note from auther: Sorry this took so long! Too many real life hassles got in the way. And just to apologise in advance, the 'H' and 'N' buttons on my keyboard hate me, so they may be missing in a few places. I proof read,but I have 'mommy brain' so I may have missed some things. Enjoy the chapter!
A Night of Firsts
L.A. was beautiful. Not just the ocean and the sky, but the buildings, the cars, the people, everything! Lihn had spent two days site-seeing with Noodle and the others. The Tea House, the Walk of Fame, shopping on Rodeo drive, it all went by too quickly. A camera was passed back and forth many times, catching scenery and silly antics. They took turns posing in front of the Hollywood Sign, tried on different outfits in expensive stores till they got thrown out of several. They ate in expensive restaurants, much to the annoyance of the staff. It was the first vacation Lihn had been on in decades and she was having a grand time.
Through it all, Noodle was true to her word, pretending nothing out of the ordinary had passed between them. She acted so well, and there was so much distraction, that Lihn began to feel as if it had never happened. Noodle gripped her hand excitedly as they walked the walk of Fame. They picked out clothes for each other, shared desserts, and laughed often. Lihn very much enjoyed being part of a family again. Russel and 2-D welcomed her easily into their group, playing little pranks on her and joking around as if they'd known each other well. Murdoc griped at her and teased her just as much as he did the others, so, she figured that meant he liked her too.
She only felt a little awkward when they were approached by adoring fans. She had spent the last couple decades as a nerdy recluse. She'd had no idea who the Gorillaz were until she'd shown up on their doorstep. It only made her feel even more like the odd one out. She would willingly produce pens and snap pictures for the overzealous fans, if only to make them leave quicker. So, as much fun as they were having, Lihn was glad to go back to the condo, that had been rented for their stay, that evening.
They toted their shopping bags inside and plopped onto various pieces of overstuffed furniture. Fun was exhausting! 2-D plucked a remote from the coffee table, and propping his Converse clad feet on it, began to flip through TV stations. Noodle dug through a bag of candy she'd purchased and Russel selected an éclair from the box of pastries he'd bought, cursing under his breath when he dripped dream on his new, blue shirt.
Murdoc sat in the chair that flanked the couch, lit a cigarette and exhaled noisily, "Grab me a cold one out the fridge, Luv." he said to Lihn as she walked toward the kitchen.
Lihn went to the sink and splashed some cold water on her face. She was feeling much more tired than she was used too, probably due to the fact that she hadn't walked that much in years. Teleporting was so much easier. She dried her face and hands on a dish towel before opening the fridge. The top shelf had a gallon of milk, a jug of fruit punch, some orange juice, and some juice boxes. The middle shelf had eggs, various cold cuts, pudding cups and fruit, things you'd see in any refrigerator, but the bottom shelf was packed with bottles of beer. It had to have been at Murdoc's request, though it wasn't his usual brand. "Maybe they can't get it stateside." Lihn thought. She grabbed two green bottles and headed back toward the living room.
Murdoc was just hanging up his cell phone when she passed his chair, slipping his unopened beer between the back of the chair and his back. "Argh!" he twisted round in the seat to pull the cold bottle away from his thinly covered skin.
"You said you wanted a cold one, is it cold enough?" she asked innocently before the grin cracked her face. Russel and 2-D laughed appreciatively at her joke. Noodle was already dozing on her corner of the couch.
"yea, hilarious." Murdoc replied opening the bottle and taking a swallow. "Well, bad news chaps, our appointments' been rescheduled."
"Rescheduled? For when?" Russel asked sounding almost whiney.
"Yea, Murdoc, when we gonna meet this producer?" 2-D asked.
"Eleven A.M., Monday." Murdoc said carefully not looking at either of them, taking a deeper drink of his beer.
"Aww, Man!" Russel tossed his pastry box down, obviously not pleased.
"But Murdoc, today's Tuesday!" 2-D exclaimed. "What we supposed to do fer a week?"
"Yer a bloody rock star. In L.A., with money burnin' a hole in yer pocket! You dun think ya can find somethin' to do?" Murdoc replied exasperated.
" 'at ain't the point, Muds, we should be workin'. Writin' new songs or something'" Russel leaned forward in his chair.
Lihn leaned against the wall sipping her beer. This was their business, it had nothing to do with her. She glanced over at Noodle, the sweets spilled from her hand as she tried to get more comfortable in her sleep.
