bespecledcow
Warrant Officer
Too much hope is the opposite of despair.
Posts: 185
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Post by bespecledcow on Dec 14, 2010 13:19:53 GMT -5
Well, here's chapter one! Chapter One
The Following
“Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.”
-William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night- Act II, Scene V
She ran, the thickening crowd hiding her from her family’s view, her shoulders shaking. She had to keep moving. It was like a hand was pushing roughly at her back; she stumbled, ignoring startled and concerned looks, pushing past those getting in her way.
“Cal!” She could hear her little brother calling for her, practically feel his footsteps as he ran after her, their parents not far behind.
Cal fought the invisible hand pushing her for mere moments, catching sight of his face, dark eyes wide as he took her in, reaching out almost hesitantly. How she must have looked, standing hunched over, face twisting at actual pain in her chest. “Ian,” she gasped, words tumbling out of her lips, for she knew, somehow, that her family could not follow her, no matter what.
“Bathroom- sick,” she blurted, relief flooding her body as she turned and let the hand push her again, Ian calling after her still, her parents’ voices joining his. She ran faster, more and more people separating them, as she knew had to be done.
Keep going, something told her, something that filled her with equal parts dread and eagerness- she had to keep going, wanted to keep going, and no questions filled her mind as to why.
Something red flashed through the crowd. Her eyes scanned for it desperately, her pounding heart seeming to fill up her throat, threatening to actually make her sick.
There! A man walked through the crowd, not pausing to look at shops, or to even glance at the other people, as sure in his purpose as Cal was in hers at that moment. She slowed to a walk, the hand bidding her to follow more carefully. The man’s trench coat flapped around his ankles, his head turning left and right- seeming to be looking for something.
Minutes passed, and the crowd thinned. The boy did not look back at her, and people’s gazes seemed to slide right past her as well, but she did not care. The hand on her back was warm, forceful; this was what she had to do.
He abruptly turned a corner, and Cal hung back, the hand seeming to grab her shoulder, not wanting her to be seen. Slowly coming around the corner, she saw that the boy had not paused in his stride- hand reaching out to push open a door to an abandoned antique shop with rusted windowpanes. The door did not close all the way, and though the windows were tinted, Cal thought that she could see two people speaking to the other. They were just dark smudges against the glass- smudges that were moving out of sight. The hand shoved her forward, and she ran without thought for the roughness. He was getting away, and she couldn’t let that happen!
The door felt coarse under her light fingertips, splinters poking at her soft skin. The invisible hand told her to slow, and she paused, real fear hitting her for a moment. She squeezed through the open door, struggling to keep it steady so no one would hear it creak. The room she stood in was lit by a flickering light attached to the wall. A terrible, pungent, smell hovered on the air, like something was rotting nearby. Trying not to gag, Cal gingerly began to walk down the hall, head cocked to the side- listening. The hand pushed gently now at her back, bending her forward, down onto her knees. Crawling- gently pressing her palms to the floor, she heard low voices not too far away. Squinting in the now dim light, she saw an open doorway a few feet from her. Go, whispered something within her. She fought to control her breathing as she inched toward the open door. The smell was stronger there.
Cal saw piles of boxes, some towering to the ceiling, others thrown casually to the side. Mountains of broken jewelry, wood, and cardboard peeked out from under the columns. She could see the brown trench coat the boy had been wearing, just around the corner of some towers near the doorway. Cal inched herself toward the columns, peeking around the corner briefly to see the boy, back turned to her, speaking to a shopkeeper with slick black hair. She turned back quickly, pressing her back against the box.
It was as if the invisible hand trailed softly down her hair, and for a moment it was as if she could hear someone saying thank you, and then it was gone.
“You know what I’m here for.”
Her breath caught in her throat- heart thumping madly as she clutched her knees. All of her sureness vanished as the hand did. Somehow, she knew that to be seen where she was could very well mean death. It was as though a shroud had been lifted from her face- she was in danger. Slowly, sure that the other occupants of the room could hear her pattering heart; she inhaled, exhaling almost inaudibly. Fighting her paralyzing fear, she tried to inch back toward the door, the hand once again stopping her as the boy spoke.
