I would have had this out so much earlier if the dad gum work computer wouldn't screw up by file! I was afraid that I'd have to type the entire thing on this Doc Manager. That would have been a nightmare. Word Document is a fickle princess, but this site's Doc Manager is one of those mules that loves to kick people unexpectedly. Oh the many times I've been kicked by it...
Well, I'll talk more later. Enjoy!
The air was at one moment a roasting heat and then a chilling freeze. Thoughts and feelings swirled in his head like gray fogs of mist, each one unreachable. He tried to stretch his arm out with desperate grasping fingers, but he couldn't move his body. He was stuck in the middle of a funnel; a whirlwind of long forgotten emotions. The spinning clouds that enveloped his mind rotated faster and faster around him. The wind on his face changed to a suffocating heat, scorching his entire body. He cried out from the fire. Instantly, a deep cold erupted in his very bones. An icy burn traveled through his limps, numbing them painfully. Meanwhile, the scenes of his past were unmentionable blobs of smeared color. He shivered through the accumulating sweat.
It was a nauseating dance. He struggled through the fire and the familiar scenes melted away. He wanted to reach out to them. His entire body froze as the cold came back, fierce and relentless.
The heat roared, the cold froze. And he was stuck.
Hell… a coherent thought breached his agony. I'm in hell…
"You're not in hell," A deep voice came from somewhere in the swirling clouds. A vision of a ragged man sitting at a bar emerged. Immediately the image disappeared as he fought to reach his trembling hand towards it. "You need to sleep. Try to calm down."
But I'm so cold and the fire hurts. Why is this happening to me?
"You've been suffering from a deep infection and an enormous amount of blood loss. I'd imagine it's the high fever your feeling. I'm surprised I was able to save you. Most injuries to major arteries mean death within minutes. I was worried you'd bled out too much. You've got a strong will to live."
I don't want to live in this…
The nausea gripped him and he gagged on the cold fire that raced through veins.
"Can you see where you are?" A cold, clammy something touched his forehead and he immediately flinched. "Your eyes are open."
Clouds… swirling clouds with images…
The voice sighed and the cold thing left his forehead. "I'll take that as a no. Is there anything you need? Water?"
He tried to feel his body's needs, but the fire was burning him again. He groaned with pain. The chill followed like before. An image of a young dark-haired woman flashed in his eyes and he gasped at her smiling face. Her cheeks dimpled.
I don't know her… but then I do… Who is she...?
Unthinkingly, he lifted his hand to reach for her and felt agony under the bottom part of his arm. Suddenly, a cold handcuff appeared on his wrist and held him from grabbing the vision. He fought against the restraint and cried out as more pain followed.
"You shouldn't move the arm!" The voice sounded alarmed.
But… I haven't seen her in so long… he answered instinctively.
But he didn't know her.
Didn't he?
Pulling on his mental chains, the woman faded slowly in the fog. His heart pounded. His head ached with fire once more.
Mother! The name tore itself out of his mouth. Mother, please don't go!
But just like the others, her image left him. He knew he was crying. He could feel the wet on his cheeks. Or maybe that was from his sweat. He was hot again. So miserably hot.
The cold clammy restraint left his wrist now that he was no longer struggling. He panted from the nausea. Another vision began to swirl in front of his eyes. Gasping, he knew her face even before he could fully focus on it. Her auburn hair mixed with the foggy clouds as if she was going to be blown away at any moment. In the image, she smiled at him like the old days before the Corp subjected her to the brainwash. She smiled like the old days they spent comforting and encouraging one another through the years of training.
The talent runs in the family. He whispered the last words she'd ever spoke to him. They had repeated in his dreams countless times before. If I don't make it, they'll find her. They'll hunt her down and take her, too.
"What are you talking about?" The voice was back.
Hanne…
He heard the voice give a long sad sigh. "What the hell did they do to you?"
The voice slowly disappeared from his consciousness as Hanne's image vanished in the clouds. The last words repeated dully in his brain.
