Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Dead Ground ❯ The basement ( Chapter 8 )

Trowa sped half way down the stairs, and once again vaulted the railing. Instead of making his way around the end tables and couch, Trowa jumped effortlessly onto the first end table, then onto the back of the old couch. It creaked under his weight as he ran swiftly across the narrow backing, before jumping off and heading through the kitchen to the door that led to the basement. As he stopped running he grabbed for the semi-open basement door to stop himself from sliding on the kitchen floor.

 

“Wufei!” He shouted as he looked down the stairs. At this angle he wasn't able to see the small room that passed for the basement. He listened for a moment. He could hear something that resembled whispers, but couldn't make out any words. He quickly made his way down the stairs. Upon finding himself in the small room he looked over and found Wufei crouched against one of the walls, eyes wide and staring forward. He had his hands, which were both clenched into fists, to his mouth and he was murmuring softly in Chinese as he shook his head.

 

Trowa took a few steps toward the crouching boy and stopped as Wufei stopped shaking his head and looked fearfully toward Trowa. He took another step, and Wufei scooted away from him.

 

“Wufei?” Trowa said hesitantly.

 

“Trowa?” Wufei whispered. His eyes seemed to be searching, but they never seemed to lock on the tall boy. He started to unball one of his fists and reach out his hand when he stopped and quickly returned his hand where it was, fist clenched. A tear from each eye ran down his cheeks as Wufei squeezed his eyes closed.

 

Trowa closed the distance between himself and the other boy, then laid a hand on Wufei's shoulder. The moment Trowa's hand made contact with the Chinese boy, Wufei's eyes popped open and he started screaming. Trowa moved his other hand to cover the other boy's mouth and he said quickly, “Wufei, it's me, Trowa. Calm down.

 

When Wufei heard this he stopped screaming and grabbed Trowa's hands, examining them with his own, as if to make sure Trowa was telling the truth. Wufei brought his eyes up, looking past Trowa. He was about to turn his head to see what the other boy was looking at when Wufei said, “Trowa, get me out of here...”

 

Trowa's look changed from concerned to confused. He looked back at the stairs that were only a few paces away, then back to Wufei.

 

“Why do you need me to help you out of the basement?”

 

Wufei's grip tightened on Trowa. “Because, I can't find my way out. Please. It's too dark. I can't find the way and I'm afraid that I'll find her again!”

 

The dark haired boy reached up and grabbed Trowa's shoulders, pulling him closer.

 

“I swear it was her.” He babbled in whispered tones. “I felt her. I swear. She was there. Exactly the way she was last time. I swear. You must believe me.” Wufei's grip tightened on Trowa and his voice began to rise. “But Trowa... she's DEAD! It's impossible I tell you. She can't be here!”

 

Trowa grabbed Wufei by his shoulders and shook him slightly. “Wufei! Calm down. What do you mean it's too dark?” The tall boy shook his head as if to clear his mind. “Wufei, who are you talking about? Who is 'she'?”

 

Wufei just stared for a moment then said in confusion, “The light bulb... It's dark 'cause it's burned out...”

 

Trowa's eyebrows knit together, and he turned his head to look at the bulb hanging from the celling.

 

It was on.

 

He turned back to Wufei and waved one of his hands over the other boy's eyes.

 

No reaction.

 

No dilating of the pupils as his hand cast a shadow over Wufei's eyes.

 

Nothing.

 

His hand moved back to rest on Wufei's shoulder and he looked around the small room. His eyes went from the fuse box on the wall, to the stool near the water heater, to the old appliance itself. Then his eyes fell to a small puddle of liquid on the floor. The faucet sticking out of the rusty metal was dripping on to the floor, each drop making a soft noise as it hit the puddle.

 

Drip.

 

Drip.

 

His muscles tensed as he saw foot prints appear near the puddle, as if someone had just stepped in the puddle and the unseen walker was just now leaving the confines of the wetness to walk along near the wall. The foot prints were small and petite, obviously belonging to a young girl. His eyes narrowed as he inspected the foot prints with greater scrutiny. His head quickly reared back as he realized, with a feeling of dread; the foot prints weren't water.

 

They were blood.

 

Wufei... what the fucking hell is going on here? His mind screamed. He opened his mouth to voice the question but his vocal cords refused to cooperate. The only sound he was able to make was a small squeaking noise.