“I don’t have what you want. I wouldn’t give it to you if I did.”
The shopkeeper’s voice was low, raspy, and filled with a sort of menace. Chuckling in a way she could only see as cruel, the shopkeeper continued.
“Oh great Cobra, I know your real name. Too bad for you that I am in Cronos’s employment- and I know above all else that you are no longer.”
Cal dared to look around the corner again, the boy’s voice putting her in mind of a feral smile.
“I see. A new recruit, are you? A few weeks in it would seem. And, if that is the case…” The boy shimmered, and all over him colors moved, rearranged, until a boy with longer blond hair stood there, wearing a dark red hooded jacket, black pants, and brown boots. Cal could see a knife and a gun clipped to one boot. Clipped at his back was a scythe, and she could spy two other guns at his waist. He was also covered by tiny dime like circles, which he peeled off, revealing that they were connected, like a web. Faster than she could blink, he folded them together until they were around the size of a cell phone. He slid it into his pocket, taking a step closer to the shopkeeper, who sneered. The boy continued. “Then there is no need for disguises. Unfortunately, you are not as stupid as you look. But even you must know too, then, that if you say my name- I will kill you.”
A tense silence followed; Cal held her breath, half sure that they would hear.
“Now,” the boy continued, “Either you assist me with information, or you produce what I want. I can only promise that I would be kinder than Cronos would be.”
The shopkeeper laughed again, and Cal felt her fear increase, knowing that the smart thing to do would be to leave now- but her body wouldn't move.
“As usual,” The shopkeeper went on, “Cronos is several steps ahead. You came too late. I told him everything I knew. He knew you were coming. He always knows…”
“Fine then,” The boy spat, voice growing louder. “I gave you your chance. If you think that throwing around Cronos’s name will keep you safe, you’re more deluded than I had thought. If anything, it makes it even more certain that you will die.”
The shopkeeper’s voice too rose, almost hysterically- “On your own head be it! And I shall laugh with him when we rule this world and the next- as your body rots in a pit! You just couldn’t settle, could you? With all your morals and your sympathy, you couldn’t remain the deadly Cobra- and when I turn you to him I will get what you threw away tenfold! And you, you Cobra will lie dead and forgotten, your deeds will mean nothing because then, you’ll only be Tr-”
There was a clattering of boxes, loud scuffling and struggling gasps- daring to look, Cal saw the shopkeeper pinned to a wall, the boy’s hand on his throat. Her eyes widened, breathing halted at the scene before her.
“Whoops,” the boy breathed as the squirming man beneath his fingers began to turn blue, spluttering incoherently. “You almost said it. You have no right to say my name. Now, you die.” There was no regret in the boy’s voice.
Cal reacted instinctively as horror washed through her- drawing backward rapidly, her elbow smashed into a pile of boxes, all of which clattered to the ground. The scuffling immediately ceased, a loud thump echoing around the room as the shopkeeper fell to the floor, barely conscious. Not daring to look up, Cal tried to move again toward the door, crawling backward in a crabwalk, freezing as a voice called out to her- “Don’t move.” Footsteps came close, kicking over the boxes in front of her.
The shopkeeper spoke, out of breath, choking slightly, on his feet again.
“Looks like we have an audience, Cobra. Shall I do the honors of disposing of our trespasser?”
The boy snorted. “Good luck getting rid of her. Thanks for the diversion, Cass.”
Cal heard the shopkeeper’s feet moving backward. “Hydra?” The fear in his voice had increased.
“Yes.” The boy’s voice was conversational. “Want to see what happens when you try to cut off her head?”
The footsteps were coming again, and Cal felt a strong hand close around her upper arm. Still keeping her head down, Cal stifled a gasp as a low, smooth voice reached her ear- too quiet for all but her to hear.
“Say nothing. Stand, follow my lead and you don’t have to be involved.”
Aaaaaaaand chapter two! A few translations for this chapter: Hai- Yes Onee-san- older sister Outuotu- Little brother Koishii- Beloved Aijou- Beloved daughter Chapter Two
Windows
“And since you know you cannot see yourself, so well as by reflection, I, your glass, will modestly discover to yourself, that of yourself which you yet know not of.”