What the hell did they do to you?...
What the hell did they do to you?...
What the hell did they do to you?...
What did hell they do to me? He repeated numbly with the words. What the hell did they do to me?
Suddenly, he was tired of the swirling fog. He was tired of trying to reach for visions he couldn't grasp. He was tired of fighting against the unbeatable. Calming his mind, the heat rose and fell, leaving behind it a bone-chilling freeze. Though he shivered, his mind turned impassive to the scenes of familiar images that raced across his mind. For once, he didn't care about anything at all.
And finally, he sank into a deep, encompassing sleep.
Fanel sighed with exhaustion as he placed lukewarm soup on the bed beside the weak young man. Groaning and trembling with his mild fever and weak limbs, Gad attempted to push himself up and his head hit the dusty headboard with an ungraceful thud. His pale, bare chest heaved with his panting breaths at the exertion of moving his body. The tight white bandage holding the stitches on his arm hardly shifted as his biceps strained to push himself further up the bed. A deep bruise swelled the arm past the elbow. The mush-brown, canned substance slopped slightly over the sides of the Styrofoam bowl and splattered on the old, patched comforter. Tossing a plastic spoon on the boy's lap, Goau ran a hand through his messy black hair and folded himself into the wooden chair resting beside the mattress.
Gad grimaced in discomfort and lifted his hand to grab the spoon with shaking fingers. His sharp dark eyes were slightly sunken into his skull. The heavy bags under his eyes spelled how much the fever had taken its toll on him. He had lost a lot of weight in the weeks that had accompanied his slow recovery. A small black cord protruded against thin pale skin on his chest and traveled like a vein under his arm and around to his back. A small puffy scar lay right above his heart. It gave Goau the creeps just looking at it.
The boy was finally well enough to fairly coherent. Goau had been waiting for this moment.
"This is seriously all you could get?" He asked with a disdained look at the gooey mixture beside him. "I think a dog crapped in this."
Goau gave the green man a frustrated scowl. Taking off his weather-worn coat, he threw it on the broken television set sitting precariously on the bent dresser. The chair creaked as he leaned forward to brace his elbows on his knees. "Complaining?"
"Look at this slop! It's all over my bed!"
"Be grateful for what you got."
"I'd rather have ate at EAT." The boy grumbled.
"Too many police."
"What's happening with the police?"
"They haven't decided to search the town thoroughly. They are still all over the store studying the murder scene you created. I think they believe the killer ran off down the highway."
"Damn, I hope so. Being caught by the fuzz is not on my to-do list. You'll protect me, right, angel?" Gad fluttered his eyelashes rapidly in a flirtatious manner. "You won't let those meanie cops get me?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"Better decide. I'd be surprised if they didn't suspect you as the killer."
Goau frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"You arrive in this hell hole and within the hour, six people are dead. The police have never been the smartest around, but seriously, you'd think they'd put two and two together by now."
"So, you're going to blame their deaths on me?"
"'I'm so grateful you brave policemen showed up,'" his expression turned pitifully frightened. "'I was scared. The days passed and he grew more vicious. I don't know why he spared me! He fed me regurgitated muck and forced me to tell him personal secrets or he'd get personal with me! Oh, why was I ever born!? My purity has been stolen from me!'" He gave out a pretend wail and then his face dimpled with a shadow of his good-natured smile. "Pretty good, huh? If you learn one thing from me it's always play the victim card. The cops lap it up like mocha latte. Especially if you're a chick. Sucks I didn't get that luxury."
"Your soup is getting cold."
Gad looked affronted. "Now this is just mean. I gave you a swell performance just now and you didn't even applaud. Rude."
Goau sighed. "If I had known you'd be insane, I'd have let you bleed to death."
"Just keep in mind, I never asked you to save my life. You're one of those 'too noble for your own good' kinda idiots. I can't believe you'd actually expect me to change just because you foolishly decided to keep me alive. I told you that nothing will stop me. Unless I'm dead or my limbs are sawed off, I'll still kill you. And even then – with limbs gone - I think I could smother you with my torso."
