Greetings my demonic angels! One chapter to go after this one! This chapter shall be dedicated to DMagic, Peepz, dragonlady222, Bumbling Lobster, Shamrokk, and looptheloopy. They lyrics are taken from the song "Hymn for the Missing" by Red. Enjoy.
I tried to walk together
But the night was growing dark
Thought you were beside me
But I reached and you were gone
Sometimes I hear you calling
From some lost and distant shore
I hear you crying softly for the way it was before
Where are you now?
Are you lost?
Will I find you again?
Are you alone?
Are you afraid?
Are you searching for me?
Why did you go? I had to stay.
Now I'm reaching for you.
Will you wait? Will you wait?
Will I see you again?
Chapter 28: Imprint
(Mr. Mutou's POV)
"Are we going home soon?" Jounouchi entreats me, propped up in his hospital bed. "I don't wanna do this anymore."
"Soon," I promise the boy, not mentioning the soldiers posted throughout the building.
The blonde nods, dazed from the strong painkillers they've pumped into his system. His shoulder and arm are padded with bandages. Apparently the gunshot did not cause significant damage. Psychologically it may be another story entirely.
By order of the army the doctors and nurses are forbidden from asking questions on what occurred and how we came to sustain such injuries. Dutifully they acted quickly and efficiently as the boys were wheeled in. Even when they brought young men critically injured some with knife and bullet wounds.
As soon as the boys showed signs of bordering consciousness the soldiers pounced, asking a long wearying series of questions. Despite the trauma, as far as I know, none of the boys gave them much to work with. No doubt there will be a few more rounds of interrogations.
"I don't wanna do this anymore," Jounouchi whispers, having repeated this plea unceasingly since arriving here.
"You don't have to," I assure the troubled teen.
The shock hasn't worn off yet. He needs rest and quiet away from this taxing environment the soldiers have turned the hospital into. More than anything he needs normalcy.
"But when?"
"Why don't you close your eyes and rest a bit?" I force a smile while attempting to pat down unruly blonde hair. It's stiff with dried blood matted throughout it.
I don't want to leave him in such a state. Thankfully, Yugi and Honda bore no serious injuries and can help me hop between rooms. There has been no time to sit in one place and fret.
Jounouchi does as I say, laying back into the firm pillows while I cover him with a second blanket one of the nurses brought. As much as he loathes the blue hospital gown he hasn't complained. Probably too relieved to be out of those blood-covered garments.
"What 'bout Apophis?"
"What about them, Jou?"
The teen bites down hard on his chapped lip, eyes teary and desperate. His fingers curl around the thin hospital sheets. I've taken note that his body has not ceased its shaking even though we're far away from the cold mountains now. I don't think he's even aware of it.
"I…I don't wanna fight anymore," he whimpers, face wan.
"You won't."
"But…"
"Don't worry about any of that, Jounouchi. Someone else is taking care of that. You don't have to do anything more."
This is true. I just don't know who is doing so. It could be the army. Or maybe, God willing, Minkah, Malik, and Niu have already disposed of the assassins and have regrouped with Ryou. While I loathe the idea of them being forced into another brawl, it'd be best if they were already through fighting when they meet the army. It would lessen the chance of a misunderstanding.
We both jump when there comes a soft knock on the door. Jounouchi shrinks down trying to make himself disappear as I walk over and answer it. Honda greets me with a weak smile.
"The doctors told me he was awake." His eyes move past to Jounouchi. "It's about time, man. We were beginning to think you'd gone into hibernation."
"Honda!" Jounouchi perks slightly upon seeing his friend. He glances around the brunette, excitement wavering as Honda closes the door. "Where's everybody else?"
"Oh I'm not good enough now? They've stabilized Yami," Honda shakes his head, coming over and perching at the foot of the bed. "Yugi's keeping Marik company so he doesn't freak."
"Marik has been amazing," I murmur, astonished at my usually fragile grandson's resolve. I expected he would have relapsed after all this madness. Instead he remains lucid, as if determined not to break again.
"What about the rest of them?" Jou pipes up when neither Honda nor I continue. "Are they…?"
"They found them," I answer quietly while Honda's jaw clenches. "The army is flying several people here as we speak."
Jounouchi sits up alertly, ignoring his wound.
"And they're okay?"
"The people they have found are alive."
For how long, that is unclear. Honda shares a somber look with me, evading Jounouchi's eyes. He needn't know the few details we do know. When we first heard the news it took over an hour before we were given any further information besides that they had several individuals in custody. Their identities remain a mystery. For all we know it could be injured assassins that they are treating.
This is the worst part: the unknown.
The waiting.
"They'll be fine," Honda states in a steady voice. "No worries. If pushovers like us could make it out of there in one piece then they can no problem."
"That's true!" Jounouchi smiles, lips twitching as he trembles. "I'll bet…I'll bet the army got there too late. Mink, Malik, an' Niu probably already had taken care of everything."
"Hell, I'll be Niu didn't even have to do anything," Honda adds holding up his fist in a victorious gesture. "Minkah and Malik were just sitting there waiting for him with Ryou."
"An… An' Ry didn't have a scratch on him," Jou adds, eyelids fluttering as the medications and sudden rush take their toll. "Not even a paper cut."
"Fool," Honda snorts, hand on his good arm helping Jou ease back down onto his back. "Why would he have a paper cut?"
"Nnn." Jounouchi shakes his head in a sluggish manner, eyes closing at last. "I said he didn't have one, moron."
