DOOM SAGA I - I'll be home tomorrow

Day 239 (End Part I)

Argent d'Nur

A breeze softly wafted through the long curtains from the open balcony door. It felt uncommonly warm and smelled of sunlight and life. Pleased he furrowed his brows as he turned around towards the window, feeling the leftover warmth of the sheets next to him. A crooked yet familiar face greeted him in the form of the bulb-headed plush that was carefully placed and even covered by the blanket. She was so silly sometimes. For a few moments, he relished the quiet as he gazed at the still cold blue sky before turning on his back again as the pain kept rising. He had forgotten how much it sucked. He slowly crept off the bed and warily stretched to get his stiff limbs to listen until his stomach grumbled.
He quickly found her at the side of the balcony, wrapped in a handy blanket as it was still cooler in the shade. She was staring into the mountains on the other side of the gorge where the morning sun was already shining brightly.
He stood beside her, just a little more distance between them than usual and watched her keenly. It felt different, but he couldn't say if it was good or bad.
"Are we-- Are we fine, still?", she mumbled without looking. He did not even need to think about it but laid his hand on her shoulder, then on her head as she turned to him.
"We are.", he answered briefly though he saw that she didn't believe in it.
"Does it hurt a lot?"
Amused he puffed and shook his head once, but his eyes were tired and his smile stiff. She frowned unhappily, and before he knew it, he instinctively bend his torso backwards and out of her reach, his hands grabbing her wrist tightly.
Fuck, he thought and loosened his hold without opening his eyes. He knew, and she knew. He straightened his back until the knuckles of her yet stretched arm touched his stomach. Her pained gaze was unbearable, and he saw all the muscles in her face twitch as she fought with it. Gently, he led her hand down to the seam of his shirt, then in and onto his belly. Her fingers were cold as they wandered over his skin independently, along the fuzz towards the middle of his chest. He assisted by slowly pulling the shirt out of her way, letting her see what he had been hiding.
With a choked whimper she closed her eyes for a few seconds, and her now trembling hand that had stopped over his heart touched only so softly as if she did not dare to hurt him any further. The sides of his ribcage were slowly turning darker, and in between each rib a steak of brighter colour; a pattern of hits forming with them. And it would only get worse in the coming days.
"I did this...?", she whispered.
"But how...? I thought nobody can hurt you..."
"Not anymore...", he mumbled as he secretly relished the cold on his burning wounds.
"I don't have these powers anymore, Io. They left with... him..."
Confused, but also understanding she looked up to him.
"Since you've woken me, I've been getting weaker every day, just a little. Until I'm nothing more than anyone else, I guess. And... I don't understand these things either, Io, I just know-- ... I know there must be something special about you, though I have not much of an idea what it could be...", he said and suddenly sighed discontent as he looked into her glistening eyes. He scanned her face in silence before calmly brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I always forget how young you are...", he mumbled and a soft smile appeared. Saddened her head lowered as if he had reminded her as well.
"Is it the first time you are on your own?", he asked her carefully.
"What?", she uttered baffled and blinked at him.
"Is it the first time you are away from home all by yourself?", he repeated his question and cocked his head lightly. Her eyes searched for an answer as her hand that was still resting on his chest lowered. She shook her head briefly.
"No..."
"No?"
He huffed inquisitively.
"Would you tell me about it?", and before she could answer he gently snagged her lingering hand and pulled her behind towards the large stone bench. With a little struggle, he sat down and sighed in relief with her next to him. He laid his arm on the back and wrapped his other one around his mid like it was still hurting, and as he waited for her to begin he noticed her looking out in the far once more as if she checked on something. In silence her eyes wandered while she thought about his question, looking for memories already buried deep within.
"I wanted to go out, like on trips, maybe a vacation one day when I was old enough. Since we had to move often, it was hard for Papa to keep his job and he had to do extra hours and barely took any of his days off work. He wanted to keep our family name in a good reputation, so I wouldn't have any struggles in the future, which was harder than you can imagine. Luckily, money wasn't a problem for us... I mean, we did spend time together, we had our little routine and movie nights and such things. When I was younger we would spend weeks of my summer holiday in other countries just travelling which I always love. I met so many kind people and learned more about the world than I ever imagined!", she giggled joyfully, but her smile still carried a shadow in it.
"But after my grandparents died and we had to move again everything just got worse and worse... So I asked if I can travel, but of course, I was way too young to go far by myself. I began going on little field trips over the weekends or during holidays. Since they weren't done by my school I had a nice time meeting others who didn't bully me immediately, and I learned a lot of stuff about camping in tents or in cabins. Then I went on a one-week trip with just other teenagers, a group from the weekend trips. It wasn't that far out on a tent ground but we hiked all by ourselves. It was really exciting...", the shadow in her eyes deepened as she sighed.
"The next summer, the one before I got seventeen, I wanted to go with just one friend. My best friend from school. But I had to go alone. Papa was frightened that I-- He knew I could take care of myself. I promised I would come back, and... I just needed it. Nearly two weeks by myself out in the nowhere... The weather was bad at the end and I had to wait out an overrunning river that blocked the only bridge, but I had sent a message with the satellite telephone so they didn't have to worry. Added three more days on top."
He grumbled displeased.
