CHAPTER
THREE:
AC 187
St. Gabriel’s
Orphanage:
Twinkle, twinkle, little
star
How I wonder what you are…
Duo sighed as he leaned his head against the
windowsill. There weren’t exactly stars in the colonies, but Duo could always
pretend - just like in those books that Sister Helen always read to him during
story time. It was his favorite part of the day. He would always sit in front
of the group on the floor of the playroom and listen to her sweet voice tell of
many wondrous things and about a special place called Earth.
He could remember the day
he had asked Sister Helen about Earth, and had listened in rapt attention to
all that she had described. There were blue skies and birds on the Earth. There
were oceans and lakes and streams and beautiful people and beautiful things. He
wished he could go to Earth. He had told Sister Helen that and she had smiled
in return, smoothing his hair and telling him that maybe one day he could.
One day, I will go to Earth and get to see what the
ocean looks like.
He could hear the church
bell chime for the
He…just…couldn’t…afford…to…go…to….sleep….
The old man saw the little
boy standing in front of the toy store and smiled softly to himself, before
shaking his head as he glanced at his watch. Good Lord! What was the kid doing
out here at this ungodly hour? Walking towards the motionless figure, he called
out softly.
“Hey, kid. Don’t you think
you should be at home? Or do you even have a home?”
L2 had no shortage of
orphans.
The boy did not reply as
the man took in the barely covered boy in the white sleep shirt, bare feet, and
the long chestnut-colored locks fluttering around the cherub face with eyes of
violet that seemed so far away. He tried again much louder this time.
“Kid…don’t you have a home to go to…argh!”
Without turning away from
his gaze at the toys in the window, Duo had pushed
with his mind, and was currently squeezing the life out of the man’s heart. He
frowned a little as he increased the pressure; aware that the man’s choked sobs
of pain sent a warm flow of delight into his brain.
“Shouldn’t you be minding
your own business?” He replied coldly as he gave a final twist, before the
sound of the body hitting the ground caused him to relinquish his grasp.
Relaxing his tense body, he gave an idle glance at his handiwork and walked
slowly away with a brown teddy bear now clutched tightly in his grip.
“Duo! Duo, wake up! We’ve
gotta go!”
“Nnnh…leave me alone…I
don’t wanna.”
“But, Duo! Sister Helen’s
gonna leave without you. We’re going to the park today, remember?”
The longhaired boy sat up
groggily and rubbed his eyes, yawning as he finally opened them to focus on the
hazy face of his best and only friend. “Hey, Solo…what’s up?”
The dark-haired boy with
similar long locks, only his was in a neat braid, smirked and placed hands on
his hips. “Sister Helen is about to have a bird. She says she’s about to come
get you herself if you don’t get up! Hey…where did you get that teddy from
anyway?”
“Huh? What teddy?”
Solo raised an eyebrow and
reached down to pick up the medium-sized brown stuffed animal that had been
lying on the floor to wave it in front of puzzled amethyst depths. “This teddy
bear. Did you steal it again?”
Duo frowned and snatched
the bear away from him, staring at it with widened eyes. “I didn’t…steal it…”
“Duo…”
“I said I didn’t steal
it!!”
Solo cringed back at the
yell and stuck out his arms in surrender. “Okay, okay. You didn’t steal it. But
you can be sure Sister Helen’s gonna want to know where you got it from. Come
on, get dressed let’s go!”
Duo jumped off the bed and
reached for his clothes, only to find to his horror that his jeans and shirt
were no longer there. “What happened to my stuff?”
“Oh, yeah.” Solo said
carelessly as he reached for the black robe that hung over his chair. “She says
you have to wear this.”
Duo blinked at the outfit
in disbelief. “I am not wearing that! It’s a dress!”
“So, are you saying that
Father Maxwell is a girl? Hmm?”
Duo flushed in
embarrassment. “No…but, but…”
“Oh, come on already, just
wear it. It couldn’t hurt.”
“But they will all laugh at
me…” he murmured in worry.
Solo placed an arm around
the smaller boy and grinned brightly. “Hey, don’t worry about a thing, Duo! If
anyone dares laugh, I will give a good whack on his head for ya!”