Honda doesn't retort to the jab, watching despondently as his friend slips into an uneasy sleep, tremors causing the bed to shudder with him. The mask drops and he bows his head.
"The people they found…they're in bad shape," he mumbles under his breath in case Jounouchi hasn't completely drifted off.
"Honda…"
"You heard what they said," he grounds out between gritted teeth.
"They're alive."
"We don't even know if it's them or not!"
I don't answer straight away. He isn't a naïve child. There is no real way of reassuring him. We hold similar knowledge of the situation; perhaps Honda even more so given that he was out there fighting alongside Niu. It's given him a bleaker outlook in any case.
"There's a part of me that doesn't want it to be them," he admits in a softer tone, ridding it of the callousness. "I don't want them to have endured shit like that…" Voice cracking he swallows, eyes hardening in recollection. "But I just can't see them doing that to other people. Even if their enemies were Apophis."
There were no details, once again, but they informed us the individuals they found sported wounds from various degrees of torture. I don't doubt the soldiers' affirmations about such things. They would know what is a combat wound and what is inflicted for the sole purpose of pain.
"You have to believe in them. Trust they can make it through this."
Brown eyes are hard as he glares at the white tile floor. Even asleep Jounouchi quakes, emitting small noises from his throat as he's plagued by an onslaught of misshapen dreams. Honda rests his hand carefully over his friend's injured shoulder.
"How can I believe in them when I can't even hold faith in myself?"
I knew from the beginning the risks our fleeing involved. Still I berate myself for allowing Jounouchi and Honda to come with us. At the same time, I know that if I had forbade it they would have followed us anyway. And if they had not been with us we would be dead right now. That is a fact.
"You did what you had to do in order to survive."
"Stop lecturing me and pretending you understand. You've never killed anybody!"
His voice is quiet but they are coated with venom. It's not so much he's angry at me. There are stains on his hands that only he can see. When he returned from cleaning I saw the raised, reddened skin on his hands where he'd nearly scrubbed the flesh off.
When he and Jounouchi accepted those guns, their motive hadn't been to meet the army in combat. While they were far from affable allies—and even calling them allies is a stretch—they weren't Apophis. The soldiers they came upon weren't the ruthless terrorists they had been mentally preparing themselves to face.
If it had been Apophis they had fought and killed, they could have all of the counseling they wanted. They could openly articulate the complex emotions they were experiencing at having killed a fellow human being. No one would have blamed them for slaughtering a pack of assassins hell-bent on killing them. They would have been commended for their actions. Everything would have been justified.
Instead they have to keep it to themselves, only daring speak of the incident when we are alone. Even then, Honda refuses to open up about it. His guard is up constantly
(Ryou's POV)
I slam the door behind me, latching it securely as I lean my back against it. Body trembling, chest heaving, I dare not peek out of the windows. That was too close.
Minkah told me not to follow him back there. Why didn't I listen? If I had done as he said it would have spared me that near-death experience just now.
But who was shooting at me? And where was it coming from? I heard my brother shout; he no doubt saw what was about to happen and intervened. Which probably put him in even more danger. Shit, why didn't I do as he said?
Malik and Niu are exactly as I left them, lying next to each other on the floor. Malik is on his back. I turned Niu onto his side after he began choking on the blood collecting in his throat, unable to swallow properly.
Cautiously I finger the gun, immediately dismissing the idea of going back out there. I've already gotten in the way. Who knows what that cost Minkah? I can't risk another blunder like that. Next time it will be my head.
For the first time in what feels like an eternity, I fully feel—or don't feel—my body's response to all of the wounds, cold, and adrenaline rushes I've pushed it through. My lungs are on fire and my limbs are tremulous. Slowly I sink to the floor, back pressed against the door, coat making a shhh sound against the metal as it slides down it.
'Minkah, please get out of there!'
Black ashes tumble like sleet, hardened pieces tapping like fingernail tips on the windows. I focus on breathing, realizing how I keep holding my breath when I'm frightened. Never stop breathing. Keep breathing.
Rocking back and forth, I wait. Is anybody looking for us? Are the others okay? Kek and Afika were insinuating otherwise. Was it the other two assassins? Where are they?
I cannot tell if the sun has risen or if it is the blaze from the distant fires. Minkah grasped what they were. I still don't understand what is burning or who started them. I don't comprehend the significance of it. There must be, because my brother was shaken upon seeing them.
Outlines begin to turn hazy, and I blink heavily in order to remain awake. It feels like ages since I last slept. My body urges me to do nothing more than curl up into a ball and close my eye for the next ten years. My body is exhausted. I'm worn through, no energy reserved. I've used up everything I have, all the willpower I possess.
Malik…Niu…
If I can just…keep my eye open a little longer…
Minkah…
There are hands. I can indistinctly feel hands hoisting me, moving me. This stirs my muddled mind into consciousness again. I breathe a rasped sigh of relief. He came. Minkah's safe.
I think I might have fallen asleep for a while. This makes me feel guilty, having left everything for him to handle. He's injured too. It isn't fair to leave the burden solely to him.
I manage to open my eye. My vision is obscure, muddled by sleep and distress. I'm on my back, my coat tucked under the back of my head to keep it from bumping on the floor.
The first thing that comes to my mind is I'm shaking. No. Everything is shaking. Inhaling deeply, I notice the air does not steel my breath. It's actually…warm.
