Combusting Hearts
Chapter 17
I thought that I was going to die before I finally woke up. When I opened my eyes, I saw Remy laying there with his arms around me. His face looked pained as he stared at me, worry and concern in his eyes. He almost looked lost as he laid there.
"Cheri…" he whispered, closing his eyes as he placed his forehead against mine.
"Remy…" I could feel tears coming to my eyes.
"Is alright, cheri, is alright," he said, holding me against him protectively.
I knew that I was NEVER going back to sleep. I was afraid of running into him again or possibly someone else. I was scared for my life at this point, it was absolutely terrifying. Each and every time that I closed my eyes, images replayed in my mind. That beastly man towering over me, fangs bared, claws ready to strike. Worst of all, I was sore again, and it was coming from my arm. Against my better judgment, I glanced down at it, my fears confirmed. It was there, the bruise, the large shapely hand that had once been there though gone now, still marked my body. I was truly terrified now. All that I could do was cry, nothing else seemed to come to mind at that moment, save for the tears that rapidly began to fall from my eyes.
"Don' cry, cheri, please don' cry," Gambit pleaded, stroking my cheek softly.
I just couldn't help it. I was so scared. I wanted this madness to stop.
"Why don' we go see d'e Professor, cheri? See if he can help," he suggested, sitting up with me a bit.
I looked at him for barely a moment, nodding my head faintly, not trusting my own voice at this point.
"Come on d'en," he started, but paused for a moment, looking down at me. "Actually, want me ta go get Wolverine? I go get d'e Professor after d'at," he said.
I nodded quietly, my eyes still watery as I sat there, pulling my knees to my chest. He brought his hand up to my face, resting it gently on my cheek.
"It'll be alright, cheri, I promise," he said, trying to calm me.
I sat there quietly, fighting back the urge to cry again as he left the room. I barely even registered the sound of voices exchanging back and forth as I sat there hugging myself. After what seemed like an eternity in my mind, the sound of footsteps came running toward the room, stopping abruptly in front of it.
Logan stood there with a look of worry plastered on his face as he saw me, slowly moving toward me into the room.
"Kid?" he called hesitantly, sitting down on the bed and placing a hand on my shoulder.
I barely even lifted my head, my eyes puffy and redder than usual.
"Elaine…" he sighed, before pulling me to him.
It was then that I started crying again, sobbing, and gasping for air as I buried myself in his arms. I wanted escape in the worst way possible. Unfortunately, with Gambit out of the room, it didn't take Logan long to notice the bruise on my arm. He saw the size and shape of the hand print, a growl slowly rising from his throat.
"It wasn't Remy," I whispered quietly, trying to stop crying.
Logan snorted.
"I know it wasn't, but I know who it was," he said, the growing irritation and anger evident in his voice.
I was almost scared at the sound of it, but I knew it wasn't directed toward me, so I was good. I just couldn't stop shaking though as tremor after tremor hit my body. My dreams were coming to light in the worst way and I couldn't do a thing about it.
"Elaine, dear?" I looked up to find the Professor, Gambit standing by his side.
The Professor gave him a subtle nod, allowing him to walk over to me. I felt like a child as Gambit knelt down before me, taking my face gently in his hands as he whipped away my tears. My vision blurred as I looked down at him, my voice stuck in my throat. I mouthed his name quietly, trying to hold back my tears, but more came to fall down my delicate cheeks.
"Shh…shh…shush now, cheri, is alright," he cooed softly, stroking my cheek with his thumb.
It calmed me down a bit to the point that I was no longer gasping for air, but merely sat with sniffles and hiccups. He smiled warmly at me seeing how calm I was, finding something there that he hadn't noticed before.
I could have fallen asleep right there in front of Gambit, so easily I could have, but I didn't. No, I sat there staring into his red and black eyes, losing myself. I felt a spark of power rise inside of me as I stared at him, but I didn't know what it was from. All that I knew was that I felt that strange spark inside of me.
"Remy…" I whispered, wincing when I spoke.
My throat was still sore and throbbing, the feeling of the bruise remaining on my esophagus.
"Professor," Gambit called, nodding toward me.
The man then rolled over to us, gently taking my face in his warm hands. I could hear the sound of his breath being drawn in quickly upon seeing my neck.
"Dear Lord…" he whispered, carefully brushing his finger against my neck.
I sucked in a large amount of air when he did this, pain searing my skin. I had to bite back more tears as I sat there. Though gentle as he was, it still hurt with the slight pressure that was placed there. I could feel him faintly trailing his fingertips over the mark on my throat, being as careful as he possibly could. He could even see the imprint of nail marks on my neck as well, faint punctures from those black claws. I nearly cried when he ran his finger over one spot causing his brows to furrow. One spot was already a deep purple, almost black, and it was terribly painful to the touch.
"Professor…" I whispered in a pained voice, the fear apparent in my voice.
All that he could do was stare at me as he sat there in his chair, a concerned air around him. His eyes and fingers then trailed down to my arm, assessing the damage. The bruise was becoming more prominent as the minutes rolled by. My face scrunched up when he touched it, sending images of my dream back to me, causing me to cry.
"Is alright, cheri, is alright," Gambit whispered softly as he brushed his hand gently against my cheek.
