Combusting Hearts
Chapter 16
My body was on fire, and the sound of voices filled my head. There was talking, crying, screaming, yelling…so many things at once that I couldn't tell the difference between them. I couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't.
Lord, I can't breathe. I'm so hot… My body hurts all over the place. Logan… Remy… Where is everyone?
It's so dark. The only thing I can see are the stars above me, shining down upon me. I felt a horrible pain grow inside me as I gazed up at them, almost as if I were being torn apart. It was nearly unbearable. It felt like my mind was being picked apart. Lord, I can't breathe.
"Come out and play little frail," a voice called teasingly.
I knew that voice from somewhere, but where? I looked around frantically trying to find the holder of the voice. I bumped into something, then all of a sudden I was thrown backward into a tree, a hand at my throat.
"There you are little one," he cooed, running the back of his nail over my cheek slowly.
I froze in fear, unable to move as he had me pinned to the tree by my neck.
"So much trouble over a single frail," he whispered into my ear slowly.
A shiver ran up my spine as he did this, chills covering and attacking my skin.
"W-what do you…w-want?" I choked out.
He just grinned at me, before throwing me to the ground roughly. I groaned as I looked up at him, gently rubbing my throat.
"What do I want? What do I want? Why, I want to play," he said, stepping toward me.
I scooted back quickly, trying to get as far away from him as possible, but it did me little good as I backed up into another tree.
"Aw…no where to run?" he taunted, advancing on me even closer.
T
"What you mean it has somet'in to do wit' her powers?" Gambit nearly yelled as he threw his hands into the air.
"What I mean Remy, is that her powers seem to be a catalyst of sorts," the Professor explained.
"I don' care 'bout no catalyst. What's happenin to her?" his voice rose a bit in anger and frustration.
This was probably the third time now that her powers had something to do with her health. He was getting tired of seeing this happen to her.
"I'm afraid that I'm not entirely sure Gambit," he admitted, before being interrupted by a yell.
Elaine was yelling in her sleep as though she were fighting for her life. Her hands were turning red.
"Wake her up, quickly!" the Professor ordered, the urgency in his voice overwhelming.
Gambit ran to her, quickly grabbing her wrists in his hands.
"Cheri, wake up. Wake up, cheri!" he said, trying to hold her still.
Her hands continued to glow as he stood there trying to wake her.
"Cheri, wake up!"
"No…no…NO!" she cried, thrashing around violently.
It was like something was trying to attack her and she couldn't seem to get away. She was stuck in that frantic fear, unable to escape.
"Elaine!" he yelled, her eyes shooting wide open a few moments later. "Elaine…" he whispered over the sound of her panting, "cheri…" he pulled her close to him, holding her there as tears slowly fell from her eyes.
As he stood there, the glowing of her hands slowly faded away, leaving her sitting there weakly in Gambit's arms. He just held her there, giving her comfort as best he could. He didn't know what else to do.
"I'm never…going back to sleep again…" she whispered as she attempted to stand, her knees buckling under her weight.
Gambit caught her quickly before she could hit the ground, picking her up in his arms. He looked over at the Professor for a moment.
"I'll take care o' her," he said quietly, before turning and walking out of the room with Elaine in his arms.
Logan watched them go, his eyes never leaving Elaine until she was no longer in his sight.
"Where's he taking her?" he asked, turning to the Professor.
"For now, merely to his room," he told him as he wheeled toward the door. "And Logan, I ask you, please trust him for now?" the Professor asked.
All that Logan could do was nod his head slowly, unsure of what else to do. He was at a loss for words.
T
The walk back upstairs was silent, neither one of us speaking a word. Then again, it's not like I would say much of anything anyway…I was still shaken up from that dream. In fact, it didn't even seem like a dream at all, it was so real. I could still feel the man's hand on my throat, squeezing it painfully. That, and his cold, blood thirsty black eyes staring back at me. The whole thing sent a shiver down my spine and I found myself hiding my face against Gambit's chest.
"It'll be alright, cheri," he cooed softly, shifting me in his arms a bit to open his door.
I didn't say anything as we went inside. He shut and locked the door, before moving over and laying me down on his bed.
"Remy…?" I whispered, watching as he pulled up the chair from his desk.
"Oui, cheri?"
"You…you called me…by my name earlier," I whispered, realizing that he had never called me by my name before.
"So I did…" he said quietly, realizing it himself. "I was worried 'bout ya, cheri, real worried," he said.
"I'm sorry…" I whispered, slowly bringing my knees to my chest.
His brows furrowed as he watched me do this.
"You did nothin' wrong, cheri. Nothin', ya hear me?" he said, his voice firm but gentle, taking my hands in his own. "Cheri, what happened?" he asked slowly, stroking the back of my hand with his thumb.
"I…I don't know…" I whispered, thinking back to my dream. "It was so real…" I breathed, and slowly pulled one if my hands away from his, bringing it to my throat carefully. "I can still feel his hand on my throat," I said, wincing faintly when I touched my throat.
