(A/N): Because of such a hectic life right now, I'm gonna upload the next chapter early. If you want to cheat, you can read up to ch. 11 on deviantART. My username is the same.
Chapter Eight: Escape
I changed into dress shirt and pants and Misa changed into a slimming black dress. My father drove us to the theatre. My attempts at keeping L away from my thoughts failed. At the beginning of the play when Sampson bit his thumb in insult to Abraham and Balthazar, I thought of the way L always nibbled on his thumbnail in thought; of course, I had to explain to Misa that biting one's thumb was the equivalent of the American "finger".
Romeo and Juliet were played by Japanese actors and actresses and wore kimonos instead of the European attire of the 1600s. Misa had a hold of my hand as she watched the romance between the main characters interact. If I were a critic, I would probably give this play a four out of ten; it just was not as entertaining as the English version. As the play drew towards the climax, I felt Misa's hand tighten in mine when a distraught Juliet discovered her Romeo dead.
After the final act, the curtain closed and we stood up and applauded, some out of politeness. The actors walked on stage, hand in hand and bowed. Beside me, Misa was going ecstatic, jumping up and down and reverently clapping her hands. I checked my watch, a habit I've had recently, only to remember that there wasn't anywhere I needed to be.
We left the theatre and I took her out to dinner. She told me of a modeling job she had been offered and was contemplating whether or not to take it since they wanted her to pose in bikinis.
"My mom is, like, totally against it, but I told her that I'm almost legally an adult, and I can, like, do what I want. So then she, like, said that I can be a clothing model, but not a bikini model, and I was, like, what's the difference? I wasn't going to be, like, nude or anything."
It had been a long while since I had actually had a conversation with Misa--which usually consisted of her talking and me nodding my head--but I found myself actually listening and paying attention to her. Not because I was interested in what she was saying, but I made a game of mentally counting the times she said 'like'. I was up to sixteen and the waiter had yet to return with our drinks.
She continued talking in this one-sided conversation, and I nodded my head in agreement. The waiter brought our drinks and took our orders.
"L, there's something I want to ask you."
I turned my head towards the table, expecting to see L sitting in his odd way, but instead I only saw a red-haired woman with her hand covering her mouth and a man kneeling on one knee in front of her. It was not L, but a girl named Elle. The man proposed, she said yes, blah blah blah, we clapped. I sipped my drink and heard the woman's voice reach my ears.
'Asking me to marry you in front of all these people, how am I supposed to say no without embarrassing myself? This isn't even a five star restaurant! Cheap-ass!'
I snorted into my glass.
Tonya LeBarski had given him time. That was the most useful she had been when she visited him. When she arrived, he knew immediately that it was morning. He knew of the cable car's schedule, which meant that it had to be morning when she came to visit him. He had no windows to hear the chirps of birds, and no birds lived underground. However, beautiful little Tonya had given him more than just idle chit chat.
His brain was more functional than a normal person's, and he knew how to use it. As soon as he had heard the door click open, he started counting, knowing it took approximately two minutes and twenty-three seconds to get down here. He estimated that it took another minute to two minutes and thirty seconds to confirm the fake credentials. So right when he heard the door click, he counted. As he and Tonya talked, he counted. He counted as one of the security guards escorted a nurse down to see him and attach a feeding tube to his stomach; he was not allowed to use his hands. Beyond could have attacked them then, but not yet! If his deductions were correct, and they were, it was too early. He would have to wait till dinner, when the same nurse--or it could be another?--came to give him his daily gunk of nutrients to barely keep him alive till death.
Beyond kept his head down, chin lolling on his chest, looking like he was sleeping, but he never slept. Just like he never slept. He was counting.
And right on cue, he heard the beginning of his escape.
Click.
He heard footsteps coming toward him. They didn't even talk as they came over and lifted his shirt to stab him once again in the stomach to keep him alive.
Beyond lifted his head, and the drape across his eyes fell to his neck. Unable to stop herself, the nurse looked up, meeting his deadly gaze of devil red eyes.
He smiled wickedly, flashing his canines. "Hello there. It's so good to see you."
The security guard barked a command into his walkie-talkie, but it was useless because the nurse's needle stabbed into his neck, pushing down on the syringe and filling his artery with air. The air bubble traveled to his heart causing a muscle spasm.
Down the guard went, clutching his chest. Then he didn't move and his heart pumped no more. The nurse's face was completely blank, like a zombie.
"Good girl," came Beyond's voice; the only voice she could hear, "Now, be a sport and untie me."
It was almost one in the morning when L's cell phone rang. He sat in the living room with his laptop on the couch with him when it vibrated on the table. He picked up it, recognized the number, and brought it to his ear using only his index finger and thumb.
"Hello?" He spoke in English.