-William Shakespeare
Cal nodded mutely, head down- for what choice did she have?
The boy pulled her to her feet, still gripping her arm. “Try to look fierce,” the boy whispered to her. There was no hand, but something in her heart, telling her that it was right. She nodded slightly, looking up. The shopkeeper, voice wheezing, scuttled closer, staring at her. She gathered her courage, curling her lip and glaring at him like she did at people that tried to gang up on her and Mary.
“Cronos’ promises are empty,” the boy said quietly, moving closer to the shopkeeper. “You should know that before you die.” He sprang forward.
It was faster than Cal could blink- she saw the fleeting moment of the shopkeeper’s fall before he lay crumpled on the ground, unconscious. Trickles of blood leaked from his scalp. The next second, the boy was at her arm again, hand wrapped securely around it.
Cal was frozen in shock, fear thudding in her veins. Why had she followed this boy? Was she loosing her mind to imagine a hand pushing her forward? That was the only explanation that made sense; she had imagined a hand, and had followed him for reasons she couldn’t begin to guess.
The boy sighed as he led Cal around to face the opposite direction.
“Cass’ll finish it…” He murmured to himself. His hand tightened upon Cal’s arm, pulling her along, none too gently, past the crumpled, but still living, body. Cal, head bent and eyes unfocused, found her feet slipping on the stone floor, a sticky red wetness coating the soles of her shoes.
An unwilling gasp escaped her lips, and without conscious thought, Cal drew herself closer to the boy that was leading her along. She felt his hand tighten ever so slightly, muscles tense and rigid. Chancing a glance at his profile, Cal could see that the set of his lips was grim.
They had reached the wall opposite of the shopkeeper- a maze of boxes still around them, though a door was not too far away.
The red stickiness was below her feet, but more dried out, peeling off the floor in flakes, then crumbling to dust. Bile rose in her throat- paranoia or not the substance was very likely blood. Cal could not hold in her terrified breathing. Everything seemed to have been thrown in her face- an attempted murder, sure to be finished later, talk of death and rule, this fear held beneath the surface- and blood coating the floor where she now walked. She had witnessed all of this, had spied on a dangerous meeting. A boy not much older than her, once called Cobra, whose name could not be spoken, a person, or being called Cronos, and an object under search- two powers against the other for reasons she could not even begin to suspect. Two dangerous, deadly players- and Cal had been fool enough to stumble on it all! And yet (nothing touched her back or her heart as she thought of this) this boy…
This boy had protected her, and had lied to keep her alive?
Or he did it so he could do the ‘honors’… Cal shuddered, trying to wrench her arm out of his grip. He only held on tighter, and she looked up at him with wild eyes. He shook his head slightly, still staring ahead. Cal gritted her teeth. She knew she was in no position to argue, but she hated this fear, not knowing what was going on, being led dumbly forward like a cow for slaughter.
Still, she made herself calm down. Maybe it was intuition, maybe it was instinct, but Cal knew somehow that this boy would not kill her.
Then again, she thought, remembering her imaginary hand, maybe it was just insanity.
The light, which was dim at best, seemed to sharpen as Cal focused on the wooden and cardboard boxes.
Stains of red wetness were dripping into the small pools on the floor.
Acid rose in her throat again. Somehow, she knew that no animals lay in those boxes Cal futilely pulled at the hand around her arm again. The grip did not loosen.
“Quickly,” the boy said, pulling her along faster, Cal slipping on the blood. “Fuck,” the boy muttered. “This is getting a hell of a lot more complicated than I thought…”
Their footsteps echoed in the darkness, and she forced herself to calm down, though fear from the situation did not lessen.
Dirty hands pushed at the door to no avail- Cal found herself unbearably weak. The boy moved so that he was next to her, giving his own force to the door, which swung open with a loud creak.
She made to run toward the opening, when the boy’s hands caught her arms, and faster than she could grasp, he had pulled her outside, turned her around, and pinned her against a wall. Her head knocked back against the stone and she felt pain bloom across the back of her skull, her vision swimming.
“Tell me,” the boy said. “Who are you? How did you follow me?”
