The experiment chapter two Darkness Roots.
"Tears are words that need to be written."
Paulo Coelho.
(Now boarding flight number
1009 the announcement
echoed over the intercom.)
"Damn it".
Coffee spills onto the floor, as House shuffles his bum leg around, attempting to make his way to the gate.
The cab ride was uneventful, aside from a few traffic jams. The weather was odd though, not that the news stations ever got it right anyway. But it was raining pretty good now, and House didn't want further delays.
"Good morning!
Boarding pass please"
the flight attendant asked almost flirtatiously at the gate.
He hands over the ticket.
A busty brunette with bright red lipstick, a tight blue vest and underneath a white dress shirt, two buttons undone lower than uniform standards.
She is either screwing the captain or she is a total slut. House thought as he was handed back his pass, and proceeded to board, but not before getting a damn good look at her backside.
"Thank you and welcome on board" she stated as he hobbled away with a half grin about his face.
On board the diagnostician makes his way to his seat.
Hoping for a peaceful flight and no kids wailing whining or blubbering.
Of course he didn't need the chit chat-ers or the heavy drinkers either, cramping up his vicodin high as he rides this flight for way too many hours.
"Ahh, Row C seat 15 finally"
House thought to himself as he placed his carry on in the over head compartment, while folding up his cane.
He plops down into his seat as he notices that seat 16 is still empty.
"I wonder who it is."
He thought now turning this into a mental guessing game.
A busty redhead enters the walkway, wearing formal attire of sorts, no wedding ring upon her finger.
The charity event type, filthy rich and bored, probably widowed.
"I hope it's her." House thought trying to hold back a devilish smile.
But in a flash she continues down the path passing his row.
An older man walks down the walkway next, sporting a light gray suit, smells of cheap cigarettes and bourbon fill the air, he coughs as he too passes by, that kind of cough that you only get after years of chain smoking.
House pulls out a little orange bottle from his jacket's inner pocket and dumps three to four tablets into his hand as he pops'em back, he looks on to see the next people walking through.
Some college students, Some vacationers and what appears to be a priest, all pass his row.
The plane is filling up now and House thinks to himself.
"Maybe they're late and if they miss this flight, I'll have a whole extra seat to myself."
Wishful thinking.
Then a young woman early 20s black hair, pale skin, and dark brown eyes walks down the path. She sports an undercut hairstyle with flashes of pink hair around her, while round hipster glasses adore her face.
She carries a mini pink backpack with stickers all over it, along with a matching carry on.
Around her neck lays a heart shaped locket and a small notebook on a red string.
She stops at Row C looking at the seat number, then flashes a smile at the diagnostician as she puts up her carry on.
"Of course"
House thought.
"So much for my extra seat, thanks to this Hello Kitty wannabe."
She waves hello as she sits down.
"Hi." House responded
a half smile was all he could manage.
She smiles back as the young lady reached into her mini backpack to retrieve a book.
"If I can have your attention please" A flight attendant spoke loudly giving the usual pre-flight instructions.
"In case of emergency please
Blah and blah at blah."
House zones out, the vicodin starts kicking in, he is hoping it will be enough until he can order drinks and get this party started.
He takes notice of the young woman as the book she pulls out is Sherlock holmes The Valley of Fear.
"Ah a bookworm" he thought,
I always enjoy the quiet types.
"Blah, blah here and blah" goes the flight attendant.
On the side of the book written in black sharpie upon it's pages was a name; Saya Kon.
Her outfit consisted of a black high waist pinafore with silver buttons lined down in a row, and a pink long sleeve blouse with a white collar.
"Blah, blah, blah and blah
Thank you" the flight attendant finally finished and the seat belt indicator light flashed on.
House usually likes to look out the window, but today was so cloudy and dark that he wouldn't see anything anyway.
He opted instead to throw his headphones on and hope he could drift into a drug induced stupor, he needed his rest anyway.
(Once Darkness takes it's roots, there is no escaping it.)
Plane turbulence awakens the rugged man as he looks over to Saya who was writing something in her notebook and showed a flight attendant who then nodded.
There was a lot of grumbling among the passengers, although turbulence was normal, that didn't make it comfortable.
Some moments later as the weather improves and the flight calms down, a flight attendant returns with what looks like orange juice.
She also brings a heated blanket.
Saya covers herself.
"Iron deficient anemia, most likely," House thought.
Saya reached into her bag again, this time grabbing a small black bag. She stands up and lays the blanket down as she walks to the bathroom.
He thought about the other things that could be going on, never able to turn off that puzzle brain of his.
House looks out the window, the rain has stopped.
He looked at his watch. "Damn it,
I missed the lunch service."
He thought, "even if I ordered something now, all the good meals are taken".
But a drink was so on the menu as the vicodin was not going to be enough to knock the pain out.
House flags a flight attendant as Saya returns from the bathroom.
She looks more tired.
"How may I help you" the attendant asked.
Saya sits down slowly as she wraps herself up in the heated blanket.
"Bourbon and branch" House replied while looking at Saya.
She didn't have blotchy skin about her face, nothing to indicate that she was throwing up.
The flight attendant returns minutes later.
"Here you are, let me know if I can get you anything else."
"Thanks"
House again looks over at Saya, she went back to her reading.
"Cheers" he said.
Saya turns to look, smiles and lifts up her glass to his.
He could now smell the drink, she ordered a screwdriver.
Being a doctor you get familiar with all kinds of smells, but especially as a diagnostician, a faint smell of blood encases his nose.
An odd mood as the young woman returns to her book.
House finishes his drink and orders another.
Some time passes as he goes in and out of wakefulness.
In the hours that followed Saya used the bathroom multiple times.
Granted she was drinking alcohol but each time she returned, she looked more and more tired.
It was late now and the passengers were going to sleep.
The flight attendants were gossiping among themselves.
Things were quiet.
Saya was once again in the bathroom, only this time as she was about to leave her eyes met his.
House pushes her back into the bathroom as he closes the door behind him.
"You know the flight attendants will probably think we're in the mile high club, but I need to know what's going on with you."
House said looking both slightly concerned and annoyed.
Saya doesn't say a word, but looks scared.
"Look I'm not going to hurt you, I'm a doctor." House pulls out his badge to show her. "See!?"
Saya looks more upset now and trys to push pass him.
"Well I wasn't expecting that"...
House grabs her face by her jaw not roughly but hard enough that she stops.
"Look at me." he examines her, opening her mouth slightly.
Her tongue appears to have been cut out.
Shocked for a moment he let's his guard down and Saya trys to escape pass him.
House grabs her arm pulling her back, just then she wrenches in pain.
Looking more shocked at such a response, he replies: "I'm sorry."
There is a pause.
"Shit."
House notices the blood dripping from her arm, as he rolls up her sleeves he sees the cuts, self inflicted.
"Stay here, just stay."
House ordered,
like you would your dog.
He returns moments later with a first aid kit.
"Are you gonna tell me why you did this!?."
He cleans her arms and applies a topical antibiotic.
"You could have hit an artery, that would have cut our flight time down considerably."
He then bandages her arms as he notices the little black bag on the floor is filled with tiny razor-sharp knives.
"I'm not even going to ask how the hell you got those in here."
Saya writes in her notebook.
The words read:
"I didn't want to feel the pain anymore."