Beyond
Neither Alodia nor I sleep. How could we?
Instead, we talk for hours, trying to savour every moment she has left to be alive.
"You should stop blaming yourself so much B. It's not your fault," she frowns, looking down at her hand of playing cards, "Two kings." She sighs, laying two cards face down on the table over her bed. I glance down at my last three cards and laugh.
"Cheat. I win. And I know it isn't all my fault, but I don't know that I will be able to live with myself. Plus I will still be held responsible." I watch as she picks up the deck and starts to put them back in the box. She bites her lip and turns her brown eyes onto me. I see her eyes flash red.
"They won't hold you responsible if they don't find out. Please B, I don't want to lie here in pain for another day. Do it for me. Besides, even if they catch you, your lifespan suggests that you will survive for a long time anyway." I look at her confuses. She smirks.
"How can you know that? You can't see the lifespans of death note owners…Unless…" then I realise.
"You can if you're born with the eyes. How could I not know that?" I run a hand over my face tiredly.
"You know what? That's not even important. Let's talk about something else. Is there anything I can get you?" I smile as cheerfully as I can. Alodia smiles back and thinks for a moment before replying.
"Jam."
When the deep orange sky of morning looms over the horizon, Alodia looks at me with a look of mixed bravery and fear.
"Will it hurt?" She asks, a quiver in her voice. I feel myself go weak and tears start to trail down my pale face. But I need to be brave, for her.
"No. it'll be like falling asleep. I promise." I grimace. Alodia nods her head, but winces at the pain that the simply movement causes her. I sit beside her and wrap my arms around her. She buries her head in my shoulder, and she cries too.
"I love you Beyond." She trembles. I fight back the shaking in my voice.
"I love you too Lo. Be brave. Ok?" she nods again. As I lay her back on her pillows, she glances at Kara, then closes her eyes. With hands shaking so much that I nearly don't do it, I hold a piece of cloth over her nose and mouth. What gets to me is how she doesn't struggle at all against the chloroform dragging her into sleep. When she is unconscious, I breathe out heavily and wipe the tears from my eyes. I push open the window then turn back to her, taking in her tiny form. I wrap her blanket around her and unhook all the tubes connecting her to machines. I lift her like A did when he saved her from the basement, with one last glance to the corner of the room where a sneering figure stands, I leave silently through the window and head off into the nearby woods…
A
As I walk into Alodia's room, I realise there is something very wrong. I see the Shinigami, Kara, staring out of the window. But she is the only being in the room.
"Where are they?" I ask quickly. Kara turns around slowly, but just as she goes to speak, we both hear a distant, yet loud noise that sends chills up my spine. A gunshot.
"B!" I yell, turning on my heels and sprinting out of the room, out of the hospital and towards the sound.
"B! Where are you?!" I scream frantically. I don't get a reply, but I follow the footprints in the dirt until I come to a small clearing shadowed by trees. I all I can see from this angle is B's back, but he is sitting with his legs tucked under him and his head facing down. His whole body is shaking and a gun lays on the ground beside him.
"B?" I move forward slightly and realise that he is sitting by a small, but relatively deep hole. As I get closer, I see there is blood on his hand. My face is one of horror as I realise what has happened. I rush over to B and kneel beside him, and look down to where his eyes are fixed.
"Oh, god…" I tremble as I see what he was staring at. Laying in the ditch is Alodia. Eyes closed peacefully with a blanket wrapped around her. She could be sleeping if it weren't for the fact that her throat is a bloodied mess of severed flesh and bone.
"What have you done?!" I exclaim, horrified, falling backwards. I see B's eye and mouth twitch simultaneously. He doesn't look at me. Instead he reaches for the gun and turns it over in his hands. I stare at the blood on his hands rather than the blood at his sister's throat.
"I was aiming for her head, but I was shaking too much. I slipped. I couldn't let her live on another day in pain…I couldn't…" he stops and turns towards me quickly, I jump back in fear suddenly. He drops the gun and grabs my wrists. His vermillion eyes wide and fearful, but twitching every now and then like a madman. But I don't think it's too farfetched that that's what he is.
"Are you angry with me?" He asks worriedly. A definite fear laced with insanity in his voice. I become very aware of the blood from his hands staining my skin as he holds my wrists. I cringe inwardly, and I avoid the question.
"If you shot her why is there blood on your hands?" He looks down and let's go of my wrists, staring at his hands.
"Oh! I hadn't realised. I shot her at close range, it must have splashed upwards. Sorry…" He draws back. A look of sadness washes over his face.