"You'd bleed out first," the black-haired man muttered.
Gad shrugged and winced with pain. "Well, it was going to happen to me anyways."
Goau leaned his lips on his laced fingers and stared straight into the boy's dark eyes. "Have you always been a killer?"
The injured boy wiggled his eyebrows. "Hell yeah, I've always been this way. I've always been this good-looking, too. Ladies love the dimples, see?" He smiled brightly and lifted his spoon to point at his cheek.
"I don't believe that. Your sleep-talking doesn't sound like it."
"You listened to my fever induced ramblings? I feel so violated!"
"And I don't believe you will."
"Will what?"
"Kill me."
"That's quite the confidence you have there." Gad reached for the small bowl and grunted with the weight of the spilling liquid. "Seriously, what did you do to me? I can't even lift this."
"I stabbed you twice with a glass shard." Goau answered lowly.
The boy's face gave another large dimpling smile and he chuckled. The motion spilled more soup on his chest. "Yeah, I guess you did. You should have been recruited for the Corps. You've got a good head for situational strategy."
"I'm going to destroy the Corp."
Soup sloshed out. The boy blinked. "Say what now? I thought I just heard you say something completely ridiculous, but you couldn't have said it because that is just crazy-"
"I'm going to destroy the Corp."
"There it is again…"
"You are going to help me do it."
Gad burst out laughing. More soup poured down his pale, thin stomach. "Ouch, it hurts to laugh... You can't… you can't be serious?"
"I'm dead serious."
Wincing in pain from his laughter, Gad put his spoon in the shaking liquid. "And how do you plan to do this, genius? There's no way you could even possibly… I mean just thinking about that is... This – this is probably the most idiotic thing I've ever heard anyone say! Taking out the Corp… That's never going to happen."
"It will happen. With your help."
"You need a good hard slap with reality, angel. Do I look like I know how take six sections of personal trained soldiers? I said I was going to kill you once I got better. You must be on something strong, and if so, can I have some?"
"If you don't tell me what I want then I'll make sure you never walk out of this room again. Besides, you won't kill me."
He put the spoon in his mouth and made a face. "There's that confidence again."
"I have a reason to be confident you won't."
"And why is that?" Gad spoke around his spoon. His face was good-natured like usual, but his eyes flashed with irritation. "Who do you think you are?"
Goau pressed his fingers under his stubbly chin. Time for the demanding approach, he thought with a twist of dread in his stomach.
"I'm someone who needs to figure out how your Corp keeps finding me. I'm someone who has been hunted and almost killed countless times. I'm someone who has made a promise to return to the ones I love. And that means I'm desperate. I saved you to help me. You never said no when you were dying."
"I was also dying." The boy scoffed. "I didn't have much of a choice in the matter of yes and no."
"You know everything I need to know. And you will help me because I'll rip out your stitches one by one if you don't."
The spoon in Gad's mouth wiggled before he pulled it out. "Death threats are unbecoming on one so pure, angel."
"You know I will."
Gad snorted a laugh. "Of course, I know you will. You're honest to a fault. However, you just…" he seemed to search for the right words, "…aren't the killing type. You'd probably cry for my poor soul while you did it. See, that's the difference between you and me. You didn't just save me because you wanted information – although I'm sure that was a big part of it. No, you saved me because you would have killed me. I saw it in your eyes. You shot at me with an empty revolver, but a part of you was happy it was empty. You aren't the killing type, angel. Face it."
"Stop calling me that."
Gad scooped more soup and missed his mouth with his shaking fingers. It dribbled down his smooth chin. "Be happy I'm not calling you 'devil'."
"I just threatened to rip out your stitches and let you bleed to death. You have someone else in mind for that nickname?"
"As a matter of fact, I do."
"Who?"
He wiped his chin with the back of his hand and groaned. Then his lips lifted on one side. "Someone you've met before, actually. He did a number on your lab researchers, if I recall."
