CHAPTER
FOUR:
AC 188:
The Winner Estates on
L3:
“Master Quatre, would you like another cup of tea?”
“Huh? Oh, no…no, thank you,
Ahmed. I am quite fine at the moment.”
The older man sighed and
still placed the tray of green tea upon the side table, straightening up to
look with concern at the pale fair-haired boy. The young heir had been glued to
his seat and had been staring out of the large glass window for the past few
hours, the book he was supposed to read still untouched on his lap. It was
almost a year now and everyone had noticed the ‘change’ in the young master
ever since his return from the trip to L2 with his father. Quatre, who was
usually a vivacious and curious young lad, had seemed a bit more subdued in his
dealings with the adults that he was constantly surrounded with. He didn’t
exactly have a whole load of friends of his age and that had never really
concerned the wealthy child. He was more interested in his music and books and
of course, his father’s business dealings.
But things were different
now.
Quatre…was different.
Oh, he still smiled and said the occasional word or two, but he was now prone
to long periods of silence and many of his companions had noticed that he had
the tendency to ‘space-out’ at the worst moments. Why, just last week, Quatre
had been paying a visit to another construction site with his father and to
everyone’s shock and horror, the young boy had been found hanging off the ledge
of the tallest steel building, unaware that he was even there in the first
place. The problems became even worse during the night. He would always wake up
screaming like someone about to be murdered, his entire body drenched in sweat.
When asked about his dream, he would always shake his head and mutter something
about a ‘Duo’ before passing out in exhaustion again. His appetite had begun to
suffer and coupled with his sleeping problems, his father had decided that
Quatre needed to be in touch with the best psychiatrists that the colony had to
offer.
All to no avail.
Quatre had willingly gone to
each session, but had always managed to leave his doctors baffled and confused.
To them, he sounded quite normal and cheerful, but once he got back home, it
was back to being the zombie. If there was anyone who had a clue as to what
could possibly be the problem, then Rashid would have to be the one. The oldest
of the servants and personal bodyguard to Quatre who had been there at the time
of the ‘incident’ could only attribute the change to the experience suffered at
the time. Rashid himself couldn’t say that the strange boy with the powers
hadn’t affected him, but he wasn’t going through withdrawals like his master.
Ahmed shook his head and was
just about to leave the room when his master’s quiet voice stopped him.
“Is my father going back to L2
any time soon?”
Ahmed shook his head again.
“I am not really sure, master. He did say that he had to make several stops at
some colonies later on in the week.”
“Then I will be joining him.”
“But…but, Master Quatre…”
Green eyes filled with
irritation stared at the sputtering man in annoyance. “I said I will be joining
him. Prepare my things, I have to speak with my father soon.”
And with a curt wave of his
hand, he dismissed the shocked man.
It wasn’t until the sound of
the door closing with a soft click, did he finally put his hands to his face.
His body trembling violently, he stared at his hands with fear in his eyes now.
“What are you doing to me?” he
whispered shakily. “Why won’t you leave me alone? I told you to leave me alone.
I haven’t done anything to you.”
He paused for a moment, as if
listening intently to someone else speaking, before gasping out weakly.
“Alright then, I will come. But you must promise not to hurt me again like the
last time.”
He got to his feet on
slightly wobbly legs, made his way out of the room and straight to his father’s
office.
The older man continued to
steal glances at the silent figure across from him, before sighing and placing
his pen back upon the documents on his lap table. Running a hand down his face
in weariness, he asked calmly.
“You still haven’t given me a
reason for wanting to come on this trip, Quatre.”
Without tearing his gaze away
from the inky blackness of space outside his window, he replied coolly and
almost detached. “I told you, father. I am interested in the new construction
sites over there. I am quite curious, you know.”
“Quatre, I will be honest
with you. I am not quite comfortable with you coming with me to the sites any
longer. I suggest you stay back at the hotel or go sightseeing again. I
wouldn’t want you to…”
“Zone out?” came the bitter
reply, causing the older man to gasp in surprise at the rude tone. Not that it
should have been surprising to him. Quatre had begun to have a tendency to snap
without warning recently and for a boy of his age, Winner wasn’t exactly sure
if that was healthy or not.
“Don’t worry, father.” He continued in that
same flat tone. “I promise not to embarrass you any further.”