 

He felt bile rise in his throat as he watched the bloody footprints appearing one right after the other. The foot prints came to a corner and turned to walk beside the next wall. Trowa felt panic rise in his chest. He tightened his grip on Wufei and pulled the confused boy toward the stairs. As he reached the stairs he looked back and saw that whatever was making the foot prints had quickened its steps and was almost upon them.

 

Finding his voice, he shouted at Wufei to go, and pushed the Asian boy onto the first step. Realizing where he was, Wufei needed no prodding and quickly sprinted up the stairs. Trowa immediately followed. As he reached the top of the stairs he turned to close the door, and faltered for a moment in confusion.

 

There was no light coming from the basement.

 

He looked quickly to the switch on the wall.

 

It was on.

 

His attention was drawn back to why he'd been in such a hurry when he heard the sound of quick footsteps coming toward him from the basement. In a panic, he slammed the door shut. Finding there was no way to lock the door, grabbed a nearby chair and shoved it under the door knob.

 

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Duo sat on the floor, back against the wall, facing Heero's bed. For now, the Japanese boy was asleep, and for that Duo was grateful. The past couple of hours seemed like days to the exhausted American. He tried hard not to think of all that had happened but his traitorous mind wouldn't allow that to happen . . . . . .

 

. . . . . .After Trowa left the medical kit with him to go see to Wufei, he rummaged through the metal container and removed what he needed. He also found a bottle of white tablets that was marked 'Hydrocodone'(1). He hadn't known exactly what that was, but he figured it was probably just some weird kind of aspirin. He made Heero take two tablets before he started the cleaning and sewing of the wounds.

 

Heero had fallen asleep soon after taking the medication, which made Duo's job much easier. Duo didn't like the idea of hurting Heero, and he was glad that the other boy wouldn't be feeling the 'stitching up' process. Duo was also glad Heero was asleep when he had to take off Heero's jeans. The American didn't want to explain to the other boy why he was blushing so much. Duo had dreamed about taking off Heero's pants before, but this wasn't exactly the kind of situation he had imagined. Duo had gotten through it well enough though. This had only been possible given the strange circumstances. Any other time the braided boy would have been raging hard just thinking about undressing his fellow pilot, but what Duo had been concerned about the most at the moment was taking care of his friend. Duo had been grateful his body seemed to understand this.

 

He barely finished when a muffled shout came from below him, the sound of the basement door slamming not far behind. Duo almost called to them, but caught himself. He didn't want to chance waking Heero. The American stood, then paused. Duo didn't want to leave Heero alone, but of course, he wanted to see what was going on downstairs too. His natural curiosity won out in the end, and, Duo reasoned with himself, Heero was asleep. So no worries there.

 

As he entered the kitchen, he was surprised to see both Trowa and Wufei sitting on the kitchen floor. Wufei, back against one of the cupboards, had his knees up and his face lowered so that Duo was unable to see it. Trowa sat with his back to the wall next to the basement door. His legs were outstretched and he was staring straight ahead with a blank expression on his face. Duo's eyes shifted to the basement door, and was surprised to see a chair underneath the doorknob.

 

He cleared his throat loudly, but neither of the other two glanced at him. Being closer to Trowa, he approached the tall boy first. Kneeling down, Duo touched Trowa on the shoulder. When Trowa didn't respond, Duo whispered softly, “Trowa?”. His voice heavy with worry.

 

Trowa looked at him with a look that Duo had been unable to read. Duo swallowed. “Trowa, are you alright?”

 

The green eyed boy looked away from Duo and stared at Wufei, before giving a slight nod.

 

After confirming that Trowa was indeed alright, he moved to Wufei. Kneeling on the kitchen floor, Duo gently touched the other boy on the shoulder.

 

“Wufei?” He whispered gently. This wasn't like Wufei at all. What had happened? The Chinese boy refused to look at him, or even acknowledge his presence. Trowa, standing by that time, leaned in close and whispered in Duo's ear, “Let's give him a few minutes to himself. You know... let him save face.

 

Duo nodded and stood.

 

As they left the kitchen Duo asked Trowa about what had happened, but the green-eyed boy had refused to give any answers to his questions, so Duo gave it up. If Trowa didn't want to say, no amount of pestering on his part would get the tall boy to open up. Besides, he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know anyway. They had gone upstairs together and moved the sleeping Heero onto his bed.