A steady growl is emitted from all around me, lying within the belly of the beast. It feels like we're moving at a steady speed; Minkah no doubt rushing to get us to help. It sways back and forth in jerky movements that would have knocked me off my feet had I been standing. Thankfully he seems to know how to operate this contraption, having turned the heaters on to aid in stabilizing our current conditions.
Clearing my sore throat several times, I cough, garbled sounds discharging from my strained vocal cords. Hacking, I clutch my throat, slowly turning onto my stomach as we jolt sharply. Reaching out clutch Malik's arm with my other hand. Face covered in blood, nose busted, he doesn't respond to the touch.
The copper stench reeks through the small quarters. Too much. My stomach lurches and I have to swallow hard to force the bile back down. I look up once I am able to breathe more normally, watching the trees whizz by through one of the small windows. Minkah is pushing this thing as fast as it will go. Like me, he is determined to protect our friends. The urgency is not without grounds.
Digging my nails into the floor scuffed from boot treads, I attempt to rise. My muscles will not obey me any longer. As soon as they sense my intention to get up they shut off, refusing to let me budge. Panting, I resign to rest the bandaged side of my face on the floor so I can stare at the door separating me from my brother. I don't let go of Malik, fingers curling into the slippery fabric of his coat.
"M-Min…"
Even if I could speak above a whisper he wouldn't hear me. The engine is too powerful, snarling and howling like a powerful predator. My head is tossed with a burst of pain from the sharp jerking of the vehicle. Moaning, I close my eye to will the ache away. As soon as the throbbing in my temples stops I'll try to get up again. Just another minute and I'll be ready…
Everything is still.
Groaning as my body protests to my revival, I blink hard. My vision is foggy. Even my mind has become numbed. I cannot comprehend whether I'm sitting or on my stomach on the floor. Am I even awake? Everything blurs when I try to move.
The door to the control room creaks open on shrill metal hinges. I would cover my ears if I could muster the strength. Instead my eye snaps shut impulsively as I wince. The piercing sound makes my head throb; like adding salt to an already infected wound.
At the same time I am relieved. We've stopped. He's gotten us somewhere safe. All of us are going to be okay. The other two are still breathing. We're all alive.
Heavy footsteps echo in the passenger chamber, approaching me slowly. Excitement pounding in my chest, I open my eye. All I see are a pair of black boots right in front of my face. I wait expectantly for him to kneel down and smile in relief. To speak to me and reassure me.
The boots don't budge.
What is he doing? Perhaps listening for danger that could be outside? A trembling begins in my chest and shudders through the rest of my body. It's the fear manifesting from sheer psychological to physical, outwardly revealing the terror I have been fighting with myself to keep at bay. Surely he's going to say something now that I've been reduced to a pathetic shivering mass?
Instead, after another agonizing minute, he steps over me. Wha…? He just…What's he doing? The short footsteps stop as he stands over Malik and Niu. Once again there is no further movement. Isn't he going to check on them at least? They're in worse shape than me. Why hasn't he said anything? Maybe he didn't see I am awake.
"Min…kah?" I croak, determined to get his attention.
The cold hits me like a knife in my back. My entire body shudders as the wind whines, pulsating in my ears the wilderness's frenzied heartbeat. Chest heaving as that frigid air cuts my throat, I focus entirely upon the muscles in my neck. Straining them with every drop of strength I possess, I shakily lift my head. My nose is scrunched against the floor as I slowly crane my neck, turning my head from the left to the right so I may see what is going on.
I'm just in time to see the metal door leading outside slam shut, the sound reverberating through the metal walls like drums.
(Marik's POV)
The heart monitor beeps in a clear rhythm. The doctors are relieved by the steady tempo. I had the sound, always associate it with that incalculable number of trips I was rushed to the emergency each time I broke. On the rare occasion I could go home the next day. Usually it was much longer.
This time it is not my pulse the wretched machine is intoning.
My ears strain to catch words from Grandpa and Honda's muffled argument with the soldiers down the hallway. I'm only able to decipher fragments, not enough that it makes any sense to me. Honda is more vocal, but instead of trying to calm him Grandpa seems to be just as upset. My hand comes up and I trail my fingers over the scar tissue covering my throat.
"I'm sure everything's fine," Yugi says quietly from his perch on Yami's bed. "The army probably is just being difficult. Refusing to let us visit them or something."
I nod dazedly in automatic response. It would not be anything surprising if the army were denying us rights to see my brother and the others. That's something sure to get both Honda and Grandpa rattled up.
Something in my gut tells me it's not so.
"Marik, just wait until they come in and tell us at least," my friend implores me, itching at the dressings wrapped around his arms.
I sport similar wounds. We and Grandpa each received some burns from the fire, but nothing serious. Even if he were on a ventilator, our grandfather would drag the machine though the hospital with him until he had seen with his own eyes that we all were safe. That's the kind of man he is.
That's why I am anxious when I hear that distress in his tone, that he is raising his voice. Perhaps two hours ago we were told the army was flying in more people from the mountains. That's all Honda and Grandpa said anyway. I could tell they were holding something back but did not ask. I've learned to never ask that question.
Whatever it was, they were apparently still being kept in the dark for the most part. Honda was livid. Grandpa pressed for more information, but kept his temper in check. This dispute is different. Each time he speaks his voice gets louder and more on edge, more adamant and agitated.
