'Guest' pointed out to me about how none of them were driving. So I answer why they're not in this chapter :) I hope it satisfies you.
Caine let Abana changed the thin bandage around his head and checked to make sure his bruise and cut was no longer bleeding as badly as before. His head was swollen on one side, and the cut ran directly under his hairline, but otherwise it was nowhere near as bad as it could have been. When she had hit him with her car when he appeared out of nowhere his head had badly damaged her window and even more badly damaged his head. She explained to him how she was a doctor. She had worked in a serious hospital before the FAYZ but after that she had taken to a smaller doctors office where she mostly worked on her own with minor injuries. After she had given him a look over on the streets she had quickly confirmed that he had three cracked ribs along his side where her bumper had hit him, which was actually a miracle considering how hard she had hit him.
"Your name sounds familiar." Caine mumbled as she placed an ice pack against the bruise over his cracked ribs to ease some of his pain.
Apparently she had been checking on him every hour to make sure he was still alive and had woken him up but just barely. Now he lay on the bed as the older woman eased some of his pain. He was so thankful he didn't even care about seeming weak. Right now she was easing the pain away and it had been a long time since he had been in such pain that just wouldn't go away. It was the worse kind of pain as well, a slow low aching that left him wanting to moan and whimper with tears in his eyes.
"Does it?" Abana whispered. She was concentrating on applying the right pressure to the right spot in order to help him but she was still paying attention. She knew exactly what he was saying and Abana had a pretty good guess as to what was coming next.
"Daidoo..." Caine whispered. He didn't know it, but some part of him felt the emotion behind her next answer. "Do you have any kids?"
She was silent for a moment and slowly moved around to the chest of draws where she had set everything to leave her hands free. As she turned she began to wet some more bandages even though she didn't need anymore for him. She had changed his head and torso bandages already but she just needed to be facing away from him and doing something else as she answered.
"A Daugh-" Her voice catched in her throat but she forced herself to continue until it was out. "-Ter."
Caine finally caught on. "She isn't around anymore, is she?"
"... Dahra died in the FAYZ." She was shaking so much the water in the bowl she had prepared gently spilled over. For a moment she held her hands under as she squeezed the bandages but then turned and her face was emotionless as she could make it. Her eyes were glazed over with tears and she began to use cold water against a bruise on his arm even though it was one of his most minor ones.
"I knew her." Caine whispered. Now his chest was tight which made breathing even worse than it had been before. "She was our doctor. She helped a lot of kids."
"Dahra was a good girl!" Abana gasped, breathing deeply as she washed his arm needlessly.
"She was." Caine whispered back.
They were both silent for a moment. Caine hadn't thought of Dahra very much apart from maybe the first day when she had been the only one to step forward and help Cookie after he had seriously injured him. But she had stayed in Perdido Beach rather than travel to the Lake with Sam. She had continued to act as a nurse of sorts, mostly helping kids out who had minor wounds so that they wouldn't go and disturb Lana constantly and pissing the Healer off. Dahra had put up with a lot of whining, a lot of complaining and a lot of tears. She had been strong. Caine hadn't actually realised she had been killed until this moment. He offered his own moment of silence for her even if it was because her mother was now taking care of him.
"You helped me out." Caine noted after a long silence when she finally released his arm. "I mean... Why am I at your home and not..."
"A hospital?" Abana seemed relieved to change the subject and awkward silence. Her eyes still were very teary but now she was able to think about other things and distract herself. "Because I guessed as much. I saw who you were right as you ran out into my car and I knew who you were and what you did as well as what you confessed to at the end. So I knew you would cause quite a bit of trouble if I took you somewhere so public. Luckily there was hardly anyone around and those that were seemed convinced I was going to help you when I got you in my car. Maybe if you want I can take you to a hospital but I'm fully qualified to take care of you."
"No. It's good here." Caine smirked. "Better than being taken and treated like a freak monster." He looked straight at her.
Abana Daiboo looked very much like her daughter. She had the same dark skin and matching dark brown eyes with thick eyelashes and thick lips. Her hair was a dark brown colour, not too much darker than her skin, and it was gathered up on her head into a short pony tail on the top of her head with a few strands framing either side of her worn smile. She had a nice smile but it seemed strained, probably from the talk of her daughter. She had a few lines and bags along her skin from stress and age but it just made her seem so much more trusting. She was dressed in plain white top and a plain white skirt that reached down to her ankles and wore no shoes or socks in the room. Caine noticed his own shoes that he had stolen had been removed and placed in the corner of the room out the way while the rest of his clothes remained the same. The only change was that she had to push up his top to get to his chest.
When she had gotten food and water down him she had turned on the light, covering his eyes and slowly letting him get used to the brightness first.
The room must have been Dahra's. Otherwise it had been remodelled to resemble Dahra's room, or something like that, maybe Dahra had a sister who wasn't there at the moment. It was definitely a girls room. Light purple walls, dark purple carpter. The cabinets and draws were all a dark or light purple and so were the curtains and the bed itself that he was lying on. Caine chose not to ask about the room. He didn't want to upset her anymore than she already was, at least not while she was taking care of him.