Gambit's brows furrowed considerably when he saw this, carefully taking my hand and pulling it back. What he saw shocked and angered him. There, on my throat was the beginnings of a bruise in the shape of a large hand. He brushed his finger against it gently, pulling back when he saw me wince.
"Cheri, who was d'is man, in your dream?" he asked, his eyes laced with worry.
"A beast like man…the same one that attacked me and Logan," I told him, thinking about when it had happened, along with the physical pain that it had brought to me.
"Sabertooth?" he questioned.
"I think that's what Logan had called him," I said, letting my eyes travel to his for a moment.
I could almost see the gears turning in his head as he sat there. It was like he was trying to solve a puzzle in his head. Likely a very dangerous puzzle.
"Remy…" I whispered, "I'm scared…" I whimpered.
Tears slowly started to pour from my eyes as I sat there on his bed.
"Cheri…" he sat down on the bed beside me and pulled me to him, holding me and shushing me softly.
I just cried, unable to stop it. I was already sick and now this was happening. This whole thing was scaring me and I was afraid that there was something truly horrible behind it all.
T
He sat there holding her for a long while, just sitting and stroking her hair in an attempt to calm her. It seemed to help a great deal, but she still cried. When he had seen the place on her throat, he had immediately gone livid. Someone had harmed Elaine, and that was unacceptable in his book. Whoever had done this had to be stopped, but unfortunately, he couldn't do anything about it tonight. In fact, he didn't even have the will to leave her here as she was. She needed him too much right now, and regardless of how furious he was at this unknown person, he wasn't about to go and leave her alone.
While sitting there, he had quietly managed to push his shoes off, slowly coming to lay down on the bed with her. He moved so that she laid against him, his arms around her, holding and comforting her. He could tell that this whole thing was both physically and emotionally draining for her. He would have to do something special for her on Christmas, something that she'd never forget, something that would make her smile from ear to ear. He already had an idea in his head, but in order for it to work, he'd need some help.
Gambit was slightly surprised at how calmly and easily she had taken to laying with him. She hadn't backed away or gotten up or anything, she just allowed herself to lay there with him, his arms placed around her protectively. She was starting to develop a certain need for his company. She always did hate being alone, but she never showed it or more rather, no one really ever took notice to it. Gambit did though because he was just like her in that regard.
"Remy…" she whispered his name, her hand curled around a small bit of his shirt, her head resting against his chest.
He had no doubt that she was listening to the sound of his heart beating rhythmically. He was sure that hers was doing the same, especially, since she had calmed down quite a bit.
"Don' worry, cheri, I not goin' anywhere," he assured her, going back to stroking her hair gently.
Doing this seemed to put there at ease.
"Not without you," he whispered quietly.
After a while, he heard her breathing mellow out exceptionally, her chest slowly rising and falling against his. The sight of her eyes closed confirmed that she was finally asleep.
He smiled faintly as he looked down at her. She truly was beautiful. With the crimson streaks of red in her dark hair, and those reddish eyes of hers, she was something else. She was one of a kind in his mind. He sighed as he closed his eyes, trying his best to relax, which wasn't that hard with her in his arms.
He woke back up somewhere around 2 in the morning to her shaking. She had started struggling a bit in his arms, her brow covered in a light layer of sweat. Even as her hands started to glow red, he held her against him, concentrating on dulling her powers.
"Cheri, it's okay," he whispered in her ear.
That didn't seem to work as well as he had hoped, watching as she struggled a bit more. It was then that he noticed her arm, lifting his hand to see it, finding what looked to be a slowly forming bruise in the shape of a hand. The problem was, it wasn't from him, it was far too big to be from his hand.
"Cheri?" he tried yet again to wake her up, shaking her a bit.
She made no move to wake.
"Cheri, you have to wake up," he said, the worry in his voice coming out.
"Remy…" she whimpered in her sleep, struggling further against whatever was plaguing her mind.
Her voice came out as one of pain. Whatever it was it was hurting her. Finding his original attempts to be failing, he went to the next one.
"Elaine…" he whispered in her ear, "Elaine…you need ta wake up, cheri, wake up from d'at dream o' yours," he told her, watching as she fought a bit more.
He sighed heavily, moving to rest his forehead against hers.
"Wake up, cheri, ya have ta wake up," he said, kissing her blazing forehead.
The moment that he did that, it was like something changed. Her struggling stopped for a moment, allowing her to breathe properly. She then let out a whimper, before slowly opening her eyes a minute later.
Her face was pale, but a bit red from hyperventilating. Her eyes were scared and frantic, shifting quickly all over the place. She was tired and scared, shaking in his arms.
"Cheri…"
There's chapter 16. I hope that everyone enjoyed this? Things are slowly becoming dangerous for Elaine. Apparently, Gambit has a surprise for her though, but she'll have to wait til Christmas. Please remember to REVIEW? I love hearing everyones feedback. I'd especially like to see what everyone thought about this chapter. I thought long and hard before writing this one, so I hope that I did good. Remember, your reviews keep me writing. Thanks everyone! -eyes flit back and forth warily- No hamster, I think I'm safe. -runs- XD