I could feel my stomach churning and twisting painfully, bile slowly forming as I quickly placing my hand over my mouth.
"Trash can," I choked out quickly.
Logan quickly retrieved it, placing it in front of me just as I began to throw up. Stress does wonders to the body doesn't it? I groaned as I sat there, body hunched over with my head down as Gambit held my hair back while rubbing my back gently. I soon found myself leaning toward him till eventually, my head was laying in his lap, my eyes closed. He just sat there holding one of my hands, while stroking my hair with his other hand. Logan and the Professor sat there watching this quietly. They really didn't know what to do, or at least Logan didn't.
"I think that I shall have to give her a sedative," the Professor said, slowly wheeling toward the door.
After that, the Professor left, leaving Gambit and Logan behind to watch me.
"What's going to happen to me…?" I whispered quietly, barely keeping my eyes open.
"I don' know, cheri, but Gambit promise ya one t'ing," he started, causing me to turn and look up at him, "I be wit' ya till d'e end o' d'is," he promised, making me smile a bit.
A few minutes later, the Professor came back in with something in his hand. It was a needle.
"Elaine," he called my name, causing me to shift my gaze toward him.
When I met his eyes, I knew what it was. It was time for the sedative, time to go to sleep, time to rest.
"Remy…Logan…" I whispered their names as the Professor gently took hold of my arm, cleaning it with an alcohol pad, before pressing the needle into my skin.
The sedative in question made quick work in tiring me. Soon enough, I found myself struggling to keep my eyes open. Both Logan and Gambit were watching me carefully, watching me fight against this sedatives persuasive methods. It was becoming a tiresome act to attempt. Just simply sleeping was a much better decision in my mind. Shortly after, my will power was no more, and sleep came quickly. I was soon sent into a visionless darkness, no light, no color, no nothing, just darkness. That's where I laid for what would seem an endless cold eternity.
T
Gambit sat there quietly with Elaine's head in his lap. He sat there running his fingers quietly through her hair. It was so soft to the skin of his hand.
"Cheri," he sighed quietly, closing his eyes as he leaned back against his headboard, Logan and the Professor watching him. "What we do now?" he asked, not looking at either one of them.
"I suppose all that we can do is merely let her sleep," the Professor said as he turned toward Elaine's sleeping form, "but…I would like to try and see what has been bothering her," he said.
Logan turned to look at him, shifting a bit.
"You're going to read her mind, aren't you?" Logan asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes. Normally, I would only do such a thing with her permission, but…given the situation it needs to be done for her safety," he explained as he placed his hands gently on either side of Elaine's face.
T
The images came in flashes as he sifted through her mind, searching for the thing that had been causing her pain. Her mind itself was like a giant maze, with so many turns and dead ends, he started to wonder if he would ever find what he was looking for. It was as if things had been scrambled around somehow.
As he continued to sift through her mind, a few memories made their way to him.
Rain pelted the ground as lightning flashed and stretched through the sky. The scared and fearful cries of a young girl could be heard as she shivered in the cold. She was crying. She couldn't have been more than 13 years of age, and she was outside in the cold, banging on the door of a house.
"P-please l-l-let me in?! I'll be good," she cried, letting out a yelp as her ears were met with an ominous crash of thunder. "P-p-please?" she begged, falling to her knees as she hugged herself, trying her best to retain any amount of warmth.
A couple stood by the front window looking out at her, a hate filled look on their faces as they stared at her. All that she could do was sit out in the pouring rain as the storm continued on, pelting and bruising her skin with its icy touch. The scene itself was completely nerve wrecking and that's putting it nicely. What was even worse was that the neighbors merely turned a blind eye to the entire thing, leaving the poor girl to sit in the cold all night long, only to be taken to the hospital the following day with a case of moderate hypothermia.
The Professor felt himself shiver as he passed through that memory, only to be met with another memory from her mind.
Headstones everywhere you turned. That was all that could be seen, save for the occasional flowers that decorated them.
A little girl was knelt in front of a double burial headstone with her head down. She had a few bandages wrapped around her arms and legs, a few bandages on her face even. She sat there crying in front of the recently turned soil, hands curling into the dirt, the dirt caking underneath of her nails.
The headstone read the names Helen and John Conners, her parents of 12 years.
The poor girl nearly lashed out when someone tried to touch her to pull her away. She didn't want to leave, in fact, she didn't even want to be alive anymore.
In her mind, she killed her parents, it was her fault that they were gone. She blamed herself for the whole incident, every bit of it. She just couldn't stop blaming herself for their deaths, even though it wasn't entirely her fault, but merely an accident. This young girl saw it as murder.
Just like the one before, it made him shiver as it faded away. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find what he was looking for, almost as if it were somehow being blocked and hidden from him. The only thing that he managed to find was past memories and newer ones, but that was it, he couldn't find the source of the problem, but he knew that it was there somewhere.
Ok everyone, that was the long awaited chapter 17. Sorry it took so long. I've been really busy lately, in fact, I start my next term of college Tuesday. Anyway...please remember to REVIEW? I'd love feedback for this chapter. Also, chapter 18 should be up soon, since I already know what I want to write for it. Remember, the more REVIEWs, the better the chapters. Bye bye everyone and thanks for the support and reading. :) -eyes shift around for hamster before whispering- "I'm typing number 18 RIGHT now" XD