"I killed her…A! Im a murderer!" He begins to panic, trying to wipe the blood off of his hands but to no avail. When he fails, he looks at me, then the gun. His voice goes from low and menacing to panicked and hysterical. Then suddenly, he uses his hands and feet to push over a large heap of dirt into the ditch until his sister's mangled body is no longer visible. It is then that he takes up the gun and turns to walk away.
"Wait! Beyond! Where are you going?!" I call after him. Without turning to face me, and again with that sinister voice he replies:
"Im going to pay my father a little visit." And there is nothing I can do to stop him.
Beyond
I hear A shouting after me, but I walk on and ignore his pleas. It's my father's fault everything went so wrong. It was probably his abuse which bought Kenelm's attention to our family, and for that, he deserves to die. But a gun is too good for him. It will still be useful for getting into the police station though.
As I enter the building, with the gun in my hands, an officer tries to approach me.
"It's Birthday's kid. He's got a gun." He speaks into his communicator.
"You shouldn't have said that." I mutter, firing a bullet at the man and watching his body crumble to the floor. Soon enough, there are three more police officers trying to get to me. One holds up a tazor and orders me to the drop the gun. I stare him straight in the eyes and smile, aiming the gun at him and pulling the trigger. In less than a minute, four police officers lay dead on the floor around me. Their blood splattered onto my face and clothes. I didn't want to do that. Why did I do that? I hear a voice behind me.
"Beyond! What are you doing?" Kara yells in surprise at the scene. I look at her and shake my head.
"I don't know. I can't stop myself," A dark presents seems to overcome me, "I have to kill…I have to kill…" She tries to stop me, but soon I am sprinting down a hall using an officer's pass card. I start searching for the right person. I unlock the right door with a stolen set of keys. I let the door swing open. My father sits up against the wall with a face of shock and terror when he sees me. For once, he is completely sober.
"Son…I" he begins, I take the knife out and cut him off.
"No…don't you dare…you aren't my father. You have made my life a living hell since mum died. And because of you, Alodia is dead. Along with my fucking sanity as well it would seem." I scream back, edging closer to him.
"Im sorry Beyond! I didn't mean to do that! I just had a problem. I see now that im sober that what I did was wrong! But…" I press the knife against his throat.
"You don't get to apologise. Not ever! And you abused me before you had a drinking problem so don't give me that bullshit! People like you deserve to die. Im willing to give up my life to make sure you are dead!" I choke, pressing the knife until I draw blood. He gulps in terror and goes to say something else, but before he can, I hear that voice in my head again. I see the apparition of my insanity smiling at me.
Kill him now B! Kill him!
I draw back the knife and plunge it into his lung as far as I can. He screams in agony, and I find myself laughing hysterically. I twist the knife harshly, before removing it and stabbing him again and again until he stops twitching, and even then I don't stop. The laughing ceases and tears run down my face. I step back and look down to my clothes, my skin dark red with his blood. Kara glides in.
"B! There are armed police on their way! Let's go!" she grabs my hand and pulls me from the building, dragging us through the woods and beyond. I don't know where I will go, but I run on anyway. If they catch me, my life is over. I murdered six people in less than half an hour. I am a monster.
After about two hours of continuous running, I can't go any further. I collapse in the shade of a tree and lean against it, breathing heavily. Kara hasn't said a word since we left the town. Now she turns to me and folds her bony arms angrily.
"Why did you kill all those people? What would your mother think if she were here? I promised Alodia that I would take care of you, but trust me, if I hadn't known you since you were a baby, I would kill you myself for what you've done." She grimaces. I look at the ground shamefully. I feel my anger slowly rising though.
"It wasn't my fault! Only my father was going to die, they shouldn't of gotten in the way." I cry out in frustration. Kara shakes her head and perches on a low tree branch.
"They were just doing their jobs. You should have left it to the police to deal with your father. Now you will have to run forever, or you'll be in prison for the rest of your life." She sighs.
"No I won't. I'd rather die. If they try to arrest me, I'll just shoot them, or myself." I finish stubbornly. Kara sighs again and turns her back, looking up at the sky.
"It looks like it's going to rain. You should find some shelter." She stands and offers me a hand, pulling me up too. After looking about for a bit, we come to an area of small trees so tightly packed together that their branches and leaves have formed a perfect sheltered area, hidden away from sight. I settle myself on the ground under the trees and turn onto my side to ignore Kara's angry, accusing eyes. I can tell she is still annoyed.
It's a shame you can't kill a Shinigami.
The voice tells me. I ignore it and curl into the fetal position, closing my eyes as the sky turns dark. I listen to the heavy sound of rain that's perfect for muffling my quiet crying and shivering. The cold bites into my skin as I pull my knees in tighter trying to retain some warmth. Then I feel something soft covering me. I open my eyes wearily to see that Kara has taken off her black, velvety cloak and lain it over me. She smiles lightly as I mutter thanks.
