A Murder of Crows
Title: A Murder of Crows
Part: 10/12
Author: KKChitown
Status: Final
Category: Fic
Warnings: Language (big surprise there), and
Quatre+kerosine+matches=dinner!
Feedback: Send 'em on down.
Disclaimer: The day I own them, hell wouldn've frozen over, AND I
would also be a millionaire.
A Murder of Crows: Part 10
By KKChitown
"What are we going to do now?!" The way Duo was pacing back and
forth, he could've worn a hole in the floor.
"Stay calm. Don't panic." I don't know what makes Heero think that
that will calm Duo down.
"Stay calm? Stay calm?! What do you mean `stay calm'? We are totally
screwed here Heero! There is no way out of this room without passing
through the partridge family out there! This is really *bad* karma."
"If you stop your whining Maxwell, we can think of a solution. We've
been in worse situations than this."
"Ch' right. There is a difference between stupid toy OZ soldiers and
killer birds. I mean shit, I shot the guy, TWICE with a shotgun and
he came back to kick my ass! There wasn't enough left of his head to
put in a thimble and I am supposed to say calm? Whatever. I'm
throwing in the towel."
Duo threw his back against the wall and slid down into a squatting
position. I didn't know where the rest of them were. The room was
completely dark. I knew that Duo was pacing back and forth because he
is the only one that would do that, plus those boots are so heavy it
can only be him. The only light visible was that seeping through the
keyhole and under the door, every few seconds blotted out by a
feather.
I know he is in here now. I can feel his presence. He is watching me
in the dark, the way I am sitting on the floor, holding my knees to
my chest, arms wrapped tightly around, staring at nothing. I can't
tell where he is, just that he is there, fairly content at the moment.
After sitting still for a while, I was able to get my anger and fear
back in control, and let my pilot training take over. I also need to
stop feeling alone. I am not alone anymore and don't have to be. The
others are here. I will be fine. Be brave.
"How did she die?" I asked out loud.
"Quatre, who and what are you talking about?" Duo's tone in
fluctuated highly, indicating his anger and annoyance to everyone in
general.
"She fell down the stairs," was his response. I can hear everyone's
body stiffen. That mature voice slipped through the silence like a
thief. The tension in the room was so great, it was almost
suffocating.
But the way he sounded when he said that didn't seem....right.
"She fell down the stairs?" I asked incredulously.
"Yes, head first."
That's what I'm looking for. "By who?"
"My father."
I don't know why I wasn't surprised. In a way it make sense. "But you
weren't here."
"No."
"Then how do you know this?"
"A little bird told me." Cute.
"Why?" I know you all think this is trite, but why beat around the
bush? More than likely, we were going to die tonight anyway. I don't
want to die clueless.
"She dishonored my father." I can't stand it when people speak in
puzzles. But I figured she probably cheated on him. That's the only
thing I can think of. But I guessed right. "My father found out about
an 'encounter' and lashed out at her. He didn't mean to kill her."
"And you knew this but said nothing." My only answer to this was
silence. That's why Krahe was beaten, I figured. But that didn't
explain the corpse. "Is that him upstairs?" Again, no answer, but he
didn't need to. If I am wrong, he will correct me.
I am surprised the conversation got this far. But there wasn't
anything really the guys could do. I mean it is pitch black in here,
and the light from under the door doesn't really help at all, just
sending an eerie orange glow crawling along the floor, which
gradually vanished a few feet into the room.
"But why keep him in that...that thing?"
I heard him shift, as if he was anticipating that question. "I know
you think it was stupid of me to leave him there, but who would
believe that he was killed by a murder of crows?"
Ohhhhhh. This is not good. The crows killed him? Now I am nervous: if
Krahe doesn't get us, then the crows will.
But my experience, however limited, taught me that the bad guys don't
explain all of their intentions or plans, so this conversation is not
necessarily making me feel better. I know he is not stupid, but he is
admitting everything, truthfully.
I must be really easy to read, because he knew exactly what I was
thinking. "I am telling you this, Quatre, because I don't want there
to be secrets between us. It is time for you to come to stay with
me." Uh oh.
"Like hell he is." Duo's voice held that `you saw Deathscythe now
you're going to die' edge. Double uh oh. I don't know what he has up
his sleeve, but I am pretty sure it won't work.
"Oh no? How can you stop me?"
Duo did not get the chance to reply. In a blink, we were back in my
room. Everything was restored, even the broken window, but at the
same time I felt a cold breeze snake its way along my skin. Everyone
was on their feet and alert, even startled. Krahe sat on my bed,
smiling again, waiting for me to say something.