You won’t even realize that I exist.
And to the utter and complete
surprise of the older man, Quatre burst out laughing. A cold, bitter and empty
sound that left chills down his spine. Winner suddenly felt like he was no
longer in the presence of his son anymore. He had the nasty feeling that he had
lost his son a long time ago.
L2-
St. Gabriel’s
Orphanage:
He sat primly as he was
supposed to. His hair freshly washed and in a neat braid again. He was now
dressed in a stuffy black suit that was a size too small for him and he had to
keep shifting to ease the tightness against his groin area. The cloth was
beginning to chafe his skin and he itched.
Besides, he hated the way
they were looking at him.
It was adoption day. The
day when lonely parents and couples came looking for the perfect little angel
to take home. Duo wondered why he was made to go through all of this time after
time. The end result was always the same.
He was never picked.
He would smile like he was
supposed to, but it was as if he didn’t even exist. It seemed like the couples
always, always skipped him. They would gush over the child sitting next
to him, but walk past him like he wasn’t even there. The first few times that
it had happened, he had felt bad about it. He would usually run into his room
and sob his heart out, only to have Sister Helen walk in to comfort and
reassure him again. Saying that God loved him and would always be there for
him. But as the years had gone by, he had grown a thick skin over the entire
procedure. It didn’t bother him anymore. His reasoning: the homes he would have
been sent to would have been worse anyways.
“Looks like we aren’t gonna
be picked again, huh, Duo?” Solo whispered to him with a cheeky grin.
“Yeah…I guess not. But we
don’t care, right?” Duo replied with a responding grin.
A raise of a finger to Sister
Mary’s lips signaling them to be quiet clammed both boys’ mouths shut, although
they still shared a secret look that only they could understand. Just as Duo
was beginning to think the nightmare was never going to end, the children were
suddenly distracted by the sound of happy barking. A man had brought a little
dog to the orphanage and many of the kids had left their seats, to the chagrin
of the Sisters, to pet and touch the dog.
Solo shrugged and yawned
lazily. “Hey, wanna go see the dog, Duo?”
Duo, as motionless as a
statue on his seat, stared blankly at the chaotic scene. “I don’t think I
should,” he replied flatly.
Solo raised an eyebrow and
leaned forward to wave his hands in front of the zoned-out look on his friend’s
face. “Yo! Duo! Anyone home? Come on, it couldn’t hurt! It’s just a little dog.
It won’t bite.”
And before Duo could protest,
Solo had pulled his arm and was already leading him towards the dog, which was
currently doing some funny tricks to the crowd’s immense delight. Duo felt
beads of sweat break out on his forehead as he came closer to the furry
creature. He struggled lightly in Solo’s grasp.
“I don’t wanna go, Solo. Let
me go!”
“Duo…come on. It’s just a
little do…”
Duo’s eyes, which had been
pinned on the little animal, seemed to widen in something akin to fear. The
dog, sensing an unfriendly presence, lost its cuteness and began to growl
lowly. The children cringed back in fear as the animal began to bark. It was
now taking all of its owner’s strength to control it now. The dog seemed to
have gone stark raving mad. It snapped its jaws and struggled wildly against
its leash, his eyes now wild with insanity. Solo, who had still been holding
onto Duo’s arm, suddenly withdrew his hand in surprise. Duo’s skin felt like it
was boiling and the older boy could see that Duo looked completely entranced in
the mad antics of the now crazed animal.
“Du…Duo?” he called out
weakly. “You…you okay, buddy?”
He was ignored as he watched
Duo walk slowly towards the dog. The owner was quite at a loss as to what to do
and he tried to warn the approaching boy to back away. “You better stay back,
little boy. This dog might bite.”
Duo’s eyes narrowed and then
his lips curved into a knowing smile. “I will end its miserable existence for
you,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“What the…?”
Stooping down on his
haunches, Duo opened up his arms and placed a cherubic smile on his face. “Come
here, doggy,” he said softly. “Come here and let me help you.”
Everyone seemed to freeze at
the scene that took place next. The dog flew out of his owner’s grip and leapt
right into the waiting boy’s arms. Sister Helen ran towards the scene, but had
to stop as she noticed that the dog wasn’t actually about to bite into the
young boy’s jugular. To everyone’s surprise, the dog struggled weakly in Duo’s
embrace and then went completely limp in mere seconds. Duo dropped the
seemingly boneless creature to the ground and got back up to his feet.