“I- I don’t know-”
“Tell me! More than your life depends on this!”
She struggled to form words. “I- I saw you. I just- just followed. Didn’t mean-I don’t know why-”
“You can’t be one of his, but I have to know how you followed me! Please!”
The word ‘please’ caught her attention, but still she didn’t know what else to say. “I don’t know how!” Cal tremblingly raised her face to meet his.
He froze, staring in wide-eyed surprise at the face of the girl looking up at him. He seemed unable to look away, awed almost, as he stared into her eyes.
Cal stared up at him, all feelings of fear and despair vanishing, something swooping low in her gut, as if she were falling.
She wasn’t sure how long she stared at him, but she realized that he no longer looked angry or frightening- just sad. Terribly sad, weighted down by the kind of terror that she had never known.
Reality crashed down upon her. She knew nothing of this boy. He had just shoved her up against a wall, and nearly killed a man. He had spoke of killing as if it were no bother, a routine. He could kill her at any moment. He was far stronger, far faster, than she was. It would be easy- equal to a cheetah chasing down a chipmunk.
“…Who are you?” She whispered.
The boy’s eyes darkened, and he turned away, releasing her shoulders.
She knelt, feeling cowardly and sick, on the ground. The silence stretched on, the boy standing with his back turned toward her.
Finally, he spoke, voice harsh- “My name is none of your concern.”
He whirled around, fists clenched at his sides as he strode to where Cal sat upon the ground. For a moment he hesitated, murmuring something that might have been “sorry”. He leaned over her, hands going toward her neck.
Cal had no time to scramble away as his hands found their target, and her world went black.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Her eyes fluttered, and opened. Weakly, she placed a hand to her temple, trying to place her confused thoughts. A voice swirled around her.
“…Yes, you heard me, boxes of bodies undoubtedly. Looks like Cronos has found another temporary disposal of his failed modified humans. He’s a recent addition. Well have to be more careful. I can’t take care of it Cass. Could you and Alex…? Thanks, bring Marth if you can, but someone needs to keep an eye on things…Listen, something’s happened…”
Cal shook her head a few times, trying to peer through the dim light. The boy was standing again, back turned toward her, speaking into a small, silver cell phone.
“Someone…followed me. A girl, she spied on me talking to Gritch, she saw me nearly kill him. She doesn’t work for anyone- innocent as I’ve ever seen…Just trust me on this one, okay! How the hell should I know?” The boy sighed, running his hand over his forehead. “Cass, she followed me without being seen or heard- I didn’t know she was there till she knocked over some boxes…I’m not about to trust her with anything, Cass! She’s just some girl that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m getting her home now.” He sighed again, this time in frustration. “I’ll tell you more about it later. One last thing- make sure Alex doesn’t- Thanks. Don’t do something stupid- I’ll see you all later…” There was a small beeping sound- the boy lowered the phone and turned around.
“Fuck,” he hissed, throwing something at the ground near Cal’s face- something sweet smelling that became a puff of smoke that left Cal dazed and confused, her thoughts swirling again, leaving her falling into oblivion…
Any yet, she found herself somewhat aware, she could feel strong arms pulling her up, feel someone walking, her body swaying, but it was as though she was a great distance away from it all, like she was watching a hazy movie, watching as a bright light engulfed her, watching as she was carried to a door, brought up the stairs and laid gently on her bed…
Cal felt like she was watching, as her eyes began to close, a boy with blue eyes standing over her, whispering apologies into her ear…
~-~-~-~-~-~
A clinking sound woke Cal from her dreamless sleep. Yawning, she rubbed her eyes, blinking to rid them of sleepiness- sitting bolt upright when her memories returned. Where was she? How long had she been sleeping? Glancing out her window, she saw that it was dusk, dark with clouds overhanging the sky.
“Shit!” Cal hissed, wincing, aware suddenly of the hurrying footsteps coming up her stairs. Whirling around so that she was facing the door, she saw her mother’s pale face, followed closely by her father and brother, as they ran up the stairs.