The mind plays worse games than almost any reality. I have learned that through my own nightmares. At least I hope those things never really occurred. Perhaps that is yet another lie Malik and Grandpa used to shield me. I have learned from Minkah's own quest for his past that sometimes it's better not to go looking for those answers. Some things are better left buried deep where no one will ever find them.
Perhaps that is what scared me more than anything else when they went after Kek, Afika, and Ryou. I understand all too well. There is no clear marker of right and wrong. Lies and truths merge; often the lies being the lesser of two evils.
But Minkah didn't care. He didn't stop to think what he was demanding. I watched him crumble with my own eyes. He broke just like I did. And that was while still believing the lies. What will it be like when there is no safety net of falsehoods to catch him when he slips? The fall will be much harder, with bleaker outcomes. How do you pick yourself up when you have nothing solid to stand upon?
He and Afika…I know they had a different relationship than Malik and me, but it was the same form of sheltering. I remember when the world was Malik and nothing else. When everything and everyone else were nothing but evils and threats trying to harm us. Malik was my only protection. Afika was Minkah's.
Minkah was screaming and ranting about murdering Afika. The sudden flood of memories had been more than his fragile mind could handle. The seams Afika and possibly others had knitted were tearing, the walls he built to shield him were crumbling. And as they disintegrated, Minkah clawed at them, desperate for more, thirsty for something he should not have tasted.
I could never hurt Malik. The very idea is ludicrous. Despite everything he's done and all he has and has not said, I could never blame him. It isn't that I feel obligated even though I owe him my life. That's not the reason. He's my brother. Sometimes the truth isn't the most important thing. And that makes me wonder…
Did Minkah realize that in time?
"Marik?"
I make myself look at Yugi.
"I'm sure Malik is…"
"…still out there!" Honda bellows at the top of his lungs. "What's wrong with you people?"
There isn't a clear reply and Honda doesn't wait for one. Instead he keeps shouting angrily, Grandpa and two or three soldiers joining in. The hospital staff doesn't even try to intervene, having already been intimidated into silence earlier by the army. Doctors and nurses scurry in and out of rooms, cowering in the presence of the scrutinizing, suspicious soldiers. I doubt anyone has bothered to fill them in on what's happening.
"I guess we won't be getting any answers for a while longer," Yugi mumbles. "They'd better not get themselves thrown out or arrested."
"It would be the latter. The army isn't going to let us out of their sight."
"Great," my friend groans, laying his head wearily against his brother's shoulder. "We're going to be trailed for years to come even if they do let us go by some miracle."
That isn't even a fear of mine. My mind cannot even grasp the idea. Until I know without question that Malik and the others are alive and safe I cannot worry about anything that far in the future. Even if it is, in fact, very near and closing in around us.
"I really would rather be…I dunno…back in school now. God, never thought I'd say something like that," Yugi admits with a weak smile in a fruitless attempt to lighten the mood and direct our attention elsewhere.
The smile disappears immediately as the uproar intensifies, more voices adding to the ruckus. I swear I hear Jounouchi in the pandemonium. It wouldn't be surprising if he left his bed despite the bullet wound. That's the type of person he is. He'll join a brawl if it involves people he cares about. Feet shuffle on the tile floor and I pray it's only them dragging him back to his room.
I shake my head. There is no sense getting involved. It would only cause more problems. Even if I did get out there no one would take notice. They would not hear me amidst the commotion they're making.
The door opens and a nurse scurries inside. Once in the safety of the room she leans back against the door as she catches he breath, clipboard clutched tightly to her heaving chest. Only when she meets our eyes does she regain her wits, quickly straightening up and coughing lightly. I don't hold it against her. The hospital staff knows virtually nothing about what's happening. To have them shouting at each other out there…
"J-Just came to check on him," she manages to steady her voice, reluctantly leaving her post by the door and walking towards Yami. "Any changes?"
"Besides the chaos outside, not much," Yugi replies as she checks Yami's pulse. "We heard they flew in more patients. Do you know anything about them?"
She hesitates before glancing over her shoulder as if expecting an officer to be peering through the door honing in on our every word. Turning back she writes something else down on Yami's chart.
"I don't have any specifics. They are all teenage males with serious injuries. Two are in stable condition. One is critical. All are currently in surgery."
Yugi's breathing catches as he shoots me a panicked look. I gulp the fear lining my throat as the nurse looks back and forth between us, gauging our reaction, trying to make more sense of what's happened. With the little information she was able to give us, we now know why Honda and Grandpa are incensed and not backing down.
"Only three?" I whisper aloud.
(Minkah's POV)
Inhale
'What are you doing?' a voice probes from somewhere close by.
There is a gentle tone to it, like the crooning sadness of a dove. Dread and hope fill me at once, pouring into one another creating a concoction I'll never be able to separate again. In the darkness behind my eyes I hide, too afraid to take the chance. Blurry shadows dance but don't form any recognizable silhouette.
'I want it to be you. Damn it, for just once! Why is it never you, Um?'
'What are you talking about?' the voice chides me. 'Open your eyes.'
A whimper rises in me. I would shake my head if still able.
Exhale
'I couldn't bear another disappointment. Not again. If it weren't you…I can't open my eyes and have it not be you!'
'…I see.'
It is quiet, a twinge of misery in it that nearly causes me to act against my better judgment. What do I do?
'Maybe if you told me…something only she would know.'
Inhale
The person hums in indecision before replying, this time prodding with light teasing.