Lihn pushed off the wall, ignoring the arguing males, and set her beer on the coffee table, bending to pick up the sweets. She set the not-quite-so-full bag beside her beer. She hated to wake Noodle, but even though she was rather short for her age, Lihn wouldn't be able to carry her upstairs. Gently she shook the little guitarists shoulder, "Noodle? Noodle-Chan, wake up."
Noodle's head turned toward her and her eyes fluttered. Suddenly she sat straight up, screaming. Lihn put a hand on her, "What's wrong?" But Noodle shook her hand off and tried to scoot away.
Suddenly, Russel was there, pushing Lihn aside, causing her to land on her rump. "Noods! What's a matter, girl? It's all right, I'm here. It was just a dream." The girl calmed down, recognizing her big brother, who continued to make soothing statements and pat her hand. He helped her to her feet and walked the exhausted girl up the stairs to her room.
Lihn pulled herself from the floor and looked around the room embarrassed. Murdoc and 2-D were both on their feet, looking at her. She knew why Noodle had been screaming, what the girl had been dreaming about. Lihn had been able to stop thinking about it for a few days, but now it was back in the forefront of her mind. Images she wanted to forget were flashing behind her eyes like a slideshow.
She grabbed her beer from the table, knocking the sweets back to the floor, and hurried out of the double glass doors that led to the patio and pool out back, sliding the door closed behind her. She crossed to the darkest corner of the concrete porch and sat in a chair. She pulled her knees up to her chest and began gulping her beer, wishing she'd grabbed another, or maybe two.
"What are you saying, Samir?" her voice was full of dread.
"They have stolen your DNA, they are using your research and they are making clones for the government." the Hindu man replied.
"Why MY DNA?" she asked suspiciously, shakily, standing up.
"It is my fault," his voice and face were full of grief.
"What!"
"We have known each other for years, Lihn, I…I have noticed things…" he was wringing his hands, "I was talking to Mr. Kochi at the company party last year, or maybe it was the year before?" Lihn hissed between her teeth. "I was drinking," he continued, "I did not mean to tell him. It just came out. They have been watching you since."
"Why didn't you talk to me?" Lihn asked "Samir, I would have told you everything!" she put a hand on the side of the handsome man's face making him look up at her. "Don't you trust me?"
Samir looked at his feet, "I should have. At first I was afraid, but after knowing you, I should have trusted you." he stood and took both of her hands into his, "I am sorry, Lihn. I do not ask forgiveness, but you must leave. Hide somewhere. They will be coming for you now."
"Do you know where they are conducting the experiments?" she asked urgently.
"Yes, why?" he asked.
"They are making an army, Samir. An army of me. I do not have time to explain now, but trust me when I say that is very bad." she took a notebook and pen from her pocket, pressing it into his hand. "Where are they?"
He wrote an address on the paper and handed the book and pen back to her. "What will you do?" there was a tinge of fear in his voice.
She tucked the notebook back into the pocket of her lab coat and turned away. "I must destroy the clones, before they can become a threat."
"But, Lihn!" he changed his mind about what he was going to say when she turned to him, "I am sorry." he said quietly instead.
"Me too." She said just as softly.
"Why are you sorry?"
"For not doing this sooner." She put her hands on his shoulders and kissed him. He slid his arms around her and held on, but it wasn't long before she pulled away. "Sayonara." she said, stepping away, her lab coat fluttering out as she turned.
"Will I see you again?" the other scientist asked.
"No." she said without turning back.
Lihn couldn't stop the memories from coming. The screams, the pain, the utter disgust at herself. "I did it because I had to! There was no choice." she reminded herself. But that didn't make her any less of a monster. She could feel tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "What am I doing?" she berated herself, wiping at the tears with one hand and tipping the bottle up with the other. "I've been playing human too long." she thought, which was ridiculous, whatever she was now, or had been in the past, she'd been born a human. She drained the last of the beer from her bottle, chucking the empty glass into the grass beside the patio, she'd get it tomorrow. If she was still here.
A shadow fell across the concrete and the sliding glass door opened. Out of the corner
of her eye she saw 2-D step through and turn to beckon to Murdoc, who stepped through
apprehensively. They walked a little closer to Lihn, "Are you all right, Luv?" she just
shrugged her shoulders in response, not really wanting to talk. "Don' take it pers'nal.
Noodle's been 'avin bad dreams fer while now. S'always Russ wot calms her down." he
explained. Lihn didn't respond, of course. They thought she was upset because she
couldn't calm her 'niece's' fears. 2-D elbowed Murdoc in the ribs, making him jump. He
growled at 'D threateningly, but walked to stand beside Lihn, putting his
hand on her shoulder hesitantly, "Brung ya a fresh one." he said presenting her with a
beer. She looked up at him, distractedly, then at the beer in his hand. "Origato." she
thanked him quietly, taking the proffered bottle, twisting off the cap and drinking deeply.