Duo just had to laugh at
the image and with the smile still in place, he reluctantly slipped into the
priestly robe, slipping his feet into the provided flat soles that he was
forced to wear. Moving back to the bed, he sat still as Solo brushed out his
hair, while shoving the teddy bear underneath his bed.
“Braid?” Solo asked.
“Sure…”
That done, the two boys
stood in front of the small mirror and grinned stupidly at each other. “We are
one heck of a team, huh, Duo?”
The smaller boy nodded. “We
sure are, Solo. We sure are.”
The other kids wouldn’t
play with him and he was used to that now. Besides, Solo was all he needed at
the moment. Everyone else could very well go to hell. It didn’t help that he
was dressed in the priestly garb today, which earned him even more snickers and
looks from his fellow orphans. Pouting, he stalked off to a corner of the large
playground and made himself comfortable in a sandbox. A bit damp from either
rain or dew, Duo, absentmindedly, picked up a small stick nearby and began to
draw. What he drew, he had no idea, but the circles and triangles and little
odd shapes that he created seemed to consume him, his hands flying across the
sand as his face became one of intense concentration.
So engrossed was he in his
work, that he never noticed the silent figure that stood by and watched him.
Suddenly the loud cry of ‘Sister Helen, Duo is drawing that weird stuff
again!!’ snapped him out of his reverie and caused him to drop the stick in
horror. Glaring hatefully at the girl that had squealed on him, he tried
desperately to wipe it off, but to his chagrin, the young nun had already
reached him and he had to lower his head in humiliation as he waited for the
admonishment. The last time he had done such a thing, he had been made to spend
an hour in confessional and that was no fun.
Helen stared at the symbols
and connotations on the sand with her heart racing a mile a minute. Stooping
down to Duo’s level, she held onto his shoulders and shook him a bit roughly.
“What do you mean by drawing this again, Duo?! What did I tell you about
drawing strange shapes on the ground?!”
“You told me never to draw
them again, but I don’t know why I do it, Sister Helen. Honest!”
Helen’s heart melted at the
look of pure contrition on the heart-shaped face and pulled him into her
embrace in a fierce hug. “Oh, Duo! Duo! Duo! What am I going to do with you?
You break my heart every single day, you know you do.”
“I am sorry, Sister.”
She pulled back to stare at
his face and brushed away the loose strands that framed his face. “I forgive
you, just as the Lord always forgives you. Now go wipe that out and then we can
all get some ice-cream, okay?”
Nodding in happiness, he
quickly did as he was told with the help of Solo. The children dutifully lined
up and walked after the young nun ahead of them as they made their way towards
the ice-cream parlor.
Back at the playground, at
the exact spot that had held the drawings, three dead dogs and two cats would
be found slaughtered the next day.
Father O’ Brien listened to
Father Maxwell’s words with solemn intensity. “So, you say, you want the
exorcism, although you want to wait for a little while, am I correct?”
“Yes. He has been on his
best behavior since the incident…”
“But I thought you told me
that Sister Helen said he had plans to destroy the church? Perhaps the demon
wishes us to think that all is well and good for the meantime…”
“I doubt it. Duo has been
well-behaved and has taken all of his prayer and study sessions quite
seriously.”
“Hmm.”
Another tense silence fell
before O’ Brien spoke up again. “An old man was found dead right in front of a
toy store yesterday. You wouldn’t happen to know how that happened, would you?”
Father Maxwell narrowed his
eyes. “What are you trying to suggest? Do you think that Duo had anything to do
with it?”
O’ Brien shrugged and got
to his feet as he paced towards the windows. “I am not suggesting anything.
Only saying that the toy store is not very far from here and that a witness in
the area said that they noticed a little boy…walking away…holding a teddy bear.
Does he own a teddy bear?”
“All toys are donated to
the children and each child is allowed to pick one favorite for his personal
use.”
“That doesn’t answer my
question. Does he have a teddy bear or not?”
“No, Father O’ Brien. Duo
did not select any toy for himself.”
“Have you searched his
room?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You heard me, Father
Maxwell. As the head of the orphanage, it should be your responsibility to make
sure that the children under your care are checked at all times. Who knows what
they may be hiding?”
