mercy opened the bathroom door just ajar and peeked out to make sure nobody was in her room. Luckily, nobody was and she walked out, as normally as she could so that she wouldn't attract attention. Going over to the door to her room, she peeked out yet again. There was a doctor at the end of the hallway, but he was busy helping another patient. At the other end of the hallway was an elevator, as well as the receptionist's desk. Sighing, she figured she'd go that way, it was closer, and if she could make it to the elevator…
Mercy hastily left the room, still attempting to walk without a limp, but she couldn't help a slight one since her ankle wouldn't move. She didn't bother to glance at the receptionist who was busy typing on a computer as she walked by and over to the elevator. Pressing the down arrow, she patiently waited for the doors to open so she could get out of the hospital. Every second that passed was like an eternity…and finally there was a ding which caused Mercy to look up. She watched as the doors opened, only to reveal a couple of the doctors that had been tending to her. She felt her mech fluids freeze as she refused allowing a surprised expression to take over her face. Not sure what else to do, she stepped aside.
One of the doctors smiled at her, "Excuse us ma'am." And they exited the elevator and started walking towards her room.
"Shit," Mercy thought as she quickly got on the elevator and had the doors close. She pressed the button for the first floor and waited in total anxiety for the doors to open up. When they finally did, she half expected to see doctors and security guards' waiting outside for her, but nobody was there. Glancing around she realized she was in the lobby on the first floor. She saw the door to her escape and hastily walked over to it…and out of the hospital.
She is running a hundred miles an hour
In the wrong direction
She sighed heavily, it felt like such a relief to just make it out, but now that she was out, she had to find somewhere to stay. It was like the murder all over again, she couldn't go home, she couldn't let anybody find her…the only thing that was different was that she didn't have Megatron there to protect her.
"Megatron," she thought, wanting to think his name angrily but she couldn't. She still loved him; she still loved him way too much. She wanted to toss him aside and say that she hated him, but it would be nothing but a lie. She only hated how she didn't hate him; she hated how she still loved him, with all the little pieces of her broken heart.
She is trying but the canyon's ever widening
In the depths of her cold heart
Mercy had just left the parking lot and started walking down a sidewalk that led out of town just as she heard the alarms go off at the hospital. "They know now," she thought as she quickened her pace despite the stabs of pain she had to ignore and not wince at. When the road was clear, she crossed it and started walking up a street that led away from the hospital, she knew that she couldn't stop walking, despite the dizziness and the nausea and the pain that was burning her and begging her to stop, she had to put as much distance as she could between her and the hospital as she could. But most of all she had to get out of the town, before someone found her and reported her to the police.
So she sets out on another misadventure just to find
She's another two years older
And she's three more steps behind
The girl turned up another side street and kept walking, not daring to look behind her. She wanted to get off the sidewalks; she wanted to get out of the town. She needed a car…she needed Megatron…
"Just stop thinking about him. He obviously didn't care enough about you to stay or take you with him. And you're strong, you don't need him…" she told herself as she starting sobbing softly, "You don't need him…"
Ignoring the pain in her ankle, she started running down the street and she watched as houses flew by her in a blur. She had just made it to the edge of town when she spotted a church…she could afford to rest for a few minutes, she needed to. And she quickly ran up onto the steps and sat there, sobbing.
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she's going down today?
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
"Why?!" she shouted suddenly, even though no one could hear her. She looked up towards the heavens, scanning the stars with her eyes, knowing that anyone of them could be planet Cybertron as she continued to shout, "Why did you leave me behind like this?!"
It had been for her safety, or so he had said, to protect her from the enemies that he had that would come after her if they were to ever find out that she was his weakness. But did he really think that they both could leave behind everything that had happened? Did he really think that they could both move on and forget this terribly powerful feeling that they both had for each other?
But why did he have to leave her behind like everybody else had in her life? Her parents, her only friend, and now…him?