'But then how would that solve anything? How would you know it was the truth?'
'What do you mean?'
'Silly!' Laughter- that bright sound briefly warms the emptiness inside of me. 'If only I know it then you wouldn't, now would you?'
Exhale
I almost shoot them a frustrated glare but keep my lids motionless. A moment is nothing but heartache if it's not her. I can't take any more pain and disappointment.
Unfortunately what they said is correct. I know almost nothing about my mother. If I had met her on the streets she would have been a complete stranger to me. Never have I been able to discern her voice from the others.
Inhale
'Afik…He's gone.' The individual doesn't respond. 'Just like you.'
'It must have been time. We measure our lives by how long we potentially could live, not how long, individually, we are meant to live. I died young as well.'
Tears breach the space between my eyelids, gliding slowly down the contours of my face. I'm unable to wipe them away. Most likely the poison's doing.
Exhale
'I'll be joining the two of you soon. I thought it'd be Niu I asked, but it looks like I get to ask you in person.'
'So ask me,' the voice encourages.
'No. Not yet.'
'What will change?' "she" persists. 'After you stop breathing do you think the truth will change or that it will be any easier to accept?'
'No…'
'What then?'
Even I am unsure. Could it be I'll only trust the voices when I myself am nothing more than a voice? One of the millions of whispers spread out, echoing through time? Or will it just be easier to hear and acknowledge?
'When I'm dead—then I'll know it's you.'
'Will you?'
Inhale
Those two words shake the little confidence I possess. What if I don't recognize her? What if there are just as many masks and lies, if not more?
I'll be all alone.
'You need to open your eyes already. Tune out everyone else and hear yourself for once. Just look around you!'
Even the tears feel cold as they escape.
Exhale
What difference does it make now? I used up my chances. The moment I went back for Afik I sealed my fate. Why couldn't I just let go?
I've never been good at letting go. I always held tight. Now there's nothing. There's no one.
'Not if you keep your eyes shut tight, simsimah.'
Inhale
Upon hearing this I try in vain to open my eyes, to see Um's smiling face before me. My body doesn't respond. Inwardly I scream, clawing at the physical barriers keeping us apart. Not now! I want to see her!
'Um!' I scream wanting so badly to reach out to her, to touch her.
She seems to realize my plight, voice calm and soothing.
'It's going to be all right.'
Exhale
'Not it's not!' I wail. 'I didn't want to die yet! I know it's selfish after what you and Afik…!'
'Selfish?' she repeats. 'What's so selfish about wanting to live? I wanted those things you do. Family. Friends. A life without fear.'
'So did he!' The tears surge forth. 'He would have wanted it too! He didn't know any better! He didn't know!'
'Simsimah…'
'He didn't know!' I continue to cry, wanting to redeem him in her eyes. It was Afik that killed her after all. 'He didn't…'
Inhale
Where is he? Why is he silent now? I saw him die. Is he angry with me for wanting more? Does he hate me? I never wanted him to hate me. When I see him again I'll make it up to him somehow. I must.
She reads my thoughts.
'You won't be seeing him again, simsimti'
Exhale
What?
Panic consumes me and I am ready to start screaming again.
'Why can't I see him? Why do we have to be apart? Is this because of Ryou and the others? Did Afik choose this?'
A soft chuckle.
'Do you honestly believe he'd ever choose such a thing?'
No. He wouldn't. Even after all of the threats and bloodshed he would never agree to distance himself from me. That's just the way he is. Always by my side, always my fallen guardian angel.
'Then why…?'
'Do you remember the story? Of Re's travels through the Underworld?'
Inhale
'Of course,' I scoff hastily, not sure what this has to do with Afik and I being separated. 'The leaders implanted that stupid story in our minds.'
'In that story…Apophis always comes back. In some way, shape, or form it always will.'
'It won't. They can't. We're all dead…well, besides Severa.' I shake this off. 'But what does that have to do with…?'
'Re always rises again.' A peace spreads over me as if she's drawn me into her embrace, though physically I feel nothing. 'Tell me, Minkah, which will you bring back?'
'What…do you mean?'
Exhale
I can almost hear the smile on her lips and feel the warmth of her skin. It's like she's whispering into my ear, as if she's somehow gotten inside of my head.
'You need to open your eyes, Minkah. You're still breathing.'
(Ryou's POV)
"What else can we do?" Honda demands in a fierce voice glaring at the window. "It's not like they'll let us leave and go look for him."
The thin white curtain has been pulled aside. Jounouchi's sitting cross-legged on his bed, arm in a sling, bandages giving the illusion of a massive muscle like a bodybuilder. Brown stains are matted through his hair. Dark circles line his eyes and Honda's. Both are pale, like that one bleak night snatched a lifetime of exposure to sun from their skin.
Two days and night have since passed since those horrific events. Dusk is falling again. I only know this because Honda keeps peeking out the window from between the blinds; a violation of the army's direct orders to us to stay away from the windows. Several Apophis members are still at large. They aren't the only ones missing.
"Do you think he went with them?" Jounouchi ventures what no one else has dared vocalize.
"Of course not!" Honda snaps unintentionally at the blonde who flinches in response. He sighs, motioning at me with his eyes as a signal to our friend. "Jou, Minkah wouldn't abandon us. He wouldn't go back to those people."
"Maybe he would."
The both gawk at me in disbelief. I close my eye, fresh bandages holding my wounded one closed. Unlike in the mountains, there is pain now. The numbness is gone.
