Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Completing the Silence ❯ Running Into Darkness ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

LSE // 7-16-02
(Completing the Silence - Chapter Five: Running Into Darkness)
rated: PG-13 - violence, language, content
shounen-ai/yaoi

Running into Darkness




My only response to the ringing phone, laying not more than a meter
from me, is to wince, barely lifting my head off the couch to glare
at it. Once. Twice. Three rings. Grumbling, I haul myself off the
couch, "Moshi moshi," I announce cheerfully into the receiver.

"Hello, is Mister Maxwell in?"

"Speaking."

"This is Judy and I'm with Northwest Regional Hospital, please hold
for Doctor Upminster."

Heero appears in the doorway, mouthing, 'Who?'

Covering the receiver with one hand, I reply, "Doctor Upminster? From
the hospital?"

"For you?"

"Mister Maxwell?"

"Yes -- Oh, hello doctor!" I wave a hand to acknowledge Heero, who
nods and exits as quietly as he entered, "What can I do for you?"

"I'm returning your call."

"Oh, yes, right! Well, I've almost run out of the funny little pills,
all three of them, when can I get the prescription refilled?"

"You don't."

"Huh?"

"You don't need to refill the prescription, thirty of each should
have lasted you five days. Correct?"

"Er...yes, so I don't get anymore?"

"I recommend an extra-strength over-the-counter pain reliever if
you're still have problems."

"Well, all right then! Thanks, doc."

Hanging up the phone, I stare at it for a moment. Grabbing a pen and
pad of paper, I quickly scrawl out the math. Four pills every four
hours, that's six times a day...times five days... "Holy hell," I say
out loud, looking at the number.

I search for Heero and finally find him upstairs, "Hey, Heero, guess
how many pills I've taken."

He's typing on his laptop, but, miracle of miracles, he hears me and
looks up, "How many?"

"One hundred and twelve."

He whistles and goes back to typing, "Still got a headache?"

"Yeah," I grumble, putting a hand to my head, striking a dramatic
pose, "Like a Cheery slush, my brain is turning slowly into...slush."

"That's disgusting. Brains don't look like slush." I shrug and turn
to go back downstairs. "Oh, Duo." The typing stops. I turn back
around to face him. "You're still taking the blue ones?"

"Still got a bunch left, so, yes."

Heero looks back at the screen, "The headaches may be a side-effect.
I've called someone to come look at you. You might not need them
anymore. She's coming at three."

"She? It's not Burnett, is it?"

"No."

"Good. She's crazy. I bet she's not even a real doctor. Psy-whats-it,
even." I head back downstairs in search of food. My stomach grumbles
protest at my skipping lunch with sleep.

Shuffling through the refrigerator, I come up with a carton of take-
out and a slightly brown banana. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd do the
grocery shopping myself and get better food. Like cookies.

Or cherries.

I'm wearing long sleeves, it being winter and all, but I've ditched
the gauze in favor of a large bandage around the more lethal looking
of the wounds. There's a tiny scratch across the back of my hand, the
only visible mark. Not bad. I try to count back the days and realize
it's been seven. A full week. I feel I need some sort of
acknowledgment, a cake maybe. A cookie.

I label the banana my One Week treat and throw in it the blender
after peeling. A quick raid of the icebox yields a carton of ice
cream.

I can scoop the ice cream now.

A bit of milk and, because I'm feeling adventurous, a generous
helping of chocolate syrup. I've used the blender before, but without
the lid. That was a glorious disaster. I close my eyes and grit my
teeth against the incredibly loud noises the blender screams out as I
firmly hold the lid down.

Hearing an appliance in activation, Quatre wanders into the kitchen.
I look up and smile, turning off the blender, "Chocolate Banana
Shake?" I offer, starting to pout myself out a cup.

"That's disgusting."

"Suit yourself," I lift the glass in mock toast and take a big sip.
And choke. And spit my creation out into the sink. "Gah!"

Quatre breaks into a grin, "When a banana is brown it generally
doesn't taste very good. Plus the milk is past the expiration date.
I better add that to the list..."

So much for celebration.

I've got an hour to kill before my appointment, so I go back to
laying on the couch. My head is pounding, unappeased by the take-out
and aggravated by the failed Banana Experiment.