"The kid…" Goau leaned back and let his arms fall on the rests. "That weird silver-haired kid I fought with, right?"
"His name is Dilandau," Gad's smile froze in place. It was a very disturbing expression.
"You know about that? You know about what he did to the lab?" Goau frowned and his stomach gave a sickening twist. "What can you tell me about him?"
The green boy's eyes widened. "Excuse me, Mr. Pushy. Did I say that I was joining you?"
Goau groaned on the inside. So much for the demanding approach. Maybe the ultimatum approach…
"Listen, Gad," the black-haired man kept his face serious. "Either way this turns out, I plan on walking out of here alive. I have survived too much to be done in like this. I've got a mission to complete. So, I'll give you three choices." He held up a tan hand and lifted one finger. "You'll go back to your Corp weak and barely alive and get terminated or executed or whatever they do to you because you failed to kill me." He put up two fingers. "I kill you here and now and leave your corpse for the cops to find." He put up the third finger. "You join me. You tell me everything your Corp knows about the Energist that I don't already know. I learn more about who it is that's hunting me. We destroy this Corp once and for all and we find a way to save others from a fate like Uchida."
The boy's expression was one of smug boredom until Goau mentioned Uchida's name. Suddenly, the color began to drain out of his face. The rings around his eyes grew deeper.
"Don't talk about her like you knew her." He commanded quietly.
"She saved my life and sacrificed herself to keep this 'devil' boy away." So much for the ultimatum…
"I said don't talk about her like you knew her!"
His good-humored twinkle that usually glinted in his dark eyes fizzled out. It was replaced with a spark of rage. The boy threw his soup on the ground. It splattered on the stained carpet and over Goau's old shoes. The black-haired man didn't move. He continued to sit and stare at the boy. Uchida… maybe I can use her... Maybe this is a good sign that I'm making him remember her… He studied Gad's fury and he knew exactly how to do it.
"I obviously didn't know her like you did, but I did know her, Gad. We hired her because she was so smart. She was able to fully comprehend the information Kanzaki and I discovered, gather test results that usually took days to figure out, and she was always right with her calculations. She was a brilliant addition to our research team. We probably wouldn't have gotten so far without her. But she was emotionless. Like an empty shell. She never laughed, never rejoiced in a successful test. Now that I think about it, I wonder how I didn't see it before. She was never really there. There was no humanity. It was as if her entire personality was sucked dry and she was a tool, a computer soaking in information. I only knew what her job application told me. She had no immediate family, a Masters in environmental science, radiological physiology, and chemical engineering. She was more than willing to move closer to the lab. She practically lived there the entire time she was employed by us."
Gad stared at him. His eyes were hard. Goau kept going.
"Then she came and tackled the boy – Dilandau – to the ground saving our lives. When she had him down, she turned and smiled at me. She died with that smile on her face. It was the very first time I'd seen her smile. And it was her last. It was one of freedom. She had broken through whatever had taken her emotion away and she was happy for it."
"I know… I know all of this…" Gad hissed, glaring at him. "I've seen the video."
Goau's eyebrows rose slightly at the mention of a video. Were these bastards taping the entire thing? He exhaled to calm his own rising anger. He tucked the information away. Now wasn't the time for that conversation.
"And yet you still work for them. They did this to her and you still stay loyal."
Gad closed his eyes and leaned his wavy head against the headboard. "Why did she have to be stationed at that lab? Why did she have to snap out of the brainwash right in the middle of Operation RED? I don't understand why she would do that. She always told me that she'd live no matter what. And then she goes and offs herself with a smile." He rocked his head back and forth against the wood. "It's not fair. It's not fair. It's not fair."
Goau watched him closely. "What's not fair?"
The boy was speaking quietly now. "I wanted to see her smile again, too."
"I thought you saw it on a video."
"I did. But the smile wasn't for me. She'll never smile for me again." Gad's voice was strained. The muscles and veins in his neck were flexed as if he was fighting against an unknown mental enemy. His cheeks flushed. His eyelids tightened. His hands clenched the stained bed sheets.