She is yearning for the shelter and affection
That she never found at home
She wiped away the tears from her eyes, feeling like she was about to throw up. She tried desperately to squish that feeling away but was helpless to do so and quickly leaned over the railing as her stomach purged, but yet again it was nothing but dry heaves. Mercy sat back, panting the pain away, or at least trying to.
"Oh Megatron," she moaned, "I need you the most right now…but your not here, and this virus isn't going away."
She is searching for a hero to ride in
To ride in and save the day
She sighed heavily…if Megatron was planning on coming back he would have done so by now. It had been seven days…seven days of torture and suffering for her, but on Megatron's end, heck she had absolutely no idea. She figured he was probably having parties and the what not with his wonderful decepticon army that he planned on using to take over the universe. He probably had forgotten all about her already while she sat back here, on the steps to some old church, her life withering away.
And in walks her prince charming and he knows just what to say
Momentary lapse of reason and she gives herself away
Mercy looked back up to the stars feeling heartbroken and helpless. She wanted Megatron to come back so he would hopefully sweep her off her feet. She wanted him to take away all her pain like he had done so many times before. But no…he was forever gone, and forever never coming back.
She had been left completely alone, alone to carry on with her life somehow and hope for the best. She had been left to move on and pretend that the man, the machine that had made her who she was today never even existed.
And it was so hard…
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she's going down today?
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost an lonely people
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
She glanced back up to the starry night sky one last time as she tugged on her shirt, the way Megatron had done so many times trying to get it off of her. On her chest she bore her own decepticon insignia, a permanent scar that would always show how she had met the infamous leader of the decepticons.
If judgment looms under every steeple
If lofty glances from lofty people
Can't see past her scarlet letter
And we've never even met her
The girl was more than sure the doctors or nurses, whoever had put the hospital gown on her had seen the decepticon insignia that she bore proudly. She didn't care what they thought of it. She didn't care to know what they thought of it. It was a mark she had gladly taken from the person that she loved the most.
A person who she hoped would one day conquer the universe and return to her…but until that day, she would just have to wait.
If judgment looms under every steeple
If lofty glances from lofty people
Can't see past her scarlet letter
And we've never even met her
And she had an eternity…her entire lifetime to wait.
Never even met her…
Her tears ceased and she figured she should get going before the police or something came. She stood and nearly had a heart attack though when she heard a police siren blast behind her. Mercy knew she was caught, and she was too sick to run any further. Glumly she sat and watched as a police car pulled up to the steps of the church where an officer got out. She didn't bother to look at him as he came up and sat down beside her asking, "I take it you're the infamous Mercy LeCroix."
"Yes sir."
"You mind telling me why you ran away from the hospital?"
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she's going down today?
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
"I don't want to be there sir."
From the way her lip quivered and from her pallor he could tell she was very sick, "Mercy…they're just trying to help you back there. They just want you to get better."
"I understand that. But because of all that has happened in the last couple months…I just want to be left alone."
"That's suicidal Mercy."
"At least I'd be happy."
He sighed heavily, "Come on Mercy, I have orders to take you back to the hospital."
She didn't say anything as she pressed her lips together into a tight line. Obviously she didn't have a choice in the matter and even more obviously she didn't stand a chance against him if she attempted to run. Slowly she pulled back her hood, allowing her purple locks of hair to drape around her shoulders. They always fell into the wrong place, her hair was never perfect, it was always messy, yet Megatron never seemed to care. He seemed to prefer it that way…
"Don't think about him," she told herself yet again.
"The sooner you go back Mercy," spoke the officer, "The sooner you can get out."
"I know…" she sighed heavily as she stood, "I just don't know what they can do for me that I can't do myself." And without waiting for the officer to say anything she walked over to his car.
The officer blinked a couple times, watching as she painfully limped along, and then stood himself. He walked over to the door she had gone to and let her in. He then got behind the wheel and when everyone was buckled in, he drove off back to the hospital.