“I think he will be okay,
now,” he said in that same flat tone. “He won’t need to be stuck with you all
anymore. He is quite happy now…in his hell.”
And ignoring the gasps that
went through the audience, he soundlessly made his way out of the room.
Sister Helen brushed out her
hair in automatic movements, her mind churning with the events of the day. Duo
had killed the dog. He had made it look like a merciful killing, but a death
was a death and he had killed in front of the other children. Her hands
trembled violently. She didn’t know how much longer she could control herself
around him. They had to perform the exorcism before it became too late.
A knock on her door broke her
out of her reverie. She glanced at the clock and wondered who could possibly
want to talk to her at this hour. Unless…
Oh, please, not again…
She reached for her housecoat,
shrugging it on as she went to open up the door.
“Duo??”
The little boy stood in front
of her, his eyes red-rimmed with apparent signs of crying. He sniffled and
rubbed his nose with the back of his hand. The white sleep shirt he usually
wore, showed signs of being ripped by someone with either claws or really long
nails.
“Oh, my God! What happened to
you, Duo? Come in!”
She shut the door behind her,
and stooped down to his level, brushing his sweaty bangs away from his face.
“Was it a nightmare, Duo?” she asked softly. “Do you want to tell me all about
it?”
Duo shook his head and
lowered his eyes. “May I sleep here with you, Sister Helen?” he asked in a
slightly raspy voice. “I can’t…I can’t stay in my room anymore.”
She pulled him to herself in
an embrace and whispered into his hair. “Of course you can. Here, let’s change
that shirt of yours, okay?”
He nodded numbly and raised
his arms obediently as she took off the tattered shirt. She winced inwardly as
she noticed the red marks of scratches upon his pale skin. Unable to stop the
tears that rolled down her cheeks, she traced the marks with light fingers,
noticing that he flinched and tried to hold in his own cry of pain.
“Oh, Duo,” she whispered.
“Why? Why?? I love you so much.” She spun him around to stare into his eyes.
“Do you love me, Duo?” she asked almost desperately. “Do you love me?”
The longhaired boy didn’t
reply. He stood immobile, with arms hanging limply at his sides and his eyes as
empty as ever. Helen’s sobs increased and she buried her face against his neck.
“I love you, Duo. And don’t you forget it. I will always love you, no matter
what happens.”
“I will kill you, Sister
Helen.”
She straightened up and
stared at him with eyes filled with sorrow. “I know that, Duo. But I would rather
die by your hands, than any other way.”
Something flickered behind
the amethyst depths, before a small smile came unto his face. “I would like to
go to sleep now.”
Chuckling weakly, she tucked
him into the narrow bed and leaned forward to place a light kiss on his
forehead. About to turn away, he froze her movements with his comment.
“Do you love me, Sister
Helen?”
She turned back to face him,
a puzzled look on her face. “Why, I did say that, Duo sweetheart.”
Cool amethyst depths stared
at her. “Will you promise to protect me at all times?”
“Duo…I will give my soul to
protect you. You know that.”
“You won’t let anything
happen to me?”
“No, Duo.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Then we ought to seal the
promise, don’t you think?”
Helen felt an unwilling blush
dust her cheeks at the darkened look that had filled the young boy’s face. Good
Lord, she had a feeling she was being hypnotized, and she was powerless to stop
it.
“Will you kiss me, Sister
Helen?”
“Duo…I have kissed you to
sleep already…”
Duo shook his head. “No. When
you love someone you have to kiss him or her properly. Like in those movies and
things.”
“Duo! What has come over
you?”
He closed his eyes and sighed
dramatically. “If you won’t do it, then I guess you have been lying to me. You
do not love me as much as you claim.”
“Oh, Duo. You are so wrong.”
She sighed and made her way towards the bed, leaning over him as she stared
into his now opened eyes.
“Then prove me wrong, Sister
Helen.”
The young woman smiled softly
and closed the distance between their lips. This time, she made sure that her
promise was sealed for all eternity.
