Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ And then there was Light ❯ Blood and Mirrors ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ…

 

Chapter Two:: Blood and Mirrors

 

 

She awoke slowly curled on her side, knees drawn up to her chest in the fetal position. Gingerly she rolled on her back. The pain was there, dull and slight, but at least it wasn't overwhelming. And her eyes didn't hurt as much; probably because the room was dark.

 

Her mind assessed this slowly.

 

She was alone, and it was dark. And those people were gone. However, she still had no idea what was going on. And-

 

And she was thirsty. Ravenously so. Her throat felt raw, so much so that she was certain, at least this time, that there was definitely blood in her throat. Carefully she peeled back the covers, immediately noticing that the IV was still attached to her arm. But there was something… Something beside the pole of the IV, on the bedside table.

 

Water.

 

She snatched wildly at the pitcher, putting it eagerly to her lips and drinking sloppily in great gulps. The liquid slid coolly down her throat, and she could feel it settle in her stomach. And then the pitcher was empty and she was panting heavily, wiping her chin with the back of her hand. Probably more water had fallen on the bed and on her than had gotten down her throat, but at least she'd had some. Almost immediately her head felt clearer, and the aches in her body seemed to lesson some. She set the pitcher down, noticing that there was something else on the table. It smelled delicious, and before she knew it, she was scooping it up in her hands, shoveling it down her throat voraciously.

 

Rice and vegetables. Noodles. Teriyaki chicken. She didn't question how she knew what the stuff was; that was irrelevant. The only thing that mattered was that she was eating as if she'd never eaten before, desperate and greedy and licking every last drop from the bowls and her fingers. And when she was done she sat back, closing her eyes and sighing with more zest than she'd known she had. And for the first time she noticed - really noticed - her surroundings.

 

She was in a room. A small room, sparsely furnished save for the bed, the bedside table and- she squinted. What was that over there? Across the room? Up on the wall above that table? Despite her newfound energy, her eyesight, though significantly clearer, was still slightly blurred. Or perhaps it was simply the darkness around her which inhibited her sight. She braced herself, taking a deep breath, and without fully thinking threw her legs over the side of the bed and moved all her weight along with it.

 

She stayed standing, much to her surprise. Well, with a little support from the bed behind her, that is. She held on to the IV pole and wheeled herself slowly across the room, taking small staccato steps. A mirror. The strange silver glint she'd seen had been a mirror.

 

Mirror Mirror on the wall… She paused. Did she really want to look? She didn't need confirmation to tell her how she looked. Like a corpse, if not worse. She could see it in her hands, in the small decrepit legs beneath her. She saw it in the way those people had looked at her, pityingly, if their carefully controlled expressions had been any indication.

 

No. She decided. She would not look. Not yet. And maybe it was cowardly, but she just didn't think she had the strength to deal with whatever face greeted her in the mirror. She'd wait. Yes, she decided backing away. She would wait. Maybe in a few days. Maybe-

 

It happened so suddenly that she nearly fell over. The feeling hit her like a shockwave. Someone was in the room. How she knew this, she could only guess. Instead she whipped around, bumping into the small end table below the mirror and nearly tearing the needle of IV from her arm. She stared, warily facing the form leaning casually against the wall near the door.

 

He had his arms crossed in the corner of the room, the boy. How long he'd been there, she had no idea. It had been beyond her line of vision, thanks to her poor eye sight. And then there was sudden light, not much, but enough of it to see clearly around the room now. She hadn't seen him flick a switch, but obviously he'd somehow activated something. Now she could clearly see the room, still slightly cloaked in shadows. There was a lone window on the opposite end, across from her bed. The curtains were tightly drawn, but even so she could still see that it was night. Beneath her bare feet the floor was cold, but she could do nothing but stare nervously at the boy across the room.