"Hello L," came another English voice at the other end, "Sorry to be calling you so late at night. I didn't wake you, did I?"
"Of course not, Watari," L said, leaning slightly more back into the couch, "You should be well aware of my sleep patterns."
"Yes, well, I meant that hoped my call hadn't disturbed you in anyway."
"Your calls could never disturb me, Watari. But tell me, is there a reason you have called me at six in the morning in England?"
"There is a reason I have called you. Now, please don't worry at all, L."
"Watari, what has happened?"
"Nothing too serious."
"What number are you calling me from?"
"A hospital number."
L inhaled a deep breath through his nose. "What happened?"
"It was only a minor heart attack, and I'm being hospitalized for a day."
"Do I need to come home?"
"Oh, heavens no! I called because my doctor says it was due to stress, and they told me to keep away from stressful things. I called to see where you were so I can stay on the other side of the planet."
L chuckled fairly at this joke. Watari always made him happy. "Well, I hope you take care of yourself. And if you're trying to keep away from me as possible, you're very safe in England."
Watari chuckled this time. The two chit-chatted for a few more minutes before saying goodbye and hanging up. L stood up from the couch and stretched his back. He walked down the hall to the restroom, passing by Near's door, only to take another step back and peek inside.
Near was asleep and was hovering over his bed about a foot off. His arms and legs were limp and his chin was pointed toward the ceiling while his chest seemed to be pulled by strings. L walked inside, being careful not to disturb him, and gently pressed down on Near's chest and gently guided him back down on the mattress. Near didn't seem disturbed at all.
But that quickly changed when L's wrist was grabbed and Near's eyes flew open in fright.
"Near?" L calmly said with concern.
Blue eyes wandered in his direction and the small albino boy flinched roughly as if he saw L as a monster. His eyes were very wide and his pupils dilated, but that could have been because of the lack of light.
"Near? Are you okay?" L asked again.
The boy didn't say anything. He just looked at L and blinked rapidly before seeming to calm down. He inhaled deeply. L noticed that he still held onto his wrist, only now that wrist was shaking.
"I apologize," Near mumbled, "I had a bad dream."
L nodded. "It's okay." He looked down at his wrist. "You can let go now."
Near let go and wiped his hand on his pajama top. He looked over at the clock on his nightstand, but didn't say anything.
"Want to talk about it?" L said, meaning the dream.
Near shrugged. "It was nothing. Just a dream. I hardly remember it."
L nodded. "You going to be okay?" Near gave him a small nod and a smile. "All right. I'll be awake if you need me."
Quietly, he left the room. Near let out a breath of air he wasn't aware he was holding and rolled over to look at the clock. He lied to L. He remembered his dream clearly and it scared him.
He dreamt that L was a murderer.
The guards at north point got a distress call at approximately eight pm about an attack. Apparently one of the prisoners escaped. They pulled up the cable car, unknowing that it would lead them into their death.
The large wires pulled the car across the acidic body of water. When it landed on the platform, two officers, with guns drawn, proceeded to it cautiously. With the butt of their guns, the pushed the steel-wired doors open. Yet, when they peered inside, they saw nothing.
"He must still be on the island," one of the guards called out to his buddy.
And then his buddy shot him. In the gut, the bullet from his rifle pierced right underneath his sternum, slashing through his liver and gallbladder. Blood spewed into his hand that feebly tried to cover it up. He looked to his friend, his deceitful friend, and saw someone behind him. Beyond in all his heinous glory. Red eyes like the devil, clothes stained with blood, and a stolen rifle in his hand, however, it was the fellow officer that shot him.
Beyond put his hand on his zombie-fied slave, one finger at a time. "Very good. Now, before you kill yourself, I need you to send a message for me. To someone very, very important to me."
And Beyond laughed.
At six A.M., L got a message on his computer for a conference with some agents from his agency. He attached his microphone and entered the chat room. On the video that was pulled up, he saw five men in black suits and ties sitting around a large glossy table; they were unable to see him, only a gothic letter 'L'.
"We're sorry to have to contact you so early, Mr. L," said the man at the very end, the leader of this group of people.
"It is no problem," L said into the microphone, almost hearing his scrambled and disguised voice on the other side, "What is this matter that you need me for."
"Seven people were killed at the House," he said, "All by the same person. He's someone you put away."
"I have put many people away, to that very prison," L said.
"There's more. The seven killed either killed themselves or each other. One inmate escaped. Someone you put there eight years ago." L bit down almost painfully on his thumb. "He's out there, L. BB is out there in the real world."
He bit down too hard and tasted blood.
(A/N): I've had some questions about the conversation between L and Watari. L is in Japan, but Watari is in England, which means that it's six A.M. over in England, not Japan. Time zones, remember. Thanks for reading everyone! :)