Upon catching sight of Cal sitting unharmed and bewildered on her bed, Lilliana gave a shriek and dived at her daughter, pulling her into a fierce hug. “Oh Cal,” Lilliana whispered, tears falling onto her daughter’s shoulder, “Oh Cal, thank goodness you’re okay!” Ian, teeth and fists clenched, leaned back against her wall, closing his eyes and breathing slowly.
Dai stood ashen-faced in the doorway, staring at his daughter for a moment before coming forward to embrace her. “My Aijou,” He murmured, “Cal, what happened?” At those words, Lilliana’s back stiffened, and she drew away from her daughter, standing up, eyes looking like sparking obsidian. Ian opened his eyes, standing straighter. Cal felt as though the room had suddenly been charged with electricity.
“What happened?! You just ran off, disappear for hours, and then we come home to find you here? Cal we thought you’d been kidnapped or worse!”
Cal fought another wince, opening her mouth to speak. “I’m so sorry mom. I felt really sick- I had to find a bathroom.” Cal’s hands clenched on her sheets. Sick. Mentally maybe, to imagine a hand pushing me. “But when I got there, I- I think I fainted. There was someone else in there with me- this girl I think goes to school. I woke up and she was standing over me. I wasn’t thinking straight; I just wanted to get home and rest. I’m sorry, I know I should have called.”
Ian sat down on their father’s side, his face pale. Her mother’s arms circled her shoulders, her father’s finding her waist.
Cal leaned her head against them, closing her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said, and the words felt hollow. She wanted to sit there for hours, feeling safe and secure in the arms of her family. “I just…I think I want to rest for a while…”
Lilliana hesitated for a moment before saying, “I understand sweetheart. I’ll go call the doctor, and-”
“No!” Cal jerked, imagining a doctor claiming that she really was crazy.
“Cal,” Her father said quietly after a moment. “If this continues we will call a doctor with or without your permission.”
She nodded, and made herself smile. “Of course. I don’t want to be sick- I think I might have been dehydrated…I’ll let you know if I start feeling like that again.”
Lilliana bit her lip, and then she too smiled, pressing her hand lightly to Cal’s forehead. "Why don’t I get you some water then, hun?” Kissing Cal’s forehead lightly, she stood, and walked through the door.
Cal buried her face in her dad’s shoulder, as she had not done since she was a child. Memories of blood, the boy, and the terrible smell, flashed through her, and she gripped him tighter. She felt Ian stand and sit by her, wrapping his own arms around her.
Lilliana returned, a glass of water in hand. “Here sweetie.” Cal accepted the glass gratefully, only just realizing how thirsty she was. With another kiss to her forehead and cheek respectively, her parents left the room.
Ian scooted to the edge of her bed, fiddling with the sheets.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked. Cal found herself able to actually smile, sliding next to him to ruffle his hair. “I’m fine, I promise. I just need to take it easy for a while, alright?” She leaned back, turning her head a little to one side. “I’ll see you at dinner, ‘kay?”
Ian cast her one last worried glance, before smiling a little. “Hai, Oneesan. See you down there.” He hugged her again.
She felt her smile grow. She and her mom were alike in taking an odd enjoyment in being addressed in various languages. Cal wasn’t sure how to describe it- but there was something undoubtedly cool about being called ‘older sister’ in two languages, though her brother was better at Japanese than she was. She’d never been particularly good with languages- the words all seemed to blend together somehow. Ian soaked up new languages like a sponge, writing codes and notes combining the two languages he knew, and others that he was learning by ear, or by looking up online or in books. Cal was quite honestly amazed at how much languages interested him- languages and flying. His room was decorated with various model airplanes, even spaceship toys from Star Wars and Star Trek. “See you down there, Otouto,” she agreed.
He grinned at her, and left.
Cal stood and shut the door behind him, sighing, blowing strands of hair out of her eyes, falling backward onto her mattress. It was unusual for her mom to let things go so easily. Cal wondered if she had somehow sensed the confusion that was running rampant through her brain. She closed her eyes, going over the memories of what had really happened after she left her family. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was missing something- some important detail that would tie all the confusing events together.
How do I know that it wasn’t just a dream? Cal pondered this idea. Other than the fact that the events seemed far too fantastical, too much like something she might see in a spy movie, Cal felt that she had succumbed to no dream, for the simple fact that it wasn’t like a movie. She counted out the facts in her head, trying to get it all to fit together, like an oversized puzzle.
