Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ I. The Great Escape ❯ To Feel the Fire ( Chapter 2 )

To Feel the Fire

 

I'd never have believed in instant immersion if I hadn't experienced it. Three weeks had past since Indra had found me, and over that course I became baby-fluent. I'd felt foolish at first, and somewhat worried that I might offend him when I started trying to learn; Indra had laughed heartily at my first few attempts before correcting me with a sincere expression.

 

He never asked for my name, though.

 

The men who were talking reached an agreement of some kind, and Indra turned purposefully onto the deck we'd been at the end of. I followed him down the walkway with my hands in my pocket. My leg was nearly healed, and I didn't actually have too many bruises. As soon as I'd been able to walk without too much pain—as soon as Mama let me, that is—I'd started helping him with chores, so I was fairly familiar with the tree-top village. There were many families living together, and all the homes were built into the trees, it was almost like a fairy tail, except that we all knew the rains were going to bring the water, and the water in turn, would make us boat-ridden.

 

I'd helped him make a boat. Didn't know how well it'd float, but he hadn't been upset.

 

Indra started talking quickly to the women who were playing with their children at the end of the stairs. He was pointing at the clouds, and one phrase I recognized was one that had something to do with the rain. I couldn't tell if it meant the clouds, or the actual rain, but I knew it was something to…

 

Water rushed over the area the mothers were all in, and everything froze. It was only an inch or so, but the foreboding was…

 

My friend didn't even have to turn and look at me, he grabbed my wrist as he started running down the stairs, and I followed quickly. He picked up two little boys as their mother ran quickly with him to the stairs…and the wall of water appeared. I bent down and grabbed a small boy, the one who'd been farthest from the stairs, and grabbed his mother's arm. I pulled her with me as the roar of water chased us. There was a horrified cry from above me somewhere and I changed my grip on the girl to carry her, nearly throwing her at Indra when we neared the stairs, tossing the boy once she was up…

 

The force of the water knocked me from my feet before I could reach the stairs, and the flow of the water would take me right back to them…

 

“Oi,” Indra hissed at me, catching my arm and fighting to remain in control of his own footing.

 

Again he was saving me.

 

I fought the current and rush of rising water until I could grab the stairs, nearly sobbing with relief as I pulled myself out of the current and he laughed his relief.

 

“Thank you!” I muttered, following him up the stairs and collapsing…as another shout rang out.

 

Screaming started in the distance.

 

All eyes turned toward the sound, and screaming became closer…someone who understood what the sound meant acted, and acted fast. I was holding a length of rope before I realized I'd caught it.

 

In an instant I'd looped it around a support post, then tied it around my waist—as another wall of water crashed down on us. Indra ran to higher ground, and I realized that our little docks were about to be flooded under, but I could see the girl screaming.

 

I dove into the water.

 

Fighting the current, swimming through the rush of water that was over my head, was hell. It took all the strength in my body to do it, and I knew that I wouldn't have been able to three weeks before. I managed, however, catching the girl and holding her tightly as I was yanked with the force of the water…and my rope caught us.

 

Well, that burned.

 

The girl clung to me as the horrified screaming continued from the next tree-village over. Indra had explained that to me at one point. In isolated clusters, there were these small tree-villages. None of them were on any maps, because it was random people living together, and the places didn't last too horribly long. Well, I assumed the latter…

 

“Oi!” Indra was standing at the end of the second steps, waving at me. One of our people was calling loudly, but I was dealing with rushing water—hopefully it wasn't another person that I'd need to grab.

 

I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to make it back up to our docks on my own…but this water was icy, and the girl was small. She seemed to be about fifteen, and the terror in her eyes suggested she was relying on me completely to save her life…

 

How I made it to the dock stairs was beyond me…and cheering erupted from everyone waiting, men and women alike were jumping up and down in their spots and shouting my triumph to the uncaring clouds—the noise was…well, it covered some of the rushing water.

 

I knew there was no way I'd be able to pull the girl across the covered-dock, though. It wasn't thick over the wooden planks, but it was fast enough to drag me under, and I didn't have a tie for the other end…

 

Indra, however, had no intention of leaving me hanging in the cold water. He and several guys tied another rope securely around the far-post, and he tied that around his waist, stripping off his shirt…and diving into the area between the two dock extensions. I watched with interest as he swam powerfully through the surging waters, extending one hand to me as he neared, “Help me up.”

 

I did so, using what strength I had left to allow him to gain footing. When he sat on my legs, it gave me pause, but in a moment he'd untied the rope from his waist, and I clung to him as the water tried to tear him from me. I had my back to the pole my own rope was tied on, so he worked at tying his end of the rope over my head, then slid my rope up and over the rope he'd just secured. He secured that with his arm before taking my pocketknife and slicing my knot. It was a secure knot, that… In moments, he'd wrapped my rope several times around his rope.