The good Father pursed his
lips in irritation but remained impassive. “I will have one of the Sisters
check out his room, if that will satisfy you.”
“This is not about me,
Father Maxwell.” O’ Brien corrected calmly. “This is about the devil amongst
us. Just you remember that.”
Duo licked off the vanilla
from his fingers, hoping that it didn’t mess up his new robe. He held onto the
blue balloon that Sister Helen had gotten for him as he watched the other
children run around the park in front of the store. Solo had tried to get him
to play tag, but he had refused, insisting that he finish his ice cream first.
Unfortunately, a plop of
the creamy ice did splash on his robe and with a small cry of dismay, he bent
down to wipe it off, only problem was that his balloon got loose and began to
float away and further away from him.
“No…my balloon…”
Tossing his unfinished ice
cream away, he ran after the elusive ball of air, his braid dancing behind him
with each step he took. “Come back here, Mr. Balloon! Come back here!”
Not looking at where he was
going, he found himself running into the nearby woods and standing stock-still
as he suddenly realized that he was lost. Biting his lower lip, he closed his
eyes and tried to will his thudding heart to relax. How else was he going to
find his way out if he lost his cool? Finally getting his emotions under
control, he began to make his way out of the thicket of trees with his eyes
still closed, before his feet came in contact with something round.
Mr. Balloon!
He opened his eyes in
anticipation and quickly felt his hopes deflate as he saw that it was only a
rather large red ball. Bending down to pick it up, he bounced it lightly in his
hands before he felt the eyes of someone staring at him. Spinning around
sharply, he came face-to-face with wide dark green eyes in a pale face. The
other boy was about his height and had hair as bright as the sun. Duo ran his
eyes down the expensive-looking pink shirt and dark shorts complete with
shining new sneakers, as the new kid twiddled his hands in nervousness.
Several tense minutes
passed as the two boys stared at each other in mute fascination. Suddenly, Duo
spoke up rather rudely. “What do you want? And what are you looking at?”
The boy jumped up in
surprise, as if he couldn’t believe that the figure before him was actually
human. “Umm…that ball belongs to me, please,” he said quietly. “Could I have it
back now?”
Duo stared at the ball and
then back at the boy. “This ball? I found it, so it belongs to me now!”
The blonde-haired boy
looked like he was about to cry. “But that’s not fair!” he cried out in
desperation. “My father gave me that ball and it is new and if I lost it, he
would spank me for sure.”
Duo snorted and placed his
free hand upon his hip, while he continued bouncing the ball in the other.
“Finders keepers. I found it, I keep it. End of story…”
“Master Quatre! Where are
you, master?”
Both boys spun around at
the sharp call, and Duo had to blink at the funny-looking man with the
funny-looking clothes with the funny-looking hat. “Wow…didn’t know the circus
was in town…”
The burly man with bushy
sideburns ignored the jibe and walked up to the smaller boy. “Master Quatre, is
everything alright?”
Quatre shook his head and
pointed towards Duo. “No, Rashid. That boy has my ball and won’t give it back.”
Rashid turned back to face
Duo and placing as warm a smile as he could manage, he stuck out a hand to him.
“Hey, little boy. Why don’t you give back the ball? I am sure you can find
plenty more at your home.”
Duo’s eyes narrowed. They
were laughing at him. The Quatre boy and his Rashid were laughing. He could
hear it loud and clear in his mind. They thought he was a nothing. Well, nobody
laughed at him. With an angry growl, he pushed violently, causing the
towering man to suddenly find himself several feet in the air and tossed
painfully against a tree. Quatre gasped in fear, noticing the deadly look that
had come into the gleaming amethyst eyes. Shuffling backwards slowly, he
stammered out weakly.
“Ple…please don’t…don’t
hurt me. You can have the ball if you like. It’s an old ball anyway.”
But Duo wasn’t quite done
yet. Pushing again, he lifted Quatre into the air, ignoring his squeals of
terror as he smirked in satisfaction. He was getting a bit tired, lifting
people had never been his forte but he stubbornly refused to let the
blonde-haired boy down and poor Quatre dangled his hands and feet in the air
begging and pleading for his life.