He adjusted the white collar
with a grimace. It was too hot and having to wear this priestly garb was
beginning to tire him out. He slowed down his steps, tightening his hold on the
string that held his schoolbooks as he approached the looming building that was
Saint Gabriel’s. He could see the large white car in front of the Home. It
looked like another child was going to become a little angel to some other
parent again. Sighing deeply, he wiped the sweat off his brow and wondered if
he could convince Solo to run away with him to the
With his stomach growling in
hunger, he began to quicken his steps, only to stop in disbelief at the young
boy that had stepped out of the building accompanied by a well-dressed man and
woman, Sister Helen and Father Maxwell. They were all smiling and shaking
hands, all except for the young boy, who looked like he was about to cry at any
moment.
No…No!! It can’t be!!
Before he could stop himself,
Duo dropped his books and ran as fast as he could towards the small group,
needing to know if this was real or not. He ignored the gasps of surprise and
the sharp cry of ‘Duo!’ from Father Maxwell, before latching himself onto the
only boy that he had called friend. Tears of despair began to fall down his
cheeks as he clutched Solo to him even tighter.
“You can’t go!” was his
muffled plea as he buried his face into the taller boy’s shirt. “You can’t
leave me here alone! You promised we would be together forever!! You can’t take
him away from me!!”
The young couple looked a bit
uncomfortable at the scene as Father Maxwell apologized profusely and tried to
gently pry the unmoving boy away from his friend. “Duo…he has to go, son. The
Lord has chosen a family for him and so…”
“I HATE THE LORD!! WHY SHOULD
HE TAKE SOLO AWAY FROM ME?!”
And turning back to the
silent but quietly sobbing dark-haired boy, he continued to plead desperately,
amethyst eyes trying to capture the lowered dark ones in front of him. “Please,
Solo!! You can’t leave!! We made a promise, remember?! You swore you would never
leave me!! We have a bond!! You can’t
leave me!!”
“Duo…” came the soft whisper
from Solo, smiling tremulously through his own tears. “I have to go with them.
They…They want me as a part of their family…”
“But we are a family!! You
and I! You said so yourself!! You said we didn’t need anyone but ourselves!!
You can’t…leave…” he finished weakly as he noticed the determined look in his
friend’s eyes. Dropping his hands to his sides limply, he lowered his head and
stared at the ground blindly. The comforting words from Sister Helen and Father
Maxwell washed over him as he paid no attention.
Solo was leaving him alone.
He would be all alone, now.
He flinched as he felt the
young man’s hands on his shoulders. “Hey, son. I spoke to Father Maxwell and he
said you could come and visit Solo anytime you want. Sounds like a nifty deal,
don’t you think?”
His wife spoke up as well.
“So you see, you two don’t have to be apart for so long, and we would love to
have you over…sometime…”
They were lying. They were all
lying through their teeth. They didn’t need him. They would never need him.
They had taken his best friend away and they were all going to pay. Father
Maxwell’s sharp eyes noticed the clenched fists and the low growl as the other
adults talked. Nodding curtly to Helen, he walked over to Duo and laid a hand
upon his head.
“Duo. I want you to calm down
now. Getting angry isn’t going to help at this time. If you would like to
follow Sister Helen inside now….”
Duo slapped the hand away
from his head angrily and snarled at the concerned faces before him. Ignoring
everyone else, he walked up to his friend and stared deeply into unwavering
black depths.
“What is it, Duo?” Solo asked
a bit coldly. He was well acquainted with the other boy’s antics now and he could
tell that the long-haired one was about to do something unusual or stupid or
both.
“You are breaking a bond,
Solo,” Duo replied in kind, although a bit flatly. “And I will never, ever
forgive you for that!”
Without looking back, he ran
out of the orphanage and into the streets, his feet taking him to nowhere and
yet somewhere in particular.
The blonde-haired boy waited
patiently on the swing beside the ball park, his white shirt and black shorts
standing out in the otherwise empty playground. He barely spun around at the
silent footsteps that came up behind him, although a small smile had come unto
his face.
“It took you long enough,” he
commented dryly.
“Hn.”
A comfortable silence fell as
they watched the moon rise to fill the artificial sky.
Finally, the long-haired boy
asked quietly.,“Ready to play now, Quatre?”
The blonde jumped out of the
swing and smiled brightly at his companion and new friend.
“Yes, Duo. I am ready.”