 

Duo had stayed to get the sleeping boy situated while Trowa left to retrieve the medical kit and bring it into the bedroom. Duo carefully pulled the blankets over Heero and gently tucked him in. As he smoothed the blankets he could feel Heero's body beneath the blankets. Duo slid his hands over the other boy's blanket covered shoulders until his fingers touched the smooth skin of the Japanese boy's neck. He stopped for a moment and let his eyes consume the sight of the other boy.

 

Heero looked so peaceful. Duo felt so terribly sad as he remembered the fear that had been in the other boy's eyes. The terror that had reduced the usually stoic boy to a frightened child.

 

What happened Heero? Please, just tell me what the hell is going on. Duo begged silently.

 

Duo let his hands continue their journey. Heero's skin was softer than Duo had imagined. The sleeping form seemed so fragile and delicate. All Duo wanted to do was wrap his arms around the other boy and hold him.

 

Duo heard Trowa enter the room and the clunking sound of the metal box meeting the wooden floor. The braided boy quickly took his hands away from Heero's face and made a gesture of giving the blanket a final pull.

 

The normally cheerful boy turned around and opened his mouth to speak when he saw the look on Trowa's face. The tall boy's eyes were narrowed into an angry glare. Duo shut his mouth and his face pulled into a look of worry. As Trowa walked quickly toward the bed, Duo cast his thoughts around quickly, trying to decide what could possibly be wrong.

 

Trowa stopped in front of Duo and looked deep into Duo's violet-blue eyes. Duo couldn't hold the angry gaze and looked away.

 

“Move.” Said Trowa, his voice seeping with suppressed anger.

 

Duo swallowed and moved out of Trowa's way. He watched as Trowa bent down and examined Heero. When the tall boy was done he straightened and looked back at Duo.

 

“Trowa...?” Duo began weakly.

 

Trowa lifted his hand and revealed a bottle. “Do you know what is in here... Maxwell?”

 

Duo flinched at Trowa's words. The brunette's tone was soft and venomous. Duo opened his mouth and said shakily, “A... a... aspirin?”

 

Trowa closed his eyes and pressed his lips together. A exasperated sigh met Duo's ears. Trowa shook his head and opened his eyes again. “You really are a fucking idiot aren't you? Didn't you read what was written on the bottle? These are heavy duty pain killers, and they're not low dose either, you fucking shit!” Trowa's voice never left the soft pitch, and to Duo that was worse then being shouted at. “How many did you give him Maxwell?!”

 

“Trowa... I....”

 

“Just answer the fucking question.”

 

“Two. Just two...”

 

Trowa shook his head. “Since you are such a moron I won't bother explaining what these are, because you won't understand anyway.” Trowa set the bottle near the bed. “However, I'm going to leave these here and you will give him only one at a time. Do you understand, or do you need me to leave written instructions?”

 

Duo felt himself getting angry. He hadn't known what kind of medication was in the bottle. So fucking what? He had made worse mistakes and was never treated like this. He watched as Trowa made his way to the door. Deciding he didn't have to take this shit from the other boy he said, “Trowa.”

 

The tall boy stopped, hand on the door nob, but didn't turn around.

 

“What the hell is your problem? I don't have to deal with your damn...” He would have continued but the quiet words from Trowa stopped him from speaking any further.

 

“You love him don't you?”

 

Duo's throat tightened and he felt a sinking feeling in his gut, as he realized Trowa must have seen how he had been with Heero. He hadn't moved away fast enough. Duo kept quiet and watched as Trowa turned around to face him.

 

“Pathetic.” Duo felt a chill at the contempt in Trowa's voice. “Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less from someone like you.” The tall boy eyed Duo and the American suddenly felt the urge to hide. He wanted to get away from Trowa and his poisonously quiet words. “How disgusting. Heero will never return your feelings, you know. You are nothing to him.” He turned his back to Duo. “It is a truly pitiful creature that continues to pine after what he cannot have.” Trowa was almost out the door when Duo heard, “But of course, I expect nothing less from you.” . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . Duo stretched out his legs. He had been sitting on the floor since Trowa left. He felt so perplexed and hurt. What had he done to deserve such cutting remarks from the normally quiet and caring boy? He crossed his legs, positioned his elbows on his knees and rested his forehead in the palms of his hands. His lower lip trembled as he tried hard not to cry.

