Another update? In the same day? Holy crap! Im on a roll!
I dont own KH...You all already know this. :/
PLUM WINGS & A MIDNIGHT DIRGE - SALVATION pt.2
I was finally kicked out of the school some time around a week, maybe two weeks, after Axel had come to see me. I hadnt been doing any homework since I had gotten back to that place anyway, and I was still refusing to do anything until Zexion was found. So, I was kind of expecting it already. I was transferred to another high school closer to where I lived, and it wasnt a boarding school-place like Twilit had been. I thought it was really boring, being back in a regular school. But, I guess it was only boring because I didnt have Zexion around, and no one really had any interest in me at my new school. It's kind of obvious to say that it sucked.
The school year was only three months from ending, and with every single day that passed I just got more and more worried about Zexion. Finally, I had had enough. I planned for a week before actually doing my plan, and I made sure I was prepared for the worst. In a duffel bag, I had packed five bottles of water, a change of clothes, a flashlight with one set of spare batteries, and the softest blanket I could find in my house. I also had three apples, two red and one green, a half of loaf of bread and an old lunchbox that had ice and hotdogs in it. I had also stolen some of my dad's rope and a pocket knife from his shed.
In the middle of the night, on a Saturday, I removed the screen from my window and slipped it underneath my bed. I opened the window, tossed my bag out and then jumped out the window after it. I closed my window from the outside and then ran for a few blocks away from my house, and in the direction of the woods.
When I got to the Tram Common I had stopped running, I was already too far for my parents to catch me. But I hurried through the woods and right up the back of the mansion to the cliff. I looked down, and couldnt see anything. Taking out the flashlight, I turned it on and shined it down into the ravine, which was covered with snow. I felt my heart rate pick up and I really felt myself start to panic. I forced myself to calm down, for Zexion's sake, put the flashlight back in the bag and rested for a few minutes to make sure I was ready. Taking a deep breath, I turned myself around and felt for the holes in the cliff side I had made for myself to climb so long ago. They were very worn down, probably by all of the snow. I was about to turn back, my instincts were yelling at me to just leave and not to chance it. I shook the thought away.
"No," I said out loud. "I have to try for Zexion..." It was a very bad idea, I know...but I wanted to do it. I needed to be with Zexion. If he was down there and still alive, I would stay down there with him. But if he...
"Please, Zexion, please..." I felt tears well up, but I had to force them down and keep up my pace. "Please, still be alive..."
I thought about him for the rest of the way, trying so hard not to think of him as dead. I had nearly everything we would need to pursuade the people on top to rescue us, even though I could get out fine. Maybe they would finally try and save him...Everything I was doing was for the survival of Zexion, my best friend and the only person I cared about in the entire world. I had even left a note on my dresser, right in a place that my parents could see when they found out I was gone again. In a nutshell, it said that I was leaving to get Zexion, and that I was not going to leave him alone until he was taken out of the ravine before I was. I didnt tell them that I had brought food and stuff, because then I wouldnt be in danger. I thought everything about the plan through to the best of my ability, for once. Even though, yeah, it was a very stupid idea altogether.
My foot slipped once or twice when I was going down, but I had kept my balance well enough to not go crashing into the trees and snow in my way. I did get scared, though. Who wouldnt be?
When I got to the snowed-over tree tops, most of the snow in my way was ice. I used it to sit on, actually, making sure that it wouldnt fall, first. I brought out the pocket knife I had stolen, and started to hack and pick away at the ice. It took a whole lot of effort, more than I was planning on. I had to take my jacket off to keep from getting too hot, actually. But! I was smart and put the jacket in the bag, that way there was no chance of it getting blown away if I was to fall. I was really happy with myself, being so smart about everything!
The ice had eventually come off enough for me to start tearing away at the snow in my way with my bare hands, and when I got too cold I went back to the knife. Once, I took out the flashlight and used the butt of it to smash a hard piece in my way. That...was not very smart. It didnt break or anything, it just wasnt smart. Soon enough, though, the leaves of the trees were coming visible, and that motivated me to get to digging!
I dont know how much time passed before I was able to slip down past the opening I made for myself, but it really was a tight fit, especially with the duffel bag on my back. I actually had to go back once and make the hold bigger so it was easier to get down. But when I did, I felt just the biggest rush of accomplishment, coming down onto the tree I went up for the last time so long ago...it was strange. But that feeling almost immediately passed when I realized where I was, and who I was close to. I wasted no time. I didnt even jump down from the tree before I started calling for him.
"Zexion!" I called twice more before coming out of the tree. I had gotten no response, and I wasnt hearing anything. In the back of my mind, I was thinking that he was dead, but I tried to keep away from those kinds of thoughts...