 

“Let's go,” he muttered, tying the loose end of my knot around his waist—at least it meant something like that. I wasn't quite fluent in his language…not that I even had a clue what continent we were even on. The girl continued to cling to me as Indra helped me through the still surging waters. I didn't lose my footing, but he did. After a few moments of floundering, he managed to move back to my side and we started walking again.

 

The distant screaming had stopped. The man who'd been relaying the events added something about her and protected, which I assumed meant that he was telling her mother that I'd saved her.

 

I had saved her.

 

I stared at the girl as she beamed up at me, staring at me in complete disbelief. After a moment, she reached around and grabbed my braid, but before she could ask or I could comment, Indra yanked me from the water and up the stairs—my pain tolerance had grown astonishingly over the years, so it wasn't such a bad trip…and Mama was there.

 

In moments I'd been stripped bare and dry blankets were wrapped around me. Narsi repeated the process with the girl, all the while talking to her soothingly until we were both ushered into a room that I had helped Indra wall. Their unique little fireplace was lit and I allowed myself to crumple sideways on the soft rug before the thing. In a moment the girl climbed over to me, smiling again as she curled into my lap. I sighed, pulling her closer as the warmth of the fire touched me.

 

“You are a hero,” Indra informed me slowly, “You saved three people today alone.”

 

I blinked at him, “What do you mean? I couldn't have let her just die.”

 

“Not many could have saved her,” he muttered, moving to sit next to me again and lay a reassuring hand on her leg. His next words were beyond my comprehension, which caused him to laugh. “You should sleep now, Oi. Mama will make you dinner and Narsi will bring you new clothes. Are you okay, little girl?”

 

She nodded, then smiled up at me again, “I am Djara.”

 

I smiled in return as Indra rose to his feet and said something to the girl I didn't comprehend. She nodded in return, resting against my chest. The warmth of the fire, the blankets, and her warm little body worked into my tired muscles…and I slept.

 

ï ï† ï… ï„ ïƒ ï‚ ï

 

Monsoon season was in full effect, though the water did drain down well below the docks. It wasn't long before Indra and I were going out and fishing. I'd been staying with them for two months, and Djara seemed to be trying to get me to marry her or something. It was bazaar to have a little girl mooning after me like that. Her mother kept bringing me gifts, and her father had even presented me with a knife in honor of my saving his child.

 

It was really disturbing.

 

On top of that, the first woman I'd grabbed completely fawned over me, and the little boy…well, he wasn't a nuisance. He showed me things he found and tagged along after me all the time, but he was just being a kid. He liked me, I didn't mind him—it wasn't an issue…but Djara.

 

“Oi.”

 

“Hm?” I muttered, turning to look at Indra as he moved up the staircase behind me.

 

“You hear that?”

 

I listened intently—and noticed the sound of an engine. I cried out in alarm, turning and looking for somewhere to hide…but…there was nowhere. “They can't find me!” I begged my friend, “I can't go back to them! They can't…”

 

He stared at me in shock, then considered my words a moment as the engines grew closer, “You are scared of them.”

 

I shook my head slightly at him, trying not to recall the horror my life had been before I'd managed an escape. They would kill me if they found me…

 

“Come on,” he muttered, grabbing me by the wrist and pulling me down the stairs. When we reached our little hut, he shoved me down beside the door, “Don't move.”

 

I nodded, curling forward as I waited the eternity it took for the boat to actually near our village. All the occupants of the place gathered at the dock-ends; I snuck a peak. Indra talked to them all quietly and calmly, and as a whole they accepted his words…and the motor cut.

 

“Oi!”

 

The voice sent chills down my spine.

 

He started talking then, quickly, asking if my friends had seen me, if I might be there. He described me to a T…and fixated on my braid.

 

“Just let me check,” Wufei's voice was soothing, and I heard the boat they were in bump against the dock-edge. The sound of the boots on the planks made me want to cry. If they let him come up…if they let him… They were ignoring Indra and Narsi, who were protesting the intrusion and insisting they hadn't seen me…and he muttered something about coming back for Wufei.

 

I bit my lip, trying to control my panting breaths as the footsteps moved right up to the hut I was in. Seeing Wufei's dark head looking around actually brought tears to my eyes—it was done with. It was over. They'd found me…and they would let him deal with me…

 

Wufei moved on up the second stairs to the higher level as the engine noise disappeared into the distance, and the Chinese man moved back down the stairs with a vaguely interested expression on his face…and saw me.

 

I froze.

 

Indra moved up then, pausing near Wufei and starting to shake his head as the guy tapped a cigarette from his pack. He moved to the edge of the hut, studying me as he lit the thing and inhaled deeply before glancing at Indra and back to me, “Hey, Shinigami.”