 

What the hell does he know anyway! Duo thought. The braided boy felt so dirty and ashamed.

 

He looked up a little so that he could see Heero's sleeping form. He hadn't gone near the boy since Trowa's departure. Maybe Trowa wouldn't tell Heero if he stayed away, the braided boy reasoned with himself. Besides, he didn't ever want to hear Heero say what Trowa had. The thought of having Heero look at him the way the tall boy had was just too much to bear. Duo frowned and thought, But who will comfort Heero when he wakes up? Will Heero even need comfort? Maybe he'll be fine when he wakes. Duo didn't think things would be that easy though, if what he had seen earlier was any indication.

 

He looked away from Heero and stared at the grungy window.

 

Heero wasn't the only one who had changed so dramatically in the past few days. Trowa, usually so calm and caring, had shown what a bastard he could be. Quatre, always so sweet and sociable, now kept to himself and would hardly speak to anyone. Wufei, normally so loudly conceited, now so depressingly quiet and unresponsive.

 

A tear escaped one of his eyes, and he wiped it away quickly. Everything was changing so fast and he couldn't seem to keep up. Lightning flashed outside the dirt streaked window, and he flinched. He didn't like the idea of being in the cabin, at night while there was a storm.

 

He stood up and walked toward the window. It was only mid-afternoon at the moment, but the fear of the night to come already weighed heavily on his mind.

 

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

 

Wufei sprinted away from the cabin. He didn't want to be in the hateful building one moment longer. As he ran he could feel the cool air from the oncoming storm rushing against his face. The trees in the distance bobbed in his sight and the sound of the rocks under his shoes crunched loudly, breaking the otherwise complete silence of the area.

 

As he neared the old truck he slowed his pace. When he was within ten paces of the truck he stopped all together. The truck had been old when they had left it, but the rusted hunk of metal that he saw now looked as if it had been there for fifty years. The tires were flat, and the paint looked as if it had been sand blasted and was nearly gone.

 

He approached the vehicle and pulled on the door handle. The door, not use to being handled, didn't open easily. Wufei forced the door open and the joints of the door screeched loudly. He examined the inside of the cab. It was covered in sand and the fabric covering the seats looked like it would turn to dust if touched.

 

His hopes of fixing the truck and leaving were crumbling. He looked at the forest beyond the truck, and blanched. The forest, instead of looking vibrant and alive, looked grotesque and unhealthy. He took a step back, trying to move away from the nauseating sight before him, and his back connected painfully with the open door of the truck.

 

The branches looked weighed down and the leaves seemed to be dripping with corruption. He turned away from the sight, an ill feeling sweeping over him.

 

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

 

Trowa lay on the couch he had been sleeping on since they had arrived at the cabin. He had calmed since his cold verbal assault on Duo, and all he could feel was a hollow emptiness in his chest. The American hadn't deserved what Trowa had said. The tall boy knew the cruel words were actually meant for himself. Every word applied to Trowa. Duo had really done nothing to merit the heartless words Trowa had so inhumanly cast at him. Even the mix up with the medication hadn't really been that big of a deal... not really... He had been angry at Duo, because deep in his heart, Trowa was jealous that Heero just might return Duo's feelings. Duo just might have what he, himself had been so harshly denied. Trowa let out a long breath. He felt guilty and ashamed of his behavior, and he knew he should apologize. It wasn't Duo's fault that he had been rejected so cruelly by Quatre.

 

He felt a stab of pain in his heart as he thought of the blonde boy. Quatre had acted as if Trowa had done something to hurt him. Trowa felt so confused. Hadn't he done all he could think of to help Quatre and show that he cared?

 

He rubbed his eyes, then ran his fingers through his hair.

 

Being apart of... whatever... in the basement, having seen what he saw or what he thought he saw, didn't help his already torn emotions. He covered his face with his hands. What the HELL happened down there?! His mind refused to make sense of an event that was so unreal. He couldn't forget the horrified look on Wufei's face, or how the dark haired boy had kept rambling about “she”.

 

Who the hell is “she”?

 

He shook his head and got off the couch. He really should check on Wufei. Trowa didn't even know if the Chinese boy was still in the kitchen or not. He had been so angry when he came downstairs that he didn't even think of the other boy. As he walked to the kitchen, he made up his mind to swallow his pride, and the pain he felt over Quatre, and apologize to Duo.