 

“You're up.” He said flatly. In the dim light she thought she could see traces of blue in his lilac hair. Was he the one who had brought her the food? What had they called him? Trunks? And what was her name? Why was-

 

“He made you differently, I see.” The boy, Trunks, spoke again, interrupting her racing thoughts. Though she wasn't sure if he was talking to her, or just thinking out loud. “You actually need to eat. You need water. I don't know why he would include that in your design.” He stopped, taking a step forward, and she eyed him carefully. This was a person who did not like her. And yet here he was, in a room, alone with her. But why?

 

“What was it you were created for?” and then he paused, a derisive laugh escaping his throat. “Never mind. I already know. It's the same thing everything he's ever created was made for, right?” She frowned. What was he talking about? Her muddled mind couldn't seem to sort out his words. As fast as she soaked them in, he was speeding onward, talking again.

 

“But you won't get the chance. I won't let you destroy this world. We already have enough on our hands as it is. And you should never have been activated-“

 

Activated? What was he talking about? The first signs of pure fear washed over her, and she was suddenly aware that they were alone; very much so. She wasn't even sure if there was anybody else nearby in the building. She was alone with this boy, who was sounding very mentally unstable, and-

 

She stepped back, stumbling over the IV and causing it to inadvertently rip from her arm. The metal pole clattered to the floor, and sharp pain erupted at once in her arm. She instinctively grabbed it, feeling something warm and wet slip through her fingers.

 

Blood. Bright and red, trickling from the needle wound. She ignored it, trying to find a way to get around the handsome boy who now blocked her path to the door. The only other exit was the window, but it was closed and she had no desire to punish her already aching body by jumping through glass. But-

 

This boy was…! …well, she didn't know what he was planning, to be honest, but it couldn't be good. Her mind was screaming warnings at her, and the primal survival instinct that suddenly took over was telling her to flee.

 

She stared up at him terrified. But he was no longer looking at her. His attention was focused completely on her arm. Her bleeding arm. His face bore an unreadable expression. And then he looked up fixing her with that serious look. He frowned, brows pulled together noting perhaps the wetness on her cheeks.

 

Wetness?

 

She brought her hand gingerly to her face. Yes, it was there. She was crying. She had no idea who she was, why she was here, and where she had come from. An angry lilac haired boy probably wanted her dead for reasons only he could comprehend-

 

And no one had told her anything still.

 

“You're- we interrupted the process. That's why you seem so helpless. That's why you don't remember anything. And that's why you have no power.” He spoke softly, matter-of-factly, turning away from her and making her go still with shock.

 

“But,” he continued, “you're dangerous; regardless of outward appearances-“ he stopped. He seemed to be struggling mentally, trying to convince himself of something, and his eyes went back to the small pool of blood that had gathered at her feet.

 

She wasn't going to wait for him to decide.

 

MOVE! She flung herself past him, willing her body to go. It resisted. Her limbs screamed with pain, her lungs burned from the sudden exertion, but the blurred door was fast approaching. Go, her mind screamed. GOGOGOGOGOGOGOGO!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Her hand reached out; she made a lunge towards the door handle-

 

And suddenly she was being jerked back, thrown into the wall, fingers digging hard into her shoulders. Her head hit the wall with a dull thud, and for a moment she saw stars. And then her dazed vision was clearing, her hands going out to claw furiously at his face, at his eyes, legs flailing wildly. It didn't last long.

 

In a frightening turn of events she found herself pinioned, flipped, cheek pressed painfully against the cold wall, body sandwiched uncomfortably between it and the boy.

 

“That was stupid,” he said softly from behind, still holding her arms at her back in a vice-like grip. She whimpered, and the tears flowed freely now. Why was he doing this?! Why was he-

 

“Because I know what you are,” he answered, as if he'd heard her unspoken question. Or had it been unspoken? Maybe she'd really asked it, words weren't the most important thing on her mind at present.

