A Murder of Crows: Part 5

Once again I was enchanted, but this time not as strongly. I couldn't break eye contact, but I was able to move somewhat. Even though he was using his 'force' through Duo's body, it was still Duo. I could feel my friend banging against an invisible sheet of glass. He was screaming my name over and over, begging me to run away from him, to fight him, and apologizing for not being strong enough. He was fighting hard, but he was no match for this...being.

"Quatre, Quatre, Quatre," he repeated, each time softer than the one before. He licked his lips in a seductive way, before calling me by my next best name, "Cat."

I could feel something boil in my blood. Nobody called me that except Duo, and even he didn't that around anyone else, except Wufei! That was a very personal, intimate way of Duo expressing his feelings of friendship for me, and this guy was using it as a sex game.

The anger was doing really good for me. I couldn't break eye contact, but I managed to unbuckle my seatbelt, and pushed myself against the door. I searched for the handle without looking. I was guessing that Krahe, (it could only be him) felt the change in my attitude.

"I'm sorry," he cooed. "I didn't realize that that would upset you so much. I will never do it again." Once again that repulsively sweet smile was across Duo's face.

I didn't stop. I found the handle and started to open the door. Krahe quickly reached across, and slammed his hand down on the lock. He held it there.

"Quatre, please." With this, the smile faded from his lips. "I would never hurt you. I want to be with you. Can't you see that?"

With that said, he moved from the driver's seat to the passenger's, practically on my lap. I was pressed so hard against the door, I'm surprised I didn't go through it. Now that he was sitting so close to me, I could feel the heat radiating from Duo's body. His nose was against mine, with his lips against my lips. My breath started to come faster and shallower, no matter how hard I tried to keep it normal. I felt his breath run across my upper lip, and his fingertips on my belly. In the pit of my stomach, I had a tingling sensation. My body started to react. No!

Suddenly, we kissed. Adding a little more pressure, he parted my lips to allow his tongue inside. I was so trapped in his ecstasy, that I closed my eyes and helped him slide my coat off. Then, I slid his coat off of him. Roughly, Krahe plunged his hands into my hair, caressing and pulling, while gently kissing and biting my neck. I panted, unable to catch my breath. It felt as if he was trying to suck all of the air out of me.

With one hand still in my hair, the other began pulling on my collar, ripping my sweatshirt. He massaged the part of my chest that was exposed, as he kissed me again. I could still feel Duo beating on the glass, his hands covered in his blood, dripping into blackness. He was getting weaker, and I still couldn't help him. Allah...please...

"Duo! Quatre! What the hell are you doing?!" Wufei's voice thundered through the area, causing the crows to leap into flight at being startled. I could see in my mind's eye Wufei grabbing snow, to put on his nose to stop the bleeding. Duo let up, hissing in anger at being disturbed. But the next thing I said made me realize his trap.

"Trowa."

I opened my eyes to be met with his surprised ones. "Who's Trowa?" the husky voice demanded. Then the surprised look turned into one of confusion, as he pulled my hair, hard, putting a good distance between us. A look of sheer and utter pain covered his face, as I heard Duo's voice cry out, "Run god damnit!"

I knew that was my signal. With my right arm I forced my elbow through the window, shattering it to pieces. Duo's left hand was against the ceiling, and his right hand was still firmly glued to my hair. I starting yelling for help at the top of my lungs. Suddenly strong, heavily coated arms were around my chest, trying to pull me through the window, while I tried unsuccessfully to worm my hair from between Duo's fingers. Wufei was screaming loudly, calling for Heero and Trowa, and I was screaming for the absolute hell of it.

Duo was too weak to continue fighting Krahe. The vision I had of him in the glass box suddenly vanished. With Duo's presence gone, Krahe went wild. Lightning fast, he kicked Wufei in the face. With his hand still planted firmly in my hair, he bashed my head against the dashboard, twice.

I could feel myself being pulled across the seats and out of the car, but I wasn't in any shape to do anything about it. I was helpless as he carried me. Looking up, I could see Duo's face. But behind his eyes where his spark would be, there was nothing. A sob was torn from my throat, and I closed my eyes. Duo was dead.

Extending my head over his forearm, I could see Wufei lying on the ground, unconscious. At least he would be all right. Then the sound of crackling ice attracted my attention. Krahe was making his way to the corner of the pond that I fell through earlier. I wish I could say that I was angry or afraid, but I wasn't. Instead, I wanted to know the significance of this pond. What was it about this place that it had to be my grave?

That thought was interrupted when a rusty sled slid its way into our path. Heero and Trowa jumped off. Yes!

Krahe stopped. "I'm not interested in you. Only him." He dropped the arm that was supporting my legs. I landed on my feet, somewhat standing on my own.

"You're not going anywhere, especially with him," Trowa growled, clenching his hands in tight fists and stepping forward. Heero was not far behind him.