"What do you want?" Once again my voice was calm, but not for much
longer. I have to admit, I am desperately trying to hide the shock of
being transported from Heero's room to this.
"You." I never thought one word could harbor such...fear to it. I
fought the shudder, just barely, but I was trembling. Again. This is
not my week.
I don't know how to respond. It's an awkward feeling, not the
response part, but what does he expect me to do? Stop everything I
have going on in my life to be....to be what to him? Now I am getting
angry.
"No." What was the saying, oh yeah, `less is more.'
"You might want to reconsider."
"You might want to take my answer." I think that is a mistake.
And how right I was. That intense cold feeling came back with a death
grip, literally. It snaked its fingers from the center of my back,
around my shoulders to my chest, restricting my breathing. I didn't
want to give him the satisfaction of whimpering or even shivering,
but the shivering part couldn't be helped. I dropped to my knees and
hugged myself, trying to keep that cold touch from consuming me.
"Quatre!" Duo raced to my side, and Trowa was down on his knees with
me, trying to find some physical damage. Heero and Wufei held their
ground, of course, they wouldn't be able to do anything anyway,
especially at how frantic Duo can get. "Quatre, what's wrong?! What's
he doing?!"
The only answer I was able to give him was the sound of my chattering
teeth.
He snapped his head up, face boiling red with rage."I am going to
kill you for this!"
Krahe looked him over like he was a small cat or dog in a pet shop,
deciding whether or not to buy it. His smile dropped off of his face
to more of a taunting look.
"Oh? And just how are you going to do that if you can't touch me?"
Duo leapt forward with his fist to drive through Krahe's head. The
hit was dodged, but not before he kneed Duo in the stomach. From
there Wufei jumped to land a roundhouse kick on the side of his face,
only for it to be blocked. Heero charged next, but I didn't see what
he tried to do.
With Krahe distracted, the effects didn't seem too strong as they did
before, so I weakly ran out of the room and down the stairs. I
hustled outside to the 4-runner, opening the trunk of it. Duo always
leaves the trunk open, in case we need to get in for something [6].
I'm glad he always does that. Looking through the bags I spotted a
small gun secured tightly in one of the vinyl nets at the back.
Checking to make sure all slots were filled, I shoved it in the waist
band of my sweat pants and made a mad dash back to the house, passing
all of the crows in my path. Once in the mansion I flew by Trowa,
through the kitchen and up the stairs to the light wooden wax door. I
ended up with a huge gash on my ankle, I know, because my foot fell
through the rotten staircase. Once there I paused, trying to collect
myself.
/Open the damn door Quatre!/ I screamed at myself.
I lightly twisted the knob when the door removed itself from my
grasp. I dropped to my knees, holding my mouth closed with my hand.
The smell was even worse than before.
"Oh Al--lah!"
Strong hands reached under my arms and pulled me to my feet. Turning
around, I could see Trowa's face slightly twisted from the smell.
"Quatre, what are you doing?"
"Trowa," I spit out, hopefully not in his face, "get the embalming
fluid and take it downstairs. Wufei is right, we should burn the
house down." We have to burn it down. This place reeks!
Without argument, he complied. He released me, waiting for a moment
to make sure that I wouldn't fall down, then went towards the back of
the attic to get the fluid. I walked to the corner where Duo lost his
lunch earlier to retrieve the almost keg size glass bottle of
kerosine. I dragged it over to the little table, where I picked up
the box of matches that Trowa used to light the candle earlier.
Putting the box in the elastic of my socks, and throwing the bottle
over my shoulder, I carried it down the stairs, watching for the
broken step, running the plan throughout my head. This has to work.
Either we die trying, or I will serve flame a la crow for dinner.
***
I made my way up the stairs to the room, Trowa following behind me.
There was only three bottles of embalming fluid, but I figured that
would be more than enough. We poured one bottle, all of which were
the size of kegs, which I could easily size up due to
Duo's...uh...extracurricular activities, in the attic, one over the
kitchen floor, counter and chair, and the last all over the dining
room, focusing mostly on the chairs. That was hard though. I wouldn't
have minded taking one of the chairs. Anyway, with the kerosine, I
cradled it in my arms up the stairs, fending off Trowa who was trying
to carry it for me. The times he decides to be protective.
Upon entering the room, Wufei, Duo and Heero were still attacking
him, none of them realizing that Trowa and I even left. I cleared my
throat to get Krahe's attention. He threw Heero over to the corner,
tossed Wufei into the fireplace, and held Duo by the root of his
hair, roughly jerking his head backwards.