"It's ok. I can't feel the cold anyway. Try and get some sleep. We'll have to move more in the morning." I nod and close my eyes again, this time drifting to sleep.
A
"Four police officers were found dead in the police station shortly after screaming and gunshots were heard from the building. Mr Harold Birthday, a man in the midst of a domestic abuse case was also found dead in his cell from around 26 stab wounds. Investigators have confirmed that the culprit is Beyond Birthday, the victim's 10 year old son. Any knowledge of his whereabouts should be reported to the police immediately." I stare blankly at the blurry photo on the screen from the police security cameras. I see B's distinct red eyes and messy onyx hair. He holds a gun in his hand down by his side. Watari walks into the room and I quickly turn off the tv. He raises an eyebrow at me.
"I told you not to watch the news A. it will only worry you." He sighs sympathetically, sitting on the edge of the window sill.
"I know…I know but he's my best friend. They'll kill him when they find him…"I mumble sadly.
"Not necessarily. Im working on it. Don't worry." He smiles, ruffling my hair and leaving again. I look at the photo on my bedside table of B and I five years ago, before his mother died, and I feel my eyes well up again. I let my head fall to the desk and cry for my friend. I shouldn't have let him go after he killed Alodia. I should have known he would break down. Every one he killed died because of me…
B
In my dream, I am surrounded by darkness. I can hear faint crying somewhere to the left of me. It turns into screaming. I stumble forward until suddenly I am standing in a woodland area in the pouring rain. I see a figure curled up on himself by a tree, bleeding heavily from one of his arms, but he doesn't seem to have noticed.
He also doesn't see the elderly man approaching him. The man puts a hand on the child's shoulder.
"L, what's wrong?" the child, L, doesn't respond immediately. When he does, all he says is "Im sorry."
What the hell is going on? Who is this kid? He appears in my dreams frequently, but I don't know why.
"B, wake up." Kara shakes me awake gently. I sit up and look around, seeing the orange of the first morning light on the horizon.
"We should get moving." She elaborates. Soon after, we are walking, or in her case flying, further and further away from my life…
As the day drags on, I become drenched from the rain. My clothes still stained in blood. We stay just inside the woods to hide from cars, but we follow the road. Numerous times we have to stop to rest, only to start walking again towards who knows where. After the first three hours, Kara's voice snaps me to attention.
"Maybe you should just turn yourself in. I mean what are you going to do out here? Probably die." She huffs. I shake my head at her and wipe the beads of sweat from my brow.
"I can't do that. I'd rather die out here than spend the rest of my life in prison, or an asylum, which is where I would likely end up." I sigh stubbornly. I can almost feel Kara roll her eyes.
"OK, if you say so." She mumbles.
We trek on and off for about three more hours before collapsing under another sheltered area of trees to sleep. People I've never seen before enter my dreams again. This time it's a girl with beautiful green eyes and blonde/ginger hair. I don't catch her name, but she is with the boy from before, L and Coby, the one I will apparently kill. That doesn't seem so farfetched now. But one thing puzzles me. All of these people have something at common.
In every dream I and these people are living at Wammy's house…
A
"You've found him? How?" I exclaim. It's been nearly a week since B killed the police and his father, so this news from Watari is very welcome.
"Do you remember when I asked you to slip that tracker into B's jean pocket? It finally activated. It's a good thing he only wears one pair of jeans. We should be able to go and get him tonight." Watari replies. I relax slightly in my chair.
"But then what? He killed all of those people…"I trail off. Watari simply smiles.
"I don't believe it was entirely his fault. And the police don't need to know."
That night Watari put on a bullet proof vest as a precaution, as well as a hypodermic needle with sedative in case B was difficult. Just before he leaves he turns to face me and holds out another bullet proof jacket.
"You should come too A. Just in case." He smiles. I shrug into the jacket, and we leave into the night.
B
Hey B. wake up. Someone's coming.
I jolt awake to see Kara's concerned face.
"Is something wrong Beyond?" She asks concernedly.
"I think someone's coming." I whisper, sitting up on my toes apprehensively.
"Stay quiet." She orders in a deadpan, before drifting in one direction to see if she can see anyone. In no time at all I can see BB as he told me he is called, or my evil figment of my imagination, perched on nearby tree branch.
They are coming B. Kill them.
"Who are coming?"
It doesn't matter. Kill everyone B.
"No. leave me alone..." my voice trails off as I hear the sound of footsteps coming towards me. It's then that my schizophrenia plays up. I can make out two figures standing in front of me, but they don't look human. Their faces are morphed and twisted. Their voices make them sound terrifying and dangerous. Before long I feel a needle in my neck and unconsciousness swarms me…