After the surgery I awoke in agony and confusion. Even with the medications I remembered someone driving us to safety. Two black boots in front of my face. No words. Stepping carelessly over me. The person just left us. The soldiers located us using their thermal radar in their helicopters. They had sensed the movement while the vehicle was being driven. I was unaware of time lapsing, but they had found us less than fifteen minutes after our driver abandoned us.
"Ryou, don't think like that," Honda admonishes me in a softer tone.
"I don't want to think like this," I reply monotonously, wincing when I try to shift. My side is padded with thick bandages protecting my broken ribs from further harm. "And I began to doubt it was him after the person left us stranded like that."
"Mink wouldn't do that," Jounouchi agrees with a curt nod and a lopsided grin.
It goes quiet.
He really wasn't with us for that long. Even less this second time. Was it enough that he could really throw the rest of his life aside? I know the other assassins didn't mean much to him, but what about Afika? I listened to the pain in my brother's voice and watched him struggle against his own emotions in order to protect me.
Minkah wanted us safe. What if it really was him that drove us? He could have known the army would find us fast, attracting plenty of attention with the reckless speed we were going. But what if he couldn't go with us—didn't want to go with us? What if we aren't supposed to look for him anymore? What if he made his choice in my absence when he didn't have to defend anybody?
What if he chose Afika?
"Minkah would have left some sign or something for us to know he's all right," Honda argues, seeing what's churning in my mind. "He wouldn't have left without saying anything to anybody. Even if he couldn't man-up to say goodbye, he would have done something."
He's right. Something about this is off. I do believe Minkah would avoid goodbyes. It'd be too hard to go through with. None of us would willingly allow him to go. Is that why the person didn't say anything? Was it Minkah unable to tell me he was leaving me behind? Even in my weakened state I would have latched onto one of those boots. He would have had to drag me along by his foot.
"He would know that if he didn't give us some sign he's okay that we'll keep looking."
"But Honda, if he's with the Apophis guys wouldn't we look for him anyway?" Jounouchi points out glumly.
"The army is the only one capable of that right now," Honda replies through gritted teeth, peering between the plastic blinds again. "None of us are in the shape to go trekking through those mountains again."
"I guess it's just as well," Jounouchi says thoughtfully, scratching at his injured arm. "They'll find him out there or he left with Apophis. Either way, we should see them again."
Honda straightens, giving our friend a strange look.
"How do you figure?"
Jounouchi shrugs with his good shoulder.
"Do you think the assassins would suddenly give up on trying to kill us?"
"Jou, even if Minkah did go with them, he wouldn't attempt to murder us again!"
"I didn't say he would," Jounouchi corrects him, continuing to shudder. "But his comrades should still."
Honda glances at the blocked window unsurely. He's worn out. I'm not sure how much he and Mr. Mutou have slept since arriving here. The two of them have been running between rooms. Thankfully the army reluctantly agreed to allow the hospital to put two of the injured per room. It was part of Mr. Mutou's strategy, pointing out that it would be easier to protect us if there were fewer rooms to watch around the clock.
"Maybe he's convinced them we're not worth their time," Honda states. "I can't imagine him returning to their group unless they agreed to leave us alone."
I should be happy at this revelation. Instead, my heart sinks. While it appears we may be safer than previously thought, if they were still after us then it increased our chance of seeing my brother again.
When I came to, I told them about the cabin. They had saved me. It was worth the chance they'd save him as well. Mr. Mutou made clear of that to them.
It had taken precious time for them to get to the house. The premises was lined with explosives—the army's own devices. Honda later filled me in that Kek had massacred a good portion of the soldiers. No doubt he took what weapons he could.
The house was burned to the ground, just as so many empty abodes scattered throughout the area. But this one had been occupied. They found charred human remains scattered in one section. I had vomited upon hearing this update. A few hours later the soldiers revealed they believed all the body parts belonged to one individual. Since nothing was recognizable, they had the doctors examine what they had in order to determine things like age, gender, and so forth. When they told us the approximate height, we were able to give the corpse a name.
Minkah had told the truth. He said Kek was dead. Such relief had overcome me to hear it yet again. That monster is dead. Not only that, he's an incomplete, burned corpse the army is going to dissect. There really couldn't be any fate more fitting for him.
"What about Niu?"
Honda eyes Jounouchi skeptically.
"What about him? He's going to be fine, Jou. We're not going to let the army have him. Mr. Mutou's already mentioned adopting him along with Ryou and Minkah."
He smirks at my astonished expression. No one had told me that. Mr. Mutou has been planning to adopt me and my brother? Since when?
"Minkah knows. Mr. Mutou already asked him," Honda reveals quietly as he watches me somber.
I look to him, feeling hopeless. "I guess he turned down the idea?"
"Nah. Gramps told him not to answer right away. To think 'bout it," Jou fills me in. "But that wasn't what I was talking about, Honda man."
We both stare at the blonde, waiting for him to explain just what he means. The pain medications have made him and me a bit loopy at times. I'll catch myself babbling on about things that don't even make sense to me. And Jou does that a lot on any given day without morphine.
"What about Niu then?"
"Like what we were talkin' about before—about Apophis not coming after us. How we said Mink might have convinced them to leave us alone."
"So?"
"They won't let Niu live. He knows waaay more than the rest of us. Heck, he was one of them…to some degree. Plus who else could track them down besides him? No matter what Mink may have been able to talk them out of, killing Niu is not one."
