Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Locker ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: What's mine is mine, what's theirs is theirs. I don't own these characters and would very much not like to be sued.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Seven:

 

 

 

 

“Duo! Are you okay!”

 

I might have been out for a second or two-I'm not really sure. There was just that endless sensation of falling, and the bone-jarring impact, and then everything finally began to focus again, all blurs and slow motion.

 

I tried to move but couldn't. I felt like something was trapping me-something huge and alive-and sucking me down into a bottomless hole.

 

The first thing I saw clearly was Heero sliding down the embankment after me, and I remember thinking in some weird corner of my mind that it was a miracle he was even staying on his feet at that crazy angle. The next thing I saw was his face above mine, and he looked scared to death.

 

“Duo-can you hear me? Don't move!”

 

I wanted to tell him there was no danger at all of that, I was stuck fast. But my immediate concern wasn't the weeds of the slime or even the throbbing in my head, it was suddenly remembering that slithery thing I'd seen earlier.

 

“Get me out of here!” I yelled. “I think I saw a snake!”

 

“If you did, he never knew what hit him. Hang on-your foot's caught.”

 

I tried to lift myself up, but only sank back helplessly into the muck. I could feel Heero's fingers around my ankle, and as a terrible pressure suddenly disappeared, I saw him grin triumphantly and toss my sneaker into the water.

 

“What are you doing to my shoe?” I cried, but his arms were around me now, tugging me to my feet. “I _need_ that shoe!”

 

“Forget the shoe. Can you stand up?” He loosened his hold on me, and I started to crumple. “Negative on standing. Maybe something's broken after all.”

 

I winced and shook my head. “I'm sorry. I'll try harder-“

 

And then it happened.

 

Just like before-only this time I was right in the middle of it-_trapped_ in the middle of it-like suddenly finding myself in a movie scene, but not being able to get out because the film's running on fast forward and no one can stop it-

 

_Panic…terror…pain pain pain bursting exploding darkness surging in swallowing me-something else-a smell again-only different this time-thick…clinging…suffocating wet slippery can't breathe…oh, God, can't breathe, what is it-_

 

“It's murder,” Heero was saying.

 

“Wh-what?” I whispered.

 

“I said it's _murder_ coming down that way. Next time I wish you'd use the steps.”

 

I looked at him in dismay. I was standing up clutching the top of my head, and Heero was still holding me. I was shaking all over, but I was also testing my weight on one foot, and everything was sharply back in focus. I was pressed up against his chest, and we were both covered in mud, and as I looked into his face, a flash of memory came back to me-_something hit my arm…his eyes were so dark…I didn't know he was there…_

 

“You okay?” Heero asked. “Did you hurt your head?”

 

“You-“ I broke off, suddenly confused. Anger and fear and pain roared through me, and I pulled back, pushing him away. “Something…something hit me.”

 

“Did it?” Heero's face was blank. “I saw you slipping, and I couldn't believe it. I tried to get to you-tried to _grab_ you, but you were already on your way down.”

 

I stared at him. His clothes were filthy and torn, and there were streaks of dirt on his face. He ran a hand over on cheek, making it even worse.

 

“Something pushed me,” I mumbled, and I took another step back.

 

“You slipped,” he said quietly.

 

I looked up into his eyes. He held my gaze with a steady one of his own, and with an effort I turned my attention to the riverbank.

 

“You can't get up the same way you came down,” he deadpanned. “Here. Hold on to me.”

 

“I can do it myself.” I said.

 

He didn't argue, only reached over and took my hand, leading the way carefully through the tall grass until he was able to touch the stairs with one shoe. Then, digging in his heels, he gave me an encouraging nod and pulled gently, guiding me to solid ground. Relieved, I felt the steps beneath my feet and Heero's hand around my waist, boosting me up. I tried to pretend I didn't notice anything, but a curious tingle went through me, and I ended up stumbling.

 

“You're okay,” he said, catching my elbow, steering me again. “I'm right behind you.”

 

I didn't want him to be right behind me. I especially didn't want him right behind me when I knew my rear end was wet and covered with mud and grass stains.

