Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Coming Home ❯ 46 ( Chapter 46 )

46

 

falling emotion, the blind now lead the blind…

 

::Get me out of here. Get me off this street.::

 

I stared around us, trying to figure out what to do. Nagi watched me, his eyes wide with fear. Far stood calmly behind Crawford, supporting our sightless leader and showing no emotion at all.

 

“Come on.” I put Brad's hand on my shoulder and started walking slowly the way we had been going. Grimacing against the mental strain, I sent, ::Just walk normally, I won't let you trip over anything.::

 

Brad's mind whirled, his shields barely keeping me on the outer edges of his thoughts. ::Find a place we can all sit down and talk for a minute.::

 

I led the team down a narrow side street, toward a tree-shaded bench. Reaching it, I guided Brad to sit. ::What the fuck happened?:: I sent, more sharply than I'd intended. At Brad's slight wince, I added, ::Sorry about that. But you scared the hell out of us back there!::

 

::It scared the hell out of me too. I wish I knew what happened. All I know is, I can't see. Nothing.:: He rubbed lightly at his eyes, then shook his head. ::It's all gone.::

 

“What happened?” Nagi asked, his voice strained. “You're not including me, so talk out loud.”

 

I started to leaned down toward the kid when Brad's hand reached up and gripped my wrist. I frowned. ::Brad?::

 

::Say nothing aloud. Either keep it private, or we talk later. How secure is our position?::

::Secure enough,:: I told him, pausing to look around. ::But if we just sit here in silence, that would look weird too.::

 

::Code three. Under no circumstances mention the blindness.:: Brad reached up and removed his glasses, then wiped them casually with his shirt cuff as though nothing had happened. Aloud, he said, “Looks like we missed the bus.”

 

I took a deep breath and wished it had been full of nicotine. Code three meant that Schwarz was on full alert; we had to presume we were being watched. By the quick look Nagi shot toward the street, I knew he'd gotten the message as well; Far just stood as placid as a graveyard statue. I shrugged and put on the attitude of an annoyed westerner stranded in a backwoods town, which I basically was. “I haven't seen any rentals,” I drawled. “We may be stuck for the night.”

 

Farfarello's mind-speech whispered faintly through our team link, still nowhere near as strong as it should have been, but present nonetheless. ::They usually go blind. Blind, or mad. But I thought it would be more gradual than this.::

 

Anger and denial flared through me. ::Far, this is not the time for your goddamned observations!::

 

::Shut up, Schuldig, at least he's answering my question,:: Nagi sent forcefully. Clearly not waiting for a reply, Nagi asked, ::Crawford, are you in pain?::

 

“If we have to, I'm sure we can find a decent enough hotel and leave with the next tour group in the morning.” Brad switched from spoken words to mindspeech without a pause, carrying on two very different conversations with practiced ease. ::No, no pain. Just darkness, Nagi. Now, Farfarello, please remain focused. I need you to be our lookout while we sort through this. And Nagi, don't antagonize Schuldig. He has much work to do.:: Brad frowned. He tilted his head, then addressed me directly. “Stedmann, stop that damn pacing.”

 

I blinked, barely remembering my cover. ::You heard that?::

 

::Of course I heard that. It's one of your more annoying habits.:: Reflexively Brad pushed his glasses up, then scowled. “It's not my fault we missed the bus. If you're in such a hurry to leave, maybe you should look harder for a rental car.” ::I want us out of here as soon as possible. We can find a secluded spot to rest, but I want us to be a moving target until we get this figured out.::

 

“Wait a minute, I thought we were staying here tonight! You still want me to look for a car? As in, you expect me to drive?” I had to force my voice back down; tension and fear had made me momentarily loud. “We don't even have a map!”

 

“We were going west,” Farfarello stated, “why do you need a map?”

 

I growled at my own frustration, at the situation, at Far's increasingly monotone speech.

 

Before I could reply, either aloud or mentally, Nagi intervened. “Dawson-san, how far to our next stop? And will we be spending some time there, or just taking pictures and leaving again?” The boy ducked his head in polite apology and added, “Gomen, but I would like to do some sightseeing myself, if we have the time.” On the mental level, he asked, ::Schuldig didn't tell me - were you attacked, Crawford? Is there someone here?::

 

Brad smiled a little. “We should be able to drive it ourselves in about ten hours or so. There's a city with a good tourist reputation where Herr Stedmann can get some much needed `me time', and you can do your sightseeing then.” ::No, not an attack. But I'm not going to sit here and wait for one. They might not know what has happened to me, and I cannot afford for them to learn of it. Until we can reverse this, we have to act like nothing is wrong. The problem is, I don't know how long this will last, or what might have caused it. I need to get you to a place where you can access the internet. You're the medic, you'll need to figure it out.::

 

Nagi heaved a sigh and leaned back. He swallowed any misgivings and replied, ::I will do my best. As always.:: Aloud he simply said, “Hai.”