Murdoc stood beside her for a moment, impressed at her ability to swill, yet feeling
awkward.
"Right." he said suddenly, giving her shoulder a pat. "Well, you kids have fun. I'm'a step out an' find some action" he pulled a cigarette from it's pack in his shirt pocket and lit it, "Don' wait up!" he said as he walked toward the door, shouldering 2-D hard on his way past. 'D rubbed is arm where Murdoc's shoulder had hit him and watched as the older man closed the door behind him.
2-D cleared his throat, feeling out of his element. "So." he started. Lihn didn't turn her head to look at him. "You, um, you gon' be ok?"
"How can I ever be ok again?" Lihn mumbled to herself, barely audible to the others ears, as she chucked the empty bottle in the grass. So it seemed the curse had already caught up to her again. Or perhaps, she had never managed to shake it.
2-D was about to speak again when the door slid open, "Yo, 'D, what's up?" Russel inquired. 2-D stepped closer to Russ and hurriedly whispered what he had assumed the problem was. "Hmmm. I got this, man. Go on inside." He glanced at Lihn and said to 2-D, "Grab me a couple beers, though." The younger man nodded emphatically, looking relieved. Russel patted him on the back as he stepped outside, letting 'D go past.
After receiving the bottles, Russel grabbed a wicker chair and carried it with him, putting it down right next to Lihn. He sat in the chair and nudged her with his elbow. She looked at him, blankly at first, then focusing on the present. "Here" Russel opened a bottle and handed it to her.
"I am drinking too much." Lin said dully, taking a more conservative drink.
"Everybody needs to let go once in a while." He grinned at her. Lihn sighed hugely, tears threatening her eyes again. "Noodle's ok now." Russel said quietly, trying to look into Lihn's face. "She has these nightmares sometimes. She was probably just confused when she woke up, Din't recognize you."
Lihn scoffed in disbelief but caught herself and tried to turn it into a cough. "You are probably right." she said. "She has not seen me in a long time." she was starting to think that that statement wasn't a lie. "And I was not around that much anyway." she continued with what she suspected he was thinking.
"Yea, Murdoc said you was some kind of scientist. Busy work?" Russ tried changing the subject to take her mind off of Noodle.
"Not anymore." Lihn said vehemently. She took a drink to calm herself, "I mean, I quit. They would not allow me time to search for Noodle, but I would not be stopped." This was sort of true, Lihn guessed.
"Damn, that sucks." Russel empathized, "How long'd you work there?"
"A long time." Lihn replied not wanting to show her age. If she told him she'd been there thirty years, she have to be near fifty years old, and she certainly didn't look fifty!
Lihn stared off into the pool's water remembering some of those years.
The large man beside her put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "You all right?" his voice sounded genuinely concerned.
Lihn slid her feet off the chair and sighed. "I've been having nightmares of my own." she said almost to herself, taking another deep draught.
"Trouble sleepin' eh? I got just the thing fer that." he slouched in his chair so that he could reach into the pocket of his denim shorts and pulled out a small plastic baggie with what looked like home rolled cigarettes. He pulled one out, stuck it between his lips and rolled the baggie backup, tucking it back in his pocket. He sat back up in the chair and held up a lighter, puffing the 'cigarette' to life. Once lit, he tucked away the lighter and took a deep drag, then offered it to Lihn holding his breath.
The otherworlder eyed it suspiciously, wrinkling her nose at the odor. "What is it?" she asked, putting her beer on the ground by her feet. Russel blew his breath out shocked, nearly choking. "Seriously?" he eyed her as if she were pulling his leg. "It's weed." catching her blank stare, he tried again. "Marijuana?"
"Oh! I've heard of that." Lihn sat up a little more, intrigued. Here was something she'd never experienced, Perhaps it could help her relax.
"You've heard of it?" the white eyed man chuckled, handing the joint to her. "here, take a drag and hold it in as long as you can…now go easy! It's not so smooth the first time." he patted Lihn on the back as she leaned forward coughing hard. He took a few quick puffs and held it back to the dark haired woman, "Try again" he commanded, his voice strained so as not to breath out too much. This time she did not hit it so hard and found that it was easier to hold in. She breathed out, slowly. She didn't feel any different. She accepted it again, and then again. She breathed out slowly again, the flavor wasn't really that unpleasant, though it was making her thirsty. She leaned forward to grab her drink and the world slipped sideways.