The officer stopped at the ER where a bunch of the doctors and nurses were waiting for Mercy so that they could immediately get her back inside and under the proper care. Mercy huffed as she saw them coming with a stretcher. The officer opened her door and she stepped out, just as a wave of dizziness caught her and she started to fall forward, but the trained officer quickly caught her and held her up until the doctors and nurses got over to her and placed her on the stretcher.
One of the doctors eyed her warily as he wheeled over an IV and mercilessly stuck the needle through her flesh and into one of her veins. Mercy grimaced as she felt an icy and cold liquid travel through her arm and soon it died away. She felt disgusted by the way she was being treated, she felt like an experiment, but she was helpless as they wheeled her back into the hospital, and into the same room she had escaped from hours before.
After the doctors and nurses made sure she was adjusted to her room once again, and after they made sure she was tightly restrained to the bed, they began fizzling out of the room. That was until another doctor came in. He walked over to Mercy's bedside and asked her, "When was the last time you ate something?"
"I don't remember."
"Are you hungry?"
"No."
"Let me rephrase myself, you need to eat."
"Sir, I'm not hungry."
He shook his head, "Bring in the tube, she's not willingly going to eat."
"The tube?" Mercy whimpered but nobody replied.
The doctor was handed a freaky looking tube, one Mercy definitely didn't like. And he instructed her to open her mouth, but the girl shook her head. The doctor got a frustrated look on his face, "Mercy, do you want to starve to death?"
"N-No," she stammered, but the second she opened her mouth the doctor immediately seized the opportunity to place the tube inside and force it down the back of her throat to her "stomach." Tears leaked from Mercy's eyes as he slowly pushed the tube down. It was all she could do to keep herself from throwing the tube back up as they slowly placed some mashed up assortment of food into the tube where it slid down and into her "stomach."
When the doctor had finished his dirty work, he removed the tube and watched as Mercy wiped away the tears from her eyes, pain and anger burning behind them. She knew her body wouldn't accept the food as she felt her abdomen suddenly knot and a terrible feeling surface inside of her. It was all she could do to lean over the side of the bed and vomit onto the floor. When it was all over, the doctor was still looking at her disgusted, Mercy with an utmost look of pain on her face as she closed her eyes and laid back mumbling, "Don't do this to me…he wouldn't have…he is evil…and he still wouldn't have."
"Mercy? Mercy what are you talking about?"
Does anybody hear her? Does anybody see?
Does anybody even know she's going down today?
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Does anybody see?
"He beat me sure, he left me behind, but he still cared, unlike you."
The doctors and the nurses in the room exchanged glances before another doctor finally stated, "She's delusional, she needs to be transported to another hospital immediately, we don't have the right kind of equipment to treat her here."
Another doctor nodded, "I'll get on the phone with a hospital down in Syracuse right away." And he proceeded to leave the room.
"He cares…he cares…" Mercy kept on repeating, eyelids flickering open and closed.
A few minutes later the doctor came back in and said, "Alright, they have room for her at St. Joseph's Health Center, we'll transport her by helicopter."
Immediately the doctors and nurses prepared Mercy for her transport to St. Joseph's and when she was ready to go, they wheeled her out to the helicopter landing and take off area where a helicopter was already waiting. She was taken on the helicopter and it wasn't long before it took off…Mercy sedated the entire way.
When she woke, she was aware of the bleeping and humming of machinery around her. Her eyes half opened and she saw she was in a dark room. There wasn't an IV hooked to her, just a heart rate monitor, as well as an oxygen mask. She wasn't sure what the mask was for, unless she had slipped into stasis again and stopped breathing, worrying the doctors. Her eyes were too tired to continue looking around though, and she laid back, closing them, allowing sleep to come back to her.
She didn't know where she was, but this time she was all alone.
"Oh Megatron…" she barely breathed.
He is running a hundred miles an hour
In the wrong direction…
So...the song is Does Anybody Hear Her by Casting Crowns, as well, it belongs to them and not to me. Anywho...how Megatron is coping will be revealed in the next chappie. Until then, please review!