Fact One, she thought, I followed a strange boy without any seeming reason.
Fact Two, I witnessed him nearly murder that old shopkeeper.
Fact Three, The boy and the shopkeeper argued, defying the other and speaking of another person, an ‘employer’ of sorts.
Fact Four, The boy was looking for something that the shopkeeper didn’t have, something that the ‘employer’, Cronos, had taken before the boy arrived.
Fact Five, The boy wouldn’t allow his name to be spoken, and when he realized the shopkeeper knew it, he was at perfect readiness to kill him.
“He probably would have killed him anyway,” Cal muttered, rolling over so that she was facing the window.
Fact Six, I walked, or rather crawled, in on something bigger than myself. Something dangerous. Something that I shouldn’t get involved in…
“….Do as I say and you don’t have to be involved…”
They boy’s words tumbled form her mind. He had said those things, kept her close, so…
Fact Seven, This boy prevented the shopkeeper from doing me harm, lying so that I would not die.
Fact Eight, he did not commit murder in front of me.
And most importantly…
Fact Nine, He brought me back to my house, unharmed.
The window, which was very slightly open, showed her the world. Cal had long stared out her window, thinking that it showed her the world in a way that nothing else could. Her street, the people walking so ignorant along their daily lives, and yet- how was she any different? Many knew of the problems that their world faced, and what did she, or any of them, do to change it? The answer was frightening: They did nothing. They were more content to lead their lives with ignorance, not fueling the bad by not contributing to it. A wry thought came to Cal’s mind as she stood, and began walking toward her door:
So I suppose the issue is not if I should be involved, but if I want to be…
“She’s not telling the truth, Lilliana.”
Cal froze on the top of the stairs; hand on the railing, listening to her parent’s whispered conversation. Below, she could hear the sounds of her brother rifling through the pantry.
“…I know.”
Inching around the corner, Cal saw her father, his back toward her, Lilliana sitting in front of their mirror, brushing her hair, with a look that showed she needed something to do with her hands.
“…’Ana, koishii, ” he took a deep breath. “Whatever happened, she doesn’t want us to know about it.” Dai placed his hands lightly upon his wife’s shoulders.
Her mom paused, brush halfway down a thick bit of hair. “I know. Why, do you think?”
Her husband shrugged. “Whatever she was doing, we have to trust her to tell us about it when and if she is ready.” He bent forward, placing his lips on top of his wife’s head.
Lilliana looked up at him, frowning. “I don’t like letting this lie, Dai. Though you might be right, I don’t feel comfortable not asking her about it. Perhaps she will come around and tell us, but her holding it in is not going to help anyone.” She sighed. “But you’re probably right. You can read her better than I can.”
Dai shook his head, running callused fingers through his wife’s long hair. “You read her just as well as I do. Better, sometimes. And I think that makes her a little uncomfortable.” His voice was a murmur and he wrapped his arms around her.
Lilliana exhaled, bringing her hands up to clasp his arms. “I don’t know. Often I’m not sure that I know her anymore. Even when we’re doing things, or on the same sync, parts of her still seem so foreign to me…”
“She probably feels a bit foreign to herself.” Dai kissed her head again. “Things are changing in ways that are going to be hard for her to understand. But she’s handling it pretty well. She loves you, very much.”
Lilliana gave a faint smile. “I know she does.” Cal’s mom paused, fingers running down her husband’s arm. “She’ll be okay, don’t you think? She’ll get through whatever’s in store for her.”
“I haven’t a doubt in my mind.”
Cal backed away from the wall, from her parents and their words. She loved her family. She loved spending time with them, and it wasn’t her intention to alienate them in any way, to make her mother feel as though she didn’t understand her own daughter…
I won’t do that anymore, she vowed, balling her hand into a fist. From now on she would be their daughter alone, nothing else. She would forget about the boy and what she had seen and heard, and go back to her life. It was a promise, one she would not break.
But, as with all self-sacrifices, it was easer said than done.
Enjoy! And thanks again for any feedback/critique. |
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