"Whoa!" Russel caught her by the arm before she completely left her seat. He easily pulled the petite woman back into her chair, somewhat facing him. "Ya ok?" he asked grinning.
"Hai, Origato, Russel-san." she giggled, gripping the arm of the chair with both hands.
"I think 'at's enough for you." he pointed out, pulling on the joint again.
"Mmhhmm." Lihn agreed, staring into his eyes. She was thinking about the blue man inside his head again, but Russel mistook the look for something else and began to lean in closer to the beautiful woman beside him. His face was inches from hers, when she suddenly realized his mistake. "Who is the man in you're head?" she blurted out a little too loudly.
The man with the glowing eyes sat back shocked, confused, and more then a little disappointed. "How'd you know 'bout Del?"
Lihn racked her fuzzy brain for a good lie, then she remembered, "I saw him. The first night." she explained quickly. "He was talking to Murdoc, but when you woke up, he was…sucked? into your head."
"Oh." The glow of his eyes dimmed slightly and he took a breath before speaking. "Del was my best friend when was teenagers. We were in the wrong neighborhood at the right time you might say." he shrugged is large shoulders and took a deep breath. "Some guys drove by in a van, Del got shot. He died. Right there." his eyes managed to have a far way look to them.
"I am so very sorry." Lihn whispered.
"I's not so bad, see? He didn't go nowhere. His spirit moved inta my head, so he's always wit me." he smiled wryly. "And he's damn good at spittin' rhyme. He's on our album."
"Oh. I haven't heard it." Lihn said embarrassed. "I had not heard of your band before I looked for Noodle." she half lied.
"Oh." they fell silent. Night sounds filled the air muffled by the sound of the filter pump on the pool and the occasional car passing out front.
"Told ya it'd help you sleep." Lihn jumped at the sound of the New York accent. She hadn't realized she'd been dozing until his words brought her out of it. "Why don' you go on up to bed? Should sleep pretty good now."
"Hai." Lihn stood unsteadily, kicking over her beer bottle. "Oh!" she bent to get the bottle, nearly falling over again, this time mostly from fatigue. Russel jumped up and caught her arm again pulling her up sharply. She caught herself placing her hands on his chest, leaning on him for support. She looked up into the silvery glow of his pupil-less eyes, her breath caught in her throat. "Origato." she breathed as leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. She pressed back before pulling away, blinking. Her woes from earlier almost completely forgotten. She pushed away from him and he let her go reluctantly. "Oyasuminasai, Russel-san" she wished him goodnight, as she carefully stepped around him. She had almost reached the door when she stopped short, "My bottle!" she said half turning.
"Leave it for the cleanin' people." Russel waved her on.
The no-longer-a scientist shook her head. the cleaning people. She could get used to this lifestyle,… again. It had been lifetimes ago the last time she'd had servants. She happily let her mind wander as she made her way upstairs. Waving absently to 2-D on her way by.
He was on the couch, feet propped on the small table in front of him. Cigarette in one hand, Crypt of the Living Dead playing on a cable station. Though currently he was watching Lihn's rear end wiggled in her short, tan shorts as she climbed the stairs. Russel came in and joined him on the couch as she was reaching the top of the stair. "Shit, that's a fine ass." 2-D said craning his neck, trying to still see her.
"Absolutely." Russel replied kicking is feet up on the table.
" But I fink Murdoc's got a fing fer 'er." the blue headed man leaned forward, stubbing out his cigarette I the tray beside his feet, dejectedly.
"Nah, I don't think she's Muds' type." the other man lay his head back on the couch and pulled his cap over his eyes.
"Yea? Why not?"
"Cos', she's exactly MY type." Russ grinned, peaking out from his cap. 2-D didn't reply, he turned his attention back to the movie. After about ten minutes, Russel spoke up from behind his ball cap. "Hey, 'D?"
"Yea, Russ?"
" 'is movie sucks."
Author again: I hope the chapter title makes sense now. It was Lihn's first time smoking weed, and her first kiss with Russ. Maybe I should change the name. As always, comments are appreciated. Really! I have thick skin. I mean really, I wrote this chapter for k.d.a. and kristen-san, because they are the only ones that I KNOW are reading,lol. Ultimatley, this is practice to become a better writer, so please, critisize! see? I don't even think I spelled that right. Let me know If I'm too repeatative, or if I use too many commas. Anything! Are my descriptions ok? Not enough? Let me know! Above all, just let me know you're there.
Also, I obviously don't own Gorillaz, or the movie, Crypt of the Living Dead. Yes it's a real movie. And, yes, it really does suck. :)