"Yes, angel?"
At that I wanted to rip my hair out. But I thought of the next best
thing. Raising the kerosine jug above my head, I paused a moment to
gather my strength, then smashed it on the floor. I wanted to boast
the power I felt, watching the pieces of glass and liquid run across
the floor like frightened mice. The bigger chunks skipped across the
room, causing crows to fly on top of the bed or to the window.
Almost lazily, I took out the box of matches, lighting one, then let
it dangle at the ends of my finger tips.
Any arrogance or confidence Krahe had disappeared. He threw Duo into
Heero's arms and moved almost fluidly towards me. Trowa then jumped
in front of me, only to thrown into the wall. He wasn't even thrown.
Krahe simply pushed him to the side and he went flying. Wufei ran
over to him to make sure he was alright. Krahe stood maybe six inches
from me, slightly annoyed. I am pissed, so he should know where to
go as far as I am concerned.
"It didn't have to be this way, Quatre." He stated, almost matter-of-
factly.
"I know, but you're making it so." I say dryly.
"You can't escape me."
"So be it then." Sparing a second to pray, I let the match fall from
my fingertips. I don't know what the other guys were doing at the
time. I assume staying right where they were, of course. But anyway
all that existed at that time was me and Krahe. What hurts me the
most was the fact that I understood his pain. He was lonely, and
scared, and desperate.
Desperate above everything else.
But that didn't stop me. The match fell from my hand, its orange
flame perking up slightly as it touched the floor, bounced, then
landed flat against the wood. For a split second, I began to think
that it was just water and I was imaging that it was kerosine.
Then, the world slowed down for me once again. Flame erupted to
spread out in waves, starting practically at my feet then rolling out
past our feet. The flames were nearly white where I stood, then
turned that light icy blue color, matching his eyes, with the ends of
it sun orange. For the eternity time was still, the order of the
colors were beautiful. It flowed through Krahe's feet, emitting a cry
from him that no human voice could make.
The waves continued to the corners of the room, burning the ends of
the sheets and furniture, burning some crows while the others took
off into flight. His arm shot out and went in me, his hand inside of
my chest, squeezing my heart. I loosely held his wrist, with no real
intention of stopping him. If it must end this way, then fine, as
long as it was over and the other pilots were safe.
I felt the world darken and stars spark in front of my eyes,
promising death, when suddenly Krahe's hand was gone and my world was
black again. I began swinging my arms about wildly, not knowing where
I was, but strong arms held me in place, and the feel of those arms
let me know I was safe. A soft whisper proved it.
"Quatre, its Trowa. Stop fighting."
I did as he asked and stopped. The pain in my heart increased then,
and I clutched at my chest, hopelessly trying to will it away. The
room lightened some, as Heero managed to set some sheets on fire with
the box of matches I had. We were back in Heero's room! I thought
that what had happened was a dream until Duo started talking.
"What the hell was that?! Weren't we....didn't he.....oh the hell
with it! I don't know why I am trying to understand this, at least
this time it wasn't my fault." Duo nodded and smiled in content.
Reflecting over the last events, it occurred to him how he
escaped. "Quatre, how did you get the matches and the gas? Crowbreath
looked pretty pissed when you......Quatre?"
The worry was apparent in his voice. He gave up hiding his emotions
from the others a long time ago. He ran to me, again, knelling down
by my side. Trowa tightened his hold on me almost possessively. I
chuckled. My imagination is running away with me again. Trowa would
only do something like that in my dreams.
"Quatre, you're in pain, aren't you? That BASTARD!"
Duo flew up to his feet and put his fist clear through the wall. When
he pulled out, light came through the rectangular shaped hole. He
growled incoherently at the offending wall, creating a new hole.
Squawking could be heard from outside of the door, and blood started
to drip freely from his hand. Maybe he hit one of the crows.
"Trowa, stand him up." That was a direct order from Duo. You know how
he is, he'll complain and whine but he is not the type to bark
orders. As it was, Trowa stood me up, very apparent was the calm
anger that was barely hidden in Duo's voice.
"Take his clothes off."
"What?!" All of us said this in perfect unison. Has Duo lost his mind?
"Take his clothes off." Duo stated again as if he was saying what day
is was or what time it is. No, nothing strange is going on here, just
telling me to take my clothes off. I'm sorry, but sarcasm is starting
to become my specialty. Really.
"Do as he says," Heero interrupted. Duo started taking his own
clothes off. Great. Now they both lost their minds. "He has a plan."