 

“I hope we can fix this big rip back here,” he said.

 

I whirled around, and he sucked in both cheeks, making his face clownishly solemn.

 

“Joke,” he said, holding up one hand. “Really. I swear.”

 

I was so glad to get to the cabin. While Heero unlocked the door, I stood behind him, watching his quick, deft movements. I tried to remember exactly what had happened back there on the riverbank…what had happened the second before I fell……_but Heero said I was falling when he grabbed for me…I must have felt him trying to catch me, but he missed…_

 

“Are _my_ jeans ripped?” Heero asked, and I snapped back to attention. He was looking down at himself and frowning.

 

“Sorry. What?”

 

“You're undressing me with your eyes,” he said.

 

“I most certainly am not.”

 

“Come on, you know you were.” He winked and stepped aside to hold open the door. “After you.”

 

The cabin was surprisingly homey. At one end was a huge kitchen with a big oak table, and at the other end a cozy living room, one wall taken up by a stone fireplace. The floors were all wood, the walls paneled, and every window had a view of the trees. A wide porch stretched across the entire rear of the cabin, and when Heero opened the back door, I could see the forest pressing right up to the second story, where Heero showed me the huge room full of beds and mismatched furniture.

 

“As you can see, my mom's big on hospitality.” He shrugged. “Everyone comes here to crash, so we always have plenty of sleeping space.”

 

“It's nice,” I told him. My arm was starting to hurt, and I rubbed distractedly at the torn sleeve. “Do you ever come here by yourself? Just to be alone and think?”

 

“Actually, it's the best place in the world when nobody else is here. And since you and I are neighbors now, if you ever want to come and be alone and think, be my guest.”

 

“What about your parents? Won't they mind?”

 

“Of course not.” He looked surprised. “They both work during the week, and my mom babysits a lot, so she's usually bust on the weekends. Come anytime you want. I'll even show you where we hide the key.”

 

I couldn't help smiling at the offer. “That's really nice of you. You don't even know me.”

 

“What does that mean?” he teased. “Is there something I _should_ know?”

 

I shook my head. “Not really.”

 

“Like……are you an ax murderer? A psychopath? A reform-school escapee?”

 

Again I shook my head, but this time I was laughing.

 

“No. None of the above.”

 

“Well”—he looked me slowly up and down—“you never can tell about people. You _seem_ harmless enough, but you can't be too careful these days.”

 

I started to nod, started to say something clever, but Heero went over to an old dresser and began rummaging through its drawers.

 

“Here,” he said, tossing me a bundle of clothes.

 

“What's this?”

 

“What do you mean, what's this?” he scolded gently. “Look at you, you're a mess. Put these dry clothes on before you catch pneumonia.”

 

I hesitated, staring at the clothes in my hands. Heero went back down the stairs, and a second later I heard him whistling as he opened and shut cabinet doors. I kept one eye on the stairs and began to undress.

 

“People break in sometime!” Heero's voice floated up the stairs, and I moved closer, trying to hear.

 

“What did you say?”

 

“I said, people break in sometimes! Into the cabins! All up and down the river!”

 

“Is that why we're here?”

 

“Sort of. Jimmy Frank called my dad about changing the locks before we start leaving stuff down here for the summer. We've had stuff stolen before.”

 

“Like what?”

 

“Oh……radios. Tools Fishing tackle……things like that. Most of the time it's not worth much, but last year we lost a boat motor and some of my dad's guns.”

 

I pulled on a baggy pair of jeans and frowned as the legs billowed out around me. I slipped into the huge shirt and decided both things must belong to Heero's father.

 

“Are you finding anything suspicious?” I called back, sliding into dry socks.

 

“Usually when there's been a break-in, it's just transients, looking for food and a dry place to spend the night—especially if the weather's bad!”

 

Rattles, crashes, and more bangs. Doors opening and closing. Windows being raised a lowered.

 

“Everything looks okay to me,” Heero announced.

 

“Who's Jimmy Frank?” I called to him, rolling my wet things together into a ball.