"So... How long before I can leave?" Caine asked, he pushed up onto his elbows but didn't move any further. Already the pain was too much.
"Well cracked ribs shouldn't take too long before you can move. But to move with out pain will probably take a month or so by the looks of the damage." Abana explained. "You have hit your head which, by the looks of things, has given you a concussion so you will need to rest a bit more while I monitor you to make sure you don't slip into a coma."
"So how long before I'm up and about?" Caine asked again, confused.
"Maybe two weeks to a month before you can move. Two months before the discomfort leaves you." Abana said. "It also depends on the person."
"Two weeks? You gotta be kidding!" Caine snarled.
"Maybe next time you'll look both ways." Abana said with a small smile.
"I was running..." Caine mumbled, lying back and rubbing his head as he tried to remember. "I was running from something. I ran from a... It was a lizard. At least I thought it was. But this lizard was attacking it, it breathed fire and was trying to kill me."
Abana gave a patronizing smile. "It's okay. You hit your head."
"No. It's real. I saw it. It attacked me." Caine growled. He didn't like to be laughed at. "That was why I ran out into the road. Because it was chasing me."
Abana just nodded her head. Caine could tell she didn't believe him. That pissed him off slightly and he wished he could get up and go find Diana or Sam but he was still too injured. But he couldn't wait two weeks. He needed to contact them now. Even if it was just to let them know he was okay, he had to find a way to talk to them or something. Maybe they had a phone...
"You have a phone, right?" Caine asked.
"Yes. You probably want to call someone." Abana nodded.
"Well, yeah, but I don't know their numbers." Caine groaned. It was really ridiculous how screwed he was.
"Maybe I can find out. Who is it you want to call?" Abana asked.
"My brother I guess..." Caine grumbled. He would rather have called Diana or even Astrid but Sam was probably much easier to contact. "Sam Temple."
"I'll see if I can find him." Abana turned and left the room. It should be easy enough actually, she still had Connie's number and hopefully she would know where her son was. She was in the doorway when she stopped and looked back. "Just stay here."
Caine rolled his eyes at that. Where else was he going to go? But within seconds of her leaving he realised how bored he was and began to consider trying to get up again. It took a lot of control to stay in the bed and not struggle to so much as go to the window. Maybe he should have asked Abana to open the curtains for him, not that it would make much difference because it looked to be just as dark outside as it was inside but maybe he might get a chance to watch the stars.
He shut his eyes, decided to nap but instead all he could think of was the lizard that had attacked him in the alley near the burned down building. He needed to ask Astrid about it. She was the smart girl who would know if one of those things were real or if he was losing his mind. And if she said he was losing his mind then he would throw her out the window. He didn't want to be told he was losing his mind and he refused to accept it. He knew what he had seen anyway so all he needed was an explanation of how and why it had happened.
Sleep came. Maybe because it was dark, maybe he had a concussion or maybe it was just because there was nothing else for him to do but finally sleep came to him. It didn't help that the room and the house was wonderfully warm and comfortable. The problem was that his aches wanted the cold and instead the heat was leaving him both tired and comfortable but also aching over most of his bruises. He was woken every hour but Abana only did it to check that she could wake him before she left him alone again. She never told him if she had contacted Sam or anything, just woke him up and left him to sleep again.
And just like before... He dreamt of Little Pete.
G*O*N*E
"We can't find him." Quinn's mother said after long hours of searching. "It's late. You'll have to try again tomorrow at some point."
"Don't you have to work?" Astrid blinked at her.
"Yes, but I can just get the bus in. Quinn can take the car around with the rest of you for the morning and some of the afternoon." She explained.
"Mum, you sure?" Quinn blinked. Even he was shocked by this. Never before had she let him use her car when she needed it for work.
"Of course." She smiled at him. "Go find your friend."
Quinn grinned - chosing not to point out that Caine was not his friend - and looked back at the others. They smiled at him. It would be good to have Quinn around for the morning to drive them. None of them actually owned a car, nor did they have any licenses to drive one. They might have but between their work and jobs and extra activities they needed to work on they didn't have the time, nor the money, for driving in any form. Astrid and Sam didn't mind too much because the places they went to weren't actually as far and all they could think of were the problems it would case (particular Ripley hounding them and the cars being trashed by FAYZ haters). Diana, however, was personally saving up a secret fund which she would be using for the lessons and the test before she got the actual car. Already she could imagine it. A red porche with the top down and fine black leather seats on a hot summer day driving in the wind.
Sam however wasn't thinking of cars or feeling good. He wanted to keep searching, keep looking for him and finding Caine where ever he had run off to. It was Sam's fault Caine was missing in the first place and it just made him so angry that they were giving up already. But he couldn't push Quinn's mother or Quinn to keep looking if they were clearly tired. So silently he decided to wait until they dropped him off and continue to search on his own two feet. That way Astrid and Diana could also head back and get some rest too.