"Duo, what do you think you're doing? I thought he was your best friend?" Heero asked, not betraying anything on his face.

"Best...friend?" Krahe turned towards me suddenly, confusion on his face. "Duo is your best friend?" Ah. He thought we were lovers. Great.

I didn't answer him. For one, I wasn't in the habit of talking to my enemy. This has gone past the point of no return. Two, someone was leading a marching band with a parade through my head, and it was hard to hear anything with all of that racket.

"Enough. I grow tired of this."

Even though I was seeing double, this much was clear. Time seemed to have slowed down. Duo's body slumped to the side, and fell. He landed face-first on the ice. Standing in his place was a brand-spanking new Krahe, head and all.

"Oh," was all I was able to say.

"Like I said, I am not interested in you. Only him!" This must have been his battle cry. All of the crows suddenly swarmed to attack them, forming a blacker blanket against the already black night sky. I tried to run to help, but a hand caught the back of my shirt, and sent me flying back on the hard surface. I sprang to my feet, in another feeble attempt to help, but Krahe grabbed my face to force me to look at him. I clamped my eyes shut, and shook my head violently to get loose.

Without warning, images forced themselves to the front of my mind: Duo's face as he pounded on the glass; Wufei, hurt on the snow; Duo's body on the ice, lifeless; Heero, drowning; Trowa's death by Krahe's hands? This would all be my fault.

"NO!" With all the strength I had left, I charged Krahe, pushing him into the corner of the pond. After another shove, he allowed himself to fall onto the ice, but not before reaching up and grabbing a fistful of my sweatshirt. Before his back even touched the icy floor, it parted for him, and he landed, splashing water up and around his body. I stretched my arms and legs out like the figure X, to grab ahold of anything to keep me out of the water.

Easier said than done. Krahe was using his weight to pull me down. The sweatshirt was getting soaked, and bunching up on the back of my neck, adding to the difficulty. My head was already submerged, and I was fighting to keep my shoulders from going under too. Worst yet, I wasn't able hold my breathe. Cold water filled my lungs, making me gasp, and repeating the cycle.

My grip on the ice and reality was slipping, when two strong hands grabbed my waist. In one powerful pull, I was yanked out of the water. My forehead hit the corner of the hole, and my now bare chest was lying flat against the ice. I had gotten to my knees, when someone started shaking my shoulders and yelling something. I didn't know what, I couldn't make out the words. Everything sounded as if I was hearing it from underwater.

Without another thought, I swung and hit that person square in the jaw, then turned on my feet to run. The cold water thoroughly soaked my hair, and dripped down my chest and back. My now cut-up chest stung, I couldn't feel my ears anymore, and I was shaking so badly it was hard for me to breathe. My eyes barely open, I stumbled forward, fighting to get away. There was a grey haze that seemed to be hovering in my line of vision. While stepping off of the ice, I managed to trip over a clump of frozen snow. I watched as the white ground reached up to catch me, and then the world faded quickly to black.

***

It happened again. Wufei was laying sideways in the snow, unmoving. Duo was face down on the ice. Looking at his hand, it was a pale blue color, and his body was rigid. I stood up from squatting beside him, to face in front of me. Heero's white shirt was totally red, his eyes wide open with the look of...shock? Shock on Heero's face? Maybe. Then I turned my head to the left to see Trowa, his eyes closed as if he was sleeping, laying against a tree. His throat has been slit. I stumbled back in disbelief. Something dropped to the ground, landing heavily on my foot. I reached down and picked up my machete [1], covered in blood. I did it. I killed them all. I was staring at the mess I created, when the feel of ice cold hands rested themselves securely on my shoulders. A pair of icy blue eyes looked into my soul, smiling so sweetly....

"AHHHHHHH!" I screamed from my toenails. I couldn't believe I did this. My arms were flailing around wildly, but someone was forcing me down. I tried to push them away, but they were too strong..

"Quatre, wake up! It's just a bad dream!"

"Huh, wha-" I woke up, and stopped struggling. I cracked my eyes slowly open to see a very worried Wufei.

"Wu-Wufei, you're alive."

"For the time being," he responded. Sometimes, I really didn't like his responses. This was definitely one of those times. Forgetting what he said, I sat up and wrapped my arms around his neck, breathing harshly and thanking Allah he was okay. He haphazardly returned my embrace.

"It's okay Quatre. I'm okay. It's okay Quatre. I'm okay." His words became a litany to me, and I focused on the sound of his voice until I calmed down. Sitting back, I sheepishly smiled, while he wiped a tear away from my cheek. Even more embarrassed, I forced myself to look him in the eye. It was then that I noticed a dark blue bruise that took up half of his face.

"My goodness Wufei. Does it hurt?" I lightly traced the bruise across his cheekbone with my index finger, where he had been kicked by... "Duo! Where's Duo? Duo?! DUO!" I screamed. I remembered now, how I was in the car waiting and Duo...oh no, please no.