But when he didnt answer or anything after I called him a few more times, I unzipped my duffel bag and got out the flashlight. Flicking it on, the beam went right in my eyes. It blinded me and I couldnt see very well for a few seconds...then the spots went away and I shined the light around. The shelter was still where it was, but it was different. Now, it had walls!
"Wow, Zexion's been working pretty hard down here, by himself..." I moved the light back and forth over the area, slowly taking steps forward. "Zexion? Zexion, are you here? You sleeping?" I peeked in the shelter, but he wasnt in there. I panicked, quickly taking my head away from the shelter and moving the flashlight's beam from one place to the other, until it caught the corner of a shape in the middle of the ground, a good distance away from the shelter. My jaw dropped and I froze. When I came back to my senses, all fear was gone from me and I dropped the flashlight.
"Zexion...!" I ran over to him, dropping to me knees and reaching out to touch him. I knew it was Zexion, I knew it was. There was no question about it. He was huddled in a ball, even his broken arm was moved into a position that would have been really painful, and I was really worried, then. "Zexion?" I slowly reached out to touch him, the clothes on his back were colder than ice. I took my hand back fast, worry and panic racing into my heart. "Zexion, Zexion, come...come on, let's get...oh, no..." I tried to touch him, but each time I did I couldnt help but pull back. "Oh, screw it..." I gathered my courage for just a split second, and used all of my strength to lift him from his laying position on the ground. When he was sat up, his arms moved and a bit of relief came over me. Now I was void of all fear, and my only focus was getting Zexion warm and safe. I worked one arm under his arms, and then lifted him as best as I could by the shirt with my other hand. It took me a while to get him to his feet. "Come on, Zexion, hand in there, you got to help me...Come on, we're...going inside the shelter, I, I brought food, and a blanket..." I was talking to him the whole time I tried to move him. When we moved toward the shelter, he did not walk with me. I had to drag his feet. But when we got inside, I sat him up against the duffel bag and quickly reached outside to grab the flashlight. I leaned Zexion on my shoulder while I opened the duffel bag and pulled out the blanket, which felt so warm compared to the outside air. I wrapped it around Zexion and partially around myself, but I made sure that he was warmer than me.
"Oh, Zexy, your skin is like ice...man, I should have left sooner..." I held him close to me, as close as I possibly could. Zexion was the first to teach me that sharing body warmth keeps you twice as warm, and now I was using that knowledge to help him. I felt around for his neck, once, and moved my fingers around to feel for even the smallest trace of a heartbeat. Then again, I didnt really know where you were supposed to really check for the heartbeat, so when I couldnt find one, I remembered watching a show a long time ago. There was a police officer and a guy who was injured, and he put his face next to the injured guy's nose and mouth to feel for breath. I fixed Zexion so it made it easier for me to check, and after a few seconds, I heard and felt the slight breathing Zexion was doing. "Thank God," I said, pulling Zexion closer to me. I put his head on my chest and then placed my hand on his head, trying to keep him warm. My other arm was wrapped around his back and side, keeping him close to me. "Oh, Zexion, please stay with me, please...please hang on, for me..." I tightened my hold around him. "I need you here, Zexion. I need you here so you can be with me, I, you...you're my best friend, and I...I dont want you to die...please, Zexion...I, I...I love you..."
I woke up suddenly the next morning. I didnt remember falling asleep, but I knew where I was. Looking around, the new shelter was dark, so I had no idea what time of day it might have been. I glanced down, Zexion was warm in my arms, now, clearly breathing, unlike the night before. He was still cold, actually, but not anywhere near icy-cold. I pulled him closer to me, only a little bit, but when I moved I felt him adjust himself just a little bit. I can't even describe how glad I was just to see him move, I was just so, so happy and, and incredibly overwhelmed...I hugged him tight, tears building up in my eyes.
"Good God, Zexion...you're alive...thank God...thank God...!" I was quiet for a very long time, just sitting there, holding Zexion. I was so happy that he was alive, I had made it in time...how long was he there? How much longer would it have taken him to die? How lucky was I that I got there, just in time...
Eventually, I had to get up. I moved Zexion off of my chest and laid his head down on the duffel bag, which had my jacket over it to make it a little more comfortable. I tucked him in at the sides, making sure that he was warm as he could be. I stepped outside, and was surprised to see just how dark it was.
"Is it...still night?" I asked myself out loud, and then made my way over to the tree and climbed up. When I got high enough, I saw that it was daytime, nearly noon, it looked like. A bit angry at the snow for blocking all of the sunlight, I went up to the top and started to push snow out of the way, making the hole around me bigger and bigger. It wasnt really going to let in too much light everywhere else, but it was giving me room in case I needed to leave. When my hands got cold, though, I went back down to the shelter. I looked inside and saw Zexion still asleep, curled in a ball. I uncovered him for just a split second, just to move his broken arm into an "unbent" position. He groaned when it moved, his face wincing. But like it did before, seeing him move made me super happy. I couldnt help but smile.