I grab the remote off the coffee table and flip the television on,
scrolling past the normal daytime blah. The time passes quickly and
before I know it my view is blocking by a cheerful looking young
woman. "Duo?"

I turn the television off and sit upright, "Yes. Please, take a seat.
Preferably the recliner, no one likes it much anyways. I bet you can
get a few bucks for it at the Goodwill."

To my surprise, the doctor laughs at the joke. She sits in front of
me, on the coffee table. "I'm Doctor Ruini, did Mister Yuy talk to
you already?"

"Yeah. So, you think I can ditch the MAO whatevers? Heero says
they're giving me the headaches." She looks nice. She's dressed
sensibly in a pair of jeans and a teal sweater. Her hair flows past
her shoulders and down her back, it's gold, like Quatre's.

Doctor Ruini smiles, "Not one for small talk, are we? What kind of
medicine did you say you were taking? MAO inhibitors?"

"Yeah."

The woman sits back, "I'm surprised this Doctor Burnett prescribed
such a dangerous medicine. Although rare, the side-effects can include
headaches, like you seem to be having, heart palpitations and even
death!"

"Woah."

Reaching into her purse, the doctor pulls out a small notepad and
writes something on it in typical illegible doctor writing, "Let's
switch you over to a SSRI for now, less chance you'll develop a side-
effect with those types of medicines. I can't tell you to ditch
medicine all together and we've had a while to talk. When are you due
for your next dose?"

"Four."

The doctor stands, offering me a hand, "Then let's go get these. I'll
drive, you talk."

----------------------------------------------------------- -----------

"...and the sailor says, 'Get your fork out of my potato!'"

Doctor Ruini laughs, holding the door open for me, "Duo, you have a
simply charming personality! Now, you only need to take two pills
every six hours, instead of one every four. Okay? Two every six. Take
three before you go to bed, but don't take anymore until morning."

"Gotcha. When do I see you again? Do I see you again?" Heero comes up
silently behind me, slipping a possessive arm around my waist.

"I'll just see you on weekdays. At three. Take care!" the doctor says,
turning and walk off in her black boots.

I admire her car for a moment, it's a nice red sporty thing, then
turn to Heero. I can't help it, I kiss him smartly on the lips. He's
a bit surprised, but quickly gets over it. The kiss lengthens,
deepens. I open my mouth more for him, sliding my tongue into his own.

"Ahem."

We whirl apart, faces almost as red as Wufei's. Blood is slowly
dripping out of his nose. "There is no food in this house. We are
going out to eat."

"Oh, that's good. Isn't it?"

"Yes, yes, indeed."

"I think I will go get ready! Do you want to come help me pick out an
outfit, Heero?"

"Yes, yes, indeed"

Wufei turns and goes to find a tissue for his bloody nose.

-------------------------Four Days Later------------------------------

I like ham.

I wonder how much it is. Where's Heero? I want him to buy this.
Cookies, I wanted cookies. Should I have added it to the list?
There's a list? I want to see the list.

This is the wrong aisle. These are baby food jars and pet supplies.
Why do they put those two together? Maybe we should get a puppy.
Heero and I. I like dogs. I had a dog one time. After the war. Heero
and I. I and Heero. My and Heero's. Mine and Heero's.

"There you are. Duo, I sent you to find cinnamon rolls, not dog
biscuits."

"They sell pig ears here. I wonder what they do with the rest of the
pig?"

"Probably eat it. Come on." Heero grabs my sleeve and leads me out
of the aisle. Gillian's Aisle. Like the show. I'm so silly.

Heero tells me to push the cart. My brain feels fuzzy. Not like a
cherry slush anymore. Fuzzy. Warm and fuzzy. Like a puppy. Maybe we
should get a puppy. Heero and I. I like dogs. I had a dog one time.
After the war. "Cookies. Are we going to get cookies?"

"Sure. Go pick out a kind. I'll be in frozen food." Heero says
without looking up from the cans of vegetables. He always gets the
best value. Why is it our turn to buy groceries? Isn't it Trowa and
Quatre's turn?

Are cookies in aisle three or four? Four. Fortune cookies. It must
be four. I'm right, cookies everywhere. Which kind do I get? I like
all kinda of cookies. Make me feel fuzzy. No, make me feel... Milk
and cookies. Did we already get milk? I grab a bag of cookies.
Chocolate chip. Not name-brand. Heero doesn't like name-brand. They
brand cows with a name. Pigs? Do they brand pigs? They sell pig ears
here.