 

“The caretaker. People only use these cabins in the summer. Jimmy Frank does anything that needs doing—repairs, maintenance, stuff like that. But last year, with the robberies and all, folks asked him to keep an eye on things during the off-season. Haven't you met him yet?”

 

“Why would I?”

 

“He goes to school with us. You must of seen him in class.”

 

Heero didn't hear me slip downstairs. I stood there watching as he climbed up on the back of the couch to check the lock on the window. His jeans were still wet, molded tight to his narrow hips, and he'd taken his shoes off and stripped to his T-shirt. His head was angled slightly back, and his hair swished back and forth across his shoulder blades like a soft chocolate cloud. _What's the matter with you, are you crazy? What possible reason would he have for pushing you down a hill?_

 

While I hesitated there at the bottom of the steps, Heero turned and saw me, his face exploding in a giant grin.

 

“Wow! You look like a clown!”

 

“Thanks,” I grumbled.

 

“I cute one, though. I meant a really _cute_ clown.”

 

“Are these your dad's?” I said irritably. _Great way to make an impression, Duo. I'm sure you'll be engraved in his memory forever and ever._

 

“Actually they're my older brother Leon's,” Heero said. “He's really fat, so ran away from home last year and joined a traveling sideshow.”

 

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Is that true?”

 

“Of course it isn't true.” He gave me a chiding look and hopped back down onto the floor. “I don't even have a brother named Leon. Well, I can't find a single thing going on here. I guess we'd better get back.”

 

“Can I do anything?”

 

“Just wait in the car while I lock up.”

 

Dusk had turned to dark by now. As I sat there alone waiting for Heero to come back, I could hear all these weird whispery sounds around me……invisible things moving through the shadows, camouflaged by the night. I wrapped my arms tight around myself and fought off a bad case of nerves. Far below me the river flowed, and an owl hooted mournfully, and the wind sighed through the trees, making them bend and sway like zombies on the loose.

 

_Now, why did I think of that? Why zombies?_

 

“Heero?” I called.

 

“Yeah! Coming!”

 

He stepped out onto the porch and locked the door behind him. I finally began to relax a little when we were well on our way down the road.

 

“Did you find anything?” I asked him as he fiddled with the radio.

 

“No. If anyone _was_ there, they didn't bother anything.”

 

I nodded and leaned back into the seat. “Why do they call it Lost River?”

 

For one instant Heero's hand was caught in the glow of the dashboard. It paused in midair as though frozen.

 

“Because,” he said slowly, “It's so deep and the undercurrents are so strong.”

 

The radio sputtered with static. Heero clicked it off.

 

“It's a spooky name,” I murmured.

 

“It's a spooky river,” Heero replied. He thought a moment, then went on. “It winds back through those woods where the sun can't even reach. People've been known to get lost back there……some never come out again. And those that do come out……”

 

His voice trailed off. I stared at his silhouette, knowing he couldn't see me now in the dark.

 

“Those that do, what?” I coaxed.

 

“Oh, you know how rumors are.” He brushed off my question, yet his voice sounded tight, and his shoulders seemed to have stiffened. “Some say the river's possessed. That it calls to you, and when you hear it, all you want to do is be part of it forever. And the souls of the ones who've drowned, they beckon new ones to join.”

 

A heavy silence fell.

 

I could hear my heartbeat quickening and the rush of the wind through the car and the chirping of crickets from the darkness. I took a deep breath and swallowed hard.

 

“Sorry I asked. Just what I needed to help me sleep tonight.”

 

“But you don't really believe any of that, do you?” His voice was low. “Haven't you been warned about small-town gossip? For each story someone tells, there's always someone else trying to top it.”

 

And suddenly he laughed—a quick, nervous sound in the uneasy quiet.

 

I tried to laugh, too, but couldn't.

 

I turned my face to the window and let the deep, dark night flow over me, and wondered why I suddenly felt so cold.

 

 

-TBC……

 

 

A/N: Hope you like this and thanks for reading. Please review and I'll do my best to keep pumping out chapters. Thank you all so much for reviewing. I really am updating as fast as I possibly can.