Wufei padded over and held me up by my left arm. Trowa held on to my
right as Heero started pulling my shoes and socks off. Clutching at
my chest, I gritted my teeth from the pain in my heart and the
burning sensation at my feet from Heero removing my clothes. My eyes
were squeezed shut from the pain, the tears fighting to get past my
lids. One escaped, feeling cold against my hot skin. A finger wiped
it away, and I turned my head to the direction of the gentle touch,
keeping my eyes firmly closed.
"Open your eyes, Quatre." I would have never thought Wufei could be
so gentle. I opened my eyes in more of shock than because he asked me
to. Through my blurry vision I could see the worry in his face, and
the anger dancing behind his eyes.
"Your skin is very hot, I think you have a fever, and you have
second, maybe third degree burns on your feet and ankles, with
possibly some on your calf."
"Shit." I heard someone say, I think it was Duo.
Wufei continued. "We are going to get you out of here. Once at the
carriers let us take care of everything, because you will be on the
verge of going into shock, okay?"
I nodded, weakly. I started to feel very, very tired, which is a
very, very bad sign, and the gun in my waistband kept digging into
the small of my back. A loud clanging against the floor caught my
attention, where I could see something black against my red, swollen
feet.
Heero picked up the key and set it aside on the floor. Duo started to
put on my clothes as Heero worked the black loose pants up my legs
and waist. Once the pants were on, he slipped the socks and shoes on,
securing the key back between the laces. He stood upright, carefully
removing the sweatshirt and placing the black smock on, complete with
the white collar. Finishing buttoning me up, he stepped back to make
sure nothing looked amiss.
"You look more like a priest than Duo does." Heero commented, looking
slightly amused. One side of my lip quirked, trying to smile at
Heero's attempt at humor, but it quickly died. I hurt too much.
Heero's face became fierce. I know that he was upset now. No matter
how much they talk about me being all smiles, it disturbs everyone
when I'm not.
"Trowa, help me lay him down, he's burning up." Wufei and Trowa
carried me over to the bed, removing the gun from my waistband and
laying me gently down on the sheetless mattress. Trowa softly place
the back of his hand against my forehead, then moved to my cheek. I
don't know if I am delirious, but I couldn't feel his hand against my
skin.
"Shit. He's on fire." I very, very weakly chuckled at that. Usually,
I'm the mother hen running around worried about everybody.
"I'll get a washcloth and cold water to help bring his temperature
down. Before we leave, if we can grab some snow that would be even
better."
He turned to make his leave when Duo grabbed his arm, swinging him
around. He immediately let go when he saw the vicious look in Wufei's
eyes.
"Wu, I know its not even a ten second walk to the bathroom, but let
someone go with you. That taco queer is still around here somewhere.
He might try something-"
"The mood I'm in, I wish he would." With that, Wufei opened the door
to leave, but the crows were standing in his path. In a great deal of
frustration he kicked them all out of his way. They flocked to attack
him but he retaliated, punching and knife handing them all. Its not
like Wufei to pick on animals, since he would consider them weaker
than him, but at this point I don't think he cared.
I laid in the bed, shaking some. I could tell I had a fever, my
eardrums felt like they were going to burn out of my head. Heero
watched Wufei go to the bathroom to make sure he was alright, Trowa
sat on the bed next to me and Duo kneeled beside me. Once Wufei
returned he handed Duo the washcloth to be placed on my forehead. The
cloth was so cool against my skin, small beads of water ran down my
temple into my hair. I was feeling a little relief from that.
"Quatre?"
"Hn, Duo?" It was becoming harder to see.
"Yeah, here bro, take this." He pulled something from around his neck
over his head to place around my neck. Picking it up I saw silver
sparkles glittering from the fire that was somehow being controlled
in the corner. I gasped when I realized what Duo had given me.
"No, I can't. I don't need to. I look like a father. The cross isn't
necessary..."
"No, I want you to wear it for protection." He said, smiling
sadly. "I want to save you in any way I can, and that cross has
always saved me. Wear it for protection. Please."
Reluctantly, I gave up arguing with him. He pulled off his hat and
sat it snugly on my head, effectively hiding my hair and face, since
I looked like I've been brought back from the dead. Still holding the
cross, I felt something rough on the back of it. Turning it around, I
can make out the letters.
"May God Protect You From Evil."
"Yeah, Father Maxwell had it engraved for me when he gave it to me
for my anniversary there. I know that you believe in Moslem or Muslim
type stuff, but for now, I want you to keep it for me, until I get it
back from you....you know, safe keeping type of thing."