 

Brad stood carefully, bracing against Farfarello and favoring his ankle as though that were the source of his discomfort. He stepped down, seemingly testing his footing, then nodded at Far. “I think it's all right,” he stated out loud, “it's not sprained.”

 

I tried to relax, but the headache had a firm hold on me now, and I saw its echo in Nagi's face. This little crisis was pushing us both to our current limits. ::Okay, Brad, so what the fuck do you want me to do?::

 

Brad turned slightly toward the sound of my voice and scowled at me. “Stedmann, just find us a goddamn car.” He allowed Far to lead him discretely, and if I hadn't known he was blind I would never have guessed it. Brad had an uncanny knack for acting normal. “We'll be waiting at that little restaurant we passed a few streets back.” ::This is for real, Schuldig. Don't be seen, and make sure the car isn't missed too quickly.::

 

I watched them walk away, Brad with a very convincing limp, then turned my attention to finding a car. If I could get one legitimately, that would be nice, but this town seemed too small to have a rental agency.

 

As I searched, my thoughts kept circling through the past hour. This was crazy, Brad going blind like that. Total bullshit. It was hard to believe that it hadn't been an attack. It sure the hell would have been an effective one. Take out the leader, and a team typically falls apart. Schwarz had more trust than was normal, but still, how long could we function if Brad was incapacitated? I wasn't trained to lead, and I realized I resented having that role thrust upon me like this. I'd resented being Nagi's caretaker at first, too. And Far - I'd hated the idea of being the team animal handler.

 

Ah, shit. I was learning far too much about myself lately; that wouldn't make for easy sleeping.

 

Then I saw it.

 

The Landrover.

 

It was parked outside a fairly rustic house. From inside that house came sounds of revelry - a party? I let my mind float a little, pushing myself past the remnants of my earlier headache, and eavesdropped.

 

So…that's what opium feels like. Damn.

 

I shook my head, flinging off the mild lethargy and setting my sights on the vehicle. It was certainly big enough, and road-worthy no matter if there were, in fact, roads. It would do, at least for a few days.

 

With a quick scan I verified that I had no witnesses. Closing my eyes, I sent a more powerful mental surge through the house, trying to identify the owner of the Landrover. Great - this was his house, too. Damn. I couldn't convince him he'd left his wheels and walked here, then. But… I checked my pockets for cash. We each carried a decent amount, just in case we needed bribe money; it was one of our failsafes, and right now I was glad I hadn't spent mine in the market.

 

There was a little crack near the front door of the house. I wadded up most of my money and stuffed it in. Then I looked around again, to make sure no one noticed me standing there acting suspicious as all hell. I focused on the owner's mind, showed him the wad of money and a westerner's handshake, and the vehicle changing hands. I reminded him he had a spare set of keys, but that was all right; I didn't need them. That way, he'd never wonder why he'd sold his Landrover without handing over the keys.

 

The headache surged as I broke contact, though it was not as bad as I'd anticipated. Maybe whatever had been broken was really fixing itself. With any luck, Nagi's gift would be the same way, then. Staggering a little, I approached the vehicle, only belatedly hoping the damn thing had fuel in it. I reached under the steering column, felt for the gap, then pulled the appropriate wires. Moments later the engine roared to life, and I sent a brief mental “thank you” to the good fellow who'd just unwittingly sold me his only means of transportation. Oh, well, he was too much of a drunkard to be driving anyway.

 

Luck stayed with me for the moment, as the Landrover had plenty of fuel and seemed to be in pretty good shape. It reminded me a little of the Jeep we'd had, so long ago, in what I'd started to think of as “the Takatori Era”. Cautiously I made my way toward the restaurant, keeping up a mild mental suggestion around me that there was nothing interesting to look at.

 

When I arrived, my teammates came out, laden with packages of food. They piled these into the back seat, then Farf and Nagi climbed in on either side of our mobile feast.

 

As though he could see the Landrover, Brad opened the passenger door and got in. ::There's a wilderness area just a few hours out.:: “Let's take the scenic route, gentlemen. It's a beautiful day for a picnic.”