"Weren't you scared?", he asked wondering. She turned and held his gaze for a moment before turning her focus back to her own thoughts.
"I think I've never been less scared in my life.", she murmured as if she only noticed it now.
"Why?", was all he said, keenly watching her inner journey surface as she tugged her knees in and shrugged.
"I was hours away from the next people. If I had gotten hurt, I might have died. I was clumsy and slipped and fell many times as I explored off the paths. My whole butt got bruised... But I didn't care. I was alone. I wasn't scared to be watched anymore. There was nobody to laugh at me, even as I was singing along like a dying dog, or crying loudly. Nobody bothered. I could just be myself. I didn't have to smile or hold back, I didn't need to figure out if I was too rude or uncomfortably nice. I... wasn't wrong for once. I guess I'm more afraid of people than I am of dying."
"But you came back.", he said softly.
With her eyes welled, yet she nodded tenaciously.
"I had promised."
Her voice was roughened by emotions, though also confident. And maybe, even a little pissed.
"I could never leave Papa alone! He lost so much, and all because of me! I have to--... I need to--!"
She stopped mid-sentence as she choked on her own words and her body tensed trying to keep it together.
"Why does everybody think I'm going to give up and just lay down and die?! I don't want him to be lonely! I don't want him to be sad...! He doesn't deserve this!", she suddenly sobbed as her surge of faith withered.
"I don't want to give up... but sometimes...", her voice quaked, "I just want to rest... to have my peace and... and... I don't want to...! But...! I can't stop it! What they say, it's in my head then and I can't stop it! But I never gave in! Because he needs me...! I never gave in... Still I hurt you! And I can't even remember shit...!"
Swiftly he scooped her into his arms, and though it hurt badly, he didn't let go until she calmed. The sting in his chest that came with her words frightened him for a moment, but thus it felt familiar he grasped that it wouldn't end him.
"I'm not running away...! But nobody understands...", she mumbled into his shirt.
"I'm not running away... from them... I'm... it's--", she squealed and held her head, huddling in his arm.
"Hey... shh... shh... I know, Io. I know you don't.", he whispered and gently rocketed her.
"And we will show everybody, that you're not."
A minute passed while he watched her eyes wander aimlessly, following her restless thoughts as she relaxed more and more into his hold. It seemed like she had gotten lost in them, and forgotten that he was even there.
"Io...?"
She gleamed at him with a vast gaze.
"Are you okay?", he asked warily. The corners of her lips quirked upwards and she nodded. Her puppy eyes shined blithely as she began wiggling her legs while humming a melody.
"Io, look at me."
His concerns grew at her carefree demeanour as he saw that her pupils had two different sizes, but as she blinked they were again even and steady.
"Do you remember what we just talked about?", he asked calmly, though grave. Her agitation stopped as she gaped at him confused before her eyes meandered around the balcony and towards the mountains in the distance. After a long moment, her blank expression contorted in a painful grimace. She nodded stiffly.
Cautiously he caressed her head, and without any resistance, he felt for the wound hidden under the hair. She winced. Too many head injuries in such a short time, he thought. Hopefully, there wasn't any lasting damage.
"Does it still hurt?", he asked though he already knew the answer.
"Yeah, no... not hurt-hurt...", she quietly said and her hand also rose.
"It's more like... the nerves stinging me... It goes all over my head and neck and face and feels like... like a shock... an electric shock...", she lifted her gaze, "I hate it..."
The Slayer grumbled empathetically.
"I'll be more careful.", he said and briefly kissed her forehead.
"Let's go eat before nothing's left."
With this, he stood up and placed her onto her feet as well. Her eyes turned to the distance once more as they stepped around the bench, so he cocked his head.
"What were you even doing out here?", he asked gently while trying to follow her focus.
"I-I was watching...", she began whispering timidly.
"I was watching the little dragons..."
His eyebrows narrowed before they raised high again in curiosity. He leaned at the fencing, but couldn't find anything resembling more than a bird.
"There, on the wall of the rocks! You have to look for their movement and shadows."
He squinted his eyes and wondered how she could see so far, but suddenly there was movement. It took another moment for him to grasp the full form of the creature clinging to the vertical slope, its form and colour nearly identical to its background.
His heart stopped and he gasped for air, yanking Io behind him terrified. His hand clutched her arm hard, but he didn't notice her reluctance as he stared at it. And it wasn't alone either.
"Slay! What are you doing?!", she yelled and hit his arm, forcing him to finally snap back. His hold loosened before he had even turned around, and she could see his tight jaw and wide eyes.
"They won't hurt us...!", she said angered about his reaction.
"They've been there every morning when the sun warms the rock. I've been watching them for weeks, so why--"
"Wraiths, Io! They are wraiths...!", he stuttered processing what she had just told him.
"Oh..."
Her expression changed into worry and confusion.
"But that's not bad, is it? You told me they are good, so why are you so scared, Slay?"
She tugged on his shirt to make him look at her again, his eyes fixed on the Wraiths in the distance. He sighed heavily, and though his body was still tense, he calmly laid his arm around her shoulders and turned to leave.
"I hope so.", was all he answered.
"Come, I'm hungry."
He led her back inside, his eyes peeking at the cliffside until the very last moment.
What he did not see, hidden in the ornamentation above their heads, were keen eyes that had watched them too. As soon as the door had closed behind them, the stone and metal came alive, like finally woken from a long winter sleep. Dust and tiny bits of stone fell as its massive size cracked the old wall before, light like a bird and nimble like a cat, it jumped onto the balustrade. It paused for a quick moment, pensive, before plunging into the gorge below.