I smiled, very gently, for my face felt like it would burn off. Then
Duo did something totally unexpected. He removed the washcloth from
my forehead, and lightly wiped my face before throwing it into the
fire. He leaned back down and kissed me on the forehead, not very
hard but firmly.
The tears escaped past my lids. The feel of Duo's lips on my burning
forehead made me feel very special for the first time in my life.
None of them wanted something from me; the other pilots never asked
for money, neither demanded that I oversee a project or have to
attend a meeting or some useless function. They didn't even ask for
my friendship. They *needed* me, needed me to fight with them, and
from there it turned into the family that we are now. And I would
protect this family with my life, and they would protect me with
theirs.
All too soon Duo lifted back up and reached over to put the gun into
the front of his waistband. He turned to me to explain before
standing up and Trowa came to carry me away.
"It's go time, cat."
Duo slide my coat on him while Trowa put Duo's on me. We formed a
congo line at the door: Wufei was first, then Trowa carrying me, and
Heero secured behind us. Duo was already in the hall with the gun
poised, ready to kill anything that stood in our way to leave. Since
my room was directly in front of the staircase, Duo stood in the
doorway to make sure that anything that came out would have to go
through him first. I know this sounds crazy, but try to imagine that
while all of this is going on, crows are walking around, flying
overhead and perched everywhere like they owned the place.
Technically, they did.
Looking back at us, he nodded his head and Wufei took off down the
stairs, posture defensive. We followed behind him down the stairs to
freedom. Before it was too late I glanced at the bedroom to see that
the fire was put out, but the damage done to the room was still
there: the sheets were burnt and frayed at the ends, the wood on the
bed sizzled, surrounded by a few dead birds, and a gray haze of smoke
hung in the air. I guess repairing that would take more time than a
hole in the wall.
The crows outside lined up the path from the mansion to the vehicle
as if we were royalty on an invisible red carpet. They eyed us,
mischievously, waiting for us to make the wrong move.
So far we made it to the 4-runner without any incident. I was placed
in the back seat, where Trowa laid me across the seat with my head in
his lap. Good thing I am already red from the fever. I can hear Heero
and Duo talking, and Wufei brought some snow to me in a ziplock bag
to put on my head. I heard the shuffle of material, and retreating
footsteps grinding against the snow.
Heero closed the trunk door and got into the driver's seat, nodding
to Wufei. Wufei nodded back and they proceeded to drive off. I
remember thinking that its not over. Any minute now we would drive
over ice and end up overturned, everyone inside killed except for me.
Then it finally hit me, it was too quiet. Duo wasn't in the car.
I looked up to Trowa, who was watching me intensely. Thank Allah that
I am red from the fever. "Trowa, where's Duo?"
Just then a loud explosion rocked the 4-runner a bit, causing it to
slide some but Heero got it back under control. I lunged forward
against the window to see the fire spread through the entire mansion.
Crows flew from the bright orange flames to the black sky, the cries
of cawing were absorbed in the wind and snow. Duo must have used
grenades or something to cause that type of explosion.
"Duo, Duo NOOOOOOOOO!" I felt all sanity leave me, as I lurched out
of Trowa's lap against the frosty window pane. Trowa and Wufei were
trying to lay me back down before I make myself worse. I screamed,
refusing to believe that Duo stayed behind to do this. How could he!
He promised me, we promised each other that we would die together!
Finally, I surrendered to the fatigue. Trowa pinned my shoulders down
while Wufei pinned my legs down with his, searching through the first
aid kit for a tranquilizer. I have never cried so hard in my life. I
sounded for all of the world like a lost, frightened little boy. He
promised me. Allah, make sure Duo is alright, I beg you.
The cold cross against my hot skin made me pull it out and hold it in
the palm of my still grossly bandaged hand. I tried to pray for Duo,
fingering my ring and using the cross as my source of strength but I
couldn't. I am too tired. Wufei injected me with Tylenol, but decided
against the tranq since we would be at the train station shortly. I
held on to the cross, staring up at the uncaring ceiling of the
vehicle, cursing the day I was born. Even though by now I have
stopped crying, the tears ran freely from my eyes into my ears and
into Trowa's jeans.
I am a gundam pilot. I should be the savior.
Not the saved.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[6] I am not trying to say Duo is dumb that he leaves the trunk open.
My family used to have an old station wagon, and we would never lock
the trunk door because I would leave stuff in the car all the time,
and instead of getting keys from my parents to unlock the car doors,
I would just open the trunk door to and climb in to get what I needed.
© 2000 by KKChitown. Please do not remove without permission.