“Please, let him go,”
Rashid begged weakly, a trail of blood beginning to seep from a gash in his
forehead. “He is just a quiet little boy and as he said, you can have the ball
if you like.”
Seeming to give this a
thought, Duo finally conceded and dropped Quatre to the ground with a loud
thump. Grinning widely, he bounced the ball in his hands again and saluted
smartly, albeit mockingly.
“Thanks a lot, you guys.
You don’t know how much this means to me. I have always wanted a ball for my
own. Catch ya later!”
And with a jovial wave, he
made his way back into the woods, leaving two very baffled visitors behind.
Father Maxwell stared at
the teddy bear and the red ball before placing his gaze on the innocent-looking
boy sitting before him. Sister Helen stood beside him as they waited for Duo to
provide them with an answer.
“Well, Duo,” Father Maxwell
asked calmly. “Are you ready to tell us where you got these things from?”
Duo sighed and began again.
“I told you a boy in the woods gave me the ball. And I don’t know where the
teddy bear came from.”
“A boy in the woods, Duo?”
Father Maxwell asked skeptically. “Boys do not hang around in the woods, Duo.”
“Well, this boy was and he
gave it to me. He said he liked me so…”
“What is this boy’s name,
Duo? What did he look like?” Sister Helen asked.
“He had blonde hair and
green eyes and his name is Master Quatre.”
Both clergy turned to
glance at each other before Father Maxwell sighed in defeat. “Duo. I try so
hard to raise you like my own son. How can I trust you when you are not willing
to trust me and tell me the truth?”
“But I am telling you the
truth!!” Duo shouted in exasperation. “I swear it!!”
“You do not swear in the
house of God, Duo, remember?” Sister Helen chided softly.
“I will bloody well swear
if I like!!”
Twin gasps of shock filled
the room as the adults stared at the irate child in slight worry and sorrow.
“You know what this means, don’t you, Duo?” Father Maxwell said a bit sternly.
“I am not going to
confessional!!” came the angry words. “I am telling the truth and you won’t
believe me!!”
“Duo, you are going to
confess your sins to the Lord…”
“I don’t give a fuck
anymore!! There is no God!! And I don’t fucking believe in him!!”
“DUO!!”
“You can’t do anything to
me!! I am stronger than you all!!”
Father Maxwell closed his
eyes and clutched the cross in a tight grip, his lips mouthing a quick prayer
while Sister Helen picked up the phone to call for help. In seconds the
parish’s doctors came into the room with a syringe filled with the appropriate
sedative that was to calm the troubled boy. Unfortunately for them, Duo was
more than ready this time, kicking and lashing out at the hands that tried to
hold him down, he screamed even louder as the lights in the room and indeed the
entire building began to flicker on and off.
Sister Helen could only
watch helplessly, her eyes brimming with tears as more volunteers came in to
curtail the wild child. She ducked from a flying picture as several other items
in Father Maxwell’s office left their positions to crash to the floor in broken
pieces.
“Christ forgive you and all
your transgressions!!” Father Maxwell bellowed out sharply as he brought out
the small vial filled with Holy Water and splashed some upon the thrashing boy.
Fighting the urge to cover
his ears at the unearthly howl that emanated from Duo’s mouth, he waited and
watched with abated breath as the wild thrashings gradually subsided into a
limp and exhausted body upon the floor. As usual, the braid had come undone
again, as Sister Helen pushed the men aside and reached down to pick the boy up
herself. Sobbing quietly, she croaked out weakly.
“I will take him to his
room.”
And ignoring the inquiring
looks she received, she made her way back to Duo’s sleeping quarters and placed
him upon the clean white sheets on the narrow bed. She smoothed his brow and
wept even harder, her sorrow threatening to consume her. She was losing her boy
and there was nothing she could do about it.
Oh, dear God, if there is
anyone that can help him, please…please send him to us! I cannot lose my baby!
I just can’t!
Somewhere on the
streets of L1:
The lonesome figure on the
run-down street stopped in mid-stride and raised cobalt blue eyes to the
heavens.
And nodding once in
acceptance, he lost himself in the shadows.