 

“There is no place on this earth for such dangerous creatures. I know what you were destined to do. To become. And I…I was destined to stop it. I'm sorry.” This last part was whispered, said with such feeling that she could almost believe he regretted his actions. And then something warm was being pressed into her back. The warmth grew into prickly discomfort. And then it was hot. White hot, scorching.

 

The last thing she remembered seeing was the vision of two slitted, reptilian eyes staring calmly into the reflection of a passing department store window.

 

 

 

oOo

 

 

She awoke with a start.

 

The sun that streamed into her room was bright and warm. And blinding. She blinked haphazardly, rolling over, burrowing further under the sheet. Instantly a dull pain assaulted her, followed by a blinking of memories.

 

Blood, fear, an explosion- had it all been a dream? At some point during the night she had dreamed, she was sure.…

 

But which had been real? Certainly not the part about the green monster. But what about the boy, Trunks? The blood? The scorching heat he'd thrown into her back-

 

She immediately felt behind her.

 

Nothing. No pain, no discomfort. Not even a tear in her gown. Maybe it had been a dream…

 

Except that the IV was gone from her arm.

 

And suddenly she was wide awake. No IV? Had someone taken it away during the night, or…

 

..or had that episode really happened? She studied her arm. Still bone thin and frail, but no longer quite the dusky, washed out color it had been before. It was a warmer tone now, somewhere between cinnamon and walnut, healthier looking, and completely unmarred. There was no sign of the yanked out needle, no sign there had ever been anything inserted into her arm at all.

 

A dream….?

 

She flung back the covers and dove to the other side of the room, towards something she knew, from memory, was there.

 

The mirror.

 

It was in the exact same place as it had been the previous night, confirming her suspicions. She stopped, the same as she had before, just before seeing her reflection. And just as before, a sudden fear assaulted her. She couldn't look at that face, not now. In the bright sunlit room, reality seemed so far away. But something…something was wrong with her. Something had happened that had left her severely……

 

Depleted? No, weak was a better word, she decided. Corpse-like probably even more so. But then again, she had no memory of her life before she woke up. Perhaps if she saw her reflection - however briefly - maybe she'd get some flash of memory, remember something from her past…

 

It was worth a shot, right? She took a hesitant step forward-

 

No. She squeezed her eyes shut, turned away. She suddenly wanted the mirror out of the room. It was too much of a temptation, too much of a lure. She'd look if she wasn't careful, even against her will she wasn't sure if she could stop herself. I'll put it outside. I'll turn it face down outside the room and someone will take it away-

 

In the next moment she had the frame in her hand; it was really no longer than a foot. A cheap wall mirror someone had entered as an afterthought, perhaps. She wanted to break it, fling it on the floor and be rid of it. But then there would be shards, shards containing dozens and dozens of reflections-

 

She marched to the door, grabbing it firmly and pulling the handle.

 

It wouldn't budge. Stuck, maybe? Or maybe she just wasn't pulling hard enough. Or maybe they've locked you in, another thought surmised. Again that fear hit her, wild, irrational. They'd locked her in. There was a mirror in her hand, if she didn't get out she couldn't get rid of the mirror--

 

She tried again, harder this time, perhaps a little desperately. This time it swung disjointedly open.

 

She laid the mirror face down at wall the beside the door. Almost immediately the obsessive thoughts fled, and she was left breathing hard standing in a long, empty hallway. An empty, unfamiliar hallway. It had never occurred to her what was actually behind the door of her room. Simply opening her eyes had been a struggle that first time. But now…now faced with the unknown before her, she felt the childish urge to run back inside the room and climb into bed. It was safe in the room, shut off from the world. Away from mirrors and reflections… She would wait. She would go back in the room and wait for someone to come.

 

But even as she thought this, she was already moving, slowly drifting down the corridor, bare feet sinking deep within the plush, khaki carpet.