 

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

 

Stumbling away from the decaying forest, Wufei left the corpse-like truck and made his way back toward the cabin. He stopped and fell to his knees. He felt trapped. Fleeing through the gruesome forest was an undesirable idea, and there was no escape waiting for him at the cabin. He didn't want to be in a place where he heard her voice and felt her body in the darkness.

 

Feeling angry and frustrated with his helplessness, he slammed his fist into the ground. He grimaced slightly when he made contact with one of the larger, sharper rocks and cut his hand. He looked at the gash which ran along the side of his hand. It was bleeding freely and the thick red liquid began dripping off his hand and onto the dry ground.

 

He felt morbidly fascinated, watching his life drip steadily into the dirt, each drop making little round patterns below him. It seemed as if his anger and frustration were ebbing from him with each drop, leaving only an empty feeling inside. He welcomed the empty feeling. It was better then feeling all the confused jumble of emotions that were ravenously consuming him, and bringing him to the brink of madness.

 

He stayed that way for quite some time until a shadow loomed over him.

 

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

 

Trowa walked into the kitchen.

 

No Wufei.

 

Figuring the Chinese boy was most likely in his room, Trowa left the kitchen. He stopped for a moment when passing Quatre's room, and stared at the door. He wanted to talk to Quatre. Find out what was wrong. He couldn't make himself do it though. He didn't have the courage to face the other boy at the moment, so he continued over to Wufei's room. The door was shut, so Trowa knocked softly on the door.

 

No answer.

 

He knocked again.

 

Nothing.

 

He sighed, trying to decide if he should let himself in or not. Wufei wasn't the type to put up with his privacy being invaded without his consent. Finally, Trowa decided to go in.

After all, Wufei had been in a pretty bad state the last time he saw him.

 

Trowa opened the door and walked in the room. He reached over and flicked on the light switch.

 

Nothing.

 

Trowa sighed and looked around. The bedroom was quite dark due to the lack of sun from the approaching storm and from the fact that Wufei's window was almost completely covered with grime. When they had first arrived at the cabin, the boys had tried to clean the windows with no success.

 

The light from the living room revealed the lean Chinese boy standing near the window. Trowa moved to stand next to Wufei. The dark haired boy stood facing the dirt stained window, eyes unfocused and staring.

 

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Wufei, feeling numb inside, stood. The shadow had been that of a person, but from the time it took to stand, he seemed to have forgotten the shape of the shadow and who it could have been. He knew he should feel something, fear or dread, but he didn't. He felt nothing. Just like he had when he was staring at the blood drip from his hand.

 

“Wufei.” A voice said behind him. He didn't concentrate on the sound of the voice. He was afraid it would be her voice, so he tried to tune it out.

 

He began to walk away, not caring about who or what might be behind him. His mind felt fuzzy and his body seemed to suddenly think it needed sleep. After a few steps he felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently.

 

“Wufei!” The voice sounded urgent and concerned, but he continued walking, his body on autopilot.

 

A moment later he felt two hands grab him and turn him around. As he was turned the world seemed to spin and colors seemed to meld together. The world around him darkened and his gaze finally rested on two green eyes.

 

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

 

Trowa stood holding onto Wufei's shoulders, and looking into his eyes. A shiver ran through him. Wufei's eyes seemed unfocused and almost dead in appearance. He shook Wufei again, this time harder than before, fear guiding his strength. Wufei blinked slowly and lazily moved his eyes over Trowa's face.

 

“Wufei?!” Trowa said worriedly.

 

Wufei moved his head slowly and looked around the room. “How did I get here?”

 

This statement did nothing to ease Trowa's worry. Wufei's tone was slurred and he seemed completely out of it. Trowa reached down and grabbed both of Wufei's hands to guide him to the bed. When Trowa got Wufei laying down, he noticed a large scar on one of Wufei's hands. He moved closer to get a better look.

 

“Wufei... where did you get this?” He whispered, mostly to himself.

 

Of course, Wufei didn't answer and the tall boy was left wondering about an old looking scar that was obviously not there only a few hours before.

 

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1 - Hydrocodone is in a class of drugs called narcotic analgesics. Basically it relives pain. Hydrocodone has an analgesic potency similar to or greater than that of oral Morphine. I just wanted to add that in because Morphine is usually more well known then Hydrocodone, so hopefully that will give you an idea of the strength of the medication, and also what type of medication it is.