"Shit!" Honda hurries for the door.
"What are you gonna do?" Jounouchi calls out, making to get up and follow.
"Stay put, Jou. We can't make a scene of this. I'll get Mr. Mutou to beef security around Niu!"
"Don't!" our friend warns him. "Don't get them any more suspicious of Niu than they already are!"
"If they're after him…!"
"Jou and I are fine here, Honda," I cut in. "Go and stay with Niu. And tell Mr. Mutou what's going on—"
I'm not sure he caught even that much, the door slamming behind him. Jounouchi exhales heavily, slumping back onto his overstuffed pillow.
"Geez, we don't ever catch a break, do we?"
I nod glumly.
"What's with the sad face?"
Jounouchi grins at me when I look at him.
"And what's with your happy face?" I ask.
"Cause we've figured out what's going down. We'll be ready for them when they get here."
"So? None of us are up for fighting, Jou."
"So? So?" Jounouchi wags his finger at me. "You think Mink would stand by and let them kill Niu? Not happenin'! If he is with them, then he's headed straight this way."
(Minkah's POV)
"Afika?" I rasp.
Just as yesterday, there is no answer. Not that he would hear me. My throat is raw from calling for him in this harsh climate. Pain flares every time my raw vocal cords are forced to vocalize his name again. My lungs are starving, hungrily devouring the thin oxygen with each shallow breath.
There is no trail to follow and the snowmobile I found hidden in some brush, most likely Kek's, ran out of fuel late this afternoon. It had a silencer on the motor, allowing me to shout and listen for a rejoinder. Also, it made it easier to keep track of the army's movements. The army vehicle was gone. They have Ryou, Malik, and Niu. Those three are probably safer with the army when I'm not there. My presence only stirs those bastards up.
I can't return to them. Not yet. I have to find Afik. He's alone out here and he's hurt bad. I can't leave him to Severa. Though her motives are more obscure than ever given this most recent turn of events.
It wasn't poison. Severa shot us with some other chemical. Whatever it was, it didn't kill us. Knocked us out and kept us unconscious for an extended amount of time. What the hell did Kasiya design such a strong sedative for? He was just as insane as Fida, his predecessor.
It was late in the day when I woke. What day—I'm not sure. Too long at any rate.
"Afik?"
My breath has been wheezing since I awoke and my body won't stop shaking. I'm betting it's because of the damn drug.
Did he leave of his own accord? As I was waking…I almost remember talking to someone. I can't make sense of it. It's like my brain won't even give me a hint as to whether it was a portion of some ludicrous dream or if someone was really with me. I don't remember anything said, that's what makes it complicated. Just someone urging me to open my eyes. For some reason, this encounter or whatever keeps surfacing in my mind. Perhaps he was telling me something important; like he was going to find transportation or help of some kind. That's what I figured.
At any rate, I waited. I sat alone in that damn house all night, not risking the temperatures that plummet when the sun vanishes. Granted, I moved to the lower level, not wanting to stay in the same room as Kek's stinking remains. Sifting through the closets I found a bright red ski jacket. Begrudgingly I put it on. I'm like a big, dumb red target just screaming Shoot Me to the helicopters.
"Perhaps it isn't all black and white."
"Afika!" I pant, trudging bit by bit through dense foliage that catches on my pant legs and bootlaces.
"The assassins that Apophis trained are also victims. You were children forcibly taken from your families. You were robbed of any real life…"
Tripping repeatedly, I reluctantly slow my pace in order to keep my footing.
"… You weren't allowed to be children. You were taught to be killing machines."
What Yami said to me that night…It was the first time someone gave a glimmer of hope for Afik and the rest of them. Before that they were either they were weapons or a lost cause. To the "normal" world we are pure evil. But Yami said that wasn't true. He said the fault didn't lie entirely with us. While we are far from guiltless we aren't the root of this insanity.
It's what I want to believe. One of the many complex reasons I went back for Afik. The idea that it doesn't have to be one way or another. There are more than two choices. Neither of us realized it at the time when we were threatening each other. Now I have and I need to find him—need to make things right somehow. There is no plan, no instinct to tell me how to survive this. It is essential I take charge and become vulnerable all at once. Then I will not be swayed by Afik but will be able to show him I am sincere.
"There's a large grey area in the middle where innocent and guilty are fused together, unable to separate. That maybe many a victim is also an aggressor but not out of choice."
When I awoke I had the urge to apologize to Afik. I don't even know why. He had been the one attacking me and my friends. He wasn't in the right. It's like I have had a change of heart about many things in the time I was unconscious.
The drug must still be messing with my brain.
"You should sit down already. You look like shit."
I gape at the figure sitting in a clearing just ahead. He's leaning with his back against the base of a lone fir tree, brown eyes studying me from under shaggy black bangs. Snowflakes melt on bronze skin as he tilts his head.
"Afik?" I squeak, slogging over to him, hesitating as I reach the edge of the tree line.
He's tranquil there, so at ease that I am sure he's nothing but a mirage in this wintry desert.
"What're you doing now?" he asks in exasperation, noting my apprehension.
Glancing around like a timid hare, I strain my ears for any sound of the army. It's not exactly wise to picnic out in the open like this when people are hunting us. Afika rolls his eyes at the sad display of cowardice.
"Would you sit and relax already?"
"Where's S-Severa?" I ask, obeying him and sinking down in the snow beside him against my better judgment. I'm exhausted.