 

Several doors lined the hall, all looking exactly the same, all closed. She'd actually tried one of them, a half hearted tug on the handle, but it had been locked. She paused then, holding her breath. Was that a voice she heard? Up ahead? She sped up, hopeful. She didn't want to be alone. She didn't-

 

And suddenly she was staring into the entrance of what she guessed was a lounge. There was a large theatre sized flat screen in the center of the room, and a futon directly in front of it, with someone sitting in the exact middle, engrossed in the television. A pretty brunette was speaking earnestly into the camera.

 

And behind her, was complete chaos.

 

Cars, people, police vehicles, fire trucks..it looked like a disaster scene from a movie. Only mildly interested, she inched inside.

 

“-town, leaving behind a trail of destruction. The Nikki Town monster, as officials have dubbed it, seems to actually be absorbing the bodies of people, though there is still no information at this time to confirm why it is doing this or even where it came from...”

 

Monster? Hmn. Some sort of horror flick. A very low budget one at that. Still she leaned forward. The television had her full attention now, and she wondered just what it was the little bald man on the futon was watching.

 

“Local authorities are pushing a mandatory evacuation, and it is strongly advisable that-“

The screen showed images of screaming people, a street littered with clothing, then clipped to rows of cars congested in traffic. All, apparently, trying to leave town. A Channel 3 News icon was in the corner of the screen, and below it, trailing words slid across the screen and-

 

Wait. Was this real? She'd coined it as a film, but the trailing words were reminiscent of some sort of emergency broadcast message, though she was too far away to read it. Before her, the bald head leaned forward.

 

Then the screen clipped to another scene, this time seemingly caught from an amateur video tape. The lens kept going in and out of focus, and screaming people, in their hast to flee, kept bumping into the camera and crossing into its view. The cameraman it seemed, was oblivious to this, intent only on catching whatever it was he was focused on. There. The Camera had stopped, but the cameraman couldn't seem to stop shaking enough to take a clear shot. She squinted her eyes and silently willed the man to hold still.

 

The image was fuzzy at first, unfocused and blurry, much like her vision had been that first day. There was green, a lot of green, with a tail that was-

 

Suddenly the camera cleared momentarily, fading almost back blurry instantly, but she had seen it. The face, the build. The eyes.

 

She didn't realize she was screaming until the man slammed off the television.

 

“What?! How did you- Why are you….what are you doing?!!” He looked frantic, nervous, suspicious and definitely frightened, even.

 

She didn't answer, staring behind him at the now dead TV set.

 

“What was that?!,” she asked instead, gesturing towards the set. “What are you watching?” Her voice was crackly, as though she had a cold and was still getting over it.

 

“How did you get out of your room?!” he demanded instead. His hands were clinched into fists, legs apart, in a slightly defensive position. His voice was steadier, but his eyes, small and beady, were darting nervously about. His nervousness was catching. It made her nervous, watching him like that.

 

“I…I opened the door.”

 

There was a moment of silence. She heard the hum the lights in the ceiling. And then-

 

“You opened the door.” This was repeated dumbly, as though he couldn't believe she'd be able to do such a thing. She felt mildly insulted before remembering that the last time they'd seen her, the last time she remembered seeing them, at least, she had barely been able to talk. Of course he was surprised to see her up and out of bed.

 

“You opened the door,” he said again, and this time he laughed softly, a hand absently swiping across his shiny bald head. He cleared his throat, and when his eyes met hers again, they were strangely shuttered. She'd caught him off guard before, but he seemed to have recovered.

 

“Of course you did. I should have guessed you'd be able to.” And then he was walking towards her, brushing past her, very carefully not touching her as he went by. She felt suddenly small.

 

“C'mon. Let's get you back to your room before Bulma finds out. I was supposed to be watching you, y'know.” He gave a nervous laugh, the bright orange of his clothing contrasting sharply with the muted colors around them.

 

She followed silently behind.

 

 

oOo

 

Authors Note: I want to take the time to thank those of you who reviewed the first chapter. Your encouragement was/is very much appreciated! Please take a moment and tell me what you think.