And then he broke. Tears slowly began to roll down the corners of his closed eyes. His expression changed to one of utter defeat. His fingers relaxed against the mattress. Goau wondered if the boy had fallen asleep.
"We met the first day of training." Gad whispered after a few minutes. "I liked her right from the start. It took a while, but I worked my way into being her support partner for the Sec training even though we were in different categories. The Corp didn't mind our relationship. They knew we'd forget about each other after the brainwash anyway. The day before her last Sec exam, she cried to me. She didn't want to forget her family, her memories… or me… but after she passed and was pronounced perfect, they washed her. And she forgot me. And she was placed into your lab as an infiltrator. I knew our relationship was over, but when I saw her expressionless face as she walked out the exit, I realized I didn't want to forget about her. I couldn't do that to my own memories, even if I was the only one who knew remembered what we had. I applied to be a Stratego to avoid the brainwash. I was barely accepted. My marks on Weapons were not the top, but I convinced them to take me into the program. Another guy passed through four Secs without training. All the attention was focused on him and how wonderful he'd was. I worked myself to near exhaustion to pass two more Secs. I qualified for Weapons, Tracking, Infiltration, and Technology. I taught her that Leg Trap and she ultimately saved you with it by trapping Dilandau." He gave a small bitter laugh through his tears. "I hate irony."
Goau was remained quiet. He hoped Gad wasn't done talking.
"Infiltration training was where I met Dilandau. Snaky little bastard. He's beyond crazy. Even crazier than you and you want to single-handedly destroy the Corp!" He snorted a laugh and flinched in pain. "Maybe it's my curse to constantly be surrounded by crazy people."
"What is a Stratego?" Goau asked quietly. He needed to get the kid back on track.
"Someone who has mastered at least four of the Secs. There are six Sectors in all. Weapons, Tracking, Infiltration, Intelligence, Informant, and Technology. Once you become a Stratego, you gain a nickname." He smiled with his head still against the headboard. His face dimpled lightly. "I'm Green Smile."
"How many Stratego are there? How much power do you hold?"
"I don't know the exact number. There are only two that I know of personally. We can be implemented to any position that we have mastered. I was assigned to find you because the Stratego before me failed. I got all of his information and equipment to track you down. I infiltrated Cornwall and waited. Sure enough, there you were."
"Where did the other Stratego get assigned to?"
"Hell if I know." The green boy shook his wavy head lazily against the wooden headrest. "They could have terminated him for all I care. I know his nickname was Crying Gray. Pretty sissy name if you ask me."
"Is there anything higher than a Stratego? What if you pass all the Sectors?"
"You are a Hegemon."
The boy was drained. Goau could see it. His pale face was starting to flush with a growing fever.
"You need more food. Or at least some water."
"I feel dizzy." Green Smile's eyes were dulling. "The clouds are coming back."
"I'll get you a fever reducer. Lay back down on the cleaner side of the bed. I'll bring some water for the pills." As Goau stood from the chair, he gasped in surprise as Gad suddenly leaned forward and grabbed his arm. It was a painful grip. His dazed dark eyes were wide and feverish.
"I told you… I told you about us… about the Corp… and now I'll be hunted regardless… hunted just like you… Uchida saved you… and you saved me… She was watching over me… to the end, wasn't she? She saved you… for me…"
The black-haired man swallowed and gently released the boy's shaking hand from his arm. Helping him roll back down under the unstained part of the covers, he watched Gad's pale back tremble under the blankets. The black cord under his skin looked like a poisonous snake; slithering just below the surface.
"She was watching over you." Goau agreed quietly. "Maybe that's why she smiled at the end."
The black-haired boy leapt out of the minivan, ignoring his mother's shout. Racing across the front lawn, he took off into the house. His white karate gi flapped loosely on his small body. Plunging into the living room, he pushed his wild black bangs out of his eyes and quickly scanned the empty room.