I find frozen foods. I do not find Heero. Where is Heero? Vegetables.
Canned, not fresh. I backtrack, peering down every aisle. I've lost
Heero. I loop around the entire store, maybe he was in fresh
vegetables. Milk. Do we need milk? Eggs come from chickens.

Moths. Something about moths. Moths lay eggs. Do chickens eat moths?
How long does a moth live? I wonder if they're happy. I saw a
television show about chickens. They looked happy. Here. Canned
vegetables and no Heero. Frozen something. Ice cream. No Heero.

Next aisle over, frozen food. No Heero. Didn't he say he'd be here?
I've lost Heero. Maybe he left. Drove home. Left me here. Alone. The
store will close. At least I won't starve. I should eat the cookies
first, with milk. Actually, the more I think about it the more I like
the idea of being lost in the grocery store. Plenty of food.

I wander up and down the frozen foods, pacing. Heero, I want to
shout. Maybe he went into one of the cases. I open the nearest case
and stick my head in, but unlike dairy cases these end. I can't see
the men in the back restocking, only a gray wall.

"Excuse me...sir?"

I quickly lift my head out and turn, finding a store manager standing
there looking embarrassed. "Oh?" I say, for lack of anything better.

"Have you lost something?" He asks politely. I think grocery store
managers must be psychic. Magical. Mystical.

"My friend, but we're meeting here. It's okay." I say with a grin.
Very happy. Like a moth. Wait, I never found out if they were happy.
I bet they're happy. If I were a moth, I'd be happy. I'd eat people's
clothes and fly around shouting moth-y stuff.

"Perhaps you'd like to page your friend?"

"He doesn't wear a pager."

"Over the sound system, I mean."

I look up at the ceiling. White speakers fixed into the tiles are
spreading soothing elevator-style music down on the shoppers below.
If I were in charge of the sound system, I'd play something better.
"No, we're meeting here. It's okay."

The manager gives a mental shrug...if it's mental, how come I can
see it? I've confused myself with my own imaging. Christ, that's
talent... and he leaves.

I can walk home from here, I realize suddenly. "Very un-funny, Heero,
leaving me here."

A lady looks at me strangely. I ignore her.

It's cold outside. My coat's in the car, but the car's with Heero,
where ever he ran off to. Great. Just great. I hug my arms tight to
myself, hugging in the extra warmth, and brace against the wind,
heading for home. It's not that long of a walk, five minutes tops,
three if I hurry.

It's getting dark. My imagination? No, it's actual darker than when I
left the store. I check my watch. Five o' twenty-three. Twenty-four.
If I left at five o' twenty, which I did, I checked my watch, then
home should be... I turn the corner.

Five minutes, if I take the shortcut.

Between two tall buildings.

My shortcut.

I step towards the narrow space and pause. It's cold. The wind bites
at my ears, tossing the free strands of hair about my face. How much
longer of a walk if I don't take my shortcut? Five, ten? I don't know
the way, I'll get lost. I'm starting to wish I hadn't left the store.
I left behind the cookies, too. Maybe Heero will find them by the
frozen food cases and know I didn't appreciate his joke.

It darkens even more as I enter the alley. The buildings, they block
out all the light. It's darker. Dark.

I shuffle forward, not really wanting to.

Are there rats? Was that a rat? Something's behind me. God,
something's behind me. I break into a fast walk, I want out of here.
Rats, just rats, okay? Just rats. I'm meeting my friend here. It's
okay. Warm and fuzzy like a puppy, God, there's something behind me.
Following me.

Braid flying out into the wind.

It's following me.

I run.

God.

No.

I scream.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Author's Notes: Wow. I can't believe I wrote this in under an hour. I
might get in another chapter tonight! (it's 2:14 in the morning right
now) Katie, darling, Doctor Ruini wants to see you! *cackle*
Uhm, these aren't really helpful notes, are they? Well, chapter five
turned out beautifully, I better get started on chapter six.
moshi moshi - Japanese telephone greeting
Feedback/review greatly appreciated! More chapters soon.
copyright 2002 - Gundam Wing and characters copyright other people.
LSE - "Violet" (ManzokuBiscuit@aol.com)
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