When they were outside their apartment they climbed out the car, all taking time to thank Quinn's mother and him for the ride. Then the three of them stood outside and watched the car drive off, heading home, before they turned to face one another, shivering now.
"We should go in." Astrid sighed when they stood outside for a few moments longer.
"You guys go on in." Sam said, glancing around the streets. "I'm gonna look around for a bit more out here."
"What? Sam it's almost pitch black out here now. You're not going to find him, not if we couldn't find him with Quinn. Come on. Let's go inside and we'll continue looking tomorrow after we've rested up and the sun's come up." Astrid said, trying to take his hand and lead him inside.
"Tomorrow could be too late." Sam insisted, pulling his hand free.
"Sam's right!" Diana nodded firmly. "I'll come with you." She offered.
"No. You two go on inside. That way if he does come back on his own then you two can give me a call and I'll head back home. And he'll have a better reason to come back if he knows your here, Diana." Sam insisted. "Just let me look around for a bit. I'll check the streets a bit more in case he's going somewhere we've already looked or maybe he's nearby and lost."
Diana looked like she wanted to argue with him but she saw reason behind what he was saying and kept silent in a grudging way. Astrid just didn't look happy with the idea of Sam running around after dark at all.
"Astrid, I won't stay out long. Just a little stroll. I promise." Sam nodded. "No more than two or three hours maybe."
"One hour." Astrid warned him.
"Okay, okay, one to two hours and I'll be back." Sam was with a gentle laugh.
"You better." Astrid grumbled and stepped forward to give him a kiss.
"I'll be back." Sam promised when they pulled away. He kissed her cheek once more before he began to walk down the street.
Astrid and Diana watched him go. They waited until he was out of sight before they entered the apartment and took the long walk up the stairs towards the third floor. By the time they reached the top and entered their apartment, both of them were feeling as cold as they did outside if not colder. Astrid barely paid attention when she stepped inside the room and pressed the answering machine out of habit.
Diana sat down and curled into a ball in the corner, trying to wrap up in her arms, too lazy to get a blanket or anything to cover herself with. The first message was something about Sam coming in early for work tomorrow due to a meeting with some kid of an inspector. The second was something about mortgage and getting money back for something, it was just an annoying automatic message anyway. And then the third one...
Astrid was making a microwave meal for the pair of them as the message began to play.
"Um... Sam Temple? This is Abana Daidoo. I was friends with your mother. Um... Look I have someone here. I know... I know this is going to sound weird... But do you remember Caine Soren? Your brother in the FAYZ?" Astrid and Diana both looked up sharply and listened in silence to the message. "Well... I have him here in my house. I accidentally hit him with my car and he's beaten up but he's okay. Just give me a call. Okay?"
Astrid was running from the room before Diana could even unravel herself from the sofa. She jumped down the stairs at three at a time and threw herself out the main entrance so fast she nearly fell right off her feet, running down the street and shouting as loudly as she could.
"SAM! SAM WAIT!"
G*O*N*E
The house was lovely. It was nice. A big garden with fresh grass and bright flowers lining just inside of the white picket fence, the house was also white with a soft wooden door and large white windows with a narrow roof, a chimney and some kind of satilite disc on the roof. The whole house was nice, homey, lovely, beautiful and just generally welcoming.
It was the perfect place for her to attack and hear the crying of the owners from inside. She made her way towards the wooden door in swift movements. Her fur covered paws patted gently on the ground and she jumped up onto the gate and down onto the grass in swift movements. Her long black tail was waving gently in the air behind her body. Her yellow eyes glanced around the area for a moment before she strode straight up to the door but it was closed firmly and she would not be allowed inside. New plan.
The small black cat jumped up onto the fence and strode along towards the wall. When she looked up she saw a window was half open. It was the only window open and unfortunately it was on the second floor but while this was hard, it was not impossible. She jumped up into the air and clung onto the wall with her claws, travelling up with surprising ease as she dug her claws into the cracks of the brick wall. By the time she reached the window she was in a good pace and jumped onto the white window sill.
Finally she was able to slide under and inside where she jumped down and slipped through the gap of the door. Now she was in. She wandered down and hide behind of a plant pot just as a tall black woman dressed in white came out of a room and half shut the door. The cat waited for the woman to walk down towards another room before she darted over and slide inside the room.
The room was very purple and pink, she could see that with her cat like eyes and straight away she spotted a boy lying on the bed wrapped in bandages and fast asleep. Jumping up onto the bed she wandered towards him until she was settled right beside of his head. Then she lifted her paw up and moved it until it was very close to his face. A small ball of light appeared, hovering in the air beside of her paw. She moved it close to the boys face until she could see him start to moan and sweat. The cat smirked and moved the light ever closer, ready to push it into his skull and burn his eye from inside out.
18) Any ideas about this cat?
19) I got really creeped when Gaia killed people. Some part of it seemed so much worse than anything before. What do you guys think?