"Quatre, what the hell are you doing?" He seemed to say that a lot, didn't he? "Stop screaming. He's in the other room, resting."

"I want to see him."

He sighed. "Quatre, you're hurt. You might have a concussion. Hold still so I can see--"

I forcibly pushed Wufei away from me, and flung the covers back to stand. I stumbled into the hallway, using the wall to steady me. Wufei came from behind me, flung my arm over his shoulder, and wrapped one around my waist. He helped me along, swearing with every step we took. I ignored him.

When we got to Duo's room, I frantically twisted the knob, and tried my best to shove the door open. I guess fussing with Wufei took the last amount of energy I had out of me. Impatient (as usual), he kicked the door opened, revealing the incredible sight before me.

Heero was sitting next to Duo's bed, in a chair, holding his hand. The drapes were thrown wide open, allowing the moonlight to shine in. His skin looked even paler, as the moonlight gave it a bluish hue. But he was still perfect. His hair was undone, sprawling around him like a veil. His chest was bare and muscled, with the hints of scars doing more to intrigue than disgust. Despite the fact that Duo was a soldier and claimed to be Shinigami, he was beautiful. I guess you would have to be beautiful, in order for your victims to give their lives to you.

Looking into Heero's face, I could see he had that same stone cold expression. But I knew now, without a doubt, that he loved Duo. I could see it in his eyes; how they scanned the sleeping face, memorizing every detail, as if afraid they may never be able to watch him sleep again...

Wufei released his hold on me, allowing me to make my way towards the bed. I carefully climbed on top of the mattress. I dragged my body across the bed, and slid in next to him. Heero quickly reached over and picked up Duo's hair, so I wouldn't lay on it. Slowly, he let the hair slip from his fingers, to fall over the sleeping boy's chest. I pulled the covers up to my side, and wrapped my arm around his stomach. At this, Heero gave me one of his death glares. Any other person would've dropped dead, but with the past few days I've had, there was no way I was backing down. So I glared right back at him. My patience and sweetness was given a thorough shove out the window for tonight.

I could hear Wufei shift uncomfortably, as he felt the tension singing through the air. Trowa's footsteps stopped short at the foot of the bed. I could see the image before him: me in bed with Duo, arm around him. Heero holding his hand, glaring at me while I glared at him. Looked like a setup for a catfight! But I was extremely tired, and this wasn't doing either of us any good. So, still glaring at Heero, I told him the truth. "He's my best friend, Heero. You know that, so stop giving me that look. I'm not trying to take him away from you, even though he's not yours to begin with, and I am not going to fight you for his affections. If you're so concerned, YOU lay next to him!"

I was awarded with a gasp from Wufei. I thought he'd be bleeding Niagara Falls by now. Guess I didn't know him as well as I thought. But Heero's face went from the Perfect Soldier mask to a very gentle, compassionate cast. I kept up my glare.

Heero nodded his approval and got up, squeezing Duo's hand before placing it down on the bed. Reaching behind him, he pulled out his 8MM, checked it, and stuck it in the band of his pants. He stared at Duo one last time before leaving. Where he was going I didn't know or care, but Wufei followed him out, closing the door behind them. Trowa came and sat down in the chair next to the bed, arms crossed across his chest with his eyes down.

I noticed then how quiet the night really was. We were in Duo's room, so I didn't have the view of the pond and the tree. Too bad. But after the bit of excitement that all of us just had, I had the feeling that Krahe and the crows were going to keep to themselves tonight.

I should pray.

I drew my hand back from across his waist to engulf his crucifix in my palm. It was a gorgeous cross, completely made of silver. Duo told me that they had to ration everything back on L2, but Father Maxwell gave it to him for the anniversary of Duo living with them. It was one of the Father's crosses. The four edges of it were almost shaped like three leaf clovers, but each clover was spread out from one another like on a crown. The cross itself had a miniature cross engraved in its middle. The entire thing was about the length of your middle finger.

The moonlight shone across it, kicking the silver across the room in little strands of white light. The jewel on my ring shone, emitting a pale lime green into the air. I enjoyed the mixture of white moonlight, silver and green intertwining in the air, like they were dancing to their own song. I held the cross so tightly in my hand I thought I might've cut myself, but that didn't matter. Barely audible, I started praying for him like he was praying for me.

After a few minutes I finished, still holding onto the cross, letting myself go to sleep. I couldn't be of use to anybody if I wasn't rested enough. So I rested my forehead against Duo's shoulder, letting the sound of the harsh winds beating the window lull me to sleep. Duo moved a little bit, making himself more comfortable unconsciously. His heart beating against my chest at regular intervals was a comfort. But I had the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that the worst was yet to come, as Trowa shifted in his chair, and Duo faintly whispered in his sleep, "Forgive me, Quatre."

(tbc)

Also, I know that Duo's cross is gold, but I wanted it silver. I got the cross image from my brother, because that is what his cross looks like.