I left the shelter again, and decided to try and estimate just where I needed to get rid of the snow in order to let in sunlight. I found the brightest patch of snow that blocked the canpoy, and then counted the number of steps it took to get to my tree. I climbed my tree, remembered the direction I needed to go, and crawled on top of the wet ice-snow, counting each time I moved my knees. When I felt like it was right, I stood up and looked around. Standing was...probably not the smartest thing to do...and I bent back into a crawling position. I had brought the pocket knife with me, and when I pulled it out I started to scrape at the ice again and again. Of course, when I got deep enough past the ice, it was pretty soft snow. The more and more I dug, the more my mind was telling me to get away from the area before it caved in. Eventually, I listened to that little voice in my head, and went back down to the shelter. I checked on Zexion again, he was still asleep, I made sure he was warm and alive, and then looked up at the canopy. The spot I was digging in was not the right one, but it was pretty close. Sighing, I climbed back up the tree and began digging in a wider range.
I went back at forth several times, each time, I checked in on Zexion to make sure he was doing okay. It had been so long since I last saw him...I couldnt help but smile each time I looked at him. And about the fifth time I had gone up, I moved to make myself a little more comfortable, and my foot slipped on the ice, sending it kicking in the place I had been digging. The snow caved in where my foot went through, I looked at it with wide eyes when I first saw it happen, but thank goodness I didnt fall through. Only my foot did. I careful turned around and broke the snow around the place my foot had gone through. Looking down, I saw that it was a few feet away from the shelter, which was a huge relief. It would have been a disaster if it was right above the shelter...
It took a long time to get a big part of the snow out of the way, but the snow underneath me kept me mostly cool. My back was probably getting sunburned, though. When I had felt like I had done enough, I went back down to the bottom. The hole I had made was a few feet around, and I had broken and cut off some branches when I was up there with the knife, so it was letting in a pretty good amount of light. I smiled at it, it had been so much more work than I thought. But, then again, I hadnt been doing stuff like that in a long time...it didnt really seem like it would be hard, though. For the rest of the day, I sat in the shelter next to Zexion, making sure he was kept warm. I made sure to save whatever I could for Zexion, so I forced myself to eat one slice of bread, none of the bottled water (instead I drank from the snow and stuff), and looked around for fresh leaves. I had gone pretty deep into the area, deeper than I had ever really gone before. I took off my shirt and used it to hold the soft leaves I found. I brought them all back to the shelter and snacked on those for the day.
"I never thought I was ever going to be eating these again..." I took a bite of one of the leaves, and then looked down at Zexion. He was still fast asleep, and he ended up sleeping for nearly the next two days. The whole time, though, he was wrapped in the blanket and alive. I made sure of it. At night, when it was time to sleep, I didnt get in the blanket with him. I didnt want to make him cold, so instead I laid next to him and used whatever part of my body I could to keep him warm from the outside of the covers. I didnt care if I was cold, he was the only thing important to me, after all.
For the days that Zexion was sleeping, I did the same thing as I had for my first day. I made sure to only eat what I barely needed, and I made the hole in the canopy bigger so more light could come in. If only I had brought matches or a lighter...
"I knew I had forgotten something..." I mumbled half mad at myself. "Well, at least I remembered whatever I brought..." I climbed down the tree again, and when I peeked in to check on Zexion, he was sitting up, kind of hunched over with the blanket off of him.
"Zexion!" I cried, stepping into the shelter and looking at his face for the first time in so long. I was so happy, I cant put it to words...especially when he looked up at me and I saw the look on his face.
"Demyx...?" He narrowed his eyes, probably questioning everything. "What...what is this?" He asked, staring at me, and looking around himself at the stuff I brought. I laughed a little before answering.
"Whaddya mean? I came back to make sure you were okay," I saw that he didnt have the blanket around him anymore, and I reached out and pulled it over his shoulders. He went to shake it off, but I stopped him. "No! You have to keep it on to make sure you're not gonna freeze!"
"But I feel fine,"
"That doesnt matter, I read up on it, and even if you feel fine you could still be in danger of dying, so keep it on," I tucked it over him as best as I could.
"Why did you come back for me? You were living a regular life again." His voice was as emotionless as ever. It made me smile. His bewilderment always made me wonder. But, I guess that's why I loved him.
"Why wouldnt I have come back? I just wanted to make sure that you were okay,"
"To make sure that I wasn't dead, yet." He said it in a way that scared me, and I couldnt really think of anything to say back at him. It really caught me off guard...