"Hitomi!" He yelled, running out of the living room and into the kitchen. "Hitomi, I gotta show you something!"
"Her name is Helen, Victor!" His long-haired mother announced from the front door. There was a loud rustling noise of plastic sacks. "Help me with these groceries before you run off again. I gotta close the car door."
Running back into the living room, he grabbed several of the grocery sacks that were weighing her arms down and raced back into the kitchen. Dropping the bags down with an ungraceful clunk on the tall counter, he immediately turned and stomped up the stairs. "Hito… Helen! Where are you?"
He heard a small voice answer him from her room down the hall. "Van? I'm studying. What is it?" He ran to her door and pounded excitedly with both fists. It opened and she stood with a quizzical expression.
"I want to show you what I learned!"
"Wow!" her green eyes widened and she grinned happily at him. "Your outfit is so cool!"
The black-haired boy felt his chest swell with pride. He put his hands on his hips to show more of his karate uniform. "It called a 'gi'."
"You look like an expert!" She complimented. He blushed slightly and grinned back at her. Reaching forward, he grabbed her small hand. "Come to the backyard! I want to teach you some stuff!"
Her face fell slightly and she planted her feet firmly on the floor. "My tutor told me to finish my homework. I can't yet, Van."
"You study all the time with that tutor stuff! Take a break for five minutes!" He tugged on her hand once more.
"But I need to finish these worksheets!" She countered trying to pull her hand back. Holding tightly on her palm, he came with her a bit through the doorway.
"It'll be fun! Come on, Hitomi!" He jerked her back out of the door.
She started giggling and he felt a slight electrical shock run through his body. She pulled him back into the doorway. "Van! I can't!"
"If you stop being such a book-worm, you can!" The girl stumbled a bit on the carpet when he pulled her again.
"I'm not a book-worm!" She shouted in a straining voice as she put all her strength into pulling him. Caught a bit off guard, he was yanked past the door and his right foot tripped on the wooden door frame. With a shock of surprise, he realized his momentum couldn't be stopped. She let out a tiny squeal as he fell into her, knocking her off her feet. A spark crackled through him as he landed on top of her small body. His mahogany eyes went wide and he immediately braced his arms on the floor to lift his body off of hers.
"Hitomi! Are you okay? I'm sorry!"
Underneath him, the short-haired girl let out a small giggle and nodded. Her green eyes sparkled with delight. He sighed in relief and pulled himself off of her just as she was trying to sit up. They bonked heads.
"Ouch!"
"Ow!"
Both clasped a hand to their respective injured spot. Looking at her, he felt a small smile slowly spread across his lips. She mirrored his expression, grinning happily.
Varie could hear their peals of laughter all the way in the kitchen.
They are so cute!
I have the best time with Hitomi and Van. They are just so darn cute! Now to do the thing I've dreaded forever and research karate. I don't know a thing about it, so if you have any type of karate knowledge it would be the nicest thing EVER if you'd explained the basics to me. I know there are twelve steps or forms for you to follow through. But that's about it.
And once again, I couldn't help making Gadeth's character slightly crazy. I don't think I can ever write a 'sane' Gadeth. Looks like Goau might have an ally... or will he? Dun dun duuuunnn!
Rutilus will be back next week. I'm actually really excited for this next chapter. It's gonna be a good one!
I am working all the way up till Saturday, so the only excuse I have for not updating next week (or maybe even this week) is the phone not shutting up. It drives me crazy! Sometimes I just want to secretly unplug it and have hours of missed calls. And then I'd be fired and screwed financially and be on the streets as one of those people who mutters to themselves. Except I'd be muttering about radioactive hearts and robot love. lol!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. This one is kind of a transition one. Not much action, but still important nonetheless. A lot of information though. I'll give a big thank you on the next chapter of Rutilus, but I wanted to make a quick grateful jot on here for EVERYONE who wrote how much they'd missed and loved the chapter. Like I've said before, you are all my muse!
blue...