Afika shrugs.
"Not here."
That's a good enough answer for me.
"I've been looking everywhere for you," I breathe, lungs rattling. "Where have you b-been?"
"Right here."
He nods up at the evergreen towering above us. I don't try to make sense of this; how he could have gotten all the way out here without any mode of transportation. Why he would choose this spot or know I would show up.
None of that is important since I have found him.
Exhaling a shaky breath I lean my head against his shoulder, eyelids fluttering as I fight against Morpheus' welcoming embrace. The worst thing I could do would be to drift off when dusk is drawing so near.
"No falling asleep."
"I know," I muffle a yawn with the back of my uninjured hand, snuggling closer against him. He smells like pine. "I'm glad I f-found you, Afik."
"Hn."
"You're mad at me, I know." This cuts my heart to the core. "I want to make it up t-to…to you."
He doesn't reply. Instead he casts a fleeting look at my hands. His passive expression doesn't give away his emotions when he speaks.
"You'll never learn to let go."
I look down at my injured hand where the bullet went straight through my palm. My fingers are deadlocked around the hilt of my khepesh. I gaze at it in stupefaction, hadn't even realized I had been carrying it with me all this time.
Afika chuckles.
"It's so natural to you that you didn't even notice, did you?"
I wait for biting comments from him about me swearing an oath never to take another life. Even though my temper has simmered his viewpoints have not changed. He still carries a hatred for every other person in my life.
What are they thinking, I wonder. Do they believe I ran off with Afik? Are they looking for me? Or did they give up without any fuss? I no longer can fool myself into believing they will just let me go. They care too much. Surely they can comprehend it's the same for me with Afik? I don't have a clue what to do next now that we've been reunited.
"How long have we been out here?" I yawn, not feeling any heat from his body. "Severa used some potent s-sedative on m-me."
"So it would seem."
I conjure a feeble smile, wanting him to wrap me tight in his strong embrace and make me warm. He'd keep me awake with his smooth tone and enticing tongue. And when I'm a gentle sigh from sleep he'd rouse me with a nudge followed by a jab with his elbow if I failed to respond in time.
My face falls, the fragile smile slipping away as the cold remains. The trembling has worsened as the sky darkens, stained a deep blue. The sun is disappearing, traveling into the depths of the imaginary Underworld of the ancients. For once, it isn't Apophis and their cruelty that comes to mind first.
"Afik?"
Fear pools in the pit of my stomach. I push my nose into his shirt, inhaling with all the strength my frail lungs can muster. The only scent I pick up is that of the evergreen we are resting beneath.
Where is the blood?
"Afik?" I repeat, pressing my hand over his chest. "Wha…You were s-severely hurt."
"And?"
My fingers run over his abdomen, rough fabric causing small cuts on my fingers as I search desperately for a heartbeat.
"How did you get here?" I babble, the trees and frosty air closing in around us fast. "Your legs were both…H-How…?"
"Hey kid!"
I gasp, leaning back against him while gazing at two men standing before me dressed in thick winter wear. Both are bundled in dark green uniforms, guns ready. One of them pulls his scarf down so his entire face is visible.
Shit! The army! Afik, don't do anything irrational!
"P-Please…" I implore my lover not to act, never turning away from the men for a second.
"Minkah?" the one closer to me inquires. "Are you Minkah?"
Dazedly I nod, too afraid to do anything else. I keep my arm holding the khepesh lowered, not wanting to give them a reason to shoot us. Ryou didn't give the army Afik's picture. There's still a chance…
The man forces a smile. "Your family is safe. We've flown them to a hospital. We've been looking everywhere for you. Come. We have a helicopter a half mile from here."
I fumble for Afik's hand, unable to find it. Why hasn't he said anything?
"You w-won't…"
Nothing will come out clear. I find myself incapable of forming a coherent sentence as my teeth chatter awfully. The man steps forward and holds out a gloved hand to me.
"Come on, kid. You're freezing your ass off out here. Let's get you to your family."
"I'm…I'm not le-leaving him!"
Exchanging a chary glance with his partner, he asks: "There's somebody else out here?"
The second soldier raises his gun, sweeping the tree line with hawk-like eyes. What is he doing? Afik is right behind me. The first man kneels beside me, expression becoming grim as he takes in my pathetic form.
"Shuji, we need to get this one to the chopper pronto!" He presses a button on the small radio attached to his collar. "This is Private Tadao reporting. We have located Minkah. Requesting a medical team be ready on standby at the hospital. Patient is suffering from severe hypothermia."
Patient?
I let out a yelp of protest and fear as he hoists me up by the arm, commencing in dragging me away from Afika. Squirming, I can't move my arm high enough to strike him. The second soldier follows after, still watching the trees for some invisible enemy.
"L-Let go! Afik!" I call hoarsely, tears brimming my stinging eyes. Don't let them separate us again! "Afik!"
"Calm down, kid. There's no one but us," the soldier mumbles as he adjusts his arm under my shoulder.
Whimpering I turn my head, gazing desperately over my shoulder to the lone tree, a single imprint in the snow beneath it where someone had sat. I scratch at the man's coat, looking about in a panic when I cannot find him.
"Quit fighting me! It's a hallucination, kid! Shuji, some help!"
Don't vanish again!
"Afik!" I howl as the second soldier rushes over, forcing me to turn away from the spot where I found him at long last. "Afika!"