"Well..." I looked from him to the ground, and when I looked back, his eyes were glued to mine. I...can't describe the look he had, though. Every time I think about it, I get a chill and I dont want to think about it, it was a scary look. It was scary, serious and cold. I wouldnt be lying if I said I hated that look...
"I was prepared to die, Demyx," He said. "I was ready for my existence to end, and I have been ready. Ever since we fell, I was ready to die down here. And now," He paused, leaning back and closing his eyes. "Now you've risked your own life, again, for someone like me. I will never be able to understand why," We were both quiet for a long time, then I got kind of mad and threw back my responses.
"You know what," I started strongly. "I am tired of all of your negativity. I came down here because I wanted to. I wanted to make sure that the only friend I had was still freaking alive, and then you turn around and complain about it. I don't know who is the stupider person here, Zexion. Me, the one who risked his life a second time just for the hell of it, to see whether or not the one he loved was dead, or you, the one who nearly died and then complained about having his life saved!" I sat down and crossed my arms, no longer looking at him. "I'm done with all of your bad attitudes and negative thinking..." I mumbled, more or less under my breath. I didnt care if he heard it, 'cause I was mostly saying it to myself. We were quiet again. I felt Zexion's eyes back on me.
"Loved?" Zexion's single word turned my thinking around. Had I just...? Oh, crap. I stayed quiet, trying to act like I didnt know what he was talking about. "The one...he loved," He paused, moving his sight from me to somewhere else in the shelter. "He, as in you, and...the one, as in me. Demyx," He was speaking softly, and I saw him move his gaze back to me out of the corner of my eye. I didnt say anything, but my heart was racing and my breathing was heavier. When I didn't give any sort of answer, he went on. "Demyx, why, and how on earth could you love someone like me?" He waited, watching me. My instincts were screaming for me to say something, which only made me more nervous. Finally, I worked up my courage and said something.
"It's for the same reason that you love me." He stopped, I looked at him and his eyes were wide and skeptical. He watched me for a moment, and then looked away. I got up and grabbed the loaf of bread and two bottles of water out of the bag for him. "Here," I said. "Have as much as you'd like. I also brought a few apples, in case you wanted those." I handed him all three apples from the bag, since all of them were different and I didnt know which one he would want. After that I got up and left the shelter to go roam around. I ended up bringing back more leaves, just because I had nothing better to do with the time I had.
Inside, Zexion was keeping himself warm with the blanket like I had told him to, and I swallowed my pride and went inside. Zexion was very silent. He had eaten a few slices of the bread, none of the water, and had finished an apple. A strange thing about Zexion; I had only seen him eat a few times in my entire life, and whenever he ate apples, he ate it all, the core included. I asked him why he didnt touch the water.
"I don't want to use any of it for drinking," He said. "if anything, I would prefer to use it to clean myself. I can see that you have showered, and you've been fed well," He didnt make any eye contact with me for the longest time.
"Well...I dont know if it really means anything, but while you've been sleeping I've been up there on top of all of the snow, making a hole up there so light can get through. It's...gotten to be pretty big," I pointed outside, and looked at it with a smile. But when I looked back, Zexion wasnt looking at me, or outside. I felt bad, I had done something wrong. I sighed, trying to keep back all of my sadder emotions that would cause tears.
"Why did you read that?" He demanded. I didnt wait to give him an answer, but it wasnt the whole truth. Only a simple explanation that made me look like a bad guy.
"Because I wanted to."
"Why do you mock me?" He said, a quiver in his voice. He had his hands covering his face, and he wasnt looking at me. When I didnt answer for a while, he looked at me with rage. I felt that overwhelming feeling again, the one you get right before you start to shed tears.
"Alright," I said. "I'll go," I got up from the shelter and started walking over to my tree, wiping my eyes. I didnt want to cry, anymore. But...I didnt know if I could help it anymore. Maybe seeing him would be enough for me.
I stopped at the trunk of my tree, waiting. I didnt want to leave him, but I felt like he wanted me to leave. I didnt want to make him upset. I climbed to the top of the tree, but waited again. When he didnt come or say anything, I felt a rush come over me. I couldnt help it. I didnt even try to stop it all from happening, I just let my tears go. But it wasnt like normal crying, when you wheeze and sniffle. It was the kind of crying that was only made of a lot of tears, no sniffing or wheezing or gasping. Just a large amount of tears going down your face. That kind.
I climbed off of the tree, and sat on the ice and snow, just looking up the cliff side. I couldnt bring myself to leave him down there. But I couldnt go back. He must have hated me. I hated me.
"Dammit, Demyx," I put my face in my arm, now starting to really cry. "Why can't you do anything right...?"