 

Words failed me.

 

“I'd tell them you were here,” Wufei added, “But they'd probably kill you.”

 

“What?” I asked, sitting up slightly.

 

“They'll be back in a few minutes,” the guy continued, ignoring my words, “You know, I thought you would have at least made it to an embassy by now.”

 

“I don't even know where we are,” I replied, starting to shiver from adrenaline and fear. Wufei had never actually raised a hand against me, but he certainly hadn't stopped them. He hadn't even cared.

 

The man dug into his wallet, pulling out some bills and counting them as Indra looked between us uncertainly and Wufei rambled off at him in the language before picking up my hell-rock as he finished and set the bills on the table he was leaning over. The rock landed hard on top of it and he sighed forlornly, “Damn it, here I go losing money again.”

 

I stared at Wufei in dismay.

 

“If they find you,” Wufei whispered harshly at me, moving around Indra and into the building to kneel next to me, “If they find you, Heero will probably kill you. I don't know how long you intend on staying here, but I suggest you don't go after Heero. He and Quatre have both lost their minds, and Trowa doesn't give a flying fuck one way or the other…and why do you still have this?” There was evident anger in his tone as he yanked hard at my braid.

 

I cried out, allowing him to pull me over and waiting for the blows…

 

He was grumbling to himself in Chinese as he rose to his feet again, looking the room over and spotting something—when he turned back to me with scissors in his hands I stared at him in wide-eyed horror. Indra rushed into the room, also looking fearful, but Wufei shoved the man off as if he were a child, knocking him to the ground and snarling a warning at him. He turned back to me and pulled me from the ground by my hair…and started to cut off my braid.

 

Wufei was by no means gentle, but he finished his task quickly and brandished my sown hair in my face, “You have to hide, Duo! You have to if you want to live! You can't cling to these little things of the past!” The Chinese man threw the hair to the floor and tossed the scissors onto the table as Indra stared at me in amazement. “I can't keep them out of here forever,” he snarled as the motor noise began returning to us, “I can't keep them from searching everywhere. Heero is determined to find you! He thinks he's worried about you, but you and I both know he just likes controlling you!” the words were hissed. Wufei shoved me to the floor again, back into the corner I was hiding in, “And you know he'll kill these people like nothing, so you'd better shape up or ship out.”

 

“What do you want me to do?” I demanded of him, fighting the overwhelming emotions and tears, “What am I supposed to do? I don't know where we are! I don't speak much of the language…and he scares me, Wufei…he…”

 

Wufei got into my face again, “What the hell do you think he's so obsessed with you for?” he demanded. “Why the hell do you think we're all out here searching for you? I've been trying to get you out for more than a year now, but they're impossible! We all had the same training. We all can do the same things…don't ask me what you're supposed to do. I don't cater to weaklings…if you want my help, then ask for it. You think I like seeing what they do to you? Do you think I like watching Trowa laugh about it? I can't stand up to them alone, and you're absolutely useless when they show anger. Get a back-bone, you're supposed to be a god!”

 

I stared at him, trying to catch my hiccupping breaths.

 

“I've got to leave now. You better use that money good…” he trailed off, looking to the door to our hut and blinking.

 

Djara gasped in shock, running into the room and picking up my fallen braid. She stared at in astonishment before turning to stare at me.

 

“What the hell?” Wufei asked me, blinking at her.

 

Indra moved over to her and took the hair, throwing it under the table and shoving her at me. She moved onto my lap and clung to me, staring at Wufei in wide-eyed terror.

 

I sat up, focusing on Wufei.

 

He smirked at me, “I see.” He rose to his feet again, looking to Indra a long moment before pointing at me, “Heero will slit her throat if he ever sees her clinging to you like that…or maybe he'll do worse than kill her.”

 

A sick certainty of what he meant sunk into my bones as Djara turned her small face up to mine, obviously confused. He was speaking English to me, after all. She had no idea on the language.

 

“It's all right,” I whispered to her, “he won't hurt you.”

 

“Your hair,” she muttered, touching the freshly shorn ends.

 

“It's better this way,” I muttered, nuzzling her nose slightly, “Just…shh. You need to sit here with me…the men in the boat want me.”

 

Her eyes turned huge.

 

Indra followed Wufei down the stairs, demanding something of him that was beyond me again. Wufei's fluency in the language astonished me as he spoke in a quiet tone.

 

“Nothing?” his voice sounded disappointed.

 

“Nothing,” Wufei agreed, “I didn't think they'd lie to us anyway. Let's head back, he probably died.”

 

“No,” his voice was firm, “He knows the weather pattern here and would have gotten somewhere to avoid it…he's out here somewhere…and when I find him…” the rest of his words were lost to distance and the engine.

 

I didn't need him to finish his threat